Mereja

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  • Linux skills now more employable than ever

    tuxcashWhen I first started using Linux, back in the late 1990s and the Red Hat 5.2 era, the skills I gained weren’t very useful to many employers. I initially hoped that learning Linux would help me spring into some kind of “real” UNIX job. Now, more than a decade later, Linux is more and more common, has replaced a lot of “real” UNIX systems, and the skills required to administer Linux systems are actually helpful when looking for a job. Linux is found in networks and appliances all over, and the monoculture of Microsoft hegemony is slowing fading. According to the Linux Foundation, Linux-related jobs have grown 80% since 2005.

    There’s a new Linux job board at Linux.com, where employees and employers can find one another.

    “Linux’ increasing use across industries is building high demand for Linux jobs despite national unemployment stats,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at the Linux Foundation. “Linux.com reaches millions of Linux professionals from all over the world. By providing a Jobs Board feature on the popular community site, we can bring together employers, recruiters and job seekers to lay the intellectual foundation for tomorrow’s IT industry.”

    Of course, I’ve seen very few Linux-only jobs. Most of the time, Linux skills are part of a broader compliment of systems management, development, or integration, and a host of related skills — with both open source and proprietary systems — are required, too. Nonetheless, it’s heartening to see that Linux skills are more employable than ever before.


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  • Office Depot somehow gets exclusive rights to sell $230 NASCAR chair

    Tony_Stewart_No._14_Office_Depot_Chair

    I don’t know how in the world Office Depot managed to secure the rights to this exclusive, limited edition “No. 14 Tony Stewart NASCAR High-Back Leather Bonded Chair” but all the suits at Office Max and Staples must be going ape shit right about now. If you don’t have stock in Office Depot, buy as much as you can afford as soon as possible (disclosure: I don’t own any stock in Office Depot… YET).

    And if you’re in a position of power at your company, you certainly don’t need me to tell you how important it is that you buy this chair. Think of the intimidation factor. Nobody’s gonna mess with the guy who bought the $230 NASCAR chair. A guy like that jumps on people and bites them in the head like Blanka from Street Fighter II.

    NASCAR High Back Bonded Leather Chair Limited Edition [Office Depot]


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  • Apple May Put Contacts on iPhone’s Home Screen [IPhone]

    This one comes from the Patent Office, Department of Obvious Things that Seem Like a Must-Have, Office of iPhone OS 4.0 Potential Features: Apple thinks that adding contacts to the iPhone’s home screen is a great idea. I wholeheartedly agree.

    The contact icon won’t only bring contact information. It would be able to do much more:

    The icon can also be used to invoke one or more applications that are personalized to the contact. The icon can be modified to display information related to the contact. In one aspect, an icon associated with an entity can be temporarily displayed on the mobile device based on the proximity of the mobile device to the entity.

    Anything that could save a click seems good to me. [Redmond Pie]







  • Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate Conspiracy Groups

    Sunstein called for Cointelpro style effort to silence truth using army of hired provocateurs

    Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate Conspiracy Groups 140110top

    Paul Joseph Watson
    Prison Planet.com
    Thursday, January 14, 2010

    Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, Obama’s
    appointee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
    outlined a plan for the government to infiltrate conspiracy groups in
    order to undermine them via postings on chat rooms and social networks,
    as well as real meetings, according to a recently uncovered article
    Sunstein wrote for the Journal of Political Philosophy.

    As we have often warned, chat rooms, social
    networks and particularly article comment sections are routinely
    “gamed” by trolls, many of whom pose as numerous different
    people in order to create a fake consensus, who attempt to debunk
    whatever information is being discussed, no matter how credible and
    well documented. We have seen this on our own websites for years and
    although some of those individuals were acting of their own accord, a
    significant number appeared to be working in shifts, routinely posting
    the same talking points over and over again.

    It is a firmly established fact that the
    military-industrial complex which also owns the corporate media
    networks in the United States has numerous programs aimed at
    infiltrating prominent Internet sites and spreading propaganda to
    counter the truth about the misdeeds of the government and the
    occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

    In 2006 CENTCOM, the United States Central Command, announced
    that a team of employees would be hired to engage “bloggers who
    are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who
    are posting incomplete information,” about the so-called war on
    terror.

