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rampart: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

rampart: fortification.

Watch The Olympics 

Webb off to a rocky start after injury in Eugene

After having his most successful professional track season in 2007, Alan Webb is looking at another disappointing year.

Kwan returning to ice for August show

Michelle Kwan will skate before an audience for the first time in three years when she joins world champion Kim Yu-Na in Ice All-Stars 2009 in Seoul, in August.

Gold-winning German speedskater Pechstein banned

Olympic speedskating great Claudia Pechstein of Germany has been banned for two years because of blood doping.

More youth, few surprises in Canada Olympic hockey camp

Sidney Crosby, left off the team as an 18-year-old in 2006, was among 46 players invited Thursday to the Canada Olympic hockey orientation camp next month.

Healthy Erik Johnson among 34 invited to USA Hockey camp

St. Louis Blues defenseman Erik Johnson, who missed all of last season because of a knee injury, was among 34 players invited to the U.S. Olympic hockey camp Tuesday for next year's Vancouver Games.

Worlds could force Phelps to drop race

The marquee new event Michael Phelps is targeting as he looks toward the 2012 Olympics might not be on his program at the world swimming championships in Rome later this month.

NBA Dream Team earns spot in Olympic Hall of Fame

The Dream Team has earned a spot in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Tyson Gay sprints to USA TODAY weekly award

Thanks to his 9.75 second time in the 100 meters at the national championship, Tyson Gay earned this week's USA TODAY Olympic Athlete of the Week award.

Shawn Johnson narrows college choices to Stanford, UCLA

What does the future hold for Shawn Johnson?

Tortorella, Gordon join U.S. Olympic hockey staff

Ron Wilson's coaching staff for the U.S. Olympic hockey team is complete, with the addition of assistants John Tortorella and Scott Gordon.

GapingVoid Cartoon 

BBC News 

North Korea missile tests defy UN

North Korea test-fires five missiles in an apparent act of defiance on 4 July, American Independence Day.

Burma junta leader snubs UN chief

Burma's military ruler refuses to let visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon meet jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

BT offers holidays for pay cuts

Phone giant BT offers staff the chance of long holidays in return for a big pay cut, in a bid to cut costs during the downturn.

Alaska Governor Palin to resign

Republican ex-vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin is to quit as Alaska governor amid speculation about a possible presidential bid.

Chechen police die in Ingushetia

Nine Chechen police are killed in Russia's volatile republic of Ingushetia in one of the deadliest attacks in recent months.

Honduran court defiant on Zelaya

Honduras' high court rejects a demand by the Organization of American States to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Self-help 'makes you feel worse'

Bridget Jones is not alone in turning to self-help mantras to boost her spirits, but a study warns they may have the opposite effect.

Russia 'agrees US troop transit'

An Obama administration official says Russia has agreed to let US troops bound for Afghanistan fly through its airspace.

Six die in London tower block fire

Investigations begin into the cause of a tower block fire which left six people, including three children, dead.

How honeybee mobs smother giant hornets to death

Bees smother hornets in a "bee ball" that kills the giant predators with heat and carbon dioxide.

CNet News 

Blogging live from Spiral Jetty

Never say never, but this may be the first blog ever posted live from the monumental earthwork on the edge of the Great Salt Lake called Spiral Jetty.

Employee shot, wounded at Virginia Apple store

The victim, a 26-year-old woman, is in serious but stable condition with a wound to the shoulder. Some media outlets are reporting robbery as the motive, but police say it's too early to tell.

Seattle fire knocks out service to Bing Travel, other sites

At least two dozen sites experience protracted outage following Thursday night electrical fire at Fisher Plaza data center. Verizon's Seattle-area DSL service also gets temporarily disrupted.

What soccer team would your company be?

Martin Veitch at CIO.co.uk riffs on how certain football clubs resemble software companies, to good and painful effect.

iPhone 3GS jailbreak, 'purplera1n,' hits Web

Hacker who originally unlocked the iPhone has let loose a jailbreaking app for the iPhone 3GS ahead of the iPhone dev team. For now, it's Windows-only, but a Mac version is supposedly on the way.

Apple patents point to haptics, fingerprints, RFID

Three just-published patent applications hint at the company's future plans. But it could be a while before we see any of the functionality built into iPhones or other Apple devices.

Symantec's Ramzan on solving the antivirus puzzle

q&a From puzzles and chess to ciphers and antivirus software, Zulfikar Ramzan talks about how he got into the computer security business and where it's headed.

Week in review: A speedier new Firefox

Mozilla's latest version plays catch-up with the browser competition. Also: the latest in Windows 7 news, and a Yahoo data center in a new shade of green.

Defending against chemical and biological weapons

At the U.S. Army's Dugway Proving Grounds facility in the Utah desert, researchers look for ways to protect soldiers against "bugs" that could easily kill or sideline them.

Open source to shape cloud computing, but not dominate it

Open source has a role to play in cloud computing, but it's likely not to be the vanquisher of old, proprietary dominance.

Music Videos 

New Music Report: Regina Spektor

Rock Hall Woodstock 40th Anniversary Behind The Scenes

Matt Taibbi on Goldman Sachs’ Excuse

Matt Taibbi on Goldman Sachs’ Powerful Influence

Matt Taibbi Runs Down Goldman Sachs Graduates with Government Positions

Matt Taibbi on Goldman Sachs’ Roles in the Housing and Internet Busts

The Onion, Daily 

Editorial Cartoon - June 29, 2009

McDonald's Makeover

More than 30 years after its last redesign, McDonald's is again undergoing a major facelift. What will the new design features...

Gordon Ramsay Berates Spoon For 45 Minutes

News In Photos

What Are We Canning?

Area Woman Will Eat Anything With 'Tuscan' In Name

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, NJ—Veterinary assistant Lauren Millardi, 27, will eat any dish prefaced with the word "Tuscan," sources reported Monday....

Area Grandmother Tries Indian Food

BLOOMINGTON, MN—Witnesses report Eileen Rutherford, 78, was overwhelmed by the unusual aromas but appeared delighted when a recognizable pea rolled out of her samosa.

[audio] McDonalds Unveils New All-Beef Bun

Onion Radio News - with Doyle Redland

Report: Double Stuf Oreos Could Raise Tolerance To Stuf

EAST HANOVER, NJ—A new report released by the Food and Drug Administration Monday suggests that regular consumption of Oreo's Double Stuf...

Executive Fascinated By Electrician's Lunch

NEW YORK—While waiting for an elevator en route to a lunch meeting at Central Park's Tavern on the Green restaurant Monday, Citibank CEO...

New Nietzschean Diet Lets You Eat Whatever You Fear Most

NEW YORK—By conquering your Fear and eating it in Heroic Portions, one can avoid the Eternal Occurrence of weight gain.

Scientific American 

No items were found

Buzz Machine 

A map to where?

The UK's Independent has attempted to map the discussion about the future of newspapers. I'm not sure I get the benefit of the form, but give it a whirl:

Politics makes….

When she pushed her dangerous agenda to change copyright law through Congress to protect her industry, company, and job, Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz got all huffy with me when I suggested that she should register as a lobbyist because she was trying to influence legislation in which she had a direct interest and benefit [...]

Eric Schmidt on the new world

Here's video from the Aspen Ideas Festival responding to my question about what follows the industrial age. It's much better than my limited report on it below:

More of Kai Ryssdal's very good interview with Schmidt here.

MJ OD

When Michael Jackson died, I wondered how quickly the conversation about him would fade online and how long it would persist on TV "news." Well, it didn't take long to see the divergence: TV thinks we're still buzzing about MJ. But online, we're not.
Here's Blogpulse on mentions of Michael Jackson:

Here's the dropoff of Michael [...]

Google on Google

At the Aspen Ideas Festival, I got up to a mic to ask Eric Schmidt a question. No, it wasn't, "what would Google do?" I wanted his reaction to a notion I've talked about here that has crystallized since I wrote the book: that we are going through something more than a financial crisis and [...]

The need for – and risks of – government transparency

At yesterday's Personal Democracy Forum – where I was in the unfortunate position of speaking inbetween two of my favorite geniuses, danah boyd and David Weinberger – I sang the obvious hymn to the choir, arguing that government in a Google age means transparency. All governments' actions and information must be searchable and linkable; we [...]

China blinks

I said in What Would Google Do? – and argued the point in a talk at Google in Washington – that Google and other technology companies have more influence than they know – and should use it – in protecting free speech and pressuring censorious governments. I see evidence of the strategy working – or [...]

Help us help hyperlocal news

For CUNY's New Business Models for News Project, we would be very grateful if local blogs and sites filled out a survey to give us data in our analysis and modeling of the economics of hyperlocal news. The survey is here.
We are trying to find out how hyperlocal blogs and sites are doing their [...]

First, kill the lawyers – before they kill the news

Following the frighteningly dangerous thinking of Judge Richard Posner – proposing rewriting copyright law to outlaw linking to and summarizing (aka talking about) news stories – now we have two more lemming lawyers following him off the cliff in a column written by the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Connie Schultz.
First note well that Schultz is [...]

The King of Twitter

Reporters have been calling today looking into the importance of Twitter and social media in the two big stories of the month: Iran and Michael Jackson. Have we come to a next step stage in social media's impact on news? Maybe.
Certainly the Jackson news spread quickly via Twitter. TMZ.com got the news first and [...]

Slashdot 

Generating Power From Ocean Buoys and Kites

cheezitmike writes "Researchers at Oregon State University are testing a new type of wave-energy converter to generate electricity from ocean waves: 'Even when the ocean seems calm, swells are moving water up and down sufficiently to generate electricity. ... For decades the challenge has been to build a device that can withstand monster waves and gale-force winds, not to mention corrosive saltwater, seaweed, floating debris and curious marine mammals. ... In the most recent prototypes, a thick coil of copper wire is inside the first component, which is anchored to the seafloor. The second component is a magnet attached to a float that moves up and down freely with the waves. As the magnet is heaved by the waves, its magnetic field moves along the stationary coil of copper wire. This motion induces a current in the wire — electricity.'" Meanwhile, researchers at Stanford are working to design "turbine kites" that operate at 30,000 feet, where air currents flow much faster than they do close to the ground. Ken Caldeira, a Standford associate professor, said, "If you tapped into 1% of the power in high-altitude winds, that would be enough to continuously power all civilization." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

