Wardrobing a Billion Dollar Problem?

Since I don't usually buy expensive clothes I had no idea how big a problem this is.

Bloomingdale’s, owned by Macy’s Inc. (M), is using the tactic to combat a practice known as “wardrobing” -- buying clothes and using them once -- a form of return fraud, which the National Retail Federation estimates cost the industry $8.8 billion last year. Curtailing such practices is complicated because while stores want to protect themselves, they risk demonstrating a mistrust of customers who are paying thousands of dollars for garments. It’s a gamble some chains, including Nordstrom Inc. (JWN), aren’t taking.

Too bad there isn't a more high tech way of combating this problem. Maybe a special RFID tag that senses if someone puts on the garment outside of the store. Something to do with biometrics would be interesting. Like something that senses a heartbeat or sweat when it is placed on the body.

Thanks to NSA Snoopers Brazil Moves to Break Out of US-Centric Internet

I guess more countries will now follow the China model of the Internet.

Brazil plans to divorce itself from the U.S.-centric Internet over Washington's widespread online spying, a move that many experts fear will be a potentially dangerous first step toward fracturing a global network built with minimal interference by governments. 

President Dilma Rousseff ordered a series of measures aimed at greater Brazilian online independence and security following revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency intercepted her communications, hacked into the state-owned Petrobras oil company's network and spied on Brazilians who entrusted their personal data to U.S. tech companies such as Facebook and Google.

What she doesn't know though is that the NSA will probably work with the CIA to set something up in Brazil to continue to spy on them. Even if they wall off the US Internet is still doesn't protect them from snooping.

NBC Spruces up Today Show: Slimy Matt Lauer Still Remains

I guess I'll still watch Good Morning America for the time being.

“This is a content-led strategy,” Ms. Turness said. “And we have the right team and the best team to deliver that strategy.” 

Her comments may tamp down continued speculation in the TV industry about the futures of Matt Lauer, whose reputation was spoiled when Ms. Curry tearfully signed off in June 2012, and Savannah Guthrie, the woman who was pressed into service as Ms. Curry’s replacement. 

The female-centric “Today,” which was already slipping, lost about a quarter of its audience and became stuck in second place after Ms. Curry left; last week, “G.M.A.” had about 5.3 million viewers each day, about 750,000 more than “Today.” Among viewers ages 25 to 54, the ones coveted by advertisers, “G.M.A.” led by 118,000. 

The article fails to tell you that Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer are an item despite Lauer being married. In any case all the new sets in the world won't erase the stain that Lauer brings to the show.

Buttfumbler Done at the Jets

Well it seems that the Buttfumbler Mark Sanchez time with the Jets is done.

Sanchez will likely have surgery for a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, ESPN reported. That's the most likely option after Dr. James Andrews confirmed the injury, the report said. That would end his season, and he's very unlikely to be back with the Jets next year. He could also choose to avoid surgery and rehab the injury instead, ESPN said, but could still land on injured reserve even if he picks that option.

He was an awful QB that I had on my avoid list for three years in my fantasy football draft. I think Geno Smith might be a bust in the making but he is head and shoulders better then Sanchez. Here is the Buttfumble in all its glory.

3 SEC Schools Could be in Trouble for Players Recieving Bribes from Agents

It seems that nearly every top level program is crooked in some way or another.

Five Southeastern Conference football stars violated NCAA rules by receiving extra benefits prior to completing their collegiate careers, a Yahoo Sports investigation has found. The benefits – which in some cases came from multiple individuals – were conveyed to University of Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, University of Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray, Tennessee defensive end Maurice Couch, Mississippi State University defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and Mississippi State wideout Chad Bumphis. 

It's kind of sad that Yahoo Sports has to do these kind of investigations and not ESPN or NBC or someone. I guess shelling out billions to the SEC crates a conflict of interest when it comes to pointing out violations. One interesting question would be if found guilty would Alabama have to forfeit 2 BCS National Titles since they won them with DJ Fluker on their roster.

NSA Admits that they Spied on Americans: Sites Stupidity and Ineptitude

Is this supposed to make people feel better?

U.S. officials for nearly three years accessed data on thousands of domestic phone numbers they shouldn't have and then misrepresented their actions to a secret spy court to reauthorize the government's surveillance program, documents released Tuesday show. 

Okay they admit guilt and they lied to get the court to reauthorize the program. Name the people that should be fired and fire them.

