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WASHINGTON–Switching parties did not help Sen. Arlen Specter save his career; he was beat Tuesday in a Democratic primary by Rep. Joe Sestak. Rand Paul, Ron’s son, won in Kentucky.A roundup on the Tuesday primary contests over at Politics Daily.

Found under: LG, Windows Mobile 7, Smartphone, ,

After that HTC Mondrian Windows Phone 7 handset which was revealed by a leaked WP7 ROM the other day we now have a brand new smartphone capable of running Microsofts brand new mobile platform. Technically its not that new since weve known for quite a while that LG is going to make a WP7 device this year but today we can admire it in a leaked picture.And the image here is said to come all the way from the Flickr account of a French Microsoft employee although we cant confirm any of

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It’s become an accepted fact of life that people tend to lose much of their hearing as they get old. This is because our hair cells, the cells in our ears which allow us to hear, cannot regenerate – we’re born with 30,000 per ear, but once they die off or get damaged, they’re gone for good. Stefan Heller, a professor of otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat stuff) at Stanford University, wants to change that. To that end, he recently succeeded in creating mouse hair cells in a petri dish. Could an end to deafness be far behind?
..
Continue Reading Researchers create hair cells – cure for deafness on the way?

Tags: Hearing,
Hearing Aid,
Stem Cells

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Filed under: Health, Healthy Eating, Eat This

In all the hubbub surrounding red wine and its high antioxidant levels, I tend to think people have overlooked the obvious – all these nutrients are also found in grapes, only without the negative health effects of alcohol consumption. Yes, drinking … Read more

 

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Stress balls are a great way to relieve tension and help combat repetitive strain injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. They’re also an easy answer for office workers looking for a gift when social convention states you need to get a little something for someone you work with, but don’t really know that well. Since no gift is complete nowadays unless it comes with a USB cable dangling from it, this tech-take on the stress ball could be the answer. The USB Stress Ball not only provides some physical stress relief, but some virtual stress relief as well…
Continue Reading Release office tension with the USB Stress Ball

Tags: Ball,
Stress,
USB

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“Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever.” President William Howard Taft

President Barack Obama is covering all the bases when it comes to forming his Supreme Court, an institution which will leave his stamp on America long after he has left office.

Gay rights activists are quick to laud the President’s latest pick for the high court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan. The nomination of Kagan comes one year after Obama’s first selection for the court, Sonia Maria Sotomayor. Latinos loudly applauded that nomination. Gays are downright giddy over Obama’s decision to replace John Paul Stevens with Kagan.

Kevin Cathcart, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund’s executive director, believes Kagan holds “a strong position” in opposing the military’s ban on gays.

During her confirmation as solicitor general last year it was revealed that Kagen had tried to bar military recruiters from the campus of Harvard Law School while she was dean. Even though Kagan was part of the Clinton administration she was never a fan of Clinton’s policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” It seems that this academic nominee (she has never been a judge and she has only practiced law for two years) believes that being openly gay is good, even if it impedes national security as many in the armed forces believe.

Kagan told the Judiciary Committee last year that in her view, “the exclusion of individuals from basic economic, civic, and political opportunities of our society on the basis of race, nationality, sex, religion, and sexual orientation (is injust).”

With control of 59 votes in the Senate, Democrats should be able to win confirmation. However, if all 41 Republicans vote together, they could block a vote with a filibuster.

Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign president, said Kagan’s selection fulfills Obama’s promise to promote “diversity” on the court. There can be little doubt of that. Last week The Washington Post asked in a headline: “Can men still be appointed to the Supreme Court?”

If we assume that the pool of possible nominations includes equal numbers of equally qualified men and women, then the nomination of two women consecutively has a one in four chance of occurring. But the kicker for Kagan getting nominated is her close personal relationship with the President. In fact Obama introduced the former Harvard Law School dean as "my friend."

"Elena is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost legal minds,” Obama said. “She’s an acclaimed legal scholar with a rich understanding of Constitutional law. She is a former White House aide, with a life-long commitment to public service and a firm grasp of the nexus and boundaries between our three branches of government."

I don’t know what having a firm grasp on the nexus and boundaries means, but it sounds like something that would be bandied about at a Mensa meeting. And while I will never be invited to that group of geniuses, I am smart enough to understand that when it comes to consolidating power, Obama resembles leaders from Caesar Chavez to Fidel Castro; friends come first.