UK Police Told To Use Wikipedia When Preparing For Court

Half-pint HAL tips news of UK prosecution lawyers who are instructing police to study information on Wikipedia when preparing to give expert testimony in court. "Mike Finn, a weaponry specialist and expert witness in more than 100 cases, told industry magazine Police Review: 'There was one case in a Midlands force where police officers asked me to write a report about a martial art weapon. The material they gave me had been printed out from Wikipedia. The officer in charge told me he was advised by the CPS to use the website to find out about the weapon and he was about to present it in court. I looked at the information and some of it had substance and some of it was completely made up.' Mr. Finn, a former Metropolitan Police and City of London officer and Home Office adviser, added that he has heard of at least three other cases where officers from around the country have been advised by the CPS to look up evidence on Wikipedia." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Hawking Says Humans Have Entered a New Stage of Evolution

movesguy sends us to The Daily Galaxy for comments by Stephen Hawking about how humans are evolving in a different way than any species before us. Quoting: "'At first, evolution proceeded by natural selection, from random mutations. This Darwinian phase, lasted about three and a half billion years, and produced us, beings who developed language, to exchange information. I think it is legitimate to take a broader view, and include externally transmitted information, as well as DNA, in the evolution of the human race,' Hawking said. In the last ten thousand years the human species has been in what Hawking calls, 'an external transmission phase,' where the internal record of information, handed down to succeeding generations in DNA, has not changed significantly. 'But the external record, in books, and other long lasting forms of storage,' Hawking says, 'has grown enormously. Some people would use the term evolution only for the internally transmitted genetic material, and would object to it being applied to information handed down externally. But I think that is too narrow a view. We are more than just our genes.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Amazon Wants Patent For Inserting Ads Into Books

theodp writes "Three Amazon inventors set out to correct what they felt was a real problem: that 'out-of-print or rare books ... typically do not include advertisements ... the content is fixed and, therefore, has not been adapted to modern marketing.' Their solution is spelled out in newly-disclosed Amazon patent applications for On-Demand Generating E-Book Content with Advertising and Incorporating Advertising in On-Demand Generated Content. From the patent apps, here's what the future of reading may look like: 'For instance, if a restaurant is described on page 12, [then the advertising page], either on page 11 or page 13, may include advertisements about restaurants, wine, food, etc., which are related to restaurants and dining.' So, what would a delightfully-tacky-yet-unrefined Hooters ad do for your Hemingway experience?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Fake Tamiflu "Out-Spams Viagra On Web"

cin62 writes "The number of Internet scammers offering fake versions of the anti-swine flu drug Tamiflu has surpassed those selling counterfeit Viagra, reports CNN. Since the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, was declared a global pandemic last month, there has been an increase in the number of Web sites and junk emails offering Tamiflu for sale. 'Every Web site that used to sell Viagra is now selling Tamiflu. We are pretty sure that the same people are making the Tamiflu as are making the Viagra,' said Director of Policy for the UK's Royal Pharmaceutical Society." This news fits in nicely with a report Wired ran a couple weeks ago about the hysteria behind H1N1. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source Code of Several Atari 7800 Games Released

jadoon88 writes to share a series of old Atari 7800 games that have been unofficially open sourced. "Remember Dig Dug or Centipede or Robotron? They used to be favorites when Atari's 7800 series was still around. Since the era of those consoles is over, and a different world of interactive reality gaming has taken over, Atari has unofficially released source code of over 15 games for the coders and enthusiasts to admire the state-of-the-art (because this is what it was back then). During those times, nobody would have imagined in their wildest dreams the games that Atari's developers floated into the gaming thirsty market and instantly swept across continental boundaries. But things changed soon after that and a company once regarded as one of the most successful gaming console manufacturers and developers faded away in the pages of our technology's hall-of-fame." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

How To Get Your Program Professionally Marketed?

one-man orchestra writes "I'm the sole programmer of a small, multi-platform, commercial audio program (a spectrogram editor). After over 6 months on the market, I realized that the program would never just sell itself, and that I need some real marketing done for it. Being a one-man orchestra is becoming increasingly difficult; I only can devote so much time to marketing, my skills in that department are lacking, and I'd much rather spend more time coding. Despite my lackluster part-time marketing effort, I still manage to make a modest living out of the sales. My logical assumption is that with someone competent taking care of that part, revenue could greatly scale up. But what's the right way to go about doing this? What type of people/company do I need to contact? What to expect? What to look out for?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Professor Gets 4 Years in Prison for Sharing Drone Plans With Students

Hugh Pickens writes "Retired University of Tennessee Professor Dr. John Reece Roth has been sentenced to four years in prison after he allowed a Chinese graduate student to see sensitive information on Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones. In 2004, the company Roth helped found, Atmospheric Glow Technologies, won a US Air Force contract to develop a plasma actuator that could help reduce drag on the wings of drones, such as the ones the military uses. Under the contract, for which Roth was reportedly paid $6,000, he was prohibited from sharing sensitive data with foreign nationals. Despite warnings from his university's Export Control Officer, in 2006, Roth took a laptop containing sensitive plans with him on a lecture tour in China and also allowed graduate students Xin Dai of China and Sirous Nourgostar of Iran to work on the project. 'The illegal export of restricted military data represents a serious threat to national security,' says David Kris of the US Department of Justice. 'We know that foreign governments are actively seeking this information for their own military development. Today's sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who knowingly discloses restricted military data in violation of our laws.' During his trial, Roth testified that he was unaware that hiring the graduate students was a violation of his contract. 'This whole thing has not helped me, it has not helped the university,' said Roth. 'And it has probably not helped this country, either.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Copyright Should Encourage Derivative Works

Techdirt has an interesting look at copyright and the idea that an author is the originator of a new work. Instead, the piece suggests that all works are in some way based on the works of others (even our own copyright law), and the system should be much more encouraging of "remixing" work into new, unique experiences. "Friedman also points back to another recent post where he discusses the nature of content creation, based on a blog post by Rene Kita. In it, she points out that remixing and creating through collaboration and building on the works of others has always been the norm. It's what we do naturally. It's only in the last century or so, when we reached a means of recording, manufacturing and selling music — which was limited to just those with the machinery and capital to do it, that copyright was suddenly brought out to 'protect' such things." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Open Source Facing a Difficult Battle For Cloud Relevance

A recent eulogy for open source's relevance to cloud computing by Redmonk analyst Stephen O'Grady caught the attention of Matt Asay, who breaks down the difficulty of this David and Goliath problem. "In a world where horsepower matters more than the software feeding those 'horses,' in terms of the entry cost to compete, and where big vendors like Amazon and Google are already divvying up the market, the odds of a small-fry, open-source start-up challenging 'Goliath' are slim. It's not a new argument: Nick Carr has been suggesting for some time that only a few, big companies can afford relevance in this hardware-intensive business. Given this fact, O'Grady thinks the best we can hope for (and he thinks it's pretty important) is 'a loose coalition or confederation of [open-source] projects and vendors that will together comprise an increasingly viable top to bottom alternative to some of the cloud providers today.' He includes projects like Puppet (Reductive Labs) and Hadoop in this mix, but is careful to point out that he doesn't see a full-fledged, open-source alternative seriously challenging the closed platforms of Google, Amazon, Salesforce, and the other mega-clouds." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Guardian Unlimited 

Iran brings formal charges against UK embassy official

A British embassy employee is to stand trial in Tehran for "acting against national security" ? a dramatic escalation in Iran's campaign to blame Britain for protests against disputed election results. The man, a 44-year-old Iranian who is the British embassy's chief political analyst, was arrested on Saturday and has been formally charged at Tehran's Evin Prison, his lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said. "Apparently he will be put on trial. We have prepared and submitted the defence documents and I have to see the judge next week." It was is not clear whether any other embassy staff will face prosecution. A senior cleric claimed that some had "confessed" to playing a role in the protest movement. The staging of political trials is likely to lead to a breach in relations not only with Britain, but also with the European Union. Iranian ambassadors were summoned to foreign ministries in capitals across Europe in a coordinated rebuke . The analyst is one of two Iranian staff of the British embassy still being held for allegedly playing a role in the protests that followed the official victory in last month's presidential elections of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Seven other staff members have been released from detention in recent days but warned they could face further legal proceedings. Earlier in the day Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of a highly influential body of clerics, the Guardian Council, claimed that some embassy employees had "confessed" to playing a role in post-election demonstrations, and would be prosecuted. The cleric is close to Iran's Supreme Leader but he is not in charge of the judiciary, so British officials insist that trials were still not inevitable even though charges had been laid. "Acting against national security" is a vague charge often brought against political activists and is not known to carry any fixed sentence. The charge was levelled against three US-Iranian academics detained in 2007 while visiting Iran. All three were subsequently released. The foreign secretary, David Miliband, said: "We are confident that our staff have not engaged in any improper or illegal behaviour." Miliband added that Britain was "deeply concerned" about the fate of the two embassy staff. However, their plight presents British officials with a dilemma. If they provide too much overt help it will strengthen Tehran's depiction of them as "foreign agents". Britain withdrew a request for European states to pull ambassadors from Tehran after the Iranian government released some embassy staff on Wednesday, but London is likely to look for stronger action if the trials proceed. European officials at meetings at Stockholm and Brussels said the option of withdrawing ambassadors remained on the table. The Europeans also discussed the possible penalty of blacklisting regime officials by temporarily blocking visa applications to travel to the EU. "We view this not just as an attack on Britain, but as an attack on the entire European Union," said a European official. Carl Bildt, the foreign minister of Sweden, which took over the EU presidency this week, said it was not acceptable to file charges against British embassy staff. But the threat of charges being pressed against embassy employees, followed by trials, looked calculated to call Europe's bluff and to gauge how the EU might respond. "Our solidarity ? is total. Now it is up to the British to tell us what they need," said the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. "France has always wanted to strengthen the sanctions so that the Iranian leaders really understand that the path they have chosen will be a dead end." France has taken a tough line on the nuclear dispute with Iran over the last six years, while Germany and Italy, with billions of euros in trade at stake with Iran, have been less keen on sanctions. Today's meeting in Brussels agreed on a common protest to the ambassadors. Officials said the crisis could be taken to a summit of G8 leaders in Italy next week, although the Italians are seen as the least supportive of strong action against Iran. IranMiddle EastForeign policyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Six die in fire at London tower block

? Six people killed as blaze spreads through homes ? Residents escape using bedsheets made into ropes A newborn baby and two children were among six people who died last night in a fire in a 12-storey block of flats in Camberwell, south London. Three of the victims died at the scene. Fifteen people ? including several children ? were taken to hospital where a further three died. A three-week-old baby, children aged six and seven and a woman in her 30s were among the dead. Most of the patients were suffering the effects of smoke and at least three were seriously injured. Witnesses described hearing residents screaming for help and banging on windows as the fire engulfed the upper floors of the block, and said residents were preparing to escape using bed sheets tied together before fire crews arrived. Around 30 people were rescued by fire crews, although some were trapped for hours as firefighters struggled to reach them. It took around 100 firefighters and 18 fire engines more than three hours to bring the fire under control after emergency services started to receive the first of a large number of calls at 4.25pm. The fire is believed to have started on the fourth floor and spread rapidly to the 11th. The cause of the fire was still being investigated last night. Carol Hunter, who lives nearby, said: "At first it was just smoke and no one seemed to be doing anything. Then five minutes later I heard a huge bang and flames were everywhere. I went around to try to see if I could help and I found a distraught lady who had her daughter and five kids with the neighbour and a three-year-old stuck in the bathroom on the 11th floor. She was on the phone to them. She couldn't get to the flat so we told the firefighters. It took them a hour but they were rescued." She added: "It was horrible. We saw lots of children banging on the windows to get out and families screaming. There was even bed sheets tied together hanging out of windows with people threatening to jump out if they weren't going to come and try to help. We saw body bags coming out. I felt sick." Michael Thompson, 17, who lives in the block, said: "There was a big bang that sounded like an explosion. People were screaming. I heard people shouting 'Fire, fire'. I called 999 when I saw the flames and they said they were already on their way. I could smell the smoke from inside my flat so I closed the windows. This black smoke was pouring out of the windows." George Maddocks, who lives nearby, told BBC News: "The fire engines arrived very promptly but I think the height of the block was a problem. There seemed to be one window and one room ablaze when the fire brigade got there. Currently it is charred and blackened." Fire crews were expected to remain overnight to try to make the building safe and investigate the cause of the fire. Many of the residents of the 108 flats were left homeless and were taken to an emergency centre in a nearby church hall. Harriet Harman, the local MP, visited the scene to comfort residents and thank the emergency services. LondonFirefightersguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Palin resigns as Alaska governor

