I wish Hoon were here to tell me why Bush has put a gag order on his entire administration to prevent them from providing any testimony in the Katrina investigations......

Where IS Hoon?

From Wired.com...

Jobs vs. Gates: Who's the Star?

Commentary by Leander Kahney

Until recently, Bill Gates has been viewed as the villain of the tech world, while his archrival, Steve Jobs, enjoys an almost saintly reputation.

Gates is the cutthroat capitalist. A genius maybe, but one more interested in maximizing profits than perfecting technology. He's the ultimate vengeful nerd. Ostracized at school, he gets the last laugh by bleeding us all dry.

On the other hand, Jobs has never seemed much concerned with business, though he's been very successful at it of late. Instead, Jobs has been portrayed as a man of art and culture. He's an aesthete, an artist; driven to make a dent in the universe.

But these perceptions are wrong. In fact, the reality is reversed. It's Gates who's making a dent in the universe, and Jobs who's taking on the role of single-minded capitalist, seemingly oblivious to the broader needs of society.

Gates is giving away his fortune with the same gusto he spent acquiring it, throwing billions of dollars at solving global health problems. He has also spoken out on major policy issues, for example, by opposing proposals to cut back the inheritance tax.

In contrast, Jobs does not appear on any charitable contribution lists of note. And Jobs has said nary a word on behalf of important social issues, reserving his talents of persuasion for selling Apple products.

According to Forbes, Jobs was recently worth $3.3 billion which puts him among the 194th richest in the world, and makes him the 67th richest American. But the standings were shuffled on Tuesday with Disney's $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar Animation -- a deal that makes Jobs' Pixar holdings alone worth some $3.7 billion.

But great wealth does not make a great man.

Giving USA Foundation, a philanthropy research group which publishes an annual charity survey, said Jobs does not appear on lists of gifts of $5 million or more over the last four years. Nor is his name on a list of gifts of $1 million or more compiled by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.

Jobs' wife is also absent from these philanthropic lists, although she has made dozens of political donations totaling tens of thousands of dollars to the Democrats, according to the Open Secrets database.

Of course, Jobs and his wife may be giving enormous sums of money to charity anonymously. If they are funneling cash to various causes in private, their names wouldn't show up on any lists, regardless of the size of their gifts.

For a person as private as Jobs, who shuns any publicity about his family life, this seems credible. If so, however, this would make Jobs virtually unique among moguls. Richard Jolly, chairman of Giving USA Foundation, said not all billionaires give their money away, but a lot do, and most do not do it quietly.

"We see it over and over again," he said. "Very wealthy individuals do support the organizations and institutions they believe in."

That's certainly true of Gates, who not only gives vast sums away, but also speaks up in support of the organizations and institutions he believes in.

This is not the case for Jobs. To the best of my knowledge, in the last decade or more, Jobs has not spoken up on any social or political issue he believes in -- with the exception of admitting he's a big Bob Dylan fan.

Rather, he uses social issues to support his own selfish business goals. In the Think Different campaign, Jobs used cultural figures he admired to sell computers -- figures who stuck their necks out to fight racism, poverty, inequality or war.

Jobs once offered to be an advisor to Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election, and he invited President Clinton over for dinner when Bubba visited Silicon Valley in 1996 -- hardly evidence of deep political convictions.

Jobs can't even get behind causes that would seem to carry deep personal meaning, let alone lasting social importance. Like Lance Armstrong, he is a cancer survivor. But unlike Armstrong, Jobs has so far done little publicly to raise money or awareness for the disease.

Given Jobs' social detachment, I'm confused by the adulation he enjoys. Yes, he has great charisma and his presentations are good theater. But his absence from public discourse makes him a cipher. People project their values onto him, and he skates away from the responsibilities that come with great wealth and power.

On the evidence, he's nothing more than a greedy capitalist who's amassed an obscene fortune. It's shameful. In almost every way, Gates is much more deserving of Jobs' rock star exaltation.

In the same way, I admire Bono over Mick Jagger, and John Lennon over Elvis, because they spoke up about things bigger than their own celebrity.

It's time for Jobs to do the same.

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I wish Hoon was here to explain how this latest example of Bush wiping his ass with our Constitution is great for America.

this is a damn good song, i dont care how faggy or country it is. its fucking amazing.

ron artest
ron artest
ron artest
ron artest
ron artest
ron artest
ron artest
ron artest
ron artest
isiah thomas

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Matthew Solarski reports:
As obvious heirs to the Velvet Underground's cultural legacy, two dudes from Weezer have been selected to portray members of the VU in the forthcoming Edie Sedgwick biopic Factory Girl. Weezer guitarist Brian Bell will put on his best Lou Reed swagger, while =w= drummer Patrick Wilson will attempt to invoke a John Cale cool in the George Hickenlooper-directed film, currently in production.

What's more, Bell and Wilson have recorded a new version of the classic VU track "Heroin", to be used in Factory Girl. Bell sings, while Wilson rocked the kit for the recording (VU drummer Moe Tucker, however, will be portrayed by Hole/Mötley Crüe/Eagles of Death Metal stickswoman Samantha Maloney in Factory Girl).

"Working on this project with Pat [Wilson] was a blast," Bell revealed on Weezer's official website. "There was no premeditated plan, no rehearsal, there was barely even a discussion of how to approach this seven minute ride-the lessons learned and the experience of recording-proved to be invaluable."

Seems like the Weezer boys are feeling pretty good about their try at "Heroin". "[Moe] Tucker did have an amazing feel," Bell said, "but she was no Pat, and Pat pulled out an ‘Only In Dreams' type crescendo that I think makes that aspect of the song better."

Wait a second. Did he just say that the guy who played on "Beverly Hills" does a better "Heroin" than Moe Tucker? Good lord, is this man confused.

Bell continued, "maybe we might help turn a new generation on to this amazing art rock band and change the perspectives of a few unknowing listeners. If your music has steered too far from the aesthetic of the Velvet Underground you have to ask yourself, ‘What the hell am I trying to do?'"

Um, dude? Maybe you forgot, but you're in WEEZER. What the hell are YOU trying to do?

Weezer's not the first rock act to play the Velvet Underground on the silver screen. Yo La Tengo did so previously in the 1996 Mary Harron-directed drama I Shot Andy Warhol.

Factory Girl tells the tale of Edie Sedgwick's meeting with Andy Warhol and her subsequent rise and fall in the 1960s New York scene. Sienna Miller (Casanova, Alfie, Layer Cake) plays Sedgwick and Guy Pearce (Memento, Two Brothers, The Count of Monte Cristo) is Warhol. The film also stars darksider Hayden Christensen (Star Wars Episode II and III), "Saturday Night Live"'s Jimmy Fallon, and relative newcomer Meredith Ostrom as Nico.

Patrick Wilson weighed in on the film's potential on his blog, stating, "the script is sweet and confidence is high that this movie wont [sic] suck."

Apparently the real Lou Reed thinks otherwise. "I read that script," Reed candidly told the New York Daily News. "It's one of the most disgusting, foul things I've seen - by any illiterate retard - in a long time. There's no limit to how low some people will go to write something to make money."

sportsbook.com has lines on what team ron artest would go to. as soon as i heard he was traded to the kings, i put $50 (THE MAX) on them at 3-1. 10 minutes later, the lines were removed. Easiest $150 ever.

Who drinks this shit? $1.75 and it tastes like watered down Kool-Aid. What the fuck?????