Commune With Nature In These 6 Productivity-Boosting Offices

Being In The Midst Of Nature, Even Separated By A Window, Can Help Your Productivity And Morale. These Offices Bridge The Outside/Inside Divide.

Source: Fast Company

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AT&T In Talks To Buy DirecTV For $50 Billion

A DirecTV satellite dish stands on the roof of a home in Compton, California, U.S., on Monday, May 5, 2014. DirecTV beat analysts' first-quarter profit estimates on higher bills for U.S. customers and more subscriber sign-ups than expected in Latin America. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Telecom giant AT&T is in "advanced talks" to buy satellite TV service DirectTV for about $50 billion, according to Bloomberg News, which spoke with people familiar with the matter.

The potential agreement could be as close as two weeks away, according to the Wall Street Journal. With shares of #DirectTV trading for around $85 a piece in after-hours trading, the company's market value is currently somewhere in the $45 billion range, or $5 billion less than AT&T's supposed purchasing price.
For DirecTV, partnering with AT&T could be the solution to its biggest problems: declining subscribers and pressure from cord cutters, i.e. Americans who are forgoing cable packages and instead opting for streaming services or set-top boxes. These problems together likely help explain why DirecTV experienced its second-ever quarterly loss of #U.S. subscribers last August.

Were the two sides to reach an agreement, the partnership would morph the companies into a massive pay-television conglomerate. According to the WSJ, #AT&T and DirecTV had previously attempted to work out a deal, but those talks fell apart because of a number of issues, including pricing.

Bloomberg reported in late March that Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charlie Ergen had separately approached DirecTV about a deal after hearing of Comcast's plans to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion in February. Together, Comcast and Time Warner would become the number one Internet service provider in 26 U.S. states.

This post has been revised to clarify that Charlie Ergen has played no role in AT&T's discussions about acquiring DirecTV.Source: Huffington Post

Eurovision win for Austria drag queen sparks anger in Russia

Moscow (AFP) - Victory for Austria's bearded transvestite Conchita Wurst at the Eurovision Song Contest prompted an outpouring of anti-gay anger from Russian politicians and stars on Sunday.

Conchita Wurst representing Austria performs "Rise Like A Phoenix" after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 10, 2014 (AFP Photo/Jonathan Nackstrand)

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin wrote on Twitter that the Eurovision result "showed supporters of European integration their European future: a bearded girl."

"There's no limit to our outrage. It's the end of Europe. It has turned wild. They don't have men and women any more. They have 'it'," nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky told Rossiya-1 state television.

"Fifty years ago the Soviet army occupied Austria. We made a mistake in freeing Austria. We should have stayed," added the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, known for his outrageous statements.

Russia's entry, the Tolmachevy Sisters, came seventh.

#Russia gave #Austria five points -- one more than it awarded #Ukraine as the ex-Soviet neighbours are locked in a deadly crisis. 

Russia last year adopted a controversial law banning the "propaganda" of homosexuality to minors, prompting condemnation from Western leaders and rights activists. Russia has also banned adoption of Russian children by foreign gay couples.

Popular hip-hop star Timati wrote on his #Instagram account that #Wurst's victory was the result of a "mental illness of contemporary society".

"I wouldn't like one fine day to have to explain to my child why two guys are kissing or a woman is walking round with a dyed beard and that's supposed to be normal," he said.

But Ukrainian drag act Verka Serduchka, who came second at #Eurovision in 2007, strongly backed Wurst.

"To be honest, at the start it did shock me a bit, but when I saw it, I thought: why not? A person wants to express himself," said Andriy Danilko, who performs as Serduchka. 

Austria's Conchita Wurst poses with the trophy after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 11, 2014 (AFP Photo/Jonathan Nackstrand)

"We need to be more compassionate. I hate when people are bullied," Danilko told Rossiya-1

television.

"She is kind. Don't be mean to her. She is an eccentric. An eccentric with a beard."

Flamboyant pop star Filipp Kirkorov, producer of Russia's Eurovision entry this year, even suggested Wurst's victory should make #Russians reconsider homophobic views.

"Maybe this is a kind of protest against some of our views in Russia. Maybe we should have a think. Maybe we shouldn't have such a categorical attitude to people of different #sexual orientations," he told Rossiya-1 television.

"In a way it probably is a challenge from Europe to us, but let's respect the winner. People don't judge a winner," Kirkorov said.

 Source : Yahoo News