Liberty Newspost June-15-11

Curated News Edition
- 15/06/11
http://www.LibertyNewspost.com
Governor Pushing Same-Sex Marriage Bill in New York

(Christianpost.com > Politics)
marry, as well as hundreds of rights other New Yorkers take for Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:07:23 AM granted, said Cuomo is a written Cuomo met with homosexual statement. Marriage Equality is a advocates, including labor union matter of fairness and legal representatives and emerged from security for thousands of families the meeting saying he would push in this state not of religion or the gay-marriage bill. Labor culture. When it comes to fighting u n i o n s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e for whats right, New Yorkers r e p r e s e n t i n g g o v e r n m e n t wrote the book, and Marriage employees, have been highly Equality is the next chapter in our engaged in helping promote the civil rights story. homosexual agenda as part of a The bill had previously failed in strategy to reduce their declining t h e S t a t e S e n a t e . S e n a t e membership base. Labor unions Republicans have previously have a long track record one of stated they would not provide a t h e l a r g e s t c o n t r i b u t o r s t o single vote unless two or more Democrats at the national and Democrats changed their position. state levels. After an intense period of The proposed Marriage Equality lobbying, Democrat Senators Act would allow homosexuals to Shirley Huntley and Joseph marry and give them equal status Addabbo of Queens and Car under the law, including rights, K r u g e r , f r o m B r o o k l y n benefits protections currently announced their support. The available to men and women who senators from Queens say voters marry. in their districts helped changed For too long, same-sex couple their mind from no votes into have been denied the freedom to yes votes.
For me, my vote was about one thing: my people and my district, Addabbo told The Wall Street Journal. Like us on Facebook Kruger, on the other hand, said his switch was driven more by personal considerations. Were about to redefine what the American family is, and thats a good thing, he told the Wall Street Journal. Senator Jim Alesi is the first Republican to openly endorse homosexual marriage. A second Republican, Roy J. McDonald, also just recently added his support to marriage for gays and lesbians. If the measure does pass, which is expected, it would be the first time a Republican controlled chamber passes a bill allowing homosexuals to marry. A Senate Republican spokesman said Republican senators would formally caucus sometime this week.
The New York Assembly, commonly known as the House of Representatives in other states, has voted on and passed homosexual marriage in recent years. Although the Assembly has fewer Democrats than it had in prior years, the bill will likely still pass by a comfortable margin. The measure includes provisions that exempt religious institutions and clergy from solemnizing a same-sex marriage or from providing their facilities for such ceremonies. "This bill grants equal access to the governmentcreated legal institution of civil marriage while leaving the religious institution of marriage to its own separate and fully autonomous sphere," said Cuomo. Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, says the provisions are insufficient. The National Organization for Marriage, which is urging supporters to contact state senators to stop the
legalization of gay marriage, also expressed concerns over the threat to religious freedom. If passed, New York would be the sixth state to allow homosexual marriage. The others are Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont, along with the District of Columbia. Senator Ruben Diaz, a Pentecostal minister from the Bronx is the lone Democrat opposed to the measure. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
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Why do we keep thinking business experience makes great politicians?

Ben Adler (Front Row Washington)
Submitted at 6/14/2011 11:38:30 AM
By Ben Adler The views expressed are his own. In Mitt Romneys speech announcing his presidential candidacy earlier this month, Romney made his campaign message clear: Obama has failed to generate sufficient economic or job growth, and only a businessman like Romney can do so. Barack Obama has failed America, said Romney. When he took office, the economy was in recession. He made it worse. And he made it last longer. Romney followed with a ream of statistics and stories of struggling families. Then he pivoted: The American ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense, and I intend to make it because I have lived it. What comes next is the stirring story of how Romney, as a consultant with Bain Capital, helped companies lay off workers- or rather, helped companies compete in the global economy. Lest the message were muffled, Romneys Websites issue page features only four tabs, the first two of which are jobs and fiscal responsibility. The longstanding American assumption that making money in
the private sector qualifies a person for high public office lately seems to have extended to some truly outlandish would-be candidates: Donald Trump was recently leading the Republican polls, former pizza chain CEO Herman Cain is on the rise. And of course, Ross Perot won 19 percent of the vote in 1992. But does success in business translate into effective campaigning or governing? The recent record suggests it doesnt. In practice, despite public affection for corporate candidates, many prove to be their own worst enemies. Just last year California Republicans learned this the hard way when they nominated former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina for Senate. Fiorina was caught on camera making catty remarks about her opponent, Sen. Barbara Boxer, and made the most notoriously ham-handed commercial of the campaign, known asdemon sheep. Fiorina lost despite outspending Boxer in a banner year for Republicans. Some of the GOPs most embarrassing candidates in 2010 were business executives. Consider small business investor and Nazi impersonator Rich Iott in Ohios 9th district, or Carl Paladino, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in New York, who made headlines for his
Nor were Bush and Cheney especially competent managers. From the Iraq occupation to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, even Republicans have generally acknowledged that their administration was characterized by poor planning, slow responses and bad personnel decisions. And as for fiscal responsibility: Bush inherited a surplus in 2001 and by 2004 was running an annual deficit in excess of 4 percent of GDP. Experts estimate his policies contribution to the current deficit to be almost a trillion dollars annually. There is at least one example of an entrepreneur turning into a extremist stances, physical threats President Bush has presided over successful government executive: towards reporters and out of the weakest eight-year span for New York City Mayor Michael w e d l o c k l o v e c h i l d . T h e s e the U.S. economy in decades, Bloomberg. Under Bloomberg, candidates falsify the claim that according to an analysis of key New York generally has thrived, business experience necessarily data, and economists across the with a relatively healthy economy translates into political virtues ideological spectrum increasingly and housing market, low crime such as tact or good campaign view his two terms as a time of and some progress toward a management. little progress on the nations cleaner environment and better schools. Still, Bloombergs E v e n v i c t o r i o u s b u s i n e s s - thorniest fiscal challenges. credentialed candidates arent Bushs eight years in office saw 2 biggest flaws as mayor have been necessarily able to translate their percent job growth the worst in attributable to his autocratic, antiexperience into superior economic the seven decades the data has democratic tendencies, which performance along the lines that been kept and that was before probably have something to do Romney suggests. Consider much of the job loss due to the with his background as the boss of G e o r g e W . B u s h , o u r f i r s t h o u s i n g b u b b l e b u r s t i n g . a private company rather than a president to hold an MBA, and Americans incomes grew less public servant. For instance, Bloombergs Dick Cheney, who was CEO of than during any presidency since Halliburton. As The Washington the 1960s except for Bushs congestion pricing scheme for P o s t r e p o r t e d u p o n B u s h s father, who also worked in the oil WHY page 4 d e p a r t u r e i n J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 : business.
Headline/
Washington Extra One more for the road

Tabassum Zakaria (Front Row Washington)
Republicans have so far appeared immune to the sky is falling scenario, and all eyes are on Vice Submitted at 6/14/2011 4:38:59 PM President Joe Biden to see if he Jon Huntsman is in. Well, can maneuver a deal. technically, the Republican Here are our top stories from announced that he will announce Washington that he is in next Tuesday. Bernanke, Obama warn as I intend to announce that I will lawmakers meet on budget be a candidate for the presidency The chairman of the Federal a week from today, the former Reserve warned that a failure to U.S. ambassador to China said at lift the governments borrowing a Thomson Reuters event in New limit could risk a potentially York. disastrous loss of confidence, He advocated getting our own giving further impetus to the latest house in order to improve ties round of deficit-reduction talks by with China. As we have a very top lawmakers. Ben Bernanke weak economic core, we are less said the United States could lose able to project the goodness and its coveted AAA credit rating and the power and the might of the the dollars special status as a United States, Huntsman said. r e s e r v e c u r r e n c y c o u l d b e W e s i t d i m i n i s h e d a n d damaged if there was not a quick discounted at the negotiating table resolution to the battle over and everybody knows that. So if raising the $14.3 trillion debt you want a strong U.S.-China limit. relationship, I would argue that For more of this story by Andy we probably have a little bit of Sullivan, read here. work here in our own backyard, Republican Huntsman to the ex-Utah governor said. announce White House run China, the largest foreign creditor Former Utah Governor Jon holding more than $1 trillion in Huntsman will announce his bid Treasury debt as of March, has f o r t h e W h i t e H o u s e n e x t expressed concern that the U.S. Tuesday, bringing a moderate might default on its debt due to R e p u b l i c a n a n d e x p e r t o n politics. Americas fastest growing In Washington, Federal Reserve competitor into the race to Chairman Ben Bernanke issued a challenge President Barack stark warning that failure to lift Obama in 2012. I intend to the debt ceiling risked a loss of a n n o u n c e t h a t I w i l l b e a c o n f i d e n c e i n A m e r i c a s candidate for the presidency a creditworthiness and might week from today, Huntsman, damage the dollars reserve former U.S. ambassador to China, currency status. said at an event hosted by
Thomson Reuters. For more of this story by Jeff Mason, read here. Obama 2012 its all about jobs If President Barack Obama wants to convince Americans he can right the struggling economy and deserves four more years in office, he needs to come up quickly with a convincing plan to generate jobs. Recent disappointing economic data has raised fears of a double-dip recession, particularly a weakerthan-expected unemployment rate of 9.1 percent in May. And with polls showing voters are deeply concerned, Republicans vying for their partys nomination have been hammering the incumbent on the issue. For more of this analysis by Patricia Zengerle, read here. Consumers spend less, recovery
for an eventual decision by Puerto Ricans on the U.S. island territorys status and said his administration was working to strengthen its recession-battered economy. For more of this story by Alister Bull, read here. China urged to help in Senate counterfeit probe The Senate Armed Services Committee urged China to allow investigators to travel to the Chinese mainland to probe reports that Chinese-made counterfeit parts are making their way into U.S. weapons systems and other electronics. So far, China has declined to grant visas to committee staff investigators. seen on horizon For more of this story by Jim Consumers have not pulled back Wolf, read here. aggressively despite the recent From elsewhere slowdown in the economy, retail Exclusive: Hacking blitz drives sales data showed, and falling cyberinsurance demand gasoline prices should support The recent string of sensational growth in the months ahead. hacker attacks is driving Retail sales fell in May for the companies to seek first time in 11 months as auto cyberinsurance worth hundreds sales took a hit from the damage of millions of dollars, even though wrought by Japans earthquake many policies can still leave them and other spending softened too. exposed to claims. Companies are For more of this story by Lucia having to enhance not just their Mutikani, read here. information technology practices Obama returns to Puerto Rico, but also their human resources courting Hispanic vote and employee training functions Barack Obama paid Puerto Rico just to get adequate coverage its first official presidential visit against intrusion and in some in 50 years, courting an important cases, they are also accepting slice of Hispanic voters on the deductibles in the tens of millions mainland who could help his reof dollars. election chances in 2012. At an arrival ceremony in an aircraft WASHINGTON page 4 hanger, Obama expressed support
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WHY
continued from page 2
WASHINGTON
Manhattan was blocked by the state legislature after Bloomberg mishandled his effort to gain their permission, as was his plan to build a stadium on the West Side of Manhattan as part of the unsuccessful 2012 Olympic bid. His education reform agenda was damaged by his absurd, disastrous choice of Cathie Black as schools chancellor. And who was Cathie Black? The CEO of Hearst, who had no experience as an educator and had neither attended nor sent her children to public school. But, as The New York Times reported she moved in the same Upper East Side circles as the billionaire mayor. Bloomberg passed over his qualified African-American Deputy Mayor for Education, Dennis Walcott, to appoint Black, on the grounds that private sector work is more valuable than personal or professional
experience in education. Black went on to make numerous embarrassing gaffes, such as joking that the solution to overcrowding in public schools was more use of birth control and deciding which programs to cut is like deciding which child would die in the Holocaust. Four deputy chancellors quit, and she was gone in three months. Coming on the heels of Bloombergs ineffective response to the blizzard last winter, Bloomberg is now widely viewed as a diminished mayor. Blacks experience demonstrates that making a profit in the private sector and serving diverse constituencies in a democratic republic are very different skills. While some people may possess both, the two should never be conflated. But politicians arent known for letting facts get in the way of a
good story. And so Romney continues to run on his record of job creation despite having laid off thousands of workers and presided over anemic job growth in Massachusetts when he was governor. And thats how you know hes a politician, not an angel sent from the private sector to save us. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
For more of this story, read here. Photo credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid (Jon Huntsman at Thomson Reuters event in New York) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read
the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
China to issue key policies to boost development of Inner Mongolia - Xinhua

(china - Google News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:54:42 PM
Residents describe 'scary' China riots - AFP

Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:45:00 PM
Xinhua China to issue key policies to boost development of Inner Mongolia Xinhua BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -China's central government on Wednesday discussed policies to boost overall development of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region, pledging especially to lift the living standards of local residents, improve ecology,... China pledges to improve lives in Inner Mongolia The Associated Press China vows help for Inner Mongolia after unrest AFP China to Promote Economic Development in Inner Mongolia Region Bloomberg all 113 news articles
New Yorker (blog) Residents describe 'scary' China riots AFP ZENGCHENG, China Residents of a southern Chinese
town on Wednesday described frightening scenes of overturned cars engulfed in flames and armed police out in force after days of violent clashes. A heavy security presence remained on the streets of... China Blocks Some Web Searches About Migrant Protests
PCWorld China Stamps Out Southern Unrest Wall Street Journal Unhappy rural migrants threaten China stability:state think tank Reuters BBC News- New Yorker (blog)The Australian all 525 news articles
China's "Born in the USA" Frenzy (Time.com)

(Yahoo! News: Most Popular)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:35:00 AM
Time.com - More and more welloff Chinese women are going to the United States to give birth to
their children. But while an American passport can certainly be beneficial, it can also be more of a hassle than one might expect
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Exclusive: U.S. debated oil reserve swap before OPEC: sources (Reuters)
(Yahoo! News: Most Viewed)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:50:16 AM
By Jeff Mason and Richard Mably WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - It was to be a swap felt around the world a plan privately discussed by the world's largest oil exporter and the globe's biggest consumer to take the heat out of $120-plus oil prices. In the weeks leading up to the failed June OPEC meeting, U.S. and Saudi officials met to discuss surprising the market with an unprecedented arrangement: exchanging urgently-needed highquality crude oil stored in the U.S. emergency reserve for heavier, low-quality oil from Saudi Arabia, according to people familiar with the plan. The idea involved shipping some of the light low-sulphur, or "sweet," crude out of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to European refiners, who needed it after the war in Libya cut off shipments of its premium crude varieties coveted for making gasoline and diesel. In return Saudi Arabia would sell its heavier high-sulphur or "sour" crude at a discount back to the United States to top up the caverns that hold America's emergency stocks. It was a striking suggestion, one
that would have demonstrated Washington's readiness to put the SPR to extraordinary use and Riyadh's willingness to work creatively with consumers to quell high prices. But it did not make it past the drawing board, four sources familiar with the talks confirmed. The sources disagree on which country proposed the plan. Two said it fell apart because Riyadh was not willing to subsidize European or U.S. customers by discounting its crude prices below market value. PAIN IN THE POLLS The swap idea illustrates a recently deepening engagement between Saudi Arabia and the United States on oil affairs under President Barack Obama, and shows how high the stakes were ahead of the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on June 8 in Vienna. With gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon in many parts of the United States, Obama was seeing his support ebb in opinion polls, just as the White House was beginning to focus on the 2012 election. The Saudis were concerned about the health of the global economy with oil prices surging above $100 a barrel. Riyadh knew that high prices, while good for short-
term income, would cut fuel demand over the longer term. Washington had pressed Saudi Arabia to boost oil production at least twice ahead of the OPEC meeting that ended in failure, sources told Reuters. After war broke out in Libya and its oil output fell, the Saudis complied with the initial request, but they weren't happy when European refiners didn't jump to buy their crude, even a "special brew" of lighter quality, an Arab official said. "We need someone to take our crude. We don't just want to store it," the official said. Industry sources described a "difficult" Riyadh meeting that a U.S. delegation held about a month ago with Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi. "They were told, 'If you're going to find us extra refineries that are asking for demand, we'll supply that,'" the Arab official said. Deputies from the U.S. Energy and Treasury departments also visited Riyadh to make the case for stepped-up oil production, a source close to the Saudi government said, although the timing of this meeting was unclear. One of the officials who attended that meeting was Jonathan Elkind, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and
International Affairs at the Energy Department, a source told Reuters. Within days, Elkind was flying to Paris for a regular meeting of the board of governors of the Parisbased International Energy Agency, which speaks for 28 industrialized oil consumer countries. After that meeting, the governing board released an unusually blunt statement urging OPEC to raise output and announcing that it would consider using "all the tools" at its disposal - a clear reference to emergency reserves. The U.S. State and Energy Departments would not comment on whether the meetings took place or offer other details, while the White House has acknowledged regular talks with producers without being specific about their content. PRESSURES BUILD Set up in 1974 to protect oil consumers after the Arab oil embargo, the IEA has held an open and cordial dialogue with OPEC ever since the Gulf War in 1990-1991, one of only two times it has authorized a global release of strategic stocks. But the May 20 missive suggested a new cooling in the relationship between the world's big oil consumers and producers, and provoked a backlash from
some in OPEC. "Strategic reserves should be kept for their purpose and not used as a weapon against OPEC," OPEC Secretary General Abdullah alBadri told the Reuters Global Energy and Climate Summit on Tuesday. "We never interfere in the IEA and really we don't want them to interfere in our business. They should do it in a professional manner. We should not talk to each other through the media." Washington appears to have mostly heeded that comment, and kept quiet about its engagement, in contrast to previous administrations. In April, Obama - who has several times blamed speculators for the run-up in prices - made a rare public call for world oil producers to boost production. "We are in a lot of conversations with major oil producers like Saudi Arabia," he said in a Detroit television interview. The tension within the cartel boiled over last week in Vienna, when seven members of the group balked at a Saudi-led plan to increase production. While ministers said the breakdown was caused by differing views over the market outlook in the second half of this year, Iran blamed EXCLUSIVE: page 7
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Obama, Boehner golf to get debt talks out of rough (Reuters)

Submitted at 6/15/2011 12:25:12 AM
game is the first major step by them to open lines of communication in negotiations in By Thomas Ferraro and Tim Reid which the two sides are sharply WASHINGTON (Reuters) divided over how to reduce the President Barack Obama and country's huge deficits. Republican leader John Boehner "It is an opportunity for me and will hit the golf course on John to talk about some issues Saturday with many hoping that that are of importance to the over 18 holes they can knock American people," Obama said of Washington's troubled debt limit the golf game in a television talks out of the rough. interview. Obama and Boehner, Speaker of Obama and Boehner will be the House of Representatives, will joined in their game at a yet-to-be play golf together for the first -disclosed golf course in the time and discuss how to reach a W a s h i n g t o n a r e a b y V i c e deal to raise the country's $14.3 President Joe Biden and Ohio trillion debt limit by August 2 to R e p u b l i c a n G o v e r n o r J o h n avoid the first default in U.S. K a s i c h . history. Biden is an excellent golfer and a U.S. presidents have been gifted schmoozer who has been playing golf with friends and foes leading debt-limit negotiations for years. They often find it a w i t h a b i p a r t i s a n g r o u p o f good way to talk candidly and -- l a w m a k e r s s i n c e M a y . between putts and drives, shanks As former chairman of the House and hooks -- unearth some budget committee, Kasich is an common ground, apart from expert on federal financial matters divots. and, just as important to this "It is an important time to relax game, a close friend of Boehner. and talk -- as long as you aren't Republican Senator Richard hitting it into the rough all day -- Burr, who has played golf with and do deals," said James Thurber Boehner, said he expects the of American University's Center speaker's goal in the golf match for Congressional and Presidential will be to defeat the Democratic Studies. president. Democratic and Republican aides "John does everything to win," say any debt limit deal will Burr said. "John is a very serious ultimately have to be forged by golfer, so I imagine he will Obama and Boehner, and the golf engage the president in any
conversation the president would like to. But John is very focused on his golf game." Boehner underscored that on Tuesday, telling reporters, "Saturday, is about golf and I hope it's just about golf." A Republican aide acknowledged though that the debt talks would likely be discussed. The White House says no debt deal will be struck during the golf outing, but the subject will be broached. HANDICAPPING OBAMA "This is a good way to begin the discussion with Boehner without everyone around. It's a good thing to do. I don't know whether it will work or not," Thurber said. Under the bonhomie that will be on show during the game, the stakes could not be higher. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned that failure to raise the borrowing cap by August 2 will trigger turmoil in the bond markets and economic "catastrophe." Biden's talks have made progress, but his seven-member group has run into roadblocks on the issues of healthcare and taxes, making the involvement of Obama and Boehner even more critical. The president and Boehner are both avid golfers, although the speaker -- with a handicap of 8 to Obama's 17 -- is a far better
player. Obama does not publicly release his scores but Golf Digest has interviewed his golfing partners to estimate his handicap. Boehner, who has demanded "trillions" of dollars in spending cuts as the price of a deal to raise the borrowing cap, said he agreed with a suggestion he heard on TV that he could give Obama some strokes to make the game more even. But the speaker warned the president that it could cost him "a trillion dollars (in cuts) per stroke." Boehner won't be giving Biden any strokes. With a handicap of just 6.3, the vice president is ranked 29th in Golf Digest's top 150 Washington golfers -- 14 places above Boehner. The 18-hole round, which can take roughly four hours, is also seen as an opportunity for Obama and Biden to get to know Boehner better. Biden in particular has little personal history with Boehner. Obama and Boehner forged a respectful working relationship during negotiations this year to avoid a government shutdown, though both sides complain that communications are still poor. Boehner told reporters on June 1 that the White House rarely telephones him, while
administration officials privately gripe that Boehner has refused invitations to state dinners. John Feehery, a former senior House Republican aide, said of the Obama-Boehner relationship: "I think they will be friendly. I'm not sure they will ever be friends." Fifteen of the last 18 U.S. presidents have been golfers, and many have used the game to strike political deals. Lyndon Johnson rounded up votes for the 1965 Civil Rights Act on the golf course, while Bill Clinton often used the game to negotiate with allies and opponents. But Obama, who has played more than 60 rounds of golf since becoming president, has until now rarely used the game as a means of politicking, preferring instead to play with friends. In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes in December, Boehner said: "Playing golf with someone is a great way to really get to know someone. You start trying to hit that little white ball. You can't be somebody that you're not because all of you shows up." If Boehner does post a better score in the game, he will be ignoring advice given by Lyndon Johnson: "In politics, never go out on a golf course and beat the president." OBAMA, page 11
EXCLUSIVE:
unspecified "consumer countries" for influencing the debate. "What happened shows OPEC is an independent organization," OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi told Reuters. "If one wants to exert pressure to make the others give up - no." The Kingdom declared it would go it alone. Sources say Saudi Arabia is raising production in July by nearly 1 million bpd to around 10 million bpd, although Brent crude oil prices have continued to press higher, reaching a five-week peak of more than $120 a barrel on Tuesday. PRECEDENT FOR A SWAP The Strategic Petroleum Reserve can be a powerful tool, but in the past it has been reserved almost exclusively to aid U.S. refiners caught in a genuine shortage of supply; the last SPR release came after the Katrina hurricane in 2005, when Gulf Coast oil fields and refiners were idled. Its storage caverns in Texas and Louisiana have more than 700 million barrels of oil but most importantly they contain nearly 300 million barrels of sweet crude, which gives refiners a better yield of low-sulphur automotive fuels. That's theoretically enough to meet total U.S. demand for more than two weeks. The idea of swapping oil of differing qualities from the U.S.
strategic reserves is not completely novel. Royal Dutch Shell made a similar proposal to exchange its own sweet crude for heavy oil from the SPR a number of years ago, at a time when the premium for sweet crude had surged to a record high versus Gulf sour oil. The idea gained no traction with the Bush Administration, and the need for such a swap today appears to some even less relevant. While the premium for Nigeria's light-sweet Bonny Light crude surged to a record over $4 a barrel in the weeks following the halt in Libya's 1 million bpd of exports, it has since then dropped by half. While oil prices remain high, traders say, the argument that it is due to a shortage of a specific sweet type of oil is difficult to make. "It's a moot point," said a senior trading official with a major oil company. "U.S. Gulf is soggy with West African crude." US-SAUDI STRAINS The failure of the oil swap idea comes amid the most tense USSaudi relationship in decades, with Saudis most recently upset at how the United States treated former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a fellow Sunni Arab leader, who had been a strong U.S. ally. "The Saudis are very, very angry at what happened with Egypt.
They felt it was a betrayal, that the United States cannot be trusted as an ally," said Gal Luft, executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a Washington-based think-tank focused on energy security. The Saudis were infuriated by Obama administration criticism of Bahrain's violent crackdown on demonstrators. They saw Bahrain's repressed Shiite Muslims as the vanguard of attempts by majority-Shiite Iran, Saudi Arabia's long-time adversary, to spread its influence in the Arab heartland. Adding to tensions are concerns about U.S. monetary policy and the value of the U.S. dollar, which have a direct impact on Saudi profits and revenues, Luft said. "They want to make sure that they don't get screwed. On the one hand, they increase production, and on the other hand, the dollar declines, and they lose on both sides. "A few dollars here and there is OK, but $80 a barrel is a big problem now for the Saudis. A really, really big problem," he said. Worried by unrest sweeping the Arab world, the world's top oil exporter has pledged to spend about $130 billion, or around 30 percent of its annual economic output, on social programs to help the poor.
PAGE FROM THE OLD PLAYBOOK The question now is how will the tensions affect the level of contact between the two countries. The Obama administration has been more discreet in its talks about expanding world production, focusing most of its public efforts on ways to reduce oil imports. Bill Richardson, who served as energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, was known for strongly lobbying OPEC and even calling during one of their meetings to press the U.S. position on production. President George W. Bush also famously pledged to jawbone OPEC members to get them to open their spigots, although his administration also used "quiet diplomacy" with the cartel. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a scientist and Nobel Prize winner in physics, said early in his tenure that pressing OPEC about production was not his "domain," a gaffe he quickly corrected. "Our approach is to have an active dialogue between major producers and consumers," an Obama administration official said. "We think it's important to have good, frank open conversations in private and try to work with each other." Some analysts believe the golden days are over for U.S.-Saudi negotiations on oil supply, now
that Saudis have more reason than ever to keep prices high, and with new competitors like China and India seeking long-term supplies. "We're not facing a future of price spikes, we're facing a future of permanently high prices," said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House energy advisor who now works with the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. "Pleading with OPEC will yield diminishing returns in this new era of oil security. It doesn't mean it's not worth doing - but there are so many other factors in the geopolitics of OPEC right now that are more important to them," Bledsoe said. (Reporting by Richard Mably in London; Warren Strobel, Jeff Mason, Roberta Rampton, Ayesha Rascoe and Tom Doggett in Washington, and Matthew Robinson and Jonathan Leff in New York; Editing by Russell Blinch) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
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Copious: A Marketplace Where Everyone Knows Your Name

E.B. Boyd (Fast Company)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:02:44 AM
The first wave of the Web was about anonymity and aliases. The next wave, led by Facebook, is about real identities. Here's how that's going to change online commerce. About the"Baked In" series: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg likes to say that social dynamics are going to work their way into every industry, and the companies of the future will be the ones that bake them in from the beginning, rather than slapping them on as an afterthought. This series takes a look at companies that are discovering new opportunities by using social components in the foundations of their businesses. If youve ever bought anything on eBay or Craigslist, youve felt that twinge of anxiety that comes from handing over your hardearned cash to a complete stranger. Neither site, after all, requires sellers to provide their real names. Copious, a new online marketplace that leverages Facebooks social graph, and that goes live today, thinks it can help diminish that anxietyas well as turn a host of online commerce paradigms on their head. Like eBay or Craigslist, Copious is a place where people can buy
and sell thingsanyone from large retailers to Etsy-style small businesses to your Aunt Martha cleaning out her attic. But unlike eBay or Craigslist, Copious weaves in social tools that increase your confidence in the sellers you buy from. If it succeeds, Copious could produce the next major paradigm shift in online commerce, a business whose primary
conventions have remained more or less static since Amazon and eBay arrived on the scene over a decade ago. The paradigm shift starts at Copious home page. Theres nothing to buy, peruse, or review until you log in. And as with question-and-answer site Quora, you cant make up any old login. You have to use your Facebook ID.
Thats because, co-founder and former head of Facebook marketing Jonathan Ehrlich tells Fast Company, if the first wave of interpersonal interaction on the Web was characterized by aliases and anonymity, the next wave, fueled by Facebook and the push its made to have people use their real names online, will be about people using what Copious calls authentic identity.
It allows the buyer and seller to see each other through the lens of their network, Ehrlich says. Buyers can build comfort with the sellers via the power of that connection. Once inside the site, each Copious user has a personal page that looks very much like a Facebook page. They can choose COPIOUS: page 14
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What The Past Can Tell Us About A Future "Super-Greenhouse" World

Curt Stager (Fast Company)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:48:34 AM
Fifty-six million years ago, enough carbon leaked into the atmosphere to alter the climate and acidify the ocean. The same thing is happening now, much faster. But this time, we know what's going to happen, and it isn't pretty. Even the most extreme natural global warming episode of the last 65 million years can't hold a candle to what we're doing to the atmosphere now. If a new study of layered rock deposits from the Norwegian Arctic is correct, then we're releasing carbon dioxide 10 times faster than at any other time since the dinosaurs died out. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), is one of the best geo-historical examples of what a future super-greenhouse could be like. It happened about 56 million years ago, and although nobody knows exactly what triggered it, numerous studies show that carbon emissions were the main culprits-perhaps arising from various coal seams, limy organic ocean muds, and frozen methane ices. This, of course, was long before people appeared on Earth, so we immolating carbon-rich marine had nothing to do with it. deposits. Instead, undersea volcanism What did the PETM do to the might instead have started it by planet and its inhabitants? Carbon
dioxide concentrations jumped as much as five times higher than those in our present atmosphere, adding at least 10F to climates
that were already much warmer than today and probably finishing off what little ice and snow may have whitened the polar regions in
winter. The greenhouse gas surplus lingered for 150,000 to WHAT page 12
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Pakistan Denies Arresting Army Major for US Ties - Voice of America

(Top Stories - Google News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:30:25 AM
June 15, 2011 Photo: Reuters A resident walks past the compound where U.S. Navy SEAL commandos killed Osama in Abbottabad, Pakistan, May 5, 2011 A report in Wednesday's New York Times quotes unnamed U.S. intelligence officials as saying Pakistan has arrested five people, including a Pakistani military official, accused of passing information to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency prior to last month's U.S. raid in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. The Times report exposes the growing friction between the U.S. and Pakistan in the wake of that operation. The New York Times article cites unnamed sources in the American intelligence community who claim that the five detainees include a Pakistani army major who copied the license plate numbers of cars visiting Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in the weeks leading up to the May 2 U.S. raid. Pakistani military spokesman Brigadier General Syed Azmat Ali emphasized that no Pakistani military personnel have been
detained in relation to the Abbottabad raid. "We categorically deny that any such or any army officer was arrested in connection with this," said Azmat Ali. The military spokesman did confirm that there have been arrests in the wake of the May 2 raid, but he would not clarify what the charges were or whether those being held were being prosecuted, as the Times' article
claims, because they assisted the CIA. "Yes, there have been arrests after the incident has happened," added Azmat Ali. "I can't give the details of the arrests because anyone involved with that locality or that compound, they were arrested and they're the arrests we are talking about. And they are under investigation and some of them might be cleared." According to The New York
budget. The onslaught of criticism of the military is virtually unprecedented here, and has plunged the country into a seemingly endless state of crisis. For retired General Talat Masood, the military, the intelligence services and the government are responding to the situation poorly. He says they should be proactive rather than simply trying to save face, particularly in responding to the fact that Bin Laden was able to hide out in Pakistan. "We have to see whether the Pakistan intelligence services are trying to find out as to how he was living here, what were the sources of his support," said Masood. "But the government, the military leadership and the intelligence leadership seem to be more concerned about their image. They should not be, Times, CIA Director Leon Panetta because the best way to preserve raised the issue of the detained your image is by trying to Pakistani informants when he confront the weaknesses rather than trying to cover them up." visited Islamabad last week. The Abbottabad raid, along with There have also been calls for o t h e r r e c e n t i n c i d e n t s , h a s action from U.S. authorities who, i n c r e a s e d p r e s s u r e o n t h e according to the Times article, are P a k i s t a n i m i l i t a r y b o t h frustrated that the Pakistanis seem internationally and domestically. more concerned with damage The accusations against Pakistan's control in the wake of the Bin military range from complicity in Laden raid than with actually extremist activity to outright PAKISTAN page 11 incompetence, despite its massive
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Texas Gov. Rick Perry Gives Clearest Sign Yet of Presidential Run
(Christianpost.com > Politics)
PAKISTAN
our country is in trouble. Despite Cavutos nudging on Submitted at 6/15/2011 4:11:19 AM when he should be expected to announce his run for the GOP (Photo: Reuters/Sean Gardner) presidential nomination, Perry Texas Governor Rick Perry remained noncommittal. We gestures during a speech at the have some time, he said. 2 0 1 0 S o u t h e r n R e p u b l i c a n How much time, the host asked. Leadership Conference in New Like us on Facebook Orleans, Louisiana April 9, 2010. Its a thought process that I think As many as 3,000 party activists I need to go through as an a r e t o a t t e n d t h e f o u r - d a y individual, realizing the cost of Southern Republican Leadership [it] both physically and mentally, Conference, the most prominent what it does to me, my family gathering of Republicans outside Im not sure you have to make a of their presidential nominating decision in a month, Perry conventions. replied. Prior to the Fox News interview, Perry told Fox News host Neil Perry told Jay Root of The Texas Cavuto he was certainly giving it Tribune Tuesday that Republican the appropriate thought process, activists dominating the GOP signaling a clear departure from presidential primary process were his ambiguous statement to looking for more options, alluding reporters late last month that Im to the possibility of his candidacy. going to think about it but I Its pretty interestingPeople think about a lot of things. would like to have some other Perry, the longest-serving options in the race, obviously, he governor in Texas history, told was quoted as saying. the host, Six weeks ago, this was Politico on Tuesday quoted an not on my radar scene. anonymous source as saying that What has changed? Cavuto Perry was seen with Dave Carney, asked. Perry said his wife Anita his longtime advisor, at his side at and his supporters asked him to a luncheon in Midtown Manhattan give this a second thought as with about 30 political insiders
pursuing the leads that the raid produced.* Required By using this form you agree to the following: All comments will be reviewed before posting. Be aware - not all submissions will be posted. VOA has the right to use your comments worldwide in any VOA produced media. Terms and people close to New Yorks president Michael Keegan said in & Conditions financial community. a statement Monday of Perrys This entry passed through the Whats more, a pro-business prayer event, The Response, Full-Text RSS service if this is g r o u p , A m e r i c a n s f o r J o b planned for August in a Houston your content and you're reading it Security, placed online ads in stadium, was an inappropriate on someone else's site, please read New Hampshire, highlighting behavior for a presidential the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentPerrys economic record, Politico candidate alleging it was intended only/faq.php#publishers. Five reported Monday. to convert people to Christianity. Filters featured article: Ten Years A vocal critic of President Barack Keegan based the allegation on a Of Media Lens - Our Problem Obama, Perry seems prepared to statement by the spokesperson of With Mainstream Dissidents. showcase his success in creating Perrys event, Eric Bearse, on jobs in Texas as part of his American Family Radio. Bearse campaign. During the Fox News had said that anyone who comes interview, Perry said it was t o t h i s s o l e m n a s s e m b l y pretty simple You keep those regardless of their faith tradition OBAMA, taxes low and the regulatory or background, will feel the love, continued from page 6 c l i m a t e f a i r a n d b a l a n c e d , grace, and warmth of Jesus Christ Traditionally, out of respect to predictable. in that assembly hall, in that the commander-in-chief and his Perry said GOP policies also arena. And thats what we want to guests, the scores in a presidential benefit the Hispanic, Anglo and convey, that theres acceptance golf match are not publicly Asian communities in Texas. and that theres love and that disclosed. They want to live in a state theres hope if people will seek (Editing by Ross Colvin and where they can be free from over out the living Christ. Mohammad Zargham) taxation, over litigation. They This entry passed through the This entry passed through the want to be able to have good Full-Text RSS service if this is Full-Text RSS service if this is schools for their kids and have a your content and you're reading it your content and you're reading it wide-open future. Thats what the on someone else's site, please read on someone else's site, please read Republican Party is all about. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentAs the speculation over Perrys only/faq.php#publishers. Five only/faq.php#publishers. Five candidacy is rising, some of his Filters featured article: Ten Years Filters featured article: Ten Years critics appear to be ready to attack Of Media Lens - Our Problem Of Media Lens - Our Problem him, including on account of his With Mainstream Dissidents. With Mainstream Dissidents. Christian faith. People for the American Way
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Top News/ Obituaries
WHAT
200,000 years, and turned the deepest parts of the oceans into stagnant, acidified dead zones. As unpleasant as being suffocated to death by the carbonic acid bath must have been for many deep-sea denizens, the PETM wasn't the great mass extinction or ecological "disaster" that some media accounts describe it as. Most of the extinctions occurred among a relatively narrow range of organisms--including tiny oceandwelling amoebae--but in shallower waters and on land, most species pulled through. No polar bears survived the PETM, but that's not because of warming; it's because the hot spell happened so far back in time that bears hadn't even evolved yet. In fact, none of our modern mammals existed back then, and a tour of the Earth of 56 million years ago would reveal a fantastical menagerie that included hoofed, carnivorous "wolf-sheep" and our earliest, lemur-like primate ancestors scampering freely among universally warm latitudes and
continents. Dawn redwood forests ringed the shorelines of the icefree Arctic Ocean, and lush beech woods covered Antarctica. Deep ocean life suffered the most because the huge slug of carbon dioxide acidified the bottom waters (much as we see beginning to happen today), and greenhouse warming may also have slowed or stopped the sinking of well-oxygenated polar waters to the sea floor. These facts are well known to geo-historians, but this latest study adds a new wrinkle to the PETM story by comparing it explicitly to what's going on today. So what, if anything, is the value of such a finding to us here and now? The article posits one lesson: Although many species survived the rapid onset of the PETM greenhouse, it doesn't mean that modern biodiversity isn't threatened by today's gas buildup--because this time it's happening much faster than before. Still, some relatively recent natural climatic changes have actually been just as abrupt as
our present warming; perhaps that's why the paper focuses on CO2 buildups rather than temperature. Furthermore, we simply don't know how adaptable most species on Earth are--we haven't even cataloged all of them yet. And regardless of how the pace of that earlier event compares with our own, today's species didn't live through it anyway. The most compelling lesson is that yet another independent, peer -reviewed exploration of the past has shown that a supergreenhouse is not just the delusional fantasy of envirodoomsayers. Scott Wing, a top PETM expert with the Smithsonian Institution, thinks that this kind of study is especially important because it clearly shows that adding lots of CO2 to the atmosphere does warm the planet and make the oceans more acidic. "People can be as skeptical as they want about global warming resulting from human carbon emissions," he told me recently, "but the geological fact is that this kind of
thing really has happened before." This latest addition to the PETM story offers us a warning. For the first time, billions of people and swarms of powerful machines are unearthing and igniting fossil carbon deposits on a planetary scale. This means that even the best paleo studies can't fully inform us about what lies ahead, and we're essentially driving ourselves and our planet into the future with our eyes half closed. But I suppose we knew that already, didn't we? [Image by Flickr user echobase_2000] Curt Stager is an ecologist, paleoclimatologist, and science journalist with a Ph.D. in biology and geology from Duke University. His new book is DEEP FUTURE: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth(St. Martin's Press, March 2011).
Greek Socialists in power-sharing talks (AP)

Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:45:57 AM
AP - Greece's beleaguered Socialist government is in powersharing talks with the main opposition conservatives, who are negotiating for the resignation of Prime Minister George Papandreou, an opposition official said Wednesday.
1st Libertarian presidential nominee Hospers dies (AP)

(Yahoo! News: Obituaries)
Submitted at 6/14/2011 4:57:29 PM
AP - John Hospers, a philosophy professor who in 1972 became the Libertarian Party's first presidential candidate, died in Los Angeles. He was 93.
Foreign, China buys of US securities strong in April - AFP

Submitted at 6/15/2011 4:00:00 PM
Independent Online Foreign, China buys of US
securities strong in April AFP WASHINGTON Foreign demand for US securities remained strong in April despite
worry about the country's debt level, with China buying more Treasury bonds for the first time since October, the Treasury said Wednesday. Net foreign buying
of US long... TIC: China Net Buyer Of US Tsys In April; Remains Top Holder Wall Street Journal all 109 news articles
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Devon soul star Joss Stone keeps roots in county - BBC News
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:25:54 AM
15 June 2011 Last updated at 11:22 ET The singer has a fortune of about 9m, says the Sunday Times Rich list Joss Stone, the Devon-raised singer who became a soul star, is believed to be the target of an alleged murder conspiracy plot. She experienced success from a young age - but, despite that, has maintained her roots in the county, with local people saying she kept strong links with the community. Born Joscelyn Stoker in Dover, Kent, she was brought up on soul music by her mother, Wendy. She said she had enjoyed singing since she had been a toddler and, after moving to Devon, began performing at school. At the age of 13 she won the BBC's Junior Star For A Night talent contest, singing the Donna Summer hit On The Radio. That led to an American record deal, resulting in her first album, The Soul Sessions, in 2003. The record, a collection of covers recorded in four days, was
released to critical acclaim, going gold in America. She was 16 when she had her first hit - Fell In Love With A Boy - in 2004, and had just turned 17 when she won best British Female Solo Artist and British Urban Act at the Brit Awards. Her vocals saw her hailed in the United States as "the white Aretha Franklin" and she has enjoyed success on both sides of the Atlantic. Stone has also found herself in demand for advertising campaigns. She has been the face of clothing chain Gap, and also starred in an advert for Cadbury's Flake. In 2006, she was named the youngest woman on the Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated fortune of 6m, which has since increased to an estimated 9m. The singer has also turned her hand to acting, first appearing in movies in the fantasy film Eragon in 2006. Royal connections She also played the role of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's fourth wife, in the BBC drama The Tudors.
barefoot on stage - said that charity work was important to her, including projects she had been involved with in Uganda. People living near her home in Devon said she was regularly seen. BBC South West Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Hall said people in the Cullompton area said that she was still a popular figure in the county. He said: "Now some celebrities As well as playing a former might be seen as remote, only king's wife, her royal connections staying in Devon because it's also include her being friends fashionable, a good place to have with the the future king, Prince a home. William, and was among the "Not Joss Stone, she's regarded as guests at his wedding. Joss Stone doing work in the local often performs barefoot, as seen community, so she is well liked here at Glastonbury 2004 here." She is also known for This entry passed through the connections to music royalty, too. Full-Text RSS service if this is She recently teamed up with your content and you're reading it Rolling Stones frontman Mick on someone else's site, please read Jagger and Eurythmics star and the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentrecord producer Dave Stewart in a only/faq.php#publishers. Five new group called Super Heavy. Filters featured article: Ten Years Stone once said she would Of Media Lens - Our Problem become a social worker if her With Mainstream Dissidents. showbiz career was not a success. Speaking to BBC Devon in 2009, the singer - who often performs
Idaho house infested with snakes, exresidents say (AP)

Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:19:26 AM
AP - The five-bedroom house sits on pastoral acreage in the rural Idaho countryside. At a price less than $180,000, it seemed a steal.
Ultra Exclusive Viking Supercars The Zenvo ST1 50S is Limtied to Three Models (TrendHunter.com)
(TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:37:02 AM
( TrendHunter.com) Danish car maker Zenvo is bringing the ST1 to American shores, and to celebrate they are releasing the ultra exclusive Zenvo ST1 50S. Only three models of the 50S are set to be made, with the car serving...
BUY WITH ME!