Officials said that the complexity of the computer system — and a misunderstanding of the laws, court orders and internal policies controlling analysts' actions — contributed to the abuses. There's no evidence that the NSA intentionally used its surveillance powers to spy on Americans for political purposes, a fear of many critics who recall the FBI's intrusive surveillance of civil rights leaders and protesters in the 1960s. 

The computer system is "so complex" that they misused it 1000s of times? That is a Soviet level obfuscation if I ever saw one. I wonder if any of these phone numbers belonged to Kate Upton or some other hot celebrity. I'm sure some NSA analyst would have loved to snoop her phone calls and text messages.

Walton noted, for instance, that just 1,935 phone numbers out of 17,835 on a list investigators were working with in early 2009 met the legal standard.  

So that was 15,900 illegal phone queries? How are the heads of this organization still in place?

SNL Goes out on the Limb and Hires the same White Person with 5 Different Haircuts

I know people talk about diversity in hiring on TV but this new SNL cast makes me think that they have a point. They look like the same person with 5 different hairstyles:

Okay the first two white dudes could be brothers and actually might be the same person. The 4th white dude has a larger than average nose like the 3rd white dude. Maybe it is just the first white dude with nose putty? And the last one is a woman but could actually be the twin sister of the big nose dude or maybe just the big nose dude in drag? In any case Lorne Michaels there are other races on this planet.

I Guess Sex Doesn't Always Sell: Cyrus Bumped from Vogue Cover after Grotesque VMA Spectacle

Well, I guess dancing like an insane person with your tongue sticking out doesn't always make you more popular.

According to The Daily Mail, noted fashion fan Cyrus was lensed for the upcoming December issue of Vogue, but after Wintour caught wind of her controversial performance at the MTV VMAs with Robin Thicke, she killed the story. In case you need a refresher, Cyrus took the stage at the August 25 event in New York to duet on Thicke's smash single "Blurred Lines." Sadly, their vocals were overshadowed by Cyrus grinding on the 36-year-old married father's genital area. 

I think Cyrus' weird cow tongue should have been enough to get her bumped off the cover. She just reminded me of the Licker from Resident Evil.

Putin Becomes World Badass According to Conservatives

I guess conservatives just like a strongman instead of wimpy, aimless, Obama.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earned a new distinction last month, when conservative U.S. blogger Matt Drudge branded him the "leader of the free world. "

Drudge's support of Putin may seem odd (just last year he was angry with Obama for calling Putin after the Russian was re-elected president), but Drudge doesn't seem to be alone in his newfound high opinion of the Russian leader. When Business Insider posted a photograph of Obama's G20 "death glare" to Putin on Facebook, the comments were overwhelmingly pro-Putin.

"The back of Putin's head is more intimidating than Obama's 'death stare,'" one user wrote. Other less visceral, yet still positive, opinions about Putin can be found at places like Foreign Affairs journal and The New York Times' op-ed page.

The back of Putin's head is more intimidating than Obama's whole body. Putin is such a Bond villain that I can see him offing Obama with a well timed throat punch while his KGB goons backstab the surprised Secret Service agents. Then he says "Now I am Ruler of Free World" and glare into the camera. 

Russia Floats Syrian Peace Plan: Wants the Nerve Gas Locked up

This seems like a fairly reasonable plan if you can trust Syria and Russia to follow through on it.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Syrian counterpart and urged Damascus to "place chemical weapons under international control and then have them destroyed."

Tony Blinken, deputy US national security advisor, said Washington would consult Russia over the plan but expressed doubt about the trustworthiness of the Syrian leadership.

"We would welcome a decision and action by Syria to give up its chemical weapons," he said, but added that Syria's "track record to date, doesn't give you a lot of confidence."

If I were playing Russia in the "Great Game" I would then arm the crap out of the Syrian regime and have them crush the rebels with conventional weapons. Maybe have some Hezbollah pretending to be rebels "attack" the Russian naval base at Tartus so that you can mount a more robust response. Just a car bomb or two at the front gate of the base would do.

Break up Microsoft to Unlock Value? Great Idea!

I have to say that Cramer makes all kinds of sense with this idea.

Microsoft has to do "something wild," Cramer explained, like spinning off the Xbox business that is "buried within" the company, or turning Nokia back into a pure cellphone company and using the proceeds to buy a company like Sprint. "You could go buy Netflix with Xbox," he said, and run the Windows business like a utility company with reliable cash flows.

Cramer listed the big components as the Windows operating system business, an entertainment business-including Xbox-and the "other" business with the Nokia cellphone division as a cornerstone. 

