Video April Fools Joke on Celebrity

Video April Fools Joke on Celebrity chef Jon Ashton

Celebrity Chefs Falls for April Foold day prank.

 

 

Microsoft files EU complaint against Google

Microsoft files EU complaint against Google. Google has consistently denied dominating the online search market and has contested individual allegations made against it. It said its behaviour was driven by the desire to give users of its search facilities the best results.

 

Microsoft has filed a formal complaint with European antitrust regulators about Google’s online search dominance in the region.

 

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said the software company had become “concerned by a broadening pattern of conduct aimed at stopping anyone else from creating a competitive alternative”.

He added: “We’ve therefore decided to join a large and growing number of companies registering their concerns about the European search market.”

In filing its complaint, Microsoft has joined its rivals in voicing their concerns with the European Union, which is investigating whether Google has violated the region’s antitrust laws and uses its dominance of web search to thwart competition.

“Our filing today focuses on a pattern of actions that Google has taken to entrench its dominance in the markets for online search and search advertising to the detriment of European consumers,” Mr Smith wrote in the blog post.

While Microsoft and partner Yahoo have about a quarter of the US search market and Google the rest, Google has almost 95 per cent of the market in Europe, according to Mr Smith, who cited data from regulators.

Google has consistently denied dominating the online search market and has contested individual allegations made against it. It said its behaviour was driven by the desire to give users of its search facilities the best results.

Microsoft files EU complaint against Google

Source : www.ft.com

Internet Rumors : Jackie Chan Dead?

Rumors : Jackie Chan Dead... Chan is in good company, joining a handful of celebrities – including Charlie Sheen – who have been the victims of online celebrity death hoaxes

Jackie Chan wants to set the record straight: Contrary to Internet rumors, he is, in fact, not dead.

"Jackie is alive and well," reads a note on the action star's Facebook page. "He did not suffer a heart attack and die, as was reported on many social networking sites and in online news reports."

Chan, 56, is working hard, however, continues the missive: "Jackie is fine and is busy preparing for the filming of his next movie."

Still not convinced? For those who require proof, Chan posted a photo of himself dated March 29 on his Web site showing him meeting with top Japanese officials.

The caption reads in part, "Jackie met with Yuji Kumamaru, Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong to discuss the details of the 'Love Without Borders 3/11 Candelight Gala,' " which will benefit the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Chan is in good company, joining a handful of celebrities – including Charlie Sheen – who have been the victims of online celebrity death hoaxes. 

Rumors : Jackie Chan Dead

This is Gaddafi's Female Bodyguard Team

This "elite force" is known as the "Amazonian Guard" and, according to Mediaite, "every member must, allegedly, be a virgin hand-picked by Gaddafi, and must then undergo extensive martial arts and firearms training at a special academy before becoming official members of the force."  A deeper look at Muammar Qaddafi's weird world at The Atlantic, more of the Amazonian Guard pictures at DJ Mick, more reaction at Barstool NYC, or just watch a video after the jump.

Gaddafi’s Girls – Elite Force Of Female Bodyguards

Trip to Jupiter

Next, a lawyer came who straight away asked the NASA official for $15 million.The NASA official asked him why he wanted so much more than other professionals.The lawyer replied “If you give me $15 million, I will give you $5 million, I will keep $5 million and we will send the engineer to Jupiter.”

NASA wanted to send a professional to Jupiter and was interviewing professionals. 

First, an engineer came and the NASA officials interviewed him.The engineer told them that he would be very useful as he had a scientific bent of mind.He asked for $5 million.He told that he would give that money to MIT for carrying out research activities.

Next, a doctor came who told that doctors are smartest and most hard working therefore, he should go. He asked for $10 million.He told that he would give the money to various medical institutions for carrying out research activities.

Next, a lawyer came who straight away asked the NASA official for $15 million.The NASA official asked him why he wanted so much more than other professionals.The lawyer replied “If you give me $15 million, I will give you $5 million, I will keep $5 million and we will send the engineer to Jupiter.”

Trip to Jupiter

Black Swan - Sarah Lane

Sarah Lane, a ballerina who was a dancing double for the Oscar-winning actress told EW that she was the victim of a cover-up that would mislead the public about how much dancing Portman actually did. (Lane is an American Ballet Theatre soloist.) She revealed that she did most of the moves and harder dance routines in the movie while graphics allowed Portman’s face to appear on Lane’s body

Sarah Lane, a body double for Natalie Portman in the movie “Black Swan,” has just responded to accusations that she didn’t have a significant role in the movie by revealing that Portman only did around 5% of the ballet dancing in the film.

