Thursday, October 31, 2013

Google and Samsung sued for patent infringement by major tech consortium

Google and Samsung sued for patent infringement by major tech consortium

A new front opened today in the patent wars between large technology companies, as a consortium that owns thousands of patents from the Nortel bankruptcy auction filed suit against Google and other manufacturers alleging infringement. Rockstar, which is owned jointly by Apple, Blackberry, Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony, filed suit in US District Court in Texas. In addition to Google, the consortium has alleged infringement by Asus, HTC, Huawei, LG, Pantech, Samsung, and ZTE.
The suits open up two lines of attack on hardware manufacturers. Rockstar is suing Google over patents that lie at the heart of its search advertising business, and it's suing Google's hardware manufacturing partners over the devices that run Android. Suing Asus, for example, amounts to an attack on the Nexus 7, which Asus manufactures for Google. "While we haven't yet been served with this complaint, we continue to advocate for patent reform that would address the current flood of patent litigation," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
The move comes almost two years  after the US Department of Justice approved the sale of the patents to Rockstar. The consortium spent $4.5 billion to buy more than 6,000 patents from Nortel in an auction in which Google was also a bidder. At the time, the Department of Justice said that members of the consortium committed to licensing so-called standard essential patents, which undergird many basic technologies in cell phones and other devices, on fair terms.

Nigerian shoppers warm to online retailers

Nigerian shoppers warm to online retailers

Abuse video shocks Saudi Arabia

Abuse video shocks Saudi Arabia

Look At All Of The Illegal Stuff That Happens On Instagram

Look At All Of The Illegal Stuff That Happens On Instagram

You Don't Have to Shut Off Your Electronics On Flights Anymore

You Don't Have to Shut Off Your Electronics On Flights Anymore

After years of will they or won't they, the US Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finally given permission for airlines to allow passenger to use personal electronics for the entirety of their flights. Translation: You don't have to shut down your phone anymore. Finally.

A pilot's perspective of Queenstown, New Zealand

A pilot's perspective of Queenstown, New Zealand

Chinese spies use conferences to constantly gain access

Chinese spies use conferences to constantly gain access

Aliko Dangote – Africa’s richest man

Aliko Dangote – Africa’s richest man

Hired technology

Hired technology

Now Amazon Is Just Giving Money Away

Now Amazon Is Just Giving Money Away

Amazon is really rubbing it in. Notorious for its willingness to lose money to drive ever-increasing sales, the company said Wednesday that it is now giving customers the option to donate 0.5 percent of the price of many purchases to charity through a new project called Amazon Smile.
The process is pretty easy: Customers go to smile.amazon.com and choose a charity.Amazon (AMZN) suggests a few, such as the American Red Cross and the Nature Conservancy. From that point on, the donations are sent automatically. There isn’t a cap on how much money Amazon will send to charities, but the program does exclude digital items such as Kindle books and recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases or subscription renewals. “Nearly all physical products are eligible,” says a company spokesperson via e-mail.
This cuts into Amazon’s profit margins, of course, or it would if it had them.

Chinese Gutter Oil


U.S. Losing ‘Cyberwar,’ Ex-Intel Chief Tells BGov Conference

U.S. Losing ‘Cyberwar,’ Ex-Intel Chief Tells BGov Conference

The former U.S. director of intelligence says the country is fighting a cyber-war and losing, and wonders if it will take a “cyber Pearl Harbor” to take the steps needed to protect crucial computer systems.
Mike McConnell, now vice chairman of contractor Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp., told a Bloomberg Government cybersecurity conference today that he has been giving the same speech for 20 years and still not enough has been done.
“We’ll get it right, but it will be messy,” McConnell said. “We have the capability. We do not have the legal framework and we do not have the will.”
Efforts to get businesses to agree to voluntary steps have failed because companies are concerned they could be subject to lawsuits demanding that those rules become permanent, McConnell said.
In addition, privacy advocates want to limit the amount of information the government can collect, he said.
“We can do amazing things,” McConnell said, “The problem is we have to solve the privacy issue. The debate will be privacy versus security.”
Booz Allen employed Edward Snowden as a contractor to the National Security Agency. Snowden leaked top-secret NSA documents about electronic surveillance. Snowden was fired after reports based on the documents appeared in newspapers, and he has been indicted on federal charges of espionage and theft.

work for a cause, not applause


Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years'

Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years'

USA map drawn by Aussie whom has not visited America


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Heidi Nelson Cruz says husband Ted is the ‘visionary’ in the family: he gets coverage from Goldman Sachs

Heidi Nelson Cruz says husband Ted is the ‘visionary’ in the family: he gets coverage from Goldman Sachs while trying to shut down government

Will Success Ruin Silicon Valley?

