Media News

Verizon: We’re Not Slowing Down Your Netflix (Mashable!)

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:17:14 +0200

It’s a rainy day; you’re busy power loading Dr. Who on Netflix when it happensNetflix lapses into endlessly “Loading” your next episode, without actually ever playing it. This is not a new problem, and even as broadband speeds improve, the issue persists.

Now a recent report in Gigaom suggests that the cause of your troubles, at least on one major broadband provider, is the result of an ongoing spat between Netflix and Verizon, and the story puts most of the blame on the FiOS Fiber provider.

SEE ALSO: Beyond Barrel Roll: 10 Hidden Google Tricks

As the story tells it, Verizon and a major internet traffic transit provider, Cogent, can’t come to terms over who should shoulder the burden for all the Netflix traffic. It’s a lot of traffic. By one estimate, Netflix streaming accounts for over 30% of all broadband Internet traffic. Read more...

More about Verizon, Netflix, Cogent, Verizon Fios, and Business

SEE ALSO: Beyond Barrel Roll: 10 Hidden Google Tricks

More about Verizon, Netflix, Cogent, Verizon Fios, and Business

Wired senior editor joining VC firm (Talking Biz News)

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:05:33 +0200

Wired senior editor Michael Copeland is joining venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, reports Leena Rao of TechCrunch. Rao writes, “We’ve confirmed with the VC firm that Copeland will be leading Andreessen’s new ‘content strategy.’ “Prior to joining Wired, Copeland was a Senior Writer at Fortune and was previously also a Senior Writer at Business 2.0 covering

The Dumbest Things Redditors Have Done for Love (Mashable!)

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:05:20 +0200

Love can make you do crazy things, like hoisting a boombox over your head to serenade your dream girl, sprinting to the love of your life while staring into her eyes on FaceTime, and maybe even purchasing a $4.9 million home to be closer to your boyfriend's family.

SEE ALSO: Hilarious Video Asks, 'What if Dating Was Like Reddit?'

When a Reddit user posted the question, "What is the dumbest thing you've done for love?" the forum exploded with answers. Close to 5000 commenters chimed in with stories of grand romantic gestures gone wrong. Here are a few of the most cringe-worthy responses:

"Took my own braces off with nail clippers. I was head over heels in love with this chick, but found out through a friend she didn't find me attractive." - scrotum_nachos Read more...

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SEE ALSO: Hilarious Video Asks, 'What if Dating Was Like Reddit?'

"Took my own braces off with nail clippers. I was head over heels in love with this chick, but found out through a friend she didn't find me attractive." - scrotum_nachos Read more...

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The business of chefs on Bloomberg TV (Talking Biz News)

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:46 +0200

Carey Polis of The Huffington Post writes about the latest installment of Bloomberg Television’s “Titans at the Table,” which features celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio and Rachael Ray. Polis writes, “As part of Bloomberg Television’s ‘Titans At The Table’ series, Batali, Flay, Colicchio and Ray all joined host Betty Liu at Manhattan’s

A 1.3 Billion-Pixel View of Mars (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:25:29 +0200

NASA released a 360-degree interactive panorama of Mars from Curiosity rover's point of view

The image is actually a compilation of 900 photos — all of which Curiosity took while she was parked in an area called Rocknest in October and November of last year. Stitched together, the mosaic makes you feel like you're standing on the Red Planet with the rover. The full-resolution version is 1.3 billion pixels. To put that in perspective, a standard 5" x 7" photo is about 1,500 pixels wide and 2,100 pixels high

There are two versions of Curiosity's panorama. The first, embedded below, has been white-balanced to show how the scene would look under Earth's lighting conditions. In other words, this is how the human eye would translate the terrain in what we perceive as a "normal" environment. Read more...

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NASA released a 360-degree interactive panorama of Mars from Curiosity rover's point of view

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Twitter Buys Social Discovery Startup Spindle (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:25:06 +0200

Twitter has acquired Spindle, a location-based social discovery engine, the two companies announced Wednesday. The terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.

Spindle was founded two and a half years ago by former Microsoft engineers with the goal of helping users discover relevant content on social networks based on time and place. The startup raised $2.3 million in funding in late 2012.

SEE ALSO: 10 Twitter Header Images Done Right

"Every time we’ve experimented and looked beyond local discovery, we’ve been amazed by the breadth and quality of content shared on Twitter," Spindle said in a blog post. "By joining forces with Twitter, we can do so much more to help you find interesting, timely, and useful information about what’s happening around you." Read more...

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Twitter has acquired Spindle, a location-based social discovery engine, the two companies announced Wednesday. The terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.

SEE ALSO: 10 Twitter Header Images Done Right

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Microsoft Backtracking on Xbox One DRM and Used Games Policy (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:59:10 +0200

Microsoft is dropping the restrictions on Xbox One games that keep players from sharing game discs across multiple consoles, backtracking on the position it held earlier on DRM.

SEE ALSO: 5 Tech Trends That Will Change Gaming Forever

"As a result of feedback from the Xbox community, we have changed certain policies for Xbox One," Don Mattrick, President of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft wrote on wrote on its blog:

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.

Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360. Read more...

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Microsoft is dropping the restrictions on Xbox One games that keep players from sharing game discs across multiple consoles, backtracking on the position it held earlier on DRM.

SEE ALSO: 5 Tech Trends That Will Change Gaming Forever

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.

Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360. Read more...

More about Microsoft, Gaming, Entertainment, Apps Software, and Used Games

Makerbot Acquired by Stratasys (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:56:50 +0200

Makerbot has been acquired by Stratasys, a 3D printing business, and will merge with a subsidiary of the company, the two companies announced Wednesday afternoon

“The last couple of years have been incredibly inspiring and exciting for us,” said Bre Pettis, CEO of Makerbot, in a statement. “We have an aggressive model for growth, and partnering with Stratasys will allow us to supercharge our mission to empower individuals to make things using a MakerBot, and allow us to bring 3D technology to more people."

Makerbot, a Brooklyn-based company, was founded four years ago and has sold more than 22,000 3D printers to date. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Makerbot was in acquisition talks after it looked to raise a $300 million round of funding. Read more...

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Makerbot has been acquired by Stratasys, a 3D printing business, and will merge with a subsidiary of the company, the two companies announced Wednesday afternoon

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What If Beyoncé Named Baby Kimye? (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:45:58 +0200

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are reportedly still deciding on their little one's name, following the baby's arrival on Saturday.

