Wow. That’s all I can say. If this Guardian report is true, then in the coming weeks Obama administration policy will completely turn Bush’s Israel-Palestine policy on its head. And about time: The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon President Bush’s doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say. The move to open contacts with Hamas - which could be initiated through ...

tags: hamas

Seattle mental health blogger Philip Dawdy is less than impressed with the notion that CNN's Sanjay Gupta could be the nation's next doctor-in-chief. Says Dawdy, "As a reporter, Gupta strikes me as a lightweight outside of neuroscience and neurosurgery, who either gets his information straight from pharma companies and establishment doctors or is too incapable or incurious as a reporter to look for contrary information." And he offers as evidence Gupta claiming that there were ...

tags: sanjay gupta, class action suits, seattle mental health, furious seasons, philip dawdy, cnn, questionable cases, pharma companies, vioxx, neurosurgery, surgeon general, merck, neuroscience, suicides, notion, doctors, broadcast

Seattlest is broadening our horizons--to the runways. Not Boeing, couture. Yes, we're taking a good long look at Seattle's fashion community. No, we do have one. Srsly. And Cameron Levin is going to write about the goings-on for us. Here's her inaugural post, which as it happens is about one of the more unusual fashion events in Seattle. Canine couture from Idawg What does it say about Seattle that the first big ...

tags: fashion freedom, fashion community, fashion culture, fashion events, canine couture, seattlest, bell harbor, general admission, real entertainment, winterfest, talent competition, pet rescue, nonconformist, paris hilton, idawg, nwe, american idol, srsly, hoodies, runways

Bob Parsons, the CEO of GoDaddy, has a verything from frankly discussing changes to GoDaddy policies to blatantly ripping on the competition to shamelessly flaunting the somewhat infamous GoDaddy girls-in-tight-shirts. It’s notable, to my mind, for getting Bob out there, being so direct, and generally doing a great job of reinforcing the slightly wild and risque (Super Bowl commercials anyone?) brand that is GoDaddy. ed to write up a “what they did right vs wrong” ...

tags: girls in tight shirts, bob parsons, godaddy, videoblog, ceo

My dad and I braved the flooded roads of the Snoqualmie Valley to get a peek at Snoqualmie Falls in full flood. Most of the time it was too misty to get great shots, but occasionally the wind would change. We weren’t sure if we could get to the falls or not. The Snoqualmie Valley is completely flooded as I type this. Houses are under water and no one can drive in or out. This is the ...

tags: flood stage, snoqualmie valley, nthe, nwe, peek, weren, dad

Earlier today Palm introduced us to the handset that they hope will bring them into the future, the Palm pre. We’ve collected a bunch of press shots into our gallery that show off the device quite nicely in our Palm pre gallery. We will have video as well, but for now, check out the stills. What do you think? iPhone killer? Gallery: Palm pre photo gallery : cell phones, cellphones, ces, ces 2009, galleries, palm, palm pre, palm touchstone, photo gallery, sprint, touchstone, webos, Palm pre photo gallery ...

tags: today palm, handset, photo gallery

The dyslexia that insists in this pre-caffeine subset of time not only have I observed its effect on the eyes, but those of the ears as well; the radical focus of which applies itself in tandem to the subject at hand (my own dear fault) being relentless to the point of cruelty eradicates from memory those examples that would have supported the statement just before the semicolon. Early morning bus travel, yeah, and those ...

tags: lighthouse beacons, traps and snares, steeple hat, seattle times, full tilt, morning bus, statures, constant flux, nuclear winter, mr clean, field of vision, bus travel, 8 january, roaches, bombard, crackle, dyslexia, inaction, blockade, microwaves

The premiere of American Idol’s Season 8 is now only days away, and everyone’s trying to get the scoop before the show airs. So what does the reality show’s newest judge have to say about her first season with the show? Kara DioGuardi, along with the other judges in the panel, has been doing the promotional blitz in the weeks leading up to the show. But DioGuardi is one of the biggest ...

tags: msnbc, nthe, season 8, paula abdul, american idol, reality show, ilk, blitz, scoop, nah

KC is back, and not a moment too soon.According to the Seattle Times, The Magic Carpet Ride will return to the airwaves on KIRO (or whatever the hell they're calling it now-a-days) for a daily sports show starting on April 1st. Let's pray this isn't some sort of cruel April Fool's prank.

tags: magic carpet ride, kevin calabro, seattle times, april fool, kiro, daily sports, april 1st, hell

