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Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hogan, Photos: Danish Refugee Council
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"Good Job" - Navy Seals Daring Rescue of Aid Workers in Somalia
President Obama talks to Jessica Buchanan's father Surgical.Smart. Secret. If we have to do things like this, this is how it should be done. No swagger and bluster, just get it done and get out. Well done to the men and women who helped plan and execute this mission. Costa Concordia: A Great Ship Goes To Its Doom
Collision of "Costa Concordia" -- Photo: Roberto Vongher/Wikipedia As a professional mariner, I would caution anyone from jumping to conclusions about who is to blame here until all the facts are known. When this is over, you may find that the captain saved many lives by intentionally putting this ship into the shallows to prevent sinking and the resultant MUCH GREATER loss of life. There are so many possible scenarios, it is foolish to start the blame game and any comparison to the Titanic is just ridiculous
Collision of "Costa Concordia" Photo: Roberto Vongher/Wikipedia
An "Utterly Deplorable" Battlefield Video Goes Viral
As a former Marine, I have to say that I am appalled. This is NOT part of the core values instilled in Marines. It disrespects those who have served honorably and have tried to uphold those values. War is hell, no doubt, but we are supposed to be better than that. Just because it is war, doesn't mean we have carte blanche. Iran's Saber Rattling Over the Strait of Hormuz
Iran's statements show the weakness of the regime in Iran. Starting a war with the United States may be seen in Iran as a way to shore up the regime. However the military reality would be devastation to Iranian forces within hundreds of miles of the Strait of Hormuz. The US Air Force would have no choice but to destroy all fixed positions, and any military target that moves, on the ground within range of the Strait.
Wikipedia Blackout to Protest SOPA
Like most blogs that strive to pass on ANY amount of information while relaying the sources, mine would be crippled by SOPA, even if I moved it off the Google servers. And if it were blacklisted in the US, all those good friends I started writing it for wouldn't be able to read it.
The phone and the consumer pc will be converging as phone hardware gets powerful enough to support desktop operating systems as well as the slimmed down mobile operating systems. The majority of consumer desktops/laptops will be replaced with docking stations that will allow a user to purchase one piece of hardware for their phone/pc/laptop (the atrix phone was on to something, but lacks the desktop os). Although they haven't mentioned the potential, it really sounds like Microsoft's Windows 8 is aimed directly at such a device. If the market heads this way, Apple and Google could be playing catch up. IBM 5 in 5 Predictions: Mind Reading, People Power, Passwords, Junk Mail, DIgital Divide
Please do tie all of your passwords, including financial ones, to one of those nifty password managers with fully automatic features for filling in forms. Tie that manager app to the fingerprint reader in your shiny new thinkpad. Or use a usb-based one if you must. Go use it. Then accidentally cut your finger. Tell us how you fare. Now imagine the hassle of going through a bureaucracy of getting your fingerprints fixed after you had that little accident. An unbelieving bureaucracy because biometrics are naturally perfect. The telephone attendant may be sympathetic but without a suitable Process in place there's little she can do. Despite that biometrics by definition are easier to fake than to replace (and you leave your fingerprints bloody everywhere too, so no lack of source material to fake with); exactly the wrong properties for most all of the intended purposes other than criminal detection.
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Yays and Nays on the State of the Union...
I thought it was a great speech. The President stayed positive but raised the difficult issues such as the growing economic inequality in this country and the need to restore taxes to their former level with the very wealthy. We have to choose between maintaining serious government services that we can't provide for ourselves such as a strong military, social security, mail service, etc. We need to repair our bridges, our roads and our other vital infrastructure. We can't do that by hitting the poor and middle class, it has to be done by restoring taxes to the very wealthy and corporations to what they were before (in both Republican and Democratic administrations). And by the way, I am a 'job creator'. I have a small business and I am happy to pay my employees fairly and pay all of my taxes. I want big corporations and very wealthy individuals to resume paying their fair share. It's a matter of simple math and justice. Pew: Rising Awareness of Conflict Between Rich and Poor in U.S.
I'm just tired of hearing how we need to give tax breaks to "job creators". This whole "job creators" thing is a complete and utter sham created by the ultra-rich to further delude the middle class into thinking that the wealthy corporations are the good guys who want to see a prosperous america, but can't because of all the taxes they have to pay. Election 2012: Romney Rolls On to the South
Quickly losing respect for Newt with his attacks on Mitt's success in the
private sector! He and Perry are appearing desperate, using words like "vulture
capitalist." These sound like sound bites from the Obama camp, not someone who
claims the mantle of President Reagan. What happened to free enterprise? and the
notion that one should be free to raise capital (from U.S. investors or abroad),
invest in companies (some will grow, some won't) -- and at the end of the day
enjoy the rewards of the risks taken? Election 2012: Winnowing the Field of Republicans in Iowa
The selection process for potential presidential candidates is long and should be, as we need the maximum time allowable to weed out those persons who will not be able to gain the support of the American people. A president has to do more than just represent a certain sector of our population. He or she must be able to reach out to all persons and inspire them by excellent leadership qualities instead of inflammatory rhetoric. He or she must be able to work with a continually divided congress and use their skills to unite rather than divide our representatives. READ MORE •••• Should There Be a National Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving?
