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Tiger Woods is featured in a new ad for Nike that premiered on ESPN Wednesday. The sports brand is one of the few companies that stood by Tiger Woods after it was disclosed that the golfer had been playing putt-putt with pornstars, Pancake House servers, and half the cocktail waitresses on the West Coast during a devastating sex scandal last winter. In the stark, black-and-white ad, Woods looks directly into the camera without speaking while a recording of his late father (Earl Woods) is heard, speaking about taking responsibility.

“I want to find out what your thinking was, I want to find out what your feelings are, and did you learn anything?” the elder Woods, who died in May 2006, asks in a voiceover. Tiger does not speak in the commercial — which was filmed several weeks ago at Isleworth Country Club, a golf course near his suburban Orlando home.

The ad is Tiger’s first new TV spot since the sex scandal prompted some sponsors — including Accenture, AT&T, and Gatorade — to distance themselves from him. Nike spokesman Derek Kent says the company is glad they opted to stand by Woods’ side: “We support Tiger and his family. As he returns to competitive golf, the ad addresses his time away from the game using the powerful words of his father….”

Tiger will make his long-awaited return to pro golfing at the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia on Thursday.

Best viewed and experienced from behind the wheel.

Through the ’90s and well into this decade, the popularity of the SUV boomed; they were the vehicles of choice. Placated by a commanding view of the road and the illusion that heft begets safety, the public accepted the vehicles’ trucky ride and handling; few if any SUVs actually lived up to the “sport” part of the acronym. Arguably, that began to shift when Acura introduced its revamped MDX for 2007. Equipped with Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD), that MDX boasted a Nürburgring-tuned chassis back when such a boast was actually sort of unique.

But now, as many fret over fuel costs or simply want the Next Big Thing, consumers have begun to jump ship to crossovers, and the SUVs-with-mind-warping-handling segment grows more packed every day—witness just the stuff from BMW, the X6 and X5/X6 M. As to the Acura, it’s been updated for 2010; are the improvements enough to stay relevant?

Keep Reading: 2010 Acura MDX – Short Take Road Test

Related posts:

1. 2010 Acura RDX Front-Wheel Drive – Short Take Road Test
2. 2010 Acura ZDX – Short Take Road Test
3. 2010 Acura MDX – First Drive Review

As mentioned yesterday, the UK House of Commons came up with a bizarre plan to have a brief debate on the Digital Economy Bill in a “wash up” process, and then basically approve it and promise to come back and fix it later. It’s a bizarre way of doing things. Charles Arthur did a nice job blogging the debate, which mostly consisted of a bunch of MPs pointing out how ridiculous it was that this bill was being rushed through without any real debate, followed by Digital Britain Minister Stephen Timms (who has been known to not even remotely understand this issue) got up and basically said “well, too bad.” As you read through what happened, it’s almost all people protesting what’s in the bill as well as the lack of discussion on the bill, followed by Timms saying:

“My sense is that there is a pretty broad acceptance across the house… that legislation is appropriate for dealing with it. There is definitely significant harm to the creative industries… estimated at £400m for the music, film and TV industries in the impact assessment of the bill… this is a very serious problem.”

That £400 number is totally made up (apparently, at yesterday’s event various other numbers were thrown around as well). But the bigger point is that Timms is basically lying. There was not “pretty broad acceptance” in the house that the legislation was appropriate, or even that there is significant harm to the creative industries. The debate was almost entirely against the bill. Still, as with yesterday, the chambers were not particularly full for the debate, but a bunch of MPs who don’t really understand or care about this issue showed up at the end and voted, so the final tally came to: 189 votes to shove it through, and only 47 against. The only real “concession” was the dropping of the hugely controversial clause 18, giving the gov’t excessive powers to adjust copyright law in the future. Of course, when that first came out, I wondered if the whole point of clause 18 was to draw the fire of consumer groups, let it be dropped, while everything else got shoved through. It looks like that may be what happened. Update: Or not. Further analysis from folks suggests that while Clause 18 may not have made it into the bill, what was in the clause did, in fact, still make it into the bill. So it’s even worse than before. Lovely.



