http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=277405
Sent from my iPhone
2012-07-13
2012-07-12
iPad sales, rooftop farms, Mormon money: 10 commute reads
Yelp reviews: Can you trust them? Some firms game the system
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-yelp-reviews-20120704,0,1099294,full.story
IDC and Gartner: PC market flattened out in Q2 while Apple, ASUS and Lenovo remain the stars
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/12/idc-and-gartner-pc-market-flattened-out-in-q2-2012/
Gabriel García Márquez’s writing career ended by dementia
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/07/gabriel-garcia-marquez-career-dementia?newsfeed=true
To Find Fields to Farm in New York City, Just Look Up
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/nyregion/in-rooftop-farming-new-york-city-emerges-as-a-leader.html
Forget Christmastime, iPad Sales This Spring Could Break Record
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/07/forget-christmastime-ipad-sales-this-spring-could-break-record
How the Mormons Make Money
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-10/how-the-mormons-make-money#p1
Obama Sinks to Historic Lows Among Blue-Collar Men
http://decoded.nationaljournal.com/2012/07/from-bad-to-worse-with-bluecol.php
Fwd: Taliban
From: larry.r.trout
'One of the Taliban's most senior commanders has admitted the insurgents cannot win the war in Afghanistan and that capturing Kabul is "a very distant prospect", obliging them to seek a settlement with other political forces in the country.
In a startlingly frank interview in Thursday's New Statesman, the commander – described as a Taliban veteran, a confidant of the leadership, and a former Guantánamo inmate – also uses the strongest language yet from a senior figure to distance the Afghan rebels from al-Qaida.
"At least 70% of the Taliban are angry at al-Qaida. Our people consider al-Qaida to be a plague that was sent down to us by the heavens," the commander says. "To tell the truth, I was relieved at the death of Osama [bin Laden]. Through his policies, he destroyed Afghanistan. If he really believed in jihad he should have gone to Saudi Arabia and done jihad there, rather than wrecking our country…
As a result, he says that the Taliban has had to shelve its dream of re-establishing the Islamic emirate it set up when it was in power from 1996 to 2001. "Any side involved in a conflict like this has decided to fight for power. If they fall short of achieving national power, they have to settle for functioning as an organized party within the country," he admits."'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/11/taliban-commander-interview-afghanistan-al-qaida
'The fugitive leader of the Taliban, who is one of the most wanted men in the world, could hold power if enough people voted for him, the Afghan president said.
His comments were the latest in a series of overtures from Mr Karzai to the insurgent movement which is at war with his government and its Nato backers.
He told a news conference: "I repeat my call on all Afghans, those who aren't the puppets of others and have (only) issues with us at home – they're welcome for any talks," the AFP news agency reported.
"Mullah Mohammad Omar can come inside Afghanistan anywhere he wants to. He can open political office for himself but he should leave the gun.
"He along with his friends can come and create his political party, do politics, become a candidate himself for the elections. If people voted for him, good for him, he can take the leadership in his hand." Mr Karzai routinely refers to the Taliban as his brothers and calls on them to join talks and renounce violence.'
Fwd: Fair Share
From: larry.r.trout
'"You got the top 2 percent paying almost half of all income taxes. Is that fair?" Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz…
IRS figures show the top 1 percent of earners take home 16.9 percent of the nation's total income, but pay 36.7 percent of the nation's income taxes.
The top 5 percent take home a little more than 31 percent of total income but pay almost 59 percent of all income taxes.
And the top 10 percent earn just over 43 percent of the total income but pay more than 70 percent of all income taxes.
"How are you going to make it fairer? If they pay 75 percent?," asks Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute. "If they pay 90 percent? If they pay all of it? Will that finally be fair?"
As it now stands, 90 percent of all Americans pay only 30 percent of all income taxes…
The president does not mention another factor in the fairness equation -- close to half of American workers pay no federal income taxes at all…
And Kyl notes, "people who do not share in the sacrifice of paying taxes have little direct incentive to care whether the government is spending and taxing too much."
