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Word Of The Day 

vitiate: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

vitiate: to make faulty or imperfect.

Watch The Olympics 

Secret pipe dream gives Shaun White a snowboarding edge

At 23, Shaun White is the face of the Vancouver Games for the action sports generation and the heavy favorite to bring home a second consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's halfpipe Feb. 17.

Eddie the Eagle still flying years after 1988 Calgary Games

In England, there's not much construction work to do during the winter. So certainly, Michael Edwards would have time for a phone chat.

Nancy Kerrigan's family insists father's death not a homicide

The family of Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan insisted Tuesday that they do "not blame anyone" for her father's death and criticized a medical examiner's finding that Daniel Kerrigan died of a heart rhythm problem after a fight with his son.

Lack of snow, warm weather is hot topic in Vancouver

For nearly 40 years, Erickson Air-Crane and its partners have been dispatching a fleet of helicopters around the world to fight forest fires, harvest timber and lift giant air-conditioning units to the tops of office towers.

U.S. Olympic slalom medalist Jimmie Heuga dies at 66

Former U.S. Olympic skier Jimmie Heuga, who won a bronze medal at the 1964 games and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years later, died Monday. He was 66.

J-Rod's journal: First athletes in the village

Three-time U.S. Olympic team member and 2002 speedskating medalist Jennifer Rodriguez will write a journal for USA TODAY as she attempts to earn a berth on her fourth Olympic team.

Shades of bobsledders: Jamaica has ski cross hope

Errol Kerr, 23, will be the lone delegate for Jamaica and will be trying to make history as the country's first Winter Games medalist in the sport of ski cross, which makes its Olympic debut Feb. 21.

Whatever the weather in Vancouver, U.S. moguls team is ready

Cypress Mountain passed a major test Monday as freestyle skiers completed their first pre-Olympic practice sessions.

IOC chief Rogge expresses concern about Russian doping cases

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge urged Russia on Monday to get tougher on drug cheats, voicing his concern at the high number of doping cases among Russian biathletes and cross-country skiers.

Computers says Olympic home field will pay off for Canadians

Time to shift attention from the Super Bowl to the Winter Olympics, eh?

GapingVoid Cartoon 

BBC News 

New acting president for Nigeria

Nigeria's Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan becomes acting president in place of ailing leader Umaru Yar'Adua.

Honda in US recall over airbags

Honda heaps more woe on Japanese carmakers by adding 378,000 cars to an existing airbag safety recall in the United States.

Google takes on Facebook

Google takes the wraps off its latest social network - known as Buzz - pitting it directly against rival sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Lebanon warns of Israel 'threat'

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says he is concerned about the "escalating and dangerous" threat posed by Israel.

Sri Lankan parliament dissolved

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa dissolves parliament to set up early elections, a day after his main rival was arrested.

Obama steps up pressure on Iran

US President Barack Obama says the US and allies are developing "significant sanctions" against Iran over its nuclear programme.

Chile's Pinera names new cabinet

Chile's president-elect Sebastian Pinera names his cabinet, leaving out anyone linked with former military ruler Augusto Pinochet.

First Lady tackles child obesity

First Lady Michelle Obama launches a nationwide campaign to tackle child obesity, which she says threatens America's future.

Sudan and Chad to end hostilities

Sudan says it is ready to normalise ties with neighbouring Chad, raising hopes of an end to the Darfur conflict.

'Eggs, milk, bread' - White House mocks crib-note Palin

A White House aide mocks Sarah Palin by appearing at a briefing with "hope", "change" and a shopping list written on his hand.

CNet News 

Rafe and Josh debate Google's Buzz

Is Google Buzz effective competition to Twitter? Or is it just FriendFeed light? Webware writers Rafe Needleman and Josh Lowensohn debate.

YouTube's traffic data for music questioned

The number of visitors to Warner Music Group's YouTube videos doubled in January and outpaced the much larger Vevo. But those numbers are now being questioned.

CNET first look at Google Buzz

CNET's Josh Lowensohn takes you through some of the main features of Google's new social publishing tool Buzz, which is being made available to all Gmail users this week.

Intel taps student's robot for processor demo

University of Arizona engineering student creates a six-legged Atom-powered bot that can "learn" to walk on its own, and Intel brings it along on the company road show.

Microsoft looks at health potential of Xbox, apps

Software giant is researching how gadgets like the Xbox and technologies like accelerometers in cell phones could improve personal health, and health care in general.

Log in with your face

KeyLemon adds an extra layer of security to your computer log-in process by making your Webcam do all the heavy lifting.

See what's under McAfee's new interface

McAfee spent three years researching and developing a new vertical interface, and the company has made its consumer security suites far better in the process. Take a tour of what's new in this First Look video.

Highway to hell: Exhaust is bad for your heart

Researchers from Switzerland, Spain, and the U.S. find that particulates from auto exhaust thicken artery walls, thereby increasing one's chances of heart attack and stroke.

Microsoft on iTunes in 2003: 'We were smoked'

Groklaw uncovers a couple of e-mails from Bill Gates and then-Windows leader Jim Allchin revealing that Microsoft was worried about iTunes when it first launched.

RealNetworks, Viacom to spin off Rhapsody

Real and Viacom say the subscription music service will be more nimble as a standalone company. The move means that Real is satisfied to give up control.

Music Videos 

Off The Cuff With Peter Travers: Sarah Silverman

Cold War Kids: "Long As I Can See The Light"

Cold War Kids: "Santa Anna Winds"

Cold War Kids: "Audience"

At The Movies With Peter Travers: "From Paris With Love" and "Dear John"

New Music Report: Los Campesinos

The Onion, Daily 

[audio] Beloved Minister Dies Just As He LivedOf A Heart Attack

Onion Radio News - with Doyle Redland

Wal-Mart Cuts Over 13,000 Of What It Calls Jobs

BENTONVILLE, AR&#8212"First, we tried cutting what is hard for me in good conscience to even call benefits," said Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke. "We even tried negotiating with what we would probably refer to as the workers' union if, in fact, they even had such a thing."

Slideshow: The Week In Review

Slideshow

Vegan Unaware Pineapple Hes Eating Once Used To Beat Cow To Death

News In Photos

In Focus: Anti-Chewing-Tobacco Activists Speak Out Against Secondhand Spit

RALEIGH, NC--The ever-embattled tobacco industry suffered another blow Monday, as citizens' groups challenged the major smokeless-tobacco companies to confront the quality-of-life issues associated with secondhand spit.

Opinion: There Should Be No Secrets In Our Relationship Excluding The Events Of March 2, 2004 (by Craig McKay)

We've been together quite a while now, and I truly believe that if our relationship is going to last—if we're really going to commit to a...

Family Concerned After Aging TV Show Has Another Terrible Episode

ROANOKE, VA—The Stashwick family of Roanoke was "alarmed and saddened" to see a beloved-but-aging TV program suffer yet another terrible...

Toyota Expected To Recall Prius

Following last month's costly recall of 8.1 million vehicles due to an acceleration problem, Toyota will reportedly recall its latest hybrid Prius...

[video] Insidious Worm Makes Unauthorized Purchases When Computer User Is Drunk

Computer experts say individuals with upcoming bachelor parties or afterwork get-togethers are especially vulnerable to cyber attacks resulting in fraudulent late-night purchases.

In Focus: Latino Community Empowered By Coke Commercial

LOS ANGELES--A Coca-Cola commercial celebrating Latin American culture made its debut on several major networks last week, empowering and uplifting Latinos nationwide, sources reported Monday.

Scientific American 

Unearthing Anthrax's Dirty Secret: Its Mysterious Survival Skills May Rely on Help from Viruses--and Earthworms

NEW YORK--Using a pipette as a makeshift rolling pin, Raymond Schuch spent some of his lab time last summer pressing the guts out of earthworms that he had collected, fresh from Manhattan soil. For his efforts, The Rockefeller University microbiologist extracted what looked like just a small pile of dirt, but was actually a microcosm teeming with phages--viruses that infect bacteria. Schuch was on the hunt for phages that could kill anthrax and become anti-anthrax therapies , but what he discovered were viruses that enable this deadly bacteria to grow and survive when the going gets tough. [More]

Condom exhibition opens in New York

A new exhibition in New York takes a look at the history of the condom.

National Robotics Week to highlight the past, present and future of robot research

More than eight decades after Westinghouse Electric Corp. introduced Televox --a crudely conceived humanoid that could answer the telephone and route calls--robots finally have a week out of the year that they can call their own. In addition to celebrating how far robots have come from their humble beginnings as strictly mechanized labor, National Robotics Week (April 10-18) is an opportunity for researchers and industry to promote a future where robots routinely perform delicate medical procedures, serve as companions to the elderly and infirm and aid troops in combat. [More]

Energy Storage on Ice

LOS ANGELES -- Ice Energy has a novel solution for the electricity challenges of the 21st century: Make Popsicles. Put another way, the company wants to freeze water at night in refrigerator-like boxes adjacent to commercial air conditioners and then thaw it during the day, when power demand is highest. This would theoretically allow AC-hungry commercial buildings in warm climates to cut energy use during heat waves, by shutting air conditioners down while still providing cool air to buildings from melting ice. [More]

How many scientists (and scientific instruments) does it take to sample seawater?

Editor's Note: Journalist and crew member Kathryn Eident and scientist Jeremy Jacquot are traveling on board the RV Atlantis on a monthlong voyage to sample and study nitrogen fixation in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, among other research projects. This is the second blog post detailing this ongoing voyage of discovery for Scientific American.com. RV ATLANTIS MAIN DECK--The winch makes a whirring sound as it slowly winds the quarter-inch galvanized wire out of the water, through the block and onto the drum. Rigged over the side of the ship, the sturdy wire extends deep below the water's surface where it is attached to a round metal frame holding plastic bottles and various sensors. [More]

Denial of global warming threat to the American pika means no protection from U.S.

Despite documented threats posed to the American pika (Ochotona princeps ) by global warming, the rapidly disappearing mammalian species will not be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) ruled last week. [More]

NASA Readies a Satellite to Probe the Sun--Inside and Out

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is what might be called a satellite for the information age. It is designed to provide scientists who study the sun with a torrent of data--the space agency says the observatory will return 150 million bits of data about Earth's host star per second, or about 1.5 terabytes per day. [More]

Banana bait lures trapped panda

A hungry, lost wild giant panda prompts a long rescue operation in southwest China, before a banana attached to the end of a stick proves too hard to resist.

What Happens in the Amygdala... Damage to Brain's Decision-Making Area May Encourage Dicey Gambles

Imagine you've lost your job. You have some money saved, and a chance to double it with a gamble. But if you lose the bet, you'll forfeit everything. What would you do? [More]

Python Predation: Big snakes poised to change U.S. ecosystems

Brought to the U.S. as pets, Burmese pythons have made headlines with their uncontrolled spread in the Florida Everglades and willingness to challenge alligators for the position of top predator. A report released by the U.S. Geological Survey last fall delivered more bad news: two other constrictor species, also former pets, are thriving in the area, and six others could pose similar threats. Researchers fear that reproductive populations could spread and eat native animals into extinction. The new interlopers--northern and southern African pythons, reticulated pythons, boa constrictors and four species of anacondas--have "ecological similarities," explains Robert Reed, a USGS biologist and one of the authors of the report. "They are large invasive predators that native birds and mammals aren't adapted to, and they are highly fecund, capable of producing up to 100 hatchlings in one nest." They're also big; some grow up to 20 feet and 200 pounds. They seize prey with their teeth and then wrap around the prey's body, squeezing it to death. [More]

Buzz Machine 

Google’s Buzz(machine)

I still need more time to get my head around Google Buzz, which will enable users to post and share updates, links, photos, videos with the world or with friends tied to geography via the web, mobile apps, and voice. Buzz also promises to prioritize the "buzzes" we get. I think this could be the [...]

What Toyota should do

Including my parents, we own four Toyotas in my family; over time, we've probably owned eight or 10. Will we ever buy another? Depends. Depends on whether we can trust the company given its performance lately.
There's a reason we bought our Toyotas. They are incredibly reliable. I abuse mine, skipping service calls. But — [...]

Stop selling scarcity

If you are selling a scarcity — an inventory — of any nonphysical goods today, stop, turn around, and start selling value — outcomes — instead. Or you're screwed. Apply this rule to many enterprises: advertising, media, content, information, education, consultation, and to some extent, performance.
* * *
Start with advertising. I wrote in my [...]

NewBizNews: What ad sales people hear

Recently, at CUNY, we held a roundtable for ad sales people from hyperlocal blogs to big newspapers to hear what they are hearing from local merchants. We're wrapping up our research for the New Business Models for News Project — indeed, it was Alberto Ibargüen, head of the Knight Foundation that funded this work, who [...]

