AVERAGE FEDERAL TAX RATES

clipped from www.cbo.gov Average Federal Tax Rates The federal tax system is progressive--that is, average tax rates generally rise with income. Households in the bottom fifth of the income distribution (with average income of $18,400, under a broad definition of income) paid 4.0 percent of their income in federal taxes. The middle quintile, with average income of $64,500, paid 14.3 percent of that income in taxes, and the highest quintile, with average income of $264,700, paid 25.1 percent.

Google victorious in Viacom's YouTube lawsuit

clipped from www.marketwatch.com A federal judge has ruled in favor of Google Inc. in the company's courtroom battle with Viacom Inc. over alleged copyright violations on Google's YouTube video service. Judge Louis Stanton wrote in a 30-page ruling filed in New York on Wednesday that Google /quotes/comstock/15*!goog/quotes/nls/goog (GOOG 481.50, -0.55, -0.11%) qualifies for so-called "safe harbor," and is therefore granted summary judgment that it's protected against Viacom's "claims for direct and secondary copyright infringement." Google said in a statement posted online that the ruling is "an important victory not just for us, but also for the billions of people around the world who use the web to communicate and share experiences with each other."

U.S. Scores Dead Last Again in Healthcare Study

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday.....

Resveratrol a Compound Found In Red Wine Neutralizes Toxicity Of Proteins Related To Alzheimer's

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com An organic compound found in red wine — resveratrol — has the ability to neutralize the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Professor Peter M. Tessier. The findings, published in the May 28 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, are a step toward understanding the large-scale death of brain cells seen in certain neurodegenerative diseases.....

McDonald's faces lawsuit over Happy Meals

Kids seem to do a good job of over ordering without the toys.

clipped from www.latimes.com Weeks after a Silicon Valley county became the first in the nation to ban toys from McDonald's Happy Meals and other food promotions aimed at children, a public health watchdog group called on the fast food giant to remove the playthings from all its meal packages. Citing toys aimed at promoting the latest "Shrek" movie, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said that the plastic promotions lure children into McDonald's restaurants where they are then likely to order food that is too high in calories, fat and salt.

Nashville police drop thousands of domestic violence cases

Should get interesting.

clipped from content.usatoday.com Nashville police drop thousands of domestic violence cases During the past four years, Nashville police have dropped thousands of investigations into domestic violence, according to an investigation by The Tennessean. In one such instance last year, an officer closed the case by saying the victim "doesn't wish to prosecute at this time." Accompanying the report were pictures of the woman's black-and-blue arms. At least two victims told The Tennessean that they wanted to press charges but that detectives said their cases "had already been closed — because the victim refused to cooperate."

Playing an IPhone Game With a Quadricopter

clipped from blogs.wsj.com French wireless device maker Parrot S.A. created a stir at the Consumer Electronics Show in January when the company showed a quadricopter prototype that can be controlled with an iPhone and used with videogames. In a concept known as augmented reality, it allows users to pilot the quadricopter while playing a game on an iPod touch or iPhone, featuring the drone. The front-camera of the iPhone captures the drone’s movements and incorporates them into a game.

Facebook Posts to Appear in Real-Time Search Results

As of today, real-time results from millions of users’ Facebook posts will now appear in search results on OneRiot, one of the world’s leading real-time search engines.

clipped from mashable.com As of today, real-time results from millions of users' Facebook posts will now appear in search results on OneRiot, one of the world's leading real-time search

When Did You Really Become an ‘Adult’?

clipped from blogs.wsj.com When Did You Really Become an ‘Adult’? A recent story in the NY Times looked at the ever lengthening road to adulthood: National surveys reveal that an overwhelming majority of Americans, including younger adults, agree that between 20 and 22, people should be finished with school, working and living on their own. But in practice many people in their 20s and early 30s have not yet reached these traditional milestones.

Hone Ownership Rethinking Part of the American Dream

clipped from www.wallstreetjournal.com Rethinking Part of the American Dream To examine the eye-popping dimensions of the housing bust, New York Federal Reserve Bank economists calculate the fraction of families who actually have equity in the house they own. In San Diego, for instance, the home ownership rate had fallen to 55% last year from a peak of 63%. But by late last year, the fraction of households with equity in their homes was between 35% and 39%. In hard-hit Las Vegas, nearly 59% of households own their homes, but only 15% to 19% of households own a home in which they have any equity left. For many, the American dream of home ownership turned into a nightmare of debt and foreclosure. Some people should rent.

