Truthy Iffy

Libby guilty on 4 of 5 counts in CIA leak trial

2007-03-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

See ya Scooter....nice knowing ya!

After deliberating 10 days, a federal jury Tuesday found I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, guilty on four of five counts in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial.
Libby was convicted of:

# obstruction of justice when he intentionally deceived a grand jury investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame;

# making a false statement by intentionally lying to FBI agents about a conversation with NBC newsman Tim Russert;

# perjury when he lied in court about his conversation with Russert;

# a second count of perjury when he lied in court about conversations with other reporters.

Source: cnn.com

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Police: Dismemberment suspect gave 'horrific' confession

2007-03-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

Great..another dismemberment story!!!

A man authorities tracked down in the snow of a wilderness area confessed to killing and dismembering his wife, and described the "horrific" details surrounding her death, a sheriff said Monday.
Stephen Grant was recovering from hypothermia at a hospital on Monday, a day after he was captured by authorities who pursued him to northern Michigan after he fled his home near Detroit.

Grant has been cooperating with investigators and telling them in detail how Tara Lynn Grant was killed and dismembered and where her remains were dumped, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said at a news conference Monday.

Source: cnn.com

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Court: Bury Anna Nicole Smith in the Bahamas

2007-02-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

Awww....too bad for the mommy. This is getting boring already.

A Florida appeals court cleared the way Wednesday for Anna Nicole Smith to be buried next to her son, Daniel, in the Bahamas.
The decision by a panel of three judges with the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that gave custody of Anna Nicole Smith's remains to the court-appointed guardian for her daughter, Dannielynn.

Last week, Broward Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin awarded custody of Smith's body to Richard Milstein, whom Seidlin had appointed as guardian ad litem for the nearly 6-month-old girl.

Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, appealed that ruling, because Milstein wants the former Playboy playmate buried in the Bahamas and Arthur wants her daughter buried in Texas with other family members.

Source: cnn.com

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Jewish School - But Half the Students Are Muslim

2007-02-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

This is a such a great example of "don't believe the hype". Jews and Muslims have co-existed so well for long periods of time. Not everyone on both sides are radicals.

It's infant prize day at King David School, a state primary in Moseley, Birmingham. The children sit cross-legged on the floor, their parents fiddling with their video cameras. The head, Steve Langford, is wearing a Sesame Street tie.
A typical end-of-term school event, then. But at King David there's a twist that gives it a claim to be one of the most extraordinary schools in the country: King David is a strictly Jewish school. Judaism is the only religion taught. There's a synagogue on site. The children learn modern Hebrew - Ivrit - the language of Israel. And they celebrate Israeli independence day.

But half the 247 pupils at the 40-year-old local authority-supported school are Muslim, and apparently the Muslim parents go through all sorts of hoops, including moving into the school's catchment area, to get their children into King David to learn Hebrew, wave Israeli flags on independence day and hang out with the people some would have us believe that they hate more than anyone in the world.

Source: education.independent.co.uk

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test, please ignore

2007-02-16T12:01:00.001-08:00

test

Tags: test | Environment

test, please ignore

2007-02-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

test

Tags: test | Environment

Topix Craps on News 2.0

2007-02-13T22:54:00.000-08:00

Is this a joke? Rich...come on man. First, it's always a good idea not to dog your competitors publicly. Second, I love how you mention that Topix is the most successful site in the category...jeez, I wonder why you think that. Third, please don't make assumptions about what other companies are doing. You don't have a clue.

Oh yeah....if you think News 2.0 is such a farce, then why do you partner with companies like us and bloggers to get their content into your system.

You know I have always been a fan of what you guys do...but this is seriously ridiculous.

n the wake of the latest We Media event last week the usual round of self-flagellation by a group of attendees is occurring.
David Cohn wishes We Media was an unconference. Scott Karp acknowledges that media companies need to make money, but bizarrely refers to that as an "idealogical agenda". A BBC exec calls it groundhog day. The staid Mark Glaser even throws a few rocks (one at me!), with a big pile-on in his comments to boot.

Andrew Nachison and Dale Peskin put on a solid show. They make a real effort to have the panels interact with the audience. This is not easy -- you get 200 people in a room for 90 minutes, how much interactivity do you really expect? But they managed to pull it off and the results were far more successful than many other panels I've been on. They also get really amazing attendees. Major publishers, tons of senior media execs, a dozen startup CEOs, VCs, Pulitzer-winning journalists, and an eclectic spectrum of media spinners like documentary filmmakers, artists, social activists, and the like to keep the cocktail mixer from getting too businessy and boring. If you can't find someone interesting to talk to at this thing, it's not the event's fault.

So what's the problem?

The problem is that the hopes that Dan Gillmor raised for the media industry in his book -- which kicked off this whole business -- have largely failed.

Tremendous excitement followed the publishing of Dan's We the Media (the conference's namesake). It accompanied the trumpeting of a new model of media by the newsy press, and the rise of blogs with attendant breathless hype.

Unfortunately, after doing the author's victory tour, Dan then attempted to put his ideas into practice in a business venture. I suppose there is some due credit for having the courage to cross the line from a long career as a newspaper journalist (observer) to become a startup founder (participant), and try to prove the viability of his alt.media business plan outlined in the book.

Source: skrenta.com

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Good News! Monks Embrace Condoms!

2007-02-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

The real question is...when will the Catholics come around.... :)

Venerable Phrakru Wichian, head of the Buddhist Monks Network of Northern Thailand, was very shocked when he discovered that a fellow monk at his monastery was HIV positive. Instead of simply throwing out the infected monk, Wichian turned to the finer teachings of his religion and found a way to cope with the situation, including realizing that condoms were integral to HIV prevention.
"We could not chase the monk away from the monastery. After all, he had been infected before he became a monk," said Wichian. "We had to find a way to help him. Spiritual support is important for people living with HIV."

Source: english.ohmynews.com

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Rowling 'heartbroken,' 'euphoric' at 'Potter's' end

2007-02-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

How does J.K. Rowling feel now that she has finished the seventh and final Harry Potter book? As the author herself confided Tuesday on her Web site, "Charles Dickens put it better than I ever could":
"It would concern the reader little, perhaps, to know how sorrowfully the pen is laid down at the close of a two-years' imaginative task; or how an Author feels as if he were dismissing some portion of himself into the shadowy world, when a crowd of the creatures of his brain are going from him for ever," reads the passage from Dickens' preface to "David Copperfield."

Source: cnn.com

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Tags: euphoric | heartbroken | rowling | harry potter | Culture

Astronaut to face attempted murder charge

2007-02-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

A NASA astronaut charged with pepper-spraying and trying to kidnap a romantic rival was granted bail Tuesday, but her release was delayed after police announced they were filing an attempted murder charge against her, a corrections department spokesman said.
Navy Capt. Lisa Marie Nowak had already paid her bail on three other charges when she learned that she would not be released because Orlando police were planning to add attempted murder to the list, said Allen Moore, a spokesman for the Orange County Corrections Department.

Nowak will remain in protective custody until her first appearance on the new charge, Moore said. She was scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday afternoon.

Source: cnn.com

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Astronaut to face attempted murder charge

2007-02-06T12:31:00.000-08:00

A NASA astronaut charged with pepper-spraying and trying to kidnap a romantic rival was granted bail Tuesday, but her release was delayed after police announced they were filing an attempted murder charge against her, a corrections department spokesman said.
Navy Capt. Lisa Marie Nowak had already paid her bail on three other charges when she learned that she would not be released because Orlando police were planning to add attempted murder to the list, said Allen Moore, a spokesman for the Orange County Corrections Department.

Nowak will remain in protective custody until her first appearance on the new charge, Moore said. She was scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday afternoon.

Source: cnn.com

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Iran condemns diplomat's kidnapping in Iraq

2007-02-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

Gunmen wearing uniforms similar to those of Iraqi soldiers have kidnapped an Iranian diplomat, according to an Iraqi official, and Iran said the gunmen "acted under U.S. supervision."
A U.S. military spokesman said no Multi-National Forces were involved in the incident.

The kidnapping took place Sunday night while the diplomat was driving through Masbah, near the Karrada neighborhood, according to a high-ranking Iraqi government official.

The official confirmed Iran's government-run Islamic Republic News Agency report that the abductee is Jalal Sharafi, second secretary of the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad.

Source: cnn.com

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Federal agent penetrated Hells Angels, fears for his life

2007-02-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

For nearly two years, Jay Dobyns led a double life. He rode alongside the Hells Angels, becoming a member of one of the nation's most feared criminal gangs. But at the same time, he was working as a federal agent in an effort to bring the Hells Angels down.
Jay Dobyns works for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation's gun laws. His deep undercover work with the Hells Angels from 2001-2003 ultimately helped bring the indictment and trial of 16 gang members and their associates.

