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Facebook IPO Could Value it Among Top Companies

Ryan Nakashima
The Associated Press
Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00 UTC
Image
© The Associated Press/Marcio Jose Sanchez
In this May, 26, 2010 file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about the social network site's new privacy settings in Palo Alto, Calif.
When Facebook makes its long-expected debut as a public company this spring, the social-networking company will likely vault into the ranks of the largest public companies in the world, alongside McDonald's, Amazon.com and Bank of America.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Facebook is preparing to file initial paperwork for an offering that could raise as much as $10 billion and value the company at $75 billion to $100 billion. The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission could come as early as Wednesday, with an initial public offering of stock in three or four months.

The targeted amount would slot it among the world's 25 largest IPOs, although as recently as November 2010, General Motors raised $15.8 billion when it shed majority control by the U.S. government.

The IPOs of 14 companies would rank higher than Facebook's, according to investment adviser Renaissance Capital. Among them were Visa Inc.'s $17.9 billion IPO in March 2008, the largest for a U.S. company, and world-topper Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., which raised $19.3 billion in July 2010, not including extra shares issued to meet demand.
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Handcuffs

US: Police Officer Shot, Killed by Fellow Officer Trying to Arrest Him


MSNBC
Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:00 UTC
California - A Santa Maria police officer was shot and killed Saturday by a fellow officer who was trying to arrest him for suspected sexual misconduct with a minor, the Santa Maria Times reported.

The slain officer was on duty when police tried to take him into custody early Saturday, the Santa Maria Police Department said in a press release.

The suspect officer allegedly drew his weapon and fired. "In response, one officer on scene fired at the suspect officer hitting him once," officials said in a news release, according to the Times.

The wounded officer was taken to a hospital, where he died.

The name of the slain officer was not released. Authorities said he was being investigated on an allegation of sexual misconduct against a minor.
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Vader

NOW Libyans are being tortured to death - thanks NATO!


Sky News
Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:50 UTC
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Sheeple

Irish Actor Liam Neeson Questions his Faith, Considers Converting to Islam


Huffington Post UK
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:17 UTC
Irish actor Liam Neeson has revealed he is considering giving up on his Catholic faith and converting to Islam.

Image
The Hollywood star, 59, was recently filming in Turkish city Istanbul and became fascinated with the Muslim faith during his stay.

Speaking to The Sun, he said: "The Call to Prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing.

"There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim."

So he won't be copying Madonna and taking an interest in Kabbalah or following in Tom Cruise's footsteps and become a Scientologist?
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Bad Guys

US: Police: Connecticut Ax Murderer Ate Victim's Eyeball, Brain

David Owens
Articles.courant.com
Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:10 UTC
Image
© Bridgeport Police Department
Tyree Lincoln Smith, 35.
Police and U.S. Marshals in Florida have taken a former Bridgeport resident into custody on charges that he used an ax to kill a man, then ate a portion of his victim's brain and one of his eyeballs.
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Brick Wall

Censored and Banned by Court! Dark Ages and Abuse of Children: "The Wall", A Documentary About Autism in France


Support The Wall
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:00 UTC
The Regional Court of Lille released its verdict yesterday Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 under an emergency ruling.

The Wall is censored and banned. The court has ordered Sophie Robert to remove the speech of the three plaintiffs from her movie. Furthermore, the court orders Sophie Robert to withdraw her movie from the internet. Otherwise she will have to pay 100 EUR per day to the plaintiffs.

Sophie Robert and her sole-proprietorship company "Océan Invisible Productions" are sentenced pay to at least 40 000 EUROS in damages and lawyers fees to the plaintiffs.

Sophie Robert has decided to appeal. Yet, she has to pay immediately the amount due.

Watch the documentary here
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Camera

Daddy Won't be Pleased... Hugo Chávez's Daughter Sparks Outrage in Venezuela After Posting Picture with U.S. Dollar Bills

Ellen Connolly
The Daily Mail, UK
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:14 UTC
For most Venezuelans, obtaining U.S. dollars in a tightly regulated economy is a nightmare.

