Sunday, January 04, 2009

Google's Android OS running on netbooks!


Linux-based netbooks -- tiny laptops used primarily for Internet access -- are starting to make a dent in the desktop world. My (very non-techie) wife has a Dell Inspiron Mini-9 running Ubuntu and uses it every day for web surfing.

Now word comes that some enterprising jamokes at VentureBeat have installed Google's open-source Android OS on an Asus EEEPC 1000H netbook.

You thought Android was for mobile phones, right? Well, as we’ve written before, Google is planning to use Android for any device — not just the mobile phones.

Besides writing as freelancers for VentureBeat, we also run a startup called Mobile-facts. It took us about four hours of work to compile Android for the netbook. Having done so, we (Daniel Hartmann, that is) got the netbook fully up and running on it, with nearly all of the necessary hardware you’d want (including graphics, sound and the wireless card for internet) running. See the images below for further impressions.

Here’s the significance: Imagine the billion dollar market at stake here if Google can make good on this vision. Netbooks are basically small-scale PCs. For Silicon Valley myriad of software companies, it means a well-backed, open operating system that is open and ripe for exploitation... Now think of Chrome, Google’s web browser, and the richness it allows developers to build into the browser’s relationship with the desktop — all of this could usher in a new wave of more sophisticated web applications, cheaper and more dynamic to use...

...What does it mean for the stock price of Microsoft? Microsoft currently owns the vast majority of the desktop operating system market share? In recent weeks, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer repeatedly dismissed Android as competition to Windows Mobile...

If Ballmer actually issued such a dismissal, I'd wager it's a mistake on his part.

Update: FAQ regarding Android and netbooks.

Top ten cars to burn in Paris


Over the past several days, protesters have torched approximately 1,147 cars in Paris. Anorak (UK) lists the top ten cars most favored most by "disaffected youths" when they feel a burning need.

10. Rover

9. MERCEDES-BENZ C CLASS (C200 Classic 4dr Saloon)

8. AUDI A4 (1.8 SE)

7. Fiat Grand Punto (1.2)

6. Honda Civic (Aerodeck)

5. Toyota Rav4 (Diesel estate)

4. Vauxhall Astra (2.2i 16v)

3. Citroen C5 (Tourer 2.0 HDI)

2. Vauxhall Corsa (Hatchback 1.0i 12v Active (AC) 3dr)

1. VW Polo (Dune)


Least burned vehicle? The Mazda Mossad.

Linked by: AutoSpies and SondraK. Thanks!

Rod Blagojevich and I are pleased to announce our endorsements for the 2008 Weblog Awards


Rod Blagojevich and I are pleased to announce our endorsements for the 2008 Weblog Awards (this post has been updated from the original to include a new Internets innovation -- a thingamabob called "hyperlinks"; and to add Fausta to the list, since she was a late-breaking addition to the finalists' club).

Voting begins on January 5, 2009. Make sure you visit and vote for any of the following recommendations, which are officially endorsed by Blago and myself.

Best Blog: Hot Air
Best Individual Blogger: Jules Crittenden and The Anchoress
Best Humor Blog: Mother May I Sleep With Treacher and IMAO
Best Comic Strip: Day by Day and Dilbert
Best Conservative Blog: Little Green Footballs, Michelle Malkin, Ace of Spades, Power Line, American Thinker and Atlas Shrugs
Best Political Coverage: American Thinker and Townhall
Best Technology Blog: Ars Technica and TechCrunch
Best Military Blog: Michael Yon and Blackfive
Best Law Blog: Volokh Conspiracy and WSJ Law Blog
Best LGBT Blog: Gay Patriot
Best Photo Blog: Snapped Shot
Best Culture Blog: SondraK
Best Gossip Blog Perez Hilton, TMZ
Best Video Blog: DemoCast TV
Best Middle East/Africa Blog: Michael J. Totten, Elder of Ziyon, IsraellyCool
Best Australia or New Zealand Blog: Tim Blair
Best Major Blog: Instapundit
Best Very Large Blog: Right Wing News, Patterico, Protein Wisdom
Best Large Blog: Jammie Wearing Fool, Fausta and Sister Toldjah
Best Midsize Blog: Zomblog, Betsy's Page, Israel Matzav
Best Small Blog: Exurban League
Best Up and Coming Blog: McClatchy Watch, Daled Amos, Sundries Shack

"Maps can really point to places... where life is evil now"


A Sense Of Reality by Professor Barry Rubin of The Gloria Center

When you actually hear what the anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-Western forces say, it reveals just how inaccurate is their analysis, often allowed to be given without contradiction in much of the media.

Here are two quotes from Yahoo coverage of anti-Israel demonstrations:

1. Paul Mukerji, 42, from Birmingham, acknowledged Israel had security reasons but called its action disproportionate. "The best way for peace for Palestinians and Israelis is to end the occupation," he said.