As a result, Dobyns was awarded a top cop award by the National Association of Police Organizations. He also was hailed on America's Most Wanted as one of the "Good Guys" who brings down the criminals.

Source: cnn.com

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Kelly Osbourne Off the Wagon

2007-02-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

Good lord...she looks like she took a beating at the drunk tank. Check out these photos on www.perezhilton.com....

Recovering addict Kelly Osbourne - pictured in London on Thursday night - looks like someone smacked her in the face with one of those frying pans from the anti-drugs public service announcement campaign. This is your brain....this is your brain on drugs.

Source: perezhilton.com

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James Brown's partner sues for half of estate

2007-02-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Enough is enough...let this poor guy rest in peace....

The woman who claims to be James Brown's fourth wife wants half of the singer's estate and to be allowed back into the South Carolina home she was locked out of soon after his death.
Tomi Rae Hynie's lawyer said she filed a petition in Aiken County probate court Thursday, claiming that she is the surviving spouse of the singer and entitled to part of his estate, according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press.

She wants the court to allow her to return to Brown's Beech Island home to retrieve "personal possessions" that belong to her and their 5-year-old son, including furniture she picked out for the home, according to the court papers.

Source: cnn.com

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The First Date of the First Dog...Barney Gets a Proposition

2007-02-02T04:12:00.001-08:00

The Bush's dog Barney has received a dating soliciation from a dog named Kenzie. I love it. You go girl....

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The First Date of the First Dog...Barney Gets a Proposition

2007-02-02T04:12:00.000-08:00

The Bush's dog Barney has received a dating soliciation from a dog named Kenzie. I love it. You go girl....

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10 Business Lessons From a Snarky Entrepreneur

2007-01-31T10:41:00.000-08:00

As a companion to 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job and 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed, here are 10 positive lessons I learned from more than 12 years as an entrepreneur. A few of these are rehashed from the 10 Mistakes article, but most are new.
This list is the result of the liberal application of the advice from item #5, “Fail your way forward.”

Without further ado:

1. Network selectively. Nothing says “business newbie” like shotgun networking. “You never know when someone might say yes” is marketing for dummies. Take the time to build a profile of your ideal customers, and target your networking activities to reach them. Speak to those who are already predisposed to want what you offer. Almost any profile is better than “anyone with a pulse.”

2. Buy the best chair you can find. You’ll probably use your chair more than any other piece of business equipment, including your computer, so don’t settle for a crappy one. Consider a chair with padded arms and a high back (to the top of your head) for maximum comfort. The most expensive chairs aren’t necessarily ideal for you, so you must test your way to comfort nirvana.

3. Understand that relationships are more important than contracts. Business deals are relationships between people. The signed piece of paper is important, but it’s merely the result of the relationship, not the cause. If the relationship crumbles, the contract won’t save you, although it could be very lucrative for your lawyer.

Source: stevepavlina.com

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10 Business Lessons From a Snarky Entrepreneur

2007-01-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

As a companion to 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job and 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed, here are 10 positive lessons I learned from more than 12 years as an entrepreneur. A few of these are rehashed from the 10 Mistakes article, but most are new.
This list is the result of the liberal application of the advice from item #5, “Fail your way forward.”

Without further ado:

1. Network selectively. Nothing says “business newbie” like shotgun networking. “You never know when someone might say yes” is marketing for dummies. Take the time to build a profile of your ideal customers, and target your networking activities to reach them. Speak to those who are already predisposed to want what you offer. Almost any profile is better than “anyone with a pulse.”

2. Buy the best chair you can find. You’ll probably use your chair more than any other piece of business equipment, including your computer, so don’t settle for a crappy one. Consider a chair with padded arms and a high back (to the top of your head) for maximum comfort. The most expensive chairs aren’t necessarily ideal for you, so you must test your way to comfort nirvana.

3. Understand that relationships are more important than contracts. Business deals are relationships between people. The signed piece of paper is important, but it’s merely the result of the relationship, not the cause. If the relationship crumbles, the contract won’t save you, although it could be very lucrative for your lawyer.

Source: stevepavlina.com

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Jailed reporter testifies in Libby trial

2007-01-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

A former New York Times reporter testified Tuesday that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told her the identity of a CIA operative weeks before Libby told investigators he had learned of the agent's identity.
Judith Miller said that Libby brought identified Valerie Plame Wilson on June 23, 2003. Miller said she and Libby also discussed Plame on July 8, 2003.

Miller served 85 days in jail in 2005 for refusing to testify before the grand jury investigating who blew Wilson's cover. It is a crime to knowingly reveal the identity of an undercover intelligence agent.

Libby told investigators he learned her identity from "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert on July 10, 2003.

Source: cnn.com

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LA Times Will Now Break News on the Web, Expand it in Print

2007-01-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Times says it is transforming its editorial and business model so that no matter what platform people use to gain information The Times will be there as the primary provider.
The newsroom will now be expected to “continuously break news online, and publishes in print the analysis, personality and utility that great writers and editors can provide in that medium” a company statement said.

“People choose different platforms and products to meet their varying news and information needs throughout the day, and we are positioning The Times to be there when they turn to us,” publisher David Hiller said.

Source: followthemedia.com

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Happy 25th birthday to the computer virus!

2007-01-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

I wonder what kind of lootbags there will be at the party.....hmm.

This year marks the 25th aniversary of a moment which changed computing forever; The first self-replicating (though non-malicious) computer virus, Elk Cloner. The author (who was 15 at the time, but is all growed up now), reminisces on his blog, "Back then nothing was networked. We had these computers in a lab, and there was software for them on floppy disks. You stick in the disk and run the software. Simple. The aha moment was when I realized I could essentially get my program to move around by itself. I could give it its own motive force, by having it hide in the resident RAM of the machine between floppy changes, and hitching a ride onto the next floppy that would be inserted. Whoa. That would be cool."

Source: downloadsquad.com

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Qutb in America

2007-01-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

The Denver magazine, 5280, ran a story in 2003, detailing Sayyid Qutb's encounter with small-town Colorado in 1948. It's a fascinating article, not least because it reveals Qutb's first reactions to America and the West. He is repelled - by the apparent joylessness of post-war suburban America. His critique is reminiscent of many left-liberals of the time

Source: time.blogs.com

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Israeli President Charged with Rape

2007-01-23T10:27:00.000-08:00

Breaking News

Katsav to face rape charges

Israel’s attorney general decided that President Moshe Katzav should be charged with rape.

Menachem Mazuz’s office issued a statement Tuesday saying it had collected enough evidence to support charging Katsav with rape and sexual harassment of former employees, obstruction of justice and fraud.

A final decision on whether to indict Katsav will be made after a hearing in which the president may present his case.

The president has immunity while in office, but said last month that he would resign if indicted.

Katsav has denied any wrongdoing.

Source: jta.org

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Tags: rape | president | Politics | Moshe Katsav | Israel

Israeli President Charged with Rape

2007-01-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

Breaking News

Katsav to face rape charges

Israel’s attorney general decided that President Moshe Katzav should be charged with rape.

Menachem Mazuz’s office issued a statement Tuesday saying it had collected enough evidence to support charging Katsav with rape and sexual harassment of former employees, obstruction of justice and fraud.

A final decision on whether to indict Katsav will be made after a hearing in which the president may present his case.

The president has immunity while in office, but said last month that he would resign if indicted.

Katsav has denied any wrongdoing.

Source: jta.org

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Tags: rape | president | Politics | Moshe Katsav | Israel

Day 2 at Pickton Trial - Jurors to Hear Tapes

2007-01-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

Another intense day is expected at the murder trial of Robert William Pickton Tuesday when jurors hear the accused speak during hours of videotaped police interrogations.
Pickton is on trial in connection with the deaths of six women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

His trial opened Monday when Crown prosecutor Derrill Prevett told the jury that Pickton admitted he had killed 49 women and wanted to make it an even 50.

The Crown will introduce videotapes of Pickton answering questions from police. Defence lawyers have asked the jury to do more than just listen to the tapes, but to pay attention to Pickton's intellectual capacity while he speaks.

Lawyer Donna Turko, who is watching the case for CBC News, said juries do have to be cautious when considering so-called jailhouse confessions.

Source: cbc.ca

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Mondale rips Cheney for giving bad advice to Bush

2007-01-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

Vice President Dick Cheney has bullied federal agencies and given absurd advice about the nation's risk and Iraq, Walter Mondale said Friday.
Mondale said behavior such as Cheney's never would have been tolerated when Mondale was vice president.

"I think that Cheney has stepped way over the line," Mondale said at the opening of a three-day conference about former President Jimmy Carter at the University of Georgia.

Mondale, who served under Carter, said Cheney and his assistants pressured federal agencies as they prepared information for President Bush.

"I think Cheney's been at the center of cooking up farcical estimates of national risks, weapons of mass destruction and the 9/11 connection to Iraq," he said.