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CITY! Get the Best Deals in ANY
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World News/
COPIOUS:
Facebook page. They can choose to follow other users. A feed lists the recent activity of the people they follow. And, drawing on the interests they've listed in Facebook (and that they've elected to share with Copious), the site provides a list of recommendations. The pages for items for sale similarly use sellers Facebook identities to identify them. They also include social signals, like whether anyone in your network is friends with that person and whether anyone has bought anything from them before. This people first, products second approach, as Copious calls it, turns traditional commerce paradigms on their head. Reputation no longer rests on how many items a vendor has sold before and the ratings other buyers have given them. Instead, it rests on a social filter. Each seller gets a rating that looks like the bars on your cellphone indicating the quality of
reception youre getting in your present location. The Copious rating (the orange "people" bars in the image at right), however, indicates the strength of the social signals connecting a buyer to a particular seller. Thats not the only way Copious is resetting commerce paradigms. Through something the company calls social pricing, sellers can choose to offer discounts to buyers who share an item with their networks or who choose to follow the seller. The idea isnt so much to encourage more purchases of that particular itemthough that would be nice. Instead, its more a form of super-targeted display advertising. The assumption is that some proportion of people in a buyers social network will have the same tastes as the buyer, so getting the buyer to share an item or favorite a seller produces a kind of brand advertising among people who, Copious assumes, might be likely
future customers. And since that's worth something to the seller, they "pay" for the advertising via discounts to people who perform those actions and subsequently buy from the seller. The last paradigm shift centers on allowing users to have conversations with each other. Traditional commerce sites have long allowed users to review items. But increasingly users online are expecting to be able to talk with each other about the things they care about--whether on Facebook or Twitter, for example. Copious believes that commerce sites should allow their users to have those kinds of conversations with each other as well, not just to exchange information about a product, or to review it, but to simply to have a place to express their enthusiasms. About 50 vendors are on board for the launch, many of them from the handbag industry, which Copious pinpointed as a segment
that would work particularly well in this new environment. For objects that are laden with passion, like purses, social conversations around the product are really important, Ehrlich says. Ehrlich cautions that todays launch is a very preliminary beta. The company is going out the door with certain assumptionsincluding the biggest one, that leveraging to a 700-million-strong social network can add whole new dimensions to online commerce. But, Ehrlich says, the company will be watching how buyers and sellers actually use the site, and will iterate based on what they see, all the while trying to figure out how best to work within this new context. E.B. Boyd is FastCompany.com's Silicon Valley reporter. Twitter. Email.
RIL apologises to Chidambaram for 'unwarranted, derogatory' remarks - Times of India

(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:56:04 PM
UK Tamils fear forced deportation - BBC News

Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:57:34 PM
TelecomTiger RIL apologises to Chidambaram for 'unwarranted, derogatory' remarks Times of India PTI | Jun 15, 2011, 09.18pm IST NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Wednesday tendered a "profuse apology" to home minister P Chidambaram for remarks by one of its staff purportedly suggesting he was a beneficiary in the 2G spectrum scam.... Cong dismisses allegations against Chidambaram IBNLive.com Explain Chidambaram's role in 2G scam: BJP to PM Rediff 2G scam: Chidambaram hits back, issues legal notice Newstrack India Economic Times- Indian Express - The Hindu all 41 news articles
Telegraph.co.uk UK Tamils fear forced deportation BBC News
About 20 Tamil asylum seekers facing the prospect of being deported from Britain to Sri Lanka have told the BBC that their lives are in danger. Media reports say that they will be deported from the UK on a
chartered... Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, Channel 4's Sri Lanka C h a n n e l 4, review documentary draws 700000 T e l e g r a p h . c o . u k viewers The Guardian Channel 4 News- Evening Last Night's TV - Sri Lanka's Standard- AFP Killing Fields, Channel 4; Luther, all 400 news articles BBC1 The Independent
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Sony's Music Unlimited On Android Joins The Mobile Streaming Tunes Fray
Kit Eaton (Fast Company)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:00:08 AM
Sony's not being held back by its recent woes. Instead, it's taking its new cloud-based music system mobile for the first time. Sony's Music Unlimited system, through its Qriocity cloud portal, is about to hit Android phones in the U.S., France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand--the first time Sony's put its service on a mobile device. Music Unlimited was launched in the U.K. in December 2010 and hit the states in January of this year, streaming music from Sony's own extensive recording archive and other music labels to Sony devices. The experiment came to a horrible clunking halt during the recent spate of highprofile hack attacks targeting Sony's online assets, but is now back online. The new "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" app on the Android market is Sony's latest attempt to earn revenue from the system, which has already been available via PS3s, connected Bravia TVs and other static machines, and it's
tapping into the current vogue for streaming music. For $9.99 a month you'll get multi-device compatibility, some basic ad-free curated channels "categorized by genre, era as well as mood through SensMe technology," a personalization service which learns your preferences, playlists, on-demand playback, some premium content channels and other features. A $3.99 monthly subscription gets
you a more limited list of services, but both subscriptions offer access to Sony's "Music Sync" system that lets you "scan and match your existing music files and playlists on your PC to the service for playback on compatible devices at anytime." And this sounds a lot like a cloudbased music locker very much in the vein of what Google and Amazon offer--Sony even goes as far as noting it's compatible with
"playlists from other media players including iTunes." Kazuo Hirai, the deputy president of Sony Corp says in a press release: "Music Unlimited ...for Android is the next evolution of the service which enhances the value proposition for our customers." This new tweak has got some serious push behind it, Sony fans. But can it allow Sony to really make a splash in the mobile music
streaming game? Sure there are some nice tweaks that its rivals can't match, but $9.99 a month doesn't compare to Apple's $29 a year for iTunes Match or Amazon's low-price 20GB music locker access--which is being pushed as a free purchase when you buy an MP3 album from Amazon's store. Will users be prepared to spend between $48 and $120 to access Sony's seven million licensed tracks and benefit from a mood-based curated channel using Sony's high-tech SensMe system? There is, after all, stiff competition from the likes of Pandora (currently ascendant) and upcoming challenges from Spotify and Apple. It's a telling move, too, that the inventor of the Walkman and a doomed range of MP3 players is now putting its mobile music chops on a Googlepowered suite of phones and tablets. [Image: Flickr user markolino] Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.
Sainsbury's sales growth below forecasts: reaction

(Finance News - Business news from the UK and world)
Sainsbury's first-quarter sales but were slightly better than growth was below their forecasts, Tesco's recent UK figures. This is
how analysts viewed the figures:
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Top News/ Business/
Only 22 Of 120 Division Jon Huntsman to I Athletic Programs Announce Presidential Bid Made Money Last Year at Statue of Liberty
Dashiell Bennett (Business Insider) (Christianpost.com > Politics)
campaign. The Statue of Liberty would be Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:41:55 AM the backdrop of his formal announcement. (Photo: Reuters/Brendan Huntsman's informal M c D e r m i d ) F o r m e r U t a h announcement comes just days G o v e r n o r J o n H u n t s m a n i s after his interview on CNNs greeted after speaking at an event State of the Union aired. During hosted by Thomson Reuters in the interview, he told CNN's N e w Y o r k , J u n e 1 4 , 2 0 1 1 . Candy Crowley that he used the Huntsman will announce his bid l a s t f e w m o n t h s t o m a k e f o r t h e W h i t e H o u s e n e x t numerous visits to 12 different Tuesday, bringing a moderate states, including New Hampshire. R e p u b l i c a n a n d e x p e r t o n However, he did not appear in the A m e r i c a ' s f a s t e s t g r o w i n g Monday New Hampshire debate. competitor into the race to Like us on Facebook challenge President Barack During the interview, he revealed Obama in 2012. little about his intentional to run for president, except to say that he After a month of planning and was "a week and a half out" from preparing, Huntsman has made it making his decision. When asked clear that he plans to pursue the why he was waiting, Huntsman GOP nomination for the told Crowley he was still presidency. checking off the boxes on his " I i n t e n d t o a n n o u n c e m y check list, though many aspects candidacy for the presidency of had already been decided. the United States of America a "Is your family supportive? Yes, week from today," he said you check that box. Do you think T u e s d a y d u r i n g a n e v e n t , you can rally enough financial featuring former Secretary of support to make it happen? Yes, State Henry Kissinger, to discuss you check that box. Do you think China policy. Huntsman was the on the ground in the key early former U.S. ambassador to China states New Hampshire, South up until about a month ago when Carolina and Florida you can he quit to plan his election create the presence, excitement
and the enthusiasm that will work? Yea, you check that box," he said. The only boxes remaining, he said, are to meet one last time with the family and write his speech. Huntsman has a lot of work to do in the race. National polls put his name recognition at under 40 percent, the second lowest in the campaign. Additionally, his informal announcement comes on the heels of House Tea Party Caucus leader Michele Bachmann's (R-Minn.) announcement. The Minnesota Congresswoman roused excitement and media attention with her mid-debate announcement that she had just filed the papers for a presidential bid. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
are self-sufficient. Only 1 women's basketball program is. The two biggest drivers of Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:38:17 AM athletic revenue are ticket sales Of the 120 athletic departments and alumni donations. in Division I-A (sorry, the The two biggest expenses are Football Bowl Subdivision) just s c h o l a r s h i p s a n d e m p l o y e e 22 were self-sufficient last year. salaries. Those two items alone That's actually actually an make up more than 50% of all improvement from 2009, when expenses. only 14 schools turned a "profit." The median athletic expense per That figure comes from the student athlete is $90,000. At a NCAA's newest annual report of school in the FCS (the old I-AA), revenues and expense for Division it's $33,000. I sports. The average "surplus" between There's a lot of raw data, but you sports revenue and operating can read the full report here. Or expenses for those 22 schools is check out the NCAA's summary about $7.4 million a year. here. Meanwhile, the median loss for Please follow Sports Page on the remaining 98 program is $11.3 Twitter and Facebook. million. That difference must be Join the conversation about this made up by the institution they story belong to. See Also: Naturally, football is by far the Derek Jeter Is On The Disabled biggest factor, generating 45 List percent of all revenue, which then The Sports Bucket List: 18 must pay for the rest of the S p o r t i n g E v e n t s Y o u M u s t athletic teams. However, nearly Experience Before You Die 51 football programs in the FBS James Shields Red Sox From (43%) fail to turn a profit. Reaching A Ten-Game Winning Other quick facts: Streak 58% of football programs and 56% of men's basketball programs
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St. Anthonys stolen religious relic sparks searches (The Upshot)

State Supreme Court Allows Wisconsin Union Law To Take Effect

Ricky Kreitner (Business Insider)
side." The reverend called the relic invaluable," according to the Submitted at 6/14/2011 5:08:02 PM AP. By Mike Krumboltz Of course, this isn't the first time A 780-year-old treasure honoring thieves have stolen historical St. Anthony of Padua has been artifacts. In fact, the FBI has an stolen from a Southern California entire team dedicated to art theft. Catholic church. Sometimes the pieces are found, The relic, which is normally kept sometimes they aren't. In 2002, under lock and key, was brought thieves stole two paintings by out by the Rev. Jose Magana Vincent Van Gogh from his because he thought it might help museum in Amsterdam. The his parishioners regain their faith paintings, which were never during the difficult economic recovered, are valued at around climate. In a bit of bitter irony, St. $30 million. Law enforcement is Anthony is known as the patron still pursuing leads. saint of lost things. Following Perhaps the most brazen theft news of the theft, web searches on came in 1911, when Leonardo da "st. anthony stolen" and "who was Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen st. anthony" both surged. right off the wall at Louvre in The relic was taken at some point Paris. Believe it or not, it took on Monday, "the feast day of the authorities a day to even realize church's namesake." According to the painting had gone missing. a buzzy article from the AP, the Soon after, a huge search was relic was likely stolen at some conducted. The painting was point between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. recovered in 1913 after two years. When the parishioners realized "The Scream," the world-famous the relic had been taken, there was masterpiece by Edvard Munch, an audible gasp in the church. has been stolen multiple times. A police lieutenant said "the relic The most recent theft occurred in is housed in a 16-inch reliquary 2004 when armed criminals case with angel-shaped handles marched into Oslo's Munch made of gold and silver on either M u s e u m a n d l e f t w i t h t h e
unless the constitution is amended, the Legislature is free to ignore any laws on the books." Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:39:05 AM While the court's decision ends painting. It was recovered in 2006. Just last year, a pre- The Wisconsin State Supreme one challenge to the controversial Columbian figure went missing C o u r t r u l e d T u e s d a y t h a t law, many others are expected as from Mexico before being G o v e r n o r S c o t t W a l k e r ' s the law goes into effect. r e c o v e r e d i n C a l i f o r n i a b y collective bargaining legislation, Thousands of protestors swarmed Customs and Border Protection. p a s s e d i n M a r c h d e s p i t e the state capitol in Madison According to TIME magazine, a widespread opposition, can now yesterday as the decision was announced. huge heist occurred in 1990 when go into effect. two crooks dressed as Boston The decision overrules a lower- Governor Walker released a brief cops tied up museum guards and l e v e l j u d g e w h o h a l t e d statement praising the decision. took several paintings valued at implementation of the law on the "The Supreme Court's ruling $300 million. The artworks were g r o u n d s t h a t R e p u b l i c a n provides our state the opportunity never recovered, leading some to lawmakers violated an open- to move forward together and call it the biggest art heist ever, meetings law by rushing the bill focus on getting Wisconsin and others wondered if the thieves through committee without giving working again," he said. Please follow Politics on Twitter destroyed the art in an effort to the public advance notice. The Supreme Court voted 4-3 and Facebook. hide their guilt. Hopefully, with some help from along widely-recognized partisan Join the conversation about this St. Anthony, the relic won't stay lines, the Wall Street Journal story reports. The majority decision See Also: missing for long. (Photo of the relic: Reuters/ s t a t e d t h a t c o m m i t t e e s o f D e a l O n D e b t C e i l i n g c o u r t e s y L o s A n g e l e s legislators are exempt from the I n c r e a s i n g l y U n l i k e l y open-meetings law. Politics In 60 Seconds: What Archdiocese) This entry passed through the "The majority of the Supreme You Need To Know Right Now Full-Text RSS service if this is Court is essentially saying that the Politics in 60 Seconds: What your content and you're reading it Legislature is above the law," You Need To Know Right Now on someone else's site, please read Assembly Minority Leader Peter the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- Barca told the Milwaukee Journal only/faq.php#publishers. Five Sentinel. "It's now clear that Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
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Top News/ Business/
Casey Anthony Trial Update: Prosecution rests its case against Anthony - CBS News
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:47:26 AM
INSTANT MBA: The Key to Motivating Employees? Stop Trying

Patricia Laya (Business Insider)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:40:10 AM
They also have relied on forensics experts. They've talked about smells of human Casey Anthony sits at the defense decomposition in Anthony's car, table before the start of her searches on her computer, murder trial on June 14, including how to make 2011.(Credit: AP Photo/Red chloroform, and duct tape found Huber) on the girl's skull. (CBS/WKMG/AP) ORLANDO, Caylee vanished in June 2008, Fla. - Prosecutors finished The jury was in the courtroom for and Anthony did not report her presenting their case Wednesday five minutes Wednesday before missing for a month. The child's morning against Casey Anthony, being dismissed with strict orders skeletal remains were found in who is on trial for first-degree not to discuss the case, use social December 2008 in a wooded lot murder in the death of her 2-year- media or watch newscasts. near the Anthony family home. old daughter, Caylee. The defense claims Caylee Anthony's defense team said it Pictures: Casey and Caylee will be ready to call its first drowned in the her grandparents' Anthony, Personal Photos witness on Thursday, but only if a swimming pool. Before resting on the day 19 of standard motion asking the judge Anthony, 25, has pleaded not t h e t r i a l , s t a t e a t t o r n e y s to throw out the case is denied. guilty and faces the death penalty introduced some items into The defense began its arguments if convicted. evidence, including two cans that over the motion after the jury was The Casey Anthony case was contain a portion of the trunk liner dismissed, reports the station. recently reported on by "48 Hours from Anthony's car, which state While presenting numerous Mystery." witnesses and family members of witnesses over the last several Complete coverage of Casey Anthony have said reeked of the weeks, prosecutors have laid out Anthony on Crimesider smell of death the summer of their case, saying that Caylee was This entry passed through the 2008, reports CBS affiliate suffocated with duct tape. A Full-Text RSS service if this is WKMG. medical examiner testified that the your content and you're reading it Judge Belvin Perry also read the cause of death was undetermined on someone else's site, please read definition of "bella vita," the - only the "manner of death" was the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentwords of the tattoo Anthony got ruled to be homicide. only/faq.php#publishers. Five on her back while Caylee was The state has built its mostly Filters featured article: Ten Years missing. In Italian, the words circumstantial case on Anthony's Of Media Lens - Our Problem mean "beautiful life." Anthony conduct and the lies she told about With Mainstream Dissidents. agreed that the definition stated her daughter's whereabouts. was correct, the station reports.
Today's advice comes from Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO of the ICLIF Leadership & Governance Centre in Kuala Lumpur, and author of "Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders": "Most managers struggle when it comes to motivating their employees. They try different incentive plans, methods, and best practices, and still ask themselves what more they can do. And thats the problem. Asking yourself what you can do to motivate your employees is pointless, because however hard you try, you cannot motivate anyone." "The truth is, people are motivated by their own unique self-interest. Trying to motivate employees without knowing what they want is like operating in a vacuum. So stop trying, and start asking." Peshawaria says that if an
employee wants to be challenged more, you should assign them a special project, or if you know about some of their career development interests, you can also try to assign them work in that specific area. Want your business advice featured in Instant MBA? Submit y o u r t i p s t o tipoftheday@businessinsider.com. Be sure to include your name, your job title, and a photo of yourself in your email. Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also: INSTANT MBA: When Your Competitor Does Well, So Do You INSTANT MBA: Legacy Is A Stupid Thing INSTANT MBA: Be Your Weird Self And Forget What Others Think
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Biden Digging for a Tax Hike Deal in D.C. Debt Fight

(FOXNews.com)
votes and 24 House votes needed to pass a plan that had unanimous Democratic support. Dems Try to Retake High The gambit from the Ground on Economy administration now is to offer an The Affordable Health Care extension and expansion of Act was not as affordable as we President Obamas payroll tax cut expected. in a bid to spur hiring and to offer T h e O p e n G o v e r n m e n t Republicans a trade off in favor of Initiative was not as open as we a tax hike on high-income earners. expected. An aide to one senior House The stimulus was not as R e p u b l i c a n d e s c r i b e d t h e stimulating as we expected. possibility of a tax rate increase in -- Suggestions from the office of exchange for the extension of a Speaker John Boehner for follow temporary tax break on payrolls up jokes to the one President a s a n o n - s t a r t e r , b u t t h e Obama made in North Carolina administration is desperate to get Monday that shovel-ready was a deal and look active on the not as shovel-ready as we economy. expected. The Republican complaint about The lousy economy has helped the Obama payroll tax break is push Democrats to the negotiating that it is too small to jolt the table in a bid to cut a deal to economy back on the wrong track. increase the federal governments Obama has long favored the $14.3 trillion borrowing limit, but imperceptible tax break, like the the blue team is still hoping to one in his 2009 stimulus that put gain some leverage from the a n o t h e r $ 6 i n t h e w e e k l y nations economic woes. paychecks of most workers. The In order to keep their partys rank theory is that the money is spent and file on board, Democratic quickly helping the economy. negotiators, led by Vice President Republicans, meanwhile, favor Joe Biden, need to offer some low rates overall and lean toward kind of a tax increase as part of a shock and awe when it comes to package of cuts being negotiated tax cut stimuli. Recall that one with Republicans. Republican plan for the 2009 But if the deal includes a tax hike stimulus was to simply zero out on incomes above $200,000, or the payroll tax for the remainder anything else, Republicans wont of that year, rather than a small be able to deliver the seven Senate adjustment.
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:24:31 AM
Bidens group meets again today. While there is new optimism about the size of the cuts that can be achieved, the looming question remains about taxes. With Democrats taking a pounding over the condition of the economy and Republicans still denouncing Obamas joke about the failures of his stimulus package, Democrats may eventually be convinced to drop calls for a tax hike. But for now, the White House is still looking for a trade off. The presidents chances for getting his hike will be enhanced if Democrats cant paint Republicans as protecting millionaires and billionaires while opposing a little more pocket change for the middle class. The Democratic counterattack begins anew today. Perrys Cultural Conservatism Complicates Coalition Building When it comes to conservative social issues, it annoys me when fellow Republicans duck and cover from pressure on left on these issues of protecting the most vulnerable. -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Manhattan speaking to the New York Republican County Committee, a liberal/moderate GOP group. Rick Perrys greatest appeal as a
potential 2012 contender is among religious conservatives and heartland Republicans. But if hes going to make the grade, he will need to find some support among the establishment Republicans back East. It may prove a struggle, as Perry showed Tuesday when he spoke to New York City Republicans as a replacement for Donald Trump in a speech about Texas phenomenal job growth in the past decade, the governors favorite topic. But even among perhaps the most liberal group of Republicans in the nation, Perry couldnt resist making a jab about social issues. The favorites of the Eastern establishment are far more moderate on these issues. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told CNN Tuesday night that he did not believe homosexuality was a sin, despite the teachings of his church and Mitch Daniels, has repeatedly called for a truce on social issues in order to address the nations fiscal concerns. Mitt Romney has changed his tack on abortion and has avoided questions about homosexuality, but cultural conservatives still eye him suspiciously. Perry, on the other hand, is front and center with the kind of religious conservatism that makes folks on the coasts squeamish. Its
helped Perry win support from culturally conservative Latinos and old-school Texas Democrats, but its not in tune with the bigtent Republicanism being preached in Washington. Perry is leading a massive prayer vigil in Houston in August, and is calling his fellow governors to come join him to pray for the healing of the nation. That ruffles feathers in the new-look GOP. But if Perry runs, it cant be in total opposition to the establishment. If he spooks all the moderates into Romneys arms, Perry would surely lose. He could never out-conservative Michele Bachmann or Rick Santorum and so would have a divided right and a unified left. He needs some friends beyond his base. Perry is meeting today with a likely candidate for that kind of support, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani, flirting with a run himself, is a principal at a big-time law firm that does lots on business with oil companies in Texas. He also got rolled by Romney in 2008 and the two have been political combatants ever since. Perrys primary appeal in the East is as a tort-reforming, tax cutting, business-boosting job creator, but the social issues and BIDEN page 20
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BIDEN
disdain for traditional power centers are his main appeal everywhere else. The veterans of the Bush White House team eye Perry warily. He is a former Democrat and was a rival to Bush in Texas. If Perry is serious about a run he will have to make some outreach there, which would be a humbling experience for the famously proud Lone Star governor. As Perry continues his national testing the waters tour, the questions he will have to answer are a lot about pride. The main one: Can Perry, who has always shunned the Eastern establishment, build a coalition that includes some of its members? Libya Showdown Looming Larger Therefore, it would appear that in five days, the Administration will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution unless it asks for and receives authorization from Congress or withdraws all U.S. troops and resources from the mission. -- Letter from House Speaker John Boehner to President Obama Tuesday concerning the Libyan civil war. House Speaker John Boehner has set a Sunday deadline for the White House to either obtain Congressional authorization for American involvement in the Libyan civil war or to withdraw U.S. forces. We are heading into the final act of a constitutional showdown over the three-month U.S. commitment
to a coalition of rebel tribes and Islamists seeking to topple their longtime foe, Col. Muammar Qaddafi. Boehner bought time for the operation there by helping to diffuse a bipartisan move for an outright withdrawal, but since the administration has not responded, other than to recapitulate prior assertions that the level of involvement was too small to merit Congressional authorization, the showdown is here. Sen. John McCain and others are pushing for the administration to lobby Congress harder for an authorization, but it would be hard for the White House after declaring the War Powers Resolution not applicable. By waiting so long and so fully flouting the law, it would be a fast pivot for the president to suddenly play supplicant to the Congress on the war. Remember, Obama has two covert wars cooking: one in Pakistan and one in Yemen. If this whole War Powers thing gets away from him, he will have bigger troubles ahead. Watch for Libya hawks like McCain, Sen. John Kerry and the biggest proponent of intervention, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to push hard this week for some kind of cover on the war a generic resolution in support or something fungible. The concern for the president about such a push would be that the measure would fail and he would find himself the recipient
of a bipartisan repudiation. He may instead prefer to simply ignore the law and dare Congress to do something about it. The White House could deliver a report to Congress on the conduct of the war as soon as today. Its contents will tell us a great deal about whether the president means to bow to Congress or go it alone. Pakistanis Cloud Hopes for Afghan Withdrawal Three -- Deputy C.I.A. Director Michael Morrell when asked by members of the Senate Intelligence Committee to rate Pakistans helpfulness on counterterrorism on a 10-point scale, according to the New York Times. The New York Times reports that Pakistan has arrested the tipsters who helped the U.S. find and kill Usama bin Laden. This is what the diplomats call a complicated alliance. To those outside of the State Department it looks like a total disaster that casts serious doubts on the alternative strategy for the U.S. war in the region, which is to cut the 100,000-man army in Afghanistan in favor of an escalated covert war to be fought on both sides of the Af-Pak border. If the Pakistanis keep heading in this direction, the degree of difficulty of conducting such a campaign will go up dramatically. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is giving his parting testimony to Congress today and Gen. David Petraeus is making the rounds of
Congress as he seeks Senate confirmation to shift from the uniformed service to covert warfare as head of the C.I.A. Both men can expect to be tested on the viability of the Obama strategy given the disobliging attitude of our allies in Islamabad. Corn Vote Could Signal Thunes Return to Presidential Field We have a lot of folks who made investments, you have people across the country whose livelihoods and jobs depend upon this. I think it makes sense, when we put policy in place and we say it is going to be in place for a certain period of time, that that be honored. -- Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., talking to reporters about his decision to split from most in his party to support extending ethanol tax breaks. South Dakota Sen. John Thune was part of a group of Midwestern and Great Plains Republicans who joined Democratic leaders to kill an amendment that would have ended the tax break for ethanol six months early. The amendment would have done away with a 45-cent-per-gallon tax benefit for gasoline producers who add ethanol to their fuel and a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol fuel designed to drive up the cost of cheaper, sugar -cane ethanol from South America. The existing tax break, passed in 2004, is set to expire at the end of the year. The amendment, offered by Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, would have put the
money toward deficit reduction and was intended as a demonstration of GOP willingness to slaughter sacred cows. Thune, normally a staunch fiscal conservative, helped lead the charge of agricultural-state Republicans who joined Democrats in killing the bill. The measure is good home-state politics for Thune, but he just got reelected without any significant opposition. If he was ever going to break with parochial interests now would be the time. But the corn subsidy is good politics in Iowa too. The rumors are flying in Washington that Thune is taking a second look at a possible presidential run. With a crowded field and still no standard-bearer to unite conservatives against moderate frontrunner Mitt Romney, theres reason for Thune to look again. Thune is scheduled to be on Special Report with Bret Baier next week. Power Play will be sifting through the corn silks for signs that the man from Murdo may be getting back in the game. And Now, A Word From Charles It's the way (President Obama) wants to govern left without appearing to govern left. As a result of midterm election he lost control of the House of Representatives, so it's administrative. That's the case with the EPA -- Environmental Protection Agency -- to regulate a way to get him restrictions on BIDEN page 24
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Global Q&A: 'Has your country has struck a good balance between personal freedom and security?'
(Epoch Times | All headlines)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 7:48:57 AM
Penka Georgieva, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria Stara Zagora, Bulgaria Penka Georgieva, 31, Accountant Under the pretext of national security, personal communication via the Internet and conversations over the mobile are followed excessively. Evidence for this is the recently announced information by the Internal Ministry about the amount of tapped traffic data. Despite the large amount, only a small percent reaches a courtroom for prosecution. People have the feeling they live in one big, Big Brother society. This creates the sensation that they cannot figure out by themselves what is good for them, and someone else has to do that for them instead. For the purposes of marketing or politics, peoples behavior is investigated, and when someone starts to complain, he is proclaimed paranoid. Reinaldo Alfonso Mendoza Hernandez, Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena, Colombia Reinaldo Alfonso Mendoza Hernndez, 50, Veterinarian Today, there isnt a real balance in our country between individual
safety and personal liberty, and especially for young people; a large percentage of the population has no respect for authority because it has not been encouraged at home. Due to serious conflicts and a lack of affection in the homes resulting in low self-esteem, the youth seek recognition in groups outside the law. Public safety law that imposes severe punishment for young offenders could reduce the crime committed. A balance is not achieved because there is an added ingredient of poverty and crisis in the family system. Falticeni, Romania Constantin Bulboaca, 57, History Teacher In a state governed by the rule of law, we can talk about this balance. But we cannot talk yet about the rule of law in Romania. There is no security and the human rights are often violated. The whole situation is not normal. Of course, there are forces that militate for a change to improve this situation. The rule of law sets a balance between the human rights and what a state offers, and we are heading toward this. Shahid Ali, Islamabad, Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan Shahid Ali, 35, Sales
they have in effect from the government that have to do with security, particularly take care of when we have ingress or egress into the country. I also live in Arizona, and down there, there is a problem with people coming over the borders, because there is a lot of desert down there. There is a real problem down there with border security because people come in from all over the world bringing drugs and guns in through Mexico. And because there is over 200 miles of desert, it is definitely difficult to handle the borders. Julia Baker, Wellington, New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand Julia Baker, 31, Business Analyst Yeah, I think so. There havent been too many major incidents, I believe every society should from the lower class to upper and its not too much of a hassle have personal freedom and class. The poor are dying in for us to go about our daily lives; security; that is just basic. suicide bomb attacks almost on a it doesnt really impact us. Unfortunately, Pakistani society daily basis, and most upper Basically airports, and for us its has neither right now. Most of the leaders, like governors, ministers not such an issue getting into public is too busy trying to and ex-prime ministers, are being schools and stuff. So like in survive and make a living; they murdered in public. A big part of countries like America, it looks are thinking about how to support the solution is better education. like its impacting peoples lives a their families and deal with Virginia Sandlin, New York City, lot. As for us, we can just go inflation. They dont know their U.S.A. New York City, U.S.A. about our daily lives and I get a own rights, that they even have Virginia Sandlin, Business feeling that in the background, rights. Neither does Pakistan have C o n s u l t a n t a n d D o c t o r a l there are security checks going security. Most of the public feels P s y c h o l o g y C a n d i d a t e GLOBAL page 26 very insecure about their safety, Yes I do. Many of the things that
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Rich world economy prospects darken as U.S. slows: Reuters poll

(Reuters: Top News)
reconstruction efforts that have gained pace since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. By Andy Bruce "Two key downside risks have LONDON| Wed Jun 15, 2011 increased over the past few 11:36am EDT months -- the risk of a disruptive (Reuters) - The rich-world's default in Greece and of a e c o n o m i c p r o s p e c t s h a v e significant slowdown in the U.S.," darkened slightly, a Reuters poll s a i d K u r t K a r l , c h i e f U . S . of economists showed, with new economist at Swiss Re in New signs of a slowdown in the United York, in a research note. States compounding fears about He expressed hope the U.S. the poor fiscal health of Western slowdown may be nearing an end, economies. since oil prices are no longer Since last month's regular survey rising and the supply bottlenecks of around 250 analysts in May, caused by the Japanese disasters r e c e n t e v e n t s h a v e o n l y should be resolved later in the underlined the increasingly year. disjointed nature of the global Still, financial markets have economic recovery. already reacted to the slowdown While China and India took new taking place. World stock indexes s t e p s t o c a l m f e r v e n t a n d have shed much of the gains made inflationary economic expansions, since the start of the year, while W e s t e r n p o w e r s h a v e b e e n U.S. Treasury bond yields have preoccupied with attempts to fallen. defuse fiscal time-bombs in The consensus forecast for U.S. Greece and possibly the United second-quarter gross domestic States against a backdrop of tepid p r o d u c t w a s s l a s h e d t o a n growth. annualized 2.5 percent from 3.3 Economists in Wednesday's poll percent in last month's poll, took an axe to the outlook for following a weak 1.8 percent rate U.S. economic growth following a of growth recorded in the first raft of dire jobs and industrial data quarter. this month, while keeping their Such a rate of expansion would long-held view for weak euro still place the U.S. top among its zone and UK growth until the end euro zone, UK and Japanese of next year. peers, but well behind major Only the Japan saw an upgraded emerging market powers that outlook in the latest poll thanks to themselves are showing signs of
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:36:45 AM
slowing growth. India and China saw accelerating inflation in May, according to data on Tuesday, prompting the Beijing to lift bank reserve requirements and putting pressure on India to hike interest rates further. Rates of growth and inflation have been far greater in these developing powers, but the dilemma of keeping inflation in check without sacrificing growth has preoccupied policymakers everywhere. The latest batch of Reuters surveys showed inflation pressures are still on the rise in the West too -- with CPI forecasts in the U.S. and especially Britain being bumped up. Indeed, over the course of this year, inflation estimates in the U.S., UK and euro zone for Q2, Q3 and Q4 2011 have doubled -and in some cases more than doubled -- owing to the surge in crude and commodity prices. Perhaps reflecting expectations for higher inflation in the U.S., the poll showed only a median 15 percent chance the Federal Reserve will embark of a third round of money supply-boosting quantitative easing. RATE EXPECTATIONS Unlike in major emerging powers, which have managed a sustained and forthright policy of
tightening interest rates to counter high inflation, Western central banks have shown no such coordination. A Reuters poll on Wednesday showed the People's Bank of China will yet take more measures to curb price pressures, currently at three-year highs. In the West, only the European Central Bank has so far acted against above target inflation among the four biggest central banks -- also including the Fed, Bank of England and Bank of Japan -- after raising interest rates from a record low 1.0 percent in April. But pressure is mounting on the Fed and BoE to follow suit. "A significant pick-up in inflation, with sluggish growth, will leave Fed policy in a bind," said Stephen Lewis, economist at Monument Securities in London. "By Q2 2012, the Fed's credibility is likely to be under so much strain that it will start the process of normalizing interest rates." Indeed, a survey published earlier this month suggested high inflation has already dealt a heavy blow to the BoE's credibility since the start of the year. Inflation there hit 4.5 percent in May, far beyond the BoE's 2 percent target. UK economic growth, in common with the neighboring euro zone, will struggle to exceed
0.5 percent in any quarter from now until the end of next year. While France and Germany have led the recovery among the euro area's 17 nations, debt-laden strugglers like Greece, Spain and Portugal have dragged badly on growth. Even so, the bloc looks like it will avoid a direct hit from the festering sovereign debt crisis that has enveloped Greece. Even before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami off Japan's east coast, the world's third largest economy was struggling to generate meaningful growth. But economists upgraded the outlook for Japan's recovery for the third successive month. "The recovery will gather pace in July-September and the economy is expected to achieve a V-shaped recovery," said Shinichiro Kobayashi, a senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting. While poll respondents expect the Japanese economy to contract 0.7 percent in the second quarter, they see it rebounding 1.0 percent in the third. (Additional reporting by Yati Himatsingka in Bangalore, Leah Schnurr in New York, Ross Finley in London, Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo, Polling by Bangalore RICH page 24
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23
Greeks rage on austerity, aid deal seen delayed