? Rivals believe she wants a shot at the White House ? Republican opinion split on timing of move Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate who electrified her party's campaign last year, has resigned as Alaska's governor in a decision that has fuelled speculation she is positioning herself to run for president. After a sometimes rambling speech in which she compared herself to American soldiers wounded in battle in Kosovo, and said only dead fish go with the flow, Palin's critics accused her of a "flaky" decision and walking away from her post. Palin, who built strong support among conservative Republicans as John McCain's running mate last year, said she will step down in three weeks because she can contribute more away from politics. "We know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time on another scale and actually make a difference for our priorities," she said. But Palin also hinted at continuing political ambitions when she repeated a quote she attributed to General Douglas MacArthur: "We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction." For someone who is supposedly stepping back from politics, Palin's resignation speech was weighty with policy specifics which prompted speculation that she is positioning herself for a 2012 presidential bid or seeking another office which would move her from distant Alaska to the heart of Washington politics. But coming during Independence Day, the move raised questions among some Republicans who accused her of attempting to escape falling poll numbers in Alaska as a series of economic problems and ethics investigations take their toll. A prominent Republican strategist, Ed Rollins, who directed Ronald Reagan's election campaign, said Palin had made a serious mistake. "She was a shooting star who dimmed in recent months and now she's crashed," he said. Another Republican strategist, Tony Blankley, disagreed and said Palin appeared to have made a smart move to position herself for a run for president. "It looks like she's moving down a path toward it," he said. "It frees her up. The normal rules don't seem to apply to her. She's a fascinating character who seems to do things her own way." Blankley said that it makes sense for Palin to resign as governor if she is seeking higher office. "This is going to be a pretty tough time for incumbents the next couple of years in America with everything going to hell, and this may be a pretty good time not to be in office," he said. Blankley also said that Palin faced particular difficulties trying to juggle a national campaign with being governor of Alaska, several time zones from Washington. Palin will need to spend time in the capital developing relationships with key Republican strategists. Palin remains a frontrunner among Republicans nationwide as a potential presidential candidate. But other Republicans were more critical, including John Weaver, a long time confidant of McCain. "We've seen a lot of nutty behaviour from governors and Republican leaders in the last three months, but this one is at the top of that," Weaver told the Washington Post. Palin's resignation was swiftly criticised as "flaky" by her Democratic opponents who said it was part of a pattern of "bizarre" behaviour. The Democratic National Committee said she is "leaving the people of Alaska high and dry ... or she simply can't handle the job now". The timing of the announcement led some critics to accuse her of trying to bury the news of her resignation. But given that almost nothing else was going on, it might have been a move to dominate the news bulletins, as it forced Michael Jackson's death from the top slot. Palin addressed the ethics investigations launched to examine her alleged misuse of office by saying that taxpayer money was being wasted and deriding them as part of the "superficial political blood sport" against her since she shot to prominence as McCain's running mate. Palin will hand power to her deputy, lieutenant governor Sean Parnell. Republican favourite Sarah Palin's rise through politics was rapid after her election as a member of the council of the small Alaskan city of Wasilla in 1992. Four years later she was Wassilla's mayor before going on to chair Alaska's oil and gas conservation commission and then becoming the youngest elected governor of the state in 2006. Two years later she was spotted by John McCain's presidential campaign team as he searched for a running mate who could bring on board conservative Republicans who were suspicious of his more moderate views. While Palin reinvigorated a lacklustre campaign, there were growing tensions with McCain as she was seen as positioning herself to advance her own ambitions at his expense, particularly as it became apparent that Barack Obama was likely to win the election. Since the campaign, Palin has remained a favourite of Republican conservatives at a time when their party is largely leaderless and lacking a strategy to win back voters. Sarah PalinUnited StatesRepublicansguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Obama interview risks Russian ire

US president signals tough stance by speaking with prominent opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta ahead of state visit Barack Obama is to give an interview to the Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta before his trip to Moscow on Monday, in the clearest sign yet that his administration will take an unexpectedly tough approach in its dealings with the Kremlin. Obama will talk to the editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, and meet the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who co-owns the paper. Novaya Gazeta is famous for its critical reporting of the Russian government. Its special correspondent Anna Politkovskaya is one of four reporters from the paper to have been murdered. A critic of the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, she was shot dead in Moscow in October 2006. Formally, Obama is following in the footsteps of Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, who granted Novaya an interview in April. This week the paper published its own investigation into the origins of last summer's war between Russia and Georgia. The Kremlin blamed Georgia's pro-US leader, Mikheil Saakashvili. According to Novaya, however, the Kremlin planned its invasion of Georgia long in advance, sending columns of tanks. There has been a wide-ranging debate inside Obama's administration on how to engage with Russia, after the disastrous Bush years. By last autumn relations between Moscow and Washington had sunk to their lowest since the 1980s. Foreign policy realists argue that in order to "reset" relations with Moscow, and secure Russia's support for US priorities like Iran and Afghanistan, Obama should soft-pedal his support for human rights. Idealists want a vigorous, values-based engagement with the Kremlin. Writing in the Moscow Times last week, Russian analyst Lilia Shevtsova noted: "The outcome of Obama's visit will depend on the willingness of the US to see the differences between the national interest of Russia and the interests of Russia's ruling elite." A Russian presidential spokesman, Sergei Prikhodko, said Obama and Medvedev would sign "framework agreements" on Monday, covering nuclear arms reduction, military co-operation and the transit of US supplies to Afghanistan. They have pledged to agree a replacement to the Start-1 nuclear treaty, which expires on December 5. But experts are sceptical. Prikhodko confirmed that a deal could only take place if the US acknowledged Russia's "concerns" over the US missile defence shield in central Europe. The Kremlin wants Obama to dump it. Human rights groups want Obama to raise the issue of murdered Russian journalists. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says 17 journalists have been killed since 2000. On Thursday Obama described Putin as a cold war figure with "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot on the new". Putin responded: "As regards our standing one foot in the past and the other ahead, we cannot stand, as they say, perhaps not in a very literary way, with out legs apart. We stand firmly on our feet and always look to the future." Putin said he was looking forward to Obama's visit "with very warm feelings". RussiaObama administrationUS foreign policyVladimir PutinUnited StatesAnna Politkovskayaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

LA officials brace for Jackson crowds

? Staples Centre has a capacity for 20,000 at most ? 11,000 tickets to be distributed free Los Angeles police and city officials will be scrambling through the weekend to prepare for a memorial for Michael Jackson on Tuesday in an attempt to prevent the scenes of chaos and confusion that have marked the eight days since his death. With the family finally settled on a Tuesday morning event at the Staples Centre in downtown LA, the city now is now bracing itself for the gathering of what is expected to be an enormous crowd of Jackson fans. The Staples Centre has a capacity for up to 20,000 at most, which most involved in the organisation agree is wildly inadequate. The event will be opened to the public, with 11,000 tickets distributed free and the remaining 9,000 seats presumably being offered to friends of the family and music industry representatives. But that will still leave a massive over-spill. Dennis Zine, an LA city council representative, said: "If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity, there is not sufficient room. Now you have a crowd-control problem." Jackson's brother, Jermaine, added to the apprehension when he told CNN: "There's no place even big enough. There are twenties of thousands just from the UK. We worked with the city authorities and they're trying their best with the time-frame we have and we're hoping that everybody's safe and that things are going to be locked down pretty much." Much of the past week has been dominated by speculation over the memorial. A report that the singer's 2,500-acre ranch Neverland would be the site of a public viewing of Jackson's coffin sent thousands of fans scurrying north of LA; all hotels in the area of the ranch were booked within minutes. Jermaine Jackson said it was still his preferred wish for his brother to be buried at Neverland, but in the end the funeral will almost certainly take place at the Forest Lawn cemetery in LA where the star's grandmother rests. After a small private ceremony there, there will be a procession to the Staple's Centre where the memorial will take place. The venue is deemed appropriate, despite its limited capacity, because it is owned by AEG Live, the promoter of the London performances. The auditorium was also where Jackson rehearsed his London comeback show This Is It! the night before he died. A snippet of Jackson rehearsing on the Staple's stage was released yesterday. It shows him singing and dancing to a background soundtrack of Martin Luther King speaking. The video gives little away about Jackson's condition. Though his singing sounds strong and he moves across the stage, his dancing lacks the technical wizardry that added to his fame in the 1980s. Up to 100 hours of footage of rehearsals is thought to exist, and the promoters of the stricken London tour are confident that from that they can extract at least two albums'-worth of material with which they can help to make up some of their multi-million dollar losses. The entertainment website, TMZ, which broke the original story about Jackson falling ill on June 25, reported yesterday that AEG Live had invested up to $30m in advance costs related to the London shows at the O2 Arena. Some of that money will be recouped, according to TMZ, through a $17.5m insurance policy with Lloyd's of London which included coverage in the event of a Jackson overdose. Paradoxically, the insurance policy did not make any provision for the possibility of Jackson dying by natural causes, TMZ said. Michael JacksonUnited StatesCaliforniaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Like James Bond, the Harry Potter movies just keep chugging along, immune to the outside cinematic world, ensconced in their universe of quidditch and muggles, inferi and death eaters. They have perfectly fitted their source material from day one: each arriving regularly with a thud on the doormat every year or so since 2001, achieving a near-institutional status that has eluded the Narnia adaptations. There had been mutterings, however, over this sixth in the Potter series, pushed back from its original planned release date last Christmas. Monkeying with the schedule tends to alert the paying public that all is not well. The Half-Blood Prince is adapted from JK Rowling's penultimate novel, but so desperate are the producers not to compromise their revenue stream that the final book, the Deathly Hallows, will be divided into two parts. Nevertheless, there's little here to suggest there has been any let-up in the Potter machine. The eponymous schoolboy ? still in owlish spectacles as he hits 17 or so ? is up against skeletal blond Draco Malfoy, on some kind of vile mission from evil genius Voldemort. Hogwarts' main asset against him is Professor Horace Slughorn (played by Jim Broadbent in that cod-Dickensian style that is practically compulsory for the Potter cast). Slughorn's brain contains key memories of Voldemort's schooldays and Harry must extract them. There's lots of blushing, stammering and smooching. Will Harry lock lips with Ginny? Is Ron smart enough to see that Hermione ... well, it's not Skins. Hands are kept above the waist at all times. Putatively winsome all this may be, but what it actually does is throw the series' biggest weakness into sharp relief: film-making can (and does) control pretty much everything ? except how the cute juvenile leads grow up. Still, director David Yates knows how to play all the cards. Although a touch ungainly, his film is solidly constructed, with lots of fine effects. If, as Potter approaches his final confrontation with Voldemort, the wizardly battles begin to resemble Lord of the Rings, it's hardly a handicap; this is tried and tested cinematic language, and does all it needs. Harry Potterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Murray crashes out in semi-final

