America's Wars, Ranked

Operation Uphold Democracy: Haiti, 1994-95.

Lebanese Civil War: Lebanon, 1982-1984.

Cold War: Everywhere, 1947-1991.

Boxer Rebellion: China, 1899-1900.

Chilean Civil War: Chile, 1891.

Sheepeater Indian War: North America (present day Idaho), 1879.

War On Terror: Everywhere, 2001-present.

Puget Sound War: North American nations of the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Klickitat, Haida and Tlingit, 1855-1856.

Second Liberian Civil War: Liberia, 2003.

Philippine Insurrection: Philippines, 1899-1902.

Occupation of Nicaragua: Nicaragua, 1912-1933.

Occupation of Haiti: Haiti, 1915-1934.

Great Sioux War: North America, present day Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, 1876-1877.

Moro Rebellion: Sultanate of Sulu, 1899-1913.

Occupation of the Dominican Republic: Dominican Republic, 1916-1924.

Mexican Revolution: Mexico, 1914-1919.

World War I: Everywhere, 1917-1918.

Russian Civil War: Russia, 1918-1920.

World War II: Everywhere, 1941-1945.

Quasi War: Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, 1798-1800.

Red River War: North American Great Plains, 1874-1875.

Operation Blue Bat: Lebanon, 1958.

Vietnam War: Vietnam, 1953-1975.

Korean War: Korea, 1950-1953.

Second Samoan Civil War: Samoa, 1898-1899.

First Sumatran Expedition: Chiefdom of Kuala Batee, 1832.

Tecumseh's War: North American Great Lakes, 1811.

Ghost War Dance: North America, present day South Dakota, 1890-1891.

Spanish-American War: Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, etc., 1898.

Second Sumatran Expedition: Chiefdom of Quallah Battoo, 1838-1839.

Lava Beds War: Northern California, 1872-1873.

Korean Expedition: Korea, 1871.

Revolutionary War: United States, Canada, Great Britain, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, etc., 1774-1783.

Winnebago War: North America, present day Illinois and Michigan, 1827.

Battle of Kororareka: Māori Kororareka, New Zealand, 1845.

War of 1812: United States, Canada, indigenous North America, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, etc., 1812-1815.

Little Turtle's War: Indigenous North America, Canada, 1785-1795.

First Barbary War: North Africa, Mediterranean Sea, 1801-1805.

Second Barbary War: North Africa, Mediterranean Sea, 1815.

Aegean War On Pirates: Aegean Sea, 1825-1828.

Years are of American military involvement.

5 things I learned from watching lesbians watch lesbian porn

Here's something that might come as a shock to you: Lesbian porn is actually meant for men.
To prove this point, Davey Wavey—a fitness guru and gay YouTube user best known for asking gay men what they thought of vaginas, lesbians for their insights on the penis, and senior citizens for their feelings on gay sex—sat down several lesbians and asked them to watch a pornographic video of two ladies getting it on.
The general consensus amongst the interviewees was that not only were these videos not an actual reflection of real life, but that they were obscene and off-putting. In other words, lesbian porn is just like every other type of porn.

In addition to dispelling myths held by clueless guys and being all kinds of hilarious, Davey Wavey's video is full of wonderful insights for your typical, heteronormative male. We've listed the best of them below.

• A lesbian who has never had a sexual encounter with a man is referred to as a "gold star lesbian."
• Working off of the previous bullet point, most lesbians don't actually enjoy having stuff jammed inside their nether regions. As a result, you can tell that the women who star in lesbian videos are actually straight because of how much they seem to enjoy to being penetrated.
• Lesbians prefer for fingernails to be properly trimmed.
• Women who enjoy having sex with other women do not enjoy fellatioing or licking high-heeled shoes. For starters, they're lesbians and are therefore not turned on by phallic-shaped items. Secondly, it's highly unsanitary.
• Consistency is key.
  

  

  

Google reportedly in talks with South Africa and Kenya regulators to build wireless networks on TV airwaves

Google is reportedly working on a way to connect more people around the world to the Internet, specifically those in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the search engine company is looking to build wireless networks in emerging networks through TV airwaves, making it possible to connect where wired Internet isn’t available.

It’s believed that Google will be partnering with local companies to build out these networks. It has been talking with regulators in South Africa and Kenya to look at the current laws in the country to see if this network can be built “en masse.” Sources tell The Wall Street Journal that Google has also been working on new microprocessors and low-cost Android smartphones to help those that can’t afford devices that many in more resource-rich countries can.

This isn’t the first time Google has explored being a good global company. At the Google I/O developer conference, co-founder and CEO Larry Page spoke at its keynote and said “technology should do the hard work, so people can get on doing the things that make them happiest in life.”

He spoke about a technology utopia that he envisioned Google playing a part in, which is supported by its X division. The company has been investing in moonshot technology, such as the self-driving automobile and, most recently, Google Glass. The goal, according to Astro Teller, Google X’s director, is to find something that is a huge problem for humanity and look for ways to fix it.

While there are many countries in the world that enjoy high-speed Internet, there are still those that don’t even have access to it, mostly because of the lack of infrastructure, not due to government interference. Reports show that Google is working on making “special balloons or blimps, known as high-altitude platforms” to transmit signals to an area of hundreds of square miles.” The company is also looking at developing a satellite-based network, but acknowledges that a given solution won’t necessarily work in every market it’s targeting.

Google has spent its resources and technology to better connect people with one another, specifically in the areas of education. It has donated its Chromebooks to schools to help students learn, made its Google Apps software available to encourage knowledge sharing, and more. It has also created a Crisis Response team to help in the event of disasters around the world to help people find out what’s happening and get the latest news.

Additionally, it can’t go without being said that this is certainly similar to Google’s effort to bring faster Internet in the US, having launched its Fiber service last year in Kansas City, Missouri. Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah have lined up to be the next two supported cities.

W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA) was in 46 hedge funds' portfolio at the end of March. GRA investors should be aware of an increase in support from the world's most elite money managers recently. There were 42 hedge funds in our database with GRA positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of metrics investors can use to track publicly traded companies. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can beat the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you'd expect, there are lots of stimuli for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if "monkeys" understand what to do (learn more here). Now, we're going to take a glance at the key action surrounding W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA).

Hedge fund activity in W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA)

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 46 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 10% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies' capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially. According to our comprehensive database, David Cohen and Harold Levy's Iridian Asset Management had the most valuable position in W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA), worth close to $278.8 million, comprising 4.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Iridian Asset Management's heels is Blue Ridge Capital, managed by John Griffin, which held a $232.5 million position; the fund has 2.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Richard Chilton's Chilton Investment Company, Jonathan Auerbach's Hound Partners and Daniel S. Och's OZ Management. As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Lone Pine Capital, managed by Stephen Mandel, assembled the most outsized position in W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA). Lone Pine Capital had 115.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. George Soros's Soros Fund Management also initiated a $22.5 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new GRA investors: SAC Subsidiary's CR Intrinsic Investors, James Pallotta's Raptor Capital Management, and Mark Kingdon's Kingdon Capital.

How are insiders trading W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company we're looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here). Let's check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA). These stocks are Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC), Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF), The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL), and Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB). All of these stocks are in the specialty chemicals industry and their market caps are similar to GRA's market cap.

Did Atty. Gen Eric Holder Lie Under Oath To Congress?

Greta Van Susteren had Karl Rove on her show, Thursday night, to discuss the Holder/AP/Fox News scandal following the revelation that Eric Holder personally approved the search warrant for James Rosen’s private emails under the pretext that he was a “possible co-conspirator” in violations of the Espionage Act. 

Rove brought to light what Holder had recently testified before Congress:

“First of all you’ve got a long way to go to try to prosecute the press for publication of material. This has not fared well in American history… In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material.This is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy.“

I don't know how that can be construed as anything but a direct lie. There was some question as to whether or not Holder had testified under oath. As you may remember, the Senate gave former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton that courtesy when she testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

That courtesy was not extended to Holder.

Friday Favorite: Type2Phone

Type2Phone ($4.99) is one of the most practical tools in my development toolbox. It emulates a Bluetooth keyboard from your Mac. With it, you type to your iOS device using your normal desktop keyboard.

While this may not sound like a big thing for many iOS users -- after all, the onboard keyboards and new dictation features streamline text entry -- it is a huge deal for devs and IT coordinators who have to keep typing similar things into apps and settings, over and over again.

