In an inspired blog post, Jason Kottke said that social networks aren't helping us organize; since all of them require different credentials to log in, they're just adding to the noise. He just might be up to something there. It's getting harder and harder to remember all those logins, passwords, and most importantly to remember which of your friends are using what network.

Social network aggregators is a relatively new breed of applications which try to consolidate all your various social networking profiles into one, with varying success. Let's check out 20 biggest competitors in this field.

Profilactic has very recently been upgraded to version 2, which brought a decent amount of new features - a new look, support for Pownce, LinkedIn, Shelfari, and the ability to add more than one account for the same site. At its core, Profilactic still does the same two things: it displays your personal lifestream, which consists of your social networking activity, and a group lifestream from your friends. What it does, it does well; however, we'd still like to see more options to interact with the items in your streams. There's also the option to create clippings - bits and pieces of information from the web; but this option is not really connected to the rest of the features on the site.

Minggl is a browser toolbar that works with Firefox, IE and Flock and promises to "put you in control of your social web universe". Unfortunately, you'll have a hard time testing this claim unless you have an invitation code, since Minggl is currently in invitation-only phase. The idea behind Minggl is to "attach" social networking profiles to Minggl and then control them all from one place. You can see an overview of the main features in this video tutorial.

Another application that's based on the concept of group lifestreaming, iStalkr perhaps chooses the most logical route of all the applications on this list. It enables you to follow your own and your friends' social networking activities on a timeline, and to act on it directly from iStalkr's interface. Working with iStalkr, we've noticed that the updates aren't coming that fast; but we're not sure if this is due to the limitations of various APIs involved or iStalkr itself.

Correlate.us doesn't really give you the ability to do much with your social networks, it merely gives you a nice overview of your activities on them. While the application is quite simple, it's done well, and we think that it could be a good basis for a bigger project.

Instead of aggregating social networking information, Explode.us lets you search all the social networks with one form. For each found user you can see tags, friends, comments, as well as the latest content this user posted. Explode.us supports, among others, LiveJournal, Flickr, Twitter, Jaiku and 43Things.

Spokeo is a social network tracker which enables you to track what your friends are doing on various social networks from Spokeo's interface. It aims to be the simplest of the aggregators, offering a kind of "RSS reader for social networks". Our longer review of the newly launched Spokeo is here.

Create a profile with your personal information, clippings from the web and your personal social networking lifestream. Profilefly works as a widget or as a Facebook application, and it supports a huge number of social networks, including MySpace, Digg, Hi5, Facebook, Last.FM, Second Life and many others. The actual profile is a bit bland, with the lifestream - which should be the center of such an application - offering very limited options; for example, time stamps and any kind of interactivity is lacking.

PeopleAggregator aims to become a social identity hub. It works through a desktop software application which currently runs only on Linux, and although we applaud its reliance on OpenID and open standards in general, the decision to start a service that aims to connect social networking users and their profiles, on a Linux platform, seems like a suicide. The official FAQ which is at the moment a bunch of spam links doesn't help. Look at the presentation of the service in HTML form here.

SocialURL helps you organize your online identity and get back in touch with all of your friends and classmates. It's a unified profile with support for photo galleries and videos, as well as a central portal with links pointing out to all your other social network profiles. It's all spiced up with lots of additional features, like on-site email, reminders and bookmarks.

We've already said quite a lot about Social Stream considering that it's not even in beta stage yet - all that's available at this point is a vidcast presentation of what Social Stream can do. However, the huge amount of attention that Social Stream got is a clear indicator that some pieces of the puzzle are still missing in the social network aggregator space.

Tabber is a personal profile page, which displays some information about you together with your latest activity on Digg, del.icio.us, your blog, Twitter, or any RSS feed. It's very similar in concept to ProfileFly, and just like it, it lacks any possibility to interact with your lifestream.

Naymz is another personal profile site, which goes a step further than services like Tabber or ProfileFly by giving you the possibility to actively monitor certain sites for mention of your name. Naymz also actively promotes your profile by trying to make it more visible on Google.

In contrast to the majority of the other services described here, 8hands is a desktop application which currently works on Windows XP and Vista. It allows you to access your profiles on social networks (currently supported are Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and many more) from a single IM-like interface. The idea is to have an overview of what's happening on your social networks, and send instant messages to other users. 8hands software is currently in alpha (I guess we're lucky alpha is the first letter of Greek alphabet, otherwise we'd have even more unstable software dubbed with a name that signifies even earlier stages of development), so expect some instability.

Second Brain takes a radically different approach to aggregation than other apps on this list. You organize your data - this includes data from your social network profiles, like Flickr photos or YouTube videos - into collections. A collection is basically a bunch of links, photos, or other bits and pieces of data thrown onto a dashboard; you can create your own collections or explore what others have collected. While the concept seems powerful, I've found myself trying to find something to do with it all. In any case, Second Brain is currently in invite-only beta stage and there will probably be some changes in the service until it goes public.

UpScoop lets you upload the contacts from your address book (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail and AOL are supported) and it lets you discover which of your friends are active on social networks like Hi5, MySpace and others. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing UpScoop didn't work with my perfectly valid Gmail address, so I couldn't properly test it out. Hopefully, it's just a temporary glitch.

ProfileOMat advertises itself as the last profile we'll ever need - if only things were that simple! ProfileOMat doesn't really aggregate your social networking profiles; it merely creates a profile from which you can reach all of your other profiles on social network. It does have a couple of nifty features, for example, you can set up your geographical location with the help of Google Maps.

MyLifeBrand tries to go a step further by really integrating various social network sites within a MyLifeBrand frame. While this approach brings a far more streamlined experience, it's unlikely that social network users will want to open their favorite website within some other website; also, there's always the possibility of unexpected errors with this approach. At this time MyLifeBrand is in invite-only beta, so if you don't have an invitation code, you won't be able to try it out.

Amongst the rounded corners and reflections that have become the usual visual identity for Web 2.0 ProfileLinker stands out by looking very Web 1.0-ish. After registration, you can add your various social network profiles and your contacts, and all this activity will be shown on your ProfileLinker profile. The look and feel of the interface leaves a lot to be desired; for one thing, I'd like to be able to remove random information about ProfileLinker's history that shows up on my profile; in general, the options for personalization are quite limited.

Snag takes a no-nonsense approach: no registration required; just enter some of your social network credentials (Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and LinkedIn are supported) and you get a group lifestream of your activity on these networks. The application needs much polishing, though; for example, entering the wrong credentials won't result in an error; instead, your lifestream will consist of login errors retrieved from that particular network. At this point, Snag looks more like proof-of-concept than a full-fledged app.

Besides aggregating your social network profiles, Socialnetwork.in spices things up with ratings. Perhaps I'm just unlucky, but testing the service resulted in numerous errors which pretty much prevented me to do any serious analysis. To see some basic features check out the screencast here.

OK, a free bonus for the 21st: Mashable also aggregates your social networking links in one place, with video, photo sharing, Flickr import and other features. It's worth disclosing at least.

Summary: In an inspired blog post, Jason Kottke said that social networks aren't helping us organize; since all of them require different credentials to log in, they're just adding to th...


Anna Brockway is standing in a massive storage space, gazing fondly at a four-panel azure and tan Chris Makos painting that she’s been trying to buy for two years.

“You’re not coming down in price, are you?” she asks patiently.

“Probably not,” antiques dealer Tod Donobedian replies with a friendly smirk.

Wheeling and dealing is business as usual for Brockway, a chatty, self-described compulsive redecorator. She’s also the co-founder and chief curator of Chairish, a design-centric online marketplace for reselling vintage and antique furniture and accessories. Just over two years old, the site launched in March 2013. It was co-founded by Brockway’s husband and business partner, Gregg Brockway, a serial entrepreneur who also co-founded popular travel sites Hotwire and TripIt.

On this warm summer afternoon, we’re in Donobedian’s 6,000-sq. ft. warehouse on Treasure Island, an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland. Brockway, shoes off to protect the Persian rugs that carpet large swaths of the cement floor, bounces between looking at a walnut dressing mirror and another hot find: a fireplace tool set. “You have A.D.D.—antique deficit disorder!” Donobedian jokes.

Two-dozen chandeliers and mid-century light fixtures hang from the rafters. Scattered about are a couple of large taxidermy items, including a lion cub and an anteater. As I meander between end tables and carefully avoid stepping on a round, pink Missoni rug, Donobedian points to a strange, squat leather and steel chair. I feel the lower back support as I ease myself down. The chair is an original Max Gottschalk, he explains, designed for pianist Bobby Short.

Donobedian has been in the business for 35 years, and he notes that most dealers don’t set up a storeroom like a showroom. “But it wouldn’t be any fun if I had everything in a warehouse,” he explains.

Brockway didn’t start Chairish simply because she likes to shop. She wanted to bring liquidity to the secondary furniture market. By now, everyone knows how to resell a home or a car. But furnishings are a harder case, even when there’s a serious value proposition in selling older things that are stylish and were built to last.

Growing up, her father worked for high-end furniture maker Baker Furniture, immersing her in the world of home furnishings and interior design from an early age. And because she’s passionate about what she calls the three tenants of shopping for vintage or pre-owned furniture—that the items and overall experience should be good, fast, and cheap—wanted to do the same for vintage housewares and antique furniture. She adds that after the actual house and autos, furniture is the third largest U.S. household expenditure.

Technically, Chairish was born out of Brockway household banter over whether to get yet another new dining room table to accommodate their (at the time) rapidly expanding family. Anna, a fashion and retail veteran who spent a decade in marketing at Levi’s and eventually became its vice president of worldwide marketing, told Gregg his next startup should tap into the estimated $200 billion-a-year furniture industry. Gregg challenged her to do it instead.

In the early days, Anna solicited casual sellers to try the service on for size. Even now as professional sellers populate the site with one-of-a-kind armoires and candelabras, roughly 20 percent of the business is still peer-to-peer sales.

