SMBC Funnies: Chemistry Sets Today

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal:

'via Blog this'

Joe Biden not running for president - FOX 8 WVUE New Orleans News, Weather, Sports, Social

Joe Biden not running for president - FOX 8 WVUE New Orleans News, Weather, Sports, Social: "Vice President Joe Biden announced from the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday that he will not run for president. Flanked by his wife Dr. Jill Biden and President Barack Obama, Joe Biden said that the window of opportunity for his candidacy has passed. "As the family and I have worked through the grieving process, I have said all along and time again what I have said to others that the process by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president that it might close. I have concluded it has closed," Biden said."

'via Blog this'

Activist Group Pushing For Removal Of New Orleans’ Monuments Tied To #BlackLivesMatter | The Hayride

Activist Group Pushing For Removal Of New Orleans’ Monuments Tied To #BlackLivesMatter | The Hayride: "An activist group seeking the removal of four Confederate-related monuments in New Orleans apparently has ties to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The group “STAND With Dignity” is a partner group under the “New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice” group, which often holds rallies comprised for immigrant and illegal immigrants demanding the state to cease deportations. STAND With Dignity often uses Twitter to promote the hashtags #BlackWorkersMatter and #BlackLivesMatter. And they usually get what the want. Most recently, the group was successful in lobbying the New Orleans City Council to increase the city’s minimum wage to $10.55 per hour, a plan bound to hurt businesses across the city, as it has happened in Seattle, Washington."

'via Blog this'

NEWS | Angered by Air Strikes, Turkey's Erdogan Warns Russia on Energy Ties | Rigzone

NEWS  |  Angered by Air Strikes, Turkey's Erdogan Warns Russia on Energy Ties  |  Rigzone: " President Tayyip Erdogan, angered by Russian incursions into Turkish air space, has warned Russia there are other places Turkey could get natural gas and other countries that could build its first nuclear plant. Russian aircraft twice entered Turkish air space at the weekend as Moscow carried out air strikes in Syria. Turkish F-16 jets have also been harassed by Syrian-based missile systems and unidentified planes since then. "We can't accept the current situation. Russia's explanations on the air space violations are not convincing," the Turkish daily Sabah and other media quoted Erdogan as telling reporters as he flew to Japan for an official visit. Russia's air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad's forces have shifted the balance of power in the Syrian conflict and dealt a blow to Turkey's aspirations of seeing Assad removed from power. But beyond protesting, there is little Turkey can do."

'via Blog this'

Jet, Now Raising, Ditches Its Membership Fees But Says Profitability Still On Track For 2020 | TechCrunch

Jet, Now Raising, Ditches Its Membership Fees But Says Profitability Still On Track For 2020 | TechCrunch: "Jet.com, the discount shopping site promising to take on Amazon by competing on lower prices, has made a fairly radical change to its business, the company announced this morning. Instead of charging members an annual fee of $50, similar to the fee associated with Amazon’s “Prime” membership program, Jet says it will now drop the fee entirely. While initially good news for price-conscious online shoppers who now will no longer have to pay to take advantage of Jet’s savings, the removal of the fee will impact Jet’s business model and path to profitability. Founder and CEO Marc Lore, who sold his e-commerce company Quidsi, including Diapers.com and other sites, to Amazon for $545 million back in 2010, had said earlier that Jet’s model would work when it reached $20 billion in products per year – something it hoped to do by 2020. At that point, the founder said Jet would have 15 million paying customers, or $750 million in membership revenues. Now that membership revenues are off the table, Jet will instead have to generate revenue on its sales – just like other e-commerce sites do. That also raises the question of when Jet – a business that’s backed by $220 million in funding, according to CrunchBase, will now hit profitability. According to Jet’s Chief Customer Officer, Liza Landsman, however, the timing of Jet’s profitability isn’t’ actually being affected. Now, it’s more like the site is shifting where its revenues come from, by moving from direct fees to slightly higher upfront prices."

'via Blog this'

Announcing The Startups Pitching At The NOLA TC Meetup + Pitch-Off (Judges, Too!) | TechCrunch

Announcing The Startups Pitching At The NOLA TC Meetup + Pitch-Off (Judges, Too!) | TechCrunch: "TechCrunch is back on the road again with the upcoming New Orleans Meetup + Pitch-Off, in conjunction with Nola Tech Week, and we’ve finally made selections on which startups will have a chance to hop on stage and pitch. Seven companies will have exactly sixty seconds to pitch their wares to a panel of expert judges and a ready-and-waiting audience in a fight to win the opportunity to attend the next TC Disrupt, with First Place receiving a table in Startup Alley. We’ve been holding out on telling you who to expect, but no longer. Without any further ado, I’m proud to announce the companies participating in the TC Meetup + Pitch-off in New Orleans on October 8 at 6:00 pm at People’s Health New Orleans Jazz Market on 1436 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. CityKey Pupular ThatSoundsCool Meusu Echo Fantastic Casket Locally"

'via Blog this'

Freeport-McMoRan may spin off oil and gas business

Freeport-McMoRan may spin off oil and gas business: "Freeport-McMoRan is undertaking a review of strategic alternatives for its oil and gas business, the Phoenix-based company said. According to a statement released Tuesday, Freeport is reviewing a number of options, with the aim of making Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas (FM O&G) self-funding. Earlier this year, Freeport indicated that it would be willing sell a minority interest in its oil and gas business in an initial public offering, and, according to the statement, the offering remains one of the options under review. "

'via Blog this'

Today, all stores in the US should accept chip-and-PIN cards. Yeah, right. | Ars Technica

Today, all stores in the US should accept chip-and-PIN cards. Yeah, right. | Ars Technica: "On top of this, the US credit card industry isn't fully upgrading to the most secure version of EMV. Although new credit cards will have a chip that generates a new code every time the card is used at a terminal, guarding those cards from fraudsters who collect credit card numbers wholesale and reuse them on counterfeit credit cards, card users are also encouraged to set up a PIN and input that number after every transaction. But issuers like J.P. Morgan Chase and Discover will still allow customers to use a signature to authenticate transactions, and signatures can be forged more easily than PINs. "US bank executives said they are choosing the signature version so customers won’t be burdened at the checkout line to remember a new four-digit code," the Wall Street Journal reported in January. Julie Conroy, research director for retail banking at Aite Group, told CreditCards.com that "It will probably take two to three years to fully convert to chip-and-PIN.""

'via Blog this'