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Bush to Congress: Get a Move On
By Liza Porteus Viana (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 3:28:00 AM
Filed under: President Bush, Senate,
House, Democrats, Republicans, Iraq,
Economy, TerrorPresident Bush this
morning called on Congress to put some
grease to the wheels and get moving on
several key legislative items, including:
funding the war in Iraq, passing a bill
that would help homeowners avoid
foreclosure amid the subprime fallout
and passing a surveillance bill shielding
telecommunications companies from
class-action lawsuits stemming from post
-Sept. 11, 2001, eavesdropping.
"Allowing these lawsuits to proceed
would be unfair," Bush said. "If any of
these companies helped us, they did so
after being told by our government" their
assistance was legal. Allowing these
firms to be sued could "aid our enemies"
and lead to disclosure of surveillance
methods "and would give Al Qaeda and
others a roadmap as to how to avoid
surveillance," the president continued,
periodically jabbing his finger for
emphasis.
This "is not a partisan issue," he stressed,
later saying that the trial lawyers suing
the companies, who would benefit from
Democrats' opposition from a liability
shield, are on a "financial gravy train."
There's a wiretapping showdown going
on now. A temporary Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act recently
expired. Bush and the GOP want it
swiftly renewed with telecom protections
but House leadership isn't too keen on
that idea.
Bush also talked about how he liked to
hug. Yes, hug. Other issues after the
jump..."If House leaders would only stop
blocking an up or down vote and let the
majority in the House prevail," Bush said
of the surveillance bill, noting that there
are enough House votes to pass it. "The
law expired, the threat to America has
not expired ... How can you listen to the
enemy if the phone companies aren't
going to participate with you?"
The Washington Post reported today that
Republicans are hoping the surveillance
issue will be a good one to hammer
Democrats on this election year, and are
honing in on the message that Americans
are more at risk because of the standoff.
On Iraq:
The Senate Wednesday continued to
debate a bill that would begin pulling out
troops from Iraq within 120 days. Bush
spanked war opponents on Capital Hill
who he said are trying to "cut off
funding" and "tie the hands of our
commanders in Iraq," particularly when
signs show the surge is working.
Bush: "See, no matter what happens in
Iraq, our oppoents have one answer:
Retreat." If we folllowed their advise,
we'd be more at risk at home and Iraq
would be more dangerous.
27/02/08 - 28/02/08
On home owners:
Congress also needs to help
homeowners who can't pay their
mortgages avoid foreclosure. The Senate
is debating legislation now, some of
which would change the U.S. bankruptcy
code, that the president says would
prolong market's recovery, lead to higher
interest rates. It's "unfair" to home
owners and future buyers.
On the economy:
With GDP barely growing in 2007, Bush
said: "There's no question the economy
slowed down ... I don't think we're
headed toward a recession." Some
experts say a recession is in fact in our
future, if it's not here already. The
economic stimulus package Bush signed
into law month offers rebates and tax
incentives to businesses, which should be
going out the second week of May. Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress
today he doesn't expect dreaded
stagflation.
On Russia:
Russian President Vladimir Putin's
assumed successor, Dmitry Medvedev
LibertyNewsprint.
Anti-Hillary Media
Bias Proven!
(election is Sunday), is largely an
unknown. Bush was asked what he knew By Denise Williams (Political
about Medvedev, particularly given the Machine)
fact he may have misjudged what kind of Submitted at 2/28/2008 3:21:00 AM
ally Putin would be. Bush acknowledged
he and Putin had some "diplomatic head Filed under: Hillary Clinton, 2008
butts," and said he doesn't know much at President, Humor, Viral Video
all about Medvedev. Let's see who In case there was any doubt, the media
represents Russia at the G8 summit in bias against Hillary Clinton is in full gear
Japan later this year. and has been for some time. Rather than
spending time researching boring and dry
On NAFTA: media think tanks like I should have, I
"This agreement has meant prosperity found my answer on my late-night tv
on both sides of our borders - north and screen. Hillary fans, please now accept
south." Bush said of NAFTA, adding that my formal apology for doubting you all
more markets are needed to export these weeks.
American goods. He also warned
Congress to carefully the consequences
of rejecting Colombia free trade Reporting from the Anti-Hillary War
agreement. Rejecting it would, among Room at the Paul Jones Convention
other things, encourage "false populism" Center is The Daily Show's own
and "undermine the standing of Samantha Bee:
courageous leaders like President Uribe,"
Bush said. (You can read more info on
this agreement fro the White House
here.)
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On energy: Comments
"We need to be finding more oil and gas
at home" before becoming more
dependent on overseas energy sources.
Bush also said America needs to build
more oil refineries.
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2 Politics *
Agreement on AIDS Program Renewal Ain't No Party Like A
Reached Third Party
By Mark Impomeni (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 12:00:00 AM
Filed under: President Bush, Bush
AdministrationThe Bush Administration
and the Democratic leadership in
Congress reached agreement yesterday
on an renewal and expansion of the
President's Emergency Program for
AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. In his State of
the Union Address last month, the
president called for the program's
funding level to be doubled from the $15
billion provided to AIDS relief programs
in sub-Saharan Africa to $30 billion.
Democrats in Congress had pushed for
changes to the program, specifically its
requirements that one-third of the money
is spent on abstinence programs and that
all organizations receiving funding under
the program adopt policies against
"prostitution and human trafficking."
Democrats also felt that the proposed $30
billion funding level was too low. On his
African trip last week, the president
called on Congress to renew the program
with no changes. "I would ask Congress
to listen to leaders on the continent of
Africa, analyze what works, stop the
squabbling and get the program
reauthorized," he said. The agreement
Clinton's New Man
By Faye Anderson (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 2:45:00 AM
Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Democrats,
Breaking News, 2008 PresidentIt is said
that a drowning person will grab a razor
blade. Hillary Clinton is drowning in a
sea of tightening polls and bad press. She
reportedly has brought on board a
longtime adviser, Harold Ickes, to help
will more than triple the size of the
program, to $50 billion, and will make
slight changes in emphasis on abstinence
programs, but contains no other major
changes.
In addition to the funding increase, the
renewed PEPFAR will include $9 billion
for fighting malaria and tuberculosis,
supplement food purchases for victims of
AIDS, and provide support for women
victims and widows of the disease. In
exchange for the increase in funding,
Democrats backed off demands that the
renewed program allow funding for
"reproductive health" programs, a term
usually applied to programs that provide
abortions. The program will allow
funding for AIDS testing and treatment
at reproductive health centers, but
her charm superdelegates and prevent
those already on board from jumping
ship.
I've met Ickes. He's as cuddly as a
porcupine. Indeed, New York State
Democratic Party Chairman Herman
Farrell, a superdelegate, told the New
York Times: "Harold isn't Mr. Charm.
But he is Mr. Mechanic. He's good at the
nuts and bolts and doing the counting,
prohibits PEPFAR monies from being
used for contraception or abortions.
In the area of abstinence, a controversial
method of AIDS prevention, the new
program allows countries and
organizations receiving PEPFAR funds
to spend less than 50% of the funds on
abstinence education, however, that must
be justified to Congress by the director of
the program.
The PEPFAR program is considered by
the Bush Administration as one of its
signature accomplishments. Tanzania
President Jakaya Kikwete praised the
president for the program and the
Administration's efforts in Africa saying,
"we know for sure that you, Mr.
President, and your administration, have
been good friends of our country and
have been good friends of Africa." The
agreement on renewing the program is
the first major legacy item that the Bush
Administration has been able to push
through Congress. Others, like a renewal
of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act, are now up for debate.
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less so at the persuading."
By Christopher Weber (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 5:02:00 AM
Filed under: Ron Paul, 2008 President,
Ralph Nader, Michael BloombergIt's a
shame Mike Bloomberg has decided
against running for president. He's a
smart guy and would be a strong
candidate. I'm still holding out hope that
Ron Paul will throw his hat in as an
independent, or maybe as a Libertarian.
And I'm thrilled that the much-maligned
Ralph Nader announced he'll be around
making a stink for the next eight months.
(I'm not one of those weenies who blame
Nader for the woeful Bush
administration. They are too cowardly to
admit that Al Gore ran a crappy race in
'00 and probably didn't deserve to be
president.)
Here's hoping the Natural Law Party and
the Marijuana Party and the Greens and
the Whigs all run somebody for the
White House too. We need more
presidential choices, not fewer.
Oh really. In 2004, major donors counted
on Ickes to elect Democrats up and down
the ballot, including John Kerry. Instead,
Ickes burned through tens of millions of
dollars with little to show for their
investment.
Ickes attempted a replay of his failed
game plan in 2006 but Democratic
donors told him to get lost.
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Obviously all third party candidates are
looooong shots, to say the least. But
winning isn't the only point. The idea of
this democracy is to find the candidate
that best represents my views and
positions. What are the odds that person
is always either a Republican or
Democrat?
Besides, anything to potentially shake up
an inflexible political system that gave us
two Bushes and possibly two Clintons in
less than two decades is good for the
country.
Third party candidates demand real
debate. They bring stark contrast to the
slick money machines that are the GOP
and Dem campaigns. And they offer the
promise of crucial, fundamental change
within the fixed order in Washington.
Viva choice!
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Will Clinton turn to Bob Shrum next?
Shrum has advised every Democratic
presidential candidate since Jimmy
Carter. With a won-loss record of 0-8,
he's probably available.
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Your Click and Print Newspaper Politics * Business * 3

Ann Richards' Family Split Over

Clinton Ad
By Denise Williams (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 12:31:00 AM
Filed under: Hillary Clinton,
Endorsements, Ads, Featured Stories,
2008 President
Former Texas Governor Ann Richards'
family is not in full agreement with the
premise of a Clinton internet ad. The spot
hypothetically assumes the late
Governor's endorsement and, in the
process, targets Clinton's core
constituency in the Lone Star state.
Richards, who died in 2006, is featured
prominently in the ad. It is, in a way, a
moving tribute to one of the women that
inspired me in my life.
Richards' youngest daughter Ellen
approved the ad saying, "I believe that if
my mom were alive today that she would
be stumping across Texas and around the
country supporting Hillary for president".
However, the late Richards' sons, Dan
and Clark, disagree.
From the Associated Pressreport:
permission for her name to be used in
advertisements on behalf of either
candidate."
Richards an early copy of the video on
Feb. 19 "to make sure you are okay with
it.
Dan Richards said in an interview
Tuesday that they denied permission and
he's angry the campaign published the
video anyway. He said the campaign
contacted him again last Friday to ask
him to reconsider, and he repeated his
objections.
"They asked me if I would sue the
campaign, and I said no, I wasn't in the
business of suing the campaign, but I
didn't think they should do it," he said in
a telephone interview. "To try to present
who she would endorse a year and a half
after she died is offensive to me."
A fourth child, Cecile, had not responded
to a request for comment as of Tuesday.
In a partial response to the Richards'
son's objections, the Clinton campaign
did remove any images of the family.