We do have a few clues about the baby's name, though — it might start with a 'K.'

"I think it would be really cute cause Kanye and I are both K’s … but half the names on our list aren't K's," Kardashian told Extra

Donda is likely one of the options on their list, after West's late mother. Various sources claim the baby has been named Kaidence Donda West, Kai Georgia Donda West and Kamo North West.

SEE ALSO: 7 People Who Think Kimye's Baby Is the Messiah

Hollywood practically requires celebrity parents to choose outlandish monikers for their offspring — just look at Apple, Blue Ivy and Pilot Inspektor. So we can't help but wonder what the baby's name would be if the Kardashian and West left it up to other famous couples, like Beyoncé and Jay-Z or Nicole Richie and Joel Madden? Check out the potential results: Read more...

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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are reportedly still deciding on their little one's name, following the baby's arrival on Saturday.

We do have a few clues about the baby's name, though — it might start with a 'K.'

"I think it would be really cute cause Kanye and I are both K’s … but half the names on our list aren't K's," Kardashian told Extra

Donda is likely one of the options on their list, after West's late mother. Various sources claim the baby has been named Kaidence Donda West, Kai Georgia Donda West and Kamo North West.

SEE ALSO: 7 People Who Think Kimye's Baby Is the Messiah

More about Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Tv, Watercooler, and Conversations

8 Superheroes Accurately Analyzed by a Clinical Psychologist (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:35:24 +0200

Superheroes spend all of their time saving the world, which leaves them with little to address their own issues — even when they seriously need to

But entertainment website The Credits is helping out superheroes suffering from serious personal problems.

SEE ALSO: 8 Superheroes as Fonts

The site enlisted a clinical psychologist, Dr. Natalie Petyke, to blindly analyze a few superheroes based on the recent films in which they appeared, and to suggest treatments.

She was only given summaries of the characters' backgrounds and traumas — she had no clue their stories were pulled straight from fiction. Still, it's a pretty spot-on take Read more...

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Superheroes spend all of their time saving the world, which leaves them with little to address their own issues — even when they seriously need to

But entertainment website The Credits is helping out superheroes suffering from serious personal problems.

SEE ALSO: 8 Superheroes as Fonts

The site enlisted a clinical psychologist, Dr. Natalie Petyke, to blindly analyze a few superheroes based on the recent films in which they appeared, and to suggest treatments.

She was only given summaries of the characters' backgrounds and traumas — she had no clue their stories were pulled straight from fiction. Still, it's a pretty spot-on take Read more...

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Leave Your Charger at Home: This iPhone 5 Battery Has a Lightning Connector (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:29:02 +0200

Lugging around wires and batteries is a hassle for everyone, but accessories manufacturer Moshi plans to make it much easier for iPhone 5 users with the help of its new external battery. Unlike other portable chargers, this one comes with a built-in Lightning cable.

The IonBank ($89.99, 5,000 milliamp-hours) supports Apple's Lightning connector, so there's no need to bring along an iPhone cable for a quick charge. The Lightning connector is tucked into the battery and pops out when you slide the top of the battery case to the side. The device also works for other models of the iPhone and iPad, but you'll need to bring a cable and connect it via the USB slot. Read more...

More about Mobile, Apple, Accessories, Batteries, and Iphone 5

Amazing Vine Captures Massive Brazil Protests (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:15:24 +0200

Can six seconds' worth of video and audio convey the story of a massive protest in Brazil? Yes it can, per this Vine video recorded earlier this week.

Posted by Lucio Amorim, the Vine shows thousands of protesters in the streets of Rio de Janeiro protesting poor public services and corruption in the halls of government. Per its official tally, it has been tweeted more than 10,500 times and "liked" 400 times, but its off-platform reach is likely much higher.

SEE ALSO: Watch: Incredible Drone Journalism Footage of Istanbul Protests

Protests in Brazil started earlier this month in Sao Paulo as a relatively small demonstration against the government's planned rise in public transit fares. After police engaged in a brutal crackdown against the demonstrators, the movement grew into a multi-city protest against government corruption at large — mirroring similar but unrelated developments around the world in Turkey. Read more...

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Can six seconds' worth of video and audio convey the story of a massive protest in Brazil? Yes it can, per this Vine video recorded earlier this week.

SEE ALSO: Watch: Incredible Drone Journalism Footage of Istanbul Protests

More about Brazil, Vine, Protests, Us World, and World

The WiCi Awards: Recognizing Women Changing Communications (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:00:35 +0200

At Mashable, we follow leaders and innovators in the digital space. As technology is dramatically reshaping the practice and profession of communications, we are looking to identify and recognize the women pushing the barriers and reshaping communications for the digital era.

These are women on the rise: Women who have accomplished a great deal, but whose work is far from finished.

We've teamed up with New York Women in Communications to bring you the first
annual WiCi Awards, created to recognize rising stars in communications and their career achievements.

The WiCi Awards will honor women to watch — ambitious women who have made an impact through their careers and commanded the respect and admiration of their peers. Who would you nominate? Read more...

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These are women on the rise: Women who have accomplished a great deal, but whose work is far from finished.

We've teamed up with New York Women in Communications to bring you the first
annual WiCi Awards, created to recognize rising stars in communications and their career achievements.

More about Communications, Women, Awards, Business, and Advertising

AP Guilders Plan for Bargaining, Mobilizing as Talks Near (Newspaper Guild)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:52:36 +0200

Linda Johnson

June 19, 2013

News Media Guild

Members of the News Media Guild at the Associated Press met on the East and West coasts recently to plan for bargaining that will begin this summer, covering about 1,170 editorial and technical employees in the United States. The linked story discusses the eastern meeting (pictured) last weekend. Go to NewsMediaGuild.org to read about the earlier West Coast meeting.

Stupidity trap (Columbia Journalism Review)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:50:00 +0200

I live in Atlanta and have two small children, so I am up early and often in the car, schlepping the kids from place to place, especially in the summer. As such, I am an avid consumer of sports-talk radio, harmful as it can be to my intelligence and blood pressure. I grew up religiously listening to Mike Francesa and...

Detroit News noses out a school reform 'skunk works' (Columbia Journalism Review)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:50:00 +0200

DETROIT, MI -- Education policy in Michigan and the debates around it have become a tangled thicket for reporters (and their audiences) to navigate. Among the complications: the rapid expansion of charter schools; emergency management of public schools in Detroit and beyond; and an experimental statewide school district. And, as we know from the recent work of Detroit News statehouse...