The movie made Portman a huge star, winning numerous awards, but left her body double in the shadows.

Sarah Lane, a ballerina who was a dancing double for the Oscar-winning actress told EW that she was the victim of a cover-up that would mislead the public about how much dancing Portman actually did. (Lane is an American Ballet Theatre soloist.) She revealed that she did most of the moves and harder dance routines in the movie while graphics allowed Portman’s face to appear on Lane’s body.

This claim is in response to Portman’s fiance and a choreographer for the film stating that Lane did less significant work in the movie. They stated to the L.A. Times, that Portman performed around 85 percent of the movie.

Portman, however, never failed to admit her helpful body double, telling EW, “I do have a double for the complicated turning stuff.”

Black Swan - Sarah Lane

Endowment Selling

Endowment Selling. Now, many companies offer to buy the with profits endowment policy from the holder for more than the surrender value. This practice has created a thriving industry of endowment policy buyers. Members of the public can either contact these companies directly or they can use the services of a Traded Endowment Specialist. Endowment Selling.

 

Endowment selling is the practice in the United Kingdom of selling an endowment policy to a third party. This is often an attempt to gain more money than the value given when surrendering the policy to the original life assurance company.

With-profits endowment policies were aggressively sold for many years, including during the 1980s, by insurance companies. The policies were marketed as an almost guaranteed way to pay off a mortgage and leave the policy holder with a lump sum once it had matured.

The with profits endowment policy was sold alongside an interest only mortgage. By only paying interest, mortgage repayments were kept low. The endowment policy also had monthly premiums to pay which ran for the term of the mortgage. The policy would rise in value as premiums were paid and through profits from investments, paying off the mortgage when the policy matured.

However, many policies did not increase to the level that was required.

Endowment Selling. When it became apparent that many policies would not cover the cost of the mortgage loan, policy holders sought alternative methods to repay their mortgage and dispose of their endowment policies. Whilst initially, the only method was to surrender (cancel) the policy with the life assurance company themselves, obtaining the surrender value calculated by them, a second hand market slowly developed, providing policyholders with much added value over their surrender values.

Endowment Selling. Now, many companies offer to buy the with profits endowment policy from the holder for more than the surrender value. This practice has created a thriving industry of endowment policy buyers. Members of the public can either contact these companies directly or they can use the services of a Traded Endowment Specialist. Endowment Selling.

Traded Endowment Specialists are companies that deal exclusively with Second Hand Endowment Policies and obtain offers from the entire market. They can also provide offers from some buyers that do not purchase directly from the public and will only offer through these Traded Endowment Specialists.

Endowment Selling. Not all purchase offers are the same as some buyers will purchase on a 'guaranteed-offer' basis whilst others will make initial offers that are subject to sale. These offers are not guaranteed as there is no definite purchaser in place. Yet other companies retain the right to revalue or cancel their offer at their discretion throughout the sale. A Traded Endowment Specialist can assist you in understanding the nature of the different offers you receive - making sure you don't end up with an offer that is not suitable for your circumstances.

 

Endowment Selling

Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79

[Philadelphia Inquirer] Actress Elizabeth Taylor, who lived a life of luster and anguish and spent six decades as one of the world's most visible women for her two Academy Awards, eight marriages and work in AIDS philanthropy, died Wednesday at age 79.

 

Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79

After Release, Firefox 4 Hits 9 Million Downloads a Day

After Release, Firefox 4 Hits 9 Million Downloads a Day. The U.S. has downloaded nearly 2 million. In Europe, the downloads are obviously distributed among many more countries. Germany leads Europe with over 750,000 downloads, followed by Russian Federation, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, and Poland.

It's Amazing.. After Release, Firefox 4 Hits 9 Million Downloads a Day, the browser has been downloaded over 9 million times. Most downloads seem to be coming from North America and Europe.

As a matter of fact, at the time of this writing, Europe is leading with nearly 4 million downloads, followed by North America with nearly 2.5 million.

The U.S. has downloaded nearly 2 million. In Europe, the downloads are obviously distributed among many more countries. Germany leads Europe with over 750,000 downloads, followed by Russian Federation, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, and Poland.

