XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Sochi Pllow Shortage as Residents Ordered to Surrender Their Pillows to Olympic Athletes... -

Days before the Winter Games begin, Sochi staffers are looking for a few goose men

The Olympics officially kick off Friday. We imagine many a staffer and volunteer are scurrying around the Black Sea resort of Sochi, trying to prepare for the glamorous opening ceremony and making sure all security protocols are in place. But it turns out that Russia, despite spending a reported $51 million on the most expensive Olympics ever, neglected a few key details.

It appears there aren’t enough pillows for the athletes in the Olympic Village. This news comes via the Instagram posts of Luiza Baybakova, a member of the catering staff for the games.

Baybakova posted a picture of a notice to volunteers, which translates as follows:

“ATTENTION, DEAR COLLEAGUES!

Due to an extreme shortage of pillows for athletes who unexpectedly arrived to Olympic Village in the mountains, there will be a transfer of pillows from all apartments to the storehouse on 2 February 2014. Please be understanding. We have to help the athletes out of this bind.”

HOW WE KNOW
We monitored both Russian-language social networks and Instagram for posts related to the Olympic Village, and ran across this controversial gem.

Either the athletes arrived early, or event planners somehow didn’t know when they were arriving. Regardless, it seems like volunteers and staffers might now be asked to give up their own pillows to accommodate the athletes. It’s in line with what other citizen bloggers are posting ahead of the Olympics, like this guy, who claims residents near the stadiums are forbidden from using wood-burning fireplaces to avoid unsightly smoke coming out of chimneys. Even though it’s the Winter Games.

Read more -

http://www.vocativ.com/02-2014/sochi-running-pillows/

All Visitors to Sochi Olympics Immediately Hacked - as soon as electronic devices connect to any Russian network -

"As tourists and families of athletes arrive in Sochi, if they haven't been warned, and if they fire up their phones at baggage claim, it's probably too late to save the integrity of their electronics and everything inside them. Visitors to Russia can expect to be hacked. And as Richard Engel found out upon his arrival there, it's not a matter of if, but when," reports NBC's Brian Williams.

Engel says, "The State Department warns that travelers should have no expectation of privacy. Even in their hotel rooms. And as we found out, you are especially exposed as soon as you try and communicate with anything."

"One of the first thing visitors to Russia will do is log on," says Engel. "Hackers here are counting on it."

They test the system in the report -- and are, as one might expect, immediately hacked the moment the test computer connects with the Russian network.

"Malicious software hijacked our phone before we even finished our coffee, stealing my information, and giving hackers the option to tap and record my phone calls."

Read more -
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/nbc-all-visitors-sochi-olympics-immediately-hacked_778718.html

Authorities search for a monkey believed to be breaking into cars... -

Officials continue to search for a monkey believed to be breaking into cars in a Tampa Bay neighborhood.

MyFoxTampaBay.com reports a rhesus macaque has been spotted wandering the Mirabay neighborhood in Apollo Beach.

The animal is believed to be breaking into cars and disturbing things inside, although nothing has been taken.

No injuries have been reported since the primate has been on the loose, but neighbors say they want it captured safely and moved elsewhere.

Read more -

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/report-mystery-monkey-spotted-in-tampa-neighborhood/-/1637132/24283440/-/pvum9y/-/index.html

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

Justice Antonin Scalia says World War II-style internment camps could happen again in the USA -

Justice Antonin Scalia predicts that the Supreme Court will eventually authorize another a wartime abuse of civil rights such as the internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II.

"You are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again," Scalia told the University of Hawaii law school while discussing Korematsu v. United States, the ruling in which the court gave its imprimatur to the internment camps.

The local Associated Press report quotes Scalia as using a Latin phrase that means "in times of war, the laws fall silent," to explain why the court erred in that decision and will do so again.

"That's what was going on — the panic about the war and the invasion of the Pacific and whatnot," Scalia said. "That's what happens. It was wrong, but I would not be surprised to see it happen again, in time of war. It's no justification but it is the reality."

The late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who was Japanese-American, was not among those sent to the camps but was declared an "enemy alien." When he got the chance to fight for his country in World War II, he jumped at it, eventually earning a Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry" near San Terenzo, Italy, in 1945. "I was angered to realize that my government thought that I was disloyal and part of the enemy, and I wanted to be able to demonstrate not only to my government but to my neighbors that I was a good American," Inouye told Ken Burns in "The War," as quoted by Reuters.