Andy Roddick ended hopes of a first British winner in the men's singles since Fred Perry back in 1936 Different Brit, same outcome. The 73-year wait for a British men's Wimbledon singles winner will stretch to at least 74 after Andy Murray lost in four sets to an inspired Andy Roddick on Centre Court. A scrap of consolation is that Murray is still only 22 and remains a likely future champion on these lawns. Roddick was asked by American reporters "what it was like to shoot Bambi". But the victor praised his victim: "He's going to break through and win one of these titles, and probably numerous ones. He's too good not to. It's not a question of if, but when." In retirement, Bunny Austin, the last British male finalist, complained that all anyone wanted to talk to him about was "Fred, Fred, Fred", meaning Fred Perry, who won three consecutive singles titles from 1934-36. Austin was lucky to endure it only for a few summers, because there are elderly people in this country who have now been hearing that name for more than seven decades. The current British No 1 endeavoured to make the world talk about "Andy, Andy, Andy," but in the end he lacked the necessary aggression, and Roddick prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 to earn a place in Sunday's final against the five-time champion Roger Federer. In defeat, Murray was his usual imperturbable self: "I'll move on very, very quickly and go and work on my game and come back stronger. It's a pathetic attitude to have if you lose one match and you go away and let it ruin your year." For the game on these islands this semi-final was just about the most meaningful match ever played in SW19. No surprise, then, that anticipation-fatigue turned Centre Court into a house of angst. Too tense to be excited, too scared to imagine him here tomorrow, the crowd fretted and fussed through the opening set. For the hardcore ? the ones who resisted the temptation to issue such inane shouts as "Come on, Tim" ? this was a day not to enjoy but to endure. It felt, if you can forgive the tinge of melodrama, like a trial of national character. Four thousand watched on screens from Court Two and 3,000 huddled on Henman Hill. There is something about the ace as a weapon of subjugation that scares tennis crowds, and Roddick brought some of his biggest bombs to the opening exchanges, firing a serve down at 140mph in the opening game. Setting up his ambush perfectly, the American took the first set in 38 minutes after breaking Murray's serve in the final game. Championship tennis is often a matter of how elite players respond to adversity and Murray's reaction was impeccable. He bounced out for the second set and broke back with fizzing cross-court winners. The second set was his, 6-4, but Roddick is a former US Open winner, and still only 26, so there could be no hope of him helping the All England Club out with their bad historical itch. His mojo returned at the worst possible juncture for the British game. The threat always was that Murray would meet an adversary who had the arsenal, on a good day, to cut him down. In all the inquests into British failures down the years, almost no mention is made of Centre Court's capacity to inspire foreign players to win on ground they are constantly told is hallowed. In the third set Murray was warned for an audible obscenity, but insisted he had simply said: "Come on, pass," as in, "come on, play the passing shot." But the umpire thought he heard some exclamation of distress. One was certainly due, because Roddick was playing the superior tennis, and Perry's little crypt in tennis history was starting to look impregnable once again. Only when Murray broke Roddick's serve to bring the third set back to life did the audience remember it was their job to flood the court with patriotic energy. This was not their finest day. Maybe there was a faith-deficit there all along from the four anti-climactic Tim Henman semi-finals. The end of the third-set propelled the match into classic Wimbledon dogfight territory. In a tie-break Murray approached that transcendent state when the battle is the only thing, but Roddick was too formidable, winning two tie-breaks to close the deal. One wondered whether it was ever so suffocating for Austin or Perry. Neither ran into an opponent of Roddick's booming power, nor perhaps, one who was so inspired for a day. Pack up the circus. Same again next year. Andy MurrayWimbledonTennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

All of a twitter: the PM's wife

Today, Gay Pride. Last week, Glastonbury. Wherever the masses gather, it seems, Sarah Brown is also to be found, smiling for cameras whilst twittering merrily away. The omnipresence of the prime minister's wife has been startling in recent weeks. Whether at first lady Michelle Obama's side, or posing with socialite heiress Paris Hilton, or updating her 300,000 Twitter followers on her home-grown strawberries, Mrs Brown is everywhere. "Clearly, they think it is a worthwhile attempt at softening Gordon's image. And they have to do it, because Cameron is so good at this soft stuff," said Danny Rogers, editor of PR Week. So, has Downing Street unleashed its most effective weapon to save Project Gordon? As her embattled husband's popularity wanes, hers soars. Never before has a No 10 spouse been so, apparently, accessible. But opinions over her motives are divided. The prime minister's advisers will tell you there is no agenda, beyond promoting her charities. At Glastonbury, with model Naomi Campbell, she was raising awareness of the White Ribbon Alliance, the international charity on maternal mortality. Twitter ? her idea ? is just one more effective tool. Friends concur, dismissing suggestions of a "cynical marketing ploy". Kathy Lette, the Australian novelist and a friend for many years, said: "The only reason she didn't tweet before is because it wasn't invented. "She's a natural communicator. She thinks it's hysterical that I am so technologically retarded and can't tweet. I prefer carrier pigeon. "So this is not some desperate attempt to make Gordon more appealing. It's just her natural instinct to communicate good positive messages about her charitable passions like maternal morality. The woman should be rushing off for a halo fitting." Though still short of Barack Obama's reported 1.3 million followers, her Twitter friends include Queen Rania of Jordan, presenters Davina McCall, Emma Freud and Stephen Fry, DJ Chris Moyles, actor Kevin Spacey, and comedian Eddie Izzard. But no one can forget she is a consummate PR, widely regarded as one of the best before she ditched her career and maiden name to marry the future prime minister. The veteran PR Max Clifford sees her recent "visibility" as a "deliberate ploy by a very loyal wife". He said: "It is a personal one-woman marketing campaign to get to know the thoughts and feelings of as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, because her husband isn't getting very good advice as to what the public think or feel." A natural networker, the friendships she has struck with Mrs Obama and Carla Bruni, wife of the French president, could stand her husband in good stead for a job on the international stage. Some believe she is laying the groundwork for a dignified exit from No 10. Yet, others are bemused by her approach. One in her circle believes her tweets make her come across as an "airhead ? which she most certainly is not". Aside from the charity and issue messages, they reveal very little of the real Mrs Brown. Never unguarded ? she has been described as having an in-built censor ? little can be gleaned beyond that she likes getting out in the sunshine and trips to the beach in Fife. She's "excited" about her strawberries, spends time baking and making cookies going to London Zoo, and when she's not telephone chatting with girlfriends she enjoys watching "BGT" ? Britain's Got Talent ? and the Eurovision song contest. Anything remotely political is avoided. Indeed she displayed an almost Neroesque attitude to the maelstrom that consumed her husband during his frenetic cabinet reshuffle. Thus, as the work and pensions secretary James Purnell resigned and the chancellor Alistair Darling contemplated whether he might have need of a removals firm, she was tweeting about going to the cinema ? albeit for a worthy screening on the plight of the world's fish stocks ? and how much she loved Twitter. But she has also used it as an effective air-brushing tool. "Finished day with amazing British vets at Arromanches ? kept thanking us for coming when we should thank them," she tweeted, ignoring the muffled boos that greeted the prime minister in Normandy on the 65th D-Day anniversary last month. Likewise her tweet "Quite a moment with the Gurkhas and their families in Downing Street garden out in the beautiful sunshine" belied no hint of the bludgeoning Brown had sustained at the hands of deadly Gurkha campaigner Joanna Lumley. "She is formidable," said Ross Furlong, digital PR specialist who is still in awe of her performance when she stepped out to introduce her husband at the Labour party conference. "I couldn't work out how he could avoid getting a kicking, then she stepped in." But, he warned, people want a genuine portrait of a person. "If she is just purely doing her PR spin, then people might start to question it online. In a sense, you can miss a trick by not being personal enough." Danny Rogers agreed. "These are powerful tools," he said. But she was in danger of trying to be all things to all people, "one minute with Paris Hilton, the next home cooking with the kids. "My advice to her would be, be yourself, be open and join the conversation. And don't try to be something you're not, because it is an unforgiving medium. People will see through it and there will be a backlash." Tweet nothings Sarah Brown may be a regular Tweeter, but she divulges very little about life with husband Gordon inside No 10, as this selection from her Twitter site demonstrates. ? "Have emerged from a weekend of gardening, baking cakes and cookies" ? "Am loving Twitter conversation on Eurovision ? almost better than the TV coverage" ? "Peppers and tomatoes are shooting up" ? "Too much girlfriend chatting on phone last night ? and BGT (Britain's Got Talent) ? and I missed out on Tweeting" TwitterMichelle ObamaPolitics and technologyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Activists who stopped train convicted

Climate change protesters face community service after judge rejects justification defence Climate change protesters who ambushed and hijacked a power station coal train failed to convince a jury today that their actions were justified by the "imminent threat" of devastation from global warming. The 22 men and women, including a senior university lecturer, teachers and film-makers, were convicted - after less than two hours of deliberation - of obstructing the service carrying 42,000 tonnes of coal to Drax in North Yorkshire last June. Their hopes of repeating the "Kingsnorth Six" judgment last September, when activists who defaced a power station chimney were acquitted by a Kent jury, were dashed by a judge, who refused to admit arguments that the hijack was "necessary and proportionate to prevent the greater crime of carbon pollution". Although he eventually allowed an unexpectedly large amount of evidence about climate change to be heard, Judge James Spencer refused to let expert witnesses such as Nasa scientist, Prof James Hansen, address the seven women and five men on the jury at Leeds crown court. In a pre-trial ruling he said that to do so would allow the protesters "to hijack the trial process as surely as they hijacked the coal train". He did however compliment the group, who conducted their own defence, on making an "eloquent, sincere, moving and engaging" case to the court. After the verdicts, he said that sentencing in early September would definitely not include jail terms, but was likely to be community service. The 22, plus a further five protesters who earlier pleaded guilty and two who are ill but expected to submit guilty pleas in due course, will however face hefty financial penalties. The crown is applying for both its costs and £36,000 compensation for cleaning up coal shovelled on to the tracks during a 16-hour standoff with police. After the verdict, one of the 22, Dr Louise Hemmerman, 31, said: "The judge declared from day one that climate change was irrelevant to the trial, despite the fact that it was the sole reason for doing what we did." Another of the group, Jonathan Stevenson, 27, who works for a development charity, said: "This won't be the last case where climate protesters are in court for taking peaceful direct action, and while some judges may think climate change is irrelevant, they won't be able to hold back the tide forever." Stevenson asked the judge after the verdicts if an order banning the defendants from power stations would apply more widely, to include roads. Judge Spencer replied with a smile: "I would steer clear of demonstrations, all of you, until this case is completely over. Try to find some other activities to do on your holidays." Hansen, head of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, whom the defendants had intended to call to the stand to speak about the science of climate change, said: "Civil resistance is not an easy path, but given abdication of responsibility by the government, it is an essential path." Hansen was arrested last week for his part in a protest over mountaintop coalmining in West Virginia. He has previously said that direct action is necessary because the democratic process is not bringing about policy change fast enough. The chief crown prosecutor for North Yorkshire, Rob Turnbull, said: "While the CPS [crown prosecution service] respects the rights of individuals to lawfully protest, it takes a serious view of criminal activity which targets those carrying out lawful activities." He defended Judge Spencer's pre-trial ruling on the grounds that no one was in such immediate danger from global warning that hijacking a coal train was "proportionate". "The judge said that if the power station contributed to global warming, and all that entailed, it was for the government to attend to and not the protesters. He also said that no reasonable jury could conclude that the crime these defendants allegedly committed was either reasonable or proportionate when there were democratic processes available in this country for political change." The 22 were acquitted of actually stopping the train, after evidence that no one knew which of them had donned fake railwaymen's uniforms and used red flags to bring it to a halt. The ambush stopped the train right on a bridge over the river Aire, whose girders gave protesters the means to clamber up and use 15 shovels to start unloading coal. Passenger and freight services in the area were disrupted for two days, but Drax generated power normally throughout. Those convicted were: Theo Bard, 24, Amy Clancy, 24, Brian Farelly, 32, Grainne Gannon, 26, Bryn Hoskins, 24, Jasmin Karalis, 25, Ellen Potts, 33, Bertie Russell, 24, Alison Stratford,26, Jonathan Stevenson, 27 and Felix Wight, all of London, Melanie Evans,25, Matthew Fawcette, 34, Robin Gillett, 23, Kristina Jones 22, Oliver Rodker, 40 and Thomas Spencer,23, all of Manchester, Paul Chatterton, 36, and Louise Hemmerman, 31, of Leeds, Melanie Evans, 25, of Stockport, Paul Morozzo, 42, of Hebden Bridge, Christopher Ward, 38, of Newport Pagnell and Elizabeth Whelan of Glasgow. The five who pleaded guilty earlier were: Theo Brown, 22 and Clemmie James, 24, of London, Malcolm Carroll, 53, of Stafford, Thomas Johnstone, 25, of Liverpool and Paul Mellett, 29, of Colerne, Wiltshire. The two have indicated they will plead guilty when well are Caroline Williams, 25, of London and Sam Martingell, 24, of Leeds. ActivismCoalFossil fuelsClimate changeDraxClimate changeProtestguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Man is fourth in UK to die from swine flu