But not for President Hugo Chavez's 14-year-old daughter, Rosines, who posted a picture of herself peering out from behind a wad of greenbacks.

The picture, posted on Instagram, a free photo-sharing app, triggered controversy in Venezuela this week after posting a picture of herself flaunting a fistful of dollars.
Image
© unknown
Chavez's daughter, Rosines, 14, posted a photo of herself holding a fistful of U.S. dollars, outraging her fellow Venezuelans
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Vader

Why Did Harper Announce Canada's "Major Transformations" in a Foreign Country?

Andy Radia
Political Points
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00 UTC
Stephen Harper
© The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivers his address to business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Thursday January 26, 2012.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper used his speech at the World Economic Forum, Thursday, as a means to outline his government's plans in the month's to come.

As reported in the Globe and Mail, Harper vowed "major transformations" including a change on how Canadians finance their retirement. He will overhaul the immigration system. He will make oil and gas exports to Asia a "national priority" and aggressively pursue free trade in India and Europe.

While what he said was quite significant, it's where he said it that's leaving some scratching their heads.

NDP finance critic Peter Julian says that was very disrespectful to Canadians.

"(It's) particularly very disrespectful to Canadian seniors to roll out this type of speech among the world's billionaires in Davos rather than addressing us here as home," Julian told Yahoo! Canada News.
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Attention

Amazon Seller Caught Bribing for Good Reviews

Diane Bullock
Minyanville
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:22 UTC
Bribery
© Minyanville
I love you, now pay me!

Man, what does it take to get a five-star review on Amazon anymore? Well, if you're selling a sub-five-star product, almost ten bucks. At least that's what it cost online retailer VIP Deals who paid customers of a protective leather case designed for the Kindle Fire.

The Vipertek brand premium slim black leather case folio cover was originally listed on Amazon by VIP Deals for $59.99. But a special offer on the merchant's page had the item marked down by over 80% -- for $9.99 plus shipping. And if you think that's a good deal, what would you say to a full 100% off?

That's precisely what people who took advantage of the sale were offered from VIP Deals when the Kindle Fire case arrived. Inside the package was a letter stating that the entire order would be refunded in exchange for a review on Amazon. While a positive review wasn't asked for explicitly, the letter offered a less than subtle nudge in that direction. "We strive to earn 100 percent perfect 'FIVE-STAR' scores from you!" the letter stated.

Of the 355 reviews written about the leather cover on Amazon last week, 310 were five-star and the remaining 45 were four-star. In a fit of honesty, one of the reviewers let slip out, "I would have done 4 stars instead of 5 without the deal."
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Crusader

US: The Romney Family Converted Romney's Father-In-Law - After He Died

Wendy Gittleson
Addicting Info
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:49 UTC
Mitt Romney
© Unknown

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a lot about the Mormon religion, but from what I do know, they are quite evangelical and why not? As religions go, they're new and that's how new religions grow, through recruitment. But when I read this story, I couldn't help but feel, well...creeped out.

From Gawker:
Ann Romney's Welsh-born father (Mitt's father-in-law who Mitt mentioned in last night's debate to shore up his pro-immigrant bona fides) was an engineer, inventor, and resolute atheist who disdained all organized religion and raised his children accordingly. Davies, his son Roderick told the Boston Globe in 2007, regarded the faithful as "weak in the knees." But when Mitt began seeing Davies' daughter Ann, the Romney family launched a concerted effort to convert not only Ann but her entire family to Mormonism. And they were wildly successful: Within a year of meeting Ann, Mitt and his father had converted all three of Edward Davies' children. Days before she died in 1993, Ann Romney's mother asked to be converted as well. Edward Davies was the only member of his clan whose soul the Romneys never claimed for their church.
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