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steve2470
steve2470's Journal
steve2470's Journal
December 23, 2014
Dec 23 (Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell for a second straight month in November, a sign that the housing market recovery remains fragile.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that sales declined 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000 units. October's sales pace was revised down to 445,000 units from 458,000 units.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales rising to a 460,000-unit pace last month.
New home sales, which account for about 8 percent of the housing market, tend to be volatile month to month. Compared to November last year, sales were down 1.6 percent.
U.S. new home sales fall for second straight month in November
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/23/usa-economy-newhomes-idUSL1N0U61U220141223Dec 23 (Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell for a second straight month in November, a sign that the housing market recovery remains fragile.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that sales declined 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000 units. October's sales pace was revised down to 445,000 units from 458,000 units.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales rising to a 460,000-unit pace last month.
New home sales, which account for about 8 percent of the housing market, tend to be volatile month to month. Compared to November last year, sales were down 1.6 percent.
December 23, 2014
Reverend Al Sharpton
I really don't know much about him, and I see the criticism aimed at him in GD. Please educate me. Thank you kindly, as always. Happy Holidays 
Steve
eta: I know I can go to Wikipedia, but I think this is better. 
December 23, 2014
They will hate Rev. Sharpton until he leaves this earth, and then will hate the next man or woman who rises to his stature.
for the same reason right wingers were obsessed with MLK
He's an effective, powerful, intelligent black man who speaks out forcefully for the AA community. MLK was constantly tagged as a Communist in the 1960's and investigated by the FBI in depth.They will hate Rev. Sharpton until he leaves this earth, and then will hate the next man or woman who rises to his stature.
December 21, 2014
IT EXISTS FOR THOSE WHO SUPPORT THIS PRESIDENT AND EACH OTHER. PLEASE CHECK THE PINNED THREAD FOR THE SOP (STATEMENT OF PURPOSE) OF THIS GROUP. THIS IS NOT A FORUM.
IF YOU CANNOT RESPECT OBAMA, DEMOCRATS, THE SPIRIT AND INTENT OF THIS GROUP, OR THE MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP, PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE.
THANKS IN ADVANCE
Like the rest of the BOG, I give him credit for taking harsh political and bureaucratic realities into account for the last (almost) 6 years. I think he has tried hard to work with the Republicans. I think he's done with that. He will meet them halfway if he absolutely has to, but no more. People seem to think he can run the government according to his wishes only. They conveniently forget he has to work with right wingers Boehner and McConnell.
This is close as we're going to see the President with a mythical "magic wand". I'm loving it. I support you 100%, President Obama, and the Democratic Party in advancing the progressive agenda. Happy Holidays to everyone in the BOG !
***BARACK OBAMA GROUP*** so happy to see the President kicking ass and taking names
THIS IS THE BOG, IT IS A SAFE HAVEN GROUP CREATED BY THE ADMINISTRATORS OF DU. IT IS A PLACE FOR THOSE WHO SUPPORT DEMOCRATS TO CELEBRATE THE 44TH POTUS, BARACK OBAMA, ALONG WITH HIS FAMILY, ACHIEVEMENTS AND POLICIES.IT EXISTS FOR THOSE WHO SUPPORT THIS PRESIDENT AND EACH OTHER. PLEASE CHECK THE PINNED THREAD FOR THE SOP (STATEMENT OF PURPOSE) OF THIS GROUP. THIS IS NOT A FORUM.
IF YOU CANNOT RESPECT OBAMA, DEMOCRATS, THE SPIRIT AND INTENT OF THIS GROUP, OR THE MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP, PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE.
THANKS IN ADVANCE
Like the rest of the BOG, I give him credit for taking harsh political and bureaucratic realities into account for the last (almost) 6 years. I think he has tried hard to work with the Republicans. I think he's done with that. He will meet them halfway if he absolutely has to, but no more. People seem to think he can run the government according to his wishes only. They conveniently forget he has to work with right wingers Boehner and McConnell.
This is close as we're going to see the President with a mythical "magic wand". I'm loving it. I support you 100%, President Obama, and the Democratic Party in advancing the progressive agenda. Happy Holidays to everyone in the BOG !
December 20, 2014
Kind of amazing to me. Elevation is not a factor, since Niue is a coral atoll nation.
All-time low for tropical nation is 52 F
19 degrees south latitudeKind of amazing to me. Elevation is not a factor, since Niue is a coral atoll nation.
December 20, 2014
I stumbled on this while reading about domain hacks.
Enjoy!
Niue, fun for geography geeks like me....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NiueI stumbled on this while reading about domain hacks.
Enjoy!
December 20, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday refused to block gay marriages in Florida, the latest of about three dozen states allowing same-sex weddings.
In a one-paragraph order, the court decided not to step into the Florida case. A federal judge previously declared Florida's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional and said same-sex marriage licenses could start being issued in the state after Jan. 5 unless the Supreme Court intervened.
"This is a thrilling day for all Florida families," Daniel Tilley, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties of Florida, said in a statement. "As we explained to the court, every day that the ban remains in place, couples are suffering real harms. We are grateful that the court recognized that, and that as a result, those days are finally coming to an end."
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has fought to uphold the state's ban, said in a statement that her goal was "to have uniformity" throughout the state while various legal challenges were pursued in both state and federal courts.
Supreme Court Won't Stop Gay Marriages in Florida
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/supreme-court-stop-gay-marriages-florida-27728405The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday refused to block gay marriages in Florida, the latest of about three dozen states allowing same-sex weddings.
In a one-paragraph order, the court decided not to step into the Florida case. A federal judge previously declared Florida's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional and said same-sex marriage licenses could start being issued in the state after Jan. 5 unless the Supreme Court intervened.
"This is a thrilling day for all Florida families," Daniel Tilley, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties of Florida, said in a statement. "As we explained to the court, every day that the ban remains in place, couples are suffering real harms. We are grateful that the court recognized that, and that as a result, those days are finally coming to an end."
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has fought to uphold the state's ban, said in a statement that her goal was "to have uniformity" throughout the state while various legal challenges were pursued in both state and federal courts.
December 19, 2014
Staples Inc. said criminals stole personal information from as many as 1.16 million payment cards during the back-to-school shopping season at stores from California to Massachusetts.
The Framingham, Mass., company said machines were infected at 113 stores with malicious software that compromised customer data from Aug. 10 through Sept. 16. At two stores, the hack started in July, Staples said. (Click to see the full list of 115 stores affected.)
Staples didn’t identify the attackers but said the malware got into its point-of-sale systems, which include the cash registers and terminals that handle credit card and debit card transactions. The company said it believes the hackers may have got access to shoppers’ names, card numbers, expiration dates and card verification codes.
The theft at Staples is the latest in a parade of high-profile attacks on big U.S. retail chains over the past year. The biggest ones were on Home Depot Inc. over this spring which affected 56 million card accounts and a year ago at Target Corp. , in which hackers stole information from 40 million cards.
in case of paywall: http://news.google.com/news/url?sr=1&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_4_1_a&sa=t&usg=AFQjCNE3LTvFYR5tbpTR-kWtkkX0Ii6seA&cid=52778688208450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fstaples-data-breach-affected-1-16-million-cards-1419024209&ei=hbKUVOH9H9P2gAfyiIDwDw&sig2=jGRbYtUWD-n5TgcNpe_uqA&rt=HOMEPAGE&vm=STANDARD&bvm=section&did=6904180733955538334&ssid=b
Staples: Data Breach Exposes Million Cards
http://www.wsj.com/articles/staples-data-breach-affected-1-16-million-cards-1419024209Staples Inc. said criminals stole personal information from as many as 1.16 million payment cards during the back-to-school shopping season at stores from California to Massachusetts.
The Framingham, Mass., company said machines were infected at 113 stores with malicious software that compromised customer data from Aug. 10 through Sept. 16. At two stores, the hack started in July, Staples said. (Click to see the full list of 115 stores affected.)
Staples didn’t identify the attackers but said the malware got into its point-of-sale systems, which include the cash registers and terminals that handle credit card and debit card transactions. The company said it believes the hackers may have got access to shoppers’ names, card numbers, expiration dates and card verification codes.
The theft at Staples is the latest in a parade of high-profile attacks on big U.S. retail chains over the past year. The biggest ones were on Home Depot Inc. over this spring which affected 56 million card accounts and a year ago at Target Corp. , in which hackers stole information from 40 million cards.
in case of paywall: http://news.google.com/news/url?sr=1&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_4_1_a&sa=t&usg=AFQjCNE3LTvFYR5tbpTR-kWtkkX0Ii6seA&cid=52778688208450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fstaples-data-breach-affected-1-16-million-cards-1419024209&ei=hbKUVOH9H9P2gAfyiIDwDw&sig2=jGRbYtUWD-n5TgcNpe_uqA&rt=HOMEPAGE&vm=STANDARD&bvm=section&did=6904180733955538334&ssid=b
December 19, 2014
FireEye Inc FEYE 6.93% shares continued to push higher Friday as Sony Corp (ADR) SNE 1.09% announced that it had hired the company "to clean up a massive cyber attack that knocked out the studio's computer network nearly a week ago," according to Reuters.
As fallout from the Sony attack continued to unfold, investors appeared to be looking at FireEye as a long-term play in the cyber-security sector. FireEye stock was up 6 percent on Friday, following gains of 8 percent on Thursday and 3 percent on Wednesday.
The attack on Sony and its subsequent decision to scrub the release of "The Interview" amid threats from hackers appears to be lifting FireEye’s peers as well.
Qualys Inc QLYS 5.34% has been moving higher since Wednesday afternoon and recently traded at $38.99, up 5.1 percent.
Reuters story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/30/sony-cybersecurity-mandiant-idUSL2N0TK0R920141130
Sony Hires FireEye To Clean Up Hacking Mess
http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/14/12/5096727/sony-hires-fireeye-to-clean-up-hacking-messFireEye Inc FEYE 6.93% shares continued to push higher Friday as Sony Corp (ADR) SNE 1.09% announced that it had hired the company "to clean up a massive cyber attack that knocked out the studio's computer network nearly a week ago," according to Reuters.
As fallout from the Sony attack continued to unfold, investors appeared to be looking at FireEye as a long-term play in the cyber-security sector. FireEye stock was up 6 percent on Friday, following gains of 8 percent on Thursday and 3 percent on Wednesday.
The attack on Sony and its subsequent decision to scrub the release of "The Interview" amid threats from hackers appears to be lifting FireEye’s peers as well.
Qualys Inc QLYS 5.34% has been moving higher since Wednesday afternoon and recently traded at $38.99, up 5.1 percent.
Reuters story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/30/sony-cybersecurity-mandiant-idUSL2N0TK0R920141130
December 19, 2014
According to multiple reports, unnamed government officials have said that the cyber attack on Sony Pictures was linked to the North Korean government. The Wall Street Journal reports that investigators suspect the attack was carried out by Unit 121 of North Korea’s General Bureau of Reconnaissance, the country’s most elite hacking unit.
But if the elite cyber-warriors of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were behind the malware that erased data from hard drives at Sony Pictures Entertainment, they must have been in a real hurry to ship it.
Analysis by researchers at Cisco of a malware sample matching the MD5 hash signature of the “Destover” malware that was used in the attack on Sony Pictures revealed that the code was full of bugs and anything but sophisticated. It was the software equivalent of a crude pipe bomb.
Compared to other state-sponsored malware that researchers have analyzed, “It's a night and day difference in quality,” said Craig Williams, senior technical leader for Cisco’s Talos Security Intelligence and Research Group, in an interview with Ars. “The code is simplistic, not very complex, and not very obfuscated.”
State-sponsored or not, Sony Pictures malware “bomb” used slapdash code
http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/12/state-sponsored-or-not-sony-pictures-malware-bomb-used-slapdash-code/According to multiple reports, unnamed government officials have said that the cyber attack on Sony Pictures was linked to the North Korean government. The Wall Street Journal reports that investigators suspect the attack was carried out by Unit 121 of North Korea’s General Bureau of Reconnaissance, the country’s most elite hacking unit.
But if the elite cyber-warriors of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were behind the malware that erased data from hard drives at Sony Pictures Entertainment, they must have been in a real hurry to ship it.
Analysis by researchers at Cisco of a malware sample matching the MD5 hash signature of the “Destover” malware that was used in the attack on Sony Pictures revealed that the code was full of bugs and anything but sophisticated. It was the software equivalent of a crude pipe bomb.
Compared to other state-sponsored malware that researchers have analyzed, “It's a night and day difference in quality,” said Craig Williams, senior technical leader for Cisco’s Talos Security Intelligence and Research Group, in an interview with Ars. “The code is simplistic, not very complex, and not very obfuscated.”
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