The never-married 50-year-old Kagan is not only a close friend to the President but also shares many of his ideals. Kagan clerked for one of the Supreme Court’s staunchest liberals, Thurgood Marshall, and was a research assistant for one of the greatest legal defenders of gay civil rights, Laurence Tribe. She was also a staff member on the Dukakis for President Campaign in 1988. The defeat of Dukakis set back gay rights for 20 years, but with Obama and now Kagan, another minority is set to take swift strides.

As MSNBC pointed out, “Kagan has the chance to extend Obama’s legacy for a generation.” And every bit as alarming as that is the likelihood that Kagan is a supporter of even greater executive powers.

The Court’s Lurch To The Left
In 1952 Supreme Court clerk and later Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote that the Court should not strike down Jim Crow laws. Rehnquist also said that Brown v. Board of Education should not find that minorities do not have a constitutional right to the same treatment as the majority.

Rehnquist wrote: "To the argument made by Thurgood Marshall [in Brown v. Board of Education] that a majority may not deprive a minority of its Constitutional right, the answer must be made that while this is sound in theory, in the long run it is the majority who will determine what the Constitutional rights of the minority are."

I wonder if it was not Rehnquist’s ideas that were sound only in theory. It seems less and less that it is the majority deciding its future. Consider the immigration law passed in Arizona, SB 1070. A CBS poll showed that 60 percent of American’s don’t think the new law—which is bound to include profiling—is too extreme.

Yet our President has announced opposition. Obama held a reception at the White House on May 5—Cinco de Mayo Day—where he denounced Arizona’s new immigration law. Obama announced that he has instructed his administration, "To closely monitor the new law in Arizona, [and] to examine the civil rights and other implications that it may have."

Furthermore, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed that the Justice Department is deliberating whether to file suit against the Arizona law, either on the grounds that it violates the Supremacy Clause or Federal civil rights laws. But during a Congressional hearing May 13, Holder admitted he had not even read the law.

It doesn’t look like Arizona will back down and, in the wake of the past 17 months in office, it appears doubtful that Obama will either.

Congressman Ted Poe (R-Texas) accuses the Obama administration of doing more to secure the borders of foreign countries than its own and called for immediate action to reverse that.

“We want the National Guard to be armed and defend themselves if necessary and to assist the border patrol and local law enforcement," said Poe.

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer—who signed the bill—has said Arizona must act because Washington had failed to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs from Mexico. Arizona is home to nearly half a million illegal immigrants and is the nation’s busiest gateway for illegals and drugs.

Yet Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said that Republicans are using the issue to divide the country. "We’re here to say it’s time to deal with comprehensive reform realistically and begin the process of healing this country.”

For things to work out for Grijalva, the city of Phoenix may have to live up to its name and raise the dead. According to Brian Ross of ABC News, “Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside Mexico City, and over 370 cases last year alone.”

In the end expect this dispute to land on the steps of the Supreme Court; a once non-partisan institution that Obama is trying to stack with minority rights activists such as Sotomayor and Kagan. While Latinos and gays may rest easy because of Obama’s choices for the Supreme Court, Americans living in Phoenix will not. That is bad news for the majority of Americans whose families built this great country.

Yours in good times and bad,

John Myers
Myers’ Energy and Gold Report

After criticizing Arizona’s new immigration law over its alleged proclivity to promote racial profiling, Attorney General Eric Holder admitted last week that he has not read the statute.

While fielding questions at the House Judiciary Committee’s latest hearing, Representative Ted Poe (R-Texas) asked Holder directly if he had read the law that he openly criticized.

"I have not had a chance to," the attorney general responded. "I’ve glanced at it. I have not read it."

Meanwhile, Holder said on NBC’s Meet The Press last weekend that the law could lead to racial profiling and may put a "wedge" between law enforcement personnel and the Latino community.

"People in that community are less likely then to cooperate with people in law enforcement, less likely to share information, less likely to be witnesses in a case that law enforcement is trying to solve," he said.

Holder also indicated last month that the Federal government may challenge the law in court based on its constitutionality, Fox News reports.

In response to the attorney general’s confession, Poe responded, "its 10 pages—it’s a lot shorter than the healthcare bill. I will give you a copy of it if you would like."

The idea of expanding the sales tax to services has been floated as one way to help lower Michigan’s budget deficit, but a new survey shows that most residents overwhelmingly oppose this measure.

