Saturday, June 4, 2011

'I will never go back to Manchester,' says City's Argentine star Carlos Tevez - on £286,000 a week

They chant his name, cheer his goals and pay him a wage said to be as high as £286,000 every week, so you might expect footballer Carlos Tevez to be grateful for everything he gets in Manchester. But the controversial Manchester City player has launched an astonishing attack on the city – where he was also worshipped by Manchester United fans – by saying it has nothing to offer and that when he leaves he will never go back.
The 27-year-old Argentinian, thought to be the highest-paid player in English football history, added that he would rather be in Marbella.
His comments came during a television interview broadcast in his home country Argentina. The player said he lived in a rented house in Manchester because there was no point buying there. Asked if it was the weather that made the city so bad, he told Susana Gimenez, the Argentine Oprah Winfrey: 'The weather, everything. It has nothing.' 'You can buy a holiday house in Marbella. But I'm never going back to Manchester, not even on holiday, not for anything. Of course I would buy a house in Marbella.' He went on: 'For example, in Marbella you can buy a house by the beach, relax there and later you can go there on holiday and everything. 'But a house in Manchester costs six or seven million pounds. It is better to rent.'

Facebook hacker held: Arrested Briton faces extradition to U.S. in echo of McKinnon case

A Briton has been arrested on suspicion of trying to steal the personal information of millions of Facebook users.Officers swooped on the 26-year-old man’s home after being tipped off by the FBI.
He is believed to be the first person to be detained in this country for trying such a large-scale attack on the social network.It is understood that the dramatic arrest by Scotland Yard’s e-crime unit followed a major investigation by specialist detectives in the U.S.They had been alerted by staff at Facebook, which boasts more than 600million users, who had detected attempts to breach its systems.
The man, who has a background in computing, was arrested in York on Thursday evening. His computer and other electronic devices were seized and will be examined by forensic experts.The suspect could ultimately face extradition to the U.S., where he could face charges which carry a potential ten-year jail sentence. One source close to the inquiry said it was a ‘cloak and dagger’ operation that followed extensive discussions between the Metropolitan Police and the FBI.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Should F1 take the risk of racing in Bahrain?

The decision to take Formula One back to Bahrain this season has prompted a heated online debate, as more than 300,000 people signed an online petition calling for the race to be scrapped.But you’d never have known that the F1 community itself had a view on it. Twitter, normally abuzz with comments from drivers and teams, was silent on this issue all day. Red Bull’s Australian driver Mark Webber was the only one to speak out,saying before the announcement:“When people in a country are being hurt, the issues are bigger than sport. Let's hope the right decision is made.”Sources within F1 tell me that many of the drivers are ambivalent, but those with a strong opinion on such a controversial issue will only speak off the record. Webber has been the exception, and he could be risking his future in F1 by saying much more.At last week’s Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) meeting in Monaco, the teams made it clear that they were against a race in Bahrain. It’s now crunch time for FOTA and word from the sport’s top team, Red Bull, suggests that the teams could well oppose the decision.“We will go through the correct channels and discuss this decision within the appropriate forum with the other F1 teams and our fellow FOTA members,” read a statement. It doesn’t sound like champagne corks were being popped in Milton Keynes at the decision to race in Bahrain.Quite apart from the moral implications of traveling there and being seen to endorse a country with a questionable human rights record, the season will likely be extended until at least a week into December and there may very well be insurance concerns.One of the reasons the race was scrapped in March was because it could have been a magnet for violent protests. Bahrainis have been contacting the teams directly and asking them not to come. So is the situation much different now?Given that there may be legitimate concerns about the possibility of kidnap, injury, or worse, who will underwrite the teams to travel with their hundreds of employees and superstar drivers?Today’s decision has been long awaited. But it could just be the beginning and not the end of the story.

