Given their range of targets, one might think that they are suicidally determined to antagonize as many major powers as possible, perhaps obscurely motivated by jihadism or nationalistic pride. But that would be wrong. Although 97% of Somalis are Sunni Muslim, they are traditionally secular and socially oriented more toward their extended family networks–their clans–than their state, which is in any case dysfunctional.
Prevailing ransom payments range from $500,000 to $2 million, up from only tens of thousands of dollars five years ago. While they may deal for profit with some Islamist militias, they’re probably into piracy mainly for the money.
[W]hile they could sue, instead, they decided to fight free videos with free videos by putting up their own versions — in higher quality…. they’re hoping people viewing the videos will go to the Pythonline site and buy DVDs (scarce goods) of their movies as well. What an idea. Instead of suing, give fans what they want, and give them a reason to buy.
Yesterday, Judge John Sprizzo of Manhattan approved a lawsuit settlement between Google and book authors and publishers. In what can only be seen as a huge win for both Google and publishers, Google will pay out $125 million into a fund for copyright holders and be granted the right to put millions of out-of-print texts online. The settlement provides a glimpse into the financial terms of a deal that may see the search giant become a significant retailer of out-of-print books.
The lawsuit dates to the launch of Google Print back in 2005, when Google entered the scan-and-publish arena. At the time, its digitizing efforts were described as massive copyright infringement, since the results were made freely available online. The suit attracted the Author’s Guild as well as five major publishers: McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education, Penguin, John Wiley & Sons, and Simon & Schuster. It eventually reached class action status.
The settlement approved today remains preliminary. A June hearing will determine whether the agreement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. Should it pass that hurdle and become a settled class action suit, Google will be able to operate Google Print without fear of future legal action.
Update | 8:43 p.m. With most of the remaining ballots counted in Alaska, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich appears to have unseated long-time Senator Ted Stevens, widening the Democrat’s lead to 3,724 votes. The new count pretty much closes the door on Mr. Stevens’ hopes of re-election. According to the latest official count by the Alaska Division of Elections, Mr. Begich has 150,728 and Mr. Stevens trails with 147,004.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re-election bid Tuesday, marking the downfall of a Washington political power and Alaska icon who couldn’t survive a conviction on federal corruption charges….
Stevens’ ouster on his 85th birthday marks an abrupt realignment in Alaska politics and will alter the power structure in the Senate, where he has served since the days of the Johnson administration while holding seats on some of the most influential committees in Congress.
The crotchety octogenarian built like a birch sapling likes to encourage comparisons with the Incredible Hulk, but he occupies an outsized place in Alaska history. His involvement in politics dates to the days before Alaska statehood, and he is esteemed for his ability to secure billions of dollars in federal aid for transportation and military projects.
The Anchorage mayor widened his lead to 3,724 votes in today’s counting of absentee and questioned ballots. The only votes left to count are approximately 2,500 special absentees from people living outside the U.S. or in remote parts of Alaska with no polling place.
The state will count those final ballots on Nov. 25.
Begich issued a statement shortly before 5 p.m. claiming victory.
“I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate,” Begich said. “It’s been an incredible journey getting to this point, and I appreciate the support and commitment of the thousands of Alaskans who have brought us to this day. I can’t wait to get to work fighting for Alaskan families.”
The Stevens campaign has made no comment.
Here in Georgia I voted today in the runoff. News is Chambliss is fighting a subpoena in a civil case brought by the families of the victims in the Imperial Sugar case. Background here, here and here.
Chambliss has brought in the big guns to fend off challenger Jim Martin. McCain was here yesterday. Mike Huckabee over the weekend. Mitt Romney is headed here, but won’t be in Georgia at the same time as Huckabee. Here’s why.
But will she? Close friends and former colleagues are telling The Chronicle that the secretary plans to announce her own departure shortly, and clear out her desk by early December. According to one, her plan is to submit her letter of resignation next week, just before the Thanksgiving holiday.
A Spellings spokeswoman says, “the secretary plans to stay until the end.”
November 18th, 2008 By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor
So much is being written about Prop. 8 and black homophobia (see for example here, here, and here) that I cannot keep up. Yesterday we learned that Prince Is Anti-Gay (but Ta-Nehisi Coates thinks Andrew Sullivan is “drawing a bizarre line between Prince’s homophobia and Prop 8 and black people” via Joe.My.God).