Since Chairish debuted, Donobedian has been listing his treasures exclusively with the marketplace, going so far as to shutter his brick-and-mortar shop. Rather than continue to maintain his own e-commerce store, he leaves the demand-building and traffic-driving to Chairish. He’s certainly not the only vendor pushing all his chips onto the table. The curated site now boasts 400 to 600 new listings every day.

It’s important to note that by calling it curated, Brockway means that items listed on Chairish are vetted. Screening is simply about keeping out broken pieces or stuff that was meant to be disposable. In other words, no particleboard shelves will show up on her site. Quality matters. Designer, style, era, and price point do not. “We don’t have an elitist perspective,” she says.

That isn’t to say it hasn’t become a resource for elites. Interior designers use the site to save time hunting down one-of-a-kind finds for clients. Eco-minded celebrities like The Honest Company’s Jessica Alba have used the site to redecorate and find pieces that are easy on the environment, if not the wallet.

Brockway and her team also travel to far-flung flea markets such as the Round Top Antiques Fair in Texas, where Chairish hosts real-time Instagram sales. During a recent frenzied closeout hosted on the image-sharing site, it took about 40 minutes to sell 45 items. Even though items move quickly on Chairish, there’s always a push to create a sense of urgency around one-off sales. There are features for less impulsive buyers as well: a way to mark favorites on the site and receive an alert when a bid is placed.

There’s also a need to keep the site propelled toward profitability. In July 2015, Chairish, now a team of 35, raised its an undisclosed Series B round, Brockway tells Fortune exclusively. The latest round adds to the $7.2 million Chairish raised in seed and Series A funding.

When we finally rise to leave the Treasure Island warehouse, a fog is slowly enveloping the San Francisco. But Donobedian motions to us to stop. “Wait—I have a gift for you,” he tells Brockway, and disappears into a back room behind some French wall sconces. He emerges with a remarkable item: a slightly weathered yellow and white arrow sign that reads “Camp Brockway.” It’s no Makos painting, but it’s a fun, unusually personal substitute that he had recently spotted and knew his friend would want. And already, Brockway says, she knows exactly where she’ll put it.

Summary: Hunting for home accents with the founder of vintage furniture marketplace Chairish.


07/14/2016 AT 01:00 PM EDT

's small-screen alter ego on

had plenty to feel good about: He had a loyal (if eccentric) group of friends, a successful career (good enough to buy his parents a new Cadillac), and a dating life that would put even the most devoted Tinder users to shame.

, who made several guest appearances on the hit sitcom as the joke-telling dentist Tim Whatley, there was another reason Seinfeld was always smiling.

"It was so much fun, we had to stop rolling the tape often because Jerry would be laughing," Cranston, 60, revealed during the latest edition of The Jess Cagle Interview with PEOPLE and

"He was the one who cannot keep a straight face," Cranston continued. "When you watch the show now, you'll see him smiling constantly – that's the best take they had of him not actually laughing, just smiling and trying to contain himself. It was a blast."

Cranston appeared on five episodes of

Watch the video above for more of Cranston dishing on Seinfeld, and stay tuned to PEOPLE.com for more clips from his interview with Cagle. You can also listen to the full interview on EW Radio (SiriusXM Ch. 105) all weekend.

, is out in theaters Friday.

Summary: Bryan Cranston tells PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly editorial director Jess Cagle that Jerry Seinfeld couldn't stop laughing while filming


The World Anti-Doping Agency has announced the findings of its report into the state-sponsored cheating by Russian athletes, confirming that at least 580 positive tests were covered up by the nation’s Ministry of Sport from 2011 through the 2015 across several sports. Positive tests by athletes would go missing at major global championships in swimming, track and field and weightlifting.

According to the investigation, which was led by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren, the Russian government, including the Ministry of Sport, the Center for Sports Preparation and the FSB, instituted an advanced program to circumvent the WADA drug testing. These infractions took place at the 2014 Sochi Games and other international competitions, where Russia skirted rules using what investigators have called a “disappearing positive methodology.”

Below are the three key findings of the report:

1. The Moscow Laboratory operates, for the protection of Russian athletes, within a State-dictated failsafe system, described in the report as the Disappearing Positive Methodology.

2. The Sochi Laboratory operated a unique sample swapping methodology to enable dope Russian athletes to compete at the Games.

3. The Ministry of Sport directed, controlled and oversaw the manipulation of athlete’s analytical results or sample swapping, with the active participation and assistance of the FSB, CSP, and both Moscow and Sochi Laboratories.

All levels of the Russia’s sports governance were implicated in the report including the Ministry of Sport, Center of Sports Preparation, the KGB as well as the Federal Security Service. All positive tests from the Moscow WADA lab were sent to the deputy minister of sport to make a decision on whether a positive test were to be examined or disregarded.

Russian athletes were also tested before the London Olympics in order to determine the likelihood of a positive test and whether they should withdraw from competition due to the risk. Of the 48 athletes that were pre-tested, 11 won medals at the Summer Games.

The claims were first brought to light in may when Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the program’s Moscow laboratory, revealed the anti-doping measures to the New York Times in May.

The International Association of Athletics Federation has already banned all Russian track and field athletes from this summer’s Olympic Games, and it has been reported that a group of anti-doping officials are asking that the entire nation be removed from competition in light of the recent findings about the scope of the performance enhancing drug use by Russian athletes.

Summary: It's a doping debacle of epic proportions


SIR – Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, is the latest in a long line of prominent politicians and officials to predict a disaster for Britain if we vote to leave the European Union.

I wonder if these people realise the extent to which they are rendering themselves unfit for office in the event of a vote for Brexit.

We have to face the distinct possibility that the Prime Minister, a good proportion of the Cabinet, and a large smattering of civil servants and Government appointees will need to resign from office on June 24.

Stephen Davies Richmond, North Yorkshire

SIR – There is little impartial information available to voters to make an informed decision on the EU. What is particularly depressing is that whenever any becomes available, it is rubbished by whichever side disagrees.

On Thursday the Bank of England, in a well-reasoned analysis, suggested that, in its view, Brexit would be economically damaging. This may not be correct, but I welcome all such analyses.

For the Brexit camp to suggest that the Governor should be sacked demeans only them.

Neil Dunford Walton on Thames, Surrey

SIR – Mark Carney and the Remain camp think only in the short term.

They do not consider what is best for the next generation, or the possibility of a more prosperous Britain, free of the EU, in a few years’ time.

SIR – The most overused word in the English language since the start of the referendum campaign is surely could.

SIR – Julia Bradshaw’s article is a fair reflection of the current challenges in getting ground-breaking medicines to the patients who need them in Britain.

However, if Britain left the EU, the licensing of medicines would need to be handled by a British agency as well as a European agency. Applications for a UK licence would come after a European licence due to the smaller patient population.

Staying in the EU is critical for investment and jobs, as well as helping to ensure that patients in Britain benefit from new medicines more quickly.

Mike Thompson CEO, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry London SW1

SIR – At last, the Office for National Statistics has revealed the truth on immigration.

A few more facts, and I might feel more adequately prepared to vote.

SIR – James Brokenshire, the immigration minister, has said that the curbs secured by David Cameron on welfare payments to migrants will help reduce the number of new arrivals to Britain. He also claimed that short-term migrants, who leave after a year, do not put pressure on public services.

First, it is widely recognised – even by Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council – that Mr Cameron’s curbs on benefits will have little, if any, effect on immigration.

Secondly, even if short-term migrants do leave after a year, the pressure on public services remains, as these visitors are rapidly replaced by others.

The current migration figures are far too high for an already overcrowded country, with public services barely able to cope. If we remain in the EU, this situation will continue – and there will be absolutely nothing we can about it.

Trevor Anderson Tunbridge Wells, Kent


Director pay has received scant attention over the years as investors, regulators and the public have focused on soaring executive compensation.

Yet an examination of pay for the nonexecutive directors of S&P 500 companies—about 4,300 men and women—shows that pay has climbed nearly 50% between 2006 and 2014. The figures exclude chief executives and other senior managers who sit on their own company’s board.

Summary: What corporate directors are paid has received scant attention, amid the debate about soaring executive compensation. But pay for nonexecutive directors of S&P 500 companies rose nearly 50% between 2006 and 2014.


Nearly two days after the horrific suicide attacks on civilian workers in New York and Washington, it has become painfully clear that most Americans simply don't get it. From the president to passersby on the streets, the message seems to be the same: this is an inexplicable assault on freedom and democracy, which must be answered with overwhelming force - just as soon as someone can construct a credible account of who was actually responsible.

Shock, rage and grief there has been aplenty. But any glimmer of recognition of why people might have been driven to carry out such atrocities, sacrificing their own lives in the process - or why the United States is hated with such bitterness, not only in Arab and Muslim countries, but across the developing world - seems almost entirely absent. Perhaps it is too much to hope that, as rescue workers struggle to pull firefighters from the rubble, any but a small minority might make the connection between what has been visited upon them and what their government has visited upon large parts of the world.

But make that connection they must, if such tragedies are not to be repeated, potentially with even more devastating consequences. US political leaders are doing their people no favours by reinforcing popular ignorance with self-referential rhetoric. And the echoing chorus of Tony Blair, whose determination to bind Britain ever closer to US foreign policy ratchets up the threat to our own cities, will only fuel anti-western sentiment. So will calls for the defence of "civilisation", with its overtones of Samuel Huntington's poisonous theories of post-cold war confrontation between the west and Islam, heightening perceptions of racism and hypocrisy.

