A former Wall Street titan was convicted of making a fortune by coaxing a crew of corporate tipsters to give him an illegal edge on blockbuster trades in technology and other stocks _ what prosecutors called the largest insider trading case ever. (May 11)
Continue reading …Rachel Maddow Asks Why the Sunday Shows are Loaded With Bushies the Week of Bin Laden’s Death
May 11, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Rachel Maddow asks why during the week that Osama bin Laden was killed, the Sunday morning show producers decided to bring on one Bushie after another to sit at the grown-up table and give their opinion on the matter. If that question sounds familiar for our readers here it’s because just like this past Sunday , our own Nicole Belle asks that same question pretty much every week when we cover the Sunday morning bobblehead shows here at C&L. I wonder if David Gregory’s producer was watching? It would be nice to get him or her to answer Rachel’s question. I’d love to see Rachel get Meet the Press, but she probably couldn’t get any Republicans to come on with her, or not very many of them anyway. Unlike David Gregory, she actually asks follow up questions to people who come on the air and try to lie to her. Transcript below the fold: MADDOW: Clay Jones is an editorial cartoonist for “The Freelance Star” newspaper in Fredericksburg, Virginia. This is his latest political cartoon I saw posted at Slate.com today. In the class “foreign policy,” school kid George W. Bush with giant ears gets a D-minus. And school kid Barack Obama, with different giant ears gets an A, with lots of plus signs after it. This cartoon is post-death of bin Laden, right? The teacher looks at the papers and says to school kid Obama, “A plus, plus, plus? You must have cheated off George.” Whether or not you feel like George W. Bush deserved a D-minus in foreign policy or that Barack Obama deserves an A-plus, whatever, I think Mr. Clay Jones in this political cartoon nailed the Beltway media reaction to the killing of Osama bin Laden. This is exactly how the Beltway media is approaching the politics of bin Laden`s death. And I can prove it. That`s next. MADDOW: I will admit right off the bat this is petty. I`ll admit it. But it is also true and it has got to drive Democrats in the White House absolutely nuts. Here it is: Republican Senator Dick Lugar, Republican former presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, Republican former Congressman Tom Davis, the Bush administration`s CIA director, General Michael Hayden, the Bush administration`s secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, the Bush administration`s homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, the Bush administration`s defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, the Bush administration`s vice president, Dick Cheney, the Bush administration`s vice president`s daughter, Liz Cheney — the week the Obama administration announces it has killed Osama bin Laden, that`s the guest list on the Sunday morning political talk shows to talk about it. The Sunday shows are supposedly the apex of political debate — the pulsing, throbbing heart of what`s going on in American politics. Is the biggest story in American politics right now retirees from the Bush administration and how they feel about stuff? Plus, Dick Lugar? Honestly, this is the roster? This is Sunday morning in all of its thundering seriousness? Now, among those nine Bush administration officials and other Republican politicians, there were three outliers: Senator John Kerry, also a former White House communications director named Anita Dunn, and one current White House official Tom Donilon, the national security adviser. So, there were those three. But the week the Obama administration announces that bin Laden is dead, the invitees to the adult`s table, the measure of serious and importance in Washington is three-to-one, Bush administration and Republican officials. Why is that? That’s just how they roll every week Rachel.
Continue reading …Rachel Maddow Asks Why the Sunday Shows are Loaded With Bushies the Week of Bin Laden’s Death
May 11, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Rachel Maddow asks why during the week that Osama bin Laden was killed, the Sunday morning show producers decided to bring on one Bushie after another to sit at the grown-up table and give their opinion on the matter. If that question sounds familiar for our readers here it’s because just like this past Sunday , our own Nicole Belle asks that same question pretty much every week when we cover the Sunday morning bobblehead shows here at C&L. I wonder if David Gregory’s producer was watching? It would be nice to get him or her to answer Rachel’s question. I’d love to see Rachel get Meet the Press, but she probably couldn’t get any Republicans to come on with her, or not very many of them anyway. Unlike David Gregory, she actually asks follow up questions to people who come on the air and try to lie to her. Transcript below the fold: MADDOW: Clay Jones is an editorial cartoonist for “The Freelance Star” newspaper in Fredericksburg, Virginia. This is his latest political cartoon I saw posted at Slate.com today. In the class “foreign policy,” school kid George W. Bush with giant ears gets a D-minus. And school kid Barack Obama, with different giant ears gets an A, with lots of plus signs after it. This cartoon is post-death of bin Laden, right? The teacher looks at the papers and says to school kid Obama, “A plus, plus, plus? You must have cheated off George.” Whether or not you feel like George W. Bush deserved a D-minus in foreign policy or that Barack Obama deserves an A-plus, whatever, I think Mr. Clay Jones in this political cartoon nailed the Beltway media reaction to the killing of Osama bin Laden. This is exactly how the Beltway media is approaching the politics of bin Laden`s death. And I can prove it. That`s next. MADDOW: I will admit right off the bat this is petty. I`ll admit it. But it is also true and it has got to drive Democrats in the White House absolutely nuts. Here it is: Republican Senator Dick Lugar, Republican former presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, Republican former Congressman Tom Davis, the Bush administration`s CIA director, General Michael Hayden, the Bush administration`s secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, the Bush administration`s homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, the Bush administration`s defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, the Bush administration`s vice president, Dick Cheney, the Bush administration`s vice president`s daughter, Liz Cheney — the week the Obama administration announces it has killed Osama bin Laden, that`s the guest list on the Sunday morning political talk shows to talk about it. The Sunday shows are supposedly the apex of political debate — the pulsing, throbbing heart of what`s going on in American politics. Is the biggest story in American politics right now retirees from the Bush administration and how they feel about stuff? Plus, Dick Lugar? Honestly, this is the roster? This is Sunday morning in all of its thundering seriousness? Now, among those nine Bush administration officials and other Republican politicians, there were three outliers: Senator John Kerry, also a former White House communications director named Anita Dunn, and one current White House official Tom Donilon, the national security adviser. So, there were those three. But the week the Obama administration announces that bin Laden is dead, the invitees to the adult`s table, the measure of serious and importance in Washington is three-to-one, Bush administration and Republican officials. Why is that? That’s just how they roll every week Rachel.
