UNP wants int'l inquiry into Janaka Perera murder

Author: TamilGirl1985 Keywords: ltte tamil nadu eelam tigers air sea wanni operation mannar killinochi vavuniya 57th 56th divition black srilanka Added: October 10, 2008

It isn't surprising that the conventional wisdom is that the news media have turned on Sen. John McCain. After all, decades of attacks from conservatives have conditioned reporters to believe that they are biased against Republicans -- even when there is scant evidence in the reporting to support such claims. And the McCain campaign has launched an all-out assault on the media, complaining relentlessly about the coverage its candidate has gotten.

On top of all that, McCain historically has been the recipient of the most favorable media coverage of any politician in modern American history. Reporters spent years all but offering to peel McCain a grape. So, just as the media judge a candidate to have "won" a debate if s/he "exceeds expectations," the fact that McCain's coverage hasn't been as hagiographic as expected has led many to conclude that it has actually been unfairly negative.

The truth is that when John McCain says "jump," the media still ask, "How high?" Think about this: When was the last time McCain or his campaign has wanted the news media to focus on something, and they have refused? From "lipstick on a pig" to Bill Ayers, the media have scampered after whatever mud McCain has flung, like a puppy dog chasing a stick thrown by its master. Sure, sometimes they have pointed out that McCain is lying -- and that's tremendous progress for a profession that has spent a decade flatly asserting McCain's honesty. But -- as I've explained in the past -- even as they've debunked McCain's claims, they've too often privileged the lie by allowing those claims to drive their coverage.

And, increasingly, they uncritically quote McCain campaign attacks on Sen. Barack Obama for things McCain himself has done. When a campaign does something like this, the media often point out the hypocrisy, and the attack backfires. But those rules don't apply to John McCain. So when John and Cindy McCain attack Barack Obama for what they describe as a vote to "cut off the funds for the troops," the news media dutifully repeat the charge -- without noting that, by the same logic, McCain also voted to cut off funds for the troops: Obama voted against a funding bill that did not include a timeline for withdrawal; McCain voted against a bill that did include a timeline for withdrawal.

The funding vote has been the subject of some of McCain's nastiest attacks recently. Cindy McCain, for example, claimed Obama's "vote to not fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body" and lectured: "I would suggest that Senator Obama change shoes with me for just one day. ... I suggest he take a day and go watch our fine young men and women deploy." You would think, then, that media reporting Cindy McCain's purported indignation would note that John McCain also voted against funding. They haven't. Indeed, some have falsely stated the opposite -- that McCain did not cast such a vote. You might even think reporters would ask the McCain campaign if Cindy McCain got a "cold chill" when her husband voted "to not fund [her] son." But there is no indication that any reporter has done so.

But the best indication that McCain has not yet truly "lost his 'base,' " as The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder put it this week, is the glaring media double standard in covering the two presidential candidates' controversial relationships.

Let's start with Bill Ayers, since the news media have spent much of the week obliging McCain's efforts to make him the focus of the campaign. As an activist in the 1960s -- when Barack Obama was a young child -- Bill Ayers was a member of the Weathermen, a group of radical activists who launched a series of violent demonstrations and bombings in protest of the Vietnam War. Ayers is now a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago and a school reform advocate. During Obama's first campaign, Ayers hosted a coffee for him, and the two men have served together on the board of a school reform effort funded by a foundation chaired by Leonore Annenberg, who has endorsed John McCain. The New York Times concluded that Obama and Ayers "do not appear to have been close," and Obama has denounced Ayers' actions as a member of the Weathermen.

A search* of the Nexis database found that more than 4,500 news reports so far this year have mentioned Obama and Ayers -- more than 1,800 this week alone.

