Clicks of the Day: April 20, 21, 22 2012 Weekend Edition!

Welcome to the three-day roundup …

Weekend Edition (April 20, 21, 22) of Clicks of the Day!

(I only do one Clicks of the Day post for the weekends so that I can actually have a weekend, lol. And amount of content will fluctuate depending on how much of a weekend I actually have!)

    Edmonton/Alberta/Canada

    Election Day is Monday! Please make time to vote.

    Here’s your last elections-related round-up before the big decision…

  • Edmonton ridings to watch
  • “The capital has some of the most unpredictable ridings in the province, with some featuring three, four or even five candidates with a legitimate shot at winning. Here are some of the ones we’ll be watching on election night…”

  • The ups and downs, highs and lows of a wild 28-day Alberta election campaign
  • From “The busty bus makes its late night debut” to “Faced with slipping poll numbers and simmering controversy, Smith offers her staunchest defence yet of Leech and Hunsperger. ‘I take it personally when accusations of racism and bigotry are aimed at me and at my party,’ Smith says”

  • A look at the sound bites from a wild 28-day Alberta election campaign
  • Including “I think Ms. Redford doesn’t like Alberta all that much” – “We have always said the science isn’t settled” – “Do we really have to vote fo two false choices” and more! (lots of Sherman-ism one liners not included though!)

  • Roller-coaster Alberta election nears historic conclusion
  • “On Monday, voters will determine the course of the province and the fate of the 41-year Progressive Conservative dynasty. Will Albertans choose a new conservative party in the poll-leading Wildrose, or re-elect the long-ruling Tories? What crucial role could the Liberals and NDP play — particularly if the province elects the first minority government in its history? For the first time in many years, it seems nothing is guaranteed. Yet commentators believe one thing is certain: the outcome will rattle Alberta’s political bedrock.”

  • An Alberta shakeup would be felt across the country
  • “Normally, provincial elections don’t much count in the national scheme of things, but this one could be different. Alberta is now so wealthy, in and of itself and by contrast to the rest of Canada, that the whole country will be affected by how it uses that wealth. Moreover, Alberta is the heartland of the federal Conservative government. What Alberta thinks, how Alberta acts (or reacts), how it regards the federation and how fundamentally it views itself are consequential for Canadians everywhere.”

  • Wildrose tops PCs in campaign donations
  • “While the votes have yet to be counted in the Alberta election, the Wildrose party appears to have bested the Progressive Conservatives in at least one campaign battle. Danielle Smith’s party announced Sunday it has raked in nearly $2.4 million in donations during the four-week race, while Alison Redford’s rival Tories claimed a total of $1.8 million over the first 3 1/2 weeks. It’s believed to be the first time in more than 40 years that any party has raised more money than the PCs.”

    What will happen come Monday night!

  • Funding delay ‘seriously impairs’ River Cree Casino
  • “Alberta’s largest destination resort casino faces a possible bankruptcy filing after defaulting on more than $100 million of debt owed to a group of major financial institutions. River Cree Resort and Casino — co-owned by Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming and the Enoch Cree First Nation — failed to meet a deadline to repay $111 million of term loans due to a group of six lenders.”

    Ruh roh.

  • Convicted pedophile outing website goes live
  • “Long praised as well as criticized, a controversial website outing convicted Canadian pedophiles went live Friday. StopPedophiles.ca, developed and launched by the group Canada Family Action, collects information from public sources and publishes the names of convicted pedophiles across the country, the locations where the crimes took place, as well as any news articles relevant to each case. CFA president Brian Rushfeldt said the website does not aim to further penalize child sex offenders, but will act where the national sex offender is inadequate and incomplete.”

    Hm.

    World

  • UN security council clears way to send 300 observers to Syria
  • “The UN security council has voted to dramatically expand its monitoring mission in Syria, paving the way for up to 300 peacekeepers to be deployed to a country which has been brought to the brink of civil war in 13 months of violence. The resolution called on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, as well as armed opposition groups, to cease all violence and for the government to respect its commitment to the security council to withdraw heavy weapons.”

    Unarmed observers. I hope the violence ends.

  • No survivors from Pakistan plane crash, official says
  • “A commercial airplane carrying 127 people crashed Friday in Islamabad just before it was to land at a nearby airport, according to Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, which cited poor weather as a possible factor. No survivors have been found, officials said.”

    Scary and sad.

  • Golden Gate Bridge turns 75
  • “The Golden Gate Bridge has long been a magnet – and not just for motorists crossing the San Francisco Bay, either. On pleasant summer days, up to 10,000 pedestrians and 6,000 cyclists take to the span. But because officials have focused on running a bridge, not a tourist venue, visitor amenities were lacking until now. Among the new features designed to make recreational visits more comprehensive: A 3,500-square-foot Bridge Pavilion that will serve as an interpretive center, museum and gift shop with a new line of merchandise, the first-ever guided tours, a “green screen” photo area where visitors can pose as if they’re standing atop the tower or climbing the cables.”

    Cool! I can’t wait to go back to visit when it’s more tourist-y then!

    Health

  • Experts struggle to grasp why women kill their children
  • “Killing a child is one of the most despicable crimes, an act of aggression against vulnerable and innocent victims. When a mother kills her own children, the crime is even more reviled, because it violates not only society’s desire to protect children, but also our most basic expectations of women and mothers. Planned, intentional killings most often fall into a category called “altruistic filicide,” where a mother kills her children because she believes it is in their best interest, Resnick says. In such cases, a mother may think she is saving her children from a worse fate in the future, or believe that they feel the same depression she does.”

    Such a fascinating read. So sad though, I can’t fathom it.

  • Meat-eating contributed to human conquering, domination
  • “It seems if we were herbivores then we wouldn’t be as advanced as we are today, at least according to a new study out of Sweden. The research found that carnivory contributed to human success and population growth… Meat eating helped humans in the early period of our existence span across the globe, grow the population and become smarter.”

    Interesting!

  • Canadian nutrition label claims often wildly misleading, tests show
  • “Some of the world’s biggest food brands and leading organic labels have understated the amount of bad nutrients — such as fat, sugar and sodium — in their products, or overstated the good ones, internal government tests show. Kraft, Frito Lay, Unilever and Heinz are among the big names with a product that flunked Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) testing, conducted to see if nutrition claims on labels live up to their billing.”

    Bad, bad, bad.

  • Researchers say dandelion root extract may help fight cancer
  • “A researcher in Canada enjoyed a grant increase as he and his research team look to continue studying dandelion root extract with a view to finding a cure for cancer. A biochemist at the University of Windsor, Dr. Pandey has been involved in other cancer research projects and did not himself begin to consider dandelion root extract as a cancer fighter but had the idea brought to him. He’s had positive results and has been given an additional $157,000 to continue his study of the extract.”

    Would be great if this works!

    Technology/Social Media/Internet

  • Web could vanish for hordes of people in July, FBI warns
  • “If your computer is infected with the DNSChanger virus, your summertime Internet activities will be seriously curtailed — as in buh-bye. But a special Web site can help you fix the problem.”

    This seems to have come out of no where.

  • Meet the ‘Mann’ who registered 14,962 domains in 24 hours
  • “Mann is one of the longest members of the clubby world of domain speculators, and he’s buying up names in force these days. And not all on the aftermarket, as some others do. But new names. Dot-com names that aren’t registered — even though 100 million-plus already are — that he then turns around and sells for a few hundred bucks, sometimes far more. And this week, in a span that lasted less than 24 hours across Tuesday and Wednesday, Mann snapped up 14,962 domains — 1,822 starting Tuesday evening and the rest on Wednesday.”

    I’ve always wondered if I could get into the domain name/Internet name game. Imagine having snapped up “apple.com” before Apple did? Lol.

  • Phone graphics will surpass game consoles soon, says Nvidia
  • “The graphics of Xbox 360 games and those on PS3 may have peaked, as those consoles are several years old by now. But, the video game graphics seen on mobile phones continue to improve. Nvidia, a tech company best known for its powerful graphics processors, says mobile video game graphics are about to surpass those seen on dedicated video game consoles.”

    Phone games are pretty impressive.

  • Anonymous launches music service Anontune
  • “Anonymous has launched a new browser-based music service called Anontune. The service is a browser-based platform that lets users compile playlists of songs and videos from third party sources like YouTube and Soundcloud. Anontune is the hacktivist collective’s response to the music industry’s continued legal battle against online music services such as Limewire and Jam Glue. In a video accompanying the debut of the Anontune prototype, Anonymous proclaimed, “The state of online music has been sabotaged by the fat hands of corporate involvement.””

    Interesting.

  • To read all of those web privacy policies, just take a month off work
  • “Internet surfers have long worried that they have insufficient control over their online privacy — despite the privacy policies many people agree to when they visit websites or use online services. There are data to support the surfers’ feelings: Online privacy policies are so cumbersome and onerous that it would take the average person about 250 working hours every year — about 30 full working days — to actually read the privacy policies of the websites they visit in a year, according to an analysis by researchers Aleecia M. McDonald and Lorrie Faith Cranor.”

    Things should be simpler.

    Business/Work/Economy/Media

  • Ma and pa video stores fight to survive in a dying market
  • “On a side street in Ottawa’s downtown core, the emptiness echoes with every creak of the floor in this 12-year-old independent video store. Like many ma-and-pa video shops, the original plan was to carry a niche selection of movies and avoid an overlap with the existing market. But Nick Shaw, owner of Invisible Cinema admits “that proved not to be a successful business plan.” As DVD sales continue their move toward seeming extinction and rental store sales face a drastic decline, independent video stores are looking for ways to survive in the competition against “all-you-can-eat” companies that are aggressively taking over with video streaming and video kiosks. The road ahead for these stores is a bumpy one – and the question is how will they stay open in a market that seems to strongly suggest they can’t?”

    Very sad.

  • Are travel agents back?
  • “In 2011 travel agencies experienced a second consecutive year of growth; their bookings account for a third of the $284 billion United States travel market. This comes after years during which all signs seemed to be suggesting that travel agents would soon go the way of telex operators. And it’s true that the numbers are stark: During the industry’s peak years of the mid-1990s, there were about 34,000 retail locations booking trips. Today, there are 14,000 to 15,000, according to PhoCusWright. In 2009 alone, in the throes of the recession, bookings through traditional agencies plummeted by 23 percent. But now, some green shoots. An improving economy and the corporate travel that goes with it seem to be converging with a population for whom booking travel online has become increasingly onerous and time-consuming.”

    Interesting!

  • Is Barbie headed for early retirement?
  • “Barbara Millicent Roberts stood her ground in the face of less-than-classy rivals before, but some analysts say the 53-year-old doll may need to up her game to stay in fashion. Mattel’s first quarter earnings plunged 53%… and gross sales of Barbie fell 6% during that period in contrast to a 4% rise in sales for American Girl Brands. The iconic doll’s fortunes see-sawed in recent years, leading some analysts to question whether she needs another makeover.”

    Lol. There’s going to be a Hunger Games Barbie in July.

  • Facts, 360 B.C.-A.D. 2012
  • “A quick review of the long and illustrious career of Facts reveals some of the world’s most cherished absolutes: Gravity makes things fall down; 2 + 2 = 4; the sky is blue… To the shock of most sentient beings, Facts died Wednesday, April 18, after a long battle for relevancy with the 24-hour news cycle, blogs and the Internet… Facts is survived by two brothers, Rumor and Innuendo, and a sister, Emphatic Assertion.”

    This is a brilliant article!!!

    Environment/Space/Animals

  • View from space shows Earth in a state of flux
  • “A series of stunning before-and-after photos from NASA reveals nature’s course and humanity’s impact on the planet.”

    Click into the photos to see before/after descriptions.

  • Scientists urge Canada to postpone commercial fishing in the Arctic
  • “More than 2,000 scientists from 67 countries, including 551 from Canada, are calling for a moratorium on commercial fishing in the Arctic until research can determine what lies in waters that were once covered year-round by the polar ice cap and set sustainable catch levels. In a letter to be released Monday by the American-based Pew Environment Group, the scientists point out that the loss of permanent sea ice due to global warming has opened up as much as 40 per cent of the polar area during recent summers.”

    Please postpone it.

    Weird News, Other News & Fluff

  • Coke drinking linked to woman’s death, inquest told
  • “The sister of a woman whose partner claimed she died because she drank too much Coca-Cola says she does not hold the company responsible. However, the woman’s partner and mother-in-law say warning labels should be put on the drink… Pathologist Dan Mornin said he believed Harris died of cardiac arrhythmia and it was likely she was suffering from hypokalemia (low potassium) along with caffeine toxicity, which could have contributed to her death.”

    Anything in excess could be harmful to you… but I stick with water in general.

  • Kristin and Kayla: Dad takes adorable photos of daughters for grandmother (photos go viral)
  • “It’s not every day that a little girl can transform into Super Mario, ride a flying bicycle, or let down her hair like Rapunzel (and then have her sister swing from it). But when your dad’s a photographer and you’re adorable, the magical becomes possible.”

    So creative! So cool.

  • Praying mantis hijacks picture of spider in ultimate ‘photobomb’
  • “The intrusive insect took a cameraman by surprise by carrying out its own sudden ‘photobomb’. Theerasak Saksritawee was trying to capture a jumping spider on a plant when the mantis got in front of the lens to grab some of the attention. The 27-year-old from Thailand said: ‘The mantis can eat the jumping spider and amazingly the spider can also eat the mantis, so it was a really crazy situation. Luckily, no one got eaten and they went their separate ways.’”

    LOL hilarious!! What a cool shot.

  • Giant George: The biggest dog in the world
  • Wow!!! Biggest dog EVER!

  • [Video]: Fearless cat shows bear who’s boss
  • “Don’t ever try messing with a cat as he stares off into the distance.”

    Lol, awesome!

  • [Video]: Kitten tries to intimidate a ball
  • “This is actually the scariest a kitten can be.”

    Awwww. :)


Thor (and/or Loki) Photo of the Day:

Thor and Loki with their movie counterparts! Hehe.


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Linda

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