Facebook by Peter Bruce

Some of the astounding numbers surrounding the Palo Alto social-networking giant in 2010.

This worries me.Why... Facebook is worth $45 billion and 96% of people on Face book don't pay a read cent. Is this what life has become,so much for so little. If you want heat in your house,turn the heat on and get a power bill,want gas in your car, fill it up and pay,well pay first. Want a newspaper, buy it and read it.. Along with the likes of Skype,pandora and others it's all becoming free. What message does this send to the people of the world.

Goods & services don't cost. And I can get what I want,when I want it free.
WTF this blog is free & and I am using it.

Question...is this a good thing for the human race ... Let me know

If the social network were a country, it would be the world's third largest.

1. China 1,330,141,295

2. India 1,173,108,018

3. Facebook 500,000,000

4. United States 310,232,863

5. Indonesia 242,968,342

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

China 1.3 billion

India 1.1 billion

Facebook .5 billion

Estimated value:

$45.21 billion

Face book is still a closely held company, although there is constant speculation that it will go public. One measure of the company's value comes from Sharespost.com, which tracks the sale of privately held stock. According to Sharespost, Facebook is valued at $45.21 billion.

That puts it between Metlife Inc. ($43.79 billion) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. ($45.27 billion).

A treasure trove of content Facebook members share more than 30 billion pieces of content (Web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) each month. The average user creates 90 pieces of content in a month.

The Library of Congress, below, which dates to 1800, houses more than 144 million items, including books, newspapers, audio, video, maps, sheet music and photographs.

8.93% of all hits

7.19% of all hits

According to Experian Hitwise, in 2010 Facebook passed Google to become the top-visited website in the United States.

Facebook accounted for 8.93 percent of all hits from January to November, while Google had 7.19 percent.

1. Facebook.com

2. Google.com

3. Mail.Yahoo.com

4. Yahoo.com

5. YouTube.com

And the word "Facebook" was the most searched term for the second year in a row, but in 2010, "Facebook Login" was No. 2.

The movie "The Social Network" with Jesse Eisenberg, left, the acclaimed film with Hollywood's version of how Mark Zuckerberg, top, founded Facebook, has reeled in $92.6 million since its Oct. 1 release, according to BoxOffice. com.

Membership milestones WOW...

February 2004:

Facebook founded

December 2004:

1 million

December 2005:

5.5 million

December 2006:

12 million

April 2007:

20 million

August 2008:

100 million

April 2009:

200 million

September 2009:

300 million

February 2010:

400 million

July 2010:

500 million

Estimated number of members: 600 million

Facebook's worldwide membership mushroomed from 150 million in January 2009 to 500 million in July, which was the last time the company released an official figure. It announces only the number of active users, those who log on to the site at least once a month.

With the number of monthly active users increasing by about 18.5 million per month in the last year and a half, Facebook is expected to have 600 million members soon. What I think 3 to 5 years there will be another bigger type of Face book,The year 2000,who knew of google,it was all Yahoo,now take a look.

Please let me know your thoughts

Peter Bruce

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http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1881480892/breasts-are-beautiful?ref=email

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Watch Out for ATM Skimming. Peter Bruce Photo

The next time you pull up to an ATM, take a closer look at the machine. Does it look a little clunkier than usual?

Look too at what's around you: Are there mirrors? Is there a brochure holder over your shoulder? Does it look like there might be a false panel or an extra light bar attached to the machine?

Tim Goldman

If something looks or feels amiss, walk away. You might save yourself from perpetuating a consumer fraud called ATM skimming. That's when thieves attach devices onto ATM machines in order to copy a credit- or debit-card number, the information on the magnetic strip and even your personal identification number.

"Many consumers may not be aware that an ATM has been tampered with because they're not educated about this," says Robert Vamosi, a security, risk and fraud research analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research.

Consider this your lesson.

Sophisticated skimming devices placed right over a card-reader slot allow scammers to capture the information embedded on the magnetic strip of a debit or credit card.