    In May 2008, it was revealed that the Pentagon was expanding “Information Operations” on the Internet by setting up fake foreign news websites, designed to look like independent media sources but in reality carrying direct military propaganda.

    Countries like Israel have also admitted
    to creating an army of online trolls whose job it is to infiltrate
    anti-war websites and act as apologists for the Zionist state’s
    war crimes.

    In January last year, the US Air Force announced a “counter-blog” response plan
    aimed at fielding and reacting to material from bloggers who have
    “negative opinions about the US government and the Air
    Force.”

    The plan, created by the public affairs arm of the Air
    Force, includes a detailed twelve-point “counter blogging”
    flow-chart that dictates how officers should tackle what are described
    as “trolls,” “ragers,” and
    “misguided” online writers.

    New revelations highlight the fact that the Obama administration is
    deliberately targeting “conspiracy groups” as part of a
    Cointelpro style effort to silence what have become the
    government’s most vociferous and influential critics.

    In a 2008 article
    published in the Journal of Political Philosophy, Obama information
    czar Cass Sunstein outlined a plan for the government to stealthily
    infiltrate groups that pose alternative theories on historical events
    via “chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space
    groups and attempt to undermine” those groups.

    The aim of the program would be to “(break) up the hard core
    of extremists who supply conspiracy theories,” wrote Sunstein,
    with particular reference to 9/11 truth organizations.

    Sunstein pointed out that simply having people in government refute
    conspiracy theories wouldn’t work because they are inherently
    untrustworthy, making it necessary to “Enlist nongovernmental
    officials in the effort to rebut the theories. It might ensure that
    credible independent experts offer the rebuttal, rather than government
    officials themselves. There is a tradeoff between credibility and
    control, however. The price of credibility is that government cannot be
    seen to control the independent experts,” he wrote.

    “Put into English, what Sunstein is proposing is government infiltration of groups opposing prevailing policy,” writes Marc Estrin.

    “It’s easy to destroy groups with “cognitive
    diversity.” You just take up meeting time with arguments to the
    point where people don’t come back. You make protest signs which
    alienate 90% of colleagues. You demand revolutionary violence from
    pacifist groups.”

    This is what Sunstein is advocating when he writes of the need to
    infiltrate conspiracy groups and sow seeds of distrust amongst members
    in order to stifle the number of new recruits. This is classic
    “provocateur” style infiltration that came to the fore
    during the Cointelpro years, an FBI program from 1956-1971 that was focused around disrupting, marginalizing and neutralizing political dissidents.

    “Sunstein argued that “government might undertake
    (legal) tactics for breaking up the tight cognitive clusters of
    extremist theories.” He suggested that “government agents
    (and their allies) might enter chat rooms, online social networks, or
    even real-space groups and attempt to undermine percolating conspiracy
    theories by raising doubts about their factual premises, causal logic
    or implications for political action,” reports Raw Story.

    Sunstein has also called for making websites liable for comments posted in response to articles. His book, On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done, was criticized by some as “a blueprint for online censorship.”

    The Infowars office has been visited on numerous occasions by the
    FBI as a result of people posting violent comments in response to
    articles. Since the government now employs people to post such comments
    in an attempt to undermine conspiracy websites, if a law were passed
    making websites accountable, Sunstein’s program would allow the
    government to obliterate such sites from the web merely by having their
    own hired goons post threats against public figures.

    The fact that the government is being forced to hire armies of
    trolls in an effort to silence the truth shows how worried they are
    about the effect we are having in waking up millions of people to their
    tyranny.

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  • 5 Ways to Get People Thinking About Alternative Transportation Downtown

    Downtown Phoenix is coming alive with new businesses opening up in our urban core – all of them are easily accessible using the light rail.  However, in some cases you might want to combine more than one mode of alternative transportation (a bike, a taxi, etc).  Doing so will help you enjoy the many restaurants and coffeebars that Downtown has to offer.  Recently, over on my blog, I talked about ways the light rail improved the quality of life in Downtown Phoenix.  While the light rail has helped, there still needs to be more awareness about other things people can do to drive less and truly help green the city.