Will Success Ruin Silicon Valley?

The mind is like a fertile garden in which anything that is planted, flowers or weeds, will grow. -Bruce Lee

The mind is like a fertile garden in which anything that is planted, flowers or weeds, will grow. -Bruce Lee

Talented little girl leaves the judges speechless.

Talented little girl leaves the judges speechless.

Africa is not poor 'just poorly managed'

Africa is not poor 'just poorly managed'

Ahead of the Bell: Amarin Sinks On Disappointing News

Ahead of the Bell: Amarin Sinks On Disappointing News

Anglo Saxons

Anglo Saxons

Wall Street Journal Enlists Suzanne Somers To Critique Obamacare, And Of Course It's A Disaster

Wall Street Journal Enlists Suzanne Somers To Critique Obamacare, And Of Course It's A Disaster 

Spain emerges from 2-year recession

Spain emerges from 2-year recession

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

A boat in harbor is safe, but in time its bottom will rot out. Spend less time worrying who’s right, more time deciding what’s right. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life. Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get. The importance of winning is not what we get from it, but what we become because of it. When facing a difficult task, act as though it’s impossible to fail.” — Jackson Brown Jr.

“Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for your convenience, not the callers. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river. Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated. Don’t major in minor things. Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Learn to say no politely and quickly. Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Don’t waste time grieving over past mistakes Learn from them and move on. Every person needs to have their moment in the sun, when they raise their arms in victory, knowing that on this day, at his hour, they were at their very best. Get your priorities straight. No one ever said on his death bed, ‘Gee, if I’d only spent more time at the office’. Give people a second chance, but not a third. Judge your success by the degree that you’re enjoying peace, health and love. Learn to listen. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly. Leave everything a little better than you found it. Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life and death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems. Never cut what can be untied. Never overestimate your power to change others. Never underestimate your power to change yourself. Remember that overnight success usually takes about fifteen years. Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do. Seek opportunity, not security. A boat in harbor is safe, but in time its bottom will rot out. Spend less time worrying who’s right, more time deciding what’s right. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life. Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get. The importance of winning is not what we get from it, but what we become because of it. When facing a difficult task, act as though it’s impossible to fail.”

— Jackson Brown Jr.

“Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for your convenience, not the callers. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river. Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated. Don’t major in minor things. Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Learn to say no politely and quickly. Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Don’t waste time grieving over past mistakes Learn from them and move on. Every person needs to have their moment in the sun, when they raise their arms in victory, knowing that on this day, at his hour, they were at their very best. Get your priorities straight. No one ever said on his death bed, ‘Gee, if I’d only spent more time at the office’. Give people a second chance, but not a third. Judge your success by the degree that you’re enjoying peace, health and love. Learn to listen. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly. Leave everything a little better than you found it. Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life and death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems. Never cut what can be untied. Never overestimate your power to change others. Never underestimate your power to change yourself. Remember that overnight success usually takes about fifteen years. Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do. Seek opportunity, not security. A boat in harbor is safe, but in time its bottom will rot out. Spend less time worrying who’s right, more time deciding what’s right. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life. Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get. The importance of winning is not what we get from it, but what we become because of it. When facing a difficult task, act as though it’s impossible to fail.”

— Jackson Brown Jr.

We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. — Swami Vivekananda

We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. 

— Swami Vivekananda

Football App, a German Start-Up, Gets U.S. Investment

Football App, a German Start-Up, Gets U.S. Investment

Silicon Valley serves host to Nigerian communications technology minister

Silicon Valley serves host to Nigerian communications technology minister

Facebook marketing? Don't bother, says new report

Facebook marketing? Don't bother, says new report

Fink (CEO of Firm Managing Over $4 TRILLION) Warns of Market Bubble

Fink (CEO of Firm Managing Over $4 TRILLION) Warns of Market Bubble

Flowchart: Is Your Halloween Costume Racist?

Flowchart: Is Your Halloween Costume Racist?

LinkedIn Sales Forecast Trails Estimates as Growth Slows

LinkedIn Sales Forecast Trails Estimates as Growth Slows

Toyota settles acceleration lawsuit after $3-million verdict

Toyota settles acceleration lawsuit after $3-million verdict

How Texas Lost the World's Largest Super Collider

How Texas Lost the World's Largest Super Collider

The international operation of CERN marked a monumental success in this respect. To prove the existence of the Higgs boson, which has been contentiously described as the “God particle,” required $9 billion, ten years of study, thousands of careers, and a seventeen-mile collider ring which bores out of the earth on the Franco-Swiss border. At fourteen Terraelectron volts (TeV), it is the most energetic super collider ever built, and also one of the largest, most complex scientific experiments in history. Many have called it a modern-day cathedral.
And it should have been built in Texas.
Five-thousand miles southwest of Geneva, just outside Waxahachie, Texas, are the remnants of a super collider whose energy and circumference—true to American sensibility—would have dwarfed those of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. Nobody doubts that the 40 TeV Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) in Texas would have discovered the Higgs boson a decade before CERN. The collider’s tunnel would have entrenched Waxahachie in a topographical oval that curved east before the southern Dallas County line, then running southwest under Bardwell Lake and curving north at Onion Creek. Since Congress canceled the project twenty years ago, on October 21, 1993, Waxahachie has witnessed the bizarre and disquieting history of its failure.