As Mahatma Gandhi famously remarked when asked his opinion of western civilisation, it would be a good idea. Since George Bush's father inaugurated his new world order a decade ago, the US, supported by its British ally, bestrides the world like a colossus. Unconstrained by any superpower rival or system of global governance, the US giant has rewritten the global financial and trading system in its own interest; ripped up a string of treaties it finds inconvenient; sent troops to every corner of the globe; bombed Afghanistan, Sudan, Yugoslavia and Iraq without troubling the United Nations; maintained a string of murderous embargos against recalcitrant regimes; and recklessly thrown its weight behind Israel's 34-year illegal military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as the Palestinian intifada rages.

If, as yesterday's Wall Street Journal insisted, the east coast carnage was the fruit of the Clinton administration's Munich-like appeasement of the Palestinians, the mind boggles as to what US Republicans imagine to be a Churchillian response.

It is this record of unabashed national egotism and arrogance that drives anti-Americanism among swaths of the world's population, for whom there is little democracy in the current distribution of global wealth and power. If it turns out that Tuesday's attacks were the work of Osama bin Laden's supporters, the sense that the Americans are once again reaping a dragons' teeth harvest they themselves sowed will be overwhelming.

It was the Americans, after all, who poured resources into the 1980s war against the Soviet-backed regime in Kabul, at a time when girls could go to school and women to work. Bin Laden and his mojahedin were armed and trained by the CIA and MI6, as Afghanistan was turned into a wasteland and its communist leader Najibullah left hanging from a Kabul lamp post with his genitals stuffed in his mouth.

But by then Bin Laden had turned against his American sponsors, while US-sponsored Pakistani intelligence had spawned the grotesque Taliban now protecting him. To punish its wayward Afghan offspring, the US subsequently forced through a sanctions regime which has helped push 4m to the brink of starvation, according to the latest UN figures, while Afghan refugees fan out across the world.

All this must doubtless seem remote to Americans desperately searching the debris of what is expected to be the largest-ever massacre on US soil - as must the killings of yet more Palestinians in the West Bank yesterday, or even the 2m estimated to have died in Congo's wars since the overthrow of the US-backed Mobutu regime. "What could some political thing have to do with blowing up office buildings during working hours?" one bewildered New Yorker asked yesterday.

Already, the Bush administration is assembling an international coalition for an Israeli-style war against terrorism, as if such counter-productive acts of outrage had an existence separate from the social conditions out of which they arise. But for every "terror network" that is rooted out, another will emerge - until the injustices and inequalities that produce them are addressed.

Summary: Americans cannot ignore what their government does abroad.


Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders smiles as a bird lands on his podium as he speaks during a rally at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on March 25, 2016.

07/28/2016 AT 10:35 AM EDT

is returning to his status as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination for president to

, the Vermont senator announced he will be leaving the Democratic Party when he returns to work in the U.S. Senate this week.

"I was elected as an independent; Iâll stay two years more as an independent," Sanders, 74, said at the Bloomberg Politics breakfast on Tuesday.

As an elected official in Congress, Sanders caucused with the Democrats, but considers himself an independent due to his far-left-leaning views.

When asked if Sanders considers himself a Democrat or an independent after the event, a campaign aide stated, "He ran for president as a Democrat but was elected to a six-year term in the Senate as an independent."

Although he urged his supporters to vote for Clinton at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, Sanders expressed his discontent with the party after email leaks showed officials attempting to aid Clinton's campaign in the party's primary. He called for Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down.

"I think she should resign, period, and I think we need a new chair who is going to lead us in a very different direction," Sanders said on ABC's

on Sunday. According to the

, Wasserman Schultz's resignation takes effect at the end of the Democratic National Convention, which ends Thursday.

"As Party Chair, this week I will open and close the Convention and I will address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans," she said. "We have planned a great and unified Convention this week and I hope and expect that the DNC team that has worked so hard to get us to this point will have the strong support of all Democrats in making sure this is the best convention we have ever had."

Summary: "I was elected as an independent," Bernie Sanders said Tuesday


Lauren Conrad’s lone mascara-tinged tear dripping down her face after a conflict with Audrina Partridge might be the most memorable image of The Hills. In fact, so notorious is this image that the Internet, that a bastion of all things trending and meme-worthy, has crowned that drama-filled moment as the ultimate GIF for sad occasions.

However, in an interview with MTV News in preparation for the tenth anniversary special of the The Hills, Conrad revealed that everything we knew to be true about that single iconic tear is a lie. Apparently, that tear’s makeup-colored hue was not due to LC’s mascara, but her liquid eyeliner from her signature cat-eye.

“I don’t think it was the mascara — I think it was the eyeliner that was running,” Conrad said. “I still wear the same mascara, and it doesn’t run like that.”

Conrad also said that her mascara/eyeliner tears have reduced drastically since her days on The Hills, noting that “I rarely cry these days.”

Summary: Everything you thought you knew is a lie


Everything; as the latest swooning press conference confirmed. Roughly three times as many attended his interview than for Masters champion Danny Willett and twice as many than for Open champion Henrik Stenson and world No 1 Jason Day. It was the traditional Beef fare.

Questions about his unruly beard, his happy-go-luck attitude, his inability to look stern and serious like the rest of his colleagues. “Just be yourself, man,” was his message to the children who like him, might be the butt of cruel overweight jokes.

Beef’s beauty is that he is exactly who he is on the course as he is in the media. In an age where the young sporting millionaires seem more detached than ever, here is a figure to whom the crowds can relate.

Corporate America has predictably latched on. On Saturday he could be found at Arby’s in Manhattan, a fast-food outlet who quickly endorsed him after Troon, dishing out the sandwiches. “Beeeeeeef” they shouted as he stood laughing, with his gummy grin, ample stomach and, of course, his wacky facial typography.

Summary: Andrew Johnston has taken relationship advice from the four-times divorced John Daly.


Property queen Sarah Beeny handles a portfolio of rental properties. Former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq owns London buy-to-lets, and one-time Bond girl Fiona Fullerton has rental homes in the Cotswolds. Former tennis star Tim Henman has investments in south-west London and has bought into a property club that owns and rents luxury villas across Europe.

But how can you follow in their footsteps? Three of Britain’s best-known property experts (each a buy-to-let landlord in their own right) have chosen different types of homes to earn you healthy returns. Whether you are after a country cottage, a city slicker pied à terre or a villa in the sun, there are opportunities for all.

The Location, Location, Location star and host of Channel 4’s The Common Denominator has two rules: buy somewhere you know and target the type of tenant you want. “If you understand the housing market where you live, you are likely to make a more informed decision than if you were trying to buy 150 miles away,” says Phil.

“Then decide what type of person you want to rent your property. Students, young professionals, couples or families? What do they look for? How much will they pay? How will they travel to work?”

His own buy-to-let portfolio targets young professional renters in the capital. “Several hundred thousand graduates arrive in London each year for their first jobs. They have lived with friends during university and usually wish to continue doing so,” he adds.

“This is why I have bought three-bedroom Victorian houses. I convert one room to get a fourth bedroom and let to four sharers.”

London is the UK’s hottest lettings market with more than 45 per cent of all households renting. LSL Property Services, which owns Your Move, Marsh & Parsons and other rental chains, says average London rents rose 0.9 per cent in October, to a monthly level of £1,102 for a two-bedroom home.

Agents confirm that landlords typically receive seven per cent rental yield per year. This is far more than you can earn through most banks or building societies. Savills, meanwhile, forecasts London rents will rise by 26.4 per cent in the next five years, more than anywhere else in the UK.

The former A Place in the Sun star and presenter of Channel 4’s You Deserve This House rents out a London flat as well as a two-bedroom apartment in southern Italy.

Her advice is to follow the sun, while keeping an eye on the budget.

“There are plenty of bargains overseas right now. You can buy cheaply in perennially popular holiday destinations,” explains Lamb.

“I suggest the Algarve in Portugal. It is easy to get to, and popular with golfers and families. The market is consistent, but the area isn’t overdeveloped. France is also an enduring and easy-to-get-to favourite with British holiday makers,” she says.

“However my hot tip is Florida. There are fantastic bargains around Orlando, Kissimmee and Miami for £160,000 to £250,000. The rental market is strong, too.”

But wherever you look overseas, choose a home near an international airport and make sure flights from the UK look viable in the long-term.

Landlords should also remember to budget for the likely number of weeks the property will be let. And include service charges when adding up costs.

Lamb warns against investing in Spain until its housing market and economy recover. “You can buy a bargain, but there will be 300 similar properties nearby all looking for tenants. This is because their owners can’t sell. Buying there could backfire,” she cautions.

The website globalpropertyguide.com, which monitors the world’s housing markets, supports Florida as a reliable buy-to-let option. They say house prices, sales volumes and building levels are just beginning to pick up across the country. These are the first improvements since 2006. Florida, Texas and parts of California plus New York state are the healthiest markets.

He shot to fame as the cheery builder in Ground Force, but Tommy Walsh has starred in 11 television series. The DIY guru has also written nine books about renovating. But his first love is actually buy-to-let.

“We acquired our first BTL 25 years ago. My wife, Marie, and I have always seen it as a good investment,” says Walsh.

Unsurprisingly, he is keen on fixing-up houses. This makes them more likely to produce capital appreciation when they are eventually sold. They also produce good yields until then. Modernised properties let quicker and for higher rents than older properties, too.

But he stresses you must know your limits: “Avoid buildings with major structural defects unless you are an experienced builder with deep pockets.”

He also takes a hands-on approach to managing his portfolio, shunning lettings agents.

“We prefer to select the tenants and arrange the contracts ourselves as it is more cost effective. Obviously, building and maintenance isn’t a problem. And my wife organises the paperwork and tenants.” He has three practical pieces of advice for would-be landlords:

Be efficient when dealing with tenants. “References must be thorough, including credit checks and finding guarantors (if needed). We insist rent is paid by direct debit on the due date with cleared funds. Deposits are returned only when all contractual requirements are met,” Walsh explains.

He also advises landlords to respect their tenants and avoid costly disputes.

“We always redecorate and clean or replace carpets after a long tenancy. We video the property’s condition at the handover as well as creating a paper inventory.”

Finally, he adds, do not be greedy: “We tend to charge a little less than the going rate.” This gives him a wider choice of tenants, which often allows him to tie them into longer leases, providing more financial security for everyone involved.

Lettings agents typically charge between 11 and 17 per cent of the rental income in fees and sometimes levy one-off charges for finding tenants. They check references and manage mandatory health and safety plus gas inspections and fire precaution equipment. This is a valuable service for those who don’t have the time or relevant experience.

If you are up to the task, however, doing the work yourself can save you thousands of pounds per year, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

As with any investment, of course, buy-to-let does not guarantee a return. Many overzealous would-be landlords were burnt by the recent recession. While caution is always advisable, buyers with the right attitude and a long-term view can take advantage of some brilliant deals on offer at the moment. If you can make it work in 2013, you will thrive when the market is firing on all cylinders once more.

Top 10 buy-to-let hot spots in 2013

How to be a buy-to-let landlord

• Do your research. Pick a sector: students, professionals, first-time buyers or retirees?

• Buy in winter when sellers are anxious and may sell cheaply

• Don’t buy in a large scheme, where 75 per cent of homes are to let

• Choose areas with diverse employment, great transport links, such as Reading and Southampton

• Find the right mortgage, or remortgage your main home if this option is cheaper. Try charcol.co.uk and mortgagebroker.co.uk

• Most buy-to-let mortgage offers require at least a 25 per cent deposit – a few want 40 per cent

• Avoid ground-floor flats, which tenants believe are security risks

• Family homes rent well if they are in key school catchment areas.

• Aim for five per cent return on your investment per year

• If you use a letting agency, ensure it is Association of Residential Letting Agents-registered (arla.co.uk)

VIew our gallery of ultimate buy-to-let homes around the world

Summary: Rental demand in many parts of the UK has never been higher. Graham Norwood speaks   to top experts to get tips on starting a buy-to-let empire.


Netflix says it’s cracked the code on how fast or slow different genres of television get binge-watched on the streaming service, and the fastest category is “thrillers.”

Netflix does not release data on its viewership, but in an internal study of 100 shows, the streaming service said it found that shows in the thriller, horror and sci-fi categories lend themselves toward more intensive bingeing. Shows in this category, like Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Orphan Black, are more likely to be viewed for 2 hours and 30 minutes per day, with seasons being finished in about four days, the New York Times reports.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, irreverent comedies, political dramas and historical dramas were more likely to be seen in smaller doses of just 1 hour and 45 minutes per day, with seasons being finished in about six days. Shows in these categories include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, House of Cards and Mad Men.

Categories that fall in the middle of the spectrum include dramatic comedies (like Orange Is the New Black), crime dramas (like Fargo) and superhero dramas (like Netflix’s original Marvel series).

Summary: These are the most addictive


Health problems in Flint, Mich. are deeper than the ongoing water crisis. In Genesee County, the life expectancy for low-income residents is one of the lowest in the country and appears to be a direct consequence of years of economic decline and a lack of proper public health services.

A new study, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that the life expectancy for a 40-year-old resident in a household with an income below $28,000 in Genesee County was 76.8 years, below the national life expectancy of 78.8. The number makes sense — Flint’s poverty rate is 21.5%, above the national average of 14.5%.

Flint, which has been dealing with the fallout from its lead-poisoned water supply after the city switched its water source from Detroit to the Flint River in 2014 to save money, has been struggling financially for years. While it’s well-known that income and life expectancy are related, the JAMA study found that where you live can also affect how long you live, especially for low-income households.

Read more: Flint’s Water Crisis Explained in 3 GIFs

According to the study, poor Americans in cities like New York, Miami and Santa Barbara, Calif., for example, live several years longer than low-income individuals near cities like Gary, Indiana, Las Vegas, and Oklahoma City. The study raises questions about the effects local public health services have for the lowest-income Americans in places like Flint, which has struggled to provide adequate health services as businesses have left, the population has declined, and the tax base has dried up.

“Genesee County has poverty, but it also has had the deterioration of its infrastructures and institutional services because of what’s happened economically,” says Dr. Aron Sousa, interim dean at Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine.

The study also finds correlations between obesity and life expectancy for poor households. Flint has struggled for years with food deserts that make it difficult for residents to get fresh groceries. Similarly, there’s a correlation between smoking rates and how long Americans live. A third of Flint residents regularly smoke, and Sousa says the lack of health services has likely contributed to the high rates.

Read more: Michigan Governor Defends Handling of Flint Water Crisis

“A county might be able to provide services to get residents to quit smoking, but in a cash-strapped community that can’t afford it, poor people don’t have the same opportunity,” Sousa says. “That’s why geography is important to your overall health.”

Overall, the JAMA study showed that Americans’ life expectancies gradually increased as their incomes rose. American males in the top 1% live 15 years longer than those in the bottom 1%, no matter their location. There are likely a number of factors at play, including the ability for wealthier Americans to provide for themselves the kind of health care they need without relying on local governments or community services that may not have the funding to make much of a difference.

Summary: Economic decline contributing to poor health


The parents of two Americans killed in the 2012 attack on a United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, filed a lawsuit on Monday against Hillary Clinton, saying that her “‘extreme carelessness’ in handling confidential and classified information” while secretary of state contributed to the conditions that led to their sons’ deaths.

In the wrongful-death lawsuit, Patricia Smith and Charles Woods charge that the attack that killed four Americans, including their sons, Sean Smith and Tyrone Woods, “was directly and proximately caused, at a minimum” by Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server while in the State Department.

The suit — which was brought by the conservative lawyer and longtime Clinton nemesis Larry Klayman on behalf of the families — also accuses Mrs. Clinton of having made “false and defamatory statements negligently, recklessly and purposefully and/or intentionally with malice” in her public comments, including those about the connection between the attack and an anti-Muslim YouTube video.

Both Ms. Smith and Mr. Woods have spoken out publicly against Mrs. Clinton during the election campaign.

At the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last month, Ms. Smith, a vocal supporter of Donald J. Trump, said, “I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son.”

Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton, said in a statement, “While no one can imagine the pain of the families of the brave Americans we lost at Benghazi, there have been nine different investigations into this attack and none found any evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing on the part of Hillary Clinton.”

Last fall, Mrs. Clinton answered eight hours of questioning from a Republican-led House committee over her handling of the Benghazi attack and its aftermath. A report the committee filed in June found no new evidence of wrongdoing by Mrs. Clinton.

Summary: In a wrongful-death lawsuit filed on Monday, the parents claim that Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server was a cause of the 2012 attack.


Technology companies generally strive to create easy-to-use experiences. Algorithms, most tell us, are the key to a seamless digital future. At Facebook, algorithms determine which of your friends’ posts will appear the top of your News Feed. They’re the reason the YouTube videos you post today have less reach than clips posted in Facebook’s native media player. Algorithms are why Facebook’s “Trending” box may have pegged you (O.K., me) as a person who would consider Justin Bieber’s new facial tattoo one of the most important news items in the world on May 9.

Engineers would have us believe that algorithms are altruistic bits of code that make our lives better. Google defines them as “computer programs that look for clues to give you back exactly what you want.” But the truth is more complex. Facebook this week is being forced to grapple with that complexity after the technology news site Gizmodo alleged that the social network’s “Trending” box is subject to a significant amount of human curation, and, therefore, bias. According to unnamed former members of the Trending team interviewed by Gizmodo, some curators purposefully excluded articles from conservative outlets such as Breitbart and RedState from appearing in the module, even when they were popular enough to earn the trending designation.

These curators, contract workers who often had journalistic backgrounds, were essentially exercising editorial judgment to determine which stories were newsworthy enough to warrant inclusion in the Trending feature, the piece alleges. The story surprised many readers who believed the Trending to mean trending, a.k.a. an impartial reflection of what’s popular on Facebook. Responding to the Gizmodo story, Facebook said it doesn’t prohibit any news outlet from appearing in the module and uses rigorous guidelines to ensure “consistency and neutrality.”

That’s fine. Determining what information in the world is worthy of wide dissemination is a role news organizations have played for centuries. But Facebook doesn’t explain anywhere in or around the trending box that humans are selecting some of the stories that receive such prominent placement. Nor does the company explain that the “Trending” items are tailored to each user’s interests, rather than an ordered list of the biggest news items across Facebook on a given day. The end result nudges users to place a disproportionate amount of trust in an algorithm and an unknown team of curators whose processes are completely opaque. All of this is occurring at a time when traditional media outlets are held accountable by their readers more than ever thanks in part, ironically, to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

It’s long past time for Facebook to be more transparent about the methods it uses to amplify information. The Menlo Park, Calif. company, like many tech giants, wants to be seen as a nonpartisan entity whose role is to deliver information from one user to another. Here’s Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s product management director for News Feed, explaining to TIME last year how the company organizes information in the feed:

“The thing that’s important to remember is we can’t start an editorialized feed. That doesn’t mean we don’t have values, but there’s a line that we can’t cross, which is deciding that a specific piece of information–be it news, political, religious, etc.–is something we should be promoting. That’s an editorial point of view the way a newspaper has, so we can’t do that.”

The News Feed and the Trending box are distinct products with separate teams. But in its official response to the Gizmodo story, Facebook took a similar tack in trying to dodge accusations of bias.

“We take allegations of bias very seriously,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Facebook is a platform for people and perspectives from across the political spectrum… These guidelines do not permit the suppression of political perspectives. Nor do they permit the prioritization of one viewpoint over another or one news outlet over another. These guidelines do not prohibit any news outlet from appearing in Trending Topics.”

But as we better understand the ways technology platforms can affect the way people feel, spend and vote, the companies in charge of these platforms will have a tougher time arguing that they are inherently neutral. Stories in News Feed are ranked using thousands of factors to determine an ambiguous assessment of relevance, but Facebook won’t tell users what those factors are. The chance of bias in Trending is even more obvious, with certain stories being added to the box or removed by young journalists “primarily educated at Ivy League or private East Coast universities,” according to Gizmodo.

Bias will emerge because Facebook is run and operated by human beings, not robots. (Sorry, M) Facebook says it has guidelines to ensure neutrality in the Trending box. It should share these guidelines publicly to help users better assess whether Facebook’s values, as a disseminator of news, align with their own. More importantly, the company should indicate within its interface that both the Trending box and the News Feed are subject to curation. Not for the media-obsessed journalists who are following the Trending controversy closely, but for the other 1.5 billion users who log onto the site and may not be aware of the secret strings Facebook is pulling behind the scenes.

Summary: The company is far too influential to be opaque


Krispy Kreme Doughnuts will be taken private by JAB Holding for about $1.35 billion, the second buyout of a U.S. food company by the German investment firm in just over two months.

Krispy Kreme shares rose nearly 24% to $20.88 in premarket trading on Monday, just shy of the offer price of $21 per share in cash.

JAB Holding will acquire Krispy Kreme through its unit JAB Beech Inc, in which BDT Capital Partners is a minority investor.

The U.S. donut chain had 1,121 stores worldwide as of January, of which 824 were in markets outside the United States.

Krispy Kreme said it would continue to operate as an independent company after the deal closes and remain headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

JAB Holding, the investment vehicle of the billionaire Reimann family, led a buyout of K-cup coffee pod maker Keurig Green Mountain Inc in March for $13.9 billion.

Cosmetics company Coty and luxury goods maker Jimmy Choo are among the other U.S. companies in which the German company has controlling stakes.

The Krispy Kreme deal, which has no financing conditions, is expected to close in the third quarter. The company said it was postponing its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for June 14 due to the deal.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC is the U.S. company’s financial adviser for the deal, while Barclays and BDT & Co LLC are advising JAB Beech.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP are Krispy Kreme‘s legal advisers and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is JAB Beech’s legal counsel.

Summary: The once high-flying doughnut chain went public in 2000 to much fanfare.


fight looking no worse for wear -- of course he waited almost 4 days to show his face in public.

Drake went on a shopping trip in Miami Thursday -- the first time we've seen his whole face since Diddy took a shot at him early Monday morning outside LIV Nightclub.

As we first told you ... Drake

, and actually had to go to the ER. Looks like his mug fared much better.

Summary: Drake finally surfaced after the Diddy fight looking no worse for wear -- of course he waited almost 4 days to show his face in public.Drake went on a…


09/12/2016 AT 01:30 PM EDT

Fidencio Sanchez has been a fixture of Chicago's Near West side for years, selling paletas – a kind of

– back and forth, to the tune of $50-$60 dollars per day.

But he's about to be the recipient of considerably more than that, thanks to Joel Cervantes Macias, who launched a

to help the 90-year-old Sanchez in his retirement that has tallied up $154,000 and is still growing.

Sanchez retired only two months ago, but returned during the last few weeks of summer after his daughter – he and his wife's only child and their primary support system – died a month ago.

"He's a really hardworking gentleman," Gustavo Gutierrez, who provides Sanchez with his cart,

. "He's always giving. He already got the advice from everybody to take it easy and stop doing it. He just doesn't want to. He's like a little kid. He wants to get going."

"The entire community [of] Little Village knows about Mr. Fidencio because for decades he's always been selling," Gutierrez said. "He wants to continue. Which is great in terms of spirit, but we're concerned, of course, that something could happen to him."

So was Joel Cervantes Macias, a Wisconsin man who grew up in Chicago. Earlier this week, he bought 20 popsicles for $50 from Sanchez, but wanted to do more to help. So

to help fund Sanchez's retirement with the initial goal of $3,000, which has been handily surpassed.

Sanchez learned of the fundraiser this weekend. "He knows, and he's taking it with a lot of love," Gutierrez said. "We're really for this [support] from the entire community because he deserved it."

Summary: Fidencio Sanchez has been a fixture of Chicago's Little Village neighborhood for years


The public is being invited to have their say on "revenge porn" as the NSW government makes moves to criminalise the act.

"We're seeking input from the community to help establish a 21st century punishment for this 21st century crime," Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton said.

Among the issues up for debate are considerations on what penalties should apply for distributing intimate or sexually explicit images without consent and what constitutes as an "intimate" image.

Victoria and South Australia are the only states to have their own laws banning people from sharing explicit images.

Ms Upton flagged plans to criminalise the "totally unacceptable" breach of privacy earlier this month in response to a parliamentary inquiry report which looked at whether privacy laws should be updated to reflect the digital age.

The committee's report, released in March, recommended the government create laws enabling people to sue if their privacy is intentionally or recklessly invaded.

"Distributing intimate images without consent can have a devastating emotional and social effect on the person pictured and can be used as a way to deliberately humiliate, control or harass the intended victim," Ms Upton said.

A discussion paper on the issue will open to the public until next Wednesday.

Summary: The public is being invited to advise the NSW government on what penalties should apply for people who distribute "revenge porn".


Children with disabilities have joined hundreds of Sydneysiders to welcome home Australia's Paralympic heroes after a top-five finish at the Rio Games.

Surrounded by flags, streamers and admirers at Martin Place, 15-year-old swimmer Tiffany Thomas Kane, said she was pleased the national campaign had brought para-sports into the mainstream.

"I think it definitely has, considering the results we got, the medals we won and world records and even PBs [personal bests] that people got," the Paralympian who bagged one gold and three bronze medals, said on Tuesday.

The Australian Paralympic Team won 22 gold medals, 30 silver and 29 bronze in Brazil last month, maintaining a top-five finishing streak since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Thomas Kane's message for young athletes with disabilities was to "just do it".

"No matter how young you are or old you are ... just do as much training as you can then that could be you [at the Paralympics] one day," she said.

"I'm only 15 and I made it."

Quadraplegic Ben Ackland's mate, Andrew Edmondson was part of the men's wheelchair rugby team who beat world No 1. America 59-58.

"I played wheelchair rugby [for NSW] with a lot of these guys so I know them quite well," he said.

"It means a lot. They've done us all proud.

""It great to get that wider recognition within the community."

Summary: NSW's Paralympians are being officially welcomed home at a Sydney ceremony.


King's headmaster Dr Timothy Hawkes.

A principal of a top Sydney private school has told the abuse royal commission his school's failure to report an indecent assault to police was not influenced by his concern for the school's reputation.

Dr Timothy Hawkes, the principal of the prestigious King's School, faced the commission in Sydney on Monday over his school's handling of an incident at a camp in 2013 in which a boy ejaculated on a fellow student's sleeping bag.

The victim, a boarder referred to as CLC, was called crude names after the incident and relentlessly bullied to the point of trying to run away and ultimately left the school.

King's did not formally report the cadet camp incident to police, despite advice from an officer that the incident was likely to be "assault with an act of indecency" and should be reported, the commission heard.

Counsel assisting David Lloyd referred to an email from Dr Hawkes to other private school heads about his attitude to reporting abuse following negative media reports about sex abuse allegations at Trinity Grammar School in 2000.

"If in reporting an incident, it means the broad flapping ears of the press will be allowed to sensationalise the case on the front page of their newspapers, then this will be a very strong disincentive to report anything," he wrote in the email tendered to the commission.

"No threats from legal quarters will come close to persuading a head that it is worth reporting something if this is the reward they are going to reap."

Dr Hawkes said he still stood by his comments in the 2000 email.

But when asked if he had the same concerns about adverse publicity 13 years later in relation to CLC, Dr Hawkes replied: "No, I did not."

"Let's try and make sure that things that are reported to the police and DoCs (now Family and Community Services) are then not passed on possibly to the media - that was my point there," he said.

A NSW police detective told the commission King's not only failed to make a formal report to police about the ejaculation incident, but conducted an inappropriate investigation of its own.

"They did certain things that aren't too dissimilar to a criminal investigation," Detective Sergeant Matthew Munro said.

"There is no evidence ... that any of the parents were consulted prior to the interviews.

"Three well-educated middle-aged men interviewing a witness to a sexual incident, I think, is completely inappropriate."

Det Sgt Munro investigated the school in 2014 about whether it had concealed a serious indictable offence - an act of indecency - but no charges were laid.

Dr Hawkes said it was hard to completely eradicate bullying because there would always be some individuals "hell-bent on creating misery".

The commission earlier heard Dr Hawkes told the school bursar that CLC's father should not be allowed to merge the two matters of bullying and non-payment of fees.

The school had pressured CLC's parents to pay outstanding fees of $25,000 and considered calling in a debt collection agency.

Hearings into the The King's School have concluded, with the inquiry set to examine Shalom Christian College, Queensland later this week.

Summary: The principal of Sydney's prestigious The King's School will be questioned further at the royal commission into child sex abuse.


Nissan this week is announcing that it will invest about $1.5 billion in a new assembly plant near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its strategic partner, Renault, will invest about $750 million to expand an assembly plant in near Curitiba, Brazil. The push is aimed at more than doubling the combined share of vehicles sold by the two automakers in Brazil, which just last year became the world’s fourth-largest vehicle market. Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan and of Renault, discussed automotive investment, as well as global politics and economics, in a phone conversation with Fortune from Brazil.

Nissan NSANY and Renault are pursuing aggressive expansion in Russia, India and China — why is Brazil the last of the BRIC nations to command your attention? “Renault actually was here starting in 1997, but that was before my term as CEO and the first years weren’t successful. In 2005, when I took responsibility for Renault, we first needed to fix what was here. The financial crisis of 2008 postponed a lot of things. But now we have Nissan and Renault together in Russia and India and Nissan in China. Our alliance will have the four BRIC countries. In the next stage Renault will be part of the plan in China.”

