June 3, 2015

what happened to all that money we donated for Haiti - the Red Cross built 6 homes

When a devastating earthquake leveled Haiti in 2010, millions of people donated to the American Red Cross. The charity raised almost half a billion dollars. It was one of its most successful fundraising efforts ever.

The American Red Cross vowed to help Haitians rebuild. Yet, after five years, the Red Cross' legacy in Haiti isn't new roads, schools and hundreds of new homes. And it's difficult to know where all the money went.

NPR and ProPublica went in search of the nearly $500 million and found a string of poorly managed projects, questionable spending and dubious claims of success, according to a review of hundreds of pages of the charity's internal documents and emails, as well as interviews with a dozen current and former officials.


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The Red Cross says it has provided homes to more than 130,000 people. But the number of permanent homes the charity has built is six.





http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411524156/in-search-of-the-red-cross-500-million-in-haiti-relief

June 3, 2015

Tom Hanks' rapper son defends use of N-word

Chet Hanks, son of Tom Hanks, believes he should be able to use the n-word whenever he wants.

The rapper can be heard dropping the racial epithet throughout his music as well as on social media, which he says is okay because it "unifies the culture of hip-hop across all races."

In a series of Instagram posts, the son of the Oscar Award-winner defends his usage, saying the word can only have a "negative connotation if we so choose."

"Who is to say only black people can use it," he ask on an Instagram video of himself.


Tom Hanks' Rapper Son Causes Controversy For Using the N-Word on Instagram
Daily Surge


00:00 / 01:24
"It's a word that can be used out of camaraderie and love, not just exclusively for black people," he adds "What's the point in putting all these built up "rules" about it. It's time to let go. You can hate me or love me for it, but can't nobody tell me what I can or can't say."

Some of the rappers 21.1K followers don't seem to have the same take on the issue.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/tom-hanks-son-chet-defends-n-word-article-1.2244578

June 3, 2015

"Pizza on Pizza. We have officially peaked as a species."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/travel/worlds-50-best-restaurant-awards-2015/index.html

June 3, 2015

"dropped lemon tart" from world's 2nd best restaurant

dropped lemon tart from world's 2nd best restaurant



http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/travel/worlds-50-best-restaurant-awards-2015/index.html

June 3, 2015

Bison seriously injures 2nd Yellowstone tourist in 3 weeks

For the second time in three weeks, a bison seriously injured a tourist in Yellowstone National Park who apparently underestimated how quickly the big, burly animals can move when they're miffed.

The bison tossed the 62-year-old Australian several times into the air Tuesday morning. The unidentified man was flown by helicopter to a hospital. He had serious but not life-threatening injuries.

The man wasn't the only person to blame for the encounter, park officials said. Several people crowded the bison as it lay on the grass near a paved sidewalk not far from the famous Old Faithful Geyser.

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The man stepped forward and snapped photos with an electronic notepad just 3 to 5 feet away from the animal, she said.

When the bison charged, the tourist had little chance to escape. Bison can weigh as much as a small car and run three times faster than a person.

http://www.netzero-news.net/news/read/category/Top%20News/article/the_associated_press-bison_seriously_injures_2nd_yellowstone_tourist_in-ap

June 2, 2015

This startup is so basic people think it’s fake - business will take trashcans to the curb for u

THE TECHNOLOGY CHRONICLES
This startup is so basic people think it’s fake
By Emily Price on June 2, 2015 10:23 AM
26
A Recology employee does recycling and trash pickups along 26th Ave. in San Francisco. A startup making waves this week will take trash and recycling bins to the curb for San Francisco residents. (The Chronicle)
A Recology employee does recycling and trash pickups along 26th Ave. A startup making waves this week will take trash and recycling bins to the curb for San Francisco residents. (The Chronicle)
No one likes taking out the trash, and now one startup wants to make it so you don’t have to. A San Francisco company called TrashDay started making waves Monday with the tagline “Never Take Out The Trash Again.” The premise of the idea is simple: they’ll come take your trash out to the curb for you.

Once you sign up for the $32-$52/month service, the company will come assess your home’s trash situation, get copies of your keys, and then show up the afternoon before your trash pickup to roll your cans out to the curb. Once your trash has been picked up, they’ll come again to roll your cans back inside. According to the company’s website, it plans to offer its service soon in The Mission, Noe Valley, Lower Haight, and The Castro.

It’s not unlike the same service that San Francisco’s Recology (the guys who pick up your trash in the first place) already do for a small fee. The idea is so basic, that many people have assumed TrashDay a parody, which it might be. The site has no information about the company’s founders (a standard for most startup sites), and the only way to contact TrashDay is through a phone number that points to a Google Voice account. Calls go straight to voicemail, and our own request for comment has yet to be answered.

Regardless of whether the service ever moves a single can it’s already been successful at one thing: inspiring a parody. A site for another startup called “Here Comes The Airplane” went up yesterday. Rather than take out your trash, Here Comes The Airplane plans to help those that are tired of feeding themselves by holding the “silver spoon” and doing it for you. Clicking on the “Questions” link on the page takes you to the Business Insider article “Silicon Valley startups are obsessed with developing tech to replace their moms.” That article rounds up a number of services in the city such as Homejoy, Kichit, and Washio that essentially offer the same services someone might get from a parent.
http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2015/06/02/this-startup-is-so-basic-people-think-its-fake/

June 2, 2015

dream home built from three shipping containers

https://m.facebook.com/s7vnth?refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-3107676%2FPictured-beautiful-self-sufficient-home-built-inside-set-old-shipping-containers-Canadian-man-expensive-bill-month-phone.html&_rdr

June 2, 2015

teen arrested for being a "smartass". held for 19 hours. 45k payout

Erlich went around the corner to buy a cup of hot cocoa, and the plainclothes cop followed her, she alleged.

“He said something slick like, ‘Where are you going?’ ” she added. “I said, ‘I’m going home.’ ”

When Erlich asked if he was a cop, he replied, “Maybe.” She then told him that’s “a cop answer.”

Seconds later, a van pulled up and four more officers got out. That’s when Peinan ordered them to cuff her, she claimed.

“He said she blew his cover,” Erlich’s mother said.
Erlich said that when she asked why she was being arrested, Peinan responded, “You know why — you’re being a smartass.”

http://nypost.com/2015/06/02/teen-busted-after-refusing-cops-advances-gets-45k-from-city/

They searched her, then put her and a friend, Marie Gonzalez, in the back of a police van before taking them to the 52nd Precinct station house a couple of hours later, she said.

They didn’t release her until 11 a.m. the next day.

June 1, 2015

Whoops! A creationist museum supporter stumbled upon a major fossil find.

Canadian Edgar Nernberg isn't into the whole evolution thing. In fact, he's on the board of directors of Big Valley’s Creation Science Museum, a place meant to rival local scientific institutions. Adhering to the most extreme form of religious creationism, the exhibits "prove" that the Earth is only around 6,000 years old, and that humans and dinosaurs co-existed.

Unfortunately, Nernberg just dug up a 60-million-year-old fish.

¯\_(ツ _/¯

Local outlets report that the man is far from shaken by the bony fish, which he found while excavating a basement in Calgary.

Because here's the thing: He just doesn't believe they're that old. And he's quite the fossil lover.

“No, it hasn’t changed my mind. We all have the same evidence, and it’s just a matter of how you interpret it,” Nernberg told the Calgary Sun. “There’s no dates stamped on these things."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/05/28/whoops-a-creationist-museum-supporter-stumbled-upon-a-major-fossil-find/

June 1, 2015

‘Land of Rape and Honey’ offends Canadian town’s visitors despite reference to plant

It's boasted of being "The Land of Rape and Honey" for almost 60 years.

But small town Tisdale in Saskatchewan, Canada, could soon change its slogan after locals complained the saying, which refers to the rapeseed plant, was being misunderstood.

The rapeseed industry was once booming, reports CBC News. But a major decline in production means only 1% of its fields are now taken up with the yellow crop, often used to make canola oil.

Some of Tisdale's 3,200 residents say visitors regularly "raise their eyebrows" over what sounds like a reference to sexual assault.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/land-rape-honey-offends-reference-plant-article-1.2195585