Why the Tiananmen Square Crash Is So Unnerving

Why the Tiananmen Square Crash Is So Unnerving

Uncle Drew recruits a few more "old" people to school everyone in basketball. (don't forget your pepsi to make you strong!)

Uncle Drew recruits a few more "old" people to school everyone in basketball. (don't forget your pepsi to make you strong!)

Are Secondary Markets Really That Important to Apple?

Are Secondary Markets Really That Important to Apple?

An open letter to Mr Alexandre De Juniac, CEO of Air France-KLM

An open letter to Mr Alexandre De Juniac, CEO of Air France-KLM

More tesla uintended acceleration?#crash #tesla #mexico

More tesla uintended acceleration?#crash #tesla #mexico

Goldman Sachs warns on 'large correction' in Canada housing

Goldman Sachs warns on 'large correction' in Canada housing

Together we can fight the scourge of texting while walking

Together we can fight the scourge of texting while walking

"Not that it really matters, but on Friday I missed a subway train because the woman in front of me drifted placidly to a standstill on the stairs, distracted by something on her smartphone. In hindsight I realise that this was probably a subway-specific thing: it was her determination to retain network coverage, I'm guessing, that rendered her oblivious to the people behind her. But as I stalked along the platform, cursing under my breath, I mentally filed the incident alongside a number of recent above-ground encounters. These days, it seems, I'm forever navigating around people utterly absorbed in their phones.
In fact, I'll go further, though I admit I have zero scientific evidence for the following observation: here in New York, in the last few months, it feels as though we've crossed a threshold. Smartphones have been ubiquitous for years, of course – but much more recently, there seems to have been a shift in social norms. For many people, the unwritten rules of sidewalk choreography now include this: if what I'm reading or watching on my phone is sufficiently interesting to me, it's entirely up to you to get out ofmy way, just as if I were very frail, or three years old, or blind. Or a lamppost.
I know, I know: I sound like a curmudgeon. (This is because I am a curmudgeon.) But the consequences of "distracted walking" are graver than simply causing me annoyance, grave as that may be. According toresearch published earlier this year, injuries caused by cellphone distraction and requiring emergency room treatment shot up, in the US, from 559 in 2004 to 1,500 in 2010. Some victims walked off bridges, or into moving traffic; around two-thirds of the victims were under 25. Last year, a Los Angeles man was so busy texting he almost walked into a bear, while in Indiana a woman strolled straight into an icy river. The year before, a woman in Pennsylvania fell into a shopping mall fountain for related reasons – then threatened to sue the mall. You can watch video of her blunder here, but please don't do so on your iPhone while approaching me in the street."

Chicago Jimmy Kimmel


Monday, October 28, 2013

Challenge hackers to hack you - good idea or bad?

Challenge hackers to hack you - good idea or bad?

20th Century Headlines Written to Attract Clickbait #buzzfeed


Apple forecasts lighter rise in sales due to margin decrease

Apple forecasts lighter rise in sales due to margin decrease

"I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health." - Voltaire

 "I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health." - Voltaire

NQ Mobile’s 54% Plunge Rebuilds Muddy Waters Influence

NQ Mobile’s 54% Plunge Rebuilds Muddy Waters Influence

“If better were within, better would come out." - Simon Patrick

 “If better were within, better would come out."
- Simon Patrick

Tiananmen Square in China Evacuated After Fire; Possible Self Immolation, At Least 5 Dead

Tiananmen Square in China Evacuated After Fire; Possible Self Immolation, At Least 5 Dead

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Big data busts out: Geek-built bra hits the market

Big data busts out: Geek-built bra hits the market

True&Co.'s algorithm-built bra has hit the market. Its She Walks in Beauty (Light)collection is based on information collected from more than 200,000 women who have taken a "fit quiz" and on their personal responses after the at-home try-on and purchasing process.
True&Co.co-founder Michelle Lam provided ample commentary to Fast Companythis past week as part of the marketing blitz for the sexiest big data product ever. The company has identified 6,000 distinct body types (not good news for high school boys trying to work with their hands behind someone else's back).
"Big data is not the answer to everything. But the design process is not just a machine spitting out a spec," Lam told Fast Company. Ladies and gentleman (but mostly ladies), welcome to the world of the "perfect" 34C.

