Spammers create as many as 40 percent of the accounts on social-media sites
‘Likejacking’: Spammers Hit Social Media
By Olga Kharif on May 24, 2012
Michelle Espinoza thought a single photo was going to ruin her business. It was an image of one of the pearl cuff bracelets she designs that showed up on Pinterest, a site where users create virtual bulletin boards, grouping images in categories—whether it be chocolate desserts or bohemian jewelry. For 10 days in April, anybody who clicked on the photo ended up watching pornography or unwittingly downloading a virus. “I can’t gauge how many customers I lost,” says Espinoza, a resident of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. “But I did have people messaging me asking, ‘Are you linked to spam?’ I was just distraught.”
https://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-24/likejacking-spammers-hit-social-media
Consumer confidence plunges in May
Associated PressAssociated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy in May had its biggest drop in eight months as consumers fretted about slow hiring, a big stock market drop and the global economy, says a private research group.
The Conference Board says its Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 64.9, down from a revised 68.7 in April. It was the biggest drop since October 2011.
Hundreds of words to avoid using online if you don’t want the government spying on you (and they include ‘pork’, ‘cloud’ and ‘Mexico’)
Department of Homeland Security forced to release list following freedom of information request Agency insists it only looks for evidence of genuine threats to the U.S. and not for signs of general dissent
By DANIEL MILLER
PUBLISHED: 04:32 EST, 26 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:46 EST, 26 May 2012
The Department of Homeland Security has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S.
The intriguing the list includes obvious choices such as ‘attack’, ‘Al Qaeda’, ‘terrorism’ and ‘dirty bomb’ alongside dozens of seemingly innocent words like ‘pork’, ‘cloud’, ‘team’ and ‘Mexico’.
Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats.
Senate President Sweeney pushes N.J. Democrats to support Christie tax-cut compromise
Senate President Stephen Sweeney urged fellow Democrats in a closed-door meeting Thursday to support a compromise tax-cut plan he struck with Gov. Chris Christie despite the state’s weakening revenue outlook, sources said.
Sweeney was drumming up support for the compromise in the wake of two days of budget hearings in which revenue shortfalls were said to range from $676 million to $1.3 billion, according to sources at the meeting who were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations.
Some lawmakers doubted whether Sweeney would continue to push the plan after the revenue figures were announced, and he answered that question. (Renshaw, The Star-Ledger)
The National Institute on Aging has some tips for dealing with the heat
Stay out of direct sunlight, and avoid strenuous activities.
Wear lightweight light colored loose-fitting clothing that permits sweat to evaporate.
Drink plenty of liquids such as water or fruit and vegetable juices to replace fluids lost by perspiring.
Avoid alcohol and beverages that have too much salt, since salt can complicate medical problems.
Do not use salt tablets unless advised to do so by your doctor.
Take frequent cool baths or showers; place cool wet towels on the body.
Above all, take the heat seriously, and don’t ignore danger signs like nausea, dizziness and fatigue; seek medical help at once.
Even those who are accustomed to the heat may find that advancing years and the effects of medical conditions can lessen their ability to cope. Anyone who does not have air conditioning should make alternative plans for when the heat gets to be too much. A visit at a friend�s or relative�s house for a few hours or for a day or two in the hottest weather may be the simplest alternative.
Other alternatives could include :
Visiting an air conditioned store or mall;
Visiting the local public library not only relief from the heat, but a good time to catch up on magazines or books;
Spending part of the day at the local senior center, and having lunch there; and
Keeping in touch with friends and relatives, so that they will be available to help if needed.
State auditor issues report critical of how NJ oversees charter schools
The Christie administration’s oversight of charter schools has long been a point of contention, and a new report out of the State Auditor is sure to fuel the debate on how tough the administration has been in holding the alternative schools accountable for their successes and failures.
The State Auditor, a branch of the state Legislature, yesterday issued a report critical of how the administration has overseen more than 70 charter schools in the state.
Meanwhile, the administration itself released new warning letters to a handful of charter schools putting them on notice for low achievement among its students, among other issues. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight) https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0524/2234/
Long commute time linked with poor health, new study shows
By Theresa Juva-Brown, The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News
New evidence shows that a long commute by car not only takes hours out of your day, but could take years off your life.
