Wednesday, November 30, 2011

8 Gadgets You Own That Are Already Watching You

Watch your back?and your Internet connection, and your in-car navigation system. We're living in an age of heavy monitoring: The insurance companies know where you drive, Google tracks every site you visit, and that smartphone in your pocket? And in most cases, these eight gadgets and services track your activities and record data about you without your knowledge. We've included some tips (in some cases) to turn off the tracking and go private. By John Brandon

1 of 8

Computer

Perhaps the worst of offender of all is your computer. Silently humming away beside your desk, a computer is an agent of personal tracking: When you sign up for Gmail, you agree to let Google read your email and display relevant ads. When you log in, your Google account starts tracking every website you visit. You have to click an option to enable it, but most people just agree to these options without thinking about it.

Your PC also transmits your IP address when you visit a website. That's why you might see an ad for an item in your own hometown. (The ad networks read your IP address, looked up your ISP, and fed you the localized ad all in a split second.)

And via the Internet, and especially social networking, we're all just giving our information away. Facebook knows your address, and when you announce on Twitter that you're leaving for vacation, you're telling every criminal in the world to rob your house.

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Sullinger scores 21 as No. 2 OSU routs No. 3 Duke

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger celebrates at the end of Ohio State's 85-63 win over Duke in an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Duke 85-63. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger celebrates at the end of Ohio State's 85-63 win over Duke in an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Duke 85-63. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, left, shoots over Duke's Miles Plumlee, right, and Mason Plumlee during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Duke 85-63. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Ohio State's William Buford celebrates as time runs out during the second half against Duke in an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Duke 85-63. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Ohio State's Aaron Craft, right, drives to the basket against Duke's Seth Curry during the during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Duke 85-63. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, right, and Ohio State coach Thad Matta shake hands after an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Duke 85-63. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

(AP) ? Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was asked about an Ohio State player and almost chuckled.

"I wasn't focused on each of their guys," he said. "I was trying not to lose by 30."

It was that kind of night for the third-ranked Blue Devils.

Jared Sullinger scored 21 points and three teammates were close behind as No. 2 Ohio State roared out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back in rolling to an 85-63 victory Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Buckeyes fans chanted "overrated" at the Blue Devils in the final minute.

NBA star LeBron James had a front-row seat for the rout, but he was booed loudly when he walked to his courtside seat with Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade. That was about the only time the fans expressed any dissatisfaction with anything on the court.

"This basketball team is special," Sullinger said.

The Buckeyes (7-0) never trailed, weathering a Duke rally in the first half and then leading by 20 for most of the second half.

"Sometimes you just get your butt kicked," said Krzyzewski, who said his young team appeared tired.

Austin Rivers had 22 points and Mason Plumlee 16 for the Blue Devils (7-1), coming off wins over ranked opponents Michigan and Kansas in their previous two games.

William Buford scored 20, Deshaun Thomas 18 and Aaron Craft 17 for the Buckeyes, who gave the Big Ten a 4-2 edge in the conference matchups. Craft also had eight assists and five rebounds and was a terror on defense.

Few would have expected such a lopsided result. Duke came in with a record of 11-1 in ACC/Big Ten games and had beaten its last five Big Ten opponents ? including conference bullies Michigan State and Michigan already this season.

The Blue Devils had also won their last four games in which both teams were ranked in the top five.

The Buckeyes led by 24 with 15 minutes left after Craft banked in a 3 ? he laughed after it clanked in. The Blue Devils responded with a 7-0 run to get as close as 58-41 but Ohio State continued to control the paint. Sullinger was fouled and hit two foul shots, then powered up a shot off the backboard for a 66-43 lead shortly before clock trouble allowed both teams to take a breather with 8:42 remaining.

On consecutive possessions, Ohio State got a dunk by Sullinger and a 3 by Craft thanks to around-the-horn passing that found an open player.

"We were taking great shots," Craft said of the Buckeyes, who shot 59 percent from the field and made 8 of 14 3-pointers. "It all started with Jared inside. That just opens everything else up."

It was a festive, rock-concert sort of a capacity crowd of 18,809 at Value City Arena for the game, which was billed as the biggest nonconference home game ever for Ohio State.