The Flip dance

At the Google party at Davos, I was enticed into doing the Flip dance with none less than Sir Tim Berners-Lee:

Another Sir Tim video from a session on social media. The first half of this 3:44 is him talking about the need for authority signals i social networks. In the middle, he takes pains [...]

The disrupted of Davos

The theme of this year's World Economic Forum meeting at Davos was "rethink, redesign, rebuild." When a friend recited that list for me, I responded that given the institutions there, the more appropriate slogan is "replace."
Last year when I arrived at Davos, I wondered whether we were among the problem or the solution. This year, [...]

Google news

First, the news: Google told me today that they would consider giving more transparency about revenue splits in Adsense.
At a private meeting with a dozen and a half media people at Davos with CEO Eric Schmidt, President of sales Nikesh Arora, search boss Marissa Mayer, YouTube founder Chad Hurley, and counsel/"chief diplomat" (Schmidt's joke) [...]

The danger of the wall

The European, a German online news service, asked me to write a commentary for a debate on paid content. Here it is in German. And here's the English text:
I have nothing against charging for content, if you can. After all, I'm selling a book. But I believe building pay walls around online news is a [...]

Rusbridger v. walls

Just as The New York Times announces its pay wall, Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger gives an important speech on the topic — indeed, on the very nature of journalism — arguing against pay walls.
Charging, Rusbridger says, "removes you from the way people the world over now connect with each other. You cannot control distribution [...]

The right to link

My column in the Guardian argues that we have a right to link and that the link is the basis of freedom of speech online. The issues are important and so I'm posting the entire column here:
* * *
Linking is more than merely a function and feature of the internet. Linking is a right. The [...]

Slashdot 

Google Buzz — First Reactions

Google announced Buzz today, as we anticipated this morning. CNET has a workmanlike description of the social-networking service, which is integrated into gmail. CNET identifies a central obstacle Buzz will have to overcome to gain traction: "The problem, however, will be the increasing backlash Google is seeing from the general public over how much data the company already controls on their online habits." Buzz is being rolled out over the next few days so some people will see a Buzz folder in their gmail, but most won't yet (this Twitter post explains how Safari users can get an early glimpse). A blog posting up at O'Reilly Answers points out some of the distinguishing characteristics of Google Buzz — one interesting one being its ability to post an update either pubilcly or privately, at the user's option. This design choice places it between the public-by-default Twitter and the private-by-default Facebook. Lauren Weinstein sounds a note of caution about the inherent privacy risks of Google's method of filling out initial friend profiles by automatic friending. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A "Never Reboot" Service For Linux

An anonymous reader writes "Ksplice, the company based on the MIT Ksplice project, is now offering its 'never reboot' service for Red Hat, Debian, and other Linux distros. You subscribe and get real-time kernel security updates that apply in-memory instead of rebooting. Last summer we discussed the free service for Ubuntu. Cool tech, but will people really pay $4 a month for this?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Submit Your Comments About ACTA

alex_guy_CA Notes that the US Trade Representative — who has been negotiating the secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement without input from the American people or Congress — is seeking public submissions on how to conduct US foreign copyright policy. This means that Americans can file comments with the USTR asking for ACTA to be made public. Public Knowledge explains the process: "Under the Special 301 process the USTR seeks input from US copyright, trademark, and patent owners about whether policies and practices in foreign countries deny them adequate IP protection. The process has generally been used by IP holders to complain not only about lax enforcement in other countries, but also about limitations and exceptions in their laws that are beneficial to libraries, to education, to innovation, and to the public interest generally. The ability to comment in the Special 301 process is not limited to IP owners only. Any member of the public is free to file comments. If you believe in the importance of balanced copyright policies, file comments with the USTR and make your voice heard. Comments can be filed electronically via http://www.regulations.gov/ docket number USTR-2010-0003. You have to include the term '2010 Special 301 Review' in the 'Type Comment and Upload File' field. ... Deadline for filing is February 16 by 5 pm" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Swiss Firm Claims Boost In Android App Performance

Precision writes to inform us about the Swiss firm Myriad, which claims a 3x boost in Android app performance and longer battery life with a new virtual machine. Myriad says that its technology is 100% compatible with existing Android apps. "The tool is a replacement for the Dalvik virtual machine, which ships as part of the Android platform, and retains full compatibility with existing software. Dalvik Turbo also supports a range of processors including those based on ARM, Intel Atom, and MIPS Architectures." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

XCore's EduBook, a Netbook That Runs on AA Batteries

I'm typing this on a netbook with no hard drive, not using a chip from Intel or AMD, and powered by AA batteries. Eight rechargeable AAs, to be precise, in a bank of cells right where a Li-Ion battery would sit in a conventional laptop. The batteries charge in place, too (regulation prevents overcharging) meaning that the power cord is a simple three-prong-to-cloverleaf cord, no wall-wart required. It's the EduBook from Xcore (see that page for some photos of the internals, too), and it's a cool concept. Despite some warts, it's one of the most interesting things I ran into on the CES show floor last month (Xcore's Michael Barnes kindly supplied the laptop, straight from the display case). Read on for my review. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft Says Windows 7 Not Killing Batteries

VindictivePantz sends word that the Windows 7 team has posted a new blog entry discussing their conclusions about the reported Windows 7 battery failures. "To the very best of the collective ecosystem knowledge, Windows 7 is correctly warning batteries that are in fact failing and Windows 7 is neither incorrectly reporting on battery status nor in any way whatsoever causing batteries to reach this state. In every case we have been able to identify the battery being reported on was in fact in need of recommended replacement. ...every single indication we have regarding the reports we've seen are simply Windows 7 reporting the state of the battery using this new feature and we're simply seeing batteries that are not performing above the designated threshold. ... We are as certain as we can be that we have addressed the root cause and concerns of this report, but we will continue to monitor the situation." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Re-Engineering the Immune System

destinyland notes a microbiology professor describing "Immunity on Demand" (or "Immunity 2.0") and wonders whether we could genetically engineer all the antibodies we need. "...there's a good chance this system, or something like it, will actually be in place within decades. Caltech scientists have already engineered stem cells into B cells that produce HIV-fighting antibodies — and an NIH researcher engineered T cells that recognize tumors which has already had promising clinical trials again skin cancer. Our best hope may be to cut out the middleman. Rather than merely hoping that the vaccine will indirectly lead to the antibody an individual needs, imagine if we could genetically engineer these antibodies and make them available as needed?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Hidden Treasures of Sysinternals

Barence writes "PC Pro contributing editor Jon Honeyball has written a nice feature on the latest treasures to be found on the Windows Sysinternals website. Among them are a tool for creating virtual hard disks from physical drives, a hard disk read-write monitoring tool, and a utility for putting ISO images onto flash drives. They're free, but they're effective." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

BioShock 2 Released

BioShock 2 launched today for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows, ending the wait for a sequel to the original 2007 blockbuster. The events in BioShock 2 take place 10 years after the story from the original game. This time around, players control a prototype Big Daddy in an attempt to overthrow the new leader of Rapture. Early reviews for the game are quite strong, though the developers were prepared for fan backlash over some of the changes they made. The Guardian's Nicky Woolf praises the new storyline, and adds that "there is a fundamentally excellent shooter here too, with some of the best combat dynamics in the business." Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Alec Meer also had good things to say about the combat: "I can't stress this enough - as a game about shooting people, it's very responsive and very rewarding." However, Meer expressed disappointment that some of the impressive new concept art didn't get used and that the story and environment couldn't match the novelty of the original game. "Part of Rapture's great wonder was that it was just believable enough, if you squinted your brain a bit (or a lot), but this lathers on so much wild sci-fi that it's much harder to connect to it. The Sisters are elevated from horrifying genetic/psychological experiment into all-powerful messiah figures capable of pulling any old deus ex machina out of the hat. Making them into so much reduces the power and the sadness of what they are. As a result, the concept feels too exhausted to ever be used again." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

How Do You Accurately Estimate Programming Time?

itwbennett writes "It can take a fairly stable team of programmers as long as six months to get to a point where they're estimating programming time fairly close to actuals, says Suvro Upadhyaya, a Senior Software Engineer at Oracle. Accurately estimating programming time is a process of defining limitations, he says. The programmers' experience, domain knowledge, and speed vs. quality all come into play, and it is highly dependent upon the culture of the team/organization. Upadhyaya uses Scrum to estimate programming time. How do you do it?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Guardian Unlimited 

War casualties put UK hospitals under strain

New beds to be opened to handle rise in UK troops injured as defence secretary warns of "real risk" of new fatalities Hospitals treating casualties of the war in Afghanistan are close to capacity and coming under growing pressure from the number of troops wounded by the Taliban-led insurgency, a report by parliament's independent watchdog warns today. The demands are so great that the Ministry of Defence will today announce an increase in the number of ward beds at its rehabilitation centre, at Headley Court in Surrey, from 66 to 96, the Guardian has learned. The report comes as ministers have warned of the prospect of further casualties as 4,000 British troops prepare to launch Operation Moshtarak ? which means "together" in Pashtu ? with US marines and Afghan forces. The aim of the operation, the biggest since the conflict in Afghanistan began, is designed to clear the town of Marjah in central Helmand, a Taliban stronghold and centre of the opium trade, of insurgents. Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, has warned of a "very real risk" that British lives will be lost during the fighting. The National Audit Office report details the growing strain that medical units are being put under by the ferocity of the fighting in Afghanistan. Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham, where the MoD has a contract to treat seriously wounded troops, might have to displace civilians to make way for extra military patients, the report says. The main field hospital in Afghanistan at Camp Bastion is coping with casualty levels, but operating close to capacity, it says. Contingency plans for providing further capacity back in Britain for injured troops have improved, but should be developed further, it adds. More than 520 military personnel were seriously injured on operations there and in Iraq between October 2001 and October 2009, according to the NAO report, and 6,900 have been evacuated back to the UK since 2003. According to the latest MoD figures, 158 armed forces personnel were seriously wounded in Afghanistan last year, and 1,229 were treated by field hospitals, more than 700 as a result of diseased or non-battle injuries. By last year, personnel on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan had attended medical facilities 1,700 times for mental health conditions, the NAO says. Reported rates of disease and minor injury in Afghanistan have almost doubled from 4% to 7%, with troops needing treatment 125,000 times since 2006. It cites as possible reasons for the increase the intensity of operations, living conditions at forward bases, and improved reporting of medical data. The MoD has identified 75 "unexpected survivors" ? casualties, including local people, who would usually be expected to die given the severe nature of their injuries ? in Iraq and Afghanistan between April 2006 and July 2008, an increase of 25% over previous figures. Reliable figures on the number of armed forces personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are difficult to collect. Today's report refers to a 2003 questionnaire of troops in Iraq which showed PTSD symptoms to be 50% higher in deployed combat troops than non-deployed personnel. Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "My report has found that treatment for seriously injured personnel is highly effective. Alongside this positive finding, we point out the need to continue to improve contingency planning for facilities in the UK in the context of a longer-term conflict, and the importance of increased efforts to prevent disruption due to rising levels of short-term illness." Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said: "The MoD should plan properly for the capacity required under all casualty scenarios, including the most pessimistic. We will seek reassurance that the quality of care for service personnel will remain high, even if Selly Oak becomes full." In a separate report, the Commons defence committee says it is deeply concerned about lack of medics in the armed forces and the dependency on reserves. MilitaryHealthDefence policyAfghanistanNHSRichard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Tory 'mis-speaks' over Ashcroft tax

