The FBI Fights Criminal Threats in the Americas
Members of the FBI’s International Operations Division who work in North, Central, and South America carry out their mission in some of the most violent countries in the world and face criminal threats—such as drug cartels and transnational gangs—that spill across borders and threaten the safety of Americans at home and abroad.
EDITORIAL NOTE:
What Does General Raul Castro Offer to the United States?
ContactoMagazine.com
A Latino Digital Magazine since 1998
Los Angeles, California
Nearly one year after Cuba and the United States announced that both countries wanted to resume diplomatic and economic relations after more than half a century fighting each other, we know what President Barack Obama wants to offer to Cubans, but we don't know exactly what General Raul Castro, leader of the Communist island, is offering to Washington. Business opportunities? Fundamental freedoms to the Cuban people? Respect for human rights? Stop fighting U.S. proposals at international forums? Compensate American companies and individuals after confiscating their properties in the early 60s? We don't know.
Author Andrew Keen Warns of Internet's Disastrous Impact
CATHERINE MADDUX
VOA News
When asked, author and speaker Andrew Keen says he can't imagine living without the Internet. But in his latest book, "The Internet Is Not the Answer," Keen argues that the digital revolution has been - his words - "an epic fail." The current state of the online world is one that allows a tiny minority of users access to enormous wealth and power, he argues. (Read More).
FTC Charges DirecTV with Deceptively Advertising the Cost of Its Satellite Television Service
DirecTV: “The FTC’s decision is flat-out wrong and we will vigorously defend ourselves, for as long as it takes.”
The Federal Trade Commission has charged DirecTV, the country’s largest provider of satellite television services, with deceptively advertising a discounted 12-month programming package because it fails to clearly disclose that the package requires a two-year contract. In addition, DirecTV does not clearly disclose that the cost of the package will increase by up to $45 more per month in the second year, and that early cancellation fees of up to $480 apply if consumers cancel the package before the end of the two-year period. (Read more).
Cars of the Near Future on Display in Geneva
GEORGE PUTIC
Geneva - VOA News
Car shows around the world increasingly suggest that in the not-too-distant future, cars will feature autopilots handling some of the driving. The auto show now under way in Geneva, Switzerland, is showcasing other possible trends - including cars manufactured by 3D printers.
Why the U.S. Should Not Reward Castros' Cuba
Cuba, a small island lying in the Caribbean 90 miles away from Key West, Florida, is the only Communist country in the Western Hemisphere. It has been ruled by two brothers, Fidel and Raul Castro since 1959. A strong lobby by the left and some business companies has been launched in Washington D.C. for the United States to resume economic and diplomatic relations with Cuba. The New York Times has published five editorials in five weeks with such a purpose. However, a number of reasons led us to think the United States should not reward the Castros' regime with open relations.
Avoid Text Message Spam
Text message spam is to your cell phone what email spam is to your personal computer. Both may try to get you to reveal personal information. Text message spam is a triple threat: It often uses the promise of free gifts or product offers to get you to reveal personal information; it can lead to unwanted charges on your cell phone bill; and it can slow cell phone performance.
When internet fraudsters impersonate a business to trick you into giving out your personal information, it’s called phishing. Don't reply to email, text, or pop-up messages that ask for your personal or financial information. Don’t click on links within them either – even if the message seems to be from an organization you trust. It isn’t. Legitimate businesses don’t ask you to send sensitive information through insecure channels.
Seven Signs That You Are Being Lied To
LINDA PRESTON
Would you know if someone was lying to you? Most of us like to think we would but every once in awhile we have to admit to ourselves that someone has pulled the wool over our eyes.
At FTC's Request, Court Orders Halt
to Debt Collector's Illegal Practices, Freezes Assets
Defendants Allegedly Broke the Law by Posing as Process Servers, Threatening Lawsuits, and Contacting Consumers’ Employers and Family Members in Violation of Their Privacy
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has halted a debt collection operation that allegedly extorted payments from consumers by using false threats of lawsuits and calculated campaigns to embarrass consumers by unlawfully communicating with family members, friends, and coworkers. The court order stops the illegal conduct, freezes the operation’s assets, and appoints a temporary receiver to take over the defendants’ business while the FTC moves forward with the case.
US Unveils Green Supercomputer
CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory in suburban Chicago is home to one of the newest, fastest, most efficient supercomputers in the country, called MIRA. But despite the new equipment, lawmakers are concerned that the United States is losing the international supercomputing race, a field it has dominated for decades.
Ad Age's Hispanic Fact Pack 2013
In the last decade, the fastest growth in the U.S. Hispanic market has shifted from foreign born immigrants to U.S.-born Hispanics, and that is reflected in media and marketing.
New Startup Accelerator Launches for Latino Entrepreneurs
Google for Entrepreneurs and Manos Accelerator, a newly created startup accelerator based in San Jose, California, announced a new partnership focused on increasing the number of Latinos represented in the entrepreneur community.
America Under Surveillance - A Congressional Debate
MICHAEL BOWMAN
VOA News
Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.
Top U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials say the government’s vast domestic data collection activities do not infringe on citizens’ privacy but do help identify and defeat terrorist threats. Officials testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee hours after the Obama administration released documents detailing telephone data collection programs exposed by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.
US Secret Court Renews Phone Surveillance Program
The secret U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has renewed the government's authority to continue collecting millions of telephone records - one of the classified counter-terrorism programs that was disclosed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
US Lawsuits Contest Legality of Government Surveillance
An unusual coalition of U.S. political advocacy and religious groups has filed suit contesting the legality of the government's surveillance of Americans' telephone records.
Apple Awarded $30 Million iPad Deal From
LA Unified School District
Apple announced it received the Los Angeles School Board of Education’s approval to begin a massive roll out of iPad to its students across the school district starting this fall. The $30 million commitment for iPads is the first phase of a larger roll out for the country’s second-largest public school district.
TeleCheck Services, Inc., one of the nation’s largest check authorization service companies, along with its associated debt-collection entity, TRS Recovery Services, Inc., have agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Retailers Eye New Technology to Lure Customers
BERNARD SHUSMAN
VOA News
New York, N.Y.
The definition of modern retailing is evolving as retailers look at using new technology to help lure more customers. New York’s Convention center was the site of the 103rd National Retail Federation expo, where some of the latest innovations were center stage.
Interested parties can submit comments and requests to participate
The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop on December 4, 2013 in Washington, DC to examine the practice of blending advertisements with news, entertainment, and other content in digital media, referred to as “native advertising” or “sponsored content.”
A Growing Share of Latinos Get Their News in English
MARK HUGO LOPEZ and ANA GONZALEZ-BECERRA
Pew Hispanic Center
I. OVERVIEW
The language of news media consumption is changing for Hispanics: a growing share of Latino adults are consuming news in English from television, print, radio and internet outlets, and a declining share are doing so in Spanish, according to survey findings from the Pew Research Center.
Consumers who don’t haggle are leaving money on the table. A new nationally representative survey of 2,000 Americans by Consumer Reports found that just 48 percent of shoppers tried bargaining for a better deal on everyday goods and services during the past three years, down from 61 percent in 2007. And most of those who bothered to negotiate received a discount at least once during that period.
ADamigo Launches Ad Marketplace
for Hispanic Business Community
BOISE, Idaho- ADamigo Founder Juan Cardenas launched a new ad marketplace (ad network) that caters to the Hispanic Business community. Cardenas announced a bold new direction for the company: Creating an innovative niche specific service exclusively catering to the Hispanic advertising community both in the United States and South America.
Consumer Reports: Four In Ten Smart Phone Users Fail To Take the Most Basic Security Measures
A smart phone can contain a lot of information that its owner would rather keep private. But 39 percent of the more than 100 million American adult smart phone owners fail to take even minimal security measures, such as using a screen-lock, backing up data, or installing an app to locate a missing phone or remotely wipe its data, according to Consumer Reports’ Annual State of the Net survey.
America’s New Health Insurance Marketplace
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Geogia
Beginning October 1, millions of Americans will be able to get affordable health insurance that includes many free preventive services and comprehensive coverage for services such as physician visits, preventive care, hospital stays, and prescriptions. New tax credits can reduce insurance premiums right away. And insurance plans will no longer be able to charge you more or refuse to provide coverage for you or your family if you have a pre-existing condition.
America Under Surveillance
-
A Congressional Debate
MICHAEL BOWMAN
VOA News
Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.
Top U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials say the government’s vast domestic data collection activities do not infringe on citizens’ privacy but do help identify and defeat terrorist threats. Officials testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee hours after the Obama administration released documents detailing telephone data collection programs exposed by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.
Media Experts Ponder Future of Newspapers
After Washington Post Sale
MIL ARCEGA
VOA News
Wasington D.C.