One female student held up a sign meant for Sullinger that said, "Jared, will you marry me?" When Rivers ? the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers ? had a turnover, the Ohio State student section chanted, "Daddy's boy! Daddy's boy!"

The first half was a shocker, with Ohio State setting the pace early, shrugging aside a Duke comeback and then pulling away for a gaping 47-28 lead at the break as Buford and Thomas each had 13 points.

"I was sort of the X factor," Thomas said with a grin.

The Buckeyes ran off the first 11 points ? five by Craft and four by Buford ? while Duke's younger players appeared nervous and tentative.

"They just jumped on us from the beginning," Plumlee said. "We weren't ready to play."

After Plumlee ended the cold start with a shot over Sullinger 4 minutes in, the Blue Devils regained their balance as Rivers and Seth Curry took turns beating the Buckeyes off the dribble for layups.

Plumlee's reverse dunk ? the crowd howled that he traveled ? cut Ohio State's lead to 18-17 at the 9:50 mark.

But just that quickly, the Buckeyes ? who won their 29th in a row at home ? streaked away again.

After Buford made two foul shots, Sullinger hit a leaner off glass and Plumlee protested his second foul, with the Buckeyes sophomore completing the three-point play. Substitute guard Jordan Sibert went high over the rim to tip in a miss before Buford scored in transition. Thomas then tossed in a half-hook from the left baseline to cap a 10-0 run that made it 28-17.

During that spell and beyond, the Buckeyes scored on eight consecutive possessions. When Craft hit a 14-foot jumper off a kickback pass from Sullinger at the 5:38 mark, it was 34-21. The lead never dropped below double digits again.

The Buckeyes, typically a mild-mannered team on the boards, won the rebound battle (33-27) and outscored the Blue Devils 15-0 at one point on second-chance points.

It was Duke's second game in Columbus. In the only other meeting in Ohio's capital city, the Blue Devils won 94-89 in double overtime on Dec. 30, 1964, at old St. John Arena.

The Blue Devils had won their last 35 games in November, dating to a 73-62 loss to Marquette in 2006.

But not tonight.

"I've had my butt kicked before," Krzyzewski said. "We've kicked some butt. Tonight my butt's sore."

___

Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rustymillerap .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-30-T25-Duke-Ohio%20St/id-db049495620f4f6e989a19f931f946a5

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Gingrich and Romney Endorsements Based on False Assumptions (The Nation)

The Nation -- The political media class was astounded on Sunday when the New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for the Republican presidential nomination. Mitt Romney, the former Governor of neighboring Massachusetts who keeps a vacation home in New Hampshire, is assumed to have a lock on the state. With Gingrich having recently gained the lead in national polls and in more socially conservative states such as South Carolina, could a Gingrich endorsement in Romney?s strongest state be the end of Romney?s five year campaign?

It?s worth remembering that the Union-Leader is owned by an arch conservative, Joseph W. McQuaid, who wrote the editorial. His views are not necessarily representative of New Hampshire?s more moderate Republican electorate. In 2000 the paper endorsed Steve Forbes but the state went for John McCain.

More importantly, the endorsement is based on false assertions about Gingrich. McQuaid credits Gingrich with ?forging balanced budgets and even a surplus despite the political challenge of dealing with a Democratic President. A lot of candidates say they're going to improve Washington. Newt Gingrich has actually done that.?

The most important legislation that lead to federal surpluses was the Deficit Reduction Act of 1993, passed by a Democratic Congress. It cut spending and raised taxes on high income earners. Gingrich led the Republican assault on that same Democratic caucus, complaining about the tax increases. The other major contributor to the disappearance of federal budget deficits was the booming economy of the 1990s for which Gingrich cannot plausibly claim credit.

As for working with Democrats, Gingrich?s antagonistic relationship with Clinton makes current House Speaker John Boehner look like President Obama?s best friend. Gingrich shut down the government and impeached Clinton for having an extra-marital affair even while Gingrich was himself carrying on a much longer affair.

But at least the Union Leader is not alone in making nonsensical endorsements. Consider Barron?s, the house organ of Wall Street. Owned by the Down Jones Company which also owns the right wing Wall Street Journal and which is in turn owned by Rupert Murdoch, Barron?s is usually a fairly straight newspaper. But its most recent issue ran a front page story that is basically an endorsement of Mitt Romney disguised as some sort of news analysis of Romney and Obama?s platforms.