That does not serve the president, because he needs facts, Mondale said.

Source: cnn.com

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Why I Will Never Move to California

2007-01-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

I remember the days when California stood for something. It was a beacon of everything wholesome and productive in the United States. Cali was the true physical representation of the American Dream. 1950-1970's California is an era that may never be replicated again. If you lived there, people were envious of you...after seeing this video, I am not sure the same is true today. What a different world this state has become.

I don't want to generalize and I know these problems exist elsewhere, the problem is, these guys captured it in it's glory and the images are gruesome.

Something tells me Danny and Sandy didn't have to deal with this at Rydell High.

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Video of Israeli Army Gunning Down A Terrorist

2007-01-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

This is footage taken 3 days ago of an Israeli border patrol that captured two terrorists trying to sneak over the border. After calling out to the individuals with no response, the border patrol opened fire which detonated the explosives the terrorists were carrying. This is a great example of the kind of precision and expertise the Israeli brigades have. Very difficult to carry these operations out, but amazing to see on video.

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Pizzeria manager suspected in third abduction

2007-01-17T14:27:00.000-08:00

A suburban St. Louis man suspected of kidnapping two youngsters is also under investigation in the disappearance of another Missouri boy 16 years ago, The Associated Press has learned.
Michael Devlin, 41, was arrested last week after police found two kidnapped boys in his apartment in suburban Kirkwood: 13-year-old boy Ben Ownby, who was seized on January 8, and 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, who vanished 4 1/2 years ago.

Lincoln County sheriff's deputies said Wednesday that Devlin is now the "most viable lead" in the investigation into the 1991 disappearance of Charles Arlin Henderson of Moscow Mills.

Both Shawn and Charles vanished at age 11 while riding their bikes on a rural road about an hour's drive from St. Louis. Both boys were slight, weighing about 100 pounds, and had close-cropped hair.

source

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Reality Rebuttal: Pickton And Prostitution

2007-01-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

I am a resident of Vancouver, B.C., and am one of countless people who have been aghast by the looming Pickton trial. Many of your readers may be familiar with the general outline of this horror show despite the stringent anti-publication ban that was in effect until recently. With the final tally of victims standing at 26, and an expected trial length of 24 months, New Westminster Supreme Court Justice James Williams allowed the trial to be broken into two. Phase one will deal with the murders of Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Georgina Papin, Brenda Wolfe, Marnie Frey and Andrea Joesbury. What many people may not yet realize is that this first and very pivotal trial simply addresses one hot spot of serial murders of sex trade workers across this country. As a first of its kind, Robert "Willie" Pickton’s trial could very well set the tone for other such trials in the future.

source

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Beckham is the New Pele

2007-01-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

The first round of soccer as a successful spectator sport in North America came during the late 70's and 80's when Pele decided to play for the New York Cosmos of the NASL. That single move basically put soccer on this continent on the map. Later, Beckenbauer and others followed.

Today, soccer is the largest participation sport in North America but with very little following on the spectator side. Since 1994, the MLS in the U.S. has been growing steady ticket receipts and arguably getting it right. So, the move of having Becks join the LA Galaxy may very well be the match that ignites the scene here finally. To me, this is the modern version of Pele joining the Cosmos. It will heighten the awareness of the sport dramatically here. Plus, Becks is arguably still in the prime of his career and has a good few seasons left in him.

One of the most sophisticated marketing moves in recent years by any North American sports league.

Kudos to the management at MLS.

Now, the real question is....what if he shows up...and he sucks. :)

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Best Babes of CES 2007

2007-01-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

And you thought CES was about electronics.....I wonder why Heff never got involved.

http://www.thinkcomputers.org/photo/showgallery.php?cat=558

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Tags: Technology | Las Vegas | CES | booth | babes

Iraqi Bloggers Summary of the Year in Iraq

2007-01-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

[q url="http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=337603///&/amp;/amp;/amp;rel_no=1"]You know your country is in trouble when:

1. The UN has to open a special branch just to keep track of the chaos and bloodshed, UNAMI.

2. Abovementioned branch cannot be run from your country.

3. The politicians who worked to put your country in this sorry state can no longer be found inside of, or anywhere near, its borders.

4. The only thing the US and Iran can agree about is the deteriorating state of your nation.

5. An 8-year war and 13-year blockade are looking like the country's 'Golden Years'.

6. Your country is purportedly 'selling' 2 million barrels of oil a day, but you are standing in line for 4 hours for black market gasoline for the generator.

7. For every 5 hours of no electricity, you get one hour of public electricity and then the government announces it's going to cut back on providing that hour.

8. Politicians who supported the war spend tv time debating whether it is 'sectarian bloodshed' or 'civil war'.

9. People consider themselves lucky if they can actually identify the corpse of the relative that's been missing for two weeks.

source

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Paris Hilton Hanging in Australia for New Year's

2006-12-29T20:57:00.000-08:00

A very reliable source was in Sydney Australia today and took these photos of Ms. Hilton strolling on the boardwalk. Apparently she is bringing in 2007 down under. I could hardly recognize her here...her clothes were on and she didn't have someone's genitalia in her mouth! Enjoy.

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Paper Owner Sues Journalist...Huh?

2006-12-24T19:28:00.000-08:00

[q url="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003523521"]A lawsuit filed by publishers of the Santa Barbara News-Press claiming that an American Journalism Review writer defamed the newspaper's owners in a recent article has drawn harsh criticism from newspaper industry leaders, who said such an approach is counter to journalistic practices.

"I am surprised that any publisher would do this," said Gene Roberts, the legendary former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer and part-time instructor at the University of Maryland, where AJR is published. "It's pretty clear that there is an owner there with no sense and no respect for newspaper traditions and for the First Amendment."

Alex Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, agreed. "It is outrageous," he said. "It is especially a betrayal of the principles that most journalists understand for a libel suit of this kind to be filed. It is apparently a grudge."

Some observers noted that it was unusual for the newspaper to target the writer of the story and not the publication. "It is colossally odd," said Charles Tobin, former in-house counsel for Gannett and currently a media lawyer in Washington, D.C. "She is really trying to chill the journalist personally. It is atypical to go after the journalist alone -- they don't have deep pockets."

source

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British Treat Muslims like the Nazis Treated the Jews

2006-12-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

[q url="http://www.jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=6132//&/amp;/amp;ref=daily_briefing"]The British treat Muslims like the Nazis treated the Jews, a U.K. Muslim leader said.

Muhammed Abdul Bari, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the government targets Muslims, blaming extremism on “a small, largely deprived community,” which leads to a “deterioration of community cohesion and fuels xenophobia.”

He went on to ask, during a presentation Monday to members of Parliament, “What is the degree of xenophobia that tipped Germany in the 1930s towards a murderous ethnic and cultural racism?”

source

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BBC launching user-generated TV show

2006-12-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

BBC News 24 is launching a new TV program based entirely on user-generated content, called "Your News."

The new program will draw on the 10,000 emails the BBC News website gets from the public each day with story suggestions, comments and pictures from the public.

The program will include:

-Your Story â€“ weekly news report unique to Your News covering an issue raised by a member of the public.

-Your Questions â€“ Your News reporter Laura Jones sets out to investigate answers to the questions sent in to the BBC by the public on issues, local or national, that concern them;

-Your Pictures â€“ images sent into the BBC from the public with their view of the world;

-Your Top Stories â€“ that week's top stories on the BBC News website and elsewhere.

source

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Nicole Richie charged with driving under influence

2006-12-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Rail-thin reality TV star Nicole Richie was charged early on Monday with driving under the influence of drugs after she was seen going against traffic on a Southern California freeway, police said.

The predawn arrest of the 25-year-old "celebutante" co-star of "The Simple Life" came about six weeks after it was revealed that she had checked herself into a treatment facility to address weight-loss issues.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department report showed the 5-foot-1-inch actress weighed 85 pounds (39 kg) at the time of her booking.

Officer Todd Workman, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said police encountered Richie at a standstill blocking the carpool lane on the Ventura Freeway in Burbank at about 1:45 a.m. He said the officers were responding to reports from other motorists of a driver going the wrong way on the busy highway.

source

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Oregon rescuers search for missing climbers

2006-12-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

How many people are we losing to climbing these days? And they say UFC is dangerous....

Rescue teams headed up the flanks of Mount Hood on Monday to search for three climbers reported missing in heavy snow, the Hood River County sheriff's office said.

The mother of one of the men said he had called his son on a cell phone to say he was stranded in a snow cave just below the summit of the 11,235-foot peak while his companions went for help.

"From the conversation, it left us very concerned for the person's welfare," Hood River County Chief Deputy Jerry Brown said.

Snow was falling heavily Monday at Timberline Lodge, where the three were to have met friends on Friday or Saturday, and a winter storm watch was in effect for the area at least through Tuesday. The Oregon Air National Guard had a helicopter on standby in case the weather improved.

