Pot-Growing Grannies In Tiny African Nation Part Of Vast Global Drug Chain

marijuana

Swaziland's grandmothers, who must care for small children in a country ravaged by AIDS, have found a way to make money, The New York Times reports.

The elderly women have begun growing Swazi Gold, a potent form of marijuana that's relatively easy to cultivate in the country's rocky soil, the Times reports.

“Without weed, we would be starving,” Khathazile, who has 11 grandchildren, told the paper, asking only that her middle name be used. "If you grow corn or cabbages, the baboons steal them."

This grandmother and others like her are supplying a thriving marijuana market in South Africa, The Times reports, citing a United Nations report. Swaziland, which has just 1.9 million people, has more acreage where marijuana is being grown than India, which is 180 times its size, according to that report.

But growing pot is hardly easy work for the nation's elderly women. They have to scout out secret fields, toil at clearing a patch of land, and be very careful about weeds.

“Weeds are very bad for weed," 70-year-old Sibongile Nkosi told The Times.

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China And Hong Kong Fall ? US Futures Are Lower

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A little bit of negativity is creeping into the market.

Yesterday, for the first time in awhile, stocks had down final hour of the day after being up all day. In the end, the market was about as unchanged as it gets, but still.

Now there's more down activity. US futures are a hair lower.

And this comes after a night in which Shanghai and Hong Kong both saw their markets fall over 1%.

Shanghai's market is such a punishing wreck right now.

Europe is mixed. Peripheral borrowing costs are a bit lower. Spanishs tocks are lower, while Italian stocks are higher.

Germany's DAX is down 0.76%.

All this aside, we remain solidly in the market doldrums until further notice.

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Ralph Lauren Looks Like A $160 Stock On Strong N. American Sales

While the company posted a modest growth of 4% in its revenues and 3% in its gross profits compared to Q1 fiscal 12, a solid performance in North American wholesale business and factory channel were the major highlights of the earnings.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/08/13/ralph-lauren-looks-like-a-160-stock-on-strong-n-american-sales/

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Google Gets Traveling Feet

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Hoping to book a last-minute summer vacation? If so, there's an increasing chance you'll at least be researching your destination with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG  ) , and not necessarily by typing "Rome" or "Prague" or "Southern California" into the company's search engine. That's because in the latest of a long string of acquisitions, the company has agreed to acquire storied travel guidebook franchise Frommer's. This is the company's most recent foray into providing original content, and it's an interesting buy that could help make Google a player in the travel market.

Cheap for the price
It seems Google scored a pretty good deal, considering how big the Frommer's name is in the travel guidebooks market. Reports have it that the Internet company is to pay in the range of $23 million to $25 million for its new subsidiary from current owner John Wiley & Sons (NYSE: JWB  ) .

The online travel business is a big and attractive one for Internet companies -- the American tourism industry spent $2.6 billion on online advertising in 2011. It's no wonder, since travel agents have faded so far into the background as to be invisible, and a great deal of travel research and booking takes place online these days. When was the last time, for example, any of us bought a plane ticket through any source other than a website?

If Google can secure an additional 1% of that $2.6 billion, it will already come close to breaking even on the Frommer's buy, even if a decent level of investment is pumped into the guidebook's operations (most notably its rather bland website).

Crowded skies
The ever-ambitious Google certainly won't have it easy if it wants to use Frommer's to move beyond banner ads on the e-Web pages of its guidebooks. The online tourism industry is fragmented and competitive, with several dominant companies fighting among themselves and against small rivals for the traveler dollar.

One operator in the former camp sure to provide tough competition for any Google travel effort is Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE  ) . It's a long-established online travel supermarket that books everything from flights to cruises to hotel rooms to rental cars. The company is the virtual travel agent for many, and as a result it has managed to grow its revenue fairly consistently over the years -- although bottom line hasn't zoomed ahead all that much.

This market is also well serviced with the likes of priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN  ) and its ilk. This company, perhaps best known for its oddball, irreverent commercials featuring William Shatner, has excellent financials and growth figures despite the bargains it habitually slings online. Full-year revenue for 2011 was more than 40% higher on an annual basis, while net profit margin was nearly 25%.

