Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/fH1OTBOCYoI/
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৮ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩
1 Trend, 3 Ways: Skyler Berman?s Stylish Fedoras
Rachel Zoe's adorable toddler loves to rock mini fedoras. Check him out, plus our picks for every budget.
বুধবার, ২৭ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩
Canon EOS Cameras Instant Rebate Program | GPSPhotography.com
The Imaging Technologies & Communications Group of Canon U.S.A., Inc. recently announced an Instant Rebate on select EOS Cameras (see models listed below).
EOS 5D Mark III, 6D, 7D, 60D & Rebel T3i Rebate effective: March 3, 2013 to March 30, 2013.
Rebel T4i Rebate effective: December 2, 2012 to March 30, 2013.
Rebel T3 Rebate effective: February 17, 2013 to April 30, 2013.
EOS M Rebate effective: March 3, 2013 to April 6, 2013.
More Information:
You can find Eligible Product Lists, Counter Cards, Inserts and Ad Slicks for these rebates here ?
Source: Canon U.S.A.
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What Do You Think? Share Your Comments Below:
Source: http://www.gpsphotography.com/canon-eos-camera-rebates
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Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Grand
With devices like the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note, Samsung has been an integral part of the push towards bigger screens on smartphones. But traditionally these larger, higher-resolution devices have been aimed towards the high-end, carrying expectedly high-tier price tags. Today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we saw a device that aims to defy that convention.
The Galaxy Grand is a mid-range smartphone with high-end ambitions. Its 5-inch screen and Galaxy Note-like aesthetic give it the appearance of a premium handset, though like most Samsung smartphones it’s bright, white shiny and plasticky. There’s no ‘S-Pen’ stylus to be found, but aside from that the Grand offers a fairly complete Samsung software experience. You’re getting the latest version of the company’s TouchWiz UI, which runs on top of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. The software package even includes newer additions like multi-window support -- Samsung’s method for running more than one app on-screen at a time.
 |  |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/VNY6A5hTL6w/story01.htm
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Michelle Meyer US Housing Market - Business Insider
Screenshot via Bloomberg TV
This morning we saw two huge housing data points.Home prices posted their biggest gain since July 2006, while new home sales surged 15.6 percent month-over-month.
However, the already tight housing supply is getting even tighter.
Bank of America economist Michelle Meyer tells us that while we are seeing an improvement in new home sales, today's data could be revised in coming months and that monthly data should be interpreted with caution since it can be very volatile.
She also says that housing supply is very tight and if we don't see a greater supply in the housing market, it will have an upward pressure on home prices.
BAML expects home prices to rise by 4.7 percent in 2013.
----------------------------------------------
BI: New home sales spiked 15.6 percent in January. What's behind those numbers?
Michelle Meyer: The 15.6 percent increase was certainly above expectations, and it is an outsized gain even for this series which tends to be volatile. So we have to put that percentage gain into perspective and realize that with the data being quite volatile, particularly at this time of the year, we could see a revision or a partial payback in coming months. But that said, I do believe that the trend is still higher for new home sales and I think we should expect to see continued improvement, given the fact that inventory is low not just for new construction properties but also for existing properties, and that creates opportunities for building.
BI: Can the rise be attributed to just a weaker base?
Michelle Meyer: So December was down three percent but November was up eight percent. If you look at a monthly pattern it is very, very noisy ? it's what's called mean reverting. I tend to like to look at three- or six-month moving average; I think it moves out some of the noise, and when you do look at it on a moving-average basis we're certainly still seeing improvement.
BI: In terms of the supply, the actual number of homes is flat on a monthly and annual basis. It's the spike in sales that is changing supply ...
Michelle Meyer: I think what it's showing is that the number of homes in the market for sale ? that's remained as you've said pretty constant ? which means builders are looking, seemingly as of now, at keeping stocks low. As home sales continue to rise we'll bring down that months' supply figure which means that the current stock of homes for sale will be cleared even more quickly and that's really what months' supply is capturing. It's saying how many months does it take to clear inventory at the current sales pace, so the lower it is, obviously the faster the inventory will move through the system, which means that there's greater ability for builders to add to the housing stock and increase construction.
BI: Is the market too tight at the moment? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Michelle Meyer: I think the market is tight, clearly by looking at these numbers, and again it's not just the new market which has arguably been tight for some time, it's also the existing market. So, if we don't see greater supply come into the market, it will continue to put upward pressure on home prices and limit the amount of turnover we see in the market. So, I think it would very much be appropriate in the environment to see inventory pick up, see building pick up.
BI: You have previously said you're not concerned about overbuilding (see article here). One of the reasons you gave, was large homebuilders had downsized during the crisis and it would take time for projects to pick up again. Does that then worry you considering supply is already tight and homebuilding might not pick up at a fast enough pace?
Michelle Meyer: I maintain the view that there's little reason to be concerned about overbuilding this year. We're starting from low inventory levels and I think there's some limit on capacity in the homebuilder space. The large public builders are gearing up for further increase in construction and we've seen it.
The numbers coming out from the public builders have outpaced the Census Bureau numbers for some time now. So it means that either they're outperforming the rest of the market, which is possible, or it means that we're going to see a revision to the official data which is also quite possible. And we get that revision in a month or two, so that's something that could be interesting actually.
... Presumably, the inventory numbers, the month supply figures we're seeing, suggest that homebuilding is already lagging a bit relative to demand. But I think that builders are going to be reactive, and you can see from homebuilder sentiment ? homebuilder sentiment is quite strong, much stronger than what we're seeing from actual production.
So builders are feeling more confident, and I think they're looking for opportunities, and if demand continues to do well and if prices continue to improve, I think builders will respond appropriately to increases in sales.
BI: Is there anything else our readers should know?
Michelle Meyer: I think the other factor you always want to think about is regional differences. And not only in terms of new home sales, but also it ties into pricing. One of the things that was clear from this report is home construction has increased, certainly in January the biggest gain was in the West, but that was off of low levels in December. But even if you look at a longer trend, the West has seen more considerable gains in housing construction and that also is consistent with the fact that the market there just simply looks better, inventory is lower, and home prices are rising there. So the turn seems to be happening a bit more quickly in the West than in other regions.
BI: And what are you seeing in the East Coast, specifically in New York?