As her children, we never presumed to

know her mind when alive and we are
not prepared to make a claim as to who
she would endorse or what she would do
if she were still with us," they wrote in
an e-mail last week. "We are not granting
The e-mail, provided to The Associated
Press by Dan Richards, was sent to Cathy
Bonner, a friend of their mother's and
member of Richards' administration.
Bonner is working with Clinton's
campaign and sent Dan and Clark
I wonder what Molly Ivins would think...
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McCain Plagiarizes Clinton?
By David Knowles (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 4:38:00 AM
same strategy that has failed to work for
Hillary Clinton will do the trick for him
seeing as he is an actual war hero.

Oil closes at $102.59, a new record high
By Joseph Lazzaro
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:35:00 AM
Filed under: International markets, Bad
news, Commodities, OilOil closed
Thursday up $2.95 to $102.59 per barrel
-- another record-high print close -- after
a combination of geopolitical,
production, and trading factors sent
investors piling into crude oil futures as
an investment/inflation hedge,
Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
Earlier in the day oil hit an intra-session
high of $102.70 -- within 10 cents of the
all-time high, in inflation-adjusted terms,
of $102.80 per barrel set in April 1980.
The other major energy commodities
also rose. Heating oil surged about 6
cents to $2.83 per gallon, unleaded
gasoline climbed about 2 cent to $2.49,
and natural gas rocketed 39 cents to
$9.45 per million BTUs.
Continue reading Oil closes at $102.59, a
new record highPermalink | Email this |
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Filed under: Hillary Clinton,
Republicans, John McCain, Breaking
NewsStrange how this has become a
runningmotif of the campaign. Check out
John McCain's Web site. That's right,
he'll be "Ready to Lead on Day One."
Where, pray tell have we heard that
before? McCain seems to feel that the
Yet, this plays right into Barack Obama's
hands. All he has to do is point to how
the war has gone, and remind people that
he didn't support it in the first place, or,
to borrow a phrase, "on day one."
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4 Politics * Business *
Flip-Flopping on NAFTA?
By Greg McNeilly (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:04:00 AM
Filed under: Barack Obama, 2008
PresidentCanadian TV (CTV) is
reporting Barack Obama's campaign
saying one thing privately to a foreign
government and then saying something
completely different, in public, to
American voters. This story already has
the making of a spy novel, complete with
alleged back-channel conversations,
covert signals, public charades and
clandestine dealings with embassy
officials.
CTV reports that an Obama official told
the Canadian Ambassador to disregard
the campaign's rhetoric on opting-out of
John SIDNEY McCain was Born in Panama!
By David Knowles (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 12:20:00 AM
Filed under: Republicans, John McCain,
Featured Stories, 2008 President,
HumorFrom the muckraking
International Herald Tribune comes
confirmation of what many have
suspected for a long time: John SIDNEY
McCain is a one man sleeper cell from
Panama. Oddly, no one seems to have
noticed the fact that McCain was born in
the Panama Canal Zone in 1936, which
technically makes him ineligible to be
elected president, maybe:
Calpers' investments in commodities to impact the U.S. economy
By Joseph Lazzaro
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:03:00 AM
Filed under: International markets,
Commodities, Oil, AgricultureThe
commodities fad took a major step
toward becoming an investment trend
when investment giant Calpers -- the
NAFTA. That, essentially, NAFTA-
bashing was just an Obama campaign
trick. CTV reports:
Within the last month, a top staff
member for Obama's campaign
telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada's
ambassador to the United States, and
warned him that Obama would speak out
against NAFTA, according to Canadian
sources.
The staff member reassured Wilson that
the criticisms would only be campaign
rhetoric, and should not be taken at face
value.
The Politico reports the Obama
campaign and the Canadian Embassy in
Washington, D.C. denies this incident.
The full CTV report is here:
McCain's likely nomination as the
Republican candidate for president and
the happenstance of his birth in the
Panama Canal Zone in 1936 are reviving
a musty debate that has surfaced
periodically since the founders first set
quill to parchment and declared that only
a "natural-born citizen" can hold the
nation's highest office.
Of course, Barack HUSSEIN Obama was
born in Hawaii. And Hillary RODHAM
Clinton entered the world in Illinois.
None of this may actually matter, mind
$240 billion California Public
Employees' Retirement System --
announced it may increase its
commodities investments 16-fold to $7.2
billion through 2010, Bloomberg News
reported Thursday.
Calpers, the largest pension fund in the
United States, said it would hold between
If Obama, as President, did break the
NAFTA trade agreement, families in
Ohio and throughout the Midwest would
see an immediate spike in gas prices
given the amount of oil imported from
you, since (surprise) John SHIRLEY
McCain's birth occurred on a military
base. Being posted there by the U.S.
0.5% and 3% of its assets in
commodities. Last year the fund invested
$450 million in commodities.
Strong emerging market growth,
particularly in China and in sections of
Latin America, has created a bull market
in oil, commodities and raw materials,
and many economists say these assets are
North of our border. But that seems less
likely to happen if CTV is right and the
NAFTA-bashing is simply campaign
speak.
The larger issue, obviously, is an alleged
Government, you can't exactly tell
McCain's parents their offspring don't
qualify as legitimate citizens. Who really
knows what the founding fathers really
meant anyway:
The phrase "natural born" was in early
drafts of the Constitution. Scholars say
notes of the Constitutional Convention
give away little of the intent of the
framers. Its origin may be traced to a
letter from John Jay to George
Washington, with Jay suggesting that to
prevent foreigners from becoming
commander in chief, the Constitution
needed to "declare expressly" that only a
likely to outperform both inflation and
selected investment classes in 2008, and
possibly for a longer time period.
The Standard & Poor's GSCI index of 24
commodities is up 10% so far in 2008,
following a 33% gain in 2007.
Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's 500
Index of stocks is down 6% this year,
Your Click and Print Newspaper
case of misconduct on the part of a
campaign official or the outright lying by
the candidate. If this CTV story has any
merit and you combine it with the earlier
post on Obama's flip-flopping on
transparent press relations a mosaic of
hypocrisy begins to take hold.
But we may never know the real validity
of this story because like all government
cover-ups, and the start of any trashy
espionage thriller, it begins with public
officials denying it.
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natural-born citizen could be president.
OK, whatever, so Panama's a non-issue,
but still, what about SIDNEY? Surely
there's a good playground taunt, or
hidden meaning in that somebody can
cook up before the election, no?
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while U.S. Treasuries have netted a 2%
return.
Continue reading Calpers' investments in
commodities to impact the U.S.
economyPermalink | Email this |
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
Obama Going Commando?
By Tommy Christopher (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 6:50:00 AM
Filed under: Democrats, Barack Obama,
2008 President, HumorIn an upcoming
interview with Us Magazine, Democratic
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama is
stonewalling the public on a crucial issue
to voters: So, boxers or briefs? Bill
Clinton said he wore boxers in a 1992
interview with MTV.
I don't answer those humiliating
questions. But whichever one it is, I look
good in 'em!The candidate was, however,
quick to criticize others, using his
We're too sexy ... per Victoria Secret's
CEO
By Sheldon Liber (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:20:00 AM
Filed under: Major movement, Other
issues, Management, Rants and raves,
Marketing and advertising, Limited
Brands (LTD)
In a short story in the Wall Street Journal
[subscription required], Sharen Turney,
chief executive of of Victoria's Secret,
confided during a conference call that the
lingerie chain may have gotten off track
at some point and may now be just too
sexy.
Can there be such a thing as too sexy?
There are times you can be too trashy, or
too slutty, but can you be too sexy? I
think not!
It may be that some of the
advertisements on television are
daughters as surrogates: Do your
daughters Sasha and Malia ever ask
about Britney Spears? Actually, yeah.
But they're very sensible. They're pretty
down on Britney and Paris and all of
that. They think that's very "yuck."
They're way more into Hannah Montana
and Beyonce. They got to go backstage
and meet Beyonce and they just love her
to death.
What is Barack Obama trying to hide?
Can we trust a candidate who won't tell
us how he's trussed? Does he even wear
underwear? I don't know about the rest of
you, but I want a Commander in Chief,
not a "Commando sans Briefs." How can
inappropriate for the time-slot. It may be
that at times the ads are viewed like soft
porn and teenage boys are the first to
peruse the monthly mailing. But too
sexy? That is a very strange comment
coming from a company that has made a
reputation for itself and pushed sales
growth for years based on a foundation
of sex appeal.
The Victoria's Secret chain is a division
of the Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD)
and Turney said she wants to bring a
more sophisticated image back to the
product line - hmm. I wonder if this is
just a smoke screen to avoid criticism by
conservatives in an election year.
• I can just hear the discussion in the
board room: "There are some folks that
think we have gone too far, and that we
present an image that is just too darn
he claim to be the candidate of "Change",
if he won't tell us what, if anything, he's
changing?
sexy. All those in favor of being less
sexy raise your hands"
This just does not seem possible, does it?
LTD closed yesterday at $17.82 but is
down over 9% in midday trading. Maybe
Wall Street traders prefer more sexy, not
less?
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small
private investment company and the
principal for design and research at an
architecture & planning firm. He writes
the columns Chasing Value and Serious
Money. Disclosure: I own shares of
LTD.
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For its part, the McCain campaign has
not released information as to whether
their candidate's "carpets match the
drapes."
When reached for comment, a source
familiar with the Clinton campaign
suggested that I look "under there", and
in response to my follow-up, replied, "I
just made you say underwear."
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'Click throughs' and
plateaus: Google's bad
day
By Bruce Watson (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:35:00 AM
Filed under: Industry, Google (GOOG),
Marketing and advertising
A week ago, I had a bad day. I just
missed a train, got off at the wrong stop,
turned the wrong way out of the station,
got caught in a turnstile ... You get the
picture.
By noon, I realized that this was a bad
day and that everything that could go
wrong would go wrong. By one in the
afternoon, I was enjoying myself. Having
accepted that the day was going to be a
total wash, I found myself laughing at
fate's pathetic attempts to wreck my
mood. Stepping in dog poop? Dealing
with aggressive beggars? Getting on the
wrong train line and ending up in
Parkchester? Not a problem. By the time
night rolled around, I was daring fate to
do her worst.
Bad days are pretty relative. I've had
Politics * Business * 5
friends for whom the wrong color lip
gloss or a little frizziness could spell a
psyche-twisting descent into total misery.
On the other hand, I've had friends for
whom getting a speeding ticket, having
food poisoning, and breaking a bone
were merely hiccups, easily overcome.
In the annals of bad days, last Tuesday
was a doozy. After consistent drops in
value over the course of this year,
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)'s stock fell
5%, to a nine-month low. For Google
founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page,
this meant a reported personal loss of
$8.6 billion dollars. Of course, the
misery of this bad day is relative. After
all, while their stock loss is much more
money than I and everyone I know will
make over the course of our entire lives,
it only represents a fraction of Brin and
Page's total value. Still, what a killer!
Continue reading 'Click throughs' and
plateaus: Google's bad dayPermalink |
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6 Business *
The snowball rolls from
New Jersey to California
By Gary E. Sattler
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:50:00 AM
Filed under: Forecasts, Other issues, Bad
news, Management, Employees, Politics,
Headline news, RecessionJust last week I
reported about the insolvency problems
in New Jersey to Walletpop readers, see:
The snowball starts in New Jersey. Now,
that nasty old snowball has streaked
across the country and landed in the
California suburb of Vallejo, wreaking
havoc on the local government there.
CNBC reports that Vallejo
Councilwoman Stephanie Gomes states
"Our financial situation is getting worse
every single day". Ask not for whom the
bell tolls, it tolls for the heavy handed
labor unions which have coerced sweet
pay and benefit packages for the 30% of
our workforce which is supported via tax
dollars produced by the rest of us who
actually make things.
The insolvency of Vallejo should come
as no big surprise, and in fact Vallejo is
just the leader of what will become a
very large pack. Before the end of this
year I envision the entire state
government of California will be in tears
due to a lack of spending cash. You've
been warned, it's to become a nationwide
Pilots' seniority issue won't ground Delta / Northwest deal for long
By Joseph Lazzaro
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:20:00 AM
Filed under: Competitive strategy, AMR
Corp (AMR), Contl Airlines'B' (CAL),
UAL Corp (UAUA), Delta Air Lines
(DAL)Look for the stalled Delta Air
Lines (NYSE: DAL) / Northwest Airline
(NYSE: NWA) deal talks to regain
momentum and the merger to be
trend.
We just can't expect that private sector
declines will leave the government sector
untouched. The toughest part is that
there's nothing government agencies can
do about it, except to cut spending or
raise taxes. Local governments are in the
business of taking constructive dollars
from the people who created them and
then throwing them into the bottomless
pit of entitlements, waste and graft. Now,
the chickens have come home to roost,
and they're big, mean, ugly chickens at
that.
Continue reading The snowball rolls
from New Jersey to CaliforniaRead |
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announced in the week ahead, an analyst
confidently told BloggingStocks
Thursday.
Independent stock analyst C. Leonard
Bauer, formerly of Prudential, said the
Delta / Northwest talks may be stalled by
