World Future Energy Summit 2011: Exploring Clean Power in a City Built on Oil
January 17, 2011 No Comment
Masdar City Paradoxes abound at the World Future Energy Summit , an annual conference held in the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi. The summit draws heads of state, business leaders, and other influential figures to the tip of the Arabian peninsula to discuss global clean energy solutions to the ongoing climate crisis. The UAE is, of course, one of the largest oil exporters in the world, so it’s both ironic and remarkable that such an event is held here — a fact that few of the speakers fail to mention in their opening statem… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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BenQ’s monitors may have all come from the same glossy black plastic mold as of late, but the company’s stepped things up a bit for its new 24-inch EW2430 and EW2430V “Vertical Alignment” LED monitors, which pack some high-end specs and some more refined looks to match. Chief among those specs is the VA LED panel used in each monitor, which promises a native 3,000:1 contrast ratio, minimal light leaking, an improved viewing angle, and a true 8-bit color range, among other benefits. You’ll also get a full range of ports (including two HDMI and four USB on each), a pair of 2W speakers, and some added features like “Smart Focus,” “Super Resolution,” and “3D Noise Reduction” on the EW2430V model. Still no word on pricing, but you can look for both monitors to hit Europe and the Asia Pacific region this month, with a worldwide release set to follow sometime thereafter. BenQ debuts high-end EW2430, EW2430V LED monitors originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Movie rental kiosks’ market share surpassed that of retail stores in 2010, a study finds: Kiosks such as Redbox hosted 31% of third-quarter rentals, while 27% were from actual stores. Subscription services had the biggest market share, with 41%. Kiosks’ market share grew 10 percentage points year-over-year, while stores dropped…
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Not since Hollywood Reporter told us about a possible Asteroids bio-pic have we been excited about a film or TV show: Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Merv Griffin Entertainment has hammered out a deal with Namco Bandai to develop a reality TV show based on Pac-Man. Envisioned by Merv Griffin Entertainment’s president of TV Roy Bank as something “big” and “crazy” like Wipeout or Fear Factor , the company wants “to take what Pac-Man is and bring it to life, to bring what is essentially the world’s biggest game of tag to television.” If this doesn’t sound like the definition of a mid-season replacement, we don’t know what is. Continue reading Pac-Man reality TV show coming, and not a moment too soon Pac-Man reality TV show coming, and not a moment too soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …An Indian bank has opened a lockless branch in the small village of Shani Shinganapur, trusting residents’ fear of their deity—Lord Shani—to prevent robberies, the Times of India reports. “We took note of the general belief and faith of the people,” says one bank official. “Ever since the…
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This Is Sufficiently Terrifying, You Should Listen To It of the Day: The Sarah Palin Battle Hymn: Our dystopian future’s National Anthem. [ boingboing .] Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 17/01/2011 21:12 Number of articles : 9
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enlarge Charles and David Koch, using their money to make sure the only voices that count in a democracy are theirs. Don’t they look like the brothers from ‘Trading Places’? The Common Cause event will be held in Rancho Mirage , close to where the Koch brothers are holding their 2012 strategy session. Sounds like fun! Progressive and liberal activists are planning at the end of the month to confront the secretive billionaire family that finances the so-called Tea party movement and a host of other right-wing causes and institutions. “Our government is supposed to be of, by and for the people. So are you ready to take it back?” an invitation for the “Uncloaking the Kochs” event asked. The Sunday, Jan. 30 event thrown by Common Cause, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization, aims to educate attendees in California on the Koch brothers who will be strategizing nearby with their mega-wealthy allies to win the 2012 elections. Afterwards, activists will rally in Rancho Mirage. “We can’t sit back while a few billionaires destroy the fragile fabric of democracy and the protections that are so necessary for the health of our society,” Jodie Evans of CodePink told Alternet. “It is time for the progressive community to gather together and say no more, and what better place than where the Koch brothers are plotting their next moves.” Panel discussions will feature Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary; Van Jones, founder of Green for All; Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Irvine Law Dean; Lee Fang, Center for American Progress blogger and Koch Brothers expert; and DeAnn McEwen, co-president of the California Nurses Association. For the last 30 years, the Koch brothers, who inherited their wealth from their father’s oil interests, have funded a large portion of the conservative movement on issues that promote business over the environmental, labor, and public health concerns. Recently, David and Charles Koch through their network of foundations and nonprofits outspent ExxonMobile on astroturf campaigns to misinform the American public about climate change legislation .
Continue reading …Chris Matthews Slams ‘Older White People’ for Still Having a ‘Problem’ With Obama
January 17, 2011 No Comment
Appearing on MSNBC, Monday, to promote his new special on Barack Obama, Chris Matthews attacked “older white people” for still holding bigoted feelings against the first African American President. Lavishing praise on younger Americans, he added, “And I think that's a generalization and I'll stick with it. I think younger people do not see race as an obstacle.” He then touted the “non-judgmental” attitude of Obama voters, fawning, “In fact, they say [race is] irrelevant and don't even notice it, whereas older people notice it all the time.” If “older white people” are focused on race, Matthews could certainly be one of them. On January 27, 2010 , after Obama's State of the Union address, he oddly alerted, “You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour…I was watching, I said, 'Wait a minute. He's an African-American guy in front of a bunch of other white people, and there he is, President of the United States, and we've completely forgotten that tonight.'” [See video below. MP3 audio here .]
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Could it be that Apple and Foxconn engineers have finally found a way to harness and contain the raw, blinding power of the color white? Last we’d heard, the rarest member of the iPhone 4 clan was tracking for a spring ’11 launch — and that’d line up pretty nicely with shots we’ve received from a trusted source today showing new entries in Vodafone Germany’s inventory system for wei
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Nairobi/Juba, Sudan – International election observers on Monday called a landmark referendum on independence for Southern Sudan credible and said a vote in favour of secession looked almost certain. ‘The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) assesses the voting process of the Southern Sudan Referendum as credible and well organized, in a…
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