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Judge arrested in Aruba case

Judge arrested in Aruba case Fifth suspect in custody after U.S. teen's disappearance Paul Van Der Sloot was arrested after being questioned by police as a witness over the weekend. RELATED Gallery: Missing Aruba teen • Texas team to aid search • Publicity a concern for tourism • Was race a factor in arrests? • Interactive: Safety tips for travelers YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Aruba Alabama Crime, Law and Justice or or Create Your Own ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- An Aruban judge, the father of a 17-year-old suspect in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager, also has been arrested in the case, the island's police commissioner said Thursday. Prosecutors decided to keep Paul Van Der Sloot, 53, in custody for questioning for 48 hours, Aruba Police Commissioner Jan Van Der Straten said. Under Aruban law, if there is reasonable suspicion, the prosecutor's office can order a suspect held as long as another 48 hours. After that, a judge's decision is required to keep a suspect in jail. The legal system in Aruba, an autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is based partly on Dutch civil law. The father was arrested at about 2 p.m. on suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old from suburban Birmingham, Alabama, said prosecution spokeswoman Mariaine Croes. "At this point he's a suspect," Croes said. "There's a reasonable suspicion that he knows something and is involved in the disappearance of Ms. Holloway." Police questioned him over the weekend in connection with the case. A law enforcement source close to the investigation said at the time that the judge was interviewed as a witness. He spent about five hours in the police station Saturday for questioning and was brought in again on Sunday while his wife, Anita, visited their 17-year-old son, Joran. Last week, an Aruban judge ruled that Paul Van Der Sloot could not visit his son in jail. Earlier, authorities had searched Van Der Sloot's home, seizing two cars and removing bagfuls of evidence. Anita Van Der Sloot said Thursday her husband's arrest is "ridiculous." "It hurts because my husband gave 15 years of his integrity to this island, and that this could happen is so bizarre." "I don't understand, and I know a lot of people don't understand, what's going on," she said. "I'm very angry, but I will hold up." "I have to because I believe in my husband, I believe in my son," she said. "It will all will be fine." She said she met with Joran for about 40 minutes Thursday before receiving word that police were at her home to arrest her husband. Her son is "doing fine," she said. "I know he's innocent, and he knows he's innocent." Family 'relieved' Natalee Holloway's aunt, Marcia Twitty, said her family was "very relieved" by the judge's arrest. "Maybe we can get somewhere and finally get these answers that they so desperately, desperately want," she told CNN from Alabama. The missing girl's father, David Holloway, said the arrest "just adds that additional piece to the puzzle. "How big is the puzzle? I don't know, but the pieces are falling into place and falling into place very quickly," he told CNN affiliate WBRC. Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, said Wednesday she's sure the four young men in custody -- but not formally charged in the case -- have more information to divulge. "I have no doubt that they know what and who and where and when and why and how. I have no doubt," Twitty said on NBC's "Today Show." "There are some other individuals, though, that need to be pursued," she added. Twitty told CNN she met Tuesday with the parents of Joran Van Der Sloot. He's one of the last people reported to have seen Holloway. She said the Van Der Sloots invited her into their home when she was handing out prayer cards in their neighborhood. Twitty refused to give details about their 90-minute discussion. "I think I walked away with the confirmation that we still have some individuals that we need to pursue," she said. Holloway, an honors student from the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, disappeared May 30 after she left a nightclub with Joran Van Der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, ages 21 and 18 respectively, authorities said. She was in Aruba, a small Caribbean island of 72,000 residents just north of Venezuela, with about 100 classmates to celebrate their recent graduation. The three men and a fourth suspect, 26-year-old disc jockey Steve Croes, face accusations of murder and kidnapping leading to murder. Twitty says she has seen "no evidence whatsoever" that her daughter is dead. Defense attorneys for Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoes have said their clients maintain their innocence. Marcia Twitty said that after meeting with the Van Der Sloots, the missing girl's mother told her: "'I still feel like that dad knows something about where Natalee is.'" "She's in very close contact with officials, both Aruban and FBI," she said. "They talk daily." Satish Kalpoe to mom: 'We didn't do anything' The mother of the Kalpoes said Thursday that one son had admitted he and his brother made up a cover story to protect Joran Van Der Sloot. Nadira Ramirez told CNN she was permitted to visit son Satish Kalpoe at Aruba's prison within the past week. She stressed that the teen told her their story was not planned ahead of Holloway's disappearance, and she had no advance knowledge of it. Initially, Ramirez said, her sons had told her and police they dropped Holloway off at the Holiday Inn, where she was staying. But Satish Kalpoe told his mother later that was a lie aimed at protecting Van Der Sloot. In fact, he told his mother, he and his brother had dropped Holloway and Van Der Sloot off at the beach by the Marriott hotel, about a mile from the Holiday Inn. Ramirez's account echoes comments made by one of two security guards who were arrested June 5 in connection with the case and released June 13. The guards, Abraham Jones, 28, and Mickey John, 30, were never charged. After his release, John said Deepak Kalpoe confided to him while they were in jail together that he had lied to police. (CNN Access) Ramirez tearfully said her son insisted he and his brother were innocent. "'We didn't do anything. We will be out from here. Don't cry,'" she said he told her. "I asked him, 'Satish, are you sure you guys didn't do anything?'" she said. She said he responded: "'No, mama. We gave that girl and Joran a lift.' "They don't even know Natalee. They said she didn't even introduce herself to them," she said. "They don't know anything else about that." Although she has been suffering and unable to eat since her sons' arrest, Ramirez said she remains confident they will be cleared. She described her family as a close and traditional Hindu group and said both sons are "good boys." Satish does not drink, she said, and while Deepak drinks occasionally, neither youth takes drugs. CNN's Karl Penhaul and Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

eBay sets up open-source community

eBay has begun providing open-source code for some of its search and access applications to expand its external developer community. The software will be available under a new program called Community Codebase, which was announced at the eBay Developers Conference in San Jose, California, on Tuesday. With just over 20 per cent of the listed items on eBay coming in through applications and tools provided by external developers, the auction giant is hoping to encourage developers to find new ways of using the online marketplace. "We’ve seen lots of great examples of open-source applications, clearly; Linux, Apache and Firefox just to name a few. We wanted to really tap that mindshare and that creativity on a global basis. And so, having a really big push with open source is the way to do that,” said Greg Isaacs, director of eBay’s developer program. The Community Codebase is free for all members of eBay’s Developers Program and PayPal Developer Network. (Pay Pal is owned by eBay.) It allows individual developers and companies to access source code for various eBay and PayPal tools and applications. An example is a Java application that allows TiVo users to search and bid on items via their digital video recorder boxes. Other examples include a Firefox toolbar, various Pay Pal toolkits and an application used to extract information from Pay Pal’s database and putting it into Microsoft Corp.'s Excel spreadsheet software. eBay created its first program for developers in 2000 and has 15,000 registered members today. Managing the community is done partly with software from CollabNet that gives the developers and eBay tools for revision control, issue tracking and discussion forums. Even though Isaacs stressed that the open source approach was an "easy decision to make,” courting the open-source community can sometimes prove difficult. "It’s not like open source is bad or good. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. They [eBay] don’t make their money off of their source code, they make their money out of the whole package,” said Larry McVoy, chief executive officer of South San Francisco-based BitMover, which has been involved in the Linux kernel development. Revenue generator BitMover, however, does make money off its source code, and McVoy plans to change his company's open-source approach next month because of a licensing dispute with Samba developer Andrew Tridgell. After years of allowing open-source developers to use his BitKeeper source code management system free of charge, BitMover will next month begin charging them for the right to use its software. Still, McVoy thinks eBay's move makes sense because it has an alternative form of generating revenue. "There’s probably significant advantage for eBay in terms of opening it [the eBay applications source code] up, getting more people using it, more people working with eBay. Anything that draws more eyeballs to eBay is good for eBay.” With the Community Codebase program, eBay also follows in the footsteps of competitors such as Amazon and Google by giving away access to the content in its database. Individual members will now have access to 10,000 database calls per month. For companies, accessing the database ranges from a flat fee of US$100 up to whatever is negotiated. In the first quarter of 2005, eBay supported approximately 1.7 billion monthly requests through external applications, which made up 42 per cent of all calls to the eBay database.

NextAdvisor with TIME

Erin Lowry Erin Lowry helps millennials “get their financial lives together” by offering advice on how to make more money, get out of debt, and build savings, through her “Broke Millennial” blog. Read more

del.icio.us direc.tor: Delivering An AJAX Web Service Broker

What is it? del.icio.us direc.tor is a prototype for an alternative web-based rich UI for del.icio.us. It leverages the XML and XSL services of modern browsers to deliver a responsive interface for managing user accounts with a large number of records. The main features are: In-browser handling of del.icio.us bookmarks (tested up to 12,000 records) Find-as-you-type searching of all your bookmarks, with basic search operators Sort by description, tags, or timestamp Ad-hoc tag browser Coverage of this feature around the web: How do I use it? Because of the restrictions on the browser, you'll need to load this using a Javascript bookmarklet. Follow these four steps to get started: Create a bookmarklet by bookmarking the following link: del.icio.us direc.tor Go to api.del.icio.us Launch the bookmark you just created while you are still on the del.icio.us page Login to del.icio.us, if prompted (Try the static demo if you don't have a del.icio.us account.) Type in a search term or click a tag in the browser; click the column headings to sort NOTE: This only works on Firefox and Internet Explorer. Safari won't work because it doesn't support XSLT via Javascript. Supported operators direc.tor supports the following operators: t:<search_term> Search only in tag field Ex: t:humor d:<search_term> Search only in description field Ex: d:politics -<search_term> Exclude results containing search term Ex: -microsoft Combining operators, like -t:nonsense , is currently not supported. How does it work? The idea behind a client-side web service broker (or intermediary, as Jon Udell calls it) is simple: assist a client in interpreting or processing information from a service, but letting the client do all the work (just like what "strategic management consultants" do). Unlike other web services like Amazon Light or Googlism that execute all of the program logic on the server side, a client-side broker sends all of the logic over as Javascript and has the browser do the work. Other brokering services like the Google Maps hack are not entirely self-contained and require the broker host to proxy information between the main server and the client, thus doubling the amount of network traffic and degrading the overall performance. direc.tor eliminates the need for the broker host to proxy requests by instructing the client to directly communicate with the main server. This approach is very similar to the way Greasemonkey scripts are loaded, except that it is largely platform independent and does not require additional client-side extensions like Greasemonkey. However, the major pitfall to this approach is that users are required to manually create the bookmarklet. In a standard service, the Client Browser makes a request to the Service Broker (1), which in turn makes a request to the Web Service (2). The response from the Web Service is then transformed by the Service Broker, and presented to the Client Browser (3). In a client-side service, the Client Browser gets the entire service logic from the Service Broker (1), and then communicates directly with the Web Service (2). Loading the service This project uses the only reliable loophole for executing foreign Javascript code: the bookmarklet bootloader. It works by inserting a <script> element directly into the DOM, which is then immediately executed by the browser. The injected Javascript wipes the existing del.icio.us page and replaces the entire body with the direc.tor UI. At the same time, direc.tor makes an XmlHTTPRequest to http://del.icio.us/api/posts/all to get the XML listing of the user's bookmarks, which is persisted through the lifetime of the direc.tor page. Because del.icio.us uses the standard HTTP basic authentication, the browser will automatically ask for credentials if it has not been established yet. Since the client is communicating directly with del.icio.us, those credentials never pass through this site. For more information about this, and cross-site scripting concerns, see Creating a client-side web service broker. Filtering and sorting the bookmarks Performance is the primary concern — and often a severely limiting factor — when developing an in-browser application that handles large amounts of data. Filtering and sorting recordsets over 10,000 records though traditional Javascript objects is so sluggish that it simply is not a viable solution. del.icio.us direc.tor bypasses that limitation by leveraging the speed of the XML and XSL processors accessible via Javascript in modern browsers. Because these components are compiled binaries, their methods are orders of magnitude faster than an equivalent implementation in intepreted Javascript. del.icio.us direc.tor offloads all of the heavy lifting and a majority of the HTML generation to the XSLT processor to provide a responsive user interface. Since this is a rather lengthy discussion in and of itself, I have moved it to its own article: Using XSLT to filter and sort records in the browser. Implementing the tag browser Although it seems that the tag browser doesn't display a great deal of information, it too cannot be implemented with efficiency using straight Javascript. The main reason is that the tags and their relationship to the bookmarks can't be indexed in a way that allows fast retrieval. Brute force approaches work fine when the record count is around 1000 or so, but at 10,000 records the processing time becomes prohibitive. Again, I use the compiled XML resources to tackle the heavy lifting and allow direc.tor to handle large record sets. Another structure that is essential is an adjacency list, which allows for the fast, indexed retrieval of a tag and its related tags. The major hurdle is not doing the initial retrieval of tags, but finding tags that have more than one other tag in common, i.e. "Show me all the tags that appear with the tag 'blog' and 'photo'." The brute force approach would cycle through all of the records, return those that contain the tag 'blog', cycle through that subset in search of 'photo', and then finally list and count all of the remaining tags that aren't 'blog' or 'photo'. Instead, direc.tor uses a single XPath query to pull out the subset of tags: //posts/post[contains(string(@tag),'blog') and contains(string(@tag),'photo')] Once that subset of nodes is returned by the XML engine, the tags from each node are inserted into a modified adjacency list, represented as a hashtable of hashtables in Javascript. The subset of nodes returned is almost always signifcantly smaller than the entire record set, making subsequent Javascript operations responsive enough for a decent user experience. The outer hashtable is keyed by tag name, such that every tag that exists in the current node set is represented. The inner hashtables store the related tags and the number of occurences. Example: This diagram represents a bookmark collection that has a total of 6 unique tags: blog, design, css, photo, cool, politics. The outer hashtable (left) uses each of those tags as its keys, while its values are hashtables that contain the key tag and any tag that is related. The values of those inner hashtables represent the total count of each tag and its occurence with the outer tag. The hashtable's fast key-based retrieval makes it an ideal indexer for storing the tag counts, and fulfilling the tag requests from the user. Getting a list of tags is accomplished by enumerating over the hashtable keys, and getting the tag counts involves retrieving the values from the inner hashtables. Highlighting the search terms The search term highlighting is currently implemented using Javascript, by way of a generic search and replace method that wraps search terms with a <span> tag. The method then assigns one of the 6 CSS colors that are defined in the stylesheet. I'm sure that it could also be done in XSL, but I was unable to create out a template that would highlight multiple query terms that occur in a random order (if you have one, I'd love to see it). Because of Javascript performance limitations, single letter query terms are not highlighted. The highlighting takes place in the pipeline after the XSL transformation, but before the DOM node is actually brought online and painted in the browser (this is good general practice, as editing live DOM objects is horrifically slow.) What else could this do? There are probably hundreds of other features that would be cool to implement, so here are some that I would implement if I had more time: Bulk tag editing: Enable tag addition and removal from multiple bookmarks (which would then give me an excuse to implement the fancy fade anything technique). Enable tag addition and removal from multiple bookmarks (which would then give me an excuse to implement the fancy fade anything technique). Labeling: Designate a tag as a special UI flag that mimics Gmail's "starred" functionality. Designate a tag as a special UI flag that mimics Gmail's "starred" functionality. Other operators: Add OR , since: , related: , and inurl: operators. Add , , , and operators. Media detection: Expose media player controls for registered types, like MPG, MOV, WMV, etc. Expose media player controls for registered types, like MPG, MOV, WMV, etc. RSS import: Expand the input processor to parse RSS feeds, i.e. other people's tags. Expand the input processor to parse RSS feeds, i.e. other people's tags. XML export: Allow download of an XML version of a current search, or all bookmarks. Allow download of an XML version of a current search, or all bookmarks. Link autopreview: Enable an Outlook-style bookmark preview pane. Enable an Outlook-style bookmark preview pane. OS X Dashboard integration: Port direc.tor to a Dashboard widget. The ultimate feature, though, would be to integrate some of this project directly into del.icio.us in order to eliminate the bootloading process altogether. I'm sure all you cats on delicious-discuss can come up with a collective feature list. I did this project to research different interface possibilities on other projects, so by all means, let me know if you're interested in helping make this a more mature service. Thanks go to the DHTML grandmaster, Nick Mealy, and VMWare guru, John Zedlewski, for their help with this project.

Three missing boys found dead

Three missing boys found dead Father finds young friends in car trunk Sheets were hung around the car where three boys were found dead Friday night. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Police Crime, Law and Justice or or Create Your Own CAMDEN, New Jersey (CNN) -- Three young boys missing for two days were found dead Friday night in the trunk of a car by one child's father, who jumped away screaming and sobbing after his grim discovery. Later he fell to the ground yelling, "Let me go! Let me go!" as several men sought to hold and console him. A large crowd quickly gathered, crying and shouting, not far from the home of one of the children, 11-year-old Anibal Cruz. Cruz, 6-year-old Daniel Agosto and 5-year-old Jesstin Pagan had been missing since Wednesday. "We are saddened by the events that have turned up this evening," Police Chief Edwin J. Figueroa told reporters late Friday. "As you know ... the three children have been found, and they were found in the trunk of a car." The cause of their deaths is unknown, and police were not ruling out the possibility that it was an accident, Figueroa said. He said the car -- a maroon Toyota Camry -- was an older model, and had no device in the trunk that would allow someone inside to open it. Figueroa said he didn't know when the autopsies would be completed. "Preliminary indications show that the vehicle was located there" when the hunt for the boys got under way in that area Thursday morning with the help of a bloodhound, he said. "We know the car was searched," Figueroa added. He said logs will be examined to find out which officers were at that site. Many police officers were extremely upset over the discovery of the bodies, he said. "We have a very fresh and active investigation in this case," said Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi at the same news conference. "There are many issues that we have to look into." The families of the children, he said, were "extremely distraught and grieving." They were receiving counseling to help them cope with their losses. Sarubbi initially said investigators were treating the area where the car was found as a crime scene, but then said it was an "open investigation. We haven't determined whether this was foul play or just a tragic accident." The bodies were found about 7 p.m. in the Cramer Hill neighborhood. After the discovery, police cordoned off the area with crime tape, then hung sheets over it to hide the car from view near a wooded area. The children were last seen around 5 p.m. Wednesday playing in the side yard of Cruz's home. Daniel Agosto lived nearby, while Jesstin Pagan lived farther away. Elba Cruz, Anibal's mother, said she left the three children playing in the yard for five to 10 minutes while she cooked dinner. When she returned, they were gone. There was a massive search for the boys by police, firefighters and other officials, using dogs, helicopters and boats. Police had said they did an exhaustive search of the entire neighborhood, about three square miles. Earlier Friday, police announced a $9,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the boys. CNN's Allan Chernoff contributed to this report. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

Iran hardliner sweeps to victory

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented himself as a humble alternative Mr Ahmadinejad won 62% of votes, defying predictions of a close race, to defeat the more moderate ex-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. After his win, Mr Ahmadinejad said he planned to create a "modern, advanced and Islamic" role model for the world. His victory means all the organs of the Iranian state are now in the hands of conservative hardliners. Mr Ahmadinejad, 49, who campaigned on a conservative Islamic platform, had surprised observers by beating five other candidates in the first round to reach the run-off. The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says his taped statement, broadcast on state radio after the result was announced, was aimed at easing worries about his conservative views. Some 22 million people voted in this run-off poll - a turnout of 60%, down from 63% in the first round a week ago. Our correspondent says it was Mr Ahmadinejad's appeal to the poor that seems to be the secret to his success. Despite Iran's huge oil wealth the country has high unemployment and a big gap between rich and poor. 'Flawed' election Mr Ahmadinejad has also pledged to tackle corruption and resist Western "decadence". The US said the election was "flawed" and described it as "out of step" with regional trends towards democracy. In Washington, a state department official said the US would judge Iran under Mr Ahmadinejad by its actions. "In light of the way these elections were conducted, however, we remain sceptical that the Iranian regime is interested in addressing either the legitimate desires of its own people, or the concerns of the broader international community," the spokeswoman said. UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said there were "serious deficiencies" in the election, noting that many reformists, and all women candidates, had been barred from standing. "I hope that under Mr Ahmadinejad's presidency, Iran will take early steps to address international concerns about its nuclear programme" as well as its policies toward terrorism, human rights and the Middle East peace process, Mr Straw said in a statement. 'Profound humiliation' Supporters of Mr Rafsanjani said before the result that victory for Mr Ahmadinejad would signal voting fraud. Reformist candidates accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Basij security services of orchestrating a plot to boost Mr Ahmadinejad. Interior ministry officials monitoring polling stations received some 300 complaints of electoral violations in Tehran alone, the Associated Press news agency reports. The Islamic regime that has lost popular support is now seeking to renew itself by playing a new trick M A Abdulqadir, Irbil, Iraq Iranian election: Your views The Guardian Council, which ran the poll, has dismissed allegations of election fraud. Mr Ahmadinejad will be Iran's first non-cleric president for 24 years when he takes office in August. Iran's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, banned both camps from celebrating victory and urged people to keep off the streets. He said the election result was a "profound humiliation" for the US.

Prosecutor: New Jersey boys' deaths accidental

Prosecutor: New Jersey boys' deaths accidental Bodies of missing boys found late Friday in car trunk YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Police New Jersey or or Create Your Own CAMDEN, New Jersey (CNN) -- Autopsy results show three boys found dead in a car trunk suffocated, and their deaths have been ruled accidental, Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi said Saturday. Sarubbi said there were no signs of foul play in the deaths of 11-year-old Anibal Cruz, 6-year-old Daniel Agosto and 5-year-old Jesstin Pagan, which he called a "horrible, tragic and unexplainable incident." At least one of the children, he said, had a history of playing in the car, and investigators believe the three boys climbed into the trunk themselves. The trunk's lid closed automatically, Sarubbi said. Authorities believe the children had been in the trunk since about 5 p.m. Wednesday night, when they were last seen playing in a side yard of the home where Cruz lived. Questions were raised about why police officers and others conducting a massive search for the children checked the vehicle but apparently did not open the trunk. A panel will be appointed to investigate those questions and issue a report within 30 days, Sarubbi said at a news conference. Also speaking at the Saturday news conference, Camden Police Chief Edwin Figueroa said if investigators had checked the trunk when they were first called in, the children might have survived. "It's premature to determine what mistakes were made, if any mistakes were made," said Figueroa. "Let me just tell you, I feel very bad, just like the community and other police officers, that three children were found in the trunk of a vehicle," he said. "I think that alone is a tragic situation. We certainly feel for the parents, who are right now grieving for those small children." He added, "I can't guess what kind of speculation or what went on in the individual minds of police officers that were out there." Elba Cruz, Anibal's mother, has said she left the three children playing in the yard while she went inside for five to 10 minutes to cook dinner. When she returned, they were gone. The car was parked just in a shady area about 30 yards from the back of the Cruz home. Sarubbi said he could not explain how, if the children tried to call out for help, no one heard them. Sarubbi said he did not know how long the children could have survived in the trunk, adding that the medical examiner listed the boys' time of death as unknown. "We may never know the answer," he said. The medical examiner may issue a more extensive report later addressing the issue, he said. The car, which belonged to Elba Cruz's mother, Carmen Lopez, was not operational because of a brake problem, Sarubbi said. It had last been driven about three weeks ago. The older-model maroon Toyota Camry did not have a mechanism that allowed the trunk lid to stay open independently when raised, Sarubbi said. "When the children got in the trunk, there was no automatic means to hold the trunk lid open ... In all likelihood, it locked." Investigators examining the car had to use two-by-fours to prop the lid open, he said. A bag of cement was on one side of the trunk and had broken open, spilling the substance onto the children. Sarubbi would not say whether there were any signs that the boys had tried to escape. He said out of concern for the children's families he did not want to go into detail. The car's rear seats did flip down to allow trunk access, but the seats were locked, he said, and there was no indication the boys had tried to get out that way. The boys' bodies were found Friday night, when a relative opened the trunk looking for jumper cables to use on his own car battery, Sarubbi said. The father of one of the children, who was standing behind the car when the relative pulled the latch from inside the car, jumped away screaming and sobbing after the grim discovery. Asked about a onetime person of interest in the case, Sarubbi would not disclose why police wanted to talk with the man but said that obviously, his involvement had been ruled out. CNN's Mary Snow contributed to this report. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

Moving: How to Avoid Being Scammed by Moving Companies

The number one question MovingScam.com receives is “Can you recommend a good moving company?”. If the answer to that question was easy, then there wouldn’t be a reason for maintaining a web site called MovingScam.com (see our article “How to Find a Reputable Moving Company” for more information). Currently moving companies are overseen by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), part of the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT). The last we knew, the FMCSA had only nine investigators to handle all of the thousands of complaints against moving companies each year. What does that mean for consumers? It means this: Most complaints against movers are overlooked and the consumer becomes a statistic while no action is ever taken against the moving company. When Congress dissolved the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1995, they also removed the authority from the FMCSA to step in on a consumer’s behalf if they are taken advantage of by a moving company. In other words, they don’t have the authority to help you even if they want to. If an investigation does occur, it takes months if not years for the FMCSA to, yes, get this… Fine the moving company. The scam moving companies get away with not paying the fines and if they did, the consumers don’t see a dime of their money back. The money from the moving company’s fines go to pay for highway improvements! There are in fact laws governing moving companies, but the moving industry is unique in having special privileges and protections that no other industry could even imagine enjoying. How did we get here? The interstate household goods moving industry was “price-deregulated” with the Household Goods Transportation Act of 1980. This Act allowed interstate moving companies to issue binding or fixed estimates for the first time. Until then, the moving industry was overseen by the ICC like a public utility (like phone and electricity services). There were only a handful of companies, now known as the “major” van lines, that were allowed to transport household goods interstate, and they all charged according to their tariff — a schedule of rates and services — which had a built-in profit. ALL estimates were non-binding. Movers sold themselves on service, not price. The profit margin was very thin, but there was profit. When the Household Good Transportation Act was passed in 1980, not only could moving companies now compete on price by giving consumers binding estimates, but also there was a provision in the Act that new companies could enter the market. Regarding the “freedom” to give binding estimates, was something the major players didn’t want. For a while some carriers just had a policy of sticking to non-binding estimates only. But because customers wanted the price certainty of binding estimates, those companies finally caved in and started issuing binding moving estimates too. So how did the moving industry end up with a special governing body to oversee it in the first place? There is a federal statute enacted in 1906 called the Carmack Amendment. It was originally enacted in response to railroad barons who controlled the few railroads in existence and who were giving their friends favors in transportation rates and squeezing small farmers and everyone else. Back then, railroads were the major method of transporting goods across the still-developing country, and so the ICC was set up, in effect, to regulate the monopoly that was the railroads. The Carmack Amendment forbade “price discrimination”; that is, the railroad baron had to charge a set rate (contained in the railroad’s tariff), approved by the ICC, to all shippers. When roads and trucking later arose, the ICC started overseeing that, too. The major van lines and their agent system first got organized, and wrote their tariffs, in the 1930s. OK, fast forward to 1980 and beyond. Because of the Household Goods Transportation Act of 1980, by the late 1990’s there were hundreds of interstate moving companies in existence, all with their own “interstate operating authority” granted to them by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). (Compare that with the handful of companies who had interstate operating authority pre-1980.) Now, anyone can be an interstate mover. It used to take 5 years to get interstate operating authority. Now it takes 3 weeks. Throw into this mix the fact that moving companies were now, theoretically, competing on price and quality of service. The competition was so fierce, and the moving companies so numerous, that low-balling moving estimates soon became a popular practice. Of course, low-balling doesn’t pay if the moving company doesn’t practice hostage-freight taking (price-gouging during the move) as well, because the mover has to make money somehow. The need to low-ball to get moves, a direct consequence of the Household Transportation Act of 1980, is responsible for many of the abuses in the moving industry today. The ability of moving companies to get away with it, however, is caused by the Carmack Amendment. So what’s the problem caused by the Carmack Amendment? Carmack purports to govern every single aspect of the shipping transaction. In the late 1990s, several courts handed down decisions interpreting Carmack as being so thorough and far-reaching that it “preempts” all other remedies that would otherwise be available to a plaintiff-shipper under state law. That is, suing for fraud under state consumer fraud/deceptive practices statutes was preempted. That means that an interstate mover can tell you: “I guarantee you that your move will cost only $2000,” while intending to hold your goods hostage for $4000 at destination while knowing all the while that there’s nothing you can do about it. Believe it or not, should he do that, according to these courts, you can only sue the mover under Carmack (not for state fraud, etc.), and Carmack, in turn, will allow you to ONLY get your $2000 overcharge back from the moving company. Believe it or not, a mover’s “punishment” for stealing from you is to give back what he stole, and that’s only if he gets caught and someone forces him to give it back which is no small undertaking in itself. Overall, it’s a pretty sweet situation for moving companies, wouldn’t you say? So that is what “deregulation” in interstate moving is about. It’s about PRICE deregulation and “ENTRY INTO THE MARKET” deregulation, coupled with the unfortunate decisions of certain courts in the late 1990s that moving companies can only get a slap on the wrist for even the worst abuses. The ICC’s disbandment in 1995 was just the last nail on the coffin — by then, the ICC couldn’t really oversee the industry anyway, since so many movers had entered the market and “tariffs” were now anachronisms. In today’s environment of price competition, the current scamming will continue (and get worse) unless there are mechanisms for the consumer to force the mover to stick to his price bid. Those mechanisms are police intervention, punitive damages, and actual enforcement of regulations by the FMCSA. Consumers need to fight back. Talk to your local police, and file complaints with the FMCSA and DOT. Get in touch with your local, state, and federal reps, and tell them that you want them to support consumer protections. Call your local media – newspapers, television stations. Get a web site of your own and get the word out. Whatever you can do to let other consumers know what’s going on in the moving industry.