the inability of the companies' pilots
unions to reach an agreement on
seniority lists, but that traditional,
formidable hurdle will not stop this deal
A trio of outperforming
funds
By Steven Halpern
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 6:40:00 AM
Filed under: Major movement,
International markets, Newsletters,
Mutual funds, Commodities, Oil,
Agriculture, S and P 500, DJIA, Stocks
to Buy, Recession
"When our most recent measurement
period has been down, it is useful to look
for funds that fell less than the market
while also evidencing attractive
reward/risk characteristics over the past
three years," says Thurman Smith.
The editor of Equity Fund Outlook -- a
fund advisory service that places its
greatest emphasis on manager expertise -
- takes a looks at a trio of mutual funds --
Permanent Portfolio (PRPFX), CGM
Focus (CGMFX) and Leeb Focus R
(LCMFX).
"Permanent Portfolio is not strictly an
equity fund, but does have a structured
from coming to fruition due to its "strong
marriage fundamentals."
diversification that is broader than most
sector funds.
"Preservation of buying power over all
market conditions is the idea behind this
unique offering, which maintains a fixed
allocation of 25% in gold and silver, 10%
in Swiss franc assets, 15% in U.S. and
foreign real estate and natural resource
companies, 15% in aggressive domestic
stocks, and 35% in U.S. government
paper.
"Permanent Portfolio has not beaten the
market over very long periods, but it
returned 8.5% annualized over the last
fifteen calendar years vs.10.5% for the
market, and over the past ten years its
annualized return of 9.4% beat the
market's 6.3%. It did this with a Risk
Exposure half that of the market. (One
reason for therecent good performance is
its gold allocation.)
Continue reading A trio of outperforming
fundsPermalink | Email this | Comments
Attractive fundamentals
Bauer said three fundamentals will drive
the deal: absence of overlapping city
pairs, economies of scale and passenger
demand.
"First, there's the overall flight route fit.
Delta and Northwest have only 10 or 12
cities pairs that overlap, so from a
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Option update: MF Global
volatility spikes as shares
down 26% on
unauthorized trade
By Paul Foster (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:05:00 AM
Filed under: Options
MF Global (NYSE: MF), a broker of
exchange-listed futures and options, is
recently down $7.20 to $22.02 after
disclosing a bad debt provision of $141
million in response to unauthorized
personal trading activity by one of the
company's registered representatives.
Deutsche Bank says: "this event, coupled
with recent lawsuits and regulatory
issues, seem to raise risk profile
associated with MF."
MF call option volume of 7,924 contracts
compares to put volume of 7,767
contracts. MF April option implied
volatility of 68 is above its 26-week
average of 41 according to Track Data,
suggesting larger price risk.
Option Update is provided by Stock
Specialist Paul Foster of
theflyonthewall.comPermalink | Email
this | Comments
destination coverage standpoint, the deal
is very attractive," Bauer said. "Second,
the new company will have massive
economies of scale and will be a force in
the new global market. This will be a
profitable airline."
Continue reading Pilots' seniority issue
won't ground Delta / Northwest deal for
longPermalink | Email this | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Apple (AAPL) confident it Chasing Value: Precision Drilling
would hit its 2008 iPhone targets up 46% since December
By Michael Fowlkes
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:50:00 AM
Filed under: Rumors, Products and
services, Consumer experience, Apple
Inc (AAPL), Marketing and advertising,
iPhoneApple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has
been on the rise today, as renewed
enthusiasm over future iPhone sales has
brought buyers into the stock, pushing
shares up $7.67 to $130.63, or 6.2% .
The company has stated that its goal for
overall iPhone sales by the end of 2008
was 10 million units, and according to
Apple's COO, Tim Cook, the company
remains confident in hitting that hefty
goal.
Since the highly anticipated release of
the iPhone last year, there have been a
couple of points that Apple has taken a
Microsoft lowered Vista requirements to
help Intel sell incompatible chipsets
By Nilay Patel (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 4:13:00 AM
Filed under: Desktops, LaptopsSo now
that the "Vista Capable" lawsuit is a full-
blown class action, the judge has
unsealed all 158 pages of emails between
Microsoft execs trying to sort out what
went wrong with the sticker program.
While bits and pieces have been blacked
out, what remains is still fairly incredible
-- although Intel's 915 chipset was
initially rejected as compatible with
Vista, MS execs flatly admit that "In the
end, we lowered the requirements to help
Intel make their quarterly earnings so
they could continue to sell motherboards
with the 915 graphics embedded" and
"We are caving to Intel. We worked the
last 18 months to drive the UI experience
bit of heat over, the first being that
outside programmers were not allowed to
write programs for the iPhone, and the
second being the company's decision to
grant individual carriers rights to sell
their phones in their respective countries.
Continue reading Apple (AAPL)
confident it would hit its 2008 iPhone
targetsRead | Permalink | Email this |
Comments
and we are giving this up." On top of
that, it seems that the company was
getting direct feedback from retailers that
the stickers were confusing, with Wal-
Mart appealing directly to HP to pull
By Sheldon Liber (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 6:27:00 AM
Filed under: Top Picks 2007, Canada,
Chasing Value, Oil, DJIA, Stocks to
Buy, Best Stocks for 2008, Precision
Drilling TR (PDS)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is
down about 150 points as I peck away on
my laptop. I was looking to see what
stocks were holding up on a down day,
and sure enough one of my favorites
showed up -- Precision Drilling Services
TR (NYSE: PDS), a stock I
recommended two months ago.
I apologize if I seem like a cheerleader,
or a play-by-play announcer, but it was
only two weeks ago that I posted on what
were already strong gains, and this one
keeps going up (even though its business
is to drill down...).From my original
Vista Capable stickers from low end
machines, and an MS exec saying that "I
was in Best Buy listening to people and
can tell you this did not come clear to
customers. We set ourselves up." That's
pretty damning, if you ask us -- and the
complete emails, linked below, are full of
similar bombshells. Looks like this case
may have some serious legs after all.
Disclaimer: Nilay's a lawyer, but he's not
your lawyer, and none of this is legal
advice or analysis.
Read - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
coverage of the case
Read - PDF of all the emails
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Business * Tech Gadgets * Social Net * 7
Connect with
Mashable on
LinkedIn
By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 9:50:53 AM
In light of all of LinkedIn’s recent
enhancements, we decided to start a new
group that allows Mashable readers
(“Fans of Mashable”) to connect with
each other on the white collar social
networking site - professionally of
course. Since you can browse other
group member’s profiles and send them
messages, it should be a useful way to
December recommendation at $15.47 per
share, PDS has moved up to $22.61 by interact with other Web industry people
that also happen to have good taste in
midday today and climbing, for a 46%
gain. This is when the Dow industrials blog reading
ShareThis
are down almost 7%.
Continue reading Chasing Value:
Precision Drilling up 46% since
DecemberPermalink | Email this |
Comments
Wii FreeLoader gives you region-
free gaming without the mods
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 6:50:00 AM
Filed under: Gaming
This one has been in the works for a
while, but it looks like you can finally
pick up your very own region-free
enabler for the Wii for $19.99. Wii
FreeLoader allows you to play any
GameCube or Wii game from any region
on your Wii. You just stick the
FreeLoader disc into the console, let it
spin up, eject the disc and stick in your
title of choice -- like Super Smash Bros.
Brawl, for instance, or some cooking- update that breaks FreeLoader, so
related title. Since there's no hardware proceed with caution. Or don't, so much
modding required, this one theoretically confusing entertainment awaits you!
won't void your warranty, but who's to
[Via Wii News]
say how Nintendo will treat you if you
somehow break your Wii with it, and
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
there's always the fear that Nintendo will
hit your Wii with a mandatory software
8 Tech Gadgets * Social Net *
Researchers working to teach
creepy baby robot to talk
By Donald Melanson (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 5:13:00 AM
Filed under: RobotsThe iCub robot was
already doing pretty well for itself in the
creepiness department, but a group of
researchers from the University of
Plymouth are now working to take things
one big step further, by teaching the so-
called "baby robot" to talk (as opposed to
teaching it baby talk). That will
supposedly be done over the next four
years, during which time the researchers
will work with language development
specialists who normally study how
parents teach children to speak.
Eventually, they hope that the robot will
be able to perform basic tasks like
stacking wooden blocks, and be able
name objects and actions so that it can
speak basic phrases like "robot puts stick
on cube" or "I want more life, father."
What's more, while the research hasn't
even begun yet, one of the professors
involved sees it as nothing short of a
milestone, saying that "the outcome of
the research will define the scientific and
technological requirements for the design
Forget Access: 8 Online Database Tools
By Sean P. Aune (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 10:24:01 AM
Databases. An intimidating subject for
many, with a rather high learning curve.
As with just about anything else
nowadays, you don’t have to be a
MySQL or even MS Access expert to
of humanoid robots able to develop
complex behavioural, thinking and
communication skills through individual
and social learning." Unless the robot
gets some ideas of its own, that is.
[Image courtesy of BBC News]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
build a simple database. There are
several online tools that are built to let
you share your data with others online, as
well as pre-made templates which will
have you up and running in no time.
(more…)
ShareThis
Apple MacBook Pro (with
Penryn and multi-touch)
unboxing
By Ryan Block (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 4:48:00 AM
Filed under: Features, Laptops
We just got our 2.5GHz Penryn / 4GB
fourth-gen MacBook Pro. Plenty of
power under that hood, but the outward
differences are few: it's got the new,
reorganized F-key layout (which we're
not all that fond of), and the trackpad
physically the same (with the addition of
multi-touch, which works just as well as
it did on the MacBook Air). It's definitely
an anticipated upgrade to the flagship,
but whether you think the form factor's
still got the longevity necessary to keep
you coming back after, what, more than
two years on the market with no major
changes -- well, we'll leave that to you.
We'll have some updated benchmarks
shortly.
P.S. -It includes the same model 60Wh
battery they've been selling on these for a
while, for those puzzled about the battery
life changes made to the Apple's MBP
spec page.
Gallery: Apple MacBook Pro (with
Penryn and multi-touch) unboxing
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
GPS-equipped walkers
promise to keep elderly
patients on track
By Donald Melanson (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:21:00 AM
Filed under: GPSWe've already seen
GPS used to trackelderly patients, but
some student researchers now look to be
taking the idea one step further, with
them outfitting some nursing center
patients' walkers with a GPS system that
helps guide them around. While the exact
technical details are a bit unclear, the
system apparently uses GPS when the
patients are out and about, and relies on a
WiFi-based system to direct 'em around
inside the nursing center itself. The entire
system has also obviously been about as
simplified as possible, with it boasting
just five buttons and large arrows
pointing the way to the patients'
destination. As a student project,
however, it's still quite a ways from
gaining any widespread use, although it
has apparently been at use at the one
nursing center their testing it at for
several months already. Let's just hope
folks don't take to relying on it too much
-- we all know where that can lead.
[Thanks, Jack]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Europe getting 40GB PS3 bundles
packing Gran Turismo, Blu-ray
movies
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 4:41:00 AM
Filed under: Gaming
While we chew on that incoming Metal
Gear Solid 4 80GB PS3 (with DualShock
3) in the States, Europe has a pair of
SKUs of its own to look forward to.
Sony's hitting with a "movie bundle" on
March 19th that includes Spider-Man 3,
300 and Casino Royale on Blu-ray, along
with a 40GB PS3, all for the regular
€399 price. If you can wait until March
29th, for the same price you can nab a 40
gigger bundled with Gran Turismo 5
Prologue. Both bundles promise to be
quite appealing, but apparently neither
come packing HD cables, which could be
a bit of a hangup for those ready to make
the Blu-ray plunge. GT5 box art is after
the break.
[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Continue reading Europe getting 40GB
PS3 bundles packing Gran Turismo, Blu-
ray movies
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Conceptronic intros the Media Giant
HD media server / DVR
By Nilay Patel (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:55:00 AM
Filed under: Home Entertainment
There are a ton of DVRs with media
server / streamer features out there, but
the new Media Giant from Conceptronic
manages to distinguish itself by being
one of the more flexible units we've seen,
at least on paper. The 1TB DVR features
UPnP setup with DLNA support, a built-
in analog tuner, a Twonky server,
component, composite and firewire
inputs, HDMI and component out, digital
audio out, an optional PowerLine
networking adapter, and a laundry list of
supported codecs, including DivX, XviD,
WMV9, SVCD and VOB. Not a bad
little box -- but we won't know about
pricing or availability until it gets
officially official at CeBit next week.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tech Gadgets * 9
3G iPhone rumored to
be Infineon-powered,
hitting "mid-year"
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 4:06:00 AM
Filed under: Cellphones
Hold the presses: Apple may be releasing
a new iPhone this year... with 3G! Crazy,
we know. The latest iteration of this
rumor comes to us courtesy of UBS
analysts, who say Infineon will likely be
building chips for the phone -- they're
powering the current iPhone, so no real
surprise there. UBS is also betting on a
mid-year 3G iPhone launch, and thinks
that EDGE production will ramp down
early so Apple gets a chance to clean out
inventories. We've got a good feeling
about this one, guys.
[Thanks, Tim G.]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
10 Tech Gadgets * Technology * Your Click and Print Newspaper