Michelle Meyer: That's probably the slowest market to turn. In terms of the Case-Shiller numbers [see here] the New York metro area was the only one of the 20 cities surveyed that is still contracting on a year-over-year basis. And in terms of construction there has been some improvement but it has been pretty modest, so I think the Northeast is lagging a bit relative to other parts of the nation.
BI: And do you expect it to continue to do so for a while?
Michelle Meyer: The challenge in the Northeast is the foreclosure process. It has a very slow judicial process which means that foreclosures and distressed inventory are leaking into the market only gradually. That means we'll continue to see this pressure on the housing market and there's certainly areas for opportunity. I think multi-family construction has picked up if you listen to what Toll Brothers just said, there's opportunities for apartment construction obviously in parts of New York, so when you look at Manhattan you get a very different picture than when you look elsewhere in the New York metro area. Overall it seems like its a little bit slower to turn.?
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/michelle-meyer-us-housing-market-2013-2
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Blueprint for an artificial brain: Scientists experiment with memristors that imitate natural nerves
Feb. 26, 2013 ? Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn't need any programming. Privatdozent [senior lecturer] Dr. Andy Thomas from Bielefeld University's Faculty of Physics is experimenting with memristors -- electronic microcomponents that imitate natural nerves. Thomas and his colleagues have demonstrated that they could do this a year ago. They constructed a memristor that is capable of learning. Andy Thomas is now using his memristors as key components in a blueprint for an artificial brain.
He will be presenting his results at the beginning of March in the print edition of the Journal of Physics published by the Institute of Physics in London.
Memristors are made of fine nanolayers and can be used to connect electric circuits. For several years now, the memristor has been considered to be the electronic equivalent of the synapse. Synapses are, so to speak, the bridges across which nerve cells (neurons) contact each other. Their connections increase in strength the more often they are used. Usually, one nerve cell is connected to other nerve cells across thousands of synapses.
Like synapses, memristors learn from earlier impulses. In their case, these are electrical impulses that (as yet) do not come from nerve cells but from the electric circuits to which they are connected. The amount of current a memristor allows to pass depends on how strong the current was that flowed through it in the past and how long it was exposed to it.
Andy Thomas explains that because of their similarity to synapses, memristors are particularly suitable for building an artificial brain -- a new generation of computers. 'They allow us to construct extremely energy-efficient and robust processors that are able to learn by themselves.' Based on his own experiments and research findings from biology and physics, his article is the first to summarize which principles taken from nature need to be transferred to technological systems if such a neuromorphic (nerve like) computer is to function. Such principles are that memristors, just like synapses, have to 'note' earlier impulses, and that neurons react to an impulse only when it passes a certain threshold.
Thanks to these properties, synapses can be used to reconstruct the brain process responsible for learning, says Andy Thomas. He takes the classic psychological experiment with Pavlov's dog as an example. The experiment shows how you can link the natural reaction to a stimulus that elicits a reflex response with what is initially a neutral stimulus -- this is how learning takes place. If the dog sees food, it reacts by salivating. If the dog hears a bell ring every time it sees food, this neutral stimulus will become linked to the stimulus eliciting a reflex response. As a result, the dog will also salivate when it hears only the bell ringing and no food is in sight. The reason for this is that the nerve cells in the brain that transport the stimulus eliciting a reflex response have strong synaptic links with the nerve cells that trigger the reaction.
If the neutral bell-ringing stimulus is introduced at the same time as the food stimulus, the dog will learn. The control mechanism in the brain now assumes that the nerve cells transporting the neutral stimulus (bell ringing) are also responsible for the reaction -- the link between the actually 'neutral' nerve cell and the 'salivation' nerve cell also becomes stronger. This link can be trained by repeatedly bringing together the stimulus eliciting a reflex response and the neutral stimulus. 'You can also construct such a circuit with memristors -- this is a first step towards a neuromorphic processor,' says Andy Thomas.
'This is all possible because a memristor can store information more precisely than the bits on which previous computer processors have been based,' says Thomas. Both a memristor and a bit work with electrical impulses. However, a bit does not allow any fine adjustment -- it can only work with 'on' and 'off'. In contrast, a memristor can raise or lower its resistance continuously. 'This is how memristors deliver a basis for the gradual learning and forgetting of an artificial brain,' explains Thomas.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universitaet Bielefeld.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Andy Thomas. Memristor-based neural networks. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2013; 46 (9): 093001 DOI: 10.1088/0022-3727/46/9/093001
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/eQVwYoYOj_w/130226101400.htm
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মঙ্গলবার, ২৬ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩
Guy Fieri Restaurant Review: As Bad as Advertised? - Food Fanatic
Last November The New York Times published a review of Guy Fieri?s new Times Square restaurant, Guy?s American Kitchen & Bar, that was so scathing many believe it hit below the belt; it read like an exercise in hyperbole. However, living a mere hour from New York City, I was intrigued.
Truth be told, I?ve never been a huge fan of Guy Fieri. The Food Network star is best known for his spiky blonde hair, addiction to sunglasses and confusing fashion choices. But I have made a few of his recipes, and admittedly, they?ve been pretty tasty.
So back to the NYT article? I read it, reread it and then had some friends read it too - it was THAT brutal. With no prior affinity towards Guy, I still felt like I needed to give him a hug and a neck nuzzle.
Pete Wells, the author of the NYT review used words like, ?nuclear waste?, ?inedible? and ?oil-sogged?? which instead of turning me off to Guy?s, intrigued me. I asked myself: ?Could it really be THAT bad??
Challenge accepted, Mr. Wells.
I talked a foodie friend of mine to come along for the ride. She gladly accepted, also having made a few of Guy?s recipes with great success. We milled over the menu for weeks online before the day we drove into the city.
We arrived in Times Square for an early lunch, right after opening at about 11:45, ? and the place was empty.
We were welcomed by a hostess of average congeniality and seated at a table towards the front of the restaurant, near the bar area.
Looking around, the restaurant is pretty similar to basically any suburban chain restaurant you?ve ever been to, just on a larger scale. Our server was friendly and greeted us promptly.
After reading about the Watermelon Margarita that ?glows like nuclear waste? I scanned the menu to place my order. It appears that glowing margarita has been removed from the drink list, however.
My friend and I both settled on Blueberry Mojitos ? they were light on the alcohol, but overall, tasty and not overly sweet.