Miami Heat Crowd Teaches You How to Fail as a Sports Fan (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:44:24 +0200

Tuesday night's epic NBA Finals slugfest featured gripping back-and-forth lead changes, stellar performances from the game's best players and set up what promises to be an appointment-viewing Game 7 on Thursday evening

It also included a remedial seminar in how to fail as a sports fan, courtesy of the Miami Heat's home crowd.

SEE ALSO: 25 of YouTube's Funniest Sports Fails

Here's the backstory: The Heat and visiting San Antonio Spurs battled fiercely down the stretch, with Miami taking a two-point lead with just two minutes remaining. They then squandered that advantage, going down five points with just about 30 seconds to go. At this point many Heat fans — estimated to be about 2,000 of them — streamed to the exits, apparently looking to beat the traffic and get a primo seat at the bar Read more...

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It also included a remedial seminar in how to fail as a sports fan, courtesy of the Miami Heat's home crowd.

SEE ALSO: 25 of YouTube's Funniest Sports Fails

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Media ethics code could restrict free press in Sri Lanka (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:42:44 +0200

New York, June 19, 2013--A draft media code introduced in the Sri Lankan parliament would impose harsh restrictions on journalists' ability to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The code, which is before a parliamentary advisory council for discussion, could be considered for adoption in September, according to news reports citing an information minister.

Why Businesses Should 'Act Human' on Facebook (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:16:59 +0200

No matter how much thought you put into your social media strategy, the real world can always interfere.

Robert Reimann spent more than a week hashing out a plan to boost sales and engagement on the Facebook page for his bike tour business, after being matched with Shane Johnston, a social media marketing consultant from Mashable's Small Business Panel. With Johnston's help, Reimann would launch a contest — along with Facebook ads to promote it — in order to attract more fans and build up an email list of customers, which he would then work to convert into sales.

Then the flood started

Germany, where Reimann and his business BikeSherpa are based, was hit with severe flooding earlier this month that forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. While Reimann's home in Dresden wasn't damaged, he had to help his sister move all her furniture and evacuate from her house along the Elbe river. Reimann also had to scramble to come up with new bike routes and re-book hotels for customers who had booked bike trips around the city. Read more...

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No matter how much thought you put into your social media strategy, the real world can always interfere.

Then the flood started

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WVU Journalism School to Provide New Social Media Minor - WBOY-TV (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:11:53 +0200

WVU Journalism School to Provide New Social Media Minor
WBOY-TV
Starting this fall, the School of Journalism will offer a minor in strategic social media. The class is completely web based and is designed to teach students more than just how to post or tweet. "It really comes down to how companies, organizations ...

and more »

From Classic Toys To New Twists, Kids Go Back To Blocks (NPR/Media)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:02:00 +0200

NPR's Neda Ulaby investigates a trend in toys that sounds awfully familiar: manufacturers are finding new ways to get kids interested in playing with blocks, both real and virtual.

» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

Insufferable Article Written (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:01:00 +0200

Thought Catalog presents, "25 Rules For Living From a (Semi-)Successful 26-Year-Old," by Ryan Holiday, a young flack who is "successful" because he wrote a book about lying to journalists on behalf of noted misogynist media whores. Sounds interesting.

The Lytro Camera Finally Gets Wi-Fi (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:59:51 +0200

Thanks to its refocusing ability, the Lytro camera does things no other camera can do, but it also lacks a way to quickly share its "living" photos. That is, until today. With a free firmware upgrade, Lytro owners can activate the Wi-Fi chip that's been dormant in their cameras, which works with a new app arriving Wednesday in the iOS App Store.

Now that the Lytro's wireless is fully armed and operational, users will be able to immediately share their light-field photos — which until now were only accessible once the user connected the camera to a PC or Mac. With the app, users can transfer photos to Lytro.com immediately, and sharing is a couple of taps away. Read more...

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Metaio Wants to Bring Augmented Reality Everywhere (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:53:32 +0200

From Google Glass to car dashboards to shopping, Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the most talked-about trends in technology

At its core, the idea behind AR is to bring additional context to the "real" world. With the advent of smartphones and tablets, the potential for AR to add context in real-life tasks including finding your way around or fixing a car becomes an actual possibility.

Although AR gained more mainstream recognition over the last few years, most AR projects are confined to designated proof-of-concepts or specific experiences wrapped around a specific app. German company Metaio wants to change that, and its goal is to bring augmented reality everywhere Read more...

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From Google Glass to car dashboards to shopping, Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the most talked-about trends in technology

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Arkanas biz editor has retired (Talking Biz News)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:48:21 +0200

Rusty Garrett, the business editor of the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, Ark., has retired from the paper. His final day was June 14. “My retirement concludes 40 years in journalism and 14 with the SWTR,” said Garrett in an email to Talking Biz News. “I am proud to have been a part of

Facebook Now Lets You Comment With a Photo (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:46:06 +0200

Facebook has started to roll out photo comments, a new feature that allows you to comment on posts with images rather than words.

Originally built during a Facebook employee hackathon, photo comments are starting to roll out globally on the web as well as the Facebook mobile site. Users can't yet leave photo comments within Facebook's mobile apps, but they are viewable. The feature is expected to come to those apps in a future update.

SEE ALSO: How to Change Your Facebook Relationship Status Without Alerting Friends

Adding a photo comment involves clicking a camera icon beside the text box where you would typically write a message and then uploading an image from your computer. Read more...

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Facebook has started to roll out photo comments, a new feature that allows you to comment on posts with images rather than words.

SEE ALSO: How to Change Your Facebook Relationship Status Without Alerting Friends

Adding a photo comment involves clicking a camera icon beside the text box where you would typically write a message and then uploading an image from your computer. Read more...

More about Facebook, Tech, and Apps Software

Chris Matthews, Leon Wieseltier among ‘Newsroom’ consultants (Romenesko)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:43:46 +0200

The Hollywood Reporter | Gawker

Aaron Sorkin hired 13 journalists and journalism-adjacent types to consult on the new season of his HBO show “The Newsroom,” whose second season is scheduled to debut in July.