Yep! End that occupation and all the shooting will stop. As you know, it was Israel's end of occupation in south Lebanon that led to attacks by Hizballah. And Israel's end of occupation in the Gaza Strip that led to attacks by Hamas. And Israel's agreement with the PLO and withdrawal from part of the West Bank raised the level of terrorism there (at least for about half of the last 15 years). No doubt if Israel withdrew completely from the West Bank...

But in logical terms, of course, if you believe that "occupation" causes violence--rather than, say, revolutionary Arab nationalist and Islamist movements that sought total victory--you MUST argue that these are defensive reactions. Of course, they are aggressive ones.


2. Ali Saeed, 24, from Luton, said Western governments had failed to condemn Israel's actions. "What's going on in Gaza is not right ... It's not a coincidence that it's going on in Iraq, in Chechnya, in Kashmir. It's just about going on everywhere. It's almost a direct insult to every single Muslim," he said.

Iraq: Saddam Hussein has repressive dictatorship, Saddam attacks Iran, Saddam attacks Kuwait, terrorists today kill mostly other Muslims in a Sunni-Shia battle. Yes, so why blame America?

Chechnya: One could argue that this is an occupation issue--the Russians have been there for about 150 years-- but the Chechnya rebels have deliberately targeted Russian civilians and killed their own moderates who tried to work out a deal. At any rate, one can contrast Russian methods—leveling the capital city and killing many thousands of civilians—with Israel's, with Hamas admitting 85 percent of the casualties in the current campaign are its soldiers and most of the rest victims of its policy of turning civilians into involuntary human shields.

Kashmir: Radical Islamists backed by Pakistan murder Indian civilians and carry out terrorism in India. To my knowledge, the Indians never used harsh repression in Kashmir, certainly not before the start of a terrorist war there.

And how about:

• Massacres of Christians in Indonesia
• of Christians and Buddhists in Thailand
• of Christians in the Philippines
• and of Christians and Shia Muslims in Iraq
• and of Christians and Druze and Sunni Muslims in Lebanon
• and of fellow Muslims in Algeria and Egypt and Saudi Arabia
• and of course al-Qaida attacks including September 11
• and the London subway bombings
• and the Bali bombing
• and the Spanish commuter train bombings
• and the Mumbai attacks
• and the murder of animists and fellow Muslims in Sudan
• and so on.

Once upon a time in the West there were institutions which challenged and corrected a factually ludicrous world view. Now, alas, they often further it.

And of course, this isn't the first time—even in living memory—that the world has faced such movements, such falsehood, such places:

But ideas can be true although men die,
And we can watch a thousand faces
Made active by one lie:

And maps can really point to places
Where life is evil now:
Nanking; Dachau.

-- "In Time of War," W.H. Auden, 1939

And now: Kabul, Tehran, and Gaza under Hamas rule.

But common sense does prevail. The truth is that the demonstrations have not been impressive in Europe and America, both in size and in the ability of the anti-Israel forces to mobilize non-Muslims in any serious numbers.

Update: Larwyn asks why not a single member of the media has asked the apologists how Hamas can build dozens of tunnels to transport armaments, but not a single bomb shelter for Gazans?

Special thanks to: Professor Barry Rubin of The Gloria Center and Larwyn. Photos: the invaluable Gateway Pundit and Power Line.

Larwyn's Links: "I'll show you a disproportionate response!"


Moral Clarity in Gaza: WaPo (Charles Krauthammer)
Obama stirs fear in Israel: New York Post (Ralph Peters)
The future of Social Security: Social Security Administration

Do you remember 2008? Techmeme does: Techmeme
Gaza and the Limits of International Law: Volokh Conspiracy
Mr. Gore: Apology Accepted: Huffington Post (Harold Ambler)

Less bars in more places -- AT&T downgrades 2G service: Gizmodo
Harry Reid is like a drunken temperance leader: Don Surber
Bailouts? They're all chump change!: Charlie Foxtrot

Parades of children dressed up with suicide vests and fake rockets: The Corner (Victor Davis Hanson)
Standing up Fatah in Gaza: The Tank (Steve Schippert)
Hamas shoots 75 Fatah members in Gaza: Gateway Pundit

Salon's David Sirota went on Fox News last week, and is still smarting: Political Doodle
A.N.S.W.E.R. supports barbarism: Z-Word
Disproportionate response? I'll show you a disproportionate response!: Family Security Matters:

Do you remember the assassination of Theo Van Gogh in Holland in 2002 because he made a "controversial film depicting Islam?" Or what about the murderous rampages throughout the Muslim "street" elicited by 12 cartoons deemed to be offensive to the Prophet, published in a Danish newspaper? Reactions started with public demonstrations and escalated to violence throughout the world; fires set to American flags in the Arab "street;" fires set in Danish embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran: storming European buildings; marches in Pakistan and Indonesia and throughout the Moslem world which incidentally included many placards of crude threats to Israel and the United States; and from Gaza the Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar a call for death to the infidels. The violence resulted in hundreds injured and at least an equal number dead. Hmmm. That all sounds a tad disproportionate.