MI6 attacks al-Qaeda in 'Operation Cupcake'

British intelligence has hacked into an al-Qaeda online magazine and replaced bomb-making instructions with a recipe for cupcakes.
The cyber-warfare operation was launched by MI6 and GCHQ in an attempt to disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular to recruit “lone-wolf” terrorists with a new English-language magazine, the Daily Telegraph understands. When followers tried to download the 67-page colour magazine, instead of instructions about how to “Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom” by “The AQ Chef” they were greeted with garbled computer code. The code, which had been inserted into the original magazine by the British intelligence hackers, was actually a web page of recipes for “The Best Cupcakes in America” published by the Ellen DeGeneres chat show. Written by Dulcy Israel and produced by Main Street Cupcakes in Hudson, Ohio, it said “the little cupcake is big again” adding: “Self-contained and satisfying, it summons memories of childhood even as it's updated for today’s sweet-toothed hipsters.” It included a recipe for the Mojito Cupcake – “made of white rum cake and draped in vanilla buttercream”- and the Rocky Road Cupcake – “warning: sugar rush ahead!” By contrast, the original magazine featured a recipe showing how to make a lethal pipe bomb using sugar, match heads and a miniature lightbulb, attached to a timer. The cyber attack also removed articles by Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and a piece called “What to expect in Jihad.” British and US intelligence planned separate attacks after learning that the magazine was about to be issued in June last year. They have both developed a variety of cyber-weapons such as computer viruses, to use against both enemy states and terrorists.
A Pentagon operation, backed by Gen Keith Alexander, the head of US Cyber Command, was blocked by the CIA which argued that it would expose sources and methods and disrupt an important source of intelligence, according to a report in America. Al-Qaeda was able to reissue the magazine two weeks later and has gone on to produce four further editions but one source said British intelligence was continuing to target online outlets publishing the magazine because it is viewed as such a powerful propaganda tool. The magazine is produced by the radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the leaders of AQAP who has lived in Britain and the US, and his associate Samir Khan from North Carolina. Both men who are thought to be in Yemen, have associated with radicals connected to Rajib Karim, a British resident jailed for 30 years in March for plotting to smuggle a bomb onto a trans-Atlantic aircraft.

For iCloud Users The First Hit Is Free, Then It’s $25 Annually

Apple will let users store their music in its iCloud digital media service, before charging a subscription fee of about $25 a year for the service, Alex Pham at the Los Angeles Times’s Company Town blog reported Thursday.
Apple struck a deal Thursday with four major record labels, Pham reports. Revenues from the new service will be split between Apple, which will get 18% of revenues; record labels, which will get 70% of revenues; and music publishers, who will get the remaining 12%.
Apple said earlier this week Apple Chief Steve Jobs will detail the new iCloud service at its Worldwide Developers Conference Monday, June 6. The service will face competition from Amazon, Google, and Spotify.

School yearbook puts Bush and Cheney on list of 'worst 5 people of all time' (alongside Hitler, Bin Laden and Charles Manson)

A middle school yearbook has listed former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney among the 'worst people of all time' - ranking them alongside Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin Laden and Charles Manson.Printed in the yearbook for students at Russellville Middle School in Arkansas, the list has prompted furious responses from parents and staff.Faculty members stuck black tape across the offending page in a last ditch attempt to save face but parents are furious about the gaffe, which aligns the former president with some of the most evil men of all time.
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler topped the list, followed closely by former Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, who was killed last month by U.S. troops in Pakistan.Third worst of all time was notorious serial killer Charles Manson, with George W. Bush in fourth and Dick Cheney trailing in fifth place.