I do have to mention that I was a little underwhelmed by the selection of specialty drinks on the menu. With a bar the size of the one they have, you would think that they would have lots of interesting concoctions. Count that as disappointment numero uno.
After scanning the appetizer list, we agreed on the California Egg Rolls as our starter. They were good, albeit slightly uninspired. The menu in itself is a lesson in well-spun adjectives. At first glance everything sounds major! But then, reading a bit further, you see through the jaunty on-purpose misspellings (Provolone Stix) and realize he is just selling you Fried Cheese.
I guess I expected more.
We decided we?d stick to simplicity and sandwiches for our main lunch course. Now, I?ll tell you I went back and forth on whether to order an entr?e or a sandwich. But in all honesty, I wasn?t drawn to any of the entrees. They were fairly typical (and boring) like steaks, ribs, and salmon.
I settled on ?Unyawns Cajun Chicken Ciabatta?. It?s described as ?Grilled Cajun-spiced chicken breast with a slathering of Donkey sauce, shredded cabbage, and sliced tomato on garlic-butter toasted ciabatta?.
The food came out in a timely fashion, but my sandwich, while acceptable, wasn?t special in any way. I had to ask what ?Unyawns? meant in the title. The server said that the ?Onion Ciabatta bread? was what the sandwich was served on. Very confusing, even he admitted so.
The ?slathering? of Donkey sauce was more like a wisp. Before we go any further, get your mind out of the gutter. Donkey Sauce is a spicy-ish mayo. I did ask for more, which the server brought out for me. Honestly, it wasn?t very spicy, and much more mayo-ey than anything else. Donkey Sauce FAIL.
My friend ordered ?The Big Dipper?, which was a basically a French Dip sandwich. It was good. Not great. Sensing a theme here?
The portions are huge, which was to be expected, for sure. Despite being full, we decided to give Guy?s desserts a try. The server said they are all made in-house, fresh every day.
We chose the ?Salted Whiskey Caramel Fool,? which was described as ?Sea salt whiskey caramel sauce, macerated strawberries, toasted house made pound cake, fresh whipped cream and hazelnut brittle.? It was listed as a ?Guy?s Signature Dish?, and again didn?t live up to my expectations of a signature dish.
Sounds like a feast for the taste buds, yes? Well, it was essentially a parfait. Annnnd it was just ok.
Here?s the thing. I really, REALLY wanted to like Guy?s American Kitchen. Like, really. I mean, I read the NYT review and still went, hoping that Mr. Wells just had his britches in a wad. And while I didn?t find the food or experience nearly as offensive as Wells did, I won?t be rushing back.
If you happened to be going there and invited me along, I would go with you and try something new. But I certainly wouldn?t recommend it, especially when New York City has so many other amazing options from which to choose.
I expected Guy to raise the bar a little bit from the Friday?s around the corner.
Source: http://www.foodfanatic.com/2013/02/guy-fieri-restaurant-review-as-bad-as-advertised/
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NYT: Barnes & Noble may be moving away from Nook hardware
Barnes & Noble's hardware division hasn't exactly been glowing recently, and if one New York Times source is to be believed, it'll take more than cute (and charitable) rhymes to keep investors happy. According to the NYT source, company executives want to shift from making Barnes & Noble branded hardware to licensing its content to other manufactures. "They are not completely getting out of the hardware business, but they are going to lean a lot more on the comprehensive digital catalog of content," the paper was told. The source went on to explain that the company will emphasize this new strategy in its Q3 2013 fiscal report next week, committing to building deeper relationships with device makers like Samsung and Microsoft. The unnamed informant didn't say which devices the bookseller planned to shelve, but we wouldn't be too surprised to see the more expensive SKUs fall by the wayside. Either way, we'll see the facts for themselves when the company posts its earnings next week.
Update: Barnes & Noble followed up with us to clarify the situation, stating plainly that it has "no plans to discontinue our award-winning line of Nook products."
Source: New York Times
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/24/nyt-barnes-and-noble-less-hardware/
Prenatal DHA reduces early preterm birth, low birth weight
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 25-Feb-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Karen Salisbury Henry
kahenry@ku.edu
785-864-0756
University of Kansas
LAWRENCE University of Kansas researchers have found that the infants of mothers who were given 600 milligrams of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA during pregnancy weighed more at birth and were less likely to be very low birth weight and born before 34 weeks gestation than infants of mothers who were given a placebo. This result greatly strengthens the case for using the dietary supplement during pregnancy.
Susan CarlsonThe results are from the first five years of a 10-year, double-blind randomized controlled trial to be published in the April issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It is also available online. A followup of this sample of infants is ongoing to determine whether prenatal DHA nutritional supplementation will benefit children's intelligence and school readiness.
"A reduction in early preterm and very low birth weight delivery could have clear clinical and public health significance," said Susan Carlson, A.J. Rice Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition at the KU Medical Center, who directed the study with John Colombo, KU professor of psychology and director of the Life Span Institute.
John Colombo"We believe that supplementing U.S. women with DHA could safely increase mean birth weight and gestational age to numbers that are closer to other developed countries such as Norway and Australia," she said.
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) occurs naturally in cell membranes with the highest levels in brain cells, but levels can be increased by diet or supplements. An infant obtains DHA from his or her mother in utero and postnatally from human milk, but the amount received depends upon the mother's DHA status.
"U.S. women typically consume less DHA than women in most of the developed world," said Carlson.
During the first five years of the study, children of women enrolled in the study received multiple developmental assessments at regular intervals throughout infancy and at 18 months of age. In the next phase of the study, the children will receive twice-yearly assessments until they are 6 years old. The researchers will measure developmental milestones that occur in later childhood and are linked to lifelong health and welfare.
Previous research has established the effects of postnatal feeding of DHA on infant cognitive and intellectual development, but DHA is accumulated most rapidly in the fetal brain during pregnancy, said Colombo. "That's why we are so interested in the effects of DHA taken prenatally, because we will really be able to see how this nutrient affects development over the long term."
###
The study is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. The university's mission is to lift students and society by educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries that change the world. The KU News Service is the central public relations office for the Lawrence campus.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 25-Feb-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Karen Salisbury Henry
kahenry@ku.edu
785-864-0756
University of Kansas
LAWRENCE University of Kansas researchers have found that the infants of mothers who were given 600 milligrams of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA during pregnancy weighed more at birth and were less likely to be very low birth weight and born before 34 weeks gestation than infants of mothers who were given a placebo. This result greatly strengthens the case for using the dietary supplement during pregnancy.
