Blog

Good news for those of you who’d already pre-ordered the fancy dual radio Wi-Fi + 3G model iPads prior to this week: you’ll have the device in your hot little hands on April 30 as promised. Apple announced today that all existing preorder customers will still get their iPads on that originally announced date, contrary to previous reports.

The May 7 date reported earlier does apply, but only to all preorders made beginning this week. You might fare better just showing up at the store on April 30 and taking your chances (though no doubt many of those units will have been reserved beforehand) since Apple also assured buyers that the dual radio iPad would be in retail stores starting at 5 PM on that day. No mention is made of whether or not retail partners like Best Buy will also have stock.

Personally, I’ve been waiting for the 3G version, because I have both an iPod touch and an iPhone, and in my opinion, the lack of cellular network connectivity on the touch places it in an entirely different category of usability. And I don’t mean that as a complement. The iPod touch feels almost like an at-home only device, despite the fact that many places nowadays offer Wi-Fi. In terms of my mobile usage, if I can’t use it in transit, I likely won’t use it at all.

Of course, I’ll have to wait till May 10 to even preorder my device, thanks to the delays to the international ship dates of the iPad. Apple is clearly doing everything it can to keep the launch on track in the U.S., but the week-long delay for any new orders being made shows that its supply chain is being severely tested thanks to strong demand.

Service for the 3G-enabled iPad isn’t locked to a specific carrier, but so far its internal radio will only work with AT&T’s 3G network. That carrier is offering plans starting at $15 per month for 250MB, or $30 for unlimited usage. Obviously, it’s assumed that these services and the microSIM cards the iPad requires to use them will be available on day one.

I know a few people who are already planning on (or already trying to) sell their Wi-Fi only iPads in order to help fund their purchase of a 3G-capable model. By contrast, I also know a few who are completely satisfied and think the 3G radio is an unnecessary and expensive upgrade. Which camp do you fall into, existing iPad owners?

Any event that has a Meatwad tent has got to be a rager. (Coachella didn’t have one of those!) It’s springtime, so the touring entertainment season has started, and Cartoon Network is on the road with the Adult Swim Block Party and Ragbag of Jollification. (That really is a word, by the way, defined in Monty Python-esque terms as "a boisterous celebration; a merry festivity.") Since I don’t live anywhere near Athens, Ga., Austin, Texas, Lawrence, Kan., West Lafayette, Ind., or a handful of other small towns, I won’t be listening to the live music, winning Aqua Teen Hunger Force swag or playing carnival-themed games. Sometime life’s just not fair. But anyway, this tour is all about the college kids—guys, mostly, who make Adult Swim one of the highest-rated blocks of programming on late-night TV. Capcom and T-Mobile, smartly getting in front of that elusive demo, are sponsoring. Video game marketer Capcom is setting up new releases like Super Street Fighter and Dead Rising 2 at kiosks in the aforementioned Meatwad tent. T-Mobile will show off its new touch-screen smartphone with access to Adult Swim content. The fun continues through the end of the month. And the fanboys rejoice.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

From today’s print edition:

DUI arrest of Senate leader’s son highlights state vehicle perk

Cullerton says he’ll look into ‘limiting the fleet’

By Monique Garcia, Jeremy Gorner and Ray Long, Tribune reporters

The latest drunken driving arrest for Illinois Senate President John
Cullerton’s son has exposed a little-known perk of taxpayer-funded
vehicles for top state lawmakers, a benefit to those in charge of
fixing a government that is billions of dollars in the red.

Garritt
Cullerton, 26, who has a nine-year trail of traffic citations from
Chicago to Springfield, was driving a state-owned Ford Escape SUV when
he was pulled over by Chicago police early Sunday. He had a
blood-alcohol level of 0.188, more than twice the legal limit,
according to police.

The 2009 SUV was used by John Cullerton and
kept primarily at his Chicago home, where Garritt Cullerton lives. The
Senate president said Monday that as a result of his son’s
"unauthorized" use of the vehicle, he would now keep it parked at his
downtown state office in the Thompson Center.

