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George Clooney is donating $1 million to Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, the multi-network telethon he is co-organizing this Friday, Jan. 22, The Insider has learned. Hope for Haiti Now will also feature more than 100 of the biggest names in entertainment throwing their support behind the citizens of the earthquake-ravaged island nation.

As we reported last week, Honda Motor Co. CEO Takanobu Ito has confirmed that the company’s luxury brand, Acura, will be receiving hybrid models. This news comes in the wake of an announcement by the Acura brass that the company will no longer be carrying V-8 engines.

An Acura dealer who wishes to remain anonymous, has said that a hybrid version of the TSX is planned for 2011 and that two other hybrid models are to follow. Honda has yet to fully develop a hybrid system for larger vehicles. This plan has been in the making for quite sometime, said American Honda Motor Co. executive VP for auto sales John Mendel. There in fact had been plans to reintroduce the V-8 to the Acura line in order to challenge top-tier luxury brands, but they were scrapped in the wake of the economic meltdown in 2008.

“There will be more than one.” Mendel said in regard to the Acura hybrids, declining to give technical information or identify which models were targeted for hybrid variants.

Company spokesman Gary Robinson had noted that gone are the days of the visually aggressive luxury vehicle, and that consumers are showing interest in a more well-rounded vehicle, and specifically alternative energy vehicles such as the $87,900 Fisker Karma and $109,000 Tesla electric Roadster.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Article Tags: ClimateGate

by Jonathan DuHamel (H/T SPPIblog)

The Science and Public Policy Institute has published an analysis of the leaked climategate emails. This 149-page document takes the emails in chronological order and shows, with comments on each message, how science was perverted.

In the introductory material the report says:

The entire industry of “climate science” was created out of virtually nothing, by means of a massive influx of funding that was almost universally one-sided in its requirement that its recipients find evidence for man-made climate change—not investigate whether or how much mankind had caused climate change.

Many “climate scientists” built their entire careers on this funding; and so it is not surprising that they became so completely reliant on this conditional lifeline, that they became single-mindedly focused on achieving the ends for which they were commissioned—and viciously attacking any intruders who may threaten that lifeline.

The PDF file may be download from either of these links:

http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/reprint/climategate_analysis.pdf

or http://tinyurl.com/yl8o3t8

Source: tucsoncitizen.com

Read in full with comments »   

An All Spark Xbox 360 seems like a clever idea, that is, until your TV turns into a robot during a Golden Girls marathon and your head is decapitated by a very strange amalgamation of pop culture motifs.

Though this mod looks impressive, its construction was relatively simple. A plywood box was coated with self-hardening clay, and this clay was carved with various glyphs before it dried. Given that the All Spark 360 has more component real estate than the Xbox 360, squeezing in the electronics was a reasonable process.

And if only the disc drive let out a burst of steam upon ejection, I’d be molding myself a new Xbox at this very moment. [Flickr via HawtyMcBloggy via technabob]

THE latest issue of The Economist features a cover Briefing on the return of the over-involved state. It plays off a number of recent developments—the rise of “state capitalist” economic regimes in China and elsewhere, the growth of the security state since 2001, and the government reaction to the financial crisis and recession, which includes the immediate responses as well as the push to bolster social safety nets and reregulate.

Some of the piece is both obvious and dead-on. The growth of the security state, alongside the seeming viability of autocratic capitalism, has worrying implications for human freedom. I must confess to disagreeing with other parts of the piece; I think social safety nets can definitely boost personal freedom rather than detract from it, and the problem seems not to be large social insurance programmes, but rather large social insurance programmes unsupported by tax revenues.

But I think the Briefing gets at something important that has been coalescing as a threat in the minds of people across the ideological spectrum—the nexus between big business and government. This connection has driven the increasing rage among liberals angry at Wall Street control of government and among conservative Tea Partiers furious about perceived corruption. The anger is understandable; the business-government link makes people feel that markets are rigged and governments are unresponsive. More specifically, it makes voters feel helpless.

Interestingly, the anger produced by this feeling of helplessness isn’t always politically coherent. Various groups on the left and the right have succeeded in harnessing that anger, at times, behind one message or another—against deficits, against bail-outs, against health care—but it’s not clear that those are the specific topics about which people are angry. Rather, they’re frustrated at the sense that everything has gone wrong, that corporate control of government helped make everything go wrong, and that the government would prefer to strike deal after deal with corporate interests rather than fix the problems.