A 19-year-old man has become the fourth person in the UK to die of swine flu and the first in London. The teenager, from south London, who has not been identified, had serious underlying health problems, as had all those who have died in the UK so far. He tested positive for the H1N1 virus after his death at Lewisham hospital on Wednesday. So far there have been four deaths among the nearly 7,500 lab-confirmed cases. On Thursday the health secretary Andy Burnham said projections showed that if cases continued to rise at the current rate there would be 100,000 new cases a day by the end of August. The number of deaths will inevitably also rise, but extrapolation from the four deaths so far would not be statistically valid because the numbers are too few. A Department of Health spokesman said suggestions that there could be 40 deaths a day by the end of the summer were wrong. "Scientific and clinical experts can use sophisticated modelling techniques to help us understand how the virus may behave, but that is all they can do ? be a guide, not a prediction," he said. Those whose immune systems are compromised, for instance through cancer treatment, or who have breathing problems, like asthmatics, or who are otherwise frail are at greatest risk from the virus. The south London teenager is the second youngest victim, after nine year-old Sameerah Ahmad, who was born with a rare life-threatening disease. The first victim was 38-year-old Jacqui Fleming, who died in hospital in Glasgow where she had been in intensive care since giving birth three months prematurely. The baby also later died, but not from swine flu. The Department of Health said that it was possible to catch swine flu in hospital, where many people might be at risk because of their poor state of health. "Like any other place where there are lots of people, you could get it in hospital," said a spokesman. "But we're making sure that people with swine flu are isolated away from other patients and staff are very meticulous in their cleanliness." Another death is likely to add to the alarm created by the soaring numbers of cases, but chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson warned that people should not attempt to buy antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu over the internet. Donaldson pointed out that the UK has one of the biggest stockpiles of the drug in the world and certainly enough to treat all cases of the disease here. He warned on Thursday against buying antiviral drugs on the internet. All those who fall ill will receive Tamiflu, even though some experts think treatment is warranted only for those with other health problems. However, some of those who have become seriously ill and at least one who died elsewhere were apparently healthy before their infection. Swine fluLondonAndy BurnhamHealthFluHealth & wellbeingHealth policyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

ComputerWorld 

Well-honed Attacks Sneak Under the Radar

Samples of documents used in carefully prepared targeted attacks make clear that while a suspicious eye is a great security tool, some especially dangerous attacks might slide right by you.

Wanna be @the_real_shaq? That'll be $50,000...

If you're a nobody who wants to be somebody in the online Web world, you don't need friends--just a thriving bank account. That's where uSocial comes into play. The company converts your cash into background support on the Web's top social sites: You can buy Diggs, votes on Yahoo Buzz, eyeballs for StumbleUpon ... and now, Twitter followers.

iPhone 3GS heats up, DOJ takes aim at Google

The iPhone scored quite a few headlines related to overheating problems with the 3GS this week. Depending on whom you believe, those issues are either real, exaggerated, the fault of users or some combination of the three. Otherwise, as warm weather takes hold above the equator and Bostonians contemplate whether it's time to brush up on our ark-building skills (rain, rain go away), we find this week's IT news offerings cover a broad range.

San Francisco misses the NextBus

I live in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. If you've visited San Francisco you may know it as the Italian district, where Joe DiMaggio learned to play baseball and where beat writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg forged their countercultural vision of the American dream. If you live here, though, you also know that it's the worst place in the city to try to find a parking spot.

iPhone 3GS Gets Jailbroken, Hack Available Online

The first jailbreaking application for the iPhone 3GS is now available. The tool, called purplera1n, will only allow the installation of unofficial third-party applications, but will not unlock the iPhone 3GS.

Final Draft AV 2.5

For years, documentary-style film and video makers have struggled to use jury-rigged tables within word processing programs to create the unique two-column scripts needed for planning documentaries, commercials, and corporate videos. Final Draft AV 2.5.2 aims to put a smile on those creative faces by taking over such time-consuming formatting duties so that filmmakers can focus their time where it matters--on content.

Oracle may cut up to 1,000 European jobs, union says

Oracle may lay off between 850 to 1,000 European employees, according to the French union CFDT.

Deathmatch rematch: BlackBerry versus iPhone 3.0

The carrier coup must be stopped

Wireless carriers have made connecting consumer gadgets to the Internet very complex, but it doesn't have to be that way, writes columnist Mike Elgan. The best and simplest plan is what Amazon.com is using with the Kindle.

RSA's Coviello: Cloud computing not secure enough

Cloud-based services are being rolled out without enough attention being paid to securing these services and the information they handle. That was the finding of a recent study commissioned by RSA Security.

Christian Science Monitor 

Air France plane didn't break up? Skepticism grows.

Many wonder how French investigators, who announced their findings Thursday, could arrive at that conclusion when so little evidence has been recovered.

Coup drives deep divide in Honduras

Supporters of ousted President Zelaya blocked streets Wednesday, vowing to protest until he is reinstated.

FROM OUR FILES: An Interview with Karl Malden

Karl Malden, who died today, spoke to the MONITOR in 1959 about acting and working with directors such as Kazan and Hitchcock.

US operation aims to smooth road for Afghan elections

Afghanistan hopes to gain control of more of its territory before August elections. The Taliban could disrupt voter turnout in areas it holds.

British warning: Summer is forced marriage season

At least 5,000 women and girls were sent abroad to marry last year, according to a government report. Britain is toughening its stand against the practice with 'rescue??? teams, hotlines, and a new campaign to protect women.

Church Of The Customer 

WOM won't wait 'til Monday

Hype vs. excitement

The secrecy tax

The intern trap

An emerging metric: the GoodGuide score

The roots of word of mouth

10 new rules for credit cards

Are you an enlightened stupid marketer?

15 pounds lighter

Joint Communicators Luncheon, Dallas, June 16

Wired News 

Peak Oil: Bugatti Makes a Car for the Ages

Bugatti's convertible is the pinnacle of internal-combustion car tech -- one that will probably never be surpassed with the auto industry's focus shifting to electric vehicles. Here's what it's like to drive it.

Keeping It Reel — Five Pieces for Your Must-Have Angling Kit

Fly fishers dread the question: "Catch anything today?" Dazzling your interrogators with cool gear might let you dodge the question. No gadget can improve your cast, but tech can surely enhance life on the water.

July 4, 1776: Preserving the Declaration

It's one thing to declare independence, but quite another to preserve the aging document from the ravages of time.

Tour de Tweet: Follow Lance and the Boys Online

The Tour de France begins Saturday, July 4, in Monaco. Here's how to follow the three-week bike race using streaming audio and video, Twitter, Google Earth and other online tools.

Penguin Parents Won't Chip In to Help Handicapped Spouse

Penguins, famous for the lengths they go to to protect their eggs and rear their young, may not be the most supportive couples around. When one member of a penguin couple is handicapped, the other doesn't step in to pick up the slack.

Solar Racing Champs Roll Out New Car

Delft University is back, ready to take a fifth consecutive title with Nuna 5.

Judge Overrules Jury, Acquits Lori Drew in MySpace Cyberbullying Case

Federal judge throws out Lori Drew's three misdemeanor convictions.

Lunar Probe Sends First High-Res Images

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has begun producing high-resolution and wide-angle images of the moon's surface.

We Drive BMW's Electric Mini E

Sticking a battery and a motor in the Mini makes it a sweet little EV we could live with if it weren't for the stratospheric price tag.

Why You Can't Keep Your Foot Out of Your Mouth

When your brain is overloaded, it will often get stuck on exactly the thing you are trying to avoid thinking about, leading you to blurt out things you never meant to share.

CNN Live 

Report: North Korea test-fires more missiles

North Korea fired five short-range missiles toward the Sea of Japan, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Saturday. The recent firings come amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. North Korea conducted a nuclear test in May, fired test rockets and threatened U.S. and South Korean ships near its territorial waters.

Palin: 'I know when it's time to pass the ball'

Sarah Palin said Friday that she will step down as Alaska's governor by the end of the month. She will not seek election to a second gubernatorial term in 2010. As the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, Palin had been considered one of the front-runners for the GOP nomination in 2012.

Jackson fans face long odds for tickets

Fans continued to register by the thousands early Saturday, hoping to be among the 8,750 people who will be randomly picked to attend the memorial service for singer Michael Jackson next week.

Diprivan risk well-known to doctors

While authorities do not yet know what killed Michael Jackson, the possibility that anesthetics -- particularly the drug Diprivan -- might be involved continues to swell. Sources close to Jackson told CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta that the singer traveled with an anesthesiologist who would "take him down" at night and "bring him back up" during a tour in the mid-'90s.

'Serial killer' sought in South Carolina

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office on Friday released a second sketch of a man believed to have fatally shot four people in less than a week near Gaffney, South Carolina. "Let me say that, under the FBI's definition of a serial killer, yes, we have a serial killer," Sheriff Bill Blanton said. In addition, Blanton said he did not know whether the shooter knew his victims or whether he may have chosen them at random.

New Honduras leaders reject Zelaya's return

The head of the Organization of American States said Friday he has found no willingness among leaders of Honduras' interim government to return President Jose Manuel Zelaya to power.

Navy: Sailor slain on sentry duty in California

A sailor found dead earlier this week at California's Camp Pendleton was shot while standing sentry, and a fire was set in an attempt to cover up evidence, the U.S. Navy said. Although at least one of Seaman August Provost's relatives said she believes he was killed because of his sexual orientation and his race, Navy officials said there was no indication the killing was a hate crime.

