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How Fun Would a Biden Pick Be?

2008-08-20T15:30:44+00:00

Check out this item from First Read: Yesterday, all the signs pointed to the fact that Biden was emerging Obama's likely VP pick -- until the Delaware senator quickly seemed to dash that speculation yesterday. "You guys have better things to do," Biden told the reporters staking him out, as he was leaving his home in Delaware to play golf. I'm not the guy.' But upon his return, he appeared to walk back that denial. 'I promise, I don't know anything, have no idea, have spoken to no one," Biden said. Then asked whether he thinks he's still being considered, he answered: 'I have no idea. You guys know as well as I do. See ya, fellas.' A Biden source told us not to read too much into his I'm-not-the-guy statement, saying he was pretending not to be Biden -- rather than stating he wasn't going to be Obama's VP.

McCain-Clinton 2008 Watch

2008-08-20T15:30:44+00:00

Carly Fiorina meets with Tony Rodham.

MBTA affirms that vulnerabilities exist, judge lifts gag order on MIT students

2008-08-20T15:29:54+00:00

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

No surprise here, but the kids from MIT were (presumably) right all along. The three students who were muffled just before presenting their case at Defcon have finally been freed; the now-revoked gag order had prevented them from exposing insecurities in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ticket system, but during the same court setting, the MBTA fessed up and admitted that its current system was indeed vulnerable. Of note, it only confessed that its CharlieTicket system was susceptible to fraud, while simply not acknowledging any flaws in the more popular CharlieCard option. Pish posh -- who here believes it doesn't have dutiful employees working up a fix as we speak?

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GC 2008: Sony officially announces PSP-3000

2008-08-20T15:30:12+00:00

Filed under: Sony PSP

Sony has taken the opportunity of the Leipzig Games Convention to reveal the brand-spanking new PSP-3000, arriving Oct 15 in Europe for €199 (around $250), according to our main man Jem Alexander, who's currently on site at the press conference.

Though it will look the same as the PSP Slim (that's what the pic above is of, actually), you can expect an improved screen that's better outside with no glare and a built-in mic. This jibes with rumors we've heard previously, but we don't know if the new "PS Button" is part of the package. We'll keep you posted.

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"I have not made the decision and we're in the process."

2008-08-20T15:30:44+00:00

McCain with Laura. All he would say of substance was to repeat his Saddleback line about his pro-life record, that he will have a pro-life administration with pro-life policies.

Steven Weber: Don't Read This

2008-08-20T15:30:07+00:00

Detach.

Detach and save your soul.

Because there isn't anything you will learn that you already don't know in your heart. You've seen this movie before, over and over and you know what they'll say, what they want to do. They will say John McCain is a hero and Barack Obama is different and they want to open your head and keep it open until they have poured as much trash into it as it can hold.

And it can hold a lot, having been stretched like bladders under a patchwork of skin grafts for the last decade. What used to be a repository for hope, for dreams, for decency toward others, is now a receptacle for lies.

Because there is simply no gauge, no math that can square a guy like McCain unless it's rigged, which of course it is. Just like there was never any real accounting for the likes of Bush and his warped legacy of failure though that failure is clear as day. There is just no way to forgive these con men who are able to perform the most paltry sleight of hand to the continued mind-numbing mystification of the masses; nor will there be any way to justify the tragic fallibility of those that have and continue to support them, those legions of bobble heads allowing the rapists to do what comes naturally to them, angry even if they should ever be thwarted. Who would prefer going to a dentist who, though likable in a frat-boy kind of way, leaves the mouths of his patients a bloody, pus-filled mess.

Zealots rarely wake up and greed whores rarely reform. Any assertion to the contrary is more of the con, more cant to swallow whole, more illusion sold as reality. Let's hope the lights never do come on at this point. Americans will be shocked at the state of themselves.

So detach. Turn off your TV's. Turn away from the pundits, the polls and the pols. Don't listen to them anymore. You can do it. You need to.
Detach.