"My wife and I and
family are very concerned about our son," John Cullerton said. "We want
to make sure that we help him in any way we can. So it’s a close
family, and we’re going to try to do anything we can to help him."

The
elder Cullerton declined to discuss details of his son’s driving
history, and his office referred such questions to his son’s attorney,
George Livas, who said he will have "no comment on any matters."

Garritt
Cullerton has been pulled over eight times on Illinois roads since July
2001 for citations that included following too closely, speeding 115
mph in a 65 mph zone and twice previously for driving under the
influence of alcohol, according to court records. In some of those
cases, according to court records and interviews, he was driving his
father’s car displaying the official Senate license plate "6" that
denotes John Cullerton’s North Side legislative district.

The
legislator’s son was not convicted in the previous DUI cases, in 2004
and 2008, but was fined for lesser traffic offenses in both instances.
John Cullerton, an attorney, said he "never, ever intervened in any
court cases affecting any of my children. And nor would I."

The
Senate leader has long been a transportation safety advocate and
sponsored legislation requiring motorists convicted of drunken driving
to blow into an ignition-locking device to prove their sobriety.

"I’m
very proud of my record with regard to anti-drunk driving measures.
They apply to everybody in the state," Cullerton said in an interview
at his Statehouse office before hosting a Springfield fundraiser for
the Senate Democrats he leads.

Cullerton said he would look into
"limiting the fleet" of cars purchased by the General Assembly for use
by its leaders and their staff members.

"We’re interested in
cutting the cost of government," Cullerton said. "So we could certainly
examine the need to have the number of vehicles that we have across the
board."

At a time when the state is facing immense budget
pressures, the use of taxpayer-funded vehicles by top lawmakers could
face more intense scrutiny.

"In this budget environment, I think
all of this is fair game," said Cynthia Canary, director of the
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

"I can understand that
the state has a fleet of cars, but it seems to me they need to be
governed by rules and not brought to somebody’s house," she said. "It’s
one thing for expedience and scheduling and cars driving people to
government appearances or to the airport. But they certainly shouldn’t
supplant the family car."

The assignment of state vehicles to the
four partisan leaders of the state Senate and House was part of a
little-known provision of a law passed in 1984 that eliminated
controversial legislative commissions that had become bloated by the
salaries of lackeys and relatives. One panel that was eliminated had a
dozen vehicles, and the four legislative leaders divvied them up. The
legislature has bought new vehicles since that time through its
operations account.

Cullerton’s office said the Senate currently
owns six vehicles, three used by Democrats and three by Republicans.
The fleet includes three late-model Ford Escape hybrids, two Tauruses
and a 2005 Dodge Caravan.

The House clerk’s office under veteran
Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago said the House has eight
vehicles. A spokeswoman for House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego
said Cross primarily uses a 2007 GMC Yukon, but Republicans also use a
2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer and a 2005 Chrysler 300 C. The five other
House vehicles include 2007 Ford and Chrysler vans, a 2004 Chrysler
Concorde, a 2006 Chrysler 300 and the newest vehicle, a 2010 Mercury
Milan hybrid.

The House Democrats’ vehicles are not assigned to
any one person on a permanent basis, Madigan spokesman Steve Brown
said. Madigan uses a car occasionally but does not keep one at his
home, Brown said.

Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno of
Lemont uses one of the SUVs to drive while in Springfield, spokeswoman
Patty Schuh said. She said another car is kept at the Chicago office
for the use of staff and other lawmakers, and the van is used by staff
for deliveries to district offices.

Cullerton said he used the
car on his way to give speeches as well as "going back and forth to
downtown to the office or the airport on the way to Springfield."

The
vehicles represent one more perk awarded to the four partisan leaders
of the Senate and House, who earn $95,313 a year. In addition, all 177
state lawmakers get office allowances of more than $83,000 a year,
reimbursed round trips to Springfield when the legislature meets at 50
cents a mile in their private vehicle, a payment of $139 a day when
they’re in session and free taxpayer-provided letterhead and envelopes.

Tribune reporters Rick Pearson and Michelle Manchir contributed to this report.

[JURIST] Two political parties in eastern Sudan on Tuesday accused the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of using voter fraud and intimidation in gaining electoral victories in their region of the country during last week’s national elections. Representatives of the Beja Congress party and the Democratic Congress for East Sudan have separately accused members of the NCP of emptying of ballot boxes and compromising ballots in an effort to secure victory for their party. The Beja Congress also contend that fraud is indicated by the fact their party won only one seat on a state assembly and no seats at the national level. Reports from one electoral area have the NCP candidate winning with close to 18,000 votes compared to 839 for the eastern party candidate. Official results of the election have not yet been released by the National Election Commission, but indicators point to a strong national win by the NCP. Also on Tuesday, a representative of the US State Department commented on the elections, stating that they were not “free and fair” and that they did not meet international standards. It is expected that President Omar al-Bashir will win re-election when the results are announced.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) currently has an arrest warrant against al-Bashir charging him with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC is considering whether to add an additional charge of genocide to the warrant after overturning a March 2009 decision by the Pre-Trial Chamber not to prosecute on the charge. The warrant has been controversial, with Egypt, Sudan, the African Union and others calling for the proceedings against al-Bashir to be delayed, and African Union leaders agreeing not to cooperate with the ruling. Al-Bashir is accused of systematically targeting and purging the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa, three Arabic-speaking ethnic groups, under the pretext of counterinsurgency since 2003.

I used to eat meat throughout my childhood, but never really enjoyed the taste. Only after a graphic showing of a pig slaughter I witnessed in elementary school did I stop eating pig, and once I was in high-school I became of full-on vegetarian. My main reasoning for this was more that I disliked the taste of meat, but the ethics against killing animals was a reasoning as well.

I soon learned that there was another great motive to becoming vegetarian; the negative environmental effects of meat production . There are a variety of different environmental impacts that occur due to the production of meat:

• Air pollution due to dust and liquid manures.
• Fossil fuels, water, and land over-use
• Rainforest erosion and destruction for pasture land
• Water contamination due to animal waste
• Grain and corn grown for animal feed instead of addressing world hunger

The two natural resources that are perhaps most tapped by meat manufacturing are land and water. According to the British group, VegFarm, a 10-acre piece of land can feed 60 people when used for the production of soybeans, 24 people when used for wheat, 10 people when used for corn, and only a mere 2 people when used for cattle. Similarly, the amount of water used is severely disproportional when comparing wheat to meat. In a book written by Paul and Anne Ehrlich, one pound of wheat uses approximately 60 pounds of water while one pound of meat requires about 2,500 to 6,000 pounds of water.

Another issue that the EPA is specifically interested in is the pollution that feedlots and animal wastes are causing in waterways . The runoff from feedlots and animals feces-covered fields is causing some of our waters, such as areas in the Chesapeake Bay, to become unhealthy.

Regulations can be made to help prevent the effects of meat production, but the easiest way to lessen the environmental impacts is to become a vegetarian or vegan. The vegetarian/vegan alternative can be easily accomplished in today’s markets and restaurants. Meat substitutes including tofu, seitan, and soy-based products are more easily accessible in grocery stores and especially in the rising organic food markets. Also, many restaurants are now providing vegetarian options to better suit those who do not eat meat. Making the change can be difficult, but persistence in becoming a vegetarian can lead to a more eco-friendly lifestyle

About the author: Nicole Reising is an intern at the Office of Children’s Health Protection. She is a sophomore studying non-profit management at Indiana University.

A baseball coach who mentored Larry King’s young sons with estranged wife Shawn Southwick claims he’s the reason for the couple’s recent troubles – handsome twentysomething Hector Penate has revealed that he had a “full-blown affair” with the leggy blonde that lasted more than a year.