U.S. Has Plans to Again Make Own Plutonium

Plutonium 238 has no central role in nuclear arms. Instead, it is valued for its steady heat, which can be turned into electricity. Nuclear batteries made of it are best known for powering spacecraft that go where sunlight is too dim to energize solar cells. For instance, they now power the Cassini probe exploring Saturn and its moons. Federal and private experts unconnected to the project said the new plutonium would probably power devices for conducting espionage on land and under the sea. Even if no formal plans now exist to use the plutonium in space for military purposes, these experts said that the material could be used by the military to power compact spy satellites that would be hard for adversaries to track, evade or destroy. "It's going to be a tough world in the next one or two decades, and this may be needed," said a senior federal scientist who helps the military plan space missions and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the possibility that he would contradict federal policies. "Technologically, it makes sense." Early in the nuclear era, the government became fascinated by plutonium 238 and used it regularly to make nuclear batteries that worked for years or decades. Scores of them powered satellites, planetary probes and spy devices, at times with disastrous results. In 1964, a rocket failure led to the destruction of a navigation satellite powered by plutonium 238, spreading radioactivity around the globe and starting a debate over the event's health effects. In 1965, high in the Himalayas, an intelligence team caught in a blizzard lost a plutonium-powered device meant to spy on China. And in 1968, an errant weather satellite crashed into the Pacific, but federal teams managed to recover its plutonium battery intact from the Santa Barbara Channel, off California. Such accidents cooled enthusiasm for the batteries. But federal agencies continued to use them for a more limited range of missions, including those involving deep-space probes and top-secret devices for tapping undersea cables.

Ten things I learned about the future at the Wired NextFest

This past Saturday, a friend and I hit the Wired NextFest down at Chicago's Navy Pier. The event promised visitors that they could "experience the future," and as a tech writer I couldn't pass that opportunity up. I kind of wish I had, though, because after spending a few hours at the NextFest I'm sad to report that the future ain't what it used to be. Maybe I was expecting to relive my first visit to Epcot Center as a child, or maybe I'm just jaded in my old age. Whatever the cause, my trip to the future was more educational than inspirational. Here are ten things I learned about the future at the Wired NextFest, in no particular order. 1. The people of the future are a scantily clad people. They delight in showing off their naked, tattooed flesh. Or, maybe that's just the people of Chicago's Navy Pier in the summer. 2. In the future, the airport security checkpoint will look and function exactly the same way as does now, except that the scanning technology that powers it will be different. For instance, at the GE-manufactured checkpoint that I saw, the machine supposedly sniffs you for bomb residue. Interestingly enough, there was a long line of people waiting to go through that checkpoint and be checked for bomb residue, which is something that just baffled me. I mean, don't people dread going through the checkpoint at airport security? Why voluntarily stand in line in order to pass through an airport security scanner if you don't have to? It's not like the machine did anything other than flash a little green light saying you were free of bomb residue. Truly, the long line of people who just couldn't wait to go through that security checkpoint was probably the most bizarre thing that I saw at the entire NextFest. I wonder if it was a kind of programmed reaction like, "oh look, a security checkpoint. I'd better get in that line and go through it. Everybody else is." If that's the way we've all been conditioned, then I fear for the future of the Republic. 3. The elderly Japanese people of the future will be so desperately lonely for companionship that they'll purchase slightly creepy android replicas of the drug-addled but brilliant sci-fi author Phillip K. Dick. Why the Japanese, and why Phillip K. Dick? It's a long story, and I'm not sure I fully understood it all when the android's makers explained it to me. I think I probably read the wrong books growing up as a kid, or maybe I now watch the wrong TV shows. I tried to convince the PKD android guys that if they were going to be in the business of making robotic replicas of famous, drugged-out writers, they should also consider offering a Hunter S. Thompson model. That way, at least the Japanese would have a choice of companions. I know if I were Japanese, I'd collect both models and watch them fight over a half gram of mescaline. On a more serious note, I think the PKD robot would've been a lot cooler and significantly less creepy if they'd have glued his hair on, instead of leaving the wires in the top of his head exposed. But hey, PKD was an odd guy, and maybe he would've wanted it that way. 4. Speaking of the elderly, the senior citizens of the future won't roll around in wheelchairs—not even cool robotic wheelchairs like those invented by Dean Kamen. Instead, they'll have robotic exoskeletons that will make them much stronger and faster than the non-elderly. So in addition to being the largest voting block in future elections, they'll also have superhuman strength and speed. If I were a politician, I'd make sure that the elderly of the future get great healthcare coverage, and I wouldn't even think about doing anything to reduce their social security benefits. You do not want to incur the wrath of our robotically enhanced, geriatric overlords (or their Phillip K. Dick android companions). 5. In the future, most robots will look pretty much like the robots of the future have looked since at least the 1970's. About the only difference is that any antennae attached to a 1970's future robot were spiral shaped and had a tiny ball on the tip. The current thinking is that future robots will have straight antennae with no ball, and maybe a plastic coating instead of just bare wire. 6. Apple's market share doesn't change much in the future. Out of all the computers I saw at the NextFest, only one was a Mac. Sorry Steve, but the people of the future are still using Windows. At least you can gloat that they're all still running Windows 2000. From what I saw, Windows XP never really catches on in the future, and Longhorn is nowhere to be seen at all. I did see a flying car though, and maybe it was running the embedded version of Longhorn. 7. On the weekends, the people of the future will take to the water in dolphin-shaped craft that don't look nearly as much fun to drive as a Seadoo of today. Hey, the future isn't always better than the present. Sometimes we have to settle for less. The good news is that the robotic dolphin is too small to accommodate a human who's equipped with an exoskeleton, which means that if you're being pursued by a senior citizen then you can use the dolphin to escape. 8. Dolphin watercraft aren't the only form of future transportation that's a bit cramped. The electrically powered cars of the future will be quite small. In fact, when I first laid eyes on the tiny DaimlerChrysler two-seaters that GE was exhibiting, I asked the exhibitor if the cars were perhaps meant to be attached to the sides of a larger SUV, in case you run out of gas. 9. Future entertainment will follow the trends that were established with the rise of disco. First, they replaced the live band with a DJ. Next, they'll replace the DJ with a large, floor-mounted robotic arm. Also, the robo-DJs will have numbers instead of names; I asked the exhibitor lady about this. Honestly, it's not even as cool as it sounds. It's also not one of those "you had to be there" things, because I was there and, meh. Vinyl aficionados can rejoice, though, because vinyl records are still around. 10. In a future 9/11-style scenario, where the top of a high-rise building is on fire, a Moller Aircar will rescue the building's inhabitants one at a time. At least, that's how it will be if Moller's combination CGI and live action promotional video is to be believed. I guess future high-rises will house only a handful of highly productive office workers, because you can't save that many people in a two-seater aircar. Or, it may be the case that in the video I saw, only the CEO was saved. The rest of the employees were either burned alive or, more likely, were safe at their desks in Bangladesh.

Video game sales up, but are they at the expense of sports ratings?

Previously, we have reported that kids these days prefer playing video games to taking part in sports. Not really any surprises there — when it's 90 ºF outside I'd rather be on the couch with the PS2 or Xbox than whacking a ball with a stick. But according to a report in the New York Times, the video game culture isn't just affecting sports participation. Viewing figures for sporting events are dropping, and video game sales are taking up the slack. Since 2000, television broadcast ratings for almost all major sports have fallen among male viewers between 12 and 34. Even Nascar, whose ratings have generally been hailed by the industry as healthy, has suffered a modest decline, according to Nielsen Media Research. Over the same period, sales of sports video games in the United States have risen by about 34 percent, to more than $1.2 billion last year from slightly less than $900 million in 2000, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm. Young men are also the core market for video games. As technology increases to the point where video games are looking more and more realistic, the immersion factor increases, and the ability to take part in the action rather than simply watch it passively is highly appealing. The World Rally Championship, it's popularity boosted in recent years by games such as Colin McRae's Rally, introduced a new telemetry system in recent years, with an eventual goal of allowing game players online to compete virtually against the real stars. Obivously without the risk to life and limb that hurtling through a Swedish forest in the dark entails. Now, I'm aware that correlation is not the same as causation, and that the decline in sports figures may well have other causes, but there's something tempting about playing as the Chicago Cubs and winning the World Series, rather than have a guy in the stands snatch defeat from the jaws of victory to continue nine decades of heartbreak. And after wasting my time and money at Indianapolis this past weekend, I'd love an opportunity to take to the track in a virtual F1 car, if only to repeatedly run down Max Mosely.

File-sharing suffers major defeat

Millions of people swap music via file-sharing networks The surprise ruling could start a legal assault on the creators of file-sharing networks such as Grokster and Morpheus. The case was brought by 28 movie and music makers who claimed that rampant piracy was denting profits. The Supreme Court judges were expected to rule in favour of the file-sharers because of legal precedents set when video recorders first appeared. Big win The unanimous ruling is a victory for recording companies and film studios in what is widely seen as one of the most important copyright cases in years. Andrew Lack, chief executive of Sony BMG, said his company would pursue those who failed to comply with the law. "The court made it very clear that we can go after damages and that we can chase them out," Mr Lack told BBC World's World Business Report. "We will do that if necessary, but my hope is that we will find new bridges to legitimise a lot of services that formerly were confused about what was right and wrong, legal and illegal." The legal case against Streamcast Networks - which makes the software behind Grokster and Morpheus - began in October 2001 when 28 media companies filed their legal complaint. The complaint alleged that Streamcast was prospering on the back of the unfettered piracy taking place on the file-sharing networks. However, the attempts to win damages suffered a series of defeats as successive courts sided with the file-sharing networks. The judges in those lower courts cited a ruling made in 1984 over Sony's Betamax video recorder. In that case, the Supreme Court said that the majority of people using a video recorder for legal uses outweighed any illegal use of the technology. In the ruling Justice David Souter wrote: "The question is under what circumstances the distributor of a product capable of both lawful and unlawful use is liable for acts of copyright infringement by third parties using the product." He added: "We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright ... is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties." Reaction to the ruling was swift. Dan Glickman, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, said: "Today's unanimous ruling is an historic victory for intellectual property in the digital age, and is good news for consumers, artists, innovation and lawful Internet businesses." John Kennedy, head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said: "It quite simply destroys the argument that peer-to-peer services bear no responsibility for illegal activities that take place on their networks." In other decisions on Monday, the Supreme Court: ruled against the display of the Ten Commandments inside two Kentucky courtrooms but approved a monument to the same in Texas declined to hear appeals by two US journalists facing a contempt ruling by a lower court over their investigation into an alleged White House intelligence leak overturned a ruling that cable operators' high-speed internet lines must be opened up to rivals. One expected announcement that did not appear concerned the retirement of 80-year-old Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Justice Rehnquist is suffering from thyroid cancer, breathes through a tracheal tube and struggled to talk during a speech closing the current court term that thanked court workers. Unseen effects In its ruling the Supreme Court said there was "substantial evidence" that Streamcast Networks had "induced" people to use its software to illegally share copyrighted files. It is unclear yet what action this ruling will prompt from movie studios and music makers who brought the original case. It could mean claims for substantial damages from Streamcast or moves to get the file-sharing networks shut down. It is unclear what effect the ruling will have on use of digital media He said it would mean that users would have to get used to paying for music. Michael McGuire, from analyst firm GartnerG2, said: "It's something of a surprise. It will be interesting to see how record labels respond. It could be argued that these peer-to-peer services were the most efficient way to deliver rich media." The decision could also have an impact on any technology firm developing gadgets or devices that let people enjoy media on the move. If strictly interpreted the ruling means that these hi-tech firms will have to try to predict the ways people can use these devices to pirate copyrighted media and install controls to stop this infringement. The ruling could also prompt a re-drafting of copyright laws by the US Congress.

Oilman, investor T. Boone Pickens sees $3 gas, oil shortage

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Gasoline prices, reversing a two-month slide, are again approaching records and at least one expert thinks they could hit $3 a gallon soon in the United States. "We'll see it within a year," T. Boone Pickens, head of the billion-dollar hedge fund BP Capital Management, said on CNN's "In The Money" over the weekend. Pickens noted the discrepancy between $2 a gallon gas in the US and $5 a gallon gas in Europe. "The energy situation is global," he said. "I know there are taxes involved in the pricing...but eventually it's going to have to move up." Gasoline prices mounted a renewed surge last month, with regular self serve rising 8 cents to average $2.21 a gallon, according to a survey released Sunday. That's just 7 cents below the all-time high set April 8. Pickens said a shortage of oil is the main reason behind the price increase and didn't see how the world could produce more than the current 84 to 85 million barrels a day that currently comes out of the ground. "We're coming up on a brick wall," he said. "The fourth quarter this year is going to maybe be the most interesting quarter I've ever experienced in my 50 years in the oil industry." The fourth quarter typically sees the highest demand for oil as northern countries stock up on heating oil for the winter months. Oil prices closed at a new record high Friday, with current quarter U.S. crude settling at $59.84 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. crude was trading above $60 a barrel Monday. While $60 oil is a record in nominal terms, adjusted for inflation, oil would have traded at over $80 a barrel during the late 1970s. Pickens said the economy is less dependent on oil today than it was in the 1970s and that it can apparently handle oil in the $50 range, but was unsure what effect $60 or $70 oil would have on future economic growth. Where is all that oil money going? Click here. Has OPEC lost its bite? Click here.

Google passes $300

Shares of the popular search engine pass $300 for the first time and are now up 260% since IPO. Googly-eyed: Shares of Google have continued to soar since going public last August. More about Google and Net stocks • • • • • • • • NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Shares of Google, the popular search-engine company, surpassed the $300 level for the first time on Monday, sparking memories of the dot-com stock craze of the late 1990s. Google (Research) gained 2.3 percent to finish at $304.10, slightly below its high for the day of $304.30. The stock has now gained nearly 260 percent since it went public last August at $85 a share. Much of the optimism surrounding Google comes from the fact that it is the leader in the white-hot online advertising industry. The company reported much better than expected sales and earnings for the first quarter, thanks to a booming market for online advertising, particularly ads tied to specific keyword searches. And during the past few weeks, Google has released several new features -- including a desktop search function for businesses and a test version of a personalized home page tool -- that should help the company remain competitive against rivals Yahoo! (Research) and Microsoft (Research). Several analysts have also speculated that Google will soon launch an online payment service that could compete against eBay's (Research) PayPal. In addition, many investors have been betting that the company, which now has a market value of nearly $85 billion, will soon be added to the benchmark S&P 500 index. But the stock's meteoric rise as of late -- shares have surged more than 50 percent since the company reported first-quarter results in mid-April -- has some analysts thinking that the stock could take a hit in the near future. "You might see the stock pause temporarily," said Marianne Wolk, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group. "For the longer term, we're still very bullish but in the very short term it wouldn't be a surprise to see the stock stabilize or pull back." The key for Google will be how strong its second quarter results are. Google is set to report these numbers on July 21. Analysts expect Google's sales, excluding revenues it shares with affiliates, a figure known as traffic acquisition costs or TAC, to come in at $840 million, nearly double last year's levels. Earnings, excluding certain one-time charges, are forecast at $1.21, an increase of 121 percent from a year ago. Wolk thinks that Google should meet these targets but does not believe the company will report results that are significantly better than consensus projections. And if Google does not continue to beat estimates, the stock could take a bath. "For Google to keep heading higher, it's absolutely critical that they keep hitting numbers. Everyone now believes the story," said John Tinker, an analyst with ThinkEquity Partners. Still, many investors are finding it hard to bet against Google because it has been posting extremely strong levels of sales growth and healthy profit margins as a public company. So the comparisons to the late 1990s, when shares of many unprofitable Internet companies soared solely due to hype, may not be apt. To that end, Google is expected to generate nearly $3.6 billion in sales, excluding TAC and revenue of $5 billion next year as the company continues to benefit from a shift of advertising dollars from more mainstream media sources such as television, radio, and newspapers, to the Web. In addition to its ubiquitous search engine, Google has branched out into related areas in order to capitalize on the boom in online advertising. The company has a comparison shopping site, Froogle, a free e-mail service called Gmail which features ads embedded in e-mails, and a local search site that operates as kind of a Web version of the Yellow Pages. Google also has expanded rapidly abroad, with sales from outside the U.S. accounting for nearly 40 percent of total sales in the first quarter. What's more, some argue that Google is not overvalued, since it continues to trade at a discount to its top rival, Yahoo. However, this gap has narrowed significantly as of late. Google's price-to-earnings ratio, based on 2005 earnings estimates, is 58. Yahoo trades at 61.5 times earnings estimates for this year. "Google is not an undiscovered stock any more," said Tinker. "It's no longer inefficiently priced." And Google also potentially faces the issue of the summer sluggishness that typically affects Internet stocks. Last year, shares of several Internet companies plunged in July as results did not live up to lofty expectations. "I'd rather be a little conservative in the face of a seasonal slowdown. It's not worth stepping up to the plate now," said Clayton Moran, an analyst with Stanford Financial Group. "If Google does miss earnings, the stock will pull back a lot more than it will go up if they beat. And if Google is going to miss, it would be the second quarter or third quarter." Is Google still a buy? Click here. For a look at Google and other Internet stocks, click here. Analysts quoted in this story do not own shares of the companies mentioned and their firms have no investment banking ties to the companies.

AMD sues Intel for monopoly abuse

Intel's computer chips are used in the majority of personal computers The lawsuit covers x86 microprocessors, used to run PC operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Linux systems. AMD said its lawsuit alleges that Intel has coerced customers away from dealing with AMD, and is based on evidence obtained from 38 companies. Intel has declined to comment on the lawsuit filed by AMD. AMD filed its case in a federal court in the US state of Delaware on Monday. Market dominance "Everywhere in the world, customers deserve freedom of choice and the benefits of innovation, and these are being stolen away in the microprocessor," said AMD president and chief executive Hector Ruiz. We are trying to bust open Intel's chokehold over the computer companies AMD's lawyer Charles Diamond Intel dominates global sales of x86 microprocessors with 80% of sales by volume and 90% by revenue, according to AMD. A report on first quarter 2005 microprocessor sales by independent research firm Mercury found Intel had 82% of the PC processor market and AMD had 17%, with VIA and Transmeta mopping up the rest, The Register website reported. AMD alleges that Intel has used its position to force major customers, such as NEC, Acer and Fujitsu, into exclusive deals or to cap customer purchases of AMD chips. Its lawsuit quotes then-Compaq chief executive Michael Capellas saying that Intel once withheld delivery of certain chips as punishment for the level of Compaq's business with AMD. "Saying 'he had a gun to his head', Mr Capellas told AMD he had to stop buying," AMD's statement said. In another example, AMD quotes Gateway executives who said Intel had "beaten them into 'guacamole'" in retaliation for doing business with AMD. "We are trying to bust open Intel's chokehold over the computer companies and get the right to compete freely and fairly for every processor they buy," said Charles Diamond, attorney for AMD.

NY unveils revised Freedom Tower

The tower has been redesigned more than once The Freedom Tower is being built on the site of the Twin Towers destroyed in the 11 September 2001 attacks. Architects redesigned it after police expressed concern that the 1,776-foot (540-metre) building could be vulnerable to truck bomb attacks. Under new plans it is further from the road and has a strengthened structure. The redesign calls for a concrete and steel pedestal, clad in ornamental metalwork, and topped by a tower of glass. The building is capped with a mast incorporating an antenna, which is meant to evoke the torch of the Statue of Liberty. "This new design reflects a soaring tribute to freedom and a bedrock commitment to safety and security," New York Governor George Pataki said. Completion delay The symbolic height - which in feet refers to the year of the American Declaration of Independence - is one of the few features left from the initial plans. The building's chief architect said he felt better about the new one than the original. WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE TIMELINE July 2002: Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) releases six initial design concepts and, in following months, launches global search for design and planning professionals Dec 2002: LMDC releases nine initial designs and launches outreach campaign to engage public in planning process Feb 2003: Memory Foundations by Studio Daniel Libeskind selected as plan Sept 2003: Release of refined master site plan July 2004: The cornerstone of the new building is laid Libeskind: Visionary architect The Freedom Tower's cornerstone was laid last July, but an assessment by the New York Police Department urged architects to rethink some elements of its structure. Police feared it would be difficult to protect the building against a possible truck bomb because of the heavy traffic along nearby West Street. Under the new plans, the distance from West Street has been increased from 25 feet (7.6 metres) to an average of 90 feet (28 metres), AP reports. Rows and hitches The project has been mired in controversy. Initial designs for a replacement for the World Trade Center were greeted with disappointment by the public. In 2003 the plan submitted by architect Daniel Libeskind was selected, but the boldness of his original proposals was later toned down. A lower insurance payout on the Twin Towers than had been expected by the leaseholder further complicated the project. And victims' relatives argued that construction would damage the foundations of the Twin Towers, which they regard a piece of American history. The building is due to be completed by the end of the decade. The skyscraper is planned to be among the tallest buildings in the world.

HIV drug target 'will not be met'

By Karen Allen BBC News health correspondent HIV is a major problem in the developing world World Health Organisation figures reveal just one million people are receiving life saving treatment. Senior WHO figures say that is double the number who were on drugs when the target was set in December 2003. But 40 million people are infected with HIV globally, with around six million in the developing world seriously ill. The challenges in providing sustainable care in resource-poor settings are enormous Lee Jong-Wook When the WHO announced the "three by five" target in December 2003 - giving Aids drugs to three million people in the developing world by the end of 2005 - it knew that achieving it would be tough. At the time just 400,000 people were receiving the drugs. But with six months to go until the deadline expires, WHO officials are clearly disappointed that more progress has not been made. They argue that in the past few months there has been a huge escalation in efforts to get medicines to those who need them. Barriers to access But obstacles remain. There are not enough single pill versions of drugs, there are very few aids medicines for children and technical problems with supplies persist. Many countries also lack a co-ordinated strategy to get drugs out and sufficient staff to monitor patients on the treatment. There has also been a spiralling demand for anti-retorivirals - as more people receive these potentially life-saving drugs, more and more are coming forward for HIV testing. With the G8 meeting in Gleneagles next week, the WHO is hoping that the $27bn pledged globally for HIV treatment for the period 2005-2007 will be converted into hard cash. However, aid agencies have warned that only half the money needed to fund HIV treatment this year has been handed over. And a WHO progress report says an additional $18bn above what has already been pledged will be required, to finance the drugs rollout over the next three years. WHO Director-general Lee Jong-Wook said: "This is the first time that complex therapy for a chronic condition has been introduced at anything approaching this scale in the developing world. "The challenges in providing sustainable care in resource-poor settings are enormous, as we expected them to be. "But every day demonstrates that this type of care can and must be provided." UK position The British government has already pledged to ensure there is universal access to treatment by 2010. That would mean delivering drugs to 6 million people - double the WHO target. Gareth Thomas, a minister at the Department for International Development said the UK had played a leading role in rolling out treatments that had probably resulted in 500,000 deaths being averted this year alone. "As the WHO acknowledge, substantial progress is being made in expanding access to treatment. "However, we have introduced these treatments from a standing start in many countries that lack facilities and staff. "We have been urging donors across the world to take a comprehensive response on Aids. "One that invests in wider health systems, in order to get the medical staff and facilities that makes it possible to prevent and treat Aids. "We need the drugs but we also need the staff to diagnose patients; test people for drug resistance and undertake extensive prevention work."