Since you were born in Brazil and spent the first six years of your life here, does the investment in production have any special meaning for you? “I have a lot of attachments and ties here. I moved to Lebanon when I was six; lived in Paris from age 16. But I kept my Brazilian citizenship and have family members here. I also worked here as an executive for Michelin. It’s rewarding to finally say that I’m playing on my own turf, and I think that people here recognize me as a familiar face.”

Is Brazil’s economic boom going to end soon, thereby rendering your initiative late or ill-timed? “There’s a lot left in Brazil. I don’t think it’s reached its potential. The country is extremely wealthy in terms of natural resources such as water, oil and precious metals. The population is growing. The democracy is stable. Auto ownership is only 250 cars per 1,000 residents, compared to between 550 and 580 in Europe. I feel very good about the decisions we’re announcing. I’m not looking at the near-term perspective as much as I’m looking at the next ten years.”

How will you finance the investment? “Renault and Nissan have pretty good free cash flow. Nissan has plenty of cash Renault’s debt is extremely small, a billion euros, for a company its size. It’s not going to be a problem.”

What would be your “elevator pitch” to someone who needed convincing that Europe can emerge intact from the Greek debt crisis and broader economic and political difficulties for the European Union? “It’s hard for me to imagine that Europeans won’t resolve these concerns. The EU was formed for political, rather than purely economic, reasons. I don’t see anyone wanting to go back to the bad old days with everyone fighting one another. Bottom line is I don’t think Europeans are so stupid as to blow up Europe now. Things might be complicated and slow, but we’re not stupid, we’ll muddle through. What the decisions will be I can’t tell you. [The EU] will protect the euro and it will protect Europe. I may be wrong, but I think the markets are exaggerating [their reaction].”

As someone who spent a significant part of his life in Lebanon, what is your reaction to the upheavals across the Arab world, known as the “Arab spring?” Without getting into particulars, there are two or three phenomenon that are critical. One is demography. The majority of the Arab world is less than 25 years of age. Young people are well-connected and see what’s happening in the world. They are profoundly frustrated because they see no way to change things, no alternatives. There’s too much economic inequality, too much poverty — and if you don’t have a job, things can get explosive. Frankly, I don’t think we have seen the end of it. The West can help by contributing, as much as possible, solutions of wisdom and tolerance. What is happening is irreversible, the transition to democracy doesn’t always happen smoothly; it can happen with violence. Lebanon has a history of emigration. Don’t forget: In many of these countries there’s little or no emigration so there’s no where to escape.”

How can debt-laden governments worldwide continue to fund subsidies tied to sales and development of electric cars like the Nissan Leaf and soon-to-be introduced Renault Fluence? Aren’t they in trouble? “On paper you are right, the financial problems will challenge programs. In reality, not one program has been ended. In the UK, France, and the Obama administration they’re telling me that they intend to maintain (subsidies). The Chinese want electric cars. Electric cars represent one of the few areas that governments and corporations can cooperate to make something happen that will benefit the public.”

Do you think the strength of Japanese currency will push automobile manufacture from Japan to other countries? “If the yen remains at the level of today I say publicly that it will be difficult to justify any new project in Japan. 76 yen to the dollar isn’t competitive for us. We’ll have to move jobs, we’ve said this to the government. We have to make decisions on new projects all the time. Instead they’re going to go to China, Thailand, Brazil, India, the U.S. Japanese people don’t speak too much, but they act. If the government doesn’t pay attention, it will have a problem.”

Summary: Nissan’s CEO just announced a major — and emotional — new investment in the country. He told Fortune why.


For new drivers, and a few experienced ones as well, a three-point turn can sometimes turn into a five-, seven-, or even nine-point calamity, the messed-up maneuver accompanied by a selection of randomly uttered swear words emitted in frustration at your apparent inability to get the car to do what you want it to do.

Turning around in a tight spot is a maneuver that engineers working on Google's driverless car technology have long known they have to perfect, and according to the latest news out of Mountain View, it sounds like they've already nailed it.

Discussing the subject of multi-point turns in its latest monthly report on its driverless car project, Google notes that while "human drivers do their best to estimate the ideal angle and distance to move in order to solve this geometric puzzle," all too often they're left moving back and forth like a pendulum, the car's passengers wondering if the awkward experience will ever end.

But thanks to its myriad of sensors and clever computing power, Google's specially developed car is able to gain a full view of its surroundings and measure distances down to a few centimeters, allowing it to quickly work out the most efficient way to complete a full turn while its occupants sit back and relax.

"Our cars don't just follow a few standard turns either," Google said. "We've taught them to adapt to all kinds of variables -- including dead-end streets stacked with parked cars, trash bins littered on the curbs, and narrow bottlenecks."

To hone the turning technology, Google's cars have been practicing the maneuver around 1,000 times a week on regular city streets.

Related: One of Google's self-driving cars just got bashed up in its worst crash yet

The company said it's also working to ensure that the maneuver mimics the way humans would do it, in other words, choosing recognizable turns rather than any obscure ones that might feel unnatural to those riding in the car.

Google explains: "There are an infinite number of possible ways to turn a car around. Both human drivers and self-driving cars have to calculate tradeoffs -- how wide do we move? How close do we get to the curb? How many times do we change direction?"

It says its challenge is to "teach our self-driving cars to choose the option that's not only the quickest, but one that feels natural to passengers. For example, our cars could spend most of the three-point turn driving in reverse (after all, our sensors don't have to twist into a yoga pose to get a full 360 degree view of the road behind). But that's not how people drive -- they'd much rather drive forward where they have better visibility of the road and can more easily maneuver the car. So we've taught our cars to mimic these human patterns, favoring wider forward arcs, rather than a series of short movements back and forth."

Google's report noted that its fleet of self-driving cars currently includes 34 of its pod-like vehicles and 24 modified Lexus RX450h SUVs driving autonomously on public roads in California, Arizona, Texas, and Washington.

Summary: Google's driverless cars have nailed the tricky maneuver.


Bill English says there will be some changes when he becomes New Zealand's prime minister, but his government will continue to be stable and predictable.

He will be confirmed as prime minister when the National's caucus meets on Monday, and after that MPs will vote to choose a deputy leader.

English's first task will be naming his cabinet, with backbenchers pressing for representation.

"We've got an enormous range of talent, I think we're going to be able to run a very successful government," he told Newshub on Friday.

"The recipe that's been operating under John Key has been very successful.

"We want to keep the recipe that works, and a lot of people are part of it... it will change a bit but the essentials of a stable, predictable government will stay there."

English wouldn't be drawn on the timing of next year's election, saying any decision on that was at least a week away.

Labour is calling for an early vote, saying it wants to avoid a by-election caused by Mt Albert MP David Shearer's imminent departure to head a peacekeeping mission in Sudan.

An early election could help Labour because the new government would have had less time to get traction with voters traction with voters, which Mr English will be well aware of.

He will also want his new finance minister, Steven Joyce, to present a budget, scheduled for May, before going to the country.

English's confirmation as prime minister on Monday will be a formality after the two other contenders, Judith Collins and Jonathan Coleman, withdrew on Thursday.

The only position left to be decided is the deputy leadership and it's between Paula Bennett and Simon Bridges.

Summary: Bill English will be confirmed as New Zealand's prime minister when the National's caucus meets on Monday.


A 69-year-old Queensland man on a murder charge has been granted bail after the father of his alleged victim asked that he be released.

Justice Jean Dalton, sitting in the Supreme Court, granted bail under strict conditions to Kevin Patrick Hanley, who is accused of killing Matthew Morcus, 46, on a Darling Downs property in October.

The conditions effectively mean house arrest.

The court in Brisbane heard Hanley had admitted to shooting Morcus at close range in the chest but denied he had intended to kill him.

Hanley's lawyer, Ben Power, submitted an affidavit from Morcus' father Alphonsus, a long-time friend of Hanley, supporting his release.

Justice Dalton said she was reluctant to grant bail to anyone charged with murder but this was "an exceptional case".

"I suppose one of the most unusual features is that the deceased man's father supports the application," Justice Dalton said.

Crown prosecutor Lara Soldi opposed the application on the grounds Hanley was not only a flight risk but had anger management issues.

"Another concern to the Crown is that if you look at his criminal history, there is some sense that he cannot control his temper. In this case, it led to fatal consequences," Ms Soldi told the court.

Justice Dalton said: "It does smack of belligerence, but at the same time it's half a dozen offences over the course of a lifetime. He's never been imprisoned."

Mr Power said Hanley, who has four adult children, has had both hips replaced and has back issues, relies on the aged pension for his income.

If released, he also would help care for his de facto of nine years, Kay Bruin, 60.

The court heard Alphonsus Morcus has visited Ms Bruin since the incident and that it was though him that Hanley and Matthew Morcus knew each other.

He also pointed to conflict within the alleged victim's family, with Matthew Morcus previously convicted of wounding his brother.

"Matthew Morcus was convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Alphonsus Morcus' other son," Mr Power said.

Hanley was released on bail on the condition that he resides at his Darling Downs home, has no contact with witnesses, and does not leave the house unless it is to report to police, or to attend court, legal or medical appointments.

Summary: A man facing a murder charge will spend Christmas at home after the father of the man he allegedly killed asked for him to be released.


When MBTA Retirement Fund board members met in March 2007 to consider sinking $25 million into a hedge fund, several of them weren’t convinced it was a smart move. They wondered whether the fund was too risky, too expensive, or even a good match for that slice of pension money, records recently obtained by the Globe show.

But a month later, the board’s executive director at the time, Michael Mulhern, recommended that they commit to the investment. He cited the “level of trust” they all had in the man pitching the deal, Karl White — who also happened to be Mulhern’s predecessor as chief of the $1.5 billion MBTA pension fund.

It turned out to be trust that was badly misguided.

