Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Jennifer Lawrence, ‘Hunger Games’ stars team up in Ebola video
LOS ANGELES | Jennifer Lawrence says she’d be fine if she got Ebola, in a video that encourages Americans to focus more on West Africans far more likely to die from the dreaded virus.
The Oscar-winning actress teamed up with fellow stars from “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1″ for the nearly two-minute online public service announcement from the Ebola Survival Fund.
The video opens with a montage of clips from breathless US television news coverage of the tiny handful of Ebola cases so far in the United States.
It then points out that none of the eight “American patients” treated for Ebola in US hospitals have died — while in some parts of West Africa only two out of every 10 cases survived.
“A lot of them didn’t make it,” says Lawrence, to which her “Hunger Games” co-star Josh Hutcherson replies: “They didn’t have a lot to begin with.”
“In Liberia, they had 50 doctors for 4.4 million people,” Hutcherson said, before telling Lawrence: “I know what would happen if you got Ebola.”
“I’d be fine,” she solemnly replied.
Mahershala Ali, Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore and Jeffrey Wright also appear in the video.
But the core message came from Harvard medical professor and Partners in Health co-founder Paul Farmer, well-known for his work in developing health care in poor countries.
Ebola patients in West Africa, he said, urgently need IV fluids, electrolytes, food and “many more well-trained West African medical professionals.”
“With high-quality supportive care, the great majority of people in West Africa will survive Ebola,” Farmer added.
Two Ebola fatalities within the United States have been reported, but neither were native-born Americans.
Last month, another posse of Hollywood stars including Ben Affleck, Bono, Vincent Cassel, Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, came together for an Ebola video sponsored by the ONE Campaign.
Watch the video here:
source: interaksyon.com
AirAsia victim with life jacket raises new questions about plane's last moments
SURABAYA, Indonesia - A body recovered on Wednesday from the crashed AirAsia plane was wearing a life jacket, an Indonesian search and rescue official said, raising new questions about how the disaster unfolded.
Rescuers believe they have found the plane on the ocean floor off Borneo, after sonar detected a large, dark object beneath waters near where debris and bodies were found on the surface.
Ships and planes had been scouring the Java Sea for Flight QZ8501 since Sunday, when it lost contact during bad weather about 40 minutes into its flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
Seven bodies have been recovered from the sea, some fully clothed, which could indicate the Airbus A320-200 was intact when it hit the water. That would support a theory that it suffered an aerodynamic stall.
The fact that one person put on a life jacket suggests those on board had time before the aircraft hit the water, or before it sank.
And yet the pilots did not issue a distress signal. The plane disappeared after it asked for permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather.
"This morning, we recovered a total of four bodies and one of them was wearing a life jacket," Tatang Zaenudin, an official with the search and rescue agency, told Reuters.
He declined to speculate on what the find might mean.
A pilot who works for a Gulf carrier said the life jacket indicated the cause of the crash was not "catastrophic failure". Instead, the plane could have stalled and then come down, possibly because its instruments iced up and gave the pilots inaccurate readings.
"There was time. It means the thing didn't just fall out of the sky," said the pilot, who declined to be identified.
He said it could take a minute for a plane to come down from 30,000 feet and the pilots could have experienced "tunnel vision ... too overloaded" to send a distress call.
"The first train of thought when you get into a situation like that is to fly the aircraft."
Most of those on board were Indonesians. No survivors have been found.
Hernanto, head of the search and rescue agency in Surabaya, said rescuers believed they had found the plane on the sea bed with a sonar scan in water 30-50 meters (100-165 feet) deep. The black box flight data and cockpit voice recorder has yet to be found.
Authorities in Surabaya were making preparations to receive and identify bodies, including arranging 130 ambulances to take victims to a police hospital and collecting DNA from relatives.
"We are praying it is the plane so the evacuation can be done quickly," Hernanto said.
Strong wind and waves hampered the search and with visibility at less than a kilometer (half a mile), the air operation was called off in the afternoon.
"We are all standing by," Dwi Putranto, heading the air force search effort in Pangalan Bun on Borneo, told Reuters.
"If we want to evacuate bodies from the water, it's too difficult. The waves are huge and it's raining."
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said his priority was retrieving the bodies.
Relatives, many of whom collapsed in grief when they saw the first grim television pictures confirming their fears on Tuesday, held prayers at a crisis center at Surabaya airport.
AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes has described the crash as his "worst nightmare".
Experienced pilot
The plane was traveling at 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet. When air traffic controllers granted permission for a rise to 34,000 feet a few minutes later, they received no response.
Online discussion among pilots has centered on unconfirmed secondary radar data from Malaysia that suggested the aircraft was climbing at a speed of 353 knots, about 100 knots too slow, and that it might have stalled.
Investigators are focusing initially on whether the crew took too long to request permission to climb, or could have ascended on their own initiative earlier, said a source close to the inquiry, adding that poor weather could have played a part as well.
The Indonesian captain, a former air force fighter pilot, had 6,100 flying hours under his belt and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, said the airline, which is 49 percent owned by Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia.
Three airline disasters involving Malaysian-affiliated carriers in less than a year have dented confidence in the country's aviation industry and spooked travelers.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing in March on a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew and has not been found. On July 17, the same airline's Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
On board Flight QZ8501 were 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans, and one person each from Singapore, Malaysia and Britain. The co-pilot was French.
The AirAsia group, including affiliates in Thailand, the Philippines and India, had not suffered a crash since its Malaysian budget operations began in 2002.
source: interaksyon.com
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Wall Street little changed but S&P hits record
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks were little changed in thin trading on Monday as the S&P 500 notched its latest record high, but gains were curbed when an early rally in energy prices lost momentum.
Equities have trended to the upside of late, buoyed by data showing an improving economy and the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to be "patient" about raising interest rates. After the S&P 500 gained nearly 6 percent over the prior eight sessions, it notched its 53rd record close of the year on Monday.
The S&P energy index advanced 0.3 percent, pulling back from a gain of more than 1 percent as Brent and U.S. crude oil turned lower. Brent settled down $1.57 at $57.88 and U.S. crude settled down $1.12 at $53.61 a barrel.
In contrast to the fall in oil prices, consumer discretionary names were among the day's best performers, up 0.7 percent. General Motors rose 2.6 percent to $34.60. The S&P 500 retail sector rose 0.8 percent as Macy's Inc advanced 1.8 percent to $65.22 and Amazon.com was up 1 percent to $312.04.
"The nearer-term picture is, consumers are enjoying lower gas prices, it’s almost as if it is an alleviation of taxes," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
"Someone is getting hurt in this while the consumer is benefiting, and at some point it could come back to bite the market and the economy."
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.48 points, or 0.09 percent, to 18,038.23, the S&P 500 gained 1.8 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,090.57 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.05 points to 4,806.91.
The speed and scale of the rally could cap further upside, especially in the final trading week of the year, when many market participants are out on holiday and catalysts are limited. Volume is expected to remain light, which could exacerbate volatility. The stock market will be closed on Thursday for New Year's Day.
About 4.78 billion shares traded on U.S. exchanges on Monday, well below the 7.18 billion average this month, according to BATS Global Markets.
Gilead Sciences Inc rose 3.7 percent to $97.30 as one of the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainers after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal-weight."
LiveDeal Inc jumped 19.1 percent to $3.92 on volume of 13.6 million shares, to dwarf its 50-day average of about 455,000 shares, after the company reported 2014 results.
NYSE advancing issues outnumbered decliners 1,800 to 1,299, for a 1.39-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,438 issues rose and 1,320 fell for a 1.09-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 68 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 160 new highs and 39 new lows.
source: interaksyon.com
Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera tie knot in grand ‘royal’ wedding
Showbiz couple Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera finally tied the
knot in a grand wedding held Tuesday afternoon at the Immaculate
Concepcion Cathedral in Cubao, Quezon City.
