Mattel’s and the Chinese cyber-thieves

The email seemed unremarkable: a routine request by Mattel Inc’s chief executive for a new vendor payment to China. It was well-timed, arriving on Thursday, April 30, during a tumultuous period for the Los-Angeles based maker of Barbie dolls. Barbie was bombing…
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/mattels-and-the-chinese-cyber-thieves

UNAOIL: The Company That Bribed The World

In the list of the world's great companies, Unaoil is nowhere to be seen. But for the best part of the past two decades, the family business from Monaco has systematically corrupted the global oil industry, distributing many millions of dollars worth of bribes on behalf of corporate behemoths including Samsung, Rolls-Royce, Halliburton and Australia's own Leighton Holdings.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/robmonk/unaoil-the-company-that-bribed-the-world

With ‘Gigs’ Instead of Jobs, Workers Bear New Burdens

Employment growth in the past decade has been in contract and temporary jobs. As a result, employers have shifted much of the burden of providing social insurance onto workers.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/with-gigs-instead-of-jobs-workers-bear-new-burdens

Paul Ryan Sorry for Calling Americans “Takers." Let's Talk About the Real Takers.

Rana Foroohar's new book, Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business, gets to the stuff Ryan conveniently left out.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/spaceghoti/paul-ryan-sorry-for-calling-americans-takers-lets-talk-about-the-real-takers

The girl who stole my book: How Eilis O'Hanlon found out her crime novels were swiped by a stranger

There was something strangely familiar about the crime novel riding high on the Amazon Kindle bestseller lists last autumn. Eilis O'Hanlon ought to know. She'd co-written it almost 13 years earlier. The only problem was that someone else was now claiming to be the author.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/the-girl-who-stole-my-book-how-eilis-ohanlon-found-out-her-crime-novels-were-swiped-by-a-stranger

Nigerian Government Says Country Needs More Jail Time For Pirates And Control Over Content Of Creative Works

The operating theory of incumbent industries is that piracy kills creativity. Try telling that to Nigeria. ... Years of history suggest rampant piracy is directly linked to the rise of the Nigerian film industry, a.k.a. "Nollywood." It's now 2016 and government officials and anti-piracy task force heads are still trying to deliver the same "piracy is killing the Nigerian film industry" arguments.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/nigerian-government-says-country-needs-more-jail-time-for-pirates-and-control-over-content-of-creative-works

This student put 50 million stolen research articles online. And they’re free.

Alexandra Elbakyan is challenging the multibillion-dollar academic publishing industry.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/this-student-put-50-million-stolen-research-articles-online-and-theyre-free

The World’s Most Powerful Corporation

The East India Company was vast and powerful, hiring thousands across the world. But what was it like to work there? And are there parallels with today’s multinationals?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/jcscher/the-worlds-most-powerful-corporation

Low-income Americans can no longer afford rent, food, and transportation

Buying basic necessities is sometimes impossible.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/low-income-americans-can-no-longer-afford-rent-food-and-transportation

Recruiting is broken. A humble look at the future.

Hiring managers, your job posts look all the same, no wonder applicants indiscriminately shoot their CVs full of buzzwords to every open position. Searching for unicorns or heroes doesn't make it more appealing
Read more: http://snapzu.com/xo4n/recruiting-is-broken-a-humble-look-at-the-future

BMW complies with GPL by handing over i3 car code

So soz, says blogger who accidentally sparked Global Viral Outrage FrenzyTM
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/bmw-complies-with-gpl-by-handing-over-i3-car-code

Too much of a good thing

Profits are too high. America needs a giant dose of competition.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/too-much-of-a-good-thing

NBC sells $1 billion in ads for Rio Olympics

NBC, a unit of Comcast Corp, said it had sold $1 billion in national ads for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as the network prepares to broadcast a rare Games where some of the most high-profile contests will air live in prime time for U.S. audiences. NBC said in a statement on Tuesday that the Games, which start on Aug. 5, were on pace to generate the biggest Olympics advertising sales ever. The $1 billion figure includes national broadcast...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Pfennig88/nbc-sells-1-billion-in-ads-for-rio-olympics

