XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

A third of Canadians counting on lottery win to retire -

One in three Canadians is counting on a jackpot or a large inheritance to secure their financial future, according to a recent survey.

At the same time, more than two-thirds have felt anxious or lose sleep thinking about their financial situation, according to the study commissioned by Credit Canada Debt Solutions and Capital One Canada

“It’s troubling to see so many Canadians putting more trust in the lottery than sound financial planning – but I see the effects every day in our agency,” said Laurie Campbell, CEO, Credit Canada Debt Solutions.

There’s no magic solution to gaining control of your finances. It takes hard work and sticking to a budget that’s determined by your income. More than two-thirds of those surveyed revealed they spend beyond their monthly budget. Most admitted temptation and reward were the biggest reasons they overspent.

Read more -
http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1283214--a-third-of-canadians-counting-on-lottery-win-to-retire

Monday, 5 November 2012

Pot growers now targetting high-end Porsches - are easy to steal and make great grow-lamps -

Carbuzz.com reports Porsche’s high-intensity xenon headlamps are easy to steal and make great grow-lamps, as authorities in Amsterdam have been discovering.

Car parts are often stolen, such as badges and rims. But headlights? That’s the question which Dutch police found themselves asking recently. Apparently pot growers in Amsterdam have discovered Porsche’s high-intensity xenon headlamps.

The units reportedly deliver just the right amount of heat and illumination to encourage the growth of the cannabis plants, while using little in the way of electricity, making them a favorite among the narcotic cultivators.

Rather than buy the $700 units from a parts supplier, though, the pot growers have been running around the Netherlands stealing them (with apparent ease) off parked Panameras and Cayennes, leaving the luxury vehicles without their headlights (along with an apparent lack of alarm systems).

Read more -
http://www.wheels.ca/news/pot-growers-steal-porsche-headlights-police-find/

Sunday, 4 November 2012

Germany's Merck halts supply of cancer drug to Greek hospitals -

German pharmaceuticals firm Merck KGaA is no longer delivering cancer drug Erbitux to Greek hospitals, a spokesman said on Saturday, the latest sign of how an economic and budget crisis is hurting frontline public services.

Drugmakers raised concerns with EU leaders earlier this year over supplies to the euro zone's crisis-hit southern half and Germany's Biotest in June was the first to stop shipments to Greece because of unpaid bills.

Publicly-owned hospitals in some countries worst hit by the euro zone debt crisis had been struggling to pay their bills, Merck's chief financial officer, Matthias Zachert, was quoted as saying by German paper Boersen-Zeitung in an interview on Saturday.

He said however that the only country where Merck had stopped deliveries was Greece.

"It only affects Greece, where we have been faced with many problems. It's just the one product," he told the paper.

Read more -
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49672266

3-year-old mauled to death by wild dogs after falling into Pittsburgh Zoo exhibit... -

Officials of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium confirmed this afternoon that a little boy was mauled to death today after falling into the African painted dog exhibit.
The incident occurred at 11:48 a.m. at the Highland Park complex, according to emergency dispatch supervisor. The zoo was shut down within a half-hour of the incident and will remain closed indefinitely.
A Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed one of the 11 dogs in the exhibit.
Zoo President and Chief Executive Officer Barbara Baker said the child, who was about 3 years old, was on an outing with his mother when he fell over a railing and off of a mesh barrier where the painted dogs were on display.
A news release distributed by zoo officials said keepers were able to quickly clear seven of the 11 dogs from the exhibit. Though darts were shot into the exhibit in an effort to scare the dogs away from the child, the news release indicated that "unfortunately, the dogs were in pack mentality and not responding."
Keepers attempted to enter the yard but were unable to reach the child, the release said.
Pittsburgh police officers and keepers attempted to lure the dogs away but one "aggressive" dog was shot and killed by an officer. Ms. Baker commended the officer, noting the dog would not move away from the child.
She said the zoo initially declared a "code blue," meaning an accident involving a human had occurred. That was followed with a "code red," meaning that there was a serious human emergency in play.
The incident is under investigation by police and the zoo.
Ms. Baker said no decision has been made about the future of the exhibit.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/child-killed-in-pittsburgh-zoo-exhibit-660606/

Friday, 2 November 2012

US Releases Heating Oil Reserves for First Time Ever -

The Energy Department will release fuel from the northeast heating oil reserve to help in the Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.

An evacuee is helped off a National Guard truck October 31, 2012 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy which made landfall along the New Jersey shore, has left parts of the state and the surrounding area flooded and without power.
This release includes diesel fuel for emergency equipment and buildings, including electrical generators, water pumps, GSA buildings, trucks and other vehicles.

“Today’s announcement is part of the broader federal effort to respond to those impacted by Hurricane Sandy,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “This loan from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve will help ensure state, local and federal responders in the impacted area have access to the diesel fuel they need to continue response and recovery efforts.”

This is the first time fuel has been released from the heating oil reserve.

Read more -
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49666279

UK man charged after children given trick-or-treat cocaine bags -

Police in northern England were called to investigate this week after children who were out trick-or-treating for Halloween were given small snap-top bags of what turned out to be cocaine.
The bags, containing white powder, were given to police after they were handed to the children Wednesday evening in the small town of Royton, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.
Testing confirmed that they contained cocaine, and a man was arrested.
Donald Junior Green, 23, has been charged with drug possession and is due before a magistrates' court in Oldham, near Manchester, on Friday.
A 21-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of drug possession and was later released without charge, police said.
Police Superintendent Catherine Hankinson said: "The parents and police acted quickly when this report was made, in the interests of public safety.
"We understand this to be an isolated incident."

Read more -
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/02/world/europe/uk-halloween-cocaine-arrest/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2

Stock certificates feared damaged by Sandy - more than 3.6 million securities worth an estimated $36.5 Trillion -

Trillions of dollars worth of stock certificates and other paper securities that were stored in a vault in lower Manhattan may have suffered water damage from Superstorm Sandy.
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., an industry-run clearing house for Wall Street, said the contents of its vault "are likely damaged," after its building at 55 Water Street "sustained significant water damage" from the storm that battered New York City's financial district earlier this week.
The vault contains certificates registered to Cede & Co., a subsidiary of DTCC, as well as "custody certificates" in sealed envelopes that belong to clients.
The DTCC provides "custody and asset servicing" for more than 3.6 million securities worth an estimated $36.5 trillion, according to its website.
"At this point, it is premature to make an accurate assessment as to the full impact of the water damage nor would it be helpful to project on what specific actions need to be taken with respect to our vault," said DTCC Chief Executive Michael Bodson in a statement. "We are aggressively working on this situation to minimize disruption to our clients and will provide additional updates as more information becomes available."
Bodson said the DTCC's computer records are intact and that the corporation has "detailed inventory files of the contents of the vault."
The building remains inaccessible, but the lower floors are believed to be flooded. The full extent of the damage cannot be assessed until power is restored and the building is deemed safe to enter.
The DTCC has been operating from remote facilities since the onset of the storm and has maintained clearing, settlement and other services that are crucial to the functioning of Wall Street, according to Bodson.

Read more -
http://buzz.money.cnn.com/2012/11/02/stock-certificates-sandy/

Guard for Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge unintentionally discharged a gun inside the police car -

One of the guards for Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge is having a moment of publicity he might like to forgo.

A protection officer believed to be guarding William and Kate’s cottage on the remote Welsh island of Anglesey unintentionally discharged a gun while in an unmarked police vehicle Wednesday afternoon, London’s Metropolitan Police said Friday.

The round damaged only the vehicle’s floor, and no one – including the two officers in the car – was injured, according to Scotland Yard.

The firing of the gun near royal property made homepage headlines on major UK news websites Friday. Buckingham Palace has not yet released a statement.

“As a matter of course, an internal inquiry is being carried out into the circumstances of the incident,” Metropolitan Police said.