The couple first met and starred together on the GMA primetime series “Marimar” in 2007 and officially became engaged last August after Dingdong proposed to Marian on live television. In a year when several other showbiz couples either became engaged or also tied the knot, the wedding of the couple dubbed as “Dongyan” was widely anticipated to be the biggest of the year.
And indeed it was, with no less than President Benigno Aquino III serving as best man, eight bishops and seven priests celebrating the mass, plus 40 principal sponsors, 18 groomsmen and 18 bridesmaids and 20 secondary sponsors in attendance.
Among the principal sponsors of the so-called “royal wedding” were Batangas Governor Vilma Santos, Sharon Cuneta, Vic Sotto, Ogie Alcasid and wife Regine Velasquez, Helen Gamboa, Celia Rodriguez, GMA bigwigs Felipe Gozon, Gilberto Guavit, Jr. and Lilybeth Rasonable, TV5 executive Wilma Galvante, TAPE, Inc. Chairman Tony Tuviera, producers Wilson Tieng and “Mother” Lily Monteverde, Bench owner Ben Chan, fashion designer Randy Ortiz, directors Joyce Bernal, Mark Reyes and Mac Alejandre and Dr. Vicki Belo.
Those who stood as secondary sponsors included Richard Gomez and wife Leyte 4th District Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez, Ai-Ai delas Alas, KC Concepcion, Senator Bam Aquino and child sensation Ryzza Mae Dizon, who also served as flower girl.
Marian’s close showbiz friends Roxanne Barcelo and Ana Feleo were among her maids of honor while Dingdong’s brother, Jose Angelo Dantes, was among the best men.
Among the showbiz personalities listed as bridesmaids were Agot Isidro, Bettina Carlos, Rochelle Pangilinan and the recently married Bianca Gonzalez. Actor Paolo Contis was also one of the groomsmen.
Spotted in the wedding were Senator Tito Sotto, Anjo Yllana, Alden Richards, Pokwang and KC Montero who posted updates on social media.
Dingdong wore a Randy Ortiz beige-colored suit with a black bowtie and black trousers and arrived at his wedding in style riding a Ducati Diavel Monster 1100EVO motorcycle.
Marian looked ravishing in a gown especially designed for her by Dubai-based Filipino designer Michael Cinco. The gown reportedly cost P2 million.
Marian’s Spanish father, Francisco Javier Gracia, flew in to personally witness his daughter’s special day.
The newlyweds reportedly invited over 700 guests to the reception which was held at the 18,000-seater Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
source: interaksyon.com
The couple first met and starred together on the GMA primetime series “Marimar” in 2007 and officially became engaged last August after Dingdong proposed to Marian on live television. In a year when several other showbiz couples either became engaged or also tied the knot, the wedding of the couple dubbed as “Dongyan” was widely anticipated to be the biggest of the year.
And indeed it was, with no less than President Benigno Aquino III serving as best man, eight bishops and seven priests celebrating the mass, plus 40 principal sponsors, 18 groomsmen and 18 bridesmaids and 20 secondary sponsors in attendance.
Among the principal sponsors of the so-called “royal wedding” were Batangas Governor Vilma Santos, Sharon Cuneta, Vic Sotto, Ogie Alcasid and wife Regine Velasquez, Helen Gamboa, Celia Rodriguez, GMA bigwigs Felipe Gozon, Gilberto Guavit, Jr. and Lilybeth Rasonable, TV5 executive Wilma Galvante, TAPE, Inc. Chairman Tony Tuviera, producers Wilson Tieng and “Mother” Lily Monteverde, Bench owner Ben Chan, fashion designer Randy Ortiz, directors Joyce Bernal, Mark Reyes and Mac Alejandre and Dr. Vicki Belo.
Those who stood as secondary sponsors included Richard Gomez and wife Leyte 4th District Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez, Ai-Ai delas Alas, KC Concepcion, Senator Bam Aquino and child sensation Ryzza Mae Dizon, who also served as flower girl.
Marian’s close showbiz friends Roxanne Barcelo and Ana Feleo were among her maids of honor while Dingdong’s brother, Jose Angelo Dantes, was among the best men.
Among the showbiz personalities listed as bridesmaids were Agot Isidro, Bettina Carlos, Rochelle Pangilinan and the recently married Bianca Gonzalez. Actor Paolo Contis was also one of the groomsmen.
Spotted in the wedding were Senator Tito Sotto, Anjo Yllana, Alden Richards, Pokwang and KC Montero who posted updates on social media.
Dingdong wore a Randy Ortiz beige-colored suit with a black bowtie and black trousers and arrived at his wedding in style riding a Ducati Diavel Monster 1100EVO motorcycle.
Marian looked ravishing in a gown especially designed for her by Dubai-based Filipino designer Michael Cinco. The gown reportedly cost P2 million.
Marian’s Spanish father, Francisco Javier Gracia, flew in to personally witness his daughter’s special day.
The newlyweds reportedly invited over 700 guests to the reception which was held at the 18,000-seater Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
source: interaksyon.com
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Wall Street ends at record in second straight weekly gain
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with both the Dow and S&P 500 closing at records in a broad rally, though trading was light with many market participants still out for the Christmas holiday.
Major indexes closed out their second straight weekly gain, continuing an advance that has lifted the S&P 5.9 percent in seven sessions. The benchmark index hit its 52nd record close of the year on Friday, the most since 1995 and the fourth-best annual record ever, while the Dow rose for a seventh straight day, its longest streak since March 2013.
"The overall trend remains higher, but we're reaching a point where we're overbought. Six percent since last Tuesday is such a strong move in such a short period of time, even if bulls have the upper hand in the longer term," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.
Recent gains have come on strong economic data, including a bullish read on economic growth earlier this week, as well as accommodative measures from central banks.
The day's gains were broad, with eight of the S&P 500's 10 primary sectors ending up on the day and no sector ending more than 0.1 percent lower. The utility sector was the day's strongest, up 1.2 percent, while healthcare rose 0.8 percent.
Healthcare stocks were boosted by biotechs, which jumped 2.3 percent. While the Nasdaq biotech index was one of the day's strongest sectors, it fell 3.2 percent in a week marked by heavy volatility. Celgene Corp rose 3.4 percent to $113.35 as the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainer, followed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, up 3.3 percent to $413.48.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.5 points, or 0.13 percent, to 18,053.71, the S&P 500 gained 6.89 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,088.77 and the Nasdaq Composite added 33.39 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,806.86.
For the week, the Dow rose 1.4 percent, the S&P rose 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq rose 0.9 percent. It was the ninth positive week in the past ten for the Dow and S&P.
The S&P Retail index rose 0.5 percent in the first trading session after Christmas. Among notable names, Best Buy Co rose 0.6 percent to $39.14 while Macy's Inc dipped 0.3 percent to $64.05. Amazon.com Inc rose 2 percent to $309.18.
"Things are looking positive since the shopping season coincided with a big drop in crude oil, which means lower gas prices," Sarhan said. "That translates to more disposable income, which could mean stronger retail sales."
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,032 to 1,011, for a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,792 issues rose and 934 fell for a 1.92-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.
The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 70 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 133 new highs and 28 new lows.
About 3.06 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data, compared with the month-to-date average of 7.39 billion.
source: interaksyon.com
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Sierra Leone declares 5-day Ebola lockdown in north
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone -- Sierra Leone's government has declared a five-day lockdown in the country's north to step up efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic, while making an exception for Christmas.
"Muslims and Christians are not allowed to hold services in mosques and churches throughout the lockdown except for Christians on Christmas Day (Thursday)," Alie Kamara, resident minister for the Northern Region, told AFP.