    Bike rentals or a bike rental kiosks in various parts of Downtown would be hot.  Right now, the nearest bike rental facility is either way south of Downtown or on the east side of the airport. This is why we need a bike rental kiosk in our urban core.  Tucson is trying out a bike kiosk and so are a handful of other major cities around the country.  Why not here?  True, there was a bike sharing program in Phoenix at one time, but people kept stealing the bikes.  A rental program in downtown would encourage people to leave their cars at home, or at least encourage people to take the train into town and rent a bike once they’re here.  You can seee the Tucson bike kiosk story here.

    bike_racksBike racks are lacking in many parts of Downtown.  Copper Square and the Downtown Phoenix Partnership have a good supply in the heart of Phoenix, but  we need more and lots of them throughout the rest of Downtown, midtown and uptown.  Secure areas to park our bikes will encourage more people to bring their bikes into town.  Many cities across the country are finding there are federal funds to pay for racks if the location meets city ordinances.  Recently, I pointed out how restaurants along the light rail are seeing green by installing new racks on their own.  See a previous story I wrote on the bike racks in Downtown Phoenix here.

    Zipcar, a car sharing program, has cars in most major cities including right here in Phoenix.  Zipcar is an hourly car rental service has several location in the Phoenix market, mostly around the three Arizona State University campus locations.  They’re inexpensive when you use the cars for short trips like running errands, and can get more expensive when you rent them for longer periods of time.  There’s even an iPhone app for convenient reservations.  I realize the service and concept is relatively new for many people, however I don’t think enough people know about this service, especially when I tell people and their reaction is ‘what’s a Zipcar?’   If that’s your’re question too, read more here.

    Curbside taxi service at light rail stations apparently is not allowed to offer service to and from a light rail station. If they were, think of how easy it would be to get to the airport or to a baseball or basketball game from the various park and rides along the light rail line.

    Pedicabs are a quick and easy way to get around in the center of town.  Not only are they a green form of transportation, but the pedicab drivers and the carts add character to downtown Phoenix.  I took a ride on one the other night and found out how many hundreds of pounds each one can haul.  Read more, plus get the number to call a pedicab here.

    The city of Phoenix has come so far in such a short amount of time when it comes to promoting alternative transportation.  As you can see from this list, there’s still more work we can all do to get people out from behind the wheel of  a car.

  • The Ugly Math On Hybrids: They Won’t Save Us Any Oil Anytime Soon

    toyota-prius.jpg

    Two analysts from the financial services firm Raymond James have done the math on hybirds, and the best case scenario is still a total downer: They won’t come close to putting a dent in oil consumption within the next ten years.

    TriplePundit: If hybrid sales between now and 2020 become sluggish, oil savings they’ll represent will increase to 60,000 BPD. If sales are moderate, the savings will be 109,000 BPD in 2020, and in a favorable sales scenario, they could save 202,000 BPD (and these figures account not just for hybrids sold during 2020, but all of those sold between now and then). Still, even the best scenario–a savings of 202,000 BPD–represents barely 1 percent of current U.S. oil demand.

    Continue reading here >

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  • US wants “obedient servants of the state” – Ron Paul

    Russia Today
    Thursday, January 14th, 2010

    “The greatest threat to a government is people who think for themselves,” believes US Congressman Ron Paul.

    “If you condition people to everyday, all day,
    depend on the government to do their thinking for them – they
    will become more obedient.”

     

    Paul said the billions of dollars spent by the American government
    on intelligence could not prevent the recent terror attempt in US skies.

    “I think the responsibility has fallen on the $75 billion
    bureaucracy that has 16 agencies that cannot co-ordinate their
    work,” he said. “Airlines should be responsible for who
    gets on their planes,” he added.

    According to the congressman, all the efforts of the US government
    to introduce new technical systems for airport passenger control, such
    as body scanners, are “just to make us obedient servants of the
    state, to teach us that they are in charge of us and to tell us what to
    do, that we are robots and are supposed to obey them.”

    “It’s not that individuals are perfect, it’s just
    that governments are always imperfect, they always make mistakes and
    when they do – they are very painful and they hurt each and every
    one of us.”