Asia accounts for over 1.6 million. Japan leads the continent with over 330,000 downloads.

As StatCounter reported today, Mozilla Firefox 4 quickly gobbled up 1.95% of the global browser market share (That should be significantly higher by now, considering the rate at which it’s being downloaded).

Source : webpronews.com

Firefox 4 Hits 9 Million Downloads a Day After Release

Elizabeth Taylor Photos

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor Photo Gallery

Elizabeth Taylor

Born: February 27, 1932
London, England

Elizabeth Taylor is one of film's most famous women, having starred in over fifty films and having won two Academy Awards. She also attracted attention because of her eight marriages and her devotion to raising money for research to fight acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS; a virus that destroys the body's ability to fight off infection).

Elizabeth Taylor Photo Gallery

Mozilla Firefox 4 now available for Android and Maemo users

Mozilla Firefox 4 now available as a release candidate for Android and Maemo users. Firefox 4 RC also has improved startup speed, text formatting on zoom, copy-and-paste and generally better UI among other goodies. We don't know about you, but it sounds good to us. Just to remind you that yesterday Opera announced its new Mini 6 and Mobile 11 browsers, so we have plenty of new offerings in the mobile browser race, which can only be a good thing.

Mozilla Firefox 4 now available for Android and Maemo users...

The desktop version of Mozilla's Firefox 4 browser is now available for download, and its mobile counterpart is also offered as a release candidate for Android and Maemo users.  

The guys at Mozilla claim that the new (and potentially final) version of their mobile browser offers some noticeable improvements in several key departments - like faster scrolling and better page load speed - while it retains and builds on everything that's good about Firefox's mobile version - like improved Firefox Sync, tabbed browsing, Firefox Add-ons (over 150 present and still counting) and the Awesome Screen feature.  

Firefox 4 RC also has improved startup speed, text formatting on zoom, copy-and-paste and generally better UI among other goodies.  

We don't know about you, but it sounds good to us. Just to remind you that yesterday Opera announced its new Mini 6 and Mobile 11 browsers, so we have plenty of new offerings in the mobile browser race, which can only be a good thing.

Mozilla Firefox 4 now available as a release candidate for Android and Maemo users

Network Solutions

Network Solutions. When you use the Xpress SSL certificates you will be offered fast issuance (about 15 minutes) through Network Solutions. This is quoted from Rob Vieyra, vice president of Product Management “For businesses that only need limited validation our Xpress SSL Certificate offers a simple, automated validation process,” as well as...

Those of you interested in running a successful business online know that you have to show your customers and potential customers that their information is going to be safe when they purchase. No one wants to purchase online and find out that their credit card information has been hi-jacked. If you have a site that people trust you are going to have much better conversion rates and less people that leave the shopping cart. Network Solutions is helping people create that trust for their customers. 

Network Solutions understands that you need to let customers know that their sensitive data is not going to be compromised online. This is why they have added Xpress SSL certificates, domain validated SSL certificates that feature state-of-the-art 256 bit encryption to its suite of nsProtect Secure SSL cretificate services. They believe that this is going to be the security solution that webmasters have been in search of. 

This is meant for business owners that who transact or collect personal information on their websites. When you use the Xpress SSL certificates you will be offered fast issuance (about 15 minutes) through Network Solutions. This is quoted from Rob Vieyra, vice president of Product Management “For businesses that only need limited validation our Xpress SSL Certificate offers a simple, automated validation process,” as well as “This process saves business owners time by removing additional validation checks and is a perfect security solution for non-critical applications.”

Network Solutions

Google Changes Algorithm for Low Quality Sites

Google Changes Algorithm for Low Quality Sites . Algorithmic changes are nothing out of the ordinary for Google. The company tweaks its algorithm several times per year, and many times the changes are not officially announced. The latest change is worthy of an announcement because it affects 11.8 percent of Google's queries.

In an attempt to offer its users better search results, Google has just implemented a significant change to its algorithm. The change will help boost the rankings of what are deemed to be high quality sites, and it will push low quality sites, such as content farms, further down the rankings.

Amit Singhal, a Google fellow, and Matt Cutts, a principal engineer who helps the search engine giant fight spam, announced the algorithmic improvement in a post on Google's blog. The change's main goal is to improve relevancy among search results for users. By rewarding high quality sites for their content and punishing low quality sites for their supposed lack of content, users can get more of what they are looking for without having to weed through irrelevant sites. Google considers high quality sites to be those that offer original content, in-depth analysis, research, and more.

