Former Gov. Patterson canned from radio hosting gig

William C Lopez

Former Gov. David Patterson is out of work once again.

Former Gov. David Paterson is looking for a new job — again.

Clear Channel canned him yesterday as the 4-6 p.m. weekday talk show host on WOR-AM 710 radio – less than two years after he was out of work following his tumultuous and abbreviated tenure at the state’s helm.

“As governor, he was oftentimes in position to dish it out, so he is certainly someone who can take it,” Paterson spokesman Sean Darcy said, adding the state’s first black chief exec “has been exploring a number of different options both in and out of the media.”

Paterson decided against running for governor in 2010 after ascending to the job when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer quit in March 2008 over a hooker scandal.

He landed the WOR gig in September 2011, but Clear Channel bought the station earlier this year and the conglomerate began layoffs this week.

Paterson had told Post columnist Fredric U. Dicker on his own radio show on Albany’s Talk 1300 AM recently that his job wasn’t a sure thing.

Paterson’s face and name were gone from the WOR web site’s “personalities” section yesterday, and the site’s schedule had no listing for his normal show time.

Execs for the station and Clear Channel could not be reached for comment.

Read More..

The Cuban government Thursday denounced what it called the “unjust and illegal” multi-million dollar fines the U.S. government slapped on two foreign banks for violating Washington’s sanctions on the island.

The U.S. actions show that its “ferocious persecution of financial and commercial transactions by Cuba and those with legitimate relations … has only changed but has hardened,” a Foreign Ministry official said in a statement.

The British-based HSBC bank agreed to pay $1.9 billion to the U.S. government last week to settle accusations that it laundered drug money through its Mexican and other branches, and violated U.S. economic sanctions on Cuba.

The next day Washington announced that Japan’s Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ bank had agreed to pay $8.6 million to settle what the Cuban statement called “a supposed violation of the unilateral sanctions of the United States against various countries, including Cuba.”

Under the trade embargo, banks cannot move Cuban funds through U.S. financial institutions or handle U.S. dollar deposits for Cuban entities or citizens. Cuba is subject to other sanctions as well because it is on the U.S. list of countries that support international terrorism.

The Foreign Ministry statement noted that the sanctions came one month after the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for the 21st time to condemn the 50-year-old trade embargo against Cuba.

While the HSBC settlement was reported to be one of the largest ever, the U.S. Treasury Department has hit several other foreign banks in recent years for violating sanctions on Cuba and other countries, especially Iran.

The Netherlands’ ING bank agreed to a $619 million settlement earlier this year. Credit Suisse agreed to pay $539 million in 2009. And the Swiss UBS bank was hit with a $100 million settlement in 2004.

Read More..

Slip-N-Slide’s Ted Lucas teams up with Miami Heat’s James Jones for All-Star Holiday weekend

Record executive Ted Lucas and Miami Heat star James Jones joined forces to bring holiday cheer to Miami Gardens kids — and motivate them to achieve academically — earlier this month

The All-Star Holiday weekend started with a toy distribution at North County K-8 Center on Dec.13

Lucas and Jones, who got good grades when growing up in Miami Gardens, got some help Santa Claus and Heat mascot Burnie to distribute bicycles, iPod Nanos and gift cards to those students who did well on their FCAT scores.

Later that evening, Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones and Miami Beach Commissioner Jonah Wolfson hosted a kick-off party at W Hotel Miami Beach. Lucas and Jones each received the key to the City of Miami Beach from Wolfson. Lucas is president of Slip-N-Slide Records, located on South Beach.

The weekend’s festivities also included a DREAM reception at Mercedes-Benz of Miami that highlighted talented local youth and honored teachers and included live performances by the Miami Norland High School drumline, DJ Elle and recording artist Sebastian Mikael.

The All-Star Holiday Weekend concluded with a special community fair at Buccaneer Park in Miami Gardens. Hundreds of residents from the surrounding area attended the free celebration for a day of games, activities, music, treats and giveaways.