Those who wanted a full debate on the bill basically had no chance. Despite criticizing the bill heavily, the gov’t basically said the debate was over, and apparently those who had been debated started shouting “Nooo!!!” As Arthur writes in his live blog:

That big shout of “Nooo!!!” could have been a thousand souls crying out as one at the sight of the government shoving through 41 clauses of a bill

And there you go. The entertainment industry gets its ridiculous anti-consumer copyright law with no real attempt at debate or amendment in the House of Commons. Concerns raised about how this bill could force the blocking of Wikileaks or the shutdown of internet access at small business? Ignored.

Of course, as with every other country that passes such backwards legislation, don’t expect it to do anything to actually help the entertainment industry as it continues to seek backwards looking legislative solutions, rather than forward looking business model solutions. The legacy entertainment industry will surely celebrate this “victory,” but let’s check back in a bit and see what it did to their bottom lines.

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Hawaii’s special election format presents unique challenges for Democrats. All candidates compete in a single election, with the winner taking the seat regardless of percentages. There are two high-profile Democrats in the race and one Republican, which raises the possibility of the Democrats splitting the vote and delivering the race to Charles Djou, the Republican.

This has led Democratic operatives to want to push one of the Democrats out and pave the way for a victory. However, they appear to have chosen the moderate LieberDem who is hated by the state political establishment.

Dem strategists have largely determined that ex-Rep. Ed Case (D) is the strongest candidate to run for the open House seat vacated by ex-Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D). Case polls better than state Senate Pres. Colleen Hanabusa (D), sources say, and he doesn’t carry the same baggage she has.

But Case has baggage of his own, especially among Dem voters. During his 2 terms in Congress, Case had a largely centrist record. He said he would have voted to give George W. Bush the option to go into Iraq, a position at odds with Abercrombie and the state’s 2 Dem senators. He voted for the PATRIOT Act and voiced support for the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

The DCCC is clearly lending support to Case, finding top-level advertising and polling strategists for him, on the grounds that Hanabusa… is a political insider. I’m not going to untangle that pretzel logic, but Reid Wilson in his story sees it as a trade-off between Case’s centrism and the political pragmatism that sees him as the only viable option. I don’t understand that a bit. Case has a slightly higher name ID than Hanabusa, but she has the support of both political legends in the state, the two Senators, as well as most labor unions, and she leads in fundraising. What’s more, the district is not moderate or centrist in any respect.

So far, the DCCC has only released one ad in the race, which you see above. It attacks Djou as a Norquistian anti-taxer. But the signs of the D-Trip’s sympathies are unmistakable, and I don’t see Hanabusa – or her legion of backers – acquiescing to the national Democrats’ strategy.

A few months ago, it was put to me that Case and Djou would split the center-right vote, with Hanabusa winning the majority. That could still happen – I wouldn’t be at all surprised with the DCCC misreading the electorate. But their bigfooting into races should definitely cause some worry (especially because they’d have a free shot to pick off Djou in November, if he manages a fluke victory).

 

The Injury Biomechanics Laboratories in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Wayne State University is searching to fill a Postdoctoral Research Scientist opening in traumatic brain injury research. The main focus of the funded research project will be to investigate the effects of blast overpressure at the tissue, cellular and molecular levels. Additional goals are to determine ways of mitigating blast wave transmission to the brain and identify novel therapies for treatment of blast-related brain injury.

Candidates should have an established background in injury biomechanics and/or neurosciences with emphasis on brain injury. Applicants who are highly motivated with Ph.D.s in Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, or related disciples are preferred. Because our Bioengineering Center is a collaborative environment, the successful applicant will also be involved in ongoing projects with an opportunity to develop independent projects. An ability to work independently and as part of a larger team while coordinating multiple projects will be essential.

The position is funded for two years and is available fall 2010. Candidates must be a US citizen and external from Wayne State University only. A competitive salary will be negotiated on the basis of relevant experience, publication record and recommendation letters. Applicants should send, electronically, a copy of their curriculum vitae and contact information for 3 references to:

Pamela VandeVord, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Biomedical Engineering
Email: [email protected]

Instructions for submitting your application: Please submit application along with detailed curriculum vitae electronically via http://jobs.wayne.edu. Please also include publication record and three letters of reference.

