User:	doones2
Date:	2008-05-12 00:00
Subject:	Monday May 12, 2008
Security:	Public

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20080512

	User:	itinerantsphinx
	Date:	2008-05-12 09:48
	Subject:	the hierarchy of news items
	Security:	Public

While I can quite see that Burma would totally deserve the main headline for the last week, I am not so sure about the Independent's leading with story about soft fruit.

Even if it is a very nicely-worded headline.


And yes, it's also (/mainly) about immigration rules. But the link shows it is archived under 'food and drink'.

	User:	itinerantsphinx
	Date:	2008-05-12 09:16
	Subject:
	Security:	Public

Hello.

Fighting in Beirut seemed to have calmed down yesterday - although there was more battles in Hamra last night. However, major battles raged in Tripoli and the Druze area of the Chouf all yesterday. The potential worry is that this fighting spread further and becomes uncontrollable... As far as Aley goes, however, it seems that fighting is in an area not only central to Walid Jumblatt, but also strategically important, covering villages otherwise surrounded by Shia villages. So it's not an accidental spread, so far. Tripoli seems to be as a Sunni stronghold who are getting back at Shias for taking over Beirut.

We could hear the rocket fire all afternoon, even where we are. Apparently due the echo through the mountains and valleys, rather than due to actually proximity. But still!

While Hezbollah is certainly winning the military battle, the government's argument that Hezbollah has now been made to show their hand, ie. that they are willing to turn their arms against Lebanese citizens, is true. Even if it's the only winning point that the government has. And I'm not sure that that's going to change much, in that no one is really in a position to do anything about it..

We're really hoping that the battle grounds don't spread. In contrast to the previous civil war, however, the Christian groups do not seem to have taken up arms so far. Aoun is backing Hezbollah, but not taking much active part.

A few of us went out yesterday evening. One, who works for the UN but was visiting family and friends, is trapped here while waiting to get back to Darfur! "Sorry, can't come back to the war zone because I'm in one"???

Oh World.

User:	bbcnewsworld
Date:	2008-05-12 06:09
Subject:	Food prices drive China inflation
Security:	Public

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7395416.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7395416.stm

User:	bbcnewsworld
Date:	2008-05-12 05:16
Subject:	Rebels 'kill Indian rail workers'
Security:	Public

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/7395389.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7395389.stm

User:	bbcnewsworld
Date:	2008-05-12 05:56
Subject:	Golf: Garcia wins in 'fifth major'
Security:	Public

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/golf/7395409.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/7395409.stm

User:	doonescom
Date:	2008-05-12 06:34
Subject:	Doonesbury by G.B. Trudeau - 12 May 2008
Security:	Public

http://darkgate.net/comic/#doonesbury

	User:	polyamory (posted by labelleizzy)
	Date:	2008-05-11 23:33
	Subject:	awesome poly-friendly moment in webcomics
	Security:	Public

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

User:	juancole
Date:	2008-05-12 04:14
Subject:	Mosul Offensive Catches Residents Off Guard; Turks Bomb N. Iraq; New Bloc in Parliament?
Security:	Public

http://www.juancole.com/2008/05/mosul-offensive-catches-residents-off.html

The Mosul operation came so unexpectedly for residents of the major northern city that they did not have time to stock up on food. Alexandra Zavis interviews Mosulis who say that they have been living in fear. What is odd is that we weren't having these stories of living in fear in Mosul 2 months ago.

Turkey bombed northern Iraq again on Sunday, retaliating against the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) for its attack on the Turkish military in Anatolia, which left two Turkish soldiers dead. The guerrillas are then alleged to have retreated into Iraq.

McClatchy reports on the precarious position of Sadr City residents whose homes are near to the Green Zone that houses the US embassy and other US offices.

How solid the ceasefire is has yet to be seen. Hadi al-Amiri, a member of parliament who is also head of the paramilitary Badr Corps, said Sunday that the Mahdi Army must disarm. (Since the Badr Army has not disarmed, this statement is the height of hypocrisy). And, PM Nuri al-Maliki maintains that the truce in Sadr City was worked out between the Iraqi parliament and the Sadrists, and that he was not part of the process.

