U.S. Training in Africa Aims to Deter Extremists - NYTimes.com: “KATI, Mali — Thousands of miles from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, another side of America’s fight against terrorism is unfolding in this remote corner of West Africa. American Green Berets are training African armies to guard their borders and patrol vast desolate expanses against infiltration by Al Qaeda’s militants, so the United States does not have to.
A recent exercise by the United States military here was part of a wide-ranging plan, developed after the Sept. 11 attacks, to take counterterrorism training and assistance to places outside the Middle East, like the Philippines and Indonesia. In Africa, a five-year, $500 million partnership between the State and Defense Departments includes Algeria, Chad, Mauritania, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia, and Libya is on the verge of joining.”
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Bad Times Draw Bigger Crowds to Churches - NYTimes.com
Bad Times Draw Bigger Crowds to Churches - NYTimes.com: “Like evangelical churches around the country, the three churches have enjoyed steady growth over the last decade. But since September, pastors nationwide say they have seen such a burst of new interest that they find themselves contending with powerful conflicting emotions — deep empathy and quiet excitement — as they re-encounter an old piece of religious lore:
Bad times are good for evangelical churches.”
Bad times are good for evangelical churches.”
Big Penis - Will I Hurt My Partner? - DanAndJennifer's Video Gets 2 Million Views
In a recent NY Times article it was reported that some YouTubers are making $100,000 a year from posting videos.
As a YouTube partner myself I was interested in what kind of content generates enough views to have that kind of income? So I happened on DanAndJennifer's "ask channel" where this couple (I guess they're a couple), have this video posted in July and has been seen over 2 million times since then. Wow. Ok, sex -- even the discussion of it -- sells. But in fairness, they talk about it, rather than show it.
Ok.
More racy videos? I think I'll stick to politics and current events. Well ok, sex is a current event, sometimes I make a foray into that area.
Heather Brooke Rinehart and John Bzdil Charged in Columbia University Fraud Case
NY Daily News: Couple charged in big Columbia University con split for Christmas: “The feds say the couple bilked Columbia by submitting $112,500 in invoices for a bogus spinal muscular study. At the time, Bzdil was managing the pediatric neurosciences department of the Neurological Institute of Columbia.
He signed off on an invoice Rinehart prepared in which she claimed to be a clinical manager for an international support group for people with spinal muscular atrophy, prosecutors say. She claimed to be paying a Columbia doctor for the study.
The couple spent $25,000 on the "Bzdil/Rinehart Wedding" at the Skytop Lodge in the Poconos on Sept. 15, 2007, FBI Agent Jose Charriez said in a criminal complaint.
Bzdil approved another $84,000 in reimbursements for a massive online buying spree on Amazon.com, Charriez said.
Charriez said particular favorites were Bliss products such as Mammoth Minty Scrub, All Around Eye Cream and Lovehandler.
"Lovehandler wages war on not-so-hard 'core' areas by unleashing extended release caffeine to help whittle the appearance of wiggly waists and pudgy tummies," its product description reads.
Bzdil and Rinehart each face 20 years in prison if convicted on fraud charges.”
He signed off on an invoice Rinehart prepared in which she claimed to be a clinical manager for an international support group for people with spinal muscular atrophy, prosecutors say. She claimed to be paying a Columbia doctor for the study.
The couple spent $25,000 on the "Bzdil/Rinehart Wedding" at the Skytop Lodge in the Poconos on Sept. 15, 2007, FBI Agent Jose Charriez said in a criminal complaint.
Bzdil approved another $84,000 in reimbursements for a massive online buying spree on Amazon.com, Charriez said.
Charriez said particular favorites were Bliss products such as Mammoth Minty Scrub, All Around Eye Cream and Lovehandler.
"Lovehandler wages war on not-so-hard 'core' areas by unleashing extended release caffeine to help whittle the appearance of wiggly waists and pudgy tummies," its product description reads.
Bzdil and Rinehart each face 20 years in prison if convicted on fraud charges.”
Bernard 'Bernie' Madoff: From Queens lifeguard to soaking fraud
Bernard 'Bernie' Madoff: From Queens lifeguard to soaking fraud: “BY LARRY MCSHANE NYDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, December 13th 2008, 11:55 AM Feds say Madoff's Ponzi scheme was worst ever. Bernard Madoff, "Bernie" to his Wall Street pals and deep-pocketed investors, launched his financial career with $5,000 earned as a Far Rockaway lifeguard.