The couple lives at the cottage on Anglesey, where William has been working as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot. It’s not clear whether either was home when the gun was fired.

Read more -
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/02/uk-police-investigate-guards-gunfire-outside-william-and-kates-home/?hpt=hp_t3

Ohio Voting Count 'Nightmare' Looms - could force entire country to wait 10 days to find out who will be president -

With the presidential election expected to hinge on Ohio, the state’s former secretary of state, GOP stalwart Kenneth Blackwell, is warning that a little-known change in the Buckeye State’s absentee-ballot process could lead to a “nightmare scenario.”

And that scenario could force the entire country to wait 10 days after the election to find out who will be the next president of the United States. It’s a complicated situation, to say the least, but one that could have a far-reaching impact on the Nov. 6 election process.

For the first time in the key swing state’s history, Blackwell says, virtually all Ohio voters this year were mailed an application for an absentee ballot. In previous elections, most Ohio voters had to request an application for an absentee ballot to receive one.

The concern is that thousands of Ohio voters may complete the absentee-ballot application and receive an absentee ballot, but not bother to complete and mail in the ballot.

Anyone who is sent an absentee ballot — including those who do not complete it and mail it in — and later shows up at the polls on Election Day to cast their ballot in person will be instructed to instead complete a provisional ballot.

And under Ohio election law, provisional ballots cannot be opened until 10 days after an election.

“I would just say that this is a potential nightmare-in-waiting,” says Blackwell.

Blackwell believes that could result in an unprecedented number of provisional ballots being filed – some 250,000 or more. Such a large number of ballots being held, presumably under armed guard, for 10 days until they can be opened, would bring to mind the historic 2000 post-election battle in Florida. That recount was marked by ballot disputes — and inevitably, lawsuits.

“You’re talking about craziness for 10 days,” Blackwell tells Newsmax in an exclusive interview. “They won’t even be opened to be counted for 10 days.”
According to a report by Barry M. Horstman of the Cincinnati Enquirer, absentee-ballot applications were mailed to 6.9 million of Ohio’s 7.8 million registered voters.

As of Oct. 26, Ohio election officials had mailed out 1.3 absentee ballots. Of those absentee ballots, 950,000 had been completed and mailed back in.
That leaves some 350,000 absentee ballots that had been requested and sent to voters, but had not yet been received.

Ohio voters who requested an absentee ballot, but did not complete it and mail it back in, will not be allowed to vote normally.

Explains Blackwell: “So they go to the polls and say, ‘I want my ballot.’ And [poll workers] say, ‘Oh, we see you applied for an absentee ballot.’ The voter says, ‘Oh, I changed my mind.’ And they say, ‘That’s well and good, but we have to guarantee that you don’t vote twice. You have to fill out a provisional ballot.’”

Provisional ballots are used whenever someone shows up at the polls whose eligibility to vote cannot be immediately verified. Their name may not show up on the voter rolls, for example.

Rather than turn them away, state election officials typically have those individuals indicate their voting preference with a provisional ballot. Once their eligibility to vote has been established, the vote can be counted.

The use of provisional ballots is intended to prevent any voter from casting one ballot by mail, and then a second ballot at the polling place.

Read more -
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ohio-provisional-ballots-delay/2012/11/01/id/462413

Thursday, 1 November 2012

Hurricane Sandy Satellite Photos: Before And After -

Hurricane Sandy Satellite Photos: Before And After

While New Yorkers living south of 34th Street have to live in cold and dark for an indefinite period of time (ConEd has been firm electricity will be restored by the weekend, it has been far more vague just which weekend it had in mind), the biggest devastataion from Sandy took place further south, primarily along the New Jersey coastline. In order to get a sense of the devastation that has taken place, we present images from the NOAA's satellite photo tracker, which shows aerial comparisons of the Jersey and Delaware coastline before and after. Because while one can contemplate navels in very broad terms if any wealth is created or destroyed due to Sandy breaking many windows at the macro level, any and all people who lived in the affected territories below will have a far more practical answer to this stupid question.