Tag Archives: current

Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous commits suicide.

Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous has committed suicide, his publicist confirms to Rolling Stone. Best known for his acclaimed work with Sparklehorse, who released four albums of imaginative ambient psych-folk, Linkous also produced Daniel Johnston’s 2003 album 'Fear Yourself' and collaborated with Danger Mouse on 'Dark Night of the Soul'. Sad. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2010/03/06/sparklehorses-mark-li… added by: wiredbirds

Sean Penn — Close Encounter at Academy Awards

Filed under: TV There are reports swirling that Sean Penn had a confrontation last night with “The Hurt Locker” producer Greg Shapiro — who happens to be the current BF of Sean’s estranged ex Robin Wright. We’ve been making calls and here’s what we know … First, … Permalink

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Sean Penn — Close Encounter at Academy Awards

A World Without Toilets: Vanguard Update from India

I’m currently working on a story about toilets, or the lack thereof, in much of the world. Our journey starts here in India, which has the largest toiletless population on the planet. It was another eye-opening day here. We spent the day inside one of Delhi’s 1,500 or so “clusters,” or slums. While the toiletless population expands far beyond slum dwellers, it’s in here where the problem is at its worst. In this particular slum, there’s one toilet block for 5000 people — many of whom cannot afford the 1 rupee-per-use cost. One of the slum’s organizers introduced us to many of the residents here, who spoke to us about the many problems afflicting the population here — lack of toilets — lack of any sort of sanitation. People here are living within feet of open sewers — literally a shit-filled toilet within feet of where they eat and sleep each night. As we continued on, the picture just got worse and worse. More to come in our doc. (See more photos from my tour of the toilet museum here and from the Holi celebration here.) Follow me on Twitter, or the full Vanguard team, to get updates from the field as we shoot. added by: Adam_Yamaguchi

Man wins Chatroulette. Game over.

After 'disarm an armed man in front of TV news cameras' and 'have brunch', this is next on my list of things to try. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx4mTYR1VVI added by: richjm

Girl mistakes gun for Wii controller – kills herself

A 3-year-old Wilson County girl accidentally shot and killed herself Sunday night, said local police. The incident happened at about 6:15 p.m. in her home located off of Cainsville Road. According to investigators, the girl's father had left a semi-automatic weapon on the counter, and the child mistook it for a “Wii” video game controller. The child was fatally shot in the abdomen. The girl was rushed to University Medical Center in Lebanon where she was pronounced dead. As of Sunday night, no charges had been filed in the case. http://allaboutthegames.co.uk/feature_story.php?headline=Girl-mistakes-gun-for-W… added by: Sexirobot

Ahmadinejad Calls 9/11 "Big Fabrication"

“(Reuters) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the September 11 attacks on the United States a “big fabrication” that was used to justify the U.S. war on terrorism, the official IRNA news agency reported. Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West and Israel, made the comment in a meeting with Intelligence Ministry personnel. Ahmadinejad described the destruction of the twin towers in New York on September 11, 2001 as a “complicated intelligence scenario and act,” IRNA reported. He added: “The September 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging an invasion against Afghanistan.” He did not elaborate. In January, Ahmadinejad termed the September 11 attacks “suspicious” and accused the West of seeking to dominate the Middle East.” more at link… Ahmadinejad=crazy like a fox? Its funny how, Iran, a country that hasn't invaded another country in over 200 years is evil, yet the US military has the country surrounded in Iraq and Afghanistan (all started after 9/11 conveniently). The US is currently dropping drone bombs on villages at 3 times the rate of the Bush administration. Iran's major conflicts occurred internally when the CIA funded coups attempted to overthrow their gov't and when the US armed Saddam Hussein, our former ally in the 80s, to go to war with Iran in the 80s. Even today, the CIA uses Jundallah, a front terror group to carry out attacks on the Iranian National Guard. Translation note: Ahmadinejad never called for Israel “to be wiped off the map,” actually, the line goes more like, “the Occupation regime must end.” Similar translation errors have been exploited, such as the “Death to America” chant that Dick Cheney used so well build up support for war. The real translation is “Down with America,” a little different and less inflammatory. Don't believe the hype, they're going to provocateur an event to instigate war with Iran. It has to be something that makes it look like the US is in the right, justifying the war, when most likely, it'll be a staged-false flag terror attack, just like 9/11, Gulf of Tonkin, the Maine, the Lusitania, Pearl Harbor, the Reichstag…I can go back to Roman times if you want b/c it ain't new. added by: rodstradamus

Hurt Locker Wins Big at Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow takes Best Director