(photo taken from: http://rfc.wayne.edu/Warrior-Games.php; see link for schedule of events) by Derrick Bean COE Public Affairs Writer It’s the return of the 4th Annual Warrior Games, which can only mean one thing: the revenge of the engiNERDS. The team of self-proclaimed engineering nerds will compete April 12 through 16 at the Mort Harris Recreational and Fitness Center among other sites on campus. There are many events planned for this year’s Warrior Games including Frisbee, volleyball, dodge ball, table tennis, 3-on-3 basketball, a scavenger hunt, video game events and more. In their third year of competition, the engiNERDS 3.0 will challenge fraternities, sororities, various WSU colleges and student groups. The engiNERDS, representing the College of Engineering, has been the No. 1 college represented at Warrior Games over the past couple of years. The engiNERDS finished ninth in 2008, with only 10 students; and seventh in 2009, with about 20 students, edging out the College of Nursing as the top college. Gabriela “Gabby” Diaz, team manager and mechanical engineering senior, says she organized the team of engineering students to help improve the college climate in 2008. She knocked on every engineering student organization’s door trying to get students involved, but only a few organizations signed up. Diaz, who is also the president of the Society of Hispanic and Professional Engineers (SHPE), noticed a change of heart in 2009. “I think they may have been apprehensive (last year) because they were worried about how engineers would do against these big fraternities and sororities,” she says. Diaz encouraged people to look at Warrior Games for what they are –fun and games. “We don’t want people to be like, ‘Aw, I suck at sports,’ because that’s not what it’s about,” she says. The engiNERDS team knows there is strength in numbers, stretching far beyond the 30 or so students signed up this year. “We want cheerleaders, soccer moms and soccer dads,” says Diaz. “We need all the support we can get. These fraternities and sororities have 30 or 40 people that will come watch them.” Diaz says non-engineers and people who just want to help out are welcome to join the team. “Some people don’t play but they volunteer or ‘spectate,’ and those people count too,” says Diaz. “Every event has different people participating, which is kind of our goal because we wanted everyone to get involved. It helps mesh different organizations better.” By the way, the name engiNERDS is a mix of two suggested names, “The Engineers” and “The Nerds.”

Filed under: Budget, Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Work, Chrysler, Dodge

Chrysler has decided to celebrate the Dodge Ram winning the Motor Trend Truck of the Year award by barring employees at its Auburn Hills headquarters from seeing the sun for 120 days. The company has turned its HQ into one big billboard with a 14-story building wrap. The 140-foot tall, 120-foot wide graphic features a massive 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty atop a pile of rocks.

The company says the wrap is part of a nationwide campaign to get the word out about the Ram’s win, and that around 200,000 people will see the display every day as they travel along I-75. The install took a total of three days, and Chrysler says that the truck featured in the wrap is a 100 feet long and 41 feet tall. No word on whether or not those specs will line up with what we can expect from the 2015 pickup. Hit the jump for a look at the press release.

[Source: Chrysler]

Continue reading Chrysler wraps Auburn Hills HQ in honor of Truck of the Year award

Chrysler wraps Auburn Hills HQ in honor of Truck of the Year award originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So now the iPad is out and although Apple does not like screen protectors people are noticing that the screens get really dirty.

OK you can’t get this at Apple but we found it for you, the Griffin Screen Care Kit. It contains a screen protector film that is low glare and has a matte finish and a cleaning cloth to wipe the smudges of the nice iPad screen.

Go check out this Screen Care Kit for iPad Matte screen protector and cleaning cloth for iPad

Should we put more pollutants into the air to keep Earth’s temperature down? How about covering polar ice with reflective panels to cut down on melting? Or putting a giant umbrella in space to shade the planet?

Some of the ideas for easing Earth’s warming trend may sound crazy – but in a newly published book titled “Hack the Planet,” Eli Kintisch says scientists may have no choice but to give them a try.

“The only thing crazier than geoengineering is what we’re doing now to the atmosphere by continuing to dump carbon dioxide into it,” he told me.

