Best Posts of the Week

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Best Posts of the Week

Best Posts of the Week
Here are the best stories on Gizmodo, this week. Enjoy!

This Is the New Gizmodo

Take a look around. This is the new Gizmodo. More »


Best Posts of the WeekThe Techno-Future Is Already Here

Christian Stoll's wide-angle photographs, fittingly used in print campaigns for IBM and Microsoft, may look like scenes from Minority Report, but they're actually views of our little old planet as seen in some of its craziest, most futuristic looking places right now. Go check out the rest of the set, titled "Epic," at Stoll's site and perhaps feel a fleeting appreciation for trees and squirrels and stuff like that. More »


Best Posts of the WeekIs the Internet God?

How could god let this happen? I am the Jewish child of Holocaust survivors, so that is a question that I have heard asked throughout my life. Everyone from the most revered religious leaders to George Burns playing the title character in Oh God, Book 2, has tackled that enquiry. More »


How to Cheat Online-and Get Away with It

Cheating on your significant other used to be simple: reserve the hotel room under an alias, pay in cash. Today, a digital footprint can be as telling as lipstick on the collar. But if you're smart, you can get away with it. More »


Best Posts of the WeekHipstamatic and the Death of Photojournalism

Pictures of the Year International is a photojournalism contest that's a pretty big deal. This photo of the 2nd Platoon under fire in Afghanistan by New York Times photographer Damon Winter took third place this year. It was taken with the iPhone app Hipstamatic, which slathers photos with moody effects. More »


Best Posts of the Week7-Year-Old Kid Buys Harrier Jet Fighter-Then Gets Dreams Shattered

A 7-year-old kid came closer to realize every kid's dream than any of us: He bought a real Harrier fighter jet for $113,000 on eBay. Yes, a Harrier Jump Jet T-Bird Aircraft XW269. The whole shebang, weaponry not included. More »


Best Posts of the Week98 Incredible Photos of Levitation

Man can fly, but he can't yet levitate. Maybe that's why these 98 photos of levitation-using Photoshop only to remove the strings-are so striking. More »


Best Posts of the WeekLA Cops Seize $10 Million Worth of Fake iPhones, iPods, and More

Look at them all: iPods and iPhones of every color and every generation. It's a king's ransom of iProducts-except every single one of them is a fake. More »


Best Posts of the WeekRhode Island City Plans to Leave 600 Rogue Stop Signs Standing

At some point in recent years, a ghost in the urban planning machine put up 700 rogue stop signs in Cranston, Rhode Island, (pop. 80,000; stop sign pop. 2,600). They're totally undocumented, and the city can't figure out where exactly they came from. But after an investigation by a specially appointed committee, they're planning to leave 580 of 'em right where they are. More »


Best Posts of the WeekThis Is the Most Beautiful and Terrifying Portrait of Earth I've Seen

Over the course of 15 years, award-winning photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand crafted the most beautiful view of the Earth I've ever seen on the silver screen: Home is an exquisite vision of our world, full of pure bliss-and terrifying scenes. More »


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WTOP Breaking News


WTOP BREAKING NEWS

Ingmar Guandique, convicted of killing D.C. intern Chandra Levy nearly a decade ago, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison.


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WTOP Breaking News


WTOP BREAKING NEWS

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down and handed power to the military.


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MY 511 Transit Update



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ABC NewsMail - afternoon edition

ABC News

 

 Afternoon Edition. Sat 12 Feb 2011


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 Top StoriesMore Top Stories > 

Members of Australia's Egyptian community celebrate at Town Hall Square in Sydney's CBD.

Egyptians in Australia hail Mubarak's fall
Egyptians across Australia are celebrating the end of president Hosni Mubarak's leadership as 18 days of angry protests in Egypt and around the world turn to scenes of joy and jubilation.

Egypt's new era sees military take charge
Egypt is under military rule following the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak overnight which saw celebrations sweep across Egypt and the world.

Obama says difficult days ahead for Egypt
US president Barack Obama has praised the Egyptian people saying they have inspired the world, but warns there will be difficult days ahead.

Egyptians jubilant as Mubarak resigns
The ABC's Ben Knight is in Tahrir Square, where news of Hosni Mubarak's resignation has caused jubilance.

Rudd says appropriate support given to Assange
Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says the Government has met its responsibility by providing every form of consular assistance to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.


 The DrumMore from The Drum > 

?-Caption-?

Egypt live: a Drum Twitter feed from Cairo
Regime change has come to Egypt, change led by the manifest will of the Egyptian people. Social media has played its part in driving the Mubarak regime from power. Now, in victory, the online chatter continues. Watch The Drum's live feed from local news sources and observers on the ground. Egypt Live ... catch history in real time.

Anger and angst over Abbott's fantasy football
How dare the Coalition be so heartless as to obliterate - at the stroke of a pen - $448 million for moderate schools in Indonesia? Except it's not happening.