    Paul said that America has made an amazing shift away from
    traditional values while even former communist regimes are moving in
    the direction of a free market.

    “[The economy] should be micromanaged by the people, by the
    consumer. In the free market the consumer is king,” Paul said.
    “But in the US, as in most countries in the world today, it is
    being micromanaged by the central government and central banks.”

    Speaking about the earthquake in Haiti, Paul said, “just
    handing out money to Haiti is not going to solve their problems.”

    According to the outspoken politician, the best thing the US could
    do for Haiti in the long term would be to introduce the country to
    sound economic policies so that they would not suffer from poverty.

    Commenting on the situation in Yemen, Paul said that the US is
    “looking for another war” and that it is a
    “disastrous continuation of the foreign policy of George
    Bush.”

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  • The next big scam: carbon dioxide

    Patricia Adams
    Financial Post
    Thursday, January 14th, 2010

    Attempts to create markets for tradeable CO2 are shaping up to be the next Oil-for-Food-sized fraud.

    Deloitte Forensic calls it “the white collar crime of the
    future.” Kroll, a business risk subsidiary of Marsh &
    McLennan, the global professional services firm, calls it “a
    fraudster’s dream come true.”

    These two global financial services firms are referring to carbon
    trading markets, a business that is estimated to explode from
    $132-billion in 2009, mostly in the European Union, to $3-trillion by
    2020 as jurisdictions around the world join in carbon trading, part of
    the “cap and trade” system that governments are embracing.

    Under cap and trade, companies need permits for the right to emit
    CO2 as part of their operations. The permits, in effect, guarantee that
    excess carbon emissions will be “offset” by third parties
    that will, for example, sequester carbon by growing trees. These
    permits, which are being traded on carbon exchanges, akin to stock
    exchanges, have caught the attention of law enforcement officers, who
    have seen an upsurge in fraud.

    Says Chris Perryman of Europol’s Criminal Finances and
    Technology section in The Hague, in referring to the $7.4-billion in
    fraud that have occurred in the last 18 months in the EU’s carbon
    market: “It is clear that [carbon trading] fraudsters are fully
    aware of the potential that trading in intangible commodities has to
    further their ends. Such goods or services can be traded without the
    need to be physically moved or transported, which represents an obvious
    opportunity to frustrate Law Enforcement efforts to track and trace
    transactions.” So much fraud has been occurring that, Europol
    estimates, up to 90% of all carbon market volume in some EU nations was
    related to fraudulent activities.

    Full article here

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  • How-To: Remotely Support Your Parents with Screen Sharing

    We’ve all been in the situation. Your mother calls you with a computer problem and you know it’s going to take at least an hour to walk her through the steps over the phone. Then she yells at you when you sigh out of frustration.

    If you have parents who use Macs then these calls happen less often but they still happen and usually at the worst time. This is how I use iChat and Snow Leopard’s Screen Sharing app to remotely control my parents computer and quickly solve their dilemmas.

    Apple’s Screen Sharing is based on VNC and it is very powerful. Generally to remotely control a machine, you need to configure the host machine and open ports on the firewall. The genius behind Apple’s solution is that they use iChat to initiate the session and no other configuration is necessary. If you can talk them through setting up iChat for their account, you’re home free.

    Of course you’re going to need a compatible iChat account such as a .mac, AIM or Gmail account. I use Gmail since it’s free and my parents raised a frugal son. They also have a Gmail account so we’re on the same page as far as chat providers go. If you’ve never used iChat with them before you need to help them setup their account. Apple has made this pretty simple but if you can do it in person it’ll be easier on everybody. Next time you’re over, quickly setup iChat with their info so in the future you can get right into it.

    The bonus of using audio and video to help them makes this a rather pleasant experience. If you have the hardware, get a video chat going and start the magic. When you’re in iChat, make sure you see them in your Buddy List. If not, do the following.

    1. In iChat logged in under your Gmail account, add them as a buddy.

    2. If you both have a video icon, start up a video chat. You can also do an audio chat or just talk to them over the phone.

    3. Now request to take control of their screen by going to either the Buddies menu or the Start Screen Sharing icon in iChat.

