Comedian Andy Kaufman 'faked his death', brother claims

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71107000/jpg/_71107333_71107332.jpg" width="600"/><br /><p>Cult comedy star Andy Kaufman faked his own death in 1984 and is still alive, his brother has claimed.</p><br /><p>Kaufman, best known for playing the incompetent Latka Gravas on the 1970s sitcom Taxi, officially died from lung cancer in 1984.</p><br /><p>But, appearing at an award show named in Andy's honour, Michael Kaufman said he received a letter from his brother, confirming he was alive, in 1999.</p><br /><p>He then introduced a woman who claimed to be Andy's 24-year-old daughter.</p><br /><p>Her age would mean she was born five years after his death.</p><br /><p>'He just wanted to be a stay-at-home dad, that's why he wanted to leave the showbiz,' she explained.</p><br /><p>'He's pretty much a great dad, and raised us. My mom has her own business... He helps her with that kind of thing, paperwork and stuff, so he can work from home and he doesn't have to be hiding out [or] concealing himself.'</p><br /><p>'He just makes us food and takes care of the house.'</p><br /><p>Her arrival had been preceded by a long anecdote, in which Michael described how, many years ago, he discovered an essay in which Andy detailed plans to fake his death.</p><br /><p>It was accompanied by a note, saying the comedian would reappear on Christmas Eve 1999, in a specific restaurant.</p><br /><p>Although Andy failed to show up, Michael was handed a letter explaining that his brother had gone into hiding to live a normal life, and now had a wife and daughter.</p><br /><p>Audience 'freaked out'</p><br />'Start Quote<br /><p>It was chilling, upsetting and absolutely intriguing'</p><br /><p>End Quote Killy Dwyer, audience member</p><br /><p>In addition to his role on Taxi, Andy Kaufman was an eccentric performance artist who often staged elaborate pranks that entertained, confused and at times frustrated his fans.</p><br /><p>He organised wrestling matches between himself and women, impersonated Elvis Presley and, most famously, created a hideous lounge singer alter-ego called Tony Clifton, who reeked of foul-smelling cheese and verbally abused virtually everyone in sight.</p><br /><p>And, famously, after he played Carnegie Hall, he hired 24 buses and took the 2,800 audience members out for milk and cookies.</p><br /><p>A life-long health fanatic, he was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 33 and died in May 1984. A copy of his death certificate, which lists the cause of death as renal failure, can be seen online.</p><br /><p>Nonetheless, a portion of his fanbase has always maintained his death was a hoax.</p><br /><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71109000/jpg/_71109768_12aa427f-d7e9-479c-a62e-caead98d49df.jpg" width="600"/><br /><p>Audience members at the Andy Kaufman Awards were uncertain how to take Michael's revelation, wondering if it, too, could be a stunt.</p><br /><p>'The entire room was freaked out,' wrote comedian Killy Dwyer on her Facebook page.</p><br /><p>'I get that it is - could - might all be a hoax.... [but] it was as real as anything I've ever seen. There is video. It was chilling, upsetting and absolutely intriguing.'</p><br /><p>Award show producer Al Parinello told the Hollywood Reporter: 'I witnessed the entire thing and I can tell you without a doubt this was not a prank.'</p><br /><p>'You could see by the look on [Michael's] face that it had an emotional impact on him,' said Ed Cavanagh, manager at the Gotham Comedy Club, where the award show took place.</p><br /><p>But, he added: 'I don't know whether somebody is perpetrating something on [Michael] or not. I'm truly 50-50 on this one.'</p><br /><p>Witnesses said the unnamed woman had explained the catalyst for her appearance was the death of her grandfather, Andy's father, in July.</p><br /><p>In a video of the encounter, posted on gossip site TMZ, Michael is seen asking whether his brother is 'getting close to revealing himself'.</p><br /><p>The woman covers her face and says, 'I don't know what to say.'</p><br /><p>'I mean, he was really thinking about coming,' she adds.</p><br /><p>Michael then asks the audience not to follow the woman after she left the building.</p><br /><p>'I won't give you her name. I don't even know [her] name,' he says. 'Let her have her privacy.'</p><br /><p>'Send him my love,' he adds.</p><br /></div>

ENTERTAINMENT Comedian Andy Kaufman 'faked his death', brother claims

Cult comedy star Andy Kaufman faked his own death in 1984 and is still alive, his brother has claimed. Kaufman, best known for playing the i...

Read more »

14-Nov-2013 13:16

Administration: 106000 enrolled in health insurance in first month of HealthCare ... - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-committee-hears-from-technology-officials-on-health-care-exchanges/2013/11/13/91d0bc5a-4c6e-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-committee-hears-from-technology-officials-on-health-care-exchanges/2013/11/13/91d0bc5a-4c6e-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Around college football: Florida State QB investigated for sexual assault - Columbus Dispatch :: <a href="http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/11/14/winston-investigated-for-sexual-assault.html">http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/11/14/winston-investigated-for-sexual-assault.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Officials say 4 Marines killed in accident at Camp Pendleton - Fox News :: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/14/officials-say-4-marines-killed-in-training-accident-at-camp-pendleton/">http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/14/officials-say-4-marines-killed-in-training-accident-at-camp-pendleton/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Student charged after 3 injured in shooting outside Pittsburgh high school - Fox News :: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/13/3-shot-outside-pittsburgh-high-school-police-say/">http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/13/3-shot-outside-pittsburgh-high-school-police-say/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Union rejection sends Boeing in search of new 777X site - Reuters :: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-boeing-union-777x-idUSBRE9AD0F520131114">http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-boeing-union-777x-idUSBRE9AD0F520131114</a><br /><br><br /><br>10 Things to Know for Today - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/10-things-to-know-for-today/2013/11/14/2b7e56f0-4d1e-11e3-bf60-c1ca136ae14a_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/10-things-to-know-for-today/2013/11/14/2b7e56f0-4d1e-11e3-bf60-c1ca136ae14a_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Ohio execution stayed over organ donation request - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24939105">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24939105</a><br /><br><br /><br>European Stocks, US Futures Rise - Wall Street Journal :: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303789604579197202751441872.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303789604579197202751441872.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Toronto council passes non-binding motion asking Rob Ford to step down - CTV News :: <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toronto-council-passes-non-binding-motion-asking-rob-ford-to-step-down-1.1540748">http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toronto-council-passes-non-binding-motion-asking-rob-ford-to-step-down-1.1540748</a><br /><br><br /><br>Secret service agent removed after leaving bullet in woman's hotel room - NBCNews.com :: <a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/14/21450311-secret-service-agent-removed-after-leaving-bullet-in-womans-hotel-room?lite">http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/14/21450311-secret-service-agent-removed-after-leaving-bullet-in-womans-hotel-room?lite</a>

14-Nov-2013 13:16

Administration: 106000 enrolled in health insurance in first month of HealthCare ... - Washington Post :: http://www.washingtonpost.com/pol...