The lockdown announced Wednesday is designed "to intensify the containment of the Ebola virus," he said, adding: "We are working to break the chain of transmission."
Deputy communication minister Theo Nicol said "the lockdown for five days ... is meant for us to get an accurate picture of the situation," adding: "Other districts will carry on with their own individual lockdown after this if they deemed it necessary."
Ebola has killed more than 7,500 people, almost all of them in west Africa.
Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea are the three nations worst-hit by the epidemic, and Sierra Leone recently overtook Liberia as the country with the highest number of Ebola infections.
Kamara said shops and markets would be closed throughout the period, and "no unauthorized vehicles or motorcycle taxis" would be allowed to circulate "except those officially assigned to Ebola-related assignments."
Among "key objectives" is to allow health workers to identify patients, Kamara said.
Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency on July 31 after the Ebola outbreak and imposed restrictions on the movement of people.
As of Wednesday six of the country's 14 departments have these restrictions in place.
On December 12, the government announced a restriction on large Christmas and New Year gatherings.
Several residents in the country's north told AFP by telephone that locals had largely been conforming to the new strictures.
'Bleak Christmas'
"The streets are deserted and people are staying indoors or sitting in their backyards," said Felix Koroma, in Makeni, in the district of Bombali.
"Although the district is predominantly Muslim, it is traditional for Muslims to join with Christians to celebrate Christmas but from what I can deduce, it’s going to be a bleak occasion," he added.
Sarah Tucker, in Port Loko district said the only activity she could see was "medics moving from house-to-house" looking to remove the sick from their homes.
But some residents said they had not been given adequate warning to stockpile supplies.
"The notice given was too short and it was difficult for us to keep food in the house," a resident of Magburaka, in Tonkolili, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
"The lockdown is good but we are worried over what to eat until it ends."
The lockdown came after it was announced that a fourth member of the UN mission in neighboring Liberia had been hospitalized after testing positive for the virus.
The UN employee tested positive on Tuesday and was immediately transferred to an Ebola treatment unit, Karin Landgren, the special representative of UN chief Ban Ki-moon, said.
"UNMIL is taking all necessary measures to mitigate any possible further transmission -- both within the mission and beyond," Landgren said, referring to the United Nations Mission in Liberia.
A UN statement said its mission had stepped up surveillance "to ensure that all people who came into contact with the staff member while symptomatic are assessed and quarantined."
Liberia tops the number of Ebola deaths in the world with 3,376 fatalities but has seen a clear decrease of new transmissions in the past month.
source: interaksyon.com
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Apple pushes first ever automated security update to Mac users
BOSTON — Apple Inc has pushed out its first-ever automated security update to Macintosh computers to help defend against newly identified bugs that security researchers have warned could enable hackers to gain remote control of machines.
The company pushed out the software on Monday to fix critical security vulnerabilities in a component of its OS X operating system called the network time protocol, or NTP, according to Apple spokesman Bill Evans.NTP is used for synchronizing clocks on computer systems.
The bugs were made public in security bulletins on Friday by the Department of Homeland Security and the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute. Carnegie Mellon identified dozens of technology companies, including Apple, whose products might be vulnerable.
When Apple has released previous security patches, it has done so through its regular software update system, which typically requires user intervention.
The company decided to deliver the NTP bug fixes with its technology for automatically pushing out security updates, which Apple introduced two years ago but had never previously used, because it wanted to protect customers as quickly as possible due to the severity of the vulnerabilities, Evans said.
“The update is seamless,” he said. “It doesn’t even require a restart.”
Apple does not know of any cases where vulnerable Mac computers were targeted by hackers looking to exploit the bugs, he added.
source: interaksyon.com
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
6 killed as garbage truck ploughs into Glasgow Christmas shoppers, driver possibly had heart attack
LONDON - Six people were killed and eight others injured in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday when a garbage truck ploughed into crowds of Christmas shoppers in what appeared to be a tragic accident.
One eyewitness described the vehicle knocking people down "like pinballs" as it veered out of control over a distance of around 300 meters (about 1,000 feet), only stopping when it crashed into a hotel.
"Sadly six people have died as a result of the George Square major road incident," read a tweet on the Scottish police force's official account.
Police superintendent Stewart Carle told reporters at the scene that people were killed over "a number of sites."
He said the driver, who reported by some British media to have slumped at the wheel and perhaps to have suffered a heart attack, was being treated in hospital.
An investigation was under way to establish exactly what had happened, police said.
"The bin lorry just lost control. It went along the pavement, knocking everyone like pinballs," eyewitness Melanie Greig told Sky News.
"People were trying to run out of the way but when something was coming out behind them like that, how can they run out of the way?" she said.
She added: "There was noise, bangs, screams and everything. It was just horrific."
The rubbish truck, owned by Glasgow City Council, mounted the pavement and hit the first pedestrian outside the Gallery of Modern Art on Queen Street at about 2:30 p.m. (1430 GMT), police said.
It struck several more as it continued at speed for another two blocks, crashing at the Millennium Hotel on George Square, near Queen Street station.
Emergency services cordoned off the normally bustling area in what is Scotland's biggest city.
The incident took place the day after a driver with psychiatric problems in the French town of Dijon ploughed into pedestrians, injuring 13.
'Sad day for Scotland'
Scottish police said there was nothing "sinister" about the Glasgow incident, calling it an accident.
"It is a road traffic collision with multiple fatalities," Carle said, adding: "It does not look to be a criminal or deliberate attack."
The accident happened near the Scottish city's main shopping hub, where shoppers filled the streets just three days before Christmas Day.
Residents began leaving floral tributes at the scene, and a note attached to a bunch of pink roses read "To all those who lost their lives and witnessed this horrible tragedy."
The accident occurred just over a year after another tragedy in the city in which ten people died when a police helicopter crashed onto the roof of a pub.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was being kept informed of developments.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called it a "sad day for Glasgow and Scotland" and urged anyone who was in the area at the time of the accident to contact their loved ones.
"My thoughts are with everyone involved in this tragic incident, and especially with the friends and families of the six people who lost their lives," she said in a statement.
source: interaksyon.com
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Protesters gather at America's biggest shopping mall
WASHINGTON DC - Hundreds of demonstrators filed into America's largest shopping mall Saturday as part of an ongoing wave of protests against racially charged police violence, interrupting one of the holidays' busiest shopping days.
Protesters gathered at the Mall of America, in Bloomington in the Midwestern state of Minnesota, and held up signs with slogans such as "Black Lives Matter," which has become a rallying cry for nationwide demonstrations against police.
Photos posted on Twitter showed dozens of demonstrators -- including several shopkeepers -- placing their hands in the air. The gesture is a tribute to Michael Brown, a black teen killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Some witnesses claim Brown had his hands in the air when he was shot on August 9. His death and the subsequent grand jury decision not to charge the officer involved touched off weeks of nationwide protests over what demonstrators say is the police's disproportionate use of deadly force against African Americans.
According to the Mall of America protest's Facebook page, more than 3,000 people said they would attend the demonstration. Photos posted on social media showed throngs of people gathered across several levels of the sprawling shopping center, with more outside.
Police and mall security were quick to respond, but there were no immediate reports of arrests, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper.
Several protesters tweeted an image of a mall information screen warning people they faced arrest.
"This demonstration is in clear violation of mall of America policy," the warning read. "Those who continue to demonstrate are subject to arrest."
Most protesters appeared to have dispersed by mid-afternoon.
The grand jury decision last month not to indict police officer Darren Wilson over Brown's death was followed by a similar grand jury verdict that declined to charge another white policeman in the "chokehold" death in Staten Island of Eric Garner, a black father of six.
These and other deaths, including that of 12-year-old Tamir Rice -- shot dead by Cleveland police as he brandished a toy gun -- have unleashed simmering resentment of police tactics in the United States and highlighted uneasy relations between black men and law enforcement officials.