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos made news following reports that the Internet pioneer had purchased one of the nation’s top newspapers - The Washington Post. The newspaper has been losing money for years. Initial reaction to the $250-million deal has been mostly positive. The buyout is raising questions, however, about the future of the struggling newspaper industry.
At FTC's Request, Court Orders Halt
to Debt Collector's Illegal Practices, Freezes Assets
Defendants Allegedly Broke the Law by Posing as Process Servers, Threatening Lawsuits, and Contacting Consumers’ Employers and Family Members in Violation of Their Privacy
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has halted a debt collection operation that allegedly extorted payments from consumers by using false threats of lawsuits and calculated campaigns to embarrass consumers by unlawfully communicating with family members, friends, and coworkers. The court order stops the illegal conduct, freezes the operation’s assets, and appoints a temporary receiver to take over the defendants’ business while the FTC moves forward with the case.
Ad Age's Hispanic Fact Pack 2013
In the last decade, the fastest growth in the U.S. Hispanic market has shifted from foreign born immigrants to U.S.-born Hispanics, and that is reflected in media and marketing.
New Startup Accelerator Launches for Latino Entrepreneurs
Google for Entrepreneurs and Manos Accelerator, a newly created startup accelerator based in San Jose, California, announced a new partnership focused on increasing the number of Latinos represented in the entrepreneur community.
When internet fraudsters impersonate a business to trick you into giving out your personal information, it’s called phishing. Don't reply to email, text, or pop-up messages that ask for your personal or financial information. Don’t click on links within them either – even if the message seems to be from an organization you trust. It isn’t. Legitimate businesses don’t ask you to send sensitive information through insecure channels.
US Secret Court Renews Phone Surveillance Program
The secret U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has renewed the government's authority to continue collecting millions of telephone records - one of the classified counter-terrorism programs that was disclosed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
US Lawsuits Contest Legality of Government Surveillance
An unusual coalition of U.S. political advocacy and religious groups has filed suit contesting the legality of the government's surveillance of Americans' telephone records.
US Unveils Green Supercomputer
CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory in suburban Chicago is home to one of the newest, fastest, most efficient supercomputers in the country, called MIRA. But despite the new equipment, lawmakers are concerned that the United States is losing the international supercomputing race, a field it has dominated for decades.
Apple Awarded $30 Million iPad Deal From
LA Unified School District
Apple announced it received the Los Angeles School Board of Education’s approval to begin a massive roll out of iPad to its students across the school district starting this fall. The $30 million commitment for iPads is the first phase of a larger roll out for the country’s second-largest public school district.
© Contacto Magazine
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Seven Signs That You Are Being Lied To
LINDA PRESTON
Would you know if someone was lying to you? Most of us like to think we would but every once in awhile we have to admit to ourselves that someone has pulled the wool over our eyes.
Private US Group Plans Mars Fly-by
in 2018
Plans are underway for the first manned mission to Mars -- just five years from now. The privately financed fly-by in 2018 would take a man and a woman -- both Americans -- on a modified existing U.S. spacecraft to within 160 kilometers of the surface of the Red Planet, and return them safely to Earth.
Spanish Is Not Only a Language ...
Spanish is not only a language, it is the heart of a culture, religion and history, and a communication tool shared by nearly 500 million people in 21 countries.
Mahjong Mysteries - Ancient Athena on Nintendo 3DS™ eShop Released
cerasus.media launched Mahjong Mysteries – Ancient Athena on Nintendo’s eShop service. Accompany the famous adventurer David on his most mysterious mission yet - the one that will change everything!
AC/DC Now on iTunes
Complete Catalog Available Digitally for the First Time; All Tracks Mastered for iTunes
Columbia Records and Apple® announced that AC/DC’s entire catalog is now available digitally for the first time exclusively on the iTunes Store® worldwide (www.itunes.com). From their 1976 debut High Voltage to seminal classic Back In Black and 2008 smash hit Black Ice, every one of AC/DC’s 16 studio albums, along with four live albums and three compilation albums, are available for the first time ever on the iTunes Store.
TV and the Internet: A Marriage
Made in Entertainment Heaven
If you have bought a new television lately, the chances are it is a lot smarter than your old one. Smart TVs, also known as connected or hybrid televisions, featuring integrated internet connectivity, currently account for around a third of TV sales in Europe. They are the end point in a huge and rapidly expanding value chain driven by the intensifying convergence of television and the internet.