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that efforts to form an alternative, nationalist bloc in parliament are continuing. It hopes to include the Iraqi National List of Iyad Allawi, the Islamic Virtue Party (Fadhila) and the National Dialogue Council of Salih Mutlak. The Sadrists are said to be studying the possibility of joining, but they have not so far.

For invaluable updates on the situation in Afghanistan, don't miss Barnett Rubin's recent entries at our Global Affairs blog.

Bil McKibben on the defining moment in climate change. . .

McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq for Sunday:

' Baghdad

- Around 7 am, a roadside bomb exploded near the oil marketing department in Zayuna neighborhood in east Baghdad. Two civilians were injured in the blast.

- Around 9:30 am a roadside bomb targeted the deputy of the finance minister’s convoy Mr. Fadhel Mahmoud. Six people were injured in the blast.

- Police found 1 dead body in Baghdad in Saidiyah neighborhood in south Baghdad.

Kirkuk

- Saturday night, gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi soldier at Mujaibra of Rashad in west Kirkuk. The soldier was killed immediately.

- Saturday night, gunmen kidnapped a peasant at Tal Aleid of Rashad in west Kirkuk.

- In the morning, police found two dead bodies on the way between Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah. The police found out that those two bodies belonged to two workers who were kidnapped in Khan Khorma in Kirkuk last week. '

User:	sinfestfeed2
Date:	2008-05-12 00:00
Subject:	Sinfest for 2008-05-12
Security:	Public

http://sinfest.net/comikaze/comics/2008-05-12.gif

User:	bbcnewsworld
Date:	2008-05-12 05:41
Subject:	France may breathalyse clubbers
Security:	Public

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7395401.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7395401.stm

User:	adrian_monck
Date:	2008-05-12 00:00
Subject:	Links for 2008-05-11 [del.icio.us]
Security:	Public

http://del.icio.us/amonck#2008-05-11

• ‘New media doesn’t break stories. It draws on content of old media. I place highest value on breaking stories’ - IndianExpress.Com
  Joseph Lelyveld on all sorts - e.g. Rupert Murdoch - "he does to tend to cheapen what he owns."
• Voice of Middle England takes aim at Middle India | Media | The Observer
  The Mail arrives in india...
• U.S. firm accused of Baghdad atrocity is flying high - International Herald Tribune
  Blackwater is back to business as usual. The State Dept cant cope without em...
• As markets emerge, newspapers find growth - International Herald Tribune
  The FT is about to launch in India...

User:	metafilter
Date:	2008-05-11 22:20
Subject:	The Giant Pool of Mone
Security:	Public

http://www.metafilter.com/71576/The-Giant-Pool-of-Mone

	User:	elfs
	Date:	2008-05-11 22:54
	Subject:	Movie review: Iron Man
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	entertained
	Music:	Fort Minor, Back Home

If you're old enough to remember pinball or pachinko, you may have experienced a machine with clatter or clank. Pinball designers-- I date one once, although she did back glass art not tabletop design-- and the modern maintanece afficiandos know what these terms mean, even though they're really hard to define precisely. Clatter is just something the ball does that makes a noise that annoys the player. Clank is the same, but it also brings the play to a brief, annoying pause. Clank stops, clatter keeps going.

Iron Man is almost a perfect superhero film for geeks. It would have been the perfect superhero film for us if it had been missing its clatter and clank.

The plot is nothing new: Tony Stark, industrial magnate and principal stockholder of a weapons manufacturer, international playboy, and addict to high-speed women, high-octane alcohol, and high-powered machinery, is captured by the current Enemies of Peace, Justice and the American Way somewhere in the Afghan desert. (The film takes extra, extra pains to emphasize that these are not Muslims, but a rag-tag bunch of land pirates who speak a polyglot of languages and have no official religious affiliation.) Using his extraordinary genius, he creates a high-powered suit of armor that allows him to escape.

