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HERMANN MISSOURI OKTOBERFEST 2010
HERMANN MISSOURI OKTOBERFEST 2010 - CLICK ON PHOTO FOR THIS YEARS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
(KMOV)-- With America at war there is renewed appreciation for honoring our veterans. A St. Louis County woman is on a mission to do just that, for a veteran she doesn't even know.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS
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2/7/2011 by TMZ Staff
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Mark Zuckerberg claims he's being stalked by a man who's been sending him creepy messages through Facebook and threatening his safety.
Zuckerberg has obtained a restraining order against 31-year-old Pradeep Manukonda -- after Mark filed legal papers claiming the guy has tried to "follow, surveil and contact Mr. Zuckerberg using languagethreatening his personal safety" ... and the safety of his girlfriend and his sister.
Law enforcement sources tell us Pradeep had gone to several Facebook offices in Palo Alto attempting to contact Mark to ask for money for his financially-strapped family.
According to the legal docs, Facebook security also intercepted Pradeep at Mark's home on January 24 just as he was about to walk up the front steps.
Cops gave Pradeep a verbal warning -- but Mark claims the guy has continued to try to contact him through the mail ... even sending flowers to his home with a hand-written letter on January 28.
In one of his Facebook messages to Mark, Pradeep writes, "please help me, then I am ready to die for you." He continues, "Please understand my pain."
NASA has released the first 360-degree view of the entire sun.
The photo comes courtesy of NASA's twin STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) spacecraft, which aligned exactly opposite each other on opposite sides of the sun to capture the image.
The ability to see the whole sun, front to back, will allow scientists to better understand complicated solar weather patterns and plan for future robotic or crewed spacecraft missions throughout the solar system, researchers said.
"The sun is a truly complex object which influences many aspects of our lives," Richard Harrison, principal investigator for the U.K. instruments on STEREO, said in a statement. "In the same way that you would not expect to understand the workings of the brain by studying just a small part of it, a global investigation into the nature of our star as a complete object is essential to understanding how it works."
Harrison is also co-investigator of NASA's SDO mission (Solar Dynamics Observatory), which contributed to the new 360-degree view with high-resolution sun photos taken from orbit.
Scientists particularly want to better predict space weather and the violent eruptions that can spout from the sun's surface. These eruptions can damage satellites, disrupt communications and disable power systems on Earth.
WASHINGTON -- Employers should think twice before trying to restrict workers from talking about their jobs on Facebook or other social media. That's the message the government sent on Monday as it settled a closely watched lawsuit against a Connecticut ambulance company that fired an employee after she went on Facebook to criticize her boss. The National Labor Relations Board sued the company last year, arguing the worker's negative comments were protected speech under federal labor laws. The company claimed it fired the emergency medical technician because of complaints about her work. Under the settlement with the labor board, American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc. agreed to change its blogging and Internet policy that barred workers from disparaging the company or its supervisors. The company also will revise another policy that prohibited employees from depicting the company in any way over the Internet without permission. Both policies interfered with longstanding legal protections that allow workers to discuss wages, hours and working conditions with co-workers, the board said. "I think it certainly sends a message about what the NLRB views the law to be," said Jonathan Kreisberg, the NLRB regional director in Hartford who approved the settlement. "The fact that they agreed to revise their rules so that they're not so overly restrictive of the rights of employees to discuss their terms and conditions with others and with their fellow employees is the most significant thing that comes out of this," Kreisberg said. Terms of a private settlement agreement between the employee, Dawnmarie Souza, and the company were not disclosed, but Kreisberg said the parties reached a financial settlement. Souza will not be returning to work there.
Eric Blair Infowars.com
February 7, 2011
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Apparently the Department of Homeland Security is now authorized to rewrite and enforce copyright infringement laws. In a stunning precedent, the recent round of domain seizures to shut down websites that allowed illegal streaming of the Super Bowl, also included a few other websites that were seized simply for linking to infringing content.
Mike Masnick of TechDirt, who received and published a DHS seizure affidavit, had this to say in a must-read article:
…the affidavit itself is chock full of legal and technical errors, compounded by assertions-as-facts that seem to have little basis in reality. This is immensely troubling, especially given that the specific legal issues here are hardly settled law, and Homeland Security seems to be acting as if these cases are no brainers, allowing them to flat out seize domains, even when those websites have been declared perfectly legal in their home countries.
The biggest problem is that Homeland Security seems to suggest — without a hint of doubt — that merely linking to infringing content is criminal copyright infringement. That is a huge stretch. The affidavit appears to make it clear that it believes that these sites are guilty of direct criminal copyright infringement, rather than any sort of contributory copyright infringement.As we’ve discussed in the past, the courts have tended to say that embedding and linking can be contributory infringement, but not direct infringement. Homeland Security and ICE may be in for a bit of legal trouble trying to prove that embedding is direct infringement.