And it’s difficult to see the political endgame. New Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown benefitted from this populist anger in achieving his special election victory on Tuesday, and it’s not impossible that Republicans might ride that rage back into power. But then what? The GOP, as an institution, is every bit as beholden to corporate interests as the Democrats. Just today, a Supreme Court packed full of Republican justices ruled that corporations have the right to spend as much as they want on political messaging during elections.

Meanwhile, the Democratic base is all but ready to abandon the party over its gifts to insurance companies while crafting the health reform bill, and the significant largesse handed to industries as part of the effort to construct an energy and climate bill. At every step of the way, government appears to represent business interests first and foremost.

It’s not clear where this leads. It’s not impossible to imagine a compelling third-party challenge in 2012, although the identity politics games that have shored up party identification in recent years may make it very hard to find a true crossover candidate.

But I don’t imagine that this social energy will soon dissipate. Too many people from both the left and the right are angry, and far too little is being done to satisfy them. Until both the economy and the government appear to be working for voters rather than business, the frustration will grow, awaiting some release.

Beyonce and Madonna have been added as performers to Friday’s multi-network “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon, and Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and former president Bill Clinton are among the participants. A statement released Thursday said Beyonce would perform from London, and Madonna from New York City. The list of musical performers already includes such heavyweights as Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and Keith Urban.

People can start donating even before the start of the 8 p.m. EST concert via phone and text. The two-hour telethon will be shown on all the major networks and a host of other channels. It will be broadcast from New York, London, Los Angeles and Haiti.

Starbucks Via instant coffee has not “changed the way people drink coffee” as Howard Schultz predicted. But it has changed something equally dear to Schultz: The company stock price, which has tripled in the last nine months.

It’s easy to forget that Starbucks, which once grew along the streets
and stripmalls of suburbia like crabgrass soaked in MiracleGrow, posted
negative sales for more than a year. The company was facing steep
competition from McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts who were offering cheaper
and better coffee (respectively). But rather than double down on
double-shot mocha specials, Starbucks closed stores, cut suppliers, and
rolled out an Instant Coffee.

The initial reaction was mockery —
“Starbucks coffee wasn’t already making instant coffee?” and “How many
people are going to order a
triple-no-whip-lite-ice-skim-white-chocolate-mocha and decide they’d like a pack of instant to go with it?” — and so on. But now
Starbucks is laughing all the way to the bank after a record quarter. Following McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts down-market turned out to be a wise investment.

On a closing note, here’s Schultz:

“We lost our way,” he said. “We went back to start-up mode,
hand-to-hand combat every day” to find it…he uses phrases like “the
authenticity of the coffee experience” and “the romance, the theater of
bringing that to life.”

I’m with this Gawker commenter: What exactly is the authenticity of the coffee experience? Especially when you’re crediting your record quarter to higher-than-expected sales of instant coffee?

General Motors is on its way to sell more vehicles in China than it does in the United States. Shanghai GM made that move more possible today by introducing a new entry-level small car called the Chevrolet Sail. The 2011 Chevrolet Sail will be sold in China and will also be exported to other emerging markets.

“Several years ago, Shanghai GM made the strategic decision to broaden our customer base by developing the New Sail,” said Shanghai GM President Ding Lei “We improved cost efficiency while setting new quality, fuel efficiency and value standards for economical family cars. With the arrival of the New Sail, we now have an entry in every major passenger car segment.”

Power for the new Chevrolet Sail comes from a 85-hp 1.2L S-TEC II and a 101-hp 1.4L S-TEC III. The 1.2L model will return best in-class fuel-economy averaging 41 mpg while the 1.4L model will average 40 mpg.

Prices for the 2011 Chevrolet Sail range from RMB 56,800 ($8,400 USD) to RMB 68,800 ($10,100 USD).

Follow the jump for the press release and the high-res image gallery.

2011 Chevrolet Sail:

Press Release:

Shanghai GM Introduces Chevrolet New Sail Small Car

– First car developed in China by a joint venture
– Best in class fuel economy
– Will be sold in China and exported to other emerging markets

Shanghai – Shanghai GM today introduced the Chevrolet New Sail sedan, the first passenger car created in China by a Sino-foreign joint venture. The new small car was developed by Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), both GM-SAIC joint ventures. In addition to being sold in China, the New Sail will also be exported to other emerging markets.