The Seminal Question Regarding Obama and Born-Alive

2008-08-20T15:30:44+00:00

Even if one accepts any one of Obama's (four and counting) explanations for his vote against the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, his position remains problematic, if not untenable. Consider: Obama sits through testimony that babies born alive after an unsuccessful abortion are left to die alone in a utility closet. The babies are provided neither comfort, care, nor sustenance during their brief lives. When this practice was brought to public attention horrified citizens petitioned their legislators to address the matter. Proposed legislation is drafted. Obama examines the draft of the Born-Alive Act and declares it deficient. Obama maintains that he would vote for the legislation if it did not curtail or derogate extant abortion rights. Remedying the alleged defect in the draft legislation is not a difficult task. It requires merely the insertion of a 'neutrality clause' that says, in effect, 'this legislation won't affect existing abortion rights.' Obama, lecturer in constitutional law at the prestigious University of Chicago Law School, former Editor in Chief of the Harvard Law Review and undoubtedly the one most qualified in the entire Illinois state legislature to address the issue lifts not one finger to remedy the alleged defect in the draft. Instead, when the draft is amended to include the neutrality language, Obama votes against it. Obama is the agent of change and compassion. He can heal the planet and lower the oceans. By stating that he would've voted for the bill had it contained the neutrality clause, he conveys that he supports the principles of the Born-Alive Act. Yet he takes no action whatsoever to make it happen. Therefore, even if we accept any one of Obama's explanations regarding his vote against Born-Alive, we're holding him to an incredibly low standard for someone who intends to lead the nation. If he supports the principle of Born-Alive, the question isn't why he voted against it -- the question should be, 'Sen. Obama, given your education, skills and background why didn't you take the relatively simple step of amending the draft so that the bill would work?' Isn't that what we expect from a leader? Obama voted 'present' more than 100 times in the Illinois state legislature. Why did he rouse himself to vote 'No' on this one? Obama has found time to ponder the habeas rights of foreign terrorists but no time to ponder the rights of babies born alive? Is it that far above his pay grade?

Paul Waldman: McCain thinks the media is out to get him...try not to laugh

2008-08-20T15:30:07+00:00

Observers of politics know they can count on at least one constant in presidential campaigns: Whenever the Republican candidate is down in the polls, he begins to complain about the media (Democrats do it sometimes too, but not nearly as often). But when that candidate is John McCain, one would be forgiven for believing the current race has descended into some parallel universe where everything is upside-down.

After all, for more than a decade, John McCain has been the media's favorite politician. Even conservatives have long acknowledged that McCain enjoys a special place in the hearts of the Washington press corps.

In a press release that elevated feigned outrage to high art, McCain's campaign distributed a letter it had written to the president of NBC News complaining that on last Sunday's "Meet the Press," chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell repeated a criticism from the Obama campaign without questioning its veracity. The fact that this happens a hundred times a day in newspapers and on television news with criticisms from both campaigns didn't much matter; the point was to put pressure on journalists to change their coverage in order to avoid further complaints.

No politician in Washington understands journalists better than McCain does. For years, he has courted, flattered, and cooperated with journalists in an attempt to win their affections. The results have been impressive. Literally thousands of times, reporters have written or said that McCain is a "maverick" who delivers "straight talk," the Arizona senator's campaign slogans infusing his coverage.

While some politicians seek legislative accomplishments to rise up the ladder, McCain's strategy for advancement was built on press relations. Were it not for his unique relationship with reporters, it is unlikely that McCain would be his party's nominee for president. It was the media's favorable treatment of McCain - putting him on the front pages, penning fawning profiles of him, and inviting him on the network Sunday morning talk shows 154 times over the past 10 years (more than any other political figure) - that made McCain a national figure.