…(read more)

by Kevin Jon Heller

As the Washington Post notes, the Obama administration has authorized the CIA to assassinate Aulaqi wherever he is found.  It is very unlikely that CIA agents qualify as lawful combatants — they don’t distinguish themselves from the civilian population, they don’t carry their arms openly, etc.  So, let’s assume that CIA agents manage to kill Aulaqi in Afghanistan.  I assume everyone would be okay with Afghanistan capturing and prosecuting those agents for murder?  They would have no combatant’s privilege, and “self-defense” would only (at best) prohibit Afghanistan from claiming that the US committed an internationally wrongful act.

Thoughts?

Venture capitalist and blogger Fred Wilson says he believes that Twitter has reached “an inflection point.” Since the Union Square Ventures partner is one of the company’s financial backers, it’s not surprising that he would choose to see the service as playing that kind of pivotal role. But Wilson is also a keen observer of the web and particularly the social web, so it’s worth looking at what he has to say. In a nutshell, he says that Twitter could be at the edge of an inflection point — or what pop sociologist Malcolm Gladwell chose to call a “tipping point” in his book of the same name — similar to the one that the computing industry hit in the 1980s, when PCs became commonplace.

Interestingly, while some have argued that Twitter was smart to allow others to build on its platform, Wilson says that the company “really should have had all of that when it launched or it should have built those services right into the Twitter experience” (a comment that has some third-party Twitter services concerned). He also compares the kind of point Twitter is at with the development of Facebook-based businesses:

When Facebook platform launched, we saw a massive number of new products and services launched on The Facebook. But many were slight variations on existing Facebook features (like Superwall) or holes in the Facebook service. As Facebook closed up those holes and enhanced their own feature set, those apps fell to the wayside. But there was one entirely new business that got created on top of the Facebook platform and that is social gaming, which industry analysts project will be a $1.6bn market this year and I think that number is low.

There’s no question that Twitter has spawned a micro-industry of apps and services that make use of the Twitter API (application programming interface) or the Twitter “firehose,” including real-time search as implemented by Google and Microsoft. The Programmable Web says that it now has 43 Twitter-derived APIs in its directory — in other words, services that offer their own APIs that are based on content pulled from Twitter. But are services that offer features like the “Auto Follow Friday” API really analogous to the kind of market-changing innovation Wilson is talking about in the 1980s? If any of them are, it isn’t obvious.

The Union Square founder describes some places where he sees the potential for “killer apps” based on Twitter to emerge, including social gaming, vertical applications and services such as Stocktwits, enterprise services such as CoTweet, discovery tools such as TweetMeme and analytical services such as Radian6. But even Wilson admits that there are few major successes to point to in any of these areas so far. Does that mean that Twitter can’t support the kind of business model and innovation that Fred is talking about, or that it just hasn’t gotten to that point yet? Maybe we’ll see some real innovation at the Chirp conference next week.

For what it’s worth, I think Twitter is much more like email or instant messaging — or Skype — than it is like a platform such as Facebook, upon which other major business segments can be built. Have there been any real new businesses or innovation built on email or IM or Skype? Not really. But you can’t say they haven’t changed the way people behave or the way businesses operate in a variety of ways. In a sense, they have infiltrated our lives in ways we hardly even understand. Maybe that’s ultimately a bigger deal than even Fred is talking about, but it’s a lot harder to measure, and a lot harder to value.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): How Human Users Are Holding Twitter Back

Post and thumbnail photos courtesy Flickr user boxchain

MIAMI-Florida Republican Senate front-runner Marco Rubio announced today his first quarter numbers in fundraising for 2010–and they are impressive. Rubio says that he raised more than 3.6 million during the first 3 months of the year–his highest since he entered the race a year ago.

“We’re encouraged by the strength of our limited government message and its ability to rally people around our cause., ” Rubio stated in a campaign release this morning .” Today’s announcement is a product of grassroots supporters that are stepping up to ensure we have the resources needed to promote this message throughout Florida.”

His Republican opponent Gov. Charlie Crist has yet to release his first quarter totals, but Crist has had a sizable lead in money overall–Now with this marker, it seems that Rubio’s money-raising ability could be catching up with his lead in the polls. 

Also today, Crist  seem to rule out a run as an independent despite a pledge he made on Fox News Sunday a week and a half ago to stay in the Republican race.

