The dead woman found at the home of ex-Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV accidentally overdosed on the painkiller oxycodone, the medical examiner said yesterday. Friends previously said Adrienne Martin, 27, was firmly against illegal drugs, but Busch had speculated medication she was taking could be to blame for her death….
Continue reading …
Images: Golden Agri-Resources , Foreign Policy Blogs Following months—years—of pressure from activists around the world, Golden Agri-Resources, the world’s second-largest palm oil company, agreed yesterday to work with environmental groups and the Indonesian government on more sustainable practices for how it sources palm… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Lawrence O’Donnell Asks Rep. Steve King if He’s Got His Christian ID Card to Prove He’s Not a Muslim
February 10, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Lawrence O’Donnell decided that turnaround was fair play with wingnut Rep. Steve King and asked him if he had his Christian ID card or some other means to prove that we should take his word that he’s not a Muslim. Here’s more from The Last Word Blog — Is Rep. Steve King a Muslim? : A focus group of Republican voters in Iowa had some harsh criticism of President Obama for his handling of Egypt. Many of those voters don’t trust him because they think he’s Muslim. And Republican Congressman Steve King from Iowa hasn’t exactly set his constituents straight. On the show, the Congressman told Lawrence that Obama’s speech in Cairo and emphasizing his middle name, Hussein, helps to “perpetuate the persona that he has a close relationship with the Muslim religion.” Obama has repeatedly declared himself a Christian. But to some, including King, that’s not enough. How can one really prove they’re a Christian or Muslim? I don’t think O’Donnell’s attempt to get King to quit playing the same game with President Obama worked very well. Shorter Lawrence O’Donnell: Can we get you to quit giving a wink and a nod to the whackaloons that our president might be a Muslim? Shorter Steve King: No. (wink, wink)
Continue reading …The Egyptian military says it is playing a neutral role in the protests rocking the country but the reality is very different, human rights groups tell the Guardian . Hundreds, possibly thousands of protesters have been secretly detained by the military and some have been tortured, the groups say. Some families…
Continue reading …
James Murray over at Business Green has an interesting take on the cutting of solar subsidies to major UK solar farms , and the subsequent threat of legal action from solar farm developers . He argues strongly that the cuts are necessary to ensure residential and small-scale commercial installations—the intended original recipients of this scheme—get the support they were expecting. It is, after all, these schemes that will best raise the visibili… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …
Lindsay Lohan pleads not guilty to felony theft charge; Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz to divorce; Lady Gaga wants her new album to be ‘the best of the decade.’ (Feb. 10)
Continue reading …
Image credit: Praxxtube From NatureMill’s high-tech indoor composter , to building your own worm bin , there are plenty of options for the would-be composter who doesn’t have a yard, or who would just like to keep composting through the winter. The video below gives a very basic, cheap methodology for building your own compost bin. Apparently you need some thin mints to do it… … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Immersion’s MOTIV development platform integrates haptics into Android, we go hands-on
February 10, 2011 No Comment
You may know that Immersion’s haptic technology is in everything from surgical simulators to game controllers , but we’re willing to bet you didn’t know it’s already baked into over 200 million existing devices — including every Samsung Galaxy S smartphone and handsets by Nokia and LG. Now, using Android handsets’ existing vibrator motors, a cheap software upgrade can inject force feedback into existing elements across the entire Android UI (2.2 and up), and with future devices — built with multi-dollar piezoelectric actuators that vibrate the screen itself — the haptic experience goes hi-fi. Now that it’s revealed that little easter egg to the world, Immersion wants you to build some apps, and to that end it’s releasing the MOTIV developer platform this March. Read all about it after the break. Gallery: Immersion’s piezoelectric haptic reference handset, hands-on Continue reading Immersion’s MOTIV development platform integrates haptics into Android, we go hands-on Immersion’s MOTIV development platform integrates haptics into Android, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …WaPo Celebrates ‘Uncommon Forcefulness’ of Anti-Tea Party Protest, Submerges Anti-Thomas Hate Speech
February 10, 2011 No CommentWhile conservatives were shocked at a video showing liberals at a Common Cause rally suggesting Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should have his toes cut off one by one, be lynched alongside his wife, or be put “back in the fields,” The Washington Post seems to find mostly a burst of liberal pride. On Thursday's Fed Page on A-17, reporter Dan Eggen's story is headlined “Uncommon forcefulness from Common Cause.”
Continue reading …
With unemployment at 40 per cent, jobs will be a key issue when Jacob Zuma, the country’s president, delivers his ‘State of the Nation’ address to parliament. The government has promised to create five million jobs by 2020. Crime, corruption and education are also likely to be addressed in Thursday’s speech. Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull reports from Bloemfontein.
Continue reading …