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Posts Tagged “

Bush

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Senate High-Fives Phone Companies for Spying on Americans

In a historic vote this afternoon, the Senate voted to amend the Foreign Intelligence Security Act (FISA) to expand the government's surveillance capabilities and provide retroactive immunity for phone companies who participated in the Bush administration's illegal wiretapping program. The margin of victory was wide, with 69 old people voting for and only 28 old people voting against the measure. The good news is that to register your concern about the bill all you have to do is pick up your phone and start talking. [NYT]

trains

Transportation Bill Gives $45 Million To Maglev Project, Sets It Up For Fail

A new transportation bill signed by Bush on Friday would free up $45 million to build the U.S.'s first maglev train. The train will travel between Disneyland and Las Vegas at up to 300 mph and is meant to help ease traffic on the 250+ mile ride on Interstate 15. While I'm all for high-speed trains and efficient public transportation, isn't the Bush administration forgetting something? More »

tv shows

Colbert says Zune Ownership Proof You're Crazy

On last night's Colbert Report, Stephen gave advice to George Bush on how to go "completely nutball" so Sen. McCain can distance himself from the extremely unpopular president on the campaign trail. Not only did he tell Bush to wear a tinfoil jockstrap, he said the prez should buy a Zune. Really? Sure it's market share is 4%, but what about the new software? [Colbert Report]

spying

House Denies Warrantless Wiretapping Immunity For Telcos

In a textbook display of checks and balances, the House of Representatives defied President Bush and the Senate yesterday by passing their version of a surveillance bill without legal immunity for telcos. The bill passed by only 16 votes, far from the 2/3 majority needed to override Bush's inevitable veto. It looks like this legislative battle could continue until the next president takes office in 2009. As we have seen, an Obama administration would deny immunity, McCain would grant immunity, and Clinton? Who knows. [dslreports]


white house

White House Home Theater Reveals Laura Bush's Bordello Tastes

This is what the Prez and his people watch their Chuck Norris movies in: the White House home theater. It's, er, very red, isn't it? The refurb was overseen by Laura Bush in 2004, who was, apparently, inspired by turn-of-the-last century movie palaces. Another shot, plus the magnolia hell that was its previous incarnation, below. More »

Bush DAB Indicates Touchscreens Coming to Everything Soon The Bush TR04DABBLK is a retro-looking, piano black DAB, with touchscreen controls. The device has a two-line display showing useful information, including artist and station; onboard memory will store a pathetic 10 DAB and 10 FM stations.

gadgets

Bush Office Countdown Keyring

We'll leave the political debate for our concerned citizen cousins over at Wonkette, but here's a Backwards Bush keychain that counts down the days he has left in office. So if you're the kind of person who really needs to know exactly how much time is left until we need a new president, here ya go. Personally, we'd enjoy a lunchtime countdown keychain much more. Mmmmm, lunch. More »

sugar

Sugar-Powered Batteries: Hello to iPod and Frosties, Goodbye to Osama?

After long nights in the lab, probably fuelled by gallons of coke, researchers at Missouri's University of Saint Louis have come up with a sugar-powered fuel cell. The battery, that runs on anything from soft drinks to tree sap, has the potential to run up to four times as long on a single charge than conventional lithium ion batteries, as demonstrated by one of the boffins, who used a battery the size of a postage stamp to run a calculator. More »

sony srs-btm30 bluetooth speakers

Bush's Binoculars and Sony Bluetooth Speakers: Separated at Birth?

Sony's SRS-BTM30 Bluetooth Speakers look like a pair of binoculars with the caps on, but don't tell our beloved Commander-In-Chief. The two 48mm speakers inside are amplified with 3 watts of power for each one, and can play back 30-foot-distant sounds from any device supporting the Bluetooth A2DP profile. It'll also connect with players using a mini stereo plug. More »

gadgets

A Few Segways Go Haywire, All Are Recalled

Segways are just for cops and dorks, and now even they won't be riding them for a while because all 23,500 of the two-wheeled personal transporters have been recalled. A software problem was discovered that could cause a Segway to suddenly reverse direction, dumping the dorks on their duffs. More »

portable media

Nintendo Gives DS Lite + Brain Age To President Bush For 60th Birthday

Check out this DS Lite + Brain Age pack Nintendo gave to President Bush for his birthday. That's pretty neat, but I wonder if he'll play it. With no sons in the house, we doubt there was a Nintendo or Sega Genesis to be found. Well, it'll give him something to do when his iPod runs out of juice. More »

portable media

Prez a Music Thief, According to RIAA

Don't feel so bad that your iPod contains illegally-obtained music, because US President George Bush has also been stealing music. Check out this video, where he talks about his Beatles songs on his iPod, and of course, Beatles music is not yet available online. That means he must have ripped them from a CD. Last February, the RIAA said that ripping CDs is illegal. Welcome to the band of thieves, Mr. President. More »

katrina

A Tragedy By Any Other Name

That the Bush administration diverted funds from the rebuilding of the New Orleans levees to Iraq is by now well-known. What you might not have heard is that the people cleaning up the mess are really pissed about it. A tipster informs us that down in New Orleans, they have a name for the flood waters that have invaded the city: Lake George. More »