Judge OKs $20m Facebook privacy settlement over targeted ads

A U.S. judge on Monday granted final approval to Facebook's $20 million settlement of a lawsuit over targeted advertising despite objections that the deal did not go far enough to protect children's privacy.

Five plaintiffs filed a class action against Facebook in 2011, saying the social networking giant's "Sponsored Stories" program shared users' "likes" of certain advertisers with friends without paying them or allowing them to opt out.

A "Sponsored Story" is an advertisement that appears on a member's Facebook page and generally consists of a friend's name, profile picture and an assertion that the person "likes" the advertiser.
The case has highlighted tension between privacy concerns and Facebook's drive to monetize user content.

Aftermath of war: Father, son found in Vietnam jungle after 40 years in isolation

Two men, father and son, who had lived in total isolation from society for 40 years in a remote jungle in central Vietnam were found yesterday.
According to Daily Mail UK, "Ho Van Thanh and his son Ho Van Lang apparently fled their home village 40 years ago after a bomb killed three members of their family. They were discovered by locals looking for firewood in deep forest in the Tay Tra district of Quang Ngai province.
"One day his wife and two of his sons were killed by a mine explosion, putting him in a state of shock.  He took his two-year-old son and fled into the jungle, thereafter never having any contact with anyone else," Daily Mail reports.
Local authorities yesterday confirmed that the men were Thanh, 82, and 42-year-old Lang who once lived in the Tay Tra District of Quang Ngai Province of Vietnam.
Due to being isolated from social contact for a long time, both father and son could only speak a little of the language of the Kor ethnic minority group.

The misguided logic of deporting fat people

After six years living in New Zealand, Albert Buitenhuis may have to go back to South Africa. The government decided he’s too heavy to stay.
Buitenhuis is now facing deportation after officials denied his request to renew his work visa. He and his wife claim to have had no previous trouble with their annual visa renewals.
New Zealand’s immigration ministry maintains that, at more than 280 pounds, Buitenhuis’s weight puts him at added risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Despite reports from Buitenhuis’s physician that he’s on track to correct a number of his health problems, the ministry remains concerned that weight-related issues will translate into hefty future costs. New Zealand claims that it is simply exercising its policy to hold immigrants to standards that minimize their burdens on the country’s health services. This year’s assessments included flagging and reviewing every immigrant with a body mass index greater than 35 (medically defined as “severely obese”), meaning Buitenhuis no longer meets those standards.

Read more: ObesityPost

Beyonce’s conflicting campaigns

Let me state this from the very beginning – I am a big fan of Beyonce.  I like her music.  She and huzzy Jay Z have proved to young people, particularly black folks like me that hardwork pays and with it you can reach any level.
I’ve lived in Harlem, New York for well over 30 years.  My parents migrated here from Senegal in 1980 and I was born a year later. I draw inspiration from the story of this remarkable couple who rose from poverty to wealth by channeling their energy to positive use at a time when some of their folks chose to ruin themselves with drugs. They are my heroes.

Read more here

New Zealand to South African chef: You’re too fat to live here

A South African chef who has been working in New Zealand since 2007 now faces being deported from the country on account of his weight.  Immigration officials said Albert Buitenhuis who weighs 286 pounds did not have “an acceptable standard of health”.
In 2007 the wife of a Briton who lives in New Zealand was denied visa to join her husband because of her weight.  Over half of New Zealand adults and nearly one-third of its children are either overweight or obese.
The country’s immigration service requires all visa applicants to undergo a complete medical examination, which includes body size measures like waist circumference.

Read the full story: Obesity Post

Why southern Africans are getting bigger

In South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, obesity rates are soaring.  The epidemic is particularly worse with women, but even the men are not any better.  South Africa’s Medical Research Council says 70 per cent of all women above the age of 35 are overweight.
Even with its poverty and hunger, a national survey in Swaziland noted that at least 55 per cent of Swazi women are overweight or obese.  According to Hester Vorster of the Center for Excellence in Nutrition at South Africa’s North-West University, “the problem in Africa is that both under- and over-nutrition are the worst in the world.”

Read more: Obesity Post

Malala to terrorists - You may shoot us, but won't silent us

Today is Malala Day, a day set aside by the United Nations to draw global attention to the importance of education for all children.  It was named after Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was short in the head in October 2012 for speaking out about her right to education.
Malala who has been receiving treatment in London since the attack, was at the UN headquarters in New York to mark the day.  She delivered a very impressive, wise and courage speech.  I just listened to the speech and I frankly it drew tears to my tears.  The message is simple but profound - Taliban, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and terrorists all over, you might shoot us, but you won't silent us.
I hope all the agents of terror would listen to this 16 year old activist and heroine of free speech.  Boko Haram, Malala spoke to you particularly.  You always use youtube to send you messages (though you claim to hate western education), now here is a message on youtube for you.  You may bomb schools, but you won't take away our resolve to be educated and free.