Read more -

http://washingtonexaminer.com/justice-antonin-scalia-says-world-war-ii-style-internment-camps-could-happen-again/article/2543424

New Obamacare Ads Hope to Attract Young Women by Featuring Pets -

A multimillion dollar Obamacare advertising campaign will feature cats, dogs, and other pets in the hopes that young women will be lured into signing up for Obamacare. USA Today is reporting that Enroll America is launching the ads.
Enroll America President Anne Filipic told USA Today the pet-themed ads are designed to "help break through the clutter." She cited statistics showing that more than 60 percent of American homes have a pet and that most female pet owners would risk their lives for their pets.
"There have been challenges in getting messages out," Filipic said. "People don't have the facts they need to know."
It could be that people "don't have the facts" or it could be that young people don't want to sign-up because the premiums are too high and they don't have excessive medical expenses that make the purchase worthwhile. On the other hand, the implication that younger women will "pay attention" if kittens and puppies are featured is insulting. This isn't the first time Obamacare has made insulting ads attempting to attract their target audiences to sign up for the program. The "keg stand" and "brosurance" campaigns received some serious mocking on the internet, not to mention the "gay" ad created to reach the gay community.

Read more -

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/02/04/New-Obamacare-Ads-Hope-to-Atract-Young-Women-by-Featuring-Pets

Handbag with sensors and GPS locks to prevent out-of-control spending... -

Handbag with sensors and GPS locks to prevent out-of-control -

There's help for chronic shopaholics!

A company that offers a credit card comparison service in Australia created the iBag.

It has a sensor that tracks when a purse or wallet is being removed. It also uses GPS technology to know when the bag is in dangerous shopping locations, like a shopping mall the week before payday.

There's even a lock that can be triggered so the owner can't open the bag!

Read more: -

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/24628424/handbag-uses-sensors-gps-to-prevent-out-of-control-spending#axzz2sP5VkG12