Gillard buoyed by a flood of Liberal grievance
The 20 seconds that Tony Abbott spent glaring at Channel Seven's political editor Mark Riley, held a menace that cannot be translated to print. Then imaginary reductions in the foreign aid budget generated a serious spat between Julie Bishop and Mr Abbott. Leading into this week, most of the focus was on how Julia Gillard would perform. So why, when the Prime Minister is under so much pressure, did the Coalition decide to parade its internal disputes and let its foot off her throat?

Avatars for a better world. Dream on.
As sympathetic as I am to the WikiLeaks cause and attempts to end child abuse, I can't see how changing my profile picture achieves anything.

Cairo calling: give us democracy or give us...
An Egyptian blogger displayed characteristic humour when news broke overnight that president Hosni Mubarak would not be stepping down: Mubarak (n.): a psychotic ex-girlfriend who fails 2 understand it's over. If Mubarak and his new deputy Omar Suleiman thought their speeches would placate the protesters, they were sorely mistaken. Local bloggers and activists reacted with anger and determination. More Follow the Drum's live Egypt Twitter feed from local news sources and observers.


 WorldMore World Stories > 

Egyptians in Australia hail Mubarak's fall
Egyptians across Australia are celebrating the end of president Hosni Mubarak's leadership as 18 days of angry protests in Egypt and around the world turn to scenes of joy and jubilation.

Elizabeth Taylor treated for heart failure
Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor has been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital to treat congestive heart failure, the latest in a long history of serious medical problems.

Pink Floyd star's son charged over royal convoy attack
The son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has been charged over the attack on Prince Charles' convoy during a student riot, a London court has heard.


 Science & TechnologyMore Science & Technology Stories > 

Watching body can reduce pain, study finds
Many people close their eyes or look away when they know something is going to hurt, but a new study has found that it may hurt less if you watch a painful procedure.

Nokia, Microsoft form smartphone alliance
Nokia and Microsoft have teamed up to take on Google and Apple in the fast-growing smartphone market.

Who nose how mice get their hearing back?
Australian scientists have been able to restore hearing in mice using nasal stem cells.


 EnvironmentMore Environment Stories > 

Government steps in as Great Southern shire runs dry
The Minister for Water Bill Marmion has been forced to declare the Shire of Kent in the Great Southern water deficient after one of the driest years on record.

New plan to dispose of hazardous household materials
The State Government has committed $10 million towards the collection and disposal of hazardous household materials and opened a new recycling plant in Shenton Park.

Hunter Water customers receive refund for failed Tillegra Dam proposal
Hunter Water customers will soon receive a refund of levies collected to fund the Tillegra Dam, proposed for the Hunter Valley.



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Is the Internet God?

By Dave Pell

Is the Internet God?

Is the Internet God?How could god let this happen? I am the Jewish child of Holocaust survivors, so that is a question that I have heard asked throughout my life. Everyone from the most revered religious leaders to George Burns playing the title character in Oh God, Book 2, has tackled that enquiry.

During the early nineties, I traveled to Poland with my parents to visit the rural village where my dad grew up and where he eventually lost his family and his home. As part of the trip, we visited a concentration camp. While every aspect of this tour was moving and upsetting, I was most shocked by what I saw outside the fences that surrounded the camp.

I saw homes. On hills. The concentration camp was in a valley and in each direction I could see more and more houses built on the raised dirt that completely surrounded the killing factory where I stood. These neighbors would have constantly seen and smelled the plumes of smoke.

As I stood at the center of camp I wondered if things would've been any different if the whole world was watching. Not just knowing. Watching.

Nearly three decades after that trip with my parents, I am staring at this computer screen and I realize that I am living on those hills.

Pretty much everyone I follow on Twitter has had some reaction to the revolution happening in Egypt. Most of this commentary, including mine, is not backed up by a deep knowledge of Egypt's history. Instead it's a knee-jerk reaction to a moral dillemma. Whether we adhere to some religious values or view morality as a human construct, we are all reacting to a situation on the ground where we see the good guys (the young protestors who want freedom) and the bad guys (the old dictators who have repressed the masses for their own gain).

And we're all living in those houses surrounding the valley where we see something that has to change. Physically, most of us might be on the other side of the world. But the story is piped at us all day long by the mass media and by members of our networked communities. We don't just know about it in the back of our minds. We're watching it.

As the revolution unfolded, major media outlets were repeatedly looking to the White House to get the official American response. But at this moment in history, anyone with access to the Internet already knew the American reaction. The network had already responded.

Did the Internet cause the revolution? Of course not. Did it play a critical role in enabling the revolution? It might take a little time to answer that question completely. But it's certainly worth noting that those who helped to light the fuse used the Internet to do so, and one of the first reactions of the ruling party was to turn the Internet off.

In an interview on CNN, Wael Ghonim, one of the voices of the revolution said: "If you want to liberate a government, give them the internet."

Of course, there are countless other events in the world that we're able to ignore even with modern life's constant connectivity. But every now and then, a series of events in a corner of the world rises up onto our screens and into our communal consciousness.