Susan CarlsonThe results are from the first five years of a 10-year, double-blind randomized controlled trial to be published in the April issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It is also available online. A followup of this sample of infants is ongoing to determine whether prenatal DHA nutritional supplementation will benefit children's intelligence and school readiness.
"A reduction in early preterm and very low birth weight delivery could have clear clinical and public health significance," said Susan Carlson, A.J. Rice Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition at the KU Medical Center, who directed the study with John Colombo, KU professor of psychology and director of the Life Span Institute.
John Colombo"We believe that supplementing U.S. women with DHA could safely increase mean birth weight and gestational age to numbers that are closer to other developed countries such as Norway and Australia," she said.
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) occurs naturally in cell membranes with the highest levels in brain cells, but levels can be increased by diet or supplements. An infant obtains DHA from his or her mother in utero and postnatally from human milk, but the amount received depends upon the mother's DHA status.
"U.S. women typically consume less DHA than women in most of the developed world," said Carlson.
During the first five years of the study, children of women enrolled in the study received multiple developmental assessments at regular intervals throughout infancy and at 18 months of age. In the next phase of the study, the children will receive twice-yearly assessments until they are 6 years old. The researchers will measure developmental milestones that occur in later childhood and are linked to lifelong health and welfare.
Previous research has established the effects of postnatal feeding of DHA on infant cognitive and intellectual development, but DHA is accumulated most rapidly in the fetal brain during pregnancy, said Colombo. "That's why we are so interested in the effects of DHA taken prenatally, because we will really be able to see how this nutrient affects development over the long term."
###
The study is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. The university's mission is to lift students and society by educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries that change the world. The KU News Service is the central public relations office for the Lawrence campus.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/uok-pdr022513.php
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Twilight wins worst picture, worst actress awards at Razzies
LOS ANGELES ? The Twilight team finally has earned some love ? or loathing ? from Team Razzies.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ? Part 2 was picked as last year's worst picture Saturday by the Razzies, an Academy Awards spoof that hands out prizes for Hollywood's lousiest movies on the eve of the Oscars.
The finale to the blockbuster supernatural romance dominated the Razzies with seven awards, including worst actress for Kristen Stewart, supporting actor for Taylor Lautner, director for Bill Condon and worst screen couple for Lautner and child co-star Mackenzie Foy.
Adam Sandler was named worst actor for the raunchy comedy That's My Boy, his second-straight win after 2011's Jack and Jill, which swept all 10 Razzie categories a year ago. Pop singer Rihanna won worst supporting actress for the action dud "Battleship."
Twilight movies had been well represented in Razzie nominations over the years but had not won any key awards there. Razzie voters joke that as with The Lord of the Rings finale winning best picture at the Academy Awards, they were waiting for the last Twilight flick on which to heap their scorn.
"I have a pet theory, which is that the box office on Twilight films is very impressive, but my theory is that instead of 40 million individual girls going to see it, it's 8 million girls going to see it five times each. People who love those movies just adore them," said Razzies founder John Wilson. "I believe the attitude of people who really love 'Twilight' movies toward this subject is very similar to the pomposity with which the Academy Awards addresses the whole rest of the world. Our whole existence is all about making fun of pompous, so 'Twilight' really is right up our alley."
The Twilight finale also won for worst screen ensemble and worst remake, rip-off or sequel. For worst picture, it beat out Battleship, 'That's My Boy, the family flick The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure and Eddie Murphy's comedy flop A Thousand Words.
Stewart's worst-actress prize came for both Twilight and her fairy-tale update Snow White and the Huntsman.
In the five Twilight movies, Stewart stars as sullen teen Bella Swan, who falls for ageless vampire hunk Edward Cullen (worst-actor nominee Robert Pattinson) and finds herself at the centre of a love triangle with him and her childhood pal, werewolf stud Jacob Black (Lautner).
Stewart set a consistent standard of emotional stoniness throughout the Twilight movies, Wilson said.
"Acting should involve having an expression on your face, and she is blank, other than the morose kind of half-Goth thing her character does," Wilson said. "I didn't realize Snow White and Bella were soul sisters, because of the very limited range of what she can do. I think it was Dorothy Parker who said about Katharine Hepburn that she runs the 'gamut of emotions from A to B.' Kristen Stewart is so expressionless she might as well be a brick wall."
Sandler's That's My Boy, which also won the worst-screenplay Razzie, flopped at the box office and continues a gradual decline in receipts for the comic actor's movies.
"He's an enormous star who is on what I call the 'down-alator' of his career," Wilson said. "He's about to step off the same cliff Eddie Murphy stepped off about 10 years ago. Eddie Murphy has never come back, and Murphy is more talented."
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সোমবার, ২৫ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩
Judge blocks shareholder vote on Apple proposal
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge is blocking Apple from conducting a shareholder vote on a package of governance proposals, handing a victory to a rebel investor who is trying to persuade the company to share more of its cash with its investors.
U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan in New York ruled Friday that Apple Inc. was wrong to bundle four amendments to its corporate charter into one proposal for a vote at next Wednesday's annual meeting. Shareholders should get to vote on the amendments separately, he said. Although the ruling was preliminary, before both sides had a chance to fully make their case, Sullivan said Apple was likely to lose. He granted dissident investors a preliminary injunction against Apple pending a full trial.
Apple will comply with Sullivan's order and withdraw the issue from the agenda of next week's meeting, said Steve Dowling, a spokesman for the Cupertino, Calif., company. It had appeared on the shareholder voting list as proposal No. 2.
"We are disappointed with the court's ruling," Dowling said. "Proposal No. 2 is part of our efforts to further enhance corporate governance and serve our shareholders' best interests."
Greenlight Capital, a hedge fund run by Wall Street maverick David Einhorn, sued Apple over the proposal because it would remove the board's ability to issue preferred stock without shareholder authorization. Einhorn wants Apple to issue "iPrefs," preferred shares with a guaranteed dividend, as a way of committing the company to sharing its massive profits with shareholders.
Einhorn has been trying to rally Wall Street to vote against the Apple proposal as a way of showing their displeasure with the company's capital-allocation policies. Right now, Apple hands only a small amount of its profits to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. The rest of the money goes in the bank, where Apple's cash hoard amounted to $137 billion at the end of last year. That amount grows by about $40 billion every year, much of it from selling trend-setting gadgets such as the iPad and the iPhone.