Read more »

Some spent fuel rods at Fukushima were damaged before 2011 disaster [ BeritaTerkini ]

<div id="yom-ad-LREC" class="yom-ad yom-ad-LREC"> <center> <div id="yom-ad-LREC-iframe" class="yom-ad"></div> </center> </div> <p><br></p> <p>By Aaron Sheldrick</p> <div class="body-slot-mod"> <div class="yom-remote"> <div class="yom-loading" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div> </div> </div> <p>TOKYO (Reuters) – Three of the spent fuel assemblies due to be carefully plucked from the crippled Japanese nuclear plant at Fukushima in a hazardous year-long operation were damaged even before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that knocked out the facility.</p> <p>The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, said the damaged assemblies – 4.5 meter high racks containing 50-70 thin rods of highly irradiated used fuel – can’t be removed from Fukushima’s Reactor No. 4 using the large cask assigned to taking out more than 1,500 of the assemblies.</p> <p>One of the assemblies was damaged as far back as 1982, when it was mishandled during a transfer, and is bent out of shape, Tepco said in a brief note at the bottom of an 11-page information sheet in August.</p> <p>In a statement from April 2010, Tepco said it found two other spent fuel racks in the reactor’s cooling pool had what appeared to be wire trapped in them. Rods in those assemblies have pin-hole cracks and are leaking low-level radioactive gases, Tepco spokesman Yoshikazu Nagai told Reuters on Thursday.</p> <p>The existence of the damaged racks, reported in a Fukushima regional newspaper on Wednesday, came to light as Tepco prepares to begin decommissioning the plant by removing all the spent fuel assemblies from Reactor No. 4.</p> <div class="body-related"> <div class="img-wrap"> <div class="cta-overlay"> <span class="cta-text xsmall">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall">.”</span> </div> <p><img alt="Handout photo shows Barrett, a member of TEPCO outside …" class="body-related-thumb lzbg" height="200px" src="http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/base/images/transparent-1093278.png" style="" title="" width="300px"></p> </div> <div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="width: 300px;">Lake Barrett (R), a member of Tokyo Electric Power Co’s (TEPCO) outside reform committee and indepen …</div> </div> <p>“The three fuel assemblies … cannot be transported by cask,” Tepco spokeswoman Mayumi Yoshida said in an emailed response to queries on Thursday, referring to the large steel chamber that will be used to shift the fuel assemblies from the pool high up in the damaged reactor building to safe storage.</p> <p>“We are currently reviewing how to transport these fuel assemblies to the common spent fuel pool,” she said.</p> <p>Tepco is due within days to begin removing 400 tones of the dangerous spent fuel in a hugely delicate and unprecedented operation fraught with risk.</p> <p>Having to deal with the damaged assemblies is likely to make that task more difficult and could jeopardize a 12-month timeframe to complete the removal that many have already called ambitious.</p> <p>RISKY, COMPLEX OPERATION</p> <div class="body-related"> <div class="img-wrap"> <div class="cta-overlay"> <span class="cta-text xsmall">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall">.”</span> </div> <p><img alt="Handout photo showing members wearing protective suits …" class="body-related-thumb lzbg" height="200px" src="http://l.yimg.com/os/mit/media/m/base/images/transparent-1093278.png" style="" title="" width="300px"></p> </div> <div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="width: 300px;">Members wearing protective suits and masks, including Lake Barrett, a member of Tokyo Electric Power …</div> </div> <p>Three reactors suffered core meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant north of Tokyo after the March 2011 disaster that triggered explosions and forced the evacuation of 160,000 people from nearby towns and villages.</p> <p>Tepco, which has floundered in trying to bring the plant under control in the two and a half years since the disaster, is now moving to full decommissioning at the six-reactor facility.</p> <p>The most urgent task is to remove the fuel assemblies from the unstable Reactor No. 4, which due to their height – about 18 meters above ground level – are more vulnerable to any new earthquake. The operation is seen as a test of Tepco’s ability to move ahead with decommissioning the whole facility – a task likely to take decades and cost tens of billions of dollars.</p> <p>Lake Barrett, a former U.S. nuclear regulator who is advising Tepco, visited the Fukushima site on Wednesday and endorsed preparations for the removal of the assemblies.</p> <p>“While removal of the fuel is usually a routine procedure in operating a power plant, the damage to the reactor building has made the job more complex,” he said, adding he was “genuinely impressed by the thoroughness of the effort and Tepco’s contingency planning.”</p> <p>Tepco has said the assembly removal process will begin around mid-November, but has not given an exact date, citing what it says are security reasons.</p> <p>The assemblies must first be lifted from their storage frames in the pool and individually placed in a steel cask – kept all the while under water to prevent overheating. The cask, weighing around 90 tones when filled, will then be hoisted by crane from the pool, lowered to ground level and transported by trailer to a common storage pool about 100 meters away.</p> <p>(Additional reporting by James Topham; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)</p> <ul id="topics" class="hidden"> <li>Tepco</li> </ul><p></p> //<!--[CDATA[ jQuery(".gmframe").load(function (){jQuery(this).remove();}); //]]--> <br><br>

Some spent fuel rods at Fukushima were damaged before 2011 disaster [ BeritaTerkini ]

By Aaron Sheldrick TOKYO (Reuters) – Three of the spent fuel assemblies due to be carefully plucked from the cripple...

Read more »