(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:20:48 AM
By Renee Maltezou and Ingrid Melander ATHENS| Wed Jun 15, 2011 11:20am EDT (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of angry Greeks massed in front of parliament on Wednesday in a sign of rising opposition to austerity and European officials said a new rescue deal for Athens might be delayed until next month. Rising risks to the Greek budget plans and signs of deep divisions over the role private creditors should play in a new aid package pushed the euro to a two-week low against the dollar and sent bond yields of peripheral euro states spiraling up. Doubts about the bloc's ability to solve its debt woes also hit European banking stocks. Greek banks fell by as much as 7 percent on growing political uncertainty and shares in top French banks tumbled after credit ratings agency Moody's said it might downgrade them because of their exposure to Greece's debtstricken economy. Figures from the Bank for International Settlements to end2010 show the exposure of French banks at 56.7 billion euros and those of German banks at roughly
34 billion euros when sovereign, bank and corporate debt holdings are included. "Even if you look at the best case scenario, where we get parliamentary approval in Greece and the EU agrees a new aid package, you still have big medium-term issues," said Jacques Cailloux, an economist at RBS in London. "The political uncertainty is not going to go away, there are implementation risks, privatization risks, you name it." Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou must push through a five-year deficit reduction and privatization program to continue receiving aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund and avoid default after Greece fell behind on its first 110 billion euros ($158.1 billion) rescue plan. The package includes tax hikes and spending cuts totaling 28 billion euros through 2015. It also aims to raise 50 billion euros through privatizations. The main conservative opposition party opposes the measures and on Tuesday, a member of the prime minister's PASOK party defected over the plans, reducing his majority to 155 in the 300-seat parliament. Another party ally has promised to vote against the austerity.
The European Commission said it still expected Greece to receive the 12 billion euro aid tranche it needs next month to pay maturing debt. "We are at a historically crucial moment," Papandreou said. DELAY TO JULY In Brussels, finance ministers of the 17-nation single currency area debated late into Tuesday night how to make private bondholders share the cost of the second rescue in two years without triggering even worse turmoil. They had been aiming for a deal at a European Union summit on June 23-24, but Slovak Finance Minister Ivan Miklos said on Wednesday that agreement could be delayed until July 11. The impasse weighed heavily on markets, pushing the cost of insuring Greek debt against default to an all-time high and the euro below the $1.43 mark for the first time since late May. In the run-up to the EU summit next week, Europe's paymaster Germany is insisting that the banks, pension funds and insurance firms that hold Greek debt swap their bonds for new ones with maturities that are seven years longer. Fearful that this solution would prompt rating agencies to label Greece in default, the European Central Bank, European
Commission and France all favor a softer option in which holders of Greek bonds would be asked to buy new Greek debt as their holdings mature. But Fitch said on Wednesday that it would view even a voluntary rollover of this sort as a distressed debt exchange and be forced to lower Greece's rating to "restricted default" once such a transaction was completed. The other major ratings agencies have taken a similar line. This could mean European governments will need to provide more of the estimated 120 billion euros in funding they are aiming to secure for Greece, including privatization revenues. But that could be unacceptable to northern euro zone creditor states like Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, which are all demanding private sector burdensharing in response to strong public opposition to further taxpayer-funded bailouts. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Mario Draghi, the anointed successor to JeanClaude Trichet as president of the ECB, on Thursday in Berlin to try to resolve the impasse. A meeting between Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is planned for Friday. In Athens, thousands of activists and unionists converged on the
central Syntagma square on the parliament's front steps to try to stop lawmakers from entering to debate the austerity bill they hope to pass by the end of the month. Stone-throwing Greeks clashed with police, who fired teargas. Flames were seen in front of an entrance to the finance ministry, which sits on the square. Unions representing half the fivemillion-strong workforce also launched a nationwide strike, shutting ports, schools and other basic services in the Mediterranean state. "These measures are not taking us anywhere. They only lead to unemployment, hunger and poverty," said Panayotis Dounis a 60-year-old pensioner. Markets are overwhelmingly skeptical that Greece can ever repay its debt mountain, which has reached 340 billion euros or 150 percent of the country's annual economic output. Many expect a painful debt restructuring in the years ahead, regardless of what governments agree over the coming weeks. (Additional reporting by George Georgiopoulos, Harry Papachristou and Ingrid Melander in Athens, Ana Nicolaci da Costa in London and Lionel Laurent in Paris; writing by Paul Taylor and GREEKS page 26
24
News Wire/
Data shows troubling mix of weakness, inflation

(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:17:39 AM
BIDEN
A man shops for blue jeans at a clothing store in New York, December 14, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON| Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:17am EDT (Reuters) - A closely watched measure of consumer prices logged its biggest rise in nearly three years in May and a regional factory gauge contracted this month, showing the economy facing a troubling mix of weakness and inflation. The Labor Department said on Wednesday its Consumer Price Index, excluding food and energy, increased 0.3 percent, the largest gain since July 2008, after rising 0.2 percent in April. Core inflation was lifted by steep rises in motor vehicle and apparel prices. Analysts pointed to supply chain disruptions from Japan's earthquake as a factor behind the auto price rise. Economists had expected the core CPI, which is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, to rise 0.2 percent. Overall
inflation eased, rising 0.2 percent after a 0.4 percent gain in April, as energy prices finally fell. Separately, the New York Federal Reserve Bank's "Empire State" index -- a measure of factory activity in New York state -- contracted for the first time since November, surprising economists who had expected a rise. "I assume people will look at this as another reason the recovery is stalling, giving more fodder to the double dip (recession) theory," said Paul Radeke, vice president at KDV Wealth Management in Minneapolis. "Other data has shown that the consumer remains on track, suggesting that eventually manufacturing will catch up. However, this data suggests that process will take longer." In a third report, the Fed said production at the nation's mines, utilities and factories edged up 0.1 percent in May, restrained by a second consecutive drop in auto output, also pinned to trouble getting needed supplies. Still, manufacturing output rose 0.4 percent, bouncing back from an April slide as factories made up for production lost due to
tornadoes in the South. U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on worries over the debt crisis in Greece and the weak reading on New York manufacturing, while bond prices climbed. Concerns over Greece and the stiff reading on core inflation helped lift the dollar against the euro. The mixed data puts the Fed in a difficult position. Rising core inflation could pressure officials to begin unwinding some of their stimulus even as the recovery remains subdued. The central bank concludes a $600 billion government bondbuying plan at the end of the month. Policymakers, who have faced intense criticism for risking inflation, have set the bar very high for any new program to aid the fragile economy. GASOLINE PRICES FALL The year-over-year core inflation index rose 1.5 percent in May, up from 1.3 percent in April and the largest increase since January 2010. At the same time, overall prices increased 3.6 percent, reflecting a steep run-up in energy prices. It was the biggest 12-month gain since October 2008. A Reuters poll published on
energy production he'd get in cap and trade. He lost on cap and trade. So it's a way to go under and around the legislative system, which I think is in and of itself a travesty. Wednesday found economists -- Charles Krauthammer on expect consumer prices to rise 3.1 Special Report with Bret Baier. percent for the year as a whole. This entry passed through the They see that easing to a 2.2 Full-Text RSS service if this is percent gain in 2012. your content and you're reading it The core CPI is expected to rise on someone else's site, please read 1.5 percent in 2011, and 1.9 the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentpercent next year, in line with the only/faq.php#publishers. Five Fed's implicit inflation target. Filters featured article: Ten Years Gasoline prices fell 0.2 percent Of Media Lens - Our Problem last month after increasing 3.3 With Mainstream Dissidents. percent in April, but food prices rose 0.4 percent after increasing by the same margin in April. Prices for new vehicles rose 1.1 percent last month -- the largest increase since October 2009, RICH while apparel prices rose 1.2 continued from page 22 percent, the biggest advance since P o l l i n g U n i t , A n a l y s i s b y February 2009. Sumanta Dey and Shaloo Shelter costs, which account for Shrivastava; Editing by Toby about 40 percent of core CPI, rose Chopra) 0.2 percent. This entry passed through the (Editing by Andrea Ricci) Full-Text RSS service if this is This entry passed through the your content and you're reading it Full-Text RSS service if this is on someone else's site, please read your content and you're reading it the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contenton someone else's site, please read only/faq.php#publishers. Five the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- Filters featured article: Ten Years only/faq.php#publishers. Five Of Media Lens - Our Problem Filters featured article: Ten Years With Mainstream Dissidents. Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
News Wire/
25
Pakistan Arrests Informants Who Led U.S. to Bin Laden

(FOXNews.com)
plates of cars visiting bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in the weeks before the raid. AP The Pakistani army denied May 3: A view of Usama bin Wednesday that one of its majors Laden's compound in Abbottabad, was among a group of Pakistanis Pakistan. who Western officials say were WASHINGTON -- Pakistan's arrested for feeding the CIA intelligence service has arrested information before the American the owner of a safe house rented raid that killed bin Laden. to the CIA to observe Usama bin Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Laden's compound before the U.S. Gen. Athar Abbas denied an army raid that killed the Al Qaeda major was arrested, saying the leader, as well as a "handful" of report was "false and totally other Pakistanis, a U.S. official baseless." Neither the army nor said late Tuesday. Pakistan's spy agency would In Pakistan, a Western official confirm or deny the overall report confirmed a New York Times about the detentions. report that five of the Pakistani The group of detained Pakistanis informants who fed information to included the owner of a safe the CIA before the May 2 bin house rented to the CIA to Laden raid were arrested by observe bin Laden's compound in Pakistan's top military spy Abbottabad, an army town not far a g e n c y , t h e I n t e r - S e r v i c e s from the Pakistani capital of Intelligence agency, known as ISI. Islamabad, a U.S. official said. The officials spoke to The The owner was detained along Associated Press on the condition w i t h a " h a n d f u l " o f o t h e r of anonymity to discuss sensitive Pakistanis, said the official. intelligence matters. The Western officials spoke on The Times, in an article posted condition of anonymity to discuss on its website late Tuesday, said sensitive intelligence matters. the detained informants included a The fate of the CIA informants P a k i s t a n i a r m y m a j o r w h o who were arrested was unclear, officials said copied the license but American officials told the
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:24:31 AM
with our Pakistani counterparts and work through issues when they arise," Marie Harf, a CIA spokeswoman, told the newspaper. "Director Panetta had productive meetings last week in Islamabad. It's a crucial partnership, and we will continue to work together in the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups who threaten our country and theirs." Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, said in an interview with the newspaper that CIA Director The Times said that at a closed Times that the CIA and the Leon Panetta raised the issue briefing last week, members of P a k i s t a n i s p y a g e n c y " a r e when he visited Islamabad last the Senate Intelligence Committee working out mutually agreeable week to meet with Pakistani asked Michael Morell, the deputy terms for their cooperation in military and intelligence officers. CIA director, to rate Pakistan's fighting the menace of terrorism. In Islamabad, an ISI spokesman, cooperation with the United States It is not appropriate for us to get w h o c u s t o m a r i l y s p e a k s on counterterrorism operations, on into the details at this stage." a n o n y m o u s l y , d e c l i n e d t o a scale of 1 to 10. This entry passed through the comment. "Three," Morell replied, according Full-Text RSS service if this is U.S.-Pakistani relations have to officials familiar with the your content and you're reading it been strained over the raid by exchange, the newspaper said. on someone else's site, please read N a v y S E A L s o n P a k i s t a n i American officials speaking to the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentterritory, which was a blow to the Times cautioned that Morell's only/faq.php#publishers. Five Pakistan's military, and other comment was a snapshot of the Filters featured article: Ten Years issues. Officials said the arrests of current relationship and did not Of Media Lens - Our Problem the informants was just the latest r e p r e s e n t t h e O b a m a With Mainstream Dissidents. evidence of the fractured a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s o v e r a l l relationship between the two a s s e s s m e n t . nations. "We have a strong relationship
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News Wire/
GLOBAL
on, but it doesnt really impact me. Jyoti R. Bathija, Bangalore, India Bangalore, India Jyoti R. Bathija, 65, Homemaker Yes, I definitely feel India has struck a good balance between providing both personal freedom and security. Especially, in the city of Bangalore, one can feel safe traveling alone or going out at night, even if it is after 11 p.m. Awareness is ever increasing, and regarding the issue of personal freedom, people, especially the men, are becoming more broadminded these days, and hence freedom has definitely increased, and we feel quite happy and settled. India has radically changed on this front, and its a good development. Julia Rivera, Lima, Peru Lima, Peru Julia Rivera, 42, Business Assistant I dont think there is balance in my country. Personal freedom and independence to develop oneself is achievable, but as for security in the streets, there isnt any. The existence of crime depends on the location; only in certain privileged areas is there safety. For example, the mayor of my district is my neighbor and we have enough security.
Sabina Lundgren, Nassjo, Sweden Nssj, Sweden Sabina Lundgren, 23, Student Teacher Yes, I think so. Everyone has the opportunity to vote and then you can have an influence. They are a bit heavy-handed against the criminals right now, but I think that is needed so that the security work in society is working. Chris Tawns, Mooloolaba, Australia Mooloolaba, Australia Chris Tawns, 62, Brickies Labourer No personal freedoms, security no, the country has gone pear shaped over the last 20 years. The way the governments handle things, dont matter if its a labor government or the national government or whoever is in there. They all say they are going to do this and they do nothing. Australia has gone down the tubes. They piled all this money overseas for devastation yet they cant look after their own people in Australia who are sleeping on the streets, who have got no food and yet theyll send millions of dollars offshore. Australia is supposed to be a place where we look after our own people. Isa Pantoja, Madrid, Spain Madrid, Spain
Isa Pantoja, 42, Management Assistant & Marketing Support Yes, I think that in Spain there is a balance between security and respect for individual freedom. Citizens have the ability to govern themselves, to know, understand, discern, and decide, is one of the greatest assets of the individual, inherent in its status as a person. In Spain, the right against invasion of privacy by the government, corporations, or individuals is guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution and bylaws of privacy. Furthermore, the traditional media, such as mail, certified mail, post office boxes, etcetera, are quite safe. However, the widespread use of electronic communication systems, the privacy and anonymity of people are increasingly threatened. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
TIMELINES: What seminal document was signed by King John of England on June 15, 1215?
Submitted at 6/15/2011 7:24:50 AM
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 What seminal document was signed by King John of England on June 15, 1215? On June 15, 1215, King John of England signs the Magna Carta, making the king subject to the law, reaffirming rights of the barony, and guaranteeing all subjects freedom from unlawful imprisonment. King John signs the Great Charter reluctantly, in an effort to make peace with rebellious feudal barons. Handwritten copies are read aloud throughout the kingdom. Nonetheless, civil war ensues. King John dies the next year, and his nine-year-old son is crowned King Henry III, under whom a revised version of the Magna Carta is issued. The document later becomes the cornerstone of citizens' rights, and the right of Habeas Corpus, or freedom from unlawful imprisonment. Under subsequent monarchs the document was revised and reissued. On Tuesday, philanthropist and co-founder of the Carlyle group, David M. Rubenstein made a
$13.5 million gift to the Foundation of the National Archives to expand its exhibition gallery. A copy of the Magna Carta will be on display in a new hall bearing Rubenstein's name. In 2007, Rubenstein had purchased a 1297 version of the Magna Carta at Sotheby's for $19 million from Texan billionaire Ross Perot. Like Perot before him, Rubenstein placed the document on permanent loan to the National Archives. The expansion will house key documents of ongoing efforts to perfect American democracy."Citizens will soon be able to view this milestone document in the context of the evolving story of American's struggle for freedom,"said Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero in a press release. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
GREEKS
Noah Barkin, editing by Mike Peacock) This entry passed through the
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News Wire/ World News/ Culture/
27
Prosecution Rests in Casey Anthony Murder Trial

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:24:31 AM
AP Casey Anthony, right, is accused of killing her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, left, in 2008. The prosecution has finished presenting its case in the murder trial of Casey Anthony, the Florida mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter. Anthony's attorneys are expected to call their first witness Thursday, assuming the judge denies a standard defense motion asking for the case to be thrown out. The defense has claimed the toddler was not murdered, but drowned in her grandparents' pool. "How was this child killed? Where was this child killed? Was this child killed at all? Or was it an accident?" Anthony's attorney, Cheney Mason, said Wednesday inside an Orlando courtroom as the defense argued for an acquittal, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Over several weeks of testimony, prosecutors have laid out their case that Caylee Anthony was
suffocated with duct tape, though a medical examiner testified the cause of death was undetermined. Only the "manner of death" was ruled to be homicide. If convicted, Casey Anthony faces the death penalty. Prosecutors have built their mostly circumstantial case on 25year-old Casey Anthony's conduct and the lies she told about her daughter's whereabouts. They also have relied on forensics experts. They've talked about smells of human decomposition in Anthony's car, searches on her computer, including for chloroform several
times, and duct tape found on the girl's skull. Caylee disappeared in the summer of 2008 and her mother did not report her being gone for a month. The child's skeletal remains were found about six months later near her grandparents' home. The jury was dismissed Wednesday morning with strict orders not to discuss the case or watch newscasts during their hiatus. They will return Thursday morning. Caylee was last seen in mid-June of 2008 and was reported missing on July 15. Her remains were found in December of that year in
a wooded area near the Anthony home. On Tuesday, a tattoo artist testified that Anthony had the words "Bella Vita," or "beautiful life" in Italian, etched on her back on July 2, 2008. She returned on July 15 and scheduled another appointment for a few days later. The artist, Bobby Williams, told jurors that Anthony seemed happy and told him she planned to bring her daughter in during the next appointment. Click for complete coverage on the Casey Anthony murder trial from MyFoxOrlando.com TIMELINE: Casey Anthony murder trial The Associated Press contributed to this report This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
DU cutoffs:100pc needed for B Com at SRCC IBNLive.com

Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:56:46 PM
Indian Express DU cut-offs:100pc needed for B Com at SRCC IBNLive.com New Delhi: If Sri Ram College of Commerce is your dream college and you are not a commerce student, 100 per cent is what you need to make that dream come true. At the nearby Hindu College you will need 99 per cent marks and if you settle for the south... DU aspirants await respite in 2nd list after sky-high first cut-off Daily Bhaskar 100 per cent cut-off in some Delhi University courses irrational: Kapil Sibal India Today Top 10 surfer comments on crazy cut-offs NDTV.com Hindustan Times- Rediff- The Hindu all 83 news articles
Golf Boys rap not doing the sport any favors [video]
(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:42:00 AM
What could be worse than watching all four days of a PGA tournament? Watching them rap
about it. Pity the man who lost the Full story at YouTube via toss and had to choose between Buzzfeed. the red jumpsuit or the overalls. Why golfers wear polo shirts.
Permalink| Leave a comment
28
News Wire/ World News/ Technology/
Arizona Wallow Fire Largest in State History, 18 Percent Contained

Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:42:36 AM
By Alex Johnston Epoch Times Staff Created: Jun 15, 2011 Last Updated: Jun 15, 2011 A butterfly hovers over a flower as smoke rises around the Lee Valley Recreational area in the Apache National Forest during back burn operations as the Wallow Fire continues to burn June 12, in Big Lake, Arizona. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) The so-called Wallow Fire that has been raging in eastern Arizona is now the largest one in state history, as firefighters attempted to contain the blaze. Local officials said on June 14 that more than 469,000 acres have been burned in the blaze with containment only 18 percent. The previous largest fire in state history was the Rodeo Chediski fire in 2002. The wildfire has roared out of control for the past two weeks, charring Ponderosa pine forests and the countryside in eastern
Arizona near the New Mexico border. More than 10,000 people in the White Mountains region have been displaced in the Wallow Fire, with many only recently coming back to their homes. As the New York Times noted, the fire got its name after the Bear Wallow Wilderness in the Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests, where it is believed to have been started by a campfire.
Good progress has been made on the fires southeast flank, where crews are working to slow the spread of fire and continue to build and improve containment lines and mop-up. There was minimal movement last night, the Arizona Emergency Information Network said in an update on Tuesday. On Sunday, around 7,000 residents returned to the towns of Eagar and Springerville, located
near the border. Officials said that the communities of Greer, Nutrioso and Alpine are still evacuated to the continued active fire behavior nearby. Especially dry conditions and high winds fueled the fire but over the weekend, the winds subsided, giving firefighters a window of opportunity to contain more. U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Suzanne Flory told Reuters that the blaze is not under control just yet but theres a sense of optimism that firefighters can prevent it from reaching the nearby towns. More than 4,000 firefighters are working day and night to contain the fire. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Terror camps still active in Pakistan: SM Krishna - Daily News & Analysis
Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:50:53 PM
The Hindu Terror camps still active in Pakistan: SM Krishna Daily News & Analysis Place: Astana | Agency: PTI Pakistan's claim about reduction in trust deficit with India today got a sharp rebuke from external affairs minister SM Krishna who said he was yet to see the initiatives Islamabad has taken to rein in terror as many... India seeks larger role in SCO The Hindu India, Kazakhstan pitch for stability in Af-Pak region IBNLive.com SCO: Boost for anti-terror efforts with Afghanistan's likely entry Indian Express GreaterKashmir.com (press release)- DailyIndia.com all 34 news articles
Opinion: Making the case to open up European rail data

Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:43:00 AM
As anyone who has tried to book a European rail journey beyond Paris or Brussels will know, it can
be a nightmare to find routes, times and prices without trawling the web like it's 1999. In an era where searching hundreds of airlines through one intuitive interface couldn't be
easier, the humble train lags far behind, frustrating customers and making it all the more difficult to persuade them to ditch the plane in favour of a more climate-
friendly mode of transport. Continue reading...
World News/
29
Despite AKP Victory, Turkey's Elections Reveal Polarization
Over the Horizon: The Cost of Portraying Toughness in Afghanistan

(World Politics Review: Articles)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 2:46:00 AM
another one regarding the larger historical framework by which future generations will eventually The Obama administration c o m e t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e (World Politics Review: Articles) The main opposition party, the for another substantial change. ... appears to be in the throes of yet Afghanistan War: How did Republican People's Party (CHP), Subscribers receive: Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:03:00 AM another debate about the long- Afghanistan matter for America's e x p e r i e n c e d t h e g r e a t e s t Access to in-depth feature t e r m U . S . c o m m i t m e n t t o strategic interests in the 21st Last Sunday's polls in Turkey disappointment. Since 2010, it has articles A f g h a n i s t a n . I n s i d e t h e century? ... Subscribers receive: gave incumbent Prime Minister undergone a major internal Regular Strategic Posture administration, officials are Access to in-depth feature Recep Tayyip Erdogan a widely overhaul in an attempt to shed its Reviews weighing not only the material articles expected victory. His Justice and conservative posture, placing its Regular WPR Special Reports costs of remaining in Afghanistan, Regular Strategic Posture D e v e l o p m e n t P a r t y ( A K P ) trust in the new leadership of Access to our Document Center b u t a l s o t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d Reviews obtained 50 percent of the vote, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Under his Access to WPRs entire bureaucratic implications of Regular WPR Special Reports w i n n i n g E r d o g a n a n predecessor, Deniz Baykal, the archives continuing the war. Undoubtedly, Access to our Document Center unprecedented third mandate and CHP struggled to overcome the Enhanced search across the some are asking the question, Access to WPRs entire increasing the party's share of electoral threshold, failing in 1999 entire site "What would a withdrawal from archives votes by more than 3 percent over and recovering only during the Participation in our discussion Afghanistan say about the United Enhanced search across the its already triumphal victory in polarized elections of 2002. CHP section States?" Some might answer that entire site 2007. A closer look shows that all can boast of having increased its a withdrawal would embolden Participation in our discussion t h e m a j o r p a r t i e s a c t u a l l y share of votes by 5 percent in the Click here to subscribe America's enemies and indicate section managed to increase the number current round, with 4 million Click here to take a free trial that the United States is both of votes they received. That more votes than in 2007, but it Already a subscriber? Login here. weak and unwilling to stand Click here to subscribe suggests that many Turkish faces serious problems. The This entry passed through the behind its friends. The late, Click here to take a free trial electors ultimately opted for a identity change brought about by Full-Text RSS service if this is e s t e e m e d G e o r g e K e n n a n Already a subscriber? Login here. "strategic vote," abandoning Kilicdaroglu arrived both too late your content and you're reading it suggested another interpretation This entry passed through the smaller political groups and their and too early: too late, because on someone else's site, please read of such a withdrawal when he Full-Text RSS service if this is hopeless struggle to overcome the another ideological revolution, the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- wrote, "There is more respect to your content and you're reading it 10-percent threshold to be seated Erdogan's, is already settling in only/faq.php#publishers. Five be won in the opinion of this on someone else's site, please read in parliament. Beyond that, Turkish society, and it is more Filters featured article: Ten Years world by resolute and courageous the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contenthowever, the various parties must lively and fruitful than ever; too Of Media Lens - Our Problem liquidation of unsound positions only/faq.php#publishers. Five draw different conclusions from early for the same reason, as With Mainstream Dissidents. than by the most stubborn pursuit Filters featured article: Ten Years the vote. Turkish society is not yet ready of extravagant or unpromising Of Media Lens - Our Problem objectives." With Mainstream Dissidents. The question itself speaks to
30
World News/
The Philippines' Halting Steps Toward Military Reform

(World Politics Review: Articles)
One dead as violent NSW storms spark flash floods - The Australian
military issues, such as internal security policy, budgets, reform Submitted at 6/15/2011 2:54:00 AM processes and the upholding of Since taking office in June 2010, human rights. The military, on the Philippine President Benigno other hand, is expected to enjoy a Aquino has pushed through degree of autonomy in the reforms aimed at improving the professional sphere and thus on professionalism of the Armed issues related to promotions, Forces of the Philippines (AFP). t r a i n i n g a n d s t r a t e g i e s . . . . The drive, however, remains S u b s c r i b e r s r e c e i v e : restricted to certain aspects of Access to in-depth feature civil-military relations, and as articles such is bound to have only limited Regular Strategic Posture impact. Reviews In general, key prerequisites of Regular WPR Special Reports democratic oversight of the Access to our Document Center security sector include civilian Access to WPRs entire control over the political sphere of archives
Enhanced search across the entire site Participation in our discussion section Click here to subscribe Click here to take a free trial Already a subscriber? Login here. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
a tree. The storms continued to wreak... Residents brace for flood peaks The Age ABC Online One dead as violent NSW storms More flood warnings for stricken spark flash floods NSW Herald Sun The Australian Communities on edge as disaster DISASTER zones have been z o n e s d e c l a r e d C a m d e n declared on the NSW central and A d v e r t i s e r north coasts as violent weather Sydney Morning Herald- ABC left more than 10000 people Local- The Canberra Times stranded in isolated communities. all 241 news articles Scores had to be evacuated and one man was crushed to death by
Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:42:26 PM
750000 workers to stage walkout after vote to strike in pension row - Telegraph.co.uk
Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:08:19 PM
Telegraph.co.uk 750000 workers to stage walkout after vote to strike in pension row
Telegraph.co.uk The Government is facing the biggest outbreak of industrial action since it came to power after civil servants joined teachers in voting heavily for strikes in
worsening rows over pensions, pay and jobs. Up to 750000 public sector workers will stage a... Britain to face mass public sector strikes Reuters UK Are we facing a summer of
discontent? BBC News Civil servants vote for strike action over pension reforms The Guardian Sky News- Channel 4 NewsDaily Mail
all 992 news articles
World News/ Technology/
31
Devon soul star Joss Stone keeps roots in county - BBC News
Cattle welfare ignored as meat body spends big on marketing - The Australian
Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:54:39 PM
exported to Indonesia were being abused, company documents show.... (Nation - Google News) maintained her roots in the LNP wants cattle ban lifted county, with local people... The Age Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:25:54 PM Cattle welfare ignored as meat ASAP Sydney Morning Herald Joss Stone 'absolutely fine' after body spends big on marketing Cattle trade ban will have longCBC.ca 'kidnap and murder plot' Metro term effects ABC Online Devon soul star Joss Stone keeps J o s s S t o n e ' m u r d e r p l o t ' : The Australian roots in county celebrities targeted by criminals MEAT & Livestock Australia Calls for cattle trade to resume planned to spend seven times as Herald Sun BBC News Telegraph.co.uk Joss Stone, the Devon-raised Joss Stone determined to 'get on m u c h o n m a r k e t i n g a s o n The Age- NEWS.com.au- The improving cattle welfare this year, Canberra Times singer who became a soul star, is with life as normal' stv.tv believed to be the target of an W a s h i n g t o n P o s t - B e l f a s t despite receiving repeated reports all 788 news articles over the past decade that animals alleged murder conspiracy plot. T e l e g r a p h - I T N She experienced success from a all 998 news articles young age - but, despite that, has
Christian World Adoption

ThingLink Takes The Fight Betts denies being unfit Back To Stipple With Rich Media Image Tagging to remain in office -
Sydney Morning Herald

Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:40:37 PM
Sydney Morning Herald Betts denies being unfit to remain in office Sydney Morning Herald "It is unrealistic to expect that we are perfect; we are not" ... Jennifer Betts. Photo: Edwina Pickles IN A 17-year career as a magistrate during which she dealt with about
50000 court cases, Jennifer Betts had four complaints lodged against her,... Judge Jennifer Betts' plea to keep her position The Daily Telegraph Contrite Betts may have won the day for the wrong reasons The Australian Magistrate fights for job after behaviour review ABC Online all 16 news articles
Christian World Adoption is one of the largest international adoption agencies in the United States. Since 1991, Christian World Adoption has placed thousands of children from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. These children Mike Butcher (TechCrunch) now enjoy the love and security of a forever family. Christian World Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:02:56 AM Adoption currently offers adoption programs in Bulgaria, Stipple, which thinks it's a bit original in allowing people to tag embeddable code to make all or China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, images with Twitter names, has individual images taggable. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia some new competition on the These tags have now been created and Ukraine. Explore our website block. ThingLink, which also lets for Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, to learn more about international you tag any image, is now Spotify, Vimeo, Wikipedia, adoption. Then, when youre launching Rich Media Tags, SoundCloud and Twitter. The ready, call our friendly adoption allowing anyone to interact with application is obvious: you can c o u n s e l o r , t o l l f r e e , a t an image tag which might be add promotional flyers to a 1 . 8 8 8 . 9 7 A D O P T . embedded music, video, words, branded product, or anything, thus pictures and tags for people. e n a b l i n g s o m e k i n d o f Publishers simply connect their engagement of transaction to take site, blog or Flickr account with place without someone needed to the ThingLink platform and get an leave a page or site.
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Samsung Galaxy S II Official Accessories Review

Chris Davies (SlashGear)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:42:37 AM
Samsungs Galaxy S II smartphone blew us away with its combination of dual-core performance, impressive Super AMOLED Plus display and superslim dimensions, beating the HTC Sensation to the market. The companys official accessories havent been so timely, however, but the Samsung Vehicle Dock Kit, HDTV Adapter, Desktop Dock and Battery Charger Stand are finally on the SlashGear test bench. Theyre joined by Case Mates Barely There Tough Case, too. Check out our full review after the cut. Vehicle Dock Kit Given Google Voice Navigation has already replaced many standalone PNDs, its no surprise that Samsung offers an official Vehicle Dock Kit for the Galaxy S II. After all, the smartphones display is, at 4.3-inches, bigger than many dedicated GPS units offer, and the Super AMOLED Plus panel is bright enough to be visible even in direct sunlight. The kit itself consists of a suction -cup mount for the windshield, with a sturdy release latch and an adjustable ball joint where the separate phone cradle latches. This holds the GSII in place while still leaving access to the side
controls, headphone socket and SAMSUNG page 35
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33
CNET Road Trip tours Europe

(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:25:13 AM
CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman travels to Europe for his annual Road Trip adventure. This year, he'll check out the coolest technology, aviation, and cybersights the Old World has to offer. Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/15: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Watching Lego make its world-famous bricks Road Trip 2010: CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman got a rare opportunity to visit the production, processing, and packaging lines at Lego's Denmark headquarters. It was every Lego fan's dream. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/14: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) The making of King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle Road Trip 2011: King Ludwig II bankrupted his state of Bavaria by building this fairytale castle, which was still under construction at the time of his mysterious death at age 41. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the
Day, 6/13: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) At Ramstein, America's military aeromedical mission heats up Road Trip 2011: At Ramstein Air Base in Germany, aeromedical crews must care for soldiers coming in from U.S. wars abroad and prepare them for journeys home. And serious injuries are increasing. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/12: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/11: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Picture of the Day, 6/10: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) The great BMW art cars come home to Munich Road Trip 2011: For years, BMWs painted by pop art stars like Andy Warhol and Alexander
Calder have toured the world. But through September 25, most of the collection is on display at BMW Museum. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/9: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) The long, great history of zeppelins Road Trip 2011: The last one was decommissioned in 1940, but there was a day when Germany's zeppelins were the royalty of the skies. CNET visits the Zeppelin Museum to look at the history of aerial royalty. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/8: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Porsche Museum showcases company's great history Road Trip 2011: From Professor Porsche's earliest designs for his first employers to his own company's million-dollar creations, the modern masterpiece of showmanship in StuttgartZuffenhausen, Germany is worth any car fan's time. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/7: What is this?
If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Deep inside the world's longest tunnel Road Trip 2011: By building the Gotthard Tunnel, the Swiss government hopes to cut heavy truck traffic across the Swiss Alps in half, while doubling the efficiency and capacity of cargo trains between Zurich and Munich. It's also one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country's history. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/6: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/5: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/4: What is it? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/3: What is it? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a
prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) CNET Road Trip Europe: Planes, trains, and automobiles Come along with CNET's Daniel Terdiman as he visits some of the best geek-oriented spots in Europe, from the Eiffel Tower to Lego manufacturing, and from the historic D-Day beaches to this year's Paris Air Show. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/2: What is it? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 6/1: What is it? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 5/31: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Road Trip Pic of the Day, 5/30: What is this? If you know what today's picture is, you could be eligible to win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day contest. CNET page 42
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Chrome encrypts Gmail whether you want it or not

(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:37:25 AM
Google, which has found Gmail to be a target of hacking attempts from China, has modified Chrome so the browser always encrypts connections with the e-mail service. Google already changed Gmail to use encryption by default, a mode indicated by the "https" at the beginning of a browser address bar that means outsiders sniffing network traffic can't read your email. People could still get to the unencrypted version by typing "http://gmail.com," but no more, for Chrome. "As of Chromium 13, all connections to Gmail will be over HTTPS. This includes the initial navigation even if the user types 'gmail.com' or 'mail.google.com' into the URL bar without an https: // prefix," Google programmers said on a blog post yesterday. They said that approach defends against sslstrip-type attacks, which can be used to hijack browsing sessions. The technology used to enforce the encryption is called HSTS, which stands for HTTP Strict Transport Security and which lets a browser specify that a Web site may only be used over a secure HTTP connection. HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is
the standard that governs how Web browsers communicate with Web servers to retrieve a Web page. The moves dovetail with Google's attempt to make security a prominent selling point of its browser. By improving Chrome's security, the company stands to benefit directly by making its own services less vulnerable and indirectly by making the Web a safer place for people to spend personal and professional time. Google is a prominent target. It has disclosed attacks on Gmail it said appeared to come from China -- some in 2009, and more this year. To try to make attacks harder, it's added two-factor authentication to Gmail, which requires a code from a person's mobile phone as well the ordinary password. Most people don't appreciate the measures Google is taking to secure Chrome and its browserbased operating system, Chrome OS, argues Sundar Pichai, Chrome's senior vice president, in an interview at Google I/O, pointing to measures such as running plug-ins such as Flash and a PDF reader in a sandbox, using a verified boot process with Chrome OS, and making Chrome OS's file system encrypted. Chrome also is the vehicle for other Google ambitions, for
example to speed up the Web. Among aspects of that effort are an HTTP improvement called SPDY; a new ability to preload selected search results pages so they display much faster when a person actually clicks on the links; technology called Native Client designed to run Web-app software much faster; and the WebP image format that Google argues is faster than JPEG. It's not just about making the Web faster and safer, though. When people use Chrome to perform a Google search, the company doesn't have to share any resulting search-ad revenue with other browser makers such as Mozilla. The HTTPS-only access to Gmail isn't the only security move Google is making. Google also is trying to ensure that no users of Chrome and Gmail will be vulnerable to a problem that reared its head in March when an affiliate of a New Jersey company called Comodo was hacked, apparently by an Iranian. Comodo and its affiliate issue digital certificates that browsers use to establish encrypted connections to Web sites, but the attack produced fake encryption certificates for Yahoo, Skype, Google, and Mozilla. The Comodo issue is leading browser
makers to rethink certificate technology. Now, for some sites including Gmail, Chrome only can obtain certificates originating only from a short list of providers, not from the hundreds available on the global Internet. That list includes Verisign, Google Internet Authority, Equifax, and GeoTrust, according to a blog post by Adam Langley, a Google programmer. He adds that the list is visible in Chrome's source code. In the longer run, there's another significant security move on the horizon: Google is rebuilding Chrome atop its Native Client technology, gradually making more parts of the browser execute in a more secure "sandbox" whose isolation from other computing resources makes it harder for attackers to take over a computer through a browser-based attack. That move will begin with Chrome's PDF reader, but it won't be switched on until Google is confident of the technology, Pichai said. A close cousin of security is privacy, for example in the case where a government might want to see if a dissident has visited a particular Web site. Browser makers are working to extend beyond today's private-browsing modes that don't leave traces on a computer to private-browsing
modes that don't leave traces on servers, either. For example, Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer all are getting a technology to delete local stored objects (LSOs), which in practice means it's harder for Web sites to keep track of users through "evercookies." Standard cookies are text files that can be deleted by browser users, but with Adobe's Flash Player, other plug-ins, and new HTML storage techniques, there are more ways for Web browsers to store that data even when ordinary cookies are deleted. Evercookies are an overt way to track people. But there are subtler fingerprints a browser leaves behind that can help identify who's using a browser, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Peter Eckersley documented last year in his Panopticlick report ( PDF.) Chrome is based on the WebKit browser engine project that's also the foundation of Apple's Safari. Now WebKit engineers are evaluating the idea of " trackingresistant browsing that reduces that fingerprint. One example, described in the WebKit documentation of the tracking-resistant browsing, concerns the user-agent string-CHROME page 38
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SAMSUNG
even the 8-megapixel camera on the back, meaning you could potentially shoot photos and video of where youre driving. On the bottom, a pull-down microUSB section docks with the GSII to charge it. Samsung includes a 9v car power adapter which plugs into a standard microUSB port on the side. Right next to it is a 3.5mm audio-out port, which can be used to pipe the GSIIs sound to the input on your car stereo, if it has one. That means you can play music and listen to voice guidance through your car speakers. As soon as you dock the phone, it loads up the Navigation UI with oversized buttons and easy access to the voice recognition system for hands-free control. The cradle fixes on and detaches reasonably easily, but wed like to have seen an easier way to rotate it between portrait and landscape orientation. Instead, you have to loosen the ball joint and rotate it that way. Still, priced at 39.99 its cheaper than other generic car -kits weve seen, and Samsung has obviously thought through the design: there are cut-outs for the GSIIs rear speaker, for instance. HDTV Adapter While weve seen smartphones with HDMI ports before, the Galaxy S II uses a technology called MHL for its HD output. Rather than a dedicated port, MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) uses the USB connection to simultaneously charge the phone and output up to 1080p Full HD video and up to 7.1-channel
surround sound. Unfortunately MHL adapters have been in short supply, and werent on sale back when we reviewed the Galaxy S II. Samsungs official dongle is a compact affair, a thin black box roughly the size of a few sticks of gum, with a short microUSB cable to hook up to the phone and, on the box itself, a full-sized HDMI port and microUSB port. Connect up your TV with a regular HDMI cable, plug in a power supply and whats shown on the GSIIs display is automatically mirrored on the big screen. It wont function without power, unfortunately, so youll need your AC adapter or a USB connection from a computer, but otherwise its plug & play. Within seconds we were watching YouTube videos, browsing the web and playing Angry Birds, all on our HDTV and with no sluggishness. The useful thing about the HDTV Adapter is that MHL isnt just Samsungs standard its gradually being adopted across the industry. We were able to use the same adapter with the HTC Sensation, for instance, which takes some of the sting out of the 24.99 sticker price. Desktop Dock Docking stations for mobile gadgets vary in complexity from simple stands to full multimedia stations with various audio and video outputs, charging, and passthrough sync. Samsungs official Desktop Dock for the Galaxy S II falls somewhere in-between, an
attractive black plastic block shaped like a pyramid toppled backward, with a cut-away middle section. The phone drops in at the front and there are volume buttons on the right edge along with in a chrome-finish end plate a 3.5mm audio output port and a microUSB charging port on the back. In the cutaway section theres what looks at first glance to be a speaker grille, but in fact is the outlet for a sound pipe. In the cradle, behind the GSIIs own rear speaker, theres a cutaway that channels the phones audio through and passively amplifies it along the way. It works surprisingly well, though you get better results in stereo by plugging in a set of external speakers into the docks audio-out socket. The phone charges when theres an AC adapter attached (though the volume buttons control it whether its powered or not) with a blue LED to indicate status, but you cant sync. Neither will the MHL HDTV Adapter work when plugged into the dock, which undermines its usefulness somewhat. The GSII automatically boots into desk display mode, with the time, weather and user-assignable shortcuts to media and voice search. For most users, not providing pass-through data likely wont be too great an issue Googles apps all sync wirelessly, after all but developers who like to use a dock while coding and testing may find
its absence frustrating. Its priced at 39.99. Battery Charger Stand We were pleasantly surprised by the Galaxy S IIs longevity on a single charge, but heavy users such as those taking advantage of the Super AMOLED Plus display for multimedia playback may still find the smartphones standard battery cant get them through a full day. Samsungs Battery Charger Stand addresses that, a simple external battery charger which accepts under a lift-up hatch a second GSII power pack and uses a regular microUSB power input to top it up. Samsung has carved a rubberlined slot out at the front, allowing you to prop up the Galaxy S II in either portrait or landscape orientation, hence the Stand part of the name. It works but of course it doesnt charge up the battery in the phone itself at the same time, and nor does Samsung include a second AC adapter in with the charger. A pass-through cable wouldve been a neat addition, so that you could recharge both batteries at the same time, but we cant quibble too much for 14.99. Just bear in mind youll still need to buy the second battery itself, since thats not included. Case Mate Barely There Tough Case As cases go, the Tough Case is straightforward. No rubber, leather or fancy clasps, just a lightweight ABS plastic skin that the Galaxy S II clips inside so as to protect the back and edges. Cut -outs allow access to the camera,
power button, volume keys and lanyard hole, while there are gaps to allow the microUSB port and headphone jack to be used. The silicone coating is smooth and scratch-resistant, and theres little in the way of bulk or weight added to the phone. Still, the entire fascia is left unprotected, and while Samsung has used Gorilla Glass to cover its screen, thats not infallible. Wed recommend a screen protector in addition to the Case Mate, and are a little disappointed that at 24.99 the company doesnt throw one in the box as well. More on the Samsung Galaxy S II in our full review. Thanks to Clove for the loan of the Galaxy S II accessories. Relevant Entries on SlashGear.com Samsung Galaxy Tab hits UK from 100 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 accessories priced and available in Germany More Samsung Galaxy Tab accessories outed: Bluetooth stylus, USB dongle, more Samsung Galaxy S Power Pack surfaces in German newsletter Samsung May 24 event confirmed: Galaxy Tab or GSII? Samsung Galaxy Tab CDMA tested in wild again; official accessories outed Samsung Galaxy Tab gets video unboxing Samsung Galaxy Tab hits TMobile with free messaging SAMSUNG page 41
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Reeder makes a successful leap from iOS to Mac