More Vaporware From

Google Health. Just
Deskjet turns 20: HP
celebrates two decades
Launch It Already.
By Erick Schonfeld (TechCrunch)
of robbing you blind Submitted at 2/28/2008 9:03:43 AM

By Paul Miller (Engadget) Google’s Marissa Mayer put out another

USB typing speedometer teaches Mavis
Beacon a lesson in speed
By Donald Melanson (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 5:45:00 AM
Filed under: PeripheralsIt's not the first
USB peripheral we've seen that'll keep
watch on how fast you type, but this new
USB Speedometer is certainly the most
imposing, and apparently a bit more
capable than most. Namely, unlike others
which simply track keystrokes, this one
keep track of both your words-per-
minute and the total number of words
you type in a day, although you'll need to
install some software to take for that. If
those are details you just have to have at
all times, you'll be able to get your hands
on one of these next month for about
$40.
[Via Technabob]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:28:00 AM
Filed under: Peripherals
Turns out HP has been selling its Deskjet
series of printers for 20 years now, with
240 million customers around the world
and untold billions spent on overpriced
ink cartridges. The HP Deskjet continues
to outsell all other inkjet printers on the
market, and HP shows no sign of slowing
down -- or letting up on those profit
margins.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
teaser today about its long-anticipated,
much-delayed Google Health service.
The post on the Official Google Blog
offers some screen shots (below) and
lays out what consumers can expect. But
other than a pilot announced last week
with the Cleveland Clinic, there is no
mention on when Google Health will
actually launch. Meanwhile, Microsoft
launched its own rival HealthVault way
back in October.
Like HealthVault, Google Health will
allow you to download your health
records from doctors and hospitals, and
create your own medical profile. Also
like HealthVault, it will let you search
for doctors and provide online tools to
manage your health. When you log in to
Google Health, you will see your health
profile, complete with information about
your medical conditions, medications,
allergies, procedures, test results, drug
interactions, and medical contacts.
Security and portability of medical
records are key areas of focus for the
and doctor’s offices. Google is working
hard to help port those apps to the Web.
Mayer explains:
Right now, this means you’ll be able to
automatically import information such as
your doctors’ records, your prescription
history, and your test results into Google
Health in order to easily access and and
control your data. Later, this platform
strategy will mean that you will be able
to interact with services and tools easily,
and will be able to do things like
schedule appointments, refill
prescriptions, and start using new
wellness tools.
Healthcare is still a largely untapped
market on the Web. Whoever can crack it
first will open up a huge new market.
(For both Google and Microsoft, the
opportunity here is health-related search
and the very valuable targeted ads that go