Elvis impersonators, start your engines: it's almost time for the 2009 Seattle Elvis Invitationals. You have a few weeks still to have your chosen gold sparkly jacket dry-cleaned and to grow the appropriate facial hair, but on January 24th, it's all going down. The prizes for this year's extravaganza at Club Motor are provided by Archie McPhee, Not A Number, and Piecora's Pizza. In honor of Elvis and the Seattle Elvis Invitationals, not to mention ...

tags: elvis songs, mcphee, n8, facial hair, extravaganza, january 24, groove, prizes, pizza, seattle, gold

Seattlest just received this email from Blind Pilot's publicist: "I just got word from the band... due to flooding on I-5, there is no way for Blind Pilot to get to Seattle, so the show is canceled." So, yeah, we told you to get out tonight and go see these guys play at the Triple Door, but we're taking it back. Stay inside and shield yourself from the effects of rainmageddon. We find that pizza, ...

tags: blind pilot, 80s movies, end of days, publicist, vodka, email, pizza, seattle

Special thanks to YouTuber acatron for captioning the locations. WSDOT says the water is still rising, though it's supposed to crest sometime today, and at this point estimates that I-5 will remain closed through the weekend. The flooding is also covering the train tracks, so Amtrak is not running between Seattle and Portland either. I-90 through Snoqualmie Pass remains closed, with no ETA on reopening. This photo gives an idea of the work remaining after ...

tags: amtrak, eta, seattle, train, photo

I'm home sick from work, but I've determined that I can't exactly spend the whole day sleeping. While I'm mending up, I thought I'd catch up on the news. My recent Christmas trip home to Oregon was highlighted by lots and lots of snow. The roads were difficult most of the time, but that meant we spent a lot of time together as a family. I think it's the most time I've spent ...

tags: oregon zoo, christmas trip, orangutang, nthe, firefly, videotapes, beagle, peacock, tulips, reflection, boxes, mom, christmas, photos, photo

The spread of Wal-Mart is somewhat of a phenomenon. Since its birth in Arkansas back in 1962, its worldwide growth has been staggering. Seeing the American growth plotted out on a map of the U.S. is remarkable to watch. Each dot represents one new Walmart... Animation from FlowingData.com Dialogue by Agent Smith

tags: neach, worldwide growth, agent smith, walmart, wal mart, phenomenon, virus, map

At the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, the 8700 pound Asian elephant Tarra became inseparable from Bella.

tags: hohenwald tennessee, elephant sanctuary, asian elephant, tarra, elephant, best friends

Sylvester has a nice home with Elmer Fudd but a kitten is trying to frame Sylvester for acts that he didn't do to get Sylvester kicked out of the house.

tags: elmer fudd, sylvester, kitten, acts

Tetris meets Sudoku in this addictive puzzle game. Using the mouse, choose a column in which to drop tiles. Press P to pause. The objective of the game is to create groups of tiles in either columns or rows that add up to the required value. When you do this the tiles will change colour until eventually they explode. When a tile explodes the tiles above in the column drop down, hopefully leading to further combinations.

tags: addictive puzzle game, nthe, tiles, tetris, tile, combinations, objective

Mr Orange tells "The Commode Story".

tags: mr orange, reservoir dogs

Drop 10 friends from your Facebook account, get a free BK Whopper. AdWeek story: "The fast-food chain has released the Whopper Sacrifice application on Facebook. The app rewards people with a coupon for BK's signature burger when they cull 10 friends. Each time a friend is excommunicated, the application sends a notification to the banished party via Facebook's news feed explaining that the user's love for the unlucky soul is less than his or her ...

tags: unlucky soul, 10 friends, adweek, whopper, food chain, zeal, bk, news feed, fast food, sacrifice, rewards, signature, love

Poker players. TV personalities. Recording artists. Athletes. What do they all have in common? They all want to learn from Donald Trump. Or, they at least want to give that appearance while they collect a paycheck from NBC. Reality TV has now become much more a medium for quasi- and has-been celebs, rather than an unscripted jaunt where ordinary folks get their chance to shine. But what the hell? Donald Trump is always ...

tags: jesse james monster garage, joan and melissa rivers, comedian andrew dice, andrew dice clay, mother daughter team, rodman comedian, queen natalie, t boz, brande roderick, melissa rivers, tionne watkins, annie duke, herschel walker, claudia jordan, dennis rodman, e online, celebrity apprentice, monster garage, kardashian, nfl star

