Canadians ‘Have Almost Third-World Access To The Internet' says Netflix 's Ted Sarandos

A recent study suggests that some 10 per cent of Canadians now use the streaming video service Netflix. But the company evidently believes it could be doing better — and providing a better service to Canadians — were it not for Canada’s internet service providers.

“It’s almost a human rights violation what they’re charging for internet access in Canada,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told a conference in Los Angeles last week, as quoted by GigaOM.

“The problem in Canada is … they have almost third-world access to the internet,” he added in an interview a day later.

At the heart of the matter for Netflix is "usage-based billing," or limiting the amount subscribers can download per month, a practice some Canadian ISPs put into place at roughly the same time that Netflix was preparing its move into the Canadian market. Some ISPs that already had caps lowered those limits in response to Netflix's arrival.

Using Netflix on an internet service with a low download limit can lead to prohibitively expensive overage fees.

Internet providers in Canada are frequently “vertically integrated” as part of larger media companies, such as Bell and Rogers. As a result, Netflix is in effect a competitor to those companies’ on-demand cable TV services, which charge on a pay-per-view basis rather than offering a flat monthly fee like Netflix does.

In a sign that Canada's big media companies see Netflix as a threat, Bell Canada recently announced plans to launch its own Netflix-style streaming service.


All major Canadian ISPs now employ usage-based billing. The lowest cap is on Videotron’s basic service — 5 gigabytes per month, or slightly more than one typical high-definition movie per month. Bell’s lowest-tier service, by comparison, has a gig cap of 15 gigabytes, or three hi-def movies. All ISPs have high-end services that provide at least 200 gigabytes per month.

Netflix’s response to this has been to reduce the quality of the video it streams to Canadians, saving some bandwidth. But the company is clearly on the warpath against the practices of Canadian ISPs. In a letter to the CRTC in 2011, Netflix argued that the ISPs’ claim they need to charge overage fees in order to reduce network congestion “relies on highly questionable assumptions.” The company said ISPs like Bell are making a 99 per cent profit margin on what they charge for exceeding download limits.

Yet the notion that Canada’s internet is substandard as a result of usage-based billing is arguable. A recent study suggested Canada is fourth in the world when it comes to the internet having an impact on society -- though the study does point out that Canada lags when it comes to internet infrastructure.

Another study showed Canada is ninth in the world when it comes to access to broadband, ranking higher than the U.S. or the U.K.

Free Beer During All Maple Leaf Playoff Games

Cartoon Origins: Scooby-Doo

Produced: September 13, 1969 – Present.
Inspiration: The Archies TV Series (1968-69)

In 1967, parent-run organizations such as Action for Children’s Television (ACT) began to protest against what they saw as a rising trend towards violence in Saturday morning cartoons. They particularly cited Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Jonny Quest, Space Ghost and The Herculoids as the main offenders, and put pressure on the studios to replace them. As a result, Hanna-Barbera began 1969 with most of their shows having been canceled, with members of some of these pressure groups having been installed to monitor all subsequent production. Fred Silvermann, the man in charge of children’s programming on CBS, saw a need to revitalize Saturday morning cartoons and commissioned The Archie Show, based on Bob Montana’s teenage humor comic book “Archie,” and was primarily a sitcom about a pop band and their attempts to get recognition in a similar way to The Monkeys’ TV show – which had ceased production only the previous year. The show was a success, and spawned many hit singles such as “Sugar, Sugar” which was the most successful Billboard number-one hit of 1969. The Archies ran from September 14, 1968 to August 30, 1969 and directly lead to: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1971-1974) and The Groovie Goolies (1971-1972). The series was created by Filmation, a company which had already achieved a level of success with the Superman cartoons of 1966, and would go on to greater success in the 1980s.