That was nearly a half-century ago. Today, investors with Madoff's firm are drowning after the former Nasdaq chairman admitted fleecing his customers of $50 billion.
Madoff, 70, was known as a quirky figure inside his company offices at Manhattan's Lipstick Building. Still, he was respected for his uncanny - and apparently illegal - ability to generate cash for his clients.
The Hennessee Group, which tracks investment performance, says Madoff's firm suffered just five down months in 13 years between 1993-2007.”
Saturday, December 13th 2008, 11:55 AM Feds say Madoff's Ponzi scheme was worst ever. Bernard Madoff, "Bernie" to his Wall Street pals and deep-pocketed investors, launched his financial career with $5,000 earned as a Far Rockaway lifeguard.
That was nearly a half-century ago. Today, investors with Madoff's firm are drowning after the former Nasdaq chairman admitted fleecing his customers of $50 billion.
Madoff, 70, was known as a quirky figure inside his company offices at Manhattan's Lipstick Building. Still, he was respected for his uncanny - and apparently illegal - ability to generate cash for his clients.
The Hennessee Group, which tracks investment performance, says Madoff's firm suffered just five down months in 13 years between 1993-2007.”
Shaun Donovan Named Secretary Of Department Of Housing And Urban Development By Obama
HuffPost - Shaun Donovan Named Secretary Of Department Of Housing And Urban Development By Obama: “CHICAGO — Promising a prominent role for his housing department, President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday named a Harvard-educated architect to lead an agency dealing with the mortgage mess that dragged the country into a recession.
With one in 10 U.S. homeowners delinquent on mortgage payments or in foreclosure, Obama said New York City housing commissioner Shaun Donovan will bring "fresh thinking, unencumbered by old ideology and outdated ideas" at the Housing and Urban Development Department to help resolve the housing and economic crisis.”
With one in 10 U.S. homeowners delinquent on mortgage payments or in foreclosure, Obama said New York City housing commissioner Shaun Donovan will bring "fresh thinking, unencumbered by old ideology and outdated ideas" at the Housing and Urban Development Department to help resolve the housing and economic crisis.”
The Pope And The Vatican Discover Qik and New Media
Look who's into New Media: The Pope and the Vatican. h2onewscrossmedia is the organization that uses the cell-phone-based live streaming online service called Qik.com. According to TechCrunch, they have more views than Ashton Kutcher!
Here's a video from their stream page:
Robert Scoble shared his thoughts with TechCrunch:
Here's a video from their stream page:
Robert Scoble shared his thoughts with TechCrunch:
As Qik’s first user, I find the service very cool, but I find that more and more I’m moving away from it for a few reasons:
1. cell phone video is cool at first, but then you keep finding areas where it doesn’t work well and you can’t get the HD quality you can get with a newer HD camera and YouTube, Facebook, SmugMug, or Vimeo.
2. The chat room sucks in comparison to Ustream, Stickam, or Kyte.tv.
3. You can’t use your laptop’s camera, your FlipCam, or other recorded video on the service. That’s why I’ve been showing up on Kyte.tv more lately.
4. The service and/or bandwidth sometimes goes away right in the middle of doing something important (like filming a press conference) and there’s often nothing you can do about it. While on Kyte I can switch to a recording and use the service just fine when the connection comes back up.
5. I like the player on Kyte better and it’s embedable in more places.
2. The chat room sucks in comparison to Ustream, Stickam, or Kyte.tv.
3. You can’t use your laptop’s camera, your FlipCam, or other recorded video on the service. That’s why I’ve been showing up on Kyte.tv more lately.
4. The service and/or bandwidth sometimes goes away right in the middle of doing something important (like filming a press conference) and there’s often nothing you can do about it. While on Kyte I can switch to a recording and use the service just fine when the connection comes back up.
5. I like the player on Kyte better and it’s embedable in more places.
But, Qik is better for many uses and I still use it from time to time to take videos of my family because it’s easier to use for many personal things. I hope that 2009 brings lots of upgrades to Qik so I can use it for more than just my videos of my family.
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