The Mall of America sees some 40 million visitors annually and is an important tourist draw for Minnesota, according to the mall's website.
It would take a shopper 86 hours to visit all the shops in the mall if they spent 10 minutes in each shop.
source: interaksyon.com
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Oil, stocks go their separate ways
NEW YORK - Investors have wrung their hands over the last several weeks over the effect of lower oil prices on the broader S&P 500, but the relationship between the two is actually starting to break down.
Crude prices had dropped more than 10 percent in the trading week ended Dec. 12. That was largely responsible for a 3.5 percent drop in the S&P 500, as investors fled stocks over concerns about energy-sector bonds, corporate earnings, and expectations for world economic demand.
That seemed to change Thursday. The S&P 500 surged while oil fell, a potential change in sentiment among investors looking to focus on sectors that may benefit from an accelerating U.S. economy.
"The proof is that oil turned down and the market said, 'Oh, that was yesterday's news, today we're moving ahead,'" said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch credit strategist Hans Mikkelsen credited the decoupling partly to Fed Chair Janet Yellen's Wednesday news conference.
"She explained how declining oil prices are expected to be a net positive for the U.S. economy. Furthermore, she went out of her way to dismiss any downward pressure on inflation as transitory."
Investors may have already priced in the effect of cheaper oil on energy-sector earnings and are now starting to weigh the positives for other sectors.
In its 2015 global outlook, fund manager Pimco said the fall in energy costs, because it is largely supply-driven, should ultimately help growth in major economies, including the United States, Japan, and the euro zone.
Fourth-quarter energy-sector earnings are expected to decline 19.2 percent from a year ago; on October 1, growth of 6.6 percent was expected.
"You will see some pain in the short term because of fourth quarter earnings," said James Liu, global market strategist at JPMorgan Funds in Chicago. "So the broad S&P 500 will take a hit based on that, but over the next several quarters it is clearly going to be a good thing."
As recently as Tuesday, the 10-day correlation between the S&P 500 and Brent crude stood at 0.97, meaning each moved in almost perfect sync with the other. The correlation has been breaking down and last stood at 0.42, with Brent stumbling 3.1 percent, while the S&P 500 surged 2.4 percent, on Thursday.
According to data from S&P, energy has fallen to a market share representation of 8.31 percent, from 9.7 percent at the end of the third quarter, as names such as Denbury Resources, Nabors Industries and Halliburton have each tumbled more than 35 percent.
With investors hoping oil prices have at least stabilized as Brent hovers around the $60 mark, selling pressure could resume on equities if the downward march for oil begins again, weighing on the broader S&P index and tightening the correlation.
source: interaksyon.com
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Swiss central bank introduces negative interest rate
Zurich, Switzerland - Switzerland's central bank on Thursday announced it was introducing negative interest rates, in a bid to stop the Swiss franc -- a safe haven currency -- from gaining further value.
The Swiss National Bank is imposing a rate of -0.25 percent on certain bank deposits, with the aim of pushing the target range of a benchmark interest rate into negative territory.
The rate on so-called sight deposits, funds which can be accessed immediately, will come into force on January 22 and only apply to balances above a certain threshold.
The SNB said the aim was to take the three-month Libor rate, which Switzerland uses to determine interest rates on mortgages and savings accounts, into negative territory.
The target range for Libor -- officially the franc's three-month London interbank offered rate -- is now between -0.75 percent and 0.25 percent, down from between 0.0 and 0.25 percent.
Analysts have been expecting the bank to push rates into negative territory, which is designed to make it less attractive to hold Swiss franc investments.
The SNB reiterated its "utmost determination" to stop the Swiss currency gaining value and to keep to an exchange-rate floor of 1.20 francs to the euro, in a bid to protect the country's vital export industry.
"Over the past few days, a number of factors have prompted increased demand for safe investments," it said.
"The introduction of negative interest rates makes it less attractive to hold Swiss franc investments, and thereby supports the minimum exchange rate.
"The SNB is prepared to purchase foreign currency in unlimited quantities and to take further measures, if required."
source: interaksyon.com
Pope leads global praise for 'historic' thawing of US-Cuba ties
PARIS, France -- Pope Francis led a chorus of global plaudits for Wednesday's breakthrough in US-Cuban relations, hailed as "historic" in Europe and South America and prompting celebrations on the streets of Havana.
In a personal coup for the pope, it emerged that the Vatican had played a central role in bringing together the global capitalist superpower and the tiny communist island.
The Argentinian pontiff sent "warm congratulations" to the former arch-foes for overcoming "the difficulties which have marked their recent history."
The Vatican said the pope had appealed to US President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro to end the standoff, offering negotiators his offices in October, paving the way for "solutions acceptable to both parties."
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted that his country -- which never broke off ties with Cuba -- had also played its part by hosting the first secret talks in 2013, and welcomed the "overdue development."
The European Union, which is itself moving to normalise ties with Cuba, hailed the announcement as a "historical turning point."
"Today another Wall has started to fall," said EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini, adding that the 28-member bloc hoped ultimately to be able to "expand relations with all parts of Cuban society."
In South America, the detente elicited a euphoric response from leaders of the five-nation Mercosur bloc meeting in Argentina, who broke into applause at the news.
Best birthday present
"We're living a historic day," said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, leader of Cuba's closest ally and one of its biggest benefactors, at the Argentina summit.
Maduro, whose forerunner Hugo Chavez was a close confidant of Fidel Castro, immediately claimed the thaw as "a moral victory" and "a victory for Fidel."
Praising Pope Francis, who turned 78 on Wednesday, Maduro noted: "It was with his help, and it's the best birthday present."
In Bogota, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos saluted "the audacity and courage" of the US and Cuban leaders in helping further "the dream of a continent where there will be absolute peace between nations and within them."
And Chile's Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz spoke for those in Latin America who were frustrated by the diplomatic divide, declaring: "This is the beginning of the end of the Cold War in the Americas."
In Europe, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said the move was "of great significance" and seized the opportunity to urge Cuba to improve its rights record.
"This future can only be built on the basis of respect for democracy and human rights," he told reporters in Madrid.
German Foreign Affairs Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the breakthrough "very good news in these times rich with conflict."
Celebrations and anger
In Havana's historic center, overjoyed Cubans took to the streets to celebrate the news, voicing hopes that the breakthrough would lead to an economic revival.
"I have goosebumps all over," said 52-year-old cafeteria worker Ernesto Perez. "It's very important news that will change all our lives."
But among Cubans in Miami's Little Havana, the reaction was one of anger and dismay.
Dozens of people gathered outside Cafe Versailles, a Little Havana landmark, to protest the rapprochement.
"It is a betrayal. The talks are only going to benefit Cuba," said Carlos Munoz Fontanil in Calle Ocho, the heart of an exile community that has long pined for the fall of the Castro regime in Havana.
Some Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Washington took a similar view and warned Congress would block efforts to lift the trade embargo.
"The White House has conceded everything and gained little," said Republican Senator Marco Rubio, blasting the deal as "inexplicable."
source: interaksyon.com
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Ringo Starr, Lou Reed among 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class
NEW YORK | Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, the late rocker Lou Reed, punk group Green Day and singer Bill Withers are among the 2015 inductees named on Tuesday to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, rockers Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, rhythm and blues band the “5″ Royales, the late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and the band Double Trouble will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Cleveland on April 18.
“These inductees epitomize rock and roll’s impact over the past 50 years and continuing through today,” Joel Peresman, the president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement.
He added that this year will mark 30 years of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions.
Starr was selected in the music excellence category. He was inducted as a member of The Beatles in 1988. His bandmates have since entered the Hall of Fame as solo artists: John Lennon in 1994, Paul McCartney in 1999 and George Harrison in 2004.