Frommer's has always offered a rather middle-ground series of books, catering generally to older travelers with some money to spend and a lingering curiosity to see the world. Google has a habit of keeping its acquisitions more or less intact, so don't expect anything to change too radically with this one. The middle market is where the competition is heaviest, and where Google will have to win some business from the Expedias and the Pricelines if it's to establish itself as a travel booker to any extent.

Acquisition addiction
These days, Google is one of the most buyout-happy big companies out there. It's been a serial acquirer for years, picking up a host of smaller assets in addition to big-ticket items like YouTube and phone maker Motorola Mobility.

The company's had varying degrees of success with these buys, but all of them are complimentary in some way to its existing business. Frommer's is no different; following last year's acquisition of leisure services review company Zagat Survey, Google has an offering that the guidebooks and their data can be well combined with. The Zagat reviews and its famous scoring system are now prominently featured in Google search results and embedded in the tech firm's popular online maps.

There are many ways the Frommer's content can be leveraged with Google's ever-growing universe of offerings. A top search result could return a Frommer's page accompanied by a Google map, for example, with a plane ticket booking or a hotel reservation a click or two away.

However they decide to leverage the content, this latest acquisition is an interesting one with potential for Google. It gives the company a bigger footprint in a lucrative market, no matter which direction it elects to go in squeezing money from the new asset. Frommer's was an opportunistic buy, and Google is to be commended for taking advantage of the chance. And for getting a good deal while it was at it.

With its raft of buyouts in the content space, Google continues to spread its business outside the borders of technology and, some might say, impartiality. There's certainly a ton of potential for the search giant in the travel vertical, and time will tell how well it can capture additional share. In the meantime, make sure you read up on another company loaded with huge potential for the future. We have a sharp analysis of it in our free report "The Only Stock You Need to Profit From the NEW Technology Revolution." You can download the report right now.

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Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/08/14/google-gets-traveling-feet.aspx

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The Science Behind Your Dog's Ability To Shake Itself Dry

Dog shaking dry

Next time the family dog bounds out of the nearest body of water and shakes itself off right beside you, don't get irritated: You're witnessing a feat of evolution that engineers can only dream of re-creating.

Furry mammals can shake themselves 70 percent dry in just a fraction of a second, according to new research. The study, which looked at the shaking speeds of 16 species of mammals, from mice to lions to bears, found that the smaller the animal, the faster it must shake to dry its fur.

"We think this has been evolving over millions of years of time to become so good," said study researcher David Hu, who studies biolocomotion at Georgia Tech. "Imagine if you could come out of the shower and, instead of using a towel, you could just press a button and in one-thirtieth of a second you're 70 percent dry."

The findings could provide inspiration for self-cleaning and self-drying robotics, Hu told LiveScience. [Video: Watch the Animals Shake Dry in Slow-Motion]

Shaking to survive

For mammals, drying off is a matter of life and death, Hu said. A relatively hairless human emerging from a bath can carry up to a pound of water on his or her body. An immersed rat will emerge with 5 percent of its body mass in water clinging to its fur. And a wet ant can find itself staggering under three times its body weight in liquid. (Hu previously studied how mosquitoes can survive direct hits by raindrops during a storm.)

Drying off quickly is particularly critical in winter. Hu and his colleagues calculate that a 60-pound dog with a pound of water on its fur would use a full 20 percent of its daily caloric intake staying warm as it air-dried.

"Imagine you fell into the lake in the winter and had wet clothes all around you and couldn't dry," Hu said.

Water would also be a challenge for autonomous robots that traipse around outdoors. Dust poses similar problems for electronics, Hu noted, citing NASA's Mars rovers. Modern Earthbound electronics often include internal shakers to dislodge dust, he said.

To find out how biology solved the self-cleaning problem, Hu and his colleagues went to the zoo and the park, as well as to the lab. They measured body sizes and shake speeds in 33 mammals from 16 species, ranging from guinea pigs and tiny juvenile mice to bears and lions. They also tested five breeds of dog.

"My graduate student had the pleasure of dousing them with a hose and measuring the frequency" of their shakes, Hu said, adding that no animals were harmed beyond momentary dampness in the process of the study.

To test drying speeds, the researchers also set up a "wet-dog simulator," a device that shook tufts of wet fur.