Fred Wilson -- People I Follow and Recommend

Fred is worth following. On top of everything going.

clipped from bobdemarco.blogspot.com Fred Wilson -- People I Follow and Recommend Fred Wilson has a terrific Blog -- AVC musing of a VC in NYC. The website is full of excellent information slanted to private investing and "tech". Fred also likes to branch into finance and investing topics. Like this one on Gold. This article received 211 thought provoking comments. Fred has a great portal on Eqentia. This contains all the information that is interesting to Fred in a given day. If this fits your appetite I suggest you take Fred's daily digest email from Eqentia. I am hoping that Fred notices my blog -- Alzheimer's Reading Room someday and adds it to his news feed. There can be little doubt that a high percentage of his readers have been touched by or are worried about Alzheimer's disease -- 100 Million Adults Touched by Alzheimer's

Medicare Doc Fix Update: 19-Month Relief Flops in Senate

clipped from www.wallstreetjournal.com Medicare Doc Fix Update: 19-Month Relief Flops in Senate When we last checked in on the looming 21% Medicare payment cuts for doctors, the AMA had unveiled a multi-million dollar ad campaign chiding senators for heading out of town over Memorial Day rather than staying behind to fix the payment formula for good. And not even a Band Aid has been applied to the problem since — yesterday the Senate effectively rejected a spending bill that included a 19-month fix for Medicare payments. The WSJ reports that a vote on a scaled-back bill with shorter-term relief for doctors might be up for a final vote by the end of the week. The Associated Press says that the latest version of the bill would include only a six-month fix. Politico reports the fix could be six or …

FDA: 'Female Viagra' falls short

Keep your fingers crossed

clipped from www.google.com WASHINGTON — A pink pill designed to boost sex drive in women — the latest attempt by the drug industry to find a female equivalent to Viagra — fell short in two studies, federal health regulators said Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration is considering Boehringer Ingelheim's drug flibanserin for premenopausal women who report a lack of sexual desire, a market that drugmakers have been targeting for more than a decade since the blockbuster success of Viagra in men. The search for so-called "female Viagra," has proved elusive though, with many drugs abandoned after showing lackluster results. On Friday the FDA will ask a panel of experts to weigh in on the safety and effectiveness of Boehringer's drug. The agency is not required to follow the group's advice, though it often does.

Global Heat warmest since thorough record keeping began in 1880

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com The National Climatic Data Center has released its  summary of global climate conditions so far this year and finds that the month of May, as well as the period from January through May, were the warmest since thorough record keeping began in 1880. Here’s the way he summarizes the warming-downpour connection: We cannot say that any of this year’s flooding disasters were definitely due to global warming, and part of the reason for this year’s numerous U.S. flooding disasters is simply bad luck. However, higher temperatures do cause an increased chance of heavy precipitation events, and it is likely that the flooding in some of this year’s U.S. flooding disasters were significantly enhanced by the presence of more water vapor in the air due to global warming. We can expect a large increase in flooding disasters in the U.S. and worldwide if the climate continues to warm as expected.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ramping Up Efforts to Ensure Safety of Gulf of Mexico Seafood

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are taking additional steps to enhance inspection measures designed to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico reaching America’s tables is safe to eat.

The federal government, in conjunction with Gulf States’ regulatory agencies, is playing an active role in ensuring the safety of seafood harvested from federal and state waters. The federal government, led by FDA and NOAA, is taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure that seafood from Gulf waters is not contaminated by oil. The strategy includes precautionary closures, increased seafood testing inspections and a re-opening protocol.

Discovery of a Roman Gladiator Graveyard in England

clipped from www.lep.co.uk Experts to preserve gladiator graveyard A team of experts from Preston’s university is helping to shed light on what is thought to be the world’s only well-preserved Roman gladiator cemetery.

Oil Could Reach Atlantic Coasts

clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com For weeks there have been discussions about the potential for the spreading Gulf of Mexico oil slick to slip around Florida and flow up the East Coast. Now a suite of simulations, run by an international team of ocean and climate scientists, shows this is a likely outcome should the flow remain unabated this summer. The researchers stress there are caveats and uncertainties, most notably related to the state of the gulf’s  highly variable loop current in coming weeks. (The Department of Energy put out its own fact sheet stressing that  the simulations are highly uncertain.)