Now: G. Gordon Liddy. Liddy served four and a half years in prison for his role in the break-ins at the Watergate and at Daniel Ellsberg's psychologist's office. He has acknowledged preparing to kill someone during the Ellsberg break-in "if necessary." He plotted to kill journalist Jack Anderson. He plotted with a "gangland figure" to murder Howard Hunt in order to thwart an investigation. He plotted to firebomb the Brookings Institution. He used Nazi terminology to outline a plan to kidnap "leftist guerillas" at the 1972 GOP convention. And Liddy's bad acts were not confined to the early 1970s. In the 1990s, he instructed his radio audience on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents ("Go for a head shot; they're going to be wearing bulletproof vests." In case anyone missed the subtlety of his point, Liddy also insisted: "Kill the sons of bitches.") During Bill Clinton's presidency, Liddy boasted that he named his shooting targets after the Clintons.

What does Liddy have to do with the presidential election? As Media Matters has noted:

Liddy has donated $5,000 to McCain's campaigns since 1998, including $1,000 in February 2008. In addition, McCain has appeared on Liddy's radio show during the presidential campaign, including as recently as May. An online video labeled, "John McCain On The G. Gordon Liddy Show 11/8/07," includes a discussion between Liddy and McCain, whom Liddy described as an "old friend." During the segment, McCain praised Liddy's "adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great," said he was "proud" of Liddy, and said that "it's always a pleasure for me to come on your program."

McCain even backed Liddy's son's congressional bid in 2000 -- a campaign that relied heavily on the elder Liddy's history.

To sum up: John McCain is "proud" of his "old friend" Gordon Liddy -- an old friend who plotted to kill one of the most respected journalists in American history, and who urged listeners to kill federal agents and advised them on how to do so. McCain campaigned for Liddy's son, and Liddy has even hosted a fundraiser for McCain at his home.

So McCain's relationship with Liddy is pretty much a direct parallel to Obama's relationship with Ayers. Except that McCain and Liddy have apparently spent time together more recently than Obama and Ayers. And Liddy's extremist activities continued well into the 1990s, at least. And Liddy says he and McCain are "old friends," while The New York Times says Obama and Ayers aren't close. And Obama has never said Ayers adheres to "the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great." Other than all that, it's a direct parallel.

Yet even as they obsess over Barack Obama and Bill Ayers -- just as the McCain campaign tells them to -- the news media have all but ignored John McCain's close ties to Gordon Liddy. A Nexis search** finds fewer than 100 news reports that have mentioned McCain and Liddy this year.

As Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman -- who has criticized Obama's relationship with Ayers -- has noted:

Liddy, now a conservative radio host, has never expressed regret for this attempt to subvert the Constitution. Nor has he developed any respect for the law. ... Yet none of this bothers McCain. Liddy has contributed thousands of dollars to his campaigns, held a fundraiser for McCain at his home and hosted the senator on his radio show, where McCain said, "I'm proud of you." Exactly which part of Liddy's record is McCain proud of?

While Obama has gotten lots of scrutiny for his connection to Ayers, McCain has never had to explain his association with Liddy. If he can't defend it, he should admit as much. And if he thinks he can defend it, let him.

To repeat:

• 2008 news reports that mention Obama and Ayers: more than 4,500.

• 2008 news reports that mention McCain and Liddy: fewer than 100.

Incredibly, The Atlantic's Ambinder today suggests that the media have not covered Ayers: "To truly drive Ayers into the public conversation, to trick what they consider an irredeemably biased press corps into biting, McCain has three vehicles gassed up and ready to go. ... So far, McCain has done none of those things." There are 1,800 Nexis hits for Barack Obama and Bill Ayers in the past week, and yet Marc Ambinder thinks the media have not bitten on the Ayers "story" -- and that McCain, who is running ads about Ayers, isn't "really serious" about pushing it, anyway. Even Steve Schmidt would likely be too embarrassed to try to claim that the media have not covered Bill Ayers.

Incidentally, Ambinder doesn't seem to have ever mentioned McCain's relationship to Liddy.