The route the climbers took is very difficult, with slopes of 50 or 60 degrees and occasional sheer walls of ice, said Steve Rollins, a rescue leader with Portland Mountain Rescue, which sent two teams up the mountain.

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Former U.N. envoy Kirkpatrick dies

2006-12-08T09:11:00.000-08:00

This is really sad...a true loss for the U.N.

Former U.N. Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, a one-time Democrat who switched to the Republican Party and warmly embraced Reagan-era conservatism, has died. She was 80.

Kirkpatrick's death was announced Friday at the senior staff meeting of the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said spokesman Richard Grenell, who said that Ambassador John Bolton asked for a moment of silence. An announcement of her death also was posted on the Web site of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-oriented think tank here where she was a senior fellow.

Kirkpatrick's assistant, Andrea Harrington, said that she died in her sleep at home in Bethesda, Maryland late Thursday. She had been suffering from heart disease, but the cause of death was not immediately known.

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Krauthammer Says Borat Got Anti-Semitism Wrong

2006-12-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

Either way...he's still hilarious.

You know the shtick. Borat goes around America making anti-Semitic remarks in order to elicit a nodding anti-Semitic response. And with enough liquor and cajoling, he succeeds. In the most notorious such scene (on Da Ali G Show where the character was born), Borat sings â/&/#128;/&/#156;Throw the Jew Down the Wellâ/&/#128;/&/#157; in an Arizona bar as the local rubes join in.

Sacha Baron Cohen, the creator of Borat, revealed his purpose for doing that in a rare out-of-character interview he granted Rolling Stone in part to counter charges that he was promoting anti-Semitism. On the face of it, this would be odd, given that Cohen is himself a Sabbath-observing Jew. His defense is that he is using Boratâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s anti-Semitism as a â/&/#128;/&/#156;toolâ/&/#128;/&/#157; to expose it in others. And that his Arizona bar stunt revealed, if not anti-Semitism, then â/&/#128;/&/#156;indifferenceâ/&/#128;/&/#157; to anti-Semitism. And that, he maintains, was the path to the Holocaust.

Whoaaaa. Does he really believe such rubbish? Can a man that smart (Cambridge, investment banker and now brilliant filmmaker) really believe that indifference to anti-Semitism and the road to the Holocaust are to be found in a country and western bar in Tucson?

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The Debate Over Counting Traffic on the Web

2006-12-03T16:29:00.001-08:00

For 55 years the couch potato has belonged to Nielsen Media Research, the company that meticulously catalogs TV viewing habits for the benefit of advertisers that want to sell suds to the spuds. But now couch potatoes are waddling to their computers to consume entertainment onlineâ€”and in Cyberland, Nielsen doesn't dominate the business of counting eyeballs. "There's close to 100 companies" battling it out to become the Nielsen of the Web, says Josh James, CEO of Omniture, one of the top Internet-measurement firms. "We see competitors all over the place."

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The Debate Over Counting Traffic on the Web

2006-12-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

For 55 years the couch potato has belonged to Nielsen Media Research, the company that meticulously catalogs TV viewing habits for the benefit of advertisers that want to sell suds to the spuds. But now couch potatoes are waddling to their computers to consume entertainment onlineâ€”and in Cyberland, Nielsen doesn't dominate the business of counting eyeballs. "There's close to 100 companies" battling it out to become the Nielsen of the Web, says Josh James, CEO of Omniture, one of the top Internet-measurement firms. "We see competitors all over the place."

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Thousands of Hezbollah supporters protest

2006-12-01T06:23:00.001-08:00

Thousands of protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian opposition allies descended on downtown Beirut Friday to force the resignation of Lebanon's Western-backed prime minister, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops.

The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah and its allies have mobilized their bases for the afternoon protest and had arranged to bus supporters from all corners of Lebanon to downtown Beirut for the massive show of popular support. Thousands carrying Lebanese flags arrived at Riad Solh Square by midday, hours before the demonstration was set to begin.

"Saniora Out!" "We want a free government!" protesters shouted through loudspeakers. The crowd roared in approval amid the deafening sound of Hezbollah revolutionary and nationalist songs. "We want a clean government," read one placard, in what has become the opposition's motto.

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Thousands of Hezbollah supporters protest

2006-12-01T06:23:00.000-08:00

Thousands of protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian opposition allies descended on downtown Beirut Friday to force the resignation of Lebanon's Western-backed prime minister, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops.

The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah and its allies have mobilized their bases for the afternoon protest and had arranged to bus supporters from all corners of Lebanon to downtown Beirut for the massive show of popular support. Thousands carrying Lebanese flags arrived at Riad Solh Square by midday, hours before the demonstration was set to begin.

"Saniora Out!" "We want a free government!" protesters shouted through loudspeakers. The crowd roared in approval amid the deafening sound of Hezbollah revolutionary and nationalist songs. "We want a clean government," read one placard, in what has become the opposition's motto.

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"Saturday Night Live" rehearsals may be webcast

2006-11-30T18:36:00.000-08:00

How great would this be? Smart move on the part of NBC as it doubles the exposure to the show. Downfall is that it kinda makes Saturday not much of a surprise anymore. Interesting....

NBC is mulling broadcasting Friday night rehearsal sessions of "Saturday Night Live" on the Internet.

It's just one of the many scenarios the digital future could deliver, according to NBC Universal chief digital officer George Kliavkoff, who openly mused about the possibilities Wednesday at the Digital Entertainment Media //&/amp;/amp; Marketing Excellence conference at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

"Sometimes it's a lot more interesting than the show," Kliavkoff joked, referring to the closed-circuit footage of "SNL's" Friday dry runs viewed at NBC headquarters. "It's something we watch on the cameras at 30 Rock."

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Circumsion University - Get Your Degree in Nut Clipping!

2006-11-30T08:26:00.000-08:00

Circumcision against AIDS: A new program being developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) is attempting to suggest ways and principles for holding a mass circumcision in HIV-infected countries, particularly African countries.

Research has found that the removal of the foreskin, an act which is carried out during the circumcision ceremony, reduces the chances of being infected or infecting people with the HIV virus.

The issue was discussed in Jerusalem at the beginning of the week, in a meeting between WHO representatives, 20 Israeli physicians and Jewish and Muslim circumcisers.

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The Jaggers unite for grandad Joe's funeral

2006-11-29T09:12:00.000-08:00

Our cndolences to the Jaggers

They have not always have seen eye to eye. But the ex-wives, former lovers and current girlfriend of Mick Jagger united to support him as he said a final farewell to his beloved father Joe.

Wearing a blacksuit and tie the rockstar looked stricken with grief as he welcomed mourners to the funeral service close to his Richmond home.

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Reid in crisis talks as prison population hits 80,000

2006-11-29T05:03:00.000-08:00

Home Secretary John Reid is holding a summit with leading experts today in a bid to find a solution to the prisons crisis. The number of prisoners in England and Wales topped 80,000 for the first time in history today, prison sources said.

The number of inmates in England and Wales is running at a record high and Mr Reid has been forced to bring in emergency measures to hold prisoners in police stations.

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Boot camp guards, nurse charged in boy's death

2006-11-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

Seven former juvenile boot camp guards and a nurse have been charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of a boy whose rough handling by the guards was videotaped, a special prosecutor said Tuesday.

Martin Lee Anderson, 13, collapsed on the exercise yard at the Bay County sheriff's camp in Panama City on January 5. Guards said he was uncooperative and refused to continue participating in exercises that were part of the camp's intake processes.

He died early the next morning in Pensacola.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Anderson's parents, was in Panama City with the family Tuesday and didn't immediately return a call for comment.

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My Chemical Romance announce new single

2006-11-28T05:08:00.001-08:00

This is great news...been waiting for this for a long time.

My Chemical Romance are set to release a new single in early 2007.

'Famous Last Words' will be the follow up to the Number One 'The Black Parade' and the second from the band's album 'Welcome To The Black Parade'.

The single will proceed their biggest UK dates yet, though no official reelase date has been confirmed.

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My Chemical Romance announce new single

2006-11-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

This is great news...been waiting for this for a long time.

My Chemical Romance are set to release a new single in early 2007.

'Famous Last Words' will be the follow up to the Number One 'The Black Parade' and the second from the band's album 'Welcome To The Black Parade'.

The single will proceed their biggest UK dates yet, though no official reelase date has been confirmed.

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Now your Boss can Monitor Your Mood

2006-11-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

A new product invented by folk at the University of Tokyo and GS Yuasa moitors the 'mood' of a room- and presents it as coloured light display. The system, called SHOJI (Symbiotic Hosting Online Jog Instrument), measures a room's environmental conditions (light, temperature, humidity, infrared radiation and ultrasonic waves) and detects the presence and movement of people, body temperature, and the nature of the activity in the room. The idea is that there are two terminals, each in different rooms, reporting on the mood of the other via data sent over the internet and interpreted through coloured LEDs. By checking the color of light on the SHOJI terminal, users can easily understand the mood in the other room.