The hedge fund, run by Fletcher Asset Management, where White had gone to work just 10 months earlier, eventually collapsed. The trustee overseeing New York-based Fletcher’s bankruptcy called the operation a fraud, and the pension fund lost every dollar it invested on behalf of the MBTA’s more than 12,000 employees and retirees.

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Retirement board documents newly released to the Globe cast light on how the MBTA Retirement Fund trustees came to make such a disastrous move, and how they failed to promptly report the investment’s unraveling to transit workers and taxpayers.

The pension board produced 62 pages of documents and pledged to comply with a state public disclosure law that takes effect Jan. 1.

The Globe requested documents related to the Fletcher investment in December 2013, after reporting on the loss and uncovering the White connection. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority pension board refused to release the records, and the Globe sued in 2014 to have them made public.

The board provided heavily redacted records last week as part of a settlement in which the Globe agreed to dismiss the case and the pension board pledged to “voluntarily” respond to public records requests starting Jan. 1, when a broad update of the state’s public records law takes effect.

The fund, which covers 5,885 employees and 6,472 retirees and beneficiaries, was organized as a private trust in 1948. Its overseers historically have fought to operate in secret, claiming exemptions from state laws on conflicts of interest and public records, despite nearly $500 million in taxpayer funding over the past 10 years.

The new records law specifically calls on the MBTA Retirement Fund to comply for the first time. But the pension fund says it could decide to fight the law, maintaining the disclosure requirements are unconstitutional if applied to a private entity.

“Although it has no definite plans or intentions at this time of doing so, the fund may invoke its rights at any time,’’ pension board spokesman Steve Crawford said in a statement.

Mulhern, who declined to comment for this article, announced his resignation in June, days after Governor Charlie Baker signed the public records bill into law.

Mulhern is a former bus driver who served as MBTA general manager before retiring and taking the pension role in 2006. Records from the March, 16, 2007, board meeting detail his discussion with the board about shifting $110 million worth of pension money out of stocks and into less risky bonds. That had prompted a search for fixed-income managers, ranging from plain vanilla bond index funds to the Fletcher hedge fund.

At that March meeting, White attended a presentation to the board along with chief executive Alphonse “Buddy” Fletcher Jr. and a third Fletcher employee, Denis Kiely. They said their Fletcher Fixed Income Alpha Fund had produced a 10.3 percent annual return over a decade, outperforming a well-known Wall Street bond index by 3.8 percentage points. But the returns were theoretical, based on computer modeling; the Fletcher fund had yet to actually manage customer money.

One board member, Stephan MacDougall, then president of the Boston Carmen’s Union, Local 589, noted that Fletcher’s fees were high, according to the minutes.

Indeed, the Fletcher fund had by far the highest costs of the fixed-income investments being considered by the board: 2 percent annual fees, plus 20 percent of any gains, according to the records.

In response to MacDougall’s critique, Buddy Fletcher was unapologetic: You get what you pay for, he said.

During a meeting the next day, trustees raised other questions about Fletcher. Jonathan Davis, then the MBTA’s chief financial officer and a pension fund trustee, asked whether the investment fund really belonged under the pension’s core bond category, a relatively conservative grouping that included such stable investments as US Treasuries and corporate bonds.

The fund would have a one-year lockup, meaning that the MBTA pension fund couldn’t touch the money for a year, and only quarterly after that.

The pension fund’s outside consultant, Douglas Moseley of New England Pension Consultants, said Fletcher had a “capital preservation strategy,” using derivatives such as swaps and options to hedge against potential losses. “Their returns are consistent,’’ Moseley said, according to the minutes.

The MBTA pension fund also had experience with the firm; a prior investment it made in another Fletcher fund had so far been profitable. New England Pension Consultants declined to comment for this article.

MacDougall urged prudence and said the board shouldn’t rush its decision. Janice Loux, then its chair, said the fees should be carefully vetted. Mulhern asked the board to give him a few weeks to talk to the various managers, and to do more research.

A month later, at the April 2007 meeting, Mulhern suggested that the board approve the Fletcher investment, “given his relationship with Karl White, the board’s former relationship with Karl White, and the level of trust,” the minutes read, “because it boils down to a character issue and a focus on capital preservation with low volatility.”

The board voted yes, making it the first investor in the fund, and Mulhern was charged with trying to negotiate lower fees.

Minutes from the June 2007 meeting offer only one line of follow-up, with no details. “Negotiated contract,” they read. “Significant discount which exceeded expectations.”

Four years later, the financial crisis had dented most of the pension fund’s investments, and White was no longer with Fletcher.

At a July 15, 2011, board meeting, Mulhern recommended closer scrutiny of the hedge fund by placing it on the pension fund’s “watch list,’’ after a Wall Street Journal story detailed Buddy Fletcher’s personal dispute at the Manhattan co-op building where he lived. The minutes cited “articles that reflect poorly on Mr. Fletcher’s reputation” — and “a pending $10 million redemption request” by the pension fund to withdraw money from the Fletcher fund.

Mulhern said he was making the watch list recommendation “not due to performance but rather reputational risk.” The board voted to go along with his advice.

The following month, after updating the board on the status of the Fletcher investment, Mulhern asked for permission to “manage this matter in the best interest of the [MBTA] fund.”

By the board’s September meeting, the $10 million withdrawal request had turned into a promissory note, according to the minutes. Mulhern said that after talking to people at Fletcher, as well as the fund administrator and auditor, he was “comfortable with Fletcher’s reported valuations,” but said the firm should remain on the watch list, and the $10 million note should be monitored.

In July 2012, Mulhern told the board the Fletcher fund had filed for bankruptcy protection in New York.

Fletcher declined to comment on the newly released files.

According to the newly disclosed records, the pension fund took three consecutive write-downs on the Fletcher investment, resulting in a total loss by 2013. The fund lost not just the $25 million, but the returns the money might have generated had it been invested differently over those five years.

As the investment deteriorated over the years, the board did not publicly acknowledge the problems, even in its annual reports. The 2012 report simply dropped Fletcher from a list of the fund’s investment firms.

The losses were not detailed in public financial records until the 2013 annual report — in December 2014.

Summary: The MBTA Retirement Fund invested $25 million in part because the man selling the investment formerly headed the T’s pension fund.


Q. One of your co-workers loves to chat, and whenever he isn't dealing with a pressing deadline, he barges into your work space to shoot the breeze. How do you restore peace and quiet?

A. As tempted as you may be to tell the office chatterbox to scram, it's best to approach this grating situation with tact, said Gini Graham Scott, president of Changemakers, a consulting firm in Oakland, Calif. "Be as diplomatic as possible," said Ms. Scott, the author of "A Survival Guide for Working with Bad Bosses" (Amacom, 2005). "Try to show respect and compassion for the other person when you do this, but if the person doesn't get the hint, then you have to be firm."

Q. What drives certain co-workers to talk excessively?

A. Whether the topic is "Desperate Housewives" or the conflict in Iraq, everybody likes to chat at work from time to time. But some people simply do not know when to stop.

According to Cheryl A. Dellasega, professor of humanities at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey, many chatterboxes are procrastinators who use banter to avoid the tasks at hand. Sometimes anxiety, nervousness or loneliness can make a person prone to chattering. In rare cases, she said, excessive talking can be a form of hostility.

"Dominating the conversation is a form of aggressive behavior in which you become the victim," she said. "This behavior is not only annoying, but it's also a subtle form of harassment."

Q. Are there nonverbal clues that will help tell a garrulous colleague to leave you alone?

A. If you continue staring at the computer screen in front of you and refuse to make eye contact, the talker may take the hint. Another approach is to check your watch repeatedly. Dr. Cal LeMon, president of Executive Enrichment, a management consulting firm in Springfield, Mo., said that more overt gestures include packing your briefcase and putting your hand up like a policeman stopping traffic. "Open-palmed gestures say to the person that you're trying to wrap things up," Dr. LeMon said.

Using technology is another option. Alisa Cohn, president of AC & Associates, an executive coaching company in Brookline, Mass., said she once advised a client to set her Microsoft Outlook calendar program to chime every 10 minutes. When the office chatterbox heard the chime, he assumed that Ms. Cohn's client had an appointment. "The chatterbox didn't respond to physical clues, but when the Outlook went off, he respected it and told my client, 'It seems you have a meeting,' " Ms. Cohn said. "The little buzz ended up giving her a graceful way out."

Q. What do you do if your colleague will not take a hint?

A. Then it's time to be more direct. Start with the facts: tally the number of times this person interrupts you throughout the day, note the length of each visit, and then use these statistics in a confrontation about the behavior.

Simply outlining the problem may not solve it. Larina Kase, president of Performance and Success Coaching, a consulting firm in Philadelphia, said it was also important to have a plan for further corrective action. Ask the talker if you can catch up over lunch. Let him know how to tell whether you have time to talk (for example, if your door is open - if you're lucky enough to have a door).

Once you have established some ground rules, "it's a good idea to have a more general discussion about how you can't afford to chat during work," Ms. Kase said. "Explain to him that it's hard for you to regain focus after interruptions."

Q. Is it ever acceptable to lash out at the gabber?

A. Generally, yelling in the office is not a great idea. You never know who else may be listening. And shouting is likely to make an unpleasant situation worse. "The chatterbox is annoying, but he might be someone who can help you down the road," said Don Gabor, president of Conversation Arts Media, a consulting company in Brooklyn. "People spend 8 to 10 hours a day in the workplace, so it pays to do your best not to alienate anyone."

Q. At what point do you take the situation to your boss?

A. Nobody likes to be a tattletale, but if your chatty co-worker demonstrates that he simply is not going to let you work, you may need to take the problem to a higher authority.

The last thing you want is for your colleague to hinder your own ability to meet deadlines. Besides, at some point, your disruptive office mate has to stop talking and listen to reason.