The administration often points to the ultra wealthy who sometimes pay lower rates because they have a lot of deductions. But the averages for all groups paint a more accurate picture.
The top 1 percent, for instance, pay an average tax rate of more than 24 percent. The top 5 percent -- a tax rate of a little more than 20 percent. The top 10 percent -- about 18 percent.
For the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers, the average rate is 1.85 percent.'
2012-07-11
Re: God Particle
This should not be called the God particle. It should be called "The mother of all ..."
Maybe the Higgs Boson is dark matter ...
larry.r.trout wrote:
'They found the "God-Particle."
That was the headline in many of America's news media. It turns out that the name actually derives from substituting "God-particle" for "goddamn particle," the original name some scientists had given the elusive particle. But the media adopted the former nomenclature…
So, sincere congratulations to the physicists and other scientists who discovered the Higgs boson. We now think we have uncovered the force or the matter that gives us the four percent of the universe that we can observe (96 percent of the universe consists of "dark matter," about which scientists know almost nothing).'
2012-07-09
2012-07-05
2012-07-04
Wildfire: Guns Blamed for Fires
This year, officials believe target shooting or other firearms use sparked at least 21 wildfires in Utah and nearly a dozen in Idaho. Shooting is also believed to have caused fires in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/07/03/wildfire-guns-blamed-for-fires/
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Utah-set-to-ban-target-shooting-for-fire-season-3675217.php
How to Replace Obamacare > Publications > National Affairs
Of course, government health-care programs and policies are largely responsible for these rising costs in the first place. To begin, the design of Medicare is terribly flawed: Because the program pays providers of care based on the volume of their services, it creates a massive incentive for inefficiency and overuse. And because Medicare is the biggest payer in most health-care markets in America, that incentive badly distorts the economics of the entire sector. Furthermore, the Medicaid program inflates costs by (among other policies) having states control how the program is run while the federal government pays most of the bills. The result is that neither party has both the incentive and ability to keep costs in check.
The third driver is the tax exclusion for employer-provided insurance: The federal government does not count the amount that employers spend on health insurance for their employees toward workers' taxable income. This tax exclusion inflates costs by effectively rewarding higher-premium plans and by encouraging employer-purchased insurance, thereby preventing a real consumer market in coverage. The people who use the insurance (workers) are not the people who buy it (employers); many Americans thus have no idea how much is spent for the health care they receive. As a result, there is no clear relationship between cost and value, without which there can be no real prices, no real incentives for efficiency and quality, and thus no limitations on the growth of costs.
The Higgs boson made simple
What good is it?
Particle physicists try to avoid forecasting the applications of an experimental advance before the actual advance is confirmed, but in the past, advances on a par with the discovery of the Higgs boson have had lots of beneficial applications, and some that are more questionable. The rise of nuclear power and nuclear weaponry is a prime example of that double-edged sword.
The discovery of antimatter is what made medical PET scanning possible, and antimatter propulsion could eventually play a part in interstellar travel, just like on "Star Trek." Particle accelerators have opened the way to medical treatments such as proton eye therapy — as well as advances in materials science, thanks to neutron scattering.
It's conceivable that the discoveries made at the Large Hadron Collider will eventually point to new sources of energy, Michio Kaku, a physicist at City College of New York, told me during a discussion of the LHC's promise and peril. And if the discovery of the Higgs leads to fresh insights into the fabric of the universe, it's conceivable that we could take advantage of the as-yet-unknown weave of that fabric for communication or transportation. Who knows? Maybe this is how "Star Trek" gets its start.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/03/12547980-the-higgs-boson-made-simple
http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/07/higgs-boson-anticipation/
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/higgs-leaked-video
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/higgs-boson-breaks-physics
2012-07-03
The Higgs boson made simple
What good is it?