Within seconds, they have all they need to duplicate your card.They might also have what's called a pinhole camera mounted over your shoulder -- say, in a plastic holder for brochures or a false panel -- that records your fingers tapping in your PIN. Or there could be an overlay on the keypad that does so.

"They're not just stealing your credit-card number and information like the expiration date, but also the information encoded on the back of the magnetic strip," says Brian Krebs, who has written extensively about ATM skimmers on his blog, KrebsOnSecurity.com. "All they need to do is encode the information on another magnetic strip and they've re-created your card. ...It's a wholesale re-creation of your card and you still have it in your wallet."

And it's a lucrative business. Theft from ATM skimming is approaching $1 billion annually, according to Bankrate.com. Javelin estimates that one in five people have been hit by an ATM skimmer.

While a traditional bank heist will net the thief an average of $5,000, ATM pinching yields an average of $50,000, according to Doug Johnson, vice president of risk-management policy for the American Bankers Association.

"We have seen a higher level of sophistication associated with devices," Mr. Johnson says, "which can tend to make losses larger than in the past when more easily detectable skimming devices were used."

The attacks tend to be in high-traffic areas, such as big cities or popular malls. But stand-alone machines anywhere also are targets.

Here are some tips to keep in mind next time you go to withdraw cash:

Trust your GUT instincts. If something doesn't look right or feel right, move on to the next ATM. "Victims have said that they had a feeling when they were using the machines that something wasn't right," says Javelin's Mr. Vamosi.

As you key in your PIN, cover the keyboard with the other hand to block anyone or a camera from seeing.

Don't use ATMs with unusual signage or instructions, such as a command to enter your PIN twice to complete a transaction.

Be picky about what ATMs you use. "Don't go up to an ATM in a dark place," Mr. Krebs says. "Find one that's in a well-lit area, publicly visible and not tucked away somewhere."

Use ATMs that you're familiar with. If you travel, stick to ATMs at a bank branch. "Using a stand-alone ATM is like playing Russian roulette, especially in major metropolitan cities," says Robert Siciliano, a McAfee consultant and founder of IDTheftSecurity.com.

So how can you tell if an ATM has been altered with a skimming device or camera?

A lot of skimming devices are "stuck onto the machine or nearby with Velcro or two-sided tape," Mr. Siciliano says.

Keypads that aren't concave, for example, could have overlays that flatten or pull the surface of the keys out. A card-reader slot might have a perfectly molded attachment over it that pops off. Some skimmers are custom-made with matching molding and a color that corresponds to a targeted ATM.

"Consumers should stay away from ATMs that appear to have been altered," says Malcolm Wiley, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service. "If anything on the front of the machine looks crooked, loose or damaged, it could be a sign that someone has attached a skimming device or a camera."

Be careful, too, of bank-card skimmers attached to the pumps at gasoline stations.

Last summer, law-enforcement officials in Denver, Los Angeles, Dallas and Florida arrested suspects who allegedly stole debit- and credit-card information by placing small Bluetooth-enabled electronic devices inside the pump handles, which are locked.

Thieves then didn't have to return to the scene of the crime to unload the information. It was all available to them on their laptops or through text messages -- at least until the batteries on the devices wore out.

"These new skimming devices are better and getting harder and harder to detect," Mr. Siciliano says

Cheers Peter Bruce Photo

Charly's 9th bithday

Check out some of the cool photos from Charly's 9th birthday
Cheers Peter Bruce Photo

Meg Whitman. Who does not want waste by Peter Bruce

Whitman's $119 million donation breaks record

Don't get me wrong there are good and bad out there in the political world,but someone who does not want waste. WOW how could $119 million help Cal dig it's way out of this hole we are in. Just run on who you are not how much money you can spend. This is so wrong...

• Controlled detonation kills US airman in Iraq 09.16.10

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(09-15) 19:46 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Hours after putting $15 million more into her bid for California governor, Republican Meg Whitman on Wednesday defended her donation of a record-breaking $119 million of her own money, saying "my job is to spend money to get this message out."