Monday, 3 February 2014

Happy Birthday Facebook - Facebook Turns 10 Tuesday -

Ten years and 1.2 billion users into its existence, there's no question that Facebook has changed our lives.
Whether it was an inspired vision, deft execution, a bit of dumb luck or a combination of all three, Mark Zuckerberg's social juggernaut has ingrained itself into the daily lives of digital-age users in a way that forebears like MySpace and contemporaries like Twitter could only imagine.
Which is not to say it's all "likes" and "shares" and happy kid pics. As with any new (or newly discovered) technology, the impact of the end product is largely in the hands of the user. We are, after all, only human -- with all the joy and sadness, decency and ugliness that that entails.
So here, as Facebook turns 10 on Tuesday, is a look back at five ways the social network has changed us -- for better and for worse.
Share! Share! Share!
The good: Wedding announcements? Thing of the past. Birth announcement? Just slap an Instagram shot of that bouncing baby boy or girl on your timeline.
Dating? Graduated? Bought a house? Got a puppy? Same deal.
We take it for granted now, but the ability to share major events with all the people closest to you with a single click of the mouse is unprecedented.
There were the Myspaces of the world before Facebook. But mom, your second cousin and Aunt Jenny weren't on them.
And it's not just the good stuff, either. Changing that relationship status to "single" can save you from those awkward "How's Joey doing? You two are so cute together!" conversations.
The bad: Overshare! Overshare! Overshare!
Seriously. Ten years in, some folks haven't figured out what everyone on their friends list wants, or needs, to know.
OK, sometimes those pictures of your dinner look delicious. Sometimes.
But the detailed updates on your mundane day are mind-numbing and the play-by-play of your 3-year-old's potty training is just -- too much.
We all want to know you got a wedding ring. The fact that you just polished the one you've had for 14 years? Not so much.
The past is not really past
The good: When a site has 1.2 billion users (OK, we all know some of those are multiple or abandoned accounts, so let's say at least a cool billion) it's a pretty amazing database of the world's Web-enabled population.
That means your odds of finding just about anybody are a heck of a lot better than they were 10 years ago.
There have been the remarkable tales, like the woman who -- after years of failed efforts -- reunited after 44 years with her birth mother. How long did it take on Facebook? Two days.
For most of us, it's less dramatic than that. Childhood friends who moved long ago, college roommates who drifted away, even former teachers who served as inspirations are now but a quick search away. There's no doubt we have friends because of Facebook that we wouldn't have otherwise.
The bad: Sometimes, drifting apart isn't a bad thing.
Yes, your old high-school classmates got annoying and your cousin's politics disgust you. But we're not talking about that.
We're talking about exes. And past flirtations. And cheating.
Nostalgia is part of life. But, with Facebook, getting nostalgic about an old crush or flame could lead to a late-night Facebook message. Or, you know, a poke.
"I see Facebook issues breaking up marriages all the time," Gary Traystman, a divorce attorney in New London, Connecticut, told the Wall Street Journal.
More than 80% of U.S. divorce attorneys say they've seen an increase in cases involving social media, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and one-third of all divorce filings last year contained the word Facebook, according to a survey by Divorce Online.
Temptation is always out there. But with Facebook, it can be a little too convenient.
It makes you happy
The good: In 2009, a survey of 2,600 college students by researchers at the University of Texas showed that those who were the heaviest users of Facebook were the most satisfied with their lives. They also were more likely to be engaged socially and politically.
More recently, a University of Wisconsin study showed that, after five minutes of looking at their own shiny Facebook profiles, users experienced a significant boost in self-esteem. A 2011 Cornell University study delivered similar results.
"For many people, there's an automatic assumption that the Internet is bad," associate professor Jeffrey Hancock said at the time. "This is one of the first studies to show that there's a psychological benefit of Facebook."
The bad: Or maybe it makes you unhappy.
Other studies have looked at aspects of Facebook use and the results have been less encouraging.
Last year, a University of Michigan researcher found that looking at posts by Facebook friends -- you know, the photos of smiling kids on vacation in the Caribbean or announcements about promotions, engagements and awesome nights on the town -- can make us feel sadder about our own humdrum lives.
"On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection," the study reads. "Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these findings suggest that Facebook may undermine it."
As with many things, your mileage may very. But what's clear is that Facebook has become such a part of our lives that it tweaks our emotions, for better or worse.
Every day is a reunion
The good: Reuniting with classmates from high school or college has never been easier. Pre-Facebook, a class reunion committee looking to celebrate five, 10 or 20 years post-diploma faced a thankless task.
"Where does Jennifer live these days?" "Who has Steven's phone number?" "Do you know Wanda's married name?"
Now? One Facebook event invitation and you can focus on booking the best '80s cover band available.
The bad: If every day is a reunion, why have a reunion?
Actually reuniting with old classmates is losing some of its appeal when we know the names of the former theater club president's three kids and which character from "The Hunger Games" she'd be.
Timothy Davis, co-founder of reunion website Classreport.com, told the Baltimore Sun that he has noticed a drop-off in the number of reunions in recent years, particularly among folks in their mid- to late 20s.
"People I haven't talked to in years will see my wedding pictures on Facebook, then I'll see them in person and we won't say one word to each other ...," Rebecca Miller, a 23-year-old whose five-year reunion fizzled to a small party at the class president's house, told the paper. "Why go to a high school reunion when you're going to stand around and go, 'So, how did that doctor's appointment go yesterday?'"
Privacy
The good: For those willing to find and use them, Facebook provides tools that let you select who sees what.
So, while grandma is welcome to look at those pics of the kids playing in the snow, she might not need to be privy to your strongly worded rant about the cable guy who is two days late. You can direct that one instead to buddies with a proper appreciation for your expansive vocabulary.
Rival Twitter is designed by default to be a public forum, where you broadcast your 140-character pearls of wisdom to the world. Facebook allows that, too, but is more geared toward limiting your thoughts to certain family and friends.
The bad: Well, you know.
Security breaches have been a reality of many websites' growth. But as its user base grew dramatically, Facebook's problems (like the time CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg got his own page hacked) played out in front of a massive, and nervous, audience.
While Facebook has privacy settings that let users protect information, some privacy advocates say the network doesn't make them easy enough to find and use. (Facebook has worked to ease those concerns, especially for younger users).
At the end of the day, Facebook benefits when you decide to share more openly. The details about your life that you share on Facebook are rounded up and compiled into a profile of you that helps advertisers target you with things they think you'll like.
So, when you announced your pregnancy and were, soon after, bombarded with Facebook ads for a bunch of baby stuff? That was no coincidence.
To be clear, Facebook is not handing advertisers information about you personally. But, somewhere, there exists a nameless profile of a user with your hometown, gender, age and likes and dislikes, just waiting to be used for marketing purposes.
That, in a nutshell, is the entry fee to use this remarkable social tool. Yes, Facebook has changed the way we communicate. Whether it is truly cost-free remains another question.

Read more -

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/31/tech/social-media/facebook-changes/?nbd=5_things

Couple die of carbon monoxide poisoning while having sex in car... -

WILLIAMSPORT -- Making love in a car with the engine running in an enclosed garage proved fatal for a man and woman in Lycoming County.

Keith Payton, 40, of Allenwood and Williamsport, and Salina Johnson, 40 of Williamsport, were discovered about 9:30 p.m. Friday in a garage along Bloomingrove Road north of Williamsport.

Old Lycoming Township police speculated the two were having a sexual relationship when they were overcome because Johnson was partially clad. Marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found in the car, they said.

The car’ s ignition switch was on but the vehicle had run out of gasoline, they said. A kerosene heater also was on but it, too, had run out of fuel, they said. High levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the garage, police said.

The couple were pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m. Friday, but police said they had died sometime earlier. Carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause of death, County Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr. said Sunday.

The two were discovered by an individual sent by Payton’s brother, who leased the garage, to look for Payton, police said. Payton had gone to the garage to drop off something for his brother on Thursday, police said.

