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Top news on 17 September 2009 |
Birther Queen Orly Taitz: I'm Like Mandela!
In an interview with TPM just now, Birther evangelist Orly Taitz fired back at Clay Land, the U.S. district court judge who tore apart Birtherism and threatened Taitz with sanctions in an order today, saying that "somebody should consider trying [the judge] for treason and aiding and abetting this massive fraud known as Barack Hussein Obama."
Activison Proud Of How It Gouges Customers Over Pricing
Activison CEO Bobby Kotick has revealed how he turns your $50 purchase of Guitar Hero into a $500 stream of revenue for his company.
Are "other touch-screen Zune players" on the horizon?
If there really is more to come, Microsoft isn't going to let us in on the secret that easily. "We've always said that we're committed to Zune in the long-term and will continue to evolve Zune over time," a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars
First rocky planet found outside solar system
Scientists have discovered the first confirmed Earthlike planet outside our solar system, they announced Wednesday.
Burt Reynolds In Rehab, Found Lying In Pool Of Blood
Burt Reynolds has checked into rehab in West Palm Beach to be treated for an addiction to painkillers, following an allegedly grisly and bizarre incident in late August. He was found semi-conscious and covered in blood in his Hobe Sound, Florida, home, the National Enquirer reports.
Who are the Oldest Actors Playing High-Schoolers on TV?
It?s a time-honored tradition for high school dramas to be populated with actors well out of their teens. Their characters may flirt at parties to the sounds of Lady Gaga and dance at the high school prom to Taylor Swift, but in real life, some of these actors haven?t been in school since Kurt Cobain was alive. Who are they?
Arrested Development Producer Ron Howard To Do New TV Show
The "Arrested Development" executive producer is back with a new comedy series set at the IRS.
Misdirection: 11 Hollywood Directors Who "Present" Films
Increasingly, famous Hollywood directors are "presenting" movies. They neither directed nor produced these movies, but for the sake of clout, marketing, and getting more people in the theatre, 'presenters' seem to be needed.
Holy Bike Suit Batman! A Motorcycle Wet Dream Come True
Looking for a way to waste your hard earned cash on junk? Well, Universal Designs has exactly what your looking for.
British Unemployment Hits 14-Year High
The number of unemployed climbed by 210,000 to 2.47 million people in the three months to July -- the highest level since May 1995 -- despite tentative signs of economic recovery.
6 Star Wars Characters Too Retarded for Film
The expanded universe of Star Wars expanded deep into the realm of stupidity.
Scientists Cure Color Blindness In Monkeys
Scientists cast a rosy light on the potential for gene therapy to treat adult vision disorders involving cone cells -- the most important cells for vision in people. Scientists used gene therapy to cure two squirrel monkeys of color blindness -- the most common genetic disorder in people.
The Left Should Reclaim 'Freedom'
There are few things in politics more annoying than the right's utter conviction that it owns the patent on the word "freedom" that when its leaders stand up for the rights of banks to be unregulated or capital gains to be untaxed, that it is actually and obviously standing up for human liberty, the noblest cause of them all.
Officers Want Right to Criticize Their Boss on Facebook
The right of Australian workers to talk trash about their boss online could become enshrined in law if a landmark case by a group of outspoken prison officers - dubbed the Facebook Five - is successful.
Opera Mini 5 Beta Bring Tabs, Speed Dial, Better Performance
Opera Mini, the Java-based mobile browser from Opera (which means it can run on any phone, regardless of platform, that runs Java ME), has a new version. It brings a number of improvements compared to the previous major version. The most important new feature is tabbed browsing. Speed Dial feature was also included along with other features.
Blind Grandmother Recovers Sight With Implanted Tooth In Eye
A 60-year-old US grandmother, blind for nearly a decade, has recovered her sight after surgeons implanted a tooth in her eye as a base to hold a tiny plastic lens, her doctors said Wednesday.
The New Homesteaders: Off-the-Grid & Self-Reliant
You may have heard about them: Off-the-gridders living in radical opposition to modern amenities by cutting themselves off from the rest of society. Not so. The new homesteaders are simply DIYers who revel in self-reliance. This is their story.
Coldplay Settles Joe Satriani Lawsuit
Coldplay and Satriani have settled their legal disputes and the guitarist's lawsuit alleging copyright infringement has been dismissed.
Who's Responsiblef for the Slow Progress of Cancer Drugs?
Some say that the man in charge of the nation?s cancer drug office makes it too hard for drugs to come to market.