Today's Teamster News 11.14.13

<a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/hundreds-teamster-taxi-drivers-rally-outside-dc-taxicab-commission-meeting" rel="nofollow">Drivers Rally Outside D.C. Taxicab Commission Meeting</a>  teamster.org   ...Hundreds of taxi drivers rallied outside the monthly meeting of the D.C. Taxicab Commission today to protest the unfair towing and ticketing of cabs and to demand a voice in the regulatory process. Also, <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/taxi-drivers-rally-freedom-plaza-wilson-building" rel="nofollow">watch this video</a> of D.C. taxi drivers rallying November 4 at Freedom Plaza and delivering a letter outlining their concerns to Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/congress-city-have-role-improving-retirement-confidence" rel="nofollow">Hoffa: Congress, Detroit Have Role in Improving Retirement Confidence</a>  teamster.org   ...A secure retirement used to be seen as a right for all hardworking Michiganders. Whether you were a city government employee in Detroit or a private sector worker in Pontiac, if you put in the time and did your job well, you would be rewarded with a nest egg for your golden years that would allow you live comfortably...<br /><a href="http://portside.org/2013-11-12/wal-mart-workers-strike-target-workers-threaten-join-black-friday-walkout" rel="nofollow">Wal-Mart Workers Strike, Target Workers Threaten to Join Black Friday Walkout </a> Portside   ...Sub-contracted Twin Cities janitorial workers who clean stores for Target and other corporations plan to announce today that they’re prepared to strike that day as well...<br /><a href="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/writers/steven_elbow/reports-shed-light-on-how-koch-brothers-money-flows-to/article_3fc32d79-f8fb-5c22-b5ee-78d4e4109afa.html" rel="nofollow">Reports shed light on how Koch brothers' money flows to campaigns</a>  The Cap Times   ...A slew of reports released Wednesday reveal that a network of conservative think tanks, funded by multinational corporations and industrialists — most notably Charles and David Koch — comprise a vast dark-money campaign funding mechanism that funnels cash to conservative candidates, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in last year’s recall election...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/13/scalias_chance_to_smash_unions_the_huge_under_the_radar_case/" rel="nofollow">Scalia’s chance to smash unions: The huge under-the-radar case</a>  Salon   ...A Supreme Court case being argued Wednesday could take away a tactic that's kept unions alive...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/13/you_wont_believe_how_much_companies_make_every_single_second/" rel="nofollow">You won’t believe how much companies make every single second</a>  Salon   ...The highest grosser on the list is Samsung, which hauls in almost $6,500 a second (In the five minutes it took us to write this post, Samsung made almost $2 million). It is followed closely by Apple at $4,540 a second...<br /><a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/11/house-pushing-back-on-trade-deal-more-detail-on-how-secretive-arbitration-panels-undermine-laws-and-regulations.html" rel="nofollow">House Pushing Back on Trade Deal; More Detail on How Secret Arbitration Panels Undermine Laws and Regulations </a>  naked capitalism   ...Wow, this is amazing. Word has apparently gotten out even to Congressmen who can normally be lulled to sleep with the invocation of the magic phrase “free trade” that the pending Trans Pacific Partnership is toxic...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/13/wikileaks_releases_major_trade_agreement_draft_chapter/" rel="nofollow">WikiLeaks releases major trade agreement draft chapter </a> Salon   ...“One could see the TPP as a Christmas wish-list for major corporations, and the copyright parts of the text support such a view...”<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/bank-of-america-freddie-mac-dispute_n_4258095.html" rel="nofollow">Bank Of America, Freddie Mac May Settle $1.4 Billion Mortgage Dispute</a>  Reuters   ...The Bank of America is in talks with Freddie Mac to resolve disputes involving more than $1.4 billion in defective mortgages that Freddie wants the bank to take back...<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-apple-italy-tax-idUSBRE9AC0RW20131113" rel="nofollow">Apple under investigation in Italy for alleged tax fraud</a>  Reuters   ...U.S. tech giant <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL&lc=int_mb_1001">Apple</a> is under investigation in Milan for allegedly hiding more than 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) from the Italian taxman, a judicial source with direct knowledge of the matter, confirming a local media report...<br /><a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/165809/congressional-approval-sinks-record-low.aspx" rel="nofollow">Congressional Approval Sinks to Record Low</a>  Gallup   ...Americans' approval of the way Congress is handling its job has dropped to 9%, the lowest in Gallup's 39-year history of asking the question...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/opinion/a-living-wage-in-bangladesh.html?_r=0" rel="nofollow">A Living Wage in Bangladesh</a> (opinion)  New York Times   ...The government of Bangladesh is expected to soon announce an increase in the minimum wage for workers in the country’s clothing factories, which are big suppliers to Western retailers like Walmart and H&M. Its decision could improve the lives of millions of families that struggle to eke out an existence on as little as the equivalent of about $38 a month, the current minimum wage...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/costco-thanksgiving_n_4262774.html?utm_hp_ref=business" rel="nofollow">Costco, Nordstrom Refuse To Ruin Thanksgiving</a>  Huffington Post   ...If you make a last-minute run to Costco on Thanksgiving Day, you'll be out of luck...<br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/fixing-and-expanding-social-security-wildly-popular" rel="nofollow">Top Democratic Pollster Says Don't Mess with Social Security -- Or Else Face the Wrath of Voters in 2014</a>  Alternet   ...more than half of the 77 million baby boomers heading toward their mid-60s and older—especially women and people of color—have literally no retirement savings, and will fall into poverty as they age...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/12/occupy-wall-street-activists-15m-personal-debt" rel="nofollow">Occupy Wall Street activists buy $15 million of Americans' personal debt</a>  The Guardian   ...A group of Occupy Wall Street activists has bought almost $15,000,000 of Americans' personal debt over the last year as part of the Rolling Jubilee project to help people pay off their outstanding credit...<br /><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/13/socialist-candidate-leadiing-in-seattle-city-council-race/" rel="nofollow">Socialist candidate leading in Seattle City Council race</a>  Raw Story   ...With about 62,000 ballots from King County yet to be counted following the Nov. 4 election, 41-year-old economics professor Kshama Sawant was reportedly ahead of longtime incumbent Richard Conlin by 41 votes, with Sawant gathering 79,751 votes against 79,710 for Conlin...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/13/corporate_crime_wave_in_texas_how_a_crackdown_could_be_coming/" rel="nofollow">Corporate crime wave in Texas: How a crackdown could be coming</a>  Salon   ...The nation’s fourth-largest city, Houston, is slated to vote today on cracking down on an alleged national epidemic: companies not paying employees the wages they’re legally owed. The proposed ordinance would make companies found guilty of serious “wage theft” ineligible for city support...<br /><a href="http://expressmilwaukee.com/article-22149-exclusive:-koch-brothers%E2%80%99-dark-money-flowed-into-wisconsin-recall-fight.html" rel="nofollow">Koch Brothers’ Dark Money Flowed into Wisconsin Recall Fight</a>  Express Milwaukee   ...Group busted in California gave serious money to Wisconsin Club for Growth...<br /><a href="http://portside.org/2013-11-13/unintimidated-scott-walker-reveals-depth-disdain-unions-protesters" rel="nofollow">In Unintimidated, Scott Walker Reveals Depth of Disdain for Unions, Protesters </a> Portside   ...He ...charges that collective bargaining "isn't a right, but a racket."...<br /><a href="http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/11/michigan_bill_would_ban_employ.html#incart_river" rel="nofollow">Michigan bill would ban employers from asking about felony convictions on job applications</a> Michigan Live   ...Michigan lawmakers are considering banning felony conviction check boxes on job applications. Supporters of the measure say the check boxes unfairly discriminate against people with criminal histories and hinder their ability to become successful members of society...<br /><a href="http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/11/freedom_of_information_act_req.html#incart_river_default" rel="nofollow">Freedom of Information Act requests could be cheaper, easier under Michigan House bill</a>  Michigan Live   ...A state House panel on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill designed to update Michigan's Freedom of Information Act and ensure that government offices are not making it unnecessarily difficult for citizens to access public records...<br /><a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20131112/NEWS06/311120095/state-employee-contract-negotiations-impasse-waste-michigan" rel="nofollow">State employee unions launch campaign to highlight government waste</a>  Detroit Free Press   ...A coalition of unions representing 35,000 state employees has launched an effort to highlight areas where Michigan government can be more efficient and improve services to citizens...

Today's Teamster News 11.14.13

Drivers Rally Outside D.C. Taxicab Commission Meeting   teamster.org   ...Hundreds of taxi drivers rallied outside the monthly meeting of th...

Read more »

Smartphones 55 percent of global mobile phone sales in third

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20131114&t=2&i=811765576&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE9AD0UCT00" width="600"/><br /><p>Credit: Reuters/Darrin Zammit Lupi</p><br /><p>Syrian refugees look at photos of their missing and believed to have drowned compatriots on a smartphone, at the Hal Far open centre for migrants in Hal Far, outside Valletta, October 22, 2013.</p><br /><p>Worldwide smartphone sales rose nearly 46 percent from last year to 250.2 million units, it said, while overall mobile phone sales were up less than 6 percent at 455.6 million.</p><br /><p>'Sales of feature phones (normal handsets) continued to decline and the decrease was more pronounced in markets where the average selling price (ASP) for feature phones was much closer to the ASP of affordable smartphones,' said Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta.</p><br /><p>He said he expected smartphone sales of just below 1 billion devices for 2013.</p><br /><p>Samsung kept the top spot in the smartphone segment, with a 32.1 percent market share, selling 80.36 million smartphones, up from 55 million in the same quarter last year, helped by its Note 3 large display smartphone.</p><br /><p>Apple sold 23.2 percent more smartphones at 30.33 million, but its market share dropped to 12.1 percent from 14.3 percent.</p><br /><p>Sales of Apple's new iPhone 5S and its low-cost iPhone 5C model had a modest impact on sales as both phones went on sale in September, the last month of the quarter.</p><br /><p>Lenovo took the third spot with a 5.1 percent market share in the smartphone segment, just ahead of LG Electronics and Huawei, with market shares of 4.8 percent and 4.7 percent respectively.</p><br /><p>All the companies are in especially fierce competition in the Chinese market, where customers are still replacing their old models with smartphones.</p><br /><p>Of the smartphones sold, 81.9 percent were running on Google's mobile platform Android, while 12.1 percent used Apple's iOS and 3.6 percent were on Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Gartner said.</p><br /><p>Blackberry saw its user base drop to 1.8 percent from 5.2 percent from the third quarter last year, it added.</p><br /><p>(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Gareth Jones)</p><br /></div>

Technology Smartphones 55 percent of global mobile phone sales in third

Credit: Reuters/Darrin Zammit Lupi Syrian refugees look at photos of their missing and believed to have drowned compatriots on a smartphone,...

Read more »

I'm Seriously Leaning Towards The AK-47

<br />Simpler, more of 'em, better knock down than the AR-15 shooting .223.<br />I know, it's not .556 but that simpler thing is what I keep coming back to. I hate fussy guns.<br /><br />What are your thoughts?<br /><br /><br />I think this comparison sums it up for me.<br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OmbnTZt2nvg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm Seriously Leaning Towards The AK-47

Simpler, more of 'em, better knock down than the AR-15 shooting .223. I know, it's not .556 but that simpler thing is what I keep co...

Read more »

14-Nov-2013 12:15

Two Secret Service agents cut from Obama's detail after alleged misconduct - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-secret-service-supervisors-cut-from-obamas-detail-after-alleged-misconduct/2013/11/13/c736638c-48a8-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-secret-service-supervisors-cut-from-obamas-detail-after-alleged-misconduct/2013/11/13/c736638c-48a8-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Man, boy die after shooting on New Orleans bridge - Fox 28 :: <a href="http://www.myfox28columbus.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/38fb8025-www.myfox28columbus.com.shtml">http://www.myfox28columbus.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/38fb8025-www.myfox28columbus.com.shtml</a><br /><br><br /><br>Student charged after 3 injured in shooting outside Pittsburgh high school - Fox News :: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/13/3-shot-outside-pittsburgh-high-school-police-say/">http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/13/3-shot-outside-pittsburgh-high-school-police-say/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Union rejection sends Boeing in search of new 777X site - Reuters :: <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/boeing-union-777x-idINL2N0IZ01D20131114">http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/boeing-union-777x-idINL2N0IZ01D20131114</a><br /><br><br /><br>Administration: 106000 enrolled in health insurance in first month of HealthCare ... - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-committee-hears-from-technology-officials-on-health-care-exchanges/2013/11/13/91d0bc5a-4c6e-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-committee-hears-from-technology-officials-on-health-care-exchanges/2013/11/13/91d0bc5a-4c6e-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Around college football: Florida State QB investigated for sexual assault - Columbus Dispatch :: <a href="http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/11/14/winston-investigated-for-sexual-assault.html">http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/11/14/winston-investigated-for-sexual-assault.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Officials say 4 Marines killed in accident at Camp Pendleton - Fox News :: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/14/officials-say-4-marines-killed-in-training-accident-at-camp-pendleton/">http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/14/officials-say-4-marines-killed-in-training-accident-at-camp-pendleton/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Republicans look to grill Obama's Fed nominee Janet Yellen - CBS News :: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57612262/republicans-look-to-grill-obamas-fed-nominee-janet-yellen/">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57612262/republicans-look-to-grill-obamas-fed-nominee-janet-yellen/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admits buying drugs - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24933947">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24933947</a><br /><br><br /><br>Euro Zone Economy Stagnates as Growth Slows in Germany - New York Times :: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/business/international/german-growth-slips-as-french-economy-contracts.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/business/international/german-growth-slips-as-french-economy-contracts.html</a>

14-Nov-2013 12:15

Two Secret Service agents cut from Obama's detail after alleged misconduct - Washington Post :: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/...

Read more »

Bird flu strain infects human for 1st time [ BeritaTerkini ]

<div id="yom-ad-LREC" class="yom-ad yom-ad-LREC"> <center> <div id="yom-ad-LREC-iframe" class="yom-ad"></div> </center> </div> <p><br></p> <p>LONDON (AP) — A strain of bird flu that scientists thought could not infect people has shown up in a Taiwanese woman, a nasty surprise that shows scientists must do more to spot worrisome flu strains before they ignite a global outbreak, doctors say.</p> <div class="body-slot-mod"> <div class="yom-remote"> <div class="yom-loading" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div> </div> </div> <p>On a more hopeful front, two pharmaceuticals separately reported encouraging results from human tests of a possible vaccine against a different type of bird flu that has been spreading in China since first being identified last spring, which is feared to have pandemic potential.</p> <p>The woman, 20, was hospitalized in May with a lung infection. After being treated with Tamiflu and antibiotics, she was released. One of her throat swabs was sent to the Taiwan Centres for Disease Control. Experts there identified it as the H6N1 bird flu, widely circulating in chickens on the island.</p> <p>The patient, who was not identified, worked in a deli and had no known connection to live birds. Investigators couldn’t figure out how she was infected. But they noted several of her close family and friends also developed flu-like symptoms after spending time with her, though none tested positive for H6N1. The research was published online Thursday in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.</p> <p>Since the H5N1 bird flu strain first broke out in southern China in 1996, public health officials have been nervously monitoring its progress — it has so far killed more than 600 people, mostly in Asia. Several other bird flu strains, including H7N9, which was first identified in China in April, have also caused concern but none has so far mutated into a form able to spread easily among people.</p> <p>“The question again is what would it take for these viruses to evolve into a pandemic strain?” wrote Marion Koopmans, a virologist at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands, in a commentary accompanying the new report.</p> <p>She said it was worrying that scientists had no early warning signals that such new bird flus could be a problem until humans fell ill. Scientists often monitor birds to see which viruses are killing them, in an attempt to guess which flu strains might be troublesome for humans — but neither H6N1 nor H7N9 make birds very sick.</p> <p>Koopmans called for increased surveillance of animal flu viruses and more research into predicting which viruses might cause a global crisis.</p> <p>“We can surely do better than to have human beings as sentinels,” she wrote.</p> <p>The vaccine news is on the H7N9 bird flu that has infected at least 137 people and killed at least 45 since last spring. Scientists from Novavax Inc., a Gaithersburg, Maryland, company, say tests on 284 people suggest that after two shots of the vaccine, most made antibodies at a level that usually confers protection.</p> <p>“They gave a third of the usual dose and yet had antibodies in over 80 percent,” said an expert not connected with the work, Dr. Greg Poland of the Mayo Clinic. “This is encouraging news. We’ve struggled to make vaccines quickly enough against novel viruses,” he said.</p> <p>Results were published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.</p> <p>In a separate announcement on Thursday, Switzerland-based Novartis announced early tests on its H7N9 vaccine in 400 people showed 85 percent of them got a protective immune response after two doses. The data has not yet been published.</p> <p>___</p> <p>AP Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione contributed to this report from Milwaukee.</p> <p>____</p> <p>Online:</p> <p>www.lancet.com</p> <ul id="topics" class="hidden"> <li>Health</li> <li>Disease & Medical Conditions</li> </ul><p></p> //<!--[CDATA[ jQuery(".gmframe").load(function (){jQuery(this).remove();}); //]]--> <br><br>