TJ Luoma (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:00:00 AM
When I heard that Reeder for Mac was being developed, I was thrilled. Ever since I had moved to Google Reader, I had been looking for a Mac app which was more compelling to use than the web interface. Reeder for iPad(US$5) was so good that I used it almost exclusively. Could Reeder make the jump from iOS to Mac? I purposefully waited until the first few public beta versions of Reeder for Mac were released, to let the early bugs get sorted out. When I started to hear good reports about it on Twitter, I downloaded it and tried it for myself. Initially, it felt awkward. I couldn't stop noticing that this was an iOS app ported to Mac OS X. It just didn't feel right. So I deleted it. A few beta releases later, I tried again, but the result was the same: I used it briefly, then gave up. When the final version arrived, I went to the official website hoping to find a demo version that I could try before buying. (I will pause briefly to repeat my firm belief that the biggest shortcoming of the iOS and Mac App Stores is the lack of fullfeatured demos.) At US$10,
Reeder was above my "just buy it to try it" threshold. I found screenshots, but those are hardly enough to give a good feel for the app. For a few days I continued my routine of using a Fluid.app browser for Google Reader on the Mac and Reeder on my iPad, but eventually curiosity got the better of me and I dropped my Alexander Hamilton on it. Despite my first rule for purchasing software, I decided that even if it didn't meet my needs now, it was likely to be popular enough that it would continue to be developed and improved. Five minutes later I knew I had made the right choice. Make no mistake, Reeder still feels like an iOS app which jumped to the Mac, but it has pushed through the awkward teenage years into a promising young-adulthood. That may be due to the fact that Lion has already started to push acceptance of iOS ideas and concepts coming "back to the Mac," or maybe the app itself has changed enough to make the jump seem less dramatic. But enough with the vagaries of opinion, let's take a closer look at what's there. Keyboard Shortcuts and 3rd Party Services REEDER page 38
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37
Going "Android First:" The Road to Lightbox's Commercial Launch

Sarah Perez (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:11:30 AM
Lightbox, a beautifully designed photo sharing and camera replacement app originally launched into beta at this year's SXSW. Between then and today's public launch, the app has been overhauled, and has added support for Honeycomb tablets. But what's most interesting about Lightbox is its business model: "Android First." What that means is that developers behind Lightbox, lead by founders Thai Tran and Nilesh Patel, are building Android applications first, before building the iOS counterparts. And that hasn't always been an easy task, they say. Sponsor Challenges in Building for Android It's a bold move to go Android first in a day when most companies are still doing things the other way around. For other apps in the photo-sharing space in particular, including relative newcomers like Instagram and Path, the iOS version is the first, and perhaps, the only app that will ever exist. For Lightbox, however, the goal is to raise the bar as to what a quality app on Android looks like.
But that has proved difficult, at times. Says Tran, the team learned quickly that it's tough to build a high quality photo app on Android. With Lightbox, the app requires a large number of bitmaps stored in memory at the same time. You have to be careful how the memory management is handled differently on each device, he says, because when you hit that quota, the Android operating system will kill the app. Because of this problem, the Lightbox team ended up rewriting the internals of the application to make it more stable. This will also address the early feedback from beta testers complaining that the app crashed too much. Other app makers have likely reached this same point and struggled. Tran suggested that Color, another photo-sharing social networking app whose Android version simply disappeared from the Market without explanation, had been pulled because the Android app just "wasn't good enough," when compared to its iOS counterpart. Users Craving Quality Apps Despite these issues during the development, there's clearly interest among Android users for quality applications, says Tran. After SXSW ended, around 5,000
function as a replacement for your stock camera app, and it also lets you apply "Instagram-esqe" filters(B&W, Lomo, Retro, Sepia, Cyano, Redscale, XPro, Fisheye and Instafix color correction) to your photos. Those photos can then be used for a Foursquare checkin, or can be posted immediately to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Lightbox.com. Lightbox also offers a strong people had signed up for the emphasis on privacy with options private beta. This is equivalent to to make photos public or private, the same number of people who and geotagged or not. For now, signed up for Foursquare at these choices are "binary," says SXSW 2009, he notes. As the app Tran. But the company plans to was retooled, Lightbox slowly make them a bit more nuanced in added more testers to the private the future. So, for example, you beta, which currently has around could share with a group of close 7,000 users and more on the friends, as opposed to the general waitlist. public. The company also plans to Now, there's no more waiting. add more organizational tools L i g h t b o x i s r e a d y f o r i t s going forward, like folders or commercial debut. The newly ways to group photos by events. revamped app is to be made To be clear, though, Lightbox is available today on the Android not trying to be yet another social Market at 8 AM PST (11 AM network - it's integrating with the EST). It will be free. And o n e s y o u a l r e a d y u s e l i k e hopefully, all the improvements Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare will hold up as it rolls out to a and Tumblr. As you browse wider audience. through photos, you can like and What Lightbox Offers comment on the ones your friends For those unfamiliar with had posted to Facebook or reLightbox, the best way to describe tweet the photos posted to what it does is to call it a "social Twitter. And while browsing, you camera" application. The app can can swipe through photos and
even pinch-to-zoom on photos, which Tran says is hard to implement on Android. Few apps support both of these gestures, he claims. Some may mistakenly think of Lightbox as an iCloud for Android, but Tran says this is not the case. On iCloud, photos are only stored for 30 days, but you still need a PC or Mac to archive the photos for long-term access. Lightbox stores all your photos, and makes them accessible to your device (either smartphone, or now, Honeycomb tablet) or via a Web browser. Plus, iCloud only works over Wi-Fi, while Lightbox can work over 3G, too. Future Plans: HTML5 Second, iOS Third As for an iOS version, users will have to wait. Not only is Lightbox going Android first, it's going HTML5 second. iOS will be third. The team will eventually build for iOS but it's a matter of resources right now. There's no timeframe for the iOS launch at present. Further down the line, Lightbox wants to make more Android-first apps which improve upon the native Android experience. What apps? We asked. Tran wouldn't say specifically, but hinted that Google's RSS reader app, Google Reader, wasn't very good. "There's no Flipboard for Android," he said. Discuss
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The first thing I loved was the keyboard shortcuts. Clearly that's not something you're going to find in an iOS app, so this is one place where it really stands out on the Mac. There are built-in, easily configurable keyboard commands for just about anything you could imagine. Not just the obvious ones like J/K for previous and next, but also shortcuts to send the current article to other services such as Pinboard, Instapaper, ReadItLater, Delicious, or Zootool. You can also send articles to Twitter, Instapaper or Google's mobilizer, email, or your web browser. If you have used Reeder on the iPad, you are used to being able to easily send articles from it to those services, and on the Mac it is even easier. Just like the iPad version, you can disable services you do not use. For example, I use Pinboard but not Delicious, so I left Pinboard enabled and dropped Delicious. But that's not all your fingers can do Drawing from the app's iOS roots, Reeder also supports gestures for swiping up, down, left, and right, as well as pinch open or close, letting you choose what action each gesture triggers. I am still getting used to these sorts of gestures on Mac OS X, but I think it is clear that they are part of its future. You are not required to use them; they are
simply another way of controlling the app instead of clicking on menus or toolbar icons (also highly configurable) or keyboard shortcuts. Readability: an RSS lover's best friend Reeder's built-in "Readability" feature pulls full articles from sites which only offer truncated RSS feeds. To try it out by clicking a button that's available at the bottom of the article pane, or with a keyboard shortcut (G), which toggles it on or off. If you want to go beyond the Readability format and integrate Reeder with your Readability account, you will find support for that is also built-in to the app, with the sign-in preference right below your Google account information. Nice Extras You can determine exactly when articles may be marked as read, pre-load articles (either in a webbrowser or with Readability) and more. You can also change numerous appearance settings to make it look more or less like an iOS app with room for tweaking. I was also glad to see that Reeder let me set the "Unread Count" to either "badge" (which looks like iOS) or "icon" (which looks nicely Mac-ish), or disable it altogether. It also gives granularity of control over syncing unread, starred, and shared items, as well as notes. What's different and what's
"missing" Unlike most Mac apps, Reeder uses many keyboard shortcuts without a modifier key (Command, Option, Shift). As I mentioned before, some of these will be familiar to you if you have used the Google Reader website, and I would not say that they were a bad idea, just a different one. I do know that many years ago Opera dropped one-key shortcuts because they found it led to user confusion when keys were accidentally pressed either by the users themselves, or (and I am not making this up) their cats. Fortunately the most potentially "damaging" keystroke (Mark All As Read) requires confirmation before it is executed (unless your cat manages to press Shift and A simultaneously, or you turn off the confirmation option in preferences). So far my only feature request (other than a demo version) is the ability to easily switch between Google accounts (a la Gmail accounts in Mailplane), but I suspect that is not a feature many users will use. At the very least, its absence in 1.0 release is understandable, and it may be enough of an "edge case" that it might never be added. Others have mentioned the lack of "tabs" as a drawback. While I understand the complaint, I find that I much prefer to read one
article at a time. Still, I would not be surprised to see that added in a later version if demand continues. After all, this is only 1.0. Finally, I was surprised to see that there was no "full screen mode" available. Perhaps that feature will be added when Lion is released. Summary Reeder succeeds in crossing over from iOS by bringing the best features that users have come to expect and adding in a sprinkling of Mac-specific features. While it may seem even more at home once Lion arrives, I am glad to have it today on my Mac. If you already know and love Reeder on the iPad, chances are good you will love it on the Mac too. If you are not an iPad user and are looking for a clean, feature-rich Google Reader client for Mac, Reeder should definitely be on your list to check out. Reeder makes a successful leap from iOS to Mac originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
the text a browser sends a Web server to describe its version number, compatibility, and operating system. Differences between different people's useragent strings means that a each carries enough information to narrow it down to about one in a thousand randomly selected browsers. Even a thousandth of the total number of Web browsers is a huge number, of course, but there are plenty of other ways to narrow down a search: time zone, installed plug-ins, fonts, and screen resolution, and more. It's not clear yet how much appetite there is for obscuring these fingerprints, though. "I'm skeptical that doing these things will provide anything more than window dressing, but I certainly don't want to discourage you from trying," said WebKit programmer Adam Barth in a comment. He requested more information: "I'd like to see us make tracking harder...I'd just like us to understand what we're buying and what we're paying for it." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Technology/
39
Google Ventures Backed-Copious Launches A Social Marketplace For The Facebook Era
Leena Rao (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:59:11 AM
Social commerce has taken on many forms; from purchasing items on Facebook to product recommendations from your social graph to daily deal sites. There are plenty of startups that offer the functionality listed above, but theres one area of social commerce which no startup has yet to conquer and successfully take on Amazon and eBaythe marketplace. Today, Copious is launching an eBay-like marketplace that leverages your social graph on Facebook. Copious, which has raised $2 million in funding from Foundation Capital, Google Ventures, BlackBerry Partners Fund, and a number of Facebook angels; is trying to disrupt the marketplace industry in a number ways. First, the site allows buyers and sellers to see if friends in common, which friends have bought or sold from a seller, bought from you, etc. As Copious co-founder Jonathan Ehrlich tells me, the site is centralized around using social data as a signal to help users understand and trust other parties. Another component of the marketplace is that sellers can integrate a variety of content and social components to show
communicate their expertise, whether that is a Twitter account with thousands of followers or an eBay account with positive reviews. And lastly, the site aims to give buyers a more personal, relevant experience with recommendations and more. Heres how the site works: The
marketplace acts similarly to eBay, in that everyone creates a profile and can then search items to by and/or upload product to sell. All buyers and sellers on Copious are linked to their Facebook identities. For example, buyers can see whether anyone in their networks has purchased,
shared, or commented on an item from a specific seller. They can also see more information about a seller, rather than just anonymous aliases or profiles. Using a proprietary set of signals, Copious allows sellers integrate information from profiles on Twitter; other
marketplaces like eBay; relevant product forums; personal blogs; and more. Copious will also recommend product to buyers based on their likes on Facebook and what their friends have bought. Copious will also allow sellers to integrate a social pricing mechanic that enables a seller to offer buyers discounts for sharing listings on Facebook and a following mechanic that enables sellers to offer buyers discounts for following them on Copious. For example, seller x could offer me a $25 credit to purchase a handbag if I follow the seller or share the listing in my stream on Facebook. While Copious does not charge sellers a listing fee, sellers are charged a flat transaction fee of 10 percent (discounted to 3.5 percent for a limited time following launch). For basis of comparison, eBay charges a small listing fee and transaction fees range from 8 to 12 percent. To prevent any sort of theft on the marketplace, Copious serves as an intermediary on all transactions. The money paid to a seller is held in escrow until the buyer receives and verifies the shipment. The Copious marketplace is launching with a select group of GOOGLE page 41
40
Technology/
LulzSec fields calls via hacking request line

(CNET News.com)
Richard Nash: Publishers Have Lost Their Way, Becoming Printers and Distributors Rather Than Matchmakers
Paul Carr (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:00:33 AM
called Titanic Takeover Tuesday. The group claims it attacked Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:11:16 AM several sites yesterday, including Hacking group LulzSec was Escapist Magazine, Eve Online, touting a hotline yesterday that let and League of Legends. people to call in and request LulzSec has been gaining takedowns of Web sites. notoriety as of late, thanks to a "Call into 614-LulzSec and pick a slew of successful attacks against target, and we'll obliterate it," prominent Web sites. After LulzSec wrote on its Twitter attacking PBS last month and account yesterday. "Nobody posting passwords on the Web, wants to mess with The Lulz t h e g r o u p a l s o c l a i m e d Cannon--take aim for us Twitter." responsibility for attacks against The LulzSec hotline's area code Sony Pictures, Sony Music Japan, encompasses the Columbus, Ohio, and other Sony organizations. metropolitan area, though it's The group has been busy unlikely the people behind the targeting Nintendo, Bethesda organization are there. According S o f t w a r e , a n d I n f r a g a r d , a to LulzSec, its hacking request company that works closely with line was lit up all day, and it the FBI. accommodated a total of 8 LulzSec has even dabbled in requests. By the end of the day, it politics, attacking the U.S. Senate claims to have had 5,000 missed over the weekend and posting calls and 2,500 voicemails. some information from its servers LulzSec's request line was part of online. "We don't like the US a wider event it held yesterday government very much," LulzSec
wrote following the Senate attack. "Their boats are weak, their lulz are low, and their sites aren't very secure." Following the attack, the Senate's Office of the Sergeant at Arms said LulzSec wasn't able to access the government's "computer network and was only able to read and determine the directory structure of the files placed on Senate.gov." LulzSec has made no mention whether it will continue to respond to requests from its phone line. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Ultra-Flexible Concept Cars - Ali Khanzadi Designs a Mercedes Sports Car for the Distant Future (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:32:02 AM
( TrendHunter.com) There aren't
many concept cars that look like design and futuristic technology the one Ali Khanzadi recently to... whipped up for Mercedes-Benz. The designer has created a concept car that mixes a classic
Thanks to the Amazon Kindle and the rise of ebooks, we now live in a world where publishers are an anachronism. Or so were told. One person who doesnt entirely buy that narrative is Richard Eoin Nash. Four years after selling the celebrated indy publishing house, Softskull Press to Counterpoint, Nash has launched Cursor, a startup which promises to help power the next 50,000 independent publishers. In the video below (which is a must-watch for anyone involved in books and publishing) Nash reminds us that, as recently as 50 years ago, the publishing industry was at the forefront of innovation and disruption. Today, however, publishers have become mere printers and distributors and have, he argues, lost sight of their primary function: to help connect writers with readers. As he puts it, Any major publisher that has launched a [disruptive, digital] subsidiary, has launched it under house arrest. They have not built anything to destroy their own business.
Nash also shoots down a number of myths, including the idea that the world no longer needs publishers, that electronic selfpublishing is somehow a new concept and that its possible or advisable for a publishing house to offer something for everyone. Finally, as the company embarks on a super angel level funding round this week, Nash invites TechCrunch readers to share their thoughts on the Cursor product, and on the future of publishing generally. (As ever, please forgive the shoddy camera work. I was testing out my new Sony Bloggie and well I clearly havent got the hang of landscape vs portrait yet.)
Technology/
41
Wii U lacks ability to play DVDs or Blu-ray flicks

Shane McGlaun (SlashGear)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:42:05 AM
We have talked all about the Wii U since the new console made its debut at E3 and we know just about all there is to know about it at this point. We know that the console will use game discs with a proprietary format what have 25GB of capacity per disc. That is the same capacity that a Blu-ray disc offers. You may have been hoping that the console would at least play DVDs. Alas, the console will not support DVDs or Blu-ray playback. The confirmation on the lack of playback capability came by way of Satoru Iwata, Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback
capabilities. I would wager a bunch of folks already have devices for playing discs. However, I think on a modern console the ability to at least play DVDs should be a given. This rather reminds me of Nintendo insisting Wii gamers didnt want HD graphics when most certainly did. Iwata said, The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu -ray, such that it didnt warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies. What do you think, should a modern console like the Wii U be
Samsung BD-UP5000 Tackles both Blu-ray and HD DVD More on using a pen with Vista Toshibas Announces HD-DVD Burner Dish Network adds new 3D movies Will a future Wii support CD/ DVD playback? Wii U lacks ability to play DVDs or Blu-ray flicks is written by Shane McGlaun& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.
able to play DVDs and Blu-rays or is that not an important feature? [ via Kotaku] Relevant Entries on SlashGear.com Samsung announces SE-406A
slim external Blu-ray combo drive Hack DVD playback enabled on the Wii BDC-S02J from Pioneer Plays Blu-ray, still doesnt burn Blu-ray
GOOGLE
SAMSUNG
sellers, focused initially on the handbags category and featuring sellers like eBags, Malababa, Ritzy Ragz, and more. The site will eventually expand to other categories such as electronics and clothing. Copious was founded in January 2011 by former Mobshop CEO Jim Rose, Critical Path VP of mobile strategy Rob Zuber, and former Facebook head of marketing Jonathan Ehrlich. All three worked at MobShop, which
was a group-buying site that launched during the bubble, way ahead of its time. While Facebook currently has its own marketplace ( powered by Oodle), Ehrlich says that this model has flaws because it focused on selling between friends and locally, whereas Copious is focused on adding social relevance to selling (even if you dont know who the seller is). Of course, launching a full
marketplace has its challenges, as eBay and Amazon knows. Its not just about verifying seller quality, but it is also a challenge to make sure that the items sellers are selling are authentic. The startup says that it will bring on handbag experts to help authenticate whether handbags sold are fake or real. To be perfectly honest, I never check Facebooks marketplace (although I get plenty of emails alerting me to items on sell within
my social graph), so Im curious how much traction the network is seeing with its marketplace. Its unclear yet if Copious has the answer to blending social with a marketplace, but they certainly have the potential to disrupt the social commerce space.
Samsung Galaxy S II Official Accessories Review is written by Chris Davies& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.
42
Technology/
DXG-018 3D camera is cheap and comes in a rainbow of colors

Shane McGlaun (SlashGear)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:01:56 AM
CNET
We have talked on more than one occasion about the cheap cameras and camcorders that DXG offers. The last product we saw from the company was a 3D camcorder called the DXG-321 that isnt cheap at right under $600. DXG is back with a new point and shoot 3D camera that is much cheaper than that camcorder at only $69.99. The camera is called the DXG-018 and it comes in five different colors. The camera has two lenses for the 3D effects. The image sensor is a 0.3M CMOS sensor and it has auto/ISO 100 sensitivity. The camera can focus on things as close as 6inches and saves photos to SD cards up to 16GB the image resolution is 1.3MP and the shutter can activate in 1/20 to 1/ 4000 of a second. Power comes from a pair of AAA batteries and it measures 4.8 x 0.83 x 1.93 and weighs 2.29 ounces with no batteries inside. The camera comes with a cheap
3D viewer that appears to be a paper tube with two lenses. When you print out the photos from the camera on your normal printer, you place them in the viewer to see the 3D effects. You cant expect too much for under $70. You can get the camera in pink, lavender, yellow, orange, and green colors. [ via DXG] Relevant Entries on SlashGear.com Did a box of Crayons throw up
or is that the new Pentax K-x DSLR? Rainbow Six Vegas 2 to be launched March 21st Wii: Captain Rainbow details revealed The Samsung S73 digital camera comes in color form Philips fit rainbow into one remote-controlled lamp Inventec Rainbow smartbook gets hands-on iPod Shuffle Now in New Colors
(Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day Official Sweepstakes Rules The official sweepstakes rules for the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day sweepstakes, which runs from May 30 through August 7, 2011. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) Help Road Trip conquer Paris This year, CNET Road Trip is heading to Europe. The schedule is packed, but Paris is kind of a blank slate. If you help Daniel Terdiman figure out what to do in the City of Light, he's got a prize for you. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is Bi-Plug AC/DC USB wall your content and you're reading it charger on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentDXG-018 3D camera is cheap only/faq.php#publishers. Five and comes in a rainbow of colors Filters featured article: Ten Years is written by Shane McGlaun& Of Media Lens - Our Problem originally posted on SlashGear. With Mainstream Dissidents. 2005 - 2011, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Donate to World Vision

Your gift to provide seeds, tools, and training will be multiplied 4
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Technology/
43
Iowa school replaces workbooks with MacBooks

Kelly Hodgkins (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:00:00 AM
The school district in Van Meter, Iowa has ditched their workbooks and replaced them with MacBooks in a four-year digital learning experiment. John Carver, Superintendent of the Van Meter school district in Iowa, has taken a bold move into the realm of digital learning. In the 2009-2010 school year, the district handed out laptops to all its seventh to twelfth grade students. The school district signed a four-year lease agreement with Apple to provide the students with MacBook laptops. The program costs about US$149,000 per year and is funded by the district's Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and School Infrastructure Local Option (SILO) tax. It hopes to have the funds to extend this program to K-12 students by the
Cone-Like Cups This Set of Ice Cream Cone Dessert Bowls from Dirtkicker Pottery is the Right Fit (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:42:02 AM
2012-2013 school year. Unlike other schools that plop computers on a student's desk and walk away, Carver did away with traditional paper-based learning and actively used the laptops in a new digital curriculum. The response towards the program has been enthusiastic. School board member John Seefeld was "amazed at students' attentiveness, how engaged they were and how
they seemed to be learning better under the new format." Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass took a tour of the program and remarked that "after two years of exploring the capacity of the devices, the kids and teachers are learning and evolving in their own knowledge of how powerful new technology can be." Well done, Van Meter School
District! May the program bring continued success. Iowa school replaces workbooks with MacBooks originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
( TrendHunter.com) Dirtkicker Pottery is a company created by a designer named Cindy who enjoys every aspect of creating pottery. She uses her Etsy account to showcase the designs and sell her beautiful, handmade creations....
Steve Jobs becomes comic book hero

Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:22:00 AM
A new "proper, balanced biography" of Steve Jobs is set for publication in August and it will literally sketch out the details of
his life. While the title, Steve Jobs: CoFounder of Apple may not have you rushing to your local bookstore, but this is not just a book but a comic book.
It is the work of Bluewater Productions whose previous
subjects include Angelina Jolie, reading... Lady Gaga and Sarah Palin. It has also drawn up a comic book biography for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, which will be available in September. Continue
44
Technology/ Culture/
Future WebOS Devices May Support NFC

Sarah Perez (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:55:51 AM
According to a report from Bloomberg, future webOS-based phones and tablets from HP may include support for NFC, or near field communication. This shortrange wireless technology enables the exchange of data between short distances, and serves as the backbone for upcoming mobile payment and mobile wallet systems, including the newly launched " Google Wallet," Visa's digital wallet and others. Sponsor Bloomberg confirmed these details with two people "familiar with the company's plans," the report states. They also said the new NFC-enabled devices may be
NFC will soon be a part of the growing mobile payments market. This market, which includes things like SMS-based payments, NFC, mobile money apps and more, will reach $215 billion in transactions by 2015, a report from Berg Insight states. How big a role will NFC play? Chipmaker Broadcom estimates that between 10% and 15% of phones will include NFC next year, up from just the 1% that are available by year-end, which NFC-ready now. means the support will not be For more information on NFC, included in forthcoming devices, including details on how it works like the Pre 3 or HP TouchPad to NFC initiatives underway now, tablet computer. check out our series "NFC in Whether or not HP would build 2011" on ReadWriteMobile. An its own "mobile wallet" system to article list is available here. rival Google's is unknown. Discuss Mobile Payments Heating Up
Passcode stealing app banned by Apple

Kelly Hodgkins (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 12:00:00 PM
Cloud Music Comparison: What's the Best Service for Streaming Your Library Everywhere? [Video]
Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:00:00 AM
Having to sync all your music between devices is annoying. Luckily a number of cloud music m u s i c t o n e a r l y services allow you to stream your everythinglaptops, tablets,
Apple clamped down on the Big Brother Security App and removed the passcode-stealing lockscreen app from the App Store. Daniel Amitay is the developer behind the Big Brother app which hit the headlines this week. The controversial app uses its own lockscreen and grabs the passcodes users enter into the program. Amitay compiled this data and produced a shocking report that suggests many iOS users have weak passwords like 1234 and 0000. Once the spotlight was shined on his passcode app, Apple took notice and removed the app from the App Store. Amitay believed he could collect the passcode data because it was not personally identifiable information. He is hoping to work with Apple to get smartphoneswith minimal his app back into the App Store, effort or tech know-how. Each has even if it removes this passcode its strengths and weaknesses, collecting feature. In an altruistic depending on your needs; here's move, Amitay claims he intended how to figure out which one's best for you. More
to use this data in the next update of the app to warn people of insecure passwords. [Via BGR] Passcode stealing app banned by Apple originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
Technology/ Culture/
45
Riak Rethinks Its MapReduce Framework with Riak Pipe

Klint Finley (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:30:00 AM
This week Basho, the company behind the open source NoSQL database Riak, released a beta of Riak Pipe. Basho community manager Mark Philips describes Pipe as "more or less a rewrite of our existing MapReduce framework. It builds on the lessons we learned in the initial (and still in use) version of MapReduce." You can find the code in GitHub. Sponsor Basho Senior Software Engineer Bryan Fink elaborates in the official announcement: Essentially Riak Pipe allows you to specify work in the form of a chain of function pairs. One function of that pair describes how to produce output from input, and the other describes where in the cluster an input should be processed. Riak Pipe handles the
6 tips for creating a captivating presentation

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:48:00 AM
details of ferrying data between workers by building atop Riak Core's distribution power. Riak Pipe will eventually power Riak's MapReduce system and expand its MapReduce capabilities. You can get an early look at a Riak branch that integrates Pipe here. You can learn much more about how Pipe works in the Readme file, and you can learn more about how Riak is being used in the real world here. Discuss
Bar menu goes meme-y

(Holy Kaw!)
cocktails named things like the Hipster Cat, Pedobear, and Friday is for Fun Fun Fun The AFK Tavern in Everett, Fun. Mmmm, deliciously Washington adds a splash of viral. No word if fried Nyan Cat meme-iness to its bar menu with made the midnight munchies
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:03:00 AM
Ambien not knocking you out to dreamland? Try a powerpoint presentation. (Ba dum tssh.) Presentations heavy on hideous templates and squinting-required fonts work great if your company has instituted nap time, but if the boss-man looks down on dozing and other aspects of the trophy are off at the conference table, it Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:19:00 AM entirely intact, leading to might be time to ramp up your Horrific legends of South suspicion that it might be a fake. presentation game. American tribes collecting heads Between the late 19th and early The 99 Percent offers six handy after battles have been granted 20th centuries, many fakes were tips for adding interest to greater weight, following the produced and sold for profit, otherwise dull presentations, and DNA analysis of a shrunken head. meaning that today around 80 it all starts with creativity. The head, which was on display percent aren't genuine. Continue A sampling to get started: at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel reading... Tap your enthusiasm. Aviv, is remarkably well Get to the core of your message. preserved. Hair, facial structure Tell a captivating story. Wow them with words. Create stunning slides. Keep it simple. Cheers to cocktails! Full details and explanations at Permalink| Leave a comment The 99 Percent. Tons of life tips and tricks. Photo credit: Fotolia menu. Permalink| Leave a comment Via Memebase.
DNA analysis of shrunken head lends weight to headhunting legends
46
Policy/ Culture/
FP Explainer: Why Would Someone Hack the IMF? - By Joshua E. Keating

JOSHUA E. KEATING (Foreign Policy)
material may not be so much what policies the IMF is following toward given countries as how it's Submitted at 6/14/2011 4:24:25 PM talking about them in private. In addition to finding a new The minutes of IMF executive managing director and awaiting board meetings are not made the prosecution of its most recent public until several years after one, the IMF now has a serious they take place. Meetings of the cybersecurity breach to deal with. board presumably include candid The New York Times reported discussions about the financial o v e r t h e w e e k e n d t h a t t h e solvency of countries requesting organization had been hit by "a bailouts. In both meeting minutes l a r g e a n d s o p h i s t i c a t e d and informal remarks over email, cyberattack whose dimensions are officials often discuss countries' still unknown." The fund declined internal politics and economic to provide details to the Times policies in terms they would never about the nature of the breach, but use in public documents. It's not it was apparently serious enough exactly unheard of for countries to that the World Bank immediately misrepresent their economic data. severed its computer links to the If IMF officials were shown to be IMF. But besides Dominique privately questioning member Strauss-Kahn's emails, what's countries' official figures, it would worth stealing from the IMF? certainly have the power to move Not as much as there used to be, markets. but still potentially a lot. The IMF Like any multilateral now makes a lot of information organization, IMF members also public that used to be kept secret, seek to push their own interests, s u c h a s t h e t e r m s o f l o a n and it's certainly possible that arrangements with recipient major shareholders like the United countries. But as with the State States and Britain may advocate Department cables released by for more favorable loan terms for WikiLeaks last year, the juicy allies. Again, this isn't exactly
secret, but it isn't the sort of thing governments want to see dissected in the media. Of course, not all cyberattacks are aimed at stealing information or orchestrating WikiLeaks-style data dumps. Sometimes, they're just done to prove a point -- as in the recent attacks by the mysterious group LulzSec on Sony, Fox News, PBS, and others. In fact, just two weeks ago, the IMF received a threat from the "hacktivist" collective Anonymous in retaliation for the fund's activities in Greece. "The overreaching powers of the European Union (EU) and the IMF will not go unnoticed or unopposed by the global community who stand in solidarity with their brothers and sisters of Greece," read a statement attributed to the group. Despite the threat, there's no indication that the recent attack was carried out by Anonymous. One hacker advising the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told Reuters that the intruder was likely working on behalf of a nation-state looking to steal
sensitive information for economic advantage or to simply embarrass the organization. With an organization as controversial as the IMF, the list of suspects is long. On the other hand, it's not as if a country could exactly issue a news release containing secret IMF data (though it could potentially invest in a country about to receive a loan). This may turn out to be a case in which using the information may prove just as difficult as stealing it. Thanks to James Vreeland, associate professor of foreign service and government at Georgetown University. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Calibrate Your Oven and Keep Its Temperature Steady with Sugar and a Pizza Stone [Cooking]
Melanie Pinola (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:00:00 AM
Your cooking and baking, especially, depend a lot on your oven's ability to regulate heat and accurately hit the target temperature. You can prepare your oven so it's properly calibrated and has more even heat distribution using just sugar and a pizza stone. More
Policy/
47
It's Evening in America By Michael A. Cohen

MICHAEL A. COHEN (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 6/14/2011 6:00:39 PM
When most of us hear "George W. Bush" and "foreign policy" in the same sentence today, the word that most quickly comes to mind is "neoconservative" (well, perhaps after "ill-fated"). Yet, when Bush first ran for president in 2000, his foreign-policy agenda was something else altogether. He bemoaned Clinton-era nationbuilding and pledged to focus as president on promoting a more "modest" foreign policy. His chief foreign-policy advisor, Condoleezza Rice, even wrote a lengthy realpolitik tract for Foreign Affairs magazine titled " Campaign 2000: Promoting the National Interest." Of course, as we now know, that talk barely survived the campaign trail. As president, Bush's embrace of neoconservatism came to define not only his foreignpolicy vision, but also the foreignpolicy vision of the Republican Party. So it's perhaps a bit of a surprise that on Monday, June 13, at the first Republican primary debate, the protagonists seemed to channel not President Bush, but instead candidate Bush. Republican realism made an unexpected comeback at the
debate as the GOP field sought to offer an alternative to President Barack Obama's military escalations amid growing public concerns about the costs of U.S. global leadership. If anyone three years ago had predicted that this would be the emerging division on foreign policy for Obama's reelection campaign they would have been laughed out of the room. Are we seeing a newly realist Republican Party? Or is this a momentary search for political opportunity? Only time will tell, but if Monday's debate is any indication, the fault lines for Campaign 2012 might not be as predictable as once imagined. Perhaps the most surprising foreign-policy moment of the night came when Mitt Romney, channeling his inner Dennis Kucinich circa 2003, said on Afghanistan, "It's time for us to bring our troops home as soon as we possibly can," adding, "We've learned that our troops shouldn't go off and try and fight a war of independence for another nation. Only the Afghanis can win Afghanistan's independence from the Taliban." (Less surprisingly, Ron Paul was also in favor of U.S. troop withdrawals, though he suggested a far more immediate timetable.) It's worth noting that
just this past January, Romney was speaking of the need for a long-term U.S. presence in Afghanistan and his desire " not to leave" the fight there. Libya gave the Republican wannabes a chance to go even further in a realist direction. When asked whether the war there was in the "vital national interest of the United States," Michele Bachmann said, " No, I don't believe so." She was seconded by Herman Cain and to a lesser extent by Newt Gingrich, though in fairness he seemingly has had more positions on Libya than he now has campaign staff. Had former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman been at the debate he likely would have been speaking in similar terms, as he has been the one GOP candidate to offer the greatest skepticism of Obama's military campaigns in Libya and Afghanistan, citing spiraling costs and the lack of national interest. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Gridlock and Gold Porsches - An FP Slide Show

(Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 6/14/2011 7:46:31 PM
JUNE 15, 2011 The disparity between Russia's rich and poor is perhaps nowhere more obvious than on the country's urban streets, where traffic jams snarl both diamondstudded sports cars and Soviet-era clunkers. Forget the global economic crisis: Russia's car owners seem to suffer from an obsession with the fast and the luxurious. In 2010 alone, luxury car sales rose 30.5 percent. Above, a Porsche 911 Cabriolet coated in 40 pounds of gold. The
extravagant vehicle, estimated at $600,000, was reportedly stolen briefly in April 2009 after a man who claimed to be a prospective buyer drove off after taking the car for a "test spin" around the block. Victor Bergmann via Flickr This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
48
Economy/
Emergency Session Fails; Market Calls Trichet's Bluff; French Banks Under Downgrade Review; ECB Divorced From Reality; What is US Exposure to EU Mess?
noreply@blogger.com (Michael Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
two biggest economies, are on opposite sides of the dispute, with France indicating backing for the ECBs view. While French Submitted at 6/15/2011 4:21:00 AM The market is about ready to slap F i n a n c e M i n i s t e r C h r i s t i n e ECB president Jean-Claude Lagarde has ruled out any action Trichet smack across the face that constitutes a credit event, with a hard dose of reality her German counterpart, Finance r e g a r d i n g G r e e k d e b t Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, restructuring. said June 10 that Europes biggest Please consider Greek Rescue economy has to insist on the Package May Be Delayed by EU participation of the private sector Disagreements on Investors Role in Greece. An emergency session of finance Schaeuble said yesterdays m i n i s t e r s i n B r u s s e l s l a t e meeting produced no result. yesterday failed to reconcile a Greeces ports, banks, hospitals German-led push for bondholders and state-run companies will to shoulder part of the cost of a grind to a halt today as the two new Greek aid package with biggest labor unions call the third European Central Bank warnings general strike of the year to backed by France that the move oppose Prime Minister George might constitute the euro areas Papandreous budget cuts and first sovereign default. asset sales. About 1,000 protesters Yields on 10-year Greek bonds were demonstrating in front of the touched 17.46 percent yesterday, Parliament today. ECB's Nuclear a record in the 17-nation euro Bluff Revisited areas history. Flashback May 19, 2011: ECB Finance ministers including would reject Greek bonds after Elena Salgado of Spain and restructuring Didier Reynders of Belgium Restructuring of sovereign debt stressed that any decision must i n G r e e c e w o u l d m a k e i t satisfy the ECBs concerns. impossible for the European L u x e m b o u r g s J e a n - C l a u d e Central Bank to continue using its Juncker, who leads the group of bonds as collateral in liquidity euro-area finance ministers, said operations, Executive Board before the meeting that all member Juergen Stark said. options would be considered. Sovereign debt restructuring Germany and France, Europes would undermine the eligibility of
Credit Agricole SA (ACA) may have their credit ratings cut by Moodys Investors Service because of their investments in Greece. Moodys placed the three banks ratings on reviews that will focus on their holdings of Greek public and private debt and the potential for inconsistency between the impact of a possible Greek default or restructuring and current rating levels, the ratings company said in a statement today. Ex-IMF Chief Raghuram Rajan on "Containment" Please consider Greece default fallout can be contained:ex-IMF Greek government bonds, an in discussion now. chief economist ECB spokesman quoted Stark as Does anyone think the ECB "One of the advantages of this having said during a visit to would hammer French banks and long drawn-out crisis resolution Greece on Wednesday. its own balance sheet by dumping process is that many private sector A continuation of liquidity Greek bonds and refusing to entities that were exposed to provision would be impossible. accept them as collateral? What G r e e c e h a v e r e d u c e d t h e i r ECB Executive Board member would that do to banks stuck with exposure," Rajan told reporters on Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on them. the sidelines of an investment Wednesday that even a soft All such posturing can do is conference in Singapore. restructuring of Greek debt would lower the value of them. Indeed, "The extent to which banks in have devastating consequences. the cost of insuring Greek debt Europe are exposed to Greece is He slammed talk of a so-called soared after Stark's statements. much more limited than it was, soft restructuring of Greek debt Prepare for Downgrades of even say, six months or a year as empty slogans. Empty French Banks ago, and so the cost of a Greek Slogans Bloomberg reports BNP Paribas, default and restructuring could be The empty slogans are from the Societe Generale Ratings May be absorbed by the banking sector," mouths of Trichet, Smaghi, Stark, Cut by Moodys on Greek Debt he said. Langarde, and all the clowns who BNP Paribas SA, Frances Rajan said a restructuring of insist restructuring is off the table biggest bank, and local rivals EMERGENCY page 49 when it clearly is on the table and Societe Generale (GLE) SA and
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Greece's debt looked increasingly probable as Athens lacked the political will to carry out widespread privatizations of state assets and budget tightening. "If it (the debt restructuring) happens in a way that banks and markets are prepared for, even if not publicly but at least privately, it is very well containable," he said. Containment Nonsense The idea that restructuring will be contained to Greece is pure nonsense. Portugal and Ireland are on deck with Spain right behind. What cannot be paid back won't, and that extends far beyond Greece. Divorced From Reality Reuters columnist James Saft's article Greek actors seek divorce from reality is an excellent summation of the current state of the Greek mess. Greece, shut out of the capital markets, needs money, and soon, and is willing to play along with the fiction that the next tranche of aid, perhaps 90 billion euros, from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and ECB will buy them enough time. The ECB, which is up to its eyeballs in exposure to Greek debt, steadfastly maintains that it wont countenance a soft restructuring, or default, presumably because it fears this will be too much for it, the banks, and the global financial markets to bear. Germany, however, is insisting on just that; it maintains that the private sector will have to bear some of the costs, and while there
is much discussion about soft restructurings featuring debt repayment extensions, no one has credibly explained how the private sector can take its lumps without it being considered a default. The ECB has perhaps 40-50 billion euros worth of Greek bonds on its balance sheet, and has lent about another 90 billion or so to Greek banks. It has threatened, in the event of a restructuring, to stop accepting Greek debt as collateral, a move that would be tantamount to cratering the entire Greek banking system at once. This would also deal sharp losses to the many euro zone national central banks which are exposed, potentially causing some to need additional capital. By destroying the Greek bank sector, the ECB would, quite possibly, effect the exit of Greece from the euro zone. Depositors in Greek banks understand this, and have been withdrawing funds. Given all of this, it seems likely that the ECB will relent, though in doing so they will seriously impair their credibility. And of course, as soon as Greece defaults, the eyes of the market would immediately turn to Portugal, Ireland and even Spain. Rather than figuring out how to keep Greece upright without knocking over the banks, they would have been far better off figuring out how to actually make the banking system solvent and sound given Greek insolvency. That would involve huge private sector losses, inevitably, but
might just have laid the groundwork for sustainable growth. Instead we will have a sinking euro and waves of deflationary force coming out of Europe. What is US Exposure to the EU Mess? A pair of articles on The Street Light by Kash discusses Indirect US Exposure to the Euro Debt Crisis As last week's new BIS data showed [see Betting On the PIGs], it appears that US banks indirectly have substantial exposure to the peripheral Eurozone countries that are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Exactly what form that exposure takes is a bit uncertain, though it seems likely that much of it is in the form of credit default swaps (CDS) written by the US banks to provide insurance against default to the holders of bonds from Greece, Ireland, and Portugal. But it's a bit frustrating not to have a clearer understanding of exactly what form this exposure takes. So I've been trying to see if there is any public information that can give us a hint about exactly how the big US banks have incurred such exposure. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to get any good information about banks' derivatives exposures. The major US banks tend to downplay their exposure to the Euro debt crisis in their SEC filings. In fact, B of A's direct exposure to Greece is listed at only about $500 million. But note that that is their direct exposure. What we learned from the BIS data is that
they also have indirect exposures, which probably arise primarily through their credit derivatives purchases and sales. Kash dives into the figures and it appears Bank of America made $9.1 billion through 12/31/2010 writing credit default swaps. But what is Bank of America's exposure to the Euro-Zone now? More importantly, what is the Greek exposure? Kash writes ... 1. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs are the most aggressive in terms of taking open positions on default outcomes. But we have absolutely no idea how much of those positions (if any) were with peripheral Euro assets. Also, while the last two firms don't break out income attributable to CDS activities (at least not that I could find), B of A made a huge portion of their profits in 2010 from them. (Note that Citi did not indicate how much of the CDS protection that they sold was covered by purchases of CDS insurance, so they may or may not be in that list as well.) 2. The aggregate CDS exposures of the big US banks are certainly large enough to be plausibly consistent with the BIS estimate of about $100 bn in indirect exposures to peripheral Europe. If you add up the highlighted numbers (and make a guess at Citi's position), it seems reasonable to guess that the total net open positions on CDS protection sold to third parties by the big US banks is between
$1,500 and $2,000billion. Attributing $35 bn of that (about 2%) to Greece, which has certainly had one of the most active markets (proportionally) for CDS contracts over the past year, doesn't seem to be a stretch. 3. Banks do not have to provide much detail about the indirect credit exposures that they take on when they sell default insurance through the CDS market. We have incredibly scant information about the positions that US banks take through default insurance, and therefore no idea about how any individual bank will be affected by a Greek default. Finally, a note about the risk this poses to the US banking system. The big US banks are wellcapitalized now, and can fairly easily absorb losses of several billions of dollars in the event of a Greek default. But two serious concerns remain. First, I fear that this may have the potential consequence of exacerbating the flight to safety that will happen in the event of Greece's default; if you have no idea who is really going to be on the hook and ultimately liable for CDS payments, your best strategy may be to trust no one. I don't think that triggering post-traumatic flashbacks of the fall of 2008 is going to do good things to the market or the economy. Second, I wonder if there's a public relations disaster just lying in wait for the big US banks. After all, how will you feel (assuming you don't EMERGENCY page 52
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Wave of Violent Protests, Rioting, Bombings Hits China; Expect More Riots When China's Credit Bubble Pops, Exposing Mountains of Fraud
Submitted at 6/14/2011 11:15:00 PM
Protests are not uncommon in China. However, most protests have been in rural areas where farmers have had their land stolen by bureaucrats and property developers. The last few weeks have been different. Several large urban areas have seen protests against corruption. Please consider Wave of Unrest Rocks China A wave of violent unrest in urban areas of China over the past three weeks is testing the Communist Party's efforts to maintain control over an increasingly complex and fractious society, forcing it to repeatedly deploy its massive security forces to contain public anger over economic and political grievances. In the latest disturbance, armed police were struggling to restore order in a manufacturing town in southern China Monday after deploying tear gas and armored vehicles against hundreds of migrant workers who overturned police cars, smashed windows and torched government buildings there the night before. The protests, which began Friday night in Zengcheng, in the
southern province of Guangdong, followed serious rioting in another city in central China last week, plus bomb attacks on government facilities in two other cities in the past three weeks, and ethnic unrest in the northern region of Inner Mongolia last month. Antigovernment protests have become increasingly common in China in recent years, according to the government's own figures, but they have been mainly confined to rural areas, often where farmers have been thrown off their land by property developers and local officials. The latest unrest, by contrast, involves violent protests from individuals and large crowds in China's cities, where public anger is growing over issues including corruption and police abuses. Protests in China have been occurring at an increasing rate. This is in spite of the fact the Chinese economy has been growing at 10% a year for a decade. What happens when China's growth slows to 4%? Chinese Stock Market Fraud While pondering implications of slowing growth in China, please consider The big fraud in Chinese stocks by Jim Jubak. For years, investors in Chinese
fund family, had $261 million invested. Maverick Capital, a hedge fund with $20 billion under management, owned $177 million of Longtop Financial Technologies shares. The lead underwriters on Longtop's 2007 IPO had been Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. In 2009, Morgan Stanley was the lead manager of a sale of more shares. Since March, more than two dozen companies based in China have disclosed auditor resignations or accounting problems, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has launched a task force charged c o m p a n i e s h a v e u s e d t h e the financials had to be OK, right? with examining accounting at reputations of outside auditors, Apparently not. overseas companies listed in the institutional investors and global That's what's so depressing, United States. investment banks as a proxy for disturbing and disorienting about In other words, Longtop reliable financial reporting. the fraud recently uncovered at Financial Technologies isn't a bad Maybe the disclosed data wasn't Longtop Financial Technologies apple in a barrel of otherwise a l w a y s e a s i l y u n d e r s t o o d , (LFT). The company's books were sound fruit. Instead, it's transparent or accurate but if a audited by Deloitte, and Longtop symptomatic of a big problem that Big Four international accounting still managed to lie about the $332 has tainted an entire sector. And f i r m l i k e D e l o i t t e T o u c h e million in cash it claimed on its because China is too big an Tohmatsu signed off on the audit, balance sheet. economy and too promising a a big institutional investor like This was no penny stock that stock market to simply ignore, JPMorgan Chase (JPM, news) duped only unsophisticated investors need to figure out how owned a couple of million shares individual investors. JPMorgan to deal with the problem. Longtop and an investment bank like Chase owned almost 2 million Financial Daily Chart Goldman Sachs Group (GS, shares that were worth $62 Longtop stopped trading May 18. news) had underwritten the million as of March 31. FMR, WAVE page 52 company's initial public offering, which owns the Fidelity mutual
Economy/
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Small Business Optimism Dips Third Month; Business Owners Cite Lack of Customers, Inflation as Problems; Keynesian Claptrap from Summers
Corporate profits may be at a record high, but businesses on Main Street are still scraping by, said NFIB chief economist Bill Submitted at 6/14/2011 12:40:00 PM In spite of all the yapping about Dunkelberg. Washington is banks not lending to small throwing misdirected policies at businesses, only 8% of businesses the problem, offering tax breaks report getting loans is a problem. f o r h i r i n g a n d e q u i p m e n t In contrast 25% say getting investment, but acting surprised customers is the number one when they dont bear any fruit. problem. An increasing number of The failure to understand why owners cite rising inflation as a small-business owners are not problem. hiring or investing has resulted in Please consider Small Business a set of policies that have not been Optimism Dips Lower in May very effective, and Main Street is The Index of Small Business suffering. The icing on the cake: Optimism fell 0.3 points in May the growing debt, large deficits, to 90.9. This month marks the threats of higher taxes, regulations third monthly decline in a row. being spewed out by state and The proximate cause is the fact local administrations, and the that 1 in 4 owners still report uncertainty of the new health care weak sales as their top business lawis it any wonder that problem. Consumer spending is optimism is down? Highlights weak, especially for services, a From NFIB Report sector dominated by small businesses. the index makes clear Over the next three months, that optimism is moving in the 13% plan to increase employment wrong direction: a recession-level (down 3 points from April, down reading for an economy fighting 5 points from March), and 8% its way through a recovery. Also, plan to reduce their workforce (up inflation is a growing concern 2 points), yielding a seasonally now with 1 in 10 citing this as adjusted net negative 1% of their most serious business owners planning to create new problem meaning cost side jobs. pressures coming in the back Only 5% of the owners view the door, not rising food prices at current period as a good time to home. expand
Fifty percent of firms reported making capital expenditures over the past six months, and the percent of owners planning capital outlays in the next 3 to 6 months fell 1 point to 20%, a recession level reading. Sales are down; the net percent of all owners (seasonally adjusted) reporting higher nominal sales over the past three months lost 4 percentage points, falling to a net negative 9%, with more firms with sales trending down than up. 92 percent reported that all their credit needs were met or that they were not interested in borrowing. Eight percent reported that not all of their credit needs were satisfied, and 49 percent said they did not want a loan. Three percent reported financing as their #1 business problem The feedstock for inflation continued to grow, with the number of owners actually raising average selling prices reaching a net 15 percent, seasonally adjusted. Thirty-one (31) percent reported raising average selling prices, double the percent cutting prices which suggests that average price levels will be rising, and that is inflation. The Federal Reserve protests the notion that QE2 liquidity is
driving commodity prices as liquidity scours the world to find a higher return than that offered by banks, but there is a strong correlation between Federal Reserve purchases and commodity prices. Misguided Policies Why would you want to expand or hire new employees if your problem is lack of customers? The answer is you wouldn't and neither will small businesses. Yet Obama attacked the problem in January of 2010 with a $33 billion tax credit proposal. The administration is floating the idea of tax credits once again on the assumption that Republicans may go for tax cuts. However, tax credits to spur hiring were bad policy in 2010 and they are still bad policy today. Keynesian Claptrap from Obama's Former Top-Economic Advisor More government spending and stimulus cannot possibly fix a problem that includes too much government spending and misguided stimulus efforts. Yet that is what Lawrence Summers suggests in How to avoid our own lost decade This is no time for fatalism or for traditional political agendas. The central irony of
financial crisis is that while it is caused by too much confidence, borrowing and lending, and spending, it is only resolved by increases in confidence, borrowing and lending, and spending. Unless and until this is done other policies, no matter how apparently appealing or effective in normal times, will be futile at best. You have to be a Keynesian nutcase to believe more spending is the solution to problems caused by too much spending. Such policies have never cured one problem in history, yet proponents of such policies never learn. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http:// www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth SMALL page 52
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work on Wall Street) when you read the headline that Big Bank X lost money because it sold billions of dollars of credit default insurance while it was on taxpayer life-support? Rightly or wrongly, I'm guessing that Big Bank X will not be very popular for a while. Bank of America Daily Chart click on chart for sharper image Is Bank of America collapsing under the weight of now imploding CDS positions, collapsing because of losses associated with Countrywide Financial, or collapsing because of general weakness in the banking sector? Regardless, that is one pathetically weak stock. Contrast to JP Morgan. JPMorgan Daily Chart click on chart for sharper image Bank of America is down about 30% from its recent high. In contrast JPMorgan is down about 12% and is essentially flat for the
year. The market clearly does not like something about Bank of America, but it's a guess about what that is. Derivatives and Off Balance Sheet Mess That we are guessing about such stuff is a testament to the pathetic nature of progress regarding bank structural reforms. There has been no progress on mark-to-market accounting or on forcing off balance sheet SIVs and other garbage on bank balance sheets where it belong. More Fundamental Question Is writing CDS on Greek debt a core U.S. bank function? If not, why is Bank of America involved in this practice in the first place? Banks should be banks, not leveraged-playthings with taxpayers taking the hit when things blow up, and bank executives making hundreds of millions of dollars when they don't.
When do we put an end to this nonsense? Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http:// www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.
Jubak describes the fraud in great detail in the rest of his post. Expect Mountains of Fraud Fraud and credit bubbles go hand -in-hand. When things are booming, everyone is willing to look away. That's what happened with the US housing bubble as well. Greenspan then Bernanke were both in denial, as was the NAR, real estate flippers, and everyone who stood to profit from the bubble on the long side. China is currently in the midst of an enormous property bubble and credit bubble, yet some serious cases of fraud have already popped up. As soon as the Chinese credit bubble implodes, and it will, look for mountains of fraud in the Chinese stock market and the Chinese property market to come to light. Also expect the Chinese Copper Ponzi Financing Trade Gone Wild will implode. As long as the stock market, the job market, and housing prices hold up, China may be able to
contain social unrest. " When China's credit bubble implodes, things will likely be anything but "contained". Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http:// www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.
SMALL
management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.
PermissionDog Displays Your Android Apps' Permissions, Shows How Dangerous They Are [Downloads]
Melanie Pinola (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:30:00 AM
each app has, rates each app's permissions settings, and can also monitor them in real time. More apps on your phone. It shows you at a glance all the permissions
Android: The free PermissionDog app is a handy tool for evaluating the security of
Economy/ Food/ Finance/
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The 21 Countries Most Likely To Default

Gregory White (Money Game)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:13:32 AM
in these states is getting worse.#21 Russia Current 5-year CDS Price (bps): Greek CDS are blowing out this 141.17 morning, as the likelihood the May 23 5-year CDS Price (bps): country receives another bailout 136.83 from eurozone leaders decline. Note: A 5-year CDS price of Domestic political tensions are 1000 bps suggests it costs $1 now threatening to derail new million to insure $10 million of austerity measures, and the threat debt. is spreading throughout the Source: CMA Datavision (via eurozone's fringe. Bloomberg) While much of the world has #20 Poland remained flat for the last month in Current 5-year CDS Price (bps): terms of its credit risk, the 141.97 eurozone's problems have only May 23 5-year CDS Price (bps): gotten worse. 140.32 W e ' v e r a n k e d t h e t o p 2 1 Note: A 5-year CDS price of countries by today's intraday CDS 1000 bps suggests it costs $1 price, or the cost to insure each million to insure $10 million of country's debt. It isn't a perfect debt. ranking of what country is likely Source: CMA Datavision (via to default first, or when, but does Bloomberg) show a growing consensus from #19 Peru market participants that the crises Current 5-year CDS Price (bps):
143.81 Note: A 5-year CDS price of 1000 bps suggests it costs $1 million to insure $10 million of debt. Source: CMA Datavision (via Bloomberg) See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: Nouriel Roubini: This "Perfect Storm" Of Threats Could Slam The Economy By 2013 Hussman: The Government Is Too Afraid To Do The One Thing That Would Save The Economy Forget August 2, There's A Big Debt Ceiling Deadline Coming Up Next Month
Tons Of Developments On The Greek Political Front -- Catch Up Here

Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:24:35 AM
and the results of course would be better." It's vital for Greece to pass this Greece's prime minister, George new round of budget cuts and Papandreou, has offered his privatizations, if it wants to resignation in exchange for a receive its second bailout from the unity government to be formed in European Union. EU officials are Greece, according to Reuters. stalling on the bailout, with the Papandreou's party, the socialists, date of the deal now pushed back are now in talks with opposition to July. Reminder: Here's who p a r t i e s t o f o r m a u n i t y gets slammed if Greece defaults > g o v e r n m e n t . I t ' s l i k e l y t h e Please follow Money Game on objective of this unity government Twitter and Facebook. is a cabinet with a consensus on Join the conversation about this future austerity measures. story The conservatives appear to be See Also: holding out for a Papandreou Why Another Greek Bailout Is resignation to agree to a unity Now Becoming Less And Less government. Likely By The Day From the AP ( via ABC News): Next ECB President Says "The most important member of a Europe Doesn't Know How To ship's crew is the captain, and the Manage Default, And It Could captain has to go," prominent Lead To A Chain Reaction conservative deputy Theodoros Uh-Oh: It Sounds Like They Karaoglou said. "If we joined Don't Have A Deal On Greece forces, we could go to our (creditors) together to negotiate
How to Cut Sodium

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salty margarita) places we found the mgs. Take a little trip with us Submitted at 6/15/2011 7:30:19 AM through an editors day to see Wondering where all the sodium where he cut back. Next 6:20 AM is hidden? Youll be surprised at This entry passed through the the unlikely (and sometimes Full-Text RSS service if this is highly likelylooking at you, your content and you're reading it
on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Greek debt costs spike as protests escalate

Submitted at 6/15/2011 6:33:08 AM
The cost of buying Greek debt spiked again as markets took
fright at a deadlock on more aid as protesters marched on parliament and the prime minister held emergency talks on a controversial reform package.
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Now Ireland Wants To Beyonce Knowles Take The Hatchet To Pictures in W Magazine's Senior Bank Bondholders July 2011 Music Issue
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:46:18 AM
support, there's no word yet from the ECB, whose voice on the matter may be the deciding one. Irish finance minister Michael There has been some expectation Noonan now wants to impose from investors that the Irish losses on senior bondholders of government would turn against Anglo Irish Bank, according to senior Anglo Irish bondholders at RTE.ie. some point. The IMF is backing this plan, Please follow Money Game on according to the RTE report. Twitter and Facebook. From the report: Join the conversation about this Speaking in Washington DC, story where he has been meeting US See Also: Treasury Secretary Timothy A Quick Guide To Who Gets Geithner and officials from the Crushed If Greece Defaults IMF, Mr Noonan said around 3.5 In Next Greek Bailout, Idiot billion in senior unsecured, Lenders May Finally Take A Hit unguaranteed bonds issued by Next ECB President Says Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Europe Doesn't Know How To Nationwide Building Society Manage Default, And It Could should have losses imposed on Lead To A Chain Reaction them. While the IMF may be in
Allie Merriam (PopSugar)

Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:09:56 AM
DTotD: Goalkeeper loses his mind after winning Serie A promotion

Brooks Peck (Y! Sports Blogs Yahoo! Sports)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:41:19 AM
Beyonc Knowles and Christina Aguilera shared the honor of covering July's music edition of W. Both singers are at exciting points in their careers - Christina has found a new outlet on TV with NBC's The Voice while Beyonc is gearing up for the release of her new album 4. Beyonc spoke to the magazine about her vision and inspiration for the tracks, even revealing the important meaning of the record's title. Beyonc said in W: On her vision:"When I sing a song, I definitely have the image for the video in my mind. I kind of hear the choreography that will be in the video, and I can see how Ill look, even before anyone - the record company, the director - has heard the song." On her new record:"I wanted this record to come from a raw place. Playing Etta James in the movie Cadillac Records really changed me. It was a darker character, and I realized that if anything is too comfortable, I
Novara won promotion to Serie A on Sunday by beating Padova in a playoff final and one man was more insanely happy about this than all others combined: Novara's 36-year-old goalkeeper Jimmy Fontana. want to run from it. Its no fun Fontana hurled his body into the interview backdrop, he screamed being safe." On the symbolism of her like a lunatic, he ran around album's title:"The fans have shooting off a fire extinguisher in named the album 4. And four is his underpants and he kissed my favorite number. Its an people as awkwardly as possible. important number in my life: the In short, he celebrated exactly date of my birthday, my moms how our dear friend Artur Boruc birthday, my husbands birthday, would have. Well, almost. Artur the day I got married. Barack probably would have set himself Obama is the 44th president, and I on fire while singing Taylor Swift performed At Last by Etta songs, too. Anyway, if you want the James at his inauguration." goalkeeper gloves of a crazy man, P h o t o s c o u r t e s y P a t r i c k they are apparently available. D e m a r c h e l i e r f o r W V i e w Video via 101gg Slideshow
Ex-ANZ chief John McFarlane to be Aviva chairman

John McFarlane, the former chief executive of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
(ANZ), has been the new chairman of Aviva, ending a 10month search to replace Lord
Sharman.
Culture/
55
The Spectacular Strobe Squid

Brian Switek (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:30:00 AM
As drawn by author and artist Richard Ellis, the deep-sea squid Taningia danae is an especially adorable cephalopod. Depicted on page 151 of his book The Search for the Giant Squid, the squishy creature has big eyes and broad fins that would make Sister Bertrille envious. The squid almost looks like a Pokmon character, and certainly has a fitting name for the anime franchise Taningia, I choose you! But Taningia danae isnt actually as cuddly as it looks in Ellis book. In addition to arrays of chitinous hooks lining the tentacles of this seven-foot squid, Taningia danae also possesses a pair of lemon-shaped organs on two tentacle tips that can be fired like strobe lights. This is a squid that dazzles before it kills. Up until about twenty years ago, much of what squid experts knew about Taningia came from occasional specimens hauled up in fish nets and partially-digested individuals found in the guts of whales and other predators. Teuthologists those scientists dedicated to the study of squid knew more about what was eating Taningia than what the peculiar, eight-armed squid was hunting and how the squid did so. The squids pair of lightbulb-like organs were obviously light-
producing structures called photophores, but no one really knew whether they actually emitted light or how the squid used them. The fortuitous capture of a relatively small Taningia solved the mystery. In 1975 teuthologists Clyde Roper and Richard Young captured a roughly two-foot specimen off the coast of Hawaii and kept it alive long enough to place the animal in a shipboard aquarium. Curious to see if the supposed photophores really did emit light, the two scientists turned off the lights, and, as explained in a 1993 paper by Roper and colleague Michael Vecchione, one observer slowly moved his hand around in the aquarium in an effort to stimulate a response. Whichever researcher trawled their hand around in the squid tank turned out to be a glutton for punishment. In the technical tone reserved for scientific papers, Roper explained that two primary responses were evoked coordinate flashes accompanied by an attack, grasping the researchers fingers and biting, and a bright flash followed by rapid retreat from the stimulus. (Unfortunately there was no cephalopod equivalent of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index to gauge just how bad the bites felt.) The flash-and-bite technique was far more common, though, and Roper explained that continuous stimulation such as pinching
Their report of the behaviors were published two years later in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, and the accompanying videos of the squid darting about their natural habitat are mesmerizing. A small bait squid dangles from a hook looking as if it is being buffeted by undersea winds as spots of greenish-yellow light glow and fade around it. The Taningia themselves are nearly invisible in the dark, save for the lights that give away their presence. Kubodera and colleagues were lucky enough to observe the strobe-light squid during twelve different deployments of their hithe captive squids fins spurred s p e r m w h a l e s , s h a r k s , a n d def underwater camera rig, and all the squids organs to glow for elephant seals many Taningia the encounters occurred between between one and seven seconds. specimens were recovered from depths of 240 and 940 meters. All of which goes to show that the digestive flotsam and jetsam The squid did not act the same sticking invertebrates in glass of these animals. Alternatively, way each time. Sometimes the containers and poking them to see Roper and Vecchione proposed squid would go after the bait that what they will do is a scientific that the flashes may serve as an had been set, and other times they technique employed by curious offensive behavior that disrupts would attack the rig line, pole, or grade-schoolers and professional defenses of prey. Obviously the halogen lights that were part of scientists alike. light organs could be used for the rig. The squid modified their The specimen of Taningia danae both purposes as Roper and strikes in the case of each target. captured by Roper and Young. Young learned the hard way in When the squids attacked the Not a happy squid. From Roper 1975 but direct observation of halogen light, for example, they and Vecchione, 1993. the living animals in their deep would rush in with their arms Based upon the captured squids sea haunts was needed to know spread wide, but when the behavior, it seemed that the for sure. Taningia attacked the bait they flashes of light might act as a Marine biologists finally got their spread their tentacles, flashed defense. The bright, quick arm- chance in 2005. In that year their photophores, spun around tip flashes startled the observers, J a p a n e s e m a r i n e b i o l o g i s t s the bait, and sped off backwards Roper wrote in 1993, and this Tsunemi Kubodera, Yasuhiro with the morsel in their arms. technique seemed like a good way Koyama, and Kyoichi Mori (These squid lack the long, rubber to startle, distract, and confuse recorded the first videos of -band-like tentacles used by other an approaching predator. Then Taningia danae hunting and again, the bright flashes did not feeding in the dark reaches of the SPECTACULAR page 59 do much to help the squid against sea near the Ogasawara Islands.
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Duke Nukem's PR Threatens To Punish Sites That Run Negative Reviews

Ben Kuchera (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:36:00 AM
A large part of my job is dealing with people who work in public relations. The vast majority of those whose do PR for video game companies are polite, wellintentioned, and extremely professional. They need us to get their games coverage, and we need them for access to the developers and early code to review in a timely manner. The press and PR relationship may sometimes be strained, but its rarely adversarial. That is, until the Redner Groups official Twitter account posted something you almost never see: an open threat stating that outlets who reviewed Duke Nukem Forever poorly may not receive review copies of games in the future. Anyone who has done this job for any amount of time has suffered through a dry spell after giving a publisher a bad review, but this is the first time the threat of a blacklist has been made public. Too many went too far with their reviewswe are reviewing who gets games next time and who doesnt based on todays venom, the company tweeted. Bad scores are fine. Venom filled reviewsthats completely different, another tweet read.
Currently, Duke Nukem Forever has a Metacritic score of 49 on the Xbox 360, the format most commonly sent to the press. For a game with such a large marketing budget and name recognition, thats shockingly low. The tweet has since been deleted, but we took a screenshot when it
was originally published. Its not, however, that surprising. The game received tepid writeups after the Los Angeles preview event, and industry gossip always painted the game as a barely finished product. Its hard to find a good review for the game, although the PC version of Duke
Nukem Forever seems to be doing slightly better than the console port. The game will sell well regardless Duke Nukem Forever is the definition of a release thats critic-proof but no one feels good when their game is beaten up so badly by the reviews.
Whats shocking about that tweet isnt that some outlets may get blacklisted thats something you risk every time you give a game a low score but that the Redner Group would release a public statement letting outlets DUKE page 58
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Navy: Actually, Most Military Intel Systems Suck

Spencer Ackerman (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:21:00 AM
Its one of Defense Secretary Robert Gates lasting legacies: pumping billions into producing drones, cameras, sensors and aerostats so U.S. troops can have a better picture of the wars they fight. And the Office of Naval Research is saying its still not good enough. Not that the office is criticizing Gates. Its just that a new solicitation from the Navys super -scientists to create a big new autonomous persistant tactical surveillance is really impatient with all the inefficiencies that confront troops starved for better intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools. And no wonder: the programs out-there goal is no less than measuring the value of information across an area as a function of time given knowledge of current and future missions and to measure the amount of known relevant information spatially organized as a function of time. The basic idea behind Autonomous Persistent Tactical Surveillance is to link collected intelligence into the commandand-control systems that let small units talk to their headquarters. That should better allow sensor
and data analysis nodes to anticipate the information needs of the tactical warfighter. That linkup could work in a secured cloud which mobile handsets should be able to access, providing simultaneous situational awareness to a Marine squad and its command center.
Eat your heart out, Army smartphone program. Thats not all. The program wants to expand the Navys aperture, using coverage history, data and context from available sources to get a persistent fix on a huge area of space typically 40 nmi [nautical miles] by 40
nmi. (Eat your heart out, Air ForceBlue Devil super-blimp. Gorgon Stare, you might have a rival.) That should knit together into an autonomous sensing system thanks to a variety of unmanned vehicles operating in autonomous mode. So think networked drones
working in concert to get a longterm view on a massive area, deciding whats relevant to a small Marine unit by anticipating its mission requirements, all linked to headquarters, and discarding NAVY: page 60
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know they are on notice if they went too far in their review. This sends a chilling message to those who review games professionally: hold your tongue if you feel strongly about a game, or you may not have timely coverage of a future release. I contacted Jim Redner for comment on this story, and this is the response I received: I have had a wonderful relationship working with you in the past. I plan to continue working with you in the future on all projects, if you will allow me. I believe reviews are completely subjective. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion and opinions are never wrong. It is not my intention to bully anyone. I over reacted. I just voiced an opinion. I have poured my heart into this project and I just want it to succeed. It is my hope that you understand. Another tweet was posted publicly apologizing, and a longer, more personal apology was sent, although that wasnt made available for publication. In a situation where a game receives a bad score, its
important to realize that these reviews and scores are delivered as a means of telling a customer whether to buy a game, another person working PR told me, on the condition he would not be identified. Its a learning opportunitysee what wasnt liked, and come back stronger with a better game next time. They pointed out that a bad score isnt malicious, its only a reviewer saying they didnt like the game. During my years as a game reviewer Ive grown close to a number of writers at other sites, and Ive also enjoyed long working relationships with many people working public relations. Speaking generally, Ive known people both on the giving and receiving end of blacklists, and its an ugly, but private weapon used against and sometimes by the press. Thats why its so insidious: its nearly impossible to prove that interview opportunities are being held back or review copies arent being sent due to a prior, negative review. In some cases the press will even blacklist a publisher, as is the case with Kotakus punishment of
Warner Bros. use of embargoes in order to give another outlet an exclusive Our Duke Nukem Forever review was tough, but I stand by every word of it. Its never worth pulling a punch when you talk about a game due to fear of retaliation. The professionals in PR understand that bad reviews happen, and those that will punish you for them come and go. Its your readers that are important, and when youre faced with this kind of behavior, the only sane thing to do is shine a bright light on it and let everyone know you wont be pushed around. While PR does control much of who I talk to, what I see, and how early I play something, the industry needs writers to talk about their games and to promote the exceptional work that is released on a regular basis. Reviewers need to feel free to write what they feel about games, and PR needs to understand that not every game deserves praise. Threatening outlets is never a winning strategy, and in many cases it may actually backfire. See Also: Duke Nukem Ends 12-Year
Reign as Vaporware King Review: Duke Nukem Forever Shoulda Stayed Vaporware Duke Nukem Forever Delayed Again for Old Times Sake After 14 Years in Limbo, Duke Nukem Forever Is Finally Finished Hands On: Duke Nukem Forever Parties Like Its 1997 Trailer: Tiny Duke Nukem Goes on Mini-Rampage Duke Nukem Forever Launch Trailer Is Not Safe for Work Vaporware 2010: The Great White Duke Vaporware 2009: Inhale the Fail This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
4 Things You Should Never Do With Your Credit Cards

nospam@example.com (Redbook) (Financiallyfit on Shine)
Submitted at 6/14/2011 5:00:29 PM
By Erika Rasmusson Janes, REDBOOK Here, Susan McCarthy, a financial adviser in Oklahoma City and author of
What's the Best Way to Pay off Student Loans?

nospam@example.com (Quizzle.com) (Financiallyfit on Shine)
By: Jeremy Fordham It seems like getting a college degree these days is a prerequisite for working
in most professions. In todays economy especially, employers are
Daily World/ Politics-Right/
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SPECTACULAR
squid species to quickly snatch prey, and so must grab prey with their eight arms.) That Taningia was such an active and acrobatic predator was somewhat surprising. Though Roper and Young found out first hand just how quick the squid can be, some marine biologists thought Taningia might be a relatively sluggish predator. The reason why has to do with how the Taningia as well as other squid, like the famous giant squid maintain neutral buoyancy in the water. Their secret is ammonia, but even though the compound helps big squid stay afloat in the water column without expending extra energy, the stuff is so prevalent in their flesh that, as Kubodera and co-authors point out, their bodies feel flabby and soft to the touch. Ammonia-rich squid where therefore cast as possible couch potatoes of the sea lazy ambushers that quickly nabbed whatever unfortunate victims happened by but the video of Taningia and recentlycaptured photos of giant squid show that these cephalopods are quick and agile hunters.
No big predators showed up to confirm what Roper and Vecchione had proposed about the flashes as a defense mechanism, but the several Taningia Kubodera and colleagues observed did more than pop their photophores just before charging the bait. In one case, a video shows a squid wandering around the bait without attacking, though exactly why the squid did this is unclear. Maybe, the biologists hypothesized, the squid was trying to somehow communicate with the double torch lights that formed part of the rig. Likewise, Kubodera and colleagues interpreted another incident a two-second flash before an attack on the rig line as an indication of uncertainty on the squids part. Given the difficulty of interpreting the intentions of other species, though, what the squids were signaling and why remains mysterious. Taningia danae probably uses its impressive photophores for a variety of reasons. The squid flashes its bulbous light organs just before striking prey, before attacking threats, and may even
Mark 6:34 (06-15-11)

(Verse of the Day)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 2:00:00 AM
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he
Via AP: REFUGIO, Texas Investigators say a man has died while in the act of raping an elderly South Texas woman. The Refugio County Sheriffs Office identifies the man as 53year-old Isabel Chavelo Gutierrez. Sheriffs Sgt. Gary Wright says the incident happened June 2 after he rode two miles by bicycle from his home to that of his 77-year-old victim in the tiny coastal community of Tivoli. He says the 5-feet-7-inches tall, 230-to-250 pound man sneaked into the womans house and raped her at knifepoint. During the attack, he said he wasnt feeling well, rolled over and died. His body was sent to the Nueces County medical examiner in Corpus Christi for autopsy. . . Yes, there is a God. Greg Pollowitz This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read began teaching them many things. what shepherd-less sheep most effective teachers. Please give the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content Mark 6:34(NIV) Thoughts on need is good, solid, down to earth, your people, your sheep, a hunger only/faq.php#publishers. Five Today's Verse... Jesus reminds us practical teaching from a teacher for your Word and a willingness Filters featured article: Ten Years of the incredible importance of who knows them and cares for to put it into practice in our lives. Of Media Lens - Our Problem teaching. While we might have them. My Prayer... Almighty God, In Jesus' name. Amen. With Mainstream Dissidents. expected miracles or wonders please bless your Church with arising out of Jesus' compassion, dynamic, compassionate, and
use them to communicate with others of its own kind. In writing about this superb squid, though, I have to admit that Taningia danae reminds me of the ads for useless gags and other crap advertised in the back of comic books. I can imagine it there now, a poorlydrawn squid surrounded by gaping kids, in an ad proclaiming Amaze Your Friends and Startle Your Enemies With the Spectacular Strobe Squid! *(Tank and squid food sold separately.) Top Video: A strobe squid Taningia danae circles a baited line and flashes its photophores. Video from the supplementary material of Kubodera et al., 2007. References: Ellis, R. 1998. The Search for the Giant Squid. Penguin: New York, pp. 150-152 Kubodera, T., & Mori, K. (2005). First-ever observations of a live giant squid in the wild Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 272(1581), 2583-2586 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3158 Kubodera, T., Koyama, Y., & Mori, K. (2007). Observations of wild hunting behaviour and
bioluminescence of a large deepsea, eight-armed squid, Taningia danae Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274(1613), 1029-1034 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2006.0236 Roper, C., and Vecchione, M. 1993. A geographic and taxonomic review of Taningia danae Joubin, 1931 (Cephalopoda: Octopoteuthidae), with new records and observations on bioluminescene, in Okutani, T., ODor, R., and Kubodera, T. (eds.) Recent Advances in Fisheries Biology. Tokai University Press: Tokyo. pp. 441-456 This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Sex Offender Dies In the Act of Raping 77-YearOld Woman

(The Feed)
Submitted at 6/14/2011 1:15:01 PM
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NAVY:
information thats either perishable or useless. Darpa wants to create a thinking camera. This is a step beyond. To get a sense of why the Navy thinks its necessary to upgrade the militarys arsenal of cameras, sensors and drones, the solicitation basically itemizes all their shortcomings at excruciating length. They dont weight the relative importance of collected information to specific missions, or indicate to analysts what info is perishable. They dont use unified information ontologies or data mappings, and a snapshot that lacks space-time and geocultural context isnt of much use. They cant assess large quantities of imagery and full motion video information and determine potential threat activities using algorithms that work with limited IT assets. They cant be a voice for the small unit commander,
channelling his or her needs up to the higher headquarters that controls a drone or a satellite. They cant project the value of information versus location given mission plans and area events over time. And they cant align tactical and strategic analysis capabilities and sensor resources to current and future information requirements. Aside from that, military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance is working great. The Office of Naval Research didnt make anyone available to discuss Autonomous Persistent Tactical Surveillance, and demurred from further comment since the solicitation is a long way from being awarded. Whether this actually gets seen through to completion is a separate question. Many, many problems have vexed similarly ambitious surveillance platforms. And this looks to be one of the most ambitious of all. Photo: U.S. Navy/Flickr See
Also: Air Forces All-Seeing Eye Flops Vision Test [Updated] Our All-Seeing Eye Sees Just Fine, Air Force Insists First Look: Inside the Armys App Store for War Beyond Surveillance: Darpa Wants a Thinking Camera Army Preps Unblinking Eye Airship for Afghanistan All-Seeing Blimp Could Be Afghanistans Biggest Brain This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Ryan Reynolds Pictures on His Way to Live! With Regis and Kelly
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:40:16 AM
Ryan Reynolds was dapper in a vest this morning as he left NYC's Greenwich Hotel. He was out for the early a.m. interview circuit, which included a stop by the studios of Live! With Regis and Kelly. His costar in Green Lantern, Blake Lively, got things started with Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa when she appeared on the show yesterday. Ryan has likewise been busy with press duties, as he kicked off the week by making media rounds in the UK. Ryan was also on The Late Show last night, and he chatted with David Letterman all about the action movie out on Friday. He shared a silly anecdote about working with a stuntman, who didn't like wearing underwear, on the set last Summer. In another recent chat, Ryan confessed to
being ready for a vacation. Ryan said of his rigorous workout schedule, "The goal is, no matter how you feel, you just got to get up and do it. It's three in the morning, because you've got a 5 a.m. call. You know, it's just part of the job. You know, 'This too shall pass.' This is 10, 11 months right now. But, pretty soon, I'll be able to sit on the couch and have a beer, 10 beers. It's all the same. I'm Canadian." View Slideshow
Tube strike talks break down

Dick Murray, Transport Correspondent (Evening Standard - News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 7:53:18 AM
Peace talks to try and avert four Tube strikes spread over seven days broke down today just hours after they started.
The RMT union accused Tube bosses of refusing to discuss the key issue of the dispute - the reinstatement of sacked driver Arwyn Thomas. A union spokesman said: "The talks at Acas have broken down. "We went into the talks in good
faith but London Underground were not prepared to have any discussions on keys issues of reinstatement and would not even give us an undertaking that they would employ Arwyn Thomas in the event of him winning his full employment tribunal case,"
The spokesman added: "The strike action is on." However, he said the union "remained ready for meaningful talks." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it
on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Culture/ Politics-Left/ Travel/
61
Cameron Diaz Pictures at a Bad Teacher Photo Call in Moscow

Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:22:00 AM
New documentary shows Sri Lanka 'war crimes'

(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))
Submitted at 6/15/2011 4:59:30 AM
Cameron Diaz popped up in Moscow this morning at a photo call for her movie Bad Teacher on the roof terrace of the city's RitzCarlton hotel. The actress is in the midst of a global press tour for the movie, which kicked off at an event in Madrid on Monday. Cameron will soon head back to the States in order to attend her Big Apple premiere in just a few days. Her costar in the upcoming comedy, Justin Timberlake, has been doing his fair share of interviews as well. Justin recently spoke to Playboy and addressed his relationship with ex-girlfriend Cameron. He said of their friendship, "It sounds complicated to everybody else, but it wasnt to us. Honestly, the only thing I was worried about before I said yes to that movie was being asked that
Britain's foreign ministry says Sri Lanka must look into new allegations of war crimes, or face possible international action, after a video of the apparent killing of Tamil prisoners by government forces was aired in a UK documentary. The Channel 4 programme also showed the bodies of female Tamil fighters who appeared to question. I knew at some point have wed have to promote the film and been sexually assaulted by people would say, Oh my God, government forces. thats so weird that you two dated "I was shocked by the horrific for four years. I dont know what scenes," said Alistair Burt, a else to say except the truth, which minister from the UK's foreign is that were friends. We dont ministry. talk to each other all the time, but Burt said on Wednesday that a we respect each other, and on failure to probe the claims of some level well always love each human rights abuses at the end of other - but in our new capacity as the friends." View Slideshow 26-year war with fighters from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could lead
to international action against Colombo. The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president, says the video material is fabricated. In video Sri Lankan MP responds to footage alleging war crimes near the end of civil war "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" was aired on Tuesday and appeared to show the summary execution of Tamil prisoners by government soldiers during the end of the civil war in 2009. Shot by a mobile phone, it specifically shows the apparent execution of three tied up Tamil prisoners including a woman. Much of it is filmed by Tamil civilians, herded into so-called "no fire zones", and then allegedly fired upon en masse. The documentary also cited witnesses describing the aftermath of the alleged shelling of hospitals
in designated "safe zones". Tamil Tiger fighters are also implicated in some of the footage. The UN estimates that tens of thousands of people died, mostly civilians, in the final weeks of the country's civil war. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretarygeneral, has so far resisted pressure to order an investigation into war crimes. However, the footage has been shown at the UN Human Rights Council, with Christof Heyns, the UN special investigator into extrajudicial killings in Sri Lanka, calling it evidence of "definitive war crimes". This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Cheap Thrills
(CONCIERGE.COM: LATEST TRAVEL FEATURES)
Submitted at 6/14/2011 3:26:27 PM
beach bungalow in Thailand, our guide shows you all the places where less buys you more.
Give your wallet a vacation, too. money's worth in Moscow, or Whether you want to get your great bang-for-your-buck at a
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Politics-Left/
Greek PM offers to quit amid protests

(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:21:30 AM
Protesters clashed with riot police in central Athens during antiausterity demonstrations [Reuters] George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, has offered to step down to facilitate the formation of a unity government to pass austerity measures, state TV reported. His offer on Wednesday came hours after protesters angry over sweeping spending cuts clashed with riot police in the capital Athens. Papandreou said the new unity government must support the EU and IMF bailout, and should not seek to overhaul it. "Prime minister Papandreou talked with Antonis Samaras [head of the conservative opposition] today and proposed that if the two agreed on a framework of specific commitments for changes in the country and the political system and specific targets, he would be willing to stand down from his office," a government source told the Reuters news agency. The opposition conservatives responded to the premier's offer by stating that a unity government was only possible if Papandreou resigned and if the bailout was renegotiated. Street clashes The day's political developments came as the government debated fresh austerity measures that
would extend beyond its term in office amid violence on the streets of capital. Protesters rallied outside parliament chanting "thieves, traitors" and asked "where did the money go?" as they demonstrated amid a 24-hour national strike organised by major labour unions which saw hospitals, transport and other public services crippled. Small groups of youths threw stones and petrol bombs at police cordons, and smashed the windows of a luxury hotel on
Syntagma square, outside the parliament building. Police responded to the violence with tear gas. "I feel rage and disgust," Maria Georgila, a 45-year old public sector workers and mother of two, told the Reuters news agency. "These are very tough measures and they won't get us out of the crisis. I can't believe they have no alternative." Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Athens, said: "There is undoubtedly anger on
the streets ... we've also seen people wearing entirely black, putting on masks and goggles." According to police, 20,000 people turned out for the demonstration, organised by two major unions, although local media put the figure at 40,000. Another 20,000 people demonstrated in Greece's second city of Thessaloniki, authorities said. Steep cuts Greece has to pass a 2012-2015 austerity programme worth
$40.5bn by June-end or face being cut off from rescue funding by European countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The measures including a fiveyear campaign of tax hikes, spending cuts ans sell-offs of state property. However some politicians in the governing party have publically criticised the new cuts, with one of them defecting on Tuesday, GREEK page 63
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Gaddafi forces shell rebel positions
GREEK
reducing Papandreou's parliamentary majority to five. (AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)) regime change." With its credit rating deep in junk Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the status, Greece is being kept afloat Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:30:53 AM NATO secretary-general, was set by a $159bn EU-IMF rescue loan Forces loyal to Muammar to meet with David Cameron, the program and will need additional Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, have British prime minister, and support to cover financing gaps shelled rebel positions in the William Hague, the foreign next year. western mountains, secretary, later on Wednesday for To meet its commitments, after opposition fighters edged talks on the three-month military P a p a n d r e o u ' s S o c i a l i s t s closer to the capital on three operation. abandoned a pledge not to impose their base in Misurata, east of 150km southwest of Tripoli. fronts. Senior military officials from new taxes and drew up a four-year 'No ground forces needed' A rebel spokesman in the town of Tripoli. Britain and France, key players in A NATO official said the alliance The push by the rebels came as the NATO campaign, had earlier privatisation programme worth Nalut said there were no $72bn. This has fuelled ongoing casualties from the shelling on dropped the leaflets west of the NATO commander heading expressed concerns about how to protests against austerity by Misurata, and closer to Zlitan. A the Libya operations said that the maintain the NATO operation, Wednesday. public utility employees and other "Gaddafi's forces bombarded R e u t e r s n e w s a g e n c y a l l i a n c e ' s m i s s i o n " c a n b e just extended for three months affected groups. Nalut ... Over 20 Grad rockets correspondent in Misurata said completed without the use of from June 27. US-based financial services l a n d e d i n t h e t o w n . T h e y there were no further advances ground troops". Robert Gates, the US defence towards Zlitan on Wednesday. Lieutenant-General Charles secretary, last week issued a company, Standard & Poor's, bombarded from their positions ... NATO war planes bombed Bouchard also said that the stinging rebuke to NATO allies, slashed Greece's rating to CCC on around 20km east of Nalut," he Monday, dropping it to the lowest said, adding that they had also Tripoli, the capital, on Tuesday military situation in western Libya warning their reliance on US of 131 states that have a sovereign night, causing loud explosions was developing "very positively". military might is putting the Libya shelled the Wazin-Dehiba Tunisia that filled the sky with plumes of "I do believe we can complete the mission and the alliance's very debt rating. border crossing. This indicates that Greece's The rebels have made advances smoke, but there were no further mission without bringing in future at risk. creditors may have less chance in key areas in recent days but r e p o r t s o f b o m b i n g o n ground troops," the Canadian This entry passed through the than Pakistan, Ecuador or Jamaica general told reporters off Libyan Full-Text RSS service if this is still have to overcome heavy W e d n e s d a y . On Tuesday, the rebels tried to shores on the Garibaldi, the your content and you're reading it of getting their money back. odds if they are to successfully This is a surprising low for march on Gaddafi's well-defended advance in the east, setting their flagship for NATO's maritime on someone else's site, please read Greece as the country still had a sights on the oil town of Brega to embargo on Libya. territory. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- stellar A-rating despite a hefty The rebels said NATO leaflets extend their control over the "My view is that this operation only/faq.php#publishers. Five debt burden in January 2009. warning of helicopter strikes had region, epicentre of the four- has clear support from the North Filters featured article: Ten Years This entry passed through the prevented them from pushing month rebellion against Gaddafi's Atlantic council and we are Of Media Lens - Our Problem Full-Text RSS service if this is receiving adequate assets to With Mainstream Dissidents. towards Zlitan, and had prompted four-decade rule. your content and you're reading it In a sign that Gaddafi's forces complete the mission and carry some rebels to retreat from their on someone else's site, please read newly-captured positions about may be getting stretched, the out our mandate," he said, adding: the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content10km outside the city, towards rebels seized the town of Kikla, "We don't have a mandate for only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
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TV/ Talk/ Politics/
The X Factor: Miami Auditions Showcase Judges' Personalities

Julie Kay (TVGuide.com: Breaking News)
Picture of the Day: Topless Newt Gingrich on a Rock

Garance Franke-Ruta (Politics : The Atlantic)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:15:58 AM
judges. Cowell and Reid were especially blunt to a young guy whose dream is to appear on Glee; Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:26:00 AM they also likened one duo to Paula Abdul karaoke singers. The X Factor judges held Cowell also playfully poked fun auditions in Miami on June 14, at Scherzinger, who has easily and already the quartet of Simon stepped into the judge's chair Cowell, Paula Abdul, Antonio vacated by Cheryl Cole. During " L . A . " R e i d a n d N i c o l e the performance of a female Scherzinger seems to be working quartet, the judges were trying to like a well-oiled machine. Abdul figure out who was the star of the says Cowell has mellowed a bit foursome. Cowell explained that on the new show. "He's gotten there has to be a star, and pointed softer, but don't tell him I said to Scherzinger and her role in The t h a t , " s h e t o l d T V G u i d e Pussycat Dolls as an example. Magazine. (In fact, when the "There has to be someone greedy judges introduced themselves at in the group," he said. "I wasn't the beginning of the auditions, greedy," Scherzinger responded. Abdul sat on Cowell's lap and "It wasn't about that." Then Abdul said, "I'm in love with Simon.") broke in and mended fences: "She But Cowell showed few signs of stole the limelight and that's why being a softie as contestants faced she's here on this panel." him at the BankUnited Center. It's Scherzinger said she hasn't yet becoming apparent that music found the next generation of producer Reid joins Cowell as the superstars. "I'm still looking for harsh critics, while Scherzinger someone who I can say, 'I want to and Abdul are the kinder, gentler buy your album, I want to see you
on tour.' It's about waking up in the morning and saying, 'You know what, I need to tell myself I'm an artist and I have it.' It's about attitude... and trust." Meanwhile Cowell told TV Guide Magazine that The X Factor, which premieres on Fox this fall, bears no resemblance to
American Idol, of which he has only watched one episode since he left. "They are 100 percent separate," he said. "They are vastly different shows. What worked there doesn't work here. We want to find the next Rihanna, the next Justin Bieber. The stakes are much higher." When asked whether he thinks Idol has morphed into a nicer version since he left, he said, "Definitely. They're trying to burn the memory of Simon." Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now! This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
TEDTalks : Steve Keil: A manifesto for play, for Bulgaria and beyond - Steve Keil (2011)
(TEDTalks (video))
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:09:58 AM
We're sorry, but the page you requested could not be found. If you arrived at this page as the result of a link on our site, please visit our feedback page to report the broken link. (If you are seeing this page as a result of a link from another site, you may wish to inform them that their link is out of date.) If you typed the URL rather than clicking a link, please doublecheck the URL for accuracy. Finally, for help finding the page you requested, visit our Site map or our Search page. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
At TEDxBG in Sofia, Steve Keil
fights the "serious meme" that has infected his home of Bulgaria -and calls for a return to play to revitalize the economy, education
and society. A sparkling talk with a universal message for people everywhere who are reinventing their workplaces, schools, lives.
TV/ News Photos
65
Tobey Maguire Elizabeth Hurley Selected as New Divorce Face of Prada Finalized
Rich Juzwiak (TVGuide.com: Breaking News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:18:00 AM
Kisses, Hugs For Julie Taymor As 'Spider-Man' Opens (PHOTOS) Huffington Post
(news photos - Google News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 4:08:37 PM
Rich Juzwiak (TVGuide.com: Breaking News)

Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:58:00 AM
Tobey Maguire Tobey Maguire is slipping into something more comfortable: Prada. The 35-year-old actor can now add "model" to his resume, as he's appearing in the fashion label's fall/winter ad campaign, which was shot by photographer David Sims, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Catch up on today's news "[Maguire's] mood is transfixed and pensive, full of vibrant intensity and mystery," says Miucca Prada. Holding up his end of the mutual appreciation society, Maguire says: "Miuccia Prada has inspired a culture of creativity that is woven through every aspect of her company, from her collections, her campaigns, to every design detail in her stores. I have such admiration for her artistry and I'm thrilled to be a part of Prada's fall campaign." You can see two of Maguire's
shots for the campaign at The Huffington Post. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Elizabeth Hurley Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar were granted a divorce Wednesday at a brief hearing in London, The Associated Press reports. Neither party attended the hearing. News of the divorce broke in April, and it was reported that Hurley's papers cited "unreasonable behavior." This followed months of estrangement, which Hurley announced in December via Twitter after being caught on film kissing Australian cricket player Shane Warne. Catch up on today's news Hurley and Nayar, an Indian textile heir, married in March 2007 after dating for four years. Hurley has 8-year-old son, Damian, from a previous relationship with millionaire Stephen Bing. Though Hurley had a very public, 13-year relationship with Hugh Grant, they never married Nayar was her first
husband. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Telegraph.co.uk Kisses, Hugs For Julie Taymor As 'Spider-Man' Opens ( PHOTOS) Huffington Post Earlier in the night, Taymor, Bono and The Edge were all smiles as they posed for photos on the red carpet. "We were trying to do something that's never been done. And that's very hard to do. And we were right in front of everybody," Taymor said on the... Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark finally opens [ PHOTOS& VIDEO] International Business Times PHOTOS& VIDEO: SpiderMan: Turn Off the Dark's Opens To Fair, Poor Reviews Radar Online Bono, The Edge attends 'SpiderMan Turn Off The Dark' premiere ( Photos) Examiner.com all 1,434 news articles
66
TV/ News Photos
EXCLUSIVE 'Burn Notice' Clip, Plus Creator Matt Nix Talks Big Changes This Season
Maureen Ryan (AOL TV)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 5:15:00 AM
Photos: Sao Paulo Fashion Week - KBOITV

Submitted at 6/15/2011 3:30:16 PM
One Life Gone on 'The Nine Lives of Chloe King' Series Premiere (VIDEO)
Catherine Lawson (AOL TV)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 4:12:00 AM
by a mysterious figure. She soon learns she's part of an ancient, super-powered race of cat Filed under: Reality-Free, people, called The Mai, who have Summer TV, TV Replay The been hunted by human assassins Series Premiere of 'The Nine for millennia -- and that she may Lives of Chloe King' (Tue., 9PM be their only hope for ultimate ET on ABC Family) introduced survival. us to a new teen heroine in the We saw our plucky heroine get mold of Buffy or Claire Bennet. pushed to her death from the top Chloe King (Skyler Samuels) is of a very high tower. But then, as just an ordinary teenage girl horrified bystanders stand over looking forward to celebrating her her bleeding corpse, and the bad birthday with her friends and guy races down the twisting single mother, just like every staircase to the ground, Chloe other year ... until she starts suddenly opens her eyes. developing heightened abilities Permalink| Email this| Linking and discovers she's being pursued Blogs| Comments
Filed under: Reality-Free, Features, Stay Tuned The exciting fifth-season opener of USA's 'Burn Notice,' which arrives on USA June 23, alters the world of spy Michael Westen in tantalizing ways. As viewers learned at the end of the previous season, Michael has finally "come in from the cold." After spending years uncovering the nefarious deeds of the bad guys who got him 'burned' (or exiled) from the spy community, he's been embraced by the CIA once more. So everything's groovy now, right? "One of the things that emerges early in the season is that the typical intelligence agency job is not necessarily a high-stakes, high -octane thrill ride," the show's executive producer and creator, Matt Nix, said in an interview.
"It's not necessarily something Michael is even particularly interested in doing anymore." "It's still 'Burn Notice,'" Nix hastens to add. "I didn't want to be like, 'Okay, now he does papershuffling." Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments
Fashionista Photos: Sao Paulo Fashion Week KBOI-TV (AP Photo/Andre Penner) A model wears a creation by Movimento during the Sao Paulo Fashion Week Summer 2012 collection, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday June 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) A model wears a creation by Movimento during the Sao Paulo... Funeral for police officer, Royal Ascot horse racing event, Republican debate... Washington Post all 13 news articles
TV/ Products/
67
Pioneer 8 Circular InCeiling Dual Voice Coil Speaker

far. But lets check the speaker first. Those things are worth money. Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:02:43 AM Warranty: 1 Year Pioneer Ve Haff Vays Uff Makink You Condition: New Listen Features: Heinrich, the speaker in Cell 101- Ideal for small rooms and offers G has malfunctioned again. great stereo sound housed in one Replace it immediately. And use a compact enclosure good one this time. Provides an installation option The speaker must be broken. And for rooms that may not have space I dont mean that in the way we for two speakers but where stereo mean it when we say such-and- sound is still desired s u c h a d i s s i d e n t m u s t b e Humidity resistance feature that broken. I mean I have to further increases installation Chris Harnick (AOL TV) Paulsen as Donatello. "He's everybody's favorite Ninja conclude that the speaker doesnt flexibility by allowing the speaker Submitted at 6/15/2011 6:20:00 AM Turtle," Astin told Entertainment work. The inmate in 101-G slept to be integrated into higher Filed under: TV News You might Weekly. "Raphael's the coolest, r i g h t t h r o u g h l a s t n i g h t s moisture spaces such as a laundry recognize two new members of n o q u e s t i o n a b o u t i t . A s k indoctrination tape, and he did not room or kitchen respond to the morning wake-up Matches with other speakers in the world's most fearsome anybody." Pioneers custom and CST lines fighting team: Sean Astin and The new cartoon series will debut scream. Jason Biggs are two of your new on Nickelodeon during fall 2012, I told the District Overseer that a n d a c o m p a t i b l e P i o n e e r 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.' but fans will be able to get a sneak we shouldve installed a Pioneer receiver, or amplifier, for a The 'Lord of the Rings' star will peek at the series at this year's San 8 In-Ceiling Dual Voice Coil complete home audio system that Speaker instead. Not only is it blends with any interior while still play Raphael and 'American Pie' Diego Comic Con. c o n s t r u c t e d t o P i o n e e r s delivering exceptional cinematic veteran Biggs will voice Leonardo In other TV news ... on the new Nickelodeon series. Permalink| Email this| Linking celebrated high standard, but it or concert sound houses a stereo speaker in one Owners Manual The two will be joined by Greg Blogs| Comments enclosure. He said it was too Cipes as Michelangelo and Rob expensive but that was then. Additional Photos: Now its priced so that any secret Grill Off police apparatus can afford it. Package Contents Am I sure its broken? Well, I Packaging suppose its possible that the inmate was unresponsive because Specifications: last nights interrogation went too Speaker Type: In-Ceiling
Woot (Woot! - One Day, One Deal)
Meet Your New 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' Viewers Skip 'The Glee Project' and More
Speaker Speaker Size: 8 Connector(s): Analog Audio Inputs Firing Direction: OmniDirectional Configuration: 8" (20 cm) 2way Woofer: 8" (20 cm) Polypropylene cone type Tweeter: 1" (2.5 cm) Dome type x 2 Impedance: 8 Ohms Frequency response: 28Hz to 25kHz Sensitivity: 91 dB (2.83V) Maximum input power: 50W + 50W Crossover frequency: 2.8kHz Weight: 4 lbs 7oz (2kg) Two-Position Treble Contour Control Phase Control Design Thermal Resetting Protection Circuit In the box: (1) Pioneer S-IC821D 8 InCeiling Dual Voice Coil Speaker (1) Documentation (1) Grill (1) Paint Mask Cover (1) Cutting-Template Sheet Discuss this product
68
Products/
SCUD Bluetooth 2.0 Headset

Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:08:43 AM
Good Parenting Hi, Sharon, its Robert. Yeah, conference me in. Amusement park? My kid is sick. Why would we be at an amusement park? Good morning, everyone, sorry I cant be at the shareholders meeting today. There was a family emergency, with my son. But I did pick up a SCUD Bluetooth Headset and Ive got my notes right here, so it shouldnt be any different than having me in the room. Okay, so. Everyone have their quarterly report? Lets start with page six a n d AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O O O O O O O O O WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ooof! Hahahaha! Hey, you want to ride again? Okay, ask the guy if we can ride again. Sorry, that was my son, Im sure you understand. As I was saying, on page six, you can clearly see that growth in this
quarter was- Jack, I appreciate youve got questions, but lets save that for the end, okay? Now, weve been achieving great market penetration with our new push towards the synergetic fusion, but the data shows were also taking losses in our previous areas of dominance, and I think its important we dont lose ground. I know Joannes department has been AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AA WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WHOOOOHOOHOOHOOHOO O WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ooof! Yeah! One more, one more! Hahaha! Jack, really? Tell you what, maybe my SCUD Bluetooth Headsets having some trouble. Im pretty sure that it works with my Bluetooth-enabled phone and that the powerful Li-poly battery gives me an extra-long talk time, but maybe Im just wrong, and Im getting a bad connection, because the only other option is that youre trying to make some kind of power-play while Im taking care of my sick child. And thats low, Jack. Low and very unprofessional. Id expect you to
understand that sometimes a person has to live up to their responsibilities as a parent, but they also have to balance those with their responsibilities to the corpor AAAAAAAAAAAAAA W O O O O O O O O HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YEAHHHHHHHHHHH oof! Hahaha! Listen, if youre going to just spread lies accusing me and my son of faking being sick so we could go ride roller coasters all day, Im going to turn off my SCUD Bluetooth Headset and go right to H.R. Warranty: 90 Day Woot Limited Warranty Condition New Features: Bluetooth version 2.0 + EDR compliant Powerful Li-poly battery for an extra long talk time Easy to use with a single button operation Compact design VoIP compatible Works with Bluetooth-enabled mobiles phones including iPhone and iPod Touch
Lead-free Specifications: Bluetooth Mode: Handsfree/ Handset profile Radio Frequency: 2.4 GHz Transmit Power: Class 2 Transmission Range: 10 meters / 32-feet Talk Time: 3 hours Standby time: 60 hours Power: AC input: 110 240V, DC output: 5V Unit Dimensions: 1.5 x 0.5 x 0.75-inches (H x W x D,approximate) Regulatory Approvals: FCC CE RoHS In the box: SCUD SD-189 Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR Headset AC power charger Manual Ear hook Discuss this product Price: $2.99 I want one!
Products/ News Photos
69
iRobot Roomba Robotic Vacuum

I imagined. Well, except for the floors. Its like they think they can slap down a brown carpet and Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:54:11 AM forget about ever vacuuming Looking For Mr. Roombar again. Well, they cant fool me. This is nice, isnt it? I have to Like that smear of, like, dried say, I was surprised when you holladaise sauce or whatever it is, called me. Most people who date over by that booth. See, if it was robots prefer the kind that, you up to me, Id really bear down know, look like people. with my Spot Clean mode, and Id I just keep thinking about all have that crud lifted up before those times you came over to play you could say new, improved cards with Len and Sherry. Of filter. See, thats the difference course I noticed you, but I never between me and a regular oldimagined you noticed me, way Listen to me. Talking shop in the down on the floor in my self- middle of a lovely first date. charging home base. Well, there Sorry. I just dont get out much. was this one time when I heard So, uh, have you seen any you ask Sherry about me. It made interesting movies lately? I my heart leap. But then Sherry havent. Ive actually never seen just started talking about how a movie in a theater. Every time I convenient I was, and how my try, I see all that popcorn and all counter-rotating Bristle Brush and those crumbs all over the floor, Beater Brush work together like a and I just cant resist getting broom and dustpan to lift hair, down there and sweeping it all up. dust, and debris out of carpet. I Well, you can imagine the noise. just assumed you were interested Im loud, I know. What can I say? in my cleaning abilities, not me I grew up in a loud family. You personally. Glad I was wrong! get us together, its VRRRRWow, everything on the menu VRRRR-VRRRR the whole time. looks so good. Id heard about What? Go back to your place? this place, but its even nicer than Sure. Yeah, that would be fun.
Im not that hungry anyway. Um, yes, I did bring my Virtual Wall. And an extra filter. Yeah, I emptied my Debris Bin right before you picked me up. Why do you ask? Oh. Oh, I see. So its like that. I guess I shouldve known. Warranty: 1 Year iRobot Condition: New Features: Cleans routinelyso you dont have to Efficiently vacuums dirt, debris, pet hair, dust, allergens and more from carpets and hard floors Counter rotating Bristle Brush and Beater Brush work together like a dustpan and broom Sturdy Bristle Brush digs deep into carpet fibers to grab dirt, debris, pet hair and more Powerful vacuum sucks large and small debris into the large, bag-less bin Cleans the whole floor, under and around furniture, into corners and along wall edges Automatically adjusts to vacuum carpets and hard floors Spot mode quickly cleans up spills and concentrated messes
Virtual Walls tell it where to clean by restricting off-limit areas and it automatically senses and avoids stairs and other dropoffs Simple operationjust press the Clean button and Roomba does the rest Additional Photos: Roomba with Virtual Walls Bottom (battery installed) Bottom (without battery) Counter-Rotating Brushes Bagless Bin and Extra Filter Package Contents Packaging In the box: (1) iRobot Roomba 440 Robotic Vacuum (2) Virtual Walls (4 C batteries required ** not included**) (1) Power Supply (1) Brush Cleaning Tool (1) Rechargeable Battery (1) Extra Filter Discuss this product
Recall: Harbinger Fitness ab strapsfall hazard

Consumer Reports News (Consumer Reports)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:59:59 AM
50 Cent Lets His Soul Glow In His New Hair Cut! (PHOTOS) - Global Grind
Submitted at 6/15/2011 4:06:25 PM
50 Cent Lets His Soul Glow In
His New Hair Cut! ( PHOTOS) Global Grind By GlobalGrind Staff 40 min 27 sec ago 50 Cent debuted a Jheri
curl at the Aruba Film Festival where he premiered his new movie "Things Fall Apart." 50 arrived to the red carpet with a tan
and a new gelled Jheri curl, s-curl mix hairdo.... and more
Recall: Harbinger Fitness ab strapsfall hazard WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. Name of Product: Ab Straps exercise equipment Units: About 4,169 Importer: Harbinger Fitness, of Fairfield, Calif. Hazard: The plastic buckle on the ab straps can break, posing a fall hazard to consumers. Incidents/Injuries: There were two reported incidents of straps breaking. Both incidents resulted RECALL: page 70
70
Products/
RECALL:
in lacerations to consumers' heads and necks. Description: The recalled product is a set of Harbinger Ab Straps, style 371100 that are hung from an overhead structure. The product consists of two 17.5 inch long straps made of black nylon webbing with padded nylon arm slings and plastic buckles. Users place their arms in the slings to lift themselves to do abdominal exercises. The word "Harbinger" appears on the outer side of one ab strap. Universal Product Code (UPC) 000751510964 is on the bottom flap of the packaging of the affected ab straps. The style number does not appear on the product or the product's packaging. Sold: Online at
Bodybuilding.com and Amazon.com, and at Second Wind Fitness, Play It Again Sports, Advantis Nutrition, and other general sporting goods and fitness specialty stores nationwide from August 2006 to April 2011 for about $20. Manufactured in: China Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact Harbinger for a free replacement. Consumer Contact: For additional information, please contact Harbinger customer service at (800) 729-5954 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Thursday, and 7 a.m. to noon PT on Friday, visit the firm's w e b s i t e a t www.harbingerfitness.com(pdf)
or e-mail the firm at custserv@harbingerfitness.com Harbinger Ab Straps style 371100 The plastic buckles can break, posing a fall hazard. Packaging for the affected Harbinger Ab Straps The product code is on the bottom flap of the packaging Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences
NRDC: Set-top boxes are home-energy vampires, even when not in use
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:27:16 AM
NRDC: Set-top boxes are homeenergy vampires, even when not in use A a new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council(NRDC) shows that DVRs, cable set-top boxes, and other pay-TV boxes are electricity hogs. These devices, said the NRDC, "cost American consumers $3 billion a year$1 billion to operate when in active
use and an additional $2 billion while inactive but still running at near full power." An average cable high-definition digital video recorder (HD-DVR) NRDC: page 71
800 NYC Restaurants Caught Trying To Hide Sub-Par Health Inspection Grades
Chris Morran (The Consumerist)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:35:00 AM
Last summer, the New York City Board of Health began requiring all restaurants to post the lettergrade results of their latest health inspections. But a large number of eateries with non-A marks opted either to not post their grade or post it in a spot where no one could see it.
Restaurants are required to post their letter grades within five feet of the entrance and four-to-six feet above ground, but 100 eateries couldn't follow these instructions. The remaining 700 restaurants didn't post them at all. Not surprisingly, more than half of the restaurants caught trying to sweep their grade under the rug had received the lowest grade of "C," which means they were probably trying to sweep a lot of
other things under the rug. Restaurants caught violating the rules for posting grades face up to $1,000 in fines. The city's deputy commissioner for environmental health tells the NY Post there is no way restaurant owners simply forget about having to post their grade: "If it was really about ignorance of the law, we'd expect proportionate results." A lawyer representing one of the
23 grade-A restaurants caught failing to post the grade says that restaurants that pass inspection, "should have a right not to have an 'A' in the window." The 800 restaurants caught violating the posting rules only represent about 4% of the NYC restaurants that have received grades since the program started last July. Eateries busted keeping 'C'crets[NY Post]
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Products/
71
Walgreens "Sorry" They Gave Patient 10x Recommended Dosage

Ben Popken (The Consumerist)
Daily electronics deals: Save on printer ink and toner

Submitted at 6/15/2011 7:30:08 AM
pharmacies aren't required to use them. Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:00:00 AM However, it's important for She was hit with incredible pain patients to take responsibility in and muscle spasms in her chest so their own care. Even if it's a bad that Arizona woman thought regular prescription you get, you she was going to die. The strike should check to make sure the was so severe she would turn red pills look the same and the dosage and purple. Sometimes she would instructions are the same on the have a hundred of these attacks side, especially if you find each day, each time thinking that yourself suffering from new and this would be the one that would unusual symptoms. kill her. Now Walgreens tells In a statement to ABC15, ABC15 that they're "sorry" for Walgreens said, "Prescription refilling her prescription with errors are rare and we take them 5 0 m g p i l l s . S h e w a s o n l y very seriously. We are sorry this supposed to get 5mg ones. occurred and we have apologized Many pharmacies have computer to the patient. We have a multisystem that tell the pharmacist if a step prescription filling process given dosage exceeds what the with numerous safety checks in patient should get. But Arizona each step to reduce the chance of
human error. We have investigated the matter and will work to prevent this type of incident from happening in the future." Valley pharmacy says 'sorry' for dosage mistake[ABC15](Thanks to Grant!) From ConsumerReports.org: This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Daily electronics deals: Save on printer ink and toner Today's electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist: CompAndSave.com: 15% off All Ink & Toner Orders RadioShack: Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS 12MP Digital Camera for $70 in-store
NRDC:
actually eats up more electricity annually than a flat panel TV and about 40 percent more than a basic set-top box, according to the study. HD-DVRs run nearly at full power when you aren't watching TV or even recording, and hitting the Off button doesn't significantly reduce the amount of power used. "The biggest finding from our field work was that the only way
to really turn these boxes off is to unplug themnot an attractive option, said Noah Horowitz, NRDC's energy efficiency expert. The NRDC notes that in Europe, set-top boxes that go into a lowpower mode when not in use are beginning to appear, but we're not not yet seeing them in the U.S. The Council suggests that consumers request set-top boxes that meet Energy Star Version 4.0
standards from their cable TV or satellite providers. Charts courtesy of the NRDC RELATED: EPA sets new Energy Star guidelines for TVs and set-top boxes Consumers Union Supports Department of Energy's Plan for Improving Energy Star Program NRDC: page 72
may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics(both available to subscribers). Price shouldn't be Entertainment your only criterion. Be wary of Buy.com: L.A. Noire (PS3) lower-priced deals that seem too $39.99, free ship good to be true, and check return NewEgg: MLB 11: The Show policies for restocking fees and (PS3) $34.99, free ship other gotchas. For general buying advice for Neither Consumer Reports nor many of the products on sale The Consumerist receive anything above, check out our free Buying in exchange for featuring these Guides. Subscribe now! deals; the posts are intended to be S u b s c r i b e t o purely informational. These deals ConsumerReports.org for expert are often fleeting, with prices Ratings, buying advice and changing or products becoming r e l i a b i l i t y o n h u n d r e d s o f unavailable as the day progresses. products. Update your feed T h e s e p o s t s a r e n o t a n preferences endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell themthough some of the sites
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Products/ Sports/
If You Use One Of The Most Common iPhone Passcodes, Stop It

Phil Villarreal (The Consumerist)
NRDC:
BRUINS,
much higher frequency than any other number combination, meaning people commonly use Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:15:00 AM years that mean something to One way to make things easy for them. identity thieves is to choose an In vague terms, how do you go unimaginative, easy-to-remember about choosing a difficult-toPIN that tons of other people are guess password? using. Most Common iPhone A n i P h o n e a p p d e v e l o p e r Passcodes[Daniel Amitay via identified the 10 most frequently Slashdot] used iPhone passcodes, finding This entry passed through the that the top 10 made up 15 Full-Text RSS service if this is percent of more than 204,000 your content and you're reading it p a s s c o d e s h e a n o n y m o u s l y on someone else's site, please read r e c o r d e d f r o m h i s a p p ' s the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentlockscreen. only/faq.php#publishers. Five The codes included 1234, 0000, Filters featured article: Ten Years (- Bing News) 2580, 1111, 5555, 5683, 0852, Of Media Lens - Our Problem Submitted at 6/14/2011 2:19:36 PM 2 2 2 2 , 1 2 1 2 a n d 1 9 9 8 . T h e With Mainstream Dissidents. developer also found that years MIAMI (KABC) -- A major between 1930 and 2020 had a Miami newspaper printed a Macy's advertisement that congratulated the Miami Heat for winning the NBA championship. There's one problem. The Heat didn't win. The Dallas Mavericks won the championship. (- Bing News) Before a nation eager to reclaim The Macy's ad in the Miami t h e t r o p h y i t c o n s i d e r s a Herald read, "Congratulations Submitted at 6/15/2011 12:13:45 AM birthright, in a city ready to Miami" next to pictures of Heat From Vancouver, Canada explode with joy, the Boston championship T-shirts and hats They've played this game before, Bruins and Vancouver Canucks for sale. One T-shirt read "Heat in backyards and on frozen ponds will play Game 7 of the Stanley 2011 NBA Finals Champions" with snow banks for boards and Cup finals on Wednesday. The their feet stuffed into extra socks injuries players are taping and to fit into their hand-me-down BRUINS, page 72 skates.
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hiding and there are many the fatigue built up after six months of travel and more than 100 games won't matter when they meet at Rogers Arena. Winning the Cup demands unparalleled commitment, but the reward is a unique slice of immortality through engraving the winners' names on the circular silver bands. Those who prevail Wednesday will be remembered
long after they are gone, a powerful incentive reinforced by the desire to win for teammates in this still most team-oriented of sports. "When we're in the garage or driveway playing as a kid and you're fantasizing you're saying to yourself, 'Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.' You're not BRUINS, page 73
Miami paper congratulates wrong team for NBA championship - KABC

and the ad showed the Heat's logo on a hat with the words "NBA Champions." Locals did not find the ad amusing. "That's a bone-headed move and just kind of rubbing it in our face," said one Miami resident. The Miami Herald issued a correction and apologized. A Macy's spokeswoman says it's an unfortunate error and also apologized to Heat fans. The Mavericks beat the Heat 105 -95 in game six of the NBA finals on Sunday in Miami. The Associated Press contributed to this story (Copyright 2011 KABC-TV/ DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more You've Got To See This! Tags: dallas mavericks, miami heat, you've got to see this! This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Bruins, Canucks get to live out their dreams with a Game 7 in Stanley Cup finals - Los Angeles Times
Sports/
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BRUINS,
saying Game 6, you know?" Boston goaltender Tim Thomas said Tuesday. "So this is really what every kid dreams about." There was no dream ending for Vancouver winger Raffi Torres in 2006. Then a member of the Edmonton Oilers, he lost a sevengame finals to the Carolina Hurricanes. That experience will color what he will tell his teammates Wednesday. "The main thing is to leave it all out there," he said. "It's a chance to bring the Cup here to Vancouver and at the end of the day you don't want regrets out there." So far, home ice has been an unusual advantage. The Canucks have won each of their three previous home games by a single goal, two by 1-0 shutouts. Roberto Luongo stopped 95 of 97 shots at home but couldn't stop a bucket of beans in Boston, where the Bruins outscored the Canucks, 17-3, in winning their three home games and chased Luongo twice. Will that matter Wednesday? Or that home teams have won Game 7 of the finals 12 of 15 times over the years?
The occasion demands a memorable performance, not more of the biting, taunting, diving, post-whistle nastiness and debatable hits that have given this series a sour tone. "I think we need to keep doing what we did at home the last three games. Focus on our game plan, execute it to a T and impose our will on 'em," Canucks center Ryan Kesler said. "Both teams want this, obviously, but we have to be the harder-working team." The Canucks had difficulty adjusting after they lost Dan Hamhuis to an undisclosed injury in Game 1 and Aaron Rome to a suspension for a late hit on Bruins winger Nathan Horton in Game 3, but their depth has allowed them to cope. With winger Mason Raymond out because of a vertebrae compression fracture he suffered after being shoved into the boards in Game 6, Jeff Tambellini is likely to return to the lineup, though in a limited role. The Bruins miss the scoring touch provided by Horton, who suffered a concussion on that hit. He become an inspirational leader and accompanied the team to
Vancouver, where his gear will hang in his locker. In his absence, the Bruins have gotten contributions from support players, notably Michael Ryder, Daniel Paille and Brad Marchand, and will need them to step up. They believe they can overcome a hostile crowd and their past futility here. "The main thing for us has to be to focus on our game and not everything around us," workhorse defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. "It's going to be crazy. Everybody's going to be watching." And wondering whose Game 7 dream will come true. helene.elliott@latimes.com twitter.com/helenenothelen This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Yankees Derek Jeter Is Placed on Disabled List While Six Hits from 3,000 - Bloomberg
(- Bing News)
batters box, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. The Yankees have 10 other Derek Jeter of the New York players on the disabled list, Yankees went on the disabled list i n c l u d i n g p i t c h e r s J o b a w i t h a s t r a i n e d r i g h t c a l f , Chamberlain, Bartolo Colon, Phil temporarily halting his pursuit of Hughes, Rafael Soriano and Pedro the 3,000-hit milestone. Feliciano. Catcher Russell Martin Jeter was injured two days ago in has missed five of the past six a 1-0 loss to the Cleveland games with a back injury. Indians, when he collected his Eduardo Nunez replaced Jeter, 2,994th career hit. Hes aiming to going 2-for-4 with a run batted in, become the 28th player in Major as the Yankees defeated Texas 12 League Baseball history and first -4 last night. Yankee with 3,000 hits. After their current three-game Jeter, the Yankees captain, isnt home series against the Rangers, eligible to return before June 29 the Yankees have a six-game road after being placed on the 15-day trip to Chicago and Cincinnati, disabled list. Its his first stint on and then return to New York for the disabled list since 2003, when three games against the Colorado he dislocated his left shoulder in Rockies and the three-game series an opening day collision with with Milwaukee. Toronto catcher Ken Huckaby. To contact the reporter on this Whether its going for 3,000 hits story: Erik Matuszewski in New or 100 hits, Id rather be out there Y o r k a t playing, Jeter told reporters matuszewski@bloomberg.net before the team announced he had To contact the editor responsible been placed on the disabled list. for this story: Michael Sillup at Its a little bit frustrating. But msillup@bloomberg.net even if I wasnt at this point, Id This entry passed through the still be frustrated. Full-Text RSS service if this is The Yankees open a three-game your content and you're reading it h o m e s e r i e s a g a i n s t t h e on someone else's site, please read Milwaukee Brewers on June 28 the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentand then start a six-game road trip only/faq.php#publishers. Five on July 1 with three games against Filters featured article: Ten Years the New York Mets. Of Media Lens - Our Problem Jeter, 36, appeared to injure With Mainstream Dissidents. himself as he ran out of the
Submitted at 6/15/2011 6:40:17 AM
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Sports/
Top prospect to play NCAA hoops, pro baseball at same time