The newspaper?s cover read, ?ROMNEY vs. OBAMA: One of these men is likely to cut government spending, help kick-start the economy, create jobs, boost investor confidence and keep America from going the way of Greece. The other isn?t.? I genuinely thought they might be saying that Obama was the former and Romney the latter. After all, it is Obama, not Romney, who has repeatedly offered to accept painful compromises such as cuts to Medicare, Social Security and domestic discretionary spending as part of a deficit reduction deal. In fact, Obama has already cut spending on Medicare and domestic programs. Romney says he would not agree to a deal with Democrats with $1 in increased tax revenue for every $10 in spending cuts. Such stubbornness does not bode well for our chances of reaching a grand bipartisan compromise on the budget.

The article is just partisan Republican ideology disguised as objective analysis. ?The Choice Ahead: Should the U.S. continue on its path to becoming more like Europe? Or should we play to entrepreneurial strengths?? asks the author, Jim McTeague. Europe, as Barron?s may not know, is a big place. There are countries in Northern Europe with not only greater equality and social services but also healthier growth than we have had in recent years, that might not be such a bad thing. The specific crisis at the moment is emanating from a few countries with their own specific problems, which in the case of Greece includes too little taxation, not too much.

The piece goes on to praise Romney for adopting standard Republican positions, as if the assumption that those policies would generate faster economic growth is settled fact not ideological conjecture. For example, it praises Romney for adopting the McCain-Palin platform of ?Drill Baby, Drill? for oil. Why would drilling for oil necessarily provide such a boost to our economy? Are they aware of the terrible economic and social cost of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico? They don?t even bother to tell you.

It?s a good thing that newspaper endorsements in presidential elections tend not to matter very much, because this first round of endorsements would mislead voters.

Like this article? Try 4 issues of The Nation at home (and online) FREE.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politicsopinion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20111127/cm_thenation/164808

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Election day in Egypt (Americablog)

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Feds crack down on sellers of fake goods

(AP) ? The knockoff designer bags look close enough to the real thing that few would notice at a casual glance. Same goes for the imitation replica football jerseys or popular boots. And the online prices seem too good to pass up.

But the products are fake and the websites selling them are breaking federal law by selling copies of high-end merchandise without giving credit or money to the real designers and creators. And while the products can look as good as the real thing, federal authorities warn that buying fake merchandise can be dangerous.

"Not only is this is a direct threat to American innovation ... but it's also a public safety issue," Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said Monday as he announced that the government had shut down 150 websites accused of selling counterfeit merchandise.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Rebecca Blank, acting deputy Commerce secretary, are set to launch a campaign Tuesday at the White House to alert the public to the dangers of buying counterfeit goods.

"This is increasingly not simply a matter of 'mom and pop' violations at the corner of Fourth and Main," Morton said Monday. "We are worried about organized crime and (that profits) are going to fuel other criminal activity."

Morton would not say if organized criminal groups are suspected of running any of the seized sites to help fund other criminal acts.

Some counterfeit goods, including medications and electronics, can also pose a health risk, Morton said.

Morton and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, who leads the Justice Department's criminal division, said Monday that in the latest crackdown authorities seized 150 website domain names where fake goods were being sold to unsuspecting bargain hunters.

"This is straight crime," Morton said. "This is people being duped into buying a counterfeit."

The federal government has seized the domain names of 350 websites since first targeting online counterfeiters in June 2010. Each investigation, Morton said, has grown.

Visitors to the seized domains are now greeted with a message from federal authorities explaining that the site has been seized by the government and a warning that "willful copyright infringement is a federal crime."

Morton and Breuer said while the domain names were registered in the United States, most of the websites were run from abroad, primarily in China. No one has been charged with a crime in connection with the most recently seized domains. But Breuer said the investigations are ongoing.

Earlier this year five people were indicted in Virginia on conspiracy and copyright infringement charges for their roles in operating a website that the Justice Department said allowed people to illegally download high-quality movies and television shows.

Four people accused of running NinjaVideo.net have pleaded guilty. A fifth person is being sought.

It's unclear how much money the seized sites have made, or potentially cost legitimate companies. Breuer said since the crackdown on counterfeit sellers started last year, Internet users have gone to the seized domains more than 77 million times.