Bird flu strain infects human for 1st time [ BeritaTerkini ]

LONDON (AP) — A strain of bird flu that scientists thought could not infect people has shown up in a Taiwanese woman, a nasty su...

Read more »

14-Nov-2013 11:14

Two Secret Service agents cut from Obama's detail after alleged misconduct - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-secret-service-supervisors-cut-from-obamas-detail-after-alleged-misconduct/2013/11/13/c736638c-48a8-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-secret-service-supervisors-cut-from-obamas-detail-after-alleged-misconduct/2013/11/13/c736638c-48a8-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Florida State's Jameis Winston tries to stay focused - MiamiHerald.com :: <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/14/3751833/florida-states-jameis-winston.html">http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/14/3751833/florida-states-jameis-winston.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Boeing Workers Reject Labor Deal in Washington State - New York Times :: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/business/boeing-workers-reject-labor-deal-in-washington-state.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/business/boeing-workers-reject-labor-deal-in-washington-state.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Man, boy die after shooting on New Orleans bridge - WHP Harrisburg :: <a href="http://www.local21news.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/2efb805f-www.local21news.com.shtml">http://www.local21news.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/2efb805f-www.local21news.com.shtml</a><br /><br><br /><br>Bulger juror upset with media, government over trial - NECN :: <a href="http://www.necn.com/11/13/13/Bulger-juror-upset-with-media-government/landing.html?blockID%3D857581%26tagID%3D61334">http://www.necn.com/11/13/13/Bulger-juror-upset-with-media-government/landing.html?blockID%3D857581%26tagID%3D61334</a><br /><br><br /><br>Administration: 106000 enrolled in health insurance in first month of HealthCare ... - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-committee-hears-from-technology-officials-on-health-care-exchanges/2013/11/13/91d0bc5a-4c6e-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-committee-hears-from-technology-officials-on-health-care-exchanges/2013/11/13/91d0bc5a-4c6e-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Yellen: Economy Still Needs Fed Aid - Wall Street Journal :: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303789604579196272590241730.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303789604579196272590241730.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Teen arrested in shooting of 3 near Pittsburgh school - CBS News :: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57612290/teen-arrested-in-shooting-of-3-near-pittsburgh-school/">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57612290/teen-arrested-in-shooting-of-3-near-pittsburgh-school/</a><br /><br><br /><br>4 Marines killed in Camp Pendleton accident - USA TODAY :: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/11/13/fatal-accident-at-pendleton/3520193/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/11/13/fatal-accident-at-pendleton/3520193/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admits buying drugs - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24933947">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24933947</a>

14-Nov-2013 11:14

Two Secret Service agents cut from Obama's detail after alleged misconduct - Washington Post :: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/...

Read more »

China says people sympathetic about Philippines, online bile unrepresentative [ BeritaTerkini ]

<div id="yom-ad-LREC" class="yom-ad yom-ad-LREC"> <center> <div id="yom-ad-LREC-iframe" class="yom-ad"></div> </center> </div> <p><br></p> <div class="body-slot-container"> <div class="body-slot-mod"> <div class="yom-remote"> <div class="yom-loading" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div> </div> </div> </div> <p>BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Thursday that online comments calling on the government not to help the typhoon-struck Philippines did not reflect most Chinese people’s view, as it announced a further $ 1.64 million in aid.</p> <p>China, the world’s second-largest economy, initially announced it was giving just $ 200,000 to the Philippines, which was dwarfed by far larger contributions from countries like Japan, Britain and New Zealand.</p> <p>Many Chinese took to Sina Weibo, the country’s answer to Twitter, to say that the government should give nothing to a country with which China is locked in a bitter diplomatic dispute over islands in the South China Sea.</p> <p>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said he was certain most people were actually saddened by what had happened in the Philippines, where up to 10,000 could have died when Typhoon Haiyan tore through the middle of the country last week.</p> <p>“I don’t know how much comment you saw on the internet, but believe me that the Chinese are a nation who have a lot of sympathy, a people who love peace, who are happy to do good deeds,” he told a daily news briefing.</p> <p>“I believe that the vast majority of the Chinese people are understanding and sympathetic towards the situation of the Philippine people.”</p> <p>He said that China had also donated thousands of tents and blankets, putting the value at 10 million yuan ($ 1.64 million), adding that the aid level would continue to be “changed and adjusted” depending on need.</p> <p>(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)</p> <ul id="topics" class="hidden"> <li>Philippines</li> <li>China</li> </ul><p></p> //<!--[CDATA[ jQuery(".gmframe").load(function (){jQuery(this).remove();}); //]]--> <br><br>

China says people sympathetic about Philippines, online bile unrepresentative [ BeritaTerkini ]

BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Thursday that online comments calling on the government not to help the typhoon-...