Reed, whose work with The Velvet Underground made them one of the most influential groups in rock; Green Day and “Ain’t No Sunshine” singer Withers were selected in the performer category, along with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, whose biggest hit “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” became a rock classic, were cited for their fresh sound. The “5″ Royales were credited for creating some of rock’s first standards while performing from 1945 to 1965.
More than 700 artists, music industry professionals and historians help to decide who is inducted. The public also cast their votes in a “fans ballot.”
Artists are eligible 25 years after the release of their first record for induction into the Hall of Fame, which was established in 1983.
source: interaksyon.com
iRipple sizzles with sale of assets to third party
Shares in software solutions provider iRipple Inc bucked the selloff in the broader market to hit a new one-year high on Tuesday after its board cleared the sale of all its assets and liabilities to a third party.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, iRipple said the terms and conditions as well as the manner of sale have yet to be finalized.
"The company shall sell substantially all its assets to a third party in preparation for a contemplated change in primary purpose of the company (i.e. holdings corporation)," iRipple said.
Its shares rose 5.19 percent to close at P73.10 each, surpassing the stock's 52-week high of P73 and bucking the benchmark index's nearly 3 percent drop.
"The new company will build the future of retail technology for the Asian market," iRipple chief finance officer Karlo Tablizo said in a text message, but stopped short of identifying possible backdoor listing prospects.
iRipple operates, develops, manages and provides software solution projects and related businesses as well as trades computer hardware and software products. It started commercial operations in January 2002.
The company developed BarterMerchandise Management Solution (MMS), a software solution designed to support the entire merchandising operations of businesses engaged in the buying and selling of goods.
At end-2013, iRipple deployed Barter in more than 1,100 branches nationwide, while the Barter point-of-sales (POS) Solution has been installed in approximately 5,000 units.
iRipple is an authorized reseller of IBM and HP servers and POS equipment, Epson printers, and Symbol-Motorola scanners. Under the re-seller agreement, the listed company is charged at dealer prices while supplying IBM and HP POS equipment, Epson printers and Symbol-Motorola scanners to their Barter clients at a margin.
source: interaksyon.com
Apple cleared in iPod antitrust suit
SAN FRANCISCO — A US jury on Tuesday cleared Apple of abusing its dominant market position in an antitrust case over online music for the iPod.
The class-action antitrust case in California federal court featured dramatic videotaped testimony recorded by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs before he died in 2011.
The $350-million lawsuit accused the tech giant of illegally forcing iPod users to purchase their music on its iTunes service.
The suit said iPod buyers between 2006 and 2009 were blocked from buying music from other vendors, advancing Apple’s dominant position on music downloads.
But the jury ruled otherwise.
“We thank the jury for their service and we applaud their verdict,” Apple said in a statement.
“We created iPod and iTunes to give our customers the world’s best way to listen to music. Every time we’ve updated those products — and every Apple product over the years — we’ve done it to make the user experience even better.”
Jobs’ testimony from a few months before his death in October 2011 was played at the hearing Friday.
In excerpts published by online news site “The Verge,” he said that Apple was “very concerned” about retaliatory measures that could be taken by record companies if songs purchased in iTunes and downloaded to an iPod were then copied onto somebody else’s computer.
“We went to great pains to make sure that people couldn’t hack into our digital rights management system because if they could, we would get nasty emails from the labels threatening us that they were going to yank the license,” Jobs said.
He argued that “lots of hackers” were trying to break into the system, and as a result, Apple had to be constantly “revving the iTunes and iPod software, closing any holes that might be in it, or any problems it might have.”
If these changes meant that competitors became locked out, then they were only “collateral damage,” he said.
Plaintiffs in the class-action suit argued that the repeat changes prevented other online music stores — and potentially less expensive ones at that — from adapting their own systems fast enough for their music to be used on the iPod.
This, they said, meant iPod owners had to make purchases on iTunes.
Apple has remained a powerful player in online music, but in 2009 dropped its “digital rights management” that limited how users could copy or transfer songs.
source: interaksyon.com
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Manager of Sydney Cafe dies as hero in hostage siege
SYDNEY -- The manager of the Sydney cafe who was fatally shot in the siege was being praised as a hero on Tuesday for allowing others trapped in the cafe to escape.
Three people were killed, including the hostage taker, in the 17-hour siege which involved a lone gunman and 17 hostages and began on Monday morning.
Tori Johnson, 34, was wrestling a gun from hostage taker Man Haron Monis when he was killed, according to the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC).
According to reports from the hostages, it is understood the cafe manager decided to take action when Monis started to fall asleep at 2 a.m. on Tuesday after the siege had been ongoing for 17 hours.
Johnson lunged at the gunman's weapon, enabling others to flee.
The second hostage killed has been identified as mother-of- three Katrina Dawson, 38. Dawson was killed trying to defend her pregnant friend, the Australian Associated Press reports.
Media refused to be used
Various media have reported that Monis forced the hostages to call them to present his demands. All the media did not cooperate and did not relay these messages.
Before the police raided the cafe at around 2 a.m., a group of hostages ran out of the building. At that point police stormed the cafe using stun grenades and firing rifles.
The 50-year-old Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh on bail for an accessory to murder charge, was pronounced dead at hospital.
Four hostages were injured including two women, who have been taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, another woman who suffered a gunshot wound to her shoulder and a police officer who was treated for a gunshot wound to the face.
Addressing the media on Tuesday morning, New South Wales (NSW) Commissioner Andrew Scipione said police were still trying to find out the exact details of siege. "We need to actually find out what's happened here and what's happened inside that cafe," he said.
Tribute to the hostages
NSW Premier Mike Baird has also addressed media, paying tribute to the families of the deceased and hostages, and rallying the people of NSW to "come together like never before."
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has released a statement this morning following briefings with the NSW premier and police commissioner.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two deceased hostages, the wounded, and the other hostages," he said.
"I commend the courage and the professionalism of the New South Wales Police and other emergency services."
Abbott will travel to Sydney on Tuesday to be further briefed by NSW police and other security agencies.
The authorities have commenced an extensive investigation and cleared for risk of explosives.
Throughout Tuesday morning, the public have been laying flowers near the cafe in Martin Place.
Police have been reluctant to reveal details of what prompted them to storm the building, but it has been reported hostages took the opportunity to escape as their captor began to doze off.
Scipione said police had no choice but to enter the building, after hearing gunshots and feared hostages had been hit.
"They made the call because they believed at that time if they didn't enter it would have been many more lives lost," Scipione said.
Monis was also charged this year with indecent and sexual assault of women in 2002. He was hit with an additional 40 charges in October.
Monis, who was originally from Iran and lived in southwest Sydney, had previously sent offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers, calling them "murderers," the Daily Telegraph said.
source: interaksyon.com
Dell launches new PC monitors
MANILA, Philippines — Dell has launched its new line-up of computer monitors during the company’s year-end briefing in Taguig last Friday.
The product line includes the flagship UP2715K, a 5k monitor with almost twice the resolution of a 4k monitor, the U3415W, Dell’s first type of 34-inch curved screen monitor, the Ultra HD 4k monitor P2715Q and the UltraSharp monitor U2515H.
“We are excited to announce Dell’s new monitor line-up in sizes and price points that will be compelling to customers seeking for higher resolutions,” Jasmon Ching, Dell South Asia brand marketing manager, said. “Today’s announcement reinforces how Dell has led in product innovation by making the latest monitor technologies available to everyone, regardless of their usage and budget.”
The premium product UP 2715K goes for $2,499 (about P111,492) and is designed primarily for color-based and high-resolution imaging industries as well as game and software developers. The product is mainly a 27-inch 16:9 ultra-HD 5k screen panel with a resolution of 5120×2880 (over 14 million pixels), or seven times better than full-HD monitors. According to Dell, the UP2715K can display 1.07 billion colors and has an 86 percent decrease of harmful reflection compared to other products for a more accurate display performance.