The poll, released by the the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Association of Realtors, found that 75 percent of likely voters oppose the proposal put forward by Governor Jennifer Granholm and House Speaker Andy Dillon to lower the sales tax rate from 6 percent to 5.5 percent and expand the tax to most consumer services.

Only 21 percent support this measure, according to the survey.

"The more the people of Michigan learn about a service tax, the more they see it as an effort to nickel-and-dime those who can least afford it," said Michigan Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Rich Studley.

"Businesses and working families are struggling and can’t afford to bear any more burdens," he added.

The survey moreover found that the opposition was consistent across the political spectrum. In fact, 77 percent percent of Republican voters and 74 percent of independents were joined by 60 percent of Democrats in expressing a negative view of the governor’s plan.

According to recent estimates, Michigan faces between $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

What would become the New York Stock Exchange was born 218 years ago this week. On May 17, 1792, 21 stock brokers and representatives of three firms met under a buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street and signed what became known as “the Buttonwood Agreement” to regularize the buying and selling of public shares.

Members of the New York Stock and Exchange Board, as it was called, pledged to honor two commitments. First, to buy and sell shares only among themselves—no outsiders permitted at this table. Or as the Agreement put it, “We will give preference to each other in our Negotiations.”

Second, that their commissions on all exchanges would never be less than .25 percent (one quarter of one percent) of the transaction. Over time, both the number of members and the percent for commissions grew exponentially.

And here’s an interesting tidbit: For more than 200 years stock prices were quoted in fractions, not decimal points. The reason has more to do with Spanish pirates than English banks. In order to share some of the captured booty with their crew members, pirates would slice doubloons into eight pieces—sort of like dividing a pizza today. So 1/8th of a dollar became a common unit of measurement. Two of them were “two bits,” or 25 cents—an expression we still use today.

That is, of course, the only association between pirates and Wall Street that’s ever existed.

—Chip Wood

Despite Representative Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) intensive questioning at a Congressional hearing last week, Attorney General Eric Holder refused to comment on the status of a possible Justice Department investigation.

In February, Representative Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) told a Philadelphia news station that he was informed by the White House that he would be offered a Federal position with the Department of Defense if he dropped out of the upcoming Pennsylvania Democratic primary election, where he will be competing against Senator Arlen Specter (D-Penn.).

Issa, the ranking Republican member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asked Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to the case in March, and said he had yet to receive a response from the attorney general’s office.

Meanwhile, Holder continued to evade Issa’s questions regarding whether or not an investigation into the accusations had been launched.

"I can say that with regard to the appointment of a special prosecutor, that it is done on a case-by-case basis," Holder said. "It is the department’s policy not to comment on pending matters, to say there is an investigation, to say there is not an investigation."

As to the lack of response to the Representative’s letter, Holder said he assumed his office had taken action and apologized.

"It could be in the mail," Issa said sarcastically. "It’s very slow sometimes."

Several NASA-sponsored studies published in the May issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research indicate that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil capsules can help prevent bone loss commonly associated with osteoporosis.

The organization undertook the research because bone density loss is one of the most harmful long-term effects that the weightlessness of space has on astronauts.

For the study, a research team recruited 16 subjects to take part in a 60-day bed rest trial, where the effects of weightlessness were simulated. At the point of follow-up, participants who received high levels of omega-3 fatty acids experienced less bone loss than respondents who were given a placebo.

In light of the findings, the investigators analyzed the diet and incidence of bone loss of a group of astronauts who took part in four-to-six month spaceflights. They concluded that those who consumed more fish lost less bone mineral during their time in space than those who consumed a diet high in other forms of protein.

"These results are very exciting, and provide initial evidence that nutrition may be a key factor in mitigating bone loss in astronauts," said lead author Scott Smith, a nutritionist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Found under: HTC, Wildfire, Virgin Media, UK, Android,

The HTC Wildfire is a new Android 2.1 handset thats similar to the HTC Desire but a little smaller and less impressive. The phone has been unveiled by HTC just the other day and it looks like there are already carriers lined up to get it. Such a carrier is Virgin Media in the UK although we dont have any actual pricing details and precise arrival dates yet. The HTC Wildfire will come with a 3.2-inch QVGA touchscreen display a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor 5-megapixel camera wit

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We know that Facebook staff’s been meeting to discuss user privacy, but it appears that these meetings might not be the happiest of events. It actually seems like Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg might be forced to rethink some past decisions. More »










Facebook – Social network – Privacy – Online Communities – Mark Zuckerberg

Neither candidate in the Arkansas Democratic Senate primary will finish with a majority of the vote, while Rep. John Boozman (R) may be able to avoid a runoff and win his party’s nomination.