    4. They will see a request dialog similar to this where they can Accept or Deny your offer.

    5. After they accept your Screen Sharing request, you now have control of their machine. Fix their issues and they will think you’re a god.
    6. When you’re finished you can end the Screen Sharing session by clicking the iChat icon in the menu bar and selecting End Screen Sharing.

    This is such a great tool that you have try it out to see how slick it is. I thank Apple for making such a perfect solution. No opening ports on their router or third-party software to install. Just a clean simple solution utilizing something you probably already use with them. Give this a try the next time you get that dreaded phone call and I promise you’ll be thankful.

  • France Miniature Park

    France, Europe | Small Worlds and Model Towns

    Many of France’s greatest monuments are compactly spread across 12 acres in a western suburb of Paris. A meandering road leads visitors through this France Miniature, an outdoor park mirroring France that allows guests to traverse the country and delight in its landmarks in less than a day. With 116 of the most notable structure at a 1/30 scale, the France Miniature offers a strange but delightful Lilliputian view of the country.

    The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Chateau at Versailles, Lourdes, the Chateau of Chambord, La Rochelle, L’abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel, and the Amiens Cathedral are just a few of the monuments placed almost exactly relative to one another in their real life locations. Carefully chosen music complements select monuments to enhance the roughly three and a half hour trek. Nearly 150 regional landscapes sprawl across this miniature map, intersected with 3.5 kilometers of railroad lines consisting of 13 animated trains.

    Additionally animated by planes, cars, and ships (over 100), visitors can steer model boats on ‘Atlantic Ocean’ and ‘Mediterranean Sea’ lagoons that border the park, or admire the hand painted figures that fill the Stade de France. An indoor area showcases the interiors of 50 more prestigious places, faithfully reproduced to the most minute detail.

    It took nearly fifty model makers and landscape architects to create this interactive downsized country, complete with 60,000 figurines and 20,000 dwarfed trees, 5 rives and estuaries, and 5 acres of ‘sea.’ A small theme park is also located in the area, offering more appropriately sized rides. A 9 meter slide, roller coaster, twirling swing, rise and drop tower, small gondola, slip-n-slide climb, and go kart driving are available to both children and adults.

    France Miniature is owned by the same company, Grevin & Cie., that operates the Parc Asteriz, an amusement park notable for its collection of unique roller coasters.

  • Weather Channel Founder Coleman To Air New Revelations About Climategate

    kusi.com
    Thursday, January 14th, 2010

    Is civilization doomed because of man-made global warming?
    You’ve been told your carbon footprint could lead to skyrocketing
    temperatures, melting ice caps, dying polar bears and
    “superstorms.”

    But there is another side to the story, and you can see it on KUSI this Thursday night.

    KUSI meteorologist, John Coleman, has an amazing story to tell of
    science gone bad, and new revelations as the “climategate”
    scandal comes to the United States.

    Join us on Thursday, January 14th, at 9pm, Pacific Time, for the special report that will explode the global warming myth!

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  • Mother Tested and Approved: MotherProof.com Names 2010 Toyota Venza the ‘Mother of All Cars’

    Awards Recognize Top Cars for Families

    MotherProof.com, a Web site dedicated to helping women and moms navigate the automotive world, announced its 2010 top cars for families.

    “There are so many automotive options available to today’s mom,” says Kristin Varela, chief mom at MotherProof.com.

    “Our awards are unique in that evaluations are based on our own experiences with test vehicles – taking our kids to school, loading up groceries for the week, commuting, even heading out for date night.

    We put each car to the test the way real families use them in their daily lives. Our award categories reflect the wide range of families.”

    Launched in 2006, the MotherProof.com Family Cars of the Year Awards recognize several of the best new vehicles on the market for families across nine categories: minivan, three-row SUV or crossover, two-row SUV or crossover, wagon, sedan, fun, overall value, hybrid and best Latch connectors.  This year, MotherProof.com introduced their Mother of all Cars award to recognize their favorite car from the list of award winners.

    “The 2010 Toyota Venza is our Mother of all Cars because it embodies everything a family car should be,” says Varela.  ”The Venza helped me become Super Mom, with tons of storage and room for friends, but it doesn’t scream mommy-mobile.”