Read more »

14-Nov-2013 10:13

Jameis Winston part of investigation - ESPN :: <a href="http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9973046/jameis-winston-florida-state-seminoles-investigated-2012-sexual-assault-case">http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9973046/jameis-winston-florida-state-seminoles-investigated-2012-sexual-assault-case</a><br /><br><br /><br>Two Secret Service agents cut from Obama's detail after alleged misconduct - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-secret-service-supervisors-cut-from-obamas-detail-after-alleged-misconduct/2013/11/13/c736638c-48a8-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-secret-service-supervisors-cut-from-obamas-detail-after-alleged-misconduct/2013/11/13/c736638c-48a8-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Boeing Workers Reject Labor Deal in Washington State - New York Times :: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/business/boeing-workers-reject-labor-deal-in-washington-state.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/business/boeing-workers-reject-labor-deal-in-washington-state.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Safety sweep leads to death of 4 Marines clearing unexploded ordnance at Calif ... - Fox News :: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/14/safety-sweep-leads-to-death-4-marines-clearing-unexploded-ordnance-at-calif/">http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/14/safety-sweep-leads-to-death-4-marines-clearing-unexploded-ordnance-at-calif/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Relatives of Bulger's victims tell of anguish - Boston Globe :: <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/13/victims-families-testify-today-whitey-bulger-sentencing-hearing/QJSOP8zJdbWKAFmvETAk0L/story.html">http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/13/victims-families-testify-today-whitey-bulger-sentencing-hearing/QJSOP8zJdbWKAFmvETAk0L/story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Pittsburgh police probing possible drug link as 3 students are wounded outside ... - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pittsburgh-police-probing-possible-drug-link-as-3-students-are-wounded-outside-high-school/2013/11/14/fb3931de-4d01-11e3-bf60-c1ca136ae14a_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pittsburgh-police-probing-possible-drug-link-as-3-students-are-wounded-outside-high-school/2013/11/14/fb3931de-4d01-11e3-bf60-c1ca136ae14a_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Chatting With Mr Snapchat - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24925932">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24925932</a><br /><br><br /><br>Administration: 106000 enrolled in health insurance in first month of HealthCare ... - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-committee-hears-from-technology-officials-on-health-care-exchanges/2013/11/13/91d0bc5a-4c6e-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-committee-hears-from-technology-officials-on-health-care-exchanges/2013/11/13/91d0bc5a-4c6e-11e3-9890-a1e0997fb0c0_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Yellen: Economy Still Needs Fed Aid - Wall Street Journal :: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303789604579196272590241730.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303789604579196272590241730.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Troubled Toronto mayor grilled by councilors, protestors - Xinhua :: <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-11/14/c_132888211.htm">http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-11/14/c_132888211.htm</a>

14-Nov-2013 10:13

Jameis Winston part of investigation - ESPN :: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9973046/jameis-winston-florida-state-seminole...

Read more »

Pirate Scavenger Hunt

I hosted a Pirate themed Scavenger Hunt in the library yesterday.<div><br></div><div>I created a Pirate Treasure Map which I gave to each child as they signed in.  The children dressed as pirates which added to the fun.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRwq0P35lkM2m4uo067Z0wgH8_5UCbDtJlUyRKZ9QTFAf-ICXyq7LjXbjfRHB3yHkbzF0MCYnevpnkpx9T8crC3eXEXOOoeYft22rg6ItksxmZmx-hE2Tg1h-boDbJkb9rIhSCrzEX6Mw/s640/blogger-image--948225280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRwq0P35lkM2m4uo067Z0wgH8_5UCbDtJlUyRKZ9QTFAf-ICXyq7LjXbjfRHB3yHkbzF0MCYnevpnkpx9T8crC3eXEXOOoeYft22rg6ItksxmZmx-hE2Tg1h-boDbJkb9rIhSCrzEX6Mw/s640/blogger-image--948225280.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRI8bzwyKiJHywVMFoGupaSEF-KwM0-kHk37RRT7Uh2OxAZthEpLPLisdYyevTruOqMPfoneNxGSwa-QkJa97pRAvvSyOjIdC4IsoCeRzGjQ_ECIBM9kbIZ-A7vP6K3a5Z8bkZL0c04vG/s640/blogger-image--1538823277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRI8bzwyKiJHywVMFoGupaSEF-KwM0-kHk37RRT7Uh2OxAZthEpLPLisdYyevTruOqMPfoneNxGSwa-QkJa97pRAvvSyOjIdC4IsoCeRzGjQ_ECIBM9kbIZ-A7vP6K3a5Z8bkZL0c04vG/s640/blogger-image--1538823277.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div>The children solved each clue in order to unlock a password.  When they had the password they went to the desk and received a bag of gold coins from the pirates treasure chest!</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVvKD1LZxaVDptwuYTA3lBYG3TY0yZSCRZjitCsKV4KKxIM_tGsmeQCtLCB91kUf_v_K0kom8NEti_JTXvGksVt1W-uucRHe3Rzl7Nv59867l5XocFs58q1ISFx7QYwdcVpH-FOdeL-Qt/s640/blogger-image-323650661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVvKD1LZxaVDptwuYTA3lBYG3TY0yZSCRZjitCsKV4KKxIM_tGsmeQCtLCB91kUf_v_K0kom8NEti_JTXvGksVt1W-uucRHe3Rzl7Nv59867l5XocFs58q1ISFx7QYwdcVpH-FOdeL-Qt/s640/blogger-image-323650661.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>What fun!</div>

Pirate Scavenger Hunt

I hosted a Pirate themed Scavenger Hunt in the library yesterday. I created a Pirate Treasure Map which I gave to each child as they signed ...

Read more »

Blanchardstown Shopping Centre

A new Superdry store has opened in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.  It's in the unit where HMV used to be.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7OG_QKpRCI92k1AineKhva6fiSQjn7IrVCF9vH-T8Ky1763ooSfxT_wvpkMX2hDqfv6makQVQeVRz2xNcRv44qlisZtgv51U5fSNVaJWtAYGzxR4yoQrhsdu7lyTeMV_QGOseobcY2uL/s640/blogger-image-2031997956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7OG_QKpRCI92k1AineKhva6fiSQjn7IrVCF9vH-T8Ky1763ooSfxT_wvpkMX2hDqfv6makQVQeVRz2xNcRv44qlisZtgv51U5fSNVaJWtAYGzxR4yoQrhsdu7lyTeMV_QGOseobcY2uL/s640/blogger-image-2031997956.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Leonidas chocolates has also opened in the centre.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkVllejfrhI03ce7XSKX1m0OfWV2LDUCvGRz9BIX4qKZAAAWXeGYE5cys_n9uBdTGwmJpAuPmmGtOPhEWgdlrAba1MfwSZqyks2f_2eR0dqYC4IAlXddOqeQLfRTk9HQ0JrL2IaVNdTkk/s640/blogger-image-1469394896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkVllejfrhI03ce7XSKX1m0OfWV2LDUCvGRz9BIX4qKZAAAWXeGYE5cys_n9uBdTGwmJpAuPmmGtOPhEWgdlrAba1MfwSZqyks2f_2eR0dqYC4IAlXddOqeQLfRTk9HQ0JrL2IaVNdTkk/s640/blogger-image-1469394896.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Over beside TK Maxx, Walton's music is now opened.  Walton's is one of Dublins oldest music shops - it's the place to go if you are looking for sheer music.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiWMoJjyXcl6UMTjsF1698ClrPbACqXuUTVMN0fkxKo5OTBm2k4OMhyphenhyphen5PDg0Rv3zq_ERSYsf8NTaCJyxoJS24_ldEq5S_OACgNPLdM1BY7iI8fzUUm1peWkRxo8D3O07_p_vBM_zM38bS/s640/blogger-image-1428242853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiWMoJjyXcl6UMTjsF1698ClrPbACqXuUTVMN0fkxKo5OTBm2k4OMhyphenhyphen5PDg0Rv3zq_ERSYsf8NTaCJyxoJS24_ldEq5S_OACgNPLdM1BY7iI8fzUUm1peWkRxo8D3O07_p_vBM_zM38bS/s640/blogger-image-1428242853.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>The final opening is a seasonal offering - a pop up shop selling calendars and personalized Christmas ornaments.</div>

Blanchardstown Shopping Centre

A new Superdry store has opened in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.  It's in the unit where HMV used to be. Leonidas chocolates has also ...