Not only have the media avoided stand-alone reports on McCain and Liddy, they consistently fail to bring up the connection when reporting on McCain's attacks on Obama's ties to Ayers, or in interviews with McCain staff who bring up Ayers. The McCain/Liddy relationship is such an obvious parallel -- except arguably much worse -- that it's hard to imagine how any evenhanded journalist could possibly justify ignoring it. Yet it happens again and again. And, needless to say, McCain aides do not get badgered about Liddy the way Time's Mark Halperin badgered Obama aide Robert Gibbs about Ayers.

Just this morning, NBC's Chuck Todd said he is "sure" Ayers will come up during the final presidential debate next week, adding that moderator Bob Schieffer "may feel no choice but to bring it up" in light of the "TV ads" the McCain campaign and Republican National Committee are running. Setting aside the absurdity of the suggestion that a debate moderator is compelled to bring up a topic simply because John McCain is running ads about it, if Schieffer does ask about Ayers, basic fairness demands that he ask McCain about Liddy as well.

OK ... moving on. How about controversial religious figures? Earlier this year, Media Matters showed that The New York Times and The Washington Post had published a total of 161 articles, editorials, and opinion pieces that mentioned Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright -- and only 12 that mentioned John McCain and John Hagee. That disparity wasn't unique to the Times and the Post -- and it hasn't evened out over time.

161 to 12.

Land deals? Barack Obama once bought a parcel of land from a controversial donor named Tony Rezko. Obama paid more than the land's assessed value -- but that hasn't stopped the news media from suggesting Obama had an improper relationship with Rezko.

Comparatively little attention has been paid to John McCain's relationship with real estate developer Donald Diamond. Diamond, a co-chair of McCain's campaign finance committee, has raised more than $250,000 for McCain's presidential bid and is a "close personal friend" and longtime political patron. For his part, McCain has sponsored two bills sought by Diamond that helped the developer gain what The New York Times described as "millions of dollars and thousands of acres" of land. And McCain helped Diamond buy another parcel of land from the U.S. Army -- a deal that helped Diamond turn a $20 million profit. The Washington Post and USA Today have identified other land deals McCain has facilitated as senator that have benefited some of his biggest donors and fundraisers.

Yet a Media Matters review last month found that five national newspapers had run a total of 39 articles, editorials, and opinion pieces that mentioned Obama and Rezko -- but only seven that mentioned McCain and his donors' land deals:

[S]ince The New York Times' initial April 22 article [about McCain and Diamond], the land deals have been mentioned in only six additional news articles, editorials, or opinion pieces in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, or The Washington Post, and have yet to be mentioned on any evening network news program. By contrast, during the same time period, 39 news articles, editorials, or opinion pieces in those papers have collectively mentioned Obama and Rezko; and the evening news broadcasts have collectively mentioned Obama and Rezko in five reports.

39 to 7.

And, of course, there's always Charles Keating. The news media have done their best to ignore McCain's involvement in the Keating Five -- and, when they have mentioned it, they've done so by parroting the McCain-friendly storyline that the scandal turned the Arizona senator into the World's Greatest Reformer. Even this week, after the Obama campaign drew attention to McCain's involvement in the Keating Five with a Web page and a 13-minute documentary featuring one of the regulators McCain pressured on behalf of his political benefactor, the media have paid far more attention to Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers than to McCain's relationship with Keating. And when they have mentioned Keating, they have often questioned the propriety of the Obama campaign's decision to bring up the subject.

Remember: Barack Obama didn't have anything to do with Bill Ayers' wrongdoing. He was a young child at the time. McCain did have something to do with Keating's wrongdoing -- without McCain, the scandal would have been called the Keating Four, not the Keating Five.

And yet the media are quick to dismiss the Keating matter. When the topic came up on MSNBC earlier this week, Andrea Mitchell dismissed it as having occurred 20 years ago. Well, sure. But McCain was involved in it 20 years ago, unlike Bill Ayers' controversial activities, which occurred closer to 40 years ago, and which Barack Obama didn't have anything to do with.

The American people have made clear that they think the most important consideration in deciding who to vote for is the economy. An astounding 52 percent of Americans call "the economy and jobs" the "most important" issue to them in this election, according to the latest CBS/New York Times poll. Terrorism and national security came in a distant second, with only 11 percent.