Lacey Rose says Sorkin sent … Read more

The Hollywood Reporter | Gawker

Aaron Sorkin hired 13 journalists and journalism-adjacent types to consult on the new season of his HBO show “The Newsroom,” whose second season is scheduled to debut in July.

Lacey Rose says Sorkin sent … Read more

Chris Matthews, Leon Wieseltier among ‘Newsroom’ consultants (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:43:46 +0200

The Hollywood Reporter | Gawker

Aaron Sorkin hired 13 journalists and journalism-adjacent types to consult on the new season of his HBO show “The Newsroom,” whose second season is scheduled to debut in July.

Lacey Rose says Sorkin sent … Read more

The Hollywood Reporter | Gawker

Aaron Sorkin hired 13 journalists and journalism-adjacent types to consult on the new season of his HBO show “The Newsroom,” whose second season is scheduled to debut in July.

Lacey Rose says Sorkin sent … Read more

Reuters journalist named prez of Hong Kong journalists (Talking Biz News)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:38:28 +0200

Tara Joseph, executive producer, Asia of Reuters Insider has been elected president of Hong Kong’s prestigious Foreign Correspondents’ Club. Joseph has served on the club’s board for the past three years, and taken an active role in overseeing the club’s professional committee, along with organizing and introducing speakers at lunches and events. Joseph has been

Cher Makes Triumphant Return to Live Stage on 'The Voice' (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:38:01 +0200

Ladies and gentlemen, if we could please have your attention, Cher has something important she'd like to share:

She's still got it.

HMMMM…. Seems There’s MORE BUZZ,about the way I Looked,Than the way I Performed !!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSIVE STILL GOT IT !!!!!!

— Cher (@cher) June 19, 2013

The 67-year-old pop icon last night showed viewers and attendees of The Voice that age is but a number, flaunting her first appearance on the live stage in a decade. For the NBC show's season four finale, Cher and an ensemble of back-up dancers performed "Woman's World," the first single from the star's upcoming studio album, Closer to the Truth Read more...

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Ladies and gentlemen, if we could please have your attention, Cher has something important she'd like to share:

She's still got it.

HMMMM…. Seems There’s MORE BUZZ,about the way I Looked,Than the way I Performed !!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSIVE STILL GOT IT !!!!!!

— Cher (@cher) June 19, 2013

More about Music, Nbc, Singing, The Voice, and Entertainment

Nigel Farage targets Scotland with boast of success in European elections (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:18:52 +0200

Undaunted by the hostile welcome in Edinburgh last month and his thwarted campaigning in Aberdeen on Tuesday, the Ukip leader insists his party will take a Scottish seat in next May's European elections

Nigel Farage seems serious about muscling his way in to Scotland's relatively crowded political landscape. Brushing aside his often thwarted efforts to campaign twice in Scotland, the UK Independence party leader now claims there will be a Ukip MEP elected here next May.

Speaking to reporters in Aberdeen on Tuesday evening, after downing a beer at the Staging Post pub before his flight home to London, Farage said Ukip's campaigning in the Aberdeen Donside Scottish parliament byelection was a taster before his anti-EU party geared up fully for next May's European elections.

Insisting his candidate Otto Inglis would save his deposit this Thursday (that would be a first for Ukip in a Scottish domestic election) and push either the Lib Dems or Tories into fourth place, Farage said:

I will be coming back to Scotland more regularly because we're going to win representation in the European parliament from Scotland next May. That is the objective and I see the Donside byelection as the starting point for that.

Despite having to hastily rearrange his press conference and then scrap a planned high tea with Aberdeen's depute leader, Marie Bolton, Farage claimed that voters in the north east were listening to his message about independence.

He claimed SNP voters were receptive to the arguments that true independence needed to start with leaving the EU; his message is that claiming Scotland can be truly independent by leaving the UK but remain in the EU, as a far smaller and less influential member, is a constitutional non sequitur.

Of course we're getting it on the doorstep here. All the feedback we're getting is that SNP voters are saying they will vote Ukip because they see that step one is for the UK to be independent of Europe, and then have the debate about Scotland being independent.

It is a bold prediction. Despite Farage's smooth lines and apparently guileless belief in his party's allure, the challenge of winning one of Scotland's six closely fought European seats is far greater than he admits.

There is one bit of electoral data in his favour: perhaps unsurprisingly, Ukip does best in Scotland in Euro elections. In 2009, it polled 57,788 votes and – very rarely for it in an election in Scotland, saved its deposit. (Its vote slumped compared to 2004, however, when it polled 6.7% in Scotland).

And Peter Adams, the party's Scottish regional organiser, said the party was quickly gaining members in Scotland. It now had about a thousand people signed up; even Aberdeen oil industry entrepreneurs with new inventions to sell are happy to be seen courting him. (Farage visited one firm, Rig Deluge, on Tuesday to see a new oil rig fire safety device)

But to win a Scottish Euro-seat next year, Ukip must hope to more than double its 2009 vote, and leapfrog both the Greens and the Lib Dems. Ukip came last in 2009. In contrast, the SNP garnered 321,000 votes; Labour 230,000, the Tories 186,000, with the Lib Dems on 127,000 and the Greens taking 80,000.

We don't yet know how intensely Scotland's big four parties will campaign in the Euros, given that election takes place just a few weeks before the official start of the far more significant (and very expensive) Scottish independence referendum campaign.

Nor do we know whether that referendum will make Scotland's 4m voters more or less inclined to vote in the Euros. Turnout in 2009 was at 28.5%; a low turnout like that could well amplify Ukip's very deliberate appeal to protest voters and Europhobes.

But Scotland isn't England. Despite Ukip's relatively strong showing in the recent English council elections, and recent opinion polls putting it third behind Labour and the Tories, in Scottish domestic elections it has been irrelevant.

Several other minority parties, particularly the Scottish Green party, and previously the Scottish Socialist party, have seen MSPs and councillors voted in. There are now 14 green councillors across Scotland.

And the electoral evidence suggests that 58,000 votes is likely to be very close to Ukip's ceiling in Scotland.

In Scottish parliamentary and Westminster elections, it polls below 1%; there are no elected Ukip politicians in Scotland – it is only the jurisdiction within the UK to have that distinction. Outside England, where it has more than 200 councillors and 10 MEPs, Ukip has an assembly member in Northern Ireland's Stormont assembly and a Welsh MEP (John Bufton, who pushed the Lib Dems into fifth place in 2009).