A senior source said Sir George Young had 'mis-spoken' when he told the BBC that Ashcroft was a 'non-dom' The Conservatives' long-standing defence of their deputy chairman and ­multimillionaire donor Lord Ashcroft was in chaos tonight as the party ­struggled to explain fresh revelations about his tax status. Today the party was forced to row back from what appeared to be the first admission by a senior Tory that Ashcroft was avoiding paying full British taxes. A senior source said Sir George Young had "mis-spoken" when he told the BBC that Ashcroft was a "non-dom" ? ­allowing him to avoid paying British tax on ­overseas income and assets. The admission ­provoked immediate ­accusations that David Cameron, the Tory leader, was making a mockery of his claims to be a reformer and forced the party to say that the peer's tax affairs were a private ­matter ? a day after Cameron had insisted this approach was out of date. Ashcroft, who is helping to bankroll the party's election campaign in marginal constituencies, faced pressure on a second front tonight after it emerged that he has not declared all his business interests to the parliamentary authorities. His ownership of Bearwood ­Corporate Services, a company which donates millions of pounds to the Tories, is not recorded in the latest register of Lords interests. A spokesman for the peer, who said his involvement in Bearwood was "no secret", could not explain its omission from the register. Ashcroft's tax affairs were thrust into the spotlight after Young, the shadow Commons leader, went further than any senior Tory to say that the peer was not domiciled for tax purposes. Young told Newsnight: "He is in the same position as a number of Labour peers who are non-domiciled and who fund the Labour party." He was referring to the Labour peer, Lord Paul. Tory sources said Young had "mis-spoken" in describing Ashcroft as a non-dom. A spokesman said: "Sir George doesn't know Lord Ashcroft's tax status. He was only making the comparison that the Labour party face their own questions about their donors." Asked to clarify Ashcroft's tax status, the spokesman referred to remarks by Cameron last December in which he said: "Lord Ashcroft's tax status is a matter between him and the Inland Revenue." But earlier this week, Cameron said it was no longer acceptable for ­parliamentarians to regard their tax affairs as a ­private matter between ­themselves and the tax authorities. "For years all parties have taken the same view that someone's tax status is a matter between them and the Inland Revenue. That needs to change," he said. Cameron cited the Tories' support for a change in the law to ensure that all ­parliamentarians are treated as full British taxpayers. An amendment to the constitutional reform and governance bill, passed in the Commons last week, will mean that peers and MPs would have to pay full tax on their assets and incomes in Britain and across the world. The Conservatives were desperately attempting to play down the fresh confusion over Ashcroft. "Sir George was simply saying that Lord Ashcroft is in the same position as Lord Paul ? in that they, as all other MPs and peers, will have to be treated as full UK tax payers." The Tories opposed earlier changes to the law which would have forced parliamentarians to end their status as non-doms. Under the proposed law parliamentarians will not have to change their tax status; the law will simply mean that, as an MP or a peer, they will be treated as a full UK taxpayer. Lord Oakeshott, a Lib Dem Treasury spokesman who has spent six years campaigning to bar non-doms from parliament, said: "Why is it only now, 10 long years after William Hague promised Lord Ashcroft would come onshore to get a peerage, that this admission is now being dragged out of the Conservatives like a wisdom tooth? This makes a mockery of David Cameron's claim to be a reformer in favour of cleaning up the political system." Denis MacShane, the former Europe minister, added: "David Cameron talks about a new politics but has refused to give any answers on the tax status of his largest donor." The row came as Ashcroft faces fresh pressure to declare the status of Bearwood Corporate Services, the company through which he has donated millions of pounds to the Conservatives. The company is under investigation by the Electoral Commission after accusations that it is operating as a front to circumvent rules barring people who are not domiciled in the UK from funding political parties. The latest register of Lords interests, published this week, has no record of Ashcroft owning Bearwood despite its being the main vehicle for his donations to the Tories. It is understood the party has received up to £5m from Bearwood. The company is known to have one UK client. Accounts from 2008-09 show the firm received $300,000 (£181,000) in consultancy fees from BCB Holdings, another Ashcroft company based in Belize. The Electoral Commission has confirmed it first began inquiries into Bearwood 16 months ago, with the official investigations launched in January 2009. It is the longest investigation it has ever conducted, sparking questions about why it has taken so long. An Electoral Commission source said today they could not comment on the process or length of the inquiry conceding only that it was proving "complicated". Michael AshcroftParty fundingConservativesNicholas WattPolly Curtis guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Sri Lankan parliament dissolved

Decision comes day after arrest of opposition leader General Sarath Fonseka, whom he defeated in last month's election Tensions in Sri Lanka rose tonight after the president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, dissolved parliament in a move aimed at further consolidating his power as the opposition called for nationwide protests over the arrest of the former army chief, Sarath Fonseka. Rajapaksa's decision to call for early parliamentary elections came the day after the arrest of Fonseka, the opposition leader he defeated by a broad margin in last month's presidential poll. The stage is now set for elections to choose 225 MPs, probably on 8 April according to government sources. The parliamentary term had been set to expire two weeks later, with polls scheduled for as late as June. Analysts said early elections would allow Rajapaksa to capitalise on momentum generated by his victory last month and to exploit the opposition's current disarray. Fonseka's arrest on charges of sedition has prompted opposition calls for protests and an emotional appeal from his wife for his release. Anoma Fonseka called on Sri Lankan "mothers, daughters and sisters" to "come together to do something" to free her husband. She told a packed press conference that Fonseka ? the former four-star general who helped defeat the Tamil Tiger rebels last year ? had been treated "like an animal" when he was arrested during a meeting of opposition parties at his campaign headquarters in Colombo. "Today it has happened to myself but tomorrow it will happen to you so we have to do something. Is this a democracy in our country?" she said in emotional scenes broadcast widely in the region. The Sri Lankan government responded with a statement saying Fonseka would face a court martial on charges of conspiring against the president, describing the 59-year-old soldier turned politician as "hell-bent on betraying the gallant armed forces of Sri Lanka". A military spokesman, Major General Prasad Samarasinghe, denied that Fonseka was cut off from family or friends. "Family members are allowed to see him and he has been allowed to obtain legal advice also," he said. Rauff Hakeem, an opposition politician who saw the arrest, said Fonseka was carried from his office by military police on Monday afternoon. About 20 of Fonseka's associates and allies are also reported to be in detention. Although analysts had expected a closer result, Rajapaksa won the 26 January election by a 17% margin. Election observers said they had not seen evidence of significant fraud despite claims by the defeated candidate of rigging. The president will be hoping for an equally convincing victory in the coming parliamentary polls. A two-thirds majority would give Rajapaksa an almost unchallenged hold on Sri Lanka's political institutions. One candidate may be the president's son, Namal Rajapaksa, who has been interviewed by the nomination board of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The 23-year-old was reported to have submitted application papers to contest the elections in the south-eastern coastal Hambantota district. Opposition to Rajapaksa is fragmented. Fonseka, who has been accused of involvement in human rights abuses as commanding officer of a series of offensives against the Tamil Tigers, led a coalition that included ultra-nationalist Sinhalese Marxists and former Tamil separatists. "The only thing that united the opposition was a common desire to get rid of Rajapaksa," said Alan Keenan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. "Fonseka was a deeply flawed candidate but there is now no clear figurehead around whom people can rally." One consequence of the arrest, Keenan said, was that the opposition would face difficulties in organising any effective campaign in the parliamentary elections. A government minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, said Fonseka would be tried in a military court because the alleged offences had been committed while he was army chief. "When he was the army commander and chief of defence staff and member of the security council, he had direct contact with opposition political parties, which under the military law can amount to conspiracy," Rambukwella said. It is understood that the general may also face a second trial in civilian courts. Both Fonseka and Rajapaksa claimed the credit for ending the civil war that had racked Sri Lanka for 25 years. Karu Jayasuriya, an opposition politician, said since Rajapaksa's victory in January the government had harassed opponents. "It seems the government is preparing for the ? parliamentary election," he said at an opposition gathering where he called for countrywide protests. Sri LankaJason Burke guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Man arrested over 1985 PC murder

Keith Blakelock died after being stabbed 42 times during 1985 Broadwater Farm riot Detectives have arrested a man over the murder of PC Keith Blakelock during the Broadwater Farm riots 25 years ago. The 40-year-old would have been 15 at the time Blakelock was hacked to death in Tottenham, north London, in 1985 during some of the worst inner-city riots experienced in Britain. The suspect, who has not been named, was questioned for four days in connection with the unsolved murder after an apparent breakthrough in the ongoing inquiry into his death. Detectives from the Metropolitan police's homicide and serious crime command reopened the Blakelock murder inquiry in 2003. In the intervening years they have received fresh intelligence and submitted Blakelock's uniform for forensic tests to see if any DNA could be extracted from it. But it is understood the latest arrest is not as a result of a forensic ­breakthrough. Scientists are understood to have exhausted their tests on Blakelock's ­uniform and other material without any important evidence emerging. ­Investigators have repeatedly said people in the area have information about the identity of the killers which they have not shared with police. Police sources said the arrest, last ­Friday, of the man, who was originally from Tottenham, north London but has moved to Suffolk, was "significant". The suspect was taken to Bury St Edmunds police station following his arrest. After being questioned at length he was released on bail today to return to a police station in May. Blakelock, a father-of-three, was hacked to death as police officers were attacked during rioting in October 1985 on the Broadwater Farm estate. The violence erupted after the death of Cynthia Jarrett, who collapsed and died after a police raid on her home in Tottenham. Blakelock was stabbed 42 times when his unit was ambushed during the riot. Another officer, PC Richard Coombes, was also attacked that night but survived. Winston Silcott, Engin Raghip and Mark Braithwaite, were convicted of the murder in 1987 but cleared by the court of appeal four years later over allegations that the police officers fabricated interrogations. New scientific tests meant that Silcott's alleged confession could no longer be replied upon. There were no eyewitnesses and no forensic evidence against the men. Silcott was jailed solely on the weight of an unsigned, uncorroborated statement police took in the absence of a solicitor. Two of the investigating police officers were prosecuted for fabricating evidence but acquitted in 1994. Three juveniles, aged 13-15, were also charged in connection with the murder but the judge threw out the case against them. Scotland Yard would not comment on whether the individual who was arrested has ever been questioned or charged before. Blakelock's widow, Elizabeth Johnson, had been informed of the latest development, police said. Yard officers have spent years sifting through 10,000 statements and ­resubmitting exhibits for forensic testing in an attempt to find a breakthrough in the case. In 2004 specialist officers excavated a rear garden at an address in Tottenham, believing crucial evidence was buried there. Police launched a fresh appeal in 2005 when they released graphic images of the dead officer's blood-stained overalls which revealed the dark blue uniform was ripped in several places. Detectives arrested a man in 2005 in connection with the murder but he was later released with no further action. Scotland Yard said: "Officers from the Metropolitan police service's homicide and serious crime command arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of the murder of PC Keith Blakelock in Suffolk on Friday 5 February. "The man, originally from Tottenham, was taken to Bury St Edmunds police station where he was questioned. "This year marks the 25th Anniversary since PC Blakelock was murdered during the Broadwater Farm Riots on 6 October 1985. "Police would like to reassure anyone who has information regarding those involved in the murder of PC Keith Blakelock or the attempted murder of PC Richard Coombes, who was also attacked that night, that they can contact the incident room in confidence on 020 8733 4613." CrimePoliceSandra Laville guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Science teacher divides Ohio town