The former eBay CEO, whose donations to her campaign now top New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's $110 million contribution to his re-election bid last year, made the comment after an appearance before a crowd of nearly 300 employees at the San Francisco headquarters of Yelp, the social-networking and rating website.

In a departure from her tightly scripted campaign events, Whitman took some tough questions from the mostly under-30 audience, who grilled her on her campaign spending, negative ads and stance on Proposition 8, the state's ban on same-sex marriage, which she supported.

Whitman, standing in front of a pair of California flags and a banner pushing her "New California" theme, talked up her plan to create what she has promised will be 2 million new jobs in California in her first term, and to offer solutions to what she called gridlock politics in Sacramento.

Slam against governor

She slammed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for taking a trade mission to Asia during the state's budget crisis.

"We're 90 days past the state budget (being due), and the Legislature has gone home and the governor has gone to China," she said, telling the Yelp workforce: "If you had a massive outage, I don't think Jeremy (Stoppelman, CEO and founder of Yelp) would have decamped to China."

Whitman's appearance in San Francisco came a day after she made the record books by bringing her total donations to her campaign to $119 million.

She has vastly outspent Democrat Jerry Brown, who has dropped about $1 million on the race to date - although he has benefited from advertisements for his campaign that independent expenditure groups paid for.

"My job is to spend money to get out this message," Whitman said Wednesday, "and to make sure every Californian has all the information they need to make an informed decision. It takes a lot of money to be competitive in California."

Yelp employee Susan McKay, 24, asked Whitman to justify her decision to continue running ads in which then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton, speaking during a 1992 debate against Brown, accuses the former two-term governor of raising taxes.

State and independent analysts have said in recent days that the claim was based on an erroneous analysis. Clinton, who endorsed Brown this week, agreed with that assessment.

"Why are you refusing to remove an ad that has been proven to be false and therefore misleading?" McKay asked. "Why would you knowingly and purposely run a campaign that is based on lies?"

Whitman defended the spots as "essentially" true, saying "politics is a tough business. And you have got to tell people why to vote for you."

'Smear tactics'

McKay also asked: "Why have you made smear tactics and an overall negative focus such hallmarks of your campaign? It doesn't seem to me that defaming your opponent will help California in any way."

Whitman said she has run a "series of very positive ads" over the past 20 months "about my vision for California."

She added: "You also have to set the record straight on your opponent. So, I stand by that ad. It was the right thing to do."

Another Yelp employee, who declined to be identified, asked Whitman whether it was "a cynical and disingenuous approach to democracy" for her to spend more than $100 million on TV commercials but avoid debates.

Whitman said she was looking forward to three debates with Brown, the state attorney general, in the coming weeks - in Fresno, Davis and San Rafael. Brown is pressing for another debate, in Los Angeles or elsewhere in Southern California. Whitman has not decided whether to participate in that event.

"I feel that I've been out and about with voters in California for nearly two years," she said.

Defense of civil unions

In her 40-minute appearance before employees of what she called "one of the hottest Internet companies" in the nation, Whitman defended her support of civil unions for gay couples - and took a jab at Brown.

"Regardless of where you are on this issue, the attorney general and the governor of the state of California actually have a legal obligation to give that ruling standing to go through the court process," Whitman said.

Meeting later with reporters, Whitman denied sidestepping a position on Proposition 23, a November ballot measure endorsed by the California Republican Party, that would suspend California's landmark climate change bill until the state's unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters.

Whitman said she would make her view on the measure known in the next 10 days.

Stoppelman invited Whitman and Brown to appear before Yelp employees. Brown is considering a visit, spokesman Sterling Clifford said.