Read More..

New Online Privacy Loophole Lets Facebook Advertise to Kids

Mark Zuckerberg‘s been eager to find a way to get more kids on Facebook for years, and on Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission handed it to him on a platter. That might be overstating it a little bit. It’s more like the FTC served it to him on a platter covered in plastic wrap with a note attached that says “Do not open.” Nevertheless, should Facebook decided to see what’s inside, experts in online privacy for children say the social network could legally start peddling everything from kids’ bicycles to that new gender-neutral Easy Bake Oven.

RELATED: German Official Urges Citizens to Stop Using Facebook

After months of deliberating and plenty of lobbying on both sides of the issue, the FTC updated the controversial Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) this week. The changes were absolutely designed to better protect children in the privacy-invading era of social media, especially from the data-hungry advertisers who want to sell them things. Websites like Facebook don’t allow kids to sign up without their parents permission, generally because COPPA has prohibited them from collecting the kinds of information they need to serve them ads. And why would they want a user to whom they couldn’t serve ads? Under the new FTC rules, parental permission is required for just about anything a kid would do on Facebook, including uploading photos, videos and geolocational information. Tracking tools like cookies are also verboten without a parent’s permission.

RELATED: What Police Learn About You When They Subpoena Your Facebook Account

But there’s a loophole. The new rules say very plainly that no parental permission is needed “for the sole purpose of supporting the website or online service’s internal operations, such as contextual advertising, frequency capping, legal compliance, site analysis, and network communications.” The key phrase there is “contextual advertising,” which is an ad product Facebook has been working on for a while. Facebook’s version basically reads your News Feed and shows you ads that are relevant, or contextual, to what you’re reading. As a few people have pointed out, this opens a door for Facebook to start exploring the idea of ad-supported profiles for kids. Alan Simpson, the vice president of child privacy advocacy group Common Sense, isn’t happy about this idea. “Common Sense doesn’t like this part, and the industry lobbyists probably do,” he told TechCrunch Monday evening.

RELATED: What Facebook Does to Kids’ Brains

Now, there are a lot of ifs in this scenario. Based on the magnitude and sensitivity of the issue, Facebook probably doesn’t want to go scaring a bunch of parents by sneaking through loopholes to show their kids Easy Bake Oven ads. It has been nearly a decade and a half since COPPA got an update, though, and Mark Zuckerberg isn’t really known for his patience. Of course, Facebook could do what they’ve been doing for ages, which is look over their shoulder while kids lie about having permission and sign up anyways.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: New Online Privacy Loophole Lets Facebook Advertise to Kids
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Weird but true

Anybody have change for a $500 million?

A man in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was busted for trying to pass off a counterfeit $500 million bill — but he won’t serve any time.

Judge William Dimitrouleas, calling the offense “laughable,’’ said, “It doesn’t promote respect for the law to send somebody to prison . . . for doing something so silly and outrageous.’’

The biggest bill circulated today is $100, but at one time, the government printed $10,000 notes.

***

“The Philharmonic will now perform the ‘Concerto for Violin, Trumpet and Hand Fart.’ ’’

An anonymous Canadian has become an Internet sensation by using his hands to squeeze out popular and classical music.

His repertoire ranges from Pink Floyd’s 1979 “Comfortably Numb,’’ to Johann Pachebel’s “Canon in D Major,’’ written sometime before 1700.

***

Some good news and bad news for people waiting for gasoline prices to come down.

Scientists have discovered a huge oil field, containing an astonishing 155,238,095,238,095,250,000 barrels of oil.

Only one problem: It’s 1,300 light years from Earth, in the Horsehead Nebula Galaxy.

***

Speaking of energy . . .

England’s Big Pit National Coal Museum has installed 200 solar panels.

The museum says the move will save it about $650,000 over 25 years

***

He was a bit overdressed for the occasion.

A frugal flier, trying to save costs for excess baggage, wore every item of clothing he was taking on a plane from China to Kenya.