“I’m focused on the session, I’m focused on these bills that are pending and coming up shortly.That’s where my focus is,” Crist said to a reporter in Tallahassee today when asked if he was now eyeing an indie run.” There will be time for other things later.”

According to local reporters , Crist gave a similar answer last year during the 2009 session, when asked by Florida media whether he planned to enter the U.S. Senate Race. But really– the comment could be Crist simply emphasizing his duties as governor during the relatively-short legislative session, but doesn’t dampen speculation much.

Fox News’ Chris Wallace , Zac Kenworthy and Capitol News Service contributed to this report.

 

As a part of Renault-Nissan and Daimler AG’s new alliance, Infiniti’s G lineup will receive Mercedes-Benz engines. Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the G lineup will get Mercedes-Benz’s inline 4-cylinder engines to improve fuel-economy figures and curb emissions.

Ghosn did not say when the new engines will make their way into Infiniti production lines or to which extent they will replace the brand’s 4-cylinder and V6 engines in the G sedan and coupe.

Mercedes-Benz currently uses 1.8L 4-cylinder engines in some of its C-Class models in Europe. The C-Class is not offered with anything smaller than a V6 in North America.

Mercedes-Benz will begin production of the C-Class in Alabama in 2014.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Lady Gaga is “terrified” her family will disown her if she acts on her secret desire to date a woman, tipsters close to the star divulged to Britain’s LOOK Magazine this week.

“I think if she admitted she could love a woman and it’s not just part of her act, they’d all be surprised. If Stef’s family rejected her for falling for a woman, she’d be utterly heartbroken. She adores them, especially her younger sister Natalie,” says a friend of the pop sensation.

The “Telephone” singer — who recently told New York Magazine that she believes gay people are “born” that way — is said to be struggling with her own sexuality but is worried about the reaction she may receive from her “ultra-traditional Italian Catholic” family.

(Honey, if they can forgive some of those outfits that you wear, accepting a girlfriend should be a breeze!)

Although Lady Gaga’s dance hits built a strong fanbase with gay clubgoers early in her career and the eccentric pop tart has been outspoken about her own tendencies toward women, her family think it’s all “just part of her act,” blabbed a tattling pal — who asked not to be identified.

“Gaga is unsure whether she wants to be with a man or a woman. She’s scared that if she falls for a woman, her family will reject her, because ultimately, they want her to settle down with a man. For all Gaga’s success, her love life is a mess – and at the heart of the matter is the fact I think she’s scared of allowing herself to fall in love with another woman….”

Reed College Research Reactor

The only nuclear reactor operated by undergraduates

Manned by a staff of 40 undergraduate students, the Reed College Research Reactor has been in use as a research and teaching facility since 1968, and is the only liberal arts college in the world with a nuclear reactor.
the technical details, according to their web site: “The Reed College Reactor is a TRIGA Mark I water-cooled, “swimming pool” reactor at the bottom of a 25-foot-deep tank. It uses 58 zirconium hydride/uranium hydride fuel elements in a circular grid array. The uranium fuel is enriched to 20 percent in uranium-235. The reactor is surrounded by a graphite ring which minimizes neutron leakage by reflecting neutrons back into the core.”
In order to be part of the team that works with the reactor, students must get a license from the school, which is based on a 3-hour written exam and 4-hour walk through-operational-oral exam administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington DC. Since Reed does not have a nuclear engineering department (or any engineering department), the staff comes from a broad selection of academic majors, primarily the sciences but including nearly every major including English, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Economics, Political Science.
The primary purpose of the reactor is to produce neutrons, which are used for research. The reactor produces 250 kilowatts of heat, about 10 times as much as a home furnace, which they currently do not use.
In 2005 ABC News sent an team to investigate the security of the reactor along with several other university reactors. Although they found the Reed reactor locked behind several doors, they questioned why a school with no engineering program needed to maintain such a device.
The reactor receives about 1000 visitors a year, often from other schools.
The College also offers a 40-hour Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) Class, is licensed by the State of Oregon to perform calibrations of radiation survey meters (for a fee).