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Assasination in Lebanon Makes Peace More Unlikely

2006-11-22T11:39:00.000-08:00

If chances of a Lebanese-Israeli peace agreement seemed distant after Israelâ€™s war this summer with Hezbollah, the assassination of a leading Lebanese Christian politician has further dampened the prospects.

Tuesdayâ€™s assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, a fierce critic of Syrian influence on his country, has sharpened the divisions between Lebanese of pro-Western leanings and those in league with Syria.

If such a conflict ends up with Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian forces gaining the upper hand, it will put the chance of an Israeli-Lebanese peace accord ever further over the horizon â€” and could entrench the Shiâ€™ite terrorist group as the main...

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Metro Now Largest Newspaper in the World

2006-11-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

It's official. Metro, the flagship title of Metro International, has been declared the 'World's Largest Global Newspaper' by no less an authority than Guinness World Records.

According to the Metro website, the free daily is the largest and fastest growing international newspaper in the world. Seventy daily Metro editions are published in over 100 major cities in 21 countries in 19 languages across Europe, North /&/amp; South America and Asia.

The first Metro newspaper was published in Stockholm in 1995. There are 58 editions in Europe and international launches this year include Bohemia, Moravia, Castellon, Canary Islands, the Basque country, Mexico City and Croatia.

Shares in the Luxembourg-headquartered company are traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange but despite continuing growth over eleven years, it has yet to emerge from the red. Net debt as at September 30 stood at $19.2 million (â‚¬14.92m; Â£10.04m).

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GOP Chooses Boehner as Minority Leader

2006-11-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

this is unbelievable.....

House Republicans this morning voted to return two of their top officials to high-ranking leadership posts in the next Congress, despite challenges from representatives who said the party's defeat at the polls 10 days ago warranted putting new people at the helm.

Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), the current majority leader, was elected 168 to 27 over challenger Mike Pence (R-Ind.) to serve as minority leader in the Democratic-controlled Congress that will convene in January. Rep. Joe Barton of Texas received one vote.

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Web 2.0 event hot ticket in S.F.

2006-11-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

If you're a tech news junkie, you're in for an exciting week. The third Web 2.0 conference gets under way in San Francisco today, and the three-day event, credited with coining the term ``Web 2.0'' and expected to draw 1,000 participants, is being used as a forum by start-ups and more established companies to announce new initiatives.

Look, for example, for news that Intel is starting a new business Internet suite in concert with four venture-backed start-ups, two of which have received backing from Intel's venture arm, Intel Capital. The suite aims to make work life more efficient and less expensive for small and medium-size businesses, and will be available later this month.

Desktop publishing software company Adobe Systems will announce that it is contributing source code to the Mozilla Foundation. Mozilla is a non-profit that produces Firefox, a free and increasingly popular Web browser created by hundreds of volunteer software developers that competes with Microsoft's Internet Explorer. ``We hope the move will expose a much broader set of people to Adobe's products and technologies,'' said Pam Deziel, director of product marketing at Adobe.

In addition, online retailer Amazon.com is set to announce it will begin supplying Web logistics services to companies, like data storage, according to Business Week.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, one of numerous high-profile speakers at the conference, will present the details. Other speakers include Barry Diller, chairman and CEO of IAC/InteractiveCorp, angel investor Ram Shriram (one of Google's first backers), Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Such combined star power is rare today, but it helps to illustrate why the venue has become such a popular forum for major announcements. The conference's profile has risen along with that of Web 2.0 technologies, an umbrella term for a wide range of online applications, including social networks, blogs, podcasts and collaborative online documents known as wikis.

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1 Second South African Condoms

2006-11-07T23:06:00.000-08:00

Good to see South African innovation is using it's power for good... :)

Condoms, which promoters say can be put on in just one second, are going on sale in South Africa this week.

"Using an ordinary condom is a real pain," says Pronto condom designer Willem van Rensburg.

"By the time the condom is on, the mood is halfway out the window." Pronto condoms do not need to be unwrapped.

Mr van Rensburg told the BBC he hopes it will encourage people to use condoms in a country where 5.5m people have HIV - one of the world's highest figures.

"If you're slow, it'll take you three seconds. You can really do it in one," Mr van Rensburg's former business partner Roelf Mulder told the AFP news agency.

'Passion-killer'

The firm's adverts, which can be seen on its website, feature jokes at the expense of two senior South African politicians - former Deputy President Jacob Zuma and Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

Mr Zuma said in a court case that he had showered after having unprotected sex with a woman he knew to be HIV-positive in order not to contract the virus.

Dr Tshabalala-Msimang is known as "Dr Beetroot" for her advice to those with HIV to eat nutritious food such as garlic and beetroot.

Mr van Rensburg said he looked at the research into South Africa's Aids problem and found that low condom use was a real factor and this was largely because people found them difficult to use.

"People find it's a passion-killer and they're willing to take their chances."

He said it had taken him five years' hard work to get the product to market.

Pronto condoms are not yet on sale outside South Africa.

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Office 2007 Ships on December 1st

2006-11-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

Well...finally MSFT has gotten around to shipping the 4 year overdue update to Office. How can a company in this day and age think that shipping every few years is even remotely good enough. Somebody please take this lame horse and shoot it. Sadly...I will still go out and buy it.

Microsoft has completed Microsoft Office 2007, and it will be released for download on December 1st for US and Canadian residents. As for users in other parts of the world, there will be 13 countries, including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Australia, and Mexico, that will be able to download a free 60-day trial later in December. Retails stores will not see Office 2007 until early 2007, missing the giant Christmas buying season. The price for the new Office will sit at $239 for a standard home use version, and $399 for an upgraded full retail version. An Ultimate version will also be available that will cost $679 and of course, will be loaded with features. Some interesting stats about the new Office 2007 version: it will feature 50,000 new help articles, 35 new demos, 24 online training courses, and 400 templates.

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Children from secretive Nazi program to meet publicly

2006-11-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

Each one has a different story, yet they all bear the same hallmarks: lied to about their past, abnormal birth certificates, an inner feeling that something isn't quite right.

Gathered Saturday in this eastern German village known for it's knights castle with fairy tale spires, some 40 "Lebensborn Kinder" gathered

to share stories of aunts who turned out to be mothers, ice-cold adoptive parents who slid into alcoholism and the joy at finding a relative who embraced them as a member of their family. And this year, four years after they first started meeting and one year after they became an officially organized group, they gathered to tell their story to the public, seeking to correct historical misconceptions that Nazi's Lebensborn program was a high-end bordellos offering blue-eyed blondes to SS officers.

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Where Teens Are Going to Get Their News

2006-11-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

More than 75% of teens get their news from the Web, according to Pew Internet and American Life. It's my bet that anyone under 10 years old will be receiving a lot of their news from News Corp's (nws) MySpace or Facebook, or some unlikely place, by the time they start caring about the news. Over the last several years, online news outlets feared losing their audience to search engines. But despite their attempts to get back viewers, they may find themselves losing them to the unlikeliest of rivals in the future. On Monday, privately-held Inform is expected to announce that it's signed on Answers Corp. (ANSW) as a new client. Answers is one of my favorite places for definitions and information about topics. Soon it could become one of the places I go to for news. Inform, which started in late 2004 and has $15 million in funding from venture backers, essentially aggregates news and information from across the Web and makes the content it's gathered available to any publisher on the Web. Its clients can then make that content accessible to their readers and hopefully keep readers on their sites longer, and ultimately looking at more pages. In the case of Answers (answ), type in "Brad Pitt" and you'll see that there is a box with links to news articles about Pitt. Answers doesn't get paid for directing readers to those news outlets. But notice that there is a link to "other news, video and blogs." That link takes a reader to an Answers page with links to more news, blogs and videos related to Pitt. Essentially, that's a new page for Answers to put an ad on. Answers is just one unlikely (if anything is unlikely these days) news source that can compete with traditional news outlets.

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Tags: News Corp | teens | internet | inform

Wiki's Being Used to Spy by US Government

2006-11-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

The U.S. intelligence community on Tuesday unveiled its own secretive version of Wikipedia, saying the popular online encyclopedia format known for its openness is key to the future of American espionage.

The office of U.S. intelligence czar John Negroponte announced Intellipedia, which allows intelligence analysts and other officials to collaboratively add and edit content on the government's classified Intelink Web much like its more famous namesake on the world wide web.

A "top secret" Intellipedia system, currently available to the 16 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, has grown to more than 28,000 pages and 3,600 registered users since its introduction April 17. Less restrictive versions exist for "secret" and "sensitive but unclassified" material.

