Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens was recorded in an unknown number of phone calls, according to CNN. The Feds have a witness who agreed to record his conversations with Stevens after the witness plead guilty to bribing government officials. The witness has also admitted remodeling Stevens' home for free.
Proving there is no such thing as bad publicity, after President Bush called out MoveOn.org's ads as "disgusting," the group raked in $500,000 in donations in a single day.
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From the Washington Post:
"The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials."
Wonderful.
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Republicans have created an electronic voting machine industry think tank (they should be called "private propaganda groups") that says "A vote tally with a paper record would only raise costs, create confusion". The Republicans have been fighting accurate & transparent elections tooth & nail since before 2000, as well as accurate exit polling.
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The Cubs announced the winner of the 7th Inning Stretch Contest and it's Dustin Eglseder from Iowa. Matt didn't make the cut, but I'm sure he's very grateful for everyone that supported him. If you have access to WGN tv, radio, or MLB tv or audio, you can hear Dustin sing later today.
Columbia University is going to give this Nazi piece of crap a platform to spout his hate-speech next week. Several groups are planning on attending the speech to protest, and it could turn into quite a mess.
The Washington Times, which is part of the Bush-Puppet Media along with Fox News, has an article up about David Horowitz and Columbia. Horowitz is a Republican who is a Columbia Alumni and he pulls no punches about Ahmadinejad speaking at Columbia.
Normally I take everything the Washington Times says and throw it out the window, but this is one of the rare times that they have a relatively accurate story that hits home.
Watch the Iranian leader below lead thousands of Iranian's in chanting "Death To Israel!" Then wonder why an American university wants this shit heel to speak on campus.
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
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$500 billion for an illegal, immoral war? No problem! Provide health insurance for children? HELL NO! Nice to see Bush has his priorities all worked out. "President Bush on Wednesday reiterated his threat to veto Senate legislation that would substantially increase funds for children's health insurance"
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The Iraqi government expects to refer criminal charges to the Iraqi courts within days in the killing of at least eight Iraqis by a private American security company, the State Minister for National Security Affairs said today, and he complained that the government had received little cooperation in the investigation so far from American officials.
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It turns out Gizmodo's Brian Lam is quite the jackass. First he posts a video to his website showing off the gigantic package of goodies Microsoft sent him for free, including a new Xbox 360 Halo console, the Halo 3 Legendary Edition with Spartan Helmet, two controllers, action figures, Microsoft point cards, personalized dog tags and army bag, etc. etc. There is a ton of stuff Microsoft shipped to select media to promote Halo 3, probably worth $1000 or more.
So Brian Lam posts a video of him opening the bag and showing off the goodies. Except he takes each item out and throws them across the room. Expensive electronics, to less expensive items, he wings them off like a five year old getting clothes for Christmas. At one point he opens the media kit, which contains two DVD's, and he says, "I'm not going to watch this," and throws it across the room. I wasn't the only person getting a little pissed at how arrogant he appeared, for the Gizmodo comments section started to fill up with people complaining. A few examples:
"I'm not sure if it's my anal-retentiveness kicking in or what, but to see Mr. Lam fling this free-to-you-but-otherwise-expensive-to-the-general-public stuff around like it has no value whatsoever, comes off as somewhat disrespectful. Yeah, I know yours to do with as you please, and I'm sure this mini-rant has no basis except in my own mind, but shit man, come on! You may not have paid $130 for your Spartan cat helmet but for the suckers like myself who paid full price (and have to wait until next week to play the damn game), show a little respect eh?" - Tinybrobot
"That video made Lam look like a spoiled kid." - Halfro
"Itz amazing how you throw everything around like you dont care about it." - Sneakerfiend
You get the picture. Mostly people chastising him for his arrogance and disregard for the expensive items he was given FREE from Microsoft.
So what was Brian Lam's response?