Identity politics and disputes about state and political power focus far more heavily on Scotland's place and experience within the UK; Europe is generally seen in a more benign light.

But that is relative too: while Euroscepticism is less pronounced in Scotland, the most recent detailed survey, by Ipsos Mori for the Times in February, found that 34% would vote in a referendum to leave the UK, with 34% of pro-independence voters believing an independent Scotland should quit Brussels entirely too. And it is those voters whom Farage hopes to target.

But the trouble for Farage is this: there is scant polling evidence that Scottish voters – generally a subtle electorate which behaves differently depending on the election, see continuing EU membership as a greater, more significant political issue that Scotland's place within the UK.

• There is an interesting footnote to Farage's abortive attempts to have high tea with Councillor Marie Bolton, the depute leader of Aberdeen city council.

She said on Wednesday it was her decision to cancel the event, after the local chief superintendent warned her that demonstrators were using Twitter and other social media to set-up a protest outside the Town House council offices.

This broadly confirms Nigel Farage's own account of what happened, though Bolton denies she came under police pressure, as Ukip insinuated on Tuesday. She told the Guardian:

They're not in a position to tell me to cancel anything. All they [the police] can do is make me aware of the facts and it was my judgement coming into play [to cancel the tea].

Bolton said she feared a repeat of the rowdy scenes in Edinburgh in May – when Farage was forced by police to take refuge in a pub after being harassed by protestors, and did not want her staff's safety put at risk as they left the building at the same time:

My whole purpose in asking Mr Farage to the Town House was that I had been very embarrassed by the damage caused to Scotland with what happened to Mr Farage in Edinburgh. It was ugly and there was a lot of anti-English feeling. [I] wanted to give a far better impression of Scotland.
It was purely to project a more positive image and just to say hello to Mr Farage, to speak to him as an MEP; Aberdeen is always looking to Europe for additional funding support, so we were going to have an opportunity to have a brief word with him about that.

For their part, there was little sign or evidence that the small group of protesters there were planning or itching for trouble; the police were not there, even though the Town House is some 50m from the city's police HQ.

However, one protester from the Town House demo was later arrested: he had chucked Coca Cola on the retreating back of Farage's London organiser in a spat at the Staging Post, after he and Farage had had a heated debate about Sharia law and Norway's place in Europe.

Severin Carrell

We Asked Sally Ride All the Wrong Questions (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:18:30 +0200

When I set out to find the most profound things Sally Ride said throughout her career, I realized we missed a huge opportunity as journalists. Mush together the thousands of words and hours of video footage, and you'll get one really long, repetitive interview. That's because we often asked her the same questions: What's it like to be the only woman in a boys club? What advice can you give women? How can we get more girls to love science?

Perhaps that's because we couldn't move past Sally the icon and get to know Sally the person. We fixated on the fact that a woman was going to space — a first for America, but old news to the Soviets. However, we couldn't see past our own noses and treated her as the first woman in space — period Read more...

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A Discussion With Cryptome (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:16:00 +0200

When the Guardian and Washington Post published their blockbuster NSA reports based on Ed Snowden's leaks, journalists lined up conga-style to congratulate them on the scoops. Not Cryptome. Instead, the secret-killing site blasted the Guardian and Post for only publishing 4 of the 41 slides that Snowden gave them about PRISM, the NSA's system for spying on the internet.

'XCOM' for iPad: Same Great Game Is Now Travel Size (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:07:27 +0200

When Firaxis Games announced in March that turn-based strategy giant XCOM: Enemy Unknown was coming to iPad, it was unclear how it would pack a huge, immersive console and PC title into an app

Thankfully, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which launches at midnight Thursday, doesn't skimp on what's necessary: great gameplay. (We rated it one of the best games of 2012.) While there might have been some visual compromises to scale the game down to just 3.2 gigs, which is still a lot on a tablet, the functionality hasn't been touched.

For the uninitiated, XCOM: Enemy Unknown was a reboot of the the popular X-COM strategy franchise from the 1990s. It was a risky gamble by 2K Games, Firaxis and Creative Director Jake Solomon, who said it was his dream since joining Firaxis to reboot the franchiseEnemy Unknown challenges players to lead a team of elite operatives to wipe out aliens invading Earth, while balancing resources and keeping individual countries, which are funding missions, from leaving the alliance. Read more...

More about Gaming, Ipad, Ipad Games, Entertainment, and Xcom Enemy Unknown

When Firaxis Games announced in March that turn-based strategy giant XCOM: Enemy Unknown was coming to iPad, it was unclear how it would pack a huge, immersive console and PC title into an app

More about Gaming, Ipad, Ipad Games, Entertainment, and Xcom Enemy Unknown

Michael Hastings, Award-Winning Journalist, Dies at 33 - New York Times (blog) (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:06:25 +0200

Philly.com

Michael Hastings, Award-Winning Journalist, Dies at 33
New York Times (blog)
... Dies at 33. By MARGALIT FOX. Published: June 19, 2013. Michael Hastings, the award-winning freelance reporter who died on Tuesday at 33, was known for an intrepid, gonzo-style journalism that took him to war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq and, most ...
Michael Hastings: "I'm asking you a question. That's my job." Slate Magazine
Michael Hastings, the reporter who brought down Gen. McChrystal, dies in car ... MarketWatch

all 232 news articles »

Michael Hastings, Award-Winning Journalist, Dies at 33 (nytimes.com)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:03:46 +0200

Mr. Hastings, an intrepid war zone reporter in Afghanistan and Iraq, won a Polk Award in 2010 for his Rolling Stone magazine cover story, “The Runaway General.”

Michael Hastings, Award-Winning Journalist, Dies at 33 (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:03:46 +0200

Mr. Hastings, an intrepid war zone reporter in Afghanistan and Iraq, won a Polk Award in 2010 for his Rolling Stone magazine cover story, “The Runaway General.”

Facebook Insights Gets a Makeover (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:01:43 +0200

Facebook Page owners, rejoice: Facebook Insights, the social network's analytics dashboard for public Pages, is getting a makeover. A small, random group of beta testers will get access to the new desktop design on Wednesday, with a broader rollout to follow at an unspecified date.

The new design is simpler, cleaner and more intelligible. Stats that were previously rolled in together (i.e., "People Talking About This") have been broken down into separate charts that allow Page owners to individually measure the reach and engagement (likes, comments, clicks and shares) of individual posts. Additional charts make it easier for users to see what kinds of posts — say, those with videos, or ones targeted to certain groups — have better reach or more positive engagement than others. Owners can also now break down demographic behavior ~~on individual posts~~ to see, for example, if Read more...