Does Britain really need a new Playboy club? Hugh Hefner touches down with his bunny girls

With his new Playboy Club about to open in London's exclusive Park Lane, Hugh Hefner clearly wants his business venture to begin with a bang.
But a club in classy Mayfair, replete with gambling rooms and scantily-dressed women in bunny outfits is clearly not enough of an impact for him.
The 85-year-old Playboy mogul definitely turned heads on his arrival to England, as he touched down at Stansted Airport with ten of his Playboy Bunnies clutching each other - with Mr Hefner in the middle, obviously.The group of girls - or perhaps that should be a colony of bunnies - looked stunning as they linked arms and tottered alongside the millionaire in their skyscraper heels.Mr Hefner had left the smoking jacket at home and had donned a pilot's cap and a bright orange shirt for the occasion.Perhaps to show just what sort of variety his club will offer, Mr Hefner had selected a diverse range of beautiful girls, with redheads, blondes and brunettes parading up and down the runway.
For those interested (and with enough cash) the new club, which brands itself an 'adult's playground' has enough to turn even the most sensible head.
According to its website, it boasts gaming rooms dedicated to a an 'exciting contemporary casino', roulette machines, poker games and slot machines.
Visitors can visit the Cottontail Lounge, which is designed for the 'louche and mysterious' who will be waited on by the beautiful cocktail waitresses - all dressed in their obligatory costume of bunny ears, cuffs and collars, revealing bodysuits and high heels.
They can also wander around a restaurant, barbershop and terrace.
The club is due to open on June 4 - much to the anger of feminist groups who claim the opening is demeaning to women.

Mutant E.coli is in Britain: Seven victims in UK have new contagious strain that's killed 18 and now spread to U.S

A mutant strain of E.coli which has killed at least 18 people has reached Britain, health officials confirmed yesterday.Seven people in the UK have been infected by the food poisoning outbreak, three Britons and four German nationals.All are understood to have been infected in Germany, the centre of the outbreak. So far, 1,600 people have fallen ill in 11 countries across Europe and the U.S.
E.coli can be contagious and is spread person to person when infected people fail to take proper hygiene measures, such as washing their hands.The bacterium responsible for the current outbreak is a completely new strain and carries genes that make it resistant to many common antibiotics. It produces powerful toxins which can cause kidney failure.Health officials said the ‘unique’ strain had ‘characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing’, and therefore more dangerous, and warned that this could result in one of the deadliest E.coli outbreaks ever seen.
As well as Britain, the World Health Organisation has been notified of cases in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S.All the victims except two had recently visited northern Germany or, in one case, had contact with a visitor from that area.
The E.coli outbreak is already the third largest in recent world history.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Here’s The Fake Gmail Site Chinese Hackers Used To Steal U.S., Activist Data

Look at the two Gmail login pages in the image below and ask yourself: Would you have spotted the difference?
On Tuesday, Google revealed on its official blog that it had been the target of a phishing campaign seemingly originating in Jinan, China, and aimed at gaining access to the accounts of senior officials in the U.S., Korea and other governments, as well as those of Chinese activists.
The attack worked–at least in part–by sending the victims spoofed emails, often from accounts that appeared to belong to coworkers, family or friends. Those emails contained links to the spoofed Gmail sites, which harvested the usernames and passwords of anyone fooled by their realistic appearance.
The hackers then used those login details to forward all mail coming into the account to a third party, or in some cases gathered information about contacts to use in other phishing scams.
Google is suggesting that users watch for suspicious forwarding settings that might indicate an intruder is copying their mail, as well as a red warning at the top of the page that indicates Google has detected “suspicious activity” that might signal a hacker has gained access to the account.

Cocktail parties, private jets and Tiffany jewellery on £7m EU taxpayer-funded gravy train