News & Media

During Friday’s Board of Visitors meeting, William & Mary’s rector and president announced a path forward to rebuild trust and open dialogue with the community following the recent announcement to eliminate seven varsity sports programs. The funds, along with a bridge grant of $50,000, will establish permanent support for the Osher Institute at William & Mary. Construction on William & Mary’s new performing arts facilities is continuing this fall after being delayed early in the calendar year due to unforeseen increases in construction costs. W&M board approves principles for naming, renaming campus spaces William & Mary’s Board of Visitors today adopted a set of principles and imperatives for the naming and renaming of structures and spaces on campus. W&M alumni adjusting to remote teaching in special education classes As the pandemic continues, teachers across the country — at all levels — are conducting their classrooms online. For those who work in special education, it’s been particularly challenging. From students to faculty: Alumni use their W&M experiences to teach the next generation What’s it like to see William & Mary from both sides of the classroom — as a student and then as a faculty member? We spoke with alumni faculty members to see what it's like to come full circle. W&M to hold virtual Homecoming this October What’s Homecoming without, well, coming home to campus? It’s a new opportunity to bring the beloved tradition directly to the William & Mary community, wherever that community may be. Duke Award winner Kathleen Morgan ‘knows her stuff,’ and it shows Morgan, W&M's associate director for faculty personnel services in Arts & Sciences, received the Charles and Virginia Duke Award, which honors exemplary service to the university by someone who is not a student or instructional faculty member. Polling during a pandemic: Pollsters face many unknowns heading into presidential election W&M Assistant Professor Mackenzie Israel-Trummel, who teaches a course on survey and polling analysis, says predicting the election outcome could be difficult under current circumstances. Swem relocates collection to expand study space An expanded first-floor study area at Swem Library will provide ample study space for students, even under current physical distancing guidelines. W&M’s undergraduate teaching lauded by U.S. News William & Mary offers some of the most exceptional undergraduate teaching in the country and boasts a higher alumni giving rate than any other public university, according to a report released today by U.S. News and World Report. Shoulder cams, computerized explosions: How to teach labs during a pandemic William & Mary’s STEM faculty across several departments have some up with a variety of creative — and even ingenuous — solutions to conducting lab sections in a pandemic. Exploring the use of deceptive technology in the U.S. and abroad In her award-winning paper, W&M student Megan Hogan ’21 examines the use of deepfake technology as a form of national defense. Now she plans to combat disinformation during the 2020 Presidential election. Read More News

Roddick, at 22, Aims to Show That He Can Still Be a Factor

All England Club officials have taken time to explain their rationale to Hewitt, but he has made it clear that his seeding rankles and that he would have preferred to face Federer in the final. "It's a strange situation," Hewitt said. "I don't know how many times it would have happened that the top two ranked players would be playing in a semifinal in a Slam." But though Roddick drew the longer straw, he will not be an overwhelming favorite in his semifinal. Unlike the other semifinalists, Johansson, the unpretentious Swede, is no international celebrity, but he is, like the other semifinalists, a Grand Slam champion, having won the 2002 Australian Open. A knee injury kept him from building on that breakthrough and forced him to miss the entire 2003 season. Despite his remarkable serve, fine returns and compact strokes, he had never before made it past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. But he has won minor grass-court tournaments in Halle, Germany, and Nottingham, England. "A lot of people, they say this is just once in a lifetime," Johansson said of his surprise Australian Open victory, in which he outplayed Marat Safin in the final. "I did not feel like that, because I've been in the quarterfinal of the U.S. Open twice, and I've been a top 10 before. I know that when I play my best tennis, I can compete with the big boys." Considering that Johansson is 30 and Roddick is still 22, he is more the man among the big boys, but both generations have the same objective: a second major title. Roddick won his at the 2003 United States Open, but has not been past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event since Wimbledon last year. "I think obviously to win Wimbledon is a big thing," Goldfine said. "But I think also everything that has been kind of written: What's wrong with Andy Roddick? Is he just a one-Slam wonder? All that stuff, he wants to prove everyone wrong. "He's definitely lost some close matches, so I think you understand why some of the things have been written. But that being said, I don't think that it is the case, and he obviously doesn't think that's the case, so now it's just a matter of proving it."

Taser controversy refuses to die

By Matthew Davis BBC News, Washington With electronic stun guns now being used by a growing number of UK police forces, BBC News examines the controversy in North America, where a series of deaths have put Tasers under fresh scrutiny. Robert Bagnell died after police shocked him with 50,000 volts When Robert Bagnell died in Canada last June, his family were told he had suffered a probable cocaine overdose. The truth emerged in fits and starts, however. They eventually learned that police had jolted him with 50,000 volts of electricity from a Taser gun. Officers said they had to subdue Mr Bagnell to save him from a fire. But a year on, questions over his death are still unanswered, while concerns over the safety of stun guns refuse to go away. The "less-than-lethal" weapons have been involved in 74 deaths in the United States and Canada, according to Amnesty International. These reports clearly indicate that the Taser technology, while not risk-free, is among the safest use-of-force options our law enforcement officers have Rick Smith Taser International Potomac Institute Stun Gun Report in full Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the reader here It also claims Tasers have been used gratuitously - against children or the elderly or on people posing no real threat. In a sign of mounting concern over the effects of the weapons, Chicago police halted deployment of Tasers in February after a teenager suffered cardiac arrest and a man died after being stunned. For Patti Gillman - Robert Bagnell's sister - too many mistakes are being made. "It is far more than a coincidence that my brother was shot by a Taser, then died of a heart failure. "We believe he was having a seizure at the time police stunned him. But he was unarmed, not posing a threat. "The first response should have been medical attention, not assaulting him with a weapon." Vancouver police say they are still awaiting a final report into the death, but believe stun guns are safe to use. Tasers 'relatively safe' The widely used M26 Taser gun delivers a 50,000-volt shock through two barbed darts, which incapacitate people for five seconds. The effects of the Taser gun are felt by officers training with it Rick Smith, CEO of Taser International, says that while it is "not risk-free" it is "among the safest use-of-force options our law enforcement officers have". He blames Amnesty's report for a downturn in business which has seen Taser's stock lose more than 60% of its value in the first quarter of this year, wiping $1.4bn off its market value. In a statement he said: "Anyone living in the real world in which law enforcement officers worldwide have to make split-second life or death decisions knows that Amnesty International's report and position is out of step with the needs of law enforcement concerning our proven life-saving technology." A report in March by the US Potomac Institute for Policy Studies said current research suggested stun guns were "relatively safe" when used appropriately. It noted that in all the cases in the Amnesty report, other factors like drug use and pre-existing heart conditions could also have led to the deaths. But the institute called for more research, particularly in understanding exactly how the weapons work on the body - and what the long-term side effects could be. 'Learn from mistakes' Meanwhile, the US National Institute of Justice (NIJ)is funding several studies in to what is describes as "less lethal weapons issues". I hope the British police, having given Canada and the US a bit of a head start, will tread carefully and learn from our mistakes Patti Gillman Q&A: The stun gun Last September it gave a $490,000 grant to the University of Wisconsin to study the effects of electro-muscular devices and how electrical currents move through the body. It is also funding a International Association of Chiefs of Police study on best practice in use of the weapons. The moves come as a number of UK police forces - where officers are not routinely armed - are embracing the weapons. In May, a Police Review survey of 100 officers found 80% thought that all officers on frontline duties should be issued with stun guns. More than half the public also want to see Tasers being deployed, according to the magazine, which polled 1,000 citizens. The UK Home Office believes Tasers are safe to use, but says their use should be restricted to firearms-trained officers. Patti Gillman, still searching for answers on her brother's death, sounded a cautionary note. "The Taser issue is controversial in Canada only in certain circles, but is mostly ignored by the mainstream public," she said. "But I suppose it's only background noise to most, until it enters your life as it did ours. "I hope the British police, having given Canada and the US a bit of a head start, will tread carefully and learn from our mistakes."

Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?

Political connections and family control are more common in Asian businesses than in the United States. In addition, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills, American CEOs tend to use one of five leadership styles: directive, participative, empowering, charismatic, or celebrity. Which styles have Asian business leaders adopted already, and which styles are likely to be most successful in the future? In a talk in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 at the invitation of The Star/BizWeek publication and the Harvard Club of Malaysia, Mills explained the differences and similarities between American and Asian leadership. Below is the transcript of his talk, "Leadership Styles in the United States: How Different are They from Asia?" The rapid economic development of Asia in recent decades is one of the most important events in history. This development continues today and there is every reason to anticipate that it will continue indefinitely unless derailed by possible but unlikely international conflicts. At the core of Asian economic development is its business leadership—managers and entrepreneurs who sustain and create Asian companies. Do they exhibit the same leadership styles as top executives in the West? There are important differences. Are differences attributable to different cultures or to different stages of corporate development? But first, what are we talking about? Roles in organizations involve more than just leadership. It is useful, but not yet common in our literature and discussion of business, to distinguish among leadership, management, and administration. They are in fact very different; each is valuable and has its place. Briefly, leadership is about a vision of the future and the ability to energize others to pursue it. Management is about getting results and doing so efficiently so that a financial profit or surplus is created. Administration is about rules and procedures and whether or not they are being followed. These distinctions are very important to clear communications among us about how organizations are run—when they are not made, we become very confused, as is much of the discussion around our topic. Briefly, running an organization effectively involves: Leadership: Vision Energizing Vision Energizing Management: Efficiency Results Efficiency Results Administration: Rules Procedures Our focus today is on leadership: how an executive sets direction and energizes his organization to pursue the direction. This is appropriate because managerial techniques are being spread fast by imitation, adoption, and MBA education. Administrative techniques were generalized around the world decades ago. So what is much different now is leadership. Family And Political Connections Cultural differences are important, but primarily as a matter of emphasis. For example, family leadership of business enterprises, including large companies, occurs in very similar ways in both [regions], but is more common in Asia. Li Ka-shing [of the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong holding group], for example, runs his companies closely and is planning to pass the leadership of his firms to his two sons. Similarly, the heads of some of America's largest firms, both publicly held and private, are the scions of the families that founded the firms. There is less freedom of action for executives and boards in America than in Asia. But more common in America are firms that are run by professional managers who are replaced by other professional managers, either as a consequence of retirement or of replacement by the board of directors of the firm. The better companies have sophisticated programs for developing executives within the firm, and ordinarily choose a next chief executive officer from among them. American CEOs average about thirty years with their firms and own less than 4 percent of its shares. There is a small number of firms, which get a great deal of publicity and so seem more numerous than they are, that hire CEOs directly from the outside, with no previous experience with the firm. These CEOs are driven by a need to excel in a competitive environment (they want to win), and they insist that money is less important to them than professional achievement; but it's hard to credit that given the enormous inflation of top executive compensation packages in America in the last decade. Many American firms, especially most of the large ones, are more dependent on capital markets for their capital (equity and debt) and so pay much more attention to Wall Street than is yet common in Asia. Wall Street has strong expectations about the behavior and performance of executives and about succession. There is less freedom of action for executives and boards in America than in Asia. In Asia, succession usually is passed on to the siblings. In Li's case, he is handing it to his two sons, while Jack Welch developed a talent machine to groom CEOs for General Electric. To a significant degree, large American firms are at a later stage of development than many Asian firms—they have passed from founders' family leadership to professional management and to capital obtained from the capital markets (rather than obtained from government—directly or indirectly—or from family fortunes). In this transition they have adopted particular styles of leadership responsive to boards (often led by outside directors) and to Wall Street. It is possible, but not certain, that Asian firms will follow this evolutionary path. The political connections so important for top business leaders in Asia, whether in democracies or one-party states, are not unknown but are much less important in America. It is a characteristic of Asian top executives that they have such connections that are important to their businesses. In America, the chief executive officers of very large firms often have virtually no direct connections to top politicians—the government is treated at arm's length and business is done by business people. There are, of course, exceptions, and deep political involvement is still a route to business success in America, but it is much less common than in Asia. Leadership Styles In America Leadership styles are more varied in America today than in Asia. In America there are five: Directive Participative Empowering Charismatic Celebrity (superstar) The first four reflect how an executive deals with subordinates in the company; the final one is directed at people outside the firm. Directive leadership is well known in America, but is declining in frequency. It stresses the direction given by executives to others in the firms. The leader is very much in charge. This style is very common in Asia. Participative leadership, which involves close teamwork with others, is more common in Europe, where it is sometimes required by law (as in northern Europe, especially Germany) than in America. It is also common in a variant colored by national cultural norms, [as] in Japan. Empowering leadership is relatively new, and stresses delegation of responsibility to subordinates. American companies that operate with largely autonomous divisions employ this style of leadership. A few younger Asian business leaders now espouse this style (for example, the CEO of Banyan Tree Resorts). At the core of empowering leadership is the ability to energize the people in a company. Jack Welch commented, "You may be a great manager, but unless you can energize other people, you are of no value to General Electric as a leader." Energizing others is the core of the new leadership in America. Adaptability is ... less common and less valued in Asia and Europe. It will be needed everywhere soon enough. Charismatic leadership is the leader who looks like a leader. People follow such a leader because of who he is, not because of good management or even business success; nor because [the people] are offered participation, partnership, or empowerment. Human magnetism is the thing, and it is very different in different national cultures. What looks like a charismatic leader to Americans may appear to be something very different to people from other societies. Celebrity leadership is very different. It looks outside the company to the impact on others—customers and investors. The CEO becomes a star and is sought after by the media like a screen star. Ordinarily it requires good looks, a dramatic style, and an ability to deal effectively with the media. It is in a bit of a slump in the United States right now due to the corporate financial reporting scandals, which have focused attention on CEOs with the ability to get things done right in the company; but celebrity leadership will make a recovery. Boards looking for top executives to revitalize a firm look for superstars; they seek outgoing personalities. Corporate governance in the West means oversight from regulators, boards of directors, even institutional shareholders. While Asia now has most of these institutions, they are ordinarily not as well established and not as significant in the minds of top executives. Asia is bedeviled by official corruption that reaches far into business. America has less of this, but has in its place considerable financial reporting fraud. Both are very dangerous to the economic success of the nations involved. Graft tends to destroy an economy first by undermining the trust that is required for transactions to occur, and by distorting the economic calculus that underlies sensible business decisions. As it continues, graft destroys the national political entity. Long-established graft is a way of life that is very hard to root out. Politicians promise to eliminate it, but are unable or unwilling to do so. The role models available for business leadership in the different regions of the world are significant. In America, with its longstanding experience with professional business leadership, the most readily available role model for the head of a company is the corporate CEO. In China and Chinese-related businesses it is the head of the family. In France it remains the military general. In Japan it is the consensus builder. In Germany today it is the coalition builder. There are nine key qualities that research shows people seek in a successful leader: Passion Decisiveness Conviction Integrity Adaptability Emotional Toughness Emotional Resonance Self-Knowledge Humility The emotionalism that goes with passion is more common in America than elsewhere. Europeans see it as a sort of business evangelicalism and are very suspicious of it. Decisiveness is common to effective executives in all countries: In this regard European and Japanese chief executives are the most consensus-oriented, and Chinese and American top executives are more likely to make decisions personally and with their own accountability. Conviction is common to all. Integrity is a complex characteristic very much determined by national cultures. What is honest in one society is not in another, and vice versa. Adaptability is a pronounced characteristic of American leadership generally. It is less common and less valued in Asia and Europe. It will be needed everywhere soon enough. Emotional toughness is common to all top executives; Americans spend more time trying not to show it. Deep political involvement is still a route to business success in America, but it is much less common than in Asia. Emotional resonance, the ability to grasp what motivates others and appeal effectively to it, is most important in the United States and Europe at this point in time. It will become more important in Asia as living standards improve, knowledge workers become more important, professional management gets greater demand, and CEOs have to compete for managerial talent. Self-knowledge is important in avoiding the sort of over-reach so common in America; it is less common a virtue in America than in Asia, and is a strength of the Asian executive. Humility is a very uncommon trait in the American CEO. It is sometimes found in Asia. It is often a trait of the most effective leaders, as it was in the best-respected of all American political leaders, Abraham Lincoln. Once, when the Civil War was not going well for the Union side, a high-ranking general suggested that the nation needed to get rid of Lincoln and have a dictatorship instead. The comment came to Lincoln's ears. Lincoln promoted the general to the top command in the army anyway and told him, "I am appointing you to command despite, not because, of what you said. Bring us victories, and I'll risk the dictatorship." What's Next For Asia The "New Asian Leader"? There are three prototypes: 1) Li Ka-shing of Hutchison Whampoa-Cheung Kong: old Chinese leadership in transition like Li Ka-shing. Rags-to-riches in one generation; handing over his business empire to his two sons who are Western-trained. There are many such examples in Asia. Li Ka-shing is in different areas of business—telecommunications, security, and high-end IT—and is very interested in becoming a contractor in the emerging homeland security construct in America. With Li Ka-shing, the threat to success is his reliance on an international concern to be a significant contractor in the establishment of the U.S. homeland security hierarchy. Li's personal story is an amazing tale of success. After the death of his father, Li—at age twelve—went to work in a plastics factory. Within a decade he started his own plastics company, which he later leveraged into a real estate and investment concern. It then was an early entrant into China's telecom and IT wave of the early 1990s, and became a market leader. Li is a man who seeks to establish a positive legacy. He created a foundation in 1980 to help young Chinese students have the educational and other opportunities he had to make for himself at age twelve. He also started his own university, Shantou University, in 1981, with a similar purpose. 2) William and Victor Fung of Li & Fung: old traditional Chinese family-owned companies now run by the third generation of the family, Western- and highly-educated, who use Western technology extensively to face globalization and succeed. Very much Western-centric in approach yet Asian in practice, the Fungs of Li & Fung have mastered techniques of getting maximum efficiency out of the supply chain, taking raw materials and making low-cost, high-demand consumer goods, particularly clothing, much more cheaply than in the United States. What the Fungs have accomplished is similar to what Japanese automakers accomplished a generation ago. By strictly adhering to principles of quality control—principles that were espoused by American business consultant Edward Deming—Nissan and Toyota made cheaper, better cars than the Americans did, eventually causing the big three U.S. automakers to follow suit. William and Victor Fung are interested in being business consultants, teaching others how to do what they've done. Both men are Harvard-educated and have a desire to be open and forthcoming about their business model. As Asian companies seek access to world capital markets, they will move toward professional managers who will employ leadership styles more akin to those now used in the United States. The main threats with Li & Fung are these: driving down labor costs, and concerns about relying on suppliers who potentially abuse the human rights of workers or pay less than a standard living wage. Victor and William Fung are the new type of Asian leaders—will they soon be the only type? 3) New Economy business leaders. Information technology and the Internet are bringing out a high-tech type of leadership that is common in America's high-tech sector. Entrepreneurial, innovative, hard-driving, very flexible, ambitious, optimistic, visionary in the technology and business aspects, they will play a good, but not dominant role. N. R. Narayana Murthy of India's Infosys and Stan Shih of Acer are good examples. They have adopted an almost entirely Western style of leadership and are succeeding in Asia. What is the conclusion? Styles of leadership are currently different between Asia and America. Culture colors the way things are done, but less so what is done. The differences in styles most markedly reflect the stage of development of the economies and companies of Asia. As Asian companies seek access to world capital markets, they will move toward professional managers who will employ leadership styles more akin to those now used in the United States. As Asian companies rely more on professional employees of all sorts, and as professional services become more important in Asian economies, the less autocratic and more participative and even empowered style of leadership will emerge. Asian leadership will come to more resemble that of the West. But significant cultural differences will remain—economic and geopolitical rivalries within Asia and between Asian countries and the West will continue and perhaps grow. Economies will retain characteristic national features. Convergence in a leadership style does not guarantee likeness of results nor even peace. We will continue to have to work for economic progress and peace; it will not come automatically.

DJ admits false tale about missing teen

DJ admits false tale about missing teen Aruba prosecutor says judge told son: No body, no case RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Aruba Missing Persons or or Create Your Own PALM BEACH, Aruba (CNN) -- A disc jockey who spent 10 days in jail after being arrested and questioned about a missing American teenager admits he lied to Aruban police to protect one of the suspects in custody. "I heard this guy talking on the phone at the Internet cafe," Steve Croes said. "So my story was like almost exactly as his." Croes was referring to Deepak Kalpoe, 21, who originally said he and his brother Satish, 18, and their friend Joran Van Der Sloot, 17, drove Natalee Holloway back to the Holiday Inn the night of May 30. Croes told police he saw the young men drop Holloway off at the hotel. "So that's why they thought that maybe I was in it," Croes told CNN Wednesday. "But everything that I knew, I just hear it from his voice, when he was talking on the phone." Croes works on a party boat that docks about 1,000 feet from the Holiday Inn where Holloway was staying when she disappeared. The Kalpoes later said they dropped Joran and Natalee off at a beach down the road. When she disappeared, the 18 year old was celebrating her high school graduation in Aruba with about 100 classmates and several parent chaperones from Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with the Kalpoe brothers and Van Der Sloot. They were arrested on June 9 and have been detained since. No charges have been filed against the three, and their attorneys have said the men are innocent. Police released Croes Monday after a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to hold him. The DJ was arrested June 17 after at least one of the three still being held named him during questioning by authorities, officials said. A hearing is scheduled early next week to determine whether the Kalpoe brothers and Van Der Sloot can be held for 60 more days. Prosecutor: Van Der Sloots interfered Judge Paul Van Der Sloot, Joran's father, was arrested a week ago, but was released a few days later. Aruba's chief prosecutor Karin Janssen told CNN Wednesday the elder Van Der Sloot told his son that without a body police would have no case. Janssen said the judge made the comment "some days after" Holloway disappeared in a conversation with his son and the Kalpoes. Investigators learned about his conversation with the three during questioning of one of the Kalpoe brothers, Janssen said, and when asked about the comment, the judge replied that he had been speaking about such a situation "generally." In addition, he and his wife, Anita, interfered in the case by asking a friend of their son what he had told police during questioning, Janssen said. "That was not positive to the investigation," she said. CNN has tried unsuccessfully to contact the couple and attorneys representing the father and son. The release of the elder Van Der Sloot was met with chagrin by Holloway's family. "He definitely, definitely has information that he needs to step forward and be the man that he is and disclose that information," Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, told CNN. Janssen said criticism of the way Aruban authorities have handled the case "is not justified." "We have a civilized society. We have a decent law system. We can't book people when we want ... [like] a bunch of cowboys," she said. "We have made some progress, and we are doing it in our way. It is maybe not fast enough for a lot of people, but it is no grounds to have such criticism." The legal system in Aruba, an autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is based partly on Dutch civil law. Janssen said she thinks island police "are doing a hell of a job." The prosecutor said the investigation is being conducted around the three suspects in custody, "so we get a clear picture of where they were, and what has happened, and what happened to Natalee." She described the process as "millimeter work" going on "around the clock." "It's a real puzzle, but we are getting the picture of the puzzle, I think," she said. Janssen said authorities in Aruba are working Holloway's disappearance as a missing person's case with the possibility of murder, although they have not definitively concluded that the teen is dead. Mother: Time wasted Twitty, however, wonders how much time investigators lost checking out Croes' story. "I think that's sad for him if that's how it truly happened," she said. "I just don't want to waste any more ... energy or focus on the wrong individuals." Croes said he lied to police because he thought he was helping Deepak stay out of trouble. "If you were sitting in the cafe and heard the guy, you'd think he was telling the truth, too," Croes said. Aruba on Thursday was awaiting the deployment of another contingent of Dutch Marines to assist with the search for Holloway. The Netherlands agreed Wednesday to assign the Marines to the search, joining several hundred others stationed on the island who have been looking. Also scouring the island is a team of search specialists that arrived last weekend. The volunteer group, Texas EquuSearch, has sent some searchers home, as well as several cadaver dogs, but expects to have new volunteers arrive to continue the search. CNN's Chris Lawrence, Alex Quade and Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Area of Practice Divorce Family Law Criminal Law Bankruptcy Immigration Real Estate Personal Injury Medical Malpractice Wills and Probate Employment Law Business Law Civil Rights Child Custody Intellectual Property Automobile Accidents General Practice Other City: State AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA GU HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY --- AB BC MB NB NF NS NW ON PE QU SK YT

Bank of America to buy credit card issuer MBNA for $35B

No. 3 bank to buy MBNA, creating the nation's largest credit card issuer; 6,000 jobs to be cut. Video More video Bank of America is buying credit card giant MBNA for $35 billion. CNN's Andy Serwer reports. Play video NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Bank of America, betting that financial "supermarkets" are the future despite recent skepticism, announced Thursday that it will buy credit card giant MBNA Corp. for $35 billion. The cash-and-stock deal would make Bank of America (Research), already the nation's third-biggest bank, also the largest credit card issuer in the country, with 40 million active accounts containing $143 billion in outstanding balances. The Charlotte, N.C.-based financial services giant ranked fourth in the card business at the end of 2004, according to CardWeb.com. Bank of America plans to eliminate 6,000 jobs once the merger is done. Subject to regulatory and MBNA shareholder approval, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. (To read about how the deal will affect cardholders, click here.) The banking behemoth has long had a voracious appetite for adding customers through acquisitions. Two weeks ago, Bank of America took a $3 billion stake in a Chinese bank. It spent last year digesting FleetBoston Financial as part of a takeover valued at $47 billion on the day it was announced. Even so, the Bank of America deal caught Wall Street off guard. Bank of America stock fell on the news, trading down throughout Thursday's session. MBNA shares jumped about 25 percent on the news. Art Hogan, the chief market analyst at Jeffries & Co., said Wall Street's reaction reflected the fact that the 31 percent premium that Bank of America is paying for MBNA "hasn't been baked into the market yet." The deal values MBNA at $27.62 a share, or about $35 billion based on Wednesday's closing prices. Under deal terms, MBNA shareholders will receive $4.125 in cash and 0.5009 shares of Bank of America common stock for each of their shares. That would be a 31 percent premium above Wednesday's $21.07 close for MBNA. "It's obviously a very rich price," said Richard Bove, an analyst with Punk, Ziegel & Co. But he said the deal makes sense for Bank of America, whose yields on mortgage loans have flattened in the face of low interest rates. "If you have a portfolio filled with mortgages, you have a real problem in that you've got to get higher yields," he said. "Even though they paid a rich price, it makes sense from a balance-sheet standpoint." Besides, he said, Bank of America is known to pay high premiums for companies and then "slash and burn" costs to get deals to work. Motives aside, Bove and Hogan agreed that the MBNA sale sends one strong signal: that the heavily hyped concept of one-stop shopping for consumers is "alive and well" in financial services. Recent moves by rivals, including steps by Citigroup to shed some consumer businesses and Morgan Stanley to explore spinning off its Discover credit card unit, had called that vision into question. At the same time there have been other deals in the credit card business. Washington Mutual, the nation's biggest savings and loan, announced one early this month for Providian Financial, one of the largest independent credit card companies, for about $6.5 billion in cash and stock. Some analysts had said the Providian deal would make Washington Mutual, long the subject of takeover rumors, too large to be acquired. But the Bank of America-MBNA deal signals that Washington Mutual could still be in play, said Hogan, who sees further consolidation in the industry. "When you see a deal of this size, obviously (Washington Mutual) is still acquirable," said Hogan. What does 1 + 1 equal? At an analyst meeting after announcement, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis and MBNA CEO Bruce Hammonds faced some skepticism about the deal and whether it would benefit shareholders in the long run. About 22 percent of the combined company's customer base already consists of MBNA and Bank of America cardholders. What's more, MBNA has approximately $15 billion in credit card receivables through partnerships with 350 financial institutions. The Bank of America deal turns MBNA into a direct competitor of its current partners. Bank of America management told analysts that they expect to lose some business as a result, leading to a 7 percent drop in revenues by 2009. They declined to discuss specific partnerships, including a major one that MBNA has with American Express. Instead, Lewis and Hammonds touted the benefits of the deal. Lewis said MBNA adds to Bank of America business lines that are less prone to market conditions. He also made it clear that he considers MBNA's marketing muscle to be just as valuable as its credit card accounts. MBNA sells its credit cards through partnerships with 5,000 professional organizations, universities, sports teams and other financial institutions. MBNA, continued Lewis, also gives Bank of America access to credit card customers in the mid- and upper Midwest and a handful of overseas locations, including the United Kingdom and Spain. Lewis said MBNA's forays abroad, especially its success in Great Britain, "opens up a whole new thought process for us." For its part, MBNA has been trying diversify into new products and expand abroad in the face of sluggish top line growth, according to Hammonds. The Wilmington, Del.-based company reported in April a 94 percent drop in first-quarter earnings due to higher-than-expected payment volumes and a restructuring charge. MBNA also issued a profit warning. Bank of America promises a level of consumer access that it can't get on its own, said Hammonds, who would become CEO of Bank of America's credit card division, to be headquartered in Delaware. Direct marketing "doesn't work as well anymore," he said. And neither does telemarketing because of do-not-call lists. Hammonds, who was involved in a harrowing helicopter crash in New York City this month, said Bank of America also gives MBNA a foothold in a market that so far the company has been unable to crack: China. On June 16, Bank of America announced that it had bought a 9 percent stake in China Construction Bank, the country's second-largest commercial bank. Bank of America has the option to increase its stake in coming years. "We've been unable to forge the right kind of relationships (necessary to enter the Chinese market)," said Hammonds. The fact that China lacks the sophisticated consumer credit databases that exist in the United States doesn't dampen Hammonds' enthusiasm. "We can use our old-fashioned judgmental lending," said Hammonds. For the latest on Bank of America and other Fortune 500 companies, click here.