John McCain and his campaign have made clear that they do not want the last few weeks of this campaign to be about the economy, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, health care, the housing crisis, or the Constitution. They want it to be about personal associations.

Incredibly, much of the news media have sided with John McCain in treating Bill Ayers and ACORN as the most important topic facing the nation. Even worse, they are scrutinizing only Obama's relationships, not McCain's. It's bad enough that they're letting McCain, rather than the American people, set the parameters of the debate. The fact that they aren't applying those parameters to both candidates equally is an inexcusable double-standard.

And it's evidence that John McCain retains the support of his "base" -- the media.

* Conducted 10/9/08 using the search terms Barack Obama and ((Bill or William) w/2 Ayers

** Conducted 10/9/08 using the search terms John McCain and Gordon Liddy

Interrupting his blogging holidays, police officer Alexandre de Sousa [pt] posts in solidarity with Major Roberto Cavalcante Vianna, the first Brazilian citizen jailed for commenting on a blog:

Fui aluno do Major Roberto Vianna no Curso de Formação de Oficiais. Era meu instrutor de Direitos Humanos. Pessoa íntegra, estudioso de Segurança Pública, exemplo. Sua transgressão grave foi assinar um comentário se solidarizando com o Major Wanderby, denunciado por indisciplina na Auditoria Militar da PM. Punição de prisão! 12 dias preso por comentar em um blog! Caro Major Vianna, Gostaria de apoiá-lo neste momento cruel e de gosto duvidoso! Continue firme na sua caminhada. Não esmoreça. A sua arma mais forte é a sua determinação. Cumprimentos daquele que te admira muito e que aprendeu muito com o senhor.

I was Major Roberto Vianna's student in the [Police] Officer Training Course. He was my Human Rights instructor. An honest person, a Public Security scholar, an example. His serious transgression was a comment in which he sympathized with Major Wanderby, denounced for indiscipline in a Military Audit of the Military Police. Jail punishment! 12 days trapped for commenting on a blog! Dear Major Vianna, I would like to show you support at this cruel moment of doubtful taste! Please remain firm on your path. Don't wilt. Your strongest weapon is your determination. Greetings from someone who admires you greatly and who has learned a lot from you.

At the heart of the trouble is another police Major and blogger, Wanderby Medeiros [pt], who informs us in one of his latest posts that Major Roberto Vianna was jailed on October 07 initially for 12 days, but he was freed the day after due to a habeas corpus. In an earlier post, he explains further Vianna's error:

Roberto Vianna fez um comentário não apócrifo no blog de um cidadão que se opõe às nefastas políticas “públicas” de Sérgio Cabral, José Mariano Beltrame e companhia!
Vianna exerceu um direito constitucional!

Roberto Vianna made a non-apocryphal comment on the blog of a citizen who is against the harmful “public” policies of [Rio Governor] Sergio Cabral, [Public Safety State Secretary] Jose Mariano Beltrame and company!
Vianna was exercising a constitutional right!

Journalist Gustavo de Almeida [pt], the only non-police blogger in this article, although many other civilians have commented on the issue, digs out the actual comment that caused the order, a message of solidarity for Major Wanderby with a criticism of the way the police force has been led in Rio de Janeiro:

A quem serve o Comando Geral de quaisquer instituições ? Quando alguém assume tal nobre função, não o faria para zelar por todos nós? Zelar por todos nós não incluiria combater a corrupção em todos os seus segmentos?

Who does the general command of any institution serve? When someone takes on such a noble task, shouldn't they ensure that they do so for all of us? Shouldn't fighting corruption in all its forms be a way to look after us?

Stive [pt], on the other hand, investigates and uncovers the news that most of the punishment that has fallen on Major Wanderby is for posting on blogs, his own blog being one of the most popular and commented on among police officers. He says this is lamentable:

O major Wanderby é um dos pouquíssimos oficiais superiores que NÃO se omite diante de tanta sacanagem injustiça e ele manifesta isso em seu blog, que tem sido visto pelos olhos do alto comando como subversivo, incompatível para sua função. Não é de se estranhar que a maioria dos blogs policiais de protestos o autor prefira não mostrar a cara, afinal quem vai querer ser punido pelo comandante geral como já aconteceu com o major três vezes.