European chiefs have landed taxpayers with a ‘grotesque’ expenses bill running into millions of pounds that highlights once again the culture of excess in Brussels.
Private jets, luxury hotels, cocktail parties and even Tiffany jewellery were among the items claimed. MPs last night called for an inquiry following the release of astonishing details of commissioners’ lavish lifestyles.
In one case Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, ran up a £24,600 hotel bill during a luxury four-day stay in New York.
The figures reveal that the EU’s 27 commissioners clocked up a £6.6million bill for hiring private jets in the four years to 2010.
With extra expenses, the bill for their high life comes to £6.99million – but the sum is likely to be far higher.
The figures, extracted from official releases and answers to Parliamentary questions, provide a snapshot of the culture of excess – but sources say they represent only the ‘tip of the iceberg’. The full extent is unlikely ever to be revealed as the figures are not routinely released.
Britain’s commissioners during the period were Peter Mandelson and Baroness Ashton. In 2009 alone, the Commission billed taxpayers £265,000 for cocktail parties.
Events included a £11,638 bill for a cocktail party for TV weathermen from across Europe, and two cocktail parties to celebrate Europe Day, at a total cost of £9,597.
The Commission also ran up a £66,000 bill for a ‘science’ event in Amsterdam which boasted a ‘night filled with wonder like no other… state-of-the-art technology, challenging art, combined with trendy cocktails, surprising performances and top DJs’.
Further figures reveal it spent £17,741 over three years on luxury jewellery for VIPs who agreed to appear at EU events. Figures included spending at the renowned jewellers Tiffany.
The Commission is bidding for a five per cent increase in its £117 billion-a-year budget.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393341/EU-Commission-expense-scandal-Private-jets-Tiffany-jewellery-parties.html#ixzz1O761oBq1

Terrifying moment a crazed father threatened to impale his tiny daughter with a Samurai sword

This was the dramatic moment when a crazed motorist staged a tense stand off with cops - by threatening his own daughter with a razor sharp samurai sword.
The horrific scene was captured after Zhang Gang, 34, caused an accident with another car and instead of stopping to exchange details tried to speed off.
But police who were in the area chased the hit and run motorist - finally stopping him 15 minutes later just outside a farmer's market at Yongren country, in Yunan province.
Zhang, who was with his wife Lu and daughter May in the car, refused to surrender and demanded police get out of the way.Local farmer Lu Yin said: 'I heard the car coming at speed and then slam on the brakes when two police cars blocked the road. 'Then this man leapt out carrying a huge sword and waving what I thought was a doll.
'But then I realised it was a little child. She seemed shocked but then she started crying when she heard her daddy shouting.
'He had the razor sharp sword at her chest the whole time and was shouting 'Let me go or I'll kill her I swear it - I will show no mercy.'
'Then he climbed back in the car with the kid and still with the sword at her chest demanded he be allowed to drive off.'
But a trained police negotiator was soon on the scene and started speaking to the road rage dad and several of his relatives were also sent over - allowing specially trained officers to get into position and storm the vehicle - freeing the little girl unharmed.
Witness Lu Yin said: 'They were talking to him for an hour to calm him down - but the operation to free the girl was over in seconds.'

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Ikea stores in France, Belgium and Holland attacked with fireworks

Ikea stores in three European countries have been hit by fireworks attacks.
Shops in Holland, France and Belgium were all victims of small explosions yesterday evening.
No serious injuries were reported and the stores were scheduled to re-open earlier today.One of the explosions took place in Son en Breugel, near Eindhoven, Holland, and destroyed a rubbish bin shortly before the store was due to close.A suspicious package was also destroyed at the store but it turned out not to have been an explosive.
In the Belgian city of Ghent, newspaper De Standaard cited a police spokesman as saying there were two explosions inside the store around 6pm.Around 250 people were evacuated to a nearby hotel, with eyewitnesses quoted as comparing the explosions to large firecrackers. An employee and a security guard complained of minor ear injuries as a result of the noise.Meanwhile the furniture retailer's store in Lomme, near Lille, France, was also targeted but no further details were reported.
Ikea spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson, speaking from Helsingborg, Sweden, said yesterday's explosions were all caused by 'small firework devices'.She added that Ikea has received no threats in connection with the incidents.