First you get a CEO that knows how to integrate businesses and not just blow money on something you have to write down 3 years later. AKA the Ballmer special. You can no longer waste money on some crap and bring products to market 3 years after your competitors. It didn't hurt for years because Windows and Office propped up all the losers. That won't fly now that people have less use for PCs going forward.

The first piece would be Nokia and Sprint aka the Windows phone segment and call it Microsoft Telcom. You would have a company that pushes the Windows phone and can tightly integrate it with the Sprint Network. You could also sell your competitors phones as well because they want to keep them on the Sprint Network as much as possible.

Then you put XBox and Netflix together and call that Microsoft Entertainment. I guess Bing would go here. You can build out this segment by adding a company like Lions Gate Films to create more content for Netflix. The idea of a dedicated subsidiary pumping out movies, TV shows, and other content for Netflix is a no-brainer. This would be the high margin company that will be fighting the cable companies for a share of the living rooms.

Finally you have slow-growth regular Microsoft which will be just milking the Windows and Office cash cows until they are dead. This company will pay a hefty dividend and roll out software year after year. You can put the cloud business, virtual server, and the Software as a Service businesses here.

German Spy Agency (no not the Abwehr) Says Assad Behind Gas Attack

Well it looks like Assad actually used the gas attack because he was desperate.

Participants at a confidential meeting of German lawmakers on Monday said the head of the BND foreign intelligence agency told them it had intercepted a phone call believed to be between a high-ranking member of the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group and the Iranian Embassy in Damascus.

"The BND referred to a phone call they had heard between a Hezbollah official and the Iranian embassy in which he spoke about Assad having ordered the attack," one of the participants told Reuters.

In the phone call, the Hezbollah official says Assad's order for the attack was a mistake and that he was losing his nerve, the participants reported the BND briefing as saying. Both Iran and Hezbollah support Assad.

I agree with the Hezbollah official when he said that the attack was a mistake. However, seeing all the dithering on Capital Hill about striking Syria Assad might be getting away with a war crime for the time being. 

Possible Heisman Trophy Contender Jameis Winston Didn't Get a Callback from Mack Brown and the Longhorns?

I wonder how this guy still keeps his job after hearing this.

Winston, Florida State’s redshirt freshman phenom, told ESPN’s Max Olsen in a 2012 interview that he wanted desperately to go to Texas, but couldn’t get the Longhorns to acknowledge he even existed.

CBS Sports’ Bruce Feldman confirmed with Winston’s high school coach that the quarterback had called Texas “four or five” times and never received a call back.

Remember, this is the same Mack Brown that wanted the last two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks – Baylor’s Robert Griffin III and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel – to play defensive back for the Longhorns.

Winston could potentially be a third Heisman Trophy winning QB to get the snub by Brown and his staff. And they wonder why they’ve been “rebuilding” for the past few years.

Wait Mack Brown wanted RG3 and Johnny Football to play defensive back? Who does Texas have under center this year? Some dude name David Ash who threw 2 picks against New Mexico State. This Winston kid is a phenom that wanted to go to Texas and would have ignored all other schools. I guess Brown has some blackmail information on the Texas Board of Regents or something.

Republicans Rattle Sabre on Syria: "No" vote Would be Catastrophic

Even though I agree that no nation should be able to gas their people without consequences McCain needs to dial down the hyperbole.

McCain emerged from the meeting with a stern warning for fellow Republicans who may be considering voting against military action purely to damage the Democratic president.

"A vote against that resolution by Congress I think would be catastrophic," said McCain.

"It would undermine the credibility of the United States of America and the president of the United States. None of us want that."

It would be catastrophic for Republicans that voted against the use of force solely to score political points against Obama. That would especially be true if they voted to okay the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

White House Telegraphics the Punch on Syria: What if Syria sinks Our Ship?

This article on Obama's potential Syrian adventure is priceless.

Having leaked to the world, and thus to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a detailed briefing of the coming U.S. air attack on Syria — (1) the source (offshore warships and perhaps a bomber or two), (2) the weapon (cruise missiles), (3) the duration (two or three days), (4) the purpose (punishment, not “regime change”) — perhaps we should be publishing the exact time the bombs will fall, lest we disrupt dinner in Damascus.

I wonder what would happen if Syria started firing ship-killer missiles that they got from Russia at those warships? If Assad sinks one of them you figure it would kill 300 sailors and the US would have to escalate the war. If Obama doesn't do so then he would be in serious trouble. Those are the kind of complexities that will happen if we do some feckless missile firing and then running away.