Cameron Smith (Y! Sports Blogs - Yahoo! Sports)
for the Reds organization, after Cincinnati selected the future Red Storm swingman in the 22nd Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:35:50 AM round of the draft. Findlay (Nev.) Prep star and St. "Man all I can say is its a John's basketball signee Amir b l e s s i n g , " G a r r e t t t o l d Garrett might seem like a likely JohnnyJungle.com after he was candidate to idolize athletic wing drafted. "It's just a great feeling to stars like himself. Given his dual get a call like that. I give glory to professional goals, an NBA sharp God. That's all I can do." shooter from the past might be He can also thank the St. John's more ideal: Celtics general b a s k e t b a l l p r o g r a m , w h i c h manager Danny Ainge. worked with Garrett, a key Why Ainge? Probably because component of its loaded Class of the former Celtics and Suns star is 2011 recruiting class, to ensure he also the last significant player to would show up on the school's reach the top flight of both Q u e e n s c a m p u s a n d p l a y baseball and basketball, taking b a s k e t b a l l n e x t f a l l . turns in the Blue Jays outfield Of course, not being picked in the before moving on to basketball. first 10 rounds of the draft While the skills needed to excel probably helped ensure that at football and baseball intersect Garrett would maintain a dual enough to make the two-sport focus, at least for now. p r o f e s s i o n a l v e n t u r e m o r e "If he went high, it would have traditional, Garrett -- who was been one or the other," Garrett's Rivals.com's No. 68 overall father, Darrow, told the Las prospect in the country in the Vegas Review-Journal. "We love Class of 2011-- will be embarking [St. John's basketball coach] Steve on the relatively unique pursuit of Lavin, and I told everyone it chasing a professional career in would have taken a lot to just both the MLB and NBA, after a walk away from him. This way he recent agreement with St. John's can still play basketball at St. yielding an opportunity for John's and do the things he wants Garrett to play summer baseball to be able to do."
While there may be a number of things that Garrett wants to do, there are ample reasons to believe that he has brighter prospects in baseball, despite the focus he has placed on basketball in recent years. As reported by Prep Rally's college basketball brother blog, The Dagger, Garrett threw an astounding 89 miles-per-hour in his first pitching workouts when he picked up a baseball for the first time in months, then ramped that speed up to an even more impressive 96 mph just weeks later in front of nearly 40 Major League Baseball scouts. Between his size and velocity, plenty of baseball talent evaluators think Garrett could eventually be a David Price-like superstar. Until then, he'll keep plugging away a both the sports he loves, with the hopes that maybe he might be lucky enough to duplicate the success that Ainge and a previous few before him have accomplished. Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Meltdown recognize meltdown: Rory McIlroy feels for LeBron James

Jay Busbee (Y! Sports Blogs Yahoo! Sports)
here, stats there, how has your team combined points in the last quarter of the Finals or whatever. Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:38:30 AM It's just one of those things." The Miami Heat's total implosion LeBron and McIlroy share a during the NBA Finals this week s p o n s o r , A u d e m a r s P i g u e t w a s t h e w o r s t e x a m p l e o f watches, and McIlroy is a selfvomiting up a lead since Rory professed Heat fan. And they have McIlroy did it on the back nine at more than that in common: The Masters. So it stands to they've had some major problems reason that McIlroy would feel this year with the fourth: quarter some measure of sympathy for the or day, whichever. McIlroy Heat and, in particular, LeBron acknowledged that the constant James. focus on failure will "get to you," "I think he's been unfairly but added that the Heat will have s c r u t i n i z e d , " M c I l r o y s a i d many more chances at the Finals. Tuesday. "Everyone is going to And he's got a chance this week to have bad days, if it's on a golf put Augusta out of his mind once course or on a basketball court. and for all. And with sports these days everything is overanalyzed, stats
Gaming/
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Patrice Desilets' noncompete is up, begins competing at THQ Montreal

Christopher Grant (Joystiq)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:45:00 AM
While his non-compete clause was presumably up on May 29, THQ just announced that Patrice Dsilets has finally, officially "joined the THQ studio system as a creative director" working at the recently opened Montreal location. The press release says that Dsilets will now begin building a team, no doubt with some transplants from Ubisoft, and begin working on "a yet to be created title." Because he was Ben Gilbert (Joystiq) apparently be including in the Wii more flexible for developers, totally not working for the last U , t h o u g h : s o c i a l m e d i a repeatedly citing third-party year ... because that would be Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:45:00 AM functionality. When asked about studios as the drive for Nintendo's competitive ... We already knew that the Wii U's t h e n e w c o n s o l e ' s o n l i n e new stance. Worryingly, he never "The creative freedom that THQ games wouldn't be coming on experience, Iwata deftly avoids speaks to the necessity of online gives its artists and developers-DVD (like the Xbox 360) or Blu- providing direct information, persistence or the company's and their willingness to make ray (like the PlayStation 3), but admitting only that "we are no m e s s y p a s t w i t h o n l i n e games that truly reflect an artistic we didn't know that Nintendo's longer in a period where we f u n c t i o n a l i t y . vision--really drew me to THQ," next console wouldn't be able to cannot have any connection at all Continue reading Wii U won't the Assassin's Creed creator told a play video from either format. with social networking sites." have DVD or Blu-ray playback, press release. "I plan to build an Nintendo president Satoru Iwata How this will be applied seems to w i l l i n c l u d e s o c i a l m e d i a incredibly talented team at THQ, confirmed as much in a recent still be up in the air, with Iwata f u n c t i o n a l i t y and am very anxious to get started investor Q&A, flat out stating that later in the Q&A elaborating, Wii U won't have DVD or Blu- on creating a new project." "Wii U does not have DVD or Blu "We're looking at ways that will ray playback, will include social -ray playback capabilities." He convey to this audience which media functionality originally explained the reasoning behind games are fun and, ideally, in a appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 this as -- unsurprisingly -- the way that will enable people who Jun 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please cost, and the notion that "enough are playing those games with see our terms for use of feeds. people already have devices that others, to share that information Permalink| Email this| Comments are capable of playing DVDs and socially." Blu-ray." He also said that the console's Something that Nintendo will online infrastructure needs to be
Wii U won't have DVD or Blu-ray playback, will include social media functionality
We know that sounds like it's a long ways off; however, THQ Montreal will be a two-team studio, so there's a chance that the not-Dsilets project is further along ... then again, that's probably Homefront. Patrice Desilets' non-compete is up, begins competing at THQ Montreal originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Gaming/ Featured/
Double Fine obtaining Psychonauts It happened publishing rights

Alexander Sliwinski (Joystiq)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:15:00 AM
Double Fine is in the process of receiving the publishing rights for Psychonauts, its cult 2005 game published by Majesco. The word came from Double Fine senior gameplay programmer Anna Kipnis, who tweeted that the developer was now the "sole publisher" of the game and that proceeds from any purchases would go to the studio. That last part wasn't exactly accurate -- not yet, anyway.
Double Fine head Tim Schafer told Gamasutra, "It's true the publishing rights have reverted to Double Fine, but there are some more deals that need to be worked out and contracts that need
signing before that actually means anything, financially." Schafer said that once that's all squared away the studio will have something fun to announce ... but "it's not Psychonauts 2." Double
Fine has always retained the IP rights to Psychonauts, and Schafer has stated previously that a sequel is dependent on a publisher paying the way. Double Fine obtaining Psychonauts publishing rights originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
again
(Scripting News)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 6:53:21 AM
June 14, 2002 was a big day in my life. A huge one. It was the day I died and was reborn a new person. Not kidding. I didn't find Jesus, but I did find that I had four blocked arteries in my heart, and needed emergency surgery to save HAPPENED page 77
How to follow my work

(Scripting News)
Some programmers think it's cool to have the keystrokes updating in realtime. But that would be a huge Another rambly piece... waste of human bandwidth. When For the last six months or so I've a colleague of mine updates their used a feature of the OPML outline it's a somewhat disruptive Editor called the Instant Outliner thing in my own workflow. I to narrate my work. I collaborated needed a way to turn it off. w i t h s i x o t h e r p e o p l e , a l l Without a good user interface for programmers of one sort or doing that, a couple of days ago I another, who in their own way did turn it off. I know this was narrated their work with the tool. jarring for my colleagues. But Each of users could see each that's the way to turn a corner. others' outline as it updated. Not One day, boom -- that's it. I wish I as you typed, but when you could quit Twitter as easily. clicked the Save button. This is (Getting there.) the only civilized way to do it. Anyway, the I/O experiment was
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:16:54 AM
a huge success. One of the things I learned better how to do, and developed systems for, was to simply explain a code update. I've always wanted to have a window into my development work visible from Scripting News, since a lot of the work I do here is about blogging and online writing, I think it would be of interest to some of you guys. But I never had a way to do that. Also since most of the software is available for download, and some of it is getting pretty polished and easy to set up. Not all the way there yet.
It's sort of like live-blogging, but done by oneself, and at a much slower rate. This is the technology of narrate your work. Anyway, I've now got a public place where you can watch what I'm doing. Or at least the parts of what I'm doing that I can talk about publicly. http://worknotes.scripting.com/ june2011/ There's no RSS feed yet, but I know I need to have one. But you begin a bootstrap with something that's insufficient, and by using it you learn how to make
it more sufficient. Anyway, if this is confusiong (I know it is), it's always this way in the world I work in. That's the kind of conceptualizing I like to do. Stuff where the details get worked out while the software is being developed. It'll get easier to understand over time. BTW, if you liked outliners, this is your kind of stuff.
Health/
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HAPPENED
my life. It was also the last day I smoked. Before 6/14/02, I was a multipack-per-day smoker. Marlboro Lights was my brand. I survived, in a sense, but in another sense, I did not. When I got home from the hospital, I felt like I was in the house of a dead relative. The house was filled with stuff I didn't need or want. A few months later, the house was sold, the stuff was either given away or dumpstered, and I was off to Boston for an adventure in that's still going on. When I stress about not being included in something or other, a quick reminder that I died and of course they don't include dead people in their parties or conferences or roundups of heroes or whatever it is I am not being
honored with. Let's see, 2011 - 2002 is 9. Nine years since I died. Is this heaven? Well, not really. But it's still pretty good! What happened again? I forgot the anniversary day. I see that as a sign that I am no longer a nicotine addict. There was a time when it took discipline not to smoke. That's not true anymore. Occasionally I get the urge to buy a pack. But it happens rarely. And so far I have let the urge pass without acting. "One day at a time." It's a milestone worth mentioning on my blog. Now back to my life as a ghost!
House Debates Funding Cuts For Food Safety, Nutrition Programs

(NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog)
support sound nutrition for some of the most vulnerable members of our society." Submitted at 6/14/2011 3:37:00 PM Rep. Jim McGovern, a Trying to keep the purse strings Massachusetts Democrat, put it tied up tightly is the name of the more bluntly. "This is a progame for House GOP leaders hunger bill," he said in his t o d a y a s t h e H o u s e o f opening remarks on the floor. R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s d e b a t e s a n "These are real cuts that will do agriculture appropriations bill that damage to real people," he added. would cut funding for nutrition The liberal-leaning Center on programs and food safety. Budget and Policy Priorities In a bit of a twist, the House is estimates that up to 350,000 allowing votes on amendments, so eligible women and children the floor debate could last hours, could lose access to the program if not a day or two, congressional under the House bill. aides predict. But Republicans say too much And, despite concerns that some money is wasted on administering of the bill's cuts would impact key these programs and that there are domestic programs, the White other ways for these women to get House is not so far threatening to help. Agriculture Appropriations veto the bill. Chairman Hal Rogers, a A key debate is shaping up over Republican from Kentucky, says the bill's proposed $650 million in that the cuts are necessary and cuts to the normally bipartisan fiscally responsible. Women, Infants and Children "We have to reign in spending, n u t r i t i o n p r o g r a m . T h e even if it may not be the most administration's official word is popular thing to do," he said "these cuts sould undermine during the debate. The bill passed efforts to prevent hunger and his committee late last month.
The bill would also fund FDA's food safety budget at $87 million below last year's levels, just as the agency prepares to implement a slew of new regulations to deal with things like E. coli outbreaks. The House spending bill would also cut about $35 million from USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service. It would also zero out an Obama pet project to fight obesity, the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee hasn't yet drafted its own bill, so it may be awhile before the total funding picture for agriculture shakes out. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
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Science/
Future Shocks: Predictions From the World's Foremost Film Prognosticator

<p>Steve Daly</p> (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:12:49 AM
Syd's Take Soldiers might one day be protected with in lightweight, self-powered battle suits constructed from electroactive polymer that contract under a charge. Prosthetic body shells built from similar materials could help the elderly or infirm. Syd Mead How the designer of Blade Runner thinks the future will look Science fiction is where the future happens first, and that puts futurist Syd Mead at least two steps ahead of the rest of us. The 78-year-old conceptual artist may be best known for designing the flying-cop-car-patrolled Los Angeles streetscapes in Blade Runner, but he also dreamed up the original light cycles in Tron, the Marine-transport starship in Aliens, and visions of a classstratified, off-Earth world for Neill Blomkamp's highly anticipated March 2013 feature Elysium. Here, Mead makes predictions for what we might one day see in film, in real life, or both. Lightweight Exoskeletons Pointing to new electroactive polymers that contract powerfully and predictably when exposed to a charge, Mead foresees an era of
lightweight human exoskeletons. Such strap-on limb supports could strengthen soldiers and help the elderly and the paralyzed. "These new materials are better than hydraulics or electric motors," he explains, "because they have a directional axis to pull and push, much like muscles do. So they're very efficient, and more like a sheath than a bulky cylinder. That's going to change the world."
Hands-Free Highways "Cars have already become semisentient," says Mead, citing the recent introduction of consumerlevel "self-parking" systems. Soon cars will be able to communicate with one another, which could end slowdowns caused by erratic human judgment. "It's all just geometry," he says. "To have 1,000 drivers trundling down the freeway, making their own second
tools for Detroit automobile designers and Hollywood specialeffects houses alike. Mead says that soon these printers will be loaded with live human cells rather than sprayable resins. The micro-precise nozzles could turn out custom replacement body parts built using our own stem cells. "You'll be able to make extremely intricate closed-volume solids at will," he says. "No seams. That is amazing. And it reduces economies of scale to zero. You can make one item at a time, as demand requires." Swappable Car Bodies Riffing off universal chassis systems such as GM's drive-bywire "skateboard" concept, Mead foresees a day when we'll be attaching new car-body modules onto an underlying, independently powered frame as quickly and easily as we change shirts. "I first rendered this concept over 40 years ago," he says (he began his career at Ford Motor Company's -by-second decisions, is awful." Advanced Styling Studio). "Once There is, he notes, also a potential it gets going, in about 10 years, downside: "Cars will be able to it's going to mark a huge change. notify your insurance company In some ways, it's like what immediately if you've hit happened in the 1910s and 1920s, something." Even the smallest before cars became fully massbump could drive up your rates. produced. You'd buy a Printable Replacement Organs Deusenberg chassis, then have a 3-D printers, which lay down custom coach builder put the body consecutive layers of urethane resin to create detailed objects, FUTURE page 80 have become crucial prototyping
Science/
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Japanese Neutrino Finding Could Explain Why There Is Matter in the Universe
Clay Dillow (Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:49:18 AM
Super-Kamiokande Built in an abandoned mine, the "Super-K" neutrino detector surrounds 50,000 gallons of super pure water with 11,200 photomultiplier tubes. To give an idea of the scale, that object in the distance is two men in a rubber raft. courtesy of the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the UK A new kind of oscillation could be the key to life, the universe, and everything Japan's "T2K," one of our favorite neutrino experiments (we're keen on several), might have just cracked the mystery of why matter triumphed over antimatter after the Big Bang (they should have canceled each other out). The international experiment's data from earlier this year--before its science was interrupted by the earthquake in March--indicates that muon neutrinos can transform into electron neutrinos.
A primer on neutrinos and why we should care about them: Neutrinos are one of the fundamental building blocks of matter, though they interact very weakly with normal matter (innumerable neutrinos kicked out by the sun pass straight through the earth at any moment, rarely pausing to interact with the planet). They come in three flavors: muon neutrinos, electron
neutrinos, and and tau neutrinos. And for the aforementioned reason they are very hard to detect. Nonetheless, via detectors like T2K (for Tokai-to-Kamioka, as these are the origin and terminus of the nearly 200-mile experiment) we are able to detect and study neutrinos every now and again. T2K fires a beam of muon neutrinos straight through
the ground from Tokai on the east coast to the Super-Kamiokande detector 183 miles away. And recently at Super-K, some of the neutrinos detected were electron neutrinos, indicating that they has had shifted mid-flight. We already knew about two different oscillations (that's a change from one flavor of neutrino to another) but we've never this new, third oscillation: a
muon turning into an electron neutrino. This is significant, because it means that normal neutrinos could have different oscillation characteristics than their antiparticle counterparts (antineutrinos). It's an example of what physicists term a CP violation, and it could explain why, when all of our models show that the Big Bang should've created equal parts matter and antimatter (which would annihilate each other instantly), an excess of matter clearly survived to make up the universe. That's big news, but nothing is yet certain. Repairs are underway at T2K's accelerator, and the experiment will begin churning out data to corroborate (or disprove) the finding later this year. [ BBC]
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Science/ Food/
Spring-Loaded Arm Gives Superpower Strength to Office Workers

Clay Dillow (Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)
Fitness Made Faster!

Submitted at 6/15/2011 5:00:00 AM
Steadicam mechanics into one arm-gripping housing. The bulk of the load is borne by a 50-pound spring. As the wearer moves, Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:01:56 AM Office Mech The x-Ar attaches to spring-loaded cassettes at the ends any swiveling office chair with a of the housing flex and release to center column. The spring case assist the lift from side to side. rests alongside your bicep, while a Workers get up to 10 pounds of resizable cuff grips your forearm. strength (the average arm weighs Paul Wootton Camera-stabilizing seven to 10 pounds). tech now takes a load off the Though the x-Ar is designed for everyman office tedium, Equipois sees The Steadicam was originally Steadicam's spring system to Steadicams hold cameras at the future versions on dentists' chairs developed to take the shake out of m a k e a r m s a n d t o o l s f e e l end of two joined, spring-loaded and operating tables, where Hollywood chase scenes. Now a weightless, diminishing the risk of arms that move in tandem to precision is crucial. California company, Equipois, repetitive-stress injuries without counteract cinematographers' Get It: Equipois X-Ar, $3,000 has given it a new purpose: to motors, batteries or external steps. The x-Ar packs a lighter, (est.); Equipois help line workers and file clerks. power. more compact version of the The x-Ar arm reimagines a
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FUTURE
on it." Covert Bank Warfare Given the ever-increasing prevalence of cashless purchases, Mead says we are headed for a world of covert bank-account warfare directed by government bureaucrats. "You're standing naked to the electronicsurveillance world with every financial transaction," he says. Whether through radio-frequency
ID chips, phone transactions, or mobile credit-card processing and Web transactions, financial information is becoming more easily intercepted, tracked, and correlated to personal information, such as national identity, bank-account information and employment history. "All somebody far above you in the hierarchy has to do is
For most people, its not actually doing a strength training regime thats the difficult partits getting the time to spare throughout the spring and summer months to do it thats the real struggle. You dont have to sacrifice family fun, spend less hours working around the house, or cut into your vacation time to accomplish your fitness goals. Feeling stronger and looking leaner by adding the right amount of weight training to your week is easy, if you take the time to simplify how you break a sweat. FITNESS All you need is an exercise plan continued from page 80 that hits all of your major muscle hit delete.' Instantaneously Dumbbell Guide, I figured out a groups from head to toe in the you've become a non-person, way to show readers how to shortest amount of time, using as economically. That's scary to me." effortlessly design over 21,000 little equipment as possible. different exercises. But even Even if youve never used though there are countless moves weights before, this simpleyet you can use to get in great shape, effectiveroutine is all youll there are a few basic exercises need to build a body you can be that are ideal because they recruit proud of, without spending any as many muscle fibers as possible, more effort than you have to. and/or, they are perfect for THE EXERCISE targeting certain key muscle I N G R E D I E N T S groups. In my book, the Ultimate FITNESS page 81 FITNESS page 80
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Here are the only eight moves you need to know to see results fast: Dumbbell Squat Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in. Your arms should hang down by your sides. Keeping your head and back straight, slowly squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Push yourself back up into a standing position and repeat. Chest Press Lie back on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, the weights resting along the outside of your chest (palms facing forward). Slowly press the dumbbells straight up above your chest, elbows unlocked. Lower the weights back down alongside the sides of your chest and repeat. Dumbbell Lunge Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging at your sides, feet about six inches apart. Keeping your back straight, step forward with your right foot and lean forward until your right thigh is almost parallel to the floor. Push yourself back up into the starting position and repeat, this time stepping out with your left foot. One-Arm Back Row Stand with your left side to an exercise bench (or the side of a
high bed) and a dumbbell in your right hand. Rest your left hand and knee on the bench. Bend forward at the waist until your back is almost parallel to the floor, your left arm hanging straight down towards the floor, palm facing in. Slowly draw the weight up close to the body until it reaches the outside of your chest. Lower the weight back down and repeat for one set. Afterwards, switch positions to work your left arm. Shoulder Press Sit on a chair, feet firmly on the floor with a dumbbell in each hand. Bring the weights to the sides of your shoulders, palms facing out. Slowly press the weights over your head, keeping your back straight as you go. Pause, then lower the weights back down to your shoulders. Biceps Curl Stand holding a pair of dumbbells with an underhand grip; arms hanging down in front of you. Keeping your upper arms tucked into your sides, slowly curl the weights up to your shoulders, then lower them back down. One-Arm Extension Sit on the edge of a chair with a light dumbbell in your right hand. Raise the weight over your head, palm facing left, and tuck your upper arm against the side of your head. With your left hand cupping
your right elbow for support, slowly lower the weight behind your head as far as you can. Raise the weight overhead until your arm is straightfinish the set, then switch the weight to the opposite hand to work your left arm. Bicycle Crunch Lie flat, knees bent and feet together. Place your hands lightly against the sides of your head. Draw your left knee toward your chest while simultaneously extending your right leg. Simultaneously curl your torso up and twist to the left, so that your right elbow and left knee touch. Lower yourself back to the floor, then repeat, this time pulling your right knee in as you curl and twist your torso to the righttouching your left elbow to your right knee. Continue to alternate for the entire set. THE RECIPE FOR THE BEST RESULTS! Youll do one set of each exercise in the order belowperforming every exercise eight to 12 timesbefore immediately moving onto the next exercise. 1. Dumbbell Squat 2. Chest Press 3. Dumbbell Lunge 4. One-Arm Back Row 5. Shoulder Press 6. Biceps Curl
7. One-Arm Extension 8. Bicycle Crunch Youll rest for only as long as it takes you to set up the next exercise in the circuit. Once youve completed all eight exercises, rest for 60 to 90 seconds, then repeat the eightmove routine once or twice more for a total of two to three circuits. Do this workout three times each week, but take a day of rest in between each workout. For example, try scheduling your workouts every other day (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) to give your muscles enough time to recuperate and rebuild. In just three to four weeks, youll see a leaner, tighter physique staring back at you in the mirrora body that only takes less than twenty minutes a day, three times a week to build, maintain, and best of all, impress! Myatt Murphy This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
FDA: Sunscreens Will Get More Scrutiny, New Labels

Submitted at 6/14/2011 1:59:00 PM
Enlarge Joe Raedle/ Getty Images Savannah Stidham gets smeared with sunscreen during a visit to a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 2006. Joe Raedle/ Getty Images Savannah Stidham gets smeared with sunscreen during a visit to a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 2006. For the first time in more than 30 years, the Food and Drug Administration has revamped its standards for sunscreens. The changes, which take effect in a year, should make it easier for people to find the right sunscreen to protect against sunburn, reduce the risk of skin cancer and prevent premature skin aging. Right now, manufacturers are only required to say how their products do in protecting against ultraviolet B (UVB) not ultraviolet A (UVA). UVA rays are the ones linked to premature FDA: page 82
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FDA:
aging, while UVB is the culprit for sunburn. Both types of rays can lead to skin cancer. "This is a significant day for us," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, at a FDA media briefing Tuesday. She said the changes are part of the agency's push "to ensure sunscreens meet modern day standards." Sunscreen products that pass FDA's test for protection against UVA and UVB rays will be labeled broad spectrum. Products that are both broad spectrum and at least SPF 15 may be labeled to say it reduces the risk of skin cancer and the risk of early skin aging. Under the FDA's new rules, suncreens will no longer be able to tout SPF ratings higher than 50. "We don't have sufficient data that shows protection greater than 50," said Woodcock. Products that don't have broad spectrum or SPF 15 will carry a warning label that says the product hasn't been shown to reduce skin cancer and aging. Enlarge FDA
Click on sunscreen for a look at the FDA's new label. FDA Click on sunscreen for a look at the FDA's new label. Labels such as waterproof or sweatproof also won't be permitted. Instead, Woodcock said, "Water resistant claims must have labeling that includes the amount of time a person can get sun protection when swimming or sweating." The last time the FDA developed rules to ensure the safety and effectiveness of sunscreens in the U.S. was during the Carter administration back in 1978. Both Consumers Union and the Environmental Working Group, a public health and environment non-profit organization, have been urging the FDA to update its rules on the safety and effectiveness of sunscreens. "In general this is a positive step forward," Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers Union, told Shots. "It's great to have broad spectrum protection but if you look at how they do the UVA test, it's an in vitro test, it's a test that's done in the lab." Hansen would
have been happier if the FDA had also included tests using people. Woodcock also mentioned that the FDA would continue to look into the safety of the ingredients used in sunscreens. Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, used to block sunlight, are sometimes processed into tiny particles, called nanoparticles. Experts have questioned the safety of nanoparticles, but Woodcock said today that FDA tests found no risk. Currently, more than 3.5 million cases of skin cancer in more than 2 million people are diagnosed each year, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. About 1 in 5 Americans will get skin cancer at some point in their lives. "The number of cases continues to rise faster than other cancers," said Ronald L. Moy, a dermatologist who is president of the American Academy of Dermatology, said at the briefing. The deadliest kind of skin cancer is melanoma, the most common cause of cancer in people in their 20s, especially among women,
according to the academy. "We continue to spread the word that ultraviolet rays cause cancer," Moy said. Consumers will begin to see these labeling changes by next summer. In the meantime, Woodcock suggests following the dermatology group's guidelines: Apply sunscreen with an SPF higher than 30 every 2 hours Wear hats, clothing and sunglasses Or just stay in the shade This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Health/ Social Media/
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Montel Williams Helps Open Medical Marijuana Shop In Calif.

Watch the Lunar Eclipse Live on YouTube

Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:47:42 AM
type of medication like they're some lesser members of society," he said. Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:29:00 AM For years, Williams served as the TV personality, multiple sclerosis face for the brand-name drug patient and one-time drug industry industry's consortium to offer help spokesman Montel Williams has a to people who can't afford their new role: consultant to medical m e d i c i n e s , t h o u g h t h a t marijuana dispensaries. relationship ended a while back. This week the media star took Now, he's eyeing a different reporters on a tour of an upscale national medical venture medical marijuana dispensary that o p e n i n g h i g h - e n d m e d i c a l he's helping to launch. "I use marijuana shops in states where medical marijuana," Williams told they're legal, CBS 13's Derek one TV reporter. He's been an Shore reported. advocate for the legalization of This entry passed through the medical marijuana and said he Full-Text RSS service if this is uses pot every day. your content and you're reading it The Sacramento dispensary is run on someone else's site, please read by Albatin Wellness Cooperative, the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentand Williams said it's nice enough only/faq.php#publishers. Five that his parents would be happy to Filters featured article: Ten Years check it out. The fancy dispensary Of Media Lens - Our Problem could help lift the stigma of With Mainstream Dissidents. medical marijuana. "Why are we treating patients who seek out this
At 11:20 a.m. PT Wednesday, a total, 100-minute-long lunar eclipse will be visible in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. If youre not from those parts, Google and Slooh have prepared a myriad of options that let you enjoy the lunar eclipse from the relative safety of your couch. Perhaps the simplest way to watch the lunar eclipse is to tune into the live streaming video on Googles official YouTube Twitter users during last channel. Decembers eclipse: You can also follow the event on Iceland S l o o h s m i s s i o n i n t e r f a c e , via@hjortur together with narration from A Moon In Hand... astronomers, or you can watch it via@yannamahkenzzi from the Sky layer in Google Moon Over Manhattan Earth by downloading this.kml via@isardasorensen file. Finally, you can see images Wide Angle Shot from the eclipse on your Android via@FLXstrmch8rs phone by downloading the Slooh Eclipse Over Space Shuttle Space Camera Android app. Discovery Cant wait for the eclipse to start? via@NASAKennedy Here are some pictures posted by
Image courtesy of Google More About: astronomy, Google, Lunar Eclipse, moon, Slooth, youtube For more Video coverage: Follow Mashable Video on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Video channel Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
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Politics-Right/
Justice Wins Out in Wisconsin on New Labor Law

Hans von Spakovsky (The Foundry)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:34:13 AM
Posted June 15th, 2011 at 11:34am in Rule of Law Print This Post In approving Wisconsins new collective bargaining law yesterday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court dropped an anvil on Dane County Judge MaryAnn Sumis political rulings. The state Supreme Court vacated all of Sumis orders against Wisconsins new labor law, declaring them void ab initio or invalid from the inception. This avoids the need for Wisconsin legislators to hold another vote on the bill. It is a victory not only for the soundness of the underlying legislative process but also for the rule of law against activist judges who ignore the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches and make up their own law from the bench. Sumi had issued restraining orders that prevented the law from being published and going into effect, claiming that the legislatures passage had violated the states open meeting law. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, headed by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, had not only appealed Sumis orders, but had also filed an original petition with
the Supreme Court arguing that Sumi was acting beyond her authority and interfering with the legislatures duties as the lawmakers of the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed, stating that Sumi had usurped the legislative power which the Wisconsin Constitution grants exclusively to the legislature. In fact, the Supreme Court pointed out that one of its prior decisions from 1943 that specifically outlined the division of governmental powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government was directly on point to the present controversy. In that 1943 case, the Court concluded that the judicial department has no jurisdiction or right to interfere with the legislative process. That is something committed by the constitution entirely to the legislature itself. Further, the Court specifically wrote in 1943 that a court could not intervene and prohibit the publication of a new law passed by the legislature because that would mean that it would be the court determining what shall be law and not the legislature. Yet Judge Sumi summarily dismissed this prior precedent. The Court also dismissed two other false claims that had been
made by unions and Democrats protesting the new collective bargaining law, claims that had been accepted without question by Sumi. The Court held that the legislature had not violated a section of the Wisconsin Constitution that requires the doors of each house to be kept open except when the public welfare shall require secrecy. According to the Court, the doors of the senate and assembly were kept open to the press and members of the public during the enactment of the Act, as was the senate parlor where the joint committee on conference met. WisconsinEye, the states local version of CSPAN, had even broadcast all of the proceedings live. These were inconvenient facts that Judge Sumi had
Relying on another precedent from 1983, the Court made it clear that it would not determine whether internal operating rules or procedural statutes have been complied with by the legislature in the course of its enactments unless there was a constitutional directive[] to the contrary. That holding is grounded in basic separation of powers principles. Once again, Sumi ignored prior Wisconsin Supreme Court precedent directly on point and seemingly has no understanding of basic separation of powers principles that prevent ignored. The Court concluded t h e j u d i c i a l b r a n c h f r o m that there is no constitutional interfering with the internal r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t a c c e s s b e operating procedures of the provided to as many members of legislature. That or she does not the public as wish to attend accept such principles as a meetings. limitation on the powers of the Finally, the Court held that the judiciary. legislature had not violated the Attorney General Van Hollen states open meeting law when the deserves a great deal of credit for, joint committee on conference as Professor William A. Jacobson met. Sumi had claimed that the of Cornell Law School has said, law required 24-hours notice of not backing down to the unjust, t h e m e e t i n g . B u t i t w a s unwise, uncalled-for, unlawful undisputed that the legislature had rulings of Judge Sumi, who posted notices of the meeting one engaged in clearly unsound legal hour and 50 minutes before its reasoning which whether start in compliance with its own, intended or not took on the internal procedural rules. The appearance of political posturing. Court declined to review the In fact, Sumi should have recused validity of the procedure used to herself from the case to avoid the give notice since that would require the Court to intermeddle JUSTICE page 89 in purely legislative concerns.
Politics-Right/
85
Give States a 50/50 Split for Offshore Drilling Revenue

Nicolas Loris (The Foundry)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:38:31 AM
Increasing the royalty states receive would help shrink budget shortfalls these coastal states are Posted June 15th, 2011 at facing, and it would help open the 1 0 : 3 8 a m i n E n e r g y a n d possibility of drilling expansion Environment Print This Post and drilling in areas off limits in Among the many broken pieces the Atlantic, Pacific, and Eastern of Americas offshore energy Gulf of Mexico. It could provide a policy is the split between federal huge boon for states that havent and state government royalty had the luxury of oil production. revenue. Implementing an even For instance, a 2009 Southeast split would go a long way to Energy Alliance study found that encourage more offshore oil and i n c l u d i n g t h e M i d - A t l a n t i c gas production and promote Region in new oil and gas leases states rights. would provide tremendous Currently, in offshore waters economic benefits to the state of where drilling occurs, coastal North Carolina: 6,700 new jobs, states collect 100 percent of the $659 million annual increase in royalties from production in state gross domestic product (GDP), waters and 27 percent of the and up to $577 million coming revenue within three miles of state into North Carolinas treasury if waters. The 2006 Gulf of Mexico the state received the 37.5 percent Energy Security Act (GOMESA) the Gulf states collect. Obviously g i v e s A l a b a m a , L o u i s i a n a , that figure would be even greater Mississippi, and Texas a 37.5 with a 50/50 split. percent share of royalties in Virginia, South Carolina, and federal waters. Although bountiful Georgia would also stand to oil and gas resources exist off the benefit greatly from opening the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Mid-Atlantic region, as would policies restrict access and thus California and Alaska. Senator the states collect no royalty Lisa Murkowski (RAK) recently revenue. As gas prices hover stressed thatOur focus should be around $4 per gallon, there is a on legislation that advances renewed interest in expanding oil safety, production and a fair and natural gas exploration and return of revenue to coastal states production off Americas coasts. simultaneously. With that has come a push for a States rights are equally 50/50 royalty revenue sharing for important. Drilling off states the states. coasts and allowing them a larger
waterswhich have been renewed annually since 1982were allowed to lapse, Senator Jim DeMint (RSC) offered comprehensive legislation that would have permanently ended the bans on offshore drilling, expedited the leasing process and judicial review of environmental lawsuits, and ensured 50/50 state royalty sharing. Such a framework would provide a predictable environment for the private sector to explore and extract these resources if it makes economic sense to do so and allow the federal government share of the royalty revenue from onshore oil and natural gas and state governments to collect would encourage more state production on federal lands. And billions of dollars from royalty involvement in drilling decisions. this is the way it should work. It revenue, lease bids, and rental It would promote state and local makes no difference whether it is payments. government participation in on land or waterthe royalty With gas prices remaining high, allocating funds as well, whether revenue split should be the same. Exxons recent discovery of an it is closing a states deficit or Another criticism is that less estimated 700 million barrels in c o a s t a l r e s t o r a t i o n a n d money would be coming into the the Gulf of Mexico, and the conservation. federal government to close the continued struggle to create jobs Critics argue that when the oil deficit. While this would be the and grow the nations economy, and gas is in federal waters, the case, comprehensive legislation one would think opening access to revenue belongs to all 50 states. A that opens access to energy Americas offshore oil and gas spokesman for Senate Energy and supplies in the Atlantic, the reserves would be a priority. If Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Pacific, and the Eastern Gulf of those reasons werent enough for B i n g a m a n ( D N M ) s a i d , Mexico could yield billions in the government to allow drilling, C h a i r m a n B i n g a m a n s t i l l government revenue and is good creating a system of 50/50 revenue sharing is not only good opposes the diversion of revenue policy. to individual states from federal In 2008, when gas prices reached p o l i c y , b u t i t w o u l d a l s o resources that are owned by all 50 r e c o r d l e v e l s a n d t h e incentivize more state buy-in for states. Yet onshore states, like congressional restrictions on offshore drilling. Senator Bingamans, receive 50 energy leasing in 85 percent of GIVE page 86 percent of the revenues generated A m e r i c a s t e r r i t o r i a l
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Politics-Right/
Morning Bell: A Showdown over the War in Libya

Mike Brownfield (The Foundry)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:44:23 AM
Posted June 15th, 2011 at 9:44am in Protect America Print This Post For the past three months, the United States has been engaged in a war in Libya, and during that time Congress has remained largely in the dark and on the sidelines about central questions in the conflict, all while U.S. forces remain committed without congressional authorization. Yesterday, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) sent a letter to President Barack Obama warning that the commander in chief may be in violation of the law if he refuses to ask Congress for its approval. In his letter, Boehner noted that the President is just days away from violating the War Powers Resolution, which maintains that, without congressional authorization, the President can deploy U.S. military forces for 90 days. In his letter, Boehner demanded that Obama provide legal justification for the operation in Libya by Friday. Though the War Powers Resolution is problematic,
Congress is right to be angry and has an obligation to speak up on Libya. In response to Boehners letter, a National Security Council spokesman said, We are in the final stages of preparing extensive information for the House and Senate that will address a whole host of issues about our ongoing efforts in Libya. But its a message Congress has heard before, and its not the first time in this near 90-day-old conflict that the Obama Administration has left questions about the U.S. mission in Libya unanswered. Nine days after Operation Odyssey Dawn began, President Obama addressed the American people from the National Defense University to lay out his justification for the United States involvement in Libyas civil war. And though, as Heritages James Carafano explained, the President described the brutality of the [Muammar] Qadhafi regime, the United States interests in the conflict, the limited nature of U.S. military involvement, and the role the international community would
undertake in finishing the job in Libya and rebuilding the country, the question What comes next? still remained. And while the bombs drop in Tripoli, Qadhafi hunkers down, and questions about NATOs capabilities grow, the U.S. mission has continued without congressional authorization. It is that refusal to consult Congress that has driven the House of Representatives to take action. Ten days ago, the House voted 268-145 to demand that President Obama give more detail on U.S. policy goals in Libya. And today, those details still have not arrived. Representative Buck McKeon (R-CA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee explains Congress frustration: If our fighting forces are sent into combat, Congress voice must be heard. Despite the fact that the White House failed to seek congressional authorization for Operation Odyssey Dawn, U.S. armed forces are continuing their participation in the NATO-led operation. It is my hope that the Obama Administration
understands that this minimizes Congress constitutional role in matters of war and takes appropriate corrective actions. Congress complaintsand its calls for answers from the White Houseare justifiable. Carafano writes: President Obama failed to consult Congress in an appropriately deliberate manner. The President has ill-served Congress, and there is no reason Congress should stand for it. As it responds, Congress should be mindful of its obligations: to uphold the Constitution, act in Americas interests, and not unduly put the lives of American allies at risk. USA Today reports that the White House is expected to meet Boehners deadline, but longstanding questions that have clouded the conflict from the start will still need answers. Tomorrow, The Heritage Foundation will host an event,U.S. Engagement in Libya: The Way Forward, which will discuss how the Administration should proceed in Libya and what Congress role should be in developing a sensible strategy for
peace and transition. After President Obama launched operations in Libya, he promised that the engagement would last days, not weeks. Months later, the war rages on and an easy toppling of Qadhafis regime has not been achieved. Though gains against Qadhafis forces have been made, Libyan rebels are unlikely to achieve victory any time soon, risking more civilian deaths amid a stalemated war. What is needed now is a clear path forward and appropriate congressional involvement that respects the Constitution and Americas commitment to its allies to achieve U.S. objectives in Libya. Quick Hits: This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
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87
The Libyan War: NATOs Twilight?

