WTF // Current

^#1

Murdered Dead Mans Body Sold To Russia Kebab House

Police in Russia have arrested three homeless men suspected of killing a man, eating part of the body and selling other parts to a... more

bigredkev
added this

Kidnapped teen forced to buy a PS3 at gunpoint

This is one of those real "WTF" stories. An eighteen-year-old is currently facing charges of kidnap and robbery after... more

Nettle
added this

Ancient Aliens: History Channel's 2009 Documentary

Are we ready to accept the theory of Extraterrestrials as Gods? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH66LramO8U

jmsrmy
added this

Current TV Staff Suffer A “Major Bloodbath” As 80 Employees Lose Their Jobs

Today is another sobering day for the tech and media world. Current TV has confirmed that 80 people are being let go, leaving the company with 300 employees worldwide. We heard multiple reports of significant layoffs at Current TV earlier in the day. One source, whose spouse works at Current TV, warns of a “major bloodbath today at CurrentTV, across all departments,” with cuts hitting “most of the people in the LA production office, as stuff is being outsourced.”

Current Media’s COO, Joanna Drake Earl told me over the phone that the layoffs are due to a shifting of programming strategy and are not a cost-cutting measure. Current is shifting away from in-house production and towards out sourcing segments, which will be done via acquisitions, co-productions, and the use of outside studios. Layoffs took place in Current’s San Francisco, Los Angeles, London and New York offices, but the cuts were mostly made in the production and programming areas. Earl added that this year is set to be Current’s most profitable year since its launch. See the entire statement issued by Current below.

A year ago to date, the media company, which was co-founded by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, eliminated 60 positions. The media company also recently canceled its $100 million IPO that was originally announced in January 2008. Current said in a statement that market conditions and the recession forced the company to abandon the IPO. And this summer, Current Media got a new CEO, Mark Rosenthal, who replaced Hyatt. Rosenthal was the former president and COO of MTV networks and was also vice chairman and president of media platforms at SpotRunner.

Current made headlines this year after two of its reporters were detained by North Korea in a relatively high-profile incident (the reporters were eventually released after former President Bill Clinton intervened).

Cable channel Current TV is broadcast internationally to 59 million homes with markets in regions including the United States, Italy, and the UK. Current also has a strong web presence, tapping into popular social media services like Digg and Twitter for special events like the 2008 presidential election.

The Guardian Media Group announced news of layoffs this morning and yesterday brought news of other tech layoffs, with Adobe cutting 9 percent of its staff. This week also brought announcements of from Electronic Arts and Sprint. We’ve added Current’s layoff to the TechCrunch Layoff Tracker.

Follow link for the rest of the story.Today is another sobering day for the tech and media world. Current TV has confirmed that 80 people are being let go, leaving the... more

slarabee
added this

73 comments

3 days ago

^#5

Space hotel on schedule to open in 2012

A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite... more

jmsrmy
added this

88 comments

12 days ago

^#6

Bacon Tips

Finger lickin' good. http://jezebel.com/5402495/bacon-tips

Nettle
added this

3 comments

1 day ago

^#7

The Chinese Are Even Bootlegging Condoms?

Think condoms mean safe sex? Think again. London's Times newspaper reports that Police in China have raided a... more

doggeman
added this

0 comments

21 hours ago

^#8

Florida Woman's Rape Called A "Pre-Existing Condition" By Insurance Companies

A Florida woman, who is a victim of sexual abuse, claims that rape was called a "pre-existing condition" by several... more

Chique
added this

104 comments

24 days ago

^#9

2012 Prophecies Sparking Real Fears, Suicide Warnings

Survival kits, documentaries, and nearly 200 books presenting the "real" 2012 story are all on offer. And you could... more

pjacobs51
added this

52 comments

4 days ago

^#10

Jackson Reality Show Coming to A&E

The posthumous Michael Jackson promotion train keeps on rolling, and in its next incarnation, the Jackson-hungry public will learn... more

xiola
added this

1 comment

7 hours ago

^#11

Beginning of time discovered

Scientists have seen the first starlight ever recorded, and we don't mean the first incidence of a monkey marking something... more

pjacobs51
added this

90 comments

13 days ago

^#12

Why isn't the story of several missing women in North Carolina getting attention?