Read more »

IBM making more powerful Watson supercomputer available for...

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/9403815/5352430404_7587d7628c_b_large_verge_medium_landscape.jpg" width="600"/><br /><p>IBM's Watson supercomputer is taking a big step towards public use. Today, the company announced plans to open Watson up to developers in 2014, establishing an open platform and API that would let coders to build apps on top of the supercomputer's database and natural language skills. It's not the first time the project's been used by outside groups, but the new platform will give developers complete control of the front-end, and require only minimal input from the Watson team at IBM. Companies will still have to contract an instance of Watson from IBM, but once that's done, their programs will be able to pull questions and answers from the supercomputer in real time.</p><br /><p>IBM says the API itself is unusually simple, providing programs with a direct path to ask Watson natural language questions and get an answers back with links to the relevant content from Watson's database. The question is what the rest of the world might use it for. 'We believe that this is such a significant development in the future of computing that we want other people involved in it,' said IBM's chief technology officer Rob High. 'We want to let other partners to have a much deeper say in how cognitive computing evolves.' The program is launching with three partners, including a Fluid Retail deployment that plans to bring a Watson-powered personal-shopper feature to North Face's e-commerce shop in 2014.</p><br /></div>

Technology IBM making more powerful Watson supercomputer available for...

IBM's Watson supercomputer is taking a big step towards public use. Today, the company announced plans to open Watson up to developers i...

Read more »

It's STORMBRINGERS Birthday.

Also known as Sean Linnane.<br /><br /><a href="http://seanlinnane.blogspot.com/2013/11/happy-birthday-to-me.html">Go wish the guy a happy birthday and make his day</a>.<br /><br />So far I was the only one to leave a comment.<br /><br />How sad is that?<br /><br />Get yer butts over there and spread the word too.

It's STORMBRINGERS Birthday.

Also known as Sean Linnane. Go wish the guy a happy birthday and make his day . So far I was the only one to leave a comment. How sad is tha...

Read more »

Snapchat's Teen Appeal Is Also Its Achilles Heel

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><img src="http://b-i.forbesimg.com/roberthof/files/2013/11/snapchat.jpg" width="600"/>You can argue until you're blue in the face whether or not Snapchat is worth the $3 billion Facebook Facebook apparently offered to buy it. But there's little argument over why Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was willing to pay that much for the disappearing-photo-sharing service: It's attracting the teens that Facebook is losing.</p><br /><p>At least, that's the conventional wisdom. But here's the problem: If there's anything more ephemeral than Snapchat snaps, it's teen attention spans. Today, Snapchat looks unbeatable, at least for what still seems like a rather narrow slice of social activity. But there's no reason to think that teens will stick with most any app or service for long-all the less so when it seems that there's a new hot social networking app every month or so these days.</p><br /><p>So I'm betting Zuckerberg is a little smarter than that. What he really wants more than just a surge of new teen blood-as he also showed with his $1 billion purchase of Instagram-is to make sure that Facebook owns the most popular and compelling kinds of social networking as they develop. Snapchat clearly appeals to those who want to exchange bits of themselves in a more ephemeral way than they do on Facebook.</p><br /><p>What's more, despite widespread doubts about whether Snapchat can make any money, Zuckerberg, or at least Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, surely sees the potential there. Look, ads are about as ephemeral a piece of content as it gets, so flashing a branded photo or short video seems like a no-brainer. Check out at what Taco Bell and Karmaloop have already done on Snapchat even before it has created any ad formats. Ads may not even be the main moneymaker, either. Companies such as WeChat in China suggest that Snapchat could make a lot of money from virtual goods such as stickers, says Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners, an investor in Snapchat.</p><br /><p>What I'm not sure about, since I'm not a user of Snapchat-few if any of my friends are, so what would be the point?-is whether Snapchat has legs. Nobody really knows whether Snapchat is the next great communications medium or the next CB radio, or for you somewhat younger folks, the next MySpace.</p><br /><p>Zuckerberg clearly is betting Snapchat has some lasting appeal. But given the rapid proliferation of social networking services in just the last few years-Instagram, WeChat, Vine, Whatsapp, Tumblr-it's reasonable to assume that another shiny new social object could supplant Snapchat next year. As Altimeter Group principal analyst Brian Solis told CNET, 'If we've learned one thing, it's that no service is infallible and users are finicky. Snapchat is the next Snapchat until whatever is next comes up and starts to displace Snapchat - just like Snapchat emerged out of nowhere and rivaled Instagram because it was just a new and different way to share pictures. At some point that's going to happen again.'</p><br /><p>That's exactly why Zuckerberg likely will have to keep offering up big bucks to stay relevant to each new generation of social network users. But it's also why he will have to be careful. Spending big bucks just to get young audiences is a loser's game. The real win will be acquiring services and apps that may appeal to young people but keep appealing to them as they age. After all, Facebook itself thrived not just because college students thought it was cool, but because it eventually provided basic utility for people of all ages.</p><br /><p>In rejecting Facebook's stunning offer, or in fact any new investment until next year, Snapchat's crafty CEO Evan Spiegel and his other VC backer Benchmark Capital seem to realize they have to prove they're more like, well, Facebook. If they can, it won't be surprising to see Zuckerberg up his offer once again. And if they can't? Well, at 23, Spiegel will have a lot of time to ponder what he might have done with all that money.</p><br /></div>

Business Snapchat's Teen Appeal Is Also Its Achilles Heel

You can argue until you're blue in the face whether or not Snapchat is worth the $3 billion Facebook Facebook apparently offered to buy ...

Read more »

Telefonica says not aiming for full control of Telco -paper [ BeritaTerkini ]

<p><cite class="byline vcard"><span class="provider org">Reuters</span> – </cite></p> <div class="yom-mod yom-art-content" id="mediaarticlebody"> <div class="bd"> <p class="first">MILAN (Reuters) – Telefonica will not exercise a call option to increase to 100 percent its stake in Telco, the holding company that controls Telecom Italia, the chairman of the Spanish telecoms group told an Italian daily on Thursday.</p> <p>“The structure of the new accords is very clear: Telefonica cannot own more than 49 percent of Telco,” Cesar Alierta was quoted as saying in financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore.</p> <p>“We have no intention of exercising the call (option).”</p> <p>Telefonica reached a deal in September with other shareholders in Telco allowing it to gradually take over the investment vehicle.</p> <p>(Reporting by Valentina Za)</p> <p></p> </div> </div> //<!--[CDATA[ jQuery(".gmframe").load(function (){jQuery(this).remove();}); //]]--> <br><br>

Telefonica says not aiming for full control of Telco -paper [ BeritaTerkini ]

Reuters  –  MILAN (Reuters) – Telefonica will not exercise a call option to increase to 100 percent its stake in Telco, the holding co...

