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January 27, 2012
12:19 • 1 hour ago
Tags: apple hollywood antitrust crazy ideas cash on hand

Crazy TechCrunch idea of the day: Apple has enough money to buy most of Hollywood. Maybe they should.

One thing they could do is buy their way into Hollywood. Think about it for a second. Today, Apple could literally buy Time Warner ($38 billion market cap), Viacom ($29 billion), and Dreamworks ($1.6 billion) combined, and still have $30 billion left over. If it waits a few more quarters it could snap up News Corp ($49 billion) as well. Only Disney, which is worth $70 billion, would take a while longer to save up for.

But it is very unlikely Apple would just snap up all the major media companies. It would be a post-acquisition mess, not to mention the antitrust issues it would raise. No, all Apple needs to do is take a few billion dollars of that cash and start licensing the rights to stream first-run TV shows and movies. It could easily compete with cable. It needs to compete with cable if it truly wants to build a TV replacement.

Food for thought: When you have that much money on hand, you can actually think of crazy things like this. Actually, we have a better idea: Spend some of that money improving your factory standards, Apple.

12:06 • 1 hour ago
Tags: 2012 election gop libertarian ron paul ron paul controversial letters ron paul libertarian letters ron paul racism allegations
It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product. … He would proof it.
Ron Paul’s former secretary (and current supporter) Renae Hathway • Discussing the perceived-racist newsletters that went out under his name, and he has largely disowned since then. If he edited the newsletters, clearly this would contradict what Paul himself has said about them. The Paul campaign denies these allegations, but this should get this back in the news cycle for a full week. source (via • follow)
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00:17 • 13 hours ago
Tags: taco bell fast food breakfast locations firstmeal fourthmeal

And because you're curious about whether you can get in on this Firstmeal action, here's a full list of Taco Bell locations serving breakfast.

Outside of a pocket of stores in Ohio, it looks like it’s all west of the Mason Dixon line. Enjoy your artery-clogging breakfast, Left Coast!

00:03 • 13 hours ago
Tags: breakfast fake mexican food fast food firstmeal fourthmeal Johnsonville Sausage and Egg Wrap mexican food taco bell
Newest reason to sleep in: Taco Bell now serves breakfast “This is a very important launch for our brand”: Taco Bell may like to suggest that you need a Fourthmeal, but in 800 mostly-western locations, now it suddenly wants to focus on your Firstmeal. That’s right, the Gordita grandaddy is moving into the realm of breakfast food, offering up such ideals of morning goodness as the Johnsonville Sausage and Egg Wrap, above. The company, which makes three-fifths of its parent company’s U.S. profits, is assuming that its audience likes sleeping in (having of course eaten their Fourthmeal the night before), and will serve breakfast between 8 or 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. — a later window than McDonald’s, which totally owns the breakfast market. Screw this; we’re sticking with bagels. source Follow ShortFormBlog

Newest reason to sleep in: Taco Bell now serves breakfast

“This is a very important launch for our brand”: Taco Bell may like to suggest that you need a Fourthmeal, but in 800 mostly-western locations, now it suddenly wants to focus on your Firstmeal. That’s right, the Gordita grandaddy is moving into the realm of breakfast food, offering up such ideals of morning goodness as the Johnsonville Sausage and Egg Wrap, above. The company, which makes three-fifths of its parent company’s U.S. profits, is assuming that its audience likes sleeping in (having of course eaten their Fourthmeal the night before), and will serve breakfast between 8 or 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. — a later window than McDonald’s, which totally owns the breakfast market. Screw this; we’re sticking with bagels. source

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January 26, 2012
23:41 • 13 hours ago
Tags: automobiles CA california California Air Resources Board cars clean air clean car regulations emissions mary nichols regulations smog
We can’t afford to wait. We have to act on these issues now. Our projections show continued growth in population and vehicle miles traveled, which will affect air quality for years to come.
Mary Nichols, the chairman of the California Air Resources Board • Discussing why new ‘Clean Car’ regulations are necessary. California’s new bill, which would require vehicles to cut down on pollutants by 75 percent, would start in 2015, and the rules would tighten further by 2025. This could be a step in the right direction for such a smog-ridden state, but opponents say that it would hurt consumers and car manufacturers, claiming it raises the price of a new vehicle by $3,200. The new standards could inspire other states to follow suit. source (via • follow)
23:22 • 14 hours ago
Tags: college sports ESPN joe paterno joe paterno memorial nike paterno penn state penn state memorial phil knight
Joe Paterno’s memorial service: A strong defense against a grave offense Paterno, remembered: During Thursday’s memorial service, numerous speakers remembered the longtime Penn State figure’s life, and his time as a coach, with great reverence, showing respect for the man at a time when his legacy has been clouded by controversy. Speaker after speaker — family, friends, and disciples — spoke reverently of him, emphasizing a legacy that goes far beyond that of an unspeakable scandal, one that improved many lives and the scope of a university. Perhaps none said it better than Nike chairman Phil Knight: “If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation, and not in Joe Paterno’s response.” Penn State football, under Paterno, was known for its great defense; the defenders came out strong Thursday. source Follow ShortFormBlog