The system is also available to the Transportation Security Administration and national laboratories.

Intellipedia is currently being used to assemble a major intelligence report, known as a national intelligence estimate, on Nigeria as well as the State Department's annual country reports on terrorism, officials said.

Some day it may also be the path intelligence officials take to produce the president's daily intelligence briefing.

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Old Nazi Flag Resurfaces in Hungary

2006-11-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

Amid street protests that turned violent around the 50th anniversary of Hungaryâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s famous anti-Soviet uprising, one visual has struck Hungarian Jews: the growing ubiquity of the countryâ/&/#128;/&/#153;s centuries-old Arpad flag.

The red-and-white striped flag may best capture the aggressive mood of Hungarian politics today.

With roots tracing back more than 800 years to a medieval dynasty, the flag was expropriated by the notorious Hungarian Arrow Cross Party, whose Nazi-installed puppet regime in late 1944 began murdering thousands of Budapest Jews, many of whom were shot and dumped into the Danube River.

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Trump: No card up sleeve on making money

2006-11-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

From 401(k) accounts to playing the stock market, there are many strategies to saving money for retirement. They all, however, rely on one fundamental condition: to save money, you first have to make it.

Entrepreneur and entertainer Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," recently talked to CNN's Larry King about their book, "Why We Want You to be Rich," and what it takes to become wealthy.

KING: Why do you want to make other people rich, Donald?

TRUMP: I want to make other people happy, and I know the secrets to making money. I don't know the secrets to a lot of other things. But I know how to make money.

Robert wrote a book that was a tremendous success, [sold] like 30-some-odd million copies of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," and I wrote a book called "The Art of the Deal," which was the biggest selling business book of all time, and since then I've written a lot of other books, and they've all gone into being best-sellers, and we just wanted to join forces.

KING: Why do you want to make other people rich? What do you care?

KIYOSAKI: Well, that was our concern, because we have no financial education in schools ... and there's this gap between the rich and everybody else [that] is so excessive now. ... The rich are getting richer, but America is getting poorer, and that's why we joined forces as teachers, because after his name is a few more zeroes than after my name.

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U.S. yanks Web site with reported nuclear secrets

2006-11-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

The top U.S. intelligence official took down a government Web site with captured Saddam Hussein-era Iraqi documents after questions were raised whether it provided too much information about making atomic bombs.

In a statement Thursday night, a spokesman for National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said his office has suspended public access to the Web site "pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing."

The action came after The New York Times raised questions about the contents of the government site, called the "Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal." The Times' Web site reported Thursday night that weapons experts say documents posted on the government site in recent weeks provide dangerous detail about Iraq's covert nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war.

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Google Drives Shoppers....Yahoo Drives Buyers

2006-10-27T23:39:00.000-07:00

While it wasn't the focus of the recent Nielsen//NetRatings talks, I found it striking that the conversion rates generated from Google searches can be substantially lower than those coming from Yahoo!. Anecodotally, Nielsen//NetRatings noted that while Google drove more visits than Yahoo! did to one mega-retailer, Yahoo! delivered better quality.

* 52% of the retailer's site visitors came from Google, compared to 28% from Yahoo!

* 45% of purchasers came from Yahoo!, compared to 42% from Google

Yahoo!'s searches drove more actual buyers. I would expect some variance in results from the different search service, user base, etc...but not this much of a variance. Nielsen shared this as an example of the nuances of search, and it shows that the nuances have a substantial impact.

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Ayatollah warns Arabs of US 'plots'

2006-10-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking to a crowd of thousands on Tuesday to ring in the first day of Eid al-Fitr at a mosque in Tehran, warned other Middle Eastern countries against cooperating with American initiatives that may be designed to divide the Middle East for Israel's benefit.

"Our nation should be aware. The Lebanese nation should be aware. The Palestinian nation should be aware. Arab nations in the region, Iraq and other Muslim nations should be careful not to play along with these US plots," said Khamenei. The supreme leader said America's biggest priority in the Middle East was protecting Israel's interests.

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Britney names second child -- officially

2006-10-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Who really gives a shit.....

Britney Spears has named her second baby son Jayden James -- and that, finally, is official.

The September 12 birth certificate, filed with Los Angeles officials this week, was the latest twist in the rumor and secrecy that marked the arrival of the once publicity-hungry pop star's second baby.

Not only was the birth at a Los Angeles hospital never officially announced by Spears or her husband Kevin Federline, but sources close to the couple led the world's media to believe that the boy had been named Sutton Pierce.

For weeks beforehand, the tabloid media was sure the former teen pop sensation was expecting a girl. Celebrity magazines had Spears stocking up on pink baby clothes and reported she planned to name the child Jamilyn after her younger sister Jamie and her mother Lynne.

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Venezuela to give up UN candidacy for Bolivia: Morales

2006-10-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

Venezuela has agreed to drop out of the hotly contested race for Latin America's open seat on the UN Security Council and asked Bolivia to run in its place, Bolivia's president said.

"Comrade (Venezuelan President Hugo) Chavez says that to find a consensus he leaves the candidacy to Bolivia," President Evo Morales said at a ceremony with small business owners in the La Paz suburb of El Alto.

US critic Venezuela has battled for the seat against US-backed Guatemala but neither country was able to win the two-thirds majority needed to win the spot after three-dozen polls at the UN General Assembly.

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Angelina Jolie Really the Father of Madonna's New Baby

2006-10-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

MADONNA pulled out of adopting a US child just three months before whisking one-year-old Malawi boy David Banda out of Africa.

She and husband Guy Ritchie filled out an application at a California agency â and even underwent an evaluation process as adoptive parents.

But they abandoned plans to take a US baby from the Vista del Mar Child And Family Services Clinic after dinner with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

The Hollywood couple, who adopted African daughter Zahara last year, told Madonna and Ritchie they should instead choose a Third World infant.

According to a source close to Jolie, the actress â who chose Africa again to give birth to her and Pittâs natural daughter, Shiloh â pressed home the idea in a series of e-mails to Madonna and over dinner.

Last night, as the furore mounted over her âfast trackâ taking of David and her plans to adopt a little Malawian sister for him, the source revealed: âBoth Brad and Angelina sold Madonna and Guy on the idea of creating a global family like theirs by taking kids out of Third World poverty.

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Wikipedia founder plans rival

2006-10-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

One of the founders of Wikipedia is days away from launching a rival to the collaborative internet encyclopaedia, in an attempt to bring a more orderly approach to organising knowledge online.

Wikipedia â which is available to be written and edited by anyone on the internet â is one of the most visible successes of mass collaboration on the web, with many of its 1.4m articles appearing high in search results.

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However, its openness has also drawn charges of unreliability and left it vulnerable to disputes between people with opposing views, particularly on politically sensitive topics.

The latest venture from Larry Sanger, who helped create Wikipedia in 2001, is intended to bring more order to this creative chaos by drawing on traditional measures of authority. Though still open to submissions from anyone, the power to authorise articles will be given to editors who can prove their expertise, as well as a group of volunteer âconstablesâ, charged with keeping the peace between warring interests.

Accusing Wikipedia of failing to control its writers and editors, he said: âThe latest articles don't represent a consensus view â they tend to become what the most persistent âpostersâ say.â

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Great Interview with Nobel Peace Prize Winner

2006-10-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

In 1974, Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus began making tiny loans to the rural poor. The success of his charity led him to found Grameen Bank, pioneering microcredit. Yunus spoke to TIME's Ishaan Tharoor last week, moments before learning he and Grameen had won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

When did the microcredit idea dawn on you?

In 1974, there was a famine in the country. I felt empty because my knowledge in economics meant little to the people suffering. Villagers had to borrow from loan sharks on terrible conditions--some even becoming slave labor for the moneylenders. I made a list of 42 people most seriously in debt who, all together, owed no more than $27. I went around the village according to the list, giving each of them the money they owed with no conditions other than that they concentrate on their work and repay me when they could.

About 97% of Grameen members are women. Why?

The main challenge for a poor woman was overcoming the fear in her, which was holding her back. We found that, compared with men, who spent money more freely, women benefited their families much more.

In a heavily Muslim society, did this trigger opposition?

Of course. The first opposition came from the husbands, who thought we were insulting them. Second were the mullahs, who started preaching that taking money from Grameen Bank was against the religion. We told them that in Islamic history, women had been warriors and businessmen--look at the Prophet's first wife!

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Germany - Smells Like 1930 Again

2006-10-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Copies of Anne Frank's diary burned at Neo-Nazi parties, Ethiopian youth beaten because of his ethnicity, student humiliated because of his association with Jews. These are only some manifestations of the rise in Neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic violence in Germany. Jewish community leaders say dangerous trend is being ignored by government

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Branson's SpaceShipTwo interiors to look fucking awesome

2006-10-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Wired Magazine's NextFest is taking place in NYC this week, and I could kick myself for not being there. If you're there, digging it in person as I type this from behind my lonely little MacBook, I hate you.