A study published this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the longer people drive to work, the more likely they are to have poor cardiovascular health.
“This is the first study to show that people who commute long distances to work were less fit, weighed more, were less physically active and had higher blood pressure,” said Christine M. Hoehner, a public health professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the study’s lead author. “All those are strong predictors of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.”
The study monitored the health of 4,297 adults from 12 counties in Texas, a metropolitan region where 90 percent of people commute to work by car, Hoehner said.
Ex Chief Bombace looks to resuscitate image after behavior was blasted by judge in Reilly verdict
Kevin Reilly alleged that he reported two incidents in which firefighter safety was compromised because of violations by his superiors.
The recent decision by Judge Menelaos W. Toskos reducing Firefighter Kevin Reilly’s 3.5 million dollar jury award to $500,000.00 told only half of the story.
Firefighter Reilly’s “whistle blower” claim that he and his colleagues were ordered to clean up an unknown chemical spill at The Valley Hospital was proven to be false during the court proceedings. The chemical had been identified by The Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team, which was called to The Valley Hospital at 7:30 PM on Sunday, August 12, 2007, at the request of the Fire Department, for what was then an unknown spill in the area of the Hospital Pharmacy. I was also called to the scene by the on duty Fire Captain.
The members of the Ridgewood Fire Department and Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team contained and then identified the spilled material, which was identified as 1000 cc of Glacial Acetic Acid. Bergen County Hazmat and Fire Department members then used an absorbent to pick up the liquid. Once all of the liquid had been picked up they double bagged the absorbent and the broken bottle for disposal. The bagged material was turned over to a Hospital Representative for disposal in the Hospitals normal hazardous waste flow. This action was documented in a report filed by the Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team (BCDHS Case Number 2007-8-71) see attachment.
The next day, Monday, August 13, 2007, Deputy Chief David Yaden and I returned to Valley Hospital in the morning to speak to the Valley Hospital Safety Officer about incident and to insure that the already contained and bagged material was going to be disposed of properly. When we went to check on the hazardous material it was noticed that the outer bag had been torn at some point. We called for the on duty firefighters to respond to The Valley Hospital and I instructed Firefighter Reilly and the other Firefighters to wear their appropriate respiratory protection with gloves and to place the torn bag into another bag and then place a hazardous materials label on the new bag.
None of the already bagged absorbent material had spilled from either of the inner bags. No spill was cleaned up by Firefighter Reilly or the other Firefighters. At no time were these Firefighters placed in any danger and because there was no spill there was no need to call the Bergen County Hazardous Materials Team for this situation.
Forget Bain — Obama’s public-equity record is the real scandal
By Marc A. Thiessen, Published: May 24
Despite a growing backlash from his fellow Democrats, President Obama has doubled down on his attacks on Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital. But the strategy could backfire in ways Obama did not anticipate. After all, if Romney’s record in private equity is fair game, then so is Obama’s record in public equity — and that record is not pretty.
Since taking office, Obama has invested billions of taxpayer dollars in private businesses, including as part of his stimulus spending bill. Many of those investments have turned out to be unmitigated disasters — leaving in their wake bankruptcies, layoffs, criminal investigations and taxpayers on the hook for billions. Consider just a few examples of Obama’s public equity failures:
President Obama Won’t Be Returning His Donations From Bain Capital
By Hunter Walker 5/24 8:33pm
Though the Obama campaign has repeatedly attacked Mitt Romney for his career at Bain Capital, President Obama still accepted $7,500 in campaign contributions from three Bain executives. His campaign press secretary, Ben LaBolt told The Politicker the president has no intention of giving the money back.
“No one aside from Mitt Romney is running for President highlighting their tenure as a corporate buyout specialist as one of job creation, when in fact, his goal was profit maximization,” said Mr. LaBolt. ”The President has support from business leaders across industries who have seen him pull the economy back from the brink of another depression, manufacturing and the auto industry revived, and support his agenda to build an economy that lasts where America outinnovates and outeducates the rest of the world and economic security for the middle class is restored.”
Tracing history back thousands of years, we learn that even the ancient Egyptians ate ground meat, and down through the ages we also find that ground meat has been shaped into patties and eaten all over the world under many different name.