Read more »

14-Nov-2013 09:12

Jameis Winston part of investigation - ESPN :: <a href="http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9973046/jameis-winston-florida-state-seminoles-investigated-2012-sexual-assault-case">http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9973046/jameis-winston-florida-state-seminoles-investigated-2012-sexual-assault-case</a><br /><br><br /><br>Two Secret Service agents cut from Obama's detail after alleged misconduct - Washington Post :: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-secret-service-supervisors-cut-from-obamas-detail-after-alleged-misconduct/2013/11/13/c736638c-48a8-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-secret-service-supervisors-cut-from-obamas-detail-after-alleged-misconduct/2013/11/13/c736638c-48a8-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Health care enrollments fail to meet low expectations - USA TODAY :: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/11/13/obamacare-enrollment-numbers/3518509/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/11/13/obamacare-enrollment-numbers/3518509/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Boeing machinists reject labor deal on 777X by 67 percent - Reuters :: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-boeing-unionvote-idUSBRE9AD02120131114">http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-boeing-unionvote-idUSBRE9AD02120131114</a><br /><br><br /><br>Tables Turned, Victims' Relatives Get Their Chance at Bulger - New York Times :: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/us/tears-and-anguish-from-family-members-of-bulgers-victims.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/us/tears-and-anguish-from-family-members-of-bulgers-victims.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Toronto council to vote on stripping Ford of some mayoral powers - Toronto Star :: <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/11/13/rob_ford_set_to_face_city_councils_leaveofabsence_motion.html">http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/11/13/rob_ford_set_to_face_city_councils_leaveofabsence_motion.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Pa. man faces court in town meeting slayings - San Jose Mercury News :: <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_24520895/pa-man-faces-court-town-meeting-slayings">http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_24520895/pa-man-faces-court-town-meeting-slayings</a><br /><br><br /><br>Safety sweep leads to death of 4 Marines clearing unexploded ordnance at Calif ... - Fox News :: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/14/safety-sweep-leads-to-death-4-marines-clearing-unexploded-ordnance-at-calif/">http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/14/safety-sweep-leads-to-death-4-marines-clearing-unexploded-ordnance-at-calif/</a><br /><br><br /><br>Teen favourite Snapchat rejects $3bn Facebook bid - Irish Independent :: <a href="http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/teen-favourite-snapchat-rejects-3bn-facebook-bid-29752466.html">http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/teen-favourite-snapchat-rejects-3bn-facebook-bid-29752466.html</a><br /><br><br /><br>Pittsburgh School Shooting: Six being questioned following shooting outside ... - CBS News :: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57612239-504083/pittsburgh-school-shooting-six-being-questioned-following-shooting-outside-school-that-left-3-wounded-police-say/">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57612239-504083/pittsburgh-school-shooting-six-being-questioned-following-shooting-outside-school-that-left-3-wounded-police-say/</a>

14-Nov-2013 09:12

Jameis Winston part of investigation - ESPN :: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9973046/jameis-winston-florida-state-seminole...

Read more »

Euro Recovery Wanes as Germany Slows and France Contracts

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p>Germany's economy lost momentum in the third quarter and France unexpectedly contracted, adding to evidence that the euro region's recovery is flagging.</p><br /><p>German GDP rose 0.3 percent from the three months through June, when it increased by 0.7 percent. That's in line with the median of 41 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The French economy unexpectedly contracted 0.1 percent. The European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg is due to publish third-quarter data for the euro area at 11 a.m. Economists predict growth slowed to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent in the second quarter.</p><br /><p>The slowdown in the region's two largest economies bears proof that the 17-nation currency bloc is still struggling with the legacy of its debt crisis. Euro-area unemployment stands at a record 12.2 percent and the European Central Bank cut its benchmark rate to a record low of 0.25 percent last week to fight low inflation and rekindle growth.</p><br /><p>'French data are a grave disappointment and an indicator that the euro crisis isn't over,' said Andreas Scheuerle, an economist at Dekabank in Frankfurt. 'The region's recovery remains a fragile affair. German's performance is alright but growth is by no means sparkling.'</p><br />German Demand<br /><p>German growth in the third quarter was driven exclusively by domestic demand, the Federal Statistics Office said today. Investment in equipment and construction increased, and private and government consumption rose slightly, according to the report. Net trade damped output in the three months through September as imports gained and exports stalled.</p><br /><p>France's contraction underlines the issues President Francois Hollande is confronting as he tries to revive the economy and reverse an increase in unemployment that's at a 14-year high. Facing taxes equivalent to 46 percent of GDP, companies such as Cie de Saint Gobain SA are cutting investment spending or holding off raising it.</p><br /><p>'We're at the moment where the economic machine is re-starting,' French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on RTL radio after the report. 'We knew the third quarter would be a pause. It's not a surprise, it's not an indication of decline.'</p><br /><p>With the French economy back to contraction, Germany continues to be the driver of growth in the 17-nation euro area. Economists predict the Italian economy, the bloc's third-largest, contracted 0.1 percent in the third quarter. The report is due at 10 a.m. in Rome.</p><br /><p>'We are seeing a slowdown in the pace of recovery,' said Frederik Ducrozet, senior euro-area economist at Credit Agricole CIB in Paris. 'Germany will likely remain one of the strongest reasons for growth in Europe.'</p><br /><p>To contact the reporters on this story: Stefan Riecher in Frankfurt at sriecher@bloomberg.net; Jeff Black in Frankfurt at jblack25@bloomberg.net; Mark Deen in Paris at markdeen@bloomberg.net</p><br /><p>To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net</p><br /><p>Enlarge image <img src="http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iyakxpq6iej8.jpg" width="600"/> </p><br /><img src="http://www.bloomberg.com/image/ikwjQnDSUBuk.jpg" width="600"/></div>

Business Euro Recovery Wanes as Germany Slows and France Contracts

Germany's economy lost momentum in the third quarter and France unexpectedly contracted, adding to evidence that the euro region's r...

Read more »

Blue-Green Algae & Spirulina Potential Health Risks

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="chlorella 2" class="size-large wp-image-1560 aligncenter" height="300" src="http://www.glutenfreeveganmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/chlorella-2-1024x768.jpg" width="400" /></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/74bbWmFhLzk" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">'I tend to focus on the benefits of foods without asking if there are any health risks. I tend to focus on my idea of optimum health while searching for the perfect foods to help me get there, but are those “perfect” foods, those “superfoods,” causing me more harm than good? Do the risks outweigh the benefits?</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">I have learned that spirulina does have many incredible health benefits, but I have also learned that spirulina and other blue-green algae also have many shocking health risks as well.'</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Read <a href="http://www.glutenfreeveganmom.com/2013/05/14/chlorella-blue-green-algae-spirulina-potential-health-risks-gluten-free-vegan-mom-heavy-metal-detox/">more... </a></span>

Blue-Green Algae & Spirulina Potential Health Risks

'I tend to focus on the benefits of foods without asking if there are any health risks. I tend to focus on my idea of optimum health whi...

Read more »