Shanghai GM offers five variants of the New Sail with the base model priced from RMB 56,800 (US$8,400) to RMB 68,800 (US$10,100). This marks a breakthrough in the under-RMB 70,000 (US$10,300) small car segment, where Chinese brands have traditionally been dominant. Shanghai GM also began taking orders for the New Sail today.

“Our mission has always been to enable more individuals and families to realize their dream of owning a car,” said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. “With the New Sail, we are setting a new standard for the lower-end small car segment while fully living up to the global standards of Chevrolet, one of the world’s leading vehicle brands. The fact that the New Sail will be exported is a testament to the capabilities of our product development organization in China.”

Class-Leading, Fuel-Efficient Powertrains

The New Sail is available with a choice of class-leading 1.2-liter S-TEC II and 1.4-liter S-TEC III engines. The 1.2-liter engine achieves best in class fuel economy under comprehensive road conditions of 5.7 L/100 km. It also generates power of 64 kW, enabling the New Sail to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 12.9 seconds. The 1.4-liter engine offers power 76 kW, goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 11.9 seconds, and has fuel economy under 5.9 L/100 km.

The engines incorporate the Variable Geometry Intake System (VGIS), which provides smooth power delivery and torque across all engine speeds. Lightweight materials are used in the engine, transmission and body, further increasing fuel efficiency. The optimized friction coefficient in the transmission and tire rolling coefficient reduce energy loss caused by mechanical operation. In line with Shanghai GM’s Drive to Green strategy, both engines meet China’s Phase IV emission standard (as well as the Euro IV standard) and can be upgraded to meet China’s Phase V emission standard.

Even though it is classified as a small car, the New Sail ensures a fun driving experience. Its five-speed manual transmission offers smooth gear shifting. The sporty-looking steering wheel provides pinpoint handling and easy control, while the sporty yet solid chassis provides comfort and excellent handling. The driver enjoys maximum visibility courtesy of the New Sail’s large windshield, seats designed for local users and no-blind-spot rearview mirror.

Stylish Exterior, Spacious Interior

Like other vehicles wearing the Chevrolet bowtie, the New Sail is sporty, enjoyable to drive and offers good value for money. The New Sail features Chevrolet’s trademark horizontal split grille with the gold Chevrolet emblem showcased in the middle. Three muscular sidelines provide the car a three-dimensional look. A unique short-in-front, long-in-back suspension brings a sporty edge to the exterior. The streamlined shape of the vehicle adds a dynamic styling element while reducing drag, for lower fuel consumption. The New Sail is initially available in six exterior colors: Crescent Silver, Jasmine White, Sky Blue, Coral Red, Amber Orange and Starfish Blue.

The interior is likewise unique and all Chevrolet. It includes the brand’s twin-cockpit design as well as a flexible, modern central control panel equipped with a radio, CD player and MP3 interface. Designers have added a sporty touch through a double-digital screen and chrome plating. The New Sail’s adoption of a central fuel tank, a short front and rear suspension, and arch-shaped doors maximizes interior space for up to five people. There are 24 interior storage compartments for added convenience.

Advanced Safety

The New Sail is expected to achieve four stars in China New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP) testing. The New Sail’s safety cage construction with crumple zones offers class-leading passenger protection. A steel frame surrounds the fuel tanks, for added safety. Dual air bags in front, a retractable steering column, antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, child safety locks and a stronger child seat system are standard. The New Sail also offers outstanding pedestrian protection.

Developed in China for Emerging Markets

The New Sail was jointly developed by Shanghai GM and PATAC off a new architecture in accordance with GM’s Global Vehicle Development Process (GVDP) and worldwide standards for engineering and quality. The development team for the New Sail factored in local climate and driving conditions as well as local fuel quality and Chinese driving habits in the new model’s design. The vehicle’s assembly followed the DTS global C-BOB (best of best) standard.

The New Sail was put through more than 2 million kilometers of testing in extreme hot and cold weather conditions.

To ensure that parts and components meet Chevrolet’s international standards in terms of quality, service, technology and price, 95 percent of components were supplied by members of GM’s global supply chain, with more than 40 percent coming from industry-leading component groups or their joint ventures.

GM’s global quality management processes and regulations were also applied in R&D, procurement, quality recognition and manufacturing. Shanghai GM’s paint shop adopted Generation 6 Zero-Emission Painting for the New Sail. The vehicle meets all European Union environmental protection standards in terms of heavy metal proportion and the recycling rate of the full vehicle.

