As I Was Saying...

Red Painting With A Basketball Of Yao Ming Portrait By A Malaysian On YouTube.

2012-02-01T14:43:00.000+08:00

A Malaysian has become the latest Internet sensation with her unconventional painting of China's basketball great Yao Ming.

Using just a basketball as her brush and red paint, 26-year-old Sabah-born Hong Yi took two hours to complete the canvas painting and uploaded the two-and-half-minute time-lapse video on Jan 10.

It has gone viral with over 300,000 hits in three weeks, and numerous networks have requested permission to upload the video on their sites.

Overnight, she found herself being sought for interviews by a stream of international media from ABC's Good Morning America to requests to upload her video on Yahoo, NBC, Huffington Post and the well-known tech site Gizmodo.

“All I did was to share my YouTube link on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ohiseeRED) and the rest happened from there. I am overwhelmed and extremely nervous,” said Hong, who goes by the nickname Red Hong.

Hong, who is an architect working for an Australian company in Shanghai, returned to Kota Kinabalu to celebrate Chinese New Year with her family.

She is the only daughter of local developer Wedge Hong and Terry Ng Kin Wan. She studied architecture at Melbourne University before joining an Australian company in 2010 and was recently sent to Shanghai.

Hong told The Star that she had always been inclined to painting and she was introduced to abstract art by a teacher at the Seri Insan Secondary School here.

“It was a sudden inspiration and I decided to do a Yao Ming portrait using a basketball. I never expected it to be a hit,” said Hong.

“Before I left to study architecture, I told my parents that my interest was to be an artist, but they told me get my degree first and keep art a hobby,” said Hong, who had earlier painted a portrait of famous Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei using 100,000 sunflower seeds.

“My resolution for 2012 is to pursue my art career. I have two projects I aim to do portraits of famous Chinese people and later when I return to Malaysia I will do portraits of famous Malaysians,” said Hong, who admitted that the sudden international focus had put pressure on her for future works.

“I am worried I will not be able to handle it. But my father told me not to worry about it and just go ahead and do what I like,” she said.

Hong is no stranger to the local art circle as a seven-year-old, she emerged second from a field of 300 in an art competition, and has since been recognised in various art events she participated in Malaysia and Australia.

She has another art piece that will be released within the week.

“But I am keeping it a secret for now. Let's see how people respond to it,” she said.

Courtesy of The STAR

3 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Soda.

2012-01-31T20:34:00.000+08:00

America has a drinking problem. No, not booze. I'm talking about soft drinks. According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, the average American guzzles 44.7 gallons of the sweet stuff every year. Not sure what 44.7 gallons looks like? It's about what you'd need to fill a small kiddie pool.

But the truth is, you don't need me to tell you that soda isn't healthy. We all know that America’s drink of choice contributes to our country's ever-expanding obesity problem. But, as Rodale.com writer Leah Zerbe discovered, love handles are just the beginning. Read on for her report on three shocking soda facts that will have you saying “Just water, please” from now on.

Shocking Soda Fact #1: Soda fattens up your organs

A recent Danish study revealed that drinking non-diet soda leads to dramatic increases in dangerous hard-to-detect fats. Researchers asked participants to drink either regular soda, milk containing the same amount of calories as regular soda, diet cola, or water every day for six months. The results? Total fat mass remained the same across all beverage-consuming groups, but regular-soda drinkers experienced dramatic increases in harmful hidden fats, including liver fat and skeletal fat. The regular-soda group also experienced an 11 percent increase in cholesterol compared to the other groups! And don’t think switching to diet varieties will save you from harm: Artificial sweeteners and food dyes have been linked to brain cell damage and hyperactivity, and research has shown that people who drink diet soda have a higher risk of developing diabetes.

Shocking Soda Fact #2: Soda contains flame retardants

Some popular soda brands, including Mountain Dew, use brominated vegetable oil—a toxic flame retardant—to keep the artificial flavoring from separating from the rest of the liquid. This hazardous ingredient—sometimes listed as BVO on soda and sports drinks—can cause bromide poisoning symptoms like skin lesions and memory loss, as well as nerve disorders. If that’s not a good enough reason not to “Do the Dew,” I don’t know what is.

Shocking Soda Fact #3: Drinking soda makes you a lab rat

Many American soda brands are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, a heart-harming man-made compound derived mainly from genetically engineered corn. The problem? Genetically engineered ingredients have only been in our food chain since the 1990s, and we don't know their long-term health impacts because the corporations that developed the crops never had to test them for long-term safety. Case in point: Some recent findings suggest that genetically engineered crops are linked to digestive tract damage, accelerated aging, and even infertility!

Courtesy of Yahoo! Health

Steve Jobs Named Second "Greatest Innovator Of All Time".

2012-01-30T10:26:00.003+08:00

The annual Lemelson-MIT Innovation Index has named former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who died on October 5, 2011, as the second “greatest innovator of all time”, behind the inventor of the first practical electric light bulb — Thomas Edison.

The annual Lemelson-MIT Innovation Index surveys Americans aged 16-25 on their perceptions of innovation and invention, including their opinion on who was the “greatest innovator of all time”.

According to the results of this year’s survey, released on January 25, 24 per cent of those surveyed selected Jobs, former Apple CEO and driving force behind devices such as the iPhone and iPad, as the “greatest innovator of all time”.

The results of the survey placed Jobsabove Alexander Graham Bell, credited with inventing the first practical telephone, who received 10 per cent of the vote; Marie Curie, who pioneered research on radioactivity, and received five per cent of the vote; creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg, who got three per cent; Amelia Earhart, aviation pioneer, with three per cent of the vote; and finally Temple Grandin who received two per cent of the vote and is a doctor of animal sciences and inventor of the “squeeze machine”, which calms hyper-sensitive people.

Overall those surveyed in the Lemelson-MIT Innovation Index named Edison as the greatest innovator of all time with 52 per cent of the vote. During his lifetime (1847-1931), Edison filed 1,093 patents in his name and is credited with developing the first practical electric light bulb, a system for electricity distribution, and the first commercially available fluoroscope, used by doctors to obtain real-time images of a patient’s internal structure, as well as numerous other devices.

Jobs' legacy has been marked in many ways around the world including the unveiling of a larger-than-life statue of the former Apple CEO in Budapest in December.

Courtesy of AFP

Bill Cosby On What Women Want.

2012-01-29T09:44:00.001+08:00

Courtesy of Imgur

Video Of Six-Legged & Bissexual Lamb Born In Georgia.

2012-01-28T12:09:00.001+08:00

A six-legged lamb was born recently in a small village in the eastern European nation Georgia. The lamb was also reportedly born with both male and female sexual organs.

Shephard Albert Abadzhanov tells the newspaper Trend that in his 25 years of shepharding that he's never seen such a case.

"I have been asking the other shepherds, but none of them remember such [a] case. There were three-legged lambs, one-eyed, but not [a] six legged, bisexual one. The lamb eats well, but moves with difficulty." Abadzhanov said.

The lamb was born with four front legs and two back legs. It appears to have at least partial control of all six limbs, according to the Daily Mail.

Veterinarian Otto Zardiashvili tells Trend that the six-legged baby lamb is an anomaly. "Most probably there were twins, but then the embryos were united, and we've got a strange lamb," Zardiashvili said.

There have been some similarly unusual cases reported in recent years. In 2006, another lamb with six legs was born in Belgium.

Courtesy of Yahoo! News

Online Community Mock Malaysian World First "Trillionaire".

2012-01-27T09:55:00.000+08:00

The Tanjung Malim-born, who claims to be a “trillionaire” and the owner of treasure stashed away in a secret cave, has got the online community buzzing about his proclamation of royalty, too.

Most of the comments were scornful and sarcastic, with many calling Kamal Ashnawi the creator of a mighty tall tale.

In response, Kamal said he was not surprised by the negative reaction, saying the “common people” would soon see evidence of his claims.

Facebook user Khairul Nizam Anuarul Hakim said Kamal’s story was illogical and compared it to popular Japanese comic character Doraemon.

“The story of Doraemon seems more logical than this guy’s story,” he said.

Kamal, 48, understand to be Malaysian-born but currently a Dutch citizen, claimed, in an interview with the The Star journalist Philip Golingai yesterday, that he was a descendant of royal families in China, India, Java and Siam.

He said 86.7% of the money in the world belonged to him as he had treasures hidden in a three-metre-high cave, with gold bars stacked up like a pagoda, US$15mil (RM46mil) in jade and US$10mil (RM31mil) in diamonds and stacks of US dollars.

Kamal, who hopes to be recognised as the Emperor of Indonesia soon, claimed that the treasures belonged to the dynasties that ruled China, and that there was more in other mountains and vaults all over the world.

He had shown documents, allegedly from a London branch of HSBC, to prove that he has five trillion euros (RM20 trillion) in an account there.

Kamal said he had come forward because there were too many false claims by others who said they were owners of the royal assets.

Both the local and London branches of HSBC bank declined to verify Kamal’s claims, citing confidentiality.

Acting Indonesian ambassador Mulya Wirana said they had heard of others making such claims but “nothing of this magnitude”.

“There have been many others who have made claims about treasure belonging to Indonesian royalty and they have all turned out to be fake,” he said yesterday.

Mulya added that his government had never heard of Kamal but said he would look into the claims.

Courtesy of The STAR

Interview With The Malaysian World First "Trillionaire".

2012-01-26T13:24:00.000+08:00

A Tanjung Malim-born Dutch citizen claims he is a descendent of the Emperor of China and that his bloodline is linked to royal families in India, Java and Siam.

It is not every day that you get to meet a trillionaire. So when I was invited to interview Kamal Ashnawi, a person I've never heard of, I said yes.

On Saturday morning, at a Kuala Lumpur hotel coffee house together with two of Kamal's aides, I waited for the so-called trillionaire.

Wearing a baseball cap, long-sleeved shirt and jeans, he sauntered over to our table. The two aides bowed, pressed their palms together to their forehead as if greeting royalty and kissed his hands.

“We call him Tuanku as he is a sultan from Indonesia,” one of the aides whispered to me. According to Kamal, he is a Dutch citizen born in Tanjung Malim, Perak, on Jan 1, 1964.

“I'm a descendent of the Emperor of China and in a history that went haywire, my family fled from China to Kedah. I traced my bloodline to the royal families of China, India, Java and Siam,” claimed the man who is also known as Raden Mas Prabhu Gusti Agung Ki Asmoro Wijoyo.

“I grew up in Tanjung Malim and my family here is very simple and ordinary. Nobody in my family talks about our royal blood and wealth. But my grandmother once told me: “You are special and, when the time comes, you will know.”

It was in Holland in the late 1980s that Kamal “found out who he really was”. A member of an Indonesian royal family, kicked out of the country by president Sukarno, told him he was of royal blood.

In London in the early 1990s, a lawyer told Kamal about his royal family's massive wealth. Unconvinced, he told the lawyer to prove his claims.

He and the lawyer flew from London to Hong Kong to meet the “keeper of the royal treasure”. From there, Kamal and the keeper travelled to Kunming in China.

They hiked up a mountain for four hours and reached a cave guarded by an old couple who, Kamal says, are immortals.

“If you tried to pass them without their blessing, you would cough blood and die,” he said.

Inside the three-metre-high cave, Kamal saw gold bars stacked like a pagoda, US$15mil (RM46mil) in jade and US$10mil (RM31mil) in diamonds and stacks of US dollars.

“I took a gold bar and knocked it on a rock. It was really gold. The treasure is the wealth of the dynasties that ruled China. Their wealth was also kept in other mountains and in vaults all over the world,” he said.

About three years ago, when Kamal watched Nicholas Cage's movie National Treasure, he laughed.

“The treasure in the movie was small compared to the wealth I saw in the mountain,” he said.

Next, Kamal told of his meeting two years ago in Kuala Lumpur with Dr Wong Eng Po, a royal physician from China.

Dr Wong placed his hand on Kamal's bald head, then immediately bowed in front of Kamal and ordered his five followers to do the same.

“He said I was the reincarnation of Emperor Nurhaci (1661-1626) of China. He felt an energy on my head which was superhuman because an emperor, unlike an ordinary human, has to think more. I'm the reincarnation of two emperors of China,” Kamal added.

He elaborated that a few years ago, the royal family decided he would be the sole administrator of the royal wealth kept in secret accounts in about 1,000 banks worldwide.

“This means that 86.7% of the world's money belongs to me,” he said.

Taking out several folders, Kamal said: “You're lucky, I brought documents.”

He produced an A4-sized paper with the photographs of the national treasure, the immortal couple and several “official-looking” letters allegedly from HSBC certifying he has an account of five trillion euros (RM20tril).

“That is a small amount. I have more money in other banks and institutions,” he added.

I wondered why his name has not appeared in the Forbes' list of world's richest people. And a suspicion lingered about his claims.

However, I could not authenticate his documents since the bank was closed for Chinese New Year.

Kamal has not made any withdrawal from the account as “it is not money that you can move just like that”.

“The money is under the control of Indonesia, Germany, Britain, the US and the Euro Central Bank and I've got to go smooth with them,” he said.

“I can't use the money directly but I will invest in certain projects. Like three trillion euros (RM12tril) to green a desert in China.”

Curious, I asked what was the difference between a billionaire and a trillionaire.

He replied: “A billionaire needs to show he has the money. But for me, I don't need to show that I got money. I can travel in a bus. I can wear slippers.”

Born in the year of the dragon, Kamal believes 2012 is his year. In March, he says he will negotiate with institutions such as the IMF to be recognised as the Emperor of Indonesia.

He says he's rich. But his story could just be as rich.

Let's hope he is not another Elie Youssef Najem, the so-called Lebanese billionaire who made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Interview courtesy of STAR journalist Philip Golingai

10 Things Electronics Retailers Won't Say.

2012-01-25T11:17:00.000+08:00

1. "That item you just bought isn't really in stock."

Chicago resident Andrew Schrage was thrilled to get the email from BestBuy.com confirming his order for a Black Friday door-buster -- a 42" Sharp 1080p LCD flat-screen TV for $199 instead of the usual $500. But a few days later, the site sent another email cancelling his order because the set was out of stock. "Obviously, by then I'd missed out on the weekend's other big TV deals," says Schrage.

Such "out-of-stock" cancellations have become more common, particularly during big sales and busy times when site inventory monitoring systems can't keep up with orders placed, says Brad Wilson, the founder of sale site BradsDeals.com.

It's not a problem specific to one retailer, he says, but some are worse than others. "Whenever there's a great deal at Best Buy, we just wait for the comment from someone who says they placed the order and it didn't get fulfilled," says Wilson.

Consumers reported plenty of complaints similar to Schrage's about Best Buy orders during the holiday season. Best Buy says it was a one-time problem. "The online order issue we encountered was due to a combination of software and process issues," says a spokeswoman. "We caught the issue quickly, but not as quickly as we would have liked. We have addressed these issues and do not expect this to happen again."

Consumers' only recourse is to put little stock in online stock promises, Wilson says. Instead take advantage of websites that allow in-store pickup of merchandise ordered online. Absent that, call the store to confirm that the site is correct in stating that it has an item in stock. If a confirmed order is later cancelled, complain.

Two years ago, 1,269 consumers signed a petition on complaint site Groubal.com because their black Friday TV orders at Fry's Electronics were cancelled. It worked, says a Groubal spokesman -- Fry's decided to provide the TVs to each buyer at the promised price. A Fry's spokesman declined to comment. More recently, Schrage got a $75 gift card after calling customer service and emailing Best Buy's chief executive Brian Dunn.

2. "We're the ones protected by this warranty."

Most gadgets have a slim profit margins, which may be why retailers are so anxious to sell shoppers warranties, service plans and other protections, says experts -- even on purchases as cheap as a $20 cordless phone. Profit from those plans can easily top 50%, in large part because shoppers have little chance to make a claim on them. "Electronics, more than other products, tend to fail either in the first 30 days -- which is covered by the manufacturer's warranty -- or not at all," says Andrew Eisner, director of content for Retrevo.com.

They also typically exclude accidental damage resulting from say, water exposure or a fall. "We'd be the first to acknowledge that service plans aren't for everyone," says a spokeswoman for Best Buy. "We're finding that these plans are particularly desirable to customers who are buying mobile products or purchasing higher-end home theater gear."

Just don't expect the retailers to disclose just how much they make from extended warranties and the like, since they're not broken out in quarterly earnings reports. "I haven't seen a number on that in probably a decade," says R.J. Hottovy, an industry analyst for Morningstar. But he says it likely represents a significant and growing part of their revenue as digital media eats into DVD and CD sales and companies refocus on selling big-ticket items.

Shoppers can avoid the hype and still stay protected by paying with one of the many credit cards that automatically double manufacturers' warranties. BradsDeals.com founder Wilson recently took advantage of this when his 20-month-old Samsung television died. American Express sent a technician out to see if it could be repaired (it could not) and then credited Wilson the original purchase price. That refund bought a better TV now than it did two years ago, says Wilson.

Consumers who still want extended protection should compare plans available from manufacturers, retailers, and independent warranty providers such as SquareTrade, experts say. Shoppers usually have 30 days from purchasing a gadget to decide if they want some kind of extra protection plan, and there's no requirement that it come from the store where the item was bought. Prices vary and plans may offer different coverage for different kinds of potential problems. Thus one warranty might be better than another for a consumer looking for, say, tech support or worried about a cracked screen.

3. "We'll sell you more than you need."

Ah, the up-sell. That's when salespeople try to persuade you that you'll need a lot of other things besides what you're buying. It's particularly prevalent when shopping for electronics, experts say. Home theater HDMI cables, camera memory cards and printer ink are all more profitable for retailers than the gadgets themselves, says Retrevo's Eisner.

"Some of that stuff is useful, but you really have to be careful not to get pressured into buying the expensive version they want to sell you," he says. Shoppers should also be wary of an up-sell on the gadget itself. Store associates often push the newest models, even though there may functionally be little improvement over last year's, says technology consultant Alex Goldfayn, author of "Evangelist Marketing." The same goes for top-of-the-line models when an entry-level may better fit the buyer's needs.

But Shawn DuBravak, chief economist for the Consumer Electronics Association, an industry group, says most salespeople don't get commissions, so recommendations are likely motivated more by personal preference and knowledge of a device than profit. "If [the up-sell] was ever prevalent, it's certainly not today," he says. It's valid for a salesperson to ask how you'll be using a device and offer recommendations, but it helps to have done your own research beforehand, says Eisner. Read expert and consumer reviews to determine which features are a must and which aren't necessary. "With most electronics these days, the standard-out-of-the-box version is going to be enough for most people's needs," he says.

4. "Good luck comparing our prices."

Retailers often tout policies that will match competitors' prices. But experts say finding an exact price match is easier said than done, even with the rash of new smartphone comparison apps. Retailers "don't want some smart-aleck consumer coming in and saying, 'it's $20 cheaper at X,'" says Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org, a consumer advocacy site. Dworsky has seen employees reject price matches because they didn't consider a particular retailer a competitor, the competitor's nearest location wasn't close enough or it didn't currently have the sale item in stock.

There are other complications, too. Retailers frequently create special bundles in popular categories such as a video game console with two games. That kind of thing is hard to find a match for because competitors don't often offer the exact same combination of products. Another stumbling block: Retailers often negotiate with manufacturers for exclusive model numbers, says Retrevo's Eisner.

Sam's Club, for example, is the only retailer selling Sony BX421 televisions, which Retrevo says, aside from the special model number, are nearly identical to Sony BX420 series sets sold at Wal-Mart. But if you walked into Wal-Mart saying Sam's sells its model for less, it's likely you'd be rejected because it's not an exact match, Dworksy says. Price-matching policies typically require that the competitor with the lower price be selling the exact same item, down to the model number, he says. Wal-Mart did not respond to requests for comment.

Deal hunters are better off looking for comparisons from home before they shop, says Dworsky. That way you simply buy from the retailer with the lowest price instead of trying to negotiate a match. If you're counting on a price match, print out a copy of the store's policy to bring in so you can prove to an overzealous employee that, say, there's no requirement that the competitor's nearest store be within a five-mile radius, he says. Sometimes getting a match will save you more money, so it's worth the hassle, he adds. Stores such as Sears and Lowe's say they will match a competitor's price and offer an extra 10% discount.

5. "This sale is final."

Problems with returns are the biggest complaint about electronics purchases, according to the Better Business Bureau. It's no surprise, say experts: Department stores often have separate return policies for electronics and electronics retailers have different policies for different products. Conditions can be fairly restrictive, says Chris Morran, a senior editor for consumer advocacy site The Consumerist.

"We've had people write in that they have bought three or four crappy laptops because they didn't realize they couldn't get a refund, only a new laptop," he says. What's more, returns can still cost you money. Although some retailers have eliminated restocking fees in recent years, Amazon charges a return shipping fee on many electronics, while Newegg.com tacks on a 15% restocking fee for most returns. A Newegg.com spokeswoman says the fee is charged "to encourage customers to purchase products they intend to keep." Shoppers who received defective products won't be charged the fee, she says, and customer service representatives can waive it for other returns at their discretion. Amazon.com did not respond to requests for comment.

Reading the fine print of the retailer's return policy online or at the customer service desk in stores will go a long way toward avoiding hassles, Morran says. It also helps to keep as much of the original packaging intact as possible. Many stores require it for a return if the product isn't defective. Otherwise, they will tack on a restocking fee for an opened item. Or they might not take it back at all. "If you have buyer's remorse, you might be stuck with it," he says.

6. "You should have bought this online."

When Iris Karasick of New York was in the market for a new TV last year, prices in stores for the set she wanted -- a 55" 1080p Samsung LED -- were around $2,500. Then her brother recommended online wholesale site East Coast TVs. Its price: $1,700 for the same model, which arrived within days in pristine condition.

"When it comes to electronics, there's very little reason not to buy online," says Goldfayn. Online reviews provide better insight for uncertain shoppers than many inexpert store employees can, he says. Plus, as Karasick found, prices can be much lower. In fact, many bricks-and-mortar stores, including Wal-Mart, Fry's and Target, won't match their own dot-com's prices. "To remain competitive, sales or promotions may vary from stores to Target.com," says a Target spokeswoman. A spokesman for Fry's declined to comment. Wal-Mart did not respond to requests for comment.

Buying online is not risk free. Experts suggest shoppers read reviews of sites as well as the gadgets to make sure that the retailer has a good reputation for filling orders in a timely fashion and that products arrive undamaged. As mentioned in number four, it's also important to review return and re-stocking policies in case there's a problem with the order or the device.

7. "Beware our sales."

In general products that are on sale are typically the ones that aren't selling. In electronics, that usually means there's a newer model or more advanced technology available, says Eisner. For example, many of the Blu-ray players featured in sale ads over the holidays were those without built-in Internet connectivity. They require an $80 add-on to access web content, he says. In the end, shoppers spent the same amount of money as those buying players with built-in WiFi, but got an inferior product, says Eisner.

Sales also generate plenty of complaints about defective items, says The Consumerist's Morran. "There's a reason that TV is $89," he says. "It's usually a very inferior product made with very inferior materials."

Shoppers should evaluate sales with an eye to those pitfalls, experts say. "Last year's TV could be perfectly fine," says Eisner, "but it's better to go in knowing that's what you're getting." Not all sales are duds, either, says the CEA's DuBravak. Some are passed down from manufacturers to better compete with other brands for market share, and retailers often discount popular products as a loss-leader to bring people in stores.

8. "This gadget doesn't do what you think it does."

"Getting boys to read can be a difficult thing," says Keith Bickel of McLean, Va. So when their 10-year-old son said he wanted a Color Nook for his birthday, Bickel and his wife got one, figuring the apps, videos and email access would be great for road trips, too. But after using the Nook for a while, the family found that accessing email wasn't easy, movies didn't load properly and app selection was limited and expensive.

Angry Birds costs $3.99 on the Nook, versus $0.99 on the iPad. "Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have bought it," says Bickel. A spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble says stores offer free support to shoppers before purchasing to help them determine which device will fit their needs, and after to troubleshoot problems. App prices, she says, are set by the individual developers, and most priced the same as on other platforms.

Returns from similar disappointed users are rising. Electronics returns cost retailers $17 billion last year, up 21% from 2007, according to an Accenture study. Of those returns, 27% were for buyer's remorse while just 5% were for defects. Terry Steger, a partner at Accenture, said the rest was likely due to a bad user experience because buyers didn't understand or know how to use the products they purchased. A jump in returns can cut into retailers' profits, which can in turn lead to higher prices or less generous sales down the line, Steger says.

9. "Check the refurb section."

The silver lining to all those returns: more open-box or refurbished items at heavily discounted prices. Many are first-quality items, says Consumer World's Dworsky, who recently bought a $900 Lenovo laptop for $475 on the brand's outlet site. But not all retailers make such deals easy to find. Many stores have these products stashed to the side or the store or behind the customer service desk, he says.

Online, manufacturers often sell such items in a separate section or site, requiring consumers to sleuth to find them. Kodak, for example, has a link to its outlet section under the "see more" tab on its store home page. The rest of the tabs send consumers directly to shop digital cameras, all-in-one printers, digital video cameras and other products. A spokesman for Kodak says the site is structured to appeal to their typical shopper. "Customers in general are not really coming to the manufacturer direct for those [refurbished items]," he says.

Buying someone else's return does have risks, experts say: Some are final sale and many may have a more limited warranty. "You can't assume the store has taken the time to test and evaluate to see if there were issues," says Dworsky. Stores aren't always up-front about which items have been returned, either, says Morran. "We've had a number of people that have gotten 'new' things that were obviously used," he says. Avoid items that look like they have been opened, but aren't marketed and priced -- as such.

10. "Our pricing is dynamic."

Now you see it, now you don't. "Occasionally on shopping robot sites, you'll see a very low price, but when you click through all of a sudden it's not that price at the online store," Dworsky says. That might be because the site shifts pricing based on demand, he says. One post on a deal forum like FatWallet.com or Slickdeals.com can generate enough traffic to make a change.

Price studies from deal site Extrabux.com found that sites often lower prices on peak-traffic days to better compete. Cameras, computers and TVs, it said, run 2% to 4% cheaper on Mondays than other days of the week. The CEA's DuBravak says it's common for retailers to have a particular allotment of inventory for a sale, and move to a higher price once that has sold out. "Online, because it's relatively easier to change prices both up and down, they'll really do a lot of that to drive traffic," he says.

To make sense of every changing pricing, Dworsky suggests using a price comparison engine that breaks out additional costs for shipping and taxes, which can skew results. Gadget-focused PriceSpider.com, for example, breaks out costs, validates that its prices are the same ones currently on retailers' sites and notes how a retailer's offer has changed over recent weeks. It's also smart to watch sale wording. If there's no end date listed, for example, assume the sale could end at any time even if there's still stock available.

Courtesy of WSJ

YouTube Hits 4 Billion Daily Video Views.

2012-01-24T09:51:00.000+08:00

YouTube, Google Inc's video website, is streaming 4 billion online videos every day, a 25 per cent increase in the past eight months, according to the company.

The jump in video views comes as Google pushes YouTube beyond the personal computer, with versions of the site that work on smartphones and televisions, and as the company steps up efforts to offer more professional-grade content on the site.

According to the company, roughly 60 hours of video is now uploaded to YouTube every minute, compared with the 48 hours of video uploaded per minute in May.

YouTube, which Google acquired for US$1.65 billion (RM5.13 billion) in 2006, represents one of Google's key opportunities to generate new sources of revenue outside its traditional Internet search advertising business.

Last week, Google said that its business running graphical "display" ads - many of which are integrated alongside YouTube videos - was generating US$5 billion (RM15.5 billion) in revenue on an annualised run rate basis.

Still, most of the 4 billion videos that YouTube now streams worldwide every day do not make money. Three billion YouTube videos a week are monetised, according to the company.

YouTube recently redesigned its website to more prominently showcase specialised "channels" organised around different types of content. In October, YouTube announced that it had struck 100 original video programming deals with media partners including Madonna and Jay-Z.

Courtesy of Reuters

10 New Inappropriate Test Answers From Young Children.

2012-01-23T12:07:00.000+08:00

Courtesy of HappyPlace

Malaysian World’s First Trillionaire?

2012-01-22T17:28:00.000+08:00

A Malaysian businessman who claims descent from Javanese royalty has alleged that he has some €5 trillion (RM20 trillion) in savings, which would make him the world’s first trillionaire and the world’s richest man by far.

Perak-born Kamal Ashnawi, who heads Sierra Petroleum Sdn Bhd, disclosed this at a press conference here yesterday where he showed reporters a copy of a bank statement from HSBC London, Utusan Malaysia reported today.

The riches were inherited from the Combined International Collateral of the Global Debt Facility set up in 1875 by the world’s royal families, he claimed.

Forbes magazine lists Mexican telco tycoon Carlos Slim Helú as the world’s richest man, with an estimated net worth of US$63.3 billion (RM196.5 billion) in 2011.

Coming in a close second on the rich list is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose net worth is reported to be US$59 billion (RM182.3 billion).

In comparison, Malaysia’s richest man, Ananda Krishnan, has a net worth of only US$9.6 billion (RM29.8 billion).

Kamal had called the press conference to refute allegations following the failure of a crude oil processing plant in Kuala Kedah he had proposed in 2005, the Malay-language daily reported.

“This is my last offer to help Malays and companies by investing in three projects in Perlis, Johor and Kelantan in the near future,” he was quoted as saying.

The projects comprise a commercial tourism centre in Kuala Perlis, a Pirates of the Caribbean theme park in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru and a commerical project in Kelantan.

They will be spearheaded by SAS Group, a group of alumni from Sekolah Alam Shah, where Kamal had gone to school.

Since the failure of the proposed Kuala Kedah plant, Kamal has spent much of his time overseas. He said yesterday he intends to reside in Hong Kong for a few years starting in March before moving to Indonesia.

Courtesy of The Malaysian Insider

Cowardice At Sea Is No Crime - At Least In The U.S.

2012-01-21T11:29:00.000+08:00

When Captain Francesco Schettino hopped a life boat after the Costa Concordia hit a rock off the Tuscany coast, he violated a sacred maritime tradition: that a captain should be the last to leave his ship.

He also is accused of violating the law. Italian maritime code criminalizes the act of abandoning ship and Schettino was placed under house arrest, accused of causing the disaster and then jumping ship before the evacuation was complete.

Countries have adopted different maritime codes over the centuries and the responsibilities of a captain can be traced to a 12th century French document called the Rolls of Oleron, which established the first known outlines of maritime law.

The sailor's code that's developed from the rolls - or rules - has been celebrated in everything from Conrad's Lord Jim, about a young seaman who abandons a ship in distress, to the 1960s U.S. television show Gilligan's Island theme song, with the lyric, "If not for the courage of the fearless crew, The Minnow would be lost!"

In the United States, the rule that a captain should be the last to leave a distressed ship is not a criminal offense. The Westlaw online legal research service shows the phrase "abandon ship" turned up 618 decisions but none addressed a captain's decision to leave a ship before his passengers.

The closest U.S. law that appears to take on the act of leaving a ship before passengers and crew is seaman's manslaughter, which criminalizes a captain's misconduct or negligence that result in deaths. A version of the statute was used to convict a seaman in the 19th century who abandoned 31 passengers aboard a sinking ship on its way to Philadelphia from Liverpool.

But the seaman' manslaughter has rarely been invoked in recent years -- cited in just 22 court decisions since 1976, none of which involved accusations against a captain leaving a ship prematurely, according to Westlaw.

The issue of abandoning ship has been discussed widely since the Costa Concordia's crash last week. According to the Italian Coast Guard, Schettino not only jumped into a lifeboat before there had been an accounting of the more than 4,000 passengers and crew, he also refused a coast guard's plea to return.

Schettino, who was arrested a day after the boat capsized, has denied accusations that he acted cowardly. He says he fell into the lifeboat while helping other passengers, according to a report in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

THE SAILOR'S HONOR CODE

In Italy, a commander who leaves before his passengers can be sent to jail for up to two years. If he jumps ship and people die, he can be sentenced to eight years in jail.

"It's based on the sailor's honor code," said Luca C.M. Melchionna, a professor at St. John's University School of Law in New York.

The concept that a ship's master has specific duties was popularized in Britain by Eleanor of Acquitaine around 1160, after she had become the Queen of England. Based on the Rolls of Oleron, the rules mostly addressed commercial concerns like the condition of cargo.

Over time, different countries adopted aspects of the Rolls for their admiralty law. After the sinking of Titanic in 1912, several nations signed the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, which addressed safety requirements for ships such as the number of lifeboats needed. The treaty requires that the master of a ship at sea "proceed with all speed" to help any person in distress, if possible. It doesn't mention when it's acceptable for a captain to leave a ship in danger.

"There is no basis in international law for the notion that the captain goes down with the ship, or that he is the last to leave the ship," said Vice Admiral Sir Alan Massey, chief executive of the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency and a former senior officer in the Royal Navy.

It has been up to individual countries to enact their own criminal maritime laws. In the U.S., for example, the seaman's manslaughter statute was passed in the mid-19th century after several fatal steamboat accidents.

There's no shortage of inspiring tales of seamen following the honor code. William Lewis Herndon, commander of the commercial mail steamer Central America in the 19th century, got women and children safely off the sinking ship, and stayed behind and drowned with more than 400 passengers and crew who couldn't escape. Though historical accounts differ on the death of Edward John Smith, the captain of the Titanic, in the 1997 movie he's shown stoically gripping the ship's wheel before water gushes into the bridge and kills him.

Of course, not every seafaring figure with a story was a hero. A yarn that has haunted mariners for years comes from Conrad's Lord Jim, who fantasized about being a hero if an emergency ever arose at sea, said Craig Allen, Sr., a visiting professor of maritime studies at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

"When the emergency really did arise he proved to be a coward instead," he said.

Courtesy of Reuters

Megaupload Website Charged With Piracy.

2012-01-21T11:22:00.000+08:00

Federal authorities have charged the owners and operators of the video locker service Megaupload with operating a criminal enterprise that distributes pirated material, the US Justice Department announced.

Although the sites they operate advertised that they provide personal storage for users' content, the indictment claims they actually trafficked in hosting television shows and movies - often offering them to users before their official release.

"Members of the Mega Conspiracy are aware of the way that their sites are actually used by others; have themselves used the systems to upload, as well as reproduce and distribute, infringing copies of copyrighted content; and are aware that they have financially benefited directly from the infringement of copyrighted works that they are in a position to control," the indictment reads.

Kasseem Dean, best known as music producer "Swizz Beatz" and as the husband of Alicia Keys, is not named in the indictment, even though he reportedly serves as Megaupload's chief executive officer.

Megaupload and its sister sites accept online advertising and generate more than US$175mil (RM525mil) annually, according to a US Justice Department indictment.

The copyright violations are on the order of US$500mil (RM1.5bil) in damages, according to the indictment.

The owners and operators of the sites are charged with five counts of copyright infringement and conspiracy. In an announcement, the Justice Department said it ranks "among the largest criminal copyright cases."

It also comes as two bills that would give the Justice Department broader authority to crack down on internet piracy have been hobbled by protests from companies such as Google and Twitter. Tech companies claim the legislation would violate the First Amendment.

Ira Rothken, an attorney for Megaupload, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Megaupload owners each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the charge of conspiracy to commit racketeering, five years in prison on the charge of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, 20 years in prison on the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering and five years in prison on each of the substantive charges of criminal copyright infringement.

The indictment alleges that the criminal enterprise is led by the site's founder Kim Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, residents of both Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Also charged are the company's chief marketing officer Finn Batato, a German citizen; graphic designer Julius Bencko, a Slovakian citizen; business development chief Sven Echternach, a German citizen; chief technical officer Mathias Ortmann, a German citizen; software programmer Andrus Nomm, an Estonian citizen; and programmer Bram van der Kolk, aka Bramos, a Dutch citizen.

Dotcom, Batato, Ortmann and Van der Kolk were arrested on Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand, by local authorities. Bencko, Echternach and Nomm remain at large.

Courtesy of Reuters

Anonymous Downs Government, Music Industry Sites In Largest Attack Ever.

2012-01-20T14:28:00.000+08:00

Hacktivists with the collective Anonymous are waging an attack on the website for the White House after successfully breaking the sites for the FBI, Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America.

In response to today’s federal raid on the file sharing service Megaupload, hackers with the online collective Anonymous have broken the websites for the FBI, Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA, Motion Picture Association of America and Warner Music Group.

“It was in retaliation for Megaupload, as was the concurrent attack on Justice.org,” Anonymous operative Barrett Brown tells RT on Thursday afternoon.

Only hours before the DoJ and Universal sites went down, news broke that Megaupload, a massive file sharing site with a reported 50 million daily users, was taken down by federal agents. Four people linked to Megaupload were arrested in New Zealand and an international crackdown led agents to serving at least 20 search warrants across the globe.

The latest of sites to fall is FBI.gov, which finally broke at around 7:40 pm EST Thursday evening.

Less than an hour after the DoJ and Universal sites came down, the website for the RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, went offline as well. Shortly before 6 p.m EST, the government's Copyright.gov site went down as well. Thirty minutes later came the site for BMI, or Broadcast Music, Inc, the licensing organization that represents some of the biggest names in music.

Also on Thursday, MPAA.org returned an error as Anonymous hacktivists managed to bring down the website for the Motion Picture Association of America. The group, headed by former senator Chris Dodd, is an adamant supporter of both PIPA and SOPA legislation.

Universal Music Group, or UMG, is the largest record company in the United States and under its umbrella are the labels Interscope-Geffen-A&M, the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group and Mercury Records.

Brown adds that “more is coming” and Anonymous-aligned hacktivists are pursuing a joint effort with others to “damage campaign raising abilities of remaining Democrats who support SOPA.”

Although many members of Congress have just this week changed their stance on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, the raid on Megaupload Thursday proved that the feds don’t need SOPA or its sister legislation, PIPA, in order to pose a threat to the Web.

Brown adds that operatives involved in the project will use an “experimental campaign” and search engine optimization techniques “whereby to forever saddle some of these congressmen with their record on this issue.”

Courtesy of RT

Aussie Watchdog Sues AirAsia Over Hidden Fees.

2012-01-19T16:59:00.000+08:00

Budget carrier AirAsia is being sued by a consumer watchdog in Australia for allegedly failing to disclose the full price of fares for flights from Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported today that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken legal action against the airline the same day its executives were launching fares as low as A$99 (RM319) for one-way flights on its new route from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur.

The regulator began legal proceedings in Melbourne seeking both penalties and orders for AirAsia to issue corrective notices on its web site, according to the newspaper.

“In documents filed in the Federal Court on Tuesday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission claims that fares sold on the airline’s website disclosed only part of the total price for flights from Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Perth to destinations in Asia, Europe and India because they excluded taxes, fees and other charges. The regulator wants the court to order the airline to publish on its website a notice stating that it failed to ‘specify, in a prominent way, the single price for air travel on its website … since at least September’,” the English-language daily reported.

AirAsia X, the long-haul offshoot of AirAsia, said on Tuesday it will start flying daily services to Sydney from Kuala Lumpur, barely a week after announcing a suspension of flights to Paris and London.

The airline said it would start its Sydney services from April 1 — its fourth Australian destination after Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth.

AirAsia X has been pushing to fly into Sydney for four years.

The announcement came a week after it cited global economic uncertainty, soaring taxes and higher jet fuel prices for a decision to cut Europe flights and routes to India.

New South Wales Tourism Minister George Souris had said the new service would bring around 55,000 more international visitors to the state each year.

SMH reported that the ACCC has shown a “growing willingness” to take action against airlines for running foul of consumer laws.

Last year it said ACCC pursued Singapore-based budget airline Tiger Airways for selling tickets after the air-safety regulator had grounded its fleet of aircraft in July due to safety concerns.

The regulator also took Qantas to task for the amount of compensation it offered passengers disrupted by its decision to ground its entire fleet on October 29.

Courtesy of The Malaysian Insider

Los Angeles Mandates Porn Stars Wear Condoms.

2012-01-18T15:25:00.000+08:00

Porn stars in Los Angeles will be legally required to wear condoms during film shoots after the city council voted on Tuesday to mandate their use, despite a threat by skin flick producers to leave town over the requirement.

The move comes amid persistent questions about how to enforce the health measure, which backers say will protect performers in the multibillion-dollar porn industry from contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Producers complain the sight of a condom in a sex scene turns off consumers of their videos.

The Los Angeles City Council voted 9-1 on Tuesday to give final approval to the measure, proposed after the AIDS Healthcare Foundation qualified an initiative for the ballot that would have asked voters in June to mandate condoms at porn shoots as a condition of obtaining film permits.

The city would have had to spend over $4 million to hold the election, and city officials said a decision to simply adopt the condom requirement allowed them to dodge that costly poll.

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, who brought the measure, said he expected residents at the ballot box would have overwhelmingly approved the condom requirement, so it was a "no-brainer" to adopt it now.

"For us right now, our only real policy issue is do we spend $4 million and have this become law? Or do we not spend $4 million and have this become law?" Koretz said.

The council gave preliminary approval to the measure last week, and its passage made the city the first in the nation to impose such a requirement. Most of the U.S. porn industry is based in Los Angeles.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) already requires porn performers to wear barriers, such as condoms, when they are in contact with bodily fluids.

But enforcement has been a challenge for the state. For one, the Cal-OSHA requirement is not specifically aimed at adult films, and it is openly violated within the industry, said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare. He has clashed with porn producers for years over the issue.

"I don't know of any other industry where people go out in public and say they're not going to follow the law," Weinstein, whose group provides care to AIDS patients, said last week.

'FILM RECORD'

The language of the newly adopted condom measure does not state how it will be enforced. But Koretz said that violations would be "awful tough to hide" because they would be caught on camera.

He said that was especially true for large production companies based in porn hub the San Fernando Valley, which is part of the city. But he said some smaller companies, which are less likely to get film permits, were more difficult to track.

"If you're hiding in the weeds, that will continue to be the case," he said.

Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A., a nonprofit hired by the city to oversee television and film productions, said his office normally has Los Angeles police handle enforcement when problems arise with permitted shoots.

But Audley said last week that he told city leaders he believes workers with health licenses would be best able to make sure adult film performers use condoms. He said his office and representatives from Cal-OSHA would soon meet to discuss how the new city mandate should be enforced.

FilmL.A. hands out under 500 permits a year for adult movie shoots, Audley said. But some estimates put the number of adult films shot in the Los Angeles region at 50,000 a year, he said.

Now that it has succeeded in having the City Council adopt the condom measure, AIDS Healthcare is widening its campaign by pushing for a November ballot initiative that would force porn producers to obtain a public health permit from Los Angeles County officials. The permit is similar to what barber shops must receive, said Ged Kenslea, a spokesman for AIDS Healthcare.

If that county measure passes, it would stop producers within Los Angeles city limits from moving shop to neighboring communities to avoid using condoms, Weinstein said.

Porn producers have been critical of the condom mandate.

Steven Hirsch, the co-chairman and founder of adult film company Vivid Entertainment, said last week his company has a "condom-optional" policy and leaves it up to performers.

While over 80 percent of the U.S. porn industry is based in Los Angeles, where performers are regularly tested for sexually transmitted diseases, productions could move to other states or countries due to the condom mandate, he said.

Courtesy of Reuters

5 Reasons You Should Not Share Your Relationships Or Romance On Facebook.

2012-01-17T16:21:00.000+08:00

"Guess she's better than me. ... plus my cat just died and I'm eating dinner alone, again. FML."

You've seen these status messages before and you think one thing: "Ugh. Too much information."

Please remember, social media is not a diary.

We concede, the rise of social media in our lives in recent years has brought about plenty of good. You can congratulate distant friends on their life accomplishments and milestones in seconds. You can't knock that. But social media has also brought about a swell of oversharing or what we like to call "bleeding on Twitter (or Facebook)". Unless you've spent the last five years avoiding the Internet, you know what we're saying.

You see the status messages every day, the passive-aggressive updates that no one is supposed to understand but everyone does to some degree because the three before supply you with viable context clues.

Hell, most of us are guilty of this to some degree. It's easy to forget that the thoughts you share on a social network are available to hundreds of your "friends" or followers to dissect. It's a lot easier to type our feelings than verbalize them.

But here's the best advice we can possibly give in relation to social networks and dating: Anytime you want to overshare in regard to your dating life, pretend that you have three "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" lifelines. It's best that you phone a friend. The 50/50 might get you out of trouble, but avoid it, too. Never ask the audience.

Nothing good can come of it. And you know what? Your friends don't want to hear it. It's uncomfortable. Here are five sample statutes you should not share on Facebook in relation to your relationships, romantic or otherwise:

1. "Just went from 'divorced' to 'single.' Guess I wasn't the best husband. Hope to learn from my mistakes."

What are you thinking about? This is not the type of thing you announce on social media. What are we supposed to say? Are we supposed to "like" this? What comments are you looking for? We hope you remember that all your friends/followers - including co-workers - will be gossiping about you immediately. Maybe even approaching you to see if you're OK. You're purposely begging for attention, aren't you?

2. "Not sure why we stopping being close. Missing you and crying."

Pathetic. If you really want to get your message across to one person (and you really shouldn't have to beg), just send a text or call them.

3. "Cheaters never win. That's why I just smashed his flat screen."

Psycho! The first thing everyone will think: Sorry you got cheated on, but the fallout is between you and your significant other.

4. "Wife and I just had a fight about her communicating with her college boyfriend. I say it's not cool. Am I right?"

Discussing your relationship issues with your most trusted confidants is OK. But I doubt you have hundreds of confidants. If you're having issues and you need to vent, talk to a good friend. But keep the details away from the masses.

5. 'In a relationship.' 'Single.' 'In an open relationship.'

If you're changing you relationship status every other week, it says something about you. You're probably unstable, or at least that's what most of your Facebook friends think. Unless you're engaged, it would probably be best to just leave it off.

Private things should stay private. Get a journal, call a friend or go to therapy, but please stay away from the Internet. Your social network will thank you.

Courtesy of CloveTwo

Hitler's "Mein Kampf" Coming Back To German Shops.

2012-01-17T15:51:00.000+08:00

Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," banned from German bookstores, will soon be available from newspaper kiosks after a British publisher said he would print excerpts from the text in Germany.

But the state of Bavaria, which owns the copyrights to the Nazi vision of Aryan racial supremacy, said it was considering legal steps to block publication.

Reprinting the Nazi dictator's autobiography, which outlines his ambitions to seize vast areas of land in eastern Europe to provide living space for the so-called master race, is outlawed in Germany except for academic study.

The first of three 16-page extracts from the book, accompanied by a critical commentary, will be published later this month with a print run of 100,000 each, Peter McGee, head of London-based publishing firm Albertas Ltd told Reuters.

"It is a sensitive subject in Germany but the incredible thing is most Germans don't have access to 'Mein Kampf' because it has this taboo, this 'black magic' surrounding it," he said.

"We want 'Mein Kampf' to be accessible so people can see it for what it is, and then discard it. Once exposed, it can be consigned to the dustbin of literature," he said.

The excerpts will be distributed as a supplement to the company's existing weekly publication, a controversial series called "Zeitungszeugen," or "Newspaper Witnesses," which reprints pages of Nazi newspapers from the 1920s and 1930s, along with a commentary.

The latest edition of the series, which was released last week, has so far sold 250,000 copies, according to McGee.

But the Bavarian state finance ministry in southern Germany, which holds the copyrights, said on Monday the magazine supplement would breach copyright law.

"The Bavarian finance ministry is currently considering legal steps against this publication," a spokesman for the ministry said in a statement.

However, McGee defended the supplement and said his company was acting completely within the laws of copyright.

The distribution of Nazi ideology for non-educational purposes has been forbidden in Germany since the end of World War Two. Swastikas and the stiff-armed Nazi salute are also outlawed.

Courtesy of Reuters

Adult-Infant Bed Sharing Increases Risk Of Infant Suffocation: Australian Expert.

2012-01-16T15:07:00.001+08:00

Parents should be aware that sharing a bed with their baby increases the risk of infant suffocation, an Australian expert warned on Monday.

In an editorial published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA), Australian forensic pathologist Roger Byard at the University of Adelaide said research has confirmed infants sleeping in the same bed as their parents face an increased risk of accidental suffocation.

It has been reported that 50 percent or more of all infants found unexpectedly dead are sleeping beside an adult at the time, he said, indicating they may have died from suffocation and not sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

"Accidental suffocation appears to be a more likely mechanism of death than subtle processes leading to SIDS," Byard said.

Byard said parents needed to be better educated about risk factors for accidental asphyxiation in shared-sleeping arrangements.

"It is generally agreed that in Western cultures, the safest place for an infant is in a cot that meets recommended safety features and is positioned beside the caregiver's bed," Byard said.

Courtesy of Xinhua

Your Smartphone May Be Stressing You Out.

2012-01-15T09:49:00.000+08:00

Compulsively checking your smartphone may not actually be that smart, British researchers warn.

The cautionary observation stems from a new study that finds an association between the increasingly popular use of Web-enabled cellphones and a rise in stress levels.

The reason: a relentless need to immediately review and respond to each and every incoming message, alert or bing.

Surprisingly, however, investigators did not link stress to the professional use of smartphones for work purposes. Rather, it’s the personal use of such devices, to keep tabs on friendships and social networking “news,” that is the culprit.

“Smartphones are being used more and more to help people cope with different aspects of their life,” said study author Richard Balding, a psychologist in the department of psychology at the University of Worcester, in England. “But the more they’re being used the more we’re actually becoming a bit dependent upon them, and actually courting stress instead of relieving it.”

Balding and his colleagues are slated to present their findings Thursday at a meeting of the British Psychological Society in Chester, England.

To explore how the use of iPhones, Androids, Blackberries and other similar hand-held devices may elevate stress, Balding and his team conducted psychometric stress tests among more than 100 participants, including university students, retail workers and public-sector employees.

All were also asked to complete a survey regarding their phone use.

The authors found that people typically first acquire such phones to better manage their work obligations. In turn, however, they noted that users eventually end up sliding into more personal smartphone interactions, eschewing work-related usage in favor of wanting to maintain control of one’s virtual social network.

As this pattern of use takes flight so does stress, the researchers observed. And, in that regard, more is definitely more: The more often someone checks a phone for personal reasons the more stress rises.

In extreme cases, the pressure to keep in touch can become extreme, such that the most stressed users actually perceive incoming alerts (via, for example, phone vibrations) that never really happen.

“Now, certainly it’s good to keep connected,” Balding acknowledged. “But everyone needs a break. Some time on your own. Otherwise there’s a risk that the stress and tension that builds up from keeping engaged can end up having a negative impact on relationships.”

Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, said that while the observations struck her as “reasonable,” more work is needed to establish a true cause-and-effect.

“It could be that people who are already more stressed out and neurotic are more likely to check their phones compulsively in the first place, that people who have high stress levels to begin with are the ones who need to have their phones on all the time,” she said. “So we need to see what’s actually causing what.”

“Of course, there’s lots of research that shows that truly living in the moment makes people happier,” Lyubomirsky noted. “And clearly we’re less likely to savor the moment if we’re checking the phone. But at the same time, it’s not always a bad thing. It saves me time. It makes being in touch so much easier, and enables multitasking. There are plenty of people who can gain pleasure out of sending a thank-you email to someone or surfing the Web for information. So it’s how you use the phone that matters, not the phone itself.”

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Courtesy of Hispanically Speaking News

Tiny Frog Claimed As World's Smallest Vertebrate.

2012-01-14T22:43:00.000+08:00

A frog that can perch on the tip of your pinkie with room to spare has been claimed as the world's smallest vertebrate species, out-tinying a fish that got the title in 2006. But the discoverer of another weensy fish disputes the claim.

A tempest in a thimble, some might say.

An article Wednesday in the journal PLoS One named Paedophryne amauensis as the world's smallest animal with a spine.

The adult frogs are about three-tenths of an inch long, and a millimeter or so smaller than a carp found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The frogs are so small that Louisiana State University herpetologist and environmental biologist Christopher Austin had to enlarge close-up photos to describe them.

But the males of a species of deep-sea anglerfish are about 2 mm smaller, said University of Washington ichthyologist Theodore Pietsch, who described them in 2006. The males don't have stomachs and live as parasites on 1.8-inch (4.57-centimeter)-long females.

Austin discovered the tiny frogs — along with another small frog species — in August 2009 while on a trip to Papua New Guinea to study the extreme diversity of the island's wildlife. He said he knew about the anglerfish but felt that average species size made more sense for comparison.

Steven J. Beaupre, a University of Arkansas scientist and president-elect of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, said many vertebrates have males and females of very different sizes, "so it is reasonable that the world's smallest vertebrate may end up being either the males or the females of some specific fish or amphibian species."

Courtesy of The Korea Herald

Penis Calendar Launched.

2012-01-13T14:25:00.001+08:00

Italian shock photographer Oliviero Toscani has done it again -- this time with a calendar featuring 12 penis close-ups in an ad for a group of companies that make naturally-tanned leather.

The flamboyant photographer launched the calendar at an event in Florence also attended by famously well-endowed Italian porn star Rocco Siffredi, who said that people should "de-dramatise" sex and put an end to "bigotry".

Toscani last year focused on women's genitalia for a calendar for the same Vera Pelle consortium, which brought censure from Italy's advertising watchdog.

Feminists argued that the graphic images offended female dignity.

One woman at Thursday's launch said: "I think there's some kind of justice and equality here! Last year it was women, this year it's men."

Philippe Daverio, an art critic, said: "Naked women are tolerated in calendars but unfortunately men aren't. We are here to defend men's rights."

Toscani is best known for his controversial ad campaigns for the Italian clothes maker Benetton, which itself courted controversy last year with a series of photo montages of rival world leaders kissing each other.

His photographs of a man dying of AIDS in 1992 sparked controversy, as did a campaign based on photos of death row inmates in the United States in 2000.

Several publicity schemes using his photographs have been banned in Italy, including an ad for a clothing brand in 2005 featuring two men groping on a sofa which caused outraged in the largely Catholic country.

In 2007, Toscani photographed the emaciated French model Isabelle Caro in the nude for a campaign against anorexia which at the time he said was intended to raise questions about fashion world stereotypes.

Courtesy of AFP

These Photos Are Worth More Than A Thousand Words.

2012-01-12T14:51:00.005+08:00

Courtesy of Imgur

Little Girl Shows Remarkable Poise In Stare-Down With African Lion.

2012-01-11T14:37:00.001+08:00

Sofia Walker may be the bravest little girl ever to have visited the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand, but the 3-year-old's recent stare-down with a large African lion was undoubtedly unnerving to her mother, who was watching from nearby. To be sure, not many adults could maintain this kind of poise with the King of Beasts a mere inches away, face to face, pawing at the glass in flurries. Sofia had climbed onto a small platform in front of where the lion was beginning to feed. "He walked up to the glass and this is the surprise reaction," said her father, Julian. "This went on for five minutes and I'm very proud of my daughter." Would you be this brave?

Courtesy of GrindTV

A Changing Malaysia - Acquitting Anwar Clears The Way For Reform Of UMNO And The Country.

2012-01-10T15:41:00.000+08:00

With Monday's verdict of not guilty, the ugly saga known in Malaysia simply as Sodomy II is over. This is good news for the defendant, one-time Deputy Prime Minister and current opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. It is also good news for Malaysia and its prospects for becoming a more mature, resilient democracy.

The verdict strikes a blow for judicial independence that we hope can be built upon. The consequences of a guilty verdict would surely have been domestic polarization and foreign outrage. The acquittal means that the government will have to face the charismatic Mr. Anwar on the stump, but that is preferable to facing him as an imprisoned martyr.

The 2008 election marked the emergence of an urban middle class that no longer votes thoroughly along ethnic lines. Malaysia has been urbanizing rapidly, meaning that the ruling United Malays National Organization can no longer rely on the Malay kampung vote to retain power. Younger and better educated voters are turned off by racial chauvinism and political dirty tricks of the type represented by Sodomy II.

The Chinese and Indian vote is also crucial to the ruling coalition's survival. In the 1980s and 1990s, then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was able to preserve his two-thirds majority in parliament largely because the allied ethnic parties picked up seats in their communities, even as Malay support for UMNO ebbed. Now minority voters feel freer to vote for the opposition, meaning UMNO must woo them.

One reason Malaysia's minorities are attracted to the opposition is the reform of PAS, the Islamist party. It has purged more radical voices and developed a cadre of capable leaders, while proving its governing ability in states under its control.

If it is to stay in power, UMNO must now follow suit and rid itself of its old guard, who depend on Malaysia's system of racial preferences to get rich and grease their patronage networks. Prime Minister Najib Razak faces the difficult job of reforming UMNO before he can reform Malaysia.

To do that, Mr. Najib must first win his own mandate at the polls, and his biggest obstacle is that famous cynicism. After his reformist promises over the last three years translated into little action, many Malaysians who would like to support him as the best hope for reforming the country without the risk of race riots are having second thoughts.

In that sense, the Anwar verdict may help the ruling party. As the government said yesterday in a statement on the verdict, "The current wave of bold democratic reforms introduced by Prime Minister Najib Razak will help extend this transparency to all areas of Malaysian life." It tells voters that things can change in Mr. Najib's Malaysia. And whether or not they reward him with victory or elect the opposition, it is certainly true that changes are coming.

Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal