A while back it was reported that Sam Raimi was producing the new feature film version of The Shadow. And at one point it was also rumored that Raimi was keen to take up the director’s seat too.

At the time Sony Pictures was rumored to have the film as well.

Universal Pictures previously brought the character to the big screen in 1994 when Alec Baldwin played the title role in the Russell Mulcahy-directed “The Shadow.”

“The Shadow” debuted in 1931 on a CBS radio show which aimed to boost the magazine circulation of sponsor Street & Smith. The character was actually the moniker for the announcer, and listeners began demanding stories based on the name.

Well, our notorious trusted source 'Pinche Taco' got some new information about the project.  One, it's no longer at Sony Pictures and he also mentions who they are looking at to direct the film.

Here is what 'Pinche Taco' tells us.

Hola Chicos, Pinche Taco here with the latest blatherings de nada de los Ninos de Hollywood!

Quien Sabe what evil lurks in el corazon de los hombres?  El Pinche Taco knows!

• The Shadow was a classic series of pulp novels throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
• The Shadow was a great radio show in the 1940s. Orson Welles often played the voice of the Shadow.
• The Shadow was a cool serial in the 1940s.
• The Shadow has frequently hung out in the DC Comic universe.
• The Shadow was a pretty shitty Alec Baldwin movie in the early nineties.
• Five years ago Senor Sam Raimi took a break from ruining the third movie in the Spiderman franchise and optioned the rights to THE SHADOW.
• He never even got a script for the poor Shadow.

You see, el problema con el Shadow is simple… he is a rich guy like Bruce Wayne, and his big power?  People can’t see him.  He isn’t invisible- he hypnotizes them.

Yo soy el Taco y yo digo ADIOS!

Stay tuned as the story develops.

I was really never a fan of the first film so lets see how this one will turn out.

Once again, if you thought Linda Hamilton was going to go gently into that good night, you have been sorely mistaken. As her ex-husband (James Cameron) and one of her ex-husband’s other ex-wives (Kathryn Bigelow) battle it out for the Best Director Oscar, Linda Hamilton just won’t shut up about her divorce from James Cameron, which, by the way, was more than 11 years ago. She gave a lengthy and delusional interview to The Daily Mail less than a month ago, and now she’s given another one (albeit, a shorter one) to The Lady Magazine (a British mag for, you guessed it, the ladies). Linda is still railing about ex-husband “Jimbo” and how their marriage was “terrible on every level”. Jesus, Linda. Get it together.

Cameron has been married five times and Hamilton, who played Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise, was wife number four. The couple wed in 1997, the year that Cameron made Titanic. It went on to win 11 Oscars, but Hamilton said the film’s success made their marriage even worse.

“It was terrible on every level. I wasn’t ready, he wasn’t ready. He was terribly insecure that I was going to ruin it for him somehow, which didn’t make sense since I am an actress in my own right and had been in front of the camera. It was dreadful,” she said.

“Jimbo gave me a big diamond but our marriage was all of nine months, the ring meant nothing to me and I gave it away.”

Hamilton said she hated accompanying her husband to awards ceremonies because their relationship was falling apart behind the scenes.

In an interview with The Lady magazine, the actress claimed: “The parading around, the lunches, the stress of being with Jim during the Titanic days - for years I could barely get make-up on, I was shaking so hard, because every damn award show we had was terrible.”

The marriage ended in 1999 and a year later Cameron married his fifth wife, actress Suzy Amis. Despite their problems, Hamilton, 53, insisted: “I’ve never loved anyone like that since and if I did it would be a different game.”

Hamilton read an early Avatar script when she was with Cameron and was unimpressed, but changed her mind on seeing the finished product. She has watched it twice: “That’s how much I liked it. And I paid both times. I was invited to the screenings I was like, ‘Thanks, Jim, I’ll get this one on my own’.”

In previous interviews, Hamilton has described Cameron as work-obsessed. “Titanic was the mistress he left me for. He was the kind of man who really would rather be at work with the mistress than at home with the wife. That was hard to come to terms with,” she said recently.

Cameron’s first marriage, to Sharon Williams, lasted from 1978-84. He was married to producer Gale Anne Hurd from 1985-89, then to director Kathryn Bigelow from 1989-1991, before Hamilton and Amis.

He and Bigelow will compete for the best director and best picture Oscars on Sunday. Avatar and Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker have nine nominations each.

Hamilton said Cameron was a faithful husband despite his track record of divorces. “He’s not a cheater, he’s a serial monogamist,” she explained.

[From The Telegraph]

Look, I get it. It’s eleven years later and she’s still hung up on the guy, and she thinks that she’s still relevant. So she does this push-pull in interviews of “I hate him, he’s horrible, out marriage was a train wreck and it’s all his fault” while saying in the same breath “I love him so much, I’ll always love him, he’s amazing, he’ll be coming back to me any day now, right?” The thing is that every time Linda opens her mouth, I just end up feeling for Cameron. And I know I shouldn’t! He’s got more money than God, he’s one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, and I’m pretty sure that he really is a terrible person. But something about Linda makes me sympathetic towards him.

A while back it was reported that Sam Raimi was producing the new feature film version of The Shadow. And at one point it was also rumored that Raimi was keen to take up the director’s seat too.

At the time Sony Pictures was rumored to have the film as well.

Universal Pictures previously brought the character to the big screen in 1994 when Alec Baldwin played the title role in the Russell Mulcahy-directed “The Shadow.”

“The Shadow” debuted in 1931 on a CBS radio show which aimed to boost the magazine circulation of sponsor Street & Smith. The character was actually the moniker for the announcer, and listeners began demanding stories based on the name.

Well, our notorious trusted source 'Pinche Taco' got some new information about the project.  One, it's no longer at Sony Pictures and he also mentions who they are looking at to direct the film.

Here is what 'Pinche Taco' tells us.

Hola Chicos, Pinche Taco here with the latest blatherings de nada de los Ninos de Hollywood!

Quien Sabe what evil lurks in el corazon de los hombres?  El Pinche Taco knows!

• The Shadow was a classic series of pulp novels throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
• The Shadow was a great radio show in the 1940s. Orson Welles often played the voice of the Shadow.
• The Shadow was a cool serial in the 1940s.
• The Shadow has frequently hung out in the DC Comic universe.
• The Shadow was a pretty shitty Alec Baldwin movie in the early nineties.
• Five years ago Senor Sam Raimi took a break from ruining the third movie in the Spiderman franchise and optioned the rights to THE SHADOW.
• He never even got a script for the poor Shadow.

You see, el problema con el Shadow is simple… he is a rich guy like Bruce Wayne, and his big power?  People can’t see him.  He isn’t invisible- he hypnotizes them.

Yo soy el Taco y yo digo ADIOS!

Stay tuned as the story develops.

I was really never a fan of the first film so lets see how this one will turn out.

Once again, if you thought Linda Hamilton was going to go gently into that good night, you have been sorely mistaken. As her ex-husband (James Cameron) and one of her ex-husband’s other ex-wives (Kathryn Bigelow) battle it out for the Best Director Oscar, Linda Hamilton just won’t shut up about her divorce from James Cameron, which, by the way, was more than 11 years ago. She gave a lengthy and delusional interview to The Daily Mail less than a month ago, and now she’s given another one (albeit, a shorter one) to The Lady Magazine (a British mag for, you guessed it, the ladies). Linda is still railing about ex-husband “Jimbo” and how their marriage was “terrible on every level”. Jesus, Linda. Get it together.