In a taped interview with Entertainment Tonight, which will air on Wednesday, Penate insists Shawn — who has accused Larry of bedding her younger sister — talked to him about divorcing the CNN anchorman “all the time. (She said) ‘Don’t worry he’s gonna die soon,’” Penate recalls.

King and Southwick both filed divorce papers last week but they are currently in counseling in a bid to save their marriage.

Hector — a Miami-born struggling actor — previously guest-starred on an episode of the Starz hit Headcase.

Technology: CDMA
Announced Carrier: Sprint
Announced Release Date: Summer 2010

The Samsung Restore available in Midnight or Limeade is a great messaging device for the environmentally conscious user.  Made with post consumer recycled plastic, you can recycle 84% of the device when done.  While using the device enjoy great features like a full QWERTY keyboard, optical joystick, Sprint’s One-Click user interface, and 2MP camera with video capture.

The 2010 NEA Representative Assembly will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 900 Convention Center Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70130-1799.

The first caucus of the Illinois delegation will be held at the Marriott New Orleans at 1:00 pm on Thursday, July 1, 2010. Caucus meetings are scheduled each morning thereafter at 7:00 am.

The first NEA RA business session will be held on Saturday, July 3. The final session will adjourn at approximately 6:00 pm on Tuesday, July 6.

Hotel

The Illinois delegation hotel is the Marriott New Orleans, 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130.

Make your reservations today >>

• Single (1 person) or Double (2 people) – $189.45
• Triple (3 people) – $223.35
• Quad (4 people) – $257.55

As the baby boomers start to retire en masse, one of the fears is that the US will struggle to continue to fund Social Security. Though originally projected to become cash flow negative by 2016, it looks like Social Security will reach that mark this year, hastened by the early retirement taken by many boomers as a result of the global recession. Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor under President Clinton, proposes a potential solution to the impending crisis: immigration. The way Reich puts it, the nation’s workers all put into the system to support the retirees — but the increasing number of retirees is outpacing the growth of the American workforce:

Forty years ago there were five workers for every retiree. Now there are three. Within a couple of decades, there will be only two workers per retiree. There’s no way just two workers will be able or willing to pay enough payroll taxes to keep benefits flowing to every retiree.

So, to correct this demographic imbalance, Reich proposes that the US opens itself up for more immigration:

Get it? One logical way to deal with the crisis of funding Social Security and Medicare is to have more workers per retiree, and the simplest way to do that is to allow more immigrants into the United States.

Easier said than done, perhaps. Faced with a global recession and high unemployment levels, it will be easy to find critics who will vehemently argue that there are not enough jobs here for American workers. Reich refutes this with a simple claim that “once the American economy recovers, there will be.” He may be right, but he could have done a more convincing job. Reich misses an opportunity to explain that bringing a fresh wave of skilled, smart immigrants into this country actually creates more jobs. Jobs are a not a zero-sum game — studies have shown that an increase of H-1B visas resulted in an increase in jobs. And as we’ve pointed out before, there are also suggestions like the startup visa that attempts to attract immigrants who would create jobs.

Immigration policy will almost certainly need to be included as a part of any solution to the impending Social Security shortfall. Without addressing immigration at all, the options are much more limited — focusing mainly on cutbacks or higher taxes. An option that could help grow the economy should not be left off the table.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Deborah Swerdlow is a senior at the University of Florida and former Machon Kaplan participant. She will be a member of the 2010-2011 class of Eisendrath Legislative Assistants.

I am grateful to my mother for many things, and on Monday morning she added one more to my list: She sent me a link to the Clinton Foundation’s Climate Quiz.

The quiz contains 10 questions that can be answered in less than five minutes. You might be surprised to discover how much you don’t know about climate change — but that’s OK! After each question, you learn the correct answer and what the foundation’s Clinton Climate Initiative is doing to help, whether it’s funding building retrofit projects or supporting research on carbon-neutral transportation technologies.