Yay! TechCrunch Sponsors. We Love ‘em Google engineers building Google

By Michael Arrington
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 12:11:14 PM
We highly recommend that you click on
every one of these links and buy
whatever excellent service they are
providing (yeah, they pay us to say that):
Brightcove, Internet TV and video
platform
Rackspace, hosting services
WildApricot, membership and
community management services
Text Links Ads, marketplace for text-
based ads
PantherCDN, content delivery network
OneSite, social networking software
Ads-Click, text-based ads marketplace
oDesk, outsourced programmers, web
designers and other talent
eBuddy, web-services meta instant
messenger
MediaTemple, TechCrunch’s own
hosting provider
Here’s a list of upcoming conferences
hosted by TechCrunch sponsors:
O’Reilly Graphing Social Patterns,
March 3-4, San Diego
OReilly ETech, March 3-6, San Diego
MySQL Conference and Expo, April 14-
17, Santa Clara
Thanks again to our wonderful sponsors
who keep the lights on at TechCrunch.
We now offer multiple sponsorship
packages, including participation on
CrunchBase, CrunchGear and
MobileCrunch as well as TechCrunch
UK and TechCrunch France. Learn more
here or contact us.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause
it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Health.
The real battle, though, is which one can
with that—although Google CEO Eric
Schmidt reportedly says there will be no
ads in Google Health. Not sure how he’s
become the de facto platform for third- going to make money then). But enough
teasers already. It is time to launch this
party health apps. HealthVault is already
signing up industry partners. Google has thing for real. Funny that Google is the
one with the vaporware in this case, and
its own approach. It is not quite
OpenSocial for healthcare, but that is the not Microsoft for a change.
general idea. The problem is that most
healthcare applications are not Web
applications. They work on the legacy Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause
it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
technology you find at most hospitals
Your Click and Print Newspaper
It Took 16 Months, But Google
Relaunches Jotspot
By Michael Arrington
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/27/2008 8:58:26 PM
Google acquired hosted wiki service
Jotspot in October 2006. The service
immediately stopped taking new users,
although existing users were supported.
Now, nearly sixteen months later, Jotspot
has been relaunched under the Google
Apps team, as Google Sites.
Google Sites looks absolutely nothing
like Jotspot, other than the fact that both
are hosted wikis. All of the structured
data templates launched by Jotspot in
July 2006 have been stripped out. Users
now have a choice between just five
basic templates - a standard wiki, a
dashboard where google gadgets can be
embedded, a blog-like template for
announcements, a file cabinet for file
uploads, and a page for lists of items.
Instead of creating structured templates,
users will now simply embed
spreadsheets, presentations and word
documents from Google Docs, as well as
Google Calendars, YouTube Videos and
Picasa Albums.
Quintura Releases Site-Specific Search Cloud
Widget
By Mark Hendrickson
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 5:00:12 AM
Quintura, a site where you can search the
internet with the assistance of a keyword
cloud, is releasing a widget that brings
the same search cloud to individual
websites.
Site owners can install the widget (shown
below) and the search results will come
only from their sites, or from a network
of sites if they so choose. Search
advertisements will show up in the cloud,
and proceeds from click-throughs to
Like Google Docs, Google Sites wikis
can be made private, shared with others,
or made public. Users can select from a
variety of templates, but cannot yet
customize the look and feel of the site.
Somewhere down the road, Google says,
they’ll release an API for the new service
as well. Editing is done with a rich text
editor that allows for basic formatting.
Google Sites is a free product, with
limitations on support and storage (10
GB). Users can upgrade their Google
Apps account to a standard edition, also
free, and map their own domains to the
site. A premier edition is also available
for $50/user/year that includes a service
level agreement, support and more admin
capabilities.
All wiki pages have RSS feeds
associated with them to allow users to
those advertisements will be split with
site owners.
If you’re interested in trying it out on
your site, you can sign up here and
Quintura will begin indexing your site
and/or RSS feed. The cloud is
customizable and so easily embeddable
that visitors to your site will have the
opportunity to embed the cloud for your
site on their own.
track any changes.
Existing Jotspot users will continue to be
supported on the old platform for the
near future, and they will also be given
instructions for porting their Jotspot
wikis to Google sites.
In an interview today, Google’s
Management Director of Enterprise
Matthew Glotzbach called the combined
products under Google Apps a
“Microsoft Sharepoint killer” because
it’s allowing businesses to collaborate
without all that expensive Microsoft
software. It may not be a Sharepoint
killer yet, but Google Apps constitutes 2-
3% of Google’s total revenues. Some
point soon, its going to start hurting
Microsoft.
Sample screenshots:
CrunchBase InformationJotSpotGoogle
SitesInformation provided by
CrunchBase
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile
Gadgets and Applications, Delivered
Daily.
As you can see below, the widget’s
struggling a bit to search TechCrunch
very effectively. It seems to generate a
lot of results for tag pages, not actual
articles, which isn’t terribly helpful. In
my testing, the widget also loads only
partially sometimes, which prevents the
results themselves from actually
showing.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile
Gadgets and Applications, Delivered
Daily.
Microsoft: The EU’s
ATM Machine
By Michael Arrington
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 1:23:06 PM
The European Union just bought every
one of their citizens a cup of coffee. Or at
least, they’re giving them the equivalent.
Their most recent fine against Micrsoft -
a whopping $1.35 billion, will go directly
into the EU’s budget. It works out to
about $2.75 for every EU citizen.
This isn’t a crushing blow to Microsoft
by any means. It’s equal to about two
weeks of operating profit. And they have
a long history of paying fines for
antitrust abuses - $750 million to
AOL/Time-Warner in 2003, $1.1 billion
to California in 2003, $536 million to
Novell in 2004, $1.6 billion to Sun in
2004, $775 million to IBM in 2005, $776
million to Real Networks in 2005. Etc.
But EU fines against Microsoft over the
years now total €1.68 billion. And they
are far from done - last month the EU
opened two new cases against Microsoft,
on behalf of a group of European
software companies. This is despite the
fact that Microsoft is routinely raked
Technology * 11
over the coals by U.S. regulators for the
same issues the Europeans bring up.
The last time the EU visited the
Microsoft ATM machine, a few
congresspeople sent them a letter telling
them to back off, that it was their job to
police U.S. companies against antitrust
abuses. That letter pretty much went
nowhere.
EU’s chief Microsoft-taxer, errr, antitrust
chief, Neelie Kroes, seems determined to
make a name for herself by filling the
EUs coffers. But perhaps it’s time for
Europe to stop looking for the Microsoft
handouts, and start promoting actual
capitalism within their borders. Google,
Apple and Mozilla, among others
(including Germany’s SAP), seem
perfectly able to compete against
Microsoft without crying for help every
time users decline to use their products.
Those who can, do. Those who can’t
apparently live in Brussels and engage in
a legalized shakedown of Microsoft
every couple of years.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile
Gadgets and Applications, Delivered
Daily.
12 Technology *
ABC Kicks Off Made-For-Web Video
Strategy with “Squeegees.” Maybe It
Should Stick To Regular TV.
By Erick Schonfeld (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 11:39:19 AM
Sometimes you’ve got to wonder what
goes through the minds of TV
executives. Today, the Disney-ABC
Television Group decided to launch its
Web video studio, Stage 9 Digital Media,
with the debut of “Squeegees” on both
YouTube and ABC.com.
Lame doesn’t begin to describe this three
-and-half-minute comedy about the
hijinks of a window-washing crew. The
acting is horrible and the jokes fall
flat—drunk, naked window washer
(don’t ask) scares kids in a day care class
as he dangles outside their window. It is
something that ABC, one hopes, would
never put on television. So why subject
Web audiences to something like this? In
another clueless move, ABC has turned
off the embedding feature in the
YouTube player. I guess it doesn’t want
people spreading the show around.
I wouldn’t be so harsh on ABC, except
that in the press release announcing the
launch of Stage 9 and “Squeegees” there
is this quote from Barry Jossen, the
“Acadamy Award-winning short-form
producer” who is now the general
manager of Stage 9:
While the new media space is loaded
with UGC, we feel the audience is
missing the quality experience found in
other forms of exhibition, and we are
answering their need. This creative
frontier gives us the opportunity to
develop new franchises, discover and
develop talent and, most importantly,
expand the standard of excellence set by
our parent company in creating superior
episodic programming with great stories
and production values.
Superior episodic programming? Please.
ABC/Stage 9 has 20 more Web shows in
the works, and maybe it will get it right
with one of them. But with “Squeegees”
it is not putting its best foot forward, and
it is certainly not expanding the
“standard of excellence.” I’ll take
original Web shows like Rocketboom,
WallStrip, or Pop17 any day over
something half-produced. What ABC
fails to understand is that when it comes
to Web video, authenticity trumps
production values.
There is nothing wrong with going the
“quality experience” route, but you can’t
go half way. Because it is ABC, people
will expect more from any show
associated with Stage 9 than from
someone filming in their house. If it is
going to try to teach the Web how video
is really made, then it should have picked
a different opening act.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile
Gadgets and Applications, Delivered
Daily.
Quarterlife Might Not Have
A Long Life On NBC
By Duncan Riley (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/27/2008 7:48:12 PM
Quarterlife, the made for MySpace TV
show that became the first internet show
picked up by a TV network has bombed.
According to Nielsen Ratings for
Tuesday night, Quarterlife managed only
3.86 million viewers for its 10pm debut
on NBC, compared to the fan resurrected
but short second season of Jericho with
6.9 million viewers and Primetime: What
Would You Do Now? with 7.6 million
viewers.
Although no decision has been made as
to whether Quarterlife will return for a
second outing next week, these poor
figures would suggest that Quarterlife
may not have a long life on NBC.
Some may suggest that Quaterlife’s
failure to make a successful cross from
online to network TV isn’t a positive for
LinkedIn Revamps Design,
Adds Status Updates
By Mark Hendrickson
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/27/2008 8:55:07 PM
Thursday morning LinkedIn will roll out
a new site-wide design featuring a tab-
less header and a persistent left column
with personal, account-related options.
LinkedIn is also adding status updates
with which users can broadcast their
current activities (professional or
otherwise) to their connections and/or
networks.
Just as when the company added
portraits, these updates feel like an
attempt to mimic Facebook. The new
design bestows upon LinkedIn a similar
layout to Facebook’s, with the page
divided into a header, a thin left column,
and a wide right one. Facebook has also
Your Click and Print Newspaper
future shows following the same path;
certainly it doesn’t make things easier. A
first failed experiment won’t necessarily
mean the crossover idea will fail again in
the future. As more and more people turn
to the internet for entertainment, the
volume of professionally made video
content will continue to increase, and
sheer numbers would suggest that
Quaterlife may become the first of many
crossovers to come as television
networks scramble to find new content
that viewers want to watch.
(via RWW)
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile
Gadgets and Applications, Delivered
Daily.
had featured status updates for quite
some time.
There are differences, of course, between
the two. LinkedIn has decided to place a
box at the bottom of the left column that
continually reminds you how many
connections you have, how many people
have recently joined your network, what
your status is, and more. The homepage
will also have modules that you’ll be
able to drag around to reorder.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause
it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Google Docs Gets A Visual
Overhaul, Now More Office
Like
By Duncan Riley (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/27/2008 8:35:25 PM
Google has quietly updated the look of
Google Docs, offering a more Microsoft
Office (pre 2007) like interface.
First spotted by Philipp Lenssen, the
changes aren’t huge, but visually they’re
pleasing. Gone is the Google Docs blue
background toolbar with its unique
layout. In its place is a grey toolbar that
will be immediately familiar to users of
other offline and online office packages.
Fonts now have a dedicated box with the
list being rendered in the particular font
listed. Text sizing also gets a familiar
drop down box as well.
Disney Officially Launches Stage 9 with Webisode “Squeegees”
By Kristen Nicole (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 10:26:04 AM
Disney is officially launching Stage 9
Digital Media today, with the release of a
new series called Squeegees. This made-
for-web production studio is specializing
in the short-form content that teenagers
seem to appreciate when it comes to
online video consumption. Instead of
pouring a million dollars into a new
series for broadcast television, ABC is
releasing a slew of online video series
that are far more economical to produce.
In fact, Stage 9 has been in the works for
some time, but Disney has been keeping
tight-lipped about the production studio
in order to make a bigger impact once it
The changes have been rolled out across
the three core Google Docs products
(Writely, Spreadsheets and
Presentations).
Although still not as fully featured as
offline alternatives, and even some
online competitors as well, Google Docs
has gained strong support in the first
adopter community and is slowly finding
a market in the business world as Google
pushes its corporate packages. The new
look will make it easier for new users to
immediately use Google Docs and that
will help sell the package.
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over
the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
had content that was ready for release. It
appears that the company was delayed in
actually releasing some of its content,
which could have had something to do
with the writers strike, according to a
Hollywood Reporter article, but it looks
like everything is back on track for
regular broadcast television and made-for
-web series as well.
The new series that rolls out today, called
Squeegees, is comprised of 4 main
characters that run a heavily
malfunctioning window-washing
company. The show is marginally funny,
though I found the most amusing part of
the first episode to be the appearance of
Jo De La Rosa from “The Real
Magnify.net Raises $1M for Video
Discovery, Broadcasting
By Mark Hendrickson
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 5:01:24 AM
New York-based Magnify.net has raised
$1M in a Series A round involving Next
Stage Capital, New York Angels, Rose
Tech Ventures, Active Angel Investors,
Ogden Capital, Gideon Gartner, and
Chris Anderson.
The company is also claiming to have
attracted 30,000 publishers and over
Housewives of Orange County.”
However, it may please you to know that
Disney is trying to go all new media on
this one. The actors that play in
Squeegees are actually a team called
Handsome Donkey, which had been
cultivating its own fame thanks to online
distribution, according to a report in The
Technology * Social Net *
three million visitors per month. Each
publisher on Magnify.net sets up a so-
called channel where they can aggregate
user generated videos found across the
web on places like YouTube.
Magnify.net also recently added webcam
broadcasting capabilities so presumably
this figure includes webcam channels as
well.
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over
the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
L.A. Times.
This isn’t the first time Disney has
looked to the Internet in order to find
worthwhile talent, as we’ve seen with the
short stint that Amanda Cogdon had at
ABC. So it’s interesting that ABC is
hoping to use video shorts to obtain
commercial rewards and possibly move
the content onto the television screen. I
think that’s where this whole plan just
might fall apart.
Not all web shorts can be morphed into
mainstream content. Sometimes the
economic factors that allow web shorts to
succeed online in the commercial sense
need to stay where they are–online.
We’ve already seen what’s happened
13
LinkedIn Vs.
Facebook: Who
Profiles Better?
By Kristen Nicole (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:33:12 AM
In another move to increase personalized
value by mimicking Facebook, LinkedIn
has added a few new features to its
homepage. LinkedIn has been tweaking
its homepage for months now, and most
of the updates have been very similar to
what we see on Facebook. I’m sure it’s
common knowledge by now, but
everybody is taking cues from Facebook.
This week seems particularly ripe for
profile updates, however, with Facebook
even getting in on the fun. But
considering the classic Facebook
approach and the new LinkedIn features,
with the broadcast network debut of
quarterlife on NBC. Disney, take heed.
At the very least, I can say I’m happy to
see that ABC is actively promoting
Squeegees on YouTube and not solely
relying on its own ABC full-episode
portal for gaining viewership. While
ABC’s online portal has some quality
clips, the player is cumbersome and
slow, so I’d suggest the YouTube
channel as your first stop. Most
frustrating downside to this though, is
that ABC has disabled embedding for
YouTube clips, just as it did with
Oprah’s channel as well.
ShareThis
14 Social Net *
LINKEDIN
continued from page 13
we thought it would be a good time to
look at the two layouts and compare
them head-to-head. Life’s more fun that
way.
Network Updates
This is something Facebook mastered.
Who knew your friends could be so
annoying without even being in the same
room? LinkedIn has been working on
ways to bring you relevant and up-to-
date information on your colleagues and
acquaintances, but Facebook takes the
crown on this one.
Customizable Modules
On Facebook’s end, such customizable
modules would partly involve some of
those applications that can quickly take
over your profile page. Applications is
something that LinkedIn hasn’t layered
in just yet, though they’re on the way.
But looking at what LinkedIn’s modules
provide you with for these new updates,
and you’ll be less than impressed. The
Google Offers GrandCentral Service
modules are limited to People Search,
Job Search, and LinkedIn Answers.
These are functions that are pretty
standard throughout the site and don’t
necessarily need to be customized for
personalized profile pages.
Company News
For Facebook, the equivalent of
Company News would kind of be like
the mini feeds, which give you all the
dirt on what your friends have been up
to. Who’s single? Who got poked? Who
changed their profile picture? If this is
what you’re addicted to while sipping
your coffee at 9:05 am, then that’s fine.
You’re definitely a Facebook user.
For LinkedIn, the Company News
consists of the items from across the web
that your fellow employees are reading.
Why not expand this though, and
incorporate some news from your
company’s competitors? Perhaps even
allow this to be a custom search tool that
pulls information based on your
designated keywords? Now that would
make for a far more interesting custom
module on LinkedIn.
Omnipresent Nav Bar
A lot of social networks have the
personal side bar that follows you around
no matter where you go on the site.
Facebook’s was always a bit limited in
my opinion, and I wouldn’t mind more
custom options for this. Now LinkedIn
has the left-hand side bar too, giving you
quick and immediate access to the
majority of the personal items and
actions that pertain to your account.
Should be handy, and give you easy
access to the new Mashable Group on
LinkedIn, after you join it! Click here.
ShareThis
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Hotmail Still Inaccessible,
Two Days Later
By Kristen Nicole (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:22:41 AM
Microsoft’s Hotmail is still down for
the response Microsoft is receiving from
millions of users across the globe, two some of its users. Many are leaving
days after the problem first reared its
Hotmail for other free email clients, like
ugly head. Earlier this week, we heard Yahoo or Gmail. According to The
that Microsoft users were unable to login
Times Online, some users have cited
to their accounts. If you were already Hotmail’s unreliability and spam as
logged in, then the problem wouldn’t
being too much, and this most recent
have been too severe at the time. ordeal is literally the last straw.
But two days later? For most users, there
We saw how harmful inaccessibility was
may be a very good chance that you’ve for Skype, so hopefully Microsoft can
needed to log out of Hotmail since the
get this issue resolved as quickly as
issue first began. That means that the possible. And perhaps handle the current
problem has been compounded. A lot.
situation a little better? It appears that
While Microsoft has previously stated many users feel that Microsoft is taking
that the issue has been resolved,
the inaccessibility to Hotmail too lightly,
according to a Times Online report, there and we’ve yet to hear a substantial
are still millions of users, especially in explanation from Microsoft as to why the
Europe, that still cannot access their issue arose in the first place.
Hotmail accounts.
I can’t imagine how debilitating my work
day at Mashable would become if email
completely failed, so I’m not surprised at
ShareThis