A class experiment has left a deep mark in a strongly religious community Jennifer Dennis studied her 13-year-old son's skin and was uncertain which to be more astonished by: the shape made by the strange dots running the length of his forearm, or how they got there. "When I looked at it, the shape was definitely a cross, like a Christian cross," said Dennis. "Zach said his teacher did it with an instrument that gave off something like a lightning bolt. It was red, like a sunburn or if you burn your arm on the oven." The next morning, Dennis was standing in the reception of Mount Vernon middle school demanding to know what had been done to Zachary. That was three years ago and the small, deeply religious Ohio town is bracing itself for the answer to Dennis's question after the lengthy de facto trial of a man who is either a decorated teacher martyred for his Christian faith, or a religious zealot who spent years undermining the very science he was paid to teach. Along the way, the dispute has prompted Bible-waving students to march on their school, set teacher against teacher, and forced Jennifer Dennis and her family to leave town. At the heart of the controversy is John Freshwater, who taught at Mount Vernon middle school for 21 years. Freshwater said he had done the same science experiment to hundreds of students before Zachary Dennis, using a Tesla coil, which gives off an electric spark. The teacher said it was painless and harmless ? although a doctor would later testify that Dennis had second-degree burns ? and that he had made an X, not a cross, on the boy's skin. That might have been the end of the matter after the school ordered Freshwater to stop using the coil on children. But Zachary Dennis's parents asked him what else was going on in science class. Out poured accounts of lessons on evolution mingled with creationist theories about "intelligent design", a euphemism for the hand of God, of questions about religious beliefs and of classroom walls pasted with the Ten Commandments. Other children told of also having crosses burned on their arms. The school sacked Freshwater in June 2008. He invoked his right to a hearing that is about to reach its conclusion after dragging on and off for more than a year and costing the school board close to $500,000 (£300,000). Dick Hoppe ? a former nuclear missile engineer who later helped design the Apollo spacecraft command module, and who was more recently a visiting professor of biology at a local college ? has attended almost every day of the hearings. "One student, when asked what he had learned about science from Mr Freshwater, testified that what he learned was you can't trust science. That surprised me. I didn't want to believe it was that overt," said the avowed atheist. "Freshwater was teaching what the text taught ? age of the Earth, fossils ? and then would add an overlay of creationist material that cast doubt on what the text said. He would use a handout that described all the adaptations of a woodpecker and at the bottom he added: was intelligent design involved? He was teaching against the curriculum." The hearings heard that Freshwater pinned up a poster of President George Bush and the then US secretary of state, Colin Powell, at prayer, and another advertising an evangelical meeting. The school also discovered questionnaires in which Freshwater asked students whether religion was important to them. Bonnie Schutte, a science teacher in the adjacent high school who received students from Freshwater's class, told the hearing that when she asked new pupils what they had previously learned, some said that science is "a lot of theory and guesswork" and that "evolution follows opinion and it's not fact". Freshwater denied responsibility for writing references to God and religion on class notes even though the hearings were told that they matched his handwriting. But he did acknowledge that in 2003 he was ordered by school officials to cease a part of his teaching in which he scattered Lego blocks on a table and said that however long you left them there they would not build themselves, and so something as complex as the eye could not be the result of evolution but had to have been created by someone. All this was known to some other teachers who kept their own children away from Freshwater's class, but failed to alert the school board or other parents. While the school board would appear to have a commanding case, Freshwater and his supporters managed to persuade a large part of the town, on the edge of the Appalachia region, popularly regarded as culturally backward and home to about three dozen churches and an evangelical university, that the issue is about his religious rights. The teacher allied himself with a militant rightwing group, the Minutemen, and held a rally in Mount Vernon's town square at which he announced he had been sacked for refusing to remove a Bible from his desk. The school denied that was the motive but the claim prompted a wave of support. Students held a "take a Bible to school" day and wore T-shirts proclaiming that God supported Freshwater. "We have a Christian martyrdom thing going here. This town is ripe for it," said Hoppe. "My guess is that a majority in this town believe that man was created in his present form in the last 10,000 years, the creationist view. You've got a large conservative fundamentalist population." Freshwater declines to speak to reporters on the advice of his lawyers but he has alleged that members of the school board have been out to get him since he made a proposal in 2003 for the science curriculum to include intelligent design. The teacher is a member of the Trinity Worship Centre, part of the country's largest Pentecostal denomination, where the pastor, Don Matolyak, is in effect Freshwater's spokesman. "We heard many times: if he'd had a Qur'an on his desk he would never have had a problem. They're probably right because that would be seen as diversity," said Matolyak, who has stood in as a teacher for Freshwater's class. "This is about a person's religious liberty. I see this as a battle that's going on in America, and there are those who want to totally secularise America and almost explain away our Christian heritage." Hoppe, whose wife has taught at the school for 35 years, says that Freshwater was not alone in pressing his religious views on his pupils. "There's been a small group of teachers who've been running what amounts to a private Christian school within the middle school. There is testimony from several teachers about how they also had Bibles on their desks and religious displays," he said. Many in Mount Vernon have sided with Freshwater. Persuaded that the Dennises were hounding the teacher over nothing more than a Bible on his desk, some turned on the family. Jennifer Dennis said: "We've gotten phone calls, things in the mail, anonymous letters. They send scriptures and how you should raise your children, implying we're not raising our children correctly. Everywhere we go I feel like people know it's us so they don't talk to us or they will say things. Even in church." Eventually it was too much for the Dennis family. They moved 35 miles away. Targeting schools Creationists have long fought to force "intelligent design" on to the school curriculum. They first tried to use legislatures in states where the Christian right is strong, but those moves were defeated by political opposition or in the courts. Now activists are trying to take control of school boards. Missouri is the latest state to consider a law that would require the teaching of the "scientific strengths and weaknesses of the theory of ? evolution" ? interpreted as intended to give equal weight to creationism. In other states such as Mississippi and Alabama, efforts to force the teaching of alternative views to evolution have foundered. But creationists have had more success through election to school boards, particularly in Texas, where the Christian right has succeeded in limiting the teaching of evolution in biology lessons. It is now pressing for history lessons to emphasise the part played by Christianity in the founding of the US. United StatesChristianityChris McGreal guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Williams appeals to warring church

Rowan Williams uses presidential address to General Synod to call for tolerance among warring Church of England factions Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, attempted today to bind together the warring factions of the Church of England by appealing for both conservatives and liberals to show mutual tolerance and understanding over issues of gay equality and women bishops. He also placed the church firmly against any liberalisation of the law on assisted dying, describing the granting of a right to die as a moral mistake and an upsetting of the balance of freedoms. However, his warning to Anglicans not to demonise opponents was immediately undermined by a pugnacious statement by the archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, who, with immaculate timing, insisted on his church's support for homophobic ­legislation under consideration by the Ugandan parliament. Williams, who described such legislation as infamous and repugnant, insisted in his address to the Church of England's General Synod, meeting in London: "Our job is not to secure purity but to find ways of deciding such contested issues that do not simply write off the others in the debate as negligible, morally or spiritually unserious or without moral claims." But the archbishop stoutly defended the recent opposition of bishops in the Lords to the government's equality legislation, seeking to define how far the church could discriminate, particularly against gay people, in making secular appointments. "Very few Christians were contesting the civil liberties of gay and lesbian people in general; nor should they have been. What they were contesting was a relatively small but extremely significant point of detail ? whether government had the right to tell religious bodies which of the tasks for which they might employ people required and which did not require some level of compliance with the public teaching of the church about behaviour." The archbishop's remarks came as the synod prepares tomorrow for a debate about whether the church should recognise the small breakaway faction of the US Episcopal Church that has broken with the main body, largely over its affirmation of gay clergy and the appointment of the openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson. The conservative breakaway American faction has been lobbying the synod to secure recognition as the true ­Anglican group in the US and held a lunchtime meeting yesterday, from which the media were excluded, to press its case. It has been told by the conservative bishop of Winchester, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, that it is a "godly" faction. Unlike his colleagues, Scott-Joynt ostentatiously gave only perfunctory applause to the Archbishop of Canterbury's plea for tolerance. In the synod debate tomorrow the bishops are likely to dismiss calls for recognition of the breakaway American faction as premature. The archbishop himself pleaded with the synod not to demonise the mainstream American church but also renewed his frequent request for the Episcopalians not to strain their ties with other churches by electing more gay bishops. He added: "The freedom that might be claimed by an African Anglican to support anti-gay legislation ? has a serious impact on the credibility of the gospel in our setting." Williams told the synod that the church did not assume the right to impose its opposition to assisted dying regulations on the rest of society, but would argue fiercely that granting a right to die was not only a moral mistake but an upsetting of the balance of freedoms. "Once the possibility is there it will ? create an ethical framework in which the worthwhileness of some lives is undermined by the legal expression of what feels like public impatience with protracted dying and 'unproductive' lives ? the legal initiating of a process whose sole or main purpose is to end life is again to cross a moral boundary and to enter some very dangerous territory in practical terms." However, the archbishop's call for a change of heart and an end to the church's "vicious polemic and stony-faced litigation" had scarcely been uttered before the Ugandan archbishop's backing for anti-gay legislation was published. Orombi, an ally of the American breakaway faction, insisted in a statement directly at odds with Williams's remarks: "Homosexual practice has no place in God's design of creation, the continuation of the human race through procreation or His plan of redemption." He said the law should not allow homosexual practice as a human right and that "lesbianism, bestiality and other sexual perversions" should also be prohibited. He did insist, however, that "the Church of Uganda is committed at all levels to offer counselling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation ? the church is a safe place for individuals to seek help and healing." Rowan WilliamsChristianityReligionAnglicanismStephen Bates guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Curtis and Nighy team up in new film urging 'Robin Hood' tax on the City

Campaign film says 0.05% 'Robin Hood' tax on financial trades could raise $700bn for world's poor It could be a plot from one of his feelgood movies. Against a snowy London backdrop, something perennially ignored and unloved finds the attention it craves against all odds. Only this time, director Richard Curtis is hoping to sprinkle his stardust on an arcane bank tax rather than a lovelorn English fop. Britain's most successful comedy writer is aiming to tap into the public's fury at how bankers are scooping huge bonuses while the rest of us suffer pay freezes by spearheading the launch of a campaign demanding the introduction of a "Robin Hood tax" on financial institutions. Harnessing YouTube, Facebook and celebrity endorsements, Curtis has taken what was once regarded as a naive pipedream to tax a slice of every financial trade and given it a makeover. The Tobin Tax, named after the American economist who first suggested the idea, is now rebranded the Robin Hood tax. Curtis's involvement will recall how the Four Weddings and a Funeral writer marshalled both the Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History campaigns in the run-up to the Gleneagles G8 meeting in 2005. The man responsible for a string of top grossing films, from Four Weddings and a Funeral to Love Actually, has been crucial in cementing agreement between groups as diverse as Barnardos, the RSPB, the Salvation Army and the TUC. He also attended meetings with senior Labour and Conservative figures along with campaigners to lobby for its introduction. Curtis has also roped in his long-time collaborator Bill Nighy to star in a short film where he plays a senior banking executive who grows increasingly uncomfortable when quizzed about whether such a tax could work and how much it would raise. The film, directed by Curtis, is being premiered on guardian.co.uk and YouTube. Bono's development group, the One campaign, has also lent its weight and is expected to unveil a host of new supporters in coming months. The powerful new coalition of domestic and overseas charities, unions and church groups argue that a Robin Hood tax could generate $700bn (£450bn) worldwide. The tax would see 0.05% levied on each bank trade ranging from shares to foreign exchange and derivatives, creating a cash pile to be spent on measures to combat domestic and international poverty as well as fight climate change. A slick advertising campaign by Empire Design features slogans such as: "This is the first tax you'll be in favour of" and "Small change for the banks, huge changes for the world". "As a result of the financial crisis there are suggestions there's no money to fight climate change, there's talk about cuts to schools and there's concern where the money will come from to meet the Millennium Development goals," Curtis said. "There is money in the banking system. There has been a huge expansion in banking activities. And yet we may all have to pay more VAT on everything we buy. "I understand it is complicated and contentious and there are other ideas on the table, but what we are trying to create is an instinctive link between fixing banks and the huge challenges facing people on this planet. Do we drop promises on child poverty or do we tax the British public? Or do we work with banks to find a solution?" The tax has long been demanded by campaigners but brushed aside by politicians and bankers as an impossible dream. Buoyed by the support of the UN, Gordon Brown last year became the first global leader to publicly call for its introduction as a way for banks to compensate society for causing the global financial crisis. The campaign has already lived up to its outlaw image. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the question "Do you want to be part of the world's biggest bank job?" was projected onto the Bank of England. From tomorrow, campaigners will ask Facebook networkers to don green Robin Hood style facemasks as a show of support. For and against Pros The main argument in favour of a financial transaction tax is that it would raise a large sum of money painlessly, and would help to limit the sort of speculative attacks being seen on vulnerable countries such as Greece and Spain. Because turnover in the global financial markets is so enormous, even a tax levied at 0.05% on every trade could raise $400bn (£255bn) a year ? enough to double foreign aid, provide $100bn a year for poor countries to adapt to climate change, and leave $100bn over for rich countries to reduce their deficits. Politically, a Tobin tax has become more attractive as governments have woken up to public anger at the banks deemed responsible for the crisis, and to the budgetary cost of clearing up the mess. Those in favour say it is only fair the banks should pay. Cons There are three main arguments against a Tobin tax. The first is that it would only work if all the major economies adopted it, something that is unlikely given longstanding opposition from the US. The second is that a transaction tax would impede the efficient working of markets and add to business costs, which would be passed on to consumers. Finally, there is the question of whether a tax at such a low rate would be effective in deterring speculation ? the economist James Tobin always thought a far higher tax would be needed to throw "sand in the wheels" of finance. Larry Elliott Experts' view Joseph Stiglitz, professor of economics at Columbia University: "A tax structure that does not reward short-term, very speculative gains would be good. If you were investing for a year or five years or 10 years it would be a small tax but if you were holding it for just one minute it becomes a very high tax. The important question is implementability. It's designed to tackle high frequency activity for which it is hard to find any societal benefit. The only question is, can it be effectively implemented? Will it be circumvented? There's a growing consensus it can be implemented, if not perfectly, effectively enough to make a difference." Ann Pettifor, fellow, New Economics Foundation: "The proposed currency transaction tax (CTT) represents the tiniest grain of sand in the wheels of global, mobile capital, and places very little restraint on the movement of international capital. For that reason CTT will be welcomed, ultimately, by international financial institutions. The proposal lacks a framework of democratic, accountable governance for the disbursement of funds collected under a CTT scheme. NGOs and treasuries are debating whether funds should go, for example, to national treasuries; to the Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and Malaria, or to the UN for mitigation and adaption to climate change. Until disbursement and distribution of CTT revenues are accounted for in a democratic, fair, and transparent way, the CTT will be vulnerable to attack." David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce: "It may have potential. I'm not sure it's the most appropriate thing. I think the main argument against it is that it's most unlikely to be implemented globally. If a tax could be applied it would have beneficial effects ? My reservation is that for the UK to engage in this unilaterally would be a very dangerous thing to do because it would destroy the country's financial sector. People and businesses would migrate to other places. If the US and big European countries implemented it as well then it would not harm our financial sector as much." Tobin taxEconomicsBanks and building societiesBankingFinancial crisisTax and spendingNick MathiasonLarry ElliottBill Nighy guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