And in this campaign, it is no exaggeration to say that the media saved McCain. Through much of 2007, his campaign was low in the polls and struggling to raise money. But when he began to show the barest signs of life, many in the media reacted as though their hero had returned, and put him back at the center of campaign coverage. "There's something genuine here, something selfless, even quietly grand in his campaign," gushed MSNBC's Chris Matthews. Jon Meacham of Newsweek declared a McCain comeback "good news for all of us, whatever our politics." When McCain came in fourth in Iowa with a mere 13 percent of the vote, the press treated it as a grand victory, propelling him into New Hampshire and beyond.

In the general election, the most important benefit McCain has reaped from his special relationship with the press is that for so many reporters and pundits, the conclusions about him are already made. When another candidate commits a series of foreign policy gaffes - saying Iran is training al-Qaida in Iraq, saying the "Anbar Awakening" happened as a result of the surge when in fact it predated it, referring repeatedly to countries that no longer exist - reporters say the mistakes "raise questions" about how much the candidate understands foreign affairs. When another candidate stocks his campaign with corporate lobbyists, pundits wonder whether he is too tied to special interests and too much a part of the corrupt Washington culture. When another candidate changes his positions on a whole series of issues in order to curry favor with his party's base, commentators use the dreaded "flip-flop" term and question his integrity.

Many journalists decided long ago that McCain is just different from other politicians. They declare McCain innocent of all the sins they associate with other members of his profession, no matter how often he commits them. They testify that McCain is too modest to mention his POW experience in Vietnam, but McCain now brings it up all the time. They ask whether his opponent's poor bowling skills make him an "elitist," but never wonder whether McCain's (at least) seven homes and $520 Italian loafers disconnect him from the average Joe. They seem to believe that McCain is the one politician who never does anything for political reasons, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

A few months ago, McCain's campaign manager was quoted in The New York Times calling him "the best earned-media candidate in history." For those unfamiliar with the lingo, "earned media" means press coverage. It's something people in Washington have known for a long time. This campaign has already had more than its share of absurdity, from flag pins to Paris Hilton. But the idea that the media aren't being nice enough to John McCain may be the most ridiculous thing we've heard yet.

Paul Waldman is a senior fellow at Media Matters Action Network, a progressive media watchdog, and is co-author of the recent book "Free Ride: John McCain and the Media" (Vintage Anchor, 2008).

This column was originally printed in Newsday.

More on John McCain<br style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=84c017669183bcc65d599086f2163a88"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=84c017669183bcc65d599086f2163a88"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=84c017669183bcc65d599086f2163a88" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

This Veep Watch Is Officially Getting Out of Control

2008-08-20T15:30:44+00:00

An e-mail: Good Morning Kathryn, I was just looking over the list of speakers for the GOP convention, and noticed something: Go here: http://www.foxnews.com/urgent_queue/index.html#38a7da9e,2008-08-20 Look down the list, to Wednesday's schedule. It currently shows this: Wednesday - 9-3 Senator Norm Coleman Meg Whittman Carley Fiorina Governor Mitt Romeny Cindy McCain Governor Bobby Jindal - Vice Presidetial Nominee Note the hyphen behind Jindal's name. Could be nothing...could be something.

Reuters/Zogby: McCain Up 5

2008-08-20T15:30:44+00:00

Here.

1% of Australia’s Geothermal Power Potential = 26,000 Years of Energy

2008-08-20T15:30:16+00:00

image: AGEA Yesterday Google announced that it was getting into the geothermal power game, investing over $10 million into researching Enhanced Geothermal Systems. It is estimated that using this technology, just 2% of the heat below North America would easily supply all of the United States’ current energy needs. Now, a new report shows similarly large geothermal potential in Australia: An Australian government scientist told Reuters that 1% of the nation’s unta...

New Guillemots Video - "Kriss Kross"

2008-08-20T15:32:59+00:00

Guillemots are all about branding. Much like the red-hued video for "Get Over It," there's lots of red in the video for "Kriss Kross" (the album's called Red, bingo). The dark-to-light kriss-krossing track came packing a typewriter riff and general prime-time-criminal-drama vibe as a free download a ways back. In its video form, it comes packing super saturated effects, oversized shades, and Fyfe looking like a bit like Jamie Lidell.

