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It appears that our Wall Street masters are still miffed that President Obama used a few harsh words against Wall Street even after he helped give them their wingnut welfare bailout. And we’re not talking about the chump change Americans receive in unemployment benefits mind you. On the mental list of slights and outrages that just about every major figure on Wall Street is believed to keep on President Barack Obama , add this one: When he met recently with a group of CEOs at Blair House, there was no representative from any of the six biggest banks in America. Not one! “If they don’t hate us anymore, why weren’t any of us there?” a senior executive at one of the Big Six banks said recently in trying to explain his hostility toward the president. “It’s not so much just this one thing,” he said. “Who cares about one event? It’s just the pattern where they tell you things are going to change, that they appreciate what we do, that capital markets are important, but then the actions are different and they continue to want to score political points on us.” Still, the executive understands that it makes political sense for the White House to stiff-arm Wall Street, if not bash it with a massive sledge hammer. And the article is just getting warmed up. Jamie Dimon, who once was a supporter equated Wall Streeters with slave owners from the South: Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase and a supporter of Obama in 2008, has been among the more outspoken critics of the White House’s anti-Wall Street rhetoric. “It’s harmful, it’s unfair and it leads to bad policy,” Dimon recently told The New York Times Magazine, adding that he told Obama: Former “President [Abraham] Lincoln could have denigrated all sSoutherners. He didn’t.” You can see how deluded these fat cat CEO’s are. I mean a few words will make them cry. As I said, even though the President gave these Masters of Destruction virtually a free pass they will now go back to pumping their millions in the GOP. What a shock. While the landscape could change if the economy continues to improve, Wall Street is expected to line up heavily behind the GOP nominee in 2012, provided that person is not a populist, Federal-Reserve-System -bashing, tea-party -friendly candidate, such as Sarah Palin or Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Still, even the prospect of such a candidate emerging from the GOP field should go toward tempering ay full financial industry revolt against Obama. “The people who feel intellectually committed to the Democratic Party will continue to be supportive,” one senior banker who is deeply plugged into Washington said. “You’ve seen a swing to the GOP but people are quite worried about the divisive effect of the tea party. There is certainly a devil, you know, factor that could help the president.” Some tea partiers have hurt their feeling too. Awwww, poor babies. one financial executive said. “They really don’t care what we think at all.” Here’s another lesson I hope the President has learned. You can give the financial sector a trillion dollars, keep their institutions intact, extend the Bush tax cuts that go directly to themsleves and allow the flow of what are now a record number of monetary bonuses to keep on chugging and they’ll still turn on you because of a few mean words. These people are truly in their own world that only Alan Greenspan and his fellow Randian uber- narcissists relate to. And in the end, these corporate jet setters would never support the left for an extended period of time because for the most part their ranks are made up of Birchers and Free Market freaks.

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Just got a Palm phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips

So you nabbed a webOS device over the holidays? Maybe you got yourself a Pixi or Pre Plus , or if you were really lucky, someone dropped a Pre 2 in your stocking. We know that Palm isn’t exactly ruling the roost when it comes to smartphones, but that doesn’t mean that your new device isn’t plenty powerful given the right apps and proper tweaks. In fact, webOS can stand toe-to-toe with the iOS and Android devices of the world, even if the selection of apps and hardware leaves something to be desired. So how do you turn your holiday cheer into a year-round workhorse? Read on after the break for the must-have apps, accessories, and more! Continue reading Just got a Palm phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips Just got a Palm phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Teena Marie on Music, Addiction in ’09 Interview

In a May 2009 interview with the Associated Press, the late soul singer Teena Marie talks about prayer, her addiction to vicodin, having seizures and living life after the death of her musical mentor, Rick James. (Dec. 29)

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Barnes & Noble Nook trademark applications offer speculation fodder aplenty