Saturday, January 03, 2009

True Crime Comix: The 'Most Ethical Congress Ever'


I'm thinking about creating some comic books that will help edumacate the liberals progressives since they don't appear too interested in book learnin' and such.

For instance, how about a comic illustrating Nancy Pelosi's "most ethical Congress ever", considering that Pelosi, Rangel and Dodd all made Judicial Watch's Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians of 2008?

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY): Rep. Charles Rangel, Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee [is being investigated by the] House Ethics Committee... The initial transgressions that led to the ethics panel probe involve: Rangel's failure to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income he earned from his off-shore rental property; his efforts to use his influence to keep hold of highly coveted rent-controlled apartments in Harlem; and misusing his congressional office to fundraise for his private Rangel Center. Now Congress is looking into whether or not Rangel preserved a tax loophole for an oil drilling company in exchange for funding for the Rangel Center as well...

Last year House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the "most corrupt" list for sneaking a $25 million earmark for her husband into a $15 billion Water Resources Development Act passed by Congress. This year, Pelosi ran afoul of federal election law by participating in an illegal advertising campaign funded by Al Gore's non-profit Alliance for Climate protection. The advertisement featuring Pelosi ran at least 300 times nationally, including in the House speaker's district, during campaign season, representing an illegal in-kind contribution to her campaign. Perhaps more disturbing than this incident, however, is the fact that Speaker Pelosi has allowed corruption to run rampant in Congress and has ignored serious incidents of crooked behavior within her own party...

Question: Which member of the U.S. Senate took the most campaign money from corrupt institutions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Answer: Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Given this fact there is little reason to wonder why Senator Dodd blocked reform proposals for Fannie and Freddie, calling them "ill advised." Dodd's willingness to protect Fannie and Freddie would alone merit a spot on the "ten most corrupt list," but there is much more. Dodd was also nabbed for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial. The Connecticut Senator admitted earlier this year that he was told in 2003 when he refinanced two properties that he was being placed in Countrywide's "VIP Program," but said he believed this was simply a courtesy that had nothing to do with his position in the U.S. Senate. This is either a blatant lie or horribly naïve for a man who has served in the Senate for more than 25 years and currently chairs the Senate Banking Committee that regulates the mortgage industry...

Related:
Rangel's Spanish Excuse
• The world’s first Conservative comic book: Liberality for All

Update: Another apparent quid pro quo starring the Clinton Crime Family, this courtesy of The New York Times.

An upstate New York developer donated $100,000 to former President Bill Clinton’s foundation in November 2004, around the same time that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessman’s mall project.

Robert J. Congel donated $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation as Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed bills to help his mall project... Mrs. Clinton helped enact legislation allowing the developer... to use tax-exempt bonds to help finance the construction of [an] entertainment and shopping complex... Mrs. Clinton also helped secure a provision in a highway bill that set aside $5 million for Destiny USA roadway construction.

Stinky. Like bad fish.

Update II: Sweetness & Light points us to another Times article (you can tell election season is over because Pinch is publishing articles that reflect poorly on Democrats):

On April 21, 2008, [Rep.] Rangel met with officials of [AIG], to ask for a donation to a school of public service that City College of New York was building in his honor... [He] had already helped secure a $5 million pledge for the project from a foundation controlled by [a] former [AIG] chief executive...

You can actually smell the putrification that is today's Democratic leadership.

Update III: Porcupine Rim has additional money quotes from Judicial Watch. And I do mean "money quotes."

Linked by: Mitchell Langbert. Thanks!

Honda prepares its answer to Nissan's GT-R


That's right: the NSX looks to be makin' a comeback, just in time to combat the preternaturally legendary Nissan GT-R. eGMCarTech reports a brand, spankin' new NSX may debut at the Detroit auto show.

It was recently reported by AutoExpress that Honda has shelved plans to build the Acura/Honda NSX supercar. Honda made no comment on the report that said Honda pulled the plug on the 600-hp supercar due to the economic slowdown.

Well, Autotelegraaf is now saying that Honda will bring the final NSX concept to the 2009 Detroit Auto Show next month. The report says that the concept will be very close to the final production version which will make its debut at the end of 2009 in Tokyo and 2010 in Europe.

The news comes a couple days after Toyota announced that it will still bring the Lexus LF-A to the market by 2011 despite the current economic situation.

The spy shots, taken at the Nurburgring, remind me a bit of the last Supra.

Root cause of the Zune fail


Looking to assign blame for the massive Zune outage (or, as I like to call it, Z2K)?