Kathleen Sebelius

2008-08-20T15:30:44+00:00

The Kansas governor's picture has been up on Drudge since yesterday afternoon as a possible Obama veep choice. Barack Obama will not choose her unless he wants to officially declare the Democratic party the Party of Death (Hat Tip to Ramesh, who did not call the Democratic party the party of death, but if that's the Change You Can Believe in that The One wants to offer ....). What's the Matter with Kansas is that Planned Parenthood seems to operate like a political machine there (just ask Phill Kline). And Barack Obama doesn't need that kind of attention -- a running mate who held a reception for George Tiller last year at the governor's residence. In response to buzz that she might be under consideration, Robert Novak called her the "Vice President for Abortion." The President for Infanticide might not want that if he actually wants to be president.

Abundant Sunshine Through Weekend

2008-08-20T15:32:55+00:00

The first line of the Weather Service's forecast discussion contains all you need to know about the forecast "High pressure will remain over the region through Sunday." There is no chance of rain and barely the chance for a cloud to appear for the next several days. The high will be to the west of the city today and tomorrow, allowing lots of cool dry air to filter into town. The high today will only reach the mid 70s. Tomorrow's high may creep into the low 80s.

As the high moves east of the city tomorrow night the winds will shift to come out of a more southerly direction. Friday should be slightly warmer than normal with a high around 83. Saturday and Sunday are currently expected to warm to the mid 80s. The next chance of rain will be late Sunday night.

Following Monday's post on 90 degree days several commented that this summer has been cool and wet. You might think so given the recent weather, but memories are hazy and heavily biased toward remembering what has happened most recently. The rainfall since June 1st has been just about average. Temperatures have been running 1.5 degrees warmer than normal. Of the last 76 days, 42 have been warmer than average, four have been exactly average and 30 have been cooler than normal. Almost half of those cool days have happened in the last three weeks.

This morning's surface weather map from the Weather Channel

Freddie Krueger: 'Memba Him?!

2008-08-20T15:29:56+00:00

Filed under: Movies, Beauty, 'Memba Them?!

Robert Englund is famous for playing undead serial killer Freddie Krueger in the 1984 film "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and all its sequels. Guess what he looks like now!...

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Microsoft fesses up to a new, tweaked Xbox 360 controller

2008-08-20T15:29:54+00:00

Filed under: Gaming

According to gamesindustry.biz, Microsoft is confirming a slight revision to its Xbox 360 controller design. Apparently, the new iteration of the gamepad includes enhancements to its d-pad, which admittedly has always been somewhat lacking. In Microsoft's words: "The new limited edition green wireless controller offers enhancements to d-pad functionality, which will add to the experience of playing games where the d-pad is the primary control mechanism." We'd like to think that this d-pad tweak will finally give us an opportunity to level up in COD4 from Corporal to Lieutenant General in no time.

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Country Star Wants Cold One, Gets Cold-Cocked

2008-08-20T15:29:56+00:00

Filed under: Wacky & Weird

Country star Pat Green wanted a beer on stage the other night -- he got one, all right.Green was singin' after a NASCAR race Saturday when he asked all his rowdy friends, "Anyone got a beer?" Well, someone delivered a full unopened can -- right...

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Greg Mitchell: Biden Is Now Heavy Favorite -- Among Political 'Investors'

2008-08-20T15:30:07+00:00

A surge of "investments" in Sen. Joe Biden has now made him the heavy favorite to get the nod for Vice President to run with Barack Obama.

Intrade, the well-known "prediction market" where people can buy and shell shares in candidates (among other things), reports today that Biden "has overtaken Evan Bayh as the most likely running mate...In a day of frenzied trading on the Intrade political prediction market," Biden's chances gained another 18.9 points to close at 49.8% chance of victory -- up nearly 300% in the past week. Bayh, at 12.1%, is off 63%.

