Consider that Apple is now seeking help from a group that cast about the digital-music sector for years, swapped out business models multiple times (without ever finding a profitable one), and basically did little to distinguish themselves.
CNET scribe Greg Sandoval • Describing his skepticism on Lala, which Apple acquired last week. Sandoval’s take on the startup is beyond unfair – it’s straight-up uninformed. He wrote about the service as if the current version of the site – which sites such as Pitchfork and The Onion AV Club, and heck, we, regularly use – was nothing special. In our opinion, it reads as if he’s never actually used the service, which was struggling financially but had solid business deals in place. Why is Apple interested in Lala, like Google also was? Simple. Because it has a huge, passionate, cult audience – an audience bored by iTunes. (By the way, Sandoval totally missed Google’s Onebox setup, which TechCrunch was quite excited about.) Write about it when you know what you’re talking about, Greg. source
The Senate doesn’t have a comparable one ready yet. Today, the House took the initiative to more strictly regulate the failings of the financial industry – big bonuses, “too big to fail” corporations – at a 223-202 clip. Republicans largely didn’t go for the bill because they feared it would limit credit, force job losses and lead to future bailouts. They also argued that “too big to fail” companies didn’t need hand-holding and could handle bankruptcies, which sounds less like something they believe and more like something they can use against the Democrats. source
Well, that’s one way to protest against jerks typing on their laptops during class. This kid brought his typewriter. And it was so loud that it annoyed the entire class. The lesson here, laptop jockeys? Type louder. This guy needs to be put in his place.
It became a very brotherly relationship. There was a feeling that Blackwater eventually became an extension of the agency.
A former top CIA officer • Describing the relationship between the CIA and the private Blackwater firm. The firm, which has been under fire for years for its actions during the Iraq war, was involved in secret CIA raids, according to the New York Times. Apparently, this relationship got so cozy that lines started to blur between the federal and private organizations. source