Liberal Commentator from Slate Says Obama is a Bad Person for Going to Private School

It is funny when liberals accidentally indict their beloved President when they criticize parents that send their kids to private school.

You are a bad person if you send your children to private school. Not bad like murderer bad—but bad like ruining-one-of-our-nation’s-most-essential-institutions-in-order-to-get-what’s-best-for-your-kid bad. So, pretty bad.

I guess Obama needs to feel bad that he went to one of the best schools in the state of Hawaii i.e. Punahou. I mean his grandparents could have sent him to Farrington where he would have gotten a true public school education. This woman Allison Benedikt would have loved it if that happened and he would not have been the bad person that he is today according to her twisted logic.

However, there might be a pretty decent chance that young Barry Soetoro would not have gone to Occidental, Columbia and then to Harvard if he went to Farrington. Only 47% of kids coming out of Farrington went to college with the majority of them going to 2 year colleges. That is if he was one of the 65% that actually graduated from that high school. With his nearly daily drug use it would have been very easy for Soetoto to drop out and smoke pot and sell drugs full time. I'm sure quite a few conservatives would have loved for that particular thing to happen.  

RadioShack’s Revival Plan Sounds Pretty Dumb

Well I still won't be tempted to go there but I just have to say that this idea won't have me rushing back.

Magnacca’s solution is “Let’s Play!” a business plan designed to make the retailer “a neighborhood technology playground.” Prototype stores have a cleaner look, a change from the tangled collection of cables, cords, adapters, and batteries that most customers associate with RadioShack. Shoppers can connect their iPhones to a wall of speakers for test drives, while sensors on the gear selected call up information on a screen above. Five such stores reimagined for upscale, high-traffic areas such as Manhattan’s Upper West Side are already open; 15 more are scheduled to open by the holiday shopping season. The company plans another 2,000 less-slick store redos (without speaker walls and interactive features), starting in the New York area, New Jersey, and Texas.

Why would you test drive your IPhone with some speakers and have some sensors call up information on some screen? It doesn't seem like something that I need to rush out and do. I guess it would be nice if you are in the market for an IPhone speaker but the idea of connecting my phone to some communal outlet just makes me leery. 

Shailene Woodley Makes her Own Toothpaste and Cheese?

It seems refreshing to see a young actress take this road instead of going the way of conspicuous consumption.

"I think everything about my lifestyle is fairly alternative," Woodley revealed. "I gather my own spring water from mountains every month. I go to a farm to get my food."

And don't expect the 21-year-old to rely on a fancy chef to whip up her organic goods into a healthy meal for her. On the contrary, the Golden Globe nominated actress is very hands-on when it comes to stocking her home with all the essentials.

"I make everything from my own toothpaste to my own body lotions and face oils. I could go on for hours," she says. "I make my own medicines; I don't get those from doctors. I make my own cheese and forage wild foods and identify wild plants."

Hmm, I wonder if more Americans will follower her lead. It would make for a much more self sufficient nation for the Zombie Apocalypse/Kaiju destroy the cities/world-wide blackout/the Rapture/Killer Tomatos attack.

FEDs Step Back from Marijuana Prohibition: Kicks it Back to the States

It seems that the FEDs are perfectly okay with states legalizing pot use.

Despite 75 years of federal marijuana prohibition, the Justice Department said Thursday that states can let people use the drug, license people to grow it and even allow adults to stroll into stores and buy it — as long as the weed is kept away from kids, the black market and federal property.

In a sweeping new policy statement prompted by pot legalization votes in Washington and Colorado last fall, the department gave the green light to states to adopt tight regulatory schemes to oversee the medical and recreational marijuana industries burgeoning across the country.

This is quite a victory for states rights. I'm pretty sure Hawaii will now move forward with their legalization attempts since it is a serious cash crop over here. I mean just taxing large growers will be a huge windfall for the state.  

Looks Like We Are On Our Own in Syria: Brits Back Out

It seems Obama is going to have to channel some GW Bush because it seems that he has no friends left if he tries to bomb Syria.

British lawmakers rejected their government's call for punitive military strikes against the chemical-armed Syrian regime, leaving the United States to act alone.

Before and after the shock House of Commons vote to defy Prime Minister David Cameron's bid to win support for military intervention, the White House said America was ready to take unilateral action.

I wonder where all the liberals are hiding that railed against Bush taking unilateral action in Iraq?