MPs back vote reform referendum

MPs vote 365 to 187 in favour of move to ask the public to decide whether first-past-the-post system should be scrapped A referendum on changing the way MPs are elected will be held by October next year under government plans passed by the Commons tonight. Despite strong opposition from the Tories and vocal criticism from some Labour backbenchers, MPs voted 365 to 187 to ask the public to decide whether the traditional first-past-the-post system should be scrapped in the biggest shake-up of the election system in generations. But the government faces an uphill battle to force the changes through parliament with the prospect of stiff resistance in the Lords and time running out before the general election. Gordon Brown's proposal would allow people to choose whether to adopt an alternative vote (AV) system which would allow them to rank candidates in order of preference. Critics accused Brown of a cynical ploy in order to win the support of Liberal Democrat MPs in the event of a hung parliament at the next general election. The government also came under fire over the £80m cost of the referendum at a time when public spending is under intense pressure due to the record budget deficit. The proposals came in committee stage amendments to the Constitutional Reform and Governance bill tabled by Jack Strawl, the justice secretary. He told MPs the expenses scandal had led to a "crisis of confidence in our political system and in our politicians on a scale which none of us have witnessed in our political lifetime". He added: "This is an important debate. This subject is a fundamental plank of our democracy and it comes at a time when this House is held in dangerously low regard. "The alternative vote takes on the considerable strengths of our system and I suggest builds on it. "We propose a referendum because we believe it is not for us to decide, but it is important the people should have that choice." Labour former minister Tom Harris, MP for Glasgow South, raised laughter as he asked Straw: "Do you attribute the stainless reputation of Italian politicians to the fact that they have proportional representation?" Straw said the AV system was not proportional representation. Lynne Jones, Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, asked why the recommendations of the Royal Commission set up by the government were not being put forward to prevent the issue being "tainted" by party politics. Straw told her the Jenkins commission report in 1999 had established "no consensus" around reform. Labour former minister Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead, said AV was "illogical" and spoke in favour of the French system where the top two candidates take part in a run-off if neither achieves 50% support in the initial ballot. He suggested the government's proposals would face strong opposition in the Lords when the bill is debated by peers. Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve said he felt "truly sorry" for Straw for having to present the prime minister's plans to parliament. "The secretary of state was fighting, I think, a rearguard action against the prime minister, who was both losing the plot and was taking leave of his political sense in a desperate bid to stay in office," he said. He expressed his backing for first-past-the post, saying it "delivers clear, clean results". Former Tory cabinet minister John Gummer, MP for Suffolk Coastal, said it was a "scandal" that MPs were being asked to approve about £80m to pay for the referendum at a time when all parties were discussing cuts to deal with the state of Britain's finances. He accused Brown of putting "his own future before that of this nation". Liberal Democrat spokesman David Howarth said Brown had undergone a "deathbed conversion" on the issue of electoral reform. The Liberal Democrats wanted to see the more radical single-transferable vote (STV) as a referendum option but said AV was "a small gain but a gain worth having". Later, a Liberal Democrat bid to include STV as the referendum option, rather than AV, was rejected by 476 votes to 69, government majority 407. Electoral reformFirst past the postGeneral election 2010 guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Climate emails: help tell the full story

'Peer review' our account of a major investigation into the theft of science emails from a university

BBC chief spent £639 on a taxi

Silicon Valley and Las Vegas provide backdrop for limousine journeys by BBC whizz behind the iPlayer As the BBC's director of future media and technology, Eric Huggers is accustomed to wrestling with the most tricky questions relating to the corporation's role in a rapidly changing digital age. But even he may find himself struggling to answer one conundrum thrown up by his newly released expenses claims: how is it possible to justify spending £638.73 on a taxi? That was the eyebrow-raising sum claimed by the Dutch-born Huggers for a "minicab" on 12 June last year, a day after he'd spent £538.45 on another cab, also charged to the corporation. The claims are among the latest wave of expenses to be claimed by BBC top brass, publishedtoday. Huggers, who sits on the BBC executive board and was behind the introduction of the iPlayer, is responsible, according to his official biography, for "helping audiences enjoy a seamless experience of BBC programmes, wherever they may be". On the occasion in question, a spokesman said, the audiences enjoying a seamless BBC experience were in Palo Alto, California, and the claims classified as minicab fares related to limousine hire, when Huggers, who earns £223,000 a year, required transportation from the "picturesque water and flower gardens and koi ponds" of the Sheraton Palo Alto hotel, where he stayed for three nights, to meetings at locations around Silicon Valley. The claims, which calculated at the exchange rate of the time total $889.52 and $1,036.42, "reflect typical day rates for the hire of a car with driver during Erik's business trip in the US," said the spokesman. "This ensured time spent was used as effectively as possible, ­enabling the maximum number of ­meetings to be scheduled and to enable work to continue between appointments in the car." Thanks to its strict policy on endorsements, alas, the corporation is unable to reveal the supplier or type of car used by Huggers, but a brief investigation by the Guardian hints at the level of ingenuity required to spend more than $1,000 in one day on a cab. San Francisco Car Service, for instance, quotes an hourly rate within the Bay Area of $50, exclusive of fees. At Virgin Limo, an eight-hour hire in the San Francisco area of a chauffeured sedan "with full leather interior, dual climate controls, power points for laptops computers and cellular phones", inclusive of fuel surcharge, tolls and tip, would cost $626.40. Ten hours in a "Turtle top limo-van", however, with DVD player, conference player, and "luxurious reclining leather seats", would take his bill to $1,010.25. The corporation was happy to explain that the reason Huggers had stayed, during a separate US trip in January last year, at the famous Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, spending £647.50, was because he was attending the annual Consumer Electronics Show which was being held in the hotel. BBC guidelines permit stays in luxury hotels such as the Bellagio (where "contentment and opulence are the hallmarks") if the claimant needs to be on site to attend a conference, said the spokesman, adding that executives often hold meetings in their rooms. And the explanation, given his many meetings in the Bellagio, as to why Huggers required a car and driver for two days on that trip at £812.24 per day? "This was the most cost and time effective way to travel from meeting to meeting while on that particular business trip rather than booking ad hoc taxis," the spokesman said. BBC expensesiPlayerBBCEsther Addley guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

ComputerWorld 

MS Word Tip: Print Multiple Copies of Individual Pages

Most Word users know how to print multiple copies of a document: Just change the Number of copies setting to the number you need, then click OK.

Google Buzz: A visual tour

Google Buzz is part Facebook and Twitter, allowing you to share links and images and keep your friends informed as to where you are and what you're doing. We take you on a visual tour.

Update: Gmail gets social with Google Buzz

Google has given Gmail a social networking component with its introduction of Buzz, a service built inside of the Web mail product that lets users post and share content in similar ways as they do in sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Cut in Line for Google Buzz

So you're pining for Google Buzz, the social-feed addition to Gmail, but you're tired of hitting F5 every 30 seconds to see if it's on your Gmail. Here's how you can try out Google Buzz, get a head start on all your similarly Buzz-less buddies, and, of course, take one more step to Internet infamy by beating the Twitter mob to the punch.

IBM, HP servers won't stop x86 onslaught on Unix

The announcement of high-end servers by IBM and Hewlett-Packard this week won't halt declining Unix server sales as the onslaught of x86 servers continues, analysts said on Tuesday.

Aliph Jawbone Icon, a new kind of headset

Mark Gibbs ponders what matters, other than software, in the world of personal connectivity and concludes that cell phones are the most important. And that means you need a great headset …

Google Buzz takes the fight to Facebook

Today's leading social networks -- Facebook and Twitter -- now face a very formidable foe with search giant Google's unveiling of social upgrades to its Gmail e-mail service.

Researchers warn of likely attacks against Windows, PowerPoint

Some of the bugs Microsoft patched today will be exploited by hackers almost immediately, security researchers predicted.

Opinion: iPhone and Android market share on the rise

New statistics from comScore show that Apple and Google are both gaining ground in the battle for smartphone market share in the U.S.

Enable some missing Snow Leopard Services

When Snow Leopard first came out, I wrote about the new-and-improved Services feature, including what seemed to be a bug regarding which Services do and do not show up in the contextual menu. For example, try this experiment on your 10.6 machine. Select some text in TextEdit, then Control-click on the selection. In the contextual menu that appears, you should see three entries at the bottom of the menu: New Note With Selection, New Email With Selection, and Make New Sticky Note.

Christian Science Monitor 

Mardi Gras spirit fills New Orleans Saints victory parade

Loyal New Orleans Saints fans stuck with their team through years of lousy records. Now, says Debby Wood, who joined the celebrating throng, 'It's like the prodigal son finally came home.'

Oregon civil rights group offers scholarships to white students

The Oregon League of Minority Voters is trying a new civil rights tactic: offering scholarships to white students to take classes in race relations.

Chicago mayor proposes greater oversight of city council

Mayor Richard Daley introduced an ordinance this week that would allow Chicago's inspector general to investigate aldermen. The move came after an alderman last week pleaded guilty to accepting bribes.

East Coast snow storm: New York braces for a foot of snow

The East Coast is bracing for Wednesday's big snow storm. New York is expected to bear the brunt this time, with airlines already canceling flights in the region and schools shut for the day.

When athletes praise God at the Super Bowl and other sports

The problem isn't the faith of believers like Drew Brees. It's the media assumption that every person of faith adheres to a highly traditional version of Christianity.

Obama says sanctions are 'next step' for Iran

President Obama said Tuesday the international community is working on a 'significant regime of sanctions,' after Iran announced that it had begun a program to enrich uranium at a higher level of purity.

Ukraine heads back into the arms of Mother Russia

Despite a dispute over fraud allegations in the wake of Sunday's presidential vote in Ukraine, pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovich is set to become the next president in what will be a dramatic shift back to pro-Kremlin policies.

'Miss me yet' billboard shows power of outdoor ads in Internet age

A single billboard in rural Minnesota with the words 'Miss Me Yet' and a photo of President Bush was enough to start a national conversation.

Stocks rally on news of possible Greece bailout. What comes next?

Stocks rallied in the US and in Europe on Tuesday on expectations of an emergency European Union bailout for Greece. But Greece, with a ballooning national debt, is not out of the woods yet.

Google Buzz: How it works

Google Buzz rolls out to GMail Tuesday afternoon, in a move that challenges Facebook and Twitter.

Church Of The Customer 

A tale of 2 birthday cards

Simplify your objectives

Why it's important to be a linchpin and an artist

5 new ways to compete for book PR

Please donate to Haiti earthquake relief

Create a 1-page strategic plan

70 things to think about (and do) in 2010

Objectives, goals, strategies and tactics

Social Media 2010: it's time to get boring

New company, new history

Wired News 

TED 2010 Conference Makes for Strange Bedfellows

Bedfellows were never more strange than those assembling this week in Long Beach, California, for the annual Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference: Director James Cameron, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former covert CIA analyst Valerie Plame are among the eclectic mix of speakers.

How a Legendary Werewolf Artist Changes With the Times

To turn Benicio Del Toro into a werewolf for the remake of The Wolfman, Rick Baker integrated his handcrafted artistry with the latest digital effects.

Feel at Home in Foreign Lands With Location-Aware Smartphones

Equipped with sensitive receivers and powerful nav apps, location-aware smartphones are now leading the way over standalone GPS units. Wired editors have picked the Motorola Droid, with its simple, intuitive app, as their fave.

Feds Bust Cookie-Stuffing Code Seller

Federal authorities bust a Las Vegas man accused of running a so-called "cookie-stuffing" operation. The scam included hawking website code to trick eBay into paying website owners tens of thousands of dollars in bogus advertising referral fees.

Haiti Photo Workshops Face Online Backlash

Photographers are offering to teach amateurs the art of documentary photography in Haiti ... for a price. Is this profiting off the misery of others, or a valuable service?

10 Literary Classics That Should Be Videogames

Libraries brim with epic tales of war, madness and whitewashing. With the new Dante's Inferno lighting the way, Wired.com takes a stroll through the stacks in search of the next big literature-based videogame franchise.

Court Keeps White House Spy Docs Secret

A federal appeals court reverses a judge's order that the government disclose government e-mail connected to legislation that shut down lawsuits against the nation's telcos. The suits accused telcos of forwarding Americans' electronic communications to the NSA without warrants.

