Watercooler Sensation

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Building A Better Battery

• Wanna see what happens when you devote time and money to figuring out new, alternative energy solutions? No, don’t look to the U.S. Instead, check out what Japan’s been up to lately. [MSNBC]
• This week, the Toshiba Corp. announced they’d created a new super battery which could be a key component in the search for cleaner transportation.
• Meet the SuperCharge ion battery, for initial use in forklifts, electric bikes and construction machinery.
• It charges to 90% capacity in under 5 minutes.
• It lasts 10 years.
• It can work in temperatures as low as minus 22 degrees F.
• It will last through 5,000 charges.
• It doesn’t burst or catch fire.
• And best of all for all those nay-sayers who say new technology is an undue burden on our car makers, Toshiba estimates they’ll make about $900 million off these little guys by 2015.
• Toshiba VP Toshiharu Watanabe said the battery’s true potential was in “the electronic vehicles markets as a new energy solution.”

Sugoi, ne! (That means “Isn’t it great!” in Japanese.)

Busted! Guantanamo Bay Officials Tweaking Wikipedia

• Military personnel at Guantanamo Bay are obviously getting a little bored between harsh interrogation sessions. And they’ve developed quite a fondness for wikipedia. [The Age] [Wikileaks]
• The website Wikileaks has discovered that folks with Guantanamo email addresses in alterations to Wikipedia entries, “defended the prison for terrorism suspects in anonymous web postings...[and] deleted prisoner identification numbers from three detainee profiles.”
• Another, stranger alteration to Fidel Castro’s entry described the Cuban dictator as “an admitted transsexual.”
• Julian Assange, who led the research effort into the anonymous changes, said “the postings amount to propaganda and deception.”
• The officials at Guantanamo pushed back saying “there is no official attempt to alter information posted elsewhere” but said “the military seeks to correct what it believes is incorrect or outdated information about the prison.”
• He didn’t give any comment on Fidel.
• Isn’t it time to close this place down already? Find out how here: [American Progress]

Lame, guys. Really lame.

Cheat On Your Oscar Ballot: Watch The Golden Globes

• The Hollywood Foreign Press Association yesterday announced the contenders for this year’s Golden Globe Awards, which take place on January 13. [New York Times]
• Big Winner: The new movie Atonement was frontrunner with 7 nominations.
• The News: In an “unprecedented” move, the Association gave out seven “best dramatic picture” nominations instead of the usual five.
• Why Critics Care About Golden Globes: The awards come out 9 days before the Academy Awards nominations are announced and are frequently a sneak peek as to who will take home an Oscar.
• Example: Last year, three of the four Golden Globe acting winners – Helen Mirren, Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson – walked away with Oscars. (The only miss: Eddie Murphy, for his role in Dreamgirls.)
• Why We Care About Golden Globes: The actors have dinner during the ceremony and get to drink – and believe us, they do – before going on stage to get their awards.
• The Nominations (Well, Some Of Them) [All The Nominations]
• Best Picture, Drama: “American Gangster,” “Atonement,” “Eastern Promises,” “The Great Debaters,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”
• Best Picture, Comedy/Musical: Picture, Musical or Comedy:: “Across the Universe,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Hairspray,” “Juno,” “Sweeney Todd.”
• Best TV Show, Drama: Series, Drama: “Big Love,” HBO; “Damages,” FX Networks; “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC; “House,” Fox; “Mad Men,” AMC; “The Tudors,” Showtime.
• Best TV Show, Comedy/Musical: Series, Musical or Comedy: “30 Rock,” NBC; “Californication,” Showtime; “Entourage,” HBO; “Extras,” HBO; “Pushing Daisies,” ABC.

Now if only the whole thing isn’t wrecked by an on-going writers’ strike!

How Failure On Immigration Reform Has Hurt Hispanics

• Our nation’s failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform is hurting the fastest growing community in the Unites States: 43 million hispanics.
• A new survey by the Pew Hispanic Center found that two thirds of Hispanics “said the failure of the U.S. Congress to push through an immigration overhaul earlier this year has made life more difficult for Hispanics.”
• The most pressing problem? The angry, exaggerated rhetoric spewing forth from right wingers on the campaign trail.
• As a Washington Post op-ed explained, “the attacks have become so venomous, and the policy proposals so pernicious, that, predictably, they have caused collateral damage among Spanish-speaking and non-native-born people generally.” [Washington Post]
• The survey also found Hispanics reporting increased discrimination in recent years: “more difficulty finding work or housing; less likelihood of using government services or traveling abroad; and more likelihood of being asked to produce documents to prove their immigration status.”
• According to the FBI, hate crimes against Hispanics are up more than a third since 2003. [Washington Post]
• The solution: comprehensive immigration reform that appeals to our better interests, and pairs smart enforcement with a compassionate road to citizenship. [American Progress]

Washington Post: “The anti-illegal-immigrant crowd would have us believe it honors and admires legal immigrants; in fact, it is making America a less hospitable place for them.”