You can help the Clinton Climate Initiative’s work simply by taking
this quiz: Every person who takes the quiz will be honored with a $2
donation on his/her behalf to purchase solar flashlights for Haitians
without access to electricity. The Foundation’s goal is to get 100,000
people to take the quiz so it can deliver 200,000 energy-saving
flashlights.

The climate quiz is only step one in the Clinton Foundation’s Take Initiative on Earth Day campaign.
After taking the quiz, you can brush up on climate change issues or
search for a local Clinton Foundation volunteer project, such as
harvesting from an urban farm in Chicago or repairing and replanting
the PS 76 Garden in New York. On Thursday, you can hear from Bill
Clinton himself and ask him your burning questions about climate change
during an online forum.

Challenge your friends, coworkers and family to see who can score the
highest on the quiz. I scored a six out of 10. How’d you do?

For more Earth Day program ideas and action items, visit the RAC’s special Earth Day resource page and then sign the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life’s Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign and pledge to join the Jewish community in addressing this challenge together.

I’m a huge Dirty Dancing fan. So much so that when every anniversary box set has been  released I got it, just so that I could maybe get a little bit more unedited footage of  Patrick Swayze doing his thing as Johnny Castle. Well now Dirty Dancing has danced its way onto Blu-ray with this latest boxset. There is an abundance of extras in this two CD set as well as tributes to Patrick Swayze and Jerry Orbach. This Blu-ray edition is completely remastered and includes a collectible hardcover 52 page keepsake book as well as a fan reel created by Facebook fans. Dirty Dancing Limited Keepsake Edition retails for $23.99 and will be released on May 4th.

Some other features include:

Kellerman’s: Reliving the Locations of the Film
Patrick Swayze Tribute
Dirty Dancing: The Phenomenon
In Memoriam
Fan Reel*
Patrick Swayze, The Rhythm of Dancing
Dancing to the Music
Never-Before-Seen Photo Keepsakes
Eleanor Bergstein’s Script
Commentary with Eleanor Bergstein
Jennifer Grey Screen Test
Commentary with Kenny Ortega, Miranda Garrison, Jeff Jur, Hilary Rosenfeld, David Chapman
Jennifer Grey Interview
Miranda Garrison Interview
Kenny Ortega Interview
Eleanor Bergstein Interview
Emile Ardolino Tribute
“Hungry Eyes” Video
“She’s Like the Wind” Video
“I’ve Had the Time of My Life” Video
Theatrical Trailer
Trivia Track
Original Screen Tests
Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze
Tribute to Jerry Orbach
Deleted Scenes
Alternate Scenes
Extended Scenes
Outtakes
Multi Angle Dance Sequence
Interactive Photo Gallery
Vintage Featurette
Dirty Dancing: Live in Concert

Igor Volsky at WonkRoom has just discovered that when you arbitrarily set restrictions on what sorts of expenses companies can take, they will arbitrarily reclassify those expenses as something else.  Specifically, government officials think it would be nicer if insurance companies spent a higher percentage of their revenues on medical care rather than administrative overhead.  Without particularly investigating whether this was sound, or even possible, they enacted a rule dictating that the “medical loss ratio” had to be a fairly high percentage of revenues.  Predictably, companies are reclassifying administrative expenses as medical in order to make their numbers.

Now, maybe this is an example of evil companies struggling to hold onto
their profits.  But you certainly couldn’t prove it by Volsky’s post. 
He seems to confuse administrative overhead with profits, and further
seems unaware that overhead (apart from profits) is usually higher when dealing with a lot
of small clients rather than a few big ones.  He refers to the MLR
rules as “one of the few ways to prevent insurers from
earning outrageous profits before most of reform’s provisions kick in”,
even though the health insurance industry isn’t particularly profitable.