It was the first Iraq war movie to really break through, and now “The Hurt Locker” has won six Academy Awards, including best picture and best director, marking the first time an Oscar for directing has gone to a woman. The movie opens with a quote from Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges. “The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” Hedges wrote that line in his book “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning.” The film is surprisingly apolitical, given its subject matter. It was written and co-produced by Mark Boal, a journalist who won an Oscar for his screenplay. The winning director, Kathryn Bigelow, was only the fourth woman ever nominated in that category. She beat out, among others, Lee Daniels, who would have been the first African-American to take home the best-director statuette. http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/hurt_locker_wins_big_at_oscars_2010030… added by: toreyray

Earthquake in Turkey Kills 51

A strong, pre-dawn earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6 struck eastern Turkey on Monday, killing 51 people as it knocked down stone and mud-brick houses and minarets in at least six villages, the government said. The earthquake surprised many people as they slept, crumpling buildings into piles of rubble. Panicked survivors fled into the narrow village streets, some climbing out of windows, as more than 50 aftershocks measuring up to 5.5 and 5.3 magnitude rattled the region. The Kandilli seismology center said the quake hit at 4:32 a.m. (0232 GMT, 9 p.m. EST Sunday) near the village of Basyurt in Elazig province, about 340 miles (550 kilometers) east of Ankara, the capital. added by: lifestudentno83

Growing low-oxygen zones in oceans worry scientists

Lower levels of oxygen in the Earth's oceans, particularly off the United States' Pacific Northwest coast, could be another sign of fundamental changes linked to global climate change, scientists say. They warn that the oceans' complex undersea ecosystems and fragile food chains could be disrupted. In some spots off Washington state and Oregon, the almost complete absence of oxygen has left piles of Dungeness crab carcasses littering the ocean floor, killed off 25-year-old sea stars, crippled colonies of sea anemones and produced mats of potentially noxious bacteria that thrive in such conditions. Areas of hypoxia, or low oxygen, have long existed in the deep ocean. These areas — in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans — appear to be spreading, however, covering more square miles, creeping toward the surface and in some places, such as the Pacific Northwest, encroaching on the continental shelf within sight of the coastline. “The depletion of oxygen levels in all three oceans is striking,” said Gregory Johnson, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle. In some spots, such as off the Southern California coast, oxygen levels have dropped roughly 20 percent over the past 25 years. Elsewhere, scientists say, oxygen levels might have declined by one-third over 50 years. “The real surprise is how this has become the new norm,” said Jack Barth, an oceanography professor at Oregon State University. “We are seeing it year after year.” Barth and others say the changes are consistent with current climate-change models. Previous studies have found that the oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. more at link… http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/07/89918/growing-low-oxygen-zones-in-oceans.h… added by: WakeUpPeople

3.1M customers face Oscar night without broadcast

Millions of cable subscribers faced the prospect of Oscar night without the Academy Awards broadcast Sunday after ABC's parent company switched off its signal to Cablevision customers and the two companies blasted each other for failing to reach a deal in a dispute over fees. In dueling statements dispatched early Sunday, the two companies traded blame for the stalemate ahead of one of the most-watched nights of television. “Cablevision has once again betrayed its subscribers,” said Charissa Gilmore, a spokeswoman for the Walt Disney Co. and ABC Television Group, in a statement. “Cablevision pocketed almost $8 billion last year, and now customers aren't getting what they pay for … again.” Cablevision Systems Corp. said the stall in negotiations should be blamed on Disney CEO Bob Iger. “It is now painfully clear to millions of New York area households that Disney CEO Bob Iger will hold his own ABC viewers hostage in order to extract $40 million in new fees from Cablevision,” said Charles Schueler, a Cablevision executive vice president, in a statement. The signal can still be pulled from the air for free with an antenna and a new TV or digital converter box. Cablevision has argued that Disney is seeking an additional $40 million a year in new fees, even though the company pays more than $200 million a year to Disney. Disney counters by arguing that Cablevision charges customers $18 per month for basic broadcast signals but does not pass on any payment for ABC to Disney. The dispute is similar to a standoff at the end of last year between News Corp. and Time Warner Cable over how much Fox television station signals were worth. That tussle, which threatened the college football bowl season and new episodes of “The Simpsons,” was resolved without a signal interruption. Cablevision also feuded with Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. in a January dispute that temporarily forced the Food Network and HGTV off the service. Neither side provided terms of an agreement that restored the channels after three weeks. Disney and Cablevision have been airing dueling advertisements about the ongoing dispute for the past week. Also, lawmakers in Washington have chimed in, suggesting the Federal Communications Commission step in. cont. added by: JanforGore