Although the blog post did not name any specific websites, it is likely that content farms are its main target. Content farms produce short, low value articles that are created in response to popular search queries. One such site is eHow, which pays freelance writers small fees to produce short articles on a variety of subjects.

Many content farm articles achieved high search engine rankings in the past, but offered little actual value to visitors. Google sees these sites as a form of spam that clutters its results. Other sites, which post unoriginal content and even go as far as to copy content, are also targeted in the algorithm change. It is unknown exactly how long it will take for the ranking changes to actualize, but they should gradually appear.

Prior to officially changing its algorithm, Google announced the release of the Personal Blocklist extension for users of its Chrome browser. The extension allows users to block specific domains from appearing in search results, essentially creating a blacklist of unwanted sites. Personal Blocklist also allows users to provide Google with feedback and opinions on the blocked sites.

Google stated that it did not use the extension's feedback in making the algorithmic change, but there are some consistencies between the two. Approximately 84 percent of the most unpopular or blocked domains from Personal Blocklist have been negatively impacted since the change, which shows that it has worked in accordance with user opinion.

Algorithmic changes are nothing out of the ordinary for Google. The company tweaks its algorithm several times per year, and many times the changes are not officially announced. The latest change is worthy of an announcement because it affects 11.8 percent of Google's queries.

As of now, the change has only been implemented in the United States. Google does plan to make it global in the future, however. As time passes, it should be interesting to see how the change affects the Internet landscape. With any luck, the rewards of higher rankings given to quality sites should create an improvement in terms of the overall level of quality of online content.

For more on this topic, visit http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in.html. 

Google Changes Algorithm for Low Quality Sites

Kawasaki Disease

Kawasaki Disease, Signs of Kawasaki disease, such as a high fever and peeling skin, can be frightening. The good news is that Kawasaki disease is usually treatable, and most children recover from Kawasaki disease without serious problems.

Kawasaki Disease

The worst diseases you can think of are ones that target little children. Those that are helpless and innocent do not seem like they should be up for disease and torment but so many times this is just not the case. There are many people fighting to find a cure for this disease but still it eludes even the best of them. Kawasaki disease can affect the heart if not caught and treated early.

If Kawasaki disease is treated quickly children could recover in as little as a couple of days. I suggest that you keep a good look out if you notice your children getting some of these symptoms:

• severe redness in the eyes
• a rash on the stomach, chest, and genitals
• red, dry, cracked lips
• swollen tongue with a white coating and big red bumps
• sore, irritated throat
• swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet with a purple-red color
• swollen lymph nodes

While Kawasaki disease can occur in any ethnic group it is more common among children of Japanese or Koren descent. There are 19 out of every 100,000 kids in the US that have this disease.

Kawasaki Disease

MetroPCS Breaks 52-Week Record High

AT&T has agreed to acquire T-Mobile for a sum of $39 billion. The merger is expected to go down over the 12 months but with a lot of scrutiny from regulatory boards. The announcement was made official a couple of hours ago only

MetroPCS Communications (PCS) raked up a new 52-week high as it traded at $15.21. MetroPCS is changing hands at $15.20 with 2.6 million shares traded as, with an average volume of 5.5 million shares over the past 30 days.

MetroPCS hits new 52-week high with trading at $15.21

The market cap for MetroPCS at the moment is $5.2 billion, with shares up 17.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

The company has a P/E ratio of 26.9, which is equivalent to the average telecommunications industry P/E ratio (AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile) and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 15.6.

AT&T T-Mobile merger

On a side note, AT&T has agreed to acquire T-Mobile for a sum of $39 billion. The merger is expected to go down over the 12 months but with a lot of scrutiny from regulatory boards. The announcement was made official a couple of hours ago only.

MetroPCS Breaks 52-Week Record High

Japan Tsunami Video

Japan Tsunami and Earthquake Video. A Huge Earthquake and Tsunami Has Hit Japan.

The Japan earthquake hit 125 kilometres off the eastern coast and has set off a tsunami. Officials state that waves as high as 20 feet could hit the coast.

A large earthquake hit northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The Japan earthquake measured 8.9 on the Richter scale and set off a tsunami. Witnesses stated that the Japan earthquake lasted several minutes.

The Japan earthquake hit 125 kilometres off the eastern coast and has set off a tsunami. Officials state that waves as high as 20 feet could hit the coast.

There are reports of tsunami waves hitting the Miyagi prefecture in Sendai area. Japan public broadcaster NHK Public aired Japan tsunami video that showed cars, houses and buildings being swept away by water.

The earthquake caused buildings in the Japanese capital of Tokyo to shake. Several fires have been reported in Tokyo and other parts of the country including a large oil refinery fire in Chiba Prefecture. 

A tsunami warning has also been issued for Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and US state of Hawaii.

Japan Tsunami and Earthquake Video

I Hope,,, ( A Letter from Mom and Dad )

I Hope,, ( A Letter from Mom and Dad )

My child,,,,,
When I get old,
I hope you understand and have patience with me
In case I break a plate,
Or spill soup on the table because I'm loosing my eyesight,
I hope you don't yell at me
Older people are sensitive.
Always having self pity when you yell
When my hearing gets worse and I can't hear what you're saying,
I hope you don't call me "Deaf!"
Please repeat what you said or write it down
I'm sorry my child.
I'm getting older
When my knees get weaker,
I hope you have the patience to help me get up
Like how I used to help you while you were little,
Learning to walk
Please bear with me
When I keep repeating my self like a broken record,
I hope you just keep listening to me
Please don't make fun of me, or get sick listening to me.
Do you remember when you were little and you wanted a balloon!?
You repeated yourself over and over until you got what you wanted
Please also pardon my smell
I smell like an old person
Please don't force to shower
My body is weak
Old people get sick easily when they're cold.
I hope I don't gross you out.
Do you remember when you were little?
I used to chase you around because you didn't want to shower
I hope you can be patient with me
When I'm always cranky
It's all part of getting old
You'll understand when you're older
And if you have spare time,
I hope we can talk
Even for a few minutes
I'm always all by my self all the time
And have no one to talk to
I know you're busy with work
Even if you're not interested in my stories,
Please have time for me,
Do you remember when you were little?
I used to listen to your stories about your teddy bear.
When the time comes
And I get ill and bedridden,
I hope you have the patience to take care of me
I'm sorry
If I accidentally wet the bed or make a mess
I hope you have the patience to take care of me during the last few moment of my life
I'm not going to last longer, anyway
When the time of my death comes,
I hope you hold my hand
And give me the strength to face death
And don't worry...
When I finally meet our Creator...
I will whisper in His ear
To BLESS you
Because you loved
Your Mom and Dad
Thank you so much for your care
We love you
With much love
Mom and Dad
GOD BLESS YOU

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31) 

 

I Hope, ( A Letter from Mom and Dad )

Carlos Slim Helu & the 10 Richest Men In The World

Carlos Slim Helu Biography (Carlos Slim Helú): Communications businesses and Investments
Famous for : Being the richest man in Mexico and one of the richest men in the world according to the Forbes business magazine.
Slim Helu details : Born - January 28, 1940 Mexico City / Lives - Mexico

Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu has once again been named as the world’s richest man, according to Forbes Magazine, with the second spot being taken by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Forbes also reported that Gates would be the clear winner of the list each year, if it were not for the sheer amount of money he donated to charity significantly decreasing his personal fortune.

Gates donated U.S. $28 billion to his foundation. He has only been named the world’s richest man twice, in 1995 and 2010.

Here is the 2011 list of the world’s richest people, according to Forbes Magazine:

1. Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico / telecom): U.S. $ 74 billion
2. Bill Gates (USA / Microsoft): U.S. $ 56 billion
3. Warren Buffet (USA / Berkshire Hathaway): U.S. $ 50 billion
4. Bernard Arnault (France / LVMH): U.S. $ 41 billion
5. Larry Ellison (USA / Oracle): U.S. $ 39.5 billion
6. Lakshmi Mittal (India / Steel): U.S. $ 31.1 billion
7. Amancio Ortea (Spain / Zara): U.S. $ 31 billion
8. Eike Batista (Brazil / Mine): U.S. $ 30 billion
9. Mukesh Ambani (India / Petrochemicals, oil and gas): U.S. $ 27 billion
10. Christy Walton & Family (USA / Walmart): U.S. $ 26.5 billion.

Carlos Slim Helu & the 10 Richest Men In The World