Investors almost universally want Apple to hand out at least some of that cash, but Einhorn hasn't gotten much support for his "iPrefs" idea or his "No on Proposal 2" campaign.
Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company's proposal puts more power in the hands of shareholders, making it difficult to understand why a shareholder would fight it. Calling Greenlight's campaign a waste of time, Cook said Apple wouldn't squander money by mailing letters to shareholders to persuade them to vote for the proposal.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the country's largest pension fund, had said it would vote for Apple's proposal, because it would have strengthened shareholder rights. Among other measures, it would let shareholders vote against directors.
Apple's stock fell 31 cents to $450.50 in extended trading after the ruling came out.
"This is a significant win for all Apple shareholders and for good corporate governance," Greenlight said in a statement. "We are pleased the court has recognized that Apple's proxy is not compliant with (federal securities) rules because it bundles different matters in Proposal 2. We look forward to Apple's evaluation of our iPref idea and we encourage fellow shareholders to urge Apple to unlock the significant value residing on its balance sheet."
A company with excess cash will usually reward shareholders by raising its dividend or issuing a one-time dividend. It could also buy back more shares. Einhorn believes none of these routes would yield as much shareholder value as the iPrefs, because their 4 percent annual dividend yield would make them attractive to investors that otherwise wouldn't look at Apple shares, such as pension funds and endowments.
Greenlight has been an Apple shareholder since 2010 and has 1.3 million shares worth about $580 million.
Source: http://www.katu.com/news/business/Judge-blocks-shareholder-vote-on-Apple-proposal-192740791.html
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রবিবার, ২৪ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩
Windows 8 App Allows Toyota Racing Development to Set the Pace
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REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --?TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) ? a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc. that serves as the North American racing arm for design, development and assembly of Toyota's factory racing engines and chassis ? worked with Microsoft Corp. to design a touch-enabled app for Windows 8 as the centerpiece of a new strategy to improve the performance of the Toyota teams competing in NASCAR. When drivers, crew chiefs and team engineers expressed the need for a more mobile computing platform to monitor real-time performance data, TRD answered with the Windows 8 Trackside app running on Surface Pro hardware.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)
During practice, drivers and crew chiefs previously had to record racing performance data with software on a laptop, or even with pencil and paper, requiring drivers to get out of their race cars to view information about the car's performance, as well as to explain what was happening on the track.
"Microsoft is excited to work with TRD to design and architect a mobile platform on Windows 8 for Toyota's NASCAR race teams," said Jason Campbell, group product marketing manager at Microsoft. "The Trackside app for Windows 8 on Surface Pro allows TRD to spend more time driving and less time in the garage reviewing performance data, with a touch-based mobile tablet that can go from portable note taker to a high-performance monitor in less time than it takes to change even one tire."
Now with the Windows 8 Trackside app and Surface Pro, the race team can efficiently capture performance data through the touch-based app and share it with the crew in real time, enabling mechanics to immediately get to work fine-tuning the race car for enhanced performance. Trackside also offers touch-enabled data that gives the crew chief and driver insight and analysis on timing and scoring data versus competitors, allowing a team to determine if the right adjustments have been made to the car or what adjustments may need to be made.
"Trackside running on Surface Pro means more time is spent on the track and less time is spent talking," said Steve Wickham, TRD's vice president of chassis operations. "Teams are back on the track faster, allowing them more time to determine the optimum setup for the race car. Our mission is to take advantage of the latest innovation in technology to quickly get better data ? which translates into faster cars on the track."
Since 2007, TRD has been developing racing software on the Windows platform for teams to analyze and improve performance, enabling Toyota race teams to be frequent visitors to victory lane and annually compete for series championships. TRD differentiates itself within the hypercompetitive racing business through technology innovation. Today, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard is one of the first Toyota teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series to use the new Trackside solution.
"For Toyota teams to finish first on the track, we must also be the first to innovate our technologies behind the scenes," said Darren Jones, group lead for software development at TRD. "We chose Windows 8 because we get enterprise-ready security and management, the familiarity of the Windows development environment, and a fully capable touch-enabled interface."
When it came to choosing a device, TRD wanted a high-performance, lightweight, touch-enabled computer to complement the fast-paced environment at the race track. Several tablets were tested during the pilot phase, but Surface Pro was ultimately chosen because it delivered the power and performance of a laptop PC in a tablet package, as well as the hardware benefits of its unique Touch Covers and durable VaporMg chassis to protect the tablet from hazardous track environments. Surface Pro allows drivers and crew to use the device as a tablet or laptop, and its excellent screen visibility in outdoor lighting is essential when working at the race track.
"Working together with TRD and Microsoft, RAB Racing tested the Windows 8 Trackside app at the end of last season and found it to be an extremely useful tool for our organization," said Robbie Benton, owner, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard. "This year with a rookie driver Alex Bowman, we need to get him as much time as possible on the race track to make sure we prepare good race cars for him. The Trackside app will help us accomplish both of those goals, and help our race team be better."
More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/customerspotlight. For press, more information on how TRD and other businesses are implementing Windows 8 is available via SkyDrive: http://sdrv.ms/132zedi. For businesses, more information about Windows 8 planning and deployment is available at the Windows 8 Enterprise resource site: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/default.aspx.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
Source: http://www.sys-con.com/node/2551338
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শনিবার, ২৩ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩
Time Study Finds Some Hospitals Bill Patients Many Times More Than Actual Procedure Cost
Feb 22, 2013 6:39pm
When Emilia Gilbert fell and went to the emergency room, she was diagnosed with a simple broken nose and released. But a few weeks later, she got the bill and was floored again.
?I knew I would have to pay something, but I didn?t think it was going to be $9,000,? Gilbert said.
Gilbert?s $9,418?bill included a $6,538?charge for three CT scans that the government says should actually cost the hospital only about $800 for all three under Medicare rates.
A Time magazine study found non-profit hospitals routinely bill many patients many times more than what a procedure costs the hospital. In one case, a hospital charged a 10,000 percent markup for a single over-the-counter pain pill.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?(Getty Images)
Time contributor Steven Brill?s seven-month investigation unveiled the ?Chargemaster,? an internal list of what hospitals charge?patients.