Apple Preparing 65-Inch TV for Release in 2014, Analyst Says

Apple Preparing 65-Inch TV for Release in 2014, Analyst Says

Man returns to burning house to save his beer

Man returns to burning house to save his beer

Federal Prosecutors, in a Policy Shift, Cite Warrantless Wiretaps as Evidence

Federal Prosecutors, in a Policy Shift, Cite Warrantless Wiretaps as Evidence

 The Justice Department for the first time has notified a criminal defendant that evidence being used against him came from a warrantless wiretap, a move that is expected to set up a Supreme Court test of whether such eavesdropping is constitutional.
Prosecutors filed such a notice late Friday in the case of Jamshid Muhtorov, who was charged in Colorado in January 2012 with providing material support to the Islamic Jihad Union, a designated terrorist organization based in Uzbekistan.
Mr. Muhtorov is accused of planning to travel abroad to join the militants and has pleaded not guilty. A criminal complaint against him showed that much of the government’s case was based on e-mails and phone calls intercepted under a 2008 surveillance law.
The government’s notice allows Mr. Muhtorov’s lawyer to ask a court to suppress the evidence by arguing that it derived from unconstitutional surveillance, setting in motion judicial review of the eavesdropping.
The New York Times reported on Oct. 17 that the decision by prosecutors to notify a defendant about the wiretapping followed a legal policy debate inside the Justice Department.
The debate began in June when Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. discovered that the department’s National Security Division did not notify criminal defendants when eavesdropping without a warrant was an early link in an investigative chain that led to evidence used in court. As a result, none of the defendants knew that they had the right to challenge the warrantless wiretapping law.
The practice contradicted what Mr. Verrilli had told the Supreme Court last year in a case challenging the law, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Legalizing a form of the Bush administration’s program of warrantless surveillance, the law authorized the government to wiretap Americans’ e-mails and phone calls without an individual court order and on domestic soil so long as the surveillance is “targeted” at a foreigner abroad.
A group of plaintiffs led by Amnesty International had challenged the law as unconstitutional. But Mr. Verrilli last year urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the case because those plaintiffs could not prove that they had been wiretapped. In making that argument, he said a defendant who faced evidence derived from the law would have proper legal standing and would be notified, so dismissing the lawsuit by Amnesty International would not close the door to judicial review of the 2008 law. The court accepted that logic, voting 5-to-4 to dismiss the case.

Tibet


Drug lord = Linkedin?

Drug lord = Linkedin?

Armed agents seize reporter records related to whistleblowers and homeland security, Washington Times files case

Armed agents seize reporter records related to whistleblowers and homeland security, Washington Times files case

Guy must speak foreign Asian English accent in foreign game.

Guy speaks foreign accent in foreign game.

Zombocom

Zombocom

Friday, October 25, 2013

Is this the world's fittest CEO? (Does Ironmans while CEO of Starwood)

Is this the world's fittest CEO? (Does Ironmans while CEO of Starwood)

Perth $7m Canada Vacation Win

Perth $7m Canada Vacation Win

[Serious] Ex- Neo-Nazi's and racist skin heads of Reddit what changed your mind? When and why did you leave?

[Serious] Ex- Neo-Nazi's and racist skin heads of Reddit what changed your mind? When and why did you leave?

“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.” ― Rumi

“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.” 
― Rumi

“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” ― Rumi, Essential Rumi

“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” 
― RumiEssential Rumi

You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” ― Rumi

You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” 
― Rumi

Norway’s Giant Sovereign Wealth Fund (Managing about $800 Billion) Warns of Stock Market Correction

Norway’s Giant Sovereign Wealth Fund (Managing about $800 Billion) Warns of Stock Market Correction

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggle develop your strengths When we go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Strength  does not come from winning. Your struggle develop your strengths
When we go through hardships and decide not to
surrender, that is strength. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger

5th grader spelling test


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Iran gives Christians 80 lashes for communion wine as UN blasts human rights record: 'reformist government' yeah right!

Iran gives Christians 80 lashes for communion wine as UN blasts human rights record: 'reformist government' yeah right!

