Yearly Archives: 2012

Verizon Patent Helps Deliver Relevant Ads By Eavesdropping Conversations

"Verizon's technology can work a variety of ways. For starters, it can listen in on conversations - whether it be with someone else in the room or on the phone - and pick out keywords that would aide it in its duties. In reality, it's simple stuff in this day and age, but that doesn't make it any less off-putting. Imagine arguing with your significant other and then seeing marriage counseling ads on the TV - or better, cuddling and then seeing ads for contraceptives! These set-top boxes can also be configured with infrared sensors that draw outlines of inanimate objects in the room along with pets." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVerizon Patent Helps Deliver Relevant Ads By Eavesdropping Conversations

Meet the Weeds That Monsanto Can’t Beat

"When Monsanto revolutionized agriculture with a line of genetically engineered seeds, the promise was that the technology would lower herbicide use—because farmers would have to spray less. In fact, just the opposite happened. Sixteen years on, Roundup (Monsanto's tradename for its glyphosate herbicide) has certainly killed lots of weeds. But the ones it has left standing are about as resistant to herbicide as the company's Roundup Ready crops, which are designed to survive repeated applications of the agribusiness giant's own Roundup herbicide." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMeet the Weeds That Monsanto Can’t Beat

Who Could Be Watching You Watching Your Figure? Your Boss

"Fitbit is entering a brave new world in privacy as it starts selling devices and data to a new market: employers. Scal says Fitbit is attempting to grow through corporate wellness programs. One of Fitbit's competitors, BodyMedia, says it is working with insurance companies to get its self-trackers into more workplaces. Scal says Fitbit is running an experiment with one insurer, to see if employees who use the devices go to the doctor less. This, he says, 'would be the holy grail for a product like this.' 'If we could make a direct connection to reduction in medical care costs, then I think the floodgates would be open,' Scal says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho Could Be Watching You Watching Your Figure? Your Boss

Evictions Become Focus of Spanish Crisis

"There are now 1.7 million Spanish households in which not a single family member still earns a salary. Nearly 4 million people have lost their jobs since late 2007, when the real estate bubble burst. More than half of those out of work in Spain are now considered to be long-term unemployed. The result is that an increasing number of them can no longer service the loans they took to purchase apartments, houses and commercial space during the boom years prior to the crisis. According to a forecast by the Spanish central bank, the number of foreclosures will increase by another 30 percent in the coming year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEvictions Become Focus of Spanish Crisis

Florida homeowners foreclose on deadbeat banks

"Vigilante homeowners in Florida are turning the tables on banks by foreclosing on them over unpaid homeowner fees, which can amount to tens of thousands of dollars. Although banks are typically the ones foreclosing on homeowners who can’t pay their mortgages, those same banks sometimes fail to pay the homeowners fees that come with holding those properties after foreclosure, reported CNN. And when banks fail to pony up, associations have hit back by imposing liens on those properties. If they still fail to pay, associations pursue foreclosures against the banks — a reversal of the process that banks typically pursue against homeowners." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida homeowners foreclose on deadbeat banks

U.S. Courts Penetrate Domestic Asset Protection Trusts

"Building on the burgeoning popularity of offshore asset protection trusts (OAPTs), 14 U.S. states have now enacted their own 'domestic' asset protection trust (DAPT) legislation. These laws date back to the 1990s, but only in the last year have I learned of challenges to them in U.S. courts. The record is not encouraging." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Courts Penetrate Domestic Asset Protection Trusts

Feds mobilize against additional hits on their pocketbooks

"Federal workers have had enough. Now if only they can convince elected officials not to hit them again. As the White House and Congress look for ways to avoid a Jan. 1 'fiscal cliff' of budget cuts and tax increases, federal employee groups are increasingly mobilized against more hits on their pocketbooks. The Federal Workers Alliance (FWA), a coalition of 20 unions representing more than 300,000 employees, scheduled a 'federal employee day of action' on Tuesday to pressure officials not to take any more away from the workforce in the name of deficit reduction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeds mobilize against additional hits on their pocketbooks

Ben Bernanke – Revisiting The Helicopter Speech

"He referred to economist Milton Friedman’s famous 'helicopter drop' of money as a solution for deflation. In essence, the suggestion was that, if there is deflation, it may be cured simply by dumping new currency from helicopters. For this suggestion to come from a member of the Board of Governors of the Fed caused many economists and investors to worry that the US economy may not be in the most competent hands. The comment was so unnerving that much of the rest of the speech failed to generate much discussion; yet, in it, Mr. Bernanke revealed other points from his philosophy on dealing with deflation that most certainly deserve review." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBen Bernanke – Revisiting The Helicopter Speech

Can anyone explain the difference between what HSBC has been doing, and what the Corp U.S Fed Gov. has been doing for decades??

HSBC is accused of laundering money, Hello!!! This  Fed government has been laundering money since Woodrow Wilson!!!  Now tell me ,  who should go to jail here?????  Is anyone forcing anyone to deposit money into any bank,  however isn’t there a gun  at your head forcing you  to pay taxes to this corrupt government???  This [...]

Continue ReadingCan anyone explain the difference between what HSBC has been doing, and what the Corp U.S Fed Gov. has been doing for decades??

Sweden’s War on Cash Runs Into a Wall–and a Heroic Bank

"The anti-cash movement has been vigorously promoted by major Swedish commercial banks as well as the Riksbank, the Swedish central bank. For three of the four major Swedish banks combined, 530 of their 780 office no longer accept or pay out cash. Fortunately, it seems that the Swedish people are not falling for the anti-cash propaganda spewed by bankers. It is reported that last year the value of cash transactions in Sweden were 99 billion krona, only a marginal decrease from ten years ago. Even more heartening is the fact that Handelsbanken, the largest bank in Sweden, is committed to serving consumers who demand cash." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSweden’s War on Cash Runs Into a Wall–and a Heroic Bank