Ice space mission returns for second go (w/VID)
Four years on from losing the Cryosat "ice explorer" on launch, the mission team is back for a second attempt with a replacement spacecraft.
Breakthrough Nano Tech Will Boost Solar Power Efficiency
Chemical engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) have invented a new way to deposit "nanostructure films" on a variety of surfaces. The first use they foresee for this technique is eyeglasses; this could make them better and less expensive. But the holy grail here is making more efficient solar panels to reduce the cost of solar power.
World Bank spends billions on coal-fired power stations
The World Bank is spending billions subsidising new coal-fired power stations in developing countries despite claiming that burning fossil fuels exposes the poor to catastrophic climate change. It says the world must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, but it is funding several giant coal-burning plants that will each emit millions of tonnes...
Facebook 'finally making money'
Facebook says it is now bringing in more money than it is spending.
The Ten Greatest Films of Steven Soderbergh
With Steven Soderbergh's latest slice of cinematic greatness hitting theaters this week in The Informant!, why not take a look back at the amazing career of one of the most important filmmakers of the last two decades. With as impressive a range of films as anyone working today, he has an ability to go from blockbusters to indie films flawlessly.
Do Early-Release Programs Raise the Crime Rate?
Under the strain of budget cuts, many U.S. states are releasing prisoners early, saving millions of dollars. But what does that mean for the safety of communities?
Sci-Fi Special: The Fiction of Now
Newscientist editor Kim Stanley Robinson challenged eight leading British SF authors to write flash fiction about the world 100 years from now. See the results.
New Pirate Bay Host Got Hollywood Threats In 20 Minutes
Last month, the bandwidth supplier to The Pirate Bay was ordered by a court to disconnect it from the Internet. Within hours the site had relocated and was back online with a new host ? who immediately received similar entertainment industry threats. Maybe Open Internet, a new fighting fund, can help?
NCAA president Myles Brand, 67, loses fight with cancer
After fighting pancreatic cancer for nearly a year, NCAA president Myles Brand passed away Wednesday. He was 67. Brand became a sports figure when, as Indiana University president, he fired basketball coach Bob Knight.
Happiness: The New Currency in France
Gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment- these are old-fashioned, Anglo-Saxon indicators of national wellbeing, says the president of France. From now on, the country's economic progress will be measured in terms of happiness.
50 Cent: Piracy Is A Part Of The Marketing
50 cent sees piracy as a part of the marketing of a musician, because "the people who didn't purchase the material, they end up at the concert." He says that people can fall in love with the music either way, and then they'll go to concerts. He notes that you can't stop piracy either way, so why try to fight it?
Gladiator Team Goes Vampire
Patients who are terminally ill gets bitten by a bat in South America only to discover they're magically cured. The government, never one to overlook a patent on a miracle cure, starts experimenting on human subjects with the bat virus. This is the plot of an as-yet-unpublished book being turned into a movie by Ridley Scott.
17 Coolest G.I. Joe and Cobra Animal Sidekicks
Seriously, think about how many animals were staying the the Joe's and Cobra HQs. Those places must smelled like a goddamn zoo.
Military Robot Can Jump 7-meter Walls
A shoebox-sized military robot has been revealed which can jump over walls 25ft (7.5m) high.
Designated driver gets $209K after being tossed out of a bar
The man who says he was roughed up and tossed out of a bar because he wouldn't drink alcohol has won a $209,000 judgment against two people and the company that owns Carlie's Lounge.
First look: Zune HD
The Zune HD goes on sale today. It's small, has a gorgeous OLED screen, WiFi, HD radio, and even apps. Our first impressions of the device inside.
Universal Releases Details of Harry Potter-Land
It's called "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter." I don't know how to feel about it. Even leaving aside the odious press-release-ese (TWWoHP "brings the stories of Harry Potter to life in a way never before imagined"? Don't tell me what I have or haven't imagined you bezoar-eating shill) can I get past liking books and not theme parks?
Neuroscientists are figuring out how the brain learns to see
By studying rare cases of restored vision in older children and young adults, MIT neuroscientists are figuring out how the brain learns to see.
Dung Farm Boom! Converting Human Waste to Energy
Human waste is highly underrated -- and highly profitable.
Can Condoms Curb Climate Change Cheaper Than Green Cars?
A new report, Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost, suggests that family planning should be seen as a primary method for curbing greenhouse-gas emissions.
Titanic-Themed Hotel To Be Constructed At its Birthplace
Although the Titanic's remote watery grave is almost 2.5 miles under the icy waves of the North Atlantic Ocean, enthusiasts may soon be able to spend the night at the luxury liner's birthplace.
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