Ex-Iran president seeks to free detainees

Iranians worried about their loved ones detained in the protests that followed the presidential election got the ear of a former president, who wants the detainees released, an Iranian reformist party newspaper reported on Thursday.

Mexican elections are referendum on Calderon

Mexican President Felipe Calderon will wake up a lame duck Monday. How lame will depend largely on nationwide midterm elections Sunday.

3 kids among 6 killed in London high-rise fire

Two children were killed when a fire broke out in a high-rise apartment building in south London on Friday afternoon, officials said. Sixteen people were injured.

ESPN 

• Hedo Turkoglu pulls out of talks with Portland Trail Blazers, source says
• Manny 0 for 3 in return as Dodgers beat Padres
• Roger Federer, Andy Roddick to meet in Wimbledon men's final
• Rafael Palmeiro continues to deny knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs
• Tigers get by Twins after 5-hour, 16-inning epic
• Sources: Detroit Pistons' Joe Dumars to meet with Avery Johnson
• Tiger Woods moves into AT&T National lead with 4-under 66
• Pujols' slam, 3-run ninth lead Cards past Reds
• NHL free agency: Columbus Blue Jackets keep superstar Rick Nash in fold with 8-year extension
• Sprint Cup: Tony Stewart gets pole after rain washes out Daytona International Speedway qualifying
• Phil Jackson's return to Los Angeles Lakers is finalized
• NASCAR chairman Brian France defends circuit's drug policy
• NBA free agency: Ron Artest says he's leaving Houston Rockets for Los Angeles Lakers
• British soccer star Owen signs with Man United
• New United Football League will consider Michael Vick

Cool Tools 

Snappi Diaper Fasteners

We buy cloth diapers for our baby, as a greener, cheaper and healthier alternative to disposables. Several companies make cloth diapers with snaps or Velcro fasteners, but those can hit $20 apiece or more.

Flat diapers are much cheaper, and can be folded to fit any size baby, but there’s no built-in fastener. The traditional approach used to be safety pins, but it’s a daunting task to pin a diaper without stabbing the baby or yourself with the sharp point.

The Snappi diaper fastener is a rubber elongated “T” with plastic teeth at each of the three ends. The teeth hold the diaper securely, but are too short to go through the diaper and into the baby. Putting the Snappi on is about as easy as using Velcro, and taking it off is even easier. It’s simple to clean and has a lifespan of about six months.

We tried an off-brand version first, and it nearly sent us back to pins -- the teeth wouldn't hold, and the plastic bits that connect the teeth to the stretchable body of the “T” always separated from the rubber. The Snappi brand fasteners never gave us any trouble.

-- Scott Noyes

Snappi Diaper Fasteners
$2

Manufactured by Snappi Baby

Available from Amazon

Related Entries: The Optimistic Child

Cuboro

New Native Baby Sling

Spring Tools Combination Nail Set

I’ve had the same one for almost ten years. Sometimes called the “two-bit snapper,” it’s a very simple and clever spring-based hammer that you use instead of the nail set-hammer combo normally used to pound in finishing nails. It’s excellent when you need to put up molding in tight spots and corners. Its compact size means that it can always live on your tool belt. You just pull back one end and the spring does the hammering for you.

It seems to be a lot more accurate than a center punch-hammer combo, since one hand holds the tool and nail together, while the other pulls back to snap the spring; you get fewer errant holes around the nail you’re trying to punch in. It’s one of those tools that is so simple, I wonder why more people don’t have one. I’ve only used it for finishing nails, but Spring Tools makes it in other variations, as well. This tool is just so elegant: simple, functional and as utilitarian as a bicycle.

-- Erik Knutzen

SpringTools 32R12-1 1/32 to 2/32-Inch Combination Nail Set Spring Impact Tool
$10

Manufactured by Spring Tools

Available from Amazon

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Dovetail Markers

Stiletto TiBone Titanium Hammer

Sugar Dispenser

I bought this sugar dispenser from King Arthur Flour a couple of years ago, and it’s been a sturdy, reliable tool. It’s sized to accommodate a five-pound bag of sugar. You slide the bag inside, open it up, trim the bag top to the level of the top of the container, and put on the lid. There’s a little flap on the inside of the lid that fits right inside the bag of sugar, holding it open and keeping the sugar from sifting down the sides. The lid has two openings, one is a small pour spout, and the other is large enough for scooping out sugar with a measuring cup. The spout is slightly flexible, so if a lump clogs it I can squeeze the sides of the spout to crush the lump. The whole thing is ant and waterproof when sealed shut.

This is not a sexy matte-black high tech kind of tool, just a solid, well thought-out container that makes working with, and storing, sugar or flour much simpler, easier and cleaner. Using it makes me very happy.

Also, King Arthur Flour’s online store and print catalog are packed with tons of nifty cooking tools. The King Arthur Flour’s Cookie Companion and Baker’s Companion books are fabulous cookbooks.

-- Amy Thomson

Sugar/Flour Dispenser
$8
Manufactured by Buddeez

Available from Amazon

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Egg Timer

Tiffin Carrier

Create an Oasis with Greywater

Greywater is the term for all household wastewater except for the toilet and kitchen sink. This is the only comprehensive book I know of on the subject, and in this fifth and expanded edition, Art Ludwig explains how to choose, build, and use a variety of simple greywater systems. There are clear drawings for sending washing machine water into the garden (with or without a drum), for putting diversion valves on bathtubs or showers, for creating “mulch basins,” for ultra-simple setups like “Garden Hose Through the Bathroom,” and “Dishpan Dump (Bucketing)” -- the latter of which I've been practicing lately to the great benefit of both septic system and compost piles.

There’s a large section on branched drains -- splitting the flow and dispersing greywater to a number of mulch basins in the garden -- using gravity flow, no pumps or electricity. Mistakes made in greywater systems over the years are documented here, along with suggested improvements, and there's a two-page System Selection Chart with a comparison of 18 different systems.

-- Lloyd Kahn

[Complete plans for one of the book's most broadly appealing projects -- a Laundry to Landscape Grey Water System -- are available, free, on the Oasis Design site. -- ES]

The New Create an Oasis with Greywater
Art Ludwig
2009, 144 pages
$21

Published by and available from Oasis Design

Or $15 from Amazon

Sample Excerpts:

Simple Laundry Drum with Rainwater Harvesting

*

Figure 7.6: Laundry Drumless Laundry

*

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Ratcheting Tube and Pipe Cutter

Snappi Diaper Fasteners

Gorilla Gripper

I have the Stanley Panel Carry, previously reviewed on Cool Tools, but greatly prefer the Gorilla Gripper, which works with panel widths from 3/8 to 1 1/8 inch. It is about six times more expensive, but it works significantly better for moving large panels.

The Stanley tool goes under the bottom edge of the sheet. This can be awkward if it’s heavy material, such as plywood, and seems more likely to result in damaged corners. Using the Stanley holder, I had to bend my back at an awkward angle to pick up the sheet -- the length from the tray (where the bottom edge of the sheet rests) to the handle is too short. The Gorilla Gripper lifts from the top of the panel, so there’s less need to bend before lifting, and I can keep my back straight. Also, with the Gorilla Gripper it's easier to adjust your balance, since you don't have the friction of the material moving the tool from side to side.

-- D.A.

[Video of the Gorilla Gripper in use here. -- ES]

Gorilla Gripper
$46
Manufactured by Landon Innovations

Available from Amazon

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Moving Heavy Things

Built By Hand

Homegrown Evolution

Mead making, beer brewing, bread baking, urban poultry raising, container planting, pirate gardening, foraging, pickling, bicycle-powered hauling, solar-oven making and anti-car culture ranting are just a fraction of what you’ll absorb plumbing the archives of HomegrownEvolution.com. Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen, husband and wife urban homesteaders, guide those of us who can’t make it back to the land on how best to incorporate aspects of it into our modern city-bound lives.

They’re encouraging, but don’t preach or pretend to be perfect, and therein lies their appeal. Erik and Kelly are friends of mine, and over the past few years their website and their book, The Urban Homestead, have led my household, step by small step, to be less consumptive and more productive.

-- Elon Schoenholz

Here's an instructional video on how to make your own self-watering container. If you plan to undertake this project, be sure to use a food-grade bucket, as the authors recommend in The Urban Homestead. SurviveLA was the original name of the Homegrown Evolution website. -- ES

Homegrown Evolution
Free

Sample Excerpts:

Related Entries: Country Wisdom & Know-How

The Art of the Stonemason

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing

Field Notes

I’ve tried lots of different small notebooks. Field Notes are the best ones I’ve found, small and thin enough to really have with you all the time, in a shirt or pants pocket. I’ve carried them for over a year, and my small notebook is used every day for ideas, shopping lists, account numbers/passwords (coded, of course), design sketches, references.

I am now laminating the covers with simple self-seal lamination sheet to lengthen the life of the cardboard cover.

I love leather, but all the leather and Moleskine notebooks (previously reviewed on Cool Tools) are simply too thick for me to carry all the time in a pocket, which is where the Field Notes pads have made the difference.

-- John C Moore

[I've been using Field Notes lately, and a laminating them as John suggests would be a great improvement. Moleskine makes a similar soft cover product, and competitively priced, too. Both are fine choices if you get around without a bag. --ES]

Field Notes 3-Pack, 48 page memo books, ball point pen, pencil
$10
Manufactured by and available from Field Notes Brand

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Derringer Wallet Pen

How to Make a Journal of Your Life

Haws Watering Can

When I began gardening I used a generic plastic watering can from a hardware store, but it didn’t give a gentle enough flow for newly planted seeds, nor a fast enough stream for larger plants that drink a lot. The polyethylene Haws can’s separate spout attachments—right angle downspout and oval brass rose—are outstanding features that make it a versatile performer. The right angle is useful for pinpointing the spot I’m aiming to water and also for avoiding watering a plant’s leaves. The brass rose angled upward lets forth a gentle rain for delicate seedlings; angled downward it gives a still-gentle but stronger dispersed stream. With both spouts removed, a solid stream shoots straight out of the can for deeper watering and hitting the tough-to-reach corners of my raised beds. Two “parking spots” on the body of the can hold the spout attachments not in use, so they’re never misplaced. Changing modes -- and changing back -- couldn’t be easier.
The only drawback I’ve encountered is that the fine holes in the brass rose clog easily and need to be cleaned regularly to work well. But until I graduate to drip irrigation, this is the perfect tool.

-- Elon Schoenholz

Haws 6-Liter Practican Watering Can
$39

Manufactured by Haws

Available from Amazon

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Fiskars PowerGear Bypass Pruner

Atlas Nitrile Garden Gloves

A&P Mechanic's Cable Key Ring

I carry a ton of keys. I’ve tried standard metal key rings in a few sizes, mini-carabiners of various types, and dual rings with a quick-release between them, and they all have problems. The A&P Mechanic’s Cable Key Ring, by County Comm, is made of strong stainless steel cable with a screw ferrule closure, is very light and the screw-apart fastener makes adding new keys a snap.

The give in the cable allows each key to flex in place a bit when under tension, so keys and ring together conform to my pocket and make less of an uncomfortable, unsightly bulge. The fact that it’s both handsome and just a couple of dollars doesn’t hurt, either.