    Award winners are selected based on criteria deemed most important to families by the MotherProof.com mom-reviewers, including ease of entrance and exit for all passengers, Latch connector usability, ease of seat belt use for kids in boosters, and other relevant family-friendly features. The same criteria are taken into account in every MotherProof.com vehicle review.

    2010 MotherProof.com Family Car of the Year Award Winners

    Minivan: 2010 Mercedes-Benz R350 Bluetec

    Mama says: OK, it’s not officially a minivan, but the R350 diesel crossover is a luxurious, clean-burning family-mobile that will turn heads. Did we mention its four sets of Latch connectors as well as its massive dual sunroofs?  Get with it, minivans; this is your wake-up call. The world is going green, and you’re getting left in the dust.

    SUV/Crossover (3 rows): 2010 Buick Enclave

    Mama says: Sassy-looking hood vents give the Enclave a touch of speedster sex appeal. The 19-inch chromed aluminum wheels on our test model added some serious bling; gotta love the shine! In the second row, captain’s chairs kept the kids from knocking each other around and provided enough room to easily access the third row. Lemme hear a hallelujah!

    SUV/Crossover (2 rows): 2010 Volvo XC60

    Mama says: Volvo is known for its automotive safety innovations, and that continues with the XC60. Volvo’s City Safety accident avoidance system is standard in the XC60; it’s nothing short of having a guardian angel fly above your family car at all times. Our reviewer called it “a mom’s best friend in vehicle form.”

    Wagon/Hatch: 2010 Toyota Venza

    Mama says: With room for five and a huge cargo area, the Toyota Venza is flexible enough to handle your life. Our absolute favorite thing about the Venza is when we got the kids out of the car we didn’t feel like our name was still Mommy. We fell in love with the Venza. When it was time to let it go, there wasn’t a dry eye in the driveway.

    Sedan: 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe

    Mama says: The Genesis coupe certainly isn’t built as a typical mom-mobile, but there are plenty of atypical moms in the world looking for their automotive match; this might fit the bill. It’s sporty and sexy yet has enough seating and cargo capacity for your brood when necessary. The Genesis coupe resembles other uber-expensive, flashy sports cars out there, but without the guilt of dipping into your kid’s college fund for a sports car. Keep your 529. Buy a Genesis coupe.

    Best Overall Value: 2010 Kia Soul

    Mama says: This funky Soul-ful box on wheels by Kia offers fun, function and frugality. Gen Y-ers demand safe, affordable transportation with a heavy emphasis on technology, design and personalization. With a slew of standard features and a low base price, you won’t have to sell your soul for a Soul.

    Best Latch Connectors: 2010 Audi Q5

    Mama says: Audi has some of the best Latch connectors we’ve ever tested. They’re easy to find and have plastic covers that pop right off of them. No digging, no crowbar and no broken fingernails. What more could we ask for?

    Best Hybrid for Families: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

    Mama says: The Fusion Hybrid lives up to the saying of the “whole is more than the sum of its parts.” It gives us the features we like the most and wraps them up in a sharp-looking, green whole. The quiet cabin and engine are phenomenal. It’s a true pleasure to drive this car because silence is something we rarely get at home.

    About MotherProof.com:

    MotherProof.com (http://www.motherproof.com) is a mom’s guide to life in the car that offers opinions and practical information about cars and car life, written from one savvy mom to another.

    MotherProof.com was born in 2004 when young mother and entrepreneur Kristin Varela needed a new car to meet the growing demands of her family, and found that a short test drive didn’t deliver mom-relevant information. While women purchase more than 50 percent of new cars and influence 85 percent of all car sales, most automotive advice speaks to men and automotive enthusiasts. Varela saw the need to deliver automotive information to moms, an important and underserved niche.

    SOURCE MotherProof.com

    RELATED LINKS
    http://www.motherproof.com


  • Sponsor post: Sponsor post: Atimi Atimi — Raising the Standard for iPhone Development

    Atimi Software Inc. is a leading iPhone and cross-platform development company with a core strength in developing for the Mac platform and the new generation of smartphones. As a dedicated software services company, Atimi provides advisory and development services and has completed iPhone and software development projects for many of the leading brands in North America, including the New York Times and HBO. By the end of 2009, Atimi had completed more than 25 iPhone applications for its clients, 65% of which received some degree of Apple promotion including via iTunes, TV, print and in-store placement.