"Typically we don't track the volumes of sales of these particular sites," Morton said, adding that criminal organizations often hide ill-gotten profits. "It is very large figures. Well, well above millions."

Associated Press

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Monday, November 28, 2011

Shoppers snap up Cyber Monday deals

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2010 file photo, Consumer Carol Uyeno looks at Cyber Monday sales on her computer at her home in Palo Alto, Calif. Retailers are coming up with names for just about every day of the week during the holiday shopping season. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2010 file photo, Consumer Carol Uyeno looks at Cyber Monday sales on her computer at her home in Palo Alto, Calif. Retailers are coming up with names for just about every day of the week during the holiday shopping season. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

Robert Drayton uses his smartphone to help him find the right gifts and compare prices at Toys R Us in New York, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. Shoppers seem to be just as enthusiastic about shopping on their computers and smartphones on Cyber Monday as they were about finding deals over the Black Friday weekend. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

(AP) ? Shoppers seem to be just as enthusiastic about shopping on their computers and smartphones on Cyber Monday as they were about finding deals over the weekend.

Online sales on Cyber Monday, which was started in 2005 by a retail trade group to encourage Americans to shop online on the Monday after Thanksgiving, were up mid-afternoon by 15 percent from a year ago, according to data from IBM Benchmark. Meanwhile, sales from mobile devices were up 7.4 percent. The group did not give dollar amounts.

The Cyber Monday numbers point to Americans' growing comfort with using their personal computers, tablets and smartphones to shop. Over the past few years, big chains like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, have been offering more and better incentives like hourly deals and free shipping, to capitalize on that trend. It's important for retailers to make a good showing during the holiday shopping season, a time when they can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue.

On Monday, Amazon.com offered its bigger, more expensive Kindle DX for $259, or $120 off the regular price. The Express clothing chain was giving 30 percent off and free shipping on all online orders. And Wal-Mart, which has been calling the holiday "Cyber Week" in ads, was offering an LG 47-inch LED TV for $879, or $320 off the regular price.

"Cyber Monday is far more exciting to me than Black Friday," says Jamie Minoso, a 40-year-old English teacher from Alabama. "I do not enjoy the traffic and chaos involved in shopping at a mall."

To be sure, the strong start to Cyber Monday, created by a unit of The National Retail Federation, follows an even stronger kickoff to the holiday shopping season over the weekend. Americans shopped in record numbers, driven by earlier store openings and a push by retailers for online sales.

A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day, up from 212 million last year, according to the NRF. And sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, rose 7 percent to $11.4 billion, the largest amount ever spent, according to ShopperTrak, which gathers stores' data.

Online sales were strong even over the weekend. Thirty-eight percent of all purchases were made online this year, up from 31 percent to 32 percent last year, says Sherif Mityas, partner in the retail practice of A.T. Kearney, who believes the increase was due to heavy promotions.

Barneys, for instance, offered 40 percent off on its website on Thanksgiving Day, a day before it began its sales in stores. And Barnes & Noble offered 40 percent to 75 percent off online products, discounts that weren't available in store.

"Retailers are doing a good job of creating more excitement online in ways they can't do in store," Mityas says. "They're creating that excitement of, 'I've got to get that special deal," that is really spurring traffic.'"

It won't be clear how well retailers will ultimately fare on Cyber Monday until Tuesday. But last year, sales on the day topped $1 billion for the first time, making it the heaviest day of online spending ever.

Ahead of this week's "Cyber Monday," the NRF says nearly 80 percent of retailers plan to offer special promotions. And a record 122.9 million of Americans are expected to shop on the day, up from 106.9 million who shopped on "Cyber Monday" last year, according to a survey conducted for Shop.org.

By early afternoon on Monday, traffic was up about 37 percent year-over-year, according to Akamai, an online content delivery company. Akamai says it expects online traffic to peak at about 9 p.m.

Traffic has been up substantially since the Monday before Thanksgiving as retailers promoted online deals earlier than ever, says Lelah Manz, Akamai's chief strategist of commerce.

"There has been a huge volume of promotional activity being driven by daily deal sites, Facebook and other social networking sites," she says.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-28-Cyber%20Monday/id-be6f2b5baf0a47e58f985fecb5fdb443

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Tornado?s impact felt on Thanksgiving

CARTHAGE, Mo. ?