Tim Kaine and Kathleen Sebelius also now top Bayh, with 13% of the market. Hillary Clinton lags at 8.1%.

On the GOP side, Tim Pawlenty has gained 27 points to tie Mitt Romney at 30%, who dropped 15%. Tom Ridge was unchanged at 20% and Charlie Crist gained to 15%.

Meanwhile, in the race for the White House, investors are a little down on Obama, with his standing dropping to 60% from a high of about 70% last month.

More on Evan Bayh<br style="clear: both;"/> <img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=6532d61be3a9027fba6d34ffbb591b68" height="1" width="1"/> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=6532d61be3a9027fba6d34ffbb591b68" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Lucid's multi-GPU HYDRA technology explained

2008-08-20T15:29:54+00:00

Filed under: Gaming

Putting it simply, Lucid's goal with its HYDRA technology is to "build a completely GPU-independent graphics scaling technology" which enables two completely different cards to work together in harmony with "little to no software overhead." Let that sink in a minute. Now that a puzzled look has surely overtaken your face, we'd strongly recommend hitting the read link for a (very) detailed look at the technology, an explanation of how it works and even a few hard hitting questions addressed to the company. We're trying to stifle our excitement here, but are hopes are escalating quickly.

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'Young and the Restless' Actress Reaches Out to Troubled Pregnant Women

2008-08-20T15:32:44+00:00

As Phyllis on The Young and the Restless, Michelle Stafford has often been described as a "home-wrecker." In real life, however, the 42-year-old actress is quite the opposite. In fact, she has been lending her name to a good cause,...

I Love Money: Hoopz in Cover of King Magazine

2008-08-20T15:32:44+00:00

Winner of the first season of Flavor of Love and current I Love Money contestant Hoopz is gracing the cover of the latest issue of King magazine, which doesn't only feature her stunning body, but is described as one of...

'Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' To Return in October

2008-08-20T15:32:44+00:00

It’s amazing how creative producers are when it comes to coming up with reality programs that showcase not just something interesting out of the ordinary lives of some, but also entertains us with the sometimes wacky, at times overly dramatic...

Apple replacing frayed MagSafe power cables

2008-08-20T15:30:38+00:00

Filed under: Accessories, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air

According to a Knowledge Base article posted last week, Apple is now replacing (free of charge) frayed, discolored and deformed MagSafe power adapters for MacBook and MacBook Pro.

But -- and there's always a but -- they will only replace it if there's no sign of "abuse." So if you've been doing the right thing and holding the hard plastic connector to disconnect the cable, you might not have to pay another $80 for a new power adapter.

If your connector looks like the one pictured, and has been babied its entire life, then take it back to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider or an Apple retail store for an evaluation and replacement. It doesn't matter if the warranty has expired.

Also -- bonus points for the greeked copy at the bottom of Knowledge Base article page. I'm sure that counts for a shot in some obscure Apple website drinking game.

Thanks, Jeff!

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Predictably, new Mad World footage looks amazing

2008-08-20T15:30:12+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Action

We don't really see the point in new footage of Mad World. Oh, don't get us wrong, we're grateful for it. It's just that we're so clearly going to buy the game the moment it's within the reach of our grubby mitts, we don't know why Sega is trying to convince us to buy it harder.

But for those of you that weren't convinced pre-trailer, we're just going to assume you've firmly aligned yourself with the believers. Did you see that dude throwing other dudes into a fan? Did you see those cyclones picking up cars? Did you see that dude rubbing that other dude on a moving train? Are they serious with this? Can we buy two, one to play and one to crush up and mainline?

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Shawn Johnson, You Little Rat

2008-08-20T15:29:56+00:00

Filed under: Talk Sports, We're Just Sayin'

Here's tiny 16-year-old women's gymnastics individual all-around Olympic silver medalist Shawn Johnson (left) -- and "The Ed Sullivan Show's" favorite soft foam Italian mouse Topo Gigio (right).Only one of them is a puppet.We're just sayin'... See...

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