Former spy chief overheard giving off-the-record interview from Acela train

Former spy chief overheard giving off-the-record interview from Acela train

NBC publishes wacky fire map, then Time magazine thinks Sydney is right near Perth

NBC publishes wacky fire map, then Time magazine thinks Sydney is right near Perth

Five warnings signs that stocks could be getting too bubbly $tsla $amzn $goog $vxx $uvxy $gld

Five warnings signs that stocks could be getting too bubbly $tsla $amzn $goog $vxx $uvxy $gld

School attacks in China

School attacks in China

“Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process. It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be shortsighted as to not able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never runs out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the crescent moon to become full.” Rumi

“Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process. It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be shortsighted as to not able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never runs out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the crescent moon to become full.”
Rumi

Tesla Shares Retreat on Model S Fire Inquiry by NHTSA

Tesla Shares Retreat on Model S Fire Inquiry by NHTSA

A New Electric Competitor to Tesla, Porsche, Toyota

A New Electric Competitor to Tesla, Porsche, Toyota

Apple Exec, Jcpenney. Apple Exec, Tesla? #fail

Apple Exec, Jcpenney. Apple Exec, Tesla? #fail

Hop aboard: Kangaroo shuts Australian airport

Hop aboard: Kangaroo shuts Australian airport

Syrian man in Tom Hanks-like limbo at Dubai airport

Syrian man in Tom Hanks-like limbo at Dubai airport

#fail


Sin B


Australians play with taser while drunk #video $tasr

Australians play with taser while drunk #video $tasr

Kidney Love Story

This story is probably best suited to be in the annals of the stupid, yet true, romance stories.

Ten years ago, I was just out of the university when I met this girl. She was young, beautiful and her smile just lit up the room. I was a nerd, physically unattractive and never been in a relationship. I was also very naive as events turned out. It was my first relationship. I had never had success with girls. I came from a 'psychologically inadequate' family background and had serious self esteem issues.

Four months into the relationship (I will not bother to waste the reader's time  narrating how we happened to be dating), she came crying to me one day. Her brother was ill, had been ill for a week (I eventually found out he had been in the hospital for six months at the time), and needed a kidney. Their only surviving relative was unwilling to donate hers and she was worried that her brother would just die. 

(An aside, I live in a third world country and there is nothing like waiting for an organ donor. If you needed one, you would have to hope for someone you know to donate it or die a long and painful death.)

Then came the torrent of tears from her pretty face and I knew that I was going to do something really crazy. I volunteered to donate a kidney. She looked at me in disbelief. You can't be serious, she sniffed. But I was. I assured her that if I was a good match, I would donate one and her brother would not have to suffer much longer. I was young and very healthy. I figured that there was nothing to lose and a lot to gain by being the hero in her eyes.

Knowing that my family would never agree to such an action on my part, I didn't tell them anything until a day to the surgery. The hell they raised is better imagined.

Fast forward to one week post operation. She came to see me since I was leaving the hospital that day. She was full of gratitude. She was full of life. Her brother's surgery was successful. She would be eternally grateful to me. She would be happy to spend the rest of her life with me. And so on. I felt like the king of the world. That such a stunningly beautiful girl would feel indebted to me gave me the best feeling in the world. 

But things didn't remain so pretty for long afterwards. She began to give excuses for not coming to see me. If I called to ask if I could come over, she would make up funny reasons why not. She was busy. She was out of town. She was tired. She was having a mood swing and didn't want to see anybody. Eventually, two months after my good, eh, stupid deed, she broke up with me. Her reason? She didn't want to waste her time with a sentimental fool. Her exact words.

(I found out later that the 'brother' in the hospital was in fact her long time fiancé whom she loved very much. )

Since then, my already low esteem is yet to fully recover from the blow that being in that relationship dealt me. That was my first and possibly the last relationship I will ever be in. I was a fool indeed.

Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD - French children don't need medications to control their behavior.

Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD - French children don't need medications to control their behavior.

Dentist


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

A former UC Davis police officer whose pepper-spraying of protesters gained worldwide notice thanks to a viral video has been awarded more than $38,000 in workers' compensation from the university for suffering he experienced after the incident

A former UC Davis police officer whose pepper-spraying of protesters gained worldwide notice thanks to a viral video has been awarded more than $38,000 in workers' compensation from the university for suffering he experienced after the incident

Wednesday #Coffee #Wine #humor


“Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream.” – Malcolm Muggeridge

“Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream.” – Malcolm Muggeridge

"The Obstacles In Our Path"

"The Obstacles In Our Path"

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand - "Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition."

British links to al-Shabab revealed

British links to al-Shabab revealed

Argentine scientists tap cow burps for natural gas

Argentine scientists tap cow burps for natural gas

Argentine scientists have found a way to transform the gas created by the bovine digestive system into fuel, an innovation that could curb greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
Using a system of valves and pumps, the experimental technique developed by Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) channels the digestive gases from bovine stomach cavities through a tube and into a tank.
The gases - which otherwise are commonly known as burps, or "eruptos" in Spanish - are then processed to separate methane from other gases such as carbon dioxide.
Methane is the main component of natural gas, used to fuel everything from cars to power plants.
"Once you get it compressed, it's the same as having natural gas," said Guillermo Berra, head of INTA's animal physiology group.
"As an energy source it is not very practical at the moment, but if you look ahead to 2050, when fossil fuel reserves are going to be in trouble, it is an alternative," he told Reuters.
Each head of cattle emits between 250 and 300 liters of pure methane a day, enough energy to keep a refrigerator running for 24 hours.