Stephen Brown (FrontPage Magazine FrontPage)
After his candid statement, retired British admirals said Stanhope did not go far enough in Submitted at 6/14/2011 11:28:12 PM his comments, saying the British If the war in Libya has proven navy was inshambles and could anything, it is how militarily weak not sustain a tinpot operation t h e N o r t h A t l a n t i c T r e a t y like Libya let alone take back the Organization (NATO) countries Falkland Islands if they were are without American help. And seized by Argentina again. The more importantly for those current crisis in British military members involved in the Libyan capability is mostly due to conflict, it is this revealed government cutbacks that saw the weakness that, in the end, may navys last aircraft carrier and its allow Gaddafi to survive. harrier jets taken out of service. Less than a week after Secretary British naval fliers will now use a of Defense Robert Gates criticised French aircraft carrier and will NATO members at a meeting in learn French to do so. Brussels for serious capability If we had the tools for the job, I gaps and other institutional think Gaddafi would be out of shortcomings laid bare by the power by now, stated Rear Libyan operation, Admiral Sir Admiral Chris Parry. Mark Stanhope, Britains naval At the Brussels meeting last chief, warned that the Royal Navy Friday, Gates, in his last policy w o u l d b e a b l e t o s u s t a i n speech before his retirement, operations in Libya for only expressed his displeasure with another three months. Americas allies about their Beyond that, we might have to military shortcomings. Gates request the Government to make noted that after only 11 weeks some challenging decisions about against a poorly armed regime in p r i o r i t i e s , s a i d S t a n h o p e . a sparsely populated country, Although the British navy has coalition states of the mightiest only four ships operating off alliance in history have already Libya, it has been calleda key run short of munitions, which contributor to the Libya mission. America had to make good. Gates
also took alliance members to task for their lack of will and cutbacks to their military budgets, which have shrunk $45 billion the past two years, a shortfall that puts pressure on American taxpayers to spend more for defense. Frankly, many of those allies sitting on the sidelines do so not because they do not want to participate, but simply because they cant. The military capabilities simply arent there, Gates said.
House leader John Boehner gave President Obama an ultimatum regarding US forces in the Libyan conflict. Boehner wants Obama to justify this troop commitment by Friday and get authorization from Congress for it or be declared in violation of the War Powers Resolution. A constitutional showdown about the commitments legality now appears in the making. These notes of discord from the NATO camp must be sweet music to Gaddafis ears. Despite recent talk of the Libyan leader stepping down and going into exile, Gaddafi vowed in a speech on state television a week ago to stay on and fight to the death. The fact Ironically, on the same day Gates h e a n d h i s s o n s a r e u n d e r was making his final policy indictment by the International speech as Secretary of Defense, Criminal Court has probably the first cracks began to appear in strongly influenced his decision to NATOs anti-Gaddafi coalition. remain as Libyan leader. He is Norway said on Friday it is going most likely afraid any asylum to withdraw its six F-16 fighters offer may be voided once he is on August 1, while the Dutch said outside Libya, after which he their warplanes would fly no more would then be turned over to the bombing missions. court. In the United States, political problems are arising about Americas involvement in Libya. On Wednesday, Republican
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Politics-Right/
Syrian Military Splitting

Ryan Mauro (FrontPage Magazine FrontPage)
city was taken over this weekend. One resident who fled to Turkey said that four tanks switched sides Submitted at 6/14/2011 11:25:09 PM and he saw fighting between At least 5,000 Syrians have fled military forces. to Turkey as the Assad regime is Videotaped testimonies of crushing Jisr al-Shughour after soldiers who have abandoned the soldiers and police officers army and fled to Turkey are refused to fire on civilians. More streaming out of the country. One and more stories are coming out officer named Ali Hassan Satouf of soldiers defecting and security said, They are killing my people, personnel being executed for whether they are Christian, disobeying orders. These fissures Allawite or Sunni. We are in the in the military bring the threat to army to defend them against the the Assad regime to a new height. Israeli enemy. Its not the job of Shughour, even using helicopters the army to kill our people, our The U.S. is now defining the Syria. President Bashar Assad has t o a t t a c k i t s p o p u l a t i o n . families. An officer from the 11 situation in Syria as a deployed the Republican Guards Ascorched earth strategy is th Battalion, Hussein Harmoush, humanitarian crisis as the death toll approaches 1,500. The regime under the command of his brother, being employed. The city is said that the last straw for him refuses to allow the International Baher, to Jisr al-Shughour. This is blockaded, people are being shot was the massacre in Jisr alCommittee for the Red Cross the regimes most reliable force as in the streets, houses are being Shughour. access, and Assad is ignoring it consists of recruits from the demolished, and crops are being I announce my split from the p h o n e c a l l s f r o m t h e U . N . Allawite minority that Assad burned up. Only about one-tenth Syrian army and I am joining the Secretary-General. The Turkish belongs to. The city became the of the 50,000 people who lived Syrian youth alongside a number government has turned on Assad, focal point of the conflict recently there remain. On Saturday, an of the free Arab Syrian army. Our condemning the atrocity, and is after the regime claimed that army captain and 15 of his current aim is the protection of the preparing to host 10,000 refugees. armed gangs murdered 120 soldiers defected. An activist also protesters who are asking for T h e T u r k i s h m i l i t a r y i s members of the security forces reported that a lieutenant-colonel f r e e d o m a n d considering measures to control there. The opposition says that the and 150 of his men about 10 democracy, Harmoush said on and manage the situation near truth is that they were executed by kilometers west of the city have tape. He called on members of the Jisr al-Shughour, which is only 12 the regime for refusing to kill switched sides to unite with the security services to protect residents of Jisr al-Shughour. civilians and property from miles away from the border. protesters. The regime began a brutal About 60 soldiers that defected destruction. Turkey may declare a buffer zone that could potentially extend into o f f e n s i v e a g a i n s t J i s r a l - stayed in Jisr al-Shughour as the
Jihadi Missile Crisis

Frank Crimi (FrontPage Magazine FrontPage)
Submitted at 6/14/2011 11:21:56 PM
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently claimed that Hezbollah possessed chemical and biological weapons. The news comes as the IDF contends the terror organization has now amassed more than 50,000 missiles and rockets, heightening Israels concerns over its vulnerability to a Hezbollah assault. The assertion by Gates followed reports in April 2011 that Libyan rebels had ransacked chemical weapons storage depots in and around the Libyan city of Benghazi. There they obtained at least 2,000 artillery shells carrying mustard gas and 1,200 nerve gas shells, which they sold to both Hezbollah and Hamas. JIHADI page 89
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JUSTICE
Not surprisingly, Iran was believed to be the broker of the deal. Of course, Iran has long been accused of supplying Hezbollah with chemical weapons, the last time in 2009 when chemical traces were discovered in a Hezbollah weapons warehouse. Although Hezbollah denies having chemically-armed missiles or rockets, it doesnt deny their importance to the terror organization. According to Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, These are our pride and dignity no one will be able to grab them, neither in Lebanon nor in the world. Unfortunately for Israelis, Hezbollahs precious stockpile has now surpassed over 50,000 missiles and rockets according to the IDF. The IDF has also determined the number of predesignated targets of Hezbollah launch sites to have grown from around 200 in 2006 to now
somewhere in the thousands. In fact, in April 2011 Israeli officials had already identified 550 underground bunkers, 300 surveillance sites and 100 other facilities south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, the zone where Hezbollah is supposedly banned from keeping weapons under the UN-sponsored truce that ended the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war. The entire situation has added to growing Israeli concern over its increasing vulnerability from Hezbollahs already enormous and growing stockpile of weaponry, which according to former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens can now reach every corner of Israel and threaten its entire civilian population. Even though Israel has a newly deployed Iron Dome anti-missile system, that system remains vulnerable to massive salvos fired from Hezbollahs short-range missile systems. For example,
during the 34-day war in 2006, Hezbollah unleashed nearly 4,000 missiles and rockets around 120 a day into northern Israel. However, 2009 Wikileaks documents reveal Israel expects a new war with Hezbollah to last two months, with 500 missiles a day, including 100 that would reach Tel Aviv. More worrisome is that Israels Home Front Command admitted in April 2011 that only 31 percent of Israels 7 million people had been supplied gas masks. Added into this troubling equation are reports surfacing of Hezbollah busily moving weapons from the chaos in Syria and distributing them immediately to its forces so they dont fall into the wrong hands.
appearance of bias. Her son is a former lead field manager with the AFL-CIO and data manager for the SEIU State Council, two unions that not only represent public employees in Wisconsin but were instrumental in organizing protests against the passage of the collective bargaining law. One of the final paragraphs of the Wisconsin Supreme Courts order aptlys describes the role of judges, and posits a rule that too many activist, imperial judges do not follow when they set themselves up as superlegislators: The courts decision on the matter now presented is grounded in separation of powers principles. It is not affected by the wisdom or lack thereof evidenced in the Act. Choices about what laws represent wise public policy for the State of Wisconsin are not
within the constitutional purview of the courts. The courts taskis limited to determining whether the legislature employed a constitutionally violative process in the enactment of the Act. We conclude that the legislature did not violate the Wisconsin Constitution by the process it used. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
HP messes with our brains, files six new TouchPad trademarks

Sharif Sakr (Engadget)
TouchPadTwin, TouchPadGeo and TouchPadPro; unfortunately though, the descriptions provided H P h a s f i l e d a b u n c h o f with each trademark are so broad TouchPad-related trademarks all as to be useless, so we're not in one go, and they must mean g o i n g t o i n d u l g e H P b y something, right? The USPTO speculating as to what each database shows a TouchPad7, m o n i k e r m i g h t m e a n . W h o designed to spook other tablet TouchPadGo, TouchPadFlex, knows? Maybe it's all bluff, manufacturers into taking up trout
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:39:00 AM
fishing instead, or maybe Jon actually did convince Leo to approve a webOS tablet for every day of the week. In the world of trademarks, stranger things have happened. [Thanks, Brum] HP messes with our brains, files six new TouchPad trademarks
originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Precentral| USPTO| Email this| Comments
90
Social Media/
Americans Watching More Video Than Ever Before [STUDY]

Lauren Indvik (Mashable!)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:29:03 AM
Online Video Departing from earlier studies that found that the heaviest media From TV sets to the web to consumers consume content mobile devices, video is available across all platforms, Nielsens on an increasing number of latest survey shows that those platforms, and Americans video who watch the least amount of consumption habits are scaling traditional TV particularly accordingly. those in the 18 to 34 age In a study released Wednesday, demographic are watching Nielsen found that traditional TV more online video. viewership, which remains the This trend is still in its infancy, p r i m a r y v e h i c l e f o r v i d e o however, as more than one-third c o n s u m p t i o n a c r o s s a l l of video viewers do not watch any demographics, rose an average of streaming Internet video, while 22 minutes per month per person less than 1% avoid traditional TV last year. The average American a l t o g e t h e r . D e m o g r a p h i c now spends nearly 159 hours B r e a k d o w n watching traditional TV each Unsurprisingly, age is the biggest month. determining factor in video U.S. consumers also now spend consumption habits. Adults ages an average of four hours and 20 50 to 84 made up the largest minutes per month watching chunk (25%) of traditional TV video on the web, a full hour and viewership, while adults ages 35 10 minutes above what they spent to 49 comprised the largest in Q1 2010. segment (27%) of the Internet In addition, timeshifted TV (i.e. video audience. Meanwhile, 25 to TV content that is recorded and 34-year-olds accounted for the watched later) also continued to highest percentage (30%) of g r o w , a s d i d m o b i l e v i d e o mobile video viewership. viewing, up 43% (20%) from the Impressively, young American year previous. Some Viewers teens (ages 12 to 17) spend a full Migrating From Traditional TV to third of their online time watching
video. Proportionately speaking, African Americans watch the most video content, including both traditional TV and mobile video. Asians spend more time watching video on the Internet than any other ethnicity group, averaging four more hours per month than the next closest group, Hispanics. Both Asians and Hispanics watch less traditional TV compared to the rest of the population. The study also found that women spend more time watching TV compared to men, but that men
According to the study, twothirds of TV-owning households now have an HDTV, up 20% from last year. Ownership of video games consoles and DVRs also rose, albeit more moderately; 45% of TV households now have a video game console, and 40% are in possession of a DVR. Our Habits Have Changed. Have Yours? The video viewing habits of many of us at Mashable vary widely from these averages, as we spend most of our time watching video content on our desktops and spend more time watching online mobile devices over traditional video. Consumers Still Willing To TV sets. How have your videoviewing habits shifted over the Pay Nielsen found that consumers are past year to five years? Image courtesy of Flickr still willing to pay for highCrazySphinx quality TV content. A full 91% of TV-owning More About: media, Nielsen, h o u s e h o l d s p a i d f o r a T V study, tv, video, web video subscription in the first quarter of For more Media coverage: 2011. TV subscriptions via Follow Mashable Media on satellite and telephone companies Twitter i n c r e a s e d w h i l e c a b l e Become a Fan on Facebook subscriptions decreased slightly Subscribe to the Media channel f r o m t h e y e a r p r e v i o u s . Download our free apps for Households Purchasing More TV- Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad Related Devices
Social Media/ Politics/
91
Shazam Adds Lyrics Gary Johnson Its Spontaneous Karaoke Crashes the GOP Time Debate
Brenna Ehrlich (Mashable!)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:16:55 AM
Ever had a spirited argument over song lyrics while at a bar? Well, music recognition service Shazam aims to stop such bloodsport with a new feature called Shazam LyricPlay. Shazam LyricPlay, made possible via Shazams acquisition of synchronized lyric technology from Tunezee, adds another level of discovery to the Encore premium version[iTunes link] of the iOS app. You can now tag a song, and the option to check out lyrics will pop up. Just click on lyrics, turn your phone to the side, and the lyrics will scroll in time to the song. The real-time scrolling feature doesnt work for all songs, sadly. The lyrics library includes more than 25,000 songs, which means that youll be able to sing along more accurately but no less off
-key to even more of your favorite jams. Its like mini karaoke for your pocket, without all the weird videos featuring cows and nonsensical stories about gangsters. Competitor SoundHounds free app[iTunes link] already has lyrics, but they dont scroll in relation to the song. Image courtesy of Flickr, pfly
audiences. There are dozens of other lesser known candidates running for Submitted at 6/15/2011 8:13:11 AM president. They aren't successful By Conor Friedersdorf former two-term governors, and Jun 15 2011, 9:13 AM ET I'd never promise to embed video Comment The former governor o f t h e i r a n s w e r s t o d e b a t e didn't get an invite, so he sat alone questions. But do you know what? i n a r o o m , a n s w e r e d t h e If another lesser known produced questions, and posted his answers a 40 minute clip with answers so to YouTube compelling that I thought they It used to be that a YouTube could go viral, or were worthy of presidential debate consisted of wider attention, I'd totally hit the citizens uploading questions so embed button again. And other that candidates could answer journalists and indy-bloggers with them. After being excluded from different taste in candidates might More About: iphone, music, the GOP presidential primary exercise their own judgments and debate held in New Hampshire on give wider attention to their own shazam Tuesday, however, former New pols of choice. It isn't a perfect For more Media coverage: Follow Mashable Media on Mexico governor Gary Johnson system, but compared to letting turned that model on its head, CNN makes the call it strikes me Twitter taking the questions from the as an improvement. And one day, Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Media channel televised event and splicing them it might be a viable method for Download our free apps for together with answers he recorded breaking into a race in a way Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad and uploaded to the video sharing never before seen. site. Unlike the other candidates, This entry passed through the he got to answer every question! Full-Text RSS service if this is This is interesting in that media your content and you're reading it organizations that host debates on someone else's site, please read can no longer act as gatekeepers: the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentCNN and the New Hampshire only/faq.php#publishers. Five Union Leader thought Johnson Filters featured article: Ten Years didn't merit inclusion, but Will Of Media Lens - Our Problem Wilkinson of The Economist With Mainstream Dissidents. disagreed, as did I, and we're free to embed his answers for our
Conor Friedersdorf (Politics : The Atlantic)
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Daily World/
Foyles places our reading campaign firmly in the shop window

David Cohen and Alistair Foster (Evening Standard - News)
lives of 690 struggling children. Just as impressive has been the response of ordinary Londoners Submitted at 6/15/2011 6:08:22 AM who have reacted to our call to David Cohen and Alistair Foster become reading volunteers at the 15 Jun 2011 incredible rate of almost one a The worlds of literature and minute. fashion swung behind our Get VRH has so far received 2,800 London Reading campaign today, e n q u i r i e s f o r i t s v o l u n t e e r with top London book company application pack, an average of Foyles, French Connection and 400 a day for the past seven Harold Tillman, owner of the working days. Jaeger and Aquascutum clothing Get London Reading ... How to labels, donating 5,000 each. join our campaign Foyles, the first bookseller to Foyles joins our Get London s u p p o r t o u r c a m p a i g n , Reading campaign transformed the window of its The buzz spread to radio flagship Charing Cross Road y e s t e r d a y , a s B B C L o n d o n branch into a giant branded devoted its drive-time show to our billboard for our drive to highlight campaign highlighting "the one in the capital's illiteracy crisis, and three children who do not own a set aside 3,000 books to offer book". young readers - free of charge Foyles chief executive Sam on a first come, first served basis Husain said the company was at the start of the summer thrilled to sponsor 10 new holidays. volunteers, "one of whom will be The new donations took the total a Foyles bookseller. Reading is raised so far to 115,000, enough the gateway to a lifetime of to sponsor 230 reading volunteers enjoyment and an essential life to go into schools with our partner skill." charity, Volunteer Reading Help, Miriam Robinson, Foyles's who will work to improve the m a r k e t i n g m a n a g e r , s a i d :
"Everybody in the book trade is ecstatic about your campaign. We all think it is extraordinary. We're particularly excited about engaging with new potential child readers." On the first three days of the summer holidays, from July 23 to 25, children who visit any of Foyles's five stores can pick up a free book. There will be 1,000 copies each of three different ageappropriate titles on offer - one for five to seven-year-olds, another for eight to 12-year-olds, and a third for teenagers under 17. Harold Tillman's wife, Stephanie, has been a volunteer helping youngsters to read at schools in Muswell Hill for seven years. Mr Tillman, chairman of the British Fashion Council, said: "The Standard's campaign is fantastic and as soon as we heard about it we knew we had to support it. Stephanie finds her volunteer work very satisfying, but it's distressing at times to learn that some youngsters don't have the interest in reading that we did as children. "The sessions, which she does
twice a week, gradually build interest and then the children start to enjoy it. "When I was growing up, there was limited TV in the afternoons. My parents would go through my homework and encourage me to read. It's a great sadness to think many young people now grow up without these skills. "Those who can afford to should donate whatever they can. It doesn't matter how small." In addition to its money pledge, French Connection appealed to its workforce to volunteer with VRH. Chairman and chief executive Stephen Marks said: "Sometimes our advertising campaigns have controversially pushed the boundaries, but this only goes to show how much fun you can have with words. For our staff, improving literacy is key as this makes them into more confident people. We are proud to support the Standard campaign." At Foyles in Charing Cross, shoppers admired the window display. Zosia Knopp, 41, a mother of two from Catford, said: "It looks tremendous. I've read to
my seven-year-old son Maks from a very young age. He loves books and has several hundred. When I read in the Standard that one in three children don't own a book, I told Maks how lucky he was. It spurred him to go through his collection and give some books to children in his class who don't have any. "Everybody is talking about the campaign. The Standard has placed itself brilliantly at the heart of social change in London, but what's been so touching has been to see how generously Londoners have responded." Get London Reading ... How to join our campaign Foyles joins our Get London Reading campaign This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Daily World/ Technology/
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Kate's plan to wow America... no speech but great hair

Ross Lydall (Evening Standard - News)
ambassador Sir David Manning, who is advises the couple. The duchess will be seen and not Submitted at 6/15/2011 6:00:37 AM heard throughout the tour as The Duchess of Cambridge will Clarence House has decided tour Canada and America with a against throwing her into the personal hairdresser - but without demands of public speaking. "She a stylist to help choose her outfits. won't [speak] on this tour," Mr Hairdresser James Pryce has been Lowther-Pinkerton said. "She will asked to accompany Kate on the be fully engaged. 10-day tour of north America, "It's going to be a double act. which includes her first visit to There will be times when there is the USA. a walkabout and they separate." But only an administrative He admitted people "may be assistant from the royal household surprised" at Kate not speaking will be on hand to help with her but explained: "They should put numerous costume changes as she themselves in the duchess's shoes. experiences her first foreign tour There is a time and a place to in the spotlight of the world's choose to sensibly introduce media. Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, yourself to the role of public private secretary to William and s p e a k i n g . W h e n s h e f e e l s Kate, said it had been decided in comfortable to do that [she will]." agreement with the duchess that Mr Lowther-Pinkerton added that the entourage would be kept as the duchess would wear clothes "tight as possible" and not include by British designers. a full-time dresser. Exact details of the Canadian leg Seven aides will travel with the of their tour, which begins on r o y a l s , i n c l u d i n g f o r m e r June 30, remain under wraps,
although the royal couple will mark Canada Day in Ottowa on July 1 and attend the Calgary Stampede. They will conclude their first joint overseas tour by spending two days in California, from July 8 to 10. The couple may attend a black tie ball in Los Angeles to promote Bafta, of which William is president, and the British film industry. William decided to visit California as a boost to some of his charities and military links with the US and to promote the UK abroad. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Best Buy adds $50 dock to its collection of HTC Flyer accessories
Dana Wollman (Engadget)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:11:00 AM
HDTV. Looks like more than a few folks are sweet on the idea of porting HTC Watch to a bigger Surely by now you've recouped screen -- the dock's back-ordered that $80 you begrudgingly forked with a one- to two-week delay. over for your Flyer stylus, right? But is it worth the fifty bucks? Good. Because the parade of We'll leave that to you and your accessories for the 7-inch slate wallet. continues. Now, Best Buy's Best Buy adds $50 dock to its selling a matching white micro- c o l l e c t i o n o f H T C F l y e r USB dock for $50. It's perfect for accessories originally appeared on transforming the slate into the Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 aluminum-clad bedside alarm of 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our your dreams, but you can also terms for use of feeds. Permalink connect your own MHL adapter Pocketables| Best Buy| Email this| to the rear micro-USB port, Comments allowing you to output video to an
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Politics/
Did Holder deputy lie to Congress about Operation Fast and Furious?; Update: Issa releases e-mails
Ed Morrissey (Hot Air Top Picks)
Many were later recovered at the scene of violent crimes. This guy comes in, buys 10, 15, Submitted at 6/15/2011 10:25:16 AM 20 AKs or a 22-year-old girl The House Oversight Committee walks in and dumps $10,000 on has released interviews with four AK-47s in a day, when she is ATF agents indicate that a top driving a beat up car that doesnt official in the Department of have enough metal to hold Justice may have lied to, or at the hubcaps on it. They knew what least misled, Congress on a was going on. The may have controversial operation that put facilitated to me is kind of guns in the hands of Mexican erroneous. We did facilitate it. drug cartels, one of which was How are we not responsible for used to kill a Border Patrol agent. the ultimate outcome of these Ronald Welch, a Deputy Attorney [g]uns? Dodson said. General under Eric Holder, The agents said they complained assured Congress in writing that vociferously about the operation the ATF and Department of t o s u p e r i o r s . E v e n t u a l l y , a Justice made every effort seize schism between team members all illegally-purchased weapons. developed over whether the However, the ATF agents testifed tactics being used were wise or that the ATF and DoJ deliberately even legal. allowed hundreds of such When the agents raised weapons to cross the border as objections to the wisdom and part of Operation Fast and legality of the operation, they Furious: were met with a rather pointed Dodson, Casa, Alt and Forcelli response: say they were instructed to watch David Voth, the teams weapons purchased illegally en supervisor, sent a March 12, 2010 route to criminal networks but not email to the team, saying the seize the weapons as they had tactics of Fast and Furious were been trained. backed by HQ. Dodson estimates 1,730 weapons Whether you care or not people e s c a p e d t o t h e c l u t c h e s o f of rank and authority at HQ are Mexican drug cartels throughout paying close attention to this case the lifespan of Fast and Furious. and they also believe weare
doing what they envisioned the Southwest Border Grouops doing. It may sound cheesy but we are The tip of the ATF spear when it comes to Southwest Border Firearms Trafficking, Voth wrote. If the agents didnt like it, Maybe the Maricopa County Jail is hiring detention officers and you can get paid $30,000 (instead of $100,000) to serve lunch to inmates all day, Voth wrote. Dodson said he was told the U.S. Attorney is on board, and it was Mr. [Emory] Hurley, and they say there is nothing illegal going on. Agents clearly didnt agree, and accurately predicted the outcome of allowing the weapons to cross the border: ATF agents interviewed by congressional investigators described supervisors trying to tamp down agents misgivings about the strategy to allow the weapons purchases. Larry Alt, an ATF agent, told investigators agents opposed the weapons sales as early as December 2009 and wanted to arrest straw purchasers, who are paid to buy guns for others. Mr. Alt said he agreed with a fellow agent who expressed the view that
someone was going to die. Supervisors responded by saying the operation was sanctioned by higher-ups. They also cited Mexicos surging drug violence187 murders in Sinaloa state in one month as reason for the strategy. I believe we are righteous in our plan to dismantle this entire [trafficking] organization and to rush in to arrest any one person without taking into account the entire scope of the conspiracy would be ill advised. , wrote David Voth, an ATF supervisor who was leading Fast and Furious, to fellow agents in an April 2010 email cited in the 51page report scheduled to be released Wednesday. Voth scolded agents for their dissent in another e-mail and told them that higher-ups were watching: We are all entitled to our respective (albeit different) opinions however we all need to get along and realize that we have a mission to accomplish. He added: Whether you care or not people of rank and authority at HQ are paying close attention to this case and they also believe we are doing what they envisioned. And yet, when Congress
demanded answers, Welch insisted that nothing of the kind had happened at least at first: Initially, top Justice Department officials denied weapons were allowed to escape into criminal networks. At the outset, the allegation described in your January 27 letter that ATF sanctioned or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them into Mexico is false, a Feb. 4 letter from Weich to Issa and Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley said. ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico, the letter said. Not only was every effort clearly not made, the ATF was deliberately refusing to interdict hundreds of weapons. The DoJ later attempted to walk back this unequivocal denial by stating that they only interdicted the purchasers carrying weapons across the border, which would make the earlier letter entirely irrelevant. Welch faces the Oversight panel DID page 96
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The Toughest States for Obama to Defend in 2012

Josh Kraushaar (Politics : The Atlantic)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:33:57 AM
By Josh Kraushaar Jun 15 2011, 10:33 AM ET Comment The president expanded Democrats' electoral map in 2008, but this time around he could struggle to reclaim the states that helped him win President Obama won 365 electoral votes in 2008, but with a struggling economy, his campaign is focused on defending the gains he made. I interviewed 10 veteran Democratic and Republican strategists to get their sense of which states will be toughest for Obama to hang onto. Based on their feedback, here's the list of the five states that supported Obama in 2008 that are most likely to vote Republican: 1. Indiana (11 electoral votes). That the president's advisers are privately downplaying their chances of recapturing the traditional GOP stronghold--and talking up, instead, his chances in other longer-shot states like Arizona and Georgia--is a clear sign the Hoosier State is looking out of reach. Democrats took it on the chin during the midterms, losing a Senate seat and two of the state's nine House seats. The
recession has hit Indiana particularly hard: Unemployment hovers near 10 percent. 2. North Carolina (15 electoral votes). Obama traveled to Durham this week to make his case for reelection--the latest sign that the White House views the Tar Heel State as squarely in play for 2012. It fits to a tee the profile of the states Obama is targeting-diverse, well-educated, with a growing proportion of its
population in cities and suburbs. The Democratic convention is being held in Charlotte, which should excite the home-state base. But underneath those encouraging indicators are telltale signs that recapturing North Carolina is easier said than done. Obama won the state by a razorthin, 14,000-vote margin in 2008, thanks to record black and youth turnout. With unemployment at 9.7 percent and the recession
disproportionately affecting those groups, it's hard to foresee that same level of enthusiasm again. Other factors don't bode well for Obama, either: the state's Democratic governor, Bev Perdue, has struggled with low approval ratings and faces the likelihood of a tough challenge from former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. The state's most prominent Democratic politician, former presidential candidate and
Sen. John Edwards, might be on trial around the time of the president's reelection campaign. 3. Florida (29 electoral votes). The Sunshine State's 10.7 percent unemployment rate is the nation's fourth highest. Little has improved economically since the 2010 midterms, when Democrats lost the governor and Senate contests, and saw four Democratic TOUGHEST page 97
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Politics/
Students still dont know the basics of U.S. history

Tina Korbe (Hot Air Top Picks)
Submitted at 6/15/2011 11:05:52 AM
DID
This is just sad. The vast majority of American 12th-graders more than three-fourths didnt know China was North Koreas ally during the Korean War, and only 35 percent of fourth-graders knew the purpose of the Declaration of Independence, according to national history test scores released Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reports. The results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed that U.S. schoolchildren have made little progress since 2006 in their understanding of key historical themes, including the basic principles of democracy and Americas role in the world. Only 20% of U.S. fourth-graders and 17% of eighth-graders who took the 2010 history exam were proficient or advanced, unchanged since the test was last administered in 2006. Proficient means students have a solid understanding of the material. The news was even more dire in high school, where 12% of 12thgraders were proficient, unchanged since 2006. More than
later today to answer questions on this operation and his response to Congress. If he doesnt come up with something better, expect a contempt citation from the House. Update: I got the release from half of all seniors posted scores at (Incidentally, thats also what Sue woeful lack of knowledge todays Oversight, but Im going to send the lowest achievement level, Blanchette, president-elect of the fourth- and eighth-grade students you to Michelle Malkin on the below basic. While the nations National Council for Social display. My first thought upon background. The Boss Emeritus fourth- and eighth-graders have Studies, said in the WSJ article.) reading the article in The Wall has images of the e-mails seen a slight uptick in scores since At the federal level, Burke said, Street Journal had nothing to do themselves, and since shes been a the exam was first administered in national history standards have with education policy and had stalwart on this story from the 1994, 12th-graders havent. been tried and overwhelmingly everything to do with my family. beginning, she has important One bright spot: The minority defeated (as they should have Most of what I learned about context as well: gap closed somewhat for both been!). In the 1990s, the push for history as a kid I learned from the The first e-mail from March 10, blacks and Hispanics. At the federal standards in education books I checked out at the library 2010, to Operation Fast and fourth-grade level, the gap started with history standards, but on summer excursions with my Furious Group VII Leader David between Hispanic and white the poorly written metrics quickly mom and brother or at the Voth indicates that the two most students decreased from 39 points revealed just why the federal dinner table, where Id listen to senior leaders in ATF, Acting in 1994 to 26 points in 2010. In government should stay out of my dad and mom talk politics. Director Kenneth Melson, and eighth grade, the black-white gap curriculum-crafting: Subjects like Teachers alone cant turn around Deputy Director Billy Hoover, narrowed by 5 points from 28 social studies are extremely test results like those reported by were being briefed weekly on points in 1994 to 23 in 2010. subjective. the WSJ this morning and Operation Fast and Furious. The Educators immediately suggested Today, the push for national Congress help would only document shows that both Melson this tried-and-true solution: More standards has begun anew with create more red tape for states. and Hoover were keenly tests (and presumably, standards the development of Common B u t p a r e n t s h a v e a p r i m e interested in case updates. by which to craft the tests). Core State Standards in English opportunity to teach the basics to A second e-mail from March Supposedly, history gets the shaft and math but even these more their children, if theyll only take 12, 2010, shows that Deputy because No Child Left Behind objective subjects shouldnt be the it. Assistant Director for Field only mandates that students be province of federal standard- This entry passed through the Operations William McMahon tested in math and reading. setting. Whatever subjects they Full-Text RSS service if this is was so excited about Fast and Actually, more state-level testing a d d r e s s , n a t i o n a l a c a d e m i c your content and you're reading it Furious that he received a special could be a part of the solution standards threaten a host of on someone else's site, please read briefing on the program in but only at the state level. In problems. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentPhoenix scheduled for a mere Florida, for example, stiffer Bottom line: Parents and teachers only/faq.php#publishers. Five 45 minutes after his plane landed. s t a n d a r d s a n d m o r e know the children they teach Filters featured article: Ten Years A third and perhaps the most comprehensive tests have yielded personally and so can adapt their Of Media Lens - Our Problem disturbing e-mail from April 12, impressive results, according to approach to accommodate the With Mainstream Dissidents. 2010, indicates that Acting Heritage Foundation education learning needs of the child. Director Melson was very much expert Lindsey Burke. As former Distant, unelected bureaucrats in the weeds with Operation Fast Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says, simply cant. and Furious. After a detailed What gets tested, gets taught. Which brings me back to the briefing of the program by the ATF Phoenix Field Division, DID page 98
97
TOUGHEST
House seats flip to the GOP. For a president who won Florida by just a three-point margin in 2008, that's not a recipe for success. Two other major warning signs for Obama: His handling of Israel has hurt him with the traditionally Democratic Jewish community, which makes up a small but significant part of the Florida vote. That could be pivotal in a close race. Another factor playing to the GOP's advantage: Marco Rubio. The freshman senator has kept a low profile since being elected to the Senate, but he looks like a leading contender to emerge as the GOP presidential nominee's running mate. If he were to be selected, he'd be the first Hispanic candidate on a national ticket. Just as Sen. Joe Lieberman's status as the first Jewish nominee on a major-party ticket helped his presidential running mate, Democrat Al Gore, compete in Florida in 2000, Rubio on the ticket would have a similar halo effect for Republicans.
4. Ohio (18 electoral votes). Talk to enough Democratic strategists who have worked in the Buckeye State and you'll inevitably hear anxiety about the president's standing here. Obama has visited Ohio more than any other battleground state since being elected, but it hasn't made much of a difference in his poll numbers. Obama's message that the economy has been turning a corner has been off key with a blue-collar electorate that hasn't been feeling much of a recovery. The president's pitch on saving the domestic auto companies from bankruptcy is targeted at a manufacturing state like Ohio, but the argument seems to be falling on deaf ears. It's a tough sell--one Democratic strategist who ran races in Ohio last year lamented that, even in Democratic-friendly districts, the auto-bailout message was a losing issue in focus groups. A Quinnipiac poll, conducted from May 10-16, shows the challenges Obama faces in Ohio.
While his overall approval rating (right after the bin Laden killing) was 49 percent, his economic job approval is stuck at 39 percent, with 55 percent disapproving. 5. Nevada (6 electoral votes). Republican strategist Mike Murphy wrote in Time last week that the presidential election is shaping up to be a battle of the economy, which favors Republicans, versus shifting demography, which favors Democrats. Nowhere is that divide more evident than Nevada, the state with the highest unemployment rate, the highest rate of foreclosures, but a fast-growing Hispanic population where Democrats have performed well in both 2008 and, relatively speaking, 2010. If former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the nominee, Republicans believe he could be uniquely successful in the state. His business background could appeal to those suffering from the economic bust, and his Mormon
faith should play well in a state where they make up about 8 percent of the population. Honorable mention: Other states that Obama will have to work hard to hang onto include: 6) Virginia (13 electoral votes); 7) Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes); 8) Colorado (9 electoral votes); 9) New Hampshire (4 electoral votes); 10) Iowa (6 electoral votes). Image credit: Tim Shaffer/ Reuters This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
98
Politics/
Inflation rises to highest level in 3 years, key manufacturing index goes negative
DID
Acting Director Melson had a plethora of follow-up questions that required additional research to answer. As the document indicates, Mr. Melson was interested in the IP Address for hidden cameras located inside cooperating gun shops. With this Ed Morrissey (Hot Air Top after analysts expected a mildly notable miss (and the concurrent information, Acting Director Picks) positive result: inflation surprise), MarketBeat Melson was able to sit at his desk Separately, the New York Feds advises you to brace for the S in Washington and himself Submitted at 6/15/2011 9:45:52 AM watch a live feed of the straw Empire State general business word. Yesterdays economic news was conditions index fell to -7.79 Core is up 1.5% year-over-year, buyers entering the gun stores to a t b e s t a m i x e d b a g , w i t h from, contracting for the first which is still awfully low. p u r c h a s e d o z e n s o f A K - 4 7 indicators all dropping, but not as since November, from 11.88 in Headline inflation was up 3.6% v a r i a n t s . much as analysts expected. May, surprising economists who from a year ago. Youll be Stocks rallied a bit on the news, had expected a rise to 12.50.. hearing about stagflation this Will the media put pressure on picking up about 1% but dont In a separate report, overall morning, probably, whether real Obama to do something about what looks like an obvious expect that to last. Todays news industrial output in the US rose or not. was all bad, starting with news just 0.1%, below expectations: Flip also reminds readers that attempt to hide information from that consumer inflation has U.S. industrial output edged up jobless claims and housing market Congress by the DoJ? reached a three-year high without just 0.1 percent in May as supply data will come tomorrow, none of Update II: Jeff Dunetz argues that a n y e v i d e n c e o f e c o n o m i c c h a i n d i s r u p t i o n s f r o m t h e which will be likely to please the the ATFs botched operation strength: earthquake in Japan disrupted markets. Todays data indicates proves the case against bigThe Labor Department said on auto production for a second t h a t w e r e e x p e r i e n c i n g a government solutions: Wednesday its Consumer Price straight month, the Federal significant slide in the economy Operation Fast and Furious is a Index, excluding food and energy, Reserve said on Wednesday. and a crisis in confidence in perfect example of what happens increased 0.3 percent, the largest Economists had looked for a 0.2 Obama administration policy. So when government gets too big. gain since July 2008, after rising percent increase in industrial far, consumer spending still Its objective is not to serve the 0.2 in April. output. demonstrates some strength, but it people but to serve itself. This Core inflation was lifted by steep Capacity use, a measure of how wont be long before buyers start lame-brained scheme reads like a lousy buddy movie comedy, rises in motor vehicle and apparel close firms are to running their protecting their own capital. p r i c e s a n d e c o n o m i s t s h a d facilities at maximum capability, This entry passed through the where superiors ignore the expected the measure, which is was flat at 76.7 percent, below the Full-Text RSS service if this is objections of the their own closely watched by the Federal average over the past three your content and you're reading it personnel who know better, but Reserve, to rise 0.2 percent last decades. on someone else's site, please read even more importantly they month. Suitably Flip notes that the S the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- ignore the black and white results But in the 12 months to May, word stagflation will start only/faq.php#publishers. Five of their misguided plan. Allow me consumer prices rose 3.6 percent, appearing in economic reports Filters featured article: Ten Years to correct that, the results werent the biggest jump since October soon: Of Media Lens - Our Problem black and white they were red, the blood of Americans, including at 2008, and well above expectations Until now, many had held that With Mainstream Dissidents. least one hero, Border Agent for a 3.4 percent increase. manufacturing remained the Brian Terry. The New York manufacturing bright spot in an increasingly Thank God the ATF doesnt index fell into negative territory, wobbly economy. With this
control the Navy Seals, they probably would have sent Bin Laden a box of hand grenades prior to the operation in Pakistan to capture/kill the terrorist leader. One doesnt need to be an ATF supervisor to know that this plan, basically arming drug cartels was doomed from the start. But most of the time, logic and the federal government are mutually exclusive. Im not sure I entirely agree with the idea that this proves anything, especially vis a vis the Navy SEALs, since the military is, after all, another government operation. Border control falls squarely in the purview of the federal government, including (if not especially) arms flow. The point about unresponsiveness is well noted, but this isnt an area where private-sector alternatives will work. I think what this proves is that we need intelligent and responsive professionals in charge of legitimate government agencies, and that we dont have that at the DoJ at the moment. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: Ten Years Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.
Technology/
99
Console vs. PC redux: how mobile gaming will reshape the industry (again)
Tim Stevens (Engadget)
shelves. It wouldn't take long for those consoles to take over those stores and, along the way, the They're a growing threat, these entire industry. Between just 1998 simple games with their simple and 2006 console software sales designs, simple controls, and more than doubled, from $2.5 simple graphics. They don't offer billion to $6.7 billion, while PC the full, premium experience that game sales dropped from $1.8 the real gamers want. They aren't billion to $970 million. Even the hardcore enough. They aren't FPS, once exclusive domain of serious enough. They're just too... t h e P C , i s n o w a c o n s o l e casual. enterprise, with Call of Duty: In the '90s these were all Black Ops launching on 4.9 complaints used to describe the million sales on the Xbox 360 and strengthening console menace. PS3. The PC version, meanwhile, B a c k t h e n , a y o u n g e r m e sold less than 400,000 copies (the squandered his meager income at NPD lumped them in with sales of the local Babbage's or Electronics t h e N i n t e n d o D S a n d W i i Boutique, stores full of PC games v e r s i o n s ) . in cardboard boxes -- console Who cares about ancient history? titles relegated to a few little If you're a gamer you should,
Submitted at 6/15/2011 12:00:00 PM
because it's happening again. This time, though, its console gamers lobbing the same lamentations at Angry Bird players, Words With Friends addicts, and ever-sneaky Fruit Ninjas. As smartphones and
tablets get more powerful, the dedicated gaming machine looks more and more quaint. Where once software supported hardware in one big, happy family, it's all becoming rather more...
disjointed. For a gamer like me, that's a little troubling. If app gaming does for consoles what those consoles did to the PC scene a decade ago, a lot of big game studios are going to be in trouble, and a lot of gamers are going to be pining for the good 'ol days. Continue reading Console vs. PC redux: how mobile gaming will reshape the industry (again) Console vs. PC redux: how mobile gaming will reshape the industry (again) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| | Email this| Comments

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Of Media Lens - Our Problem With Mainstream Dissidents.