Continue reading …Google adding Netflix, Hulu support, offline Gmail, Calendar and Docs to Chrome OS this summer, prices hardware at $20 per month
May 11, 2011 No Comment
Google’s currently in the process of detailing Chrome OS’ latest improvements and there are a couple of big ‘uns: Netflix and Hulu support will be available right out of the box for the pair of new Chromebooks — one from Samsung and one from Acer . An improved file manager has also been added to the upcoming version of Chrome OS, plus offline versions of Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs — all will be made available for Chromebook users this summer. You can learn more about these improvements in the video after the break. Far more monumental, Google’s also just announced the cost of these Chromebooks and there’s no upfront payment to speak of. Instead, Chrome OS laptops will be distributed on the basis of a recurring monthly subscription, which will cost $28 per user for businesses and $20 per user for schools. That includes regular software and hardware upgrades. Hardware as a service, folks! Gallery: Chrome OS at Google I/O 2011 Gallery: Chrome OS screenshots Continue reading Google adding Netflix, Hulu support, offline Gmail, Calendar and Docs to Chrome OS this summer, prices hardware at $20 per month Google adding Netflix, Hulu support, offline Gmail, Calendar and Docs to Chrome OS this summer, prices hardware at $20 per month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The Treasury has decided to go through with a plan to sell 300 million AIG shares, despite recent blows to the nationalized insurer’s market price, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . Given the sagging demand, the government expects to make around $9 billion in the small offering, which is on…
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Extraordinary session set to debate the bill, which in its original form would impose the death penalty Ugandan MPs will debate a bill calling for gay people to be imprisoned for life on Friday after a walkout by women MPs over an unrelated matter forced parliament’s adjournment. The controversial legislation, first put forward in 2009 , was discussed in a parliamentary committee last Friday. It was due to be debated on Wednesday but was removed from the MPs’ timetable after there was a lack of a quorum. MPs now appear set to hold an extraordinary session to debate the bill, which in its original form would impose the death penalty. If they run out of time, it could yet be reintroduced in the next parliamentary session. The bill’s author, David Bahati, has claimed a new version would not contain capital punishment, but no amended version has been released publicly. Bahati said he expected the bill to be debated and passed on Friday. John Alimadi, an MP, told the Associated Press the bill may have been dropped from the agenda because of the worldwide outcry against it. Campaigners welcomed the temporary reprieve and called for the bill to be scrapped. Frank Mugisha, the director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a gay rights group, said. “The way I saw, if the bill was debated today, it would have been passed because most MPs were in its favour,” he told the Associated Press. “We were saved by the lack of quorum.” Christopher Senyonjo , a retired Anglican bishop from Uganda, said: “We wouldn’t like this bill even to be debated. That will be dangerous because there is a lot of misinformation and excitement. Just with the bill being debated, anything can happen to LGBT people.” Gay activists say homophobia in Uganda has increased since the bill’s introduction. Last year a tabloid newspaper published the names and photos of men it alleged were gay. One cover carried the words: “Hang Them.” The bill carries harsh provisions, extending colonial-era laws that condemn anyone convicted of a homosexual act to life imprisonment. Anyone who “aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage of acts of homosexuality” would face seven years in prison. Landlords renting rooms or homes to homosexual people could get seven years. Online petitions from the groups Avaaz and Allout said they had gathered more than 1.4 million signatures decrying the proposals. Politicians and civil rights groups around the world have criticised the bill, with Barack Obama describing it as “odious”. • This article has been amended. The previous version stated that Uganda had dropped the bill in question. This has been corrected to indicate that it may still be debated Gay rights Uganda Africa David Smith guardian.co.uk
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The AP’s Alicia Quarles caught up with Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek at the Cannes Film Festival, where they showed the animated film ‘Puss in Boots.’ Banderas also talked about his other film, Pedro Almodovar’s ‘The Skin I Live In.’ (May 11)
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In the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Boys Lacrosse Championship on Monday night, sophomore Matt Borda of Gonzaga College High School in D.C. ended the game with an unbelievable 80-yard goal. With 20 seconds left on the clock, Borda had possession. In an effort to kill time, the young defender — standing behind his own goal