Major Wanderby is one of very few senior officers who do NOT keep silent in the face of so much skulduggery injustice and he shows this on his blog, which has been deemed by the high command as subversive, and incompatible with his position. It is not surprising that in most protest blogs by police officers the authors prefer not show their face, after all who wants to be punished by the general commander, as has happened three times with the Major?

Mônica [pt] believes the police regulation which disallows officers expressing their opinions the way they see fit is archaic and from the era of dictatorship, and wonders what might happen to a less senior officer:

O caso acima é com oficiais superiores, imaginem o que acontece com a gente. Prender um oficial superior por expressar sua opinião não é ilegal? Não fere o que diz nossa constituição? Ainda nos criticam por não colocarmos a cara aqui!

The case above regards senior officers, imagine what could happen with us. Isn't it illegal arresting a high ranking officer because he expressed his opinions? Doesn't it go against what our constitution says? And some criticize us for not putting our face here!

José Ricardo [pt] says he favors freedom of speech, despite the fact he doesn't exercise it himself. He avoids commenting further on the Major's imprisonment, but leaves a piece of advice for his readers:

Portanto, companheiro, cuidado com o que você diz na caixa de comentários dos blogs.

So, mate, be careful what you say in blogs' comment boxes.

Despite the fact that they are not allowed to, these officials have been strongly opposing the current government. Major Wanderby was one of the organizers of a movement claiming a better wage for the police - a newly recruited police officer earns $500 a month. They blame the low wages and appalling working conditions of so high a risk job as the causes for the collapse of the Brazilian military and corruption among officers. According to a U.N. Human Rights Council report released last September 15, the Brazilian police is linked to 1 in 5 murders in Rio de Janeiro.

Even though under tremendous pressure not to publicly speak out or criticize the Brazilain police force or government, more and more police officers of all ranks, anonymously and not, have been using blogs as a tool to inform and mobilize. See a previous article on the subject.

It was revealed to Bloody-Disgusting that Lionsgate's My Bloody Valentine 3D has been given an R-rating by the MPAA for "graphic, brutal horror violence and grizzly images throughout, some strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language." Being directed by Patrick Lussier, it is said that this new 3-D technology is going to be mind-blowing, featuring more depth than ever before. In the remake Tom (Jensen Ackles) returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of the Valentine's night massacre that claimed the life of 22 people. Instead of a homecoming, Tom finds himself suspected of committing the murders.

div class="center"div class="image"a href="http://pixhost.ws/avaxhome/big_show.php?/avaxhome/4b/59/0009594b.jpeg" target="_blank"img src="http://pixhost.ws/avaxhome/4b/59/0009594b_medium.jpeg" id="external_img_612683"//a/divbr/ b[Thriller] The Chamber / L'Héritage de la Haine [DVDrip] 1996/bbr/ 2xRIP+UP | XviD-1105 | mp3@128 | 688x304 | English bOr/b French | DVD Cover Sticker | 1h52 | 1.0 Gb br/ USA bOctober 11th, 1996/bbr/ Director James FOLEYbr/ br/ bCast/Avec/b Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway, Robert Prosky, Raymond Barry, Bo Jackson, Lela Rochon, David Marshall Grant, Nicholas Pryor, Harve Presnell, Richard Bradford,br/ br/ A gripping thriller based on John Grisham's 1994 best seller, The Chamber is the compelling tale of an idealistic young lawyer who is forced to confront the secrets of his family's dark past. In 28 days, convicted killer and white supremacist Sam Cayhall, the oldest inmate on death, row in America, will die in the Mississippi gas chamber for the 1967 bombing murders of two small children. While counting down his final days, Sam is visited by a stranger: young, inexperienced law associate Adam Hall, who comes to Parchman Prison to try and save this unrepentant racist and find meaning in his own life. Although his late father changed his family name, Adam is Sam's grandson.br/ br/ Adam Hall, jeune avocat idéaliste tout juste diplomé va plaider la demande de grâce de son grand père Sam Cayhall, autrefois membre du Ku Klux Klan et condamné à mort pour meurtre racial. Alors que la sentence est imminente, Adam se replonge dans l'histoire de sa famille, à la recherche du moindre indice. Il découvre alors une effrayante vérité.../div