Once he gets home, he comes to the conclusion that he and his weapons-making company is responsible for the great ills of the world. He also discovers that there may be some underhanded shenanigans going on and undertakes a project to improve on his armor design and create the most impressive piece of weapons-grade machinery ever seen: the Iron Man suit of armor, and takes off to conduct his own private investigation and wreak his own revenge against the terrorists who tried to kill him.

Things get messy, there are internal pressures within his own company, and a huge battle at the end.

It's the kind of superhero film I love. We all know there's no radioactive spider gonna bite and make us into superheros. There's no teleological bullshit nextstep evolution lurking in our genes. But with enough computing power and the right suit of clothes, man can fly. I strongly prefer anime where the premise is ordinary guy gets extraordinary tech and does something interesting with it to the magical girl phenom, my love for Mai Hime not withstanding.

But there is clatter and there is clank. The clank is a non-spoiler: there's a test scene where Tony is trying out his suit's flying system, mis-judges the power setting, and slams himself into his garage's concrete wall. Hard. Like, fatally hard. It's played for laughs, he gets up like the Coyote in a Bugs Bunny film, and keeps going. That's the clank. It would have been much better if he'd worn a riding jacket and helmet (he does own them, according to the comic), and afterward the funny was showing him in this hugely over-inflated coat saying, "Thank god for airbags, eh?" to the house's AI. But no, he does the test with absolutely no safety equipment. He's dead. Movie's over.

( The clatter is a spoiler. )

Robert Downey Jr. is perfectly cast as Tony Stark. I mean, perfecto. Gwyneth Paltrow makes a lovely Pepper. Jeff Bridges, now playing the David Warner role, plays it to the hilt and actually does a good job of emulating the comicbook Stane. (Oh, short moment of clank: Stan Lee appears twice in the film in two different roles. It's jarring when you figure that out.) Terrance Howard does a convincing Jim Rhodes. The cast really is wonderful and carries the non-fight scenes quite well. If only the director had had an extra ten seconds of restraint, it might have been the perfect powered-armor movie.

It's still the best powered-armor movie out there, and I'll be buying the DVD the moment it comes out.

	User:	ginmar
	Date:	2008-05-12 00:43
	Subject:	How to be a troll in one easy lesson
	Security:	Public

Tell her this:

I've seen some stupid shit written on the internet, but claiming that the United States is misogynist has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. I'm not going to say that being a woman in the US is easy, as that would be equally ridiculous, but to say what you did when there are societies that thrive on misogyny is just mind boggling to me. Open a history book or do some research
about the laws in a few other countries before you post something like that, maybe you won't look
like such a tool next time.


Do I really need to go into this? My favorite is a tie between: YOU'RE LUCKY, BITCH! and how he doesn't get that telling a woman that she doesn't know anything about her own history and country is not just a teensy bit sexist and assholish.

User:	bbcnewsworld
Date:	2008-05-12 04:55
Subject:	Sudan 'can prove Chad rebel role'
Security:	Public

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7395379.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7395379.stm

	User:	slownewsday
	Date:	2008-05-12 06:09
	Subject:	Science!
	Security:	Public

Hey scientist types:

Why do we always weigh less in the mornings?

I do not like being heavy. It's not the look, it's the weight. Everything is slightly more difficult.

Total weight gained thus far in pregnancy: 2.5st (35lbs/16kg)

Blurrrgh! No Beanlet as yet. I feel every evening like she may come, then in the morning my body feels roughly normal again and I know it won't happen yet. Patience dear, patience.

Must needs walk.

User:	motherjonesblog
Date:	2008-05-11 20:13
Subject:	"Sacking" of Washington Mid East Hand Points Up Growing Rift Between Washington Ideology and Israel
Security:	Public

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Motherjones/mojoblog/~3/288432424/8216_washington_mid.html

User:	theregister
Date:	2008-05-12 05:02
Subject:	Hippies reclaim summer of code
Security:	Public

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/05/12/hippiers_summer_of_code/

Overthrow the soft-o-crats!