World-class Chevrolet Gold Tie Service will be offered to New Sail buyers by Shanghai GM. Approximately 380 dealers in more than 200 cities across China will offer customers nine free services as well as 24-hour emergency assistance.

General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM is the joint global automobile partner of World Expo 2010 Shanghai along with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC). More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

# # #

– By: Omar Rana

[JURIST] Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) arrested two former Bosnian Serb detention camp guards on Thursday who were allegedly responsible for the death of around 50 civilians and Bosnian soldiers during the Bosnian civil war. Ratko Dronjak was commander of a detention camp in the village of Kamenica, which held prisoners between 1992 and 1995. Dragan Rodic was a guard at the same camp. Both men are suspected of several crimes under the BiH criminal code including:
killing about 50 civilians and prisoners of war, members of the Army of; of inflicting serious bodily injuries to a large number of detainees who went through the “Kamenica” camp in the period from 1992 to 1995; for holding them incarcerated under cruel and degrading conditions, creating an atmosphere of terror, depriving them of basic necessities, submitting them through everyday questionings, beatings, torture, harassment, humiliation, psychological abuse; of failing to provide medical care and keeping the detainees in constant fear for their lives.Dronjak and Rodic are charged with violating international humanitarian law including war crimes and crimes against humanity. The men will be handed over to the BiH Prosecutor’s Office for questioning over the next few days.The BiH war crimes court was set up in the 2005 to relieve the caseload of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The court delivered its first sentences against war crimes suspects from Yugoslavia’s violent ethnic conflicts of the 1990s in July 2008, convicting seven of genocide for their involvement in killings committed at the Srebrenica prison camp. While the ICTY has jurisdiction over high-level war crimes allegations, such as those against Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, the BiH courts can try lower level suspects.

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Fed up with Farmer Brown’s demands to pitch in and help with the farmyard chores, ambitious Duck decides things have to change, and so he proactively decides to stage an election to take charge.  In Duck for President by author Doreen Cronin, Duck begins his ascent to great political heights one step at a time.  Once he’s taken over the farm, he finds that it is hard work, so he then tries the governorship and wins.  He again becomes restless and decides to run for President, and wins the presidential election.  However, he finds that with great power comes greater and greater responsibilities – and headaches.  “Running a country is no fun at all,” he remarks.  The story concludes with Duck returning to the simpler life he once enjoyed on the farm, writing his autobiography.

As the ultimate “outsider” candidate in each of the elections, Duck demonstrates the principal that America is comprised of a great diversity of people (and animals), all of whom can make a contribution to their community.  The story will doubtless resonate with young children who are all too familiar with hearing their parents ask them to help with household chores and wish to change things.  Duck’s message is to stop complaining, make a stand, and help make a difference.  However, Duck finds that it’s much harder work when you are given larger responsibilities.  Throughout his rise to power, the book’s humorous treatment of the political process – voting, campaigning, tallying the ballots – gives young children an accessible look inside the electoral process and an understanding of the level of commitment needed to hold government office.  Math skills are utilized throughout the text via tallies following each election.

Curriculum Connections
This book’s light treatment of the electoral process would make it a great introduction to civics for kindergartners, and would allow for an expansion of basic civics ideas for first and second graders.  Kindergartners can get some simple insight into the political process, while first and second graders could build upon their existing knowledge of elections to understand more about the responsibilities of being in office, how candidates campaign, and the voting process.

Virginia Kindergarten Standards of Learning: Civics: K.9; Virginia First Grade Standards of Learning:  Civics: 1.10, 1.12; Virginia Second Grade Standards of Learning: Civics 2.10, 2.12.

Additional Resources

• Simon and Schuster’s Duck for President page features a wonderful campaign video that would be fun to show students in discussing how politicians use media to solicit votes.  It also has links to Duck’s campaign flyer, poster, Duck quotes, activity sheets, ballots, and a letter to the voters.
• Kids.gov is the official kids’ portal for the U.S. Government, and has many activities and teaching guides (grades K – 8).  Two links that would prove useful would be voter registration information and the duties and responsibilities of citizens.
• PBS Kids Go! The Democracy Project features two links,  President for a Day and Step Inside the Voting Booth, that would be great additions to a civics discussion generated from reading this book.