Jonathan Jordan, account manager at 919 Marketing, a marketing firm in Holly Hills, N.C., learned this the hard way. Earlier in his career, Mr. Jordan encountered what he calls "the world's most long-winded man." After trying unsuccessfully to silence this co-worker, Mr. Jordan turned to his boss for help.

Sensing Mr. Jordan's frustration, the boss agreed to summon Mr. Jordan for a meeting every time the talker approached. Finally, even the boss became aggravated and complained to his superiors, who disciplined the bloviator and corrected his behavioral problem.

"I don't see how it ever would have stopped without help from my boss and his boss," Mr. Jordan said. "Without formal intervention, I don't think there was any other way we actually could have gotten back to work."

Workplace or career topics may be sent to ccouch@nytimes.com.

Summary: One of your co-workers loves to chat, and whenever he isn't dealing with a pressing deadline, he barges into your work space to shoot the breeze. What do you do?


Sunday, November 12th 2000, 2:15AM

Has Penn run out of ink at "Law & Order"?

Word is that Arthur Penn, who came onboard as one of the show's executive producers with great fanfare this summer, is planning to leave.

"I just had an agreement for 13 shows, and we're coming up to 13," explains Penn, the 77-year-old director of such classic films as "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Little Big Man."

So what happens now to Penn, who lives in New York, teaches at the Actors Studio and periodically directs plays?

"I hope I'm going to go back and make some movies," he says, although he won't talk about any particular project.

Jeff Hayes, who's already a co-executive producer of the show created by Dick Wolf, will be taking over.

"I did my thing, which is to make some suggestions," says Penn, "and now I'm on my way."

A FORD WITH GOOD LINES

Name the least likely guys to be best friends this week: How about Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter?

At Thursday night's incredibly well-timed presidential summit - Presidents Clinton, George Bush, Carter and Ford shared a table to celebrate the White House's 200th anniversary - Ford won kudos from the assembled guests for his heartwarming speech about how close he has gotten to the man who sent him packing from the mansion after he and his wife, Betty, had been there only a couple of years.

"Certainly few observers in January 1977 would have predicted that Jimmy and I would have become the closest of friends," said Ford. "We have bonded with our years in this office and actually in this house."

Ford was the surprise hit of the evening, earning the most laughter from the crowd that included New Yorkers like First Friend Susan Thomases, historian Arthur Schlessinger, Time Warner's Gerald Levin and New-York Historical Society chief Betsy Gotbaum.

He told a story about taking Queen Elizabeth dancing. "No sooner had I invited Her Majesty to join me on the dance floor than the Marine Band broke into a spirited rendition of 'The Lady Is a Tramp.' Only narrowly did we avert an international incident, not to mention a courtmartial or two."

JUST MET A STREET NAMED MARIA

Just because she died 27 years ago doesn't mean opera star Maria Callas can't still hit the high note of news. The recent tale we like best details how the great soprano faced off against two female icons of the late 20th century.

First, you'll remember that Aristotle Onassis dumped Callas to marry Jacqueline Kennedy. And lately, the deceased diva's been forced to square off - quite literally - against a British princess she never even met.

Three years ago, Parisian officials planned to rename the Place D'Alma after Callas. But, a month before the ceremony was scheduled, Princess Diana had her fatal car crash nearby. The area turned into her shrine.

Finally Callas is getting her due: On Dec. 1, a stretch of Avenue Georges Mandel (near the singer's old home) will be renamed for her.

The next day, Phillips auctions some 2,000 of her personal effects, everything from her Bible to her girdle. You can see the goodies yourself, on the New York stop of their pre-auction tour, today (till 7 p.m.) and tomorrow (till 4) at 2 E. 79th St.

HEY, FRIEND, DO IT AGAIN

Oops - he did it again.

This week's Britney Spears award goes to the Ross Gellar character (David Schwimmer) of "Friends," who has twice had to lose his virginity.

In a recent episode of NBC's hit, Matthew Perry's Chandler teased Ross about a long-past affair with a cleaning woman in their college dorm.

But the writers goofed. That's because five years ago, an entire episode turned on the fact that the only woman Ross had ever had sex with was his ex-wife.

E! Online TV Scoop columnist Kimberly Potts - who admits to seeing "every episode five or six times" - gets credit for catching the blooper.

When the Insider called series co-creator David Crane, he offered a Clintonian defense. He did not have sex with that [cleaning] woman! She and Ross, Crane explained, "did everything but. I'd like to believe that, even in college, while Carol was the only woman he'd ever had sex with, he did some other stuff, too."

Then Crane shared the line from his writers' room: "We don't know who the President is, and we're worried about this?"

'CITY HALL' SCRIBE FIGHTS CITY HALL

Ken Lipper co-wrote the movie "City Hall." But that didn't help the former deputy mayor (who got Al Pacino to play his movie mayor - in real life, he worked for Ed Koch) when it was his turn to face a city commission.

Lipper owns an 1806 Federal-style townhouse in a Greenwich Village landmark district, and so to legally add half a story to his roof and reconfigure the rear of his building, he had to take his renovation plans before the Landmarks Commission.

He did so almost a year ago, and the plans were finally approved last month, despite opposition from several preservationists and local groups who say Lipper was treated with the "kid gloves."

"Those black-and-blue marks on my shoulder indicate that they weren't wearing gloves at all," counters Lipper, who says his plans endured exhaustive review by the commission, which demanded several changes.

THE BOOK ON BILL: Between his interview with Esquire and his backstage-at-the-Oval Office photo album in the new Vanity Fair, one might think that President Clinton is using up his best material. Think again. He still has enough for a memoir. In fact, reports a Beltway source, he has already written the thing. Several big-name N.Y. publishing types have even held top-secret meetings about the project in D.C., although no deals have yet been cut, reports another source. Lawyer-agent Robert Barnett, who has handled book deals for everyone from Hillary Rodham Clinton to Lynne Cheney and is expected to rep the President next year, denies both sources' accounts.

PLAYING THE TRUMP CARD: Blaine Trump spent Election Day on TV, but certainly not as a political pundit. Following in the Manolo Blahniks of her ex-in-law Ivana, one of New York's most photographed social persons hawked her duds on QVC. Blaine's American Classics collection features clothes "inspired by pieces that are in her own wardrobe," explains a QVC flack. You can order an embroidered sweater with crochet trim ($53.50) or a quilted yoke silk blouse with embroidery ($51.12), but her full-flap faux-fur handbag sold out by 2 p.m. Pal Joan Rivers called in to say "Hi," but didn't buy. Wonder Woman Lynda Carter, on the other hand, did some Christmas shopping while on the horn with Blaine.

A HOT SMOKING GUN? Has the Smoking Gun sold out? That's the buzz in journalistic circles, where several sources are atwitter about the "rich six-figure deal" struck by William Bastone and Daniel Green. The two investigative journalists founded the popular muckraking Web site that posts legal documents. That they were able to cut a deal at all in these content-wary days is a coup. It will happen, sources say, but Bastone uncharacteristically refused to comment on the Smoking Gun speculation, explaining that he can't shoot his mouth off just yet.

Summary: Has Penn run out of ink at "Law & Order"? Word is that Arthur Penn, who came onboard as one of the show's executive producers with great fanfare this summer, is planning to leave. "I just had an agreement for 13 shows, and we're coming up to 13,"explains Penn, the 77-year-old director of such classic films as "Bonnie and Clyde"and "Little Big Man."So what


Friday, July 16th 2004, 1:02AM

With restaurants opening left and right, unique decor can make a space stand out. A surefire attention-getter is an eye-catching rest room. Here are some places that provoke lavatory lust.

- El Cocotero, 228 W. 18th St., between Seventh and Eighth Aves., (212) 206-8930

Owner Lois Quintero takes diners to Venezuela with decorations evocative of home and a menu featuring dishes like arepas with chicken, avocado and cilantro ($5) and stewed flank steak sandwiches ($6.50). In the roomy burnt-orange rest room is a mixed-media "sculpture" of family portraits and personal objects.

- Neptune Room Restaurant and Bait Bar, 511 Amsterdam Ave., between 84th and 85th Sts., (212) 496-4100

Can't afford the Mediterranean this year? Visit this upper West Side eatery with elegant touches, like a rest room as large as a Manhattan bedroom, warmed by terra cotta and penny-size tiles. Indulge in signature plates like blue crab panna cotta ($11) and affogato float ($7).

- Odea, 389 Broome St., at Mulberry St., (212) 941-9222

In this industrially chic bar-lounge, award-winning Âarchitecture firm AvroKo created dimly lit black-slate rest rooms with trough sinks. Grab some privacy after sampling tapas, including crispy baby-squid salad ($9) and foie-gras kebabs ($13).

- rm, 33 E. 60th St., between Madison and Park Aves., (212) 319-3800

This jewel box is the ideal setting for inventive dishes, like Kumamoto oyster "stew" and Dover sole with eggplant caviar and tomato ravioli (three-course prix fixe, $62). The snug lavs have a gem-like sheen: tile in grays and navy blues and granite pedestal sinks with glass bowls.

- Sea, 114 N. Sixth St., between Berry and Wythe Sts., Brooklyn, (718) 384-8850

Enjoy Thai staples like spicy tom yum soup ($3) and pineapple fried rice ($7-$8) while soaking up the hip vibe of this loft-like space, with a Buddha surrounded by water. The rest rooms are just as arresting: cylindrical stalls and a multiperson sink.

Summary: BITES BEST PLACES TO GO With restaurants opening left and right, unique decor can make a space stand out. A surefire attention-getter is an eye-catching rest room. Here are some places that provoke lavatory lust. - El Cocotero, 228 W. 18th St., between Seventh and Eighth Aves., (212) 206-8930 Owner Lois Quintero takes diners to Venezuela with decorations evocative of home and a menu featuring dishes like arepas with chicken, avocado and cilantro ($5) and stewed