First he yanks the video and replaces it with a still photo. Then he posts this reply in the comments section:
"It appears the majority of you are getting into mob mentality and not really reading the post, or trying to understand that I do like the stuff in here, but when you get stuff for a living, you don't actually want stuff. You hate that it piles up, and you hate that it clutters up your house. No offense to anyone, its cool and all, but the only thing in this bag really worth anything is the game. The rest is just mechandise.
So I'm taking the video down -- not a big deal to me. Just wanted to show you dudes what cool stuff was in the bag. Never mind then, you don't wanna see it.
Talking about ungrateful, part of my job is to show you all some of the newest stuff, and instead of any of you saying, hey, thanks for showing us this swag, you pretty much tell me I'm a punk for the content you read for free. How's that for hypocritical?" - Posted by Brian Lam at 10:21PM
Wow. I thought he was just an asshole for throwing the free stuff around the room. Then he posts that he hates getting free stuff, it clutters up his house, and the only thing that has value is the game. Not the $450 console, or the $130 Legendary Edition with the helmet, etc.
Brian, if you hate your job so much, then stop doing it. I hope Microsoft saw the video and reads his response. If you're lucky, Brian, Microsoft and all of the other companies that supply Gizmodo with free products will never bother you by sending another package of expensive, cutting edge gadgets for free.
By the way, Engadget, which was founded by someone who used to work at Gizmodo, got the same package and treated everything with respect.
Get Paid To Beta Test And Play Video Games. Get Free Game Copies, Learn How To Get A Video Game Tester Job. Click Here!
Halo 3 will be released in 37 countries next week as far afield as Slovakia, Chile and India. It will be translated into 17 languages.
There is more audio in Halo 3 than in 20 movies combined, including 39,000 lines of dialogue, 13,000 sound effects and six hours of music.
Many more interesting facts and previews in the jump.
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In 1977 Richard Pryor had a short lived sketch show on NBC. One of the skits featured Pryor as the owner of the Mos Eisley Cantina, complete with the characters from the movie, including Hammerhead, Greedo, and others.
Senator Jane Harmon yesterday alleged that last month the administration knowingly hyped a false threat of terrorism against the nation's capitol to effectively terrorize Senators into passing broad and unchecked spy powers. The moment the bill passed, the "threat" was discredited. Just curious: does conspiracy to defraud and terrorize Congress count as treason anymore?
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We've partnered with Amazon to offer previews of movies and TV shows right on our site. Just scroll through the box at the bottom of the page, click on a title that interests you. The preview will start automatically. Enjoy!
Lawyers for the family of Ron Goldman, one of OJ Simpson's alleged victims, has announced that they are investigating claims that the disgraced sports star has hidden assets in offshore bank accounts to stop the Goldmans from accessing the money.
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An Australian burglar broke into a neighbor's house and played sex games in the bathroom with a bottle of toilet detergent and a vacuum cleaner.
The man, who was high on drugs, (no shocker there) broke into the house, scattered porno magazines around the bathroom and set off to make a sex toy from a bottle of detergent, a piece of wood and a rubber glove.
This is my favorite part of the story:
A vacuum cleaner was also found in the bathroom, but the judge dismissed a defense submission that there was no proof the vacuum has been used for sexual purposes.
"I'm sure that your client didn't hoover the carpets," said judge Tony Rafter.
Hoover and Lysol should sign this guy up as a spokesman. I'm sure they are thrilled to know there is a huge, untapped market for their products.
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"Microsoft Corp wants video gamers to "finish the fight" when the last chapter of its "Halo" trilogy comes out next week, but a carefully crafted merchandising strategy will make sure Master Chief lives on for years to come."
That strategy includes carpet bombing the public with thousands of different Master Chief and Halo themed action figures.
As proof they aren't milking Halo for every dime they can get, Microsoft claims they turned down Halo lottery tickets and Cortana lingerie.
However, Microsoft had no comment that it was the Halo-themed crystal meth that led an Australian man into having a threesome with toilet detergent and a vacuum cleaner.
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Oops! "A Venezuelan man who had been declared dead woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain after medical examiners began their autopsy."