Until these unprecedented seizures, online copyright infringement was dealt with by simply asking infringing websites to remove the material and replace it with a link to the source. Previous cases have normally been battled out in civil court. Alternative news giant, Matt Drudge, is currently fighting a seemingly ridiculous civil lawsuit over linking to news stories.
These new actions by the DHS and the courts seem to be motivated more by private corporate profits than by actual copyright law. Nonetheless, the agenda seems to be to make nearly every website that links to copyrighted material guilty of criminal infringement, thus justifying arbitrarily blacklisting domains deemed to be in violation of such a broad precedent. This is yet another Napoleonic guilty-until-proven-innocent action, apparently displaying the corporate state’s lack of concern for the rights of individuals and small businesses. What’s more, it is also another tyrannical tool being used to control the flow of information.
Additionally, this type of precedent would same to massively change the Internet as we know it. What’s next, seizing websites that link to those affiliate sites, like Facebook, Google, or Twitter? Well, that’s the exact question Masnick investigated in his follow-up article, “Homeland Security Tries And Fails To Explain Why Seized Domains Are Different From Google.” Masnick reports on an interview with a DHS agent in charge of the domain seizures, James Hayes:
In the interview, John Moe asked Agent Hayes a very simple question: given that these domains were all seized based solely on the fact that they link to infringing content hosted elsewhere, and all of the same content is also linked from Google, will the Feds seize Google’s domain name? Well, more specifically, Moe asks if ICE could seize Google’s domain name. Amusingly, right after being asked, Hayes conveniently gets cut off, but he does call back and the question is asked again.
However, once he gets back, he tries to tap dance around this issue. Hayes says “no” that ICE will not seize Google’s domain name and that’s because it’s only targeting sites that “don’t do due diligence” to make sure that the content they’re linking to isn’t infringing. There’s a pretty serious problem with this claim in that it’s wrong on both sides of the equation. First off, Google, as a search engine, does no due diligence to check that links only go to non-infringing content. Second, in at least some of the cases (specifically in the case of dajaz1), we know that it was actually Homeland Security and folks like Special Agent Hayes who “failed to do their due diligence,” so the songs named in the ICE affidavit were, in fact, provided by the labels or representatives of the musicians. In other words, according to Special Agent Hayes’ own criteria, Google is more of a criminal operation that Dajaz1.
Despite the DHS’s obvious distortion of the law, we are rapidly approaching a day where information can no longer flow freely on the Internet. We better wake up and share these stories with everyone we know, because tyranny is fast approaching. These words written above belong to nobody but the open-source, free Internet. Share and re-post at will.
_________________________________________________________________________ . Aaron Rodgers helped bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Title Town, leading many to wonder: how many more titles can the Pack win? BY CASEY RIGGEN
You're watching multisource sports news analysis from Newsy
Move over Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers has cemented his legacy as the new face of the Green Bay Packers. After three years as the starting quarterback for the Pack, Rodgers has not only brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Title Town, but was also named MVP of Super Bowl 45, an honor his heretofore more famous predecessor never received. A writer for ESPN says Rodgers’ great performance has eliminated any comparison to the Packers’ previous quarterback. “With the victory and a 304-yard, three-touchdown, zero-interception performance against the best defense in the league, Rodgers put all the distance he'll ever need between himself and the ghost of Brett Favre. And to anybody who wondered whether Rodgers could win the close one or the big one, the answer is yes and yes.” Although many media outlets reported this victory is a monkey off Rodgers’ back, the Packers’ quarterback says he never had any pressure to win, thanks to support from the organization and his teammates. “I never felt like there was a monkey on my back. And a big reason for that is because the organization stood behind me, my teammates stood behind me and believed in me and gave me an opportunity to be successful. So, I gotta thank the organization first, the fans for supporting me and my teammates for really being there for me when I needed them.” (ESPN) With one Super Bowl victory under his belt, NBC’s Pro Football Talk says, Rodgers is now being considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league, with many great years to come. “At age 27, Rodgers has already reached the top of the football world. Expect him to stay on top for a long time — and maybe, some day, be remembered as the greatest Packers quarterback of them all.” Being the second youngest team in the NFL, a reporter for Yahoo! Sports thinks that the Packers’ youth is what will keep this team coming back to NFL’s biggest stage. “You look at this team, they have been the youngest team in the league before this year, for the previous three or four years. And look what they did with all these guys, 16 guys on IR. They lose Charles Woodson and other players today, and they still become World Champions. So on paper you say, wow, they could be really, really good for a long, long time.” Rodgers’ threw for 1,094 yards, the second-most in a single postseason, and nine passing TD's, which tied for third most in NFL history. Click Here to Read More.