General Information
Book:  Duck for President
Author:  Doreen Cronin
Illustrator:  Betsy Lewin
Publisher:  Atheneum
Publication date:  2008
Pages:  40 pages
Grade range:  Kindergarten, First and Second Grades
ISBN: 0-1416958002

At this point, we’ve probably discussed the newly planned NY Times paywall enough, but a blog post by Reuters’ Felix Salmon made such a good point that it’s worth highlighting. In talking about the paywall, he notes, as I did originally, that people have a lot less incentive to link to the NY Times as they know it will be harder for others to make use of that link. That I understood, but Salmon made a key point that I hadn’t really thought about:

I suspect that what’s going to happen now is that as the moment of truth approaches, bloggers will increasingly search around for the NYT’s replacement as online paper of record: the way that blogs work is that they’re backed up by links to reliable sources, and a link is worthless if the person clicking on it risks running straight into a paywall, unable to read the information in question. The NYT’s journalism might well continue to be reliable, but its website won’t be, any more.

That point highlights the difference between valuing the content vs. valuing the conversation (or even valuing enabling the conversation). The top folks at the NY Times (and many other publications) seem to over-value the content and undervalue the conversation. Thus, they think that the content needs to be paid for, but don’t realize that they devalue their role in the conversation.

If you want to make the bet that the internet is more about content delivery than conversation and communication, then perhaps this makes sense. But, almost all signs point to the fact that it’s the conversation that’s the really important thing online, and devaluing that is almost certainly a mistake.

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Last month Sony launched a new tool you can access on any mobile browser (iPhone, Android, WebOS, etc) called SonyStyle Mobile Reviews – m.sonystyle.com – which displays customer product ratings & reviews from SonyStyle. Similar to the site, you select the product category you’d like to research and see various gadgets by star rating. It also has a built in search function that allows you to easily insert the model name of the desired item and find reviews accordingly.

We really like this idea from Sony, and feel that the first version of this site is pretty strong. We’ve love to see the ability to write reviews from this mobile site, perhaps the ability to upload video reviews, and purchase products from a mobile enhanced site in the future, though. Perhaps a link to the SonyStyle blog would be good, too!

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earlier this week expressed the central bank’s eagerness for congressional auditors to review the Fed’s role in the American International Group rescue. Congress heard the call, and now the Fed is poised to get what it asked for.

In a letter today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns and Rep. Elijah Cummings (a senior Democrat on the panel) requested that the Government Accountability Office — the auditing arm of Congress — launch a “broad investigation” into the federal aid to AIG.

The lawmakers asked for “a full review of all aspects of federal assistance” through the Fed, Treasury or any other government entity from 2007 to the present. Included in the review, they said, should be an examination of (1) AIG’s payments to counterparties of credit default swap contracts and specifically whether the decision “left money on the table” (2) Who made the decision to pay counterparties at par and under what authority (3) The decision not to disclose the identities of those counterparties until March 2009 and why (4) The decision not to allow AIG to file for bankruptcy protection and (5) The implications of the AIG bailout for future federal aid to private firms.

“Due in no small part to consistent pressure applied by Congress, the details regarding the AIG counterparty issue have emerged to paint a clearer picture of how events unfolded over a tumultuous period in the financial markets,” the lawmakers wrote to Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. “Now, through this request, we ask not only what happened, but also, why?”

A GAO audit will take at least several months. Next Wednesday, the lawmakers may get some of the answers they want when the Oversight committee holds a hearing on the AIG rescue.

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Etc., Safety

Instant gratification can be an amazing thing, a fact evidenced once again by the always-on-top-of-things nature of Twitter. Apparently, Detroit Auto Show attendees were evacuated from Cobo Hall a short time ago after a reported electrical fire broke out at the Audi exhibit. Says the official NAIAS Twitter feed:

There was a small electrical fire inside Cobo. The fire is out and everything is under control… The building was cleared as a precautionary measure. The show will reopen in a couple hours.

Reports are unclear as to how the fire actually started, with some witnesses seeing sparks and others reporting flames as high as the ceiling with pieces of display falling down. Regardless, it’s clear that thick smoke currently fills Cobo Hall and police, firefighters and other emergency personnel are on the scene.

Showgoers can get their hands stamped in order to get a voucher to come back another day, or wait until 5PM when the doors are currently scheduled to reopen. More info as we get it. Click here for a few photos posted on Twitter. Thanks for the tip, Chris!

[Source: Twitter]

BREAKING: Fire breaks out at Cobo, Detroit Auto Show evacuated originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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