Don't autop me, bro!
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O.J. is out on bail after being charged with one short of a dozen crimes. Some strange twists in the case happened the last few says. Alfred Beardsley, one of the two men O.J. is charged with robbing, has been arrested for a parole violation. The other man, Bruce Fromong, is in critical condition after having a massive heart attack, and before the heart attack Fromong admitted he had offered to help O.J. hide his money from the Goldman's in offshore bank accounts. It sounds like all of the parties should be led out to a forest and made to dig a hole, Stalin-style.
Just hours after a judge ordered Britney Spears to submit to twice-weekly random drug tests, in addition to parenting and counseling classes, the mother of two was spotted out partying in public at a nightclub. How a judge could hear testimony of her repeated drug and alcohol problems and not take her children away is harmful to the children. The judge should be tested weekly for drugs and alcohol as well. As for Britney, she should be stuffed on a plane along with Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Nicole Richie and dropped off in Iran.
While we are on the subject of Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's request to tour the site of the former World Trade Center later this month while on a UN visit was denied. A nutjob wacko who was alledgedly one of the hostage takers in the late 1970's and has called repeatedly for the destruction of Israel shouldn't be allowed anywhere in this country. While declaring war with Iran would be a mistake, the truth is Bush cried wolf over Iraq for so long nobody trusts him. Even if there really is a case for a pre-emptive strike that makes military sense, Bush has blown it by making a mess of two middle-eastern countries and losing any goodwill the rest of the world once had for America. Starting another war now would be perhaps the single dumbest move Bush could make, short of announcing he's just initiated the codes to nuke Russia.
And finally, today is the 25th anniversary of the invention of emoticons. Thanks to a college professor who likely was dropping acid or some other mind altering substance, the world can feel safe knowing we have :-) and other crap.
And that brings us to our picture of the day. This was recently featured on eBay for a table that was for sale. However, there is one serious problem with the picture. See if you can notice:
Hint: look in the mirror. You can click on the picture for a larger look, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Until next time.
Here's an update on Matt's journey in the Cubs 7th Inning Stretch Contest. If you do not know, Matt Shephardson is one of the ten finalists to sing Take Me Out to The Ballgame at Wrigley Field this Saturday the 22nd. The winner will be announced before the game. Today is your last chance to vote for any of the contestants.
Normally we wouldn't cover a contest, but Matt is a special contestant because he's battled Multiple Sclerosis, as well as other recurring problems with his pancreas. Doctors once told Matt he would never walk again, and that he would never have a child. Then he almost died a few years ago. Now he is not only walking, but he and his wife Beth have a 2 year old son named Ryno, after Cubs great Ryne Sandberg.
Good Morning America sent a crew over to to do a story on Matt, which will be shown this Sunday morning, but only if Matt wins.
Head over to Cubs.com and watch the interviews and performances of any of the ten finalists, including Matt, then cast your vote.
We will have a final update on Saturday after the winner is announced.
Someone in the recording industry finally realized the internet is not a bad thing. Universal Records has signed an agreement with SpiralFrog.com, a new website that offers completely free downloads of mp3 songs and videos from a ton of top artists.
There is no credit card required, only that you register and download their software. Their are two things to note. The songs cannot be burned to CD's, but they can be put on an mp3 player (not iPod's).
The site is ad-supported, that's how the songs are free. There are over 800,000 songs already available and SpiralFrog claims they will reach 2,000,000 soon.
I've tried out the site and I'm shocked by how normal it is. It hasn't been ruined by the RIAA legal team. Let's hope Universal keeps the goons away.