Among the many amazing things at NextFest today: Sir Richard Branson unveiled the concept interior for SpaceShipTwo, the Virgin Galactic spaceliners on which passengers will soon be able to space-vacay with cushy intergalactic recliner seats and lots of big windows looking out on the great beyond.

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Politicians caught on Internet candid cameras

2006-10-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

Want to catch a senator napping during a congressional hearing? Or letting a possible racial slur slip out at a campaign rally?

Then log on to Internet video-sharing Web sites like YouTube.com -- the latest weapon in U.S. politics where a candidate's missteps can be viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

Political campaigns for the November 7 congressional elections have sent out mass e-mails with links to videos of opponents in unscripted, often embarrassing, situations.

Some campaigns have even dispatched young staffers known as "trackers" armed with video cameras. Their sole job is to track a rival candidate's every move and make sure their cameras are rolling in case the politician makes a gaffe.

Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia got some unwanted publicity when at a political rally he pointed to a tracker sent by rival James Webb's campaign and called the young man a "macaca" -- an African monkey and sometimes a racial slur.

The video of Allen's remarks to S.R. Sidarth, a 20-year-old U.S. college student, spread swiftly on the Internet (http://youtube.com/watch?v=9G7gq7GQ71c), drew the attention of Democratic activists and boosted Webb's campaign.

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Another Hitler Pub Opens In Russia

2006-10-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

Jewish leaders in a Russian region are protesting against the use of Adolf Hitlerâs name by a new pub.

The pub, set to open soon in the city of Ekaterinburg, is named Hitler Kaput.

In a letter to the local mayor, leaders of the Jewish community said that any use of Hitlerâs name to attract public attention is unacceptable.

Authorities havenât yet responded to the Jewish community.

The letter also referred to a similar development in India where a restaurant initially named after Hitler changed its name after protests from the Jewish community.

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Tags: Community | Pub | India | Hitler | ekaterinburg

Microcredit pioneers win Nobel Peace Prize

2006-10-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their pioneering use of tiny, seemingly insignificant loans â€” microcredit â€” to lift millions out of poverty.

Through Yunus's efforts and those of the bank he founded, poor people around the world, especially women, have been able to buy cows, a few chickens or the cellphone they desperately needed to get ahead.

The 65-year-old economist said he would use part of his share of the $1.4 million award money to create a company to make low-cost, high-nutrition food for the poor. The rest would go toward setting up an eye hospital for the poor in Bangladesh, he said.

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Campus Newspapers Featuring Nude Picture Stolen From Racks

2006-10-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

Campus officials said someone stole nearly 2,500 copies of the University of Southern Indiana's student newspaper, an edition that featured a photograph of two women in bed, one of them nude.

Journalism instructor Patricia Ferrier, who is faculty adviser to student publications, said almost all copies of The Shield were taken from newspaper racks some time after 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Another 2,500 copies of the edition were printed Thursday, and Ferrier said there were plans for increased campus security near newspaper racks. Ferrier said the student publications committee will decide whether to contact the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department about the theft.

Julia Hunter, managing editor of The Shield, said whoever stole the newspapers brought more attention to the picture than it would have received otherwise.

"I think their purpose was censorship, and they did themselves a disservice because this is a much bigger issue now," she said.

The edition included a photograph of two women together on a bed as part of a story about the controversy the picture created when it was published in a campus magazine. After the picture ran in the magazine, a group of college Republicans issued a statement condemning it as "soft-core porn" and noting that the magazine's funding is partially comprised of student fees.

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Iran's Fundamentalists Take Up Blogging

2006-10-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

The craze for blogging in Iran has reached an unlikely set of adherents - the country's conservative Islamic clerics.

Following the example of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ayatollahs, seminary students and theologians are receiving training in setting up their own weblogs.

Courses run by the newly-established office of religious weblog expansion have begun in the holy city of Qom, the traditional home of Iran's religious establishment. Students more used to poring over the theological nuances of the Qur'an will receive instruction on practical matters such as blog content and technical support. Some 300 clerics, religious students and writers have been signed up.

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Just Another Reason To Hate Mel Gibson

2006-10-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

Actor Mel Gibson says his drunken, anti-Semitic outburst at police this past summer may have stemmed in part from lingering resentment he harbored over the barrage of Jewish criticism leveled at his 2004 film "The Passion of the Christ."

In an interview aired Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Gibson also suggested that his statement to police that "Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" grew out of his concerns about violence raging between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon at the time.

But the 50-year-old star told interviewer Diane Sawyer he was "ashamed" of the things he said during his July 28 arrest for driving while intoxicated.

Asked by Sawyer, "What are the Jews responsible for?", Gibson replied, "they're not blameless in the (Mideast) conflict," then added: "Now when you're loaded ... the balance of how you see things comes out the wrong way."

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Did venture firm Sevin Rosen orchestrate snow job?

2006-10-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we wrote a piece about the decision by Sevin Rosen Funds, a big-name venture capital firm, to bag plans to raise another fund. The firm cited âterribleâ investment conditions.

The rarity of the move suggested significance â a sign that there is trouble in the VC industry, with too much money floating around. The firmâs partner Steve Dow told us: âGiving back money is an unnatural act.â

We now get the back story from trade reporter Dan Primack. Heâs suggesting the firm did a snow job on the New York Times, which first reported the story â making it seem that the only reason for the decision was a frank assessment of the environment. In fact, Primack says, the firm also had some internal troubles, and wanted to get ahead of them by spinning its decision not to raise money as a positive thing:

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Tags: venture | reporter | firm | Silicon Valley | Sevin Rosen

Bush: North Korea a 'threat to international peace'

2006-10-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

North Korea's claims of a nuclear test establish Pyongyang as a "threat to international peace," President Bush said Wednesday as he pledged to defend U.S. allies and interests in the region.

"North Korea has once again chosen to reject the prospect for a better future ... instead it has opted to raise tensions in the region," Bush said at a White House news conference.

"The United States reserves all options to defend our friends," he said while reiterating that Washington plans no military response in the current crisis.

Bush said however that Washington will cooperate with allies on ballistic missile defense and controls on the export of nuclear technologies. (Watch Bush warn North Korea -- 2:34)

Bush urged North Korea to return to six-party talks -- including China, Russia, South Korea and Japan -- aimed at defusing nuclear tensions. The Bush administration has made clear it will not negotiate one-on-one as Pyongyang wishes.

The president pledged to continue pressure in the United Nations Security Council for "serious repercussions" for North Korea. (Transcript of Bush news conference)

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Bush: North Korea a 'threat to international peace'

2006-10-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

North Korea's claims of a nuclear test establish Pyongyang as a "threat to international peace," President Bush said Wednesday as he pledged to defend U.S. allies and interests in the region.

"North Korea has once again chosen to reject the prospect for a better future ... instead it has opted to raise tensions in the region," Bush said at a White House news conference.

"The United States reserves all options to defend our friends," he said while reiterating that Washington plans no military response in the current crisis.

Bush said however that Washington will cooperate with allies on ballistic missile defense and controls on the export of nuclear technologies. (Watch Bush warn North Korea -- 2:34)

Bush urged North Korea to return to six-party talks -- including China, Russia, South Korea and Japan -- aimed at defusing nuclear tensions. The Bush administration has made clear it will not negotiate one-on-one as Pyongyang wishes.

The president pledged to continue pressure in the United Nations Security Council for "serious repercussions" for North Korea. (Transcript of Bush news conference)

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Lennon's killer denied parole for fourth time

2006-10-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

John Lennon's killer was denied parole for a fourth time Tuesday because of the "bizarre nature" of his crime.

Mark David Chapman, 51, must remain at Attica Correctional Facility for at least two more years for gunning down the former Beatle outside his Manhattan apartment building in 1980.

"The panel remains concerned about the bizarre nature of this premeditated and violent crime," the board wrote in a one-page decision issued shortly after Chapman's appearance before the three-member panel at Attica.

The hearing lasted 16 minutes, said Scott Steinhardt, spokesman for the state Division of Parole. A transcript of the hearing was not immediately available.

"While the panel notes your satisfactory institutional adjustment," the decision said, "due to the extremely violent nature of the offense, your release would not be in the best interest of the community."

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North Korea Calls the U.S. Bluff

2006-10-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

North Korea's announcement of a successful underground detonation of a nuclear weapon has called Washington's bluff. President Bush had long warned that the U.S. will not "tolerate" a nuclear-armed North Korea, and just last week his chief negotiator with the hermit regime, Christopher Hill, warned that Pyongyang would have to choose between having nuclear weapons and having a future. Monday morning's announced test suggests that Kim Jong-il has decided to test Washington's "or else."

