| IT Who Needs Due Process? Senate Passes Spy Bill
U.S. Senate to telecoms -- I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine. Telecoms and many in the federal Executive branch seemed quite content with the increased usage of warrantless phone surveillance, which some people feel violates Americans' legal rights. The telecoms received large paychecks for every wiretap put in place; Comcast's rate was a modest $1,000 per tap. Meanwhile, politicians are happy because they were able to extend their surveillance programs as planned. The program may toss due process out the window, but, in their opinion, that is a necessary loss to deal with today's troubled world. Then all of a sudden the good times ended, when a few members of Congress demanded telecom's spy records for hearings on the legality of the program. The phone companies refused, and all of a sudden, their dirty laundry was aired to the public. The public exposure opened the NSA and telecoms up to legal action from civil liberties groups and citizens. Sure enough, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed for a class action lawsuit for the warrantless eavesdropping practices. Such a lawsuit could cost telecoms and the U.S.
Porsche's legal threat over sports car charge
Sometimes, a fiery rebuttal is enough to tell you that you're on the right track.Yesterday, Porsche threatened to take London's mayor Ken Livingstone to court over his proposal to charge certain cars £25 a day to enter the city.Livingstone, one of the 40 mayors involved in the Cities Climate Leadership Group, introduced the congestion charge in central London in 2003. Under this scheme, cars entering the centre of the city pay £8 ($15) per day. It has had mixed reviews. (Personally I have no problem with it, but then I wouldn't: I don't own a car.)Livingstone now wants to increase the penalty to £25 ($49) for gas-guzzlers (defined as cars emitting more than 225 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled). This includes 4x4s and sports cars.Porsche claims the fee is unfair. In a press release, they say they intend to write to Livingstone this week.
Head-banging Marcus Hahnemann is ready to rock with Cristiano Ronaldo
Marcus Hahnemann, the Reading goalkeeper, is no stereotypical footballer, no average Joe. The bald-headed American owns an armoury of assorted guns and, an avid petrol-head, likes nothing better than tinkering under the bonnet of his ageing Porsche. Yet when it comes to preparing for matches – even the biggest, as when Manchester United, the Barclays Premier League leaders, visit the Madejski Stadium today – routine is everything. Same old this, same old that. Superstition rules, with a quirky twist. Friday evening is chill-out time. "Chicken fajitas first," Hahnemann said. "Then I stick myself in the loft for a couple of hours and play my Halo [video game]. That’s where it all starts." Match day never changes, either. A tuna sandwich three hours before kick-off, then an ear-bashing drive to the stadium to the brain-numbing accompaniment of Slipknot and Tool.
Can Redmond rivals storm the Office stronghold?
After years of watching Microsoft rake in billions of dollars from its desktop software franchise, its competitors are pouncing. IBM has announced the release of Lotus Symphony, a suite of free desktop applications based on the OpenOffice.org open-source product. The computing giant, which has been challenging Microsoft's desktop dominance for years, said Lotus Symphony is a standards-based alternative to Microsoft's proprietary Office. Separately, Yahoo! said it paid $350m to acquire Zimbra, a start-up that developed a web-based email and collaboration package comparable with Microsoft Exchange and Outlook. Meanwhile, Google has introduced Google Presentations, an online version of Microsoft's PowerPoint presentation application that complements Google's web-hosted document editor and spreadsheet.
What Is the ‘Change We Can Believe In’?
Obama, too, learned life-changing political lesson on the same mean streets of Chicago where Alinksy plied his trade decades earlier. He spoke of himself as a community organizer in his magnetic and impassioned ML King-style speech/sermon on Super Tuesday. Many moons ago, the New Republic wrote of his days as a community organizer when he was in his 20's: "With his old classmates from Columbia, he had talked frequently about political change. Now, he was moving to Chicago to put that talk into action. His 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father, recounts his idealistic effusions: "Change won't come from the top, I would say. Change will come from a mobilized grass roots. That's what I'll do. I'll organize black folks. At the grass roots. For change." I could relate to that sentiment because in the mid-sixties I went from civil rights organizing in Harlem (in the days when "The Movement" was proudly interracial) to enlist in a community organizing school directed by Fred Ross with Saul Alinksy himself as our visiting guru.
Siemens's XELIBRI Fashionable Cellphones
Like a Lamborghini or a gorgeous blonde on your arm, your cellphone is a status symbol. To boldly underline this point, German electronics giant Siemens has created a new brand of sexy, eye-popping mobile phones called XELIBRI. In a move to make its mobile phones into more of a fashion accessory, Siemens will sell the XELIBRI line primarily in department stores and through other fashion retailers. Like high-end fashion, these phones will be available in Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter collections, with a choice of four models in each collection. Each phone will be available for a cycle of 12 months. This guarantees that you're not walking around with the same phone as everyone else. With a look and feel that's different from any other, the XELIBRI line is sure to attract the attention you're looking for.
Douglas Pils: Where will Romo fall in pecking order of Cowboys' QBs?
Has Clemens sullied Texas' good name and done a disservice to all those who came before him by making himself look silly in the past week? That's what bothers us about whether or not Clemens had trainer Brian McNamee inject him with steroids and human growth hormone. If true, this isn't Mark McGwire or Barry Bonds, people who are easy to mock from afar. No, if true, this one hits closer to home. You wanted to hear this kind of indignation from McGwire, but in the back of your mind you knew he couldn't do it. McGwire followed the "rules" of the day and he did it better than anyone until Bonds. Now, we're left to wonder if Clemens is less like Ryan and more like Big Mac. Coming at us with the "third-ear-out-of-my-forehead" defense doesn't sound like a man intent on making us believe him.
Tata's Rs 1lakh car to put India on global auto map
MUMBAI: Only 10 years ago, India's Tata Motors Ltd unveiled its first car, a hatchback that established the truck maker's credentials as a car maker.
On Thursday, the $7.8 billion company unveils its boldest initiative yet, a car that will sell for just $2,500, less than half the cheapest car on the market.
Dubbed the 'People's Car', it will determine Tata's place in the global automotive arena, where the battle is increasingly being fought in emerging economies such as India, China and Russia.
The new model, using re-engineered plastics and modern adhesives, is a far cry from the premium Jaguar and Land Rover brands Tata is negotiating to acquire from Ford Motor Co. Tata Motors' drive to produce a cheap, no-nonsense, small car was born from close observation of a local market where millions often ferry families of four, plus baggage, on motorbikes and scooters.
Notes: Franchitti takes full advantage of test sessions
The last time Dario Franchitti wheeled around California Speedway, it was from the vantage point of an open-wheel cockpit in 2005. Having spent the past two days acclimating both to his new Sprint Cup Series car and a heretofore familiar track, Franchitti was anticipating a quiet Saturday morning. .
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