What Do We Want? Our Data. When Do We Want It? Now.

Online services for photos, videos, e-mail, books and music too often skimp on a key feature that frustrates consumers and stifles cloud-based computing. The ability to grab all your data and split is not as easy or possible as it should be.

Google Tricks Out Snowmobile Cam for Stunning Slope Views

Google's Street View team shoots the slopes of Canada's Whistler mountain using cameras with extra hard drives attached to a snowmobile and an SUV. Ski downhill on the Olympic runs for a real off-Street View.

Google Takes On Facebook, Twitter With 'Buzz'

Google launches a way to wrangle Twitter, MySpace and Facebook to tame information overload by leveraging Gmail, where so many people already go daily.

CNN Live 

First lady on health care: Doing nothing 'not an option'

In an interview with CNN's Larry King, Michelle Obama expressed confidence that Congress will enact some sort of change to improve the nation's health care system.

Coroner releases details of MJ's death

With Dr. Conrad Murray now charged in Michael Jackson's death, the Los Angeles coroner has released the detailed autopsy report that said it was a homicide.

U.S. ready to offer Iran alternative

In what appears to be an attempt to call Iran's bluff on its nuclear program, the United States is poised to offer Tehran a way to obtain medical isotopes that Iran says it desperately needs to treat cancer patients, according to the State Department.

U.S.: Clinton won't act in Haiti case

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won't get directly involved in the case of the Americans held in Haiti on child abduction charges, the State Department said.

Kerrigan kin fault autopsy report on dad

A medical examiner has ruled that the death of Daniel Kerrigan, the father of skater Nancy Kerrigan, was a homicide, a Massachusetts district attorney's office said.

Storm heads east

Up to 20 inches more snow is expected to fall in Washington, D.C., parts of Virginia and Maryland, where residents are still digging out after a weekend blizzard.

Rep. Murtha's procedure rarely deadly

Taking out a patient's gallbladder is routine. At least 500,000 such surgeries are done each year in the United States. It takes an hour or two, and the patient can go home that day or the next.

Airline to charge $8 for blankets

Chilly on the plane? Bring a sweater, or $8 for a blanket and pillow pack, if you're on a domestic American Airlines flight.

Lil Wayne's sentencing postponed

A Manhattan judge granted a request Tuesday by the rapper known as Lil Wayne to adjourn his jail sentence so some dental work can be done.

Louis Gossett Jr. has prostate cancer

Louis Gossett Jr. recently learned he has prostate cancer, but it is in an early stage, the actor said Tuesday.

ESPN 

• New Orleans Saints celebrate Super Bowl championship with parade
• Lakers' injury updates: Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom
• Julius Peppers of says he doesn't want long-term deal from Carolina Panthers
• Police find lack of evidence in case against St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson
• Brandon Webb of Arizona Diamondbacks throws off mound for first time since surgery
• Sources: Boston Celtics shopping Glen Davis to Charlotte Bobcats
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights suspend coach C. Vivian Stringer for one game
• Autopsy: Death of Nancy Kerrigan's father ruled a homicide
• John McEnroe says Roger Federer is best men's player ever
• Henrik Lundqvist's skate cuts Marian Gaborik's knee during New York Rangers practice
• Spud Webb to judge Slam Dunk Contest as part of NBA All-Star Weekend
• Six NHL teams to open 2010-11 seasons in Europe
• Harlem Globetrotters play on hockey rink for first time in 84-year history

Cool Tools 

Copic Markers

Copic markers are Japanese-made markers that have been used for years by Manga and other artists in Japan. Though generally relegated to that purpose, they're a very functional medium, an alcohol-based, refillable marker that can also be used with an airbrush. They are initially expensive to buy, but because they are refillable and so versatile, over time they prove to be less expensive than Prismacolor markers. Because they are alcohol based, they are also blendable; similar to watercolor in application, but much more convenient.

Copic markers are somewhat limited in application, and not something generally as versatile as acrylic- or oil-based media. The advantage in my case is mostly portability. For anything larger than an 8 1/2X11" page, they wouldn't be practical. Think of them as more for cartooning than fine art. I do a lot of caricaturing and figure drawing, for which they work well.

-- [Check out the COPIC Marker Flickr pool for some stunning examples of what can be done with these markers. --cc]

Copic Markers
$59 (Basic Set of 12)

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by CopicMarker

Kitchen Fire Extinguisher

You need a fire extinguisher in your kitchen. One that really works well rather than one that looks really good. Most fire extinguishers that easily put out a kitchen-type fire use a mix of chemicals that are not food safe. Cleaning up the sticky powder left after a short blast for even a small grease fire will be quite a chore. The benefit of this new Kidde extinguisher is that this regular 3-pound, high power, dry powder class B/C fire extinguisher is packed with only sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda. It will extinguish fires as well as equivalent models, but the deposit left is not only edible, but a cleaner in its own right. While testing this extinguisher in our kitchen I had no qualms in tasting the discharge: it was indeed just bicarbonate of soda. Put out the test pan fire, too.

-- Kidde FX10K
$25

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Kidde

Source Wanted

Pipe Cutter

Can you help me find this tool? It has no number on it. I used to use it on 1/2-inch polypropylene and schedule 40 pipe. It cuts pipe very easily.

-- Garry Shirts

Sno Wovel

As a Montrealer who has shoveled more snow than you can shake a very big stick at, I was intrigued when I first came across a video of this wheeled shovel in action. I live in the suburbs south of Montreal, on a street where there's a popular bus route; the snow plow can pass my house several times a day during heavy snow falls, repeatedly depositing a compacted mound of snow in my driveway entrance.

I bought a Wovel, and what was once a dreaded exercise in futility has now become a looked forward to workout! Thanks to the Wovel's design, all the snow's weight gets transferred to my arms and legs. The fulcrum at the center of the big wheel effectively allows the Wovel to do the heavy lifting for me. After becoming proficient in its use, I was able to master the natural seesaw action and launch the snow surprisingly high. Now, after a season and a half of use, I can consistently build snow banks up to five feet high. It's like having my own little nonnmotorized bulldozer.

I've been using mine to shovel my walk/driveway as well as my neighbor's for more than a year, and I've been beating the crap out of the thing. It won't quit. It's made from a thick-gauge steel and is covered by a lifetime warranty. What was once about an hour of back-breaking work has been cut down to about 20 minutes, which makes this purchase one of the best expenditures I have ever made.

-- The Sno Wovel Wheeled Snow Shovel
$120

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Structured Solutions II

Freshette

The TravelMate works—but I give it only about a 2 out of 5. A superior FUD I'd recommend instead is the Sport and Travel Freshette. It's slightly larger than the TravelMate—just longer than the palm of my hand when collapsed and about half as wide—but still can fit in the hip pocket of a camping backpack quite easily (and you can still use it through your pants' fly). The Freshette's larger cup, similar to the unisex collar on the previously reviewed Travel John, fits more easily than the TravelMate—and solves the positioning and overflow problems to which the TravelMate is prone. It really is easy to pee all over yourself with the Travelmate due to its small size and smaller throughput (the main reason I can't recommend it).

The flexible outlet tube on the Freshette makes for easier aiming. With practice, it's possible to collapse it after use, store it back in the bag, then get it back out and reuse it without touching any of the wet bits, if you're squeamish about that sort of thing. And if you need the extra feature, there's a "complete portable" kit that comes with sealable bags you can attach, in case there's a need to pack out your waste or you're going to drive like Lisa Nowak.

While it's the best product of its kind that I found, the Freshette is more expensive than the TravelMate, and its weird shape and larger size make it harder to pack. Also, the plastic bag it comes with is not the most durable. Mine lasted through about three weeks of camping before getting a hole. Both models tie for ease of being able to clean yourself off without toilet paper.

There are many other variations on the Freshette, which I imagine would work about as well: The Whiz Freedom—quickdry anti-bacterial flexible medical plastic; the SheWee—slightly smaller and available with a durable hard case; the PStyle—more a channel than a funnel and no tube; the Lady J—wider funnel.

-- Sport and Travel Freshette
$24

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Freshette

Nomad Sandals

I picked up a pair of these sandals in Hawaii many years back principally because they looked both good and tough. The latter came in handy over the many years I walked the beaches and drift timber along BC's west coast, picking out the salvageable logs. As a bonus, they provided the best traction on wet, beachsmooth logs of any footwear I have ever used.

Compared with the previously reviewed Chaco sandals, these have no arch support and they can hang on to moisture for a while, but holding them by the heel and whacking the toe on a solid surface will go a long way toward getting moisture, dirt and sand out. The longitudinal run of the rope and its texture give a nice friction bond with the sole of the feet, so my feet don't slide around in them even when they get wet. I keep a couple of pairs on the go and could have probably sold a van-load over the years to folks stopping me to ask where they could be purchased.

-- Nomadic State of Mind Traditional JC Sandal
$27

Manufactured by and available from Nomadic State of Mind

Artisan Bread in Five

As a practical guide to incorporating No-Knead Bread baking into daily life, regardless of your schedule, I highly recommend Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and the follow-up Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I've been baking from the instructions in these books for some time now, and I hardly ever buy commercial bread. My young ones love the bread, especially warm from the oven, and there's something special about bringing your own fresh baked bread to a get-together.

Why Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day? Literally five minutes of effort. Throw the ingredients together, mix, pop the dough into a bucket and then into the fridge. After a couple hours of rising, I have enough for three big loaves. The dough keeps very well in the refrigerator for a couple weeks (and tastes noticeably better the longer it's been sitting, though mine rarely makes it that long). When I want fresh bread I pull out a bit of dough, get the oven heated up and bake away. There are plenty of no-knead recipes about, but Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois perfected a process that works for me.

The main advantage I've gotten out of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day is feeding the kids a bit more whole grain and some protein as well. I find the flavor richer, too (beer helps that a bunch, but also subtracts a few healthy points). I do prefer the texture of the white loaf, and for guests or as a host gift, I'd likely choose the original recipe. Of late, our everyday breadbox loaf comes from the Healthy book. Slices, toasted a bit, make a heavenly sandwich.

-- [Thanks to readers Drew Mills and Bob Mintiero for also recommending Artisan Bread -es]

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
by Jeff Hertzberg, Zoe Francois
2007, 242 pages
$15
Available from Amazon

Helathy Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Jeff Hertzberg,Zoe Francois
2009, 336 pages
$15
Available from Amazon

Sample Excerpts:
From Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day:

Whole grain flour is better for you than white flour. Because whole grains include the germ and the bran, in addition to the starch-rich but fiber- and vitamin-poor endosprem....whole grain flours bring a boatload of healthy substances into your diet, including phytochemicals....,vitamins, and fiber. Those are pretty much absent from white flour. Iron, niacin, folic acid, riboflavin, and thiamine are added back in enriched commercial white flour, but no other nutrients?so whole wheat delivers more complete nutrition than white flour even when it's been enriched. But there's more?because bran and germ in whole grains dilute the effect of pure starch in the endosprem, the absorption and conversion of starches into simple sugars is slowed, so blood glucose...rises more slowly after consumption of whole grains than it does after eating refined white flour products.

*

Our first book concentrated on ingredients from the traditional European baker's cupboard. We've updated our discussion to include whole grains, vital wheat gluten, and even ingredients for gluten-free breads. Perhaps the most crucial ingredient to get familiar with is vital wheat gluten. It's essential for achieving a light loaf when using lots of whole grains, never kneading, and still storing the dough in the refrigerator.

*

Yeast Love to Keep Cool
Jefferson University yeast biochemist Hannah Silver, Ph.D., loves great bread, and bakes her own with our method. We asked her where the great flavor comes from, especially with dough that has aged a few days: "Yeast extracts are sometimes used as a flavor enhancer in commercial food, and they introduce a savory, complex flavor, sometimes called umami, the so-called fifth basic taste recognized by the human tongue (in addition to sweet, salty, bitter, and sour). The flavor you get with stored dough comes from chemicals produced by yeast as they use sugars and starches to make carbon dioxide gas (which forms bubbles to leaven the bread) and alcohol (which boils off in baking).

Can-Gun 1

Using your index finger to press and steer a can of spray paint gets old very quickly. If your paint job lasts more than a few minutes, you really should use a snap-on pistol grip. It saves your knuckle, keeps paint off your trigger finger, and gives you an easy way to guide the spray. For years I've used an earlier model of this grip (called simply Can-Gun), but that one was only operated with a single finger trigger. This new version uses your whole palm. It's comfortable, quick-on and off, and the only way to spray. I had a 5-can job on a chain-link fence and the Can-Gun made it kind of fun. Even for small spray paint jobs, I slip one of these on.