Anything but iPod and I have a Zune report that the root cause is probably a fragged power management chip. And the outages aren't restricted to Zunes alone.

Earlier the code for this infamous Zune bug showed up on Digg. This code is actually code written for Freescale’s MC13783 PMIC (PDF Whitepaper) [Ed: PMIC == Power Management Integrated Circuit] and it seems like it's affecting other players that have this PMIC like the Gigabeat S Series...

...This makes a lot of sense since the Zune 30 was heavily bases off of the Toshiba S series. So far it looks like the Gigabeat owners are trying the fix as the Zune 30 owners, letting it fully discharge...

...So far one user has been successful using this method and changing the date on his PC.

I'll stick with using my BlackBerry 8320 Curve as my music device and my phone, thanks. Consider: stick a 16GB MicroSD card in it, upgrade the BlackBerry client software to version 4.5, and ***voila*** you get a built-in videocamera, still camera with flash, awesome MP3 player, real HTML email and web-browsing...

...plus this fantastic new feature called "buttons". This radical innovation lets you use "keys" -- almost like a typewriter keyboard -- to send email. What will they think of next?

Update: Here's the faulty source code, courtesy Makezine:

year = ORIGINYEAR; /* = 1980 */

while (days > 365) {
if (IsLeapYear(year)) {
if (days > 366) {
days -= 366;
year += 1;
}
} else {
days -= 365;
year += 1;
}
}

Can you say "infinite loop"? In my 2005 post Ban the while loop, I explained to developers my contention that the use of a while loop is tantamount to a software engineering felony.

But, considering these are probably the same guys behind the egregious Writing Solid Code -- quite possibly the most unintentionally hilarious book title of all-time -- I'm frankly not surprised.

Add it to the list: Chicago Jewish day schools receive bomb threats


Chicago Jewish day schools received bomb threats in the mail: A letter, received Wednesday at the Chicago offices of the Associated Talmud Torahs and the Ida Crown Jewish Academy, threatened Jewish day schools in Chicago and in the suburbs, WBBM newsradio 780 reported.

In Florida, pro-Hamas protestors chanted "Go back to the ovens" at Jewish counter-protestors. In Fort Lauderdale, mind you.

The sidewalk in front of a California Jewish preschool was defaced with swastikas: It was the third time this year, according to the Ventura County Star.

In Washington DC, a lone pro-Israel protestor was assaulted by a Muslim man for holding up a pro-Israel sign.

The San Francisco Holocaust memorial was defaced with graffiti referring to Israel: It is the second time in the last few months that the memorial, which features 11 life-sized bronze figures of men, has been defaced. Earlier this year vandals drew swastikas on the figures.

* * *

For all the claims of peace and tolerance, those qualities certainly appear to be in short supply on one side of this dispute.

Update: Instapundit links (thanks!) and adds Knoxville to the list.

Update II: Bad craziness in San Francisco: "I'm a little spooked."

Update III: Linked by Gateway Pundit (thanks!) who has pictures and video illustrating the confluence of the Left and Hamas. The Colussus of Rhodey also links with more crucial info.

Update IV: Jews terrorized in the UK.

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: "A realistic Crucifixion re-enactment"


The angst of supporting Israel - Maggie's Notebook
The disaster that is the Cuban revolution - Fausta
What is in the Hamas arsenal? - Hugh Hewitt

Escape from Hamas - Fox News TV Special
Liberal Twilight Zone: Green's Real World
"Go back to the ovens", FL edition: Gateway Pundit

The SEIU threat to economic recovery: Right Side News
Sons find their Dad's sub, sunk in '42: MMNBC
Retired surgeon invents cheap device that could save millions from blindness: Sky News

What do Social Security and Bernard Madoff have in common?: Boston Globe
India/Pakistan exchange nuke info after Bush intervention - Don Surber
'Nobody Has Confidence In This Guy As Commander In Chief' : Jammie Wearing Fool

A Syrian in opposition: Hamas, Hizbullah must be destroyed : Eye on the World
Republicans back Israeli military action against Hamas, Democrats oppose: Rasmussen Reports
Clashing Civilizations - National Review (Mark Steyn):


...on December 23rd Hamas legislators voted to introduce Sharia — Islamic law — to the Palestinian Territories, including crucifixion. So next time you’re visiting what my childhood books still quaintly called “the Holy Land,” the re-enactments might be especially lifelike.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Port of Los Angeles' top priorities: pollution and diversity


The top priorities at the Port of Los Angeles might surprise you. If you guessed "detecting the presence of WMDs in containers entering the port" you'd be wrong. Green initiatives and diversity in hiring appear to be the key concerns. For starters, you don't have to be an actual U.S. citizen to join the Los Angeles Port Police (PDF).