The curved display U3415W, on the other hand, retails for $1,199 (about P53,493) and has a sharpness of 3440×1440 resolution on 21:9 screen.
“The curved display and wide field of view work together to give gamers a competitive edge, requiring less eye movement when compared to a flat panel display, enabling players to take advantage of their peripheral vision when the competition heats up,” the company said in a press statement.
Dell also unveiled the P2715Q Ultra HD ($699 or P31,168), which has a 3840×2160 resolution with more than 8 million pixels, and the U2515H ($479 or about P21,375), which has a 2560×1440 QHD resolution.
source: interaksyon.com
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Oil slump leads Wall Street to worst week in 2-1/2 years
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, leaving the benchmark S&P 500 with its worst weekly performance since May 2012, as investors pulled back from the markets in response to oil's free-fall and more weak data out of China.
Oil's declines have underscored concerns about global demand, and with the S&P 500 having hit a record high only last week, investors were loath to fight the downward pressure on stocks, which accelerated in the final minutes of trading. The S&P dropped 3.5 percent on the week after seven straight weeks of gains.
The S&P energy sector .SPNY was down 2.2 percent on the day. It is down 16.5 percent this year, the worst performing of 10 S&P sectors. Dow components Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp both hit 52-week lows as U.S. crude oil fell below $58 a barrel, hitting five-year lows, on expectations of reduced worldwide energy demand.
"Certainly as midday came the market did not stabilize at all, so sellers knew that," said Kenny Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York. "Energy is at the top of the list in terms of the names getting crushed."
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 315.51 points, or 1.79 percent, to 17,280.83, the S&P 500 lost 33 points, or 1.62 percent, to 2,002.33 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 54.57 points, or 1.16 percent, to 4,653.60.
Disappointing data that suggested China's economy softened in November pushed the materials sector down 2.9 percent, making it the worst-performing S&P sector on the day.
The drop in oil and weakness in China overshadowed strong U.S. consumer sentiment, which hit an eight-year high.
Some investors hope declining gas prices will boost consumer spending enough to offset the energy sector's woes.
However, there is concern that rising volatility in the energy market will migrate to equities as investors worry about slack demand worldwide. The CBOE Volatility Index rose 5 percent to 21.08 on Friday as investors paid up to hedge against losses.
Polcari, however, noted that the S&P 500's declines came to within a whisper of the 50-day moving average at 2,000, where he expects to see buyers emerge next week.
Adobe Systems rose 9 percent to $76.02, making it the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 after it announced plans to buy stock photography company Fotolia, along with a stronger quarterly report.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,468 to 647, for a 3.81-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1,949 issues fell and 790 advanced for a 2.47-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.
The broad S&P 500 index posted 15 new 52-week highs and 35 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 52 new highs and 160 new lows.
About 7.6 billion shares were traded on U.S. exchanges on Friday, compared to the 6.9 billion daily average so far this month, according to BATS Global Markets data.
source: interaksyon.com
Floyd Mayweather says he’s ready to fight Manny Pacquiao: ‘Let’s do it’
Floyd Mayweather said on Friday that he’s ready for the long-awaited megafight with Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.
In an interview on the Showtime network during a fight card his company was promoting, Mayweather said he was willing to make the fight happen, even suggesting a May 2 date for the bout.
“We are ready. Let’s make it happen. May 2. Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. Let’s do it,” Mayweather said in the interview.
There has been clamor for the megafight since 2009, but concerns about drug testing and money matters have made the fight seem unlikely to occur.
The undefeated American boxer also said that it was not him that was keeping the much-anticipated fight from happening and pointed at Top Rank promoter Bob Arum instead.
Arum, though, has stated that Mayweather was “smart” and has avoided the fight because Pacquiao poses the biggest threat to his pristine record.
The fight is expected to be the richest fight in boxing history, though Mayweather is expected to demand a much larger purse than Pacquiao in the bout.
Pacquiao has been calling Mayweather out recently, saying he was ready for the fight after his recent win over Chris Algieri and trading barbs with his rival on Instagram and in a Foot Locker commercial.
source: interaksyon.com
What Is Marginal Tax Rate and How Does It Work?
We hear a lot about tax rates. Often, what we pay in taxes is expressed as a percentage of income. However, it’s important to understand that the tax rate you pay doesn’t apply to your entire income. Instead, you will pay taxes based on a formula that looks at was is called the marginal tax rate.
What is Your Marginal Tax Rate?
Your marginal tax rate is the tax you pay on your last dollar of income. However, and more importantly for tax planning, your marginal tax rate is also what you’ll likely pay on your next dollar earned.
Since Canada operates on tax brackets, you will pay more tax when you earn more. However, it’s worth noting that you pay a rate based on the income in each bracket. So your marginal tax rate doesn’t reflect the total that you pay on your income. In fact, what you actually end up paying, in terms of a percentage of your income, is probably going to be lower than your marginal tax rate.
Even with the reality that your taxes will go up the more you earn, it’s possible to use the marginal tax rate to your advantage by planning ahead with RRSPs and other steps to reduce your taxes. Marginal tax rate should not be confused with your average tax rate, which is simply the amount of tax you pay divided by your income.
How Does Marginal Tax Rate Work?
To show how these tax rates work, I’m using the combined federal and Alberta rates for 2015. While your province may have different tax brackets and tax rates, Alberta has a flat provincial tax of 10%, and this will give you an idea of how marginal tax rates work. For the tax rates in your province, you can find all marginal tax rates at TaxTips.ca.
Technically the first tax bracket is $0 to $44,701, but I’ve included the effect on marginal tax rate from the federal basic personal amount of $11,327 and the Alberta basic personal amount of $18,214.
- Up to $11,327 – tax rate of 0%
- $11,327 to $18,214 – tax rate of 15%
- $18,214 to $44,701 – tax rate of 25%
- $44,701 to $89,401 – tax rate of 32%
- $89,401 to $138,586 – tax rate of 36%
- above $138,586 – tax rate of 39%
Knowing this is how you can best work towards reducing your taxes.
Investing In RRSPs Based On Marginal Tax Rate
Sticking with the example above, it might make sense to put the $4,299 into an RRSP since you would get $1,376 back on your tax refund. However, putting any more into an RRSP that year may not be best since you would only get 25% back, not 32%. While getting a 25% tax deduction might sound better than nothing, you need to look at what you expect to earn in retirement. Tax planning requires that you step back and look to the future. Now, if you have more money to save, this is where your TFSA can come in. Make use of your RRSP within your highest tax bracket, but also look to use your TFSAs contribution room as well.
While you would be making $49,000 a year in this example, and will likely make more in future years, you would likely need less money in retirement. With the house paid off, children moved out, and since you no longer need to put money money away for retirement, you may be able to withdraw less than $44,701 (or its equivalent whenever your retire). This is when an RRSP works best, when you can get a a larger tax deduction from contributing and then pay a lower income tax in retirement. It’s important to understand this, since the money you withdraw from your RRSP is considered “regular” income.
Knowing and understanding your marginal tax rate, and how it works, is a key part of long-term financial and tax planning. Take the time to understand, and you will be able to get the most from your RRSP, now and in retirement.
source: canadianfinanceblog.com
Jawbone UP24 Fitness Tracker
The Jawbone UP24 Fitness Tracker is a wristband that works with an app on a smartphone to track vital daily stats. The wristband relays data to the app via Bluetooth, which allows to track calories burned, intensity and any type of workout. Users can track what they eat or drink as well as the hours of sleep. Its low-profile form factor lets the user wear it comfortably any time of day or night.