Time Inc. to Yield Files on Sources, Relenting to U.S.

The case represents the starkest confrontation between the press and the government since 1971, when the Supreme Court refused to stop The Times and The Washington Post from publishing a classified history of the Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers. And legal experts said yesterday that they knew of no other instance in modern journalistic history in which a major news organization announced that it would disclose the identities of its confidential sources in response to a government subpoena. The press has traditionally argued that it needs to be able to protect confidential sources to ensure that the public is fully informed. Some courts have recently rejected that position outright. Other have said that the interest in the flow of information to the public in given cases was outweighed by the needs of the judicial system for evidence. On Wednesday, Judge Thomas F. Hogan of Federal District Court in Washington said he would order the reporters jailed for up to 120 days if they did not agree to testify before the grand jury in the meantime. He also said he would impose substantial fines on the magazine. The magazine made its decision over the objections of its reporter. "For almost two years," Mr. Cooper said yesterday, "I've protected my confidential sources even under the threat of jail. So while I understand Time's decision to turn over papers that identify my sources, I'm obviously disappointed by what they chose." The documents to be turned over to the special prosecutor in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, include Mr. Cooper's notes of interviews and "the ordinary work product that is typical of the interaction that takes place between reporters and editors," Mr. Pearlstine said. He said Time had not decided how the transfer would happen but said the documents would not be made public by Time.

How to Make Your Own Herbes de Provence Blend

Herbes de Provence, an essential component of French and Mediterranean cooking, is a mixture of dried herbs that adds a distinctive flavor to dishes such as chicken, roasted vegetables, grilled fish, salads, tomato-based soups, and stews like ratatouille. Herbes de Provence originated in the southeastern region of France, where summertime herbs are plentiful and used in daily cooking. But it only became familiar in America during the 1970s, after Julia Child began teaching home chefs around the world about French cooking. At this time, commercial varieties of the mixture began popping up in grocery stores, making the herb mixture more accessible. While you can purchase herbes de Provence in most supermarkets, it's just as easy to make your own. Plus, you can adjust the amounts and ingredients according to personal taste. There are many herbs (and spices) that can collectively be called herbes de Provence, but the basic recipe includes fennel, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, and thyme. Other recipes include (or omit) basil, bay leaves, savory, chervil, sage, oregano, mint, and lavender.

Microsoft to Pay I.B.M. $775 Million to Settle Antitrust Claims

Microsoft said today that it would pay I.B.M., which it displaced as the world's premier technology purveyor, $775 million to settle a number of outstanding antitrust claims. The settlement stems from the Justice Department's antitrust case against Microsoft in the mid-1990's, in which Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson found the giant software company's practices harmed the International Business Machines Corporation, based in Armonk, N.Y. That case was settled in 2001. Under the agreement announced today, I.B.M. will also receive a $75 million credit toward using Microsoft software. It is the latest, and one of the largest, in a string of antitrust settlements totaling more than $3 billion between Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., and its rivals. In April, Microsoft said it would pay Gateway $150 million. Last year, it agreed to pay Sun Microsystems $1.6 billion, Microsoft's largest such payout. I.B.M. and Microsoft, which issued a joint statement today, came to an agreement just weeks before a deal to extend the statute of limitations on the claims was to expire in July. The companies said they had been negotiating for the last two months.

O'Connor, First Woman on High Court, Resigns After 24 Years

WASHINGTON, July 1 - Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court and a crucial swing vote on abortion and a host of other divisive social issues, announced today that she was resigning, setting up what is sure to be a tumultuous fight over confirming her successor. After months in which speculation about the Supreme Court focused on the likelihood of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's stepping down, the resignation of Justice O'Connor, 75, caught much of Washington, including the White House and her own colleagues on the court, off guard. Even so, the armies of ideological activists from both sides who had massed in anticipation of a battle over replacing the chief justice, a reliable conservative, quickly pivoted to what they agreed was an even higher-stakes showdown for control of a seat that could alter the court's balance on an array of polarizing topics. Justice O'Connor's decision creates the first vacancy on the court in 11 years, ending the longest period without a change in the line-up of justices in almost two centuries, and it provides President Bush with his first opportunity to name a Supreme Court justice. The chief White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said the president would not make a selection until after returning from a summit meeting next week in Scotland. It is still not clear whether Chief Justice Rehnquist, who is battling thyroid cancer, will step down this summer, creating another vacancy and expanding the confirmation battle to two fronts.

100 million go online in China

Millions of Chinese go online via internet cafes Only the US now has more web surfers as young and old Chinese take to the internet in record numbers. The figure is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years. China's economic boom is behind the dramatic rise as increasing personal wealth means more people are able to buy computers and go online. Great Firewall But the Chinese authorities are less in love with the net. The government regularly tries to block access to material it considers pornographic or politically subversive. Only last week, the authorities threatened to shut down websites and blogs that failed to register with regulators in a new campaign to tighten controls on what the public can see online. The so-called Great Firewall of China is constantly being breached as citizens and the authorities play a cat and mouse game with the flow of information. Of the 100 million net users, about 30 million have broadband. Mobile phone usage is also on the rise, gaining about 60 million new users each year. There are now 358 million mobile phone users in China and it makes up 44.6% of China's telecom business.

Bnoopy: It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur

« Personal - Joining the EFF Board | Main June 29, 2005 It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur because it’s never been cheaper to be one. Here’s one example. Excite.com took $3,000,000 to get from idea to launch. JotSpot took $100,000. Why on earth is there a 30X difference? There’s probably a lot of reasons, but here are my top four. I’m interested in hearing about what other people think are factors as well. Hardware is 100X cheaper In the 10 years between Excite and JotSpot, hardware has literally become 100X cheaper. It’s two factors – Moore’s law and the rise of Linux as an operating system designed to run on generic hardware. Back in the Excite days, we had to buy proprietary Sun hardware and Sun hard drive arrays. Believe me, none of it was cheap. Today, we buy generic Intel boxes provided by one of a million different suppliers. Infrastructure software is free Back in 1993 we had to buy and continue to pay for maintenance on everything we needed just to build our service -- operating systems, compilers, web servers, application servers, databases. You name it. If it was infrastructure, we paid for it. And, not only was it costly, the need to negotiate licenses took time and energy. I remember having a deadline at Excite that required me to buy a Sun compiler through their Japanese office because it was the only office open at the time (probably midnight) and we needed that compiler NOW. Compare that to today. Free, open source infrastructure is the norm. Get it anytime and anywhere. At JotSpot, and startups everywhere you see Linux, Tomcat, Apache, MySQL, etc. No license cost, no maintenance. Access to Global Labor Markets Startups today have unprecedented access to global labor markets. Back in 1993, IBM had access to technical people in India, but little Excite.com did not. Today, with rent-a-coder, elance.com and just plain email, we have access to a world-wide talent pool of experts on a temporary or permanent basis. SEM changes everything Ten years ago to reach the market, we had to do expensive distribution deals. We advertised on television and radio and print. We spent a crap-load of money. There’s an old adage in television advertising “I know half my money is wasted. Trouble is, I don’t know what half”. That was us. It’s an obvious statement to say that search engine marketing changes everything. But the real revolution is the ability to affordably reach small markets. You can know what works and what doesn’t. And, search not only allows niche marketing, it’s global popularity allows mass marketing as well (if you can buy enough keywords). So What? It’s nice that it’s cheaper, but what does it mean to entrepreneuring? More people can and will be entrepreneurs than ever before A lot more people can raise $100,000 than raise $3,000,000. Funding sources explode which enables more entrepreneurs The sources of funding capable of writing $100,000 checks are a lot more plentiful than those capable of writing $3,000,000 checks. It’s a great time to be an angel investor because there are real possibilities of substantial company progress on so little money. More bootstrapping to profitability With costs so low, I think you’ll see many more companies raise angel money and take it all the way to profitability. Higher valuations for VCs. And, for those that do raise venture capital, I think it means better valuations because you can get far more mature on your $100,000 before you go for the bigger round. All in all, it’s a great time to be an entrepreneur. June 29, 2005 | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341e781c53ef00d8341ee18c53ef Listed below are links to weblogs that reference It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur: » The era of the disposable startup ? from Software Only Joe Kraus has a thoughtful post: [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 4:57:53 AM » It's a great time to be an entrepreneur. from larry borsato Joe Kraus posts his thoughts on why this is a great time to start a new company:Excite.com took $3,000,000 to get from idea to launch. JotSpot took $100,000. Why on earth is there a 30X difference? Theres probably a lot... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 5:59:03 AM » It's a Great Time to be an Entrepreneur . . . from IPcentral Weblog says Bnoopy, because "it’s never been cheaper to be one." Specifics follow. Infectious Greed adds: Granted, you still need good ideas -- and maybe even better ideas if the financial barriers to entrepreneurship have fallen -- but people still haven't... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 7:36:50 AM » It's a Great Time to Be An Entrepreneur from wingedpig.com - Mark Fletcher's Blog Echoing many of the things I've been saying, Joe Kraus has a great piece on how cheap it is to start a web company. I can provide a couple of additional data points. I started ONElist with $5K. That lasted... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 8:35:16 AM » Entrepreneurs, angels, and the cost of launch from Signal vs. Noise Joe Kraus from JotSpot has a great piece on how the last ten years has reduced the price of doing a startup from three million to a hundred thousand dollars for him. That’s definitely an interesting development and Joe is... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 8:47:46 AM » Entrepreneurs, angels, and the cost of launch from Signal vs. Noise Joe Kraus from JotSpot has a great piece on how the last ten years has reduced the price of doing a startup from three million to a hundred thousand dollars for him. That’s definitely an interesting development and Joe is... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 8:48:26 AM » New product development & entrepreneuship from Emergence Marketing Joe Kraus has a great post on how it took $3M to start Excite and only $100K to launch Jotspot (here - via O'Reilly Radar). The reasons he lists are hardware being 100X cheaper, software infrastructure being free, greater access... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 9:10:57 AM » New product development & entrepreneurship from Emergence Marketing Joe Kraus has a great post on how it took $3M to start Excite and only $100K to launch Jotspot (here - via O'Reilly Radar). The reasons he lists are hardware being 100X cheaper, software infrastructure being free, greater access... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 9:33:09 AM » Nano-corps? from What's Next? One other driver that I think is important is that it is now possible to add value in smaller doses than ever before. [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 9:45:03 AM » A Great Time to be an Entrepreneur from Changing Way Here's something else I've seen several links to, but cannot risk to urge to link to myself. It's Joe Kraus's post on the $ cost of entrepreneurship. Mark Fletcher links to the post, and provides some detail on the companies he's started (and subse... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 10:14:04 AM » Jon Kraus on entrepreneurship from WeBreakStuff - Blog Jon Kraus has a great writeup on something I’ve been preaching about lately - on how it is a great time to be a entrepreneur. What he’s talking about now, I’ve talked about many many times before. Expense cuts due to the usage of ope... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 11:12:09 AM » Is it a great time to be an entrepreneur? from break the frame According to ex-Excite founder it is. And, yes, the argument that costs are coming down is a great help to entrepreneurs. Relative scarcity of initial VC still continues to be an issue according to the New York Software Industry Association.... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 12:57:19 PM » Start-ups are cheaper and easier to start… from Texas Venture Capital Blog Great post from an entrepreneurship blog titled: It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur. Reasoning: 1. Hardware is 100x cheaper than the late 90s. 2. Infrastructure software is free. 3. Access to global labor markets. 4. SEM marketing. ... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 1:21:28 PM » The cost of a start-up from SolutionJunkie -- Doug Giuliana The biggest difference comes from the fact that we know better now. We know that we aren't going to get one hundred million dollar valuations just like that. We know that VC's are going to probe much deeper. We learned that Super Bowl commercials and... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 1:41:08 PM » Startups on the Cheap from Business Opportunities Weblog Joe Kraus on why it's a great time to be an entrepreneur: There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur because it’s never been cheaper to be one. Here’s one example. Excite.com took $3,000,000 to get from idea... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 3:04:08 PM » Audio: Start-Up Your Business Today from Entrepreneur's Journey Download the MP3 [ 11 Minutes - 2.5MB ] I’m doing a bit of motivational podcasting for you today. As pointed out by Dane Carlson from Business Opportunities and also Bnoopy, it’s a great time to be an entrepreneur and you should start your bu... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 7:54:02 PM » Give me $100,000 and I'll give you a Company from The Wilk's Blog This is so true, Joe Krauss has hit it on the nose... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 8:11:26 PM » Speaking of Disruptive Technology... from The Wilk's Blog Have an idea for a company? Have $100,000, or know where to get some? If you build it, they will come... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 8:56:22 PM » Is it a Good Time to be a Netrepreneur? from HTNet Joe Kraus has written an entry on why now is a great time to be an entrepreneur. A good writeup, although the obvious limitation would be that it’s a great article on the topic of net entrepreneurship but not necessarily entrepreneurship in gener... [Read More] Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 10:26:05 PM » Good time to be entrepreneur from lifehack.org Joe Kraus at Bnoopy has a interesting post on why it is good time to be entrepreneur now days. He came up couple of reasons: “Excite.com took $3,000,000 to get from idea to launch. JotSpot took $100,000.” Hardware is 100X cheaper In... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 4:59:42 AM » "it’s a great time to be an entrepreneur" from gapingvoid From Bnoopy:It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur. There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur because it’s never been cheaper to be one. Here’s one example. Excite.com took $3,000,000 to get from idea to launch. JotSpot... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 5:53:25 AM » links for 2005-07-01 from hexod.us Covering The Story Of Your Life Camera Phones and special Web sites allow mobile bloggers to record every detail (tags: flickr) Font guide for webmasters So which fonts are installed on everyone’s computers? Your best bets are the ones... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 6:20:48 AM » Ninja Startups from Josh Owens, true confessions of a cheesy techno-geek... I figured, meh, why not weigh in on the latest topic to storm the blogosphere (at least the small section I read) - Cheap startups. Some heavy hitting names have been posting about it... Joe Kraus, David Hansson, Om Malik, Mark Fletcher, & Chris Sayl... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 6:23:27 AM » VC and Angel Funding from Just Hack David over at 37Signals wrote a great little piece about VC funding, Entrepreneurs, angels, and the cost of launch. His article hit pretty close to home as I am involved in writing a cool little web service with two of my friends. We are doing it on virtu [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 6:29:47 AM » It's cheap to be an entrepreneur from Estate Legacy Vaults Blog From the entrepreneur's channel and Boopy, It's a great time to be an entrepreneur.... Access to Global Labor Markets 3. Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 7:20:13 AM » 昨日新闻 - 盗版10年 from keso 到目前为止,我没看到盗版给中国计算机行业带来什么好处,只看到他让一个个有理想的青年变得世俗,一个个伟大的公司娱乐至死. [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 10:42:53 AM » On "It's a Great Time to Be An Entrepreneur" from Dru's Blog Mark fletcher was chiming in with Joe Kraus on the topic "It's a Great Time to Be An Entrepreneur", so I thought I would chime in as well. I haven't started any companies worth noting, but I was an employee of Mark's back in the Onelist/eGroups days.... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 2:24:48 PM » Back when bootstrapping wasn't from Notes from Classy's Kitchen Here's a little blast from the past - a story on entrepeneurship during the bubble from '99. Of course from... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 4:08:17 PM » links for 2005-07-02 from medmusings Cisco: Paging Dr. Info Tech "Cisco already has taken steps in this direction. Employees who go to Palo Alto Medical Foundation, a 650-doctor practice that serves 10% of Cisco workers, can use an early version of secure messaging. This year, Cisco star... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 1, 2005 11:18:42 PM » “It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur” - Really hope so! ;) from Sometimes Silent Bnoopy: It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur I really hope this guy’s right! Seriously, I went to the bank today to transfer my checking account into a different once since I was originally getting free checking because I was getting my ... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 2, 2005 1:09:28 AM » It's a great time to be an entrepreneur! from shooperman.com | reboot Joe Kraus talks about how much cheaper (30x!) it is to do a startup today. However, I thought that this is probably something only people who have done a startup 10 years ago would understand and, appreciate. Joe claims that his new startup, JotSpot, i... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 2, 2005 9:01:59 AM » Web 2.0 This Week (June 26 - July 1) from TechCrunch Beginning today, we are going to link to and summarize important web 2.0 developments, essays, posts and announcements over the previous week. Many of you may read Richard McManus’ excellent web 2.0 Weekly Wrapup at his site (link). Richard,... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 2, 2005 4:37:48 PM » Is it time to rethink about being an entrepreneur? from Prosperity Train We’re running out of excuses why we can’t get involved in something . . . a view from a top dog (‘serial entrepreneur’ Joe Kraus) ... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 3, 2005 7:23:16 AM » It's a great time to be a entrepreneur! from Viamentis Technologies I've found these wonderful posts from two entrepreneurs. They should know, coz they've been there. Precisely what I've been thinking all these days. When I actually provide an off-line presence for Viamentis, very little of the money will go into buying s [Read More] Tracked on Jul 3, 2005 7:43:35 AM » Es un buen momento para ser emprendedor from Nada importante sucedió hoy... It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur. Partamos de la base que este post es de un weblog del hemisferio Norte. Pero aún así, hay un par de ideas interesantes. El comentario dice que hoy en día, en general,... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 3, 2005 7:22:39 PM » Small (the new big), continued. from GeekFun A couple of weeks ago I wrote a couple of posts about the opportunities for small organizations to do big things , and the impact this might be having on the venture capital industry. This past week, Joe Kraus, co-founder... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 3, 2005 11:07:06 PM » Web 2.0 Weekly Wrap-up, 27 June - 3 July 2005 from Read/Write Web sponsored by: This week: Grokking Yahoo! My Web 2.0, What is Where 2.0, Entrepreneurs start your engines, RSS VC fund fever, Techie Post of the Week - Attention. Thoughts on Yahoo! My Web 2.0 Yahoo's unveiling of a "social search... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 4, 2005 12:37:31 AM » Web 2.0: It's a great time to be an investor from Venturepreneur Partners The Web is clearly changing before us. Most don’t have a complete picture of what’s happening, but the media’s attention to blogging is a clear sign to many that things are different. Indeed they are! Blogging or weblogs have been... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 4, 2005 8:23:19 AM » Web 2.0: It's a great time to be an investor from Venturepreneur Partners A lot has been said about Joe’s post during the past few days. Which made me think — is it also a great time to be an investor? I think so and provide reasons why in my post, Web 2.0: It’s a great time to be an investor. It would be great to get feedb... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 4, 2005 9:24:39 AM » A big opening for little guys from Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog Whether it's virtualization, grid computing, or software-as-a-service, utility computing is creating attractive opportunities for a new generation of tech entrepreneurs. [Read More] Tracked on Jul 4, 2005 10:17:57 AM » A golden age, except for the darkness from the habit of wonder It's a great time to be an entrepreneur...except that we're entering a dark age for innovation. (The latter is from someone at the Pentagon, and everyone else discredits it. So it's still a great time to be an entrepreneur!) ... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 4, 2005 4:39:24 PM » 现在是创业的好时光 from PODCAST PODIUM 播客宝典 Podcasting是独立艺人的盛宴，在未来的几年中，无论你愿意不愿意，我们将看到这场声势日渐浩大的变革：媒体不再是铁板一块的，市场将不再是大一统的，在无数细分市场，无数蚂蚁的呐喊��... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 4, 2005 8:56:51 PM » Web 2.0: It's a great time to be an investor from Venturepreneur Partners A lot has been said about Joe’s post during the past few days. Which made me think — is it also a great time to be an investor? I think so and provide reasons why in my post, Web 2.0: It’s a great time to be an investor. It would be great to get feedb... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 5, 2005 6:32:26 AM » Es un buen momento para ser emprendedor (II) from Nada importante sucedió hoy... Da para hacer una segunda parte del mismo comentario, Es un buen momento para ser emprendedor (I). Encontré este artículo, Best Time Ever to Start a Company, en otra publicación, justamente a través de un link en el comentario original,... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 5, 2005 7:33:10 AM » Es un buen momento para ser emprendedor (II) from Nada importante sucedió hoy... Creo que da para hacer una segunda parte del mismo comentario, Es un buen momento para ser emprendedor (I), porque el tema está interesante. Encontré este artículo, Best Time Ever to Start a Company, en otra publicación, justamente a través... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 5, 2005 7:35:00 AM » Great time to be an entrepreneur by Joe Krause from NYBANKER blog about offshore outsourcing, software development and online marketing A great post from Joe Kraus of Jotspot on why this is a great time to be an entrepreneur. Some ... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 5, 2005 7:35:04 AM » Es un buen momento para ser emprendedor (II) from Nada importante sucedió hoy... Creo que da para hacer una segunda parte del mismo comentario, Es un buen momento para ser emprendedor (I), porque el tema está interesante. Encontré este artículo, Best Time Ever to Start a Company, en otra publicación, justamente a través... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 5, 2005 7:36:08 AM » Great time to be an entrepreneur by Joe Krause from NYBANKER blog about offshore outsourcing, software development and online marketing A great post from Joe Kraus of Jotspot on why this is a great time to be an entrepreneur. Some ... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 5, 2005 7:39:39 AM » Great time to be an entrepreneur by Joe Krause from NYBANKER blog about offshore outsourcing, software development and online marketing A great post from Joe Kraus of Jotspot on why this is a great time to be an entrepreneur. Some ... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 5, 2005 7:44:40 AM » Great time to be an entrepreneur by Joe Krause from NYBANKER blog about offshore outsourcing, software development and online marketing A great post from Joe Kraus of Jotspot on why this is a great time to be an entrepreneur. Some ... [Read More] Tracked on Jul 5, 2005 8:07:38 AM Comments Ok, I'm really curious about this. How could you possibly have gotten to a launch on $100k? Please give some more details, otherwise this just seems like an exaggeration. I mean, were you paying anyone in the US? Because $100k will only get you 1/2 person-years. Posted by: Anon | Jun 29, 2005 11:43:29 PM another set of good reasons: * down round financing went from >50% in 2002-3004 to <20% in 2004. all the old crap is finally being flushed out. * first round financing expanded 2 quarters in a row (Q4/04, Q1/05), and seems to be on the way up. now that the old crap is out of the way new crap can get funding! (ok, so hopefully this time it's not crap...) * Google's IPO created another major portal that can provide acquisition liquidity for new ventures; so now with MSFT, YHOO, GOOG (and also IAC, AOL, EBAY, AMZN et al), there are a LOT of companies out there willing to buy startups with solid technology -- and thus more optimistic entrepreneurs and angel/VC investors. * in addition to SEM creating instant traffic, AdSense & other online advertising networks can create provide a new form of instant revenue & monetization for startups (albeit limited in most scenarios). * a multiplicity of publicly available web services / hosted ASPs are making "mashups" a lot more prevalent, and people can now remix some very cool apps without having to build the entire technology stack from the ground up. folks like Paul Rademacher can be a one-man band & create HousingMaps.com. the technology DJ's time has come. yep, gotta agree... time to buy shades :) - dmc Posted by: Dave McClure | Jun 30, 2005 2:46:32 AM I am in hole hearted agreement with you but I have also added my own reasons: * Simpler services are more successful * Big is no longer cool * Better frameworks Which I expand on on my blog post. I and many other people are trying to bootstrap without Angel Investors, which is something you will see a lot more of as well. Posted by: Pelle | Jun 30, 2005 3:13:05 AM Let's not forget the proliferation of broadband in the last 2-3 years...lowering the barriers to adoption for any number of startup's service offerings. Here in the UK, there's a direct correllation between the broadband ISP price war and the adoption of broadband services and content. Posted by: Imran Ali | Jun 30, 2005 4:50:16 AM Our experience at Revieworld and Reevoo concurrs with what you are saying. There is a positive attitude amongst UK investors at the moment. There is a realisation that a lot can be done with little - "low cost model" is becoming a philosphy. Everything can now be measured to maximise the benefit. Technology (software and hardware) is cheaper but marketing (a huge source of cost previously) can be better controlled utilising the best of the old word off-line techniques combined with modern marketing (adwords, viral, word of mouth etc). Posted by: Richard Anson | Jun 30, 2005 6:02:31 AM I mean, were you paying anyone in the US? Because $100k will only get you 1/2 person-years. That's just not true. You'd be surprised how many people out there are working for peanuts on projects. A lot of people balance their regular work with working on more entrepreneurial dreams, and $100K would go a very long way indeed, especially for the young (and most entrepreneurs these days are younger than ever before). Posted by: Peter Cooper | Jun 30, 2005 9:31:10 AM it’s global popularity >> its global popularity Posted by: Emma | Jun 30, 2005 11:18:49 AM Joe, I'd love to have you give a talk on this topic, either for the Harvard Business School High Tech Alumni Association, or for SDForum. I know that your schedule is busy, but is there any chance you might be able to carve out an hour or two? --Chris Posted by: Chris Yeh | Jun 30, 2005 2:18:14 PM Interesting article. i agree with most of what you said except on advertising , search engines will bring you qualified visitors but it will not give you massive reach , and definitely will not make your service popular like what the traditional media (TV , etc) did to Excite. Thanks Faisal Posted by: Faisal | Jun 30, 2005 2:48:39 PM Yes it is a good time to be an entrepreneur. I agree that net startups can be done on the cheap, and they should. But wages still cost, and good talent is expensive. Yes, you can offshore some of it, but you have better have a solid core base built before you go down that path. Software development outsourcing is difficult, from the start you've got cultural, communication and timezone issues. Not to mention usually a misalignment of macro understanding of what the product is and how it should function. I am just curious, if you really believe you can bootstrap the entire operation from start to exit, then why did you take in $6MM in venture? Why dilute your equity more than you have to? I dont fault you for taking the cash, I would take as much money as I could raise (you never know when/if your going to need it.) Posted by: John | Jun 30, 2005 11:17:16 PM Another great way to save on advertising costs is to concentrate on Internet Adversiting. I just posted on my website all about that area after attending a great marketing course. Check it out here.... http://componentfactory.blogspot.com Posted by: Phil Wright | Jul 1, 2005 1:12:55 AM It appears that the people best positioned to startup a new venture on $100k are the ones that are already rich from their previous venture and thus can work for no salary. I've seen it first hand, a friend is starting (co-founding) a company and wanted me to join, and all his partner can argue back at me is, "See all these people working for me? They're all working for just stock because at the last company they all made a million dollars." Great for them, super. But I didn't (yet), I want a salary. Does that mean no startups for me? Posted by: Duane | Jul 1, 2005 5:46:44 AM I am surprised at the comparison drawn between Excite and Jotspot. No offense, but to me, a search engine is a hell of a lot more algorithmic, tuning and systems work than a customisable wiki is! Posted by: Ashwin Bharambe | Jul 1, 2005 8:21:25 AM I agree that it is a great time to be an entrepneur. Aside from the lower cost of equipment there are more avenues to sell products and more ways to market your products. With proven marketplaces like ebay and amazon.com, many people are starting their own small business to supplement their income whereas 10 years ago, a lot of these things were still grey area and were only for the strong willed. Word of mouth marketing has never been better. With the advent of blogs and popdcasting, getting a post on one popular blog can spark a firestorm of sales and increased visibility. The internet now is not just the latest "new" thing, it's just another outlet, which means that people have become more comfortable with it that has allowed them to embrace starting an online venture. Posted by: adam | Jul 1, 2005 8:39:50 AM much of this has been in place for some time. yahoo was bootstrapped with free software...in 1995. cheap hardware too. david filo was way ahead of his time, he was doing "cheap" when it was actually novel and often disputed (you can't do this without sun boxes!). i credit him for the cheap revolution. also note that these conditions draw many more players into the game and reduce margins. when it costs $0 to start a business, you can likely expect $0 returns. Posted by: b7j0c | Jul 1, 2005 8:44:52 AM @Ashwin: "I am surprised at the comparison drawn between Excite and Jotspot. No offense, but to me, a search engine is a hell of a lot more algorithmic, tuning and systems work than a customisable wiki is!" That may true for some wiki projects out there, but it's not true in the case of Jot. If you had taken more than a cursory look at what Jot is doing, you would have realized that it is more than a "customizable wiki". It's a large-scale hosted service that is a platform for building applications. Posted by: Paul | Jul 1, 2005 8:54:21 AM Hello Duane, I do not think so. Here in Canada, I can leave with 15k$ CND a year (small accommodation, no car, some food and a monthly subscription for a place to train). Could you? If so, you can easily bring 15k or 20k a year with small consultant contracts that will take only a part of your working time during a year. The other part of your working time could then be use to start that dam startup :) I do not think that the problem is cash, but much more one of work, hard work and patience. Take care, Salutations, Fred Posted by: Fred | Jul 1, 2005 9:55:22 AM I couldn't agree more. Now is a great time to be an entrepreneur. I have been using Rentacoder, adsense, adwords, and SEO to build and market content online. So much infrastructure is available today that used to be prohibitively expensive and difficult to build. I can accept payments using the new Paypal payments API, and I can promote my sites in a few minutes using adwords and other advertising programs. It does take some money and know how to get started. If you're a business person with a great idea, it's still fundamentally difficult to translate your vision for the business (a web site, a community, a lead generation system, etc.) into a product specification that engineers on services like elance and rentacoder can implement. That said, the cost of getting things up and running is fundamentally several orders of magnitude lower than it was just a few years ago. How do you get running on $100K? You have most of your development done offshore using services like rentacoder and elance. You hire contractors offshore as well as students to help write the content and marketing text for your sites. You buy hosting at low cost from any of the many hosting providers (so you own no hardware). You promote your site or sites via advertising and organic search (SEO). It truly is a great time to be an entrepreneur. Posted by: David Feinleib | Jul 1, 2005 10:37:35 AM "So much infrastructure is available today that used to be prohibitively expensive and difficult to build. I can accept payments using the new Paypal payments API, and I can promote my sites in a few minutes using adwords and other advertising programs." this is a decent way to build a small business, a second income etc., but thats about it. "How do you get running on $100K? You have most of your development done offshore using services like rentacoder and elance." this is just clueless. no 24/7 web service can live without oncall staff who know the code. i don't care if they are in sunnyvale or bangalore, you need someone on payroll who can solve mission critical issues asap. oh yeah you can outsource your colo, but they aren't going to fix your mysql bugs. all of these comments in any case revolve not around general entrepreneurial activity but setting up small-time websites. duh! this has been cheap for a long time. also 99,999 people are your competitors, once again this approach is great if you want to make $20k a year reselling purses. tell me how i do advanced materials, alternative energy, biotech etc on the cheap. Posted by: GrumpY! | Jul 1, 2005 2:07:53 PM Right on! I've done a variety of podcasts with entrepreneurs and VCs in Silicon Valley and Joe's points are echoed by many. This is the new model and YES it's great for entrepreneurs. My company was funded entirely by myself and customers. We paid nothing for technology to get the business off the ground. Open source is changing everything every day. John Furrier Founder of PodTech.net Joe - "Lets Podcast" Posted by: John Furrier | Jul 1, 2005 2:09:15 PM Joe, I'm with John on this. It'd be great if you could create your own podcast for business development stuff and talk about your trials through excite as well as with jotspot. After starting my company, I have found that I have loads of info about "what not to do" when starting a business when my friends think about jumping into the foray. Good luck to everyone that have started or are thinking about your own ventures. Its rough out there but HIGHLY rewarding. Posted by: adam | Jul 1, 2005 2:32:16 PM Hey Joe - my apologies, i didn't mean anything negative by my comment on SVN. It was meant to be a metaphor. I love Jot Spot. you guys are doing great work. I don't think there is anyway you could be doing Jot Spot with just 3 people. Posted by: ed Fladung | Jul 1, 2005 3:00:26 PM Nice post. Add to the list: Employees who've done it before We take 10s of cycles off of projects these days because we have a core group of people that have built similar technologies before. The hardware/software costs have diminished a lot, but so have the personnel costs. Some of the time savings is because they have better tools. Most of the time savings is because they are walking along well-worn paths. Cheers, John Posted by: John Girard | Jul 1, 2005 3:25:42 PM See a similar article by Utah entrepreneur Paul Allen at Connect Utah magazine: http://www.connect-utah.com/article.asp?r=1050&iid=34&sid=4 He gives 8 similar reasons why now is the best time in the history of the world to start a company. Posted by: Richard Miller | Jul 2, 2005 10:26:45 AM I definitely concur that it's an opportune and excellent time to be an entrepreneur and\or a startup. In our case, we're defying odds in spite of the fact that we're located in a region of the world most people assume has 1)No innovation 2)Low penetration of technology. My company, NEO(New Enterprise Objects), is a budding startup specializing in levaraging mobile technology to explode the enterprise and provide an efficient distributed collaboration infrastructure. Currently, 100% of our staff(5 members) are either consulting or employed full time. All time spent coding ,having meetings or strategising is derived from what I fondly call, "the night shift", where the real hacking begins. In addition, none of us is being paid any salary but is fueled by 1)The vision 2)The increasing value of the startup and our stake\stock in it. Who could have thought that a startup in an LDC could be accelerating in the enterprise space with very little capital (even much less than you've indicated above) and no full time employees? This truly is a wondeful time to be an entrepreneur. Posted by: Nicholas Ochiel | Jul 5, 2005 9:33:59 AM The comments to this entry are closed.