This is really disturbing... "Ten women have been found slain or have been declared missing in Rocky Mount, N.C., in... more

booksellergirl
added this

48 comments

23 days ago

^#13

McCain introduces bill to block Net neutrality

Raw Story-Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced a bill in the Senate on Thursday that would effectively allow Internet service... more

RFIDemocracy
added this

104 comments

23 days ago

^#14

Wall Street Idiots who don't get it.

An angry U.S. senator introduced legislation Friday to cap compensation for employees of any company that accepts federal bailout... more

iloveravi
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31 comments

10 months ago

^#15

Family awarded $16.5 million for wrongful death in 'Hold your Wee for a Wii' contest

Way back in January of 2007, we[Engadget] reported on the Strange family, who were suing Sacramento radio station KDND-FM for the... more

lordsbassman
added this

75 comments

14 days ago

^#16

FDA hides Bayer selling AIDS!!!

MSNBC reports on the FDA Cover-up of Bayer Selling AIDS!!! Today big business is in bed with big government. Both need to be... more

critic
added this

66 comments

10 months ago

^#17

Noisy sex woman loses appeal bid

A woman who was banned from making loud noises during sex has lost an appeal against her conviction. Caroline and Steve... more

Cubejam
added this

0 comments

4 days ago

^#18

3D Tattoos : A Painful Way to Make Yourself Beautiful

Collection of amazing 3D tattoos. Most of them seem to be alive :)

nightowl
added this

25 comments

10 months ago

^#19

Veterans duct tape flag burner to pole

Video at the link.

Ihatethemall
added this

63 comments

14 days ago

^#20

Blackwater Approved Bribes to Iraqi Officials After Shootings

WASHINGTON — Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials.

Blackwater approved the cash payments in December 2007, the officials said, as protests over the deadly shootings in Nisour Square stoked long-simmering anger inside Iraq about reckless practices by the security company’s employees. American and Iraqi investigators had already concluded that the shootings were unjustified, top Iraqi officials were calling for Blackwater’s ouster from the country and company officials feared that Blackwater might be refused an operating license it would need to retain its contracts with the State Department and private clients, worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Four former Blackwater executives said in interviews that Gary Jackson, who was then the company’s president, had approved the bribes, and the money was sent from Amman, Jordan, where Blackwater maintains an operations hub, to a top manager in Iraq. The executives, though, said they did not know whether the cash was delivered to Iraqi officials or the identities of the potential recipients.

Blackwater’s strategy of buying off the government officials, which would have been illegal under American law, created a deep rift inside the company, according to the former executives. They said that Cofer Black, who was then the company’s vice chairman and a former top C.I.A. and State Department official, learned of the plan from another Blackwater manager while he was in Baghdad discussing compensation for families of the shooting victims with United States Embassy officials.

Alarmed about the secret payments, Mr. Black cut short his talks and left Iraq. Soon after returning to the United States, he confronted Erik Prince, the company’s chairman and founder, who did not dispute that there was a bribery plan, according to a former Blackwater executive familiar with the meeting. Mr. Black resigned the following year.

Stacy DeLuke, a company spokeswoman, dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and said the company would not comment about former employees. Mr. Black did not respond to telephone calls and e-mail messages seeking comment.

Reached by phone, Mr. Jackson, who resigned as president of Blackwater early this year, criticized The New York Times and said, “I don’t care what you write.”

The four former Blackwater executives, who had held high-ranking posts at the company, would speak only on condition of anonymity. Two of them said they took part in talks about the payments; the two others said they had been told by several Blackwater officials about the discussions. In agreeing to describe those conversations, the four officials said that they were troubled by a pattern of questionable conduct by Blackwater, which had led them to leave the company.

Blackwater continued operating as the prime contractor providing security for the United States Embassy in Baghdad until spring, when the Iraqi government said it would deny the company an operating license. The State Department replaced Blackwater with a rival company in May, but Blackwater still does some work for the department in Iraq on a temporary basis.

Five Blackwater guards involved in the shooting are facing federal manslaughter charges and their trial is scheduled to start in February in Washington. A sixth guard pleaded guilty in December. Blackwater, now known as Xe Services, has never faced criminal charges in the case, although the Iraqi victims brought a civil lawsuit in federal court against the company and Mr. Prince.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/world/middleeast/11blackwater.html?_r=1&emc=naWASHINGTON — Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that... more