Specs:
- Hypoallergenic TPU rubber
- Splash-resistant
- Compatible with iPhone 4s and newer, iPod touch 5th Gen and newer, iPad 3rd Gen and newer,iPad mini and newer
- Phones equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 and running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or later
- Lithium-ion polymer batetery
- Up to 7 days battery life
- 80 minutes charging time via USB charging cable
- Bluetooth 4.0 BLE connectivity
- Accelerometer Tri-axis accelerometer
- LED Indicator Two single color LEDs and vibrating motor
- Dimensions (WxH) Inner: 2.5 x 1.6″ (63 x 40 mm)
- Outer: 3.0 x 2.1″ (76 x 54 mm)
- Length: 6.0 – 7.0″ (15.5 to 18.0 cm)
- Weight 0.78 oz (22.0 g)
Mississippi pastor trots out horse in wedding dress to protest gay marriage
The horse, complete with white flowers tucked into its harness and a bouquet at its feet, munched grass as the pastor, Edward James of Bertha Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, spoke and waved signs at passersby.
"Do you take this horse to be your unnatural wedded spouse to have and to hold?" one sign read.
US District Judge Carlton Reeves struck down Mississippi's same-sex marriage ban in a ruling last month. Gay couples cannot yet marry in Mississippi pending the outcome of a state appeal to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which is hearing arguments in the case on January 9.
Gay marriage is legal in 35 US states, a trend that has accelerated since the Supreme Court ruled in June 2013 that legally married same-sex couples nationwide are eligible for federal benefits, striking down a key part of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act.
While gay marriage advocates have enjoyed the upper hand in the courts since then, the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit US Court of Appeals in November became the first to rule the other way in upholding state bans on same-sex marriage.
That decision was seen as setting the stage for the Supreme Court to finally rule on the merits of gay marriage nationwide.
Mississippi is home to an estimated 3,484 same-sex couples, according to the most recent decennial census. About one quarter of the couples are raising children.
Speaking in a video-taped interview with the Clarion-Ledger newspaper, James acknowledged that his horse bride was absurd, but said the spectacle served a point.
"Although it's ridiculous, so is the same-sex marriage status," he said.
source: interaksyon.com
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Palestinian minister dies after being struck by Israeli troops
TURMUSIYA, West Bank - A Palestinian minister died shortly after being hit by Israeli soldiers during a protest on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, a Reuters photographer who witnessed the incident and a Palestinian medic said.
Ziad Abu Ein, a minister without portfolio who was in his early 50s, was rushed by ambulance from the scene, in the village of Turmusiya, but died en route to the nearby Palestinian city of Ramallah.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a statement, called Abu Ein's death "a barbaric act which we cannot be silent about or accept". Announcing three days of national mourning, Abbas said he would take "necessary steps" after an investigation.
The Israeli army was looking into the incident, a spokeswoman said, She did not immediately provide further information.
About 100 foreign and Palestinian activists with the Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall, the government-run protest organization that Abu Ein headed, were on their way to plant trees and protest near an Israeli settlement when they were stopped at an improvised checkpoint, witnesses said.
A group of around 15 Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at the protesters and began scuffling with them.
Abu Ein was struck by a hand to the neck during an altercation with two of the soldiers, and was rushed away in an ambulance shortly afterwards, the Reuters photographer said.
Bilateral tensions have been fueled in recent weeks by the killing of 10 Israelis and a foreign visitor in Palestinian attacks. More than a dozen Palestinians have been killed over the same period, including most of those accused of carrying out the assaults.
Palestinians in Ramallah closed shops in protest at the minister's death and youths threw stones at Israeli soldiers guarding a Jewish settlement outside the city, Palestinian security sources said.
source: interaksyon.com
Pirate Bay taken down after Swedish police raid
Swedish file-sharing website The Pirate Bay was taken down after Swedish police seized servers and computers from a server room in Stockholm.
“We had a crackdown on a server room in Greater Stockholm because of a copyright infringement, and yes it was Pirate Bay,” Paul Pinter, national coordinator, intellectual property crime at Stockholm County Police told Reuters.
Other file-sharing sites such as EZTV, Zoink, and Torrage were also offline, as was Pirate Bay’s forum Suprbay.org.
It was unsure if Pirate Bay was taken down for hosting some of the movies leaked due to the recent cyber attack on Sony Corp’s Sony Pictures Entertainment, tech website Wired reported.
Pirate Bay resurfaced for a while late Tuesday, after changing its domain name to .cr (Costa Rica), according to Russian news site Rt.com
source: interaksyon.com
Monday, December 8, 2014
Sting feted at Kennedy Center Honors
WASHINGTON | British rock star Sting was the toast of Washington on Sunday as he was feted with fellow recipients of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.
He took time off from his Broadway show “The Last Ship” to join Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, 1970s soul man Al Green, comedienne Lily Tomlin and ballerina Patricia McBride at a gala ceremony in the US capital.
“I feel very happy in my trophy,” Sting told AFP on the red carpet going into the soiree, pointing to the rainbow-colored laurel draped around his neck.
“I’m not sure when I’ll wear it again, but I think I look rather fetching in it,” he quipped.
“It’s still pretty overwhelming. I’m dealing with it quite well.”
Bestowed by the nation’s premier performing arts center, the Kennedy Center Honors are regarded as the highest recognition of cultural achievement in the United States.
Sting is the eighth British rock and pop musician to receive a Kennedy Center Honor.
Others include Elton John, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend from The Who, Paul McCartney and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
This year’s honorees were all smiles and laughter as they took their balcony places alongside President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in the Kennedy Center’s vast opera house.
First to be honored was Green, with Earth, Wind and Fire putting the black-tie crowd in a soul-swinging groove, Usher crooning “Let’s Stay Together” and a huge chorus backing Mavis Staples and Sam Moore on “Take Me To The River.”
Earlier, on the red carpet, Green — an ordained pastor in Memphis, Tennessee who branched out into gospel music in the 1980s — said the honor was merely a milestone in a career that is still unfolding.
“They give me all these great accolades and then they tell you, ‘Alright, go out and earn it’,” he said. “So we gotta keep writing and keep making songs.”
“Soul music is alive and well. You’ll never get rid soul music. It’s in here,” added Green, playfully poking the heart of an AFP reporter before breaking into a few lines of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.”
TV satirist Stephen Colbert, making his debut as a Kennedy Center Honors emcee, ironically dubbed the event “the only awards ceremony in America that does not feature Taylor Swift.”
The three-hour gala is to be telecast in the United States on the CBS network December 30.
source: interaksyon.com
Internet giants wage war on pop-up ad blockers
PARIS, France — Imagine being able to surf the Web and watch videos online without having to swat away pesky pop-up ads?
These days you can, thanks to small programs like Adblock Plus that are available free for download and that arm your browser to defend against ads.
Flashing banner ads, “pre-roll” ads (short ads that play before a video), pop-up notices that cover the whole screen — few of them make it past ad blocking software.
In the beginning, the applications acted under the radar, and were known mainly only to young people or the really tech-savvy. But now they’re catching on.
Adblock Plus has nearly five million active users in France, with a further two million in the United Kingdom and 1.5 million in Spain.
Worldwide, they have amassed about 144 million active users, up 69 per cent in a year, according to a September report from Adobe software developer and PageFair, a company that helps publishers see which ads are being blocked.
Depending on the website, the percentage of viewers equipped with ad-blocking software ranges from 10 to 60 percent
Internet users may dream about ad-free surfing, but for advertisers and web publishers, who rely on ads to fund content, ad-blocking applications are the stuff of nightmares.
“This is no small matter; it affects all publishers. Our members have lost an estimated 20 to 40 per cent of their advertising revenue,” Laure de Lataillade, CEO of GESTE, an association of web publishers in gaming, media, music and other domains, told AFP.
The growing popularity of ad blockers comes as companies plough more and more money into internet advertising.