Check out the ridiculous sample of top artists they offer:
Top Artists: Aerosmith, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Ashlee Simpson, Barry White, Beck, Black Eyed Peas, blink-182, Bob Marley, Bon Jovi, Boston, Brazilian Girls, Burt Bacharach, Charles Mingus, Cher, Common, Counting Crows, Creedence Clearwater Revival, David Bowie, Deep Purple, DJ Shadow, Elton John, Eminem, Eric Clapton, Fall Out Boy, Fergie, George Strait, Godsmack, Guns N' Roses, Hank Williams, Iggy Pop, Insane Clown Posse, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Buffett, Jimmy Eat World, Joe Cocker, John Coltrane, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Cash, Kanye West, Kiss, Limp Bizkit, Lionel Richie, Little Richard, Louis Armstrong, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marc Anthony, Marilyn Manson, Marvin Gaye, Mary J. Blige, Meat Loaf, Morrissey, Neil Young, Nelly, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, No Doubt, Parliament, Peter Gabriel, Pulp, Queen, Queens of the Stone Age, R.E.M., Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Rush, Santana, Sheryl Crow, Slayer, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Styx, Sum 41, Tears for Fears, The Beatles, The Go-Go's, The Hives, The Kinks, The Misfits, The Ramones, The Stone Roses, The Supremes, The Velvet Underground, The Who, Toby Keith, Tupac Shakur, U2, Van Morrison, Village People, Weezer, White Zombie, Whitesnake, Willie Nelson, Wolfmother, and thousands more.
And there are NO download limits!
Head over to SpiralFrog.com and give it a try. (you may need to visit the site in Internet Explorer, I have trouble when I use Firefox on the site)
A new documentary claims Yankees owner Dan Topping and Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey once got drunk and agreed to trade Joe DiMaggio for Ted Williams. The owners shook hands, left the bar, and changed their minds when they sobered up in the morning.
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Top Ten O.J. Simpson Excuses for Alleged Robbery Charges:
10. Needed to get back a photo of himself in a compromising position
9. He didn't rob those guys, but if he did, here's how he would do it
8. He thought he was on Punked
7. Tired of all the NFL thugs getting publicity
6. He needed to get his knife back
5. Reported victim threatened to rat him out because O.J. actually shot Dick Cheney's friend in the face
4. Once you find a suit that fits, you'd kill anyone to get it back
3. Guns were actually made of delicious yogurt
2. He yells "up against the wall, motherfuckers" all the time because he has Tourettes
1. He thought what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?
Fashion designer Marc Ecko spent $752,467 to buy Barry Bonds’ record 756th home-run ball, and now he wants baseball fans everywhere to decide what to do with it. Ecko is taking votes on whether to give the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk, or blast it into space. A fourth option should be to shove it up Barry's ass.
Head over to Vote756.com and cast your vote.
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Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he has left the Republican Party because the national GOP has drifted too far from him on critical issues, including the war in Iraq, the economy and the environment.
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The DNA of a seven-month-old baby girl has been added to the police's national database designed to identify criminals. The disclosure re-ignited the row over the growth of Britain's DNA register, which is the biggest in the world.
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Iraq's Interior Ministry canceled the license of controversial American security firm Blackwater USA today after Iraqi officials charged that eight civilians were shot by company bodyguards accompanying a U.S. State Department motorcade the day before in Baghdad. "They committed a crime. The judicial system will take action."
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The rat bastard finally is going to get his due. OJ was charged with on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit a crime and burglary with a firearm, police said. The district attorney said he expected Simpson to ultimately be charged with seven felonies and one misdemeanor.
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Johnny Depp said he always wanted to be Barnabas Collins, the vampire patriarch in the Dark Shadows tv series from the 1960's/70's. Now Depp has signed a deal with the estate of Dan Curtis, the creator of Dark Shadows, to remake the series into a feature film starring Depp.
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A new study by ORB, a British polling agency that has conducted several surveys in Iraq, reveals the total number slain Iraqi's during more than four years of war is more than 1.2 million (not the 30,000 George Bush claims). According to its findings, nearly 50% of households in Baghdad and 22% nationwide had lost at least one member to war-related violence.
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The full line from Ernie the taxi driver in It's a Wonderful Life is, "Don't look now, but there's something funny going on over there at the bank, George. I've never really seen one but that's got all the earmarks of a run."
That sums up the current state of Northern Rock PLC in Britain.