So you’re Barnes & Noble and you have a successful product like the Nook — what do you do? Trademark the heck out of the name, of course. As PocketNow has noted, the company’s filed a number of Nook-related trademark applications over the past few months, which may offer some hints of future Nook hardware, software, or both. That unsurprisingly includes an application for “Nook2,” which was first filed back in June, as well one for the name “Nook Smart” (possibly related to the existing Nook Study education platform?), and one for the impossibly catchy “Nook Cook.” Unfortunately, it’s not clear which (if any) of those might actually be the name of a new Nook device — there’s also a trademark application for “Nook Kids” with a description similar to “Nook2,” for instance, but it may well just be for the company’s Nook Kids store and iPad app. The most recent of all the filings is one for “Nooksellers,” which appears to be for a combination in-store kiosk and online service that would offer personalized recommendations and various social networking tie-ins. Of course, there’s nothing more than the trademark applications to go on at the moment, but it does certainly seem clear that the Nook name is here to stay. Barnes & Noble Nook trademark applications offer speculation fodder aplenty originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Penguins Hop on the Scale for Climate Research (Video)

Photo credit: es0teric / Creative Commons Though the Adelie penguin is numerous—with more than five million individuals stretched across 38 colonies—their native habitat is changing rapidly. To keep track of how the birds are handling this change, scientists have built a special scale . Using a corral system, penguins are herded onto the platform, where their weight can be measured… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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2 trapped, another critical in Mich. store blast

ED WHITE Associated Press= WAYNE, Mich. (AP) — A family-owned furniture store in suburban Detroit exploded and collapsed in what appeared to be a natural gas explosion Wednesday, trapping three people in the rubble. Rescuers pulled the store’s owner from the debris and he is in critical condition, Wayne City Manager John Zech told a news conference. Search and rescue teams continued to hunt for two others, who police said are employees at the William C. Franks store. “They’re dealing with a lot of debris,” said Inkster Deputy Police Chief Hilton Napoleon, who was assisting other officers in below-freezing temperatures at the scene. “They’ve got to be careful so they don’t cause any more…

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Coast Guard Makes $48 Million Cocaine Bust

Earlier this month the US Coast Guard made a $48 million cocaine bust off the coast of Panama and detained three alleged traffickers. Official say they’ve made a real dent the the drug war. (Dec. 29)

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High-Tech Hidden Cameras Film Polar Bears Close Up

Bear meets camera. Screenshot from BBC.com Trying to get up close and personal with the world’s largest land carnivore can be a tricky, and dangerous, endeavor. Even some of the hardy high-tech cameras the BBC dispatched to the frigid reaches of Norway didn’t fare too well — but they captured some pretty cool images along the way…. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Tucker Carlson: Michael Vick should have been executed

Click here to view this media When President Barack Obama praised the NFL’s Eagles for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance, it was inevitable that the pundits at Fox News would feign outrage. But no one could have predicted that one Fox News host would go as far as to call for Vick’s death. “President Obama — it has been confirmed by the White House — called the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and during the course of their conversation, thanked him for giving Michael Vick a second chance,” Fox News’ Tucker Carlson reported Tuesday while filling in for Sean Hannity. “Now, I’m a Christian. I’ve made mistakes myself. I believe fervently in second chances but Michael Vick killed dogs and he did it in a heartless and cruel way and I think, personally, he should have been executed for that,” he continued. “But the idea that the president of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs, kind of beyond the pale,” Carlson said. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie told Sports Illustrated ‘s Peter King Monday that Obama called him and was passionate about Vick’s comeback. “He said, ‘So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance,’” Lurie said. “He said, ‘It’s never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail.’ And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall.” White House spokesman Bill Burton clarified that Obama “of course condemns the crimes that Michael Vick was convicted of, but, as he’s said previously, he does think that individuals who have paid for their crimes should have an opportunity to contribute to society again.” Burton also said that part of the reason for Obama’s call was to talk about alternative energy plans for Lincoln Field, where the Eagles play. Carlson wasn’t the first Fox News host to be be upset by the president’s actions. “The criticism is to specifically praise giving Michael Vick this kind of a chance in some way excuses, perhaps, what Michael Vick did or sends some sort of a message to people that it’s not that bad,” Fox News host Megyn Kelly worried . Filling in for Keith Olbermann on MSNBC Tuesday, Sam Seder pointed out that while Obama didn’t excuse what Vick did, President George W. Bush did excuse I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby after he was convicted in the Valerie Plame case. “Tell me if I’m wrong here,” Seder asked sociologist Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. “In the media, at least, it seems to me that there appears to be two standards for two different crimes and for two different presidents.” “You’re absolutely right,” Dyson said.

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Actor Christian Kane Releases Country Music CD

Christian Kane, who stars in the TNT series ‘Leverage,’ talks about releasing his debut album ‘The House Rules.’ (Dec. 29)

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