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08 Feb 2011 11:01

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Tech: Did Verizon pull bait-and-switch on iPhone buyers with data plan?

  • cool After many years of waiting, Verizon started selling the iPhone on its service. It’s reportedly selling at extremely fast rates – faster than the Droid, even, Verizon’s previous best-selling phone. Apple could break its own sales record, too.
  • lame But, in a sneak attack only made public after a blogger happened to trip upon it, Verizon changed its data-management policy so that “unlimited” data users will see their speeds slow to a crawl if they use too much of it. WTF? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Feb 2011 22:08

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World: Did the Egyptian military use indifference as a power grab?

  • Let the military take over and protect you and Egypt. … We have confirmed reports that there are radical elements heading to cause internal strife. They have balls of fire and they want to start fire in the Tahrir (Liberation) Square.
  • A quote from Egyptian state television • Calling the protesters out at Tahrir Square “radicals.” The phrasing suggests that the tactic used against Egyptian protesters today (involving a bunch of pro-Mubarak supporters attacking the protesters that have been out all week, with the military standing idly by) was a ploy designed to give the military leverage over the situation. “The military’s refusal to act is a highly political act which shows that it is allowing the Egyptian regime to reconstitute itself at the top and is highly, utterly against the protesters,” says Kent State professor Joshua Stacher, who happens to be an expert on Egypt. The military is powerful; did they use that power to screw over the Egyptians? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 21:09

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U.S., World: By the numbers: al-Jazeera English’s huge leap in online traffic

  • 4M number of online views al-Jazeera English says it has gotten since Friday
  • 1.6M number of views the network has gotten from the United States alone
  • 2,500% the increase in the site’s online traffic since Friday (a big deal) source
  • » Why they aren’t on cable: As our buddy ProducerMatthew figured out last night, they’re fighting in a very competitive space. And now he has a little backup from the New York Times. In statements acquired by the paper, many cable companies said similar things. It’s like applying for a federal job and getting a form rejection letter apparently, except with Comcast.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 20:08

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Biz: Why do U.S. cable companies continue to block al-Jazeera English?

  • There was reluctance from these companies to embark in a direction that would perhaps be opposed by the Bush administration. I think that’s changed. I think if anything the Obama administration has indicated to al-Jazeera that it sees us as part of the solution, not part of the problem.
  • Al-Jazeera English’s head of North American strategies Tony Burman • Discussing why getting his network on U.S. cable systems has been such a hard sell. When the English-language network launched in 2006, it carried a bit of a reputation with it (despite its editorial independence and BBC-like business model), and it’s one that’s kept the network running in D.C., parts of Ohio and parts of Vermont. That’s it. (Oh, and if you happen to own a satellite dish.) This is despite the fact that the service is widely-available in Europe and Canada without any troubles. “Why in the most vibrant democracy in the world, where engagement and knowledge of the world is probably the most important,” Burman continues, “why it’s not available is one of these things that would take a PhD scholar to understand.” Meanwhile, Fox News airs unabated. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2011 19:51

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U.S.: Westboro Baptist Church gives in (a little) on funeral protests

  • good Westboro Baptist Church promised not to protest the funeral of nine-year-old Christina Green after Arizona passed a law against their protests. They made a deal with a radio host in exchange for airtime.
  • bad However, the WBC still plans to protest the other funerals in the wake of the Tucson shootings, because clearly it’s still OK to protest a random person’s funeral when they’re older than nine. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2011 20:06

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World: Report: Retracted autism/vaccine study “elaborate fraud”

  • It’s one thing to have a bad study, a study full of error, and for the authors then to admit that they made errors. But in this case, we have a very different picture of what seems to be a deliberate attempt to create an impression that there was a link by falsifying the data.
  • British Medical Journal editor-in-chief Fiona Godlee • Explaining that the findings in an infamously retracted autism study in 1998 were not only false, but fraudulently made-up. BMJ claims that the Lancet study’s author, Andrew Wakefield, misrepresented or altered the histories of the twelve people used in the study. The result was a sharp drop in vaccinations, leading to a significant increase in measles cases in the ensuing years. Wakefield’s medical license was revoked las year as a result. He apparently received over $674,000 from a law firm that wanted to sue vaccine-makers, which was not made public until years after the study first came out. He does have some supporters who question the allegations, but if this is true, he’s an evil mother(#&@)!#. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2011 10:36

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Tech: MetroPCS decides to ensure nobody switches to their service

  • december The FCC approves new net-neutrality rules that give more power to mobile providers while mostly blocking content limitations for landline users. Basically nobody liked the plan.
  • january Just a few days into the new year, MetroPCS is ready to try out the new policy with a tiered data system that limits users’ access to non-YouTube video and audio content on the lowest tier. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

29 Dec 2010 09:55

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World: Not willing to share: China limiting exports of rare earth minerals

China produces 97 percent of the world’s rare-earth materials, used in all sorts of ways. But now China doesn’t want to share so much anymore – and other countries are pissed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Dec 2010 17:22

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U.S.: TSA issues fake warning, treats real whistleblower like terrorist

  • fake The TSA is warning travelers to be careful when bringing thermoses or coffee cups onto planes because they might be used for transporting bombs. While they have no specific threat, they admit it could possibly be a danger. Uh, okay … thanks for telling us on Christmas Eve!
  • real A pilot recorded, using his camera phone, an *ACTUAL* security hole at one of California’s largest airports. The TSA then went to his home and confiscated his gun, which he has to protect himself in the cockpit. Wait, wait, how will that help solve the real problem? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2010 09:30

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Biz: Kinda like burglary: Are banks unjustly breaking into homes?

This lady right here, Mimi Ash, had all of her possessions in this vacation home thrown out and taken away by Bank of America. Including her dead husband’s ashes. Yeah. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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