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America funding technology to break web censorship in repressive regimes, such as China and Iran The United States is playing a game of “cat and mouse” on the web, funding new technology aimed at breaking internet censorship in repressive regimes including China and Iran, officials have said. Michael Posner, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, said that among projects being funded by the US government is a technology that acts as a “slingshot” – identifying censored material and throwing it back on to the web so that users can find it. The project is part of a $30m (£18m) state department project aimed at encouraging civil liberty online. “We’re responding with new tools. This is a cat-and-mouse game. We’re trying to stay one step ahead of the cat,” Posner said. Censored information would be redirected to email, blogs and other online sources, he said. Posner said he would not identify the recipients of funding for “reasons of security”. Posner’s comments come as the US ended two days of talks with Chinese officials amid worsening relations over censorship and crackdowns on dissidents. Chinese authorities block sites including Twitter and Facebook and censor information online. In March, Google accused China of interfering with its email service. Authorities have been censoring references to pro-democracy uprisings in the Arab world and recently blocked search results for “Hillary Clinton” after she gave a speech championing internet freedom. Posner said the US was using $19m to fund technology that would “be redirecting information back in that governments have initially blocked”. In Washington, critics have accused the state department of being slow to spend the money and kowtowing to China. Earlier this year senator Dick Lugar, a Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee, called for another government body to be put in charge of the funds. Rebecca MacKinnon, co-founder of GlobalVoicesOnline.org , a global organisation for bloggers, said that access to information was not the only issue people faced online. In Egypt, for example, censorship had not been a problem but surveillance had been a far bigger issue, she said. When the Egyptian revolution began, the authorities successfully closed the internet. “Circumnavigation tools don’t do much good if the government shuts down the internet,” she said. MacKinnon said other technologies that would help people avoid government scrutiny online and allow them to set up local networks should a regime pull the plug on internet access were just as valuable. In a recent interview with the Atlantic magazine, Clinton said China had a deplorable human rights record and was involved in a “fool’s errand” trying to hold off democratic changes like those sweeping the Middle East. In her speech in February, the US secretary of state called the internet “the public space of the 21st century” and hailed the way the internet had been used to support uprisings in Egypt and protests in Iran. She pledged US support for freedom of expression and association online. “For the United States, the choice is clear. On the spectrum of internet freedom, we place ourselves on the side of openness,” she said. But Clinton criticised WikiLeaks for publishing secret US cables, calling it “an act of theft”. Censorship Internet Web filtering United States US foreign policy China Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
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America funding technology to break web censorship in repressive regimes, such as China and Iran The United States is playing a game of “cat and mouse” on the web, funding new technology aimed at breaking internet censorship in repressive regimes including China and Iran, officials have said. Michael Posner, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, said that among projects being funded by the US government is a technology that acts as a “slingshot” – identifying censored material and throwing it back on to the web so that users can find it. The project is part of a $30m (£18m) state department project aimed at encouraging civil liberty online. “We’re responding with new tools. This is a cat-and-mouse game. We’re trying to stay one step ahead of the cat,” Posner said. Censored information would be redirected to email, blogs and other online sources, he said. Posner said he would not identify the recipients of funding for “reasons of security”. Posner’s comments come as the US ended two days of talks with Chinese officials amid worsening relations over censorship and crackdowns on dissidents. Chinese authorities block sites including Twitter and Facebook and censor information online. In March, Google accused China of interfering with its email service. Authorities have been censoring references to pro-democracy uprisings in the Arab world and recently blocked search results for “Hillary Clinton” after she gave a speech championing internet freedom. Posner said the US was using $19m to fund technology that would “be redirecting information back in that governments have initially blocked”. In Washington, critics have accused the state department of being slow to spend the money and kowtowing to China. Earlier this year senator Dick Lugar, a Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee, called for another government body to be put in charge of the funds. Rebecca MacKinnon, co-founder of GlobalVoicesOnline.org , a global organisation for bloggers, said that access to information was not the only issue people faced online. In Egypt, for example, censorship had not been a problem but surveillance had been a far bigger issue, she said. When the Egyptian revolution began, the authorities successfully closed the internet. “Circumnavigation tools don’t do much good if the government shuts down the internet,” she said. MacKinnon said other technologies that would help people avoid government scrutiny online and allow them to set up local networks should a regime pull the plug on internet access were just as valuable. In a recent interview with the Atlantic magazine, Clinton said China had a deplorable human rights record and was involved in a “fool’s errand” trying to hold off democratic changes like those sweeping the Middle East. In her speech in February, the US secretary of state called the internet “the public space of the 21st century” and hailed the way the internet had been used to support uprisings in Egypt and protests in Iran. She pledged US support for freedom of expression and association online. “For the United States, the choice is clear. On the spectrum of internet freedom, we place ourselves on the side of openness,” she said. But Clinton criticised WikiLeaks for publishing secret US cables, calling it “an act of theft”. Censorship Internet Web filtering United States US foreign policy China Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
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