As of 11:26 p.m., Sen. Blanche Lincoln led Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in the Democratic primary 44-42 percent, with 52 percent reporting. The Associated Press now reports that the candidates will face a runoff on June 8. Boozman had 50 percent of the vote in the Republican primary, while former state Sen. Jim Holt was in second place with 17 percent, with 51 percent reporting.

Halter told reporters Monday he would consider it a victory if he forced Lincoln into a runoff.

Found under: T-Mobile, BlackBerry, Pearl, 3G, Curve, ,

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G has been just made official at WES 2010 and while some carriers out there are anxiously waiting to sell the phone to its subscribers it looks like T-Mobile USA is not that interested in offering the smartphone to U.S. customers.T-Mobile did sell the original Pearl and its weird to hear the carrier isnt willing to pick up the 3G version of this popular phone. T-Mobile is rumored to skip the Pearl in favor of a Curve 3G handset that should arrive at some point

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Hackett London, Official Clothing Partner of the Aston Martin Racing team, is offering fans the chance to win the trip of a lifetime to the Le Mans 24 Hour race including travel, accommodation and VIP hospitality tickets for two people. The race – also known as the ‘24 Heures du Mans’ – takes place over the weekend of the 12th and 13th of June 2010. Visit Hackett online now to see how you can enter.

Continue reading for more information on the contest.

The prize includes:

* All travel to and from London to Le Mans with Hackett*

* Chateau accommodation for two nights

* Travel to and from the track

* Aston Martin Racing VIP hospitality which includes:

* Invitation to the Aston Martin Racing pre-race BBQ on Friday night

* Full Aston Martin Racing trackside hospitality

* Access to a private grandstand and terrace overlooking the track

* Driver appearances

* Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner

* Sunday breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea

* Official entry passes to the circuit

* Hosted garage tours during the race

* Aston Martin Racing gift bag with full event guest guide

Aston Martin Racing will be looking to build on its Le Mans series win of last year in the LMP1 class by winning the 24 Hour race outright for the first time since 1959.

Aston Martin is steeped in a tradition of performance excellence and British style, making it a natural fit with Hackett London, Official Clothing Partners with the team since 2005, and its current longest-serving sponsor.

“We opened a PCOS machine yesterday and there is evidence of fraud that’s why we want to make sure that the remaining 58 machines are intact and untouched so that under the proper investigation with the Senate committee, proper yung procedure to uncover the elements [of fraud],” A statement said by presidential candidate Nicanor Perlas from an interview.

Almost 2000 civilians swarmed the COMELEC owing to poll fraud allegations. After a day of that event, 60 controversial precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines that was believed to have been used to commit poll fraud, left the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. These PCOS have been sent to the Senate to be investigated. These machines were guarded heavily by atleast 400 police and military escorts and a mere 100 cars and 4 buses were used to deliver this controversial package.

The COMELEC had asked the Senate to act as custodian of the controversial machines, earlier erroneously reported as a total of 67 units, which were used in the country’s first nationwide automated polls. The move will ensure that the machines will be “safeguarded and will not be tinkered with, tampered with by unauthorized individuals,” Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told reporters that “What is important is that the machines should not be touched or the boxes should not be opened because [they were] sealed by the Board of Election Inspectors.”

Because of these occurrences, supporters of losing mayoral candidate Angelito Gatlabayan, presidential candidates Sen. Maria Anna Consuelo Madrigal, Olongapo Councilor John Carlos de los Reyes, and environmentalist Nicanor Perlas forcibly entered the storage room and asked their technicians to open the machines.

Smartmatic on the other hand wants to file criminal charges against Sen. Maria Anna Consuelo Madrigal, Olongapo Councilor John Carlos de los Reyes and environmentalist Nicanor Perlas for tampering with the machines without Comelec permission.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said the machines will be stored in an area with security cameras “so that we will know who are approaching and who are entering or touching any of these materials.”

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3. Latest Philippine Election Updates and Results

Former state Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen of Ridgefield became the favorite to win the state Democratic Party’s nomination for attorney general when the state Supreme Court Tuesday found Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz ineligible to run for the office.

Later Tuesday, Jepsen issued a statement in reaction to the 7-0 ruling – which reversed a lower court finding that Bysiewicz was qualified under a state statute requiring that the state’s attorney general have 10 years’ experience in the “active practice” of law in Connecticut.