For 5 months 'I stayed in the box'

As a Marine Corps officer, I spent five years and five months in a prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam. I believe this gives me a benchmark against which to measure the treatment which Sen. Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat, complained of at the Camp of Detention for Islamo-fascists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The senator’s argument is silly. If he believes what he has said his judgment is so poor that his countrymen, assuming, of course, that he considers us his countrymen, have no reason not to dismiss him as a witless boob. On the other hand, if he does not believe what he said, the other members of the Senate may wish to consider censure. Consider nutrition. I have severe peripheral neuropathy in both legs as a residual of beriberi. I am fortunate. Some of my comrades suffer partial blindness or ischemic heart disease as a result of beriberi, a degenerate disease of peripheral nerves caused by a lack of thiamin, vitamin B-1. It is easily treated but is extremely painful. Did Mr. Durbin say that some of the Islamo-fascist prisoners are suffering from beriberi? Actually, the diet enjoyed by the prisoners seems to be healthy. I saw the menu that Rep. Duncan Hunter presented a few days ago. It looks as though the food given the detainees at Guantanamo is wholesome, nutritious and appealing. I would be curious to hear Mr. Durbin explain how orange glazed chicken and rice pilaf can be compared to moldy bread laced with rat droppings. In May 1969, I was taken out for interrogation on suspicion of planning an escape. I was forced to remain awake for long periods of time — three weeks on one occasion. On the first of June, I was put in a cement box with a steel door, which sat out in the tropical summer sun. There, I was put in leg irons which were then wired to a small stool. In this position I could neither sit nor stand comfortably. Within 10 days, every muscle in my body was in pain (here began a shoulder injury which is now inoperable). The heat was almost beyond bearing. My feet had swollen, literally, to the size of footballs. I cannot describe the pain. When they took the leg irons off, they had to actually dig them out of the swollen flesh. It was five days before I could walk, because the weight of the leg irons on my Achilles tendons had paralyzed them and hamstrung me. I stayed in the box from June 1 until Nov. 10, 1969. While in the box, I lost at least 30 pounds. I would be curious to hear Mr. Durbin explain how this compares with having a female invade my private space, and whether a box in which the heat nearly killed me is the same as turning up the air conditioning. The detainees at Guantanamo receive new Korans and prayer rugs, and the guards are instructed not to disturb the inmates’ prayers. Compare this with my experience in February 1971, when I watched as armed men dragged from our cell, successively, four of my cell mates after having led us in the Lord’s Prayer. Their prayers were in defiance of a January 1971 regulation in which the Communists forbade any religious observances in our cells. Does Mr. Durbin somehow argue that our behavior is the equivalent of the behavior of the Communists? Actually, I was one of the lucky ones. At another camp, during the time I was being interrogated in the summer of 1969, one man was tortured to death and several were severely beaten. In fact, according to Headquarters Marine Corps, 20 percent of my fellow Marines failed to survive captivity. Have 20 percent of the Islamo-fascists failed to survive Guantanamo? The argument that detainees at Guantanamo are being treated badly is specious and silly. In the eyes of normal Americans, Democrats believe this argument because, as Jeanne Kirkpatrick said 20 years ago, they “always blame America first.” This contributes to the increasing suspicion, in red states, a problem that Democrats are aware of and are trying to counter, that Democrats cannot be trusted with our national security. Only the Democrats can change this perception, most recently articulated by White House adviser Karl Rove. The ball is in their court and I am certain there are steps that they can take to change this perception, but making silly arguments about imaginary bad treatment of enemy detainees is not a move in the right direction. James H. Warner is corporate counsel practicing intellectual property law in Northern Virginia. He served as domestic policy adviser during the second Reagan administration. Tony Blankey’s column will appear tomorrow. Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

New Boeing boss needs old guard

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- With an outsider moving into the top spot at Boeing, analysts caution that the new boss needs to make sure the managers of the company's defense and commercial divisions don't head for the door in a huff. A departure of either James Albaugh, in charge of Boeing's integrated defense systems group, or Alan Mulally at the commercial airplanes unit would mean losing decades of experience at the world's largest aerospace company, as well as the executives' extensive relationships in their respective industries. What's more, both are working on key contracts that will shape Boeing's financial future. W. James McNerney Jr., who's leaving 3M Co. MMM, -1.29% to take the helm at Boeing BA, -1.84% , addressed the issue during a conference call Thursday when asked by an analyst about Albaugh and Mulally's future. McNerney said he'd spoken with the two and noted that they must have been disappointed at not being picked for the top job. Nevertheless, he said they offered "enthusiastic support" for his appointment. "So, I think we are going to work together well and productively," he added. All three executives know each other, crossing paths frequently during their decades in the aerospace industry. McNerney is also a member of Boeing's board of directors. Among giants Running a division at an industrial giant like Boeing gives an executive responsibility for tens of thousands of workers and a business with more sales than most stand-alone companies. Albaugh and Mulally each run divisions that generated more revenue last year than 3M's total $20 billion in 2004 sales. Albaugh's integrated defense systems group had sales of $30.5 billion in 2004, while Mulally's commercial airplanes division had sales of $21 billion. Just as McNerney himself was in the running to take over General Electric Co. GE, -1.85% before he left for 3M, is the situation similar at Boeing? Not so, said Boeing spokesman Tim Neale. He indicated that Mulally is in the middle of launching the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's first new plane in more than a decade. And Albaugh is shifting the company's defense group from a focus on military hardware sales to taking on larger responsibility bringing together different technologies for the Pentagon. The Future Combat Systems contract with the U.S. Army gives Boeing unprecedented responsibility for different programs that will be all technologically tied together. "In both cases, there are exciting new programs they are in the midst of," added Neale. In an interview with the Seattle Times after McNerney's announcement, Mulally said he is plans to stay at Boeing. Also, in messages to workers, both Mulally and Albaugh praised their new box and his selection as Boeing's next chief. Wall Street wonders In April, McNerney, 55, issued a public statement that said he was not leaving 3M for Boeing. Yet he eventually changed his mind and surprised Wall Street with his decision this week. Analysts who lauded his appointment are still wondering what Mulally or Albaugh will do. "One unknown stemming from this announcement is the future of the two division heads ... who were in the running for the CEO job," wrote Prudential Equity Group analyst Jared Muroff. Just as the Boeing board kept the chief executive selection process under wraps until the very end, it could be expected that any executive looking to jump would be just as discreet. "Obviously, they're not going to telegraph they're about to leave," said Paul Nisbet, analyst at JSA Research. Nisbet said that Albaugh -- who is 55 and has been with Boeing since 1975 -- might be more likely to leave than Mulally, who turns 60 this year and joined Boeing in 1969. But the departure of either manager would be a big deal. "I hope that for Boeing's stake that they decide to stay," added Nisbet. The company could always reach into its wallet if it felt like that was necessary. But so far, Boeing has not done so. Interim Chairman Lewis Platt said during Thursday's conference call that the company had not offered any retention packages to either Albaugh or Mulally. "We have both, Jim [McNerney] and I, have talked to them at some length, and they all seemed to be quite committed to staying with the company and supporting Jim," Platt added. "So that does not seem to be necessary at this moment."

Soul singer Luther Vandross dies

One of the leading romantic singers of his generation, he sold 25 million albums and won dozens of awards. Even after his stroke in 2003, he kept recording, winning four Grammys for his final album Dance With My Father. Tributes from stars such as Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson poured in after his death, at the JFK Medical Centre in New Jersey, was announced. The singer "had a peaceful passing under the watchful eye of friends, family and the medical support team," said hospital spokesman Robert Cavanaugh. He did not give the cause of death but said the singer had never fully recovered from the stroke he suffered in his Manhattan apartment in April 2003. His publicist, Jeff O'Conner, said his death was "a huge loss in the R&B industry". "He was a close friend of mine and right now it's shocking," he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. I have amazing memories of seeing Luther live, such a wonderful voice and amazing experience. I am extremely sad Diane Mitchell, Akrotiri, Cyprus Send us your tributes Singer Roberta Flack paid tribute to her friend of more than 20 years in a telephone call from Japan. "He was a musician who couldn't help but give you all he had," she said. "He was the kind of guy who was born to do what he did musically and let the world know about it. He was not born to keep it smothered in the chest." Health problems Born in a housing project in New York, Vandross got his lucky break as a backing singer for Britain's David Bowie in the mid-1970s. He soon became one of the industry's most popular session singers and vocal arrangers, performing for the likes of Barbra Streisand, Ringo Starr and Chaka Khan. Vandross had a long battle with his weight fluctuations He was known for his rich, mellow voice, which harked back to a less explicit era in his songs of romance and desire. "I'm more into poetry and metaphor, and I would much rather imply something rather than to blatantly state it," he said. "You blatantly state stuff sometimes when you can't think of a poetic way to say it." Vandross battled for years with fluctuations in his weight, as well as diabetes and hypertension. Although he continued to record after his stroke, Vandross made no further public appearances.

Business of Life: Free advice from a lawyer

Free advice from a lawyer Handy advice from a lawyer who writes from his own experience, a passalong email. Your checks When next you order checks, have only the initials of your first name printed. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks Never have your social security number printed on your check. You can always add it if necessary. have your social security number printed on your check. You can always add it if necessary. Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it. Your credit cards Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED". See update. Your wallet Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. While you’re at it, make a photocopy of your passport. Next to each card, write down the toll free number to call if the card is stolen. Don’t forget the number to the Registry of Motor Vehicles Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Thieves work fast. The key to stopping them –and limiting your damage - is to cancel cards quickly. If your wallet is stolen File a police report immediately where it was stolen. This proves to credit providers that you were diligent and it’s the first step toward an investigation if there is one. Report your cards stolen and cancel them. Believe me, you will be SO glad you made that photocopy Call the three national credit reporting organizations to place a fraud alert on your name and social security number. This prevents thieves from applying for credit cards in your name. Such an alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. Here are the numbers you need. Keep this with the photocopy of your credit cards. 1. Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 2. Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 3. Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289 4. Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271 UPDATE: From two commenters. Seems as if you must sign the card as Visa merchants will not accept the card if not signed. UPDATE 2: If you haven't seen Zug's hilarious credit card prank, you owe it to yourself to be one of the 30 million who have done so. Only then are you ready to appreciate credit card prank 2 It seems as if no one ever checks the signature. Many thanks to Mike at Info Sec News Blog

Conservative Groups Rally Against Gonzales as Justice

"Let me not get into any nominee, but Gonzales is an excellent human being," Mr. Hatch said. "He's done an exceptional job as White House counsel. He's brought additional stability and peace to the Justice Department. I know the president is interested in trying to find people of diversity -- he's really bent over to do that as president." Mr. Gonzales is a longtime Bush aide and friend from Texas, and naming him could enhance the Republican Party's standing among Hispanics, one of the president's longtime political goals. Some conservatives acknowledged that they had stated their opposition to him with some delicacy to avoid provoking the White House, given Mr. Gonzales's friendship with the president. But the swift and vociferous opposition to Mr. Gonzales reflected the intensity of concern on the right over just what kind of conservative Mr. Bush will choose, as he moves toward a decision that will go a long way toward settling any question about what kind of conservative he is, and how his presidency will be remembered. Mr. Weyrich, while declining to disclose the specifics of a recent conversation with Ken Mehlman, the Republican Party chairman, said: "We have let the administration know through whatever channels we have that Gonzales would be an unwise appointment because of the opposition of some of the groups," some of which he said would actively oppose Mr. Gonzales, while "others like the Southern Baptists and myself would simply not help." For many conservatives, who have seen Republican presidents nominate justices like Ms. O'Connor who then vote against them on pivotal issues, Mr. Gonzales epitomizes the fear of the unknown. But in other ways, and to some Democrats, he is very well known, confirmed by a vote of 60-to-36, along largely partisan lines, after unexpectedly contentious hearings and debate in which Democrats challenged his policies on the detention and treatment of prisoners in the administration's campaign against terror. In a 2002 legal memorandum, Mr. Gonzales characterized as "obsolete" the Geneva Conventions' limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners, and he said provisions in the conventions like commissary privileges and athletic uniforms were "quaint." "He would face stiff opposition from liberal groups," said Nan Aron, president of the liberal legal group Alliance for Justice. "He would have to answer tough questions about his role in the administration's war on terror." Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York and a member of the Judiciary Committee, declined to say on Saturday how Senate Democrats might respond to a Gonzales nomination. "It's too early to tell -- we're not talking about any specific judge," Mr. Schumer said.

USATODAY.com

Saturday, July 23 — Ullrich, the 'Infernal Second' PARIS — Poor Jan Ullrich. Another year, another disappointment. By Laurent Emmanuel, AP Jan Ullrich is comforted by a team trainer after placing second in the 20th stage. Second to Lance in the time trial and probably third overall. "I'm dead, I'm completely dead," he said after yet another defeat by Lance Armstrong. Der Kaiser is the German version of Raymond Poulidor, the "Eternal Second" and lovable loser of French cycling lore. Poulidor came in second three times and third thrice. Ullrich has now finished second five times, three of those to Lance. He was injured in 1999 and suspended for recreational drug use in 2002. No wonder why he was taking ecstasy. He would be another Poulidor except for the fact that he actually won the Tour in 1997, when Lance was making a comeback from cancer. Poulidor's nickname is "Poo-Poo." They have a similar moniker for Ullrich now in Germany, but it's not as cute. Perhaps we should call Ullrich the "Infernal Second," for there must be a special Hell on Earth for his luck in coming into his peak years just as Lance was reaching cosmic highs. Lance even offered Ullrich a little advice for 2006: Show up in shape, lose a few pounds. Ach! I saw this statue just off the Avenue de Charles de Gaulle in the Paris neighborhood of Neuilly. It is Sisyphus, the poor sap of Greek mythology who was fated to forever roll a boulder up a mountain, only to have it roll back down just as he reached the top. It made me think of Ullrich. Maybe now that Lance is retiring, Ullrich can finally get that rock to a mountaintop finish. Friday, July 22 — Crow finds her way in cycling world CLERMONT FERRAND, France — Sheryl Crow has become the feminine face of American cycling at the 2005 Tour. Lance's rock star girlfriend has taken to the sport, and the sport is really quite taken with her. By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY Sheryl Crow works the crowd at the Discovery Channel Team bus before a stage begins. At the daily scrum around the Discovery Team bus at the start area, Sheryl is there answering reporters' questions, waving hello to the many friends who are following the Tour, signing autographs, chatting strategy with team director Johan Bruyneel and making last-minute contact with her man before he jumps on his bike and goes to work. European TV reporters have no qualms about asking her technical questions, perhaps testing her cycling knowledge. She's smart and has absorbed quite a bit of expertise from Lance and his posse. Fitness is important to her, so she also goes for long runs in the Tour towns, an iPod providing the soundtrack. At 43, she could easily be mistaken for a twentysomething athlete. When the race started in Agde, I asked if she was going riding that day. "We're going, for sure," she said. "To the top!" She may be the most glamorous grimpeur to scale the 21 switchbacks of the Alpe d'Huez. She rides a custom Trek with special gearing that lets her climb like Lance while singing all the way ... to the top. Thursday, July 21 — Regions use Tour to market themselves MENDE, France — The Tour de France is many things: a bike race, a cultural and gastronomic adventure and a global television series. It is also an economic development project. Because the Tour is seen by more than a billion people around the planet, the race coverage becomes a great platform for regions seeking to market themselves to international corporations and tourists. The last week of the Tour is showcasing the Massif Central area, which is somewhat like the USA's southern Appalachian region. By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY Toulouse is known as the Space City. The ideal French space mission would be a trip to the moon to bring back green cheese. This region was featured early in last year's race, as well. Regional governments as well as localities paid the Tour to come to their area, as do almost all of the host towns. The Massif Central promotion is also being helped by the French national government, which has improved roads and other infrastructure. The modern and beautiful A75 superhighway now links this area with the northern Paris area and the southern Mediterranean cities. Before the A75, magnificent towns such as St. Cloud and Mende were hard to reach. In the same way U.S. federal spending on Interstate highways and national parks in our southern Appalachians has spurred economic development in those areas, the Massif Central is beginning to blossom. I like the Massif Central because it is relatively unspoiled, with large rolling hills and small mountains, which are dramatic in their own way. For cyclists, the Massif Central is much more rideable than the Alps or Pyrenees. Depending on the route, riders of all fitness levels can have fun riding over or around these pine-covered ridges, many of which are topped with ancient castle ruins and fortifications. . Provence is drop-dead gorgeous, but also overpriced and overrun by summer visitors; The Alps are amazing, but the roads are steep and sometimes dangerous; the Massif Central is just waiting to be discovered and the French government thinks the Tour is the perfect venue for encouraging that development. Wednesday, July 20 — Fine art at a French truck stop REVEL, France — There's no doubt that France has the most beautiful truck stops in the world. There are always very clean restrooms, lots of parking, espresso for a Euro-buck a cup and sometimes even cool art. By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY This three-story-high sculpture is a roadside attraction on the Tour route near Pau. The "Aire" (as they're called here) sell Ferarri race jackets, a wonderful selection of fresh sandwiches, cell-phone rechargers, bug spray, peanuts, Pringles, Pepsi and four kinds of Orangina. This year I found one that sold wine from three of Beaujolais' finest village appellations. You don't get that kind of service at the Sheetz in Haymarket, Virginia. There are always big, highly detailed maps which come in handy if you are lost, which for me is often. The artwork is local in theme and origin. Today I got to check out the huge "Tour de France in the Pyrenees" sculpture just outside Pau. You can see it from a mile away and it looks like someone created a shiny aluminum roller-coaster for giants on bicycles. A 20-foot-tall guy on a bike is quite impressive. Wouldn't want to go against him in a sprint. Leave it to the French to take something as commonplace as a truck stop and give it style, taste, culture and food for the mind as well as the stomach. But I do miss those little cinnamon rolls they sell at Sheetz. Tuesday, July 19 — Getting out among the real race fans PAU, France — Want to know a dirty little secret about covering the Tour? The press doesn't have great seats to watch the action. If you're on a press motorcycle, you can get up close and just a bit too personal, especially when it comes to the various bodily fluids emitted by riders during the race. Don't ask. By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY View from a bridge: A chase group passes the four-kilometer-to-go mark in Tuesday's stage. Most of the reporters watch the race in the press center near the finish line. When the peloton approaches, there's a mass exodus to get quotes that come out on tape like heavy breathing with a few ... words ... like ... this. The stage winner and Lance, er, the overall leader, give more bodily fluids to the doping control folks, then give quick press conferences — by video link. Sights, sounds but no smells. Sometimes the Discovery media folks come in with an i-Pod and two tiny speakers, which they set up in the press center. Everyone crowds around and tries to record the pre-recorded quotes from Lance. Maybe next year they'll just put them in iTunes and we'll have to pay a buck to download them online. The key is to get away from the press center and watch the race with the real fans. You have to be a real fan to drive a camper to the top of a mountain a week before the stage begins to see your heroes pass by in a three-second blur. Allez! Allez! Bye-bye! Once in a while you find just the right spot. In 2003, I found a perch on a cliff overlooking the final steep kilometers of the famous Luz Ardiden stage. I saw Lance come out of the mist and climb, climb, climb. It was an amazing spot from which to witness one of the greatest stages in Tour history. Today I walked a few hundred yards from the press center to a bridge I scoped out earlier in the day. I took out my digital camera just as the leaders passed beneath me. I even shot a little video of the peloton. That's when I feel like a reporter and not an educated television viewer in a stuffy press tent. That's when I really love my job.