Argentina is one of the world's top beef exporters, with around 51 million heads of cattle. Gases emitted from those animals account for 30 percent of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions, according to INTA, with methane having 23 times the global warming effect as carbon dioxide.

China Baggage Handler


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Canadian Border Patrol Horror Stories

Canadian Border Patrol Horror Stories

For the past two summers I have driven my car up to Vancouver to leave at my aunts (a Canadian citizen) house for the summer as I fly back home. I got stopped by the first guy who questioned my boxes of bedding and school supplies in the back. Got sent to secondary when an even more mean and rude guy questioned me, searched my car, and made me sit in a freezing cold room. I had my phone so I was texting and calling parents for help and advice. When the CBSA came back in he asked for my phone and then proceeded to read through my texts without my consent. He told me if I wanted to leave my car I would have to import it, which I had no way of doing. So he sent me back to the US (I was bawling at this point). I had no idea what to do and was basically stranded. He showed not an ounce of care and didn't even let me call my parents again to explain what was happening. I tried my best to cooperate but still feel I was treated unfair.
—Guest CollegeGirl

Returning to Canada

As a Canadian citizen I must say my experience with border employees has been fairly decent, up until today that is. My family and I were simply returning home from Taylor, Michigan where we bought some groceries and a bracelet for my sister. Upon our return, we went through the Nexus lane because we are trusted travelers. Once we approached the window, the woman in the booth greeted us with a scowl. She was exceptionally impolite to begin with, and when she asked my father what we had bought, she snatched the receipts from his hand and slammed the window shut before he could finish. Eventually, she reopened the window and lectured him like he was beneath her. She claimed he should have said he had purchased alcohol, yet she gave him no opening to do so. Moreover, I felt she was a bully and belittled us. Furthermore, she forced us to pay the duty on the beer my father had purchased. All in all, this experience at the border was an awful one, and I expected more out of the border employ
—Guest Bullied Beaver

Denied on the 26th trip?

My son, and i I were crossing the border into Canada for a sports tournament. My son plays in a Canadian league and practices and playsevery other weekend he crosses to practice. We live 15miles from the border. I have a passport and my son has wash enhanced drivers licenses. Never a problem other than where are you going and why? We arrived late at night , I noticed that they were pulling every car into the lot where your car is searched and you are questioned because my son had a car accident over 5 years ago and was under 21 and not cited for any alcohol offense. No probation nothing but a single car accident. Border patrol person decided that we were not entering into Canada, because SHE I interpeted the law differently from the other 26 times in one year and. was being refused! And she was thrilled to add that he would be detained and charged if he ever tried to cross again.he had all paperwork to prove it in case there were any questions. Do we have any recourse?
—Guest Mom55

You Don't Even Know-Toronto Story

CBSA has no oversight agency to monitor the conduct of the main source of the problem, it's management. Officers are bullied, harassed, threatened and more often than not, its swept away under the rug. Did you know a Superintendent commited suicide in Ontario with his CBSA issued firearm? CBSA is one of the worst to comply with info requests. It is one of the worst agencies to work for in Canada. Ask yourselves...why is CBSA never in any "scandals", and when they are, they are minor, or disappear quickly? How dilligent do you really think officers are when they are pissed off, and frustrated and afraid of managers? How protected do you really believe you are? Its worse than you think. Be glad you only have to deal with them for 90 seconds at a time.
—FJHopeful

Dumb questions

We left Canada at 2:30pm on a Friday (going to the States) and returned around the same time on Sunday. The border agent (Canada) asked if we could prove when we originally crossed into the US. Ummm, no. How are we supposed to prove that? They can easily find out that information, but this moronic agent told us we need to buy something at the duty free before we cross the border so that we can prove when we crossed. Huh? Who is he to tell us when or what we should or should not buy? That is ridiculous. He then asked to see our hotel bill, which we did not get one because we had booked through Expedia. We offered to show him our Expedia invoice but that wasn't good enough. Not even sure what good the hotel bill would have done given that it doesn't show what time you crossed the border! What a jerk. Maybe we should start asking for time-stamped receipts from the US border agency when we cross. Unbelievable.
—Guest Annoyed