First is a chart showing the relative sizes and shifts of 83 demographic groups. Those above the diagonal [link] shifted toward Obama from Kerry’s 2004 performance, those below it shifted away from Obama. Tellingly, only three groups moved away–”small town,” “decided last 3 days,” and–perhaps surprisingly “gay”.
Perhaps surprisingly??? If I’m reading this chart right, the gay swing was the largest of the three. Does anyone want to attribute that swing to race?
…the best way to explain the voting preferences of Southern whites is race, but the best way to predict their behavior is to understand that racist voting has become simple partisan voting. If they were once voting for Republicans because they were racist, they’re now voting for Republicans because they are Republicans.
In the case of African Americans voting for Prop 8 in California, I tend to agree with those who say it is religion more than race. And I think along those same lines for whites who voted against Obama in the South.
The South has openly dealt with race for much longer than the North ever did. At this point religion is more to blame than race. (Even as I must acknowledge that some of Franklin’s other charts suggest I could be wrong.)
RELATED: Richard Thompson Ford makes his argument that racism is the wrong frame for understanding the passage of California’s same-sex marriage ban. I’ve addressed his argument here before.
November 17th, 2008 By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor
It’s all over the business news today that the SEC has charged the billionaire Internet entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, with insider trading. GigaOm’s Kevin Kelleher explains why it smells fishy:
The SEC’s complaint against Cuban outlines some pretty compelling evidence: Cuban bought 6.3 percent of Mamma.com in March 2004. Three months later, the company CEO told him it was issuing a controversial, and heavily dilutive, private placement. “Well, now I’m screwed,” Cuban told Mamma’s CEO. “I can’t sell.” But he did, before the offering’s official announcement, sparing himself $750,000 in losses.
Whatever the outcome of the case — Silicon Alley Insider discusses some possible wriggle room — the timing of this news is fishy. Cuban’s attorney said the investigation has been pending for nearly two years, yet it’s only being announced now, less than a month after SEC chair Christopher Cox was raked over the coals at a House committee hearing.
Cox has hardly been a champion of investors. Back in April, some Senators asked the General Accounting Office to investigate the SEC’s enforcement division. Years of budget cuts had left a lean crew, prompting many talented staffers to leave. Disgorgements — repayments of ill-gotten profits — fell 50 percent last year. With a credit crisis looming, Cox’s 2009 budget called for a 1 percent increase in funds — not enough to account for cost of living increases, so another 32 jobs were cut from the enforcement division.
Kelleher notes that the Martha Stewart insider trading case came on the heels of the last round of financial scandals. The SEC was vulnerable to charges of lax enforcement then too:
Cuban may or may not be guilty, and as I said it’s not looking good. My point is that it’s very suspicious that the SEC tends to wheel out a big, headline-grabbing case whenever its chairman is on the ropes.
Whatever happens to Cuban, this case will do absolutely nothing to prevent the SEC from falling asleep at the wheel again.
November 17th, 2008 By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor
Kara Swisher had it about an hour before it was announced:
While did-he-walk-or-was-he-pushed speculation will no doubt be rampant, sources said Yang has and will play an important role in the search for his replacement.
Sources close to the board expect the choice will end up being an outsider and likely not current Yahoo President Sue Decker, although she is being considered for the job.
But both she and Yang have been closely affiliated with each other, as the company has struggled to right itself after tumultuous year and its stock price has plummeted.
Among the tumults, management missteps, a hostile takeover attempt by Microsoft, and a proxy fight by activist shareholder Carl Icahn. Yahoo’s search and ad businesses have declined in the midst of the current economic meltdown. Yang will return to his former role as “Chief Yahoo.”
According to sources, both Yang and the board have been discussing the move for months, although publicly Yang has been saying he was going to stay in place to see through the many changes he has made in his 16-month tenure.
Kara followed quickly with the entire memo from Jerry Yang to employees at Yahoo about his plans to step down. TechCrunch chimes in with the Yahoo press release; and some speculation on who will be next. Finally, the Yahoo conducting Search for New CEO release comes via Techmeme.