Google, the internet's number-one search and advertising engine, is a 19,000-person multinational that coins in $18bn in annual revenue. The giant is this summer hosting its codefest Google Summer of Code.…

User:	gizmodo
Date:	2008-05-12 00:01
Subject:	BlackBerry Bold (aka 9000) Officially Official [BlackBerry]
Security:	Public

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/288440059/blackberry-bold-aka-9000-officially-official

http://gizmodo.com/389384/blackberry-bold-aka-9000-officially-official

They said RIM's BlackBerry 9000 would be formally announced on the 12th. They said it would be called the Bold. Photos suggested that it would be the sexiest thing to come out of Canada since Sarah McLachlan's Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. And they wuz right. Boy Genius says it'll be available this summer on AT&T 3G, with a T-Mobile 3G edition in the wings—the handset can handle 850/1900/2100Mhz for HSDPA/UMTS, plus T-Mo's 1700MHz band. Sascha at PC Mag is reporting a CDMA/EV-DO version as well. Jump for more details—and giddy tittering—from sources all around the web, plus the official press release.

Here's the rundown:
• Has 802.11a/b/g plus good GPS, typically a tradeoff with BBs
• GPS is enhanced and assisted, and the handset has better map rendering, says Laptop
• 480 x 320 resolution screen with 65,000 colors—Crave says "never seen a better-looking display"
• 624MHz Intel PXA270/Marvell Tavor PXA930 processor (reports differ), up from 312MHz
• Runs BlackBerry OS 4.6
• Keyboard has 8800-style "sculpted keys," says PC Mag, "but the rows are separated by curved barriers"
• 4.5" tall x 2.6" wide x 0.5" deep, weighing 4.7oz
• Side-loading MicroSD/SDHC slot for up to 16GB additional
• 2MP camera with flash
• Talk time of 5 hours, with standby of 13 days
• MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX4 and WMV3 codec support
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• "Pretty powerful speakers—none of that weak, tinny junk," says Crave
• 128MB of flash plus 1GB of onboard memory (with encryption)
• Black leather back panel that can be swapped for other color leather plates
• Pricing will be $300 to $500 says BGR, a pretty wide (and obvious) range; Crave narrows it to "$300 to $400"

Why the name? Well, since Mike Lazaridis stopped taking our phone calls (blog allergy, some say), my guess is that those dudes are either fans of Goethe or fans of Cameron Crowe. You know... "Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid." Keep it up, RIM. I think it's working. [Product Page and Press Release PLUS Boy Genius; Laptop; Crave; PC Magazine]

Official Press Release:

RIM Introduces the BlackBerry Bold Smartphone

Top of the line BlackBerry smartphone features premium design and unprecedented performance; perfect for business professionals and power users.

Waterloo, ON- For customers seeking a smartphone that makes a bold statement, Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the admirable BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone. Crafted from premium materials, inside and out, that radiate elegance with a dramatic presence, the BlackBerry Bold is designed to give business professionals and power users unprecedented functionality and performance in an intuitive BlackBerry® smartphone. It is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi®, as well as a rich set of multimedia capabilities. From its lustrous black exterior, satin chrome finished frame and stylish leather-like backplate, to its stunning display, sophisticated user interface and newly designed full-QWERTY* keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is a symbol of accomplishment and aspiration.

"The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a beautiful and confident design," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion.

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone's support for tri-band HSDPA and enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) networks and its next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor make short work of downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering web pages. The BlackBerry Bold also includes 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot** that is conveniently accessible from a side door. It comes with the renowned BlackBerry productivity applications, including phone, email, messaging, organizer and browser, and works with thousands of mobile business and lifestyle applications, making it easier than ever to stay connected, productive and entertained. With this powerful new smartphone, users can even talk on the phone while sending and receiving email or accessing the web, and download Word, Excel or PowerPoint files and edit them directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® suite.