Oracle seeks $9.3 billion for Google’s use of Java in Android

Oracle is seeking as much as US $9.3 billion in damages in a long-running copyright lawsuit against Google over its use of Java in Android, court filings show. Oracle sued Google six years ago, claiming the search giant needs a license to use parts of the Java platform in Google's market-leading mobile OS.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/aj0690/oracle-seeks-93-billion-for-googles-use-of-java-in-android

Why Are People Using Ad Blockers? Ads Can Eat Up To 79% Of Mobile Data Allotments

By now, usage caps on both fixed and wireless networks have grown increasingly common. And while broadband carriers are endlessly looking toward caps and zero rating for a competitive and financial advantage, overlooked is the fact that a huge amount...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/why-are-people-using-ad-blockers-ads-can-eat-up-to-79-of-mobile-data-allotments

Time Warner, Defenders Of Copyright, Forced To Pay Up For Copyright Infringement

You can almost set your watch that any company or group that comes out vehemently in favor of restrictive copyright protection under the guise of protecting artists will be found to be in violation of copyrights and acting in a manner demonstrating clearly that zero care is given to the well-being of artists. The most recent example of this is Time Warner. Recall in the past that the massive media company has regularly sued music startup...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/TNY/time-warner-defenders-of-copyright-forced-to-pay-up-for-copyright-infringement

How Hollywood Changes Movies to Appease Foreign Censors

To profit from China's huge movie market, Hollywood producers have to get past the country's censors. And the censors have some suggestions.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/how-hollywood-changes-movies-to-appease-foreign-censors

The Economics of "Adopting A Highway"

Dunkin’ Donuts. Boy Scout Troop 102. Sigma Nu Fraternity. The foster parents of America’s roadways are many and varied.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/the-economics-of-adopting-a-highway

My Year in Startup Hell

If you made a movie about a laid-off, sad-sack, fiftysomething guy who is given one big chance to start his career over, the opening scene might begin like this: a Monday morning in April, sunny and cool, with a brisk wind blowing off the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass.  The man—gray hair, unstylishly cut; horn-rimmed glasses; button-down shirt—pulls his Subaru Outback into a parking garage and, palms a little sweaty, grabs his sensible laptop backpack and heads to the front door of a...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/my-year-in-startup-hell

Polar Vortex to Plunge Cold into Midwestern, Eastern US in Early April

Arctic air will plunge into much of the central and eastern United States, as the polar vortex shifts its position during early April.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/jcscher/polar-vortex-to-plunge-cold-into-midwestern-eastern-us-in-early-april

Winter in the Hamptons: food pantries, poverty and homelessness

The seaside towns at the east end of Long Island, New York, are playgrounds for the rich in summer, but off-season life for permanent residents can be a struggle. By Rupert Neate.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/winter-in-the-hamptons-food-pantries-poverty-and-homelessness

Trade policy is no longer just for political nerds: it matters in the UK and US

Rise of outsiders such as Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn reflects sense of being left behind by globalisation
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/trade-policy-is-no-longer-just-for-political-nerds-it-matters-in-the-uk-and-us

48 hours that changed the future of rainforests

Inside the high-stakes negotiations with the world’s largest palm oil corporation. By Nathanael Johnson. (Apr. ’15)
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/48-hours-that-changed-the-future-of-rainforests

New Sewing Drinking Game!!

Every time you hand cover a button with cloth, have a shot. The tedium is killing me with this. I have to have 22 cloth buttons and sewing them is boring. I found the bottom of a shot glass is the perfect size for the cloth outlines.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/CrookedTale/new-sewing-drinking-game

Please Stop Saying You Want to Go to Cuba Before It’s Ruined

An Op-Ed By Natalie Morales. (Mar. 1)
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/please-stop-saying-you-want-to-go-to-cuba-before-its-ruined

Minnesota dairy farms go high-tech with robots

A lot has changed in the 70 years Janski Farms has been operational. Facing a shortage of milkers, the dairy farmers turned to robots. By Vicki Ikeoguv.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/minnesota-dairy-farms-go-high-tech-with-robots

Has rampant capitalism hijacked the promise of the digital age?

