Updated throughout the day, it's the Torch News Ticker with all the news and info that's not fit for print. Bookmark it every Monday! Sunday, January 27, 2008 4:00 p.m. - Royal Rumble notes: Former ECW champion C.M. Punk qualified for the Rumble match with a non-title victory over Chavo Guerrero at last night's super show in Providence. Punk brings the total announced wrestlers to 25. ... WWE made additional tickets available for sale at Madison Square Garden after they set up production and the set. - Check back tonight for our live coverage of the Royal Rumble PPV beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 CST. - PWG notes: PWG's third show of the year is tonight in La Habra, Calif., with new PWG champion Low-Ki defending against El Generico. Also booked is PWG tag champs Davey Richards & Super Dragon vs.

When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps to Revolution

In the face of this reversal, Davies tells us, it's not at all surprising that the national mood is turning ominous, from one end of the political spectrum to the other. However, he warns us: this may not be just a passing political storm. In other times and places, this kind of quick decline in a prosperous nation has been a reliable sign of a full-on revolution brewing just ahead.

2. They Call It A Class War Marx called this one true, says Davies. Progressive modern democracies run on mutual trust between classes and a shared vision of the common good that binds widely disparate groups together. Now, we're also about to re-learn the historical lesson that liberals like flat hierarchies, racial and religious tolerance, and easy class mobility not because we're soft-headed and soft-hearted - but because, unlike short-sighted conservatives, we understand that tight social cohesion is our most reliable and powerful bulwark against the kinds of revolutions that bring down great economies, nations and cultures.

Smartphones Patented... Just About Everyone Sued 1 Minute After Patent ...

I would just like to forewarn everyone that I am going to be filing a new patent that will boldly drive innovation and make me stinking rich while simultaneously crushing the patent industry. I will be patenting 'patents'. Prepare to have your a$$es sued! I will also be filing a patent on the question mark so I can sue anyone that questions me. PS And maybe that inflection at the end of your voice when you ask questions so I have text and speech covered.

"a mobile entertainment and communication device...with removable storage, an internet connection, a camera and the ability to download audio or video files." I'd submit my Samsung a920 cell phone as prior art but that might get Samsung added to the list of targets.

It would be a match made in QB heaven

Certain writers who shall go unnamed, such as me, could spin the game as Good vs. Evil: The Sequel, with Favre bringing his honest down-home-boy image against Shady Brady's suspicious Hollywood slickness. (Of course, Favre is a skilled media manipulator who cultivates the aw-shucks aura, and Brady does charity work for African development -- please don't spoil my narrative with these annoying qualifiers.) Merely the privilege of seeing two of the best-ever quarterbacks face off when both are playing at peak form would be worth the price of admission. Or, of the many multiples of the price of admission such a game would command on StubHub.

TMQ Cheat Sheet .

New iTunes movie rental, AppleTV, Netflix, MacBook Air, Eye-Fi…

At Macworld, Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed new iTunes movie rental service with 1,000 movies from all major studios. After download, user can watch it for 30 days. Pricing is $2.99 for older movies, $3.99 for new releases and $4.99 for new HD movies. The movies began playing 30 seconds after the download is initiated. The service will go live by the end of February. (One day before this announcement, Netflix revealed that all of their subscriber would be able to stream as many movies and TV shows as they want from a library containing more than 6,000 titles.) At the same Macworld event, Steve Jobs announced a cheaper version of AppleTV ($229) that will allow to downloading movies to the TV set, and the amazing ultralight laptop MacBook Air, which measures .76 inch think with the standard 80-gig hard drive, and only .16 inch thick with an optional flash memory drive.

Nokia Shows Off New Line of Pricey Handsets

Nokia has followed up its N95 smartphone with the N96, which offers a bigger screen and more features. At about $800, though, it may have a hard time gaining traction without significant subsidies provied by carriers. In addition to the N96, the company unveiled the N78, 6220 Classic and 6210 Navigator, as well as a new version of its Nokia Maps application.