In his various pockets were batteries, flash drives and assorted electronic items.

The man — described as looking like a sumo wrestler — was wearing 60 shirts and nine pairs of jeans.

Read More..

Accelerator planned for healthcare-tech start-ups

A new start-up accelerator focused on the intersection of healthcare and technology is coming to Miami next year.

Project Lift Miami, designed to help develop young companies and prepare them for investment opportunities, is a partnership between Lift1428, an innovation design, strategy and communications firm; the Miami Innovation Center at the University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park and its developer, Wexford Science + Technology; and the UM Miller School of Medicine, said Robert Chavez, the project’s executive director. “We’re being proactive and trying to support innovative ideas and companies. … We’d like to keep them here and really help to transform the area into a healthcare innovation hub.”

The accelerator will offer entrepreneurial teams a structured 100-day program of classes, workshops and training directed by national and local healthcare experts as well as mentoring and strategic support that will continue well beyond the program, said David McDonald, CEO of Lift1428 and co-founder of Project Lift Miami.

“This meets a critical unmet need in innovation,” said Norma Kenyon, chief innovation officer at UM’s Miller School, explaining that novel ideas often don’t find appropriate mentors and funding until they are pretty far along. “Where do you go if you have a great idea that really could be transformative? This provides much-needed support for these very early-stage technologies.”

Ten to 15 start-ups will be selected for the first class, which will start in May. Each will be offered seed funding — probably $20,000 to $30,000 in cash and services in exchange for a small equity stake — and will get free office space at the research park, Chavez said. The program will run through August, closing with a Demo Day, when entrepreneurs present their businesses to potential investors.

“There’s so much regulation and there are privacy issues and other barriers to entry that are different in the healthcare industry. Having the access to the environment we have here to test your idea and prove your concept is a great advance,” said Chavez, who is also executive director of business intelligence at UM’s Miller School. “That kind of mentoring you won’t get at a general accelerator.”

If Miami’s program goes well, future Project Lift programs could be rolled out at other Wexford science and technology parks across the country, said Bill Hunter, Wexford’s regional director of leasing. “Project Lift is directly aligned with our mission to cultivate innovation in our community. You need investment in those early-stage opportunities.”

Entrepreneurs interested in applying for the inaugural 2013 class can contact Chavez at rchavez@lift1428.com or 305-345-8670, or stop by the Miami Innovation Center at the UM Life Science & Technology Park, 1951 NW Seventh Ave., Suite 300. There is also more information at www.lift1428.com/projectlift.

Read More..

Judge admonishes defendant in Rilya Wilson murder trial

A Miami-Dade judge admonished the woman accused of killing foster child Rilya Wilson after two brief courtroom outbursts Tuesday.

At the time, Geralyn Graham’s ex-lover, Pamela Graham, was on the stand testifying under cross-examination about why she was cooperating with authorities. The two are not related.

In front of the jury, Geralyn Graham yelled at Pamela Graham to stop lying. A few minutes later, Geralyn Graham again blurted out at the witness that the last time she saw Rilya, she “was in your arms.”

Geralyn Graham, 66, is on trial on charges of murdering the foster child whose disappearance a decade ago roiled the state’s child-welfare agency and led to a series of reforms. Rilya’s body was never found.

Pamela Graham, who was Rilya’s legal guardian, has testified over two days that Geralyn Graham abused Rilya, tying her to a bed and keeping her isolated in a laundry room. She has also cast Geralyn Graham as a dominating, manipulative woman who forced her to lie that a child welfare worker took the child.

During cross-examination by defense attorney Scott Sakin, Pamela Graham admitted the early story she gave to police investigators “was all lies.”

Read More..

Leak reveals Polaroid’s Android-powered camera with interchangeable lenses

Samsung’s (005930) Galaxy Camera and Nikon’s (NINOY) Coolpix S800c are just the beginning of a swath of Android-powered cameras. Newly leaked images and specs point to Polaroid reviving its camera business with what could be the world’s first Android camera with interchangeable lenses. With no official name yet, the tentatively named IM1836 camera will reportedly feature a 18.1-megapixel sensor, 3.5-inch touchscreen, pop-up flash, Wi-Fi, HDMI and Android 4.0.

[More from BGR: A guide to all the insane predictions made by Google’s new engineering director]

The Galaxy Camera and Coolpix S800c do a fine job taking pictures that are considerably better than what you get from a smartphone, but they still can’t match a mirrorless camera with a good lens. At first glance, Polaroid’s camera looks to be a rebadged Nikon 1 J2, but the resemblance only runs skin deep, as PhotoRumors reports the camera only takes MicroSD cards.

[More from BGR: How not to fix Apple Maps]

Polaroid might not be a major player, but as more companies start incorporating Android into their cameras, there’s going to be a shift in the features consumers expect from them. In the next few years, novelty features such as Wi-Fi, cellular data and photo editing apps will be the norm and we’ll laugh at how we ever lived without them.

This article was originally published by BGR

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Leak reveals Polaroid’s Android-powered camera with interchangeable lenses
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Angelina Jolie to Direct Unbroken Film

Angelina Jolie is in final negotiations to direct her second film, Unbroken, based on the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian-turned-World War II prisoner of war, according to Deadline.

Video: Angelina Jolie Talks Kids, 'Blood and Honey'

"I was so moved by Louie Zamperini's heroic story, I immediately began to fight for the opportunity to make this film," said The Oscar-winning actress in a statement. "Louie is a true hero and a man of immense humanity, faith and courage. I am deeply honored to have the chance to tell his inspiring story."

Adapted from Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, the feature film will tell the real-life tale of American Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini, who was captured and imprisoned by the Japanese Navy during World War II.

Unbroken will be the second film directed by Jolie. The 37-year-old made her debut in 2011's In The Land Of Blood And Honey.

Read More..

A home for the holidays: Sandy victims’ relief

Christmas came early for these Sandy victims.

The eight-months-pregnant Staten Island mom left homeless by the storm — because she was booted from her hotel after FEMA bungled her reservation — received a load of free goodies for her baby, furniture for her new rental and a fully-decorated tree.

“With a baby on the way, all I want to do is build a nest,” said a beaming Keri Christian, 27, as she stared at the van full of gifts compliments of a Staten Island nonprofit helping families that lost their homes to the hurricane.

Members of the group, the Staten Island Sandy Relief Fund, read about Christian’s plight in The Post, and decided to act.

Paul Martinka

THANKS! Keri Christian, husband Paul Anthony Marotto and baby Serafina yesterday at their new Brooklyn apartment, provided by a storm-relief group whose members read about their plight in The Post.

“This is so wonderful!” said Christian, whose husband, Anthony Marotto, 41, has been working to rebuild their home after it flooded and burned.

“It’s not about what we lost; it’s about getting back on track.”

Christian, who is due in January and has a 2-year-old daughter, and her family received about $2,500 worth of gifts for their new apartment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

The haul includes an armchair and ottoman, a dresser with baby clothes, kitchenware, a cradle swing, a car seat and a pre-lit, 6-foot artificial Christmas tree already decked out with ornaments.

A queen-sized bed and toddler bed will arrive in the coming week. One of Christian’s favorite items is a dining table with six chairs.

“I’ve been staying in everybody else’s house and everybody has been cooking me dinner, and now I can have them come to my house!” she said.

“I’m happy to be able to celebrate the holidays. The hurricane didn’t take that away.”

After Sandy, Christian had been staying at the Nu Hotel in Brooklyn — until management suddenly notified her that her room was booked to someone else.

She had to haul suitcases, strollers and bags of clothes as she couch-surfed for several days.

“I didn’t think I was going to have it together here for Christmas,” she said. “It’s a week away and I had nothing. This Christmas is about how lucky we are to have friends and family.”

Read More..