Ouch!
We often forget how dangerous professional road cycling is. These images are a grueling reminder.
(Source: Cyclist crashes into barbed wire fence after being hit by car in Tour de France | msnbc.com PhotoBlog .)
“Hoogerland wept as he stood atop the podium to receive the King of the Mountains’ polka dot jersey thanks to the points he had pocketed on the climbs throughout the stage.
But with the memory of Wouter Weylandt’s death from a crash in May’s Giro d’Italia still fresh in the minds of many, the Dutchman was looking at the bigger picture.
(…)
“We can still be happy that we’re alive. Nobody can be blamed for this. It’s a horrible accident and I was in it. But I said to Flecha, ‘We’re still alive and Wouter Weylandt died in a crash’.”“
(Source: Tour Chief Furious at Vehicle Accidents : Cycling Central on SBS.)
More images of Tour De France 2010/2011 crashes:
Honesty
“A Canadian Army crewman stands inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter flying over Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, July 5, 2011.”
(Via Canadian Army Crewman Inside a Helicopter Over Afghanistan | PhotoBlog msnbc.com.)
Steps to tame e-mail
Chris Anderson published a list of 10 principles that if people adhere can make our inboxes more manageable.
David Pogue just added 5 more.
Farm animal’s abuse
Warning: the following video is very disturbing.
Video Depicts Pig Cruelty at Iowa Pork Farms from TIME on Vimeo.
(Via Undercover Video Gives the Dirt on Pigs in Factory Farms | TIME NewsFeed.)
Higher Reserves Proposed for ‘Too Big to Fail’ Banks
“The chief oversight group of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision proposed that the world’s largest and most complex banks would need to hold a reserve of high-quality capital of between 1 and 2.5 percent of their assets to cope with any unforeseen losses. That would be on top of their proposed minimum capital levels for all banks, currently set at 7 percent of assets.
Regulators plan to impose the surcharge on a sliding scale, based on several factors including the bank’s size, complexity and the closeness of its ties to other large trading partners around the world.
And in what appears to be a nod to regulators pressing for even higher requirements, the committee proposed an additional surcharge on banks who grow larger or engage in risky activities that would “increase materially” the threat they pose to the financial system. The surcharge could raise the requirement to 3.5 percent of assets.
(…)
But setting aside more capital means that banks also have less money available to lend out — a move that could dampen economic growth and potentially hinder an already anemic global recovery.”
(Via Basel Panel Proposes Higher Reserves for ‘Too Big to Fail’ Banks | NYTimes.com .)
The threat of suicide
”(…) What these Greeks don’t realize is that the way they are holding Europe hostage is by threatening suicide.
To begin with, the biggest holders of Greek debt are Greek banks. If Greek banks fail, every Greek with a checking or savings account loses. Worse still, international faith in Greek businesses would be lost.
Many of the gains from economic integration over the last 25 years would be reversed, including the transformation of Greece from being nearly a Third World country to having a fully modern economy (albeit a quirky, over-regulated one).”
(Via Why Greeks are angry, scared — and trapped | CNN.com .)
Another social network is born
at least this one doesn’t try to take your data hostage:
More on Google Takeout here.