According to reports, Tori Spelling is finishing up talks to appear in a few episodes of 90210. Some say Spelling’s initial reluctance to re-join the cast (Spelling reportedly backed out after agreeing to appear) stems from a dislike for Shannen Doherty. But since the Brenda Walsh storyline is running dry and Shannen’s commitment to the show is coming to a close, Spelling may finally agree to assume the role of Donna Martin…again. Reps ...

tags: initial reluctance, brenda walsh, tori spelling, donna martin, shannen doherty, 90210, dislike, stems, gap

We just received a friendly text from Meli Darby at Nectar Lounge saying that their website (nectarlounge.com) has crashed and won't be up until Monday or possibly later. For now, she says, if you're looking for information on their shows this weekend, please visit NectarFremont.com. Local hiphop forum 206Proof is also down until further notice, due to a planned relaunch of the site with some exciting improvements. ...

tags: hiphop forum, meli, nectar, further notice, improvements

During the CES 2009 keynote, Microsoft announced that the release date for Halo Wars has been moved up, from March 3rd up to February 28th. In case you’re clueless about what that is, it’s the RTS Halo prequel. Should be fun, despite not being a shooter. Of course, you may want to try it out before committing to purchase, and you’ll be able to do just that when the demo hits the ...

tags: halo wars, keynote, release date, demo, microsoft, ces

Good move, Mr. President-elect:President-elect Barack Obama is urging Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital television broadcasting, arguing that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air channels won't be ready.In a letter to key lawmakers Thursday, Obama transition team co-chair John Podesta noted that the Commerce Department has run out of money for coupons to subsidize digital TV converter boxes for consumers. People who don't ...

tags: john podesta, converter boxes, analog tv, analog to digital, president elect, transition team, satellite service, air channels, tv converter, digital tuner, barack obama, team co, switchover, television broadcasting, digital television, consumer groups, commerce department, new tv, mr president, digital tv

Adam Smiley called today to inform me that over break he proposed to Natalie and will be getting married this summer. This, along with the other people in my life who are married or dating, requires me to contemplate my own status as a single and unattached bachelor (that’s actually redundant, whatever). Specifically, with only 4 months before I graduate, is now really the time to begin seeking out a relationship? If not now, when? I ...

tags: smiley, natalie, bachelor

So Johan Petro is no longer a Thundercat. If you didn’t already know, the Guadalupanian is now a member of the Nuggets, dealt yesterday in exchange for Chucky Atkins (draft picks, cash considerations, t-shirts, and an English muffin were also exchanged).Two thoughts crossed my mind on hearing the news of Petro’s trade:Thought #1) Johan Petro’s teams, in his long and storied career as the French version of Caldwell Jones, have posted a won-loss record of ...

tags: johan petro, chucky atkins, mock turtlenecks, nick collison, foot jumper, karl johan, moses malone, english muffin, third baseman, nba history, northwest division, player coach, storied career, george karl, playmakers, two thoughts, thundercat, national television, french version, batting average

Danville, CA January 5, 2009 Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) saves the lives of dogs and cats that have run out of time at public shelters. Created in Contra Costa County in 1991, ARF not only aids abandoned and homeless animals, but it also promotes the concept that strengthening the bonds between humans and animals can greatly enhance people's lives. ARF strives to create a world where every loving dog and cat has a ...

tags: animal rescue foundation, animal rescue foundation arf, tony larussa, dogs and cats, public shelters, homeless animals, danville ca, contra costa county, bonds, aids

“How many friends were sacrificed for this?!?” Photo by thegarethwiscombe via Flickr under CC. The conventional wisdom these days is to push brands and promotions into social media and online communities - and so much of the resulting campaigns and efforts are just, well, bland and “me too.” So it’s nice to see a major brand embrace the concept while also poking fun at the basic idea. Check out the “Whopper Sacrifice“, the latest twisted effort from ...

tags: whopper, facebook friends

My plan for this weekend involved two friends flying into Seattle, and four more friends driving up from Portland for a weekend of revelry (well, as much revelry as one can have when two of the six guests are under six months old). Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans for my weekend, and now my four friends in Oregon are not likely to be able to join the Seattle contingent. As disappointing as this was, ...

tags: revelry, four friends, two friends, kudos, mother nature, six months, seattle

No doubt you have a damn good reason for closing down such a large chunk of Rainier Ave South, but when you detour traffic from such a major arterial, you might want to think about placing the detour signs along the entire route, instead of just leading us into the hills above Renton, and leaving us to figure out the rest by ourselves. (The u-turn on Water ST followed by the sharp right on Holyoke ...

tags: detour traffic, detour signs, water st, u turn, no doubt, chunk, good reason

Word has come down that after the Chinese government decided to limit Internet usage, 3 of the sites in question decided to apologize. Gaming sites NetEase and SINA were two of them. Baidu also issued one “to the netizens at large for the negative impacts we brought upon the society.” They also claimed that they had deleted the content and links in question. The oddest remark came from the BBC’s Micky Bristow who said China ...

tags: chinese sites, n word, netease, gaming sites, internet usage, chinese government, sina

digg_url = 'http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-palm-announces-the-palm-pre/'; This morning at CES 2009, Palm announced the phone that they expect will take them into the next generation - the Palm pre. It’s a small, rounded black handset with a trackball, and the specs read like a dream as far as we’re concerned. We are talking about a 3.1-inch 320x480 touchscreen with multi-touch support and a gesture area, the newest OMAP processor from TI, 8 GB of storage space, EVDO Rev. ...

tags: gearlive, digg, news article, next generation, palm, ces

Contemporary Children’s Bedrooms from GAB » CONTEMPORIST. i thought bunk beds were so damn cool when i was a kid.

tags: bunk beds, kids bedroom, bedrooms

Could this be the Oprah effect? Or was it simply a result of New Year’s Resolutions? Whatever the reason, NBC’s The Biggest Loser had a sizable debut. The show helped the Peacock network win in the demos while CBS’ normally strong Wednesday lineup had a victory with the viewers. 8pm NCIS (19.1 million, 3.7/10 in 18-49) had its second largest audience ever. The Biggest Loser (11.8 million, 4.5/11) had its biggest debut to date. The premiere ...

tags: biggest loser, oprah, new year

You know that SoundRoots likes us some strange cover songs. Among the strangest have to be Central Asian versions of classic rock songs. I'm not sure if there's a cover-song arms race going on between Tuva and Siberia, but not long after the former's latest salvo (Yat-Kha's Re-Covers), I recently discovered a new entry from the latter from the group Bugotak. Their newest album Coverlar (which means, unsurprisingly, "covers") fires right back with some great ...

tags: mission impossible theme, uriah heep, classic rock songs, arctic fox, house of the rising sun, s song, altai, queensryche, cover songs, tuva, rock and pop, kha, pop songs, mission impossible, gypsy, metallica, siberia, fires, nirvana, beatles

FELLINI FINITO: Tonight's the last night of SIFF's presentation of Federico Fellini's Amarcord. Truth be told, this particular Seattlester has never really liked Fellini's films, but we were blown away by his cinematic homage to the small town Italy of his youth. The film marked Fellini's transition from par-for-the-course post-war neo-realist to the surrealist auteur that changed film forever, and Amarcord remains his masterpiece. 7:30 p.m. // 321 Mercer St. // $10 MUSICAL: Off-Broadway musical ...

tags: lyricist david, music in the 50s, federico fellini, mercer st, industrial spaces, nexit, broadway musical, hartt, amarcord, pacific northwest, active life, american century, outposts, 5th ave, n6, local artists, n7, black music, emp, embodiment

To say that 14/48--the theater festival created entirely in the space of a weekend--is to the stage what blogging is to the written word would be more than a little insulting to 14/48, but the comparison does hold some water: in each ideas go, in the blink of an eye, from conception to the screen/stage where they fail or touch hearts without the benefit of a final (or second) draft. Local playwright Paul ...

tags: paul mullin, fire trial, blink of an eye, audience members, new plays, epochs, playwrights, pretensions, n14, original works, crucible, live performance, kno, playwright, floods, good stuff, all sorts, actors, musicians, designers

During the CES 2009 keynote, Microsoft announced that the release date for Halo Wars has been moved up, from March 3rd up to February 28th. In case you’re clueless about what that is, it’s the RTS Halo prequel. Should be fun, despite not being a shooter. Of course, you may want to try it out before committing to purchase, and you’ll be able to do just that when the demo hits the ...

tags: halo wars, keynote, release date, demo, microsoft, ces

The Seattle Times editorial board has published a correction today regarding a school scheduled for closure:  “It is the Old Hay building, not John Hay Elementary.” That’s okay.  Mistakes happen, and it’s always good form to correct them. No biggie. But as long as the Times’ editorialists are admitting their factual errors, it sure would be refreshing to see them admit their editorial errors as well.  You know… those times when their opinions were just plain wrong. For ...

