This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• OUPblog: Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend, November 16, 2009. Every year the New Oxford American Dictionary prepares for the holidays by making its biggest announcement of the year.  This announcement is usually applauded by some and derided by others and the ongoing conversation it sparks is always a lot of fun, so I encourage you to let us know what you think in the comments.

Without further ado, the 2009 Word of the Year is: “unfriend”. “Unfriend” - verb - to remove someone as a “friend” on a social networking site such as Facebook.

• Martin Wolf (Financial Times): Grim truths Obama should have told Hu, November 17, 2009. Obama

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In spite of recent measures taken to avoid more EU gas disruptions this winter, and a new Russia-EU partnership set to be discussed in detail at this week's Stockholm summit, Slovakia's Prime Minister can't see Kiev being able to pay its gas bills.  A $300 million EBRD loan to Naftogaz, intended to help it manage the import and storage of gas from Russia, has just been delayed after the Ukrainian company failed to implement key reforms.  Gazprom chief, Alexander Medvedev, says the company's 2009 profits are forecasted at around $42.5 billion - and that's in spite of end-of-year export cuts of 10%.  He has also challenged reports that supply will outstrip demand until 2015, forecasting the end of the surplus for either 2011 or 2012, depending on your source.  Speaking as chair of a petrochemicals conference ...

JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) is in discussions to take full control of its U.K. joint-venture partner, Cazenove Group, for about £1 billion ($1.7 billion).   JPMorgan entered into a partnership with Cazenove five years ago. At that time, JPMorgan paid about £100 million for a 50% ownership in Cazenove.   Now, JPMorgan intends to buy the remaining 50% of the investment-banking partnership for 500−525 pence per share.   Chief Executive Naguib Kheraj, the former finance chief of Barclays PLC (BCS) is running JPMorgan Cazenove since last year. Cazenove first became one of London's leading stockbrokers in the mid-1930s.   Deciding on the full acquisition of Cazenove has been crucial for Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan. Dimon organized a similar purchase of the bank’s remaining stake in Highbridge Capital Management this year.   In the last few years, JPMorgan has been able to maintain its top ...

Modavox, Inc., an Internet broadcasting pioneer and holder of several patented technologies, yesterday filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, asserting two Causes of Action against Yahoo! for Patent Infringement related to Modavox-owned United States Patent No. 6,594,691 (”Method and System for Adding Function to a Web Page”) and United States Patent No. 7,269,636 (”Method and Code Module For Adding Function to a Web Page”). Modavox’s Complaint specifically asserts that Yahoo! has operated a business for profit that uses Modavox’s technology claimed and described in the ‘691 and ‘636 Patents without having sought or received Modavox’s authorization to use its patented technology.

Nathaniel T. Bradley, Chief Technology & Product Officer at Modavox, commented, “Our patented technology is foundational to a specific targeted Internet advertising delivery method utilized by the Yahoo! Advertising business and used previously by the targeted advertising delivery operation of Blue

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Baltimore (TFN): I cannot say with total certainty that duct tape has ever saved my life. But I can say it has saved the day on more than one occasion, like the time I fell feet first into a frigid river, roaring with the power of Alaska’s springtime snowmelt.

In the woods, you have to dry off fast or risk any number of calamities. Living in temperate rainforest, an emergency fire was a challenge. But thanks to duct tape’s inherent desire to burn, I was re-warmed in no time.

But my mundane story has got nothing on the bush pilot that returned to his Piper Cub (the plane, not one of Palin’s kids) to find a pissed off grizzly had utterly destroyed the craft’s ability to fly as the hungry beast searched for the scraps of meat hidden inside.

Just like any savvy outdoorsmen, the pilot’s first thought after seeing

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US stocks ended Monday with losses on fresh concerns that the current market levels are overblown.  A rebound in dollar against key foreign currencies sent commodities lower and financials fell as reports emerged the federal government may require Bank of America to raise more capital.  The group took another beating as influential analyst Richard Bove trimmed his ratings on a number of regional banks.  Homebuilders also led the market lower on reports the first time homebuilders' tax credit is unlikely to be extended.

The Dow Jones industrial average oscillated within a 200-point range and briefly touched the 10,000 mark, before some profit taking saw the index squandering the earlier advance and ending the day 104-points lower.  Technology shares, only sector to have recorded gains last week, fell out of favor and slid along with the broader market.  The technology-laden Nasdaq retreated 12.62 points, or 0.6%, to 2,141.63.  The CBOE

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Democracy would be calamitous for Russia: this is the message we are hearing today from chief Kremlin ideologue Vladislav Surkov, via Reuters.  Certainly, we can concur, there's nothing like democracy to wreck a highly tuned and iron wrought power vertical, of which Surkov is seen as a founding father. In a rare interview in Itogi magazine, published yesterday, the Kremlin's media-shy "Grey Cardinal" stepped out of the shadows to rebuff calls for democratic reforms, precipitated by the election results falsification outcry.  Such measures, he argues, would impede economic development and provoke nation-imperiling instability.  The good news is that apparently Russia doesn't need a Pinochet.  Small blessings. "Even now when power is rather consolidated and ordered, ...

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Monday October 26, 2009

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Powersafe Technology Corp.’s (Other OTC: PSFT.PK) Subsidiary Amplification Technologies has patented a revolutionary new solid-state semiconductor technology solution for low-level signal detection: multichannel Discrete Amplification (DA). The patented DA platform technology, invented by company scientists, is a breakthrough in the design of photon detectors, providing these detectors with unique competitive advantages. Use of DA in semiconductor detectors increases their sensitivity markedly, and enables the creation of new detector systems for various applications including medical diagnostics, security systems,

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LOS ANGELES, CA — (Marketwire) — 10/26/09 — Muscle Flex Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MFLI) (www.MuscleFlexInc.com) announced today that it has chosen Chief Media (www.ChiefMedia.com) as its national media buyer for the BUDDY Tablet Caddy(TM) (www.BUDDYTabletCaddy.com) and the Beagle StepFit(TM) (www.BeagleStepFit.com) infomercials. Chief Media is a one of the nation’s top large scale television, print, radio and online media purchasers and is a leader as well as a pioneer in the direct response industry. Chief Media also provides a wealth of value added expertise that includes business development, research as well as data tracking, data assimilation and overall program analysis. Muscle Flex has developed a close relationship with the principals at Chief Media and is eager to utilize their years of expertise in the direct response business with the BUDDY and the Beagle as well as a number of other planned product releases

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Muscle Flex Inc. announced that it has chosen Chief Media as its national media buyer for the BUDDY Tablet Caddy(TM) (www.BUDDYTabletCaddy.com) and the Beagle StepFit(TM) (www.BeagleStepFit.com) infomercials. As one of the nation’s top large scale television, print, radio and online media purchasers, Chief Media is a leader in the direct response industry. Chief Media provides a wealth of value added expertise that includes business development, research as well as data tracking, data assimilation and overall program analysis. Having developed a close relationship with the principals at Chief Media, Muscle Flex is eager to utilize their years of expertise in the direct response business with the BUDDY and the Beagle as well as a number of other planned product releases.

Muscle Flex is currently in the process of planning an initial 4-week test campaign with Chief Media starting in November for both the

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