For example, take Game Center development. You usually work with many different accounts, testing to see how access works for new users, for those with a good history of application use, or for those who have unlocked certain achievements. In a normal debug session, you may sign out and sign in with various credentials dozens of times. Type2Phone makes that a practical exercise in testing instead of torment.

Or, take today. I was trying to set up a SOCKS proxy system and had to keep typing addresses for various configurations. Once again Type2Phone came to the rescue. It's so much more practical to type or paste longwinded URLs like http://10.0.0.1:8888/Public/socks.pac from my home desktop than to laboriously tip-tip-tap it on the phone or iPad.

Type2Phone was designed smart, with re-use in mind. I long ago synced it to my primary dev units. Now, I just select each unit from the in-app pop-up list, and I'm ready to type right away.

To be fair, there are a few unhappy reviews over at the Mac App Store, but they describe situations (primarily beachballs) that I have not encountered, and I'm a pretty heavy user of the product.

For me, Type2Phone is an essential software component. My development life would be way harder without it. And that's why I consider it my Friday favorite for this week.

Why Yahoo! Buying Tumblr Is Not Great For NYC's Tech Scene

By Greg Gretsch, Managing Director, Sigma West, an early-stage technology VC firm in Silicon Valley.

For years we’ve been hearing about how the ascendant tech startup scene in NYC is going to rival Silicon Valley’s tech-hegemony. It’s a story the mainstream media has run with hard because, after all, NYC is the apex for the mainstream media and, who doesn’t like rooting for the home team? For those NYC cheerleaders (I’m talking to you Bloomberg and WSJ), Yahoo ‘s purchase of Tumblr was solid confirmatory evidence of the momentum-shift they’ve been trumpeting. Yet, while the acquisition was clearly a good thing for Tumblr’s founder and early backers, it was at best OK and at worst a bad thing for NYC’s quest to challenge Silicon Valley’s tech dominance.

The confluence of elements at the core of Silicon Valley’s vibrant tech scene have been long discussed – fantastic universities, access to capital, and access to a strong startup support system. NYC long had great universities and human capital (although not as much tech DNA) but, somewhat surprisingly for the financial center of the world, NYC just didn’t have a strong startup funding culture. To be clear, there is plenty of wealth to be invested in NYC; somewhat ironically there are five NY metro area hedge-fund titans who each made individually more in 2012 than the entire purchase price of Tumblr. Lots of money, just not lots of it going to tech startups. Another way to put it is that there are lots of billionaires, just no tech-billionaires. In the last 10 years, at least the money side of the equation has been looking better for NYC. According to the PWC/NVCA MoneyTree, NYC’s share of venture investment dollars grew from 5.8% of the US total in Q1 2003 to 9.8% in Q1 2013. NYC is taking venture investment share from other markets, but it is not taking it from Silicon Valley. Over that same period, Silicon Valley’s share of US venture investment dollars went from 32.5% to 37.9%.

So what is NYC missing and in what alternate universe could the Tumblr acquisition be bad for the NYC tech ecosystem? What Silicon Valley has in abundance that no other tech-center rivals is what I will refer to as the anchor-tenant companies. Anchor-tenant companies are those that become large independent and growing tech leaders. They continue to generate wealth; their alums continue to spawn new companies; and they continue to buy interesting startups fueling the cycle. There are tech giants in places other than Silicon Valley (Microsoft , Amazon, IBM ), but no area rivals the valley for the sheer number of these tech titans. Silicon Valley has them in every corner of tech and continues to create them. Just since the tech bubble burst, we’ve added LinkedIn and Facebook (started post bubble) and Google and Salesforce (IPO post bubble) to name just a few.

This brings me back to Tumblr. A great company and a great outcome. But now that the music has stopped and Tumblr has taken a chair, the company has stopped playing for the big leagues. Tumblr may ultimately become as meaningful to Yahoo! as YouTube has become to Google, as Yahoo! CFO Ken Goldman implies, although I’m skeptical. But even if it reaches that lofty status it will be bittersweet for the NYC tech community. Because instead of having a large independent tech giant around which an ecosystem can flourish, NYC will have a large satellite division of a Silicon Valley company.