Attack of the $1 DVD's

THE scientist in the 1959 horror film "The Killer Shrews" is not only mad but also cheap. Monstrously cheap. To solve the problem of world hunger, he tries to breed humans down to half their normal size. Rather than increase the food supply, he reasons, he will decrease demand. But his penny-pinching plans go awry, naturally, or unnaturally, creating a pack of giant, munchies-afflicted shrews. "The shrews were actually hound dogs with fangs stuck to their heads and hairy rugs on their backs," recalled James Best, who portrayed the hero, Thorne Sherman. Mr. Best's love interest was played by Ingrid Goude, a former Miss Universe who was, he said "very well-endowed but not very well-paid; she got about 15 cents." Mr. Best, now 78, reckoned that that was about 35 cents less than the budget of the entire movie. "The Killer Shrews," the masterwork of Ray Kellogg, is one of hundreds of cheap old films now available as ridiculously cheap new DVD's. Because of lapsed or improperly registered copyrights, even some very watchable movies -- among them, Howard Hawks's "His Girl Friday," Marlon Brando's "One-Eyed Jacks" and Francis Ford Coppola's "Dementia 13" -- are now in the public domain and can be sold by anyone. While overall DVD sales are robust -- last year retailers sold $15.5 billion in discs -- the low-end market is positively booming. Recently, 19 of the 50 top sellers on the Nielsen VideoScan national sales charts were budget DVD's. "The prices are irresistible," said Gary Delfiner, whose Global Multimedia Corporation offers 60 film, cartoon and television titles with prices ranging from 99 cents to $1.99.

125th Anniversary Issue: Science Online Special Feature

Online Extras Be sure to check out these online extras related to our 125th Anniversary Issue: Your Turn Did we miss your favorite scientific conundrum? Visit our special online forum to comment on our 125 questions or nominate your own choice. Anniversary Editorial Science Editor-in-Chief Donald Kennedy celebrates the magazine's 125th anniversary with some thoughts about Big Questions. Global Voices To mark its 125th year of publication, Science has been running a series of essays (each accompanied by an online slide show) providing worldwide perspectives on the scientific enterprise. First Issues Registered users of our Web site can take a look at PDF versions of the first two issues of Science, dated 3 July and 10 July 1880.

The Falling Woman Screensaver - Or, select someone else to toss around: Select a politician... George Bush Barack Obama Mitt Romney in his Temple Garments Nicolas Sarkozy Rick Santorum Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton in a Bikini John McCain Sarah Palin 1 Sarah Palin 2 Sarah Palin 3 Mahmoud Ahmadeinejad Yves Leterme Hugo Chavez Tony Hayward Robert Mugabe Taro Aso

Font guide for webmasters

Fonts for the Web Until font downloading technology is perfected, Web designers must normally restrict themselves to fonts that are available on most users’ computer systems. So which fonts are installed on everyone’s computers? Your best bets are the ones that come with the Internet Explorer (MSIE) browser and the Windows and Macintosh operating systems. For the last few years, the MSIE fonts have been installed on every new Windows and Macintosh PC, so they are your best “cross-platform” bet. http://www.microsoft.com/truetype/fontpack/win.htm (Internet Explorer fonts) Mac fonts for Windows PCs Font Platform CSS info MSIE [Bold, Italic] Originally named Monotype.com font-family: "Andale Mono", "Monotype.com", monospace Mac Also named Zapf Chancery on older Macs (and some Win PCs). font-family: "Apple Chancery", "Zapf Chancery", cursive MSIE [Bold, Italic] Very similar to Helvetica. font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif MSIE Less common than Arial. Do not use it with a bold font-weight; it’s bold enough already! font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif Mac Not on pre-1999 Macs font-family: Capitals, serif Mac Mac system font (for menus, dialog boxes, etc.) since 1999. It will be very familiar to Mac users at 12 points, but also works well in headlines (without bold). font-family: Charcoal, Chicago, sans-serif Mac [Italic] Former Mac system font, replaced by Charcoal. Still present on every Mac ever made. font-family: Chicago, Charcoal, sans-serif MSIE [Bold, Italic] An informal font designed to be easily legible on screen. Believe it or not, this is the default cursive font for Internet Explorer. font-family: "Comic Sans MS", cursive Mac Win [Bold, Italic] Courier is the most common monospace (typewriter-style) font. The Mac version of Courier (top left, shown at 18 points) is scalable; the Windows version (bottom left, 15 points) is not. Therefore the scalable "Courier New" is preferred, as it is usually available on both Mac and Windows. font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace MSIE [Bold, Italic] See discussion under Courier font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace Win A non-scalable Windows system font used for DOS screens and other low-level tasks. Available only at 9 points. font-family: fixedsys, monospace Mac A display font; avoid bold and italics. Not on pre-1999 Macs. font-family: Gadget, fantasy Mac [Bold, Italic] A Mac system font since 1984. Its appearance resembles Arial and Helvetica; its function is similar to MS Sans Serif (icon names on the Desktop, etc.). font-family: Geneva, "MS Sans Serif", sans-serif MSIE [Bold, Italic] Designed by Microsoft for WWW use, Georgia is a traditional looking font with “old-style” numerals. font-family: Georgia, serif Mac [Bold, Italic] A Mac system font since 1984. On the Web, Helvetica is usually paired with the nearly identical (and more common) Arial. font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Mac [Bold, Italic] Not on pre-1999 Macs font-family: "Hoefler Text", serif MSIE Less common than other MSIE fonts such as Arial. A very heavy, black font, good for headlines. Weight and width are sort of like Techno. font-family: Impact, sans-serif Mac Monospace font, present on all Macs. Monaco 9-point is associated with programming, debugging, and other low-level tasks, somewhat like Windows Fixedsys, System, and Terminal. font-family: monaco, sans-serif Win Monospace system font dating back to Windows 95. Best at 12 pixels and under. font-family: "MS Gothic", monospace Win Windows system font, used for dialog boxes, etc. Best at 12 pixels and under. font-family: "MS Sans Serif", Geneva, sans-serif Win Windows system font. Best at 12 pixels and under. font-family: "MS Serif", "New York", serif Mac [Bold, Italic] Mac system font: similar in appearance to Times Roman, similar in function to MS Serif. font-family: "New York", "MS Serif", serif Mac A nice serif font, present on all Macs and fairly common on PCs (with office software suites). font-family: Palatino, serif Mac Not on pre-1999 Macs font-family: Sand, fantasy Mac Not on pre-1999 Macs font-family: Skia, sans-serif Win Non-scalable (available only at 10 points), present on all Windows PCs, used for menus, etc. font-family: System, sans-serif Win Rarely used on the Web, Tahoma does have the advantage of being present even on very old Windows PCs. font-family: Tahoma, serifSansSerifMonospace Mac Not on pre-1999 Macs font-family: Techno, Impact, sans-serif Win A non-scalable, monospace system font used for the DOS or “command-line” interface. Terminal looks very different at different point sizes. Shown here are 9, 12, and 14 points. font-family: Terminal, monospace Mac Not on pre-1999 Macs font-family: Textile, cursive Mac Because some PCs have non-scalable fonts named Times , it is common to lead with the scalable, nearly ubiquitous MSIE font Times New Roman instead. Times is noticeably more compact than Times New Roman, so it can be too small to read on screen. font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif MSIE This is by far the most common serif font on the Web. It is the default serif font in most browsers. font-family: "Times New Roman", serif A sans-serif font designed (like Verdana) for legibility on screen. font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif Possibly the most readable of the sans-serif fonts commissioned by Microsoft for on-screen use. However, Verdana shouldn’t be used side-by-side with same-sized serif fonts, because Verdana will appear one or two sizes larger. font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Mac Functionally similar to Windows Terminal and Fixedsys, VT-100 can be scaled up for a “bitmappy” appearance. font-family: "VT-100", monospace The CSS font-family property lets you specify more than one font at a time, in order of preference. If the first choice is unavailable, CSS moves on to the second one, and so on. So if you really like Franklin Gothic Demi as a headline font, you can use the following CSS: h1,h2,h3 { font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi", Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; }

Germany heads for early elections

Mr Schroeder is taking a huge political gamble, say analysts Mr Schroeder had urged deputies to vote his government down, so he could seek a new mandate for controversial reforms. President Horst Koehler must now decide if there are grounds to call elections a year ahead of the original schedule. An early election is expected to hand power to the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). SCHROEDER'S VOTE RESULT Against - 296 For - 151 Abstained - 148 Profile: Gerhard Schroeder After Friday's Bundestag vote Mr Schroeder met President Koehler to request a dissolution of parliament. CDU leader Angela Merkel told the Bundestag that Mr Schroeder's SPD-Green coalition "can no longer govern". Pressure for polls Polls show 70% of Germans want early elections, which would probably be held on 18 September. Mr Schroeder pointed out in his speech that all Germany's parties wanted early elections. He said his government now had a diminished capacity to act after a string of defeats in regional elections. "Without a new mandate my political programme cannot be carried forward," he said. Some experts questioned whether Mr Schroeder's confidence vote move was constitutional. Many MPs from among Mr Schroeder's own Social Democrats and his Green Party coalition allies opposed the move. But when it came to the vote in the Bundestag (lower house), 151 members backed the government, 296 voted against and 148 abstained. Economic woes The loss of North Rhine-Westphalia - including the industrial Ruhr region - was seen as a crushing blow to the already wounded chancellor. "The bitter result... jeopardises the political basis for the continuation of our task," Mr Schroeder said at the time. With a 17% lead in opinion polls, CDU politicians are eager for early elections and a win that would make Ms Merkel Germany's first female leader. "There will be new elections in Germany. This means a change in the content and style of politics," said Christian Wulff, Lower Saxony's conservative prime minister and Germany's most popular politician. "Then the hard work will begin. Our leader, Angela Merkel, will carry out the kind of economic reforms that were implemented in Britain over the last 15 years." Mr Schroeder's government has lost much support because of Germany's poor economic performance and the unpopular reforms it has pushed through. Above all, voters appear to be fed up with the government's inability to bring down Germany's high unemployment rate of 11.3% - some 4.7 million people, according to the latest figures.

Beijing buying spree sends Uncle Sam into shock

The enemy has landed. One of the worst nightmares of 'patriotic Americans' may soon come true. An unsolicited $18.5 billion offer from state-owned Chinese oil firm CNOOC to buy Unocal, America's ninth largest oil firm, has given a nation obsessed with energy security a shock. US-Sino relations are already tense - and this could be the moment the world realises a rival superpower to America has come of age. Last Thursday as Chinese executives stalked Wall Street to get their bid accepted by Unocal, Congress voted 398-15, backing a resolution that Chinese ownership of Unocal would 'threaten to impair the national security of the United States'. Furthermore, approval by Unocal's board of the bid should result in a 'thorough review' by President Bush. With the issue setting Beijing against the White House, Unocal's shareholders are caught in the headlights. The question is whether they have the courage to take Chinese cash that values Unocal's shares at $67 - especially as there is an agreed offer from US major Chevron on the table worth $60 per share that comes without political complications. Chinese officials were last week in New York on a charm offensive downplaying Unocal's strategic importance. By emphasising that it supplies a tiny fraction of America's domestic output, CNOOC argues that Unocal's takeover cannot represent a US security threat. It is Unocal's oil and gas in Asia that the company prizes. But the deal would also give China a 9 per cent stake in the BP-led consortium building the $6bn Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyan oil pipeline, a project aimed at easing US reliance on the Middle East for oil. Wall Street oil analysts agree that what makes Unocal a must-have is the technical expertise that will allow CNOOC to compete for giant gas and oil exploration projects. 'Unocal has been portrayed as a state-controlled resource grab, which is silly,' said a CNOOC spokesman. 'In the US just 1 per cent of US domestic consumption is from Unocal. And at least 73 per cent of its assets are in Asia.' Critics of the Chinese not only cite US national security but argue that the deal acts against basic free-market principles, because $13 billion of the $18.5bn Chinese offer comes in government-backed loans, amounting to state aid. 'Frankly it's not a level playing field,' said one US analyst. The Chinese state media last Thursday admitted the size of the loans to buy Unocal could put downward pressure on the yuan. This will exacerbate US concern over Chinese imports. Beijing has been under pressure to allow the yuan, pegged near 8.28 to the dollar, to float freely, with the US and others saying the exchange rate is artificially low, giving prolific Chinese exports an unfair advantage. But there are suggestions from Treasury Secretary John Snow and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan that Beijing will soon allow the value of the yuan to rise. Although this will prove politically expedient in the light of the Unocal transaction, it will also make US bid targets cheaper for the Chinese. Could Unocal be the start of a further Chinese hoovering up of Uncle Sam's assets? Whatever the outcome, the world's two superpowers are on collision course over crude oil. Dave Simpson, America's acting deputy secretary of commerce, recently said: 'We appear to be competing more than partnering.' That competition is getting hotter. Only last week, consolidation in the Chinese oil industry saw the creation of its largest private oil enterprise, Great United Petroleum Holding Co, from more than 30 small and medium-sized private oil companies. It also emerged last week that China National Petroleum is poised to bid for Petro-Kazakhstan, the Canadian-based oil producer. China's spending on oil assets has been accelerating this year. Last January, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin visited China to discuss Chinese access to the Alberta tar sands. The summit yielded a crucial production-sharing agreement. In the same month, China National Petroleum Corporation signed a deal with Peru to study exploration deals. In all, it is thought Beijing has signed agreements worth $100bn with Latin America. In February, Venezuala and China signed 19 agreements, including investment in Venezualan oil fields. During the Nineties, Chinese petroleum consumption increased at a compound annual rate of 6.3 per cent but its oil production only grew at a compound annual rate of 1.7 per cent and since 1996, it has been a net importer of oil. CNOOC's bid will inevitably face delays, whereas shareholders have the option of taking Chevron's money at a vote on 10 August. But Unocal's share price, which on Friday closed at $6·, implies the market either thinks CNOOC will win or that Chevron will sweeten its offer. CNOOC executives have just six weeks to overturn Unocal's recommendation of Chevron's offer.

How Brief Drop in Cars Can Trigger Tie-Ups, And Other Traffic Tales

If you plan to hit the roads like the zillions of other drivers this holiday weekend, Avi Polus has a word of advice: patience. A transportation engineer at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Prof. Polus's concern isn't drivers' collective blood pressure but traffic flow. Like the growing number of other engineers and physicists who are hubcap-deep in the science of traffic, he is determined to explain infuriating mysteries such as phantom traffic jams (There's no bottleneck or accident at the front of this...

Increase in the Number of Documents Classified by the Government

But across the political spectrum there is concern that the hoarding of information could backfire. Thomas H. Kean, chairman of the Sept. 11 commission and a former Republican governor of New Jersey, said the failure to prevent the 2001 attacks was rooted not in leaks of sensitive information but in the barriers to sharing information between agencies and with the public. "You'd just be amazed at the kind of information that's classified -- everyday information, things we all know from the newspaper," Mr. Kean said. "We're better off with openness. The best ally we have in protecting ourselves against terrorism is an informed public." Mr. Kean said he could not legally disclose examples he discovered of unnecessary classification. But others cite cases of what they call secrecy running amok: the Central Intelligence Agency's court fight this year to withhold its budgets from the 1950's and 60's; the Defense Intelligence Agency's deletion of the fact that the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was interested in "fencing, boxing and horseback riding"; and the Justice Department's insistence on blacking out a four-line quotation of a published Supreme Court decision. Secrecy has long been denounced by liberal watchdog groups like the American Civil Liberties Union. But more conservatives are emerging as skeptics, including Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, whose bill to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act passed the Senate last week. The bill, cosponsored by Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, requires that any legislation creating new exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act explicitly disclose them. It is only part of overhaul efforts proposed by the two. Mr. Cornyn, a former state attorney general, said he had been trying to persuade his colleagues that freedom of information was not just a concern of the news media. "The people should get the information they need to see if government is doing what they want," he said.

Senate Bill Strives to Balance Oil and Alternatives

WASHINGTON, June 28 - The Senate overwhelmingly passed broad energy legislation on Tuesday, with its authors hoping the bill strikes a balance between traditional and alternative sources of power that can break a four-year Congressional stalemate over energy policy. By a bipartisan vote of 85 to 12, the Senate approved a bill that includes $14 billion in tax incentives for oil and gas production as well as development of wind, solar and other emerging energy sources. It also rewards buyers of energy-efficient appliances and hybrid cars. The measure includes an additional $36 billion in energy-related projects, though many of them will require additional approval by Congress. The shape of the Senate measure sets up a clash with the House, which has already passed its own version emphasizing increased domestic oil and gas production. The House also included a controversial plan to grant product liability immunity to producers of the gasoline additive MTBE, which has polluted groundwater around the nation. The White House also objects to parts of the Senate bill, challenging its cost and its plan to require utilities to use more renewable fuels to generate electricity.

Case of Mad Cow in Texas Is First to Originate in U.S.

The Agriculture Department is now trying to trace any animals born on the ranch in the same year or in the years before or after, as well as any offspring of the cow born in the last two years. All will be tested for the disease, which will mean killing them because parts of the brain must be scooped out to do the tests. Dr. Clifford would not identify the ranch, calling that "privileged information." Nor would he name the pet food plant, explaining that the department relied on the voluntary cooperation of such plants for brain samples. They specialize in turning diseased, dying and dead animals into pet food or into dried meal for poultry and pigs, as well as into tallow, gelatin and other products. It is too early to tell what effect the announcement will have on beef sales. On Saturday, after it became clear that the United States had a second case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and that it did not originate in Canada as the first had, Taiwan reimposed a ban on American beef it had lifted two months ago. But domestic beef sales and futures prices have remained relatively steady. Asked whether any other states might ban imports of Texas cattle, Dr. Clifford said he hoped not. "It wouldn't make sense with the safeguards we have in place," he said. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas issued a statement urging citizens to remain calm and be reassured that they could trust the state's beef.

What Other People Say May Change What You See

A new study uses advanced brain-scanning technology to cast light on a topic that psychologists have puzzled over for more than half a century: social conformity. The study was based on a famous series of laboratory experiments from the 1950's by a social psychologist, Dr. Solomon Asch. In those early studies, the subjects were shown two cards. On the first was a vertical line. On the second were three lines, one of them the same length as that on the first card. Then the subjects were asked to say which two lines were alike, something that most 5-year-olds could answer correctly.

Germany plans C02-free power plant

By Tim Mansel BBC News The search for a coal-fired power station that does not give off any carbon dioxide has taken a step forward with the announcement of plans to build such a plant in Germany. Vattenfall already operates a coal-fired power station in Germany Vattenfall, a Swedish company, which owns mines and power stations in Germany, plans to start construction next year. "We believe coal has a future," says Markus Sauthoff, who is leading the project. "But this is linked to the carbon-dioxide trading system." "It's likely that there will be quite ambitious emission reduction targets in the future, and that the price of CO2 trading certificates will be quite high, as a kind of penalty for the use of fossil fuels in power plants," he says. "So we need to try to reduce our CO2 emissions." Pilot project Mr Sauthoff admits that "carbon-dioxide free" is something of a misnomer. Burning coal inevitably produces carbon dioxide. The idea is to capture the carbon dioxide before it is released into the atmosphere and then store it in a safe place. The technology now being developed by Vattenfall is designed primarily for use with lignite, or brown coal, which is one of eastern Germany's primary mineral resources. Its use in power stations has long been controversial, because of the high level of carbon dioxide it emits in comparison with other fossil fuels. Vattenfall is to build its new plant at Schwarze Pumpe, south-east of Berlin in the state of Brandenburg, where it already operates a conventional coal-fired power station. The new plant will use what Vattenfall is calling the Oxyfuel process. "In a conventional power plant we burn lignite in air, which is about 75% nitrogen," explains Markus Sauthoff. "But in the Oxyfuel process we extract the nitrogen and burn the coal in almost pure oxygen combined with some of the flue gases, which are re-circulated into the furnace." "Today we're testing single components of this at the university level but to stick all the different parts together and to try to operate them in the most effective way will be the task of the pilot plant." Climate issues Oxyfuel is not the only method of capturing CO2 that's currently being investigated. There is another so-called "pre-combustion" method, which involves turning the coal into gas before it is burned, and then producing hydrogen that can be used in fuel cells. Environmental groups say relying on coal fuel is a bad idea A "post-combustion" method involves the chemical "scrubbing" of the gases produced by burning coal, to extract the carbon dioxide. Markus Sauthoff admits that it is not yet clear which method will prove to be the most efficient and economically viable. "But Vattenfall does believe that Oxyfuel will be the most favourable and this is why we've decided to build the pilot plant," he says. The company has come in for criticism from environmental groups for its continued investment in fossil fuels. Gabriela von Goerne, a climate campaigner for Greenpeace Germany says: "I don't think Vattenfall is taking climate issues seriously." "They want to move on with coal technology, which ultimately is a dead end. The best choice would be to concentrate on renewable energies and put renewable energies in the energy mix of Vattenfall." Vattenfall says it plans to have the 40m-euro plant in operation by 2008.

:: Astromech.net :: R2 Builders Club Official Website ::

Welcome to Astromech.net, the Official Website of the R2 Builders Club. We are an international community who build their own replica robots from the Star Wars universe. Join us today to learn how to build your own!

