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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - May 16, 2012
May 16, 2012
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Our diminishing natural resources:
Humans are using up Earth's resources much faster than they can be renewed.
According to a disturbing new report from the World Wildlife Fund, it takes the Earth 1.5 years to make up for what we use in just one year. Last year, humans went through the full year's worth of renewable resources by Sept 27. The report also finds that biodiversity, or the number of plant and animal species and other organisms, has dropped 30 percent in the past four decades.
The countries using up the most resources per capita? Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, and then the U-S in spot number five.
FYI: LiveScience has the full top 10, along with those countries that use the least. (Maiman)Money Talks:
A couple of sour notes for Facebook.
General Motors canceled its ads on Facebook after determining that it's just not paying off. People aren't clicking on the ads. The automaker has been reevaluating its marketing strategy in an effort to cut its $2 billion marketing budget.
Meanwhile, a CNBC survey confirms exactly what GM is talking about. Users aren't clicking on the ads. A full 83 percent of those surveyed said they "hardly ever" or "never" click on Facebook ads. Yet, 40 percent of adults click links, photos, and gifs of kittens (or other cute furry animals).
It might be because most Americans who use Facebook don't seem to much trust the social-networking site. Only 13 percent of those surveyed said that they trust the site "completely" or "a lot." That lack of trust in the site may hamper ad sales, even as the company prepares for what promises to be one of the biggest IPOs in history, estimated to be as high as $104 billion. (Maiman)Losers in Lockup:
Facebook is proving itself to be a crime fighting machine.
The Huffington Post says a pair of burglars in Colombia are charged with robbing an Internet cafe at gunpoint, then making a getaway on a motorcycle. But, the not-so-bright thugs left behind evidence. They had logged into Facebook on the cafe's computers, then forgot to log out. Police got their addresses, drove to their houses, and arrested them. (Still)Fashion Emergency:
Your trendy haircut could be causing lazy eye. An Australian optometrist says that haircuts that obstruct one eye can cause amblyopia That's the medical term for lazy eye, when one eye loses vision for reasons that can't be traced to problems in the eye. The NY Post says having a curtain of hair over one eye acts like an eye patch, limiting access to sensory stimulation. (Bartha)
Taking everything much too seriously:
A guy in Wisconsin is protesting being cut-off from a seafood buffet (video).
The Huffington Post says 6-foot-6, 350-pound BILL WISTH was asked to leave the place after wolfing down a dozen pieces of fish. Managers at the all-you-can-eat fish restaurant Chuck's Place say, thanks to Wisth, they started running out of food. Now, the disgruntled diner in camping out in front of the restaurant with a picket sign until they agree to let him back in to finish his meal. Wisth says, "It's false advertising. We asked for more fish, and they refused to give us more fish." Wisth says he even called police to report the restaurant, but they didn't help. (Still)Grace notes:
LADY GAGA's upcoming concert in Jakarta, Indonesia, has been canceled. No, not by the artist. The nation's powerful Islamist organizations don't want Gaga to perform, and the National Police have denied to authorize a permit for the June 3rd show, which, naturally, was sold out. Gaga is now the first foreign artist to ever be denied a permit to perform in Indonesia. The Islamist groups claim Gaga is a "devil worshiper" and "Satanist." (Marino)
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