Let me repeat that. To become a member of the Los Angeles Port Police, you do not need to be an actual U.S. citizen. Just having applied for citizenship is quite good enough, thank you.

And with one (1) day expedited testing, you too could become a member of the Los Angeles Port Police earning a starting salary of between $55K and $75K.

Sorry, but I need to repeat that one as well: one-day expedited testing lets you join the LA Port Police ASAP!

Port Police officers' range of duties include the safety and security of all passenger, cargo and vessel operations...

...Officers patrol the waterfront by boat, helicopter, automobile and bicycle; monitor vessel berthings to ensure safe docking; issue hazardous cargo and dangerous-goods permits; inspect vessels to guard against drug smuggling and pollution violations ([Ed: "pollution violations?"]); enforce local, state and federal laws; provide special training and general assistance to customer security operations.

But not to worry: Geraldine Knatz Ph.D., the port's top official, is on the case.

In January 2006, Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D., became the first female executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. She oversees the daily operations... of the nation’s number one containerport.

Moving the Port of Los Angeles forward with an agenda that focuses on responsible Port growth and environmental leadership is an aggressive goal that Dr. Knatz has tackled from day one. Reducing air emissions, eliminating health risks and expanding capital development programs... are top priorities ...under the leadership of Dr. Knatz.

...Dr. Knatz was instrumental in the creation and implementation of the Clean Air Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy for reducing air emissions from port operations by roughly 50 percent over a period of five years... Earlier this year, her non-stop work ethic and persistence in implementing the Plan was a central topic chronicled in [a] National Geographic Channel television series...

Dr. Knatz previously served as managing director of the neighboring Port of Long Beach... and spearheaded a number of environmental initiatives, including development of the Green Port Policy... Dr. Knatz earned two degrees from USC: a doctorate in biological science and a Master of Science in environmental engineering. She also holds an undergraduate degree in zoology from Rutgers University.

Silly me. I thought the number one priority at the Port of Los Angeles was, say, preventing a frickin' containerized nuclear weapon from sailing into the harbor and detonating. Like, security?

A nuke could actually hamper your green efforts for, say, a thousand years or so, Dr. Knatz. But it's all about diversity -- not pragmatism!

What a frickin' disaster the state of California is. I say we kick 'em out of the Union. Who's with me?

Intriguing Gmail feature o' the day


If you're a Google Mail (Gmail) user and suspect someone else has accessed your account, the service has a neat feature that can help.

Once you've logged in to Gmail, scroll down to the bottom of the page. Note the highlighted area that says Last account activity.

If we zoom in, you'll see a Details link. Go ahead and click it.

A small window will pop up and Gmail will give you the recent activity on the account. It lists each of the recent log-ins, the IP addresses of the log-in and the approximate time that someone successfully accessed your account.

If the times don't match up with when you actually logged-in, then you may actually have had an illicit penetration of your account (sounds exotic, eh?).

Obviously, if your account has been compromised, change your password immediately. A best practice would be to change your password every 60 or 90 days anyhow. And when you do, make it a tough-to-guess password. In the past, I've used my favorite athletes, a delimiter and their uniform number (say, Rose#014 for Pete Rose. Eh, the pre-Vegas-era Rose, that is). Easy to remember and tough to guess.

And if you're not a Google Mail user, I'd recommend you'd sign up for a free account for your personal use. As one of the first Hotmail users (I still have my original doug_ross@hotmail.com logon) and a user of about every other web-based email service, Gmail beats the snot out of any competitor I've seen. The spam filtering is rock solid, the threaded messages are awesome, and the automatic memorization of your contacts is rockin'. Give it a try: my bet is that you won't be disappointed.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

California: tax refunds will come as IOUs


MMNBC (Media Matters NBC) reports that the brilliant liberal majority in California may be getting their just desserts. Their tax refunds could come in the form of IOUs, which figure to be worth at least as much as the paper they're printed on.

They're not calling them IOUs, of course (just like they don't call their ultimate aim socialism, though that's precisely what it appears to be). They call them "Registered Warrants".

California is rapidly running out of money. Blame it on the state budget deficit that continues to bleed billions of dollars from California's reserves. Facing inadequate credit to make up the difference, California's Controller John Chiang warns that by the end of February, the nation's most populous state may not be able to pay some of its debts, and instead be reduced to issuing those creditors IOUs.

"My office has projected that, in approximately 60 days, there will be insufficient cash available to meet all expenditures reflected in the 2008-09 Budget Act," stated a Tuesday letter from Controller Chiang to the directors of all state agencies. "To ensure that the State can meet its obligations to schools, debt service, and others entitled to payment under the State Constitution, federal law, or court order. California may begin, as early as February 1, 2009, issuing registered warrants...commonly referred to as IOUs...to individuals and entities in lieu of regular payments."