tags: seattle times editorial, seattle times, editorial board, closure

LG is displaying an LH-85 series of wireless LCD TVs at the CES 2009. The HDTVs include the 47-inch 47LH85 and the 55-inch 55LH85 with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 60gHz radio and multi-element antenna array. It also features its 10 point IRE system, color management, and a new picture wizard for calibrating the TVs. The new series should be available in May. Contact LG for more information and price range. Tags: antenna array, ces, ces 2009, color management, hdtv, ire, lg ...

tags: antenna array, element antenna, lcd tvs, hdtvs, color management, nlg, lh, lcd tv, hdtv, wizard, ces, radio

SanDisk is also at CES, this time with the Sansa slotRadio Player with FM tuner.The portable aluminum digital system with 1.5-inch OLED screen is available with slotMusic memory cards that are preloaded with tunes. One of them is included with 1,000 classics from Billboard charts including rock, country, contemporary and more which are arranged according to genre. The plug-and-play slotRadio will be available at Radio Shack and other retailers and online at slotRadio. The player ...

tags: sandisk sansa, billboard charts, oled screen, radio shack, memory cards, fm tuner, plug and play, sandisk, msrp, aluminum, tunes, ces, genre

During the CES 2009 keynote, Microsoft announced that the release date for Halo Wars has been moved up, from March 3rd up to February 28th. In case you’re clueless about what that is, it’s the RTS Halo prequel. Should be fun, despite not being a shooter. Of course, you may want to try it out before committing to purchase, and you’ll be able to do just that when the demo hits the Xbox Live Marketplace ...

tags: halo wars, keynote, release date, demo, microsoft, ces

Every time we throw out a bank or credit card statement, we carefully destroy the part that has our account number and toss it into at least two different trash bags. Would that we had the Handheld Paper Shredder. Running on 4 AA batteries (included,) it has 28 steel cutting plates and can handle up to 5 pages at a time. At a size of 5 x 5 x 25.5cm, you can carry it with ...

tags: atm receipts, paper shredder, aa batteries, trash bags, identity theft, credit card statement

Entrepreneur Couple Hosts Live Internet Shopping Show January 8, 2009 - Indie Business Media, LLC today announced the launch of Indie Shopping TV, an interactive online “chat and shop” service. Indie Shopping provides shoppers with an exciting new way to chat with their friends as they browse and buy unique products, many of them handmade by the nation’s smallest business owners.“Indie Shopping provides greater access to the artisan and handmade products people love,” said Donna ...

tags: shopping show, donna maria, shopping tv, initial trials, favorable results, handmade products, business media, unique products, shopping service, artisan, launch, co founder, coles, business owners, internet shopping, entrepreneur, shoppers, ceo, convenience, hosts

"My Umbrella" by AaronBrethorst. West Seattle Blog was at the Seattle Public Schools board meeting last night to hear the discussion on final recommendations for school closures. She posts running updates from the conversation and links to the Save Seattle Schools blog, which was also posting to-the-minute commentary.Burien's B-Town Blog has also been busy going to city meetings. Gina Bourdage has detailed notes from a recent City of Burien open house ...

tags: north highline, label mates, minute commentary, seattle schools, seattle public schools, neighborhood news, city meetings, nwest, school closures, gay bars, common market, annexation, capitol hill, riff, board meeting, open house, umbrella, coffee

Mother Earth is sure pissy this week! Part of Rainier Avenue (the 9700 block) is covered in dirt after all the rain caused a landslide in the wee hours of the morning. Detours are in place and skilled professionals are working to clear the area of dirt, but meanwhile--be safe out there and whisper a heartfelt compliment or two towards the ground every now and then, just to try to appease the Lady. ...

tags: skilled professionals, mother earth, wee hours, landslide, compliment, dirt, rain

This is video from yesterday at the Falls. Snoqualmie Pass is closed all day as crews try to dig out and repair after avalanches and slides. WSDOT closed I-5 down by Chehalis, from milepost 68 to milepost 88, yesterday evening. The word today is that they won't have a firm ETA on reopening until after the river crests there tonight. Cliff Mass has the rainfall recap for you, broken out in radar images and chart ...

tags: river crests, cliff mass, radar images, milepost, snoqualmie, yesterday evening, avalanches, chehalis, rainfall, eta, flood, slides

Our pal Robert Scoble was able to get an early look at the new Microsoft Songsmith software, and we were impressed enough that we wanted to give you guys a look at the video. Songsmith allows you to make music, that you sing to, by generating musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. You sing into your mic, and the software creates the backing music for you to make you sound good. It’s not just ...

tags: musical accompaniment, robert scoble, nour, microsoft, music