For those of you whining about your freedom to choose to text and drive answer me this. Why should you have that freedom to take away my rights to be safe on the road? Why is your right to most likely cause an accident and kill my family greater than my right to safely get home? Apple Aims to Reinvent the Textbook
Teaching is kind of like any other form of show business. Some people suck at explaining things while remaining entertaining enough to hold your attention. Some people are pretty good. Some people are super stars. Mental Decline Can Start "as early as 45"
READ THE STUDY: BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL Can such research probe how more complex intellectual capacities such as wisdom and the accumulation of experience change with age? Maybe the reason why people can't add up math sums so fast is because their brains are filled with insights gained from having lived a life. When are we going to start seeing the benefits aging instead of just viewing the old as deteriorating. Weight Loss: Calories, not Proteins, Matter Most
No one says that calories in/calories out isn't the equation, it is a misstatement to say that the type of food matters. What most who propound the low carb diets are saying is that the desire to eat and the metabolic activity level when calories are reduced is different depending on hormone levels, specifically insulin, which are affected differently depending on diet. This study condition was just the opposite, excess calories. So the bodies aren't at
all looking to eat more, but instead are looking for ways to store the calories.
The high -carb weight difference *might* be the use of undigestible fiber (still
counts calorically) so there's a lot that needs to be understood about this
study befor drawing diet conclusions. READ MORE •••• 438: The Shocking Toll of Rhinos Slaughtered by Poachers in South Africa
It's very likely that the demand for rhino horn was fueled by hunting, rather than the other way round. Why the escalation in poaching only now, since the demand has been around for many many decades in the East, with the belief that rhino horn is a cure for ills being nothing new. The increase in poaching is linked with the issuing of permits for legal hunting, and with the sale of our rhino by Sanparks to hunting lodges. It is SA's so-called 'conservation' management that has actually created the demand for rhino horn, and that continues to fuel it by allowing hunting to continue, and by doing little to stop illegal poaching "Lost World" Found in Seas off Antarctica
It's truly amazing how life even under the most difficult of circumstances seems to find a way to overcome adversity. If bacteria and creatures can flourish 8,000 feet deep in the icy waters of the Antarctica it defies logic to think many other life forms don't exist on millions of planets throughout our galaxy alone- especially when the catalyst is chemical, as opposed to solar based. READ MORE •••• |
iLabor: Spotlight on Working Conditions in Chinese Electronics Factories
I read a report a few days ago stating that if Apple products were made here in America that the price for an iPhone would go up an average of $60. Steve also had said he would not move the factories back here to the States, because in China they can do the things we can not do. Like wake up workers in their dorms, feed them a muffin and cup of tea and make them work a 12 hour shift, just to crank out whatever changes were made to the device. How sad. These are conditions we fought against as American workers long ago and we allow this to happen in China so that we can have the next greatest gadget for a mear $60 less!? But I guess it is ok to do this in China after all there are 2 billion people there and they are thousands of miles away, so what does it matter to Americans!? As long as we get the next best gadget that speaks to us, maybe bends, glass that doesn't break... it's just at the expense of human life and billions in profit for a greedy company that has truly changed the way we lead our daily lives around the world. READ MORE ••••
Newspapers: Clay Shirky on the Future of the Paywall
Newspapers, Paywalls, and Core Users Is there no hope of an ad-based model for web papers? It strikes me that while something is lost the unraveling of content, much that was previously impossible is now relatively trivial. Specifically, I’m thinking of our ability to monitor exactly which parts of “the paper” appeals to specific readers, where the reader consumes information, and by what means. This knowledge comes with vast opportunities. It not only gives us significant insight into a reader’s demonstrated preferences, but we can also make good guesses at other content that will be appealing. This same line of insight also applies, perhaps more compellingly (in terms of financial viability), to advertising. The new world is rife with microtargeting opportunities, one where more data (i.e., greater openness) is preferable. Interestingly, IBM and others seem to be betting heavily on these new opportunities. READ MORE ••••
A Girl Alone - The Round-the-World Triumph of Laura Dekker
I close my eyes and imagine being hundreds of miles from land in the middle of
the ocean and all by myself and I think back to being in my young teens and
remember how uncertain the world seemed and how unsure I was of having a good
footing....The ocean wields awesome power and this young girl has awesome
courage. READ MORE •••• Ronald Searle - A Witty Pen Sharpened Amid the Horrors of War
Searle's distinctive style was much admired here in the US, where it was
probably most often seen in "The New Yorker". It combined visual elegance with
(sometimes wicked, sometimes poignant) humor in a brilliant, highly original
manner. A Searle cartoon was instantly recognizable and always admirable. We
sometimes forget that cartoonists are artists. Searle never failed to remind us
that they are. READ MORE •••• Soulful Etta James -- The Blues Was Her Business
Etta James at 2006 Common Ground Festival, Lansing, Michigan Photo:John K. Addis/Wikipedia I saw Ms. Etta perform at the Oasis Nightclub in 1985. A couple of her musicians were former Rufus band members and together they all rocked the house! Talk about some serious pipes! Etta James was on a mission that night to sing the audience into a frenzy of soul satisfaction. The show started just after 10pm and she was still going strong well after 1pm. The only thing I hated was that it was mid-week and I had to be at work by 8am that morning. Otherwise, I would have stayed as long as Ms. Etta sang and her band played. READ MORE ••••
Violins Old and New -- Double-Blind Test Provides Striking Note on Players' Choice
Antonio Stradivari violin of 1703. Musikinstrumenten Museum, Berlin/Wikipedia .There's really no mystery: an instrument is only a supplement to the player's skill. A great violinist can make a $500 instrument sound good, and with a so-called elite instrument that violinist will sound even better. A mediocre player will sound mediocre with or without a million dollar violin. The quality of the bow matters a lot as well.
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