A quarter of the 545 billion dollars spent on global advertising this year went on digital ads.
To protect that investment, a group of publishers in France, including Google, Microsoft and Le Figaro newspaper, have threatened legal action against the developers of ad blocking software.
In Germany, too, publishers are alarmed at the success of the anti-ad workarounds. “There have already been some companies that have lodged a formal complaint,” Oliver von Wersche, head of digital marketing at Gruner + Jahr, publishers of Stern news magazine and several other leading titles, told AFP.
Unauthorized access
Websites, meanwhile, are experimenting with a range of strategies to placate ad-addled audiences.
French sports daily l’Equipe’s website is using a carrot-and-stick approach.
Users with ad-blocking software who attempt to watch videos receive the message: “Unauthorised access. L’Equipe.fr is funded by advertising, which allows us to offer you free content.”
Once they deactivate the software they can gain access to the video.
“We have to find a viable economic model. Either the user pays for a premium model or he accepts advertising,” said Xavier Spender, deputy managing director of L’Equipe group.
Sean Blanchfield, CEO of PageFair, compared the campaign against ad blockers to the music industry’s takedown of the file-sharing program Napster a decade ago.
“They should instead learn from the Napster story that the users will ultimately get what they want,” said Blanchfield, whose company works with publishers to devise ads that “respect users’ privacy”.
For Helene Chartier, head of French web developers’ union SRI, the big mistake was to let users believe the internet was free in the first place, considering “there was never a problem with ads on television or radio.”
Industry professionals said the growing rejection of ads — and the shrinking space for them on mobile devices — should spur advertisers to come up with less intrusive messages.
In a sign of how seriously the problem is being taken in the industry, Google has launched an alternative to web advertising.
Called Google Contributor it charges users between 1 and 3 dollars a month to be spared ads, with the fee going to the affected websites.
In levying the fee Google urges users to “support” their favourite websites.
The idea is currently being tested on around a dozen US websites, including The Onion, Science Daily and Mashable.
source: interaksyon.com
60 barangays in Tacloban placed under state of calamity - report
MANILA, Philippines - Sixty of the 138 barangays in Tacloban City in Leyte were placed under state of calamity after the areas were battered by Typhoon Hagupit (local name: Ruby), which has weakened into a tropical storm on Monday.
A report by dzMM radio Monday evening quoted Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez as saying that members of the city council convened Monday afternoon and issued a resolution placing said villages -- where bunkhouses and tent constructed for victims of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) were destroyed -- under state of calamity.
The resolution was supported by Romualdez, according to the report.
Earlier, Catanduanes, Albay, and Camarines Sur were also placed under state of calamity after the provinces were hit by Hagupit.
Placing areas under a state of calamity will enable local government units to use the Quick Response Fund, which is part of the 2014 Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, and rehabiliate areas and provide assitance to residents affected by a weather disturbance.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that some 259,675 families or 1,186,961 persons were affected by "Ruby" in Regions IV-A (Calabarzon), IV-B (Mimaropa), V (Bicol Region, V (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), VIII (Eastern Visayas) and Caraga. Of these, some 226,605 families or 1,034,464 people were evacuated.
Around 1,953 passengers, 74 rolling cargoes, 429 vessels and four motor boats are still stranded in various ports of the country while 184 domestic flights and 24 international flights were also cancelled due to bad weather.
The airports in Legaspi, Marbate City, Marinduque, San Jose, Virac, Busuanga, Plaridel, and Puerto Princesa are now open for operations but landing and take-off are subject to prevailing aerodrome weather conditions
Power outages were reported in 17 provinces of Regions IV-A, IV-B, V, VI and VIII, while Globe and Smart networks are currently down in some parts of Leyte and Eastern Samar.
Power has been restored in the affected areas in Romblon and in the municipalities of San Fernando, Gainza, Camaligan, Pasacao, Pamplona and Ragay, all in Camarines Sur.
NDRRMC also said that nine roads were closed to traffic due to flooding, landslide and falling trees in Regions V and VIII; while four road sections are not passable to light vehicles in Leyte and San Fernando, Romblon due to flooding; and eight road sections (five in Region V and three in Region VIII) are hardly passable due to flooding, landslides, uprooted trees and toppled electric posts.
It added that Buenavista Bridge in Barangay Lilukin, Buenavista, Quezon province is not passable due to the high level of water while four areas in Quezon province namely Pagbilao, Pitogo, Barangay Almacen in Unisan and Panaon also in Unisan were flooded.
The total cost of government assistance for the affected families in Regions V, VI, VII and Caraga has reached Php 60,718,256.50.
source: interaksyon.com
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Snowden film ‘CitizenFour’ wins top documentary award
LOS ANGELES | “CitizenFour,” filmmaker Laura Poitras’s documentary about National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, was given the top award for best feature by the International Documentary Association on Friday.
The IDA award for “CitizenFour” follows the film’s best documentary win at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards this week. It was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award last month and is among 15 films advancing in the Oscars best documentary race.
“CitizenFour” gives a fly-on-the-wall account of Snowden’s tense days in a Hong Kong hotel and encounters with journalists as newspapers published details of NSA programs that gathered data from the Internet activities and phone records of millions of Americans and dozens of world leaders.
U.S. filmmaker Poitras shared a Pulitzer Prize this year for her role in publicizing the Snowden documents. She was awarded IDA’s Courage Under Fire award last year for her “conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth.”
The IDA, a 30-year-old non-profit organization that aims to support documentary films and culture, also bestowed honors on veteran actor-filmmaker and Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford, who was given the career achievement award.
Cable network Show time’s “Time of Death” was named best limited series, while best short documentary went to HBO Films’ “Tashi and the Monk,” about a Buddhist monk and his 5-year-old charge Tashi.
Last year’s IDA best feature winner, Jehane Noujaim’s “The Square,” was nominated for an Oscar this year, losing out to “20 Feet From Stardom.”
source: interaksyon.com
Friday, December 5, 2014
SoftBank invests $250 million in Southeast Asian taxi-hailing app GrabTaxi
SINGAPORE — Japanese telecoms firm SoftBank Corp has pumped in $250 million to become the top investor in Southeast Asian mobile taxi-booking application GrabTaxi Holdings Pte Ltd, its biggest investment in a Southeast Asian Internet firm.
GrabTaxi, which allows customers to order cabs closest to their location by mobile phone, operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. In a statement, the two companies said the funding will be used to accelerate the app’s expansion in the region.
The investment in GrabTaxi comes about a month after SoftBank and its billionaire CEO and founder Masayoshi Son announced a $627 million funding into online marketplace Snapdeal as part of a plan to put $10 billion into India’s booming online retail market.
SoftBank also said in October it will lead a $210 million investment round with existing investors in India’s ANI Technologies, which owns a mobile application for taxi bookings.
The Japanese firm is the largest investor in recently listed Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Including the SoftBank investment, GrabTaxi has raised $340 million in funding. The statement did not specify how much of GrabTaxi SoftBank will own.
Other investors in GrabTaxi, which was developed by two Harvard Business School graduates and launched in Malaysia in 2012 as MyTeksi, include a unit of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL] and U.S. investor Tiger Global Management. The app competes with Rocket Internet’s Easy Taxi as well as Uber’s better known app.
Taxi-hailing apps have become popular in Southeast Asia, especially Singapore, one of the most expensive places in the world to own a private car.
Finding a cab during peak hours and during frequent tropical downpours can be difficult in the city-state, which last month said it planned to start regulating third-party taxi booking services for the first time.
Heavy traffic in cities such as Manila and Jakarta also makes finding taxis tough.
Those troubles are benefitting apps such as GrabTaxi. Over the past year, the number of users of the mobile app has jumped six-fold to about half a million and taxi drivers in its network have grown four-fold to 60,000, according to the company.
source: interaksyon.com
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