My suggestion:

California's registered Republicans should, in lieu of regular tax payments, be permitted to pay the state with "registered warrants" since they're not responsible for this disaster.

Linked by: Instapundit, Don Surber, Big Dog's House and Radio Vice Online. Thanks!

NBC/Media Matters reveals the Top Top 10 Lists of 2008


Our exclusive relationship with the latest polling done by the NBC/Media Matters consortium reveals the following Best Lists of 2008:

Sci-Tech


Top 10 Creative Crowdsourcing Marketplaces
Top 10 Open Source Stories of 2008 - InformationWeek
Top 10 underhyped web apps - LifeHacker
Top 10 Torrent sites of 2008 - TorrentFreak

Sci-Tech


Top 10 jQuery-powered Sites - Vision Media
Top 10 Planning & Design Websites - PlanetIzen
Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tricks - LifeHacker
12 elegant examples of evolution - Wired

Politics/Media


Top Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicans of 2008 - Judicial Watch
Top 10 News Stories - Radio Free Europe
Top 10 Political Scoops of 2008 - Politico
Top 10 Media-Shift Stories of 2008 - PBS

Autos


Top 10 New Cars at 2008 Detroit Auto Show - Popular Mechanics
Kiplinger's Best Cars for 2008 - Kiplinger
Top 10 Hybrid Cars - Cars.com
Five things you didn't know about the AK-47 - Ask Men

Culture


Top 10 Car Dealer Scams of 2008 - CarBuyingTips
Top 10 2008 NBA All-Star Plays - YouTube
Top Ten Super Bowl Ads of 2008 - YouTube
Top Ten Movies of 2008 - Baltimore Sun

Update: Cracked's most popular articles of 2008:

Batman tried to warn us about Madoff


If investors had only listened to The Dark Knight:

INT. BOARDROOM, WAYNE ENTERPRISES -- CONTINUOUS

FOX
Another long night?
(Wayne smiles)
This joint venture was your idea, and
the consultants love it, but I'm not
convinced. L.S.I.'s grown 8 percent
annually, like clockwork. They must
have a revenue stream that's off the
books. Maybe even illegal.


WAYNE
OK. Cancel the deal.

FOX
(looks at Wayne)
You already knew.

WAYNE
I needed a closer look at their
books.

Ponzi schemer (eh, alleged Ponzi schemer) Bernard Madoff's chart looked suspiciously like that of the fictional L.S.I.:

We've all heard how Bernie Madoff's returns sounded too smooth and consistent to be true. In picture form, however, the returns are even more eyebrow raising. The chart below shows the cumulative returns of $1 invested in the hedge fund Fairfield Sentry Limited, which was a fund run by Fairfield Greenwich Group that essentially directed all of its assets to the stewardship of Bernie Madoff...

...As shown, $1 invested in Madoff back in 1990 was supposed to be worth $6.75 today. NPB Bank, out of Zurich, even offered a version of this fund with three times the leverage. Talk about too good to be true.

Of course, both schemes remind me of, say, Social Security and Medicare.

Uncle Ponzi needs you!

Larwyn's New Year's Links: Time to pull out the Man Card


Shadow of Iran looms large over Gaza - Walid Phares
The Gaza Nazis - Cal Thomas
Hoping for change in our Middle East policy - Power Line

Yes we can -- Move on - Charlie Foxtrot
Change and hope for '09 - American Digest
He (Fitzgerald) blew it - Don Surber

New Years Blago Scandals Digest - Marathon Pundit
The end of subsidies, and other early morning reads - Fausta
Court rules against Gitmo detainees - Prairie Pundit

Disproportionate Israeli Humanitarian Aid to Gaza - The Corner
Obama And That Other Ponzi Scheme (Hsu) - Smoking Gun
Top 10 marketing flops bigger than Caroline - Extreme Mortman

Hamas takes time out from killing Jews to kill their own - American Thinker
For sheer brazenness, nobody surpasses Rod - Chicago Tribune (John Kass)
Terrorists hit Beersheba with rockets -- 40km from Gaza! - Gateway Pundit

15 seconds - Mere Rhetoric
Expert in International Law crushes 'disproportionate response' rhetoric - Israel Matzav
Best Comment Yet (see #23) - YNet News

"Wow. Its going to be fun with the Dems in charge. If Bush looked strong and frightening, Dems are starting to look like weird, gutless wonders staring at their own navels. Isn't it great the nation is getting a lesson in Chicago politics? That disciplined Dem machine, full of realpolitik types who only want to manage in a post partisan world. Yes sir, this Rod thing is real leadership.

Everyone is prognasticating that Bush will be remembered as the worst President ever. Well, unless he gets his and his party's act together, Obama is going to go from 90% approval to 15%(less than Bush) in record time. Time to pull out your Man card, Mr. President Elect and take charge."
-- Commenter "Jim" on the Chicago Tribune site

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Shoe Bomber vs. Shoe Thrower: How the Liberal Blogs Stack Up


It's Part One of our stunning, end-of-year wrap-up! Try and contain your excitement as we compare how various liberal progressive blogs covered two different Shoe Stories.

In this case, for each progressive blog, we'll contrast the number of posts mentioning a shoe-throwing journalist versus those mentioning a foiled terrorist attack that nearly killed hundreds of innocents: Richard Reid, the shoe bomber.

Let's play, shall we?

"Progressive" Blog"Richard Reid" shoe bomberIraqi journalist threw shoes Bush
Andrew Sullivan252
Brad Blog21,850
Crooks and Liars6341
Daily Kos10512,600
FireDogLake7218
Jesus' General148
Sadly, No332
Talking Points Memo30452
Taylor Marsh1118
ThinkProgress93395
Truthdig3162
Wonkette165

I'm figuring the ratio of these columns is as good a measure of a blog's level of Bush Derangement Syndrome that modern science can offer us.

Linked by: Unreligious Right. Thanks!

At 2AM all Microsoft Zunes were rendered inoperable by SkyNet


Consumerist reports that, at 2AM this morning, Zunes all over the world were suddenly rendered inoperable.

...Zunes all over the world froze up at around 2am this morning and won't reboot, and nobody knows why.

ArsTechnica says it seems to have affected all owners of the 30 gig model, and hit no matter what you were doing at the moment...

...Microsoft has been embarrassingly slow to respond to the story, but according to MSNBC they've now released the following statement:

“Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware. We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!”

We assume by "your patience" they mean "your many, many class action lawsuits."

Sounds like quite an inconvenience for all six Zune owners.



Update: Gizmodo posted a hack to get your Zune back up and running. It involves disconnecting both the battery and the hard-drive... and it may impact the warranty, so take the instructions with a grain of salt.

Update II: Best comment from the hundreds here:

What's a Zune?

Update III: WSJ reports that a Zune support thread entitled 'Help-frozen zune' currently has more than 19,000 replies.

Update IV: Looks like headline writers around the world are locked in a death-match for supremacy.

I woke up this morning and my Zune was gone - CNet
The Day Zune Music Died - CRN
The day Microsoft's Zunes stood still - Scientific American
Microsoft plague threatens 30GB Zune extinction - Register, UK
Z2K9?: Zunes everywhere freeze at midnight - National Post, Canada
Midnight mystery crash - Detroit Free Press
Zunes crash en masse - Computerworld
Worldwide Zune suicide? - MLive.com
Y2K returns 9 years later to disable Zunes? - Dallas Morning News
I sense a disturbance in the force - Newmobilecomputing.com
Zunes Going Tango Uniform Worldwide - Overclockers Club
Zune Swoon: MP3 player hit with mass glitch - WTOP, DC
Happy New Year from Microsoft - Associated Content
The Zune Screen Of Death - TechCrunch

Update V: Official Fix for the Zune Fail.

Hat tip for image: Gizmodo reader Bill Bradski.

Judicial Watch announces its "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians" for 2008


Can I have the envelope please, Vanna? And the winners are:

10. Hillary Clinton: "...corrupt behavior... follows Hillary wherever she goes, including Chinagate, Filegate, pardons for terrorists, pardons for cash (for her brothers), White House fundraising coffees, Whitewater, Travelgate lies, doing business with the State of Arkansas while her husband was governor, Web Hubbell, smear campaigns, false financial disclosure forms, John Huang, Chinese generals, the Lippo Group, paid sleepovers in the Lincoln Bedroom, cattle futures fraud, and stealing White House furniture..."

9. Chris Dodd: "...Dodd's willingness to protect Fannie and Freddie would alone merit a spot on the 'ten most corrupt list,' but there is much more. Dodd was also nabbed for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial..."

8. Valerie Jarrett: "Jarrett [managed] a controversial low-income housing project located in Obama's former state senate district... [the] complex was considered 'uninhabitable by unfixed problems, such as collapsed roofs and fire damage... In 2006, federal inspectors graded the condition of the complex an 11 on a 100-point scale -- a score so bad the buildings now face demolition.' ...According to documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, Jarrett is also linked to a series of other shady real estate scandals involving convicted felon and former Obama fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko..."

7. Rep. Jerry Lewis: "...Lewis, the senior Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, is under investigation for approving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal projects to benefit clients of one of his best friends..."

6. President-Elect Barack Obama: "...[his campaign was] marked with enormous corruption issues, ranging from its alliance with the sleazy ACORN operation's 'voter registration' and 'get out the vote' efforts to its acceptance of untraceable [and] illegal online contributions. There are also ...dealings with convicted felon Tony Rezko and unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, his below-market rate mortgage loans, his stock dealings and related "earmark" votes in the U.S. Senate, and his missing or non-existent official papers from his years in the Illinois State Senate..."

