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25 Jan 2012 21:32

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Biz: Netflix recovers subscribers in fourth business quarter

  • 651,000 new Netflix subscribers in their fourth  quarter, a nice recovery since last year’s Qwikster/price hike exodus
  • 800,000 subscribers they lost over that series of flaps and foibles — still some fence-mending to be done source

25 Jan 2012 20:49

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Politics: Jeb Bush offers advice to the GOP on Hispanic voters

  • Hispanics understand, either personally or through close family members, what it means to come here as an immigrant. They know how hard it is to function without a full working knowledge of English. They have often felt the sting of prejudice and the threats of gang violence. They tire of the stereotypes built by the media and some politicians. Like all voters, Hispanics respond to candidates who show respect and understanding for their experiences.
  • Jeb Bush • In an Op-Ed for the Washington Post today. The full piece is well worth reading, as it recognizes a fact which has been blindingly obvious to political science types — changing demographics in the American electorate have given Hispanics a much greater influence than ever before, and that trend will almost assuredly continue. This is obviously a big issue for the Republican Party at present — the recent defense of Mitt Romney’s immigration platform by Marco Rubio aside, people generally don’t like being made to feel like their friends, family or possibly themselves are being made targets by political power-players. One way to mend these fences is to speak and listen with earnestly, and build coalitions based on shared ideology. Bush seems to get this. source

25 Jan 2012 20:14

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Tech: That’s hot: X-Ray laser heats aluminum foil to 3.6 million degrees

  • Hot dense matter, indeed: Scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have successfully super-heated a small piece of aluminum foil, as thin as spider silk, to a temperature of 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit. They did this by hitting it with a rapidly pulsing, high-powered X-ray laser, which caused the foil to become what scientists refers to as “hot dense matter,” commonly found only in places like the center of stars. This is the first time a sample has been able to be reproduced in a lab setting, and could lead to greater understanding of nuclear fusion, among other things — the 3.6 million degree matter was, in fact, hotter than the corona of our Sun. (Photo from University of Oxford/Sam Vinko) source

25 Jan 2012 15:28

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Biz: Always Low Prices? J.C. Penney tries a play out of the Wal-Mart playbook

  • 40% across-the-board price cuts over at J.C. Penney source
  • » Fewer sales, lower prices: A old retail vehicle tunes up. Department store mainstay (despite years of underperformance) J.C. Penney is making some big changes. New CEO Ron Johnson, who formerly headed Apple’s retail division, is looking to fix a pricing and sales structure that has neither kept J.C. Penney competitive, nor has helped their bottom line. Johnson’s desire to cut down on the volume of smaller, unique sales is sort of a no-brainer; he says despite the company’s prior 590 promotions per year, the average customer visited only four times, meaning “customers ignored us 99% of the time. At some point, you, as a brand, look desperate if you have to market that much.” Johnson cut that unique promotions number from 590 down to … 12. Wow.

25 Jan 2012 14:45

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World: Jan25, one year later: Egypt marks protest movement anniversary

  • Sights and sounds on the ground: Egyptians packed into Tahrir Square today in celebration (with some underlying tension, due to the continued rule of the Military Council) of the anniversary of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak’s reign. That there are complex and treacherous political problems facing the nation going forward is undeniable, but there’s no shame in taking a moment to look back at just how much Egypt has changed in one year. source

25 Jan 2012 14:17

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Politics: Marco Rubio rips Gingrich ad calling Romney an “anti-immigrant candidate”

  • This kind of language is more than just unfortunate. It’s inaccurate, inflammatory, and doesn’t belong in this campaign. The truth is that neither of these two men is anti-immigrant and both have positive messages that play well in the Latino community.
  • Florida Senator Marco Rubio • Condemning a radio ad released by the Gingrich campaign, which referred to Mitt Romney as “the most anti-immigrant candidate.” This is an issue on which Rubio carries a lot of heft, as both a member of the young Republican surge in 2010, as well as the GOP’s most prominent Latino voice. The political effect of his remarks, whether intended or not, is to give Romney a leg up. Though Gingrich’s immigration reform ideas are far from progressive, that he’s further left on the issue than Romney is undeniable; Romney has reveled in staying to the (at times somewhat absurd) far-right of every opponent on the issue. If he’s given cover from criticism about it, however inartful that criticism may be, it means he won’t have to bear the cost of that clear political calculation. Gingrich pulled the ad from the airwaves following Rubio’s remarks. source

25 Jan 2012 10:43

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Politics: Michele Bachmann, after tough presidential bid, running for Congress again

Despite the belief among analysts that her skills might better be suited for Fox News, the Tea Party Caucus leader will stick with Minnesota’s 6th district for now. It’ll be Bachmann’s fourth term if she wins. source
 

25 Jan 2012 10:31

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World: Awesome: SEAL Team 6 rescues aid workers captured in Somalia

  • Jessica Buchanan was rescued and she is on her way home. As commander-in-chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission.
  • President Barack Obama • Making a pre-dawn statement on the rescue of American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, two aid workers captured in Somalia back in October. The rescue was carried out by SEAL Team 6, the same group that killed Osama bin Laden eight months ago, so you know they’re good. All nine of their captors, rumored to be pirates holding the humanitarian workers for ransom, were killed in the rescue effort. Thisted and Buchanan were safe, however. Speaking about the rescue effort on the Today Show this morning, Vice President Joe Biden put it like this: “We wanted to act, and we did.” Well-put. source

25 Jan 2012 10:14

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Biz: HSBC faces money-laundering investigation in Senate

  • A big company with big problems: Reuters is reporting that HSBC is facing some tough allegations in the Senate, with the company reportedly getting investigated for its role in sketchy money-laundering practices. Reuters reports that while the scale of the investigation isn’t known, signs point to breakdowns in the company’s anti-money-laundering systems. In response to the Senate allegations, the company’s spokesman responded: “We have ongoing discussions with officials on a number of regulatory and compliance matters. The nature of these discussions is confidential; in all cases, we are cooperating.” Read more at the link. (awesome, incredibly fitting photo by Flickr user Will Survive) source