Sad

Peter Bruce Photo

Guns,how the hell does a parolee for bank robbery get them. Peter Bruce Photo

Please read below and tell me how the hell does some on parole for bank robbery get guns.Man this could have been so bad.

felon Byron Williams loaded up his mother's Toyota Tundra with guns, strapped on his body armor and headed to San Francisco late Saturday night with one thing in mind: to kill workers at the American Civil Liberties Union and an environmental foundation, prosecutors say.

Williams, an anti-government zealot on parole for bank robbery, had hoped to "start a revolution" with the bloodshed at the ACLU and the Tides Foundation in San Francisco, authorities said.

But before he made it to the city, Williams was stopped at early Sunday by California Highway Patrol officers for speeding and driving erratically on westbound Interstate 580 west of Grand Avenue in Oakland.

Police say he then initiated a chaotic, 12-minute gunbattle with officers, firing a 9mm handgun, a .308-caliber rifle and a shotgun. He reloaded his weapons when he ran out of ammunition and stopped only after officers shot him in areas of his body not covered by his bullet-resistant vest, authorities said.

On Tuesday, Williams, 45, of Groveland (Tuolumne County) appeared in an Oakland courtroom on charges that he tried to murder four CHP officers. Authorities described him as a heavily armed man determined not to return to prison. Bullets from the suspect's rifle could penetrate ballistic body armor and vehicles, police said.

'Start a revolution'

After he was wounded and taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland, Williams told investigators "his intention was to start a revolution by traveling to San Francisco and killing people of importance at the Tides Foundation and the ACLU," Oakland police Sgt. Michael Weisenberg wrote in a court affidavit.

The foundation has funded environmental and social justice projects since 1976 and also provides philanthropic advice, according to its website. The ACLU of Northern California is based in San Francisco.

"Obviously, we're dismayed that this has happened, and we're not really going to speculate about the investigation while it's ongoing," said Tod Hill, a Tides spokesman. "We're taking appropriate safety measures."

ACLU officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Today.

Sheriff's deputies brought Williams into Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland in a wheelchair Tuesday. His right hand was bandaged. He showed no emotion and kept his head down as he read his copy of the criminal complaint. Asked by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers if he wanted to be represented by the public defender, Williams said yes.

Litany of charges

The complaint accuses Williams of trying to kill CHP officers Vincent Herrick, Richard Coward, Ty Franklin and Todd Owen. In addition to the four charges of attempted murder of a peace officer, Williams was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing ammunition. He also faces enhancements for firing a gun and wearing body armor.

The unemployed carpenter has two strikes - one for a 2001 bank robbery in Madera County and the other for a 1995 bank robbery in Washington state. That means he faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of a third strike in connection with the shootout. He is being held without bail.

The FBI joined Oakland police in investigating the incident because a notebook, titled "California," was found in Williams' car and removed by a bomb squad robot, investigators said. Authorities did not reveal its contents.

Cheers to s safer place

Peter Bruce Photo

if you really knew me,bridget the midget powers

Mel Gibson not dead,really by Peter Bruce Photo

Mel Gibson not dead REALLY suicide rumors spread through 'RIP Mel Gibson' Twitter tweet and YouTube.com

"Mel Gibson dead" is such a popular search term right now, with folks Googling "Mel Gibson dead" so often that the phrase shows up both on Google Trends and on Alexa.com -- all because of seemingly confusing information being spread around the web via Twitter.com and other websites.
A Guy on twitter with over 15k followers Tweeted "RIP Mel Gibson" about 8 hours ago, and obviously felt the need to clarify by posting "I said Rip Mel Gibson , well his career that is. Twitter is 'smart'," three hours after his first tweet.

While no valid news organization like CNN.com or other outlet has reported anything about Gibson's fake death or suicide.
It's all an effort to get "RIP Mel Gibson" a trending topic on Twitter, say some.

"Mel Gibson died on July 19, 2010," a YouTube user named Ryukumori2799 claimed incorrectly, going on to say: "Cause of death is suicide. Not enough information to make a clear statement on why he did it. RIP

Peter Bruce photo











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