The Rhys Jones murder trial has heard that friends of his alleged killer helped him cover up the crime.

Auteur : ITN
Tags : rhys jones evidence sean mercer murder trial croxteth bike liverpool. killed 11 year old
Envoyé : 10 octobre 2008
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Judy Shepard's message on the 10th anniversary of Matthew's death: no progress.

Computer proclaims James Franco essentially perfect.

Truth or Cheetos: Preview of new documentary on Britney Spears. "I sit there and I'll look back and I'm like: I'm a smart person. What the hell was I thinking?"

Lebanese-Croatian TV producer and writer, based in Beirut: Anti-gay attacks abound in Croatia.

Jennifer Lopez to sue The Daily Beast over Kevin Sessums' article about her nervous breakdown?

Socialist ex-Spanish trade minister under fire for homophobic comments: "Javier Gómez-Navarro said mothers of gay children wanted to see them out of the house...Gómez-Navarro, who is currently President of the High Council of Chambers of Commerce, has said that the mothers of homosexuals want their children to be diplomats so as not to have them at home. He said mothers of other children in Spain wanted to see them become lawyers."

American Family Association ends McDonald's boycott following executive's resignation: "The conservative Christian group had been calling for Richard Ellis, formerly McDonald's vice president of U.S. communications, to step down from the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Ellis recently left his U.S. post and returned to an executive position in McDonald's Canadian operation, McDonald's officials said. Because Ellis is based in Canada and the gay and lesbian chamber is a U.S. association, Ellis resigned from its board, said Bill Whitman, a McDonald's spokesman...The American Family Association also said McDonald's notified it that the restaurant giant has no plans to renew its membership in the chamber when it expires at the end of the year."

Plan for gay high school in Chicago unveiled: "The Pride Campus of Social Justice High School would be open to all students citywide but would provide a safe, 'gay-friendly' atmosphere to combat the high bullying, dropout and depression rate many LGBTQ students experience nationwide, advocates say."

Gay adult film actor Mason Wyler says he was gang-raped by a Captain in the U.S. Army (site NSFW).

Paul Broussard: 17 years after gay man's murder in Houston, only one of 10 defendants remains in prison.

STUDY: Global economy losing more money from disappearance of forests than the banking crisis. "It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion. The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide. Speaking to BBC News on the fringes of the congress, study leader Pavan Sukhdev emphasised that the cost of natural decline dwarfs losses on the financial markets. 'It's not only greater but it's also continuous, it's been happening every year, year after year,' he told BBC News."

Ryan Gosling takes the pooch for a walk.

Danny Cipriani is just as hot with clothes.

Russian officials ban gay rights demonstrations in the city of Tambov: "Local officials said they had received numerous letters and phone calls from townspeople, urging them to forbid the demonstrations as an offense to the city's traditions, Interfax news agency reported."

Mysterious DNA strands have resisted evolution over eons.

Nuts: Stem cells from testicles seen as possible alternative to embryos: "The new type of stem cells could be useful for growing personalized replacement tissues, according to a study in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. But because of their source, their highest promise would apply to only half the world's population: men. Embryonic stem cells can give rise to virtually any tissue in the body and scientists believe they may offer treatments for diseases like Parkinson's and diabetes and for spinal cord injuries. The testicular cells avoid the ethical dilemma of embryonic stem cells, which are harvested in a process that destroys the embryos."

Same-sex couple wins right to adopt in Brazil.

Sarah Palin refuses to issue Alaskan proclamation for National Coming Out Day.