Free to San Francisco’s Homeless Zannel Launching Mobile

By Paul Glazowski (Mashable!) willing to accept the offer.
Google made the announcement at a
Submitted at 2/28/2008 9:56:11 AM

A number of you may be reading this

post from somewhere around the San
Francisco Bay Area. But chances are
you’ve got a home of your own; whether
it be a rental or something you or a
familial relative have shelled out many a
penny for. Which is all good and well.
Having a roof over your head that you
can regularly rely on is pretty important.
But there is of course a portion of the
populace that isn’t so fortunate as the
majority. Some of those homeless
Americans find themselves “in limbo” in
the beautiful city of the Golden Gate.
Google knows this, according to a report
by KNTV [MSNBC], the NBC affiliate
for the Bay Area. And it has chosen to
help those in need the way it knows best:
with technology.
The Mountain View-based Web giant is
looking to give homeless people in San
Francisco a phone number and
voicemail, controllable through its
GrandCentral VoIP system, which the
company acquired in mid-2007.
Google’s goal with the new initiative is
to give a phone contact to every
homeless individual in the city that is
Project CARE (Communications and
Respect for Everybody) event held
yesterday at the Bill Graham Civic
Auditorium jointly with the
administration of San Francisco. The
intention is to give those without the
convenience of personalized telephone
access - more critical than ever in today’s
modern society - in order to more easily
pursue employment and perhaps start or
restart a career.
The maintenance for the program as well
as any corresponding accounts created
will be entirely free of cost for those
willing to partake in the effort.
ShareThis
Microblogging API
By Kristen Nicole (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 11:29:22 AM
Multimedia microblogging tool Zannel is
getting ready to reveal its open API next
week. On March 3rd, the REST-based
API will be available to developers that
would like to incorporate some
mobile/web media-sharing tools into
their own services. The API is built on
the same platform that powers Zannel’s
web and WAP products, and should give
way to some interesting mashups,
specifically for media-sharing.
Along with Zannel’s API, developers
will also be able to take advantage of the
integrated tools that Zannel has added
throughout the past year, including
multimedia updates that can be sent to
Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, MySpace and
Blogger, to name a few.
There are also custom tag options for
adding to Flickr feeds, while Facebook
feeds can update users’ status in addition
to their media albums, based on the
message content. This is all integrated in
a two-way fashion, so such updates, even
those integrated with other networks, can
ZANNEL page 15
Your Click and Print Newspaper
quarterlife’s NBC Life: One
Episode
By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 11:24:57 AM
After attracting only 3.86 million viewers
in its debut on Tuesday night, NBC is
pulling the plug on the web-to-tv
crossover “quarterlife,” according to Liz
Gannes at NewTeeVee. The show will
apparently be moving to the cable
network Bravo, which is owned by NBC
Universal.
Like roughly 98.7% of Americans, I
didn’t watch the show’s premiere so I
can’t speak to the quality, but I think
airing it was certainly worth a shot,
especially considering the writer’s strike
was still unsettled at the time that NBC
acquired the rights to broadcast
quarterlife.
While online videocasters that aspire to
mainstream stardom may take the news
MashMeet REMIX DC is March 5th; Grab the
Remaining Tickets Quickly
By Adam Hirsch (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 11:06:00 AM
There are only a handful of MashMeet
DC REMIX tickets still available, which
you can get here. As a reminder, the
event is being held in conjunction with
next week’s Politics Online Conference
in Washington DC, and will be a twist on
our usual MashMeet events,
incorporating presentations, food,
alcohol and music.
The 170 person event will be held on
as a bit of a hit to their field, it seems
there is a solid argument to be made that
NBC simply picked a show that wasn’t
very good. As Kristen noted yesterday,
quarterlife wasn’t really an online show
at all, in that it was originally produced
in the hope of being picked up for
syndication by the broadcast networks.
None of them bit until they ran out of
professionally produced content due to
the strike.
After so-so results online, quarterlife
clearly just didn’t have the rabid fanbase
that will be required for a web show to
find success on television.
ShareThis
March 5th at 7 pm in Ogilvy PR’s DC
offices. Pete Cashmore, Mark “Rizzn”
Hopkins (who is speaking at the Politics
The Daily Poll: Which of
Google’s New Products Will Be
the Most Successful?
By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:24:43 AM
If you read Mashable on a regular basis,
you know that Google makes a lot of
really big announcements. Like, “we’re
going to take over this industry” type
announcements. The latest, Google Sites,
is a new wiki-style collaboration tool for
businesses and organizations. There’s
also Google Health, which as we saw
earlier today, is looking to unclutter the
mess that is our healthcare system.
Meanwhile, Knol wants to dismantle
Wikipedia. OpenSocial wants to become
the OS for social networking apps, while
Android wants to do the same for mobile.
However, while all of these goals are
certainly quite ambitious, at this point,
they aren’t much more than press
releases (as Steve Ballmer would love to
Online Conference), Adam Ostrow, and
myself will all be in attendance. We still
have several sponsorship opportunities
available, so please contact me
immediately if you are interested.
Presentations will be streamed via the
Web on Mashable and our two affiliates
for this event, The Social Times and
Ogilvy PR’s 360° Digital Influence
group.
(more…)
ShareThis
Social Net * TV * 15
ZANNEL
continued from page 14
be seen via mobile and web by other
users in your service.
Such integrated multimedia-sharing is
finally starting to pick up speed,
becoming a necessity for web-based
networks. So what we’re seeing now is a
large push for platform options that allow
existing networks to layer in mobile
functionality through the use of APIs or
other services like Iomota. If you sign on
for Zannel’s API, let us know what
remind you). As they begin to emerge comes of it!
from their infancy, we ask: ShareThis
Which of Google's new products will
ultimately be the most successful?
• Google Sites
• Google Knol
• Google Health
• Google Android
• Google OpenSocial
View Results
ShareThis
What's On Tonight: Survivor, Lost,
American Chopper
By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:02:00 AM
Filed under: Programming, What To
Watch Tonight
• At 8, CBS has a new Survivor.
• FOX has a new American Idol at 8,
followed by a new Don't Forget The
Lyrics.
• Also at 8: BBC America has a new
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Carter Can, • At 9:30, Fox Movie Channel has a new
followed by a new Divine Design. Life After Film School, featuring Doug
• At 9, ABC has a new Lost, then a new Liman.
Eli Stone. • HBO has a new In Treatment at 9:30.
• NBC has a new Celebrity Apprentice
at 9, then a new Lipstick Jungle.
• There's a new Great Performances on Check your local TV listings for more.
PBS at 9.
• TLC has a new American Chopper at Permalink | Email this | | Comments
9.
16 TV *
CBS greenlights NY-LON,
Mythological X and Can
Openers
By Allison Waldman (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:39:00 AM
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other
Comedy Shows, Other Sci-
Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Pickups
and RenewalsShowbiz has gone green,
and that's not just ecologically! Green is
flashing all over Hollywood. CBS has
given the greenlight to three more pilots,
including a doctor drama, a psychic
romance, and a British-based tale of
international love.
NY-LON (no, not nylon the fabric!),
refers to the New York-London
connection via air. The story, which
writers Patti Carr and Lara Runnels (who
both worked on 'Til Death) are
translating from the U.K. version, is
about a British businessman who meets a
New York City record store clerk while
she's in London, and then their
subsequent attempts to maintain a
Talk Talk: Amy Adams, Brian Williams, Jamie Oliver
By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 9:00:00 AM
Filed under: Late Night, TV Royalty,
Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show
Here's who's on the late night shows
tonight.
• Charlie Rose: Nancy Pelosi and
Gabriel Byrne
• The Daily Show: Brian Williams
• The Colbert Report: Ingrid Newkirk
• The Late Show with David Letterman:
Amy Adams, Jamie Oliver, and Liam
Finn
• Jay Leno:Bryan Cranston, Wanda
Sykes, and Cat Power
transatlantic romance. The series ran
seven episodes in England, which is not
atypical. Of course, for American TV,
many more episodes than that will be
necessary to constitute a hit.
Continue reading CBS greenlights NY-
LON, Mythological X and Can Openers
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: Martin Lawrence
and Judy Greer
• Tavis Smiley: Garry Wills and Raven
Symone
AI OD: A farewell to Joanne
Borgella - VIDEO
By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 4:30:00 AM
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol,
Contestants, Alumni, News and
GossipHer came onto American Idol like
a whirlwind of joy. Her little squeal of
delight in Hollywood when Simon loved
one of her performances remains a
highlight of this season for me. That
moment spoke volumes for her good-
natured essence. So when Joanne
Borgella's AOL interview came after her
elimination, it's no surprise that she had
nothing but positive things to say.
So when she says she was just happy to
have made the Top 24, I actually believe
her. Unfortunately, nerves or illness
appeared to really overwhelm Joanne so
that by the time she got her first chance
to impress America, she wasn't able to
"bring it," as Randy would say. Oh, and
for you overly sensitive types, the
dialogue in the pic has to do with her
comparative height to Ryan and the
expression on her face, not her "plus-
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien:
Natalie Portman, Robert Schimmel, and
James Blunt
• The Late, Late Show with Craig
Ferguson: Natasha Henstridge, Carl
Bernstein, and Steve Mazan
• Last Call with Carson Daly: Miss
Dakota, Rob Stewart, and Josh Kelly
(repeat)
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
size."
%Gallery-17118%
Continue reading AI OD: A farewell to
Joanne Borgella - VIDEO
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Nielsen cable
ratings for the week
ending February 24
By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 6:04:00 AM
Filed under: Industry, Programming,
Ratings
Here are the weekly cable ratings, by
number of viewers.
The headline for the Nielsen cable
ratings this week is "Odd Baby Beats Up
Wrestling Stars." Nickelodeon's new
Fairly Odd Baby movie (from the Fairly
Odd Parents series) got the #1 slot this
week, as well as the #9 slot. The debate
is Texas got the second slot, while the
Anderson Cooper 360 analysis of the
debate came in third.
1. Fairly Odd Baby (Nickelodeon)
2. Democratic Debate (CNN)
3. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
4. Monk (USA)
5. WWE Monday Night RAW - 10pm
(USA)
6. WWE Monday Night RAW - 9pm
(USA)
7. SpongeBob SquarePants
(Nickelodeon)
8. Tennessee/Memphis Basketball Game
(ESPN)
9. Fairly Odd Baby (Nickelodeon)
10. SpongeBob SquarePants
(Nickelodeon)
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper TV * 17