?It?s a price list that is completely happenstance,? he said. ?Nobody can explain it.?
For example, one hospital charged a patient $157 for a blood test that it bills Medicare just $11 for. Another patient was charged $7,997 for a stress test that Medicare pays about $554 for.
?Everybody?s making exorbitant profits,? Brill said.
PHOTOS: Medical Marvels
The American Hospital Association said a bill reflects not just the patient?s treatment but also ?what it takes to provide the care ? the nurse at the bedside and all the staff who keep the hospital running 24 hours a day.?
Brill said what most people don?t know is that they can usually negotiate their bills down so they don?t pay the price Emilia Gilbert paid.
PHOTOS: Unusual X-Rays
SHOWS: Good Morning America World News
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It's official: Samsung's got a new 8-inch Note tablet
The rumors you might've heard are true: Samsung's got a new 8-inch tablet, appropriately named the Galaxy Note 8.0, on the way.
The new tablet will sit between the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2 smartphone and the 10.1-inch Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. It competes with Apple's 7.9-inch iPad Mini and Google's 7-inch Nexus 7.
Like the other devices in Samsung's Galaxy Note line, the Galaxy Note 8.0 will include the S Pen, which Samsung emphasizes is not merely a stylus. You can use the pressure-sensitive digital pen ? which is powered by technology created by Wacom, the company behind professional-grade digital drawing tablets ? to add notes, manipulate content on the screen, and even preview videos and emails by simply hovering it close to the Galaxy Note 8.0's screen.
The Galaxy Note 8.0 will run Android 4.1.2 (better known as Jellybean). Under the hood, it has a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, a 5 megapixel camera in the back, a 1.3 megapixel camera in the front, 2GB of RAM, and a microSD slot. The tablet's 8-inch display offers 1280x800 pixels, which breaks down to 189 pixels per inch (ppi). (In comparison, the iPad Mini and Nexus 7 have 163 ppi and 216 ppi displays, respectively.)
Those who were intrigued by the Galaxy Note 10.1's multi-app split-screen feature will likely jump for joy when they hear that it is included on the Galaxy Note 8.0 and that it now supports nearly any app ? not just Samsung's included suite of tools. (This means that you can take notes while watching a video, type out emails while editing a spreadsheet on the side, scribble over a photo while checking out instructions in a document, and so on.)
The Galaxy Note 8.0 will come in 16GB and 32GB versions. No word yet on pricing details, but since we should see the tablet hit shelves in the second quarter of this year, it won't be too long before we find out how much Samsung wants for its latest gadget.
Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.
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শুক্রবার, ২২ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩
Preserving a memory, honoring a life - Livingston County News
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Preserving a memory, honoring a life
February 21, 2013 by Howard W. Appell
Wendy Fambro?s book finds meaning in journals of troubled young man
Wendy Fambro?s book ?Improv & Hope? is based on the journals of a young man, Alec Williams, who died in 1999.
Alec suffered from an anxiety disorder whose physical manifestations were probably responsible for his early death. He and his mother Andria lived on Harlem Street, in the Park Avenue neighborhood of Rochester.
Wendy met Andria in 2009 when she answered an ad on Craigslist. Andria was legally blind and seeking someone to read to her.
?I was hired as a reader, but I soon learned that Andria didn?t have many real friendships. She just had people she paid to do things for her,? Wendy related, noting, ?After a while I stopped accepting her payments and was just her friend.?
In her long conversations with Andria, Wendy learned of the woman?s deceased son.
Alec?s diagnoses had been vague, but it seemed his nervous system was running on overdrive. He was medicated for his condition, yet still his body and mind would race. Alec had attended public school through eighth grade, then was home schooled.
?He was intelligent enough to do the Regents program, but socially Alec did not fit well into a public school system,? Wendy said.
To an outside observer, Alec?s symptoms appeared schizophrenic, but the root of his illness may have been physiological rather than mental. Towards the end of his life, Alec had great difficulty digesting food.
With Andria dying from natural causes in 2011, the Williams nuclear family was entirely deceased. Alec?s father had died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm when Alec was 5 years old. A sister, who had alcohol issues, died a few years after Alec.
Andria believed that her son was a novel thinker. He had journaled his ideas at her request and her hope was that Alec?s three notebooks might somehow be preserved for posterity. Wendy made a promise to Andria she would do what was in her power to put Alec?s thought in published form.
Knowing she was going to die, Andria entrusted Wendy with the task. Wendy, for her own part, had taken the job sight unseen.
?I had not opened the journals until Andria died. I had no idea what I was in for,? Wendy admits. ?It took me a full year to just read through them, to categorize, and to start determining what Alec might have meant at any given moment.?
?In their raw form the entries are very difficult. They were Alec?s thoughts as they occurred to him ? and they occurred rapidly. At first it was a challenge to find any kind of connections.?
Indeed, Andria had been told by others to whom she had shown Alec?s notes that they were gibberish. But Wendy, who has a background in psychology, was committed to finding meaning.
Alec was a prolific reader. Philosophy, Jewish mysticism, alchemy and numerology are frequently referenced in his journals ? and these subjects dominated Alec?s small surviving library of about 15 books which Andria passed along to Wendy.
As she delved into the journals, one of Wendy?s jobs was to insure that the journal represented Alec?s original thoughts; that he was not quoting from works he had read. As far as she has been able to determine, the journals are entirely original to him.
Alec was a deep thinker, but his thoughts were highly disjointed, ?at least for the reader,? Wendy qualifies. ?For Alec I believe there was a natural flow, but on the very same page might be something about a book he read, then something he saw on TV, and then a Dungeons & Dragons move.?
Wendy did her best to pull meaning from the chaotic musings, then began to see meaning in the chaos itself, which to Alec was key to his reality.
?I spent so much time in that space that I became immersed in his brain and his world,? Wendy concedes. ?Alec was a troubled person and when you first encounter the journals, they are alien. But after you live and breath them for awhile, you can enter the place where he was.?
Wendy agrees that Alec?s thinking was at some level profound. He spent time contemplating the meaning of his own life, naturally in the context of what his life was. He was aware of his own differences from others and, perhaps remarkably, saw his differences as a positive advantage.
?Alec was extraordinarily frustrated with the human condition, including what he saw as a lack of self-awareness in others,? Wendy grasped. ?Alec saw others as wasting their time and their lives.?
