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Weekend Music

Don’t call it a comeback, but the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies have a new album out (Susquehanna) after a nearly ten-year hiatus. The ’90s swing revival band plays two shows tonight at the Triple Door.

Seems like local quartet Lucy Bland play a show every weekend. Tonight the blip-happy electro-pop band are at the Comet, and coming up at the High Dive, they’re on the bill for the one of the many Noise for the Needy benefits next month. Here’s the story of the band:

Also playing two shows tonight is the truly green indie rock of Cloud Cult at Neumo’s. Their latest album (Feel Good Ghosts) was recorded at a wind-powered organic farm heated and cooled by geothermal energy. Last we heard, tix were still available for the 11pm show, though the link to buy on Neumo’s site doesn’t seem to be working.

Tomorrow night, hit up the Vera Project for Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. The fun-time electro-pop youngsters are sure to play songs from their forthcoming debut album Glistening Pleasure, out this summer.

And if you missed their laser show last month, Bay Area experimental hip hop freakouts Subtle are sure to bring the noise and/or the funk to Nectar.

Meanwhile, alt-country insurgents The Bottle Rockets celebrate their 15th anniversary at the Tractor.

Sunday night, Blake/e/e/e (pronounced “Blake-ie”) brings their little bit of everything to the Comet. They describe their sound as “a kaleidoscopic world of dub-laced folk with celestial drones, Sixties psychedelic space ballads, and post-punk anthems with world ethnic spirituals and alt-twang fusing in the semblance of Devendra Banhart, Devotchka, Beach Boys, Joy Division and Animal Collective.”

Or head to the Tractor for the alterna-hypnosis of L.A.’s Run Run Run.

Obama narrows Clinton lead in superdelegates

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama closed in Friday on Sen. Hillary Clinton’s lead among superdelegates, the Democratic officials who hold the balance of power in determining the party’s presidential nominee.

The Obama campaign announced the support of six superdelegates, including a previous Clinton backer.

Hawaii Rep. Mazie Hirono and South Carolina Democratic Party Vice Chair Wilber Lee Jeffcoat both announced they are backing the Illinois senator.

Other superdelegates that pledged their support to Obama on Friday include: California Democratic National Committee member Ed Espinoza; Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon told The Oregonian newspaper that he will support Obama’s bid.

Oregon voters are in the middle of primary voting, which takes place through the mail.

Rep. Donald Payne, a New Jersey Democrat and an early Clinton supporter, told The (Newark) Star-Ledger that he was switching to Obama.

John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, also said he is backing Obama. He had been uncommitted. His union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, said it represents more than 600,000 workers.

Jeffcoat, Hirono, Espinoza, Payne, DeFazio and Gage are superdelegates — party officials, elected representatives and activists who are free to vote the way they want or to change their minds after pledging to a candidate.

CNN has also confirmed five new superdelegates for Clinton, though they all endorsed the New York senator before the primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

There are now more superdelegates than pledged delegates among those who remain undecided. A flood of endorsements from superdelegates could virtually end the Democratic race. Find out where the superdelegates stand

Neither candidate has the 2,025 delegates needed for the nomination. Obama has 1,860 total delegates, 165 delegates short of clinching the Democratic nod, and Clinton has 1,696, according to a CNN survey.

Obama holds a commanding lead in the number of pledged delegates awarded from primaries and caucuses: 1,592 to Clinton’s 1,424.

The latest announcements narrow Clinton’s lead in superdelegates to single digits. At the year’s start, she led by more than 100 superdelegates. Watch as the momentum appears to be in Obama’s favor

There are 217 pledged delegates up for grabs in the remaining contests.

After Clinton’s narrow win Tuesday in Indiana and and her double-digit loss in North Carolina, former Sen. George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, said he had decided to back Obama over the former first lady. McGovern is not a superdelegate.

A Virginia superdelegate — Jennifer McClellan, a member of the state House of Delegates from Richmond — moved over to Obama, too.

Nevertheless, the Clinton campaign said it had picked up the support of Rep. Christopher Carney of Pennsylvania.

Clinton is not going down without a fight, making pitches Friday to superdelegates that she is the best candidate to lead a Democratic ticket in November.

Her campaign tried to appeal to elected Democrats in Republican-leaning districts, arguing that Clinton can win more votes there than Obama and thus help their re-election prospects.