With rapid growth as Silicon Valley's raison d'etre, there are fears the promise of the digital age has been hijacked by rampant capitalism.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/has-rampant-capitalism-hijacked-the-promise-of-the-digital-age

Should You Still Be Buying Toshiba Laptops?

Is it safe to buy Toshiba laptops and tablets now that the company has reportedly reached a deal to sell a controlling stake in its consumer electronics unit?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/lostwonder/should-you-still-be-buying-toshiba-laptops

America's Whites-Only Weed Boom

Black Americans were disproportionately targeted in the “war on drugs.” Now state laws and steep regulatory costs have left them far more likely to be shut out of America’s profitable marijuana boom
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/americas-whites-only-weed-boom

Exxon Mobil must allow climate change vote: SEC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled Exxon Mobil Corp must include a climate change resolution on its annual shareholder proxy, a defeat for the world's largest publicly traded oil producer, which had argued it already provides adequate carbon disclosures. By Ernest Scheyder.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/exxon-mobil-must-allow-climate-change-vote-sec

Google: First Amendment Doesn't Protect MPAA’s Secrets

In 2014 leaked documents from the Sony hack revealed that the MPAA helped Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood to revive SOPA-like censorship efforts in the United States. In a retaliatory move Google sued the Attorney General, hoping to find out more about the secret plan. The company also demanded internal communication from the MPAA and its lawfirm Jenner & Block, as well as several movie studios.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/canuck/google-first-amendment-doesnt-protect-mpaas-secrets

Patent that cost Microsoft millions gets invalidated

One of the oldest and most profitable patent trolls, Uniloc, has been shot down. Its US Patent No. 5,490,216, which claims to own the concept of "product activation" in software, had all claims ruled invalid by the Patent Trademark and Appeals Board (PTAB). The process through which PTAB eliminated the patent is called an "inter partes review," or IPR. The IPR process, created by the America Invents Act, is an increasingly popular and effective way for defendants...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/hxxp/patent-that-cost-microsoft-millions-gets-invalidated

Interesting Parallels Between The Cannabis and File-Sharing Debates

In 1968, at the height of the hippie movement, everybody was convinced cannabis would be legalized next week. It would take another 40 years. Why?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/interesting-parallels-between-the-cannabis-and-file-sharing-debates

Update: Venezuela Is Running Short of Everything

It might be easier to make a list of what is available, rather than what’s not. Venezuelans are getting some extra vacation this year. President Nicolas Maduro ordered extended shutdowns of businesses and offices across the country to close for all of the semana santa instead of the usual two days. The president says the measures are a necessary energy-saving step as the country faces rolling blackouts due to an electricity shortage, but business owners say it’ll cut into their Holy Week...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/lostwonder/update-venezuela-is-running-short-of-everything

The mobile games industry is kept afloat by less than 1% of users

Getting your mobile game to the top of the app charts isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s the simplest ones that become an instant hit. For that reason, creators often use a free-to-play model, allowing users to play a good chunk of the game before having to pay for access to additional levels or features. However, that’s risky business because there is no guarantee that the users will ever pay.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/spacepopper/the-mobile-games-industry-is-kept-afloat-by-less-than-1-of-users

How Much Money Is Enough?