_________________________________________________________________________ The Huffington Post is now owned by AOL, but Arianna Huffington will still control content. What does the merger mean?
BY SAMANTHA MCCLENDON
You're watching multisource business news analysis from Newsy
EXTRA EXTRA... read all about it!! AOL officially bought The Huffington Post for a whopping $315 million... 300 of those million will be paid in cold hard cash. MSNBC says AOL is struggling so... it’s probably about time.
NICOLE LAPIN: "A big surprise though I will say. AOL has been on this shopping spree guys. I was reading a commentary this morning that called it the last scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid where AOL is trying to hang on surrounded by the Bolivian Army and has no choice but to make this move.” Tech Buzz Blog says the price tag alone is impressive -- calling it the biggest blog acquisition ever. “Thisalso makes AOL the biggest blog content producer today – they now own Engadget, TechCrunch and HuffPo and many more — the big names in the blogosphere.” Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post co-founder --told the Wall Street Journal, AOL shares her vision.
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: “This is my last act. Well I’ve had many incarnations ever since Athens, Greece, England, here, books, television and this is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done.”
AOL will make Huffington the editor in chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which means she’ll control all of the editorial content for AOL. A writer for The Daily Beast says there is a difference between being the owner and being an employee. “It's the difference between a mother and a babysitter. They both love their kid, but only one will race into a burning building to save it. Especially with a swollen bank account back home.”
by dfox on Mon, 02/07/2011
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A party featuring over 100 teenagers ended with a stabbing early Saturday when one of the attendees, a 16 year old male from St. Clair, suffered multiple stab wounds, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's department.
The suspect, also 16 years old, was taken into custody, and turned over to juvenile authorities.
The stabbing occured during a party on property on Fox Creek Road south of Beaufort, the Sheriff's department said.
Several citations were issued to teenagers at the party for being in possession of alcohol, the Sheriff's department said. Because of the large number of teens present, deputies were not able to control the gathering, resulting in many teens running from the scene, the department said
Facebook accounts of four Mo. legislators are hacked
BY REBECCA BERGwww.STLtoday.com Monday, February 7, 2011
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JEFFERSON CITY • Internet hackers are targeting Missouri state representatives and their staff, and no one knows exactly how or why. Since the legislative session started Jan. 5, five people on the House side of the Capitol have reported their Facebook accounts being hacked: three Republican legislators, one Democratic legislator and one Republican staffer. It is the most concentrated, widespread rash of hacking events the House has seen. "If the reports are true, this is a spike in what we've experienced in the past," said Adam Crumbliss, the House clerk. "We're hearing more about it than we ever have." Though no exact cause has been established, the instances of hacking point to a potentially gaping computer security hole: A free, open wireless network for House visitors and legislators serves as a virtual welcome mat for hackers, security experts say. Each of the five recent hacking victims had used the network recently. In recent years, politicians have aggressively adopted Facebook and other social media as a public relations tool, using the Internet to publicize their policies and communicate with constituents. If a hacker alters a lawmaker's carefully crafted public message, the political damage can be immediate and lasting. On Jan. 21, an embarrassing status update was posted to the personal Facebook page of freshman Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, for a couple of hours. "I love lobbyist! (sic) All the free food and stuff you get. This job is awesome!" the post read. Typically, Lichtenegger said, she only uses Facebook every Friday to post updates about her legislative activities during the week. At the Capitol, Lichtenegger usually accesses the Internet through a protected account for legislators. But on the day her Facebook was hacked, Lichtenegger logged on to Facebook using the House's free public wireless Internet. A few hours later, she realized that her account had been compromised. By then, news of the post had spread and state political blogs had picked up on the story. "I just don't trust this stuff, and now I know why," she said. And she's not alone. About three weeks ago, freshman Rep. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, saw that his Facebook status had been changed to one that extolled free food and gifts from lobbyists — almost identical to the status later posted to Lichtenegger's Facebook page. "I didn't know where this was coming from, so I didn't say anything about it," Schatz said. Though Schatz does not consider himself a computer expert, he said he had a hunch as to how his account was hacked. "I know that I was on the public Wi-Fi connection, and that's when I was hacked," Schatz said. "In a public Wi-Fi setting, they were able to hack into that site and play a little joke." In all of the cases in which Facebook accounts were accessed in the House, the owners of the accounts had used the House public Wi-Fi network. Some legislators said they use the public wireless Internet nearly exclusively, and some said they don't know how to access the secure Internet network for legislators. On the Senate side of the Capitol, where there have been no complaints of hacking, all Internet networks are monitored to varying extents: The internal secured network is overseen more stringently; the public network, superficially. Amy Niedergerke, director of computer information systems for the Senate, said the legislative body primarily keeps tabs on Web traffic that might be harmful, like potential viruses or hacking threats. But on the House side of the Capitol building, the public wireless network goes unwatched. Crumbliss said the House wants to ensure individuals' freedom to surf the Web without concern for government censorship or surveillance. . Click Here to Read More.