1209-1121 – Genghis Khan (1167-1227), crowned the “emperor of all emperors,” and his army of fierce Mongol horsemen, known as the “Golden Horde,” conquered two thirds of the then known world. The Mongols were a fast-moving, cavalry-based army that rode small sturdy ponies. They stayed in their saddles for long period of time, sometimes days without ever dismounting. They had little opportunity to stop and build a fire for their meal.
The entire village would follow behind the army on great wheeled carts they called “yurts,” leading huge herds of sheep, goats, oxen, and horses. As the army needed food that could be carried on their mounts and eaten easily with one hand while they rode, ground meat was the perfect choice. They would use scrapings of lamb or mutton which were formed into flat patties. They softened the meat by placing them under the saddles of their horses while riding into battle. When it was time to eat, the meat would be eaten raw, having been tenderized by the saddle and the back of the horse.
1238 – When Genghis Khan’s grandson, Khubilai Khan (1215-1294), invaded Moscow, they naturally brought their unique dietary ground meat with them. The Russians adopted it into their own cuisine with the name “Steak Tartare,” (Tartars being their name for the Mongols). Over many years, Russian chefs adapted and developed this dish and refining it with chopped onions and raw eggs.
In the late eighteenth century, the largest ports in Europe were in Germany. Sailors who had visited the ports of Hamburg, Germany and New York, brought this food and term “Hamburg Steak” into popular usage. To attract German sailors, eating stands along the New York city harbor offered “steak cooked in the Hamburg style.”
In 1802, the Oxford English Dictionary defined Hamburg steak as salt beef. It had little resemblance to the hamburger we know today. It was a hard slab of salted minced beef, often slightly smoked, mixed with onions and breadcrumbs. The emphasis was more on durability than taste.
Immigrants to the United States from German-speaking countries brought with them some of their favorite foods. One of them was Hamburg Steak. The Germans simply flavored shredded low-grade beef with regional spices, and both cooked and raw it became a standard meal among the poorer classes. In the seaport town of Hamburg, it acquired the name Hamburg steak. Today, this hamburger patty is no longer called Hamburg Steak in Germany but rather “Frikadelle,” “Frikandelle” or “Bulette,” orginally Italian and French words.
According to Theodora Fitzgibbon in her book The Food of the Western World – An Encyclopedia of food from North American and Europe:
The originated on the German Hamburg-Amerika line boats, which brought emigrants to America in the 1850s. There was at that time a famous Hamburg beef which was salted and sometimes slightly smoked, and therefore ideal for keeping on a long sea voyage. As it was hard, it was minced and sometimes stretched with soaked breadcrumbs and chopped onion. It was popular with the Jewish emigrants, who continued to make Hamburg steaks, as the patties were then called, with fresh meat when they settled in the U.S.
Micky Ward at Bookends , Tuesday, May 29th @7:00pm
Former WBU Boxing Champ & Main character of the film: The Fighter, Micky Ward, will sing his new book: Warrior’s Heart ,Books available May 1st
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.
Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to insure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
This week in golf: Peter Repetto of Ridgewood among local golfers teeing off in “Ike” qualifiers
MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012
BY GREG MATTURA
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Adam Kugler, low amateur at this month’s New Jersey Senior Open, heads the cast of North Jerseyans trying to qualify this week for the Ike MGA Stroke Play Championship.
Kugler, who plays out of Alpine Country Club in Demarest and last week qualified for the State Amateur, is among 10 locals teeing off at Tuesday’s Ike qualifier at Paramount in New City, N.Y.
He will be joined by Matt Finger of Darlington, Phil Fabrizio of Knickerbocker and Jeffrey Alecci of Hackensack.
Also competing are Luke Edelman and Justin Link of North Jersey, Alex Navarro of Apple Ridge, Peter Repetto of Ridgewood, Peter Elfers of Hackensack, and Jin Jeon of MGA eClub.
Memorial Day Services – Van Neste Park, Ridgewood
Boyd A. Loving
May 28,2012
2:21 PM
Ridgewood NJ, Photos taken during the 2012 Memorial Day Service held at Van Neste Park, Ridgewood on Monday, May 28, 2012 conducted by Post 53 of the American Legion.
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