Jepsen said: “I believe my broad legal experience and record as a legislator will make me the best possible Attorney General candidate going forward. I want to welcome Susan’s supporters to be a part of my campaign team. This is a surprise and I had expected the voters would make the final decision in the August primary.”

He continued: “As Attorney General, I will work hard every day for Connecticut by fighting against corrupt business practices, guarding consumers, enforcing laws against polluters and working to hold the line on insurance and utility costs.”

He said his campaign “is participating in the new clean elections program that requires candidates to raise small individual donations in order to qualify for public financing.” He pledged his “commitment to the AG’s office,” and said he “will not seek higher office while in his first term.”

The party’s nominating convention is Friday and Saturday in Hartford, with the attorney general’s nomination on Saturday’s schedule.
 
 

 

   

Love the following article and idea.

How to get ahead in advertising with six dollars and Google

When top creative directors Googled themselves, they got a shock: a witty message from copywriter Alec Brownstein, searching for a job

Dave McGinn
From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail
Published on Tuesday, May. 18, 2010 10:04AM EDT

Alec Brownstein landed his dream job with creativity and $6. And the Google Job Experiment, as he calls it, has made the 29-year-old advertising copywriter the most famous job seeker of the moment.

Already working as a copywriter, but looking to move up in the world, Mr. Brownstein went on to Google AdWords and bought the names of five of the top creative directors at ad agencies in New York. Whenever one of those people Googled themselves, they found a link to Mr. Brownstein’s website, alecbrownstein.com, and this message: “Hey [creative director’s name]: Googling yourself is a lot of fun. Hiring me is fun, too.”

The bold move landed Mr. Brownstein calls from all but one of the creative directors, two advertising awards and, most importantly, two job offers, one of which he accepted. He’s now a senior copywriter at Young & Rubicam.

Mr. Brownstein and his boss, Scott Vitrone, spoke to The Globe and Mail.

Alec, where did you get the idea for this from?

Alec Brownstein: As someone who Googles myself on occasion, I realized that if someone were to put a message to me in the sponsored result in the top hit, I would take notice of that. So that’s what I did.

How much did the whole thing cost?

AB: Google AdWords is a sort of bidding system. So if want to take out an ad and get the top spot for something like “pharmacy” or “doctor” or “lawyer,” you’ve got to pay a lot for that top spot. But when you’re dealing with something that’s a bit more abstract that a lot of people aren’t bidding, like a name … if nobody else is bidding, you can get the top spot for about 15 cents a click, and that’s what I did.

Scott, how did you come across the ad?

Scott Vitrone: My partner, Ian Reichenthal, and I got a call from a friend who works in the industry. He said, “Have you guys Googled yourselves recently?” And we were like, “No.” And he said, “Well you should check it out because I think there’s someone out there who’s trying to talk to you.” So we did, and obviously Alec’s ad came up. We thought it was just beautifully simple. So we called him up and brought him in for an interview.

Alec, why did you write the ad the way you did?

AB: I wanted it to be relevant to what the occasion was. I was assuming the occasion was they were Googling themselves. So I kind of wanted them to know, hey, I Google myself too, and that’s an okay thing.

Did you ever worry this would freak out the creative directors you were going after?

AB: There’s a fine line between flattery and creepiness and stalking. I put it out there, I figured if they were the type of people who I wanted to work for, who I thought did the type of work I loved, that they might find it kind of cheeky as opposed to creepy.

Scott, at the very least you must have been intrigued?

SV: That’s exactly how we took it. We thought it was fun. We thought it was smart. The biggest thing was, Alec on his part did what we try to do for our clients every day. We’re trying to engage the consumer in that very way. He was really kind of displaying what we want our people to do here every day.

And obviously Alec had a solid resume. He didn’t just get the job because of the gimmick.

SV: Definitely. That got him in the door, and Alec had the work to back up the Google ad.

Alec, your co-workers must know how you got your foot in the door. How has it gone over in the office?

AB: I think when they first heard about what I did they thought it was pretty clever. But now that it’s sort of been getting some press they’re probably pretty sick of it.

What advice do you have for people out there looking for a job?

AB: My advice is to be targeted, to decide who you want to work for and where you want to work, and then don’t be afraid to put yourself out there in an interesting way to communicate with those people and with that place. Because it’s not like they can fire you. You don’t work for them yet.

Filed under: advertising, Business, Google, people