Cameron has been married five times and Hamilton, who played Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise, was wife number four. The couple wed in 1997, the year that Cameron made Titanic. It went on to win 11 Oscars, but Hamilton said the film’s success made their marriage even worse.

“It was terrible on every level. I wasn’t ready, he wasn’t ready. He was terribly insecure that I was going to ruin it for him somehow, which didn’t make sense since I am an actress in my own right and had been in front of the camera. It was dreadful,” she said.

“Jimbo gave me a big diamond but our marriage was all of nine months, the ring meant nothing to me and I gave it away.”

Hamilton said she hated accompanying her husband to awards ceremonies because their relationship was falling apart behind the scenes.

In an interview with The Lady magazine, the actress claimed: “The parading around, the lunches, the stress of being with Jim during the Titanic days - for years I could barely get make-up on, I was shaking so hard, because every damn award show we had was terrible.”

The marriage ended in 1999 and a year later Cameron married his fifth wife, actress Suzy Amis. Despite their problems, Hamilton, 53, insisted: “I’ve never loved anyone like that since and if I did it would be a different game.”

Hamilton read an early Avatar script when she was with Cameron and was unimpressed, but changed her mind on seeing the finished product. She has watched it twice: “That’s how much I liked it. And I paid both times. I was invited to the screenings I was like, ‘Thanks, Jim, I’ll get this one on my own’.”

In previous interviews, Hamilton has described Cameron as work-obsessed. “Titanic was the mistress he left me for. He was the kind of man who really would rather be at work with the mistress than at home with the wife. That was hard to come to terms with,” she said recently.

Cameron’s first marriage, to Sharon Williams, lasted from 1978-84. He was married to producer Gale Anne Hurd from 1985-89, then to director Kathryn Bigelow from 1989-1991, before Hamilton and Amis.

He and Bigelow will compete for the best director and best picture Oscars on Sunday. Avatar and Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker have nine nominations each.

Hamilton said Cameron was a faithful husband despite his track record of divorces. “He’s not a cheater, he’s a serial monogamist,” she explained.

[From The Telegraph]

Look, I get it. It’s eleven years later and she’s still hung up on the guy, and she thinks that she’s still relevant. So she does this push-pull in interviews of “I hate him, he’s horrible, out marriage was a train wreck and it’s all his fault” while saying in the same breath “I love him so much, I’ll always love him, he’s amazing, he’ll be coming back to me any day now, right?” The thing is that every time Linda opens her mouth, I just end up feeling for Cameron. And I know I shouldn’t! He’s got more money than God, he’s one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, and I’m pretty sure that he really is a terrible person. But something about Linda makes me sympathetic towards him.

existing franchises for sale , franchises for sale

Jon Stewart Exposes Fox <b>News</b> 'Balance,' Goes After Sarah Palin And <b>…</b>

It looked like Jon Stewart was going for some of his bread-and-butter Sarah Palin jokes on Wednesday night, mocking her appearance on NBC's Tonight Show and tossing in a little ribbing of Jay Leno. But the quips about a Palin "Fair and …

MetsBlog.com – <b>News</b>: Jose Reyes scratched from Lineup

If this is bad <b>news</b>, there is plenty of time to get out on a window ledge. Log in to Reply. charlie_s March 4, 2010 at 9:44 am. Something is rotten in Denmark. You don't scratch a guy on the way back from a very shortened year so he can …

Fox <b>News</b> To Bunning: You're A Rock Star | TPM LiveWire

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), fresh off a filibuster that delayed the extension of unemployment benefits and ground the Senate to a virtual halt, got the royal treatment on Fox <b>News</b> this morning. Fox newsman Brian Kilmeade went so far as to …

This is an interview with Catey Hill, author of the hot new book SHOO, Jimmy Choo as well as the Money & Business Editor for the NY DailyNews.com

1. What motivated you to pen SHOO, Jimmy Choo?

Maybe I'd watched one too many episodes of Sex & the City, but when I moved to New York, I lived it up. I got an apartment I couldn't afford in Chelsea, went out way too much and bought shoes (and a million other things!) I couldn't afford on my credit card. The result (other than one too many martini hangovers and a stuffed-to-the-brim closet?): A pile of credit card debt, no retirement fund and not even a dime in savings.

But luckily, I was promoted to become the Financial Marketing Manger for Forbes Magazine, which was a giant wake-up call … At first, I'd be in a meeting and hear terms like Roth IRA, nod and pretend that, of course, I knew what they were talking about, and then race to my computer to Google it so I didn't later look like an idiot. Slowly but surely, I started learning more and more about finance. And the more I learned, the more I realized, I'd better do something about my not-so-sexy financial “situation.”

At the same time, I started talking to other women about their finances and realized I wasn't alone when I'd felt a little confused and intimidated by money management. And the more I looked into it, the more I realized there weren't that many personal finance books for women like me - young women in their 20s and 30s - written in a voice we relate to (not a mom figure tsk tsking us, but a girl our age who did this all herself, a girl who gets that its not an option to never again buy an amazing pair of shoes or go cold-turkey on nights out). So I decided to write it. And that's how SHOO, Jimmy Choo! was born.

2. Which section of SHOO, Jimmy Choo! did you enjoy writing most?

The “Spending Style” section was my favorite part of SHOO, Jimmy Choo! to write for two reasons. First, the advice in the section was one of the first - and primary - things that turned my financial situation around. Here's why: spending is the crux of our financial life - if we spend too much money, we won't have enough to get out of debt and save. So, once I started controlling my spending using the advice in this section, it set me up to meet the rest of my financial goals.

And second, because the “Spending Style” section approaches spending in a unique, and I think critical, way. The section helps us look not only at what we buy but also WHY we buy it. A lot of books look at what we buy and help us budget, but the “why” - the motivations, root causes and patterns - of our spending is critical to helping us spend less, but often overlooked in personal finance books. Until you get to the bottom of why you spend money, you'll have so much more trouble controlling that unnecessary spending.

3. If you could give a woman in her 20s just one piece of financial advice, what would it be?

The #1 piece of advice I'd give a woman in her 20s would be to make financial goals and a plan to stick to them. A lot of us - I was one of them! - just glide through life thinking we'll worry about retirement, saving and other financial goals later, that we'll deal with our debt when we make more money, etc. We have vague goals (things like: I'll be laying on the beach at 40 with a margarita in my hand and giant nest egg in the bank; or I'll save enough so I can quit my job and write a book - my personal fave! - etc.) But we have no solid financial goals and no real steps to make them happen.

4. You've gotten incredible press coverage, what's the most interesting question you've been asked so far?

It's funny: The book is a personal finance book but I get almost as many questions about shoes as I do about money management. I often get “Why do women like shoes so much?” (Ha, I'm no expert on why all women like anything, but I always just say “because they always fit and they always look good - even after those ten extra post-holiday pounds!”). Another favorite is “Can you please tell our audience what a Jimmy Choo is.” When I get to the part in my explanation about how much Jimmy Choos cost, it opens up a whole other set of questions - most of them involving “why on earth would a woman spend that much on shoes?” Once we go there, it's an entire interview about the shoes…

5. How did you personally learn about personal finance?

I learned in the trenches so to speak. I picked up the basics working at Forbes, and then just started reading every personal finance book I could get my hands on - which is how the idea for SHOO, Jimmy Choo! came about. To research for SHOO, Jimmy Choo!, I kept reading personal finance books and interviewed a bunch of financial advisors, economists and regular people about money management. I also took a job as the Money Editor for the New York Daily News online.

