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06 Sep 2010 10:36

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U.S.: Al Gore’s luck: There’s always an inconvenient truth, isn’t there?

  • good Al Gore had his own L.A. school named after him – a first for a vice president. He shares the honor with Rachel Carson, another well-known environmentalist.
  • bad Too bad the school was built on toxic soil that a bunch of workers had to spend Labor Day weekend attempting to replace. That’s one way to honor his name. source

06 Sep 2010 10:27

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Tech: Apple’s iPod Touch press photos are a Photoshop fail

  • Just when you thought Apple survived a product launch mostly unscathed, some jerk had to notice some crappy Photoshop work. Apple wasn’t particularly good at hiding their iPhone tracks on the new iPod Touch this time out, leading to a couple gaffes like the one over to the right. See the arrow? Yeah, we know, right? source

06 Sep 2010 10:16

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Politics: Louisiana standoff: Bobby Jindal won’t endorse David Vitter

  • Ouch. Someone’s got a big problem. Louisiana Sen. David Vitter is an incumbent and a relative lock for re-election. Too bad that he doesn’t have an endorsement from someone who should be a close ally. “Voters can make up their own minds,” said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who’s currently very popular in his home state. Why did Jindal pass on endorsing Vitter? Two likely reasons: First, Vitter was involved with a D.C. escort in 2007, and second, Vitter allowed one of his top staffers to stay on the job despite domestic abuse charges, though he later stepped down. Still, that’s kind of harsh. source

06 Sep 2010 10:04

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Tech: Jeff Jarvis: Craiglist’s disruptor status makes it an easy target

  • So why are government and media going after Craigslist? The same reason, I think, that media and government in, for example, Germany are demonizing Google (even as the German people give Google its biggest market share anywhere in the world). They’re going after the disruptors, the biggest disruptors in sight.
  • Jeff Jarvis • Explaining his reasoning about the whole Craigslist “Adult Services” thing, which sounds like a fairly original angle on the whole thing. Craigslist has cost the newspaper industry billions in revenue by simply being able to provide a once-expensive service (classified ads) for free. With a decline in classified revenue of $13 billion across the industry, which might make the media more apt to give this controversy a little extra coverage. “I’m not suggesting conspiracy; I rarely do,” Jarvis writes. “But I do see old power structures huddling together against the cold breath of technologists bringing change.” Remember creative destruction? This is how oid dinosaurs can react to it, if it’s necessary. source