-- Can-Gun1 2012
$8

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Can-Gun1

Call for Submissions

We want to hear from you again. Tell us about a book you've read, a website you've visited, or a hand tool you've been using. It might be something that's opened up possibilities, introduced a new skill set, helped you make something, in any realm of your life.

Specifically we've had inquiries about the following:

What's the best guide to internet radio? A site, blog or forum where various internet radio stations are reviewed, compared, and recommended. Not just listings of links.

Have you used Shapeways and do you recommend them?

Have you used both Black & Decker's Ready Wrench and Sears' Dogbone Wrench, and can you compare them?

What's the best compact/folding shovel?

What's the best lightweight/packable down jacket?

Collapsible silicon colander?

Best book/website on seed saving?

Best guide to barefoot running?

What's the best introductory video site for learning origami?

Have you used and can you recommend the Travel Mate?

Academie Wirebound

I do a lot of sketching and art of various kinds and in various mediums, such as pencil, chalk, Copic markers and ink. For this I need a good quality paper, but don't want to spend a lot of money; I don't want to feel guilty doing throwaway work. The best buy I've found is Mead's Academie 70-sheet Spiral Bound notebook, and I've been using it for the past two years.

These sketchbooks are ideal for several reasons. First are cost and availability: They're inexpensive and can be purchased practically anywhere, from office supply stores to Walmart and Target. The paper quality is good enough for frameable art. The sturdy notebooks have a solid pressboard back, so I generally don't need an easel, and the pages are perforated for easy removal. There's a two-sided pocket, so I can remove and stow keepers. I find the pocket helps me keep track of specific renderings, too. Because these sketchbooks are inexpensive, I can use a few concurrently and switch back and forth between different mediums. The paper quality is great for the price, too. It works well for Copic markers, especially, giving a true color rendering. The pages are non-yellowing (acid-free), as well.

For comparison, Strathmore drawing pads have more size options, but at 40 to 50 sheets per book, the cost per sheet is higher, and the Strathmore's pages aren't perforated for easy removal.

-- Academie Wirebound Sketch Book, 11 x 8-1/2 Inches, 70 Sheets (54404)
$7

Available from Amazon

Digg Frontpage News 

Inside the Lingerie Football League (w/Pics)

The women practice hard three times a week, even though each team plays only four games per season. Players boast stories of twisted ankles, knee injuries and turf burns.

Is This The 2012 Indy Car?

2010 was originally set to be the last year of competition for the aging Dallara IndyCar chassis. Political turmoil has postponed the changeover, however, and the IRL is currently evaluating its options. This car is part of Swift Engineering's proposal.

What Conservatism Is—And Isn't

Much of what is now called conservatism is nothing but right-wing liberalism. Conservatism is not opposition to homosexual marriage or abortion or premarital sex or post-modernism or socialism. It is not fundamentalism, six-day creationism, Republicanism, or even the commitment to spread democracy.

2nd Season of Jersey Shore to Shoot in South Beach

The producers of MTV's breakout hit Jersey Shore have been dealing with a season two conundrum over the last month -- and it wasn't just the cost of reuniting the show's cast members, who currently command five-figure appearance fees.

The Party of No Holds Progress Hostage

Three of George W. Bush's nominations were held up by Democrats in his first year for more than three months compared to more than 46 of president Obama's nominees having waited at least three months and nine for at least twice that long.

How to Use Your iPhone to Help You Sleep Better

Sure, using technology at night is said to keep you awake longer, but could it also help you relax and let you get more--and better--sleep? That's the promise of the soothing sounds available for iPods and from various sleep apps for your iPhone or iPod touch...

The Top 7 Apple iPhone Complaints & Some Simple Solutions

While we all love our iPhones, there's probably a few things we wish we could tweak or change about them. This is a list of common iPhone complaints, which

How Valentine's Day Helps the Economy

Cupid will be busy this year. The ubiquitous, pudgy winged icon is expected to elicit over $14 billion in much-needed consumer spending this Valentine's Day.

Obama meets with GOP, says can spur job growth

Appealing for bipartisanship in a town where it's hard to find, President Barack Obama sat down with Democrats and Republicans Tuesday to spur cooperation on job creation, deficit reduction and health care overhaul. He promised to do his part _ but warned he would take Republicans to task if they don't do the same.

Flush With $10 Million In Fresh Cash

Yammer, the San Francisco startup that offers a solid enterprise-grade microsharing and realtime communications service, is expanding its executive team after successfully closing a Series B funding round to the tune of $10 million earlier this month.

Wonkette 

Science: ‘Massaging Your Scalp With Cigarette Ash' Might Be Ill-Advised

Aww, Jim Inhofe's grandchildren built Al Gore a spacious snow cavern to live in! How did they know Al's fursona was a "homeless but sensitive polar bear?" [Think Progress]

Looks like it's going to be another lonely, miserable Valentine's Day, huh? Hey, why not fingerbang a heavily-discounted Newt Gingrich paperback from the NRO bookstore instead? Ships [...]

There Is A Severe Lack Of ‘Paterson Anal Sex Cocaine Cleveland Steamer' Headlinery Here

The New York Times is supposedly typey-typing its story that we already know will force David Paterson to resign before having any idea what's in it. Why won't David Paterson save the Times the trouble and just resign right now, for whatever?
David Paterson is really trying to put and end to the speculation he's [...]

http://wonkette.com/413618/413618

TODAY'S MOST IMPORTANT QUICK READ: A 4,200-word pretentious, Roman-numeral-subsectioned screed from the "Dick Cheney of TNR," Leon Wieseltier, about how Andrew "He Links To Some Good Stuff" Sullivan hates Jews for being so Jewish, those rotten Jews. What, you don't want to read this? Meh, just click on this Pareene thing instead. [TNR, Gawker]

Robert Gibbs Makes Fun Of Trig During Press Briefing

Oh that Robert Gibbs and his Making Fun Of Trig, by writing notes on his hand during today's White House Press Briefing. Our beloved press corps is simply not sure how to handle this. OUCH, man, OUCH. What did Trig ever do to Robert Gibbs, anyway? UPDATE: Oh jeebus, they WILL whine about this. AP [...]

It's GOP Valentine Time, For Your Friends And Sex Partners!

Verifiable e-mail addresses not required!

Stupid Al Gore.
GOP Valentine's Day Cards [RNC]

The White Death Will Not Stop Love (Or Casual Sex)

Neither snow nor sleet, nor more snow and sleet, can stop what is coming this Sunday: Valentine's Day. BLAH BLAH BLAH, you either love Valentine's Day because you're happy and in love, or its mere presence makes you want to slit your wrists. (Or you don't care.) Well, whether you're single, in a relationship or [...]

Tim Pawlenty, The GOP Mob's Official Courier Slave

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the 2012 candidate everyone's heard about and immediately forgotten, holds a very special position for the Republican party: he runs around the country giving speeches that no one cares about BUT ONLY TO DISGUISE his true purpose, which is cash. He distributes unmarked bills and checks to people. Powerful people. Real [...]

Engadget 

HTC Scorpion with 1.5GHz Snapdragon, WiMAX tipped in build file of dubious provenance

Sure, this next item might be a little bit of a stretch, but why the hell not: according to MobileCrunch, there's a build file from an-as-yet unknown device called the HTC Scorpion making the rounds. If the tea leaves are being read correctly (and, more to the point, if they're real tea leaves and not some sort of bogus tea leaf substitute) we're looking at a 1.5GHz Snapdragon device with WiMAX support, which means it could potentially be HTC's long-rumored Android smartbook, or at least a spiritual successor to the Shift. We're also told that the mysterious device is codenamed Olympian, and that it could sport a new version of Android (build ID FRE65C -- being billed as Android 2.2). Since you're adults, and we feel that we can trust you, we're placing the alleged file after the break, so you can make up your own mind -- handset, smartbook, or nothing at all? Just remember, it was a leaked HTC that broke the news of Android 2.1's existence.Continue reading HTC Scorpion with 1.5GHz Snapdragon, WiMAX tipped in build file of dubious provenance HTC Scorpion with 1.5GHz Snapdragon, WiMAX tipped in build file of dubious provenance originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  MobileCrunch  | Email this | Comments

Adobe: Flash 10.1 will require 'some enhancements to existing versions of Android'

As you may have noticed, there were a few reports making the rounds earlier today that suggested Flash 10.1 for Android would be limited to phones running Android 2.1. Adobe itself didn't seem to be saying much about the matter, however, so we inquired with them and received a statement that raises about as many questions as it answers. According to Adrian Ludwig, group product marketing manager for Flash Platform:

Adobe, Google, and other members of the Open Screen Project are working together to make ensure the full Web experience can be delivered on largest possible number of devices. Support for full Flash Player 10.1 requires some enhancements to existing versions of Android. These enhancements are expected to be available as an upgrade to existing devices and for new devices starting in Q2 2010.

The key detail there, obviously, is that support for the full Flash Player 10.1 will indeed require "some enhancements" to current versions of Android, meaning that one way or another you'll have to update, and that an update for every Android phone isn't necessarily guaranteed. What the statement doesn't confirm, however, is whether those "enhancements" are, in fact, Android 2.1, or an update of some sort that will follow Android 2.1 -- we'll let you know if we get any further clarification on that.Adobe: Flash 10.1 will require 'some enhancements to existing versions of Android' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Entelligence: Another view of Microsoft's creative destruction

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

Last week, the New York Times ran an op-ed piece by former Microsoft executive Dick Brass, in which he took the company to task on many issues. Brass was a VP at Microsoft who left in 2004, and prior to his departure he worked on various projects from e-books and ClearType to the Tablet PC. I've met Dick through the years and he's a super smart guy, but I'm not sure I agree with everything he wrote in his op-ed. Dick argues that internal politics and unwillingness to do "risky" hardware have led Microsoft away from innovation. Clearly, Dick has a much better view regarding Microsoft's internal politics than I do, but some of the examples that he uses to bolster his argument are a little off base, at least in my opinion.

Dick cites Clear Type, Tablet and Mobile as examples of innovative products that Microsoft managed to somehow bungle due to internal politics, and says that Xbox is at "at best an equal contender in the game console business." Let's examine those claims.Continue reading Entelligence: Another view of Microsoft's creative destruction Entelligence: Another view of Microsoft's creative destruction originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Google Maps 4.0 with Buzz support now available in Android Market

Looks like Android's getting in on the new Google Buzz party in more ways than one today -- in addition to support in the browser, Maps 4.0 is now in the Android Market and it's all Buzz-ed up and ready to go. We've heard from both Droid and G1 owners that it works on their devices, so we're guessing every other Android set out there running 1.6 or higher will work as well -- let us know if you find anything else cool, won't you? Same goes for you S60 and WinMo kids out there.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Google Maps 4.0 with Buzz support now available in Android Market originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

HTC Legend makes an encore appearance, this time with specs

The race is on to see how many angles of HTC's upcoming Legend can be snapped before the phone's official debut, so here's our next submission. As you can see, the hard-edged aluminum theme continues to wrap its way around the side with a touch of black plastic along the bottom, presumably to give the antenna some room to breathe. We've got a list of specs this time, too, most of which match up with what we've already heard:

3.2-inch HVGA AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor (the same class of core used by the Pixi and Devour)
5 megapixel camera with LED flash
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
WiFi
Quadband GSM / EDGE plus dualband HSPA
Magnetic compass
3.5mm headphone jack
1300mAh battery

It's no Nexus One or Bravo, but that's the beauty of the way HTC's love affair with Android is turning out -- there's a little something for everyone.
[Thanks, Dion]HTC Legend makes an encore appearance, this time with specs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 2 busts loose

You've got to be one of the cool kids that shelled out a Benjamin to get into the iPhone Developer Program to get access, but if you're already a card-carrying member, it looks like you've now got a green light to download beta 2 of the iPhone SDK for OS 3.2. We don't know what's new, changed, or removed, but presumably, most of the updates would center around the sundry changes Apple has made to support the iPad in the latest version of its mobile platform -- so drop us a line and let us know what you find, alright?iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 2 busts loose originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink TUAW  |  Apple  | Email this | Comments

HTC Hero update to Android 2.1 pegged for mid-March

We've known for ages that HTC's been working on yanking its custom-skinned Hero off of Cupcake's rusty frame, but so far, the only way to drop Android 2.0 or 2.1 on your phone has been to cheat, root, and load a custom or leaked ROM in place of the official first-party firmware. If you're too straightedge for that, though, keep the faith -- your binary isn't too far off. PR released today indicates that we can expect the Hero to get an Android 2.1 update with Sense in "mid March" according to HTC's Benelux team, and it'll feature a new Friend Stream widget that aggregates user updates across services (presumably a nod to Blur), tweaked Exchange support, and a handful of other goodies. This isn't necessarily indicative of when Hero versions in other regions (Sprint's version, for instance) will pick it up, but it's a solid start.

