TECH: Microsoft’s ‘Avoid Ghetto’ App Raises Hackles

CBS SEATTLE: Microsoft has been granted a patent for its “avoid ghetto” feature for GPS devices. A GPS device is used to find shortcuts and avoid traffic, but states that a route can be plotted for pedestrians to avoid an “unsafe neighborhood or being in an open area that is subject to harsh temperatures.” Created for mobile phones, the technology uses the latest crime statistics and weather data and includes them when calculating a route.The patent, written in a combination of tech-speak and legalese, was awarded to Microsoft earlier this week. It also described other uses for the new GPS technology. […]

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Navy Seals Rescue American From Somali Pirates

MSNBC: In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.American Jessica Buchanan, 32, [pictured, above] and a 60-year-old Dane, Poul Thisted, were working for a Danish relief organization in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped last October. U.S. officials described their kidnappers as heavily armed common criminals with no known ties to any organized militant group. According to the U.S. officials, two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held.  As the SEALS approached […]

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Chester Teacher Working Without Pay & Warren Buffet’s Sec. To Join FLOTUS At State Of The Union

[via THE WHITE HOUSE] Sara Ferguson teaches literacy and math at Columbus Elementary, and has worked for the Chester Upland School District for 20 years.  She is a third generation educator in Chester Upland, and a proud product of that district.  When the Chester Upland School District faced bankruptcy earlier this year in light of severe state budget cuts, Ms. Ferguson vowed to continue teaching even without being paid, saying “we are adults; we will make a way. The students don’t have any contingency plan. They need to be educated, so we intend to be on the job.” […] Debbie […]

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LISTEN LIKE THIEVES: Dr. Dog “Lonesome”

PASTE: The band has said that the upcoming release is more a rough-around-the-edges rock album that’s more in tune with their earlier material, and many of the members found that to be pretty liberating. “It was reminiscent of when we were starting out and were these fearless weirdoes in a basement, so confident and reckless and bold,” guitarist-vocalist Scott McMicken said. MORE Dr. Dog – Lonesome by antirecords

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MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE: In 2005, 8 Marines Slaughtered 24 Unarmed Iraqi Civilians (Including Women, Toddlers & A 76-Year-Old Man In A Wheelchair) In Haditha & Nobody Will Ever Answer For It; Meanwhile Bradley Manning (Body Count=0) Will Likely Spend The Rest Of His Life In Prison

ASSOCIATED PRESS: A Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children pleaded guilty Monday to dereliction of duty in a deal that will mean a maximum of three months confinement and end the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., led the Marine squad in 2005 that killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha after a roadside bomb exploded near a Marine convoy, killing one Marine and wounding two others. It was a stunning and muted end to a case once described as the […]

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‘The Path Of The Righteous Man Is Beset By The Inequities Of The Selfish & The Tyranny Of Evil Men’

[Artwork by BOLBAK] DAILY BEAST: This time, [Obama will] have to contend with some disappointment in his record among African-Americans, including grumbling from leaders such as Cornel West and Tavis Smiley about what they see as Obama’s lack of attention to the needs of minorities and the poor. Actor Samuel L. Jackson, an early supporter of the president, freely admits his ambivalence. “Some days I agree with Dr. West and what he says about the president not dealing enough with the plight of the poor,” says Jackson. “Then I think about how they won’t give him credit for anything… The […]

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NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When U Can’t

FRESH AIR The individuals who participated in the first Inquisition 800 years ago kept detailed records of their activities. Vast archival collections at the Vatican, in France and in Spain contain accounts of torture victims’ cries, descriptions of funeral pyres and even meticulous financial records about the price of torture equipment. “[There are] expense accounts [for things] like how much did the rope cost to tie the hands of the person you burnt at the stake,” says writer Cullen Murphy. “The people who were doing interrogations were meticulous.” Murphy’s new book God’s Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the […]

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THE CHINA SYNDROME: Why Every Time You Buy An iPhone The Middle Class Dies A Little More

NEW YORK TIMES: Apple has become one of the best-known, most admired and most imitated companies on earth, in part through an unrelenting mastery of global operations. Last year, it earned over $400,000 in profit per employee, more than Goldman Sachs, Exxon Mobil or Google. However, what has vexed Mr. Obama as well as economists and policy makers is that Apple — and many of its high-technology peers — are not nearly as avid in creating American jobs as other famous companies were in their heydays. Apple employs 43,000 people in the United States and 20,000 overseas, a small fraction […]

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