Flying high: Jetpack invention reaches 5,000ft as futuristic transport gets ever-closer to commercial use

Flying high: Jetpack invention reaches 5,000ft as futuristic transport gets ever-closer to commercial use

Travelling by jetpack used to be something only seen in science fiction.
But the first commercial suit could soon be on sale following another successful step on the flight towards production.
Over the weekend, a team of New Zealand inventors behind the Martin rocketman suit conducted a test flight that saw them soar to 5,000 feet.In the test, carried out over the Canterbury region of the country, a dummy took the place of a passenger as it was flown by remote control from a helicopter.
And in another first, the suit then descended to 2,000 feet before deploying a parachute and landing, albeit with rather a large bump.The flight lasted around ten minutes, making it the longest ever recorded.
The successful test brings the reality of flight by jetpack another step closer after 40 years of development by inventor Glenn Martin.Mr Martin has spent NZ$12million on the venture, but now hopes to bring in more investment and possibly even start mass production.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1392871/Jetpack-invention-reaches-5-000ft-futuristic-transport-gets-closer-commercial-use.html#ixzz1O16N6GSV

E.coli outbreak kills Swedish woman as death toll hits 16 - but cucumbers are NOT to blame

The deadly E.coli outbreak has claimed its first victim outside Germany.
A woman in Sweden, who had recently returned from Germany, died, bringing to 16 the number of people who have so far been killed.
The bacteria was originally  linked to Spanish cucumbers imported into Germany, but officials admitted yesterday that new tests had ruled them out.
Germany recognises that the Spanish cucumbers are not the cause,’ state secretary for agriculture Robert Kloos said outside a European Union farm ministers meeting in Hungary.
The exact source of the virulent strain of the bacteria is still not known, but scientists said the suspicions about vegetables or salads being a possible source were well-founded since cattle manure used in fertiliser can harbour  E.coli.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

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Best Night-Sky Pictures of 2011 Named

1st Place, "Beauty of the Night Sky" Category

A dazzling green aurora frames the arc of the Milky Way over Jökulsárlón, the largest glacier lake in Iceland, on March 10. The picture is a first-prize winner in the Second International Earth and Sky Photo Contest's "Beauty of the Night Sky" category.

Organized by astronomy-education projects The World at Night (TWAN) and Global Astronomy Month, the contest honors pictures that meet one of two criteria: "either to impress people on how important and amazing the starry sky is, or to impress people on how bad the problem of light pollution has become." In total, ten winners were announced May 9 in either the "Beauty of the Night Sky" or "Against the Lights" category.
To achieve the contest goals, organizers asked for "landscape astrophotography"—pictures of world landmarks against the night sky. This style "brings Earth and sky into one frame, and it's a bridge between the night sky and the ... environment," TWAN founder and contest judge Babak Tafreshi said in an email to National Geographic News.
"If we considered dark, starry skies a part of nature and our living world heritage, then we would try to preserve it like the other parts of nature."

Coca-Cola Is Changing The Way It Pays Agencies

With perhaps a nod to the rising power of value seeking procurement executives, The Coca-Cola Company altered the way it compensates its agencies. Overwhelmingly, agencies are compensated by charging their clients a fee, estimating labor cost and including an agreed profit margin.  Coke, however, feels that labor-based fees are irrelevant, and that compensation should be tied solely to business results. It adds a pay for performance overlay that allows the agency to earn up to a 23% margin when meeting a performance criteria that includes Agency Evaluation Score, Specialist Metrics, MarCom Metrics, and Business Performance Metrics.
This sounds good and fair on paper: why pay agencies if the business does not meet its goals?  But it is problematic in practice. I don’t know of another service organization that is compensated by performance results – not lawyers, not accountants or architects. This approach ignores the fact that there’s little control for the agency has over the results. What if the client doesn’t choose good work?  Does the agency get final say on creative? Or over other critical parts of the marketing plan? And if they push too hard to get their work produced, how does that affect the agency evaluation?
Coke starts by establishing a base fee for a project, which is unusual in itself as the price is always set by the seller, not the buyer.  The base fee is established through a combination of past fee on similar projects plus/minus Coke’s “current value considerations” (such as budget, strategic importance, talent assigned, industry dynamics, etc.)
Coke is going to great lengths to claim that it’s agencies like this arrangement. Yet, I believe that this approach could weaken the relationships that Coke has with agencies. Setting compensation is at the heart of a relationship, and when the process becomes one sided, the risk of resentment and a frayed relationship is increasing.

The $26,000 Diamond Blackberry

A Nigerian-born, UK-based high-end luxury jeweler and fashion designer –Alexander Amosu — has unveiled a $26,000 black diamond Blackberry.
The 33 year-old Amosu, whose company Amosu Luxury designs customized gem-studded apparel, electronics and accessories for upscale clientele, revealed the Amosu Black Diamond Blackberry last week. The phone is set in 18 karat black gold and was created using close to 1,400 little diamonds weighing about 15cts VVS1. The Black Diamond Blackberry comes in a sleek crocodile case in varying colors, and buyers can have their names or personal logos embedded in the handset. Amosu Luxury designed only 10 of the handsets.
This is not the first time the company is unveiling diamond-crusted phones. In 2008, Amosu released its BlackBerry Pearl Diamond Edition. The diamonds used to make the phone were recyclable in such a way that its owners could have them refit to their next BlackBerry when they got tired of the Pearl. The phone sold for $88,000 and only 5 of them were made.
Similarly, in 2010 Amosu luxury released its most expensive phone – the Amosu Curva Diamond Blackberry, which sold for $191,000. The Amosu Curva was made up of 4,494 VS1 diamonds totaling about 28 carats set in a coat of 18-karat gold. Only 3 were made.

Google says Chrome to power only notebooks only for now

(Reuters) - Google Inc will keep the focus of its Chrome operating system on notebooks, and has no immediate plan to make it available on tablets or to merge with its popular Android software for smartphones, said a senior executive.
Google has been making aggressive inroads into the PC operating system arena dominated by Microsoft Corp, whose Windows operating system can be found on 90 percent of the world's PCs.
Google had seen Chrome user numbers double over the past year to about 160 million, Sundar Pichai, Google's senior vice president for Chrome, told a news conference on Tuesday during the Computex PC show in Taipei.
"Chrome OS is a computer model designed with various form factors in mind, but we are entirely focused on the notebook form factor for now. We have no other plans at this time," Pichai said in response to a question on whether Chrome would also be available for tablet PCs.
Web-centric PC laptops, made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Acer Inc using Chrome will go on sale in June, challenging Microsoft and Apple Inc.
With the number of original equipment manufacturers still small, Google had set up a Chrome center in Taiwan, hoping to engaging more partners in the region, Pichai said, declining to provide details.
The bare-bones operating system is essentially a web browser that steers users to applications such as email and spreadsheets directly on the web, instead of using software stored on the PCs.
Some analysts said it would be some time before Chrome could revolutionize the PC world in the same way that Google's Android operating system did for mobile devices.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Which Are The Five Most Innovative Tech Companies in America?

Following post on Apple and Amazon as innovators, here’s a list of five companies from the tech sector that score highest on an objective basis.The list below instead comprises companies that have a high number of innovation references online as a proportion of all references to them, their brand products or services. That means the small guy has a chance against the big guys like Apple and Google.
The world’s leading supplier of excimer light sources, delivers the deep ultraviolet (DUV) photolithography sources that are essential to today’s semiconductor marketplace.
Yes, CRAY. It might surprise people to see good old supercomputing here – why aren’t there any downstream products we can shout about? Sadly, or happily, the workhorses of the digital age are highly valued innovators.
Finisar’s stock has taken a battering recently but this maker of optics subsystems for LAN, WAN, MANs is consistently referenced as an innovator.
A leading provider of wireless broadband access solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market, Novatel supplies 3G wireless PC cards, USB modems, embedded modules, fixed and mobile terminal solutions and communication software to wireless network operators, distributors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) globally.
Echelon’s background is in networks designed to automated the systems in buildings, homes, factories and cities that provide convience, safety, and comfort and more recently in smart grids. It’s an innovator well positioned to take advantage of the energy revolution.

PayPal co-founder pays 24 teenagers $100,000 each to quit school and follow their dreams

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has created a scholarship programme that comes with a unique catch: the recipients are being paid not to go to college.
Instead, these teenagers and 20-year-olds are getting $100,000 each to chase their entrepreneurial dreams for the next two years.
The San Francisco tech tycoon hand-picked 24 winners for the 20 Under 20 fellowship based on the potential of their proposed projects to change the world.
All the proposals have a high technology angle but otherwise span many disciplines.
One winner wants to create a mobile banking system for the developing world. Another is working to create cheaper biofuels. One wants to build robots that can help out around the house.

Now the Middletons get Bieber fever: Kate's family sign exclusive deal to sell teen pop sensation's merchandise

After Pippa Middleton’s scene-stealing appearance at the Royal Wedding, a certain 17-year-old multi-millionaire made no secret of his admiration for the chief bridesmaid.
Pop star Justin Bieber wrote to his 10million Twitter followers: ‘Congrats to William and Kate ... and Kate’s sister.’
He also described the 27-year-old as a ‘hit’ in her plunging, figure-hugging gown.
Four weeks on, Mike and Carole Middleton would appear to have every reason to be grateful for the Pippa Effect.
Their company, Party Pieces, has secured a deal to sell a range of Bieber merchandise through their website.
It is one of several recent licensing deals signed by the family which experts predict could make them millions. Advertised discreetly on the website, perhaps to avoid accusations of cashing in on their royal connection, it follows the appearance of merchandise for Disney’s Toy Story 3 and Nintendo’s Super Mario in the last few weeks.
The Bieber range is unveiled in the Middletons’ online magazine Party Times, which is produced by Pippa, under the headline ‘We’ve got Bieber fever’.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1392098/Has-Pippa-Middleton-got-fever-Justin-Bieber.html#ixzz1NpPdI5CA

Sunday, May 29, 2011

VIDEO of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez KISSING in Hawaii

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez landed in the island state earlier this week. The Lovebirds were spotted sharing a playful kiss as they enjoyed the Hawaii waves during their vacation. After they hitting the waves, the couple went jet skiing and para-sailing along with their families.

Google's cash-free shopping spree


May 26 - Google wants U.S. shoppers to leave wallets at home, and use the wave of a smartphone for future purchases, teaming up with MasterCard to launch a mobile cash service

Cities With The Most Billionaires

Moscow Leads Cities With Most Billionaires, New York and Los Angeles are lone U.S. entries among the top 10.

The Russian capital boasts 79 billionaires, a stunning increase of 21 in just one year. That more than edges out No. 2 New York, with 59 billionaires, and No.3 London with 41. Other cities in the top 15 include such rising stars as Mumbai, Taipei, Sao Paolo and Istanbul. Los Angeles manages a tie for No. 8.Moscow's most wealthy inhabitants include a number of commodities magnates feasting on the country's natural resources. These include Vladimir Lisin (steel), the country's richest person; Alexei Mordashov (also steel) and Roman Abramovich (oil). The combined fortunes of Moscow's billionaire population top $375 billion, more privately amassed wealth than in any other city in the world.

Nor is Moscow the only city with a Communist heritage gracing this list. Three Chinese cities ranked high: Hong Kong ranks 4th with 40 billionaires; Beijing, 10th with 19; and Shanghai, 13th with 16.
Despite New York's relegation to second place, the city remains a favored locale of billionaires, whose collective net worth is $221 billion. The Big Apple boasts some of the most expensive ZIP codes in the U.S., due in part to the real estate prices paid by billionaires in this city. Indeed, many Moscow residents own secondary homes in New York, including fertilizer and coal magnate Andrey Melnichenko, whose wife recently closed on a $12.2 million penthouse apartment. Even the world's richest man, Carlos Slim (home: Mexico City), snatched up a $44 million mansion on Central Park last year.