AI OD: A farewell to Colton Rosie and Fran teaming up for a

Berry - VIDEOS sitcom
By Jason Hughes (TV Squad) By Allison Waldman (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:01:00 AM Submitted at 2/28/2008 3:29:00 AM

Filed under: OpEd, American Idol,
Contestants, Alumni, News and
GossipNow that his journey on American
Idol is over, he isn't going to just head
back home and sulk. In AOL's interview
with Colton Berry, the young singer
admitted that being on the number-one
rated singing competition was but one of
his dreams. The other was to be on
Broadway, and more specifically to
perform as Fiero in Wicked.
Considering how Simon derided him
constantly for his overly theatrical
performances, Broadway could be a
perfect fit. It's certainly given success to
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows,
Nip/Tuck, Daytime, Web, Celebrities,
Talk Show, Ratings, EmmysFunny ladies
Rosie O'Donnell (Nip/Tuck) and Fran
Drescher (The Nanny) are working
together on creating a new "fun, happy,
family comedy" for TV. On Rosie's
website, Fran and Rosie teamed up on
Idol Secrets:
camera to talk -- primarily about Fran's
"cancer schmancer" campaign for public
awareness -- but at the end, Rosie and
Amanda, Robbie
Fran revealed a sitcom they are planning
in which they'll star together.
and David H.
By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)
the Idol? She also had an Emmy-award winning
There's no question that Fran and Rosie
are funny women with loyal fans. The daytime talk show for six years straight Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:20:00 AM

plenty of other Idol alums including
Frenchie Davis, Fantasia, Clay Aiken,
Tamyra Gray and Diana DeGarmo. And
it's not like Colton doesn't have a
theatrical background. The question is,
did he resonate enough with America and
potential employers in his short stint on
Herskovitz calls quarterlife-on-NBC experiment a
failure
By Joel Keller (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 3:01:00 AM
Filed under: Other Drama Shows,
Industry, CancellationsWhen NBC
picked up the web-only show quarterlife
to show on the network as writers' strike
filler, many were wondering whether this
internet-to-network transition might be
the wave of the future. Well, it still may
be, but according to the show's co-
creator, Marshall Herskovitz, that wave
shouldn't have started with quarterlife.
%Gallery-17138%
Continue reading AI OD: A farewell to
Colton Berry - VIDEOS
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
According to The Hollywood Reporter,
Herskovitz told an audience at Harvard
Business School that after watching
quarterlife on the big screen, he realized
Nanny was a CBS hit for six seasons.
Rosie, who more recently has been a
source of controversy like her very
tumultuous time as a cohost on The
View, has also been a success on TV.
While she was on The View, the ratings
were higher than ever before or since.
that the show about twentysomething
angst should have never aired on NBC.
In fact, within three minutes, he knew
that the tight shots and intimate stories he
and his partner Ed Zwick used were
inappropriate for a broadcast network
show; it might have worked better on
cable, he thought, but not on NBC.
Continue reading Herskovitz calls
quarterlife-on-NBC experiment a failure
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
which had a vociferous following.
Continue reading Rosie and Fran
teaming up for a sitcom
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Filed under: American Idol, Contestants,
News and GossipIt's that time of year
again. The time when American Idol
settles down with it's Top 24, we start
singling out our favorites, and the media
starts digging into these people's pasts
and presents looking for juicy secrets like
they're presidential politicians, too. Other
than the expected mug shot discovery,
two have surfaced this week that are
certainly generating a lot of buzz.
One features Robbie Carrico, who has
been called out as inauthentic in his
attempts to be a "rocker" week after
week thus far on the show. The other, the
handsome but otherwise dull David H.,
who had a great week. Of course, Idol
and FOX aren't saying anything about it.
In order to not spoil the fun for those
who like to avoid this kind of thing,
you'll have to follow me to know more.
Continue reading Idol Secrets: Amanda,
Robbie and David H.
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18 TV * Movies Your Click and Print Newspaper

Play butter trivia against Gary Fanboy Bites: 'Batman: Gotham

Coleman this afternoon
By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 6:23:00 AM
Filed under: Web, Celebrities
Yeah, I know, that headline seems like it
doesn't even make any sense. I could
have written something in Klingon or
just strung other words together and it
would make just as much sense: "Fight
crayons with Patrick Dempsey on Labor
Day," or something similar.
If you're wondering what Gary Coleman
is up to these days, besides being secretly
married or selling his pants on eBay,
here's the scoop: he's hosting trivia
games at NowYouKnowBetter.com,
which is from the folks who bring us I
Can't Believe It's Not Butter! (which
makes me wonder why it's not called
NowYouKnowButter, not Better). The
games start today at 4pm Eastern, and
there's a new game every 10 or 15
minutes or so.
I don't know if the game involves butter
and butter substitute trivia or other kinds
of trivia, but if you're not into the game
you can also get recipes and coupons at
the site.
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Knights' and Live Action Star Wars TV
By Erik Davis (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:30:00 AM
Filed under: Action, Animation, Sci-Fi &
Fantasy, Deals, Fandom,
DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand,
Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and
Sequels, Images
And away we go ...
Three new stills from the upcoming
direct-to-DVD prequel Batman: Gotham
Knights have been released online (via
Kung Fu Rodeo), and they once again
show a ripped Batman looking all pissed
off at something or someone. The new
stills don't look much different from the
three that were released earlier in the
week, so I'm not sure if they are all from
the same mini-story or different. I do more pics from Batman: Gotham Knights son of Richard Marquand, director of
notice subtle changes, but does it matter? after the jump. Return of the Jedi. Pretty cool stuff --
I just want to watch this thing now. Set Now, to Star Wars! So we already know we'll have to see how he does. I wonder
for release on July 8, the disc will feature George Lucas is planning a 100-episode if Lucas will direct an episode or two
six interlocking stories that will serve as live-action TV show set between himself?
a bridge between the two live-action Episodes III and IV. Last we heard, the
films, Batman Begins and The Dark scripts were being written and most of Continue reading Fanboy Bites: 'Batman:
Knight. Villains rumored to be appearing the talk surrounded the Star Wars Gotham Knights' and Live Action Star
include Scarecrow, Killer Croc and animated series debuting this fall. Well, Wars TVPermalink | Email this |
Deadshot. (Additionally, a Deadshot toy The Force.net tells us (via Liverpool Comments
is floating around somewhere, so either Daily Post) that Jim Marquand has been
it's a tie-in to the DVD, or we could be asked by Lucas to direct episodes of the
looking at another possible villain for live-action show. Who is Jim Marquand,
Dark Knight and beyond.) Check out you ask? Well, he just happens to be the

Virgin Prepares 'The Megas' For the Big Screen

By Jessica Barnes (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 6:32:00 AM
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals,
Comic/Superhero/GeekVariety reports
that Virgin Comics will partner with
Jonathan Mostow for a feature film
version of his just-published comic, The
Megas. Based off an idea from Mostow
about a group of elites, it is part of
Virgin's Directors Cut line of comics.
Mostow is perhaps best known as the
director of Terminator 3, but he is in
good company at Virgin. Other directors
who have signed up include John Woo,
Guy Ritchie, Ed Burns, and Terry
Gilliam.
The story "revolves around Detective
Jack Madison and his race-against-the-
clock investigation to uncover secrets
behind the mysterious sex-fueled suicide
of a Prince in The Megas royal family.
Meanwhile, the King is on his deathbed
at The White Palace (yes, at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue!), and society is
bracing for the inevitable chaos that will
surely ensue once he dies." Basically, it
seems to be about a corrupted ruling
class and the everyman who is forced to
bring them down.
There is no word yet on whether Mostow
will be involved with writing the script,
or directing it for that matter. Mostow
already has a remake of The Swiss
Family Robinson, and the sci-fi thriller
The Surrogates, with Bruce Willis, lined
up for 2009. If Virgin wants to get this
production going any time soon, they
might have to start looking for someone
else to take over. The original model for
the Director's Cut series was to create
comics that were tailor-made for film
adaptations, so I would assume that we
are going to start to see a lot of Virgin
comic book movies in the near
future.Read | Permalink | Email this |
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
Juno Won't Be Dreaming Salva's Back With
of Genies Another 'Jeepers Creepers'
By Monika Bartyzel (Cinematical)
Sequel
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:02:00 AM
Filed under: Awards, Celebrities and
ControversyIt's sad, and it's unfortunate,
but it all comes down to money,
homeskillets.
When the Canadian Genie Awards airs
this Monday, March 3, it might be with
the lovely Sandra Oh leading festivities,
but it will be doing so without any sort of
Juno love. This might seem strange
since, well, Ellen Page and Michael Cera
are Canadian, as is director Jason
Reitman, the comedy was filmed in
Canada (British Columbia, to be exact),
it had an extended Canadian cast, and a
Canadian crew. Topping that Canuck
goodness off with all the nominations
and wins the film has received, it would
seem certain that Juno would be all over
the Genies.
Not quite. As Yahoo/Reuters states:
Genie rules say that some of the film's
production budget must come from
Canada for it to be deemed a Canadian
film and be worthy of consideration. (Is
there a certain, specific amount of
"some," I wonder? Could some dudes
just donate a $20 and make these sort of
problems go away?) I see the rationale,
but it sure makes for skewed selections.
Ellen Page and her Diablo-led brethren
have been snubbed, but Eastern Promises
is in the running because approximately
20% of the film's budget came from
Canada.
Reitman says: "how are we not eligible
REVIEW:
continued from page 19
themes, but imprisoning your film with
such definite statements of purpose
makes it possibly less enjoyable to the
people who are tired of these weak and
for a Genie when David Cronenberg's
film about Russians living in London
shot in England with a British crew and
British cast is eligible? I'm sorry, but
somebody is going to have to explain
that to me; I don't get it." Well, I get it,
but it's a massively flawed rationale -- as
Etan Vlessing says: "Leave it to other
awards shows to honor filmmaking
excellence, whatever its origins. The
Genies celebrate government support."
Next time, Jason will have to get his film
paid for with loonies and toonies.Read |
Permalink | Email this | Comments
easy-minded juxtapositions. Without
acknowledging the obviously apparent
intent, Chicago 10 is actually appreciable
as one of the most creative and
By Scott Weinberg (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 9:10:00 AM
Filed under: Horror, MGM, Remakes
and SequelsIf you mashed Jeepers
Creepers and Jeepers Creepers 2 into one
flick, you'd have a very long and very
familiar horror film that starts off on the
right foot and then slowly gets a lot more
stupid. But hey, they both made money
so nobody act surprised when I tell you
that writer/director Victor Salva is about
to get rolling on Jeepers Creepers 3.
According to Fango, both Salva and
actor Ray Wise will be returning for the
follow-up -- which I've no doubt will
debut on DVD. Here's what the director
told Fangoria: "It's tentatively titled
Jeepers Creepers 3: The Creeper Walks
Among Us*. It includes a prologue in the
Old West and might bring back several
characters from the first two films 20
years later. The script and story will be
big on scares and give us plenty more of
the traditional Creeper creepiness, with a
few more bits thrown in about what it
might be and where it came from."
He then goes on to lobby MGM for a
theatrical release: "Each [ Jeepers flick]
went on to make over $100 million
apiece on DVD. I believe a theatrical
release is critical to this kind of success
on video. I don't think you can have one
entertaining documentary films in years.
And it could indeed be viewed as
significant on its own, if we let it exist as
such.
without the other, and it would be a
shame not to be able to see what I have
planned for Jeepers III up on the big
screen." Uh, Vic? Have you seen Wrong
Turn 2? Not to be nasty, but it's a whole
lot better than Jeepers Creepers 2, and I
highly doubt its distribution plans had
anything to do with it. Just make a good
flick and let the studio worry about its
venue, eh?
(* Yes, I do believe this is a spin on The
Creature Walks Among Us (aka Black
Lagoon 3). Slightly clever, but a bit too
wordy if you ask me.)Read | Permalink |
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Continue reading Review: Chicago
10Permalink | Email this | Comments
Movies 19
Review:
Chicago 10
By Christopher Campbell
(Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 5:02:00 AM
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary,
Theatrical Reviews, Cinematical Indie
2008 is not this generation's 1968. Let's
get that matter straight, right away. Even
if we can draw some parallels or see
some similarities between now and then,
the truth is that it was a very tragic year,
and despite our penchant to fetishize the
period and wish that our time could be so
important and powerful, we need to pray
no politicians are assassinated this year
(the fact that one particular candidate has
been compared to both MLK and RFK is
especially upsetting) and we need to be
thankful that there is no draft. But mostly
we need to just move on from the '60s
already and stop attempting to
appropriate its events in order to heighten
the relevance of the 2000s. 2008 is
indeed a significant year on its own, or it
could be if we let it exist as such.
That said, Chicago 10, the latest
documentary from Oscar-nominee Brett
Morgen (On the Ropes) is literally about
events of forty years ago, though the
filmmaker claims it is a film about now.
Okay, sure, there may be some relevant
REVIEW: page 19
20 Movies
BREAKING: New Line
Cinema Says Goodbye!
By Erik Davis (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 8:40:00 AM
Filed under: Newsstand, Politics
There's been lots of talk behind the
scenes regarding trouble with New Line
Cinema, who took a massive hit late last
year with The Golden Compass, and
haven't had much luck at the box office
throughout the past year. This afternoon,
it was officially announced that New
Line will now become part of Warner
Bros., with New Line chiefs, Bob Shaye
and Michael Lynne, officially stepping
down. There are two announcements
floating around: One is a press release,
and the other is a note to New Line
employees from Bob and Michael which
just dropped into my inbox.
According to the internal letter, "New
Line will maintain its own identity and
will continue to produce, market, and
distribute movies. But New Line will
now do so as part of Warner Bros. and
will probably be a much smaller
operation than in the past. Time Warner
hopes that operating New Line as a unit
of Warner Bros. will allow New Line to
focus on the creative side of movie-
making, while reducing costs and taking
Casting Bites: From Comedian Steve Byrne to J. Jonah Jameson
By Monika Bartyzel (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 7:45:00 AM
Filed under: Comedy, Drama,
Independent, CastingIt's a slow day
today... But here are Variety's latest
casting bites:
• He's been a Kim of Comedy, and lately
he's been playing around on The Real
Wedding Crashers, but now actor and
comedian Steve Byrne is getting a high-
advantage of Warner Bros.' distribution
systems. The company will be holding
group meeting with New Line employees
tomorrow in Los Angeles and New York
to discuss this announcement, and is
committed to letting employees know as
soon as possible about how this change
affects them individually."
We here at Cinematical have some good
friends over at New Line, and we wish
them well in their future endeavors. For
more on this, read the official press
release here, and the internal letter after
the jump ...
Continue reading BREAKING: New
Line Cinema Says Goodbye!Permalink |
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profile feature gig in The Goods: The
Don Ready Story. Well, the film, not so
much the role, although it could certainly
prove to be memorable. He will play an
irate customer at Jeremy Piven's
dealership. This is his second feature in
the last year, as he's also got a role in the
indie comedy Don't Shoot the
Pharmacist! But for now, check out some
of theselinks to see what the comedian is
all about. Personally, I hope he's an irate
customer in pink short shorts.
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Gerard Butler IS the Black
Freighter!
By Monika Bartyzel (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 6:04:00 AM
Filed under: Animation, Casting,
Comic/Superhero/GeekYes, Watchmen
is about retired superheroes in an
alternate United States where a
Doomsday Clock counts down to nuclear
war and one of their own is murdered.
But there's also The Tales of the Black
Freighter, a comic within a comic that
details the adventures of a castaway and
a phantom pirate ship. (Because, in a
world where superheroes are real, who
wants to read comics about them?) Since
Zack Snyder already had a solid 130-140
page script without the Freighter
material, it was decided that the story with Hilary Swank may not have inspired
the masses, but maybe a return to
would become a special DVD feature.
carnage will -- one that will have him, or
rather his anime character, making rafts
Unsurprisingly, 300-star Gerard Butler's
name was immediately connected to the
side project in rumors, and now, he's
out of gas-bloated bodies. Isn't that
crafty?
Fortissimo
finally confirming them. In a discussion
with Empire, the actor says: "I'm going
to do the voice of the captain. They're
So, we've got Gerard's voice leading the
Freighter, and it will be done anime.
Gets Glossy
going to do it in the style of a Japanese Sound off, Watchmen fiends: Is Zack By Monika Bartyzel (Cinematical)
anime, and I'm totally stoked... It's this Snyder right on track with this, or do you Submitted at 2/28/2008 5:32:00 AM
think he's off-base?
decent into madness but explained in Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Foreign
such a sane way that you totally feel it
yourself. By the end, my heart was Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
pumping!" Butler's over-the-top romance
Krieger's indie film called The Vicious Alex in Elephant, while Simmons is, of
Kind. The film centers on a girl is course, Spider-Man's J. Jonah Jameson.
targeted by her boyfriend's obsessed For now, you can see the young actor in
older brother (to be played by Adam two upcoming films that hit screens next
Scott) when she's taken home for month -- Stop Loss and Drillbit Taylor.
Thanksgiving. Now Alex Frost and J.K.
Simmons have nabbed gigs in the film. Permalink | Email this | Comments
While there is no word on who they're
going to play, let me go out on a limb
• Earlier this month, I posted that and say Frost, who is a year younger than
Brittany Snow was joining Lee Toland Snow, is the boyfriend, and Simmons is
his dad. Frost got his start starring as
Your Click and Print Newspaper
'Where The Wild Things Are'
Has Release Date
By Elisabeth Rappe (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/28/2008 4:32:00 AM
Filed under: Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy,
Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Family
FilmsSpike Jonze's adaptation of Where
the Wild Things Arenow has a release
date , but the question still remains as to
what we will see in theatres. Warner
Bros has announced that they will release
the film on October 16, 2009 -- but
rumors still abound that the entire thing
will be recast and reshot. Previously, I
reported that test screenings had ended in
disaster, and the studio was unhappy
with the final product.
The late release date (one year later than
originally planned, and three years after
principal photography wrapped) seems to
verify the reports, as it is more than
enough time to scrap the film and redo it.
Now one fan is throwing off the gloves
and begging AICN to help get Jonze's
film on the big screen. Mystery Fan is
Movies 21
FORTISSIMO
continued from page 20
Language, Independent, Deals, town, determined to become a high-
Cinematical IndieAfter hitting a film
festival and premiering last August for
extended Russian audiences, then
fashion model and appear in a magazine
called Beauty. The EIC, however, tells
her that she doesn't have what it takes, so
screening in Berlin this month, The she's forced to take a job as a seamstress,
Hollywood Reporter posts that the rights struggling to work her way to the top.
to the Russian fashion satire Gloss have But the top is a little different than what
been picked up by Fortissimo Films. The you'd imagine. (You can read a detailed
company will handle the worldwide sales outline here.)
rights to the feature, outside France and
Russia, in a deal made with director While the film is still in sales mode, it
Andrei Konchalovsky. will be screening for audiences at the
Hong Kong International Film Festival
Where most fashion flicks focus on the next month.Read | Permalink | Email this
turmoils of working in the industry, | Comments
Konchalovsky's film focuses on a girl
who can't find her fashion break. Galya
heads to Moscow from her coal-mining
one of the lucky few to have been at the
test screening. They loved it. You can
pop on over and read the review -- and
perhaps hop on the "Save Spike Jonze"
bandwagon. Though, I must admit, it is
pretty hard to do when so few of us have
seen anything. Perhaps Jonze wants to
throw some film clips or stills our way?
If you're going to go down, you might as
well go out swinging ...Permalink | Email
this | Comments