Shake it up

The researchers found that the bigger the animal, the slower it could shake to dry off. That's because the fur of a large animal shaking travels farther and is subject to more centripetal force than the fur of a small animal shaking. Centripetal forces are those that move an object in a circle. It's a bit like being on a merry-go-round: If you're at the edge of the merry-go-round, you're subject to greater force than if you're at the center.

So while a bear shakes about four times a second and a typical dog shakes four to six times per second to dry off, mice and rats have to move up to 10 times as quickly, the research revealed.

"They have to shake 30 times per second, which is unimaginable because their whole body is whipping back and forth," Hu said.

The researchers also found that loose skin helped the drying process immensely, because the extra movement resulted in nine times the force than if the skin were tight. That could explain why hairy mammals tend to have some give in their skin, Hu said. [10 Things You Didn't Know About Dogs]

No matter their size, all of the mammals were about as efficient as possible as drying off quickly, Hu said.

"I don't think we're going to make a Mars rover in the shape of a dog or anything like that," he said. "But if people can think about how animals do this so quickly, they'll get an idea of what is possible."

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Ralph Lauren Looks Like A $160 Stock On Strong N. American Sales

While the company posted a modest growth of 4% in its revenues and 3% in its gross profits compared to Q1 fiscal 12, a solid performance in North American wholesale business and factory channel were the major highlights of the earnings.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/08/13/ralph-lauren-looks-like-a-160-stock-on-strong-n-american-sales/

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Build Credit Without Credit: Your Top 3 Questions Answered

Some people seem to believe that the credit score is almost as important as oxygen and water. Most of that stems from the fact that we?ve been beaten over the head with the importance of the credit score since we first learned the difference between a $10 bill and a $5 bill.

But it?s simply not true. Can you really live without a credit score? Absolutely?and it?s actually easier than you?d think. It just takes some foresight, planning and maybe a little patience.

The credit score myth is tangled up in almost every part of our financial lives, but there are a few areas that seem to come up over and over again. So, here are the top three questions we get about how to live without a credit score:

How do I rent an apartment?

Most apartments will work with you if you can provide first and last month?s rent, as well as a security deposit. Ask them up front about their process and what type of information they?ll need. If they want a credit score and you don?t have one, simply tell them that you?ve never gone into debt and you use cash. Get a rental history referral from your previous landlord. If it?s your first time renting, you might have to look around for a little bit. But you?ll be able to find someone to work with you.

How do I take out a mortgage?

If you don?t have a credit score, you should focus on one thing?making sure you have a large down payment. If you?ve never gone into debt, that shouldn?t be too difficult, right? Without a credit score, the down payment, as well as your job and how long you?ve been employed in that line of work, are big factors.

You?ll also want an outstanding history of rental and utility payments. Look for a mortgage company that uses a process called manual underwriting, sometimes called ?non-traditional credit? or ?no credit score? lending. And whatever you do, don?t buy a house until you?re ready. That means you?re out of debt, you have a 3?6-month emergency fund, and you have a good down payment. Of course, you could always just pay cash for a house!

What if an employer wants to see my credit score during the interview process?

This is a growing trend, but it mainly affects people in the financial industry?banks, mortgage brokers, investment companies and so on. Again, the key here is to learn their process up front and explain why you don?t have a credit score if they ask you about it.

Remember, these answers only apply if you have no credit score. If you have a bad credit score, that?s a different situation entirely.

For renting, offer to put an extra month down if you are getting resistance from the property manager because of a bad score. For a mortgage, be patient, rent for a while, and save up even more to put into a down payment.

Our culture will tell you otherwise, but it is possible to live without a credit score. Sure, sometimes it might be annoying because of the way so many people have become addicted to the credit score. But seriously, it will never be as annoying as having a huge pile of debt!

Tired of putting up with FICO? Have you considered how different your life story could be without it? Check out these stories from people like you who are changing their lives by making the decision to live without debt!

How are you proving your financial credibility without utilizing debt? Tell us your experiences with the situations mentioned above.

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Source: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/build-credit-without-credit/lifeandmoney_creditcards

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Fighting Unsecured Debt * The Top Methods Of Take Away A Person?s Unsecured Debt

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Google vs. Apple: Who Has the Most to Lose?

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Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG  ) plan to challenge Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) with an enhanced voice-search feature for iOS is another strategic jab in an ongoing feud between the two tech gods. According to Reuters, Google's updated search app is expected for iPhone and iPad devices within the next few days.