-- George Cochrane

I only picked up this key ring a month ago, but I have sworn never to return to the old style of key rings again. I got so tired of breaking nails prying the ring apart and then forcing my keys on to it and wiggling them around the ring until they were completely secured. This key ring simply uses a very secure barrel screw to hold the two ends together. The end that pulls out of the barrel easily threads through all of my keys at once and then securely screws back into the barrel.

-- Debra Williamson

[These two reviews highlight similar products with a slight variation. The ring by County Comm is made from stainless aviation cable with brass screws and barrels; the Hy-Ko Products ring Debra uses has a nylon-coated cable. Of the two buying options below, both include shipping costs two- to four- times the item price, so it only makes sense if you have something else to buy. Maybe it's time to finally get those EMT shears for your grab-and-go bag. -- ES]

A&P Mechanic's Cable Key Ring
$2
Manufactured by and available from County Comm

Cable Key Ring
$3
Manufactured by Hy-Ko Products

Available from Aubuchon Hardware

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Mint

This web-based dashboard gives me an elegant overview of all my financial accounts in one screen. I've been using Mint for the past 6 months and it is marvelous. It is super friendly, quick, and illuminating. It makes me smart.

Mint will aggregate any money or spending account with online access -- which is basically all financial accounts by now. In ten minutes or less I added our bank, credit cards, mortgage, cars, 401k, credit union, checking, and Etrade accounts to Mint. That's the last input I ever had to do. From then on Mint automatically updates all the accounts, sucking in their data with the correct passwords, and integrates this diverse information into a single unified realtime snapshot of our finances. At once glance I can see where we are spending too much, or how we actually allot our income. I no longer have to hunt for my password and numbers for different accounts, say checking our bank balance, or a credit card purchase. It is much much easier, and far more pleasant, to simply log into Mint, where I can see everything. There, in clear presentation far superior to most banks, are all my accounts informing each other. One window to watch them all!

Mint is a read-only interface. There is no way to move money, or reconcile accounts, or pay bills, or calculate taxes (for now). That is also why it is safe. In fact it is probably safer than most banks because fancy algorithms at Mint similar to credit card fraud detection software will alert you when your finances show an unusual pattern. This is one of its cool features. It will gently inform you (at your choice) that say, based on your past months’ expenditures, you've overspent your grocery budget this month. It also makes a fairly good guess at categorizing your expenses on its own. It can then make comparisons of how your budget stacks up to other aggregate users in your area, and offer budget suggestions (which we have not followed). We rarely use cash for anything so Mint gives us a very complete picture.

Some people will not be convinced by any reasoning or proof that having a single window into your entire financial situation is safe. If you are of that type, don't use Mint. But for the rest, who long ago realized that using credit cards online is far safer than using one in a store, Mint is a fabulous cool tool. And it is free. Available anywhere the web lives.

There are a couple of similar sites, such as Wesabe and Geezeo, which emphasize sharing budgets, sort of like a Weight Watchers for finances, but I find their interfaces far less elegant. However this niche is evolving fast, and features expand. Mint has a good head start, a winning design (I love the pie charts!), and a sizable user base, so I think it will be around for a while. (If it did disappear, no loss because it does not store any unique data.)

-- KK

Mint
Free

Related Entries: Money for Nothing

Kiva

Money-Band

Digg Frontpage News 

Gene Simmons Wants MJ Abuse Accusers to Speak Up

Gene Simmons says he's heard enough celebrity tributes to Michael Jackson, and wants to hear from the kids who accused the late pop singer of molestation. States reality TV star and KISS front man Simmons, "So while it's sad that (Jackson) had this sad life and I understand, that's horrible - Michael's not the only victim."

Did an embezzlement scandal force Sarah Palin to resign?

The gist of the rumor is that an Alaska building company called Spenard Building Supplies (SBS) was awarded a contract by Palin to build a hockey arena in Wasilla, AK, and in return, SBS helped construct Palin's home.

Catching Up With... Jonathan Coulton -- Still Alive

FTA: Coulton wrote the song "Still Alive" for Portal and secured his cult status.

Did Evolution Make Us Cancer Prone?

Researchers have discovered that gene mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases, including cancer.

Top 10 Apollo hoax claims (PICS)

Landing humans on the moon was a monumentally improbable feat. We examine some of the claims that the moon landing was a hoax.

Parents in faith-healing case never considered calling a doc

OREGON CITY -- Carl and Raylene Worthington told detectives that they never considered calling a doctor, even as their 15-month-old daughter deteriorated and died. "I don't believe in them," Carl Worthington said of doctors. "I believe in faith healing."

4 Simple Tips for Decluttering Your Home

Tips to reduce clutter in the four key areas of your home - your kitchen, dining room, bedroom and office. These simple steps will not only clear space around the house, but cut waste and reduce your environmental impact.

New Art Form

They could be jellyfish, alien clouds or microscopic organisms - but in fact these amazing images are a whole new art form.

Wall Spin Parkour Headshot

The beginning looks quite promising, but I guess he forgot about the mailbox.

'Iran Trial' for UK Embassy Staff

Some UK embassy staff detained in Tehran and accused of inciting protests after disputed elections will face trial, a top Iranian cleric says.

Wonkette 

So Why Did This Crazy Palin Lady Quit the Alaska Governor Job She Just Started Two Years Ago?

First of all, Sarah Palin, go to HELL for ruining your editor's day of patriotic rest and BBQ. Second, why did you really quit, crazy lady? We admit to "jumping to conclusions" (trying to hurry up and get back outside to our cocktails and friends), but the story may be more complicated than "Sarah Palin [...]

Sarah Palin ‘Not Taking The Quitter's Way Out'

Some of us have been on vacation since Wednesday, at the delightful Beach, but how could we miss Sarah Palin's latest cosmic sack o' lies and demons and terror? Watch her "I'm going to resign because governing a state is hard when you have absolutely no interest in governing a state" speech, it is packed [...]

SARAH PALIN RESIGNS

Come on, we are supposed to be celebrating AMERICA this July 4th Weekend, but of course with Sarah Palin, it's all about Sarah Palin. So she has RUINED our Independence Day by announcing that she's quitting the governor's job (boring!) and handing over power to the lieutenant governor, and this apparently means she's running for [...]

Is Our President TOO Diplomatic?: A Politico EXPOSE

Cryptofascist warblog The Politico has won the long weekend (and, by retroactive default, the Revolutionary War) with their crucial SCOOP on Obama's weird obsession with pronouncing proper nouns?names of places he's visiting, names of people he's speaking to, that sort of thing?in the way in which they are actually intended to be pronounced. Quoth Politico's [...]

America's Car Wizard Drives A Japanese Car

OH SCANDAL this youngling Brian Deese, a 14-year-old hired by the president to reform the auto industry — the American auto industry, that is — does not even drive an American car. Instead he drives a two-door Honda Civic hatchback with a shitty paint job, referred to informally as the "Pussy Wagon." On this day [...]

Cow Porn Judge Officially Admonished

Ha ha ha we randomly clicked on this LA Times headline thinking, "Alex Kozinski, isn't she that rich NYT gal with the plastic surgery and the surrogates?" But no, duh, the name should ring a bell because Alex Kozinski is the infamous cow porn judge who shocked America last June with revelations that he kept [...]

Happy Pre-Independence Day!

Profound economy-related insight: continued widespread unemployment is bad because "people without jobs tend not to spend much money." [Washington Post]
Iran plans to try some local British embassy staff for fomenting unrest. Thank goodness the US doesn't have any embassies in Iran! [New York Times]
The thug who replaced the other thug in Honduras said he'd be [...]

Engadget 

5-inch Android-powered Archos Internet Media Tablet landing in September

Just under a month ago at Archos' Paris reveal, we were somewhat dismayed that an Android-based device didn't show up... officially, at least. We were told to expect more information about a Google-powered unit this September, but it looks as if said wait has been hacked considerably. According to The Inquirer, Archos has informed it that a 5-inch internet media tablet loaded with Android will be unveiled on September 15th, a date that certainly jibes with prior information. The handheld will boast Google's sauce underneath with a layer of Archos applications on top, and while the Windows 7-equipped Archos 9 PCTablet (pictured) is expected in October, this here device should hit shelves a few weeks prior. In related news, the briefing also included word that Archos was working on a few "telephony products," which is just barely enough to get you simultaneously excited / hot and bothered. [Via TrustedReviews]Filed under: Handhelds 5-inch Android-powered Archos Internet Media Tablet landing in September originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

How would you change the Palm Pre?

You knew it was on deck, and at long last, here it is. Your one and only shot (okay, so maybe that's a gentle stretch) to tell the world -- and Palm, since it's a part of the world -- exactly what you think about the Pre. Since going on sale to the general public just under a month ago, some analysts have suggested that some 300,000 or so units have been moved. We're quite confident that at least some of that bunch have their eyes peering at this here post, so we'd like to formally ask for your opinions in comments below. Is there anything you'd like to see changed on Palm's Pre? Is the build quality up to snuff? Is webOS everything you thought it'd be (and more)? Is the QWERTY keyboard doing it for you? Do you wish it supported something that it doesn't? Unleash your wrath below -- we'll keep your true identity a secret. Maybe.Filed under: Cellphones How would you change the Palm Pre? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Captain Piccard unveils Solar Impulse HB-SIA solar-powered plane

You might have seen solar-powered planes before, but few of them come with as much world-changing ambition as the Solar Impulse. Launched in 2003, the project aims to demonstrate the viability of renewable energy sources by being the first to perform a manned flight around the globe using only solar power. The technology is nothing to scoff at, as the 200-foot wingspan features 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells bringing power to four electric motors. Captain Bertrand Piccard, one of the key men behind this project, is best known as one half of the first team to circumnavigate the world in a balloon in 1999. He hopes, together with partner Andr?orschberg, to repeat that achievement in Solar Impulse's next iteration, the HB-SIB, in 2012. Make it so, guys. [Via Gizmag]Filed under: Transportation Captain Piccard unveils Solar Impulse HB-SIA solar-powered plane originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sneak peek at Meizu M8's new user interface

Heads up, Meizu fanboys! We just got a sneak peak at the M8's new UI (said to be dropping in August when the handset gets its firmware update) and you know what? It looks like a UI. Pretty k-rad, right? Check out the other two face-melting pics after the break, if you dare. [Via Meizu Me]
Continue reading Sneak peek at Meizu M8's new user interface Filed under: Cellphones Sneak peek at Meizu M8's new user interface originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ogo CC-10 throws time-tested formula to the wind, goes portrait QWERTY

We haven't heard a solitary peep out of IXI Mobile in a hot minute, even though its Ogo line -- once a member of Cingular's lineup -- had found some niche popularity among teens and the deaf community. We'd even thought they'd gone into R&D hibernation, actually, but apparently not -- they're innovating. They're innovating so much, in fact, that they've innovated themselves right out of the landscape clamshell form factor that made the Ogo famous. This Inventec-sourced CC-10 we just spotted in the FCC looks more Centro than Ogo, though all of the original's features -- notably strong IM and social networking support -- carry on through to the new model. At any rate, we can say that IXI doesn't intend to break back into the North American market -- at least not with this exact unit, anyway -- since GSM 1900 and Bluetooth are the only features it bothered testing.Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds Ogo CC-10 throws time-tested formula to the wind, goes portrait QWERTY originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Poll: How's your Palm Pre holding up?