“The exchange's trading platform - the part of the system that executes trades - wasn't compromised ... However, it couldn’t be determined which other parts of Nasdaq’s computer network were accessed.”
“They can be used for insider trading. We’re told. Nasdaq released a statement after The Wall Street Journal reported the attack. It says though they did not compromise trading systems or accessed customers personal data.”
“…it might just be hackers snooping around, looking for weaknesses they can exploit for a full-scale attack. Or perhaps it is a group of hackers who are looking to breach security in order to report it to the security firm and get a nice payment for their efforts.”
“If there were evidence that hackers could breach the inner trading systems, it could cause jitters among the companies listed on the exchange and the traders and investors who buy and sell millions of shares each day.”
The Wall Street Journal further reports one of the sources of the hack was from Russia, although it is not known whether it was the Russian government or someone simply using a computer in Russia.
You're watching multisource video news analysis from Newsy
The tablet market just got a bit bigger -- Motorola announced it will release the Xoom at the end of February and will use Android’s Honeycomb software. The tablet is expected to be a major competitor against the tablet market’s top seller - the Apple iPad.
We’re examining the tablet talk from CNET, PC World, Examiner.com, and The International Business Times.
“The OS itself, Honeycomb, on the tablet does a lot of stuff that Android hasn't done well historically on the tablet-sized devices yet. It’s killer email, Web-browsing’s really great, the actual repositioning of apps and widgets on the screen and being able to drag down different UI elements, and the repositioning of the settings down in the corner, and the contextual menu buttons up at the top, overall they control a lot of thoughts going into it.”
“The Xoom's design is optimized for use in landscape mode....At 10.1-inches...the unit felt heavy in-hand, especially for when I'd switch to a single-handed view. That observation tracks with the Xoom's announced 1.6 pound-weight, which is 0.1 pounds more than Apple's first-generation iPad.”
Xoom has even launched its own Super Bowl ad - taking a jab at Apple’s iconic 1984 commercial that launched the first Macintosh computer. A writer for Examiner.com explains why Xoom is the new rebel in an Apple-dominated market. (Video Source: CNET)
“[T]he Mac ad was about the Macintosh saving us from "Big Brother" (AKA, the IBM PC). Since the advent of the iPhone, the App Store, and Apple's iron fist around the iOS and what can, and can't be installed on it, some have accused Apple of turning into Big Brother.”
February 5, 2011
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The Girl Scouts are starting a pilot program that will cut down cookie selections to the most popular five or six.
BY CHRISTINE SLUSSER
You're watching multisource US video news analysis from Newsy.
MAN ON PIANO: “The cookies are here!”
ELDERLY WOMAN: “Oh-the cookies are here!”
WOMAN: “Spanish: The cookies are here!”
MAN: “The cookies are HEEERE!” (Video Source: Youtube)
The cookies ARE here, but not as many as you may remember. The Girl Scouts of Ameirca are dropping some flavors, but the organization denies the cuts are due to the economy, saying it’s just business. As CBS-affiliate KREM reports... at least they didn’t touch the Thin Mints.
“Some of their flavors may possibly be a thing of the past. The Girl Scouts plan to discontinue some of the sales of their cookies. Newer varieties such as Thank-U-Berry Munch are being scratched. Sugar-free chocolate chip cookies are also being, well, they’re gonna make it to the chopping block.”
...but don’t get a chocolate chip on your shoulder yet. It’s just a pilot program, and as ABC-affiliate KATU reports - not all troops are in.
“’Of 112 Girl Scout councils in the country, [only] 12 Little Brownie councils have chosen to participate in a pilot program that focuses on the six top-selling cookie varieties...’”
There are 11 flavors of Girl Scout cookies listed on the organization’s Web site. Various news reports say the goal is to eventually narrow the selection down to the most popular five or six. (Video: Fox News)
The organization says the reason for the cuts is due to large inventories of leftover cookies outside the most popular.
...and The Atlantic reports it’s not the first time the Girl Scouts have tried to save some dough.
“When flour and transportation costs in the 2000s, Girl Scouts protected their cookie box prices by making smaller cookies, putting fewer in a pack, and making other changes to make the boxes lighter.”
If the program is successful, we could say bye bye to Dulce de Leche, Thank U Berry Munch, All Abouts, the sugar-free chocolate chip cookie or the Thanks-A-Lot shortbread cookie --- and blog YumSugar says the cut-backs are a smart move.
“The top five cookie varieties compose 77 percent of Girl Scout cookie sales; the test program, known as the Super Six pilot, will take advantage of that...”