The impact of the massive tornado that hit Joplin more than six months ago was felt at the Carthage Crisis Center?s annual Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Brian Bisbee, Crisis Center executive director, said volunteers delivered over 150 meals to more than 100 homes, including homes in the FEMA mobile home parks across Missouri Highway 171 from the Joplin Regional Airport.

And among the nearly 150 volunteers who helped the Bisbees and their staff and volunteers put on this event were youth members of the St. Paul?s Lutheran Church in Jackson, Mo., in the southeast part of Missouri, who were spending a week helping tornado victims rebuild their homes.

?We wanted to help serve meals to people somewhere on Thanksgiving and Sue Stiegemeyer, one of our youth directors, searched for a place,? said Dave Crites, another director of the group. ?Marilyn (Bisbee, a co-director of the Crisis Center) said she would love to have us, so here we are.?

Matt Fluegge, a youth member of the group from Jackson includes six adults and 14 youth volunteers who planned to spend the week in Joplin.

He said a group from his church came and volunteered back in the summer and decided they wanted to come back.

?We were here this past August and all the kids wanted to come back, but we knew we would also be in school,? Fluegge said. ?Coming over the Thanksgiving holiday was a way to stay here for a week without missing as much school.?

Crites said young people from his church had made several trips to New Orleans to help with their rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, but they decided to come to Joplin after hearing about the tornado.

?We?ve been working with the Emanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin to help families rebuild,? he said.
As she packed boxes of food for delivery to homes, Adrienne Sladek, 19, Jackson, said she was glad to be here to help.

?This is awesome,? Sladek said. ?We got to come yesterday to help with food prep and talked with Marilyn about this place. She gave us a tour and told is they have women and families in one area and men in another area. This is such an awesome mission.

Brian Bisbee said all the food, including the turkeys and hams, was donated by various individuals and entities.

?We had about 60 volunteers yesterday and we probably have about 90 coming in today,? Bisbee said on Thursday. ?We turned away a number of people just because we wanted to make sure people had things to do.?
Bisbee said the Crisis Center will do it all again in about a month at the Christmas Day dinner, slated for 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 25 at the Crisis Center.

?We?re just trying to serve the community in any way we can and we?ve found there is a need for people to be able to have a place to go on these holidays,? Bisbee said. ?That?s why we continue to sponsor these events.?

Source: http://www.carthagepress.com/features/x729318364/Tornado-s-impact-felt-on-Thanksgiving

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Yemen names opposition leader Basindwa as premier (Reuters)

SANAA (Reuters) ? Yemen's vice president named Sunday opposition leader Mohammed Basindwa as the country's new interim prime minister, the state news agency Saba reported, under a deal aimed at ending months of protests which have rocked the country.

If the agreement goes according to plan, Saleh will become the fourth Arab ruler brought down by mass demonstrations that have reshaped the political landscape of the Middle East.

Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi named Basindwa in a decree carried by the agency. This followed a decision Friday by opposition parties to nominate Basindwa, the head of an alliance that led months of protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, to form a new government.

"A presidential decree issued today ... mandated Mohammed Salem Basindwa to form a government of national unity," Saba said.

Basindwa, a foreign minister from 1993 to 1994, is to form the new government under the deal signed in Riyadh last Wednesday when Saleh transferred his powers to his deputy to resolve the crisis resulting from months of pro-democracy demonstrations.

Saleh returned home Saturday after signing the deal with the opposition after 33 years in office and 10 months of protests.

Saturday, Hadi called presidential elections for February 21.

Under the Gulf-sponsored agreement, Saleh will receive immunity from prosecution and keep his title until a successor is elected. Hadi was charged with calling the election within three months and forming a new government with the opposition.

Hundreds of people have been killed during months of protests anti-Saleh protests. The political deadlock has reignited conflicts with separatists and militants, raising fears that al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional wing could take a foothold on the borders of Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.

In continued unrest, at least 25 people have been killed and dozens wounded in northern Yemen in what Sunni Islamist Salafi fighters said was shelling by Shi'ite Muslim rebels Saturday and Sunday. [ID:nL5E7MR0C3]

(Reporting by Sami Aboudi in Dubai, writing by David Stamp and Firouz Sedarat)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/wl_nm/us_yemen_premier

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