Can the Feds Hear Your Phone Calls?

Did the government eavesdrop on Associated Press reporters? No. G-men subpoenaed the records of phone calls, the numbers of calls to and from AP reporters. Unsavory, but entirely legal. 

But is the Federal government capable of recording and listening to all your phone calls, or are we talking through our tinfoil hat? It’s your call:

“Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government?” Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian

“Is the U.S. Government Recording and Saving All Domestic Telephone Calls?” Bruce Schneier, Schneier on Security

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Annette Funicello, 1942 — 2013

Original Mouseketeer and Baby Boomer crush Annette Funicello succumbed to complications from Multiple Sclerosis on Monday.

Super Bowl Stories You May Have Missed

Super Bowl stories you may have missed:

“What Happens to the Losing Team’s Championship Shirts?” Matt Soniak, Mental Floss

“This Year’s Super Bowl Will Be Gayer Than Last Year’s,” Rich Juzwiak, Gawker

“Astronauts Will Watch Super Bowl from Space,” Tariq Malik, space.com via Discovery News

“Remembering Up With People: The Gayish Quasi-Cult That Invented The Super Bowl Halftime Show,” Jonathan Mahler, Deadspin

“Ray Lewis Isn’t the Only One Bringing Religion to Super Bowl Sunday,” Joanna Brooks, Religion Dispatches

“This Year’s Illuminati-Super Bowl Connection is More Sinister Than Ever,” Mallory Ortberg, Gawker

“Keep These Food Safety Tips In Mind While Serving Snacks On Super Bowl Sunday,” Mary Beth Quirk, Consumerist

“The Brutal Physics of Football,” Ainissa Ramirez, Big Think

Palin Kicked Off Fox News

Sarah Palin, former part-time Temp-Governor of Alaska, has ended her relationship with Fox News. Mrs. Palin impersonated a political commentator on the cable news outlet with the same authority she brought to the 2008 GOP presidential campaign, and Fox was tired of looking like John McCain.

Sarah Palin was on Fox for three years, a year longer than she was Alaska’s governor, but may draw on her other past experience in future endeavors. The former Miss Wasilla would be a great spokesmodel for products like Naughty Monkey high-heeled shoes or Bushmaster assault rifles. And Mrs. P, who now has a home studio, was once was a sportscaster on an Anchorage TV station. Here’s an aircheck we’re submitting to ESPN:

Lance Armstrong’s New Charity: Oprah’s Cable Network

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong was forced to abandon his Livestrong foundation, but he seems to have found a new pet charity: Oprah Winfrey’s money-losing OWN video venture. OWN has been bleeding money at an alarming gush, over $300 million as of last May. Oprah’s exclusive Armstrong interview will be a powerful shot in the arm, and the Queen of Confessions is hyping it for all it’s worth.

As for the interview subject himself, here’s the best take:

“Lance Armstrong Admits To Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs To Show Remorse,” The Onion

Al Jazeera America Expands

Surely Fox News is saying “Al Gore Sells Out to Al Jazeera,’ ands it’s sort of true. Al Jazeera America just bought Mr. Gore’s Current TV network in an effort to expand its presence in the USA. Price: $500 million.

Despite winning acclaim and awards for good journalism, American xenophobia and cable provider cowardice have keep Al Jazeera from reaching many US viewers. The new acquisition deal may not help. Time Warner Cable, which carried Current TV, said it won’t carry AJ America.

Breaking News for Islamophobic Fox News Patriots: Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal is the second-largest Fox shareholder.

More:

“Al Jazeera Seeks a U.S. Voice Where Gore Failed,” Brian Stelter, Washington Post blog

“Al Jazeera Buys Current TV, Predictable Bigotry Ensues,” Taylor Berman, Gawker

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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2013: The Year Ahead

“2013 calendar: key events for the year ahead,” The Guardian

“Predictions for 2013 don’t include the apocalypse, for once,” Kevin Modesti, Los Angeles Daily News

“TIME’s Fearless Sports Predictions for 2013,” Sean Gregory, Time

“Economy will limp along in 2013,” James K. Galbraith, CNN

“5 disturbing trends you should pay attention to in 2013,” Paul Brandus, The Week

“10 Tech Industry Predictions for 2013,” Tim and Ben Bajarin, Time

“Health reform: What’s coming in 2013,” Denise Mann, WebMD via Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“After Crispy Pig Ears, 10 Trends for 2013,” Julia Moskin, New York Times

“Climate change, fracking to take center stage in 2013,” Scott Tong, Marketplace

“Ahead for 2013: Tea party, gay marriage, guns,” Timothy Stanley, CNN

“Food price outlook: Will Buffalo wings break your budget in 2013?” Schuyler Velasco, Christian Science Monitor

“The Year Ahead: 132 Eerily Prescient, Stupefyingly Accurate Predictions for 2013!” New York Observer

Best of the ‘Best of 2012′ Lists

Year-end review lists you may have missed:

“The Best Movies You Didn’t See in 2012,” Erik Henriksen, Wired

“Favorite Book Cover Designs of 2012,” New York Times

“Apple Names Its Best iPhone and iPad Apps of 2012,” Christina Warren, Mashable

“The Top Newfound Species of 2012,”  Kara Brandeisky, Slate

“The best (and worst) media errors and corrections of 2012,”  Craig Silverman,  Poynter Institute

“The Most Controversial Artworks of 2012,” Marina Galperina, Flovorwire

“The 12 Best GIFs of 2012,” Cooper Fleishman, Daily Dot

“The top 9 world leaders of 2012,” Talia Ralph, Global Post

“The 10 sports stories that defined 2012,” Chris Gayomali, The Week

“2012 National Film Registry,” Library of Congress

“The Absolute Very Worst Movies of 2012,” Ashley Burns, Filmdrunk.com

“Best and worst 2012 investments,” Ben Steverman, San Francisco Chronicle

“The Ten Best Country Albums of 2012,” Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice

“America’s 9 craziest lawsuits of 2012,” Samantha Rollins, The Week

“The year in sex,” Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon

“11 Not-So-Famous People We Lost in 2012,” Mark Juddery, Mental Floss

“20 Great Infographics of 2012,” Drew Skau, Visual.ly.com

“Best Books of 2012,” Publishers Weekly

“Cutest Baby Animal Photos of 2012,” Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

“Best CEOs of 2012,,” Wall Street 24/7

“The Worst CEOs of 2012,”  Louis Lavelle, Businessweek

“Best of 2012: Top 10 Hottest Bods of the Year!” Jeanette Batur, E! Online

“The Big Science Stories Of 2012 In An Interactive Graphic,” Colleen Park, PopSci

“The Biggest Disappointments Of 2012,” Kirk Hamilton, Kotaku

“The Best Graphic Novels and Graphic Nonfiction of 2012,” Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

“The best memes of 2012,” Faine Greenwood, Global Post

“The 50 Least Important Writers of 2012,” Gawker

“Top 12 Fox News FAILS of 2012,” Keaton, Ranker

Today’s Weather Forecast for Middle Earth

From New Zealand’s Elvish TV Network (OneNews.co.nz). Stay tuned for Hobbit Celebrity News.

More:

“Behind the Scenes of the Middle Earth Weather Forecast” (video)

H/T: GlobalPost

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Roman Cat Fight

“Who knows why the Rome edition of the left-leaning newspaper La Repubblica decided to pick on the cat ladies …?”

– “A Roman Cat Fight,” Massimo Gatto, New York Review of Books blog

The press campaign seems ill-considered after a Roman feline discovered a kittycatacomb.

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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