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Mali signs controversial ceasefire deal with Tuareg separatist insurgents (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:59:06 +0200

Deal means government forces will regain control of last rebel-held area, run elections and unlock £2.8bn international aid

Mali has signed a controversial ceasefire deal with Tuareg separatist insurgents, paving the way for government troops to return to the last rebel-held town of Kidal ahead of presidential elections next month.

The agreement allows for the immediate "phased deployment" of government troops in the troubled Kidal province of northern Mali – the last rebel stronghold in the country.

"This agreement is very important for the future Mali. It allows for the strengthening of the Malian state" said Manga Dembele, minister of communication for Mali, speaking to the Guardian by phone from capital Bamako.

"But it is a preliminary agreement, and it is important to note that the agreement recognises the territorial integrity of Mali, and provides for disarmament of rebel groups. This is the in best interest of the nation."

Mali's complex history of Tuareg rebellions has played a central role in the country's ongoing war.

Malian soldiers, weary after a series of defeats at the hands of the Tuareg Mouvement National de Libération de L'Azawad (MNLA), mutinied in March last year, and then instigated a military coup in capital city Bamako. In the ensuing power vacuum, the MNLA seized control of the north until they were ousted by the al-Qaida-linked jihadist groups.

After a French-led international military intervention in January ended Islamist control, the MNLA and other Tuareg groups have re-emerged in the region, and retained control of the town of Kidal, a traditional seat of Tuareg power.

"There has been deep distrust between these two entities for a long time, and both sides have legitimate grievances, and there are serious problems for the security sector in that region" said Joseph Siegle, director of research at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. "This agreement does have some potential far-reaching significance – it suggests an acceptance on the part of the Tuareg leadership that they are a part of the state of Mali, and it then opens the door for their participation in these elections."

The new peace agreement is seen as part of a broader peace process to resolve Tuaregs' longstanding demands for greater autonomy for northern Mali.

But concessions to Tuareg calls for self-rule are a highly charged issue in the West African country. A long history of tension between black African ethnic groups – who form the majority of Mali's population – and nomadic Tuaregs, who have a separate cultural-linguistic heritage – has been inflamed by allegations that Tuaregs raped and persecuted black Malian residents in northern towns under their control.

Malians are also divided over the forthcoming elections, due to be held on 28 July 28, with many saying the international community is forcing the country to rush into voting before the country, deeply scarred by the events of the last year, is ready.

"The international community wants to force Mali's hand," Diakité Fatoumata Siré, president of women's group Association pour le Progrès et la Défense des Femmes au Mali (Apdef), told journalists. "If the authorities don't change their position on this, we will mobilise women to act and defend the interests of Mali."

"We want to see justice done," Siré continued. "Just becomes there are negotiations it does not mean that the crimes [that have been perpetrated] should be ignored."

Many Tuaregs also accuse the Malian forces of ethnically-motivated abuses against them.

The international community hailed the agreement as an essential step towards restoring democracy in Mali, and restoring peace after repeated clashes between government and Tuareg forces in Kidal.

"The signing of this agreement represents a significant step in the stabilisation process in Mali," said UN special representative to Mali, Bert Koenders in Ouagadougou, where mediators and representatives of the two groups met for almost two weeks before reaching the new agreement, which also unlocks a £2.8bn aid package pledged by western nations last month.

In a statement released today French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that Mali had been "on the abyss" when France had intervened in its conflict, and welcomed the peace agreement.

"This agreement represents a major breakthrough in the crisis in Mali. Looking ahead to the presidential election on 28 July, it reconciles respect for the territorial integrity of Mali and the recognition of a specific approach to the problems of the north," said Fabius.

Afua Hirsch

Self-Publishing Star Amanda Hocking Sells Next Series to St. Martin’s (nytimes.com)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:47:39 +0200

Ms. Hocking had sold more than a million copies of her novels before St. Martin’s Press published her “Watersong” series.

10 Reasons Getting Sick in the Summer Sucks (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:43:28 +0200

As a recent college graduate, I speak for 90% of teens and young adults when I say, "Thank goodness, it's summertime!"

The summer should be a time of celebration. Adults, you've survived the snowstorms, blizzards and treacherous commutes to work. College students and high schoolers, your final exams have ended and now you can enjoy the 80-degree-plus weather as the beach is calling your name.

SEE ALSO: 22 Books for Your Ultimate Summer Reading List

However, according to dietitian Tessa Prior-Pullins, the summer is "a time where your immune system can be most vulnerable, if you aren't careful." To combat this, we recommend staying hydrated with plenty of fluids and avoiding the hottest times of the day. Because no one wants to be held hostage inside by the bug while the skies are blue! (Trust me, I know.) Read more...

More about Lists, Summer, Watercooler, and Sickness

As a recent college graduate, I speak for 90% of teens and young adults when I say, "Thank goodness, it's summertime!"

SEE ALSO: 22 Books for Your Ultimate Summer Reading List

More about Lists, Summer, Watercooler, and Sickness

Steve Jobs Discusses His Legacy in Rare 1994 Footage (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:30:43 +0200

A touching, never-before-seen video of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has revealed his inner thoughts about what his legacy might be one day.

The video is a part of a 60-minute documentary called Steve Jobs: Visionary Entrepreneur, which is based around a 20-minute interview he conducted with the Silicon Valley Historical Association in 1994. In the clip posted to YouTube and first spotted by The Loop, Jobs seems to be answering a question based on whether he believes the tech industry is similar to the Renaissance period and if it will be admired for years to come.

SEE ALSO: Apple Unveils iOS 7, 'Biggest Change Since the Original iPhone'

More about Mobile, Apple, Steve Jobs, Tech, and Dev Design

A touching, never-before-seen video of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has revealed his inner thoughts about what his legacy might be one day.

SEE ALSO: Apple Unveils iOS 7, 'Biggest Change Since the Original iPhone'

More about Mobile, Apple, Steve Jobs, Tech, and Dev Design

Quinn’s Memoir Goes Largely Unsold, When It Can Be Found (nytimes.com)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:23:52 +0200

Christine C. Quinn’s book, which was released on June 11, has sold only 100 copies.

No, You Can't Borrow My Google Glass (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:19:21 +0200

I recently had a chance to play around with Google Glass while I wasn't wearing my contact lenses. I squinted and tried my best to see the holographic screen that appears to float in front of the high-tech eyewear, but because of my nearsightedness, it was hard to make out what I was doing

I had used Google Glass a few times before, so I just left them on and went to the office kitchen, found some snacks, stopped by a co-worker's desk to discuss site coverage and finally sat back at my desk to check emails, browse Twitter and get to work.

It wasn't until later that I realized Google Glass was recording the whole thing. I must have activated the recording function by touching the camera button a little too long, and I didn't notice the timer pop up on the screen. (Note: If you're nearsighted, never wear Glass without contact lenses.) I handed it over to another colleague with better vision to see if this was the case. He hit the playback button and the last few minutes which were seen through my eyes now unfolded before his Read more...

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The Okinawa diet – could it help you live to 100? (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:09:25 +0200

Japanese people are more likely to reach 100 years old than anyone else in the world, a fact that some researchers attribute to their diet. So, are they right – and is eating tofu and squid the place to start?

Tokyo locals share their day-to-day menus

Can you eat your way to a century? I am not referring to test cricketers, I'm talking about the Japanese diet. Or the Sardinian diet. Or the Ikarian diet. Or any one of half a dozen regional, usually traditional, ways of eating that have been credited with keeping an improbable proportion of their populations alive beyond the age of 100.

Last week, the oldest man ever on record, Jiroemon Kimura, from Kyotango near Kyoto, passed away at the age of 116. His death, and the fact that the new record holder, 115-year-old Misao Okawa, is from Osaka, reminded us that the Japanese know a trick or two when it comes to living beyond 100. According to the UN they have the greatest proportion of centenarians in the world – and a great deal of that knowhow concerns diet.

I have long taken an interest in how I might eat myself to old age. I visited the southern Japanese Okinawa islands whose population is said to include the largest proportion of centenarians in the country and met with some of them in what is supposedly the village with the oldest demographic in the world, Ogimi, little more than a dirt street lined with small houses, home to more than a dozen centenarians. Old folk tended vegetable patches or sat on porches watching a funeral procession go by. My family and I dined on rice and tofu, bamboo shoots, seaweed, pickles, small cubes of braised pork belly and a little cake at the local "longevity cafe" beneath flowering dragon fruit plants. Butterflies the size of dinner plates fluttered by and my youngest son asked if there was a KFC.

The next day I interviewed American gerontologist, Dr Craig Willcox, who has spent many years investigating Okinawan longevity and co-wrote a book, The Okinawa Program, outlining his findings (recommending that we "Eat as low down the food chain as possible" long before Michael Pollan's similarly veg-centric entreaty).

Willcox summarised the benefits of the local diet: "The Okinawans have a low risk of arteriosclerosis and stomach cancer, a very low risk of hormone-dependent cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer. They eat three servings of fish a week, on average ... plenty of whole grains, vegetables and soy products too, more tofu and more konbu seaweed than anyone else in the world, as well as squid and octopus, which are rich in taurine – that could lower cholesterol and blood pressure."

Okinawa's indigenous vegetables were particularly interesting: their purple sweet potatoes are rich in flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamin E and lycopene, and the local bitter cucumbers, or "goya", have been shown to lower blood sugar in diabetics. Like most of us, I am familiar with mainstream dietary advice – eat less sugar, salt and saturated fat, cut down on the cronuts and so on – but I much prefer the idea of discovering little-known shortcuts to longevity; I'm more of a "silver bullet" kind of guy. With this in mind, over a lunch of traditional goya chanpuru – bitter cucumber, stir-fried with tofu, egg and pork – in a restaurant that was little more than a tumbledown hut close to his campus, I asked Willcox which elements of the Okinawan diet he had introduced to his life. Turmeric and jasmine tea, he said; both potentially ward off cancer. Needless to say, both now feature in my morning ritual.

Of course, your destiny as a potential centenarian will also be determined by your DNA, upbringing and temperament, as well as how physically active and sociable you are; the climate where you live; the standard of healthcare available; how relaxed you are about timekeeping; whether you take naps and are religious; wars, and so forth. Being born a girl helps: 85% of the world's centenarians are female. But it is generally accepted that diet determines around 30% of how long we live. Some argue it can add as much as a decade to your life. So, the question then becomes, should we all switch to a diet of tofu, sweet potatoes and squid?

According to Professor John Mather, a director of the Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University, it probably wouldn't do any harm but the prevailing scientific evidence weighs more heavily in favour of the Mediterranean diet. "There is not enough research on people who adopt the Japanese diet in non-Japanese settings," he tells me. "It is true Japan holds the [longevity] record at the moment, but if you go back a little it was Sweden or New Zealand." (The Chinese have referred to Okinawa as the Land of the Immortals for centuries, but this probably does not constitute strong epidemiological evidence.)

Mather, who has worked in nutrition for 40 years, adds that the Nordic diet has made a late surge, with recent research pointing to the benefits of its fish- and, more controversially, dairy-rich diet (the latter is an anomaly in longevity diets: the Japanese eat little dairy, and in the Mediterranean diet it is mostly limited to cheese and yoghurt). But he still prefers to point to the well-documented longevity of the people of the Nuoro province of Sardinia or the Greek island of Ikaria, the latest destination on the fountain-of-youth trail.

Last month this newspaper reported that one in three Ikarians make it past 90. Among the dietary factors cited for their Methuselean tendencies are herbal teas rich in antioxidants (including wild mint, good for digestion, and artemisia for blood circulation), gallons of olive oil, plenty of fresh vegetables and little meat or dairy. The US's longest-lived community, the Seventh Day Adventists of Loma Linda, California, also eat a largely vegetarian diet, and the people of Costa Rica's Nicoya peninsula – another of the world's so-called "blue zones", places identified by longevity researchers where people live to a notably riper age – apparently eat large quantities of beans.

It is surely no coincidence that Ikaria only got its first supermarket three years ago, while, in contrast to the centenarians, the generation of Okinawans born since the arrival of the US airbase and its accompanying fast-food outlets have demonstrably declining health.

"All of these diets work on similar mechanisms," Mather tells me. "One hypothesis is that the secret about ageing is to avoid accumulating molecular damage, and eating fish, beans, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and not so much red meat, dairy or sugar may help us to reduce that kind of cellular damage." Sadly, the professor is dismissive of silver bullets: "In the early days we did try to link health with specific foods or nutrients, but now we look more holistically at dietary patterns."