Verizon has decided to start asking for $0.03 per message from anyone who wants to send mobile-terminated messages to its customers, possible strangling SMS-based services like Google SMS, Yahoo! oneSearch. The move will also penalize any other company that uses text message notifications for its customers (though the change won't affect rates for mobile-to-mobile messaging.) Like others, Verizon used to charge a fraction of a cent to text their subscribers, during which time lots companies built up SMS notification services for everything from social networking to banking — services which may now be too expensive to operate.
Now that the userbase of (and companies' dependence on) such services is pretty huge, mobile terminated texting is kind of inevitable. In other words, all the SMS-dependent companies can't live without reaching Verizon's customers, so Verizon is in a position to pretty much charge whatever they want. And that's exactly what they're doing, because they're very classy. [RCRWireless via BGR]


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Verizon has decided to start asking for $0.03 a message from anyone who wants to send mobile-terminated messages to its customers, possible strangling SMS-based services like Google SMS, Yahoo! oneSearch and penalizing any company that uses text message notifications for its customers. Verizon used to charge a fraction of a cent to text subscribers, during which time lots companies built up SMS notification services for everything from social networking to banking.
Now that the userbase of (and companies' dependence on) such services is pretty huge, mobile terminated texting is kind of inevitable. In other words, all the SMS-dependent companies can't live without reaching Verizon's customers, so Verizon is in a position to pretty much charge whatever they want. And that's exactly what they're doing, because they're very classy. [RCRWireless via BGR]


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pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/verizon_logo.jpg" width="250" height="162" /Verizon has decided to start asking for $0.03 a message from anyone who wants to send mobile-terminated messages to its customers, possible strangling SMS-based services like Google SMS, Yahoo! oneSearch and penalizing any company that uses text message notifications for its customers. Verizon used to charge a fraction of a cent to text subscribers, during which time lots companies built up SMS notification services for everything from social networking to banking. /p pNow that the userbase of (and companies' dependence on) such services is pretty huge, mobile terminated texting is kind of inevitable. In other words, all the SMS-dependent companies can't live without reaching Verizon's customers, so Verizon is in a position to pretty much charge whatever they want. And that's exactly what they're doing, because they're emvery classy/em. [a href="http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20081009/WIRELESS/810091609/0/all/verizon-wireless-to-charge-content-vendors-3-cent-fee-for-text"RCRWireless/a via a href="http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/10/10/verizon-wireless-to-charge-3rd-party-messaging-services-a-fee-for-sending-text-messages-to-vzw-customers/"BGR/a]/p br style="clear: both;"/ a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:de213a93432684c2160fdaef186a3fc2:ghUjEvGvxmOnBa3PtvwqyIW7gM%2BTWfaafXVjqzyz5xGnpkwGpxoer7dncnx98s0UwqmAFiphrBAEcQ%3D%3D'img border='0' title='Poll' alt='Poll' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/poll_securityslow.png'//a br style="clear: both;"/ a href="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/ht.php?t=camp;i=d4f801efa21f68feed07ea247fec7226"img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/ht.php?t=vamp;i=d4f801efa21f68feed07ea247fec7226" border="0" //a img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=d4f801efa21f68feed07ea247fec7226" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/ pa href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~a/gizmodo/full?a=HdWtZp"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~a/gizmodo/full?i=HdWtZp" border="0"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=HehPM"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=HehPM" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=3L6cM"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=3L6cM" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=svcam"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=svcam" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=rqAUm"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=rqAUm" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/416662857" height="1" width="1"/

pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/verizon_logo.jpg" width="250" height="162" /Verizon has decided to start asking for $0.03 per message from anyone who wants to send mobile-terminated messages to its customers, possible strangling SMS-based services like Google SMS, Yahoo! oneSearch. The move will also penalize any other company that uses text message notifications for its customers (though the change won't affect rates for mobile-to-mobile messaging.) Like others, Verizon used to charge a fraction of a cent to text their subscribers, during which time lots companies built up SMS notification services for everything from social networking to banking mdash; services which may now be too expensive to operate./p pNow that the userbase of (and companies' dependence on) such services is pretty huge, mobile terminated texting is kind of inevitable. In other words, all the SMS-dependent companies can't live without reaching Verizon's customers, so Verizon is in a position to pretty much charge whatever they want. And that's exactly what they're doing, because they're emvery classy/em. [a href="http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20081009/WIRELESS/810091609/0/all/verizon-wireless-to-charge-content-vendors-3-cent-fee-for-text"RCRWireless/a via a href="http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/10/10/verizon-wireless-to-charge-3rd-party-messaging-services-a-fee-for-sending-text-messages-to-vzw-customers/"BGR/a]/p br style="clear: both;"/ a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:78a789f37deca88f65d89408d48c7582:mecTsAlsMzrdHjXine%2F1N23KAc9vmeKB1WCwShacY8%2FqWVcwTYhj%2FpLcNePxflMq5Ihs7txAv3veJg%3D%3D'img border='0' title='Poll' alt='Poll' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/poll_securityslow.png'//a br style="clear: both;"/ img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=fbe67f6912f88b36e0021ee026a1ae56" height="1" width="1"/ img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=fbe67f6912f88b36e0021ee026a1ae56" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/ pa href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~a/gizmodo/full?a=ifcgvp"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~a/gizmodo/full?i=ifcgvp" border="0"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=vzt8M"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=vzt8M" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=EZ51M"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=EZ51M" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=aTegm"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=aTegm" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=aREYm"img src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=aREYm" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/416696177" height="1" width="1"/

Verizon has decided to start asking for $0.03 per message from anyone who wants to send mobile-terminated messages to its customers, possible strangling SMS-based services like Google SMS, Yahoo!...

  Sunshine Cleaning - Trailer
A single mom and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat dramatic comedy Sunshine Cleaning. Directed by Christine Jeffs (Rain, Sylvia), this uplifting film about an average family that finds the path to its dreams in an unlikely setting screened in competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Once the high school cheerleading captain who dated the quarterback, Rose Lorkowski (Academy Award nominee Amy Adams) now finds herself a thirty something single mother working as a maid. Her sister Norah, (Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt), is still living at home with their dad Joe (Academy Award winner Alan Arkin), a salesman with a lifelong history of ill-fated get rich quick schemes. Desperate to get her son into a better school, Rose persuades Norah to go into the crime scene clean-up business with her to make some quick cash. In no time, the girls are up to their elbows in murders, suicides and other…specialized situations. As they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, the sisters find a true respect for one another and the closeness they have always craved finally blossoms. By building their own improbable business, Rose and Norah open the door to the joys and challenges of being there for one another—no matter what—while creating a brighter future for the entire Lorkowski family.
Directed by: Christine Jeffs
Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Jason Spevack, Steve Zahn

Darrell Lynn Madden, who killed gay man Steven Domer as an initiation into the United Aryan Brotherhood for Madden's friend Bradley Qualls, was sentenced to four life terms in prison yesterday. Qualls was also killed by Madden 10 days after Domer's murder as the result of a disagreement about it, according to authorities.

The Oklahoman reports: "Madden, 38, pleaded guilty Thursday in the slaying of Steven Domer in a plea deal that means the self-proclaimed white supremacist will likely die in prison. Madden was sentenced to consecutive life terms for kidnapping and killing Domer. He also earned two more life terms for assaulting and spitting on guards at the Oklahoma County jail. In all, Madden must serve five life terms, including the one imposed in June after he pleaded guilty to killing the man who helped him kidnap Domer on Oct. 26, 2007. District Attorney David Prater said he told defense attorneys Madden owed the family an apology. Madden agreed, he said."

Domer's brother Mort offered Madden forgiveness for his brother's killing when Madden made his apology. Said Domer: "[The evil in his eyes wasn’t there today. It looked like a little boy’s eyes. It was sad."

Previously
White Supremacist Charged with Gay Man's Murder in Oklahoma [tr]