In a PowerPoint presentation e-mailed to the nearly 800 superdelegates, the campaign detailed how she had defeated Obama in GOP-leaning congressional districts and had consistently topped him among key voting blocs such as senior citizens and Hispanics. View the PowerPoint presentation

Despite those efforts, the Clinton camp already appears to be planning an exit strategy, according to Lawrence O’Donnell, a Huffington Post contributor who cited Clinton insiders.

They are saying that Hillary will be out of the race by June 15, O’Donnell said Friday on CNN’s American Morning.

What the senior campaign official has told me is that they will go through the final votes on June 3.

Remember, Hillary is going to win maybe three of the elections, and Obama is going to win maybe three elections coming out of it, he said, referring to the remaining six contests. Watch what O’Donnell says Clinton insiders are saying behind doors

O’Donnell said the Clinton campaign then would make its case to the superdelegates for about a week after the primaries ended.

The superdelegates have no chance of moving over to Hillary Clinton in a week, he said. So for the Clinton campaign to say we will only make the case for a week, and then by June 15, we will have a nominee, that is to say she will drop out.

Meanwhile, former Democratic contender John Edwards said Friday on NBC and MSNBC that Obama is the likely nominee. Edwards is not a superdelegate.

Both the Clinton and Obama campaigns have heavily wooed the former senator from North Carolina since he ended his presidential run in January, but he has not publicly endorsed either candidate.

Edwards said Friday that he worried the continuing campaign could take a toll on the Democratic Party’s chances in November.

I think it’s fine for Hillary to keep making the case for her, he said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. But when that shifts to everything that is wrong with [Obama], then we’re doing damage instead of being helpful.

On Thursday, Obama paid an unusual half-hour visit to the floor of the House of Representatives, where lawmakers greeted him enthusiastically. He denied that he was campaigning, saying he was just saying hello.

There are some undecideds in the House, Obama said as he was leaving. If they have questions for me, then I’m certainly happy to respond to them.

There are more than 70 undeclared Democrats in the House.

Obama made clear he is willing to campaign through the remaining contests if Clinton does not drop out before the last one June 3.

Sen. Clinton is a formidable candidate. She is very likely to win West Virginia and Kentucky. Those are two states where she has insurmountable leads, he said. We’re going to have spend some time there. But we’re also going to Oregon, Montana, South Dakota and Puerto Rico.

found here.

U.N. ‘furious’ as Myanmar aid ’seized’

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — Aid agencies are furious over the Myanmar’s government’s refusal to allow them to distribute food and supplies flown in for cyclone disaster victims.

The ruling military junta has been allowing planes to land, but is not letting the cargo be distributed by most foreign aid workers, especially those from Western nations.

The Asia head of the United Nations’ World Food Program said Friday that the government had seized the contents of two flights that arrived in the morning at Yangon which carried enough food for 95,000 people. They contained 38 tons of high-energy biscuits, medical kits and other items.

We off-loaded the food, and then the authorities refused us permission to take that food away, WFP director Tony Banbury said.

We were told we needed a special letter from the Minister of Social Welfare. We hand-delivered a request to him. The answer back was ‘No, you can’t have the food.’

That food is now sitting on the tarmac doing no good. I’m furious. This is unacceptable.

In response, the U.N. temporarily suspended its emergency airlifts.

However, the WFP — which under U.N. rules must control and distribute its aid supplies — said later that it would try to send more aid on Saturday.

The World Food Program has decided to send in two relief flights as planned tomorrow, while discussions continue with the government of Myanmar, spokeswoman Nancy Roman said.

Despite earlier reservations, Myanmar has now agreed to allow one American cargo aircraft to land with relief supplies on Monday, White House Deputy Press secretary Gordon Johndroe said Friday. Watch how some aid is getting through

The United States had earlier proposed an aid plan that would minimize the presence of American troops on the ground, with the planes to drop supplies off and then turn around and leave.

The U.S. is also proposing that its Navy helicopters already in Thailand and onboard Navy ships in the region fly supplies to remote areas. The helicopters would conduct low-level flights and air-drop the supplies but not touch the ground.

Four U.S. Navy ships are now moving to a region offshore Myanmar.

The Danish Red Cross said only one out of 10 people have received some kind of aid in the six days since the cyclone hit, The Associated Press reported.

There are problems to get the aid inside (Myanmar) and there are problems to get the aid out to the delta area, director Anders Ladekarl told AP.

