Australian Labor powerbrokers acted corruptly: inquiry

Criminal charges were Wednesday recommended against two former high-profile Australian Labor ministers over corruption allegations following an explosive inquiry that gripped Sydney for months.The Independent Commission Against Corruption found that ...

The damning findings could rub off on the party's image nationally, with Labor already facing a tough fight against a Tony Abbott-led conservative coalition in elections later this year."Today is a black day in the history of the Labor party," Abbott told reporters, noting that current Foreign Minister Bob Carr elevated Obeid to his ministry when he was NSW state premier in the 1990s.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130731-australian-labor-powerbrokers-acted-corruptly-inquiry

122 Record Cold Temps in the U.S. in one week

July in the USA ends on a frigid note as record cold outpaces warmth nearly 10 to 1

Record Cold Temps, 173 Record Warm temps.

http://www.climatedepot.com/2013/07/30/1122-record-cold-temps-in-the-u-s-in-one-week/

First Gay Divorce Finalized in Colorado

Colorado's first recognized same-sex divorce is final.

Supporters of Colorado's new civil unions law say the court ruling sets a precedent for gay couples married in other states who want to legally terminate their relationships here without uprooting their lives.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22966251/first-gay-divorce-finalized-in-colorado

WOULD YOU LET THE VEEBOT ROBOT TAKE YOUR BLOOD?

Veebot is a particularly gory robot. He takes your blood--not like a circuit-board Nosferatu might--instead, Veebot's Mountain View-based creators are hoping he might head up the next generation ofphlebotomists. The machine currently has an 83% accuracy rate and has to get to 90% before undergoing clinical trials, but as the firm points out, between a quarter and one-fifth of all blood tests fail at the first attempt, so Veebot is doing better than the average. Eww. http://m.fastcompany.com/3015013/fast-feed/would-you-let-the-veebot-robot-take-your-blood

US News: #Obama: Top Tax Rate Should Be 28% for Corporations... 40% for Small Business!

The New York Times reports that President Obama is reviving an old proposal to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent (and 25 percent for manufacturers). Obama's push to lower the corporate tax rate to 28 percent comes less than a year after he raised the top individual income tax rate, paid by many small businesses, to 39.6 percent.

Obama did not explain why he thinks it's a sound economic idea to raise the top marginal tax rate on small businesses but lower it for corporations.

http://m.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-top-tax-rate-should-be-28-corporations-40-small-business_742312.html

China is preparing for 'people's war' in cyber space...

China’s military is preparing for war in cyberspace involving space attacks on satellites and the use of both military and civilian personnel for a digital “people’s war,” according to an internal Chinese defense report.

“As cyber technology continues to develop, cyber warfare has quietly begun,” the report concludes, noting that the ability to wage cyber war in space is vital for China’s military modernization.

http://freebeacon.com/china-military-preparing-for-peoples-war-in-cyberspace-space/

Sydney concert review: is Pink trying too hard?

Pink needs a parachute. Surely that's the only way she could top her energetic opening sequence to her song Raise Your Glass which included a trapdoor, bungy cords and the singer hanging off an apparatus with some half-naked men. (For her next concert she's going to have to parachute in, I thought, a little too smugly).

http://m.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/pink-sydney-concert-proves-to-be-a-balancing-act-20130731-2qxuw.html

How Google Is Quietly Taking Over..

Earlier this month, Google announced disappointing earnings, and its stock immediately dropped 5% (Disclosure: I own Google stock through a fund).  Most disturbingly, the company’s core revenue driver, the revenue it gets for each click on an ad, decreased 6% while traffic acquisition costs increased. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/07/30/how-google-is-quietly-taking-over/

Want to live to 100? Here's what you have to do - Eat Bacon, Bannanas And Read The Bible...

Excerpt -- Pearl Cantrell, who's 105, swears by bacon .The Texan, who is still going strong, eats the processed meat daily and says it has enabled her to stay fit and healthy long into her old age.

She says that others should do the same if they want to live to be as old as her."I love bacon. I could eat it for every meal - and I do. I want other people to eat bacon and I tell them to."

Queenslander Miriam Schmierer , who lived to 110, told The Courier Mail her secret to a long life was a diet of parsley tea and dedicated reading of The Bible.

More》http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/want-to-live-to-100-here8217s-what-you-have-to-do/story-fni0dguz-1226687477274

Why evening exercise might be better for you

Previous work from China's Nanjing Medical University suggests that exercise later in the day has more benefits for health, particularly cholesterol.

The reasons are unclear why its better to have your work out later in the day than morning, but may be linked to changes in metabolism throughout the day.

The same team are now conducting a larger trial of 300 people - half of whom will walk in the morning and half later in the day.

http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/why-evening-exercise-might-be-better-for-you/story-fni0dgzm-1226688234028

#Palestinian Leader's Final Resolution: 'Not a Single #Israeli on Our Lands'

Palestinians and Israelis are meeting in Washington to talk about a peace plan with Secretary of State John Kerry. But the Palestinians leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is in Egypt where he's revealed his thinking on the issue.“In a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli — civilian or soldier — on our lands,” said Abbas, after meeting with an Egyptian leader

http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-says-there-will-be-no-israelis-in-palestine/

APPLE's new iPhone 'has fingerprint sensor'...

If the rumours are true, the latest iPhone will be the first Apple product to feature such a sensor, which could be used for unlocking the homescreen or confirming identity for payment from the App Store or other outlets. Any sensor would likely be embedded into the physical home button.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/10210480/Apples-new-iPhone-has-fingerprint-sensor.html

Sorry, iPad Mini fans - reviewers say the Nexus 7 is better

As soon as Google announced its new Nexus 7 small tablet on July 24, the natural question emerged: How does it stack up against the Apple‘s industry-leading iPad mini?The answer, according to anumber of reviewers: Pretty darn well.

In fact, several reviewers place the Nexus 7ahead of the iPad mini, and at least one recommends it over the iPad mini thanks to a combination of features that beat its rivals’

http://bit.ly/11rikDJ

Night owls are more 'self-involved, deceitful and psychopathic' than early morning risers

Would you class yourself as a night owl or more of a morning person? Be careful how you answer because it could give clues to your personality traits. Australian researchers have discovered that a preference for staying up late or into the early hours has a direct link to anti-social behaviour and so-called Dark Triad traits. 

The Dark Triad traits consist of narcissistic and selfish actions, cunning or deceitful Machiavellian behaviour and psychopathic tendencies.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2381221/Night-owls-self-involved-deceitful-psychopathic-early-morning-risers.html

Two Australian monks accused of sex abuse at Scottish Catholic boarding school

An investigation is underway into a retired Australian priest who is alleged to have sexually abused a student at a Scottish Catholic boarding school.

Father Denis Alexander has been identified in a BBC documentary as one of two Australian monks who allegedly abused pupils at Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands.The Catholic Church in Australia has confirmed a police investigation into the former priest, who is now living in Sydney, is underway.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-30/australian-monks-accused-of-abuse-at-scottish-boarding-school/4851966

Michael Hastings: New Surveillance Video Shows Fiery Crash

Hastings, the Polk Award-winning author of The Operators, was killed when his Mercedes crashed into a palm tree on Highland, just south of Melrose, at about 4:15 a.m. He was 33.

The L.A. County coroner's office has delayed a final ruling on the death, pending toxicology tests.The crash has spawned theories online among those who believe that Hastings' high profile and confrontational approach to reporting made him a potential target for assassination.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/07/michael_hastings_crash_video.php

Yes We Can: Obama Funding Syrian Rebels Beheading Christians, Using Child Soldiers

Remember when al-Qaeda members were the bad guys? Obama is now pushing massive funding for Syrian rebels who have not only been linked to al-Qaeda, but are gruesomely beheading innocent Christians and using 14-year-old child soldiers.  

http://www.infowars.com/yes-we-can-obama-funding-syrian-rebels-beheading-christians-using-child-soldiers/

China orders audit of government debt

Debt may threaten China's growth, and there are growing fears that local governments may not be able repay.

China has ordered a nationwide audit of all government debt, underlining fears that the recent slowdown in its economy may impact the financial sector.

Local governments in China borrowed heavily after the global financial crisis to try to sustain growth rates. Read Full Story: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23486466

SWAT teams new face of police agencies.. Moving Full steam ahead

While American armed forces may be limited in their ability to enforce the law, the act is essentially being circumvented by militarizing local enforcement, equipping it with some of the same equipment, training and tactics used in war zones.

Radley Balko raised the issue recently a Wall Street Journal article, “Rise of the Warrior Cop.” He says the trend is to erase the line between military and law enforcement.  

A key distinction between the U.S. and other nations, even relatively free nations, long has been American restrictions on domestic use of the military, for police actions, law enforcement and keeping things under control.

However, when the local police officer or sheriff’s deputy is equipped with night vision goggles, laser-scope rifles, electronic eavesdropping equipment and body armor and comes up a citizen’s driveway in a military-type personnel carrier with shielded windows and oversize wheels, the prohibitions seem to lose some of their teeth.

Http://mobile.wnd.com/2013/07/frightening-new-reason-to-fear-police/?cat_orig=us

Scientists stop light completely — Trapped inside crystal for 1 minute

(London Daily Mail) Scientists in Germany have succeeded in stopping light – the fastest thing in the universe – for a whole minute, smashing earlier records.

Researchers at Darmstadt Technical University achieved the remarkable feat by trapping it in a crystal.

In a paper published this month in the journal Physical Review Letters, the scientists explained how they stopped the light using a technique called electromagnetically induced transparency.

Read Full Story