?He was always wrestling with existential questions and saw himself as part of a larger reality which would transcend this reality,? Wendy relates.
Three voices
The cover of ?Improv & Hope,? a new book from Miche Fambro. The author worked from a young man?s journals to create the book.
In assembling the book, Wendy?s first challenges had been to get through Alec?s journals and extract some level of meaning. After entering Alec?s world, Wendy?s second challenge was no less formidable: figuring out how to present this world to readers who will never meet Alec, or as Wendy says, ?to determine a heart of the story other people will care about.?
Wendy?s method was to weave pieces from the journals with reminisces from Andria, who had audiotaped biographical sketches of herself and Alec, then finally insert her own observations and reflections, ?because, ultimately, I realized I could not stand apart from this story.?
Therefore, while Alec persists as the central voice, the book has two other voices: Andria as a maternal lens and Wendy as an observer. All of speak in first person and each is identified by a different font, close in form to the subject?s handwriting.
?In the end the book is about relationships, and the value of an individual life,? Wendy concludes. ?It?s a story of a mother and a son, but it?s also a story of what makes any of our lives have value.?
?I did this for Andria, but I do think it might be of value to others who are looking for an insight into the human condition,? Wendy said.
While working on the book, Wendy, with the cooperation of Andria?s estate, was able to tap a modest trust fund Andria had at one time started for Alec?s college education. In completing and publishing ?Improv & Hope,? Wendy has fulfilled a contract she made with the trust fund and a promise she had made to a friend.
?I promised Andria I would make the journals accessible and then invite as many people as possible to read them,? Wendy said. ?What I was doing was preserving the memory of her son and honoring his life.?
?Improv & Hope,? 160 pages, can be obtained at www.lulu.com and will be available as well at Sundance Books in Geneseo.
Alec is also featured at alecwilliams.com, a website set up by Andria before her death, emphasizing the experimental guitar music which Alec recorded.
Wendy Fambro is a native of Geneseo, married to popular musician Miche Fambro and the mother of two children. She holds a psychology degree from SUNY Geneseo and a master of divinity degree from Colgate Rochester.
Wendy will be discussing ?Improv & Hope? during a reading and booksigning that begins 11 a.m. Saturday at Burlingham Books, 2 South Main St., Perry on Saturday.
Source: http://thelcn.com/2013/02/21/preserving-a-memory-honoring-a-life/
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NKorea to allow mobile Internet for foreigners
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? North Korea will soon allow foreigners to tweet, Skype and surf the Internet from their cellphones, iPads and other mobile devices in its second relaxation of controls on communications in recent weeks. However, North Korean citizens will not have access to the mobile Internet service to be offered by provider Koryolink within the next week.
Koryolink, a joint venture between Korea Post & Telecommunications Corporation and Egypt's Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding SAE, informed foreign residents in Pyongyang on Friday that it will launch a third generation, or 3G, mobile Internet service no later than March 1.
The announcement comes just weeks after North Korea began allowing foreigners to bring their own cellphones into the country to use with Koryolink SIM cards, reversing a longstanding rule requiring most visitors to relinquish their phones at customs and leaving many without easy means of communication with the outside world.
The two changes in policy mean foreigners in North Korea will have unprecedented connectivity while living, working or traveling in a country long regarded as one of the most isolated nations in the world.
However, wireless Internet will not yet be offered to North Koreans, who are governed by a separate set of telecommunication rules from foreigners. North Koreans will be allowed to access certain 3G services, including SMS and MMS messaging, video calls and subscriptions to the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper ? but not the global Internet.
The lack of Internet access in North Korea has put the country at the bottom of Internet freedom surveys. Though North Korea is equipped for broadband Internet, only a small, approved segment of the population has access to the World Wide Web.
During a visit to Pyongyang early last month, Google's executive chairman pressed the North Koreans to expand access to the Internet. Eric Schmidt noted that it would be "very easy" for North Korea to offer Internet on Koryolink's fast-expanding 3G cellphone network.
"As the world becomes increasingly connected, the North Korean decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world and their economic growth," he wrote in a Jan. 20 blog post after returning to the United States. "It will make it harder for them to catch up economically. It is their choice now, and in my view, it's time for them to start, or they will remain behind."
Soon after Schmidt's visit, Google unveiled maps of North Korea with more details based on contributions from foreigners using satellite images and publicly available information to map the country. Before, North Korea was left mostly blank in Google Maps but with the update, Pyongyang and major North Korean cities are shown with street names, parks, roads, train stops and monuments.
Cellphone use has multiplied in North Korea since Orascom built a 3G network more than four years ago. More than a million people are now using mobile phones in North Korea, where the network now covers most major cities, according to Orascom.
Chinese-made Huawei cellphones sold by Koryolink are not cheap, with the most basic model costing about $150, and the governments restricts North Koreans from phoning abroad or foreigners from their cellphones. Still, mobile phones have become a must-have accessory among not only the elite in Pyongyang but also the middle class in cities such as Kaesong and Wonsan.
Foreigners, meanwhile, can now purchase SIM cards at the airport or at Koryolink shops for 50 euros ($70). Calls abroad range from 0.38 euros a minute to Switzerland and France and more than 5 euros a minute to the U.S. Calls to South Korea remain prohibited.
Starting next week, foreigners will be allowed to purchase monthly mobile Internet data plans for use with a USB modem or on mobile devices using their SIM cards. Prices for the service haven't been announced yet.
The expansion of cellphone and Internet services ? at least for foreigners ? comes as North Korea promotes the development of science and technology as a means of improving its moribund economy.
Late leader Kim Jong Il was revealed to have been a Mac user. His Macbook Pro, or a replica, is enshrined at the Kumsusan mausoleum where his body lies in state.
Current leader Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, was shown in a recent photo with a more mobile computing accessory: a smartphone.
___
Follow AP's bureau chief for Pyongyang and Seoul at www.twitter.com/newsjean
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Why consumer watchdog agency still has no chief
Senate Republicans have vowed to block President Obama?s nomination of Richard Cordray to become director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unless Congress takes steps that would weaken the agency.
In a recent letter to the White House, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and 42 GOP colleagues said they will continue to oppose the consideration ?of any nominee, regardless of party affiliation? until changes are made to ?ensure accountability and transparency? at the CFPB.
Sen. McConnell said Republicans have ?serious concerns about the lack of congressional oversight of the agency and the lack of normal, democratic checks on its sole director, who would wield nearly unprecedented powers.?
Consumer groups and Democrats on Capitol Hill are outraged at what they believe is a blatant attempt to muzzle the consumer watchdog agency.
?They?re playing politics with the pocketbooks of the American people and the safety of our economy,? said consumer advocate Ed Mierzwinski of U.S. PIRG.
?Republicans are trying to dismantle the consumer protection bureau and put the power back in the hands of big corporations,? said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in a statement. ?American consumers deserve a cop on the beat to advocate for their interests against reckless corporations and their armies of lawyers seeking to take advantage.?
The outcome of this power struggle will affect all Americans because the CFPB regulates the businesses that control so much of our financial lives, including banks, credit card issuers, mortgage lenders, debt collectors and credit reporting agencies.
In just 19 months, the agency has issued numerous rules designed to bring fairness and transparency to the financial marketplace. It has also levied record fines against some of the biggest financial companies in the country, resulting in $425 million being refunded to consumers.
What exactly do GOP lawmakers want?
Republicans say they want Congress to change the CFPB?s governance, funding and oversight before they will vote on a director for the agency.
- Governance: They want the CFPB to be run by a five-member bipartisan commission, rather than a director.
- Funding: They want the bureau to be subject to the annual appropriations process in Congress.
- Oversight: They want to make it easier for other federal banking regulators to veto any CFPB rule.
George Washington University law professor Arthur Wilmarth, Jr. wrote an analysis of the proposed changes in a paper titled: ?The Financial Services Industry?s Misguided Quest to Undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.? Here?s how he addressed the GOP?s proposed changes:
1. Governance
There are reasonable arguments on both sides as to whether the agency should be run by a director or a commission. While a single director increases accountability, a bipartisan commission might include a broader range of views. But the commission structure increases the possibility of deadlock if a single position is vacant.
Weighing all the factors ? efficiency, stability, decisiveness and accountability ? Prof. Wilmarth concluded that keeping a single-director makes the most sense.
2. Funding
Currently, the CFPB?s budget comes from the Federal Reserve and is capped at 12 percent of the Board?s budget each year.
If the CFPB does not have guaranteed funding and must seek Congressional budget approval each year, it is subject to Congressional whim and therefore pressure from business groups.
?The two agencies that don?t have assured funding ? the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ? the industry strangles them through the appropriations process and makes them unable to accomplish their mission,? Wilmarth explained. ?Obviously, the industry wants this because they don?t want the CFPB to be effective.?
3. Oversight
The federal law that created the CFPB already defines and limits its regulatory powers. It establishes various layers of oversight. The agency reports to Congress (so far Corday has testified 30 times) and is watched by the General Accounting Office.
The CFPB ? unlike any other financial regulatory agency ? is also subject to review by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) which can veto any bureau rule that?s shown to put ?the safety and soundness? of the U.S. banking system or the ?stability? of the U.S. financial system at risk.
Republicans want to give the FSOC the power to veto any CFPB rule that negatively impacts even a single bank or financial institution.
Wilmarth believes this would make it too easy to override CFPB actions and would give responsibility for consumer protection back to ?the same agencies that failed to protect both consumers and our financial markets during the past decade.?
Democrats go on the offensive
Three Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have called on their Republican colleagues to put Cordray?s nomination to an up-or-down vote.
Confirming a CFPB director would ?help consumers and strengthen our financial marketplace,? they said in a joint news release.
Sen. Warren knows more about this issue than most members of Congress. She?s the former Harvard professor who helped launch the CFPB in 2010 after it was created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
She warned that this latest example of Congressional gridlock hurts everyone.
?Political stalemates don?t end in more government or less government, but in bad government ? government that lacks the clarity and predictability that our businesses need to plan for the future, to serve their customers, and to create jobs,? Warren said.
Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitteror visit The ConsumerMan website.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/why-consumer-watchdog-agency-still-has-no-chief-1C8452387
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২১ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩
Social Media Week Digital Privacy Panel - Business Insider
At a Social Media Week panel this week on digital privacy, it became clear how much data companies gather every time people sign in online.
Even more concerning, no one seems to have a plan for how to protect that information.
As digital innovation grows and people increasingly rely on the Internet for all parts of daily life, laws surrounding privacy rights are left in disarray, Washington University Law professor Neil Richards told Business Insider.?
Nowhere was that concern more apparent than at the panel when two prominent lawyers vehemently disagreed on nearly every point, including whether?the government?should even protect Internet users' digital privacy.?
Meetup Inc. General Counsel David Pashman and David Straite, a partner at Stewarts Law who represented Facebook users?in a privacy class-action lawsuit against the company, fought over what the government should be doing to protect Internet user's privacy.
Online privacy can be violated in a number of ways.
Advertisers can run analytics on web users' digital behavior and can potentially make quite a bit of money just from tracking their virtual activity.?
Straite argued Tuesday for government involvement in privacy that mirrored Sen. John McCain's and Secretary of State John Kerry's proposed Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights.?
The proposed legislation established "rights to protect every American when it comes to the collection, use, and dissemination of their personally identifiable information," according to Kerry's website.
"As a fundamental question, it's broken," Straite said of the current privacy protection system, which involves companies posting online complicated privacy policies most people can't understand.
Straite said his ideal solution would include a law that "says there are sacrosanct areas of information that you as a consumer have the right to opt out of and still accept click on the contract."
But Pashman said government intervention would stifle innovation, arguing the burden to protect privacy was on the user.?
"If you don't know how you're data is being used, you should assume the worst," he said. "The obligations that users have is take responsibility for your own privacy. You should be thoughtful about what information you give up."
According to Pashman, users' concerns about privacy shouldn't dictate how a company makes policy, and that the government shouldn't tell companies how to make their business models.
"The fact that people are uncomfortable with it is not determinative of how companies should be able to do business," Pashman said. "If people are uncomfortable with something, they can choose not to use the service.?That's the system that I favor. I do not favor a regulatory scheme where the government is telling companies how to develop their business models and what they can do within the confines of what some segment of society now thinks is comfortable."
While the debate was interesting, and certainly spirited, it created more questions than it answered.
If two experts in the field had no clear answers, what does that mean for the average user??
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-week-digital-privacy-panel-2013-2
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