State Weighs 2 Bills Requiring Bullet Marking

With a zealot’s enthusiasm, Randy Rossi has been firing bullets into lots of things lately. Car doors, Sheetrock, wood walls, gelatin with the consistency of human bodies. On the base of each mashed slug is a series of tiny, mostly legible numbers that have been inscribed by a laser. To Rossi, head of Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer’s firearm division, these markings represent a solution for one of law enforcement’s most trying problems: the anonymity of ammunition. “This is nothing fancy, just simple technology,” he said on a recent day, after proudly showing that the identification numbers on several slugs remained readable after the bullets were fired into a bulletproof vest. With 45% of the state’s homicides unsolved in 2003, the most recent data available, the California Legislature is moving ahead with two potentially landmark measures that would require that identifying marks be embedded on projectiles from guns. Advertisement One proposal would have all bullets sold in the state marked during manufacture with codes. The other would mandate that guns be equipped with stamping mechanisms that would hammer telling marks onto every cartridge fired. That could allow investigators to link the cartridge to the gun’s purchaser even if they could not find the firearm. The approaches depart from law enforcement tactics elsewhere in the country, which have focused on creating computer registries of fired bullets. Those allow for investigators to match projectiles from different crimes, linking ones committed with the same weapon. The issue of marking ammunition has become the most contested law enforcement topic in Sacramento this year. One of the bills has split California’s law enforcement community and infuriated the nation’s ammunition manufacturers, weapons sellers and firearms enthusiasts, including the National Rifle Assn. Several police groups in California are also opposed. The hyperbolic debate has even ricocheted into Congress. In April, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon), chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, warned Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that requiring serial numbers on ammunition would increase the cost of bullets so much that the military would scale back target practice. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, also a Republican, is also against the proposal, which he said would hurt manufacturers in his state. Advertisement Nationwide, there were 347,705 crimes committed with firearms in 2003. In California, those included 44,466 robberies and aggravated assaults, and 1,733 murders. Although handgun serialization has been a required practice for decades, forensic advances in tracking the sale of ammunition -- which is far more likely to be left at a crime scene -- have been limited. Since 1994, law enforcement agencies have been experimenting with ballistics imaging technology that makes computer pictures of bullets recovered from crime scenes. Those images are compared in hopes of linking crimes in which the same weapon was used. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has established a database with 862,000 images that authorities say have led to 11,300 matches. Maryland and New York have established their own programs but have been criticized for failing to provide enough substantial leads. The first time Maryland’s database contributed to a murder conviction was in April, four years after its creation. Advertisement California lawmakers debated the same strategy in 2000 but decided instead to study it. A 2003 report from Lockyer’s office provided greater caution after concluding that constructing such a large database would be “impractical” and finding that it was often difficult to match images of bullets fired from the same gun. The ammunition bill, SB 357 -- numbered to correspond with a popular caliber -- was introduced by Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) on Lockyer’s behalf. It has passed the Senate and an initial Assembly panel. It is the one that has drawn the most intense opposition. For any box of ammunition sold in California, the bill would require manufacturers to engrave each bullet with the same serial number, which would also be affixed to the box. Retailers would record who purchased each box and would provide that information to the state Department of Justice. Ammunition Coding Systems, a Seattle company that provided demonstration bullets to California police, uses a laser to etch the number, but the bill does not specify what technology manufacturers would have to use. Advertisement Initial testing indicates that the serial numbers almost always survive impact. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department was able to identify serial numbers on 21 of 22 bullets it tested and recovered. The attorney general’s office identified 180 serial numbers on 181 bullets. The other, less cleverly numbered, bill, AB 352 by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood), has passed the Assembly and one Senate panel. The bill, sponsored by the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, would require that semiautomatic pistols be equipped with technology that could imprint microscopic identifying information on each cartridge case fired from the gun. NanoMark Technologies of Londonderry, N.H., has patented one technology that uses the firing pin to emboss the identification mark onto the chamber while it is in the breech of the gun. Although Ammunition Coding Systems’ marks can be read with the aid of a regular magnifying glass, NanoMark’s require more powerful imaging equipment used by forensic experts. It remains unclear what Schwarzenegger will do if either measure makes it to his desk. Last year the governor proved himself unpredictable on gun legislation by banning .50-caliber BMG rifles -- powerful hunting weapons that can penetrate thick surfaces from great distances -- but rejecting a measure requiring ammunition vendors to keep records of all purchasers. Advertisement “Forensic testing of ammunition used in a crime is the most effective way of tracing criminal activity,” Schwarzenegger wrote in that veto message. Ammunition manufacturers, who together produce 8 billion rounds nationally each year, say Dunn’s legislation would bankrupt them. The industry, which makes $626 million worth of wholesale civilian sales each year -- on top of unknown amounts to law enforcement and the military -- insists that marking each piece will slow their production and substantially drive up the cost of bullets. Some fear that using lasers in factories filled with gunpowder would be unsafe. “The question is, ‘Can it be done on a mass level?’ and the answer is, ‘No, not without building a new factory,’ ” said Lawrence Keane, general counsel for the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, the industry association. Makers of coding equipment, which etches and reads serial numbers on hundreds of products, insist that it could be done for a penny or less per bullet. Advertisement Carl Rennard, a consultant from Lincoln, R.I., who owns several coding patents, said the ammunition industry “is really uninformed about the technology available, how unobtrusive it would be to the product line. They’re just being afraid.” Advocates say the industry has been unwilling to meet with consultants who help integrate such technology into their production lines. The debate has also incorporated a disagreement on the craftiness of criminals. Opponents complain that criminals will refit their guns to get rid of firing pins that stamp codes onto cartridges and will shave numbers off bullets, even though that would require them to take the bullet out of its cartridge. More likely, they say, criminals will simply avoid these weapons and buy their wares out of state or use black market items. Advertisement “Criminal street gang members and other perpetrators of crime, who are often under the legal age for buying handguns and ammunition, would have no trouble getting both from sources other than retailers,” Robert Baker, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, wrote in opposition to Dunn’s bill. Some forensics experts say that is giving too much credit to criminals who often do not bother to use gloves during crimes or take other precautionary measures. “Yes, there would be ways to get around that, but it’s not an easy thing to do,” said Joe Vince, a former agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who is now a forensics consultant in Frederick, Md. “In L.A. in particular, you have ghetto rounds, which is whatever you have in your pocket.” Lawrence Kobilinsky, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, said serializing ammunition was “probably something that should have been done long ago” but cautioned that its use would be limited so long as the requirement was limited to California. Advertisement “To have one state is well and good, but in order to be effective, it has to be national,” he said. But backers of the legislation hope that, as with many other California mandates, the state’s market is so large that manufacturers will find it cheaper to adopt the practices for all their wares rather than just for California’s. Advocates say they do not expect the technology to automatically solve every case but say they believe it would often provide a valuable clue. “It’s like any other tool, like fingerprints or copying down a license number,” Rossi, the state firearms chief, said. “There are limitations, but it can still be valuable.”

Wikimania

Wikimania is postponed until 2021. A letter from Katherine Maher to the Wikimedia Community 18 March 2020 Dear everyone, As a part of the Wikimedia movement’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are postponing Wikimania Bangkok 2020. This decision was made with the full support of the ESEAP host team and Wikimania Committee. Together, we will hold Wikimania in Bangkok in 2021. We are filled with sadness to not see you all in Bangkok in August. However, we are confident that this is the best possible decision for the well-being of our global community and public health overall. This decision was proposed by the ESEAP organizers in line with their countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO). You are certain to have many questions. We hope to answer some of your questions below. We will continue to answer questions on the Wikimania Meta-Wiki page and on the Wikimania Telegram group chat (more information below). What does “postponing” Wikimania mean? We will not host an in-person Wikimania in 2020. We are rescheduling Wikimania Bangkok until 2021. The ESEAP organizing team will continue their work as a regional collaborative between affiliates in the East, South East, and Pacific regions to host us in Thailand next year. The hotel and venue in Bangkok will remain the same. We have not yet finalized dates for 2021. We will work with the ESEAP team and Wikimania Steering Committee to confirm new dates. We will let you know these dates by the end of 2020. The good news is that Wikimania 2021 will coincide with Wikipedia’s 20th birthday year. We expect this to be a truly memorable Wikimania -- an opportunity to celebrate reconnection after a year apart, along with the remarkable accomplishment of two decades of free knowledge. Will there be an alternative to the in-person event? There are no plans by the 2020 Wikimania hosts to organize a virtual, online event. Hosting Wikimania is a lot of work. The ESEAP team is committed to hosting the best possible in-person event in Bangkok in 2021. Therefore, they will not have the capacity to organize a virtual Wikimania this year. However, the Wikimania committee, the ESEAP host team, and the Wikimedia Foundation all recognize that other members of the community may be interested in organizing a remote, global Wikimedia event for 2020. Although the Wikimedia Foundation does not have the capacity at this time to lead the organizing of a virtual online conference, we recognize others may have the desire to do so. We welcome discussion about online events. Interested parties are welcome to contact the Wikimania Steering Committee and Wikimania Foundation staff for advice on the Wikimania Meta-Wiki page. We are also considering proposals for improving the capacity of communities to organize local virtual convenings, and for how we can support communities in organizing impromptu local and regional Wikimedia events once the pandemic passes. As the situation has been changing rapidly we are still working on specifics and will share more information in the coming weeks. What does this mean for scholarship applications? We are working on a plan for how to process Wikimania 2020 scholarship applications. We will share more information in the coming weeks. How was this decision made? This recommendation was made by the ESEAP organizers based on what we know about the current COVID-19 global health pandemic and current WHO guidelines. The decision was made together with the ESEAP team in consultation with the Wikimania Steering Committee and Wikimedia Foundation. Together we are fully and unanimously aligned around this decision. Although we are genuinely sad to not have the opportunity to see you all this year, we also are fully supportive of this decision in all of our best interests. It allows our ESEAP community hosts to focus on the immediate needs of their families, local Wikimedia communities, and local communities as a whole. It is in line with global public health guidance and aligns the Wikimedia movement as a responsible actor in support of our common public good. We want to thank all volunteers and affiliates that have been involved with planning Wikimania. We’re especially appreciative of the ESEAP for their leadership, flexibility, and compassion, as we have worked together to make some difficult decisions on this important event. Where can I learn more about Wikimania 2021? There are a number of channels where Wikimania is regularly discussed and where plans for 2021 will be posted as they develop. We welcome all interested participants to bring together our collective wisdom and creativity to discuss what happens next with Wikimania. You can find these channels here: Wikimania wiki: https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania Wikimania mailing list: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l Freenode IRC channel: #wikimania Telegram group chat: https://t.me/wikimaniachat Where can I learn more about COVID-19 and Wikimedia? We know the Wikimedia community as generous and altruistic. Unsurprisingly, many volunteers have started applying their skills and attention to this current global pandemic. The Foundation created a page on Meta-Wiki where we can share and document the steps the Foundation and movement members are taking and ways to participate. We invite you to join us in documenting more about our collective response: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/COVID-19 Thank you. Our world, and many of our lives, have changed rapidly over these past few weeks. Yet we can look to history to take comfort that crises are also often moments when people put aside differences, prioritize community and care, and find ways to connect. The sense of community and purpose within the Wikimedia movement is a powerful rejoinder to these uncertain times. This is a moment in which not only what we do, but how we do it, will make a meaningful impact on the world. We are so grateful for all that you do as a movement to continue to rise to the challenges of our moment. Please, stay safe and take care. Katherine, on behalf of the: ESEAP Core Organizing Team Wikimania Steering Committee Wikimedia Foundation Events Team P.S. You can help translate and share this message via Meta-Wiki. You can also find additional information about Wikimedia's other actions regarding COVID-19 on Meta-Wiki: -- Katherine Maher (she/her) Executive Director Wikimedia Foundation

Steven Spielberg Baffled By Lack Of UFO Sightings

SPIELBERG CONFUSED BY DECREASE IN UFO SIGHTINGSOscar-winning director STEVEN SPIELBERG is baffled that fewer UFO sightings are made now than were made twenty years ago - because the technology to record would-be aliens is so commonplace today.The 59-year-old film-maker has made a string of alien-themed movies - CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, ET: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL and WAR OF THE WORLDS - and is disappointed it seems he'll never get the chance to see evidence of a UFO himself.Spielberg says, "There are millions of video cameras out there and they're picking up less videos of UFOs, alleged UFOs, than we picked up in the 1970s and 1980s. There's 150 per cent more cameras, so why are we getting less from up there?"I think that we all know that we're not alone in the universe. I can't imagine that we are the only intelligent biological life form out there. I'm a little less sure in my fifties that I was in my late twenties whether we're actually ever going to find out." Tagged in Steven Spielberg

Handywrite: An alternative handwriting system.

Overview A handwriting system that used the simplest possible strokes for letters would, of course, be faster to write with than longhand, which uses several, sometimes as many as four, strokes for each letter. And if the system were phonetic, words couldn't be misspelled! The usual 26 letter alphabet just doesn't have enough letters to represent all the 32+ sounds used in English, especially vowel sounds, so several letters are often used to represent a single sound. The word "ought," for example, uses five letters to write only two sounds. So a really slick form of handwriting would use one stroke for one sound. Simple, but too difficult? Not necessarily. You just need to learn to hear the sounds that you use when speaking English so you can write them, and then learn some simple symbols to represent those sounds. Since you have been taught to pay attention to 26 letters and not the actual sounds of English, tuning in to speech sounds may take some time, but can also be quite interesting and fun. In the box below is a summary of everything you need to learn to start writing faster. As a bonus, hardly anyone (probably no one you know) will be able to read your writing. Handywrite System Summary To better understand the above, study the following. Notice how, in the examples, each sound is often spelled several different ways. Consonants: (as in....) n m kn it— m it , kn ife—ca lm (no l sound) t d t wo— d o , s t opp ed (one p, ends in t)—fi dd le k g c oat— g oat , ba ck — gh ost r l r ake— l ake , wr ong—te ll p b p in— b een , ha pp y (only one p sound)—ra bb it f v f airy— v ery , lau gh —o f (v not f) h w h ow— w ow , wh o (starts with h)— w ine sh ch sh in— ch in , o ce an—wa tch ("ch" is the sound of t+sh, but gets a symbol of its own) zh j a z ure— j am , mea su re—bri dg e ("j" is the sound of d+zh as in "edge") ng nk si ng —si nk , lo ng —la nk ("nk" is the sound of ng+k) Th th th in— th en (same vowel) , th igh—brea the ("Thin" and "then" are the only two common words distinguished solely by the two forms of th, so if you get them mixed up writing other words, no big deal. By the way, the "th" in "then" or "the" occurs about ten times more often in writing than "Th" in "thin" or "think") s z s in— z en , sc ent—ha s (s, z, and x may curve two ways, whichever seems best) x y ex ample— y et , ex tra—on i on ("x" is the sound of k+s in fox, eh+k+s in extra, or eh+g+z in exact—if you need to be excruciatingly exact you could write extra as ) ll ny ll ama—ma n ana (These sounds are from foreign words such as "llama" when pronounced like "y" instead of "l." In Spain "ll" is like the "lli" in "million." The "ny" sound is the "ñ" in "mañana" or "canyon") Vowels: (as in...) ae bat , plaid , half , laugh , can , glad eh bet , many , said , says , bread , leopard ih bit , mini , Sid , busy , women , hymn a bot or bought , father , Don , far , caught , heart uh but , done , alone , circus , pencil ey bait , age , aid , say , they , vein i beet , team , people , key , equal ay bite , height , aisle , eye , lie , high (may be written with a forward or backward slant, but generally down) o boat , sew , open , toe , beau , yeoman yu butte , new , few , feud , beauty , view u boot , shoe , rule , blue , fruit , adieu c book, put , full , wolf , good , should au bout , house , bough , now , towel oy boil , boy , toil , voice , oil aw bawl , dawn , law , yawl—y'all , drawl (This is a minor vowel very close to the "short o" in Don. In practice this vowel sound can be represented by the symbol without confusion. So "all" or "awl" could be written or and so forth, but if you need to distinguish between "dawn" and "Don" or "la" and "law," "tock" and "talk," then you can—these being the among the few examples I have encountered that differ solely on the basis of these vowel sounds. Some words, like "bought" (bawt) and "bot" (baht) may be pronounced the same by some people, and so may be written the same. Note that when writing this symbol there is always at least one sharp angle between it and a consonant to distinguish it from the vowels and which may also be tear shaped when they sometimes blend in with two consonants— in which case there is no angle.) r bur , bird , first , word , honor , zephyr (A little known or acknowledged fact: "r" is a vowel, not a consonant. Generations of English teachers have mislead you. While I did list "r" with the consonants, I'm now giving you the straight dope. A vowel sound is one you can make in a continuous manner using your vocal cords with mouth open until you run out of breath. Try it. Consonants are the various ways vowels can be modified at the beginning or end of them. Say "ahahahahahahahah," now say "rrrrrrrrrrrrr." Obviously "R" is a vowel. Some admit only that it's a semivowel, but I prefer to say the emperor has no clothes and claim it's a vowel. Next time you're around an English teacher or other language expert, argue this point ad nausium until they concede.) Consonant Blends Some consonant sounds often blend with others. For example "bl" or "fr." When possible, the symbols for consonants that blend also blend. Here are some examples. pr , pl , br , bl , fr , fl , gr , gl kr , kl , wr , hw , kw , rk , sp , sl Note that most words starting with "wh" are actually pronounced "hw" with a few exceptions like "who" which is just "h" plus "oo" without a "w" sound. Also, "nt" can be written or blended into . The vowels in the syllables "ten," "ton," and "tin" are often indistinctly pronounced, especially at the ends of words (as in "cotton"), and may be heard as just "t+n" which can be blended into as in "cott'n pick'n good." Another handy blend is to use for "d" or "ed" at the end of a word by making the hook with a counter-clockwise motion as in "and" or "bird" . This differs from the vowel usage of this symbol which is always written clockwise as in "know" . Alternative Vowel Symbols If you find that distinguishing between clockwise and counter clockwise circles is too confusing, you could eliminate the distinction at the cost of using two-stroke symbols to stand for single sounds. A large circle in any direction would be "uh" in "but," and a small circle in any direction would be used for the "ih" in "bit." This leaves the need to come up with symbols for the "ah" in "father" and "eh" in "bet" sounds. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) uses the following symbols for these sounds and similar symbols could be used in Handywrite. Try out the alternatives and see what feels best for you. Typing the Handywrite Alphabet It is useful to assign the sounds in the Handywrite phonetic alphabet to keyboard characters that are quick to type. Since you already know most of the characters, learning a few more will allow you to type words phonetically. Play around with the following and you may find it isn't that hard to print/type phonetically. Here are typeable characters for each sound based on international usage: The above usage will make sense if you are familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Since the IPA is the only really good pronunciation guide, I would suggest studying it, and using the above simplified typeable version to break down words into basic speech sounds. Because our interest is to write using only the minimum number of distinctive vowel and consonant sounds needed to tell one word from another, it would be correct to say that Handywrite uses a phonemic rather than phonetic alphabet. One symbol may stand for two speech sounds provided they differ only slightly (as allophones) and are not used to differenctiate between words. True homophones, of course, cannot be written differently using a phonemic or phonetic alphabet, so "their" and "there" are written the same. Since "c" is not used for a consonant sound, it is used to represent the vowel in "bull" or "book." Sometimes a vowel is indistinct or non-existent. The word "nation" could be pronounced "neyshuhn," "neyshihn," "neyshehn," or with no vowel in "neyshn." In such cases, go with the simplest and write "shn" for "-tion" or "-sion." Phonetics is phun. As infants we have the ability to hear all possible speech sounds used in any language. With maturity most of us lose the ability to hear speech sounds not in our native language. In some languages, for example, there is no distinction made between "p" and "b" so if you say "pet" then "bet" native speakers will hear both as the same word. With other sounds, English speakers have the same impairment. The vowel "e," as in Spanish "el bebe," is not normally found in English other than in the diphthong "ey" as in "bait" or Spanish "ley," which is the "e" sound with the slight addition of the "i" in "beet." The "e" vowel is a tensed form of "eh" in "bet," but sounds more like "ey" to English speakers. So English speakers tend to hear "el" to rhyme with "bell (behl)" and "bebe" to rhyme with the first vowel in "baby (beybi), while Spanish speakers hear "ey," they tend not to hear any difference between "eh" and "e." In Handywrite both "eh (bet)" and "e (bebe)" are represented by the same counter-clockwise small loop, even though these sound like two distinct vowel sounds to English speakers. For practical purposes, "eh" or "e" is also the first vowel in "hair," "care," or "air" when followed by "r." In Handywrite, then, "hair" would be . Here's an example from Spanish: El mes de julio es un mes de fiestas por todo el mundo hispano. el mes de hulio es un mes de fiestas por todo el mundo ispano. Not too many differences, since Spanish is quite phonetic to begin with. An English speaker learning Spanish might phonetically write the above as: ehl meys dey hulio ehs un meys dey fiehstuhs por todo ehl mundo hispano. Ah, so that's why I speak Spanish with such a thick accent! Using the international based characters with English would look like this: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs, and that made me laugh. thuh kwihk braun fax juhmps ovr thi leyzi dagz, ænd thæt meyd mi læf. Not nearly as close to normal spelling as with Spanish, but English orthography is only marginally phonetic—about 40%. Note that the vowel in "cat" can be typed as "ae" or as a single character "æ" if you have an international keyboard. The above international typeable version should be used along with a dictionary that uses the IPA system to help you make sense of phonetics. While the IPA may seem confusing, the other pronunciation guides used by many dictionaries are confusing. Free Lessons: So much for the overview. To learn more, here are your free lessons: Visit our Zazzle store: Support this site: Visit our Zazzle store featuring ultra hi-res images of artworks, Hubble/ESA/NASA space images, Mandelbrot fractals, maps and more. Images up to 525 megapixels allow for fine printing at the largest sizes. Give a fine print as a gift that could hang on someone's wall for a hundred years.

Bush rejects Kyoto-style G8 deal

Bush says new technologies are the way forward Speaking to British broadcaster ITV, he said he would instead be talking to fellow leaders about new technologies as a way of tackling global warming. But he conceded that the issue was one "we've got to deal with" and said human activity was "to some extent" to blame. Tony Blair is hoping for agreements on climate change and Africa when he hosts the summit in Scotland this week. Mr Bush said he would resist measures that were similar to the 1997 UN Kyoto Protocol, involving legally binding reductions on carbon emissions, which Washington never ratified. I think what matters more than the exact theology is where people end up Margaret Beckett UK Environment Secretary African leaders ready for G8 "If this looks like Kyoto, the answer is no," he said in an interview with ITV's Tonight With Trevor McDonald programme to be broadcast on Monday. "The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy, if I can be blunt." He said he hoped the other G8 leaders would "move beyond the Kyoto debate" and consider new technologies. He said the US was investing in developing clean energy techniques such as sequestration of carbon dioxide in underground wells, hydrogen-powered cars and zero emission power stations. Divided opinion UK Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett told the BBC's Today programme that negotiations were likely to "go to the wire". "I think what matters more than the exact theology is where people end up," she said. French President Jacques Chirac has said he is hopeful of reaching a deal on climate change, but German environment minister Juergen Trittin said he was "very sceptical on the willingness of the US to move". One of Mr Bush's main domestic critics on global warming, Senator John McCain, called the president's approach on the issue "disgraceful". "I'm not quite sure how you'll bridge the gap," he told the BBC's Today programme, but he said he hoped the president and Mr Blair would be able to forge a compromise. Farm subsidies In the ITV interview, Mr Bush showed signs of coming into line with general world opinion by describing climate change as "a significant, long-term issue that we've got to deal with". WHAT IS THE G8? Name Group of seven major industrialised states and Russia Members Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK, US Aims Originally set up to discuss trade and economic issues Now leaders discuss global issues of the day 2005 Summit agenda Africa Climate change Read the full profile But he rejected the idea he should support the British prime minister's G8 plan in return for his support over Iraq. "Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did," he said. "So I go to the G8 not really trying to make him look bad or good, but I go to the G8 with an agenda that I think is best for our country." HAVE YOUR SAY Even if Bush signs onto Kyoto, there's no way the Senate will approve it Rob, NY, USA Send us your comments On the issue of tackling African poverty, President Bush signalled he was ready to abandon US farm subsidies - but only if the European Union was prepared to scrap its Common Agricultural Policy. Farm subsidies are said to unfairly distort the world market faced by African farmers. "We've got agricultural subsidies, [but] not nearly to the extent that our friends in the EU have," he said. The G8 leaders - from Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US - meet in Gleneagles on Wednesday for the start of the three-day summit.

2 Are Charged With Murder in IPod Theft

"We sent him out there to get away from this horrible life," Christopher's father, Errol Rose, said yesterday. "All these years -- seven and a half years -- I've been back and forth from Pennsylvania with this boy. He didn't last too long before they rubbed him out." Christopher and his friends were on their way to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to catch a bus back to Pennsylvania on Saturday when they were attacked. Usually, someone would drive him to the subway or take him to the bus terminal, Mr. Rose said. But since he and his wife were attending a wedding, Mr. Rose said he gave Christopher permission to head back on his own. It was one of the few times the Roses had allowed Christopher to walk around the neighborhood alone. Just before Christopher left his family's home, his father called to give him clear instructions. Mr. Rose said that Christopher and three friends -- had planned to take the subway to the bus terminal, where they would catch a bus to Pennsylvania, arriving in time to watch a fireworks display. Traveling with Christopher were Kenneth and two brothers, Richard, 15, and Jonathan, 11, whose mother asked that their last name be withheld. "Don't talk to strangers; if you need to talk to anybody, talk to someone in uniform," Mr. Rose recalled saying. He called Christopher back to emphasize his point. "Did you hear what I said?" he asked. Christopher was stabbed to death just a few minutes later on 40th Street near Avenue D, a block and a half from his home. Several teenagers approached Christopher and his three friends just after they began walking on Avenue D. Richard was showing Kenneth his iPod when one of the older boys approached them and demanded it, Kenneth said. Richard handed the iPod to Jonathan before turning back toward the Rose home. Several teenagers in another group, some riding bikes, began approaching them. "There were like 15 or 20 of them, and there were more coming," Kenneth said yesterday. He spoke in front of the Rose family home with his back facing the news cameras, hiding his swollen and bruised right eye. "We were trying to get away."

Use This Phone to Find a Date. Or See Videos. Or Even Talk.

Amp'd Mobile is a new kind of cellular service, but the company's founder scarcely thinks of himself as being in the phone business. What he's out to sell is wireless entertainment. When Amp'd begins service, its handsets will practically overflow with content and features more commonly associated with television and the Internet, said Peter Adderton, the 38-year-old founder and chief executive of the company. The offerings planned at the outset late this year include full-motion video of news, sports, concerts and other live events, as well as movie and television clips and music videos. Added to the mix will be high-speed music downloads, 3-D games, video blogs, a dating service, text messaging and an assortment of ring tones and wallpaper. And, of course, Amp'd phones will handle conventional calls, Mr. Adderton said. "I think our launch is going to fuel the mobile media community in the United States," he said in an interview. "We are thinking of it from a media perspective and an entertainment perspective rather than from a wireless perspective."

Copyright and the law - Rip. Mix. Burn.