It's been nearly a month since the launch of Palm's newest handset, the Pre. Since then, we here at Engadget have heard some vague and hard to substantiate claims of hardware failures -- cracked screens, a little broken plastic here and there -- but nothing on a large scale, so far as we can tell. We thought it was about time to turn it over to you the readers (the ones lucky enough to have a Pre, anyway), to tell us how the phone is holding up physically. Is it tough as nails or is it falling apart? Poll is after the break. View Poll Filed under: Cellphones Poll: How's your Palm Pre holding up? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Windows 7 release to manufacturing reportedly on track for July 13th

Get out your Bill Gates commemorative calendars folks, 'cause it looks like we now have a few more dates to mark off on the road to Windows 7 availability. While Microsoft still isn't saying anything official itself just yet, a number of different sources are reporting that the company has set July 10th as the date for the final gold build of Windows 7, while the big release to manufacturing date is apparently on track for July 13th. Of course, things could still change if there's a major bug or other problem encountered, but barring any disasters, that'll likely be the same build that finds its way onto your PC this fall.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops Windows 7 release to manufacturing reportedly on track for July 13th originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sony readying CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras?

It was only a few months ago that we were fielding rumors about Sony's CyberShot DSC-HX1, and now we're struggling to keep our credit card at bay each time we waltz by one in the local camera shop. Today, Sony Insider has pointed out that the outfit may be readying a new duo to complement the megazoom: the DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1. If the latest whispers prove legitimate, the TX1 will boast a 10 megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom, 3-inch LCD, 720p movie mode and a price tag somewhere south of $400. The WX1 should check in as a lower-end model with 10 megapixels, a 5x optical zoom, 2.7-inch LCD and the same 720p movie mode; why exactly it'll be cheaper we're not sure, but that's the good word at the moment. E-tailer Provantage already has listings for both cameras up, so it seems as if it's just a matter of time before Sony confirms all the good news. [Via Sony Insider]Filed under: Digital Cameras Sony readying CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay

Seriously folks, what's up with these prototype iPhones falling out of nondescript white vans and ending up on eBay in the shadiest of manners? Just months after we saw an original iPhone prototype (ancient OS included) pop up on The 'Bay, now we've got one of the world's first iPhone 3GSs on there as well. According to the highly ranked eBay seller, the "guy" he "got it from" actually stumbled upon it at an airport, and rather than doing the nonsensical thing of hitting up lost and found, he decided to make the most of the sudden opportunity. According to the new owner, an Apple Genius has confirmed that it is an iPhone 3GS, but due to its prototype nature, they can't help him get past the "Connect to iTunes" screen. In other words, it's an incredibly rare brick. If that sounds like just the thing to complete your collection, you can visit the road to overpaying through the read link below. [Via ElectricPig]Filed under: Cellphones iPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Engadget's recession antidote: win a Transformers Nintendo DS Lite Armor case and stylus!

This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn't want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back -- so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We'll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff or companies stop sending things. Today we've got a Transformers Bumblebee Nintendo DS Starter Kit, which includes a protective Nintendo DS Lite Armor sleeve and universal stylus. We'll also be throwing in a Megatron strylus just for fun! Read the rules below (no skimming -- we're omniscient and can tell when you've skimmed) and get commenting! Hooray for free stuff! The rules:

Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Transformers Nintendo DS Lite Starter Kit and one (1) Megatron stylus.
If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
Entries can be submitted until Friday, July, 3rd, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Full rules can be found here.

Filed under: Announcements Engadget's recession antidote: win a Transformers Nintendo DS Lite Armor case and stylus! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Motley Fool 

E*TRADE Makes a Good Trade

The discount broker is ready to swap its debt for convertible zero coupon debt.

I Can Make You Rich in 3 Years

If you have the time, I have the plan.

These 5 Underdogs Are No Dogs

Like the smart hedge fund operators, these CAPS investors bet against a stock -- and won big!

Chinese Paying More Than They Should

With Chinese steelmakers quibbling over ore prices, they could pay through the nose.

At Last, a Heartening Drug Approval

French drug giant sanofi-aventis gets FDA approval for a drug to treat an erratic heartbeat.

As Card Losses Hit Record Levels, Banks Hit Back

Expect future losses to exceed initial estimates.

Health Insurance: The New Competitive Advantage

Has Wal-Mart turned over a new leaf on the health-care front? Doubtful.

The One Security You Must Not Buy

Yeah, it's out there. And people are buying it.

3 Stocks on Our Radar

A hot, steaming cup of stock talk.

5 Stocks Geared for Growth

Five proven winners that are poised to prove themselves again.

Salon 

How does your city garden grow?

Seed sales are way up, and raising your own food is all the rage. It's a good time to be an urban farmer

Tehran dispatch: Basijis hang around, do nothing

As the capital returns to a normal routine, I see people in green and wonder, what were you doing three weeks ago?

The thriller is gone

A member of Salon's Table Talk community shares his perspective on the Michael myth

The un-American way of life

A controversial new history of Communism suggests that most everything we think we know about it is wrong

Rush Limbaugh is still a big fat idiot

And so are his Fox News pals, who lambasted Sen. Al Franken's "stolen election"

WayLay

The pros and cons of burqas

Disco dancin' with the dictator

And also killing people. The Pinochet-era ultra-dark comedy "Tony Manero" is the feel-bad movie of the year

Salon Radio: Charlie Savage on Obama's civil liberties record

The NYT reporter explains the many similarities between Obama's Terrorism policies and Bush's.

Californians are sinking themselves

An inflexible right wing is allowing the Golden State to drown in debt. But it's not alone

Women I dated, when I was a man

I kept hoping love would transform me. But, secretly, I longed to be female

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: When Fireworks Go Wrong

As Americans mark another Independence Day, Slate V celebrates by mining YouTube for amateur fireworks displays gone awry.

In Sarah Palin's GOP, the leaders keep quitting and the troubles don't.

"It may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down [and] plod along," Sarah Palin said Friday, in an attempt to suggest that serving her full term as governor would add to the nation's apathy. "That's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out." Sarah Palin is no quitter. That's why she's quitting. [more ...]

Sarah Palin picked the wrong day to resign as governor of Alaska.

If Sarah Palin wanted to avoid the speculation and attacks that drove her crazy as governor, she should have picked a different time to leave office. She made her surprise announcement on the day before a national holiday--a day reserved for news of impending investigations, affairs, or habits that need treatment.?? [more ...]

The Political Gabfest for July 3, 2009.

Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook. We will be updating the Facebook page more frequently and including content that you will only be able to find there, so get your Gabfest fix during the week by joining us there. [more ...]

What are Fourth of July celebrations like abroad?

Hillary Clinton announced in June that, for the first time since 1979, Iranian diplomats could be invited to July Fourth celebrations at American embassies and consulates. It was all for naught: None of those invitations were accepted, and then the State Department rescinded them in the wake of post-election violence in Tehran. Why all the fuss? What are embassy- and consulate-run July Fourth parties like, anyway? [more ...]

Back to the Futurists: Italy's first avant-garde turns 100.

"It is not by chance this work is published during a world economic crisis, which has clearly inspired a dangerous depressing panic, though its future direction remains unclear. We propose as an antidote to this panic a Futurist way of cooking, that is: optimism at the table." [more ...]

Is it better for the planet to grill with charcoal or gas?

As Americans fire up their grills this Fourth of July weekend, the charcoal vs. gas debate will rage in backyards countrywide. The question is not simply which produces a tastier burger, but which is better for the planet? Last summer, Brendan I. Koerner explained that charcoal is the bigger carbon emitter, but gas has its drawbacks, too. The original article is reprinted below. [more ...]

The past and future of competitive eating injuries.

On July 4, six-time Nathan's-hot-dog-eating champ Takeru Kobayashi will try to reclaim his title from Joey Chestnut. Last year, Chestnut beat Kobayashi in a five-hot-dog overtime period after the rivals both ate 59 dogs and buns in 10 minutes. In a 2007 "Sports Nut," Jason Fagone explained the brutal consequences of eating all that meat. The piece is reprinted below. [more ...]

Corrections from the last week.

In the July 1 "Explainer," Christopher Beam incorrectly stated that a freezer cools at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the temperature of a refrigerator. [more ...]

Recession redux.

A summary of what's in the major publications. [more ...]

SquidooCool Blog 

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 [...]

The Best Squidoo Advice Ever

Want to be a successful lensmaster?
Be unique.
Want to earn money on Squidoo?
Be honest.
Want to rank well in Google?
Genuinely help your readers.
Want to be a Giant Squid?
Don't give up.
Want to be in the Top 100 Lists?
Learn from the best.
Want a lens that earns $hundreds per month?
Make a LOT of lenses.
Want your lenses [...]

Getting More Star Ratings With The Magic Of Tim

Tim ‘thefluffanutta‘, has made many great Squidoo tools. Every one of his creations has a dear place in all our hearts…
And they just keep getting better!
His latest creation is the Lens Love Module.
How many times have you visited a lens, got to the bottom of it, and forgotten to rate it? If you're like me, [...]

Are you making the most of your lenses?

Are you doing everything you can to earn money from your lenses?
Are you using every opportunity to earn money from your lenses and make every sale you can? Don't beat yourself up about it. I wrote this lost as a guide for me to begin with.
Here are some things to consider:

Are you adding affiliate links [...]

The $7,500 lens

Do you treat your lensmaking as a hobby or a business?
I would guess that more than 99.9% of lensmasters treat their lensmaking time as a hobby. It pays rather nicely if you hit upon a great niche idea and write up some great content, but most of the time people are making lenses it's probably [...]

Squidoo and Facebook Get Married

Go, Squidoo, Go!
Squidoo has added some cool Facebook Connect connections.
Here is how the wonderful and beautiful and talented Megan Casey explains SquidooConnect: "SquidooConnect is like a bridge between Squidoo and Facebook. It helps your friends cross over to see your lenses, and helps you cross over to talk to people about your lenses on Facebook. [...]

Earning more money with a list…

Are you building a mailing list from your lenses?
When someone lands on your lens, how many chances of a sale do you get?
Mostly the answer will be… one.
If you get the person to look at a couple of your lenses then your chance of a sale doubles and triples.
But what if your lens visitors said [...]

Backlinks #2: Don't forget the Google-smashing Groups

The #2 source of backlinks for your lenses are Squidoo Groups.

Squidoo groups have really begun to prove themselves in Google. In almost all cases they outrank lenses, get a higher PageRank, and get more backlinks naturally than lenses.
That's right. Groups are outranking lenses in Google.
This means is would be incredibly wise for you to add [...]

How I'm going to use TwitterStorm

Yesterday Squidoo launched their newest clever creation. It's called TwitterStorm and is a clever merge between a lens and Twitter.
You make a question lens, kind of like Yahoo Answers meets Squidoo, and people can write and vote answers via Twitter.
When they participate by answering your question a link to your lens appears on their Twitter [...]

Backlinks 1: The obvious #1!

********************* This blog post is part 1 in theGoogle Jetpack: Backlinksseries of posts.*********************
This is the easiest source of backlinks for your lenses.
Your other lenses!
If you get 1 person looking at 1 of your lenses, you have just had 1 chance of a sale.
If you manage to get that person to look at another [...]