Treated like a criminal

I was crossing over from wa to bc and was stopped and asked to pull over, ok fine no biggie. Standard procedure, I can live with this. I got inside while they searched my car and was denied bathroom access . Then learned I was going to be treated like a criminal . I was told up stand up and spread em, was searched and had to empty my pockets in fromt of many pople as they watvhed on ,they started searching my iPhone. The guy yelled out that he was looking for child porn and and drug evidence . I was Belittled , harassed , and stripped of any rights. Treated like an animal. CAnada is not yor leisure travel and should be avoided,it is not a free country. Coming back over the us border I never felt any more at home.
—Guest Todd

moneyyyyy

i can understand the US border giving you the third degree with questions and hard time because of drugs and muslims hell bent in destroying americans but when coming back to canada, most of the questions seem to pertain to what i bought and how much i should pay in taxes.
—Guest hockeyhomo

denied

I went to visit canada with my wife for the weekend for our annivesary had two 500 dollar night hotels booked and got denied and interagated cause I had a dwi 7 years ago. Wasted 3 hours of my day plus 5 hours of driving back to seattle
—Guest B

I pity the CBS agent

Perfect example of humanity at its lowest... Sarcastically quizzed me about my purchases and made a big deal about a pair of shoes in the trunk. Sent me off to have my car searched and laughed at my crying baby as we left.
—Guest Angry

Question what do I have to do to enter u

So this is my question..12 years ago I got into trouble for stealing 300 dollars from a employer and I was issued 6 months house arrest. Being very young and stupid I thought I was bullet proof and decided to cross the border for food. They ended up finding out and I was denied and a paper was sent to my home saying I owed 5000 us!! Do you think I could be allowed in the us? What can they do to me
—Guest Angela

nightmares

I have been traveling a lot in my life. I noticed Canadian customs is really rude to immigrants or non Canadian born people. They try to impose tariffs on anything they can. What a pitiful system...even charged my friend 7 dollars for duty. Seriously, do I have to dress like a bum every time I return to Canada? I can't bring or wear anything with name brands just because they will accuse you of buying the items overseas. I've never seen any country treat it's citizens like this. Funny thing, they treat my bf completely different just because he's Caucasian and I am Asian. I feel like a second rate citizen living in Vancouver. We are not criminals and shouldn't be treated as such.
—Guest Cathy

You have no idea

While most of you whine and complain about the "rudeness" of border guards, I'm sure some of truth of what is REALLY some of the problems you don't see, may shock you but I'm sure you'll pretend it's not true. The problem is the blatant moral corruption by members of management. Blatant racism by managers, sexual misconduct, violations of policy and legislation, perjury, falsifying records and notes, favouritism, bullying, and NO oversight agency like every other law enforcement agency in Canada. So while you're pissed that you have to pay taxes on your 20.00 shoes, and don't get a Walmart greeting because you get bashed by the public and management, then maybe you may get why. Don't believe me? Look up "ATIP" and see how non compliant the agency is, that of 53 government departments serveyed, only corrections officers are more disgruntled. CBSA ranked 52 of 53. Start really asking what your border guards do, and why CBSA operates with no one to answer to. Start asking questions..
—Guest Whinyliberal

border crossing

lately I've been stopped at the border and refused entry for an incident that happened 37 years ago. I really don't understand why minor charge that I don't even remember what it was would cause them to do this. I have been going back and forth for the last 35 years without a problem. In the last 8 years I've crossing the border at least 25 times a year. People say it has to do with Harper and bill 178! Others say it's Obama laying off border crossing guards. I just don't think this is fair especially when we have helped the usa out so many times with their difficulties. Now there is a price to pay instead of it being a priviledge to us canadians and americans and a service to us all. I feel that were being treated like terrorists. This is not right. I don't think that this will help the economy by turning back our neighbors who hae been with us all along. One thing for sure, it will make one hell of a mess for the next president to clean up just like the one they have left for Obama.
—anthonyy2

VERY BAD

the regulations are extremely vague and open for the officers interpretation. Each officer is given the power to use their own discretion and most of them want to keep people with minor convictions to enter Canada. It is the ultimate power trip for them.
—Guest Pj

Business Travel

The last few trips to Canada, the Canadian agent said I needed a letter of introduction and a written invitation from the company I planned to see. Is this true?
—Guest Larry


And Now Carl Icahn Never Has To Tell Us When He's Dumping Netflix Again

And Now Carl Icahn Never Has To Tell Us When He's Dumping Netflix Again

"Life's problems wouldn't be called hurdles if there wasn't a way to get over them. " ~Unknown

"Life's problems wouldn't be called hurdles if there wasn't a way to get over them. " ~Unknown