Most of us want our children to have the best of everything, but not too much of anything.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/how-much-money-is-enough

Withering on the Vine

Were you to draw a Venn diagram of Democrats, meritocrats, and plutocrats, the space where they intersect would be Martha's Vineyard. By Thomas Frank.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/withering-on-the-vine

Why Big Business and Big Government Haunt America

From the Hamilton-Jefferson split to Bernie Sanders, our mistrust of magnitude has long played a role in politics. By Nicholas Lemann.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/why-big-business-and-big-government-haunt-america

Ann Patchett’s Nashville Bookstore Hits the Road, With Dogs in Tow

The arrival of bookmobiles in Nashville and other cities indicates that independent bookstores are making a comeback after years of decline.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/ann-patchetts-nashville-bookstore-hits-the-road-with-dogs-in-tow

How a simple SIM card makes farmers more efficient—and possibly saves lives

India's GreenSIM initiative exposes rural farmers to tech and essential real-time info. By Julianne Tveten.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/how-a-simple-sim-card-makes-farmers-more-efficientand-possibly-saves-lives

Uber sues Indian rival Ola over 'fake accounts'

Uber is suing Indian rival Ola, alleging it created more than 90,000 fake accounts to interfere with its business and frustrate its drivers. The US company claims the fake accounts were used to make over 400,000 false bookings that ended up cancelled. It filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Delhi this month requesting an injunction against Ola and $7.4m (£5.2m) in damages. OlaCabs has denied the accusations, calling them "frivolous and false".
Read more: http://snapzu.com/wildcard/uber-sues-indian-rival-ola-over-fake-accounts

Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Faces Multi-Agency Federal Investigation

He is under investigation for money laundering, brokering mercenary services. By Matthew Cole and Jeremy Scahill.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-faces-multi-agency-federal-investigation

The hidden psychology of failure

Cheer up, falling down flat could be the best thing that ever happens to you.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/the-hidden-psychology-of-failure

Angola’s Wikipedia Pirates Are Exposing the Problems With Digital Colonialism

Wikimedia and Facebook have given Angolans free access to their websites, but not to the rest of the internet. So, naturally, Angolans have started hiding pirated movies and music in Wikipedia articles and linking to them on closed Facebook groups, creating a totally free and clandestine file sharing network. But what happens to the existing Wikipedia community?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/angolas-wikipedia-pirates-are-exposing-the-problems-with-digital-colonialism

The cyber heist that should scare our global financial system

It’s a big story that has stayed beneath the radar of most American media. Somehow, cyber criminals stole $81 million from Bangladesh’s central bank. The theft, one of the biggest cyber heists ever, is a reminder that the world’s financial systems remain vulnerable to cyberattacks from groups or countries more interested in making war — disrupting societies — than money.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/the-cyber-heist-that-should-scare-our-global-financial-system

Supreme Court Won’t Referee State Disputes Over Pot

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up a lawsuit filed by two neighboring states of Colorado over its legalization of marijuana. By Pete Williams.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/supreme-court-wont-referee-state-disputes-over-pot

Zero-Sum in Brussels

The Savage Vision Driving a Terror-Ridden World. By Chris Floyd.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/zero-sum-in-brussels

Internet Archive Seeks to Defend Against Wrongful Copyright Takedowns

As a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software and music, the Internet Archive has a keen interest in copyright law. In a submission to the U.S. Copyright Office the Archive says since the major studios often send invalid notices, they're suggesting a change in the law to allow content to remain up while disputes are settled.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/internet-archive-seeks-to-defend-against-wrongful-copyright-takedowns

Saying Goodbye to a Secret Bookstore

For seven years, Brazenhead Books operated out of an apartment at 235 East Eighty-fourth Street. It was, strictly speaking, illegal, and because it was illegal it had to be secret. When the notice of eviction came, the whole dynamic changed. All at once, Brazenhead was on borrowed time, and minor celebrities began showing up. By Brian Patrick Eha. (Aug. 6)
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/saying-goodbye-to-a-secret-bookstore

Boom, the startup that wants to build supersonic planes, just signed a massive deal with Virgin

Have you heard about Boom? Boom is a relatively new startup that's aiming to build something pretty crazy. They're not building an app... or a social..
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/boom-the-startup-that-wants-to-build-supersonic-planes-just-signed-a-massive-deal-withvirgin