[Image via EnglishRussia]HTC Hero update to Android 2.1 pegged for mid-March originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Tweakers  |  Whizpr  | Email this | Comments

GeeksPhone One lands in France for a hands-on

Plenty of other Android phones have come and gone since the GeeksPhone One was announced way back in July of last year, but the phone is now finally available in Europe, and the folks at Android France have managed to get their hands on what seems to be one of the first ones. Unfortunately, the device is looking a tad less polished than some of the earlier shots we've seen suggested, and the device's specs don't seem to have seen any upgrades during its prolonged launch (definitely no Snapdragon here). There's also not much in the way of actual impressions of the phone just yet (Android France is promising a full review), but there are plenty of pictures to keep you busy in the meantime at the link below.GeeksPhone One lands in France for a hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Android France  | Email this | Comments

Lenovo unleashes cut-rate ThinkStation E20 workstation on an unsuspecting public

Kids, are you a corporate buyer of CAD and DCC (digital content creation, duh!) systems looking to save a few pennies in a difficult economic environment? Well, you're in luck: we've dug up yet another demure, innocuous Lenovo with an oversized novelty handle for you, the ThinkStation E20. Shipping with your choice of an Intel Core i3, i5, Pentium, or Xeon 3400 Series processor and either Intel Core HD or NVIDIA Quadro graphics, this guy supports DDR3 memory and carries certifications from Autodesk, Siemens, Dassault Systemes, among others. If that weren't enough, the company is really pushing the green thing, with more than half of the plastic here coming from post-consumer recycled materials. Available sometime mid-month at prices starting at $599, so start save those pennies! You didn't really want that Tesla GPU anyways, did you? PR after the break.Continue reading Lenovo unleashes cut-rate ThinkStation E20 workstation on an unsuspecting public Lenovo unleashes cut-rate ThinkStation E20 workstation on an unsuspecting public originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Openmoko brings improved keypad / scrolling and math equations to WikiReader

It sort of blows our mind that OpenMoko has managed to sell more than a smattering of its $99 WikiReaders (you know, considering just how limited in scope this thing is), but evidently there's a huge demand out there for improvements. The company has just rolled out its Spring 2010 update, which adds math equations, fluid scrolling, and enhanced navigation. Reportedly, the latter comes in the form of an improved touchscreen keypad, which is said to make "finding Wikipedia entries easier and faster and makes enjoying one of the largest reference archives known to mankind even better." We won't bother pointing out the gross exaggerations in that there comment, but at any rate, existing users can download the update today free of charge. Don't all hurry over at once and crash the servers, okay?Openmoko brings improved keypad / scrolling and math equations to WikiReader originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Business Wire  | Email this | Comments

Motley Fool 

Don't Throw This Stock Away

If you can find something better, replace it.  

The Perils of Hot-Economy Investing

The growth is nice, but the long-term returns often aren't.

Enjoy This Bituminous Bonanza

Teck Resources prepares to ramp up met coal production to quench Asian demand.

What Bipartisan Health-Care Reform Means for Investors

Republicans and Democrats will debate on TV, but little may come of it.

Stock Smackdown: Cramer vs. CAPS

A showdown over who knows stocks better.

A Domestic Drag at McDonald's

America was not so beautiful for Mickey D's in January.

This Just In: Upgrades and Downgrades

Susquehanna finds a great deal on Priceline.com.

Slowing Down in Emerging Markets

There might be signs things are cooling off in China and Brazil.

This Stock Has Tremendous Upside

And where to look for other "black swans."

It's Time to Play Again

Hasbro follows Mattel's lead, for a change.

Salon 

Americans talk about love: How we chose an open marriage

"Early in our relationship, Cate said, 'If you ever see anybody else, I'll kill you.'" An oral history of polyamory

Biodynamic wines have the flavor of devotion

Whether you believe in spiritual agriculture or think it's just hoodoo, it's the winemaker's passion that matters

John Bowe's "Us": How Americans talk about love

The author of a new collection of oral histories talks about why the oldest topic of all still has surprises

Behind Liz Cheney's group, a weird legacy of torture

Financing Cheney's pro-torture front is Melvin Sembler, who once enabled "enhanced interrogation" of American teens

The real political realities

The political system was always broken, and the Republicans and Democrats have always been divided. Why the fuss?

Slide show: Sports Illustrated models baffled by swimwear

Brooklyn Decker is the latest in a series of "oopsie!" cover girls who just can't master their itty-bitty bikinis

NBC scrubs Conan from the archives

The network pulls a creepy disappearing act on its Big Red archives

State Farm: we warned government on Toyota in 2007

Insurance company knew about problems with unexpected acceleration

Chinese companies still selling tainted milk

Authorities uncover 170 more tons of the chemical-laced powder

Obamanomics one year out

Sagging demand and soaring deficits have the right wing going nuts and the president against the wall

Scobleizer 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEW BLOG

Hello, we know you're still subscribed to this blog (9,000 of you are on Bloglines, for instance). So, please unsubscribe from this blog and come over and visit me in my new home at http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/
My new RSS feed is here: http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/feed/
I have permanently moved over there, so please do come and visit!

Come visit me on my new WordPress blog

I should have been clearer. My new blog is over on WordPress's new hosted service, which is still in beta. I've been posting frequently over there. http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/
I'm still playing around, though, and learning the new system. I'm also setting up a separate blog over on TypePad to learn that blog tool. And have yet another one over on DABU too.
Oh, and of course, there's our book blog (which is also on TypePad) and the Channel 9 video blog, done on modified version of Community Server. So, I'm getting around to a variety of blog tools and services. I find I don't like a lot about all the tools. It's interesting to me that no one has really come out with a big blog breakthrough lately.
I'm getting another demo of Flock tomorrow, too.
Oh, and ou might check in on Channel 9. I just uploaded three videos, including my first Xbox 360 one, an interview with a Vice President in charge of half of our developer division (we're shipping Visual Studio "within days" I hear).

Slate 

Slate V: Dana's Home Theater: Bright Star

Slate film critic Dana Stevens gives us the scoop on her favorite recent DVD releases. This week's pick: Bright Star.

What game theory can teach us about the fate of health care reform.

The Senate likes to think of itself as the world's greatest deliberative body. But there's a less charitable way to think about it: It's the world's greatest collective-action problem. [more ...]

Health care - United States Senate - Game theory - Deliberative assembly - Senate

Does shoveling snow really put you at risk of a heart attack?

The National Weather Service is forecasting as much as 20 inches of new snow in Washington, D.C. and 18 inches near Philadelphia by Wednesday?the second major snowfall to affect the Middle Atlantic region in the last several days. The House canceled debates scheduled for Tuesday night, airlines are canceling flights, and?as always happens when there's snow on the ground?journalists are writing stories about shoveling-induced heart attacks. "Shoveling Snow Can Cause Heart Problems" (WHIZ News); "shoveling snow can be incredibly dangerous for someone with a cardiac condition" (Staunton News Leader); "heart attacks among shovelers are a major concern" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Is there a real connection between shoveling and cardiac trouble? [more ...]

National Weather Service - Philadelphia - Snow - Washington DC - House

What's wrong with Google's Nexus One phone and Android operating system.

When Google launched the Nexus One in January, the company hit on an odd bit of marketing to distinguish the new phone from its rivals. This was a "superphone," Google said?every other cellular device on the market was merely "smart." The designation didn't make much sense?despite what Google would have you believe, the Nexus One doesn't have any major features that set it apart from other top-of-the-line phones. It makes calls, does e-mail, and browses the Web; so do the iPhone, the Palm Pre, various BlackBerrys, and every other Android phone. All top-end smartphones have Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS. They've all got app stores that can give you access to a wide variety of third-party programs. And though smartphones come in two distinct hardware flavors?either with or without a physical keyboard?they are all very pretty to look at. [more ...]

Google - Nexus One - Android - iPhone - Palm Pre

Advertisement:

The Slatest: Evening Edition

The president doesn't like the way Republicans are acting; Republicans don't like the first lady's anti-obesity program; Robert Gibbs needs to pick up a few things from the grocery store. [more ...]

Bruce Springsteen backs out of a copyright lawsuit.

It was a classic piece of music industry journalism: Rapacious Big Music beats up on hapless Little Guy, with The Artist, who just wants to make ars gratia artis, caught in the middle. [more ...]

Bruce Springsteen - Music industry - Music - Copyright - Business

When did we start describing comatose patients as "vegetative"?

A study published last Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that British and Belgian scientists were able to communicate with a patient in a "persistent vegetative state" using high-tech brain scans. When did we start describing comatose patients as "vegetative"? [more ...]

Persistent vegetative state - New England Journal of Medicine - Belgium - Brain - United States

The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, an intellectual history.

Model Brooklyn Decker is on the cover of the latest edition of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. The magazine also features "Olympic Stars" in various stages of undress. In a 2005 column, Bryan Curtis argued that "Sports Illustrated helped create the sex-sports nexus, by bringing the supermodels directly to the fans." The entire column is reprinted below. [more ...]

Brooklyn Decker - Sport - Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue - Sport Illustrated - Andy Roddick

Washington Post transportation reporter Howard Kurtz muffs the media "bypass" story.

The Obama White House has built a "bypass" to reroute the president's message around the pesky White House press corps, Washington Post transportation beat reporter Howard Kurtz reported yesterday. [more ...]

Howard Kurtz - Washington Post - White House - United States - White House press corps

SquidooCool Blog 

RIP Squidoo Groups

The day we all knew would come has arrived. Squidoo groups are dead and buried, never to be seen again. Weep weep, kinda.
WHEN:
Just a few days ago, Squidoo converted all groups into regular lenses. You can no longer add your lens to a group, and your existing lenses are no longer members of any group.
WHY: [...]

The $2000 Lens Challenge

Joe from CaptainSquid is back from many adventures, with a new challenge for himself and anyone who wants to follow along.
Joe will attempt to get a brand new lensmaster account from $0 to $2000-per-month, using only the tools available to all lensmasters.
So anyone will be able to emulate his success.
If you are able to join [...]

#1 Most Important Thing… About Guestbooks

If you've put Guestbook modules on your lenses, and you have 10+ published, you'll be very familiar with the kind of comments I'm talking about here.
If a guestbook comment doesn't say anything interesting, and add to the conversation, DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT DELETING IT.
Don't think just because someone left you a comment you have to [...]

Pinging Your Lenses

WHAT IS A PING?
Any time you update certain webpages or publish a new blog post or lens, you can send a Ping for it.
A Ping is a little signal your new updated page sends to various search engines and directories. A ping is the online equivalent of your new lens running up to Google's doorstep [...]

New Squidoo Job – More Money For Lensmasters $

According to Seth Godin's blog, Squidoo is hiring a sales pro.
Here is what the official lens says:
"Squidoo is one of the largest websites in the world, with millions of pages, half a million members, more traffic than cbs.com and more than 20,000,000 page views a month. We're hiring someone to run our ad and promotion [...]

Tags Are Back!

Good news ladies and gentlemen
Squidoo Tags are back in the game! They are now indexable by search engines once again!
I have been meaning to write this post for about two weeks, so here we go!
Very simple:
A while ago Squidoo HQ made some changes that made squidoo tags pretty useless. The tags pages were ranking very [...]

Free SEO Lens Content: Words From YouTube!

Tiffany Dow, Social Media Smarty and my business partner at BuildMyLens.com, has posted a great tip on her blog.
How to get free [and easy] content for your lens from YouTube:
"Many marketers are being taught that video is a required element of their online success (and I agree). So if you go to YouTube you'll [...]

The New Text Link Ads VS Your Own Intro Link Ads

Cashing In On The Lessons Learned

The Bad:
Have you seen the new Text Ads that appear automatically on all your lenses?
If you haven't go now and take a look at one of your lenses. There will be 3 links on your lenses in green, and hovering over them will pop up an ad box. Personally [...]

Automatic Twitter Posting: Automate Your Twitter Account

Squidoo and Twitter have quite a nice little relationship going.
You can feature your latest Tweets in your lens, you can build a Twttrlist list lens, or a Twttrstrm lens, and of course just promote your latest lenses on Twitter!
So I thought I would put together a nice and easy list of….
Some ways to automate your [...]

Could you run an Offline Squidoo Business?

Here's an interesting idea. Do a google search right now for driving lessons + your city 
For example, for me it's Driving Lessons Cardiff.
Stick yours into Google and see what comes up. Knowing what you know about how Squidoo lenses rank in google, do you think you could rank in the top 5?
Try something else. Maybe Personal [...]