Veterans Charities Engaged In Very Bad Things

• So. We’ve got good news, and we’ve got bad news. Let’s start with the good news: During the course of the past year, Americans gave millions of dollars in the past year to veterans charities created to help our brave troops that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. [Washington Post]
• And now, the bad news: According to the American Institute of Philanthropy, which serves as a watchdog organization for the philanthropy world, eight veterans charities, including some of the nation’s largest, gave less than a third of the money raised to wounded vets. [American Institute of Philanthropy]
• Now, there are no laws that determine how much a charity’s supposed to spend on operational costs, overhead, or giving — but let’s just say that giving less than a third of monies raised falls well below the recommended standard of giving.
• Who are the bad guys? We’re glad you asked. The failing charities include massive organizations like Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, the AMVETS National Service Foundation and the Freedom Alliance.
• Also, stay away from: World War II Veterans Committee, VietNow National Headquarters, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, the Veterans Coalition, United Spinal Association’s Wounded Warrior Project, Soldiers’ Angels, Paralyzed Veterans of America, NCOA National Defense Foundation, National Vietnam Veterans Committee, National Veterans Services Fund, Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, Disabled Veterans Association, American Ex-Prisoners of War Service Foundation, American Veterans Coalition, American Veterans Relief Foundation, Disabled Veterans Association, and the Blinded Veterans Association. Phew. [Washington Post]
• All things told, the 12 charities rated as failing by the institute collected at least $266 million in the past fiscal year.
• What exactly were these charities up to when they weren’t giving to veterans? Take a look: One group passed along 1 cent for every dollar raised, the report says. Another paid its founder and his wife a combined $540,000 in compensation and benefits last year.
• And then there’s Help Hospitalized Veterans, which was founded in 1971 by Roger Chapin, a veteran of the Army Finance Corps. Chapin, 75, the charity’s president, received a whopping $426,434 in salary and benefits in the past fiscal year. His wife, meanwhile, garnered a handsome $113,623 in salary and benefits as the charity’s “newsletter editor.”
• Feeling panicked because you want to give some cash to a veteran’s charity? Don’t. Five veterans charities were awarded A-pluses by the institute. Take the Fisher House Foundation, located in Rockville, MD. Over the last fiscal year, the Fisher House directed over 90% of its income to charitable causes.

We know who’s getting coal in their stockings this year...

By the Numbers

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that, despite his push to close the prison camp at GuantanamoBay, he has run into “obstacles” from Vice President Dick Cheney and the White House lawyers. Now, the prospect of closing the prison before the end of Bush’s presidency doesn’t look at all likely. Here are a few numbers to put the prison in perspective. [Financial Times] [USAT]

15

Number of prisoners at GuantanamoBay the U.S. sent back to their home nations this past Wednesday. Thirteen were returned to Afghanistan, two to Sudan.

485

Total number of prisoners at GuantanamoBay the U.S. has sent back to their home nations since imprisoning them

290

Number of prisoners left in the Guantanamo prison.

80

Number of prisoners the U.S. says it eventually plans to prosecute in military tribunals.

1

Number of prisoners convicted from the entire Guantanamo system. [Reuters]

Celebrities: Unfiltered

“Tom likes me in a suit and a mini every now and then. I like it when he likes it. It makes me blush.”

— Katie — sorry, “Kate” — Holmes on what turns on her man Tom Cruise. Shudder. [NY Daily News]

Speed Round

CELEBRIDIRT

Liza Minnelli collapses on a stage in Stockholm. In other news, Liza Minnelli is still alive. Though, apparently, not for long. [AP]

THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

No room in the inn for Mary and Joseph, hmmm? Not if Travelodge has anything to say about it. On Tuesday, the hotel chain said it was offering called Joseph and Mary in Britain, Ireland, and Spain free accommodation this Christmas [AFP]

BAD IDEAS

A man almost dies after he downs a mere liter of vodka in an airport security line in order to comply with new carry-on rules. In other words: our Tuesday night. [AP]

THE NEWSPAPER THAT STOLE CHRISTMAS

The New York Post tells us that MTV’s The Hills might not be (gasp!) real. [Page Six]

MY DNA SPELLS LOVE

Find a date in 1950: Hire a matchmaker. Find a date in 2007: Enroll in Match.com. Find a date in 2008: Have your DNA analyzed to find your perfect chemistry. Because nothing says romance like a cheek swab. [ABC News]

$3.9 MILLION

Selling price for a hand-written, illustrated book of wizadry penned by Harry Potter author JK Rowling. [MSNBC]

AUSSIES ARE EXPENSIVE

Australian actors Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe top the new Forbes List of the top 10 overpaid celebs in Hollywood. G’day, mates. [Forbes]

MARIE’S COMEBACK

Fresh from her comeback on “Dancing With The Stars” comes the news that Marie Osmond has landed her own talk show for 2008. Let’s hope she looses the creepy doll costumes [StarPulse]

QUOTE OF THE DAY

From the New York Magazine’s review of the new electronic book reader, Amazon’s Kindle: “Overall, it looks like the unloved remnant of one of those wild nights back in 1987, when an Etch-a-Sketch drank too much Bartles & Jaymes and ended up locked in a three-way with a graphing calculator and a credit-card swiper.” [New York Mag]

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Britain bans the purchasing of samurai swords, except among enthusiasts and collectors. In other news, a majority of Britons seen to be taking a keen interest in Samurai swords. [Reuters]

HORSEMAN OF THE APOCOLYPSE

Jackass 2.5, the half-sequel to Jackass and Jackass 2, is set to be reeasd on the internet. We feel ourselves getting dumber already. [Fox]

ARRRGH

Underwater archaeologists working in the Carribean discover what they believe to be the remains of Captain Kidd’s ship. [AP]

ASTRO-NUT UPDATE

The saucy e-mails sent between crazy astronaut Lisa Nowak and her space lover astronaut William Oefelein have been released to the press. [AP]

BAD SANTA

In Ottowa Canada, someone has been responding to children’s letters to Santa. Very, very rudely. [CP]

UNLUCKY

If you’re fat, you’re more likely to have bad breath too. Time to switch to low-fat tic tacs. [UPI]