6. Do you think personal finance should be taught in schools - and if so, starting at what grade level?

I do think personal finance should be taught in schools probably starting in middle school and most definitely through high school. I certainly wish I'd been taught about checking and savings accounts, credit cards, student loans, auto loans and more. It could have saved me thousands of dollars, and I'm sure I wasn't any different from millions of other kids heading off to college or into the real world these days with little or no financial preparation. Since the financial choices we make early on can stick with us for decades, why don't we give kids the best shot to make the right financial choices in their lives by teaching it in school?

7. What's next for you?

I just started working on my next book - a guide to living fabulously on a budget. It's a companion guide to SHOO, Jimmy Choo!: Now that you've got your finances under control using the advice SHOO, Jimmy Choo!, the new book will show you how to keep them that way without sacrificing your sense of style.

Keep up with Catey's latest thinking by following her on Twitter at @cateyhill

Two Simple Equations that Lead to Financial Success [Free Money Finance] “If you master these two equations alone, you will become wealthy.”

The 20 best money Web sites [CNN Money] “These sites have tools you can trust to help you make better money decisions.”

A Lavish Wedding Costs More Than You Think [Wall Street Journal] “The true cost of these things is more than most people realize. If they did the math, they'd probably get married in flip-flops.”

Seven Rational Things to Do When Financial Panic Hits [The Simple Dollar] “Here are seven things that you should attempt to do [when faced with a financial crisis.]“

Lifetime cost of bad credit: $201,712 [MSN Money] “If you're not doing all you can to keep your credit scores high, you're borrowing trouble — and you could pay a very heavy price.”

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

http://removeripoffreports.net

Why should a powerful state legislator use political contributions to shop at the neighborhood wine shop, visit a tony Miami barbershop and repair the family minivan? That is the question former House Speaker Marco Rubio should be answering rather than whining about how his profligate spending became public. The Republican U.S. Senate candidate's defense of his use of a political party credit card for private expenses reflects a sense of entitlement that is all too pervasive among elected officials in Tallahassee.

It is becoming increasingly clear why the Republican Party of Florida is still resisting calls even from within its own ranks to release statements for the American Express credit cards it distributed to its top leaders until last year. While state law requires the statements to be part of a political party's quarterly finance reports, an indefensible 2005 ruling by state elections officials enables the parties to shield them.

Rubio's statements between 2005 and 2008, first reported by the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald, are the latest documents to reflect a culture in which top Republicans mixed personal and political spending with little regard for whether the expense was truly election related, as required by tax law.

Records show Rubio directly paid American Express about $13,900 over the 25 months he held a card — out of more than $100,000 in expenses. Rubio said he made sure he paid for any personal expenses. But the balance that was covered by the party includes $2,976 to rent a car in Miami for five weeks and $3,000 to a Tallahassee property management group.

Other dubious expenses paid by the party: $765 to Apple's online store for "computer supplies," $68.33 to a wine store just a mile from Rubio's home, and $412 to a Miami music equipment store. The party also paid $1,000 to a Miami garage, which Rubio said was to cover half his car insurance deductible after his minivan was damaged at a political event.

Rubio did not explain why he used a party credit card for personal expenses when his 2008 financial disclosure shows he earned $414,000. He instead complained that the credit card statements became public. But how they became public is not the issue. The real issue is that all statements for credit cards handed out by the state Republican Party should have been public all along. Perhaps then Rubio would have acted more responsibly.

Money contributed to the state Republican Party for the purpose of influencing elections bolstered the personal lifestyle of an elected official holding one of Florida's most powerful offices. That is not the purpose of political contributions. New Republican Party chairman John Thrasher, a state senator from St. Augustine, needs to release all of the credit card statements if the party is to move forward. The Internal Revenue Service also should be knocking on the party's door to see the books.

.

This is an interview with Catey Hill, author of the hot new book SHOO, Jimmy Choo as well as the Money & Business Editor for the NY DailyNews.com

1. What motivated you to pen SHOO, Jimmy Choo?

Maybe I'd watched one too many episodes of Sex & the City, but when I moved to New York, I lived it up. I got an apartment I couldn't afford in Chelsea, went out way too much and bought shoes (and a million other things!) I couldn't afford on my credit card. The result (other than one too many martini hangovers and a stuffed-to-the-brim closet?): A pile of credit card debt, no retirement fund and not even a dime in savings.

But luckily, I was promoted to become the Financial Marketing Manger for Forbes Magazine, which was a giant wake-up call … At first, I'd be in a meeting and hear terms like Roth IRA, nod and pretend that, of course, I knew what they were talking about, and then race to my computer to Google it so I didn't later look like an idiot. Slowly but surely, I started learning more and more about finance. And the more I learned, the more I realized, I'd better do something about my not-so-sexy financial “situation.”

At the same time, I started talking to other women about their finances and realized I wasn't alone when I'd felt a little confused and intimidated by money management. And the more I looked into it, the more I realized there weren't that many personal finance books for women like me - young women in their 20s and 30s - written in a voice we relate to (not a mom figure tsk tsking us, but a girl our age who did this all herself, a girl who gets that its not an option to never again buy an amazing pair of shoes or go cold-turkey on nights out). So I decided to write it. And that's how SHOO, Jimmy Choo! was born.

2. Which section of SHOO, Jimmy Choo! did you enjoy writing most?

The “Spending Style” section was my favorite part of SHOO, Jimmy Choo! to write for two reasons. First, the advice in the section was one of the first - and primary - things that turned my financial situation around. Here's why: spending is the crux of our financial life - if we spend too much money, we won't have enough to get out of debt and save. So, once I started controlling my spending using the advice in this section, it set me up to meet the rest of my financial goals.

And second, because the “Spending Style” section approaches spending in a unique, and I think critical, way. The section helps us look not only at what we buy but also WHY we buy it. A lot of books look at what we buy and help us budget, but the “why” - the motivations, root causes and patterns - of our spending is critical to helping us spend less, but often overlooked in personal finance books. Until you get to the bottom of why you spend money, you'll have so much more trouble controlling that unnecessary spending.

3. If you could give a woman in her 20s just one piece of financial advice, what would it be?

The #1 piece of advice I'd give a woman in her 20s would be to make financial goals and a plan to stick to them. A lot of us - I was one of them! - just glide through life thinking we'll worry about retirement, saving and other financial goals later, that we'll deal with our debt when we make more money, etc. We have vague goals (things like: I'll be laying on the beach at 40 with a margarita in my hand and giant nest egg in the bank; or I'll save enough so I can quit my job and write a book - my personal fave! - etc.) But we have no solid financial goals and no real steps to make them happen.

4. You've gotten incredible press coverage, what's the most interesting question you've been asked so far?

It's funny: The book is a personal finance book but I get almost as many questions about shoes as I do about money management. I often get “Why do women like shoes so much?” (Ha, I'm no expert on why all women like anything, but I always just say “because they always fit and they always look good - even after those ten extra post-holiday pounds!”). Another favorite is “Can you please tell our audience what a Jimmy Choo is.” When I get to the part in my explanation about how much Jimmy Choos cost, it opens up a whole other set of questions - most of them involving “why on earth would a woman spend that much on shoes?” Once we go there, it's an entire interview about the shoes…

5. How did you personally learn about personal finance?

I learned in the trenches so to speak. I picked up the basics working at Forbes, and then just started reading every personal finance book I could get my hands on - which is how the idea for SHOO, Jimmy Choo! came about. To research for SHOO, Jimmy Choo!, I kept reading personal finance books and interviewed a bunch of financial advisors, economists and regular people about money management. I also took a job as the Money Editor for the New York Daily News online.

6. Do you think personal finance should be taught in schools - and if so, starting at what grade level?

I do think personal finance should be taught in schools probably starting in middle school and most definitely through high school. I certainly wish I'd been taught about checking and savings accounts, credit cards, student loans, auto loans and more. It could have saved me thousands of dollars, and I'm sure I wasn't any different from millions of other kids heading off to college or into the real world these days with little or no financial preparation. Since the financial choices we make early on can stick with us for decades, why don't we give kids the best shot to make the right financial choices in their lives by teaching it in school?

7. What's next for you?

I just started working on my next book - a guide to living fabulously on a budget. It's a companion guide to SHOO, Jimmy Choo!: Now that you've got your finances under control using the advice SHOO, Jimmy Choo!, the new book will show you how to keep them that way without sacrificing your sense of style.

Keep up with Catey's latest thinking by following her on Twitter at @cateyhill

http://removeripoffreports.net

This is an interview with Catey Hill, author of the hot new book SHOO, Jimmy Choo as well as the Money & Business Editor for the NY DailyNews.com

1. What motivated you to pen SHOO, Jimmy Choo?

Maybe I'd watched one too many episodes of Sex & the City, but when I moved to New York, I lived it up. I got an apartment I couldn't afford in Chelsea, went out way too much and bought shoes (and a million other things!) I couldn't afford on my credit card. The result (other than one too many martini hangovers and a stuffed-to-the-brim closet?): A pile of credit card debt, no retirement fund and not even a dime in savings.

But luckily, I was promoted to become the Financial Marketing Manger for Forbes Magazine, which was a giant wake-up call … At first, I'd be in a meeting and hear terms like Roth IRA, nod and pretend that, of course, I knew what they were talking about, and then race to my computer to Google it so I didn't later look like an idiot. Slowly but surely, I started learning more and more about finance. And the more I learned, the more I realized, I'd better do something about my not-so-sexy financial “situation.”

At the same time, I started talking to other women about their finances and realized I wasn't alone when I'd felt a little confused and intimidated by money management. And the more I looked into it, the more I realized there weren't that many personal finance books for women like me - young women in their 20s and 30s - written in a voice we relate to (not a mom figure tsk tsking us, but a girl our age who did this all herself, a girl who gets that its not an option to never again buy an amazing pair of shoes or go cold-turkey on nights out). So I decided to write it. And that's how SHOO, Jimmy Choo! was born.

2. Which section of SHOO, Jimmy Choo! did you enjoy writing most?

The “Spending Style” section was my favorite part of SHOO, Jimmy Choo! to write for two reasons. First, the advice in the section was one of the first - and primary - things that turned my financial situation around. Here's why: spending is the crux of our financial life - if we spend too much money, we won't have enough to get out of debt and save. So, once I started controlling my spending using the advice in this section, it set me up to meet the rest of my financial goals.

And second, because the “Spending Style” section approaches spending in a unique, and I think critical, way. The section helps us look not only at what we buy but also WHY we buy it. A lot of books look at what we buy and help us budget, but the “why” - the motivations, root causes and patterns - of our spending is critical to helping us spend less, but often overlooked in personal finance books. Until you get to the bottom of why you spend money, you'll have so much more trouble controlling that unnecessary spending.

3. If you could give a woman in her 20s just one piece of financial advice, what would it be?

The #1 piece of advice I'd give a woman in her 20s would be to make financial goals and a plan to stick to them. A lot of us - I was one of them! - just glide through life thinking we'll worry about retirement, saving and other financial goals later, that we'll deal with our debt when we make more money, etc. We have vague goals (things like: I'll be laying on the beach at 40 with a margarita in my hand and giant nest egg in the bank; or I'll save enough so I can quit my job and write a book - my personal fave! - etc.) But we have no solid financial goals and no real steps to make them happen.

4. You've gotten incredible press coverage, what's the most interesting question you've been asked so far?

It's funny: The book is a personal finance book but I get almost as many questions about shoes as I do about money management. I often get “Why do women like shoes so much?” (Ha, I'm no expert on why all women like anything, but I always just say “because they always fit and they always look good - even after those ten extra post-holiday pounds!”). Another favorite is “Can you please tell our audience what a Jimmy Choo is.” When I get to the part in my explanation about how much Jimmy Choos cost, it opens up a whole other set of questions - most of them involving “why on earth would a woman spend that much on shoes?” Once we go there, it's an entire interview about the shoes…

5. How did you personally learn about personal finance?

I learned in the trenches so to speak. I picked up the basics working at Forbes, and then just started reading every personal finance book I could get my hands on - which is how the idea for SHOO, Jimmy Choo! came about. To research for SHOO, Jimmy Choo!, I kept reading personal finance books and interviewed a bunch of financial advisors, economists and regular people about money management. I also took a job as the Money Editor for the New York Daily News online.

6. Do you think personal finance should be taught in schools - and if so, starting at what grade level?

I do think personal finance should be taught in schools probably starting in middle school and most definitely through high school. I certainly wish I'd been taught about checking and savings accounts, credit cards, student loans, auto loans and more. It could have saved me thousands of dollars, and I'm sure I wasn't any different from millions of other kids heading off to college or into the real world these days with little or no financial preparation. Since the financial choices we make early on can stick with us for decades, why don't we give kids the best shot to make the right financial choices in their lives by teaching it in school?

7. What's next for you?

I just started working on my next book - a guide to living fabulously on a budget. It's a companion guide to SHOO, Jimmy Choo!: Now that you've got your finances under control using the advice SHOO, Jimmy Choo!, the new book will show you how to keep them that way without sacrificing your sense of style.

Keep up with Catey's latest thinking by following her on Twitter at @cateyhill

We’ve just been informed that Finance Web startup Kublax will be heading into administration and closing its doors officially on Friday 19th February.

The UK company, which did see some traction, sent an email out to its customers a few minutes ago.

Kublax is a secure online personal financial management platform which automatically aggregates all of your UK bank and credit card accounts into one place. The brainchild of Sridhar Sethuraman, a former IT and management consultant, the company was also one of six companies to win investment from Seedcamp in 2007.

Launched in August 2007 and hailed as the UK’s answer to mint, the company raised two rounds of funding totaling €2 Million.

The company assures its customers in its email posted below all user data will be deleted and no further information (including financial data) will be gathered and stored for Kublax customers.

What other options do UK customers have? Sadly not many. MoneyDashboard is the most immediate alternative although it has yet to officially launch. LoveMoney.com also seems to have some potential. Let’s not forget the likes of Wesabe, worth a look, but unfortunately doesn’t feature deep integration with UK banks accounts.

Anyone else worth looking at?

Full Email Below:

It is with great regret that we announce the closure of our service as we have been forced to take the business into administration. Over the course of the last 6 months we have been trying hard to raise funding which would have allowed us to launch our enhanced new product and develop our offering further. Unfortunately we now have to admit defeat.

We are sorry that we have not been able to repay your trust in Kublax and particularly disappointed not to be able to launch the new enhanced version of the service which was being shaped to a very large extent by your Feedback on the current service.

Kublax’s partner, Yodlee, will be deleting all user data, including online banking details from its servers. Once deleted no further information will be gathered and stored for Kublax customers. Your transactional data will also be completely erased from our servers by close of business on Friday 19th February. We will not pass your data on to any third parties.