While the search giant has not yet named its new service, the technology is meant to directly compete with Siri, Apple's voice-activated personal assistant. Let's take a closer look at how the two services measure up, and which company has the most to lose as they battle for mobile supremacy.

Mapping the future
Tension between Apple and Google has been building for years now. However, things came to a boil a few months ago, when Apple decided to drop Google Maps in favor of its own mapping software. As a result, upcoming smartphone and tablet devices from the iPhone maker will contain new location-based services, directions, and mapping tools.

This is one of many new directions Apple is taking in an apparent effort to amputate the hand that it has tied to Google. As an iPhone user who has come to know and love the current maps format powered by Google, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about the transition to this new software. But before we slap all the blame on Apple, let's not forget that it was Google that selfishly restricted Apple from offering turn-by-turn navigation, while using its API on iDevices.  

Going forward, Apple's independence from Google Maps will undoubtedly allow it to offer a far superior mobile mapping solution for iPhone and iPad users. Still, the war waged on, with Apple announcing plans early last week to cut Google-owned YouTube from its preloaded apps on the iPhone.

Speak for yourself
Google fought back by launching a rival to Apple's Siri technology. However, early reviews of the beefed-up Google Search app for Android have so far failed to live up to Siri in terms of speed and accuracy in answering questions. In fact, Laptop Magazine took Google, Apple, and Samsung's voice-enabled services for a trial run by asking each of them the same 10 questions.

Overall, Siri was the standout, with the best response times and responsiveness. Yet Google's service gets a gold star for basic inquiries such as sports scores. Samsung's S Voice, on the other hand, still needs some work -- particularly in terms of timeliness.

Apple supplier Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN  ) is the company behind Siri, which stands for "speech interpretation and recognition interface." Apple first introduced Siri last fall on the iPhone 4S and since has experienced record demand for the Siri-capable products.  

All told, I doubt Google's voice assistant will have an immediate impact on Apple, especially considering Apple is due in the coming months to release its iPhone 5, which will feature updates to its Siri software. I should note that Apple's Siri assistant still heavily relies on Google for information in answering a user's question.

A June review by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster found that 60% of Siri's results were generated by Google, followed by Yelp with 20%, Wolfram Alpha 14%, and Yahoo! a mere 4%. However, I agree with Munster's opinion that we'll see a steep decline in Google's contribution to Siri results after Apple's upcoming iOS 6 launch later this year.

Mobile domination
Bigger picture, this could become a dangerous game for Google. There's always the option that Apple swaps Google search on its mobile devices for Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT  ) Bing product. While I doubt this will happen, it's not out of the question, especially considering Microsoft is desperate for a piece of the mobile market.

Microsoft tried and failed to increase its share of the smartphone pie earlier this year through a strategic partnership with Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) . Unfortunately, the Finnish company's launch of its Windows-based Lumia 900 in the U.S. was plagued by weak demand and technical difficulties. For Microsoft, any future ties to Apple could give it a more meaningful entry point into the fast-growing mobile industry.

For now, there's no debating that both Google and Apple are solid companies that will continue to reward shareholders in the year ahead, though I think Google has the most to lose in this ongoing war with Apple. In the near term, a better way to gain exposure to the mobile computing industry is through shares of Nuance Communications.

Play for the gold
Nuance is credited with the technology used in Siri. Considering Apple has already built a strong supplier relationship with the company, I expect Nuance to lock down future deals with the Mac maker for next-generation devices. In addition, voice-enabled services such as this are still in the early stages, which means there's plenty of growth to come as the technology evolves. For these reasons, I stand behind my CAPScall of outperform for shares of both Apple and Nuance Communications.

If you're interested in Apple stock but are looking for the right entry point, I encourage you to check out The Motley Fool's new premium report on Apple. In it you'll get key insights into the company from the Fool's top analysts, as well as, a full year of timely notifications and updates on the stock. Get started today

Fool contributor Tamara Rutter owns shares of Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Follow her on Twitter, where she uses the handle @TamaraRutter, for more Foolish insights and investing ideas. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google, Microsoft, and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Nuance Communications, Google, Microsoft, and Apple and creating bull call spread positions in Microsoft and Apple. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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