Read more -

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/02/man_woman_die_from_carbon_mono.html

Saturday, 1 February 2014

Mass sea star deaths off US west coast puzzle scientists -

Starfish have been mysteriously dying by the millions in recent months along the US west coast, worrying biologists who say the sea creatures are key to the marine ecosystem.

Scientists first started noticing the mass deaths in June 2013. Different types of starfish, also known as sea stars, were affected, from wild ones along the coast to those in captivity, according to Jonathan Sleeman, director of the US Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center.

"The two species affected most are Pisaster ochraceus (purple sea star or ochre starfish) and Pycnopodia helianthoides (sunflower sea star)," he wrote in a statement in December.

The sunflower sea star is considered among the largest starfish and can span more than a meter in diameter.

The most commonly observed symptoms are white lesions on the arms of the sea star. The lesions spread rapidly, resulting in the loss of the arm. Within days, the infection consumes the creature's entire body, and it dies.

Entire populations have been wiped out in Puget Sound off the coast of Washington state, in the Salish Sea off Canada's British Columbia as well as along the coast of California. The mortality rate is estimated at 95 percent.

Scientists who have spent decades studying the local ecosystem have yet to identify the cause.

"What we currently think is likely happening is that there is a pathogen, like a parasite or a virus or a bacteria, that is infecting the sea stars and that compromises in some way their immune system," Pete Raimondi, chair of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology, at the University of California, Santa Cruz, told AFP.

Then, the creatures become more susceptible to bacteria which is "causing a secondary infection that causes most of the damages that you see."

A barometer of sea health

Read more -

http://news.yahoo.com/mass-sea-star-deaths-off-us-west-coast-200659719.html;_ylt=AwrBEiRmXu1SJ1kAF3_QtDMD

Friday, 31 January 2014

Summing Up Ben Bernanke's Reign In 4 Numbers -

First of all, a very Happy New Year to our many Chinese readers.

According to the ancient Zodiac, today we are shedding the coils of the year of the Snake in favor of the Horse.

Given this symbology, it is perhaps a very small irony that today is also the final day in office for Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve. Let’s review the statistics:

1) When Mr. Bernanke took office in 2006, the Fed had $834.6 billion in assets, the vast majority of which were US Treasuries.

As of Wednesday, Mr. Bernanke’s Fed now counts $4.1 trillion in assets. And the balance sheet is stuffed full of mortgage debt ‘guaranteed’ by insolvent government agencies.

2) When Mr. Bernanke took office, the Fed’s capital ratio (net equity divided by total assets) was 3.22%.

This capital ratio is a hugely important number in banking that represents a sort of ‘margin of safety’. In a severe crisis situation, banks with a higher capital ratio are able to withstand major financial shocks.

Candidly, 3.22% is not high; this means that the Fed would effectively be rendered insolvent if its assets lost more than 3.22% of their value. So the Fed that Mr. Bernanke inherited was not exceptionally healthy.

But today, Mr. Bernanke leaves office with the balance sheet in far worse condition. The Fed’s capital ratio is just 1.34%. And it’s deteriorating rapidly.

Three years ago, the Fed’s capital ratio was 2.17%. A year ago it was 1.82%. Six months ago it was 1.54%. And now today just 1.34%. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or a PhD in economics) to see how quickly this is unraveling.

The Fed now has a razor thin margin of safety to guarantee a bloated balance sheet crammed full of questionable assets. This is not exactly the height of responsible stewardship.

Has it helped? I suppose that depends on whom you ask.

3) When Mr. Bernanke took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 10,954, and the US government could borrow money for ten years at 4.57%.

Today the Dow is at 15,569, and the 10-year note is 2.65%.

So this has been a pretty good run for folks who have thrown money in the stock market or have heavily indebted themselves.

Yet over 50% of Americans don’t own a single share of stocks. And as of 2010, 10% of Americans own 81% of all stocks.

Then there’s the Federal government, which has been able to pass off trillions of dollars of debt to a willing central banker, as well as generate tax revenue from all the stock investors’ capital gains.

4) Most folks, however, have seen a different side of the Fed’s expansion. The FAO food price index, for example, has increased from 122 to 207, and the labor force participation rate declined to its lowest level in decades under Mr. Bernake’s tenure.

It’s fairly clear if you look at the data objectively that Mr. Bernanke’s policies have left the Fed (and consequently the global financial system) in far more precarious condition than when he started, yet disproportionately benefited the US government and small percentage of society at the expense of everyone else.

This is not to say that Mr. Bernanke is some evil mastermind bent on nefarious ends.

When I listened to him explain his decision-making process at a dinner in Washington a few months ago, it became clear that he is very well intentioned and honestly believes that his policies help.

Unfortunately the road to ruin is almost always paved with good intentions.

Read more -

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-31/summing-ben-bernankes-reign-4-numbers