Particle physicists try to avoid forecasting the applications of an experimental advance before the actual advance is confirmed, but in the past, advances on a par with the discovery of the Higgs boson have had lots of beneficial applications, and some that are more questionable. The rise of nuclear power and nuclear weaponry is a prime example of that double-edged sword.
The discovery of antimatter is what made medical PET scanning possible, and antimatter propulsion could eventually play a part in interstellar travel, just like on "Star Trek." Particle accelerators have opened the way to medical treatments such as proton eye therapy — as well as advances in materials science, thanks to neutron scattering.
It's conceivable that the discoveries made at the Large Hadron Collider will eventually point to new sources of energy, Michio Kaku, a physicist at City College of New York, told me during a discussion of the LHC's promise and peril. And if the discovery of the Higgs leads to fresh insights into the fabric of the universe, it's conceivable that we could take advantage of the as-yet-unknown weave of that fabric for communication or transportation. Who knows? Maybe this is how "Star Trek" gets its start.
What Finding the Higgs-Boson Means
http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/07/higgs-boson-anticipation/
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/higgs-leaked-video
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/higgs-boson-breaks-physics
Wildfire: Guns Blamed for Fires
This year, officials believe target shooting or other firearms use sparked at least 21 wildfires in Utah and nearly a dozen in Idaho. Shooting is also believed to have caused fires in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/07/03/wildfire-guns-blamed-for-fires/
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Utah-set-to-ban-target-shooting-for-fire-season-3675217.php
2012-07-01
Fwd: Calories, Carbs, Fats
2012-06-30
2012-06-22
Knox v. Service Employees International Union
One decision that was delivered by the Court yesterday was to Knox v. Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The ruling, which came down 7-2 against the SEIU, is a severe blow to not only labor unions, but also to the notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. It's an interesting case, and an exciting decision in the fight against union corruption. Hope Hodge has the details here.
2012-06-20
Dimon's Wrong About One Thing: J.P. Morgan Is Way Too Big to Fail
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/06/20/mr-dimon-youre-wrong-jp-morgan-is-too-big-to-fail/
2012-06-04
Fwd: Russia
'The Russian currency is in free fall. With the price of oil tumbling, the ruble has lost nearly 10 percent of its value against the dollar over the last two weeks and will likely lose more. Considering that Russia imports the bulk of its food and consumer goods, that amounts to a nearly 10 percent loss in buying power for its citizens.
But you would not know this to look at Moscow. There are no lines in banks or currency-exchange offices. There is no buzz on online social networks. I had a party last night, with two economics journalists in attendance. The likely economic crisis was mentioned as a fact but not discussed: we talked about recent travels, friends and kids, and we played games.
I asked a friend, a top administrator at a charity who stayed behind after the party, what she thought of the financial situation. "It's very odd," she said. "I saw the exchange rate changing, and I went on Facebook to see what people were saying about it — and found nothing. Then I called my financial adviser, and she just told me to sit with my rubles, because it's too late to do anything."'
http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/while-the-ruble-slumps/?ref=global
Fwd: Cat Copter, Creepy
This is by far, the creepiest thing I've seen. I'm laughing and recoiling at it at the same time.http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/6/4/why-hate-the-catcopter-drones-are-the-real-flying-death--2
David
2012-05-30
2012-05-29
Fwd: Cyber-weapon
From: larry.r.trout
Cyber-weapon 'Computer malware described as "the most sophisticated cyber weapon yet unleashed" has been uncovered in computers in the Middle East and may have infected machines in Europe, according to reports from antivirus researchers and software makers in Russia, Hungary and Ireland.
The malware, dubbed Worm.Win32.Flame, is unusual in its complexity, size and the multitude of ways it has of harvesting information from an infected computer including keyboard, screen, microphone, storage devices, network, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB and system processes.
The malware is called "Flame" by Kaspersky Labs, a Moscow-based antivirus software maker, but also known as sKyWIper by the Hungarian Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security (CrySyS Lab).
Both Kaspersky Labs and CrySyS Lab said it was likely the malware was developed by a government-sponsored entity.