Joe Paterno’s memorial service: A strong defense against a grave offense

Paterno, remembered: During Thursday’s memorial service, numerous speakers remembered the longtime Penn State figure’s life, and his time as a coach, with great reverence, showing respect for the man at a time when his legacy has been clouded by controversy. Speaker after speaker — family, friends, and disciples — spoke reverently of him, emphasizing a legacy that goes far beyond that of an unspeakable scandal, one that improved many lives and the scope of a university. Perhaps none said it better than Nike chairman Phil Knight: “If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation, and not in Joe Paterno’s response.” Penn State football, under Paterno, was known for its great defense; the defenders came out strong Thursday. source

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22:13 • 15 hours ago
Tags: facebook privacy facebook privacy non-disclosure agreements journalism freedom of the press NDA
Facebook asked me to pass this on to you. They require it of all visitors to their facilities. It only applies to things that you might accidentally stumble upon while you are there and covers nothing discussed during our news conference. Please either bring a signed copy or be ready to sign upon arrival.
An official for Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna • In a message sent prior to a press conference that McKenna was holding with Facebook at the company’s Seattle office. Yes, that’s right: Facebook wanted journalists to sign non-disclosure agreements TO COVER A PRESS CONFERENCE IN THEIR BUILDING. Talk about being all paranoid about privacy or something. The company later backed down before the press conference began, with another McKenna official saying “You may disregard the non-disclosure agreement that we sent earlier.” Fail.
20:00 • 17 hours ago
Tags: GOP gop debate the debate we're not covering from pantslessprogressive
pantslessprogressive: Skipping tonight’s debate. Mental health reasons. Can only listen to so much Mitt vs. Newt. Watch here, tho.

pantslessprogressive:

Skipping tonight’s debate. Mental health reasons. Can only listen to so much Mitt vs. Newt. Watch here, tho.

16:00 • 21 hours ago
Tags: techmeme redesigns web sites aggregation
TechMeme redesigns, scores headline of the day: ”Techmeme has redesigned. Drudge Report is now indisputably the web’s ugliest news site.” We’ll give them that; it’s clean, but the font is not a good one for heavy news-reading.

TechMeme redesigns, scores headline of the day: ”Techmeme has redesigned. Drudge Report is now indisputably the web’s ugliest news site.” We’ll give them that; it’s clean, but the font is not a good one for heavy news-reading.

15:49 • 21 hours ago
Tags: newt gingrich moon outer space colony treaty politics news technology space the moon moon colony from producermatthew
The treaty explicitly forbids any government from claiming a celestial resource such as the Moon or a planet, claiming that they are the Common heritage of mankind. [Article II] of the Treaty states that ‘outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.’
The Outer Space Treaty, of which the United States is a signatory. Sorry, Newt Gingrich, looks like your moon colony idea won’t be happening anytime soon. [Full treaty by the US State Department here] (via producermatthew)

We were looking forward to that colony. Now, sadly, we’re going to have to go back to bed and cry about it.
14:36 • 22 hours ago

More deaths as apparent sectarian violence in Iraq continues

Tags: Iraq iraq attacks iraq bombings iraq killings iraq shootings iraq violence sectarian violence

  • 17 Iraqis killed in bombings and shootings today source

» Deciphering the discord: The state of affairs in Iraq since the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces (not to suggest Iraq was an entirely safe place when those forces were there, obviously) has somewhat undeniably deteriorated, plagued by mass attacks of a sectarian nature. Today was one such grisly example — as the political struggle for representation between Shiite and Sunni has intensified, it has been shadowed by an increasing frequency of attacks, apparently by sectarian militants (al-Qaeda in Iraq among them).

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14:24 • 23 hours ago
Tags: Gabrielle Giffords gabrielle giffords resigns democrats democratic national committee debber wasserman schultz
Want to thank Gabby Giffords for her service? Now you can. The DNC put up this page allowing you to write a little note for the just-resigned Congresswoman. “Add your name and a note,” her friend, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, wrote on Twitter. I’ll make sure she gets it.”

Want to thank Gabby Giffords for her service? Now you can. The DNC put up this page allowing you to write a little note for the just-resigned Congresswoman. “Add your name and a note,” her friend, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, wrote on Twitter. I’ll make sure she gets it.”

14:06 • 23 hours ago
Tags: barred from travel egypt egypt protests IRI ray lahood ruling military council sam lahood
It’s absolutely an escalation. To have a strategic U.S. ally issue bans against American citizens is deeply troubling.
Scott Mastic, Mid-East regional director of the International Republican Institute • Speaking on the state of affairs in Egypt, where American members of the IRI, a pro-democracy group, have been barred from traveling pending apparent investigation by the military government. This is, perhaps, the unpleasant flip-side of the coin in Egypt, after yesterday’s anniversary of the protests (along with many reports yesterday that women were in great personal danger as darkness fell on Tahrir Square). This story takes on a personal nature for one prominent member of the U.S. government — Sam LaHood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, is the IRI’s director in Egypt, and has explicitly been forbidden to return home. “It’s gotten more serious,” he said. source (via • follow)
12:49 • 1 day ago
Tags: britney spears followers tumblr
Greatly amused by this.

Greatly amused by this.

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12:45 • 1 day ago
Tags: barney frank barney frank getting married jim ready gay rights gay marriage
Heartwarming news of the day: Barney Frank, who’s planning to retire from Congress, plans to marry his longtime partner, Jim Ready, in a Massachusetts ceremony. Awesome.

Heartwarming news of the day: Barney Frank, who’s planning to retire from Congress, plans to marry his longtime partner, Jim Ready, in a Massachusetts ceremony. Awesome.

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