A British couple who married in a lavish Second Life wedding ceremony are to divorce after one of them had an alleged “affair” in the online world.
Amy Taylor, 28, said she had caught husband David Pollard, 40, having sex with an animated woman. The couple, who met in an Internet chatroom in 2003, are now separated. […]
Taylor said she had caught Pollard’s avatar having sex with a virtual prostitute: “I looked at the computer screen and could see his character having sex with a female character. It’s cheating as far as I’m concerned.”
The couple’s real-life wedding in 2005 was eclipsed by a fairy tale ceremony held within Second Life.
But Taylor told the Western Morning News she had subsequently hired an online private detective to track his activities: “He never did anything in real life, but I had my suspicions about what he was doing in Second Life.
Pollard admits an innocent online relationship with an American woman. Taylor is in a new relationship with a man she met in the online roleplaying game World of Warcraft.
He is publishing his book at the moment when the destructive disjunction between effort and reward that has dominated the last decade or so - the criminal nonsense of the city bonus economy - is for the first time showing signs of diminishing. Gladwell has been predicting the downturn for a while…
His book also comes at a time when there is a President-elect who just about embodies all he argues: Obama never misses a chance to tell stories about how he has been blessed with a network of support, how he was given opportunity and was lucky enough to take it.
Gladwell sees Obama as an almost inevitable product of an education system that for an enlightened period has favoured African-Americans who show dedication and ability. ‘I don’t believe in character,’ he says. ‘I believe in the effect of the immediate impact of environment and situation on people’s behaviour.’
November 16th, 2008 By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor
Delayed 30 minutes on the east coast by the confused ending of the Pittsburgh-San Diego game (the only 11-10 score in NFL history), the first post-election interview of Barack and Michelle Obama aired on 60 Minutes.
On the economy Obama said “for the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster” but assistance “can’t be a blank check.” He was generous toward Paulson saying he “worked tirelessly under some very difficult circumstances.” He acknowledged the parallels between today and the Great Depression, but supports solutions that are “true to our times.”
He was clear that he will shut down Guantanamo and move forward on energy independence despite low oil prices:
Kroft: There are a number of different things that you could do early pertaining to executive orders. One of them is to shutdown Guantanamo Bay. Another is to change interrogation methods that are used by U.S. troops. Are those things that you plan to take early action on?
Mr. Obama: Yes. I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn’t torture. And I’m gonna make sure that we don’t torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America’s moral stature in the world. […]
Kroft: When the price of oil was at $147 a barrel, there were a lot of spirited and profitable discussions that were held on energy independence. Now you’ve got the price of oil under $60.
Mr. Obama: Right.
Kroft: Does doing something about energy is it less important now than…
Mr. Obama: It’s more important. It may be a little harder politically, but it’s more important.
Kroft: Why?
Mr. Obama: Well, because this has been our pattern. We go from shock to trance. You know, oil prices go up, gas prices at the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity. And then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it’s not important, and we start, you know filling up our SUVs again.
And, as a consequence, we never make any progress. It’s part of the addiction, all right. That has to be broken. Now is the time to break it.
Michelle, saying “women are capable of doing more than one thing well at the same time,” said the focus for her first year will be making sure the kids make it through the transition. After that:
[T]here are many issues that I care deeply about. I care about military families and the work/family balance issue. I care about education. I, both Barack and I, believe that we can have an impact in the D.C. area. You know, in terms of making sure we’re contributing to the community that we immediately live in. That’s always been something that we try to do. Whether it’s in our own neighborhoods or in the schools that we’ve attended. So there’s plenty to do.
Dog lovers will appreciate that they are not getting the dog until after they’re settled because, said Michelle, “as responsible owners, I don’t think it would be good to get a dog in the midst of transition.”
And Michelle’s mom has been invited to move in with them. All in all a bravura performance!
November 13th, 2008 By JOE WINDISH, Technology Editor
Yesterday it looked like he was backing away from his intemperate comments. Today I learn he says that’s not so. The AJC:
Georgia Congressman Paul Broun Wednesday stood by warnings that President-elect Barack Obama might set up a Gestapo-like civilian security force.
One day after the Athens Republican told a radio talk show that he regretted calling Obama a “Marxist,” a spokeswoman for the Athens congressman said, “We have not issued any official apology” for comparing Obama’s proposals to the tactics of Hitler and the Soviet Union.
“What he said in the [radio] interview does not negate what he really feels —- that he has questions and concerns regarding some of the statements Obama has made,” said the spokeswoman, Jessica Morris.
She said Broun was sticking by a written statement issued Tuesday criticizing Obama for having “socialist views” and raising ominous concerns about a campaign proposal to build “a civilian national security force” to assist the military.
“History shows that ‘civilian national security forces’ bode ill for citizens,” Broun said in the statement.
The flap has been watched with particular interest inside the State Department, which already is building a civilian corps similar to the one Obama described in a campaign speech.
What’s a put-upon guru to do? Gladwell isn’t about to give back his advances or stop speaking at business conferences, but he is trying to take his writing in a more meaningful direction. Where he once focused on cool-hunting and T-shirts in his New Yorker articles, now it’s IQ tests and pension systems. “There is a kind of underlying social vision in a lot of his pieces,” says Henry Finder, his editor at the magazine. “The basic vision says how we fare in life isn’t just determined by ourselves and our character, it’s determined by a lot of other things that are beyond our control.” Gladwell has expanded that social vision into a book that he describes as “more political” and “a little angrier” than his previous efforts. “The interesting part of this now is trying to figure out what you do with the idea,” he says, explaining the new approach he took with Outliers, “as opposed to before, where the interesting part was just explaining the idea.” Bruce Headlam, a childhood friend of Gladwell’s who’s now an editor at the New York Times, calls Outliers “the book that’s closest to Malcolm’s heart.”
“When I wrote Tipping Point, my expectation was it would be read by my mom and that was it,” Gladwell says. “I had no notion I was creating a kind of public document. Now I realize I have a bit of a podium, so it seems silly to put the podium to waste.” Which raises the question: With his new book that purports to tell “the story of success,” has Gladwell finally found an idea substantial enough to justify his own?
Anyone who cares about food policy, or who was excited by Barack Obama’s offhand reference to Michael Pollan’s food policy manifesto [that’s me], should be extremely skeptical of this pick. [I am!] Iowa, of course, is a corn state. For the last 14 years, they’ve been the leading corn producer in the nation. In 2006, they grew almost 2.1 billion bushels. But they don’t just grow corn. They also demand subsidies. And they get them. Tens of billions of dollars of them. And corn subsidies are far and away the worst of our food policy abominations — they make processed food cheaper, meat cheaper, sweeteners cheaper, and create a market for ethanol that would not naturally exist. They endure, in part, because of a quirk in our political system. The power of Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential Caucus is used to force candidates to swear fealty to ethanol and corn subsidies. This bit of civically disguised blackmail has become so routine that the West Wing did an episode on it. But it’s one thing to make promises during campaigns. Putting a former governor of Iowa in charge of the Department of Agriculture, however, seems like a solemn oath that the subsidies will continue far into the future.
Video chatting from Gmail is as easy as sending an instant message. With our team spread out across Google offices in Sweden and the U.S., it’s been really handy in helping us work together. Just click on the new “Video & more” menu in a Gmail chat window and select “Start video chat” or “Start voice chat.” You can switch to a full screen view or pop out the chat window and change the size and positioning as you wish. Of course, not everyone has a webcam, but even if you don’t, you can still have voice conversations alongside your email and regular chat.
The fastest growing company in Silicon Valley over the past few years was not Facebook, VMWare, or all-mighty Google. According to Deloitte, the professional services firm, it was a company whose name you probably won’t recognize but whose product you will: Pure Digital Technologies, maker of the popular Flip video camera.
In a study released last month, Deloitte said that revenues at Pure Digital, a 90-employee firm based in San Francisco, grew 44,667 percent, the highest rate in Silicon Valley over the last five years. Pure Digital says it has sold over 1.5 million devices since it first unveiled its Flip product line in 2007.
This week, Pure Digital is showing how it achieved that distinction and carved out the leading share of the camcorder market: the company is unveiling the Flip Mino HD, a 3.3 oz camcorder that captures video in crisp high-definition and allows owners to easily play clips on their televisions and upload them to video sharing sites like YouTube and MySpace.