"The geography of the targets [certain states are in the Middle East] and also the complexity of the threat leaves no doubt about it being a nation state that sponsored the research that went into it," Kaspersky Labs said in a report.
"The results of our technical analysis supports the hypotheses that sKyWIper was developed by a government agency of a nation state with significant budget and effort, and it may be related to cyber warfare activities," a CrySyS Lab report said. "Arguably, it is the most complex malware ever found."
Although the virus has just been detected, there was evidence that it may have been in operation for at least two years.
Vitaly Kamluk, chief malware expert for Kaspersky Labs, said there were many pointers to it being a weapon, not the least of which was how highly-targeted it was. According to their investigations, only 382 infections have been reported, 189 of which were in Iran, and the malware targeted individuals rather than organizations.
Kamluk said the malware was most likely introduced by a USB stick or other removable drive. Once injected, the malware would contact one of the many command and control servers around the world and download additional modules as needed.
It used the same technique as Stuxnet, an earlier highly sophisticated malware, to seek out other machines to infect.'
2012-05-24
Europe: The World’s Worst Dentist With the World’s Dullest Drill
If European brinkmanship and American brinkmanship come together,
Katy bar the door. The mother of all meltdowns, a financial event that
would make the Mayan apocalypse (also scheduled for next fall) look
like a high school pep rally, could be upon us much sooner than we
think.
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/05/24/europe-the-worlds-worst-dentist-with-the-worlds-dullest-drill/
Katy bar the door. The mother of all meltdowns, a financial event that
would make the Mayan apocalypse (also scheduled for next fall) look
like a high school pep rally, could be upon us much sooner than we
think.
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/05/24/europe-the-worlds-worst-dentist-with-the-worlds-dullest-drill/
2012-05-23
pakistani-doctor-who-helped-cia-find-bin-laden-sentenced-on-treason-charges
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/05/pakistani-doctor-who-helped-cia-find-bin-laden-sentenced-on-treason-charges.html
2012-05-22
Headlines
“We consider this not only to be a huge win for us, but for the natural food products industry,” said Martin in an email. “This is a significant win for consumers that validates the right to deliver important, scientifically validated health information to consumers.”
“We have always believed in the power of the pomegranate and are pleased that we will be able to continue to showcase the fantastic health benefits inherent in this wonderful fruit,” Stewart A. Resnick, President of Roll Global, said in a statement.
http://healthland.time.com/2011/11/01/cheers-how-a-compound-in-red-wine-does-the-body-good/
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-22/republican-war-on-coal-claims-fight-market-reality
2012-05-21
2012-05-17
Fwd: Zimmerman affidavit
From: larry.r.trout
Zimmerman affidavit 'In an interview this week with The Miami Herald, Zimmerman's father criticized Corey, who he accused of deliberately ignoring evidence that would corroborate the self defense claim by filing a probable cause affidavit that swore to facts it's unclear they can prove.
"They went with the information they had reasonable belief that was untrue, and they swore it was true. Some day, that will come out," Robert Zimmerman said. "Someone should go to jail over that affidavit. They will be studying it in criminal justice classes for years to come."
Zimmerman is a retired magistrate from Virginia, and part of his job was to review affidavits and determine whether an arrest was merited.
He said he feared that jurors could find Zimmerman guilty of manslaughter to appease the public. He was torn about whether it would be best to have a trial – where all the evidence would be aired out – or have the case dismissed by a judge.
Florida's Stand Your Ground law gives Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester the right to throw out the case if he determines that Zimmerman was in reasonable fear for his life. If he does, Zimmerman said, it would also offer his son immunity in a civil court.'
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/17/2804442/law-officers-set-to-release-evidence.html
2012-05-15
Iran hangs alleged Israeli agent in shadow war
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/15/iran-hangs-alleged-israeli-agent-in-shadow-war/
Phony officer could be killing Mississippi drivers
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/15/justice/mississippi-highway-shooting
2012-05-14
2012-05-11
2012-05-10
China may start a war with the Philippines
From: larry.r.trout
'A Chinese military newspaper has warned that the country's armed forces will not allow anyone to challenge China's sovereignty of a tiny island outcrop in the South China Sea.