According to some, those dietary patterns also include calorie restriction (CR) – simply eating less, even of the good stuff. Ikaria, Okinawa, Sardinia to an extent, and parts of Scandinavia, have all suffered from periods of food shortage and their traditional diets adapted to scarcity. Many now believe that reducing your daily calorific intake from 10% to as much as 40% below the western average can stall chronic diseases and boost immunity. Willcox advocated this approach – indeed, the Okinawan dinner time mantra, "hara hachi bu", means "eat until you are 8/10ths full" – but Mather is more sceptical. "If you are a mouse, it's good news," he says. "If you are a human there is really no good evidence about dietary restriction." In potentially encouraging news for gluttons, he points out that recent large-scale tests on rhesus monkeys have given conflicting results on CR: those at the US's National Institute on Ageing were healthier but lived no longer on a CR diet, while those at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center saw a survival rate improvement of 30%. CR societies, meanwhile, point out that keeping monkeys in cages is unlikely to tell us anything about human longevity.

So, what have the Guinness World Records' oldest people eaten? Kimura recommended porridge, miso soup and vegetables. His motto "eat light to live long" certainly chimes with CR thinking. His successor as oldest person in the world, 115-year-old Misao Okawa, reportedly celebrated her new title with her favourite dish of mackerel sushi (an Osakan speciality, heavy on the vinegar). The oldest person ever to have lived, Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997, aged 122, was a noted chocoholic who doused her dinner in olive oil and drank red wine daily. The man the Russians once claimed as their oldest, sawmill worker Magomed Labazanov, who died last year, aged an undocumented 122, recommended wild garlic. Britain's oldest person, 113-year-old Grace Jones of Bermondsey, is quoted as preferring "good, English food, never anything frozen" and enjoys a glass of sherry with friends from time to time. And Britain's oldest man, 109-year-old Ralph Tarrant smoked until he was 70 and likes a whisky. For the record, his favourite meal is cottage pie.

I knew that there had to be a silver bullet somewhere.

Michael Booth

15 WTF Moments From Miley Cyrus' New 'We Can't Stop' Video (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:04:03 +0200

After years away from music, Miley Cyrus has emerged from a creative cocoon of sorts to release an outlandish comeback music video for "We Can't Stop" — complete with enormous teddy bears, twerking and a general "I don't give a f-, y'all" attitude

The song itself was quick to stir up controversy with a reference to cocaine ("Trynna get a line in the bathroom") and an easily misheard non-reference to the drug Molly ("Dancing with Miley" versus "Dancing with Molly")

Now that the music video is here, we're pretty sure that "the haters" will have plenty of material to pick apart (good thing Miley don't care 'bout the haters). The video is kind of an extreme mashup between a Sky Ferreira video and Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" video infused with Miley's new image (twerking including) Read more...

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Journalist Who Brought Down McChrystal Dead at 33 (Newspaper Guild)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:47:13 +0200

Max Fisher

June 19, 2013

The Washington Post

Michael Hastings, a contributor to Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed, died on Tuesday morning in a car crash in Los Angeles at the unforgivably young age of 33. He is best known, rightly, for his 2010 Rolling Stone profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who as commander of the U.S.-led force in Afghanistan was the face of the war that Hastings saw as misguided and poorly managed. His profile, “The Runaway General,” portrayed McChrystal as a loose cannon so sure of himself and his strategy for the war that he and his staff openly derided their civilian overseers, including Vice President Joe Biden. President Obama dismissed McChrystal over his comments in the story.

The 2013 MacBook Air Is a Battery Life Champ (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:45:42 +0200

Apple showed off lots of new goodies at WWDC 2013, including an update to the company's best-selling MacBook Air line

The 2013 MacBook Air — available in 11-inch or 13-inch sizes — now comes equipped with Intel's newest Haswell chipset and promises better battery life with improved graphics performance.

SEE ALSO: 22 Best Mac Apps of 2012

We tested the base model mid-2013 13-inch MacBook Air. It comes equipped with a 1.3GHz Intel i5 processor (2.6GHz turbo), 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive. This model retails for $1,099, down $100 from the base 2012 13-inch MacBook Air

Customers can further customize the machine to include up to 8GB of RAM, a 256GB or 512GB SSD and bump of the processor from Core i5 to Core i7. As with previous generations, the MacBook Air is not upgradeable after purchase, so if you want to have more RAM or a bigger SSD, you need to make that decision when you buy. Read more...

More about Apple, Reviews, Macbook Air, Ultrabook, and Tech

Apple showed off lots of new goodies at WWDC 2013, including an update to the company's best-selling MacBook Air line

The 2013 MacBook Air — available in 11-inch or 13-inch sizes — now comes equipped with Intel's newest Haswell chipset and promises better battery life with improved graphics performance.

SEE ALSO: 22 Best Mac Apps of 2012

More about Apple, Reviews, Macbook Air, Ultrabook, and Tech

Watch: Incredible Drone Journalism Footage of Istanbul Protests (Mashable!)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:31:13 +0200

Demonstrators have been protesting Turkey's government for weeks in cities across the country, sparked by police brutality against citizens angry over plans to destroy an Istanbul park. Hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets in cities across Turkey as the demonstrations evolved into a larger anti-government movement.

The protests have been well-documented by photojournalists and videojournalists from the ground — but now we've got an amazing bird's eye view of the demonstrations.

Vimeo user Jenk K, who identifies himself on Twitter as a "Sky Pilot," has been posting some truly incredible aerial footage of Turkey's protests from a radio-controlled, camera-equipped aircraft. Jenk said one of his aircrafts was shot down by rubber bullets from police almost a week ago, but he's still uploading new footage Read more...

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The protests have been well-documented by photojournalists and videojournalists from the ground — but now we've got an amazing bird's eye view of the demonstrations.

More about Journalism, Turkey, Us World, World, and Drones

Serena Williams has apologized for her "she got too drunk" comments concerning the Steubenville rape (SPJ Press Notes)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:22:12 +0200

Serena Williams has apologized for her "she got too drunk " comments concerning the Steubenville rape victim, but not without suggesting that maybe the reporter made it all up: "What was written—what I supposedly said—is insensitive and hurtful, and I by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame."