Google's decision to censor its search engine in China was bad for the company, its founders admitted yesterday.

Asked whether he regretted the decision, Mr Brin admitted yesterday: "On a business level, that decision to censor... was a net negative."

The company has only once expressed any regret and never in as strong terms as yesterday. Mr Brin said the company had suffered because of the damage to its reputation in the US and Europe.

Both founders yesterday offered some solace to the newspaper industry, which has been most threatened by the growth of online news providers. Larry Page said: "I believe in the future of newspapers," before admitting that he reads all his news online. His colleague said he read a Sunday newspaper "and it's nice".

Rather than suggest paid-for content was doomed, they called for a new model to collect revenues. "I should probably pay for the Wall Street Journal but I don't because it's a hassle," said Mr Page, who is worth billions. "I'm not worried about the money thing, it's just a hassle."

China censorship damaged us, Google founders admit | Guardian Unlimited Business

"On 'Larry King Live' Wednesday night, Bill Maher said many of 'the people who really run the underpinnings of the Republican Party are gay... Ken Mehlman, OK, there's one I think people have talked about. I don't think he's denied it.' When CNN re-aired the interview, the mention of Mehlman was edited out with no indication anything was missing. When a minute-long video of the original vs. censored clips was posted on YouTube, a DMCA takedown removed it (the original poster plans to resubmit a shorter clip he hopes will qualify as fair use — good luck, since the DMCA doesn't recognize fair use). Relatedly, the Washington Post today was caught silently editing its published stories to make them less informative. Unnamed GOP officials are also saying that Mehlman will step down from his post when his term ends in January."

I watched this - everytime someone would take it DOWN, someone else would put it right back up.

Slashdot | YouTube Removal Highlights Media Self-Censorship

Some of the more tantalising tid-bits she let fall are that although Albus Dumbledore – the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – was murdered in Half-Blood Prince, he would still have an important role in the final book, and furthermore, his killer Severus Snape (whose role is assayed by Alan Rickman in the Harry Potter films) is actually a good character.

Daniel Radcliffe stars as Harry Potter in the film adaptations of J K Rowling's phenomenally successful Harry Potter series
The latter bit, which had been a topic of much debate and speculation among Potter fans, was first voiced at the concert by author Salman Rushdie, who offered his theory that Snape and Dumbledore were in cahoots (over the latter’s murder) and that Dumbledore’s death was a hoax.

“In my opinion, Snape is good”, he declared.

Rowling’s answer: “And your opinion is right, but I feel I need to make one thing clear about Dumbledore: he is dead.”

Other items the usually-reticent author let fall were that Harry’s hateful aunt Petunia Dursley would have a very important part in the final book, and heavily implied that Harry and his two friends Ron and Hermione would survive in the book, whose title Rowling is still thinking up.

Rowling also said – in response to Stephen King’s question whether Harry Potter’s rival Draco Malfoy would be redeemed – that all her characters, barring the villain Lord Voldemort, “appear redeemable” and that Harry firmly believed that Draco Malfoy was not evil. This may or may not point to her claim earlier this year that while writing the book, one of her characters had been redeemed whom she hadn’t thought of redeeming earlier.

Later on, at a meeting with fans, Rowling also said that the final book would explain the deep connection between a wizard and his wand."

Oh....JK ROWLING leaks Harry Potter Info!

New York — It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis.

But "A Concert for Hurricane Relief," a heartfelt and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks Friday night, took an unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West. Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed "George Bush doesn't care about black people" and said America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."

Frankly, I'm very impressed that he had the balls to speak out like this. Corporate America doesn't like it when people deviate from scripts, but basically West was only a little bit off the mark. His main statement was that "Bush doesn't care about black people", but it's really got nothing to do with whether the people who are dying in New Orleans are black or not. What matters (or rather, doesn't matter) is that the vast majority of the people still trapped in New Orleans are very, very poor. Which means that, demographically speaking, they don't vote, they don't put money in lobbyists pockets, they don't hold any kind of political power, and their ability to promote political campaigns is limited--so there's very little chance these people are going to be able to impact Bush in any possible way. The political machine has learned that almost any sort of mismanagement can be covered up in just a few months of campaigning and careful spin-doctoring, and at worst, power will simply shift from one faction to the other for a presidential term or two.

In short, it's not that they're black, it's that they're poor. There's plenty of white (and asian and so on) people down there that Bush cares just as little about.

So long as poor people are busy trying to blame each other (blacks versus whites and vice-versa) they're never going to get around to seeing that their real enemy, the people who really are responsible for generation after generation of poverty and ignorance, are Bush and people just like him, who only care about the poor when it comes time to get them to watch the television so they can be told which faction of rich people have the best interests of "America" in mind. They make their rafts of empty promises and smile and shake hands just long enough to keep their power, and then they go back to their ranches and condos and gated communities and have as little as possible to do with the poor until it comes time for the next round of lies and deception.

If West were paying attention, he'd have figured this out by now. Hopefully he will soon because America needs more people to wise up to what's going on.

I agree. Howard Dean said it best when he pissed a bunch of people off - America has CLASS issues. Politicians use race issues to further divide the poor. We've got to go past the race issue and talk about CLASS issues. Its just that poverty in this situation has mainly hit blacks. There are certainly poor white folks in that mess as well as old people of every sex and color. They are all POOR. Also, because they are poor, they are social suspects. I am sick of hearing that 'they are ignorant and only mooch off the government.' None of the people I hear saying these things - and after going out today, I have certainly heard those things said - they don't even KNOW those people...if they have jobs, what they've contributed to society. It is like being poor makes you automatically GUILTY of being dumb and lazy. I have a problem with that.

Kanye West *almost* gets it--Bush doesn't care about poor people

Going from Tess Harding to Carrie Bradshaw, Dorothy Thompson to Candace Bushnell, is not progress.

Dish It Out, Ladies

This is set to my favorite commercial - they Nextel guys dancing to "Push It."

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