STUNNING DISPLAY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with the most vivid and bold display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone. Its half-VGA (480x320 resolution) color LCD is fused to the undersurface of the lens, making images leap out with stunning definition and clarity. Pictures are vibrant and razor sharp, while videos play smoothly and web pages, documents, presentations and messages snap with exceptional quality and contrast.

DESKTOP-STYLE WEB PAGES
With its newly enhanced, high performance browser and high-resolution, ultra-bright display, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone gives users an on-the-go web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction. The trackball mimics a mouse, making it easy to navigate sites in "Page View" or "Column View" or to zoom in on specific parts of a web page, while various emulation settings allow users to choose between the full desktop-style HTML content and layout or the mobile version. Attachments can also now be downloaded from within the browser and there is support for watching streaming videos (RTSP - real-time streaming protocol).

RICH MULTIMEDIA
While it is designed to meet the extensive requirements of the business professional during the day, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone also caters to the business person's consumer side during evenings and weekends. It features a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and 5x digital zoom. The enhanced media player can display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode, and manage an entire music collection. Audio can be played over the handset's dual speakers in rich, stereo sound, and when using wired headphones or external speakers, the media player gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters - like "Lounge", "Jazz" and "Hip Hop" - that boost or soften audio ranges to create the perfect ambiance.

For managing music and video, the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® as well as Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE, which makes it easy to enhance pictures and create photo albums on the computer. For users that manage their collection with iTunes®, the new BlackBerry® Media Sync application provides a simple way to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone***. Support for High Speed USB 2.0 allows all files to be transferred quickly from a desktop computer to the BlackBerry Bold smartphone.

POWERFUL WI-FI & GPS
For even broader high-speed network coverage, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone supports the 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards, ideal for use in enterprise or campus wireless LAN deployments, over Wi-Fi hotspots and on wireless home networks. A new "Push Button Setup" is included, making it faster for users to connect to protected wireless networks that require a sign on process.

Through its integrated GPS, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone can pinpoint its exact location, supporting applications like BlackBerry® Maps and other location-based applications or services. With its improved rendering capabilities, faster download speeds and ability to support simultaneous voice and data, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone even allows users to navigate while on a call.

FIRST CLASS PHONE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone features a new acoustic design that increases the size of the phone's audio sweet spot, improving listening quality and clarity. It also comes with numerous premium phone features including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Bluetooth® 2.0, with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including car kits that adhere to the Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile) and other Bluetooth peripherals. It is a quad-band EDGE and tri-band HSDPA handset that supports global roaming**** and features dedicated 'send', 'end', and 'mute' keys, smart dialing, speed dialing, conference calling and call forwarding. It also features noise cancellation technology that offsets background noise, a powerful speaker phone and support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones.

ROBUST EMAIL & MESSAGING
Like all BlackBerry smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold gives users the industry's leading mobile messaging solution. It works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, which enables advanced security and IT administration within IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® environments, as well as BlackBerry® Professional Software for small businesses. It also works with BlackBerry® Internet Service, which gives users access to up to 10 work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), and the BlackBerry® Unite! software for SOHO and home users.

CONVENIENT ACCESSORIES
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with a variety of convenient accessories including a stereo headset, travel charger, carrying case or sleeve and USB cable. Users will also be able to personalize their BlackBerry Bold smartphone by purchasing replaceable leather-like backplates that come in a range of colors. The removable / rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery provides multi-hour usage with a target talk time of approximately 5 hours and 13 days standby time.

Accessories for BlackBerry smartphones, including leather holsters and totes, charging pods, premium earphones, the BlackBerry® Remote Stereo Gateway and Bluetooth headsets, are available through retail outlets or online at: www.shopblackberry.com.

AVAILABILITY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone (model number: 9000) is scheduled to be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this summer.

For more information please visit: www.BlackBerryBold.com.

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM's portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

* Keyboard also available in AZERTY and QWERTZ configurations to support different language groups.

** MicroSD/SDHC memory cards are available today in configurations of up to 8GB and the BlackBerry Bold is expected to support upcoming 16GB microSD/SDHC cards.

*** Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies.

**** Check with service provider for roaming services.