This will happen more and more often. The more connected we are, the more we'll see. This will have a dramatic impact on our own experience of world events. Will more be better? It's easy to argue that we're better off watching the streets of Cairo than American Idol. But living on those hills might overwhelm us. Every now and then, you might want to take off your virtual beret and focus on events across the living room, not across the world.

But our old living room might be gone. Once you live on that hill, it's hard to close the curtains. It's hard to deny that we'll be increasingly confronted by a new question.

Instead of asking about god we'll have to ask:

How could we let this happen?

I don't pretend to have any idea if our watching will make a differnce in the course of world events. A few people on the hill didn't make any difference to the victims of that concentration camp. Would hundreds of millions of people on the hill do the trick? Will we live in a better world because the world is watching?

I don't know. But at least we'll know who to blame.

Dave Pell is an internet addict, early adopter, and insider. He blogs regularly at Tweetage Wasteland and has even been known to tweet.

Photo: Chris Hondros/Getty Images

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ABC NewsMail - morning edition

ABC News

 

 Morning Edition. Sat 12 Feb 2011


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 Top StoriesMore Top Stories > 

Egyptians celebrate the historic day in Tahrir Square.

Egypt celebrates as Mubarak era ends
Egypt has erupted into a cacophony of celebration on the news that president Hosni Mubarak has bowed to demands that he resign after 18 days of furious protests.

World leaders welcome Egypt's 'day of joy'
World leaders have hailed Hosni Mubarak's decision to step down as Egyptian president after 30 years in power, saying they share the joy of Egyptians and hope the transition to democracy will be peaceful.

Assange's mum demands Rudd help or resign
The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has released an open letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd demanding he take up her son's case or resign.

States consider details of new health plans
The Federal Government says its new health funding proposal will not leave any state or territory worse off.

Keneally braces for fight of her life
New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally has acknowledged that she is facing the political fight of her life ahead of next month's state election.


 The DrumMore from The Drum > 

?-Caption-?

Egypt live: a Drum Twitter feed from Cairo
Regime change has come to Egypt, change led by the manifest will of the Egyptian people. Social media has played its part in driving the Mubarak regime from power. Now, in victory, the online chatter continues. Watch The Drum's live feed from local news sources and observers on the ground. Egypt Live ... catch history in real time.

Anger and angst over Abbott's fantasy football
How dare the Coalition be so heartless as to obliterate - at the stroke of a pen - $448 million for moderate schools in Indonesia? Except it's not happening.

Gillard buoyed by a flood of Liberal grievance
The 20 seconds that Tony Abbott spent glaring at Channel Seven's political editor Mark Riley, held a menace that cannot be translated to print. Then imaginary reductions in the foreign aid budget generated a serious spat between Julie Bishop and Mr Abbott. Leading into this week, most of the focus was on how Julia Gillard would perform. So why, when the Prime Minister is under so much pressure, did the Coalition decide to parade its internal disputes and let its foot off her throat?

Avatars for a better world. Dream on.
As sympathetic as I am to the WikiLeaks cause and attempts to end child abuse, I can't see how changing my profile picture achieves anything.

Cairo calling: give us democracy or give us...
An Egyptian blogger displayed characteristic humour when news broke overnight that president Hosni Mubarak would not be stepping down: Mubarak (n.): a psychotic ex-girlfriend who fails 2 understand it's over. If Mubarak and his new deputy Omar Suleiman thought their speeches would placate the protesters, they were sorely mistaken. Local bloggers and activists reacted with anger and determination. More Follow the Drum's live Egypt Twitter feed from local news sources and observers.


 WorldMore World Stories > 

World leaders welcome Egypt's 'day of joy'
World leaders have hailed Hosni Mubarak's decision to step down as Egyptian president after 30 years in power, saying they share the joy of Egyptians and hope the transition to democracy will be peaceful.

Egypt celebrates as Mubarak era ends
Egypt has erupted into a cacophony of celebration on the news that president Hosni Mubarak has bowed to demands that he resign after 18 days of furious protests.

Egyptian president Mubarak steps down
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has stepped down, his deputy Omar Suleiman announced in a televised address.


 Science & TechnologyMore Science & Technology Stories > 

Watching body can reduce pain, study finds
Many people close their eyes or look away when they know something is going to hurt, but a new study has found that it may hurt less if you watch a painful procedure.

Nokia, Microsoft form smartphone alliance
Nokia and Microsoft have teamed up to take on Google and Apple in the fast-growing smartphone market.

Who nose how mice get their hearing back?
Australian scientists have been able to restore hearing in mice using nasal stem cells.


 EnvironmentMore Environment Stories > 

Hunter Water customers receive refund for failed Tillegra Dam proposal
Hunter Water customers will soon receive a refund of levies collected to fund the Tillegra Dam, proposed for the Hunter Valley.

Minerals Council acknowledges need for consultation
The New South Wales Minerals Council says mining companies must improve the way they work with communities in mining areas.

Cundall vows to fight on despite court fine
ABC gardening personality Peter Cundall has been found guilty of disobeying the direction of a police officer during a rally at Parliament House in Hobart.



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