After The Archie Show, Fred Silverman approached William Hanna and Joseph Barbera with the idea of creating a ‘mystery show’ featuring five crazy kids in a teenage rock group and their efforts to solve mysteries and foil crimes. The job of designing the show was handed to story writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and artist Iwao Takamoto, who’s initial designs were rejected by Silverman who felt the plot was becoming “too scary,” and feared a backlash from the various action groups of the time. To make the concept less scary, Joe Barbera came up with the idea of including a dog as a main character and as a foil for the show – in the same way as Muttley had been used in Wacky Races. The second concept design saw the working title changed to ‘Mysteries Five,’ and featured: Geoff, Mike, Kelly, Linda, Linda’s brother “W.W.” and their dog, a Great Dane named “Too Much” – who were all members of a rock band called Mysteries Five. Still the project was rejected by Silverman, who influenced even more control over the third draft of the concept. Now called Who’s S-S-Scared, and without much of the rock band element, Geoff and Mike were merged into one character named Ronnie, who was later renamed again to Fred Jones at the request of Silverman, who portrayed the dim boyfriend in the show. Kelly was renamed to Daphne Blake, the attractive girlfriend of Fred. Linda was now called Velma Dinkley, the brains of the outfit who would put together the clues. “W.W” was renamed Norville “Shaggy” Rogers and was no longer Velma’s brother, but was now a more hippie-like character to fit the free-thinking feelings of the late 1960s.

By 1969 the concept of the show had moved on to revision #4, and now the designs were almost complete it was time to implement the personalities and attributes of the characters. An inspiration for this came from an earlier CBS show called The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1963), where Fred was based on Dobie, Velma on Zelda, Daphne on Thalia, and Shaggy on Maynard, as well as various elements from Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books. Shaggy and Too Much were developed as cowardly types, with the same capacity to “eat anything, any time” shared by Muttley on Wacky Races. Don Messick was asked to voice Too Much, with legendary radio DJ and entertainer Casey Kasem as the voice of Shaggy, and with Nicole Jaffe providing the voice of Velma Dinkley. Late into final production, and after hearing Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers In The Night” (1966) on the studio radio, Fred Silverman fell in love with the “doo-be-doo-be-doo” scat at the end of the song and changed the dogs name to “Scooby-Doo,” and the show’s title to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The final product was first aired September 13, 1969 and lasted two seasons on CBS before switching channels for a further nine seasons on ABC, with spin-off shows airing in the 1980s and a revival attempt in the 2000s.


For more Cartoon Origins stay tuned or visit the link below for the full list
http://listverse.com/2012/09/13/10-origins-of-popular-cartoon-characters/

Top 10 Medical Inventions and Breakthroughs of Year 2011

Below, there are the greatest medical inventions and discoveries of year 2011. 

10. Squalamine Virus killer found in sharks
In September it was reported that a new compound found in dogfish sharks’ tissue could soon be trialled as a treatment for viruses in humans. Diseases like dengue, yellow fever and hepatitis B, C and D could be stopped in their tracks by the revolutionary treatment. 

9. Curcumin Spice with cancer reducing properties 
November saw curcumin, a spice commonly found in Middle Eastern recipes, being hailed for its cancer-reducing effects. UNM researchers found that a synthetic version of curcumin, the substance which gives turmeric its hallmark yellow coloring, inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells. 



8. Bionic Lens Projecting medical information in front of your eyes

 A new generation of contact lenses is being developed by researchers at Washington University, which could one day project up-to-date medical information in front of the wearer’s eyes. The scientists envisage hundreds more pixels could be embedded in the flexible lens to produce complex holographic images. 

7. Cancer Drug Cures CFS Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) cured by cancer drug 

October saw hope for over 1 million people in the U.S., 250,000 people in the UK, and other people all over the world who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome. A small Norwegian clinical trial discovered that cancer drug Rituximab relieves the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, and can even eradicate the condition completely. 

6. IBS Smart Pill Smart pill for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 
In October, doctors at the Princess Grace Hospital in London became the first to use a new ‘smart pill’ to help people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The new SmartPill GI Monitoring System is a small capsule, which delivers accurate and detailed information about the gut. After swallowing, it travels through the system, and analyses pressure, temperature, acidity, and the rate at which food moves along the colon.

5. Cancer Gene Test 
Scientists in the US have found a way to screen cancer patients for a wide range of cancer-causing genetic mutations. This method could soon be used in routine clinical practise, leading to the development of targeted cancer treatments. The clinical test called SNaPshot can test for over 50 well-known mutation sites in 14 key cancer genes. 

4. Alzheimer’s Brain Scan Brain scanning for Alzheimer’s disease 

In November a revolutionary brain-scanning technique for Alzheimer’s disease entered the final stages of a clinical trial, leading to hopes that patients could have access to it by the end of 2012. The test makes an earlier diagnosis possible for the first time, increasing the quality and even the length of a patient’s life . 

3. Yervoy Revolutionary skin cancer drug 

A drug which increases the chance of surviving the deadliest type of skin cancer was licensed for use in Britain last summer. The new drug is the first advance in treating the disease since the 1970’s. 

2. Glowing Tumors
Last year (2011), an experimental technique to make brain tumors glow began testing in UK trials, and could soon be used to aid surgeons across the country. Participants will receive a treatment called 5-amino-levulinic acid, which makes the tumor glow under UV light during surgery. The glowing edges will enable surgeons to remove it more accurately. A drug soaked wafer will then be placed in the remaining cavity, slowly releasing chemotherapy drugs over 4 to 6 weeks and killing any remaining cancer cells. Also see color-code surgery with molecular probes that make tumors – and just the tumors – glow, by surgeon Quyen Nguyen. 

1. Cancer Vaccin 
Cancer vaccine on the market by 2020 A vaccine that could prevent 70 per cent of lethal cancers was developed by scientists in 2011, with hope that it could be on the market by 2020. In tests on mice the vaccine shrunk breast tumors by 80 per cent, and researchers now hope to pilot it on people within 2 years.

Read more at: http://www.healthfiend.com/weeklytop/2011-top-medical-breakthroughs-and-discoveries/
Copyright © HealthFiend

Top 10 Luxurious and Most Exclusive Foods

There are foods on the exclusive market that are quite expensive due to the rarity of the product, astronomically expensive in some cases, appearing only at the tables of the rich and famous. Of those tasty aliments that are the most prized, some are meats, spices, fungi, fish eggs, melons, chocolate, saliva, yes, saliva, and even precious metals. 

10. Saffron 
To start off, what is life without spice? The highest ranking of spices is the elusive Indian spice Saffron. Although Saffron is not hard to grow and is harvested worldwide, it is derived from the saffron flower which requires painstaking care to collect. The labor and resources needed to harvest just 1 pound of saffron takes 50,000 to 75,000 flowers to make. The sum total of an entire football field of these small flowers. The spice costs between $500 per pound to $5,000. With that price tag, the crocus saffron stamens pack the sweetest nectar at number 10. 

9. The Densuke Watermelon 
Watermelons may line the sides of country roads in summertime but these costly watermelons won’t be at any common picnic. These watermelons are not large in size, a measly 17 pounds, but in Japan they cost a great deal more than their weight and are made up mostly of water. The Dansuke Watermelon is a black watermelon, the most expensive watermelon in the world that is harder and more crisp than the American watermelon. One watermelon can cost as much as $6,100.  They grow only on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and are usually given as rare gifts. Only a few grow, perhaps 65 in a season bringing the Dansuke Watermelon to number 9 of the top ten expensive, exclusive foods. 


8. Yubari Melon 
Another Japanese fruit, the Yubari melon can cost anywhere between $60 to $150 in the US. Generally, the best of the variety cost $200. In 2008 two Yubari melons went for $26,000. What do you think of them melons? They are grown in Yubari, Hokkaido, a small populated town close to Sapporo. They are similar in appearance to the common cantaloupe except they are perfectly round and have smooth skin. They are exceptionally sweet although the sweetness is not considered overpowering. It is said that the high volcanic ash content in the soil makes it the sweetest, juiciest melons in the world bringing these very special melons in at number 8. 


7. Matsutake Mushrooms 
Mushrooms are mysterious, neither plant nor animal, and the Matsutake mushroom, another Japanese delicacy is one mystery that costs between $90 to $905 per pound. It has been highly prized in Japan for centuries and is found on particular pine trees in Japan, Korea and China and a few other places in the world. They form a symbiotic relationship with the tree’s roots and never grow again in the same spot more than one time. The flavor is pungent, spicy and meaty like portobello mushrooms. The Japanese refer to it as the “the king of autumn flavor” and “the king of the mushrooms.” For such royal and luxury mushrooms, they pop up into the top ten list at number 7.     

6. Chocopologie by Knipschildt 
The most prized chocolate in the world is by Chocopologie by Knipschildt. It costs $2,600 per pound. It is a handmade chocolate truffle that contains 70% Valrhona cacao and black truffle. Dark chocolate is the most expensive and it can only be pre-ordered. The exclusive chocolate was created by Fritz Knipchildt, a Chocolatier from Denmark who moved to the US and founded his famous delicacy in 1996. It is made with no preservatives or additives and from what can be told about it, is a tiny morsel that any chocolate lover should not miss on luxury foods list. 

5. Kobe Beef
The best of it comes from the most pampered cows in the world, the Wagyu cows of Japan. The most hefty priced beef, Kobe beef, comes from Japanese cows that are fed the best grass and beer! They are bovines raised in the lap of luxury receiving daily massages to ensure the tenderness of the product. The most expensive and sought after beef is the most tender in the mouth and the most hard on the wallet. A 200 gram filet costs more than $100. Up to $770 per kilo, the Kobe beef has a heavy marbling of fat that adds to the flavor of this legendary meat, bringing the Wagyu cows home at number 5. 

4. Caviar 
The Almas Caviar (Beluga caviar) variety is the most highly esteemed because the eggs of the Beluga Sturgeon fish are very hard to come by. They are tiny, pale, amber eggs that cost an astounding $8,400 to $15,500 a pound. The word ‘Almas’ is Iranian for diamond and these little fish eggs sparkle the brightest. It is because the Beluga fish takes over 20 years to mature making its eggs limited.  These fish are rare although they have existed for over 120 million years, they are the oldest survivors of the dinosaur era. The fish are found mainly in the Caspian Sea and live up to 80 years old. The Almas Caviar is prepared in Iran and is sold only in London at one outlet called, The Caviar House and Punier. The waiting list to buy this caviar is 4 years and it is sold in a 24 karat, gold tin box spawning in at number 4.   

3. White Truffle
Who when they think of the most luxurious foods does not think of truffles? The holy grail of mushrooms is the White Truffle. Pigs root them out in the woods in search of the truffle’s unique aroma that resembles their own sex hormones. Neither animal nor plant, the White Truffle crowns the forest floors with the most prized truffle because of its intense flavor, aroma and scarcity. The White Truffle sells for between $1,360-$4,200 per pound and resists the measures man has taken to domesticate and cultivate it. The fungi is only found underground and grows on the roots of certain trees in particular regions in Italy and Croatia. The most expensive White Truffle ever sold was for $330,000! How’s that for a magic mushroom? It comes in at number 3! 

2. Bird’s Nest Soup
One of the rarest and most expensive foods, and one of the highest sought after, is Bird’s Nest Soup. Otherwise known as the “Caviar of the East” this is a food that has been served in China for over 400 years. It is made up of the saliva nests built by cave swifts, a bird found in southeast China. It is dissolved in water to create a gelatinous soup. It is the most expensive animal product consumed by humans. In Hong Kong a bowl costs up to $30, the red version can cost $10 per gram, the most prized nests of them all. Per pound the cost ranges from $910 to $4,535. The saliva is believed to have nutritional, medicinal and aphrodisiac properties bringing in just a simple bit of spit at number 2. 


1. Gold
No, these consumers do not have Pica, the nutritional disease where people eat things like plaster, dirt or newspaper. These people eat a precious metal because it has no ill effect on the human body and just because you can say you did. Eat this as the number one top ten of exclusive, luxurious and highly sought after foods and you too will be able to say you’ve eaten gold. It is the world’s most expensive food, a product with a flavorless taste, used mainly in small quantities as flakes or gold leaves for decoration to adorn other expensive foods. The price for edible gold is $33,000 – $110,000 per kilo. One gold-eating customer paid to cover an entire Christmas turkey with gold leaf. It is insanely popular around the time of the Oscars where people use it for drinks and to make Oscar-shaped cookies where gold, celebrities, and goodies gain certain attention. So what about the health? Gold is a permissible food colouring with its own e-number which is E175. Gold was first used in cooking in the Middle Ages. While peasants went hungry the rich decorated their lavish banquets with a patina of gold. Roast birds and other meat dishes were wrapped in thin gold leaf in an ostentatious display of wealth. The most frequent use of gold in edible form today in its use by chocolatiers. Top quality chocolate makers often produce chocolates flecked with gold leaf. There is also a liqueur called Danziger Goldwasser which is flecked by minute particles of gold leaf suspended in the liquid. The liqueur is used the flavor the aptly named souffle Rothschild. Edible gold leaf is easily purchased from a range of suppliers who also supply gold powder and gold paints which contain the real thing. Premium food producers have even successfully markets marmalade with gold particles. The body does not absorb gold easily so what you eat will quickly leave the system. However, in larger quantities gold does become toxic and harmful to human health.

Read more at: http://www.healthfiend.com/weeklytop/top-10-extravagant-expensive-foods-luxury-aliments-deluxe/
Copyright © HealthFiend

Big Bad-Ass Book of Shots [Paperback]

Here’s a hip, authoritative guide to shots, shooters, and slammers, destined to become the twenty-something barfly’s bible. Totally indulgent, unabashedly devoted to silly, free-spirited fun, it’s packaged in a chunky format. And it’s sure to eliminate the competition because of the astonishing volume and variety of recipes: more than 1,400 recipes include such college standards as the Body Shot, Jello Shot, Tequila Slammer, and Lemon Drop, plus hundreds of wild and crazy variations. Recipes are accompanied by photographs of highly collectible shot glasses, emblazoned with all manner of images and mottoes.

$9.20

BUY IT NOW

Finally Figured Out Instagram

5th Grade Spelling Test

Occupy Regina's New Stadium Protest receives threats of violence on Facebook

Occupy the Stadium Facebook Event 

https://www.facebook.com/events/375030409235620/

Introducing iPhone 10

Same phone, same boring OS, BUT BETTER! iPhone 10. Now bigger.

How to Make Skittles Vodka

US ambassador attacked in Libya

Today another bit of mess is added to the political circle-jerk that is the Middle East.  A United States ambassador and three staff members were killed in an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi,Libya. According to Libyan officials militants opened fire with rockets on the car of ambassador John Christopher Stevens, killing him and three other staff. The attack was part of a wordlwide expression of outrage by muslims at America due to an amateur film 'Innocence of Muslims', which has been deemed by the Islamic community as offensive against the prophet Muhammed. |Stuff like this is why I am an atheist. And below is President Obama's reaction to the event.

Dr Guevara

Meanwhile in Australia....

Wanna Buy a Diesel Powered Mech Warrior?? Why the Fuck Not.....

Now you can own your very own diesel powered MechWarrior that stands 13 feet tall and weighs 4.4 tons. Known as the Kuratas, this giant MechWarrior actually has a cockpit for you to ride inside, and looks like a truly promising addition to any future super villain's SkyNet program.

For the price of a small island, (where you can also build your fortress of solitude) ... roughly .... Anyway ... $1,350,000.00 is what this four and a half tons of bad ass costs.

No more words are available to describe how awesome this amazing waste of money is ..... so here are some videos:

Now if you happen to have the cash, you can Do like their website says and "Buy Dream Now" by going to http://suidobashijuko.jp/ and they can ship it to your door fully customized to fit your needs.  

This machine just blows my mind. I mean..If this sort of technology is readily available for those who can afford it, what do our armed forces have up their sleeves?

-Steve TheBartender

New in the Queen City App Market: Food Network On The Road

Queen City App Market: Food Network On The Road

 (iPhone) (Free Download)

Description
Food Network On the Road lets you find Food Network recommended restaurants and hot spots across the United States. Whether it’s in a city you live in, one you’re visiting, or one that’s just on your wish list, Food Network On the Road is the best way to plan your next food adventure.

Features:

BROWSE FEATURED RESTAURANTS and city guides from top shows:
- Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
- The Best Thing I Ever Ate
- The Great Food Truck Race
- $40 a Day
- Cupcake Wars
- Giada’s Weekend Getaways
- Heat Seekers
- Road Tested With the Neelys
- Throwdown With Bobby Flay
- and more!

FIND DESTINATIONS FROM FAVORITE CHEFS including:
- Guy Fieri
- Bobby Flay
- Giada DiLaurentiis
- Alton Brown
- Rachael Ray
- Aaron Sanchez
- and more!

DISCOVER FOOD NETWORK RECOMMENDED SPOTS near your current location using GPS.

SEARCH for restaurants by:
- City
- Chef
- Show
- Cuisine
- City Guides
- Road Trips
- Best Of…Lists

GET the address, phone number, and directions to each restaurant.

SAVE places you want to visit or have already visited.

CREATE YOUR OWN ROAD TRIPS based on the locations you crave.

RECOMMEND your favorite places to your friends.

EARN fun Food Network badges!


Compatible with iOS 5.0+. for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Dave Grohl tweets about Nickelback

American Civil Liberties Union defends KKK in court

A Missouri city is being sued by the Ku Klux Klan for the right to distribute racist literature by placing handbills onto the windshields of parked vehicles. And guess who is representing the white supremacists in court?

The American Civil Liberties Union – one of the oldest human right defending organizations in the US – has come to the aid of one of the oldest and most notorious American racist groups. 

The Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (TAK) is being prohibited by an ordinance of the city of Cape Girardeau, MO from distributing flyers onto cars parked in public places,the Courthouse News reports.

The group claims that while it may be racist, its intentions are peaceful and they should therefore be able to exercise their right to free speech in this way. Its intentions in distributing handbills are simply to“spread its message widely,”the Klan says.

The white-supremacist group claims that the US was established by and for white men and that it should never“fall into the hands of an inferior race,”according to the TAK’s website. Meanwhile, the ACLU, representing the Klan, states on its website that it“works to extend rights to segments of our population that have rationally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; prisoners; and people with disabilities.”But despite this stark difference in programs, it didn't stop ACLU from representing a KKK chapter in court.

“TAK describes itself as ‘a White Patriotic Christian organization that bases its roots back to the Ku Klux Klan of the early 20thcentury,’”states the complaint siding with the plaintiff.“According to TAK, it is a ‘non-violent organization that believes in the preservation of the white race and the United States Constitution as it was originally written and will stand to protect those rights against all foreign invaders.’”

TAK claims that one of its most efficient ways of spreading its message is by placing flyers on parked vehicles – and this method has been used all throughout the US, including in neighboring Missouri cities.

“We just want our rights like everybody else that are guaranteed under the First Amendment of the Constitution,”TAK member Frank Ancona told the Associated Press.“It’s just putting out informational fliers to the public to make them aware of our organization and what we stand for and things like that.”

The ACLU claims that the Cape Girardeau ordinance, which “mandates that no person shall throw or deposit any handbill in or upon any vehicle,” is unconstitutional by suppressing free speech. Even if those who practice it, do so in order to keep “white blood” pure. With the help of the ACLU,the Klan is fighting for the right to spread these ideals and more onto the windshields of parked cars across the state of Missouri.

TAGS: Conflict, Hate crimes,Law, USA, Court

Tens of thousands protest in Mexico against new president

Mexican court throws out election challenge, sparking riots

Enraged protesters gathered in the capital of Mexico following a court decision to disregard a challenge to Enrique Pena Nieto’s presidency. The newly-elected president was accused of money laundering and buying votes.

Hundreds of angry activists hurled stones, eggs and bottles at the police and the court building, and shouted slogans calling for a revolution. They brandished banners, saying “we demand this dirty election to be overturned,” and “Pena is not our president.”

 The protesters knocked down metal barriers that had been erected around the court and brawled with the riot police who had assembled there. 

Presidential election runner-up Andres Manuel Obrador accused Nieto and his Institutional Revolutionary Party of buying five million votes and courting voters with presents of supermarket gift cards, fertilizer, cement and livestock.

The electoral tribunal dismissed the claims on the basis there was not sufficient evidence to overturn the vote.

“After an examination of the evidence, we can confirm that constitutional principles were observed during the election,”tribunal member Salvador Nava said.

The Tribunal’s verdict sparked outrage among opposition activists, with Ricardo Monreal, a campaign coordinator for a leftist coalition, condemning the decision as “the verbal diarrhea of men who are paid millions of pesos and don’t work for the interests of the people.”

“They are fraudsters in the guise of learned men who are going to bury our constitution and become the vilest band of hucksters in the history of our country’s democracy,” Monreal said.

Pena Nieto won the Mexican election on July 1 by roughly 3.3 million votes, rejecting Obrador’s claims of fraud. Nieto’s victory sparked mass protests in Mexico City and calls for a recount.

Nieto will assume the Mexican presidency on December 1. His government has promised greater political transparency, and to modernize the country’s antiquated labor laws in an attempt to revitalize the Mexican economy.

US drug addiction impedes Mexican growth

View Interview transcript here

Anonymous takes down Godaddy.com: Millions of websites down as result

(CBS News) GoDaddy, the domain registrar and Web hosting company, experienced outages Monday, perhaps taking millions of websites down as a result.

"Status Alert: Hey, all. We're aware of the trouble people are having with our site. We're working on it," @GoDaddy tweeted. 

While GoDaddy.com's site is up and running, websites hosted by the company are still experiencing outages.

"Some services are back online," a GoDaddy spokesperson told CBS News. "It's been intermittent and impacted our site and some of our customer sites. It started at about 10 a.m. PT and we are working to restore all service."

TechCrunch reported earlier that GoDaddy-hosted email addresses were down, as well. The blog suggests customers concerned with that their site has been affected can check online status atDown For Everyone Or Just Me. 

A quick call to the company's customer service line resulted in a voice message stating that the company is aware of issues involving several services, including web hosting and emails. The company suggest following its Twitter page for updates. 

Twitter accounts thought to be associated with the hacking group Anonymous claimed responsibility for the attack.

"Basically, every GoDaddy site on the planet just crashed," @TibitXimer tweeted.

"#TangoDown - godaddy.com," @AnonOpsLegion tweeted Monday, claiming that the Twitter account @AnonymousOwn3r was responsible for the breach. "TangoDown" is the term that Anonymous generally uses to signify that a website is down. 

"By using / supporting Godaddy, you are supporting censorship of the Internet," @AnonOpsLegion tweeted again later. GoDaddy was the target of protests after it was discovered that the company supported unpopular bills the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). 

The company's latest tweet reads: "Update: Still working on it, but we're making progress. Some service has already been restored. Stick with us."

GoDaddy did not specify at timeline for when all services would be restored, but did say that "all hands are on deck." 

To the People who Kept us up all night last night...

Volcano explodes in Nicaragua: Prompts Evacuation

Nicaragua's San Cristobal volcano covered in a shroud of smoky grey ash. On Saturday, the volcano, just north of capital Managua, blasted a 5-km high ash plume into the atmosphere. SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) JOSE RAMON MADARIAGA, LOCAL MAN, SAYING: "Well, San Cristobal volcano exploded like a cork that flew upward, and the puff of smoke blew into the air." The ashy eruption prompted hundreds of nearby residents to leave the area. The government expects to evacuate 3,000 from their homes and has raised the alert level to yellow. San Cristobal is one of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua's Pacific Coast and a major eruption could affect up to 20,000 people.

Floods wreack havoc in North Korea (Video)

North Korea accepts flood aid offer from rival South

(Reuters) - Impoverished North Korea has accepted an offer of aid from rival South Korea after devastating summer floods, the South said on Monday, the first time the new leadership in Pyongyang has accepted aid from Seoul.

In an unusually grim assessment of the North's grain harvest this year,South Korea said last week that crop production for the year probably dropped by more than 10 percent due to flooding and a drought.

The South's aid offer comes after the U.N. World Food Programme said last month it would send a first batch of emergency food aid to the isolated state.

North Korea's state media has reported at least 200 people have been killed this summer due to flooding and a typhoon, and more than 200,000 left homeless. Tens of thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said the North's acceptance of its aid offer means discussions will take place to work out how much and what kind of relief materials will be sent.

Past discussions have been fraught with complications, highlighting the politically sensitive nature of the rivals' ties in recent years.

South Korea's offer of help last year was pulled when the North asked for building materials and equipment instead of food and medicine worth nearly $5 million as offered.

Since the death of the North's iron ruler Kim Jong-il last December, the country's new leadership under his youngest son Kim Jong-un has increased its verbal attacks against the South, and relations have gone back into a deep freeze.

North Korea, which has been accused of channeling much of its scarce resources to running its military and its arms program, has trouble feeding its population of 24 million even in years of good harvest.

Conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak ended a decade of lucrative large-scale aid to the North when he came to office in 2008 demanding Pyongyang stop its nuclear arms program and initiate economic reforms first.

(Reporting by Jack Kim and Ju-min Park; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)