Read more about Reed College Research Reactor on Atlas Obscura…

Category: Strange Science, Inspired Inventions, Instruments of Science
Location: Oregon, US
Edited by: Annetta, Dylan

MANILA, Philippines — Researchers have concluded that a giant, golden-spotted monitor lizard discovered in the forested mountains of the Philippines six years ago is a new species, according to a study released Wednesday.

The 6 1/2-foot-long lizard was first spotted in 2004 in the Sierra Madre mountains on the main island of Luzon when local researchers saw local Agta tribesmen carrying one of the dead reptiles.

But it took until last year to determine it was a new species. After capturing an adult, researchers from the University of Kansas and the National Museum of the Philippines obtained DNA samples that helped confirm the lizard was new to science.

The Northern Sierra Madre Forest Monitor Lizard or Varanus bitatawa feasts on fruits and snails rather than carcasses, unlike many monitors, including its larger relative, the Komodo dragon, according to American and Filipino researchers who wrote about the discovery in Wednesday’s peer-reviewed Royal Society journal Biology Letters. It spends much of its time in the treetops and has unique claws that allow it to reach its favorite fruits.

"I knew as soon as I saw the animal that it was something special," Luke Welton, a graduate student at the University of Kansas and one of the co-authors of the study, said in a statement.

It is not that unusual to find a new species of tiny fish, frog or insect these days. But Welton and his colleagues said it was a "rare occurrence" to discover such a large vertebrate, particularly on an island hit by deforestation and nearby development. They compared their find to the 1993 discovery of the forest-dwelling Saola ox in Vietnam and a new monkey species discovered in the highlands of Tanzania in 2006.

"The discovery of such a large, charismatic, and strikingly distinct new species of vertebrate in the unexplored forests of the northern Philippines accentuates the degree to which the diversity of this global conservation hotspot is still poorly known," Mundita Lim, chief of the country’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, said in a statement.

Eric R. Pianka, a lizard expert at the University of Texas at Austin, said in an e-mail interview that it was an "incredible find."

"This is truly a spectacular discovery," Pianka said. "Worldwide, there are about 60-plus species of monitor lizards. In all probability, some as yet undescribed species will be found on various islands in Indonesia," he said.

The new lizard is related to two other fruit-eating monitors in the Philippines, all of which have seen their numbers drop significantly due habitat destruction, as well as hunting and trapping for the pet trade.

"We hope that by focusing on protection of this new monitor, conservation biologists and policy makers can work together to protect the remaining highly imperiled forests of northern Luzon," Rafe Brown, leader of the team that discovered the new species and curator of herpetology at the University of Kansas, said in a statement.

— Associated Press

Animal news on the go: Follow Unleashed on Facebook and Twitter.

Photos: A golden-spotted monitor lizard rests on a tree trunk in the Sierra Madre mountains of the Philippines in April 2006. Credit: Arvin C. Diesmos / Associated Press

Found under: LG Mini, GD880, Android, BlackBerry, WP7, ,

LG has a brand new handset the GD880 but its just a featurephone which might not suit all your needs. The device has been announced a couple of months ago and it looks like it will be available in stores later this month. The GD880 will come with a 3.2-inch touchscreen display Flash support HTML5-compliant Webkit-based LG Phantom browser 5-megapixel camera AGPS FM radio 7.2 Mbps HDSPA connectivity and Wi-Fi. The featurephone will also offer lots of services like Facebook

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By Anthony Gregory

Notice that the U.S. atrocity captured on video was carried out against people in Iraq on the basis that they had guns. Some apparently didn’t even have the weapons they were alleged to have, but consider the primary issue: People walking around in Iraq with weapons are fair game for killing by remote control.

Of course, the U.S. establishment claimed that it has “liberated” the Iraqi people. What kind of liberation is it if the Iraqis cannot even keep and bear arms—and they need it even more than Americans do, considering the chaotic violence unleashed by the war.

But here’s the truth: Although Saddam Hussein was a violent and repressive monster, one freedom he allowed many of his people was the right to bear arms. In Baghdad, personal gun ownership was common before the war. The media even reported gun sales increasing in anticipation of the U.S. invasion.