The consternation at failing to deter North Korea from becoming the world's eighth declared nuclear weapons state (joining the U.S., Russia, France, Britain, China, India and Pakistan â Israel is generally believed to have nuclear weapons, although it has never publicly disclosed such capability) will hardly be confined to Washington. South Korea has called its national security council into emergency session, and will face pressure from the U.S. and Japan to terminate its "Sunshine" policy of trade and engagement aimed at moderating North Korean behavior. Japan, well within range of North Korea's missiles and a longtime object of its ire, will press for a tough response, and may see its own debate over whether to build nuclear weapons rejoined with new vigor. China will face the uncomfortable reality that its patronage of and friendship with North Korea gave it no leverage, at the decisive moment, over a troublesome neighbor whose actions threaten to destabilize the entire region and provoke a more assertive U.S. presence on turf that Beijing regards as its own back yard.

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Is the Israel/Lebanon Conflict Really Over?

2006-10-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Tens of thousands of worshippers showed up at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Monday to participate in the traditional priestly blessing. The morning prayers of Sukkot were held with the Chief Rabbis of Israel Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Rabbi Yonah Metzger in attendance.

Following the prayers, the chief rabbis held a special prayer and recited psalms for the speedy recovery of those injured in the war and the return of the kidnapped soldiers. Afterwards, the custom of visiting one's rabbi in the sukka in the Western Wall complex, and the rabbi's welcomed the masses.

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Jon Stewart is Better News Than the "Real" Thing

2006-10-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Move over ABC, CBS and NBC. Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show," featured nightly on Comedy Central, contains as much substantial news as evening network news shows, according to findings by a study conducted at IU.

Julia Fox, an assistant professor of telecommunications at IU and graduate students Glory Koloen and Volkan Sahin conducted research that found Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" to be as substantive as the major news networks, defining substantive news as coverage that referred to political issues and candidate qualifications in the 2004 election, according to the study released Wednesday.

The study, which is the first of its kind, was created to show the amount of substance found during news coverage of the 2004 presidential election. The researchers were also looking for find the sources from which people younger than 30 got their news during the election. Statistically, the study found as much substantive news on "The Daily Show" as on "ABC Evening News," "CBS Evening News" and "NBC Nightly News."

"We coded all of the video and audio that was about the presidential election, and we used the coding scheme that has indicators of what we consider being substance," Fox said. "There were just as many issues and references in 'The Daily Show' as there were in the networks."

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Tags: news | Election | Jon Stewart | daily show | comedy

Industry Of Cool

2006-10-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine says that in this town, you're either a celebrity or a paparazzo. She has a point. Rock stars and the people who love them are everywhere. So are the gossip rags, and they chronicle the celebs' every move, from what they wear and the parties they attend to the people they date.

This would be old news if we were referring to Hollywood, but this is Silicon Valley, not L.A., and we're talking about geeks who write code for a living, not buff boy bands gyrating on stage.

Blame Web 2.0. In the past 18 months, companies that enable podcasting, blogging, Web video and social networking have raised nearly half a billion dollars. Forget engineers starting companies because they want to "change the world." Today's tech entrepreneurs seem to have a simpler goal: fame and fortune.

A few months ago, I interviewed Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman, who have raised $6 million to build Yelp, a Web site of amateur restaurant and bar reviews. (The two founders are in their late 20s, both single. They wear beat-up designer jeans with ironic T-shirts, and they have the kind of hair that forces them to flip their heads in order to see. In other words, rock stars.) At the end of the interview, I asked them where they thought they would be in five years. This is what they said:

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Report: Local info may save papers

2006-10-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Newspapers grappling with declining circulation and profit margins can turn themselves around if they quickly develop publications and affiliated websites packed with local information, according to an eagerly awaited industry report Wednesday.

"The land rush to meet local information needs has barely begun," says Newspaper Next: The Transformation Project, based on a study of business models and practices sponsored by the American Press Institute.

For example, the report says that newspapers might assemble databases about parks, medical facilities and restaurants, information about schools, consumer-supplied ratings for restaurants, mechanics and contractors, as well as chat groups for parents and shoppers.

The report also says dailies could produce special editions for commuters and niche publications for tourists, young adults, parents, seniors, non-English speakers and sports and entertainment fans.

Along with the local initiatives, Newspaper Next urges papers to develop online ad standards and joint sales teams to create a single national ad buy for their websites.

"We thought that was fascinating," says Stephen Gray, the project's managing director. "Newspaper websites (collectively) have a substantial user base that can be competitive" with Internet giants, including Google and Yahoo.

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Report: Local info may save papers

2006-10-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Newspapers grappling with declining circulation and profit margins can turn themselves around if they quickly develop publications and affiliated websites packed with local information, according to an eagerly awaited industry report Wednesday.

"The land rush to meet local information needs has barely begun," says Newspaper Next: The Transformation Project, based on a study of business models and practices sponsored by the American Press Institute.

For example, the report says that newspapers might assemble databases about parks, medical facilities and restaurants, information about schools, consumer-supplied ratings for restaurants, mechanics and contractors, as well as chat groups for parents and shoppers.

The report also says dailies could produce special editions for commuters and niche publications for tourists, young adults, parents, seniors, non-English speakers and sports and entertainment fans.

Along with the local initiatives, Newspaper Next urges papers to develop online ad standards and joint sales teams to create a single national ad buy for their websites.

"We thought that was fascinating," says Stephen Gray, the project's managing director. "Newspaper websites (collectively) have a substantial user base that can be competitive" with Internet giants, including Google and Yahoo.

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New Thai Prime Minister - Former Army Grunt

2006-10-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Retired army commander Gen. Surayud Chulanont was sworn in Sunday as Thailand's interim prime minister, saying he wanted to settle a bloody Muslim insurgency and heal a country divided by the policies of his predecessor.

The military council running Thailand pulled tanks and troops off the streets for the first time since it ousted Thaksin Shinawatra on Sept. 19. "The soldiers are back in their barracks and the police have redeployed" from all government offices, said spokesman Gen. Palangoon Klaharn.

Surayud, who became the country's 24th prime minister, said he would work to close divisions over Thaksin's rule and stem a Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand

"It was injustice that caused problems in politics and the south," he said. "I urge everybody to help solve the two problems and unity is needed to deal with them."

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Cost of Iraq War Skyrockets!

2006-09-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

A new congressional analysis shows the Iraq war is now costing taxpayers almost $2 billion a week -- nearly twice as much as in the first year of the conflict three years ago and 20 percent more than last year -- as the Pentagon spends more on establishing regional bases to support the extended deployment and scrambles to fix or replace equipment damaged in combat.

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Lost Tribes of Israel Coming Home

2006-09-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

A group of 218 people from a remote mountainous corner of northeastern India who claim descent from one of the lost biblical tribes will be immigrating to Israel as recognized Jews for the first time.

The aliyah of members from the Bnei Menashe community to Israel is a turning point, said Michael Freund, founder of Shavei Israel which assists âlost Jewsâ seeking to return to the Jewish people.

âThis is a major historical event, because these members of a lost tribe of Israel, after 27 centuries of wandering in exile, will at last be coming home,â he said.

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Canada's Housing Market Better than US

2006-09-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Canada's housing market is on track to outperform the U.S. market throughout 2007 as low unemployment and sound consumer confidence fuels the residential real estate sector, a report released yesterday by Royal LePage Real Estate Services concludes.

Western Canada's oil boom is still spurring feverish buying and selling and double-digit price gains in cities such as Calgary and Edmonton, but that should cool slightly as more buyers stay on the sidelines and the number of listings rise, the report states.

Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada should see more reasonable sales volumes and moderate price increases.

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Nazi Hunted Down in Hungary

2006-09-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center traces suspected Nazi war criminal Sando Kepiro to Budapest; Kepiro is accused of participating in a massacre of 4,000 unarmed civilians (including 1,250 Jews) in Novisad as a gendarme with a Hungary Army unit allied with Nazi Germany. â€˜The manner in which we tracked him down is quite remarkable,â€™ Zuroff says

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Health Care Costs Rise Twice as Much as Inflation

2006-09-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

A widely followed national survey reported yesterday that the cost of employee health care coverage rose 7.7 percent this year, more than double the overall inflation rate and well ahead of the increase in the incomes of workers.

The 7.7 percent increase was the lowest since 1999. But the average cost to employees continued an upward trend, reaching $2,973 annually for family coverage out of a total cost of $11,481.

Since 2000, the cost of family coverage has risen 87 percent while consumer prices are up 18 percent and the pay of workers has increased 20 percent, the survey noted. That is without counting the cost of deductibles and other out-of-pocket payments, which have also been rising.

â€œThe cost trend is moderating but nobody is celebrating,â€ said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which sponsored the survey with the Health Research and Educational Trust. â€œBusinesses and workers are still being slammed year after year by rising health costs.â€

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