It is true, of course, that profits are part of the overhead targeted by the medical loss ratio rules.  But it does not therefore follow, as night to day, that if you raise the percentage of money that you spend on treatment, you lower profits.  It certainly doesn’t follow that you lower profits the way you want to–by taking money from greedy executives and giving it to nice folks seeking treatment–rather than, say, by forcing companies with high overhead out of the market entirely. 

He seems blind to the other obvious way to meet your
MLR requirements:  stop searching for fraud on either the customer or
provider end, and let costs balloon.  If you stop paying attention to
controlling costs, your overhead goes down, especially relatively to
your costs.  Normally, this is a recipe for bankruptcy, as your
competitors undercut you.  But when your competitors are all subject to
the same rule requiring them to let this happen….

Given how much focus reformers put on controlling health care costs,
reclassifying administrative costs as medical expenses is probably a
positive development.

I’m generally annoyed by conservatives who claim that Washington is
full of pointy-headed wonks who have never held a “real job” . . . but
I do think that the most dangerous weakness on the pro-reform side is a
broad ignorance of how companies actually work.  There seem to be a lot
of assumptions that are intuitively satisfying, but blatantly silly to
anyone who has ever managed a company (or spent much time talking to
those who do).  The assumption that lower overhead is invariably better
is one of these, but not the only one.  Others include a fairly persistent confusion about how companies make investment decisions, and how capital markets work; the belief that price rationing and government rationing are somehow economically equivalent
because they both contain the word “rationing”; and the belief that
having more the one product in a market is obviously wasteful “me-too”
competition which is bad for consumers.

It’s a dangerous weakness because it leads them to an extremely
simplistic model of how companies work, and I think it makes them
believe that they can mandate a lot more than they really can.  The
pro-reform side has been at its best in describing market processes
that look a lot like what happens in government programs–things like
adverse selection, and bargaining with providers.  But when you have to
add in processes that don’t look much like what the government
does–things like capital costs and investment decisions*, competition,
and price discovery–their mental models often seem suspect.

I suspect that’s going to be a big problem as we go forward,
particularly when it comes to controlling costs.

*Before you rush to tell me that the government does too make capital investment decisions, let me just say that the government capital investment process simply looks virtually nothing like what happens in a company. Just try to imagine calculating an IRR on a highway. 

Womenetics, a new media platform that dedicated to connecting, inspiring, and ultimately, empowering women, this month profiled our colleague Anat Hoffman, Director of the Israel Religious Action Center and co-founder of Women of the Wall. In recent months, Anat made news when she wore a tallit, or prayer shawl, at the Western Wall, carrying a Torah and praying aloud with Women of the Wall. She was detained by Israeli police and questioned about breaking the Regulation on Holy Places, which prohibits individuals from performing religious acts at the Western Wall that upset others.

Womenetics asked Anat, “What are the biggest issues for females in Israel today?” Her response is quite fitting today, which is Equal Pay Day here in the United States: a day that symbolizes how far into 2010 women must work to earn what men earned in 2009 (you can write to Congress about this injustice now). Anat answered:

First, equal pay for equal work. In some institutions,
like insurance and banks, women get 90-percent less than men. That’s an
extreme case, but there are many instances, like in the municipalities,
where women get 40-percent less. This doesn’t come from base salaries,
but perks that are very male oriented, like extra hours. Pensions are
more equal because there are no perks, but if a woman works extra
hours, she usually doesn’t get paid; it’s considered volunteer. Yet, on
average, women are more educated and more loyal. The second issue is
freedom to get divorced because of the religious courts. There is no
civil marriage (or divorce) in Israel. A woman can’t grant herself a
divorce; the man has to grant it. Third is coercion of religion against
women. We see this in what is happening at the Western Wall (where
women’s rights to pray are limited), and the segregated (by sex) buses
and sidewalks, and the enforcement of modest dressing. The fact is that
the two groups most under-represented are women and minorities. The two
groups that are over-represented are immigrants (primarily Russian
immigrants who are more right wing) and the ultra-Orthodox.