    Atimi provides confidential, effective, and timely production of smartphone and desktop software. Atimi’s broad range of expertise, proven development processes, and its Orchard rapid development framework for mobile helps clients to reach their target launch dates reliably and efficiently, allowing them to focus on building strong, lasting relationships with their own customers.

  • Twitter Updates for 2010-01-14

  • O’Reilly demands ‘deranged’ Bush heckler be arrested

    Aaron Dykes
    Infowars.com
    January 13, 2010

    In his classic defamation segment, ‘Patriots &
    Pinheads’, Bill O’Reilly condemned the man who confronted
    former President George H.W. Bush at a Houston restaurant.

    “On the pinhead front, President Bush is 85 years old. The
    other day he was in a Houston restaurant when a deranged person
    approached him.”

    “The guy should have been arrested by the Secret
    Service,” O’Reilly stated after playing a You Tube clip of
    the incident. “However, we called them and they will not comment.
    We don’t know what happened to him. We hope the service will
    clarify the situation quickly. The guy may be a pinhead but he also
    deserves to be held accountable– can’t let that stuff go.
    It’s threatening.”

    Popout

    It’s no surprise that O’Reilly is defending the former
    President, but at a bare minimum, free speech certainly should protect
    this man from arrest. He certainly has a right to criticize one of
    America’s most powerful dynasties, who have condemned millions to
    death through war, and much more.

    Though the man did shout profanities, he clearly made no threats, was not violent and posed no danger to the former president.

    In fact, the Secret Service did visit the man’s home the next
    day, but left shortly after refusing to speak while a camera was
    recording (i.e. on the record). Whatever their intentions were cannot
    be immediately known (see video below). He appeared today on the Alex
    Jones Show, using only his first name, Greg, to explain his perspective
    on the situation.

    Popout

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  • ‘They Have Been Cursed’: Pat Robertson Says Haiti ‘Swore a Pact to the Devil’

    Breitbart.tv
    Wednesday, January 13, 2009

    Popout

    “We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.”

    ——————————————–

    More than 100,000 feared dead in Haiti quake, officials say

    CNN
    Wednesday, January 13, 2009

    Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Officials fear more than 100,000 people have died as a result of Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti.

    The capital, Port-au-Prince, “is flattened,” said
    Haiti’s consul general to the U.N., Felix Augustin, who said he
    believed more than 100,000 people were dead. Hospitals are gone, and
    medical supplies and heavy equipment are desperately needed, he said.

    The country’s prime minister said the death toll could be in the hundreds of thousands.

    “I hope that is not true, because I hope the people had the
    time to get out,” Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN.

    Full story here.

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  • Obras da Transnordestina serão aceleradas em julho

    João Domingos – 14/01/2010 – 14:25

    O ministro dos Transportes, Alfredo Nascimento, disse hoje que, a partir de julho, serão aceleradas as obras da Ferrovia Transnordestina nos Estados do Ceará, de Pernambuco e do Piauí. Na manhã de hoje, ele se reuniu com o presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva para tratar das obras tocadas por seu ministério.

    Durante o pico das obras da ferrovia, no segundo semestre, com ação em todos os trechos, deverão ser gerados 7 mil empregos diretos, informou o ministro. A Transnordestina terá 1.730 quilômetros e deverá custar R$ 5,4 bilhões. A ferrovia fará a ligação dos centros de produção de grãos, gesso, avicultura e agricultura irrigada do semiárido nordestino – área com as maiores dificuldades socioeconômicas do País – aos Portos de Suape, em Pernambuco, e de Pecém, no Ceará. Ele deverá ter ainda uma conexão com a Norte-Sul, de acordo com o Plano Ferroviário.

    Fonte:
    http://www.hojeemdia.com.br/cmlink/h…-julho-1.63935

  • Will Google Pull Out Of India, Australia And Other Countries Over Internet Censorship?