New Apple Os Mavericks Corrects NSA Address Book Issue

New Apple Os Mavericks Corrects NSA Address Book Issue

Apple's new operating system, OS X Mavericks, doesn't just offer a spiffed up Web browser and extended battery life. It may also help protect you from the National Security Agency.
Hours after Mavericks was released on Tuesday, Stanford University computer science PhD student Jonathan Mayer identified a change in the way the new operating system syncs Apple Contacts with Google accounts. Updates to address books in Mavericks are apparently now sent only in encrypted form, Mayer said, fixing a vulnerability that may have left some users' information exposed to government spying.
"The speculation seems to be that this is one of the ways in which the NSA was able to collect Google address book information," Mayer told HuffPost. "Certainly to the extent the NSA was doing simple keyword searches on the content of unencrypted Web traffic."

Facebook backtracks again on decision to allow controversial beheading video

Facebook backtracks again on decision to allow controversial beheading video

Run Nike


Icahn sells more than half his Netflix stake

Icahn sells more than half his Netflix stake

Really? Soylent?

Really? Soylent?

Monday, October 21, 2013

$tsla Tesla stock sinking due to major challenges in 'holy grail' market Europe

$tsla Tesla stock sinking due to major challenges in 'holy grail' market Europe

What Guillen didn't talk about, though Manager Magazine asked, is what all that building will cost Tesla. He only said that the company would "make sure that the expansion is cost-effective."
Tesla wants to meet its Supercharger charging station target in Germany by the end of 2014. It's trying to build in a few years what traditional car companies have spent decades doing.
This gets to the heart of the short thesis on the automaker's stock. Tesla bears say quarter after quarter that the company is burning through cash too quickly to build the infrastructure it wants, and make the improvements to supply chain that it needs.
Bank of America analyst John Lovallo addressed that directly on the company's Q2 conference call, saying:
"If we think about cash flow for a minute... free cash flow was a use of about $79 million in the quarter, and I think if you make the adjustments you guys were talking about... $11 million for the DOE payment, a $67 million increase in receivables that may not occur. That looks like the use of about a million dollars. Now, you have cap ex ramping up in the back half of the year so how are you thinking about free cash flow generation through the remainder of the year into 2014?"
Tesla CFO Deepak Ahuja could only reply that Tesla "want[s] to be very careful about burning cash...We want to stay as close as we can to a free cash flow position... but that's not something we necessarily want to guide to. We're going to manage it... and spend the cap ex where we need to to ensure we're growing at the right pace."

49 Locals Tell You What You Absolutely Must Not Do In Their Home Countries

49 Locals Tell You What You Absolutely Must Not Do In Their Home Countries

Apple to Refresh IPads Amid Challenges for Tablet Share

Apple to Refresh IPads Amid Challenges for Tablet Share

Controversial cyber threat bill CISPA may return to Congress

Controversial cyber threat bill CISPA may return to Congress

After suffering defeat this spring, the controversial legislation aimed at preventing cyber threats, CISPA, may be returning to the Senate. According to Mother Jones, two senators are now working on a new version of the bill that looks to curb some of the concerns that kept it from initially passing. The goal of the bill will still be to make it easier for private companies to share information with the government regarding cyber threats, however the type of information that can be shared will reportedly be narrower in scope this time around.
As the legislation is still being written, it's not clear exactly how different its updated form will be. Mother Jones reports that Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) are working together to draft the bill. "The goal is to allow and encourage the sharing only of information related to identifying and protecting against cyber threats, and not the communications and commerce of Americans," Feinstein's office tells Mother Jones in a statement. Feinstein in particular has been a major proponent for facilitating this type of sharing, having also been in support of expanding FISA.

Tablets To Grow 53.4% This Year, Says Gartner, As The Traditional PC declines 11.2%

Tablets To Grow 53.4% This Year, Says Gartner, As The Traditional PC declines 11.2%
The tablet category is continuing to eat the PC’s lunch, albeit it’s a large lunch so the feast is taking a while. Analyst Gartner expects worldwide tablet shipments to grow 53.4% [Gartner has issued a correction to its earlier figures] this year, with shipments reaching 184 million units. And while traditional PCs are still shipping a lot more units (303,100 forecast for this year), those shipments are continuing to decline — predicted to be down 11.2% on 2012 shipments.
That’s lower even than Gartner’s prior forecast, back in April, when it said it expected PCs to decline 7.3% this year.
Growth in the so-called ultramobile category — aka lightweight laptops and portables running a full desktop OS such as Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet – is offsetting the traditional PC decline somewhat. But even adding in that category, overall PCs plus ultramobiles are forecast to decline 8.4% this year.  Gartner previously said it expects tablets to be outshipping desktop computers and ultramobiles combined by 2017.