For
more of Anat’s answers on Israel’s “macho society,” her arrest at the
Kotel, and how American women (and men!) can help secure equal rights
for women in Israel, visit Womenetics for the whole
interview. You can further your support by visiting the Israel
Religious Action Center online at www.irac.org or by following them on Facebook,
where they regularly showcase IRAC in the media and ask Jews across the
world to send their photos and messages of solidarity.

by Agence France-Presse

BRASILIA—Brazilian officials suspended bidding Tuesday by companies seeking to build a controversial Amazon dam opposed by Hollywood stars and indigenous Indian groups.

The overnight ruling by the regional justice ministry in the state of Para called the Belo Monte dam project “an affront to environmental laws,” directly countering a federal court’s order last week overturning an earlier challenge.

The issue has become spectacularly controversial, with even “Avatar” director James Cameron and star Sigourney Weaver wading in to give their backing to opponents and drawing parallels the with natives-versus-exploiters storyline of their blockbuster Hollywood movie.

Tenders were to have opened Tuesday under the federal court’s order, which reversed a previous suspension hailed by the dam’s critics.

But the Para state ministry said too many questions remained over how the massive project would affect flora and fauna in the region, and what would become of the 12,000 mostly indigenous families who would have to be relocated from the Xingu river area that would feed the dam.

The $10 billion dam project is a crown jewel in a Brazilian government plan to boost energy production through Belo Monte’s hydroelectric plant. The dam, expected to produce 11,000 megawatts, would be the third-biggest in the world, after China’s Three Gorges facility and Brazil’s Itaipu dam in the south.

Related Links:

U.S. lowers expectations for climate treaty this year

The “people’s climate conference” in Bolivia kicks off with ambitious aims

Grist Joins the Climate Desk

While many automakers are turning to the compact vehicle segment to improve their brand image, Chrysler is taking a different approach.

To see how Fiat SpA is doing at its job of managing Auburn Hills automaker Chrysler, keep a look out for the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Ready to go on sale in June, the Jeep Grand Cherokee will prove that Chrysler had made changes in repairing its poor quality and subpar fuel-economy image. Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne has repeatedly said that Chrysler won’t turn around until the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee hits showrooms.

“It would be an understatement to say that the SUV segment isn’t a growth segment anymore. It has migrated to a more sensible, calmer personality, and that in itself is the real trouble for Jeep,” said Erich Merkle, president of the consulting company Autoconomy.com in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Nonetheless, Jeep brand CEO Mike Manley isn’t worried. He says that Jeep customers are among the most loyal and that Jeep sales rose 5 percent worldwide in the first quarter of 2010 while the company faced a 2 percent drop.

Click here for more news on the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Detroit News

After almost four years of obsessive iPhone typing, we have grown accustomed to its keyboard. When the iPad was released, things changed.

After a week of testing the iPad it became clear that the iPad has the Delete key in the correct place and the iPhone doesn’t. In fact, the iPad’s placement feels so natural that now when I try to type text messages on the iPhone, I constantly accidentally send texts early while attempting to delete a character. The iPhone is the only device in my routine that has a confusing Delete key location. Check out the screenshots below to see what I mean.

What do you think? Has your experience been similar?

iPad

Wireless keyboard

iPhone

Vectorman had a good run back in the Mega Drive/Genesis days, but it could have gotten another run at glory in the PS2. Unfortunately, the project was canned, and the only way the name Vectorman got into

A Lady Gaga concert in Japan was disrupted on Saturday night after an overzealous fan leaped on stage and confronted the singer.

The Poker Face hitmaker was performing at the JPN Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan as part of her Monster Ball World Tour when a concertgoer hopped over the security barrier and jumped on stage during “Bad Romance.”

The admirer then fell into a prayer position in front of the star, who quickly bolted to the other side of the stage as two of her dancers dragged the fan away.