5. Nancy Pelosi: "...Last year... Pelosi made the "most corrupt" list for sneaking a $25 million earmark for her husband into a $15 billion Water Resources Development Act passed by Congress. This year, Pelosi ran afoul of federal election law by participating in an illegal advertising campaign funded by Al Gore's non-profit Alliance for Climate protection..."

4. Charles Rangel: "...failure to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income he earned from his off-shore rental property; his efforts to use his influence to keep hold of highly coveted rent-controlled apartments in Harlem; and misusing his congressional office to fundraise for his private Rangel Center. Now Congress is looking into whether or not Rangel preserved a tax loophole for an oil drilling company in exchange for funding..."

As they say on the really good blogs (but I'm not bitter), read the whole thing.

Mister Greenwald's Neighborhood


A response to Glenn Greenwald's egregious support of Hamas in the form of a parable.

There's a set of gangbangers who hang out near Glenn Greenwald's mobile home in the local trailer park.

They don't like the looks of Greenwald, what with his hair mousse, his starched oxford shirt and his BlackBerry. So a few years ago, just after he moved in, the gangbangers began "popping off some caps" in his general direction.

Not well-aimed, mind you, and usually just .22 caliber "Saturday Night Specials" like Lorcins. They're primitive, inaccurate weapons and have almost no chance of hitting Greenwald from 100 yards away.

When it first started happening, back in '05, Greenwald called the cops. His first thought was that the law enforcement community would bring some order back to the trailer park and certainly stop the gangbangers from taking potshots at him.

But the cops, aside from talking, did nothing. A sergeant told Greenwald that, "the neighborhood has been real bad like this for decades... we can't do anything about it. If we stop 'em, they'll be ten more to take their place the next day."

So day in and day out, as Greenwald and his life partner entered and exited their mobile home, they would flinch and duck as shots rang out in their direction.

Greenwald himself started taking anti-depressants and anxiety meds. Every time he heard a loud noise outside, his heart raced. He had trouble sleeping.

At work one day, Greenwald happened to start a conversation with an express delivery driver who had dropped off a package at the office. Greenwald asked the driver about how he handled deliveries into the sketchier neighborhoods.

"They know me," the driver responded, "I don't have any issues. Now."

The driver went on to explain that he believed in the principle of peace through strength. After a couple of hoodlums had assaulted him and injured him badly during a delivery into a rough neighborhood, the driver used his military training to respond.

"What'd you do?" Greenwald asked, clearly interested in any tactic he could employ to deal with the ruffians.

"Before my next delivery to that neighborhood, I fitted a special vent in my van. This lets me deliver both packages and rounds from my Barrett M107 .50 Caliber sniper rifle."

"What do you mean?"

"Next time I had a delivery in the neighborhood, I parked a couple of blocks away from those same bullies who had jumped me, broken my ribs and stole my wallet. They were hanging out on the same stoop, blocking the entrance to the apartment building, smoking dope and drinking. Same as the last time."

"But this time, I put a round from the Barrett into the stoop and scattered those suckers like cockroaches in the light."

Greenwald exhaled, "wow, no kidding?"

"No kidding. You ever heard a Barrett sing? It sounds like a thunderclap... basically the end of the world."

"So, what happened?"

"Nothing. Never had a lick of trouble from those scumbags again. And I guess they told some of their friends, because whenever my van shows up now, they all seem to disappear."

Greenwald grew excited and asked the driver a question.

"If I gave you $100, could you do that for me?"

Update: Mr. Greenwald responds:

You forgot the part where I invaded their homes, camped myself in the middle for 40 years, built walls around them so that I could control who goes out and what goes in, and blockaded them to the point where their children were denied basic nutritional and medical needs.

Other than those minor omissions, the parable was very even-handed and clever.

Of course! For a moment there, I mistakenly believed that the territory in question was once Egypt's, that Egypt tightly controls its border with Gaza, that Egypt denies its Arab brothers in Gaza even the most basic foods and medicines, and that -- forty years ago -- Egypt had simply attempted to defend itself against the callous, imperialistic invasion by its neighbors.

Thanks for setting me straight -- now I know what really happened!

Update II: Dershowitz:

Over the past four years [terrorists] fired more than 2,000 rockets at this civilian area, which is home to mostly poor and working-class people... The rockets are designed exclusively to maximize civilian deaths, and some have barely missed schoolyards, kindergartens, hospitals, and school buses... These anticivilian rockets have also injured and traumatized countless children.

...The firing of rockets at civilians from densely populated civilian areas is the newest tactic in the war between terrorists who love death and democracies that love life. The terrorists have learned how to exploit the morality of democracies against those who do not want to kill civilians, even enemy civilians...


Related reading: Netanyahu says "Hamas has to go."