We are simply lacking transportation. There are almost no boats and no helicopters. This is really a nightmare to make this operation run.

Agencies such as the Red Cross, World Vision and Doctors Without Borders already had staff inside Myanmar before the cyclone hit, but have been struggling to get permission to bring in more, AP said.

As many as 6 million people lived in the Irrawaddy Delta, the low-lying region that bore the brunt of the storm. More than 2,000 square miles of land are under water. Look at satellite pictures of the damage by the flooding

The Myanmar government says last week’s cyclone killed 22,000 people, but the top U.S. envoy in the country says the death toll may exceed 100,000. Thousands are without food, shelter and clean water, and aid workers say boats and helicopters are needed to reach remote areas.

As the delivery of aid supplies lags, the possibility of diseases such as malaria rises, medical authorities say.

Friday’s move by the Myanmar military government to stop aid workers distributing supplies came one day before a national constitutional referendum that would strengthen the power of the military junta.

The government delayed voting in areas most ravaged by last Saturday’s cyclone, but, despite urging by U.N. General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon, refused to cancel the balloting countrywide. Ban told authorities it may be prudent to focus their resources on emergency response efforts.

Political observers note that Myanmar has been isolated from outside influences since the military began ruling the country in 1962.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the military junta in Myanmar has behaved appallingly by declining to grant more visas to relief workers.

found here.

What to do after a car accident

(AOL Autos) — It came out of nowhere.

This is frequently heard from people involved in car accidents. Although it’s not true in terms of where a driver came from, car accidents can seemingly come from nowhere and occur when you least expect them.

Car accidents can leave the most level-headed motorists shocked, stunned and more than a little shaken.

The first few calls that you should make after you’ve been involved in a car accident should be to the police, your insurance agent or a personal-injury lawyer. Amid the conflicting advice online, we’ll take a look at what you should do in the event you’re involved in a scrape, smash or other unfortunate car accident.

In General

After car accidents, check that everyone involved is OK. Call 911 immediately if anyone needs assistance. You will probably also have to call the police; it helps to have a police report filed in any accident.

Most insurance policies state that the police must be contacted in a given time frame if a hit-and-run occurs. Try to find a safe place away from traffic to wait for emergency services to arrive.

Most people will have their adrenaline pumping after car accidents and it may be difficult to keep a level head. Simply trying to stay calm can be difficult, particularly if others around you are excitable, too.

No matter how emotional you are, try to avoid admitting guilt even if you feel the accident is your fault. That can make things a lot less complicated further along the line.

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found here.

Fighting the agents of organized cybercrime

HONG KONG, China (CNN) — Back in the good old days of the Internet, the hacker was a teen delinquent geek motivated by high-tech pranks and bragging rights. Today, the online thief could be anyone with ‘Net access after a quick buck.

Hacking has escalated from a destructive nature to financial gain through phishing, targeting people for bank account details, and siphoning accounts from there, says Derek Manky, security researcher at Fortinet.

It’s a very sophisticated ecosystem, with organizations and services for hire, he continues.

There’s a lot of money floating around, a lot of people involved. Once the infrastructure and networks are in place, you start building that foundation, which can be further leveraged and taken to next level: denial of services, cyber warfare, espionage.

In the Web 2.0 world of ubiquitous, seamless, horizontal communication, information wants to be free. But just as easily as it can be uploaded, downloaded and shared, it can be accessed and exploited by individuals with a different agenda.

While online communities in particular continue to grow through friendly social networking sites, underground cybercrime syndicates continue to thrive on these on-screen relationships based on sharing and trust.

And with social engineering the hottest commodity on the phishing market, it’s a question of knowing what literally what makes people click.

Most-wanted list

Topping the most-wanted list, an organization dubbed Rock Phish is reputedly responsible for more than half of all phishing sites worldwide. In addition to its proven technical prowess, part of its success can be attributed to baited hooks written in perfect English — as well as French, German and Dutch — with always impeccable counterfeit design of brand logos and styles.

After yesteryear’s scams for Nigerian bank transfers, today’s spam 2.0 and its associated army of malware (malicious software such as viruses, worms, Trojans and keystroke loggers) are much less obvious.

On the dark side of the Internet, white-collar cybercrime lords operate specialized Internet Relay Chats and Web forums, laundering the money through mules in front companies.

found here.