If you wish to contact Sridhar or I you can reach us at the following email address – kublaxenquiry@googlemail.com

Many thanks again for your support and we hope that Kublax was able to help you make slightly better sense of your finances over the last year or so.

Tom and Sridhar

http://removeripoffreports.net

"Large Franchise" With "Zany Ideas" Coming To Project Natal

A job listing spotted by website CVG appears to hint that a “large franchise” is coming to Project Natal. This job listing also serves as a very important reminder — namely, not to use the word “zany”.

Here's the Microsoft Games Studio listing:

We are developing interactive and creative content for Project Natal. If you would like to be part of our internal development team then please keep reading. We are developing a studio from the ground up, made up of some of the industry's most creative, innovative, and technical minds.

MGS is looking for a talented, motivated and experienced Sr. Level Designer who can create innovative game-play solutions for a large franchise. The Sr. Level Designer is expected to implement major gameplay features to high quality, focusing on creating and implementing level designs. Qualified individuals are expected to be organized, with excellent communication skills, both verbally and written, and have a proven track record in AAA game design. Must have a clear understanding and experience creating mission/environment design, look and feel, AI, combat, strategy, game-flow, and balance. We want somebody who can put forth ideas without fear, and build off other people's zany creations. Candidates who find fault with other people's brainstorms to prove how smart they are need not apply. Candidates must have passion for a broad range of game experiences, and be well versed in market trends and styles. While years of experience are a definite plus, positive creative energy and a wealth of genius ideas is a must. This is a rare opportunity to join a seasoned, creatively driven team on an exciting next-generation project.

Zany? Zany? Zany? I cannot think of a worse word to describe a large franchise than “zany”. Not even wacky or goofy or silly. At least those words have a proud history. Unlike Zany.

Nobody says, hey, I want to play that game, it looks so zany. “Zany” is what you use to describe kids' television hosts that are not funny. “Zany” is what you use to describe middle-age clowns that do not remind you of serial killers. “Zany” is a word you'd see on an educational toy from the 1990s.

When I hear the word “zany” and Microsoft Game Studios in the same sentence, I imagine someone sitting in Microsoft's corporate offices trying to think of a way to make a Natal version of Viva Piñata sound…zany? That, or Banjo-Kazooie. Though, Banjo is far too good for zany. Viva Piñata? Eh…

Microsoft.com - Careers [Microsoft via CVG]

Send an email to the author of this post at bashcraft@kotaku.com.

The Nintendo Download: And Justice For Some

Our new gallery format for The Nintendo Download highlights the fact that, other than big releases like Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All, DSiWare and WiiWare titles aren't getting nearly as much exposure as they should.

Just look at the lineup we have here. DSiWare Spotto! from Nintendo? Nothing to see here. I had to grab a WiiWare screen for Virtual Toys' Spaceball: Revolution, and title images for EA's Scrabble Classic and Gameloft's Real Soccer 2010.

I'm just saying that some of these titles might sell more than a handful of copies if someone would tell us what they are before we read the official descriptions, which can be found alongside the pictures in the gallery below.

800×600
|
Full Size

You answer an ad in the newspaper that states this company is opening a new facility in the area. “30-40 FT permanent positions available in 5 different departments. Complete training provided. Mgmt. and Supervisor positions available. $15 to start!” You call the number provided to inquire about the positions and are told the company will be accepting applications on such and such date at such and such time. Once you arrive to fill out the application, you are told they are conducting group interviews. All dressed up and excited, you step inside a room with approximately 15 other job seekers and listen to a presentation about the different positions available. After sitting through roughly half an hour of various open positions, the $15 per hour position you are interested in is finally up.

The speaker tells you this position is 30 hours per week in which you are sent to take air samples from businesses. These are not sales positions, but rather Indoor Air Quality Service Associates. In order to become an IAQS Associate, you must take a three-day training course, then have 20 hours of field certification in which you shadow another IAQS Associate. The company does not pay for training due to the high number of failures, but the company does pay you for certification. You are told several times that the company provides all leads; there is no cold calling. The speaker then continues to discuss other open positions, the next of which is the evil salesman. At the end of the presentation, the group is asked to complete an application with the desired position listed, and then told to call back at a certain time to schedule your interview. When you call back, you are congratulated and asked to come in the next day for training.

Day one. The franchise owner, also the speaker from the previous day, begins to tell you about his company. Environmental Air Solutions distributes Filter Queen air filtration systems, manufactured by Health-Mor Industries. He then begins to demonstrate the Filter Queen Indoor Air Quality System called the Defender. You are told some statistics about indoor pollution and then somehow you are on the subject of vacuum cleaners. Now you are being shown a “high-powered surface cleaner” that looks like a shop vac. After a disgusting presentation that not only makes you unable to breathe, but also makes you feel dirty and in a room full of viruses and bacteria, your group is sent home and told to return the next day for a second day of training.

Day two. The franchise owner introduces you to your new trainer, a gentleman that has only been with the company for two weeks but has outstanding potential. You, of course, can also be promoted that quickly if you have the people skills and dedication to succeed. The new trainer divides the room into small groups, passes out presentation binders, and tells everybody to practice demonstrations.

Day three. Your groups are now shown more about the Majestic, the high-powered surface cleaner. After practicing your presentations some more, the franchise owner returns to the room and reiterates your salary. Every associate is expected to work 30 hours per week. Environmental Air Solutions will pay you two hours for each demonstration, thus requiring you to run at least 15 appointments per week. You are paid bi-weekly. After three months, you are entitled to profit sharing. Profit sharing is obviously going to be better than being paid hourly. Once you are entitled to profit sharing, you will be paid whichever amount is higher, either hourly wages or profit sharing wages. He now goes over how much money you are paid for the number of systems sold. After everybody understands this, all new associates are given a sign-on packet including a statement that reads Environmental Air Solutions will pay you $900 every two weeks and that you are expected to demo 15 systems per week. For every appointment over 15, you will be paid $30 per demonstration. This job sounds great, but what about those who are unable to run 15 appointments during the first week due to other jobs or school? The trainer assures you and the rest of the class that you will be paid $15 per hour.

The franchise owner then tells the group that he knows everybody is going to suck at his for a while. So, what he is going to do to help you out is make you a deal. The deal is as follows:

· Do 10 demonstrations to your friends and family over the weekend.

· You will be paid $30 per demonstration.

· If you complete 10 demonstrations, he will put you in for profit sharing instead of making you wait three months. This is because you will sell systems and he wants you to make as much money as you can. This is for you, because he wants to have associates that are happy and live at the level of life they want to live.

· The first person to sell a system is given this wonderful fantastic prize. Which, by the way, the new trainer won out of his group a mere two weeks prior.

Fast forward to a couple weeks later. You drive all the way to the office every day for an 11:00 AM meeting. There is never a meeting. You are handed one or two leads and told to call before and after each demonstration. Have a great day!

Now for the truth. There was no certification period. You were conned into finding 10 of your own leads. One of the girls from my group asked when she was going to be paid for the initial demonstrations she gave to her family and friends and was told that she was not going to be paid for those. Who told her? The telemarketer. Why did the telemarketer have to tell her this? The franchise owner is mysteriously nowhere to be found. When I asked for clarification of why we were not going to be paid, I was informed that they were just for practice and it is completely absurd for Environmental Air Solutions to pay for us to practice on our family. At this point, I think that maybe I did misunderstand the franchise owner when he told us to practice on our family and friends. Although I was certain when I left after training that I was getting paid $30 per demonstration, I began to doubt myself. Okay, what about these past few weeks when I have not been given 15 appointments to run? Nope, no pay for those. Why? Obviously, I had not read my new-hire paperwork because it clearly states I must demonstrate at least 15 appointments per week to be paid.

To summarize, Environmental Air Solutions is a scam. It is also operated under the name Easter Enterprises. You are expected to find your own leads. You are not paid for running appointments because you cannot possibly receive 15 of their leads per week. In the beginning, you will be told appointments are set for 10:00 or 11:00 AM, noon, 3:00 or 4:00 PM, and 6:00 or 7:00 PM. Not true. The only appointments offered to the associates in my training group were 3:00 PM, 6:00 PM, or 8:00 PM. Obviously, if every appointment takes approximately two hours and you have to drive to each appointment, you can only have two appointments per day.

Indoor Air Quality Service Associates are salespeople. When you are sent on appointments, you are told to push the people, to convince them they need the systems and they need them now. The folder I was given with all the sales paperwork (receipts, credit applications, etc.) was a mess. Some of the receipts were printed for Easter Enterprises, and some of them were for Environmental Air Solutions. I had at least three different types of credit applications, none of which had Environmental Air Solutions printed anywhere on the page.

Finally, all associates are given used equipment to demonstrate. You will be told the customer can request a new system and you merely have to run back to the office to pick one up. However, once you are sent out on a lead, you are told to push the one you demonstrated, even if you have used it for the ten demonstrations before this one. The reason you are given for this is because most people want to purchase the system that they saw really works.

If it sounds too good to be true, it is! Do not take a job selling Filter Queen products unless you are a salesperson, you are prepared to not get paid unless you sell the product, and you can generate your own leads.

"Large Franchise" With "Zany Ideas" Coming To Project Natal

A job listing spotted by website CVG appears to hint that a “large franchise” is coming to Project Natal. This job listing also serves as a very important reminder — namely, not to use the word “zany”.

Here's the Microsoft Games Studio listing:

We are developing interactive and creative content for Project Natal. If you would like to be part of our internal development team then please keep reading. We are developing a studio from the ground up, made up of some of the industry's most creative, innovative, and technical minds.

MGS is looking for a talented, motivated and experienced Sr. Level Designer who can create innovative game-play solutions for a large franchise. The Sr. Level Designer is expected to implement major gameplay features to high quality, focusing on creating and implementing level designs. Qualified individuals are expected to be organized, with excellent communication skills, both verbally and written, and have a proven track record in AAA game design. Must have a clear understanding and experience creating mission/environment design, look and feel, AI, combat, strategy, game-flow, and balance. We want somebody who can put forth ideas without fear, and build off other people's zany creations. Candidates who find fault with other people's brainstorms to prove how smart they are need not apply. Candidates must have passion for a broad range of game experiences, and be well versed in market trends and styles. While years of experience are a definite plus, positive creative energy and a wealth of genius ideas is a must. This is a rare opportunity to join a seasoned, creatively driven team on an exciting next-generation project.

Zany? Zany? Zany? I cannot think of a worse word to describe a large franchise than “zany”. Not even wacky or goofy or silly. At least those words have a proud history. Unlike Zany.

Nobody says, hey, I want to play that game, it looks so zany. “Zany” is what you use to describe kids' television hosts that are not funny. “Zany” is what you use to describe middle-age clowns that do not remind you of serial killers. “Zany” is a word you'd see on an educational toy from the 1990s.

When I hear the word “zany” and Microsoft Game Studios in the same sentence, I imagine someone sitting in Microsoft's corporate offices trying to think of a way to make a Natal version of Viva Piñata sound…zany? That, or Banjo-Kazooie. Though, Banjo is far too good for zany. Viva Piñata? Eh…

Microsoft.com - Careers [Microsoft via CVG]

Send an email to the author of this post at bashcraft@kotaku.com.

The Nintendo Download: And Justice For Some

Our new gallery format for The Nintendo Download highlights the fact that, other than big releases like Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All, DSiWare and WiiWare titles aren't getting nearly as much exposure as they should.

Just look at the lineup we have here. DSiWare Spotto! from Nintendo? Nothing to see here. I had to grab a WiiWare screen for Virtual Toys' Spaceball: Revolution, and title images for EA's Scrabble Classic and Gameloft's Real Soccer 2010.

I'm just saying that some of these titles might sell more than a handful of copies if someone would tell us what they are before we read the official descriptions, which can be found alongside the pictures in the gallery below.

800×600
|
Full Size

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Ron Sampson - BWUHHH? I'm really trying here, but the logic behind your comment is just too far beyond my grasp. Personally I think Murdoch is about the Benjamins, no matter who he has to pander to in order to get them (and more power to him for doing it - free country yay). A few years ago he noticed a dearth of conservative-biased TV media and so he swooped in and made quite the pretty penny from it. His only mistake was calling it "Fair and balanced" as far as I'm concerned. Based off of my observations, if he felt he could create a Current-like network that was as profitable as the Fox brand I think he'd do it in a second…

Look at Family Guy - As soon as it became a big enough hit in [adult swim] reruns to justify new episodes, back it came. I don't think you can call that an "angry republican American" show… Though they did have Rush Limbaugh on a few times… Hmmm… CONSPIRACY!!! We all know why Lando got his job at the Bespin Mining Colony!!

But seriously, political ranting really doesn't have anything to do with this. I hope CoCo finds a new late night home VERY soon and hopefully he'll figure out a way to bring Triumph and everyone's favorite self-pleasuring bear along for the ride (that's the real tragedy of this agreement between him and NBC - All of his intellectual property from the last 17 or so years is technically theirs). I for one am one of the rising 18-35 male demographic who will not be watching Leno's show (not that I watched it regularly at any point in the last 10 years) and I suspect that he will not regain his Number 1 late-night status for a long time if ever. I did DVR CoCo EVERY night he was on and yes I did watch it live when possible as well. If pledging to watch it live will make a difference, I would gladly do so.

Obama NLRB Nominee Craig Becker’s Smoking Gun?

by

Don Loos

Contact Your Senators NOW and Urge them To Vote No on Radical Craig Becker’s Nomination.

The Senate is scheduled to vote TODAY on the nomination of radical union apologist Craig Beck to the National Labor Relations Board.

It’s vital you contact your Senators IMMEDIATELY to help derail this out of control union lackey from being on this board.

You can find your Senators direct lines through this link.

One recent piece of evidence to add to the growing Becker rap sheet:

In last week’s U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing, Obama nominee Craig Becker clearly tried to put distance between himself and his former client ACORN:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) asked Becker this question:

“Do you perform work for and provide advice to ACORN or ACORN-affiliated groups while employed by your current employers or on a volunteer basis?”

Becker responded, “Senator McCain, I have never done so.” (Emphasis added)

Becker statement to the Senate Committee is that he has never provided legal advice to ACORN or to an ACORN affiliate while employed by SEIU; but, an ACORN produced report directly conflicts Becker’s statement.

ACORN’s “2006 YEAR ENDING – YEAR BEGINNING REPORTS” publication (a compilation of reports filed by ACORN organizations) declared that Becker while serving as SEIU Counsel was also a counsel for ACORN:

“Legal Representation – In the past we have used Steve Bachmann and the CCI legal team; SEIU counsel, Craig Becker; Art Martin in Southern Illinois…” (Emphasis added)

In addition as the National Right To Work Committee’s report on Becker noted, ACORN’s Founder Wade Rathke produced some interesting commentary about Becker that contradicts his statement as well:

“Here’s a big win no matter how you shake and bake it:  Craig Becker being nominated for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)!  … having crossed paths with Craig for more than 20 years, finally we have a situation where a brilliant, effective, and pro-worker/pro-union lawyer will be on the NLRB. …

“I can remember Keith Kelleher negotiating the subsidy for SEIU Local 880 in Chicago and always making sure that there was the money for the organizers, but that SEIU was also still willing to allow access to Craig .”

Rathke even credits Becker with the massive forced unionization of home health care workers.

“For my money Craig’s signal contribution has been his work in crafting and executing the legal strategies …leading to the membership of perhaps a half-million such workers in unions like SEIU, AFSCME, CWA, and the AFT.

“Craig was the key lawyer from the beginning in the early 1980’s who was able to piece together the arguments and representation that allowed those of us involved in trying to organize home health care workers in Illinois, Massachusetts, …His role was often behind the scenes devising the strategy with the organizer and lawyers, writing the briefs for others to file, and putting all of the pieces together, but he was the go-to-guy on all of this.” (Emphasis added)

Becker Sought International Jurisdiction Over NLRB

Becker has appealed to international organizations to apply pressure to the NLRB arguing that the NLRB should follow “mainstream international laws” rather than U.S. laws.

In 2006, Becker as AFL-CIO Associate Counsel spearheaded an AFL-CIO complaint to the United Donations against the NLRB ruling that nurse shift supervisors are indeed supervisors.  The AFL-CIO appeal to an international body beyond the sovereign government of the United States and the NLRB.  This is the very same NLRB where Becker now wants to sit as a member.

“‘This will demonstrate how far outside the mainstream of accepted international law the U.S. is moving,’ said Craig Becker, a legal counsel to the AFL-CIO.” (Emphasis added)

Take Action

Becker’s ACORN associations and his deference to international laws are only a fraction of Becker’s whole public record that calls his nomination into question and the need for you to act now to stop his confirmation by your U.S. Senators.

Here are some additional reasons that you might mention to your U.S. Senators when you call or e-mail them:

Craig Becker wrote that Secret ballot “elections are profoundly undemocratic.”

• He believes that a worker’s choice should be between which unions workers should be forced to join; he does not believe a worker should have the choice not to join to a union.
• Becker argued that just as U.S. citizens cannot opt against having a congressman, workers should not be able to choose against having a union as their monopoly-bargaining agent. “‘Employees’ only choice,” explained Mr. Becker, “should be over which set of union officials get ‘exclusive’ power to negotiate their wages, benefits, and work rules.”
• In addition, Becker through his writings has attacked the members of The National Right To Work, and will be incapable of fairly judging any cases that the National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation brings before the NLRB.

Becker does not express a belief in individual rights of workers to freely choose to join or not to join a union.  He supports the idea that workers should be forced into collectives like unions that dominate and control individual working conditions.  Becker’s beliefs are the antithesis of American democracy and liberty, and his beliefs will have disastrous results if implemented by the NLRB.

It’s vital you help defeat this nomination

Contact your Senators TODAY!

Click here to Take Action Right Now to Protect Individual Freedoms and Contact Your Senators!

(Link for full hearing video),

NLRB – National Labor Relations Board: an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector.

Becker Lied to McCain by Matthew Vadum in The American Spectator (2010)

2006 YEAR END – YEAR BEGIN REPORTS

Keith Kelleher is the head organizer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 880 and has been a field organizer, lead organizer and head organizer for ACORN, the United Labor Unions (ULU), and SEIU Local 880 for over 20 years. (The People Shall Rule by Keith Kelleher and Madeline Talbott, 2000)

Becker to the NLRB by Wade Rathke in Wade Rathke: Chief Organizer Blog

This is a scheme where the state declares independent contractors who receive grants from the state to take care of people in their homes are employees of the state for collective bargaining purposes only.  These created “employees” have no state pension, no state insurance, nor any other benefits of state employees.

Becker to the NLRB by Wade Rathke in Wade Rathke: Chief Organizer Blog

“AFL-CIO files complaint with U.N. labor group; Protest is aimed at ruling on role of supervisors” by Will Lester, ASSOCIATED PRESS in the Buffalo News. 23 Oct 2006: B7.

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Tags: ACORN, ACORN affiliate, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, Card Check, Craig Becker, CWA, forced unionization, HELP Committee, John McCain, NLRB, Wade Rathke
Posted Feb 9th 2010 at 12:04 pm in ACORN, Big Labor, Congress |

72654137 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/dloos/2010/02/09/obama-nlrb-nominee-craig-beckers-smoking-gun/Obama+NLRB+Nominee+Craig+Becker%E2%80%99s+Smoking+Gun%3F2010-02-09+20%3A04%3A54Don+Loos

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AP Stories Reappear on Google <b>News</b>; “Ongoing Discussions <b>…</b>

Google's “sort of temporary detente” with the Associated Press is progressing: now new AP stories have started showing up on Google (NSDQ: GOOG) <b>News</b>—this one, for example, about AP itself—as first noticed by WSJ. …

AP Articles Return To Google <b>News</b>

It appears they have kissed and made up… for now.

Warner sees slower sales growth after pricing change | iLounge <b>News</b>

If you have a comment, <b>news</b> tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods/iPhones/iPad or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod/iPhone/iPad products or services, read iLounge's Comments + Questions policies …

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AP Stories Reappear on Google <b>News</b>; “Ongoing Discussions <b>…</b>

Google's “sort of temporary detente” with the Associated Press is progressing: now new AP stories have started showing up on Google (NSDQ: GOOG) <b>News</b>—this one, for example, about AP itself—as first noticed by WSJ. …

AP Articles Return To Google <b>News</b>

It appears they have kissed and made up… for now.

Warner sees slower sales growth after pricing change | iLounge <b>News</b>

If you have a comment, <b>news</b> tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods/iPhones/iPad or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod/iPhone/iPad products or services, read iLounge's Comments + Questions policies …

AP Stories Reappear on Google <b>News</b>; “Ongoing Discussions <b>…</b>

Google's “sort of temporary detente” with the Associated Press is progressing: now new AP stories have started showing up on Google (NSDQ: GOOG) <b>News</b>—this one, for example, about AP itself—as first noticed by WSJ. …

AP Articles Return To Google <b>News</b>

It appears they have kissed and made up… for now.

Warner sees slower sales growth after pricing change | iLounge <b>News</b>

If you have a comment, <b>news</b> tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods/iPhones/iPad or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod/iPhone/iPad products or services, read iLounge's Comments + Questions policies …

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SourceForge.net: Some good <b>news</b>: SourceForge removes blanket blocking

If this topic is <b>news</b> to you, please read the statement we made explaining what we did last month and why. In brief, we blocked all users from certain countries from downloading software using the site. Our action provoked a strong, …

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Over 8 million users have registered to play Sony Online Entertainment's Free Realms, the free-to-play virtual world game…

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PostSecret <b>News</b>. The German version of PostSecret - PostSecretDeutsch - opened an exhibit of cards yesterday at the Tübingen City Museum, in Germany. The KSU PostSecret Exhibit opened last week in the Sturgis Gallery. …

People have asked whether moving your money from your giant bank to a small community bank or credit union will have any real affect on the too big to fails, given that most of their profits come from speculative investments instead of normal banking deposits.

According to the Nation, the answer is yes:

The cynics either do not understand banking or misunderstand the widespread public anger. Dennis Santiago, [influential bank-rating firm, Institutional Risk Analytics'] CEO and managing director, explained that banks compete fiercely for the “core deposits” provided by individual and small business accounts–this stable money is their preferred base for profitable lending. Take away core deposits, and bankers feel immediate balance-sheet stress. Expand the account base for community banks, and they gain greater stability and greater lending power. “Will moving your money have an effect?” Santiago asked. “And by effect, I don’t mean making a momentary political statement. I mean making a structural difference to the country’s financial system. The answer is yes.”

The Nation points out that a wide variety of campaigns to take back power are being launched from diverse sources:

A campaign launched by faith-based community organizations associated with the Industrial Areas Foundation identifies sky-high interest rates on credit cards and other lending as the ancient sin of usury. IAF groups are asking churches, foundations and local governments to withdraw funds from the usurious banks that profit by destroying borrowers. Organized labor, likewise, has launched an aggressive movement to insist on responsible investing values for the pension-fund wealth of working people, urging state treasurers and fund managers to invest for society’s interests as well as good returns.

The Nation is right. There are numerous efforts to stand up to the giant banks.

Congresswoman Kaptur advises her constituents facing foreclosure to demand that the original mortgage papers be produced. She says that – if the bank can’t produce the mortgage papers – then the homeowner can stay in the house.

Debtors are revolting against exorbitant interest rates and fees and other aggressive tactics by the too big to fail banks. See this, this and this.

Portfolio manager and investment advisor Marshall Auerback argues that a debtor’s revolt would be a good thing.

Popular personal finance advisor Suze Orman is highlighting the debtors revolt phenomenon on her national tv show.

And see this and this.

What is fueling the debtor’s revolt?  Economic conditions are obviously a large part of it.  But the fact that the big banks are not abiding by “free market rules”, but are gambling with taxpayers’ money on the taxpayers’ dime, is a contributing factor.  In other words, many people apparently feel that since the banks aren’t playing fair or by the normal rules of contract , they shouldn’t have to, either.

The other week on MakeUseOf, we showed you how to ungoogle your life – if you so desire. I’ve decided to do the opposite. Since I’m a self-avowed Google fan, and am in this deep, I may as well give my entire life over to them, including managing my budget and expenses.

I’ve tried out a whole slew of web and phone apps with the sole purpose of managing my expenses, but nothing seemed to suit my personal needs. Each application was either too complex, or left out factors that were essential to me. So I decided an Excel sheet, saved on Google Documents, would be the best way to keep track of both the balance in my bank account, and my spending habits.

Depending on what your personal needs are, there are a variety of templates specifically for managing your budget, available on Google Documents, or if you need something more detailed, there’s Ryan’s guide to putting together your own personal budget on Excel, which you can then upload to your Google Documents.

When it comes to tracking my spending, there have always been two essential factors I need to consider. First, my modes of spending money are varied, whether I’m using one of my credit cards, my debit card, or cash. When I withdraw money from the ATM, I want that to be reflected in my expenses and bank balance, but I also want to keep track of what that money is being spent on.

My solution to this using Google budgeting tools was simple. Using Google Documents Checkbook Register template, I duplicated the first sheet, listing my bank balance and transactions taking place directly from my bank account – deposits, ATM withdrawals and credit card payments.

I used the second sheet to list the amount of cash I withdraw each month, and keep a record of transactions each time I spend money. That way I know what is being spent, where and how.

The template is very simple to use – enter your bank balance at the top of the balance column, and each time you add a new entry to the withdrawal or deposit columns, it will automatically calculate your new balance.

The second factor to consider was that some payments I make don’t clear until the end of the month. I decided to keep those transactions at the bottom of the spreadsheet, and to highlight them until the transaction cleared. That way, just by glancing at the balance above the highlighted transactions – I can see what my current balance is, and at the bottom, what it will be at the end of the month.

Spreadsheet formulas can be finicky, so there are a few things you need to keep in mind. You cannot leave a blank row in the spreadsheet, otherwise the formula will no longer work. Sometimes, when inserting a new transaction above the payments that have yet to clear, it can ruin the sequence of calculations. Don’t panic – simple copy the cell with the bank balance that is accurate, and paste it into all of the cells below it, and that will automatically repopulate the cells using the formula.

A word of warning when it comes to using Google Document templates. When you save a Google template to your documents, sharing is automatically set to public. Your personal budget is obviously not something you want to share with the rest of the world, so to remedy this, click on the share button in the top right hand corner. Under ‘See who has access,’ click on ‘People can view this item without signing in,’ and choose ‘Always require sign in.’

Next, click on the ‘Advanced Permissions’ tab and make sure all options are unchecked. Save your changes, and the document will now be private.

Now that I knew which Google budgeting tools I would be using to keep track of my monthly spending, I needed a way to keep track of my daily spending, so that at the end of each day, or week, I could enter the transactions into my spreadsheet.

Keeping it in the family, I decided to use Google Calendar. I wanted something I could easily access at my computer or on the go, which would also keep track of the exact dates these transactions were made.

I created a new calendar called ‘Expenses’ and each time I spend money, I immediately make an entry to that Google Calendar with a note of the amount, and what the money is being spent on.

I personally have my iPhone calendar synced to my Google Calendar. Google Sync works with the iPhone, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Nokia S60 phones.

If you’ve already set up your iPhone to sync with Google Calendar, be sure to go back into your iPhone sync settings and add your ‘Expenses’ calendar to the list of calendars that are in sync. You could also put Google’s mobile apps to good use for this purpose.

There are lots of little tips and tricks for entering transactions to your Google Calendar easier. You can use Twitter to add entries to Google Calendar. The downside to using Twitter to add your expenses is that it will add any entries to your primary Google Calendar, and of course you’re sending your spending habits to a third party.

For those of you living in the US, you can also send in your entries from your phone via SMS, but again, this option only works with your primary calendar.

There are various ways you can then access the information on Google Calendar to later input into your spreadsheet. I find the Agenda tab the most convenient to use in this instance, as it displays it all in one continuous list.

Do you have any tips on how to use Google budgeting tools to manage your expenses? Let us know in the comments.

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In Washington, U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said Clinton had put forth a vision that the U.S. believes is shared around the world.

“We are aware that China has a different position with respect to restricting information,” Crowley said, citing tightened Web controls in China last year around anniversaries like that of the June 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. “We think this is inconsistent with the information environment and prerequisites of the 21st century.”

“We will continue to promote the free flow of information, unfettered access to information, the ability to have virtual freedom of association,” Crowley said. “We will not back away from advocating that this should be something that all countries should promote.”

Xinhua also cited the State Council, China's Cabinet, as criticizing what it called interference in the country's domestic affairs.

Internet control is considered a critical matter of state security in China. Beijing promotes Internet use for commerce, but heavily censors content it deems pornographic, anti-social or politically subversive and blocks many foreign news and social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook, and the popular video-sharing site YouTube.

Google said it had uncovered a computer attack that tried to plunder its software coding and the Gmail accounts of human rights activists protesting Chinese policies. The company traced the attacks on its computers to hackers in China, but hasn't directly tied them to the Chinese government or its agents.

A Chinese Internet security official questioned the allegation, saying Google had not reported its complaints to China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team.

Zhou Yonglin, the team's deputy chief of operations, also said the team logged attacks on 262,000 Chinese computers last year by hackers implanting malicious software such as Trojans, which can allow outside access to the target's computer. More than 16 percent of the attacks came from computers located in the U.S., he said.

___

Associated Press writer Matt Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

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