Bloomberg.com reports:
"Northern Rock Plc branches around the U.K. had lines of customers stretching outside their doors seeking to withdraw deposits for a second day after the Bank of England authorized emergency funding to the mortgage lender...
A line extended about 40 meters (120 feet) from the Golders Green branch in north London today, where as many as four police officers helped keep order. Clients also stood outside outlets in Kingston and Sheffield in England and Edinburgh in Scotland, images broadcast by television networks showed...
``I have been saving for years, and I don't want to lose it,'' said Jacqueline Porte, who had advanced 25 feet toward the entrance to the Golders Green branch in three hours. ``I don't want to be with a bank that hasn't been careful.''
Customers withdrew 1 billion pounds ($2 billion) from Newcastle-based Northern Rock yesterday, the Financial Times reported today, citing an unidentified person close to the situation."
When your customers line up to withdraw $2 billion in one day, something is wrong.
It seems British banks are having the same problems that are striking U.S. mortgage lenders. That is, chiefly overextending themselves by approving mortgages to customers with poor or questionable credit. That's called subprime lending. In real life terms, it means that they were loaning to everyday working class people who were stretching themselves thin trying to live the American (and British) dream of being a home owner.
The problem comes when greedy fuckers without hearts or brains like George W. Bush and Tony Blair pass laws helping their business associates rape their own countries. Years of just plain stupid financial "leadership" is finally catching up with the poor saps who actually have to live in these countries. The job markets are dropping like a rock, in part from outsourcing of jobs accelerated by tax credits for companies that fire American and British citizens and move the jobs to lower paying countries like India, China, and Mexico.
When you can't work, or can only find a minimum wage job, you can't afford to own a home. The mortgage lenders are just now realizing that the hard way through massive foreclosures and defaults, and now with the case in Britain, their own customers pulling billions in savings out from under them in a single day. U.S. lender Countrywide has been forced to borrow billions of dollars and lay off thousands of workers as it tries to stay afloat.
Economic experts are throwing the the 'R' word around. Stock markets are jittery all over the world, because when the U.S. goes into a recession, the rest of the world gets dragged down with it.
What I want to know is who is going to heal the hemorrhaging American job market without rescinding Bush's laws, including his latest of trying to put the U.S. trucking industry out of work by allowing Mexican truckers free access from coast to coast. Not only is that a clusterfuck of an idea that opens the door for the smuggling of large quantities of anything from drugs, people, weapons, etc., but it puts American lives in danger on the roads from unlicensed foreign drivers using uninspected older trucks our companies long ago decided were too old or faulty to maintain. That should make everyone sleep well at night.
Helping your business partners cheat your own citizens by taking away their jobs, pensions, and life savings, and rewarding those companies with bloated government contracts smacks of arrogance at it's highest level. Some of those companies with the bloated government contracts are under investigation for fraudulently stealing billions from the American people. Those same Republican owned companies are having a harder time making profits because more and more Americans have little or no income to spend or tax. So Bush and co. borrow billions more from foreign banks to pay the Halliburton's of the world. Pay your friends, screw the country.
Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve Chairman who served under 6 presidents and calls himself a lifelong Republican, says the Republican's mantra is "deficits don't matter."
It seems the only thing that matters to criminals like Bush is how much money he can stuff into his pockets before he leaves office. According to Bush, the rest of the world can go to hell. Thanks to you, George, we are well on our way.
North Carolina Treasurer Richard Moore, who is the trustee of Countrywide's $11 billion pension fund said, "Countrywide has sacrificed long-term sustainability for short-term profits." That's exactly what Bush and co. have done on every financial issue.
Iraqi lawmakers said on Saturday that Washington should take responsibility for the turmoil in Iraq and stop blaming Baghdad, Iran and Syria.
"Before they (U.S.) ask the government to treat the problems in Iraq they should correct the mistakes they committed, like the disbanding of the Iraqi army," Sunni Arab lawmaker Izzedine al-Dawla said.
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