That all changed after the U.S. liberated the Iraqi people. The American military assisted the new U.S.-friendly regime in going door to door rounding up personal weapons in Baghdad. Along with the institution of an income tax over Iraq, the rise of Sharia Law, the ratification of a Soviet-style Constitution, the persecution of women, Christians and Jews that increased rapidly with the fall of Saddam, gun control is one of the many exports of “freedom” to Iraq, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.

Some might say that this disarmament of civilians was necessary for the functioning of the war—if so, this is another reason to question the war—but it has been seven years and those residing in Iraq are still living in fear of being blown away if they happen to be carrying a personal weapon. Gun rights are universal, and no military occupation can be “liberation” if it involves massive weapons confiscation aimed against the people supposedly being liberated. Also frightening is the fact that when martial law was imposed upon New Orleans in the wake of Katrina, U.S. military personnel back from Iraq were brought in to assist the local and state authorities, who themselves went door to door confiscating the weapons of peaceful Americans when they most needed them. The war on Iraq was always an act of gun control—an act to enforce UN resolutions regarding “weapons of mass destruction”—and we see to this day that it really is impossible to be free and safe when the government lording over you, whether foreign or domestic, cannot trust you with the human right to keep and bear arms.

Found under: Google Nexus One, Car Dock, Google, HTC, ,

The Google Nexus One is one of the best Android phones of 2010 but it hasnt become that popular with the crowds. If you still havent purchased yours then youll be happy to know that the Google Nexus One Car Dock is finally available for purchase.The Car Dock only costs 55 but considering that the Nexus One also happens to offer you Googles Maps-based free navigation buying it sounds like a smart thing to do. Sure the Car Dock comes four months later than we all would have wan

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Boulder, CO, Renewable Choice Energy

Renewable Choice Energy, a nationally-recognized industry leader in clean technology products and services located in Boulder, Colorado, seeks a full-time Environmental Engineer to staff our newly established and growing Professional Services department. This department is responsible for consulting with commercial customers to develop sustainable solutions and services.

This position will be responsible for the implementation of sustainability programs for commercial customers including but not limited to life cycle analyses, material waste/water conservation, pollution prevention, and energy efficiency. The position will collect and analyze environmental data from client sites and design remediation targets and strategies in accordance with client goals. The Engineer will ensure that material waste, water conservation, carbon emission reduction and/or energy efficiency projects are managed and completed correctly, on time, and on budget.

Applicants will have 3-5 years experience in environmental/energy engineering and/or sustainability consulting, with a bachelor’s degree in chemical, mechanical, or environmental engineering or related technical or scientific discipline. Applicants will have sales experience working with prospects to communicate value proposition and demonstrated success in establishing and maintaining productive client relationships.

The ideal applicant will demonstrate the following:
• Ability to work with client to understand goals, present solutions, estimate costs, manage budget, and develop professional proposals and solutions.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills and the ability to interface with a variety of internal and external customers at all organizational levels.
• Aptitude for intelligence gathering, research, networking, client development, and analysis.
• Ability to nimbly respond to demands and interruptions within a rapidly changing and progressive business environment.
• Intermediate to advanced experience in MS Office; familiarity with CRM software such as Salesforce.com and project management tools such as MS Project or Basecamp.
• Interest in and demonstrated personal commitment to sustainability.

In addition, applicants will possess one or more of the following technical qualifications:
• Experience performing product life-cycle assessments (ISO 14040) and/or environmental product labeling (PAS 2050).
• Engineering experience involving environmental compliance for air, water, and/or waste such as Clean Air Act compliance, emissions inventories, environmental management systems, inventory management plans, and other relevant skills.
• Engineering experience conducting energy audits and implementing energy efficiency and/or reduction solutions for clients.
• Material waste and water conservation project development.
• Certified Energy Manager.
• EMS Lead Auditor Certification.

This position may require periodic travel.

Renewable Choice Energy offers a competitive compensation package including base salary, bonus opportunities, and benefits as well as a fast-paced, friendly work environment.

For more information about our company and our dynamic vision for a sustainable future, please visit us on the web at www.renewablechoice.com.

Review of applications to begin immediately; position is vacant until filled.

Renewable Choice Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we welcome applications from women and underrepresented minorities.