Amazon.com Says Kindle Sales Accelerated, E-Books Pass Print

 Amazon.com Inc., the largest Internet retailer, said growth in sales of its Kindle digital reader accelerated every month in the second quarter and that it’s selling more electronic books than hardcover versions.

The rate of Kindle sales also has tripled since the company cut the price to $189 from $259, Amazon.com Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said in a statement.

“We’ve reached a tipping point with the new price of Kindle,” Bezos said. “Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books--astonishing when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months.”

The 27 percent price cut, announced last month, was aimed at helping Amazon stave off a threat from Apple Inc.’s tablet- style iPad, which includes e-book reading features. Amazon.com hasn’t disclosed Kindle sales since releasing the device in 2007, saying only that it has sold millions.

Amazon.com sold more than triple the number of Kindle books in the first half of the year as it did in the same period last year, Seattle-based Amazon.com said. More than 81 percent of its 630,000 electronic books are $9.99 or less.

Despite their lack of real jobs 'Jersey Shore' cast members go on strike.

Several "Jersey Shore" cast members have reportedly gone on strike, refusing to shoot scenes for the Snooki Show's third season. Why? According to E! Online and other media outlets, they don't get paid enough.

Here's how it breaks down. The alleged strikers -- JWoww, Ronni, Sammy, Pauly D and Vinny -- each pull in $10,000 per episode, say's USA Today. So at the end of a nine-episode season, each of them walks away with $90,000. That's $90K for partying, drinking heavily, hooking up, wearing tacky clothes and sporting glaringly hideous spray-on tans. There are plenty of people in New Jersey who do all of these things and receive no compensation whatsoever. If you ask me, those are the individuals who should be threatening a revolt of some sort.

I mean, we're living in challenging economic times. Plenty of very talented, capable people lack jobs and haven't been able to find new ones for many, many months. If your name is JWoww and you actually are employed, this is not only a sign of remarkable good fortune, it's a borderline miracle.

" The Jersey Shore" has become a cultural phenomenon of sorts. And I understand that the "actors" want to be compensated fairly for that. But you are not the cast of "Friends." So suck it up. Cash your paychecks bef and count your blessings for things you do have.

Express trains collide in West Bengal 49 killed

Sainthia (West Bengal): At least 49 passengers were killed and over 150 injured when the speeding Sealdah-bound Uttarbanga Express rammed into the rear of the Vanachal Express pulling out of the Sainthia station in Birbhum district early today.

Eastern Railway sources in Kolkata said that 49 passengers of the Vanachal Express were killed when the Uttarbanga Express, which was running at a high speed overshot the signal and ploughed into it.
Among the dead were 39 men, eight women and two babies, the sources said.
Officials feared that the toll could rise as three coaches, two unreserved and a luggage van, of the Vananchal Express, which was running five hours late, were smashed with some of the coaches mounting a foot overbridge. GRP sources said that 150 passengers were injured.

Superintendent of Police Humayun Kabir, however, said that 130 passengers were injured.
The accident occurred at 1:54 am when the New Coochbehar-Sealdah Uttarbanga Express came on the same track and rammed into the Bhagalpur-Ranchi Vananchal Express which was leaving platform number four at Sainthia station, 191 km from Kolkata, Eastern Railway sources said.
The engine of the Uttarbanga Express, which was to stop at the station, telescoped into the rear of the Vananchal Express.

Engine driver MC Dey and assistant driver NK Mandal of the Uttarbanga Express besides the guard of the Vananchal Express A Mukherjee were killed, the sources said. Dey was found dead in his seat. The engine was switched off after an hour by railwaymen. Railway minister Mamata Banerjee, chairman of Railway Board Vivek Sahay, Railway Board member (Electrical) Sudesh Kumar and director general of Railway Health Service BK Ramteke, Eastern Railway general manager VN Tripathy and other senior officials have left for Sainthia. Relief trains from Rampurhat, Asansol and Burdwan have left for the accident spot.