    After posting about Google’s bold and certainly laudable decision to stop censoring content in China, someone reminded me that it was just a week or so ago that we were writing about how Google was cooperating with the Indian gov’t to block “objectionable content.” It’s worth noting that China, as it has said in the past, is defending its censorship policy by claiming that it is necessary to protect people from objectionable content like pornography, fraud and rumors. So, if that’s the case, is Google planning to stop censoring in India, too? Or what about Australia, which announced plans to censor the internet (yet again) last month?

    Rebecca MacKinnon is asking basically the same question over at The Guardian, pointing to questionable internet laws that can stifle freedom of expression online in Italy, France and the UK (if the Digital Economy Bill passes). This isn’t to knock Google — as it was a bold move to call an end to censoring results in China — but it does make you wonder where the principles begin and end. Considering the similarities of what’s happening in China to that story about India just last week, it seems that Google might want to clarify when it does and when it does not work with governments to block certain sites.

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  • “Peace” Prize Winner Obama Demands Record War Chest

    Second year running Obama demands more for illegal wars

    Steve Watson & Paul Watson
    Prisonplanet.com
    Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010

    Peace Prize Winner Obama Demands Record War Chest 130110Obama2Nobel
    Peace Prize winner Barack Obama is to request a record defense budget
    for 2011 in order to expand the war in Afghanistan and continue the
    conflict in Iraq, according to military officials.

    Obama will ask Congress for an extra $33 billion in addition to a
    record breaking $708 billion to swell the Defense Department’s
    coffers next year.

    Defense spending will top $700 billion for the first time military sources revealed to the AP,
    after commanders were briefed on the figures, in addition to projected
    budgets through 2015, earlier this week at the Pentagon.

    The bulk of the war chest will be used to acquire more Predator and
    Reaper pilotless drones, which have been used in missile attacks in
    Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    The additional war dollars will also go towards funding the deployment of close to 40,000 new troops Obama ordered to Afghanistan last year.

    The president’s Quadrennial Defense Review will be officially delivered to Congress on February 1st.

    It will mark the second year running that the president has significantly increased war spending.

    Obama’s election promise to bring “change” to
    Washington and reverse the juggernaut of rampant militarism, endless
    wars and occupations has proven to be nothing more than a cruel hoax.

    Obama has beefed the U.S. military role in Pakistan beyond that
    pursued by the Bush administration and expanded the covert war run by
    the Central Intelligence Agency inside Pakistan, with an increase in
    missile attacks by drone aircraft.

    Despite public pronouncements by Obama that a plan to withdraw U.S.
    troops from Iraq is in progress, the details of the agreement actually establish a permanent presence of a sizable occupying force in perpetuity.

    Obama has also promised that U.S. forces will begin to withdraw from
    Afghanistan in July 2011, but his defense advisers have set no time
    limit for the war there.

    The combined number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has now
    reached a higher level under Obama than existed under the Bush
    administration at any point between 2003 and 2008.

    At the height of the Bush administration’s 2007
    “surge” in Iraq, there were 26,000 US troops in Afghanistan
    and 160,000 in Iraq, a total of 186,000.

    According to DoD figures cited by The Washington Post
    last October, there are now around 189,000 and rising deployed in
    total. There are now 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, over double the
    amount deployed there when Bush left office.

    As the Post points out, these figures are also misleadingly low
    because the number of support troops, at least 13,000, has simply not
    been announced or noted, despite their authorization and deployment by
    the Pentagon.

    The perpetuation of the illegal occupation of Iraq, the expansion of
    the fallacy based war in Afghanistan, as well as increased faceless
    attacks in Pakistan, heightened belligerence towards Iran and refusal
    to address a strategy to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sum up
    Obama’s foreign policy during his first year in office.

    How in anyone’s mind can such behavior constitute a move towards peace?

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  • What Can I Make for a Toddler-Friendly Brunch Party? Good Questions

    2010_01_14-question.jpgQ: Our son is having his 2nd birthday party, this Sunday, at an outdoor park. At 10 AM. What was I thinking?

    I need a few nibbles that are park-friendly, toddler-friendly, and brunch-ish. HELP!

    Sent by Alison

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