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One of the more despicable aspects of big media is this sort of hypocrisy. 1

Big media companies never seem to be reluctant to sic their lawyers on smaller sites that they think are quoting too much of their content even when they provide links back to the source. On the other hand, they are more then happy to use material created by those that don't have the resources to defend themselves without any attribution. If these traditional companies expect to defend their content they had better be prepared to respect other outlets in the same way.

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College editor: Seeing our work go uncredited is ‘frustrating’
Jason Alpert, the 20-year-old editor UC Davis’s California Aggie, tells me that 30 or more news organizations have contacted the paper for permission to use its protest photos. “We let them use them as long as they cite California Aggie and the photographer,” he says. “We don’t ask for money.” But many media giants — …Read More

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As you sit down to gorge yourself on turkey and more today, don't forget those… 2

As you sit down to gorge yourself on turkey and more today, don't forget those that don't have as much stuff.

With nearly a third of Americans living near or below the poverty line now, many struggle to get by from day to day. As an automotive journalist, many of the media drives I went on wound their way through rural areas like this.

#ows #poverty #thanksgiving

In album american homes (63 photos)

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I'm a fan of both Jaguar's XF and the station wagon form factor 11

Now it looks like Jaguar will officially blend the two for first time with the upcoming XF SportBrake (Sport wagon + shooting brake). The XF is a great driving car despite my complaints about the gimmicky motorized vents and shift knob and the excruciatingly slow Flash-based infotainment interface. http://www.luxist.com/2010/02/08/review-2010-jaguar-xf-supercharged-a-worthy-leaping-cat/

The question is would I want the 500hp supercharged XF-R or the fabulously torquey and fuel efficient 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 (unfortunately not available in North America yet)? Now if only the XF was available with a manual transmission.

#jaguar #cars #stationwagon

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Jaguar XF Sportbrake
New Jaguar XF Sportbrake estate car is spied outside company gates

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Back in 2007, Cadillac unveiled a 2.9-liter V6 diesel intended for the European market… 1

Back in 2007, Cadillac unveiled a 2.9-liter V6 diesel intended for the European market CTS. The company was seriously considering bringing it to the US market as then Cadillac general manager Jim Taylor told me in late 2007 http://www.green.autoblog.com/2007/12/11/we-may-yet-see-cadillacs-new-2-9l-v-6-diesel-in-the-us/

They even showed the diesel V6 in the original concept version of the CTS coupe at the January 2008 Detroit Auto Show http://www.greenfuelsforecast.com/ArticleDetails.php?articleID=427

Unfortunately the financial melt-down and bankruptcy put the kibosh on both the V6 and the 4.5-liter light duty truck V8 diesel. Both engines however are ready for production and could be revived. I suspect that GM will look at how well the upcoming Cruze diesel does before making a final decision.

#diesel #cars #cadillac #gm

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Cadillac considering diesel for U.S.
LeftLane. RSS Facebook Twitter YouTube. left. Lexus CT 200h. Lexus CT 200h. BMW Z4. BMW Z4. Cadillac CTS-V. Cadillac CTS-V. Ram 2500. Ram 2500. Subaru Forester. Subaru Forester. GMC Terrain. GMC Terra…

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In the spirit of making people feel old https://plus.google.com/u/0/114133424228405038490/posts/JgxRSLugDmd,… 7

In the spirit of making people feel old https://plus.google.com/u/0/114133424228405038490/posts/JgxRSLugDmd, how many of you know how to operate one of these? I remember the frustration my then 12 year old son expressed a few years back when he encountered one for the first time and could not for the life of him how to make a call.

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Maybe, just maybe, the rapid response by the internet community will help kill these… 1

Maybe, just maybe, the rapid response by the internet community will help kill these censorship bills.

Frankly censorship is far more dangerous to society than piracy. Creative works will always be created whether Hollywood executives get rich from it or not. Democratic society cannot withstand censorship.

Reshared post from +Matt Cutts

I just blogged about the progress against SOPA:

"I thought we’d have to wait 20-25 years before a critical mass of people would defend the net. But SOPA has brought that day a lot closer. SOPA galvanized the tech community, from start-ups to venture capitalists to the largest web companies. SOPA was an unexpected shock and a wake-up call. Well, guess what? Now the internet is awake. And I don’t think it’s going back to sleep any time soon."

Read the post for more info, including some simple steps you can take.

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Progress against SOPA
Progress against SOPA. by Matt Cutts on November 21, 2011. in Personal,Web/Net. When I did my blog post about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) last week, things looked quite grim. The fight isn't…

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A very thoughtful post on how the response to #OWS police brutality could very rapidly…

A very thoughtful post on how the response to #OWS police brutality could very rapidly escalate out of control.

Reshared post from +Baratunde Thurston

I've watched this video several times and thought about it even more. There's a lot to say including some interesting thoughts in this Atlantic piece

Why I Feel Bad for the Pepper-Spraying Policeman, Lt. John Pike – Alexis Madrigal – National – The Atlantic http://bit.ly/rxCpEc

But I want to focus on another thought I've had but only voiced briefly in a standup show last night.

The authorities in all these #OWS crackdowns are assuming a steadily passive reaction from the protestors. Despite the constitutional right to peaceably assemble, governments and post 9/11 militarized police (LRAD!?) are responding with violence against their own people.

The thing about violent uprisings is that you rarely see a steady escalation. These Occupy Wall Street gatherings have been extremely civil and peaceful by and large. And I don't think you're gonna see some slowly increasing amount of violence on the part of the protestors. That's not how revolutions generally pop off. I'm pretty sure that, in general, something just snaps. A student gets shot. A man sets himself on fire. A cop punches an old lady. Then BAM: full scale violent conflict.

So there's that.

But I want to come back to the other risk in the presumption of passivity. There's a frighteningly relaxed attitude to this "Peace Officer" in the video below and among many authorities. It's a condescending attitude based in the idea that these "kids" won't do anything about it. I could be reading too much into the situation, but I think authorities have bought into the narrative that this is a generation raised on iPods and Facebook and MTV reality shows and when push come to shove, they won't fight back.

I would just humbly remind folks that all those factors are true about this generation, but the response may not be. You see, this generation was also raised on collaborative multiplayer combat sims: World of Warcraft, Modern Warfare, 007, Resident Evil, etc. We've literally spent hours building teams and fragging people and aliens and zombies and not batting an eye. Millions of Americans have clocked hundreds or thousands of hours in war simulations. We have all gotten pretty comfortable with coordinated violence.

While it's not "real" war or "real" violence, our brains think differently. We get an adrenaline rush. Our heart rates increase. We sweat. The perception is quite similar, and I just think it's worth some extra thought on the part of the authorities.

I am absolutely not advocating violence, but I can't help but think that you might want to be careful provoking people who have been subconsciously trained on war games.

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