AS USUAL, America's Supreme Court ended its annual term this week by delivering a clutch of controversial decisions. The one that caught the attention of businessmen, and plenty of music lovers, was a ruling concerning the rampant downloading of free music from the internet. Nine elderly judges might have been forgiven for finding the entire subject somewhat baffling. In fact, their lengthy written decisions on the case betray an intense interest, as well as a great deal of knowledge. Moreover, they struck what looks like the best available balance under current laws between the claims of media firms, which are battling massive infringements of their copyrights, and tech firms, which are keen to keep the doors to innovation wide open (see article). This case is only the latest episode in a long-running battle between media and technology companies. In 1984, in a case involving Sony's Betamax video recorder, the Supreme Court ruled that technology firms are not liable if their users infringe copyright, provided the device is “capable of substantial non-infringing uses”. For two decades, this served as a green light for innovations. Apple's iTunes, the legal offspring of illegal internet file-sharing, is among the happy results. But lately, things have turned against the techies. In 2000, a California court shut down Napster, a distributor of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software. It had, the court decided, failed to stop copyright violations (though the firm relaunched as a legal online-music retailer). In its ruling this week, the court unanimously took the view that two other P2P firms, Grokster and StreamCast, could be held liable if they encourage users to infringe copyrights. The vast majority of content that is swapped using their software infringes copyrights, which media firms say eats into their sales. Although the software firms argued they should not be responsible for their customers' actions, the court found that they could be sued if they actually encouraged the infringement, and said that there was evidence that they had done so. On the other hand, the court did not go as far as media firms demanded: they wanted virtually any new technology to be vulnerable to legal action if it allowed any copyright infringement at all. Turning customers into pirates Both the entertainment and technology industries have legitimate arguments. Media firms should be able to protect their copyrights. And without any copyright protection of digital content, they may be correct that new high quality content is likely to dry up (along with much of their business). Yet tech and electronics firms are also correct that holding back new technology, merely because it interferes with media firms' established business models, stifles innovation and is an unjustified restraint of commerce. The music industry is only now embracing online sales (and even experimenting itself with P2P) because rampant piracy has demonstrated what consumers really want, and forced these firms to respond. The Supreme Court tried to steer a middle path between these claims, and did a reasonable job. But the outcome of the case is nevertheless unsatisfactory. That's not the court's fault. It was struggling to apply a copyright law which has grown worse than anachronistic in the digital age. That's something Congress needs to remedy. In America, the length of copyright protection has increased enormously over the past century, from around 28 years to as much as 95 years. The same trend can be seen in other countries. In June Britain signalled that it may extend its copyright term from 50 years to around 90 years. This makes no sense. Copyright was originally intended to encourage publication by granting publishers a temporary monopoly on works so they could earn a return on their investment. But the internet and new digital technologies have made the publication and distribution of works much easier and cheaper. Publishers should therefore need fewer, not more, property rights to protect their investment. Technology has tipped the balance in favour of the public domain. A first, useful step would be a drastic reduction of copyright back to its original terms—14 years, renewable once. This should provide media firms plenty of chance to earn profits, and consumers plenty of opportunity to rip, mix, burn their back catalogues without breaking the law. The Supreme Court has somewhat reluctantly clipped the wings of copyright pirates; it is time for Congress to do the same to the copyright incumbents.

İnfosatellite | En Güncel Kişisel Blog

Köpeğinizin güvenliği açısından tasmalar oldukça önemlidir. Köpeklerin beden yapısı ve eğitim düzeyine göre tasma seçimi de farklılık gösterecektir. Her köpek cinsine göre farklı şekilde ve kalınlıkta tasmalar üretilmektedir. Kısa boynu olan köpeklere takılan kalın tasmalar yanlış olacak ve köpeğinizin nefes almasını zorlaştıracaktır. Bu sebeple kalın boyunlu ve kısa boyunlu bir köpek ırkından olan köpeğiniz var ise ince bir tasma tercih etmeniz gerekecektir. İnce ve uzun boyunlu bir ırktan gelen köpeğiniz var ise tasma tercihinizi kalın olanlardan yapmanız gerekecektir. Bu tipte bir köpeğiniz varsa köpek tasması alırken dikkat etmeniz gerekenler arasında gövde destekli bir tasma olması vardır. Köpeğinize zarar verecek, tüylerini ve derisini tahriş edecek malzemelerden üretilen köpek tasmalarını tercih etmekten uzak durmalısınız. Bazı köpeklerde gezme esnasında çekme huyu vardır. Eğer sizin can dostunuzda da böyle bir huy var ise köpek tasmanızı seçerken boyun tasmalarından uzak durmak gerekir. Göğüs tasmaları, her köpek cinsi için en sağlıklı olan seçim olacaktır. Köpeğinizin boynundan geçirerek ön bacakların arkasından gövdeyi destekleyecek şekilde olan tasmalar, can dostunuzun fizyolojik açıdan zarar görmesini engelleyecektir. Özellikle atlama huyu olan ince boyuna sahip bir köpeğiniz varsa, gez esnasından ani hareketler boynuna zarar verecektir. Bu sebeple her boyut ve her ırk için çeşitli boyutlarda olan göğüs tasmalarını tercih etmek yerinde bir karar olacaktır. Boyun tasmaları sadece evde ve bahçedeyken köpeğinizin ismini asacağınız türden tasmalardır. Yürüyüş için uygun değildir. Yeni doğan bir köpek sahiplendiyseniz veya köpeğiniz yeni doğum yaptı ise yavru köpeğinizin boynunda devamlı olarak isminin yazılı olduğu bir tasma bulundurun. Ev ortamında kullanılan kayışsız köpek tasmaları zamanla yavru köpeğinizin boynunu sıkmaya başlar. Bu sebeple hemen her gün yavru köpeğinizin boynu ile tasma arasındaki mesafe ölçülmelidir. Küçük geldiği anlaşılan tasma değiştirilmelidir. Yavru veya yetişkin bütün köpeklerde isim etiketi bulunan köpek tasması kullanılması gerekir. Özellikle yeni sahiplenilen yavru köpekler alışana kadar sık sık ortadan kaybolur. Büyük köpeklerde ise oyun oynamak sebebiyle ortadan kaybolma ihtimali bulunur. Kaybolan veya gözden kaybolan köpeklerin kolaylıkla bulunması için çeşitli şekillerde üretilen köpek taşmalarına mutlaka isimlerinin yazılması gerekir. Ev içerisinde kaybolan küçük dostunuzun kolay bulmak için de tasmasının ucuna küçük ziller takılabilir. Böylece hareket ettiği taktirde köpeğinizi saklandığı yerden kolaylıkla çıkarabilirsiniz. Tasmalar köpeğinizin kimliği anlamına gelir. Köpeğiniz daha küçücük bir yavruyken tasma eğitimine başlamak gerekir. Köpekler yavru iken tasma eğitimini almaları birkaç gün sürer. Ancak yaşları büyüdükçe tasmayı kabul etmeleri daha uzun zaman almaktadır. Tasma eğitimini erken başlatmanız, köpeğinizi eğittiğiniz diğer konularda da size yardımcı olacaktır. Örneğin yürüyüş ve tuvalet eğitimi esnasında da tasma eğitimi kullanılabilir. Tasmaya alıştırma aşamasında tasma kayışı kullanmak doğru olmaz. Çünkü köpeğiniz hareket edip sağa sola atıldıkça kayışı fark eder ve onu tehdit olarak algılar. Bu sebeple tasma eğitimine başlarken kayış kullanılmaz. Köpeklerin eğitimi için kullanılan tasmalar, normal köpek tasmalarından farklıdır. Dikenli veya çivili olan eğitim tasmaları köpeklerin eğitimi için kullanılan bir çeşit tasmadır. Bu özel tasmalar sadece özel köpekler için kullanılır. Köpeğin canını yakmamak için dikenli veya çivili tasmaların dikenleri dış tarafa doğru olacak şekilde köpeğin boynuna takılmalıdır. Eğitim tasmaları kullanılırken zincir kullanmak kaçınmalı, normal tasma kayışı tercih edilmelidir. Köpeğiniz belirli bir yaşa geldiği zaman dışarıya çıkmak için uygun hale gelir. Bu esnada dışarı için uygun tasma eğitimini köpeğinize vermeniz gerekir. Bunun için öncelikle kayışsız boyun tasması kullanmak gerekir. Gezinti süresince köpeğinizin yanınızdan ayrılmasını engellemek için köpeğinizin sevdiği mamaları ödül olarak kullanabilirsiniz. Kaynak: https://www.petbesinleri.com.tr/

Profits, Not Jobs, on the Rebound in Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 1 - Things are looking up at Wyse Technology, a venerable maker of computer terminals. Unless, that is, you happen to want to work for the company here in Silicon Valley. Responding to booming demand in Asia and in Europe, Wyse is adding new development teams in India and China and expanding its worldwide work force to about 380, from 260. Its profits are recorded here -- but almost none of its new jobs. Amid widespread signs of economic recovery in the region, Wyse is emblematic of its economy, in which demand, sales and profits are rising quickly while job growth continues to stagnate. In the last three years, profits at the seven largest companies in Silicon Valley by market value have increased by an average of more than 500 percent while Santa Clara County employment has declined to 767,600, from 787,200. During the previous economic recovery, between 1995 and 1997, the county, which is the heart of Silicon Valley, added more than 82,800 jobs.

For the First Time, a Spacecraft Impacts With a Comet

The impact was observed by scores of telescopes at ground observatories, as well as NASA's Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra observatories in Earth orbit, and other spacecraft. Rick Grammier, the mission's project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the encounter came off without a hitch. The flyby craft, with high and medium-resolution telescopic cameras and an infrared spectrometer for identifying materials ejected from the comet, successfully monitored the impact from 5,300 miles away. The craft also emerged undamaged after passing within 310 miles of the comet while ducking behind a set of shields designed to protect it from dust and other particles streaming from the comet. "We have a healthy flyby spacecraft," Mr. Grammier said at the news conference. It is particularly gratifying, he added, to have such success on July 4th, the nation's birthday. "I actually hope it's made America proud," he said. After its close approach, the flyby craft pivoted around and took more pictures of the receding comet. It then continued its playback of data it and the impactor collected during the encounter. The battery-powered impactor separated from the flyby craft 24 hours before colliding with Tempel 1. During the last two hours, to impactor used an autonomous navigation system to pick a target point on the sun side of the comet and made three course corrections to reach it. The craft also took increasingly detailed pictures with its telescopic camera as impact closed in, shooting its last image just 3.7 seconds before the collision. Late images from the impactor, the best ever taken of a comet, showed a moon-like surface with flat plains, circular craters and a long, irregular ridge. Some of the last pictures appeared to show the impactor coming in between two mile-wide craters. Scientists are interested in comets because they are believed to be remnants of the materials that formed the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago. Astronomers believe the interiors of comets have undergone little change since then and contain the pristine ice, gases, dust and other materials from which the rest of the solar system formed. An added reason to probe comets is that they, along with rocky asteroids, pose the threat of hitting the Earth and causing cataclysmic damage. Potential planetary defense requires knowing more about these objects in hopes of deflecting or destroying dangerous ones, experts say.

Cure writer's block with writing prompts, exercises, generators & gizmos

Anais Nin's Collage Technique "The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say."

Champ a top dog again with 49 wieners

Champ a top dog again with 49 wieners Takeru Kobayashi of Japan downed 49 frankfurters Monday to win his fifth hot-dog eating title. RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in. Or, visit Follow the news that matters to you.alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions. NEW YORK (CNN) -- Takeru Kobayashi won his fifth consecutive hot-dog eating title Monday by downing 49 frankfurters in 12 minutes, leaving 17 competitors in his wake. But the Nagano, Japan, eating champion fell short of his personal best set last year -- a record 53.5 hot dogs and buns. "I'm very sad," Kobayashi, 27, said through an interpreter. "I came here to beat it. Maybe next year I will." American Sonya Thomas, 37, placed second. Her consumption of 37 frankfurters set an American record. "I trained for speed," said the diminutive dog devourer, who weighs 100 pounds, stands 5 feet 5 inches and manages a Burger King restaurant in Virginia. "My stomach doesn't hurt, but my jaw is tired," she said less than an hour after finishing the competition. "Maybe tonight, I'm going to eat a light dinner, a kind of salad." Finishing third, with 32 hot dogs under his belt, was Joey Chestnut, 21, from San Jose, California. Heft did not appear to confer any advantage: At 150 pounds, Kobayashi weighs half of what some of his competitors weigh. He also holds records for eating 17.7 pounds of cow brains, 20 pounds of noodles and 20 pounds of rice balls. Kobayashi credited his technique for Monday's win. He breaks the hot dog in two, eats it, then soaks the buns in water before swallowing them. Kobayashi retains the "Coveted Mustard Yellow International Belt" and wins a year's supply of hot dogs from Nathan's, sponsor of the annual event. The competition has been held at Surf and Stillwell avenues in Brooklyn's Coney Island section since 1916. CNN's Allan Chernoff, Adam Reiss and Shannon Troetel contributed to this report. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

Man convicted for chipping Xbox

The Xbox was fitted with a 200GB hard drive packed with games The Cambridge graduate was sentenced at Caerphilly Magistrates' Court to 140 hours of community service. The man had been selling modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big hard drive containing 80 games. "This case sets a major precedent which marks a milestone in the fight against piracy," said games industry spokesman Michael Rawlinson. Bypass controls The conviction is the first of its kind in the UK, where the modification of video games consoles has been an illegal practice since October 2003, when the UK enacted the EU Copyright Directive. It sends a clear message to anyone tempted to become involved in chipping consoles that this is a criminal offence and will be dealt with accordingly Michael Rawlinson, Elspa Consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation 2 can be modified by chips that are soldered to a console's main circuit board to bypass copyright controls. The chips allow people to play games purchased legitimately in other countries, as well as running backup copies or bootleg discs. In this case, the man was tracked down by an investigator working for the UK games industry trade body, the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association, (Elspa). The man, who has not yet been named, was selling modified Xbox consoles, fitted with a 200GB hard drive and 80 pre-installed games, via his website for £380. Elspa informed Caerphilly County Borough Council Trading Standards and Gwent Constabulary, as well as helping to collect forensic evidence used by the prosecution. The man was sentenced to 140 hours community service and ordered to pay £750 in costs. The court also seized his equipment - three PCs, two printers, three Xbox consoles and 38 hard drives. "It sends a clear message to anyone tempted to become involved in chipping consoles that this is a criminal offence and will be dealt with accordingly," said Mr Rawlinson, deputy director general of Elspa. "The modification of consoles is an activity that Elspa's anti-piracy team is prioritising. It is encouraging to see the UK courts do the same." In July last year, Sony won a legal battle to ban the selling of mod chips in the UK.

View maps from various sources on your mobile phone!

Mobile GMaps is a FREE application that displays maps from Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, Windows Live Local (MSN Virtual Earth), Ask.com, Open Street Map and other sources on Java J2ME-enabled mobile phones, PDAs and other devices. MGMaps can connect to a GPS receiver over bluetooth or use internal GPS features on some phones in order to automatically display the map for your current position. You can pre-download maps and store them on your memory card in order to use them on the go without accessing the internet. Mobile GMaps is distributed under the Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivs Creative Commons license. You may download, use and distribute the application free of charge only for personal, non-commercial purposes. Development Stopped (November 27 th , 2011) Actually, MGMaps development stopped about two years ago... but never was announced on this new page. So here it is, I am no longer actively working on this project. There is a (tiny) chance the project will be revived and ported, but unless that happens you can consider the MGMaps project closed. I have thought of porting it to Android and/or iPhone, but the work and time needed for that outweigh possible benefits -- there are many apps that provide offline maps on both platforms (including the official Google Maps on Android). Cristian Streng http://www.mobiversal.com Site map We're working to redesign this website and make it easier to find the information you need, until then please check the links below. New pages: /cache/ — tools for downloading map tiles and caching them in MGMaps for use with the stored maps feature. feature. /create/ — Shustrik's .map file creation tool for MGMaps. Allows you to select an area and generate a file that you can use with the caching tools (gMapMaker or MapTileFE). /stored/ — Tutorial for stored maps by David Villeneuve. /winset/ — instructions to install Mobile GMaps on a Windows-Mobile smartphone or PDA / PocketPC. Please check the MGMaps forum for more up-to-date information. /kml/ — view maps from Windows Live, Yahoo and other sources in Google Earth. The rest: MGMaps News — to-do list and news about the application (check here for new versions) Download Page — contains instructions for downloading MGMaps to your mobile phone Forum — discuss any questions related to Mobile GMaps Help Center — configuration and usage instructions, frequently-asked questions, known problems, list of supported phones and operators and more. The instructions are a bit outdated, they were written for an older version of MGMaps - for new info check the forum. Feedback — Do you like MGMaps ? Do you hate it? Have you found any bugs? Would you like a feature implemented? Do you have any questions not answered in the FAQ? — send a message and let me know! This website and the application are under permanent development, come back often to check for new versions. Mobile GMaps is copyright © 2005-2011 by Cristian Streng. The application uses the floating-point library copyright © 2002-2005 by Nikolay Klimchuk and available for free download here. This application is NOT affiliated with or officially supported by Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask.com or any of their partners. All map tiles and satellite imagery displayed by the application are copyright by Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and their partners, and all searches are performed using Google Maps search features. Read the Google Maps Terms and Conditions, Yahoo! Maps Terms of Use, Windows Live Local Terms of Use and Ask Maps Terms of Service for more information.

The Long Tail: "Pre-filters" vs. "Post-filters"

One of the themes that I'm developing in the book is the notion that "a Long Tail without good filters is just noise." But what are good filters? To begin, I'm using the catch-all term "filters" (which I'm not crazy about; anyone got a better word?) to describe the tools that help you find what's right for you in the massive variety of the Long Tail. The examples I use most often are search and recommendations from either people (be they influential bloggers or just friends) or software, such as Amazon-style collaborative filtering ("people like you bought..."). There are, of course, many other kinds of filters. Rankings (by anything from sales to reviews) tap the wisdom of the crowd to identify quality or value. Everyone loves best-of lists, and playlist sharing is a fast-growing way to discover new music, whether through the good taste of other fans or the questionable taste of Beyoncé. And then there's the role of the critic, tastemaker or editor, for which there is now demand in even the narrowest niches. But when you think about it, the world is already full of a different kind of filter. In the scarcity-driven markets of limited shelves, screens and channels that we've lived with for most of the past century, entire industries are created around finding and promoting the good stuff. This is what the A&R talent scouts at the record labels do, along with the Hollywood studio executives and store purchasing managers ("Buyers"). In boardrooms around the world, market research teams pour over data that predicts what's likely to sell and thus deserves to win a valuable spot on the shelf, screen or page...and what doesn't. The key word in the preceding paragraph is "predict". What's different about those kinds of filters and the ones I've been focusing on is that they filter before things get to market. Indeed, their job is to decide what will make it to market and what won't. I call them "pre-filters". By contrast, the recommendations and search technologies that I'm writing about are "post-filters". They find the best of what's already out there in their area of interest, elevating the good (relevant, interesting, original, etc.) and ignoring or downplaying the bad. When I talk about throwing everything out there and letting the marketplace sort it out, these post-filters are the voice of the marketplace. They channel consumer behavior and amplify it, rather than trying to predict it. This is an important distinction. In the existing Short Tail markets, where distribution is expensive and shelf space is at a premium, the supply side of the market has to be exceedingly discriminating in what it lets through. These producers, retailers and marketers have made a science of trying to guess what people will want, to improve their odds of picking winners. They don't always guess right--there are surely as many things that deserved to make it market but were overlooked as there are things that made it to market and then flopped--but the survivors get a reputation for some sort of mystical insight into the consumer psyche. But in Long Tail markets, where distribution is cheap and shelf space is plentiful, the safe bet is to assume that everything is eventually going to be available. The role of filter then shifts from gatekeeper to advisor. Rather than predicting taste, post-filters such as Google measure it. Rather than lumping consumer into pre-determined demographic and psychographic categories, post-filters such as Amazon's custom recommendations treat them like individuals who reveal their likes and dislikes through their behavior. Rather than keeping things off the market, post-filters such as MP3 blogs create a markets for things that are already available by stimulating demand for them. Here, in chart form, are some examples: Interestingly, when I consider my own role I find that I do both. As the editor of a magazine with a finite number of pages, I'm a classic pre-filter. I indulge in all sorts of brutal discrimination and guesswork to decide which articles to run. But Wired also does lots of product reviews, and in that respect, we're a post-filter. We look at the universe of what's already out there and bring the best stuff to our readers' attention. As long as there's a market for a pre-filtered package in the deliciously finite medium of bound glossy paper, I suspect there will continue to be demand for my old-fashioned discriminatory side. But the day when people like me decide what makes it to market and what doesn't is fading. Soon everything will make it to market and the real opportunity will be in sorting it all out. (Note: If the image at the top of this page were mine, and not just randomly stolen from some site, I'd title it The Pre-Filters. Guys with shades manhandling someone in a limo is pretty much my mental image of the music industry.)

German admits creating Sasser

The 19-year-old is being tried as a minor behind closed doors Sven Jaschan is charged with computer sabotage, disrupting public services and illegally altering data. The 19-year-old is being tried as a minor behind closed doors as he was 17 when he wrote the worm. Sasser wrought havoc in many companies when the Windows worm struck in May 2004, swamping net links and making computers unusable. As the day's legal proceedings started, Mr Jaschan "admitted to the alleged offences in every detail," said a court spokeswoman. Defendants under German law do not enter formal pleas so the trial continues despite Mr Jaschan's confession. The trial in Verden in northwest Germany is expected to last three days, with a possible verdict on Thursday. He is likely to escape the maximum sentence of five years in prison since he is being tried as a juvenile. He now works for a German security software company called Securepoint. Worldwide disruption A $250,000 bounty offered by Microsoft produced a tip-off that led German police to Sven Jaschan in May 2004. The German authorities have called a public broadcaster and three German city councils as witnesses to describe the disruption that the worm caused. Sven Jaschan is being tried as a juvenile Check-in for some British Airways flights was also delayed thanks to Sasser. Around the world, the Australian Railcorp trains stopped running because computer problems caused by Sasser made it impossible for drivers to talk to signalmen. In Taiwan, more than 400 branches of the post office were forced to use pen and paper because Sasser crashed desktop PCs. Soon after being arrested in May 2004 at his home in Waffensen, Mr Jaschan reportedly confessed that he was the creator of Sasser and some versions of the Netsky virus. Anti-virus firm Sophos estimates that 70% of all the virus infections in the first half of 2004 could be blamed on Mr Jaschan's creations. Statistics gathered by Sophos show that in the first six months of 2005 there were four variants of Netsky in the top 10 viruses and they accounted for 25.5% of all infections. Unlike many other viruses, Sasser made its way from computer to computer without help from users. It got into Windows computers by exploiting a programming bug in the operating system. Although Microsoft had released a patch for this loophole on 13 and 28 April 2004, many companies had not applied this protection before Sasser struck.

Revealed: grim world of new Iraqi torture camps

When I first interviewed him a year ago he was suspected of contacts with the insurgency. Certainly he supported resistance to US forces. More recently, an-Ni'ami had dropped out of sight. Then, a little over a month ago, relatives say, paramilitary police commandos from 'Rapid Intrusion' found him at a family home in the Sha'ab neighbourhood of northern Baghdad. His capture was reported on television as that of a senior 'terrorist commander'. Twelve hours later his body turned up in the morgue. What happened to him in his 24 hours in captivity was written across his body in chapters of pain, recorded by the camera. There are police-issue handcuffs still attached to one wrist, from which he was hanged long enough to cause his hands and wrists to swell. There are burn marks on his chest, as if someone has placed something very hot near his right nipple and moved it around. A little lower are a series of horizontal welts, wrapping around his body and breaking the skin as they turn around his chest, as if he had been beaten with something flexible, perhaps a cable. There are other injuries: a broken nose and smaller wounds that look like cigarette burns. An arm appears to have been broken and one of the higher vertebrae is pushed inwards. There is a cluster of small, neat circular wounds on both sides of his left knee. At some stage an-Ni'ami seems to have been efficiently knee-capped. It was not done with a gun - the exit wounds are identical in size to the entry wounds, which would not happen with a bullet. Instead it appears to have been done with something like a drill. What actually killed him however were the bullets fired into his chest at close range, probably by someone standing over him as he lay on the ground. The last two hit him in the head. The gruesome detail is important. Hanging by the arms in cuffs, scorching of the body with something like an iron and knee-capping are claimed to be increasingly prevalent in the new Iraq. Now evidence is emerging that appears to substantiate those claims. Not only Iraqis make the allegations. International officials describe the methods in disgusted but hushed tones, laying them at the door of the increasingly unaccountable forces attached to Iraq's Ministry of the Interior. The only question that remains is the level of the co-ordination of the abuse: whether Iraq is stumbling towards a policy of institutionalised torture or whether these are incidents carried out by rogue elements. Six months ago, Human Rights Watch (HRW) laid out a catalogue of alleged abuses being applied to those suspected of terrorism in Iraq and called for an independent complaints body in Iraq. But as the insurgency has grown hotter, so too, it appears, have been the methods employed in the dirty counter-insurgency war. To add to HRW's allegations of beatings, electric shocks, arbitrary arrest, forced confessions and detention without trial, The Observer can add its own charges These include the most brutal kinds of torture, with methods resurrected from the time of Saddam; of increasingly widespread extra-judicial executions; and of the existence of a 'ghost' network of detention facilities - in parallel with those officially acknowledged - that exist beyond all accountability to international human rights monitors, NGOs and even human rights officials of the new Iraqi government. What is most shocking is that it is done under the noses of US and UK officials, some of whom admit that they are aware of the abuses being perpetrated by units who are diverting international funding to their dirty war. Hassan an-Ni'ami may well have been a terrorist. Or he may have had knowledge of that terrorism. Or he may have been someone who objected too loudly to foreign troops being in Iraq. We will never know. He had no opportunity to defend himself, no lawyer, no trial. His interrogation and killing were a breach of international law. And it is not only the case of an-Ni'ami but others too, all arrested by units of the Ministry of the Interior, many of whom were tortured and subsequently killed. Post-mortem images show a dozen or so farmers from the insurgent hotbed of Medayeen who were apparently seized by police as they slept in one of Baghdad's markets and whose bodies were discovered on a rubbish dump in shallow graves to the north of the city. Like an-Ni'ami, their bodies also bore the marks of extensive torture before execution, most with a bullet to the head. The face of the first body is blackened by strangulation or asphyxiation. Another has bruises to his forehead where he was been hit repeatedly with something heavy. Yet another, his hands still tied with cord, has been punched in the eye and had his ankle fractured. Yet another shows signs of burning similar to an-Ni'ami's. The last two have identical puncture wounds, fist-width apart, suggesting the use of a spiked knuckle-duster. Then there is Tahar Mohammed Suleiman al-Mashhadani, seized from the Abu Ghraib neighbourhood from early prayers outside a mosque with a number of other men, again by paramilitary police from Rapid Intrusion. When his body was found by family members in the morgue - 20 days after his arrest - he had been tortured almost beyond recognition. These are not isolated cases. For what is extraordinary is the sense of impunity with which the torture, intimidation and murder is taking place. It is not just in Baghdad. In the majority Shia south, far from the worst ravages of the insurgency, there are also emerging reports consistent with the abuses in the capital. If there is a centre to this horror, it is Baghdad's Ministry of the Interior, and the police commando units that operate from there. The ministry is a strange, top-heavy building, set apart in an area of open ground off the highway. Its entrance is guarded by concrete blast-walls and endless checkpoints on the dusty road that leads to its crowded reception. I came here almost exactly a year ago, two days after sovereignty had been handed back to Iraq's interim government. The floors were occupied by civil