China and the Philippines have been involved in a tense standoff since April 10 when the Philippines Navy accused Chinese boats of fishing illegally in waters off the Scarborough Shoal, some 130 miles (200 kilometers) from the Philippines island of Luzon.
They attempted to arrest the crew but were blocked by Chinese surveillance vessels deployed in the area.
Both countries claim the shoal, which China calls Huangyan Island. Analysts believe the area is rich in mineral resources, natural gas and oil.'
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/10/world/asia/china-philippines-dispute/index.html
'China warned its nationals against traveling to the Philippines, canceled tours and raised trade barriers on imported pineapples and bananas as the squabble over disputed fishing grounds in the South China Sea grew more intense.
At issue is a triangular-shaped cluster of reefs known as Scarborough Shoal about 130 miles from the Philippines' Subic Bay. The Chinese call it Huangyan Island and complain that the Philippine navy has been harassing its fishing boats there.
In keeping with the prevailing jingoism, a Chinese journalist on Thursday posted a photograph of himself planting a Chinese flag on an outcropping of rock. An enthusiastic microblogger promised, "We'll plant the flag all the way to Manila.''
"We want to say that anyone's attempt to take away China's sovereignty over Huangyan Island will not be allowed by the Chinese government, people and armed forces," warned the PLA Daily, the newspaper of the People's Liberation Army in an article Wednesday entitled, "Don't Attempt to Take Away Half an Inch of China's Territory."
Filipino activists have planned demonstrations Friday at Chinese embassies. As a result, Beijing issued a warning for Chinese citizens in Manila to stay indoors. In Beijing, Filipinos residing in China got a similar advisory from their embassy.'
'The embassy also discouraged Chinese nationals from going out today (Friday).
"In case of demonstrations, take a detour; do not join the crowd," the advisory said.
It also asked its citizens to maintain a "low profile to avoid a dispute with the locals."
The advisory was released on Monday after tensions in the South China Sea, particularly the ongoing standoff in Scarborough Shoal, intensified following the warning of the Chinese government, based on Chinese state media report, that it is ready to "respond to anything the Philippine side does to escalate the situation."
On Monday, China's Vice-Foreign Minister Fu Ying summoned Alex Chua, charge d'affaires of the Philippine embassy in China "to make a serious representation" over the tension in Scarborough Shoal.
The Akbayan party-list group, which is leading the mass actions, said it expects tens of thousands in the "global day of action" against China today. Organizers said the rallies will be held simultaneously in the country as well as in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston in the United States; as well as in Rome, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore.'
'China's Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said Tuesday that Beijing is ready for "any escalation" in the tense naval standoff with the Philippines in the South China Sea. Beijing's bellicose rhetoric worries Manila, by any measure no match for China. Faced with the prospect of the Chinese bullying them in bilateral talks, or even open conflict, Filipinos may be thinking back fondly to the days when massive U.S. naval and air bases guaranteed them security seemingly in perpetuity.
The political debate over whether to renew the nearly century-old leases was pitched in nationalist terms. In September 1991, the Philippine Senate voted 12-11 against, forcing the U.S. to abandon Clark Air Base north of Manila and Subic Bay, across the Zambales Mountains to the northwest on the South China Sea. They were two of the largest U.S. bases in the world, from which Washington staged operations from Vietnam to the Middle East.
Jovito Salonga, then Philippine Senate president, recounted his anti-bases crusade in a book entitled "The Senate That Said No." Juan Ponce Enrile, a senator who helped oust dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, joined the anti-base forces after having worked with U.S. military leaders for years as defense secretary.
Now the question of a revived U.S. role in the country's defense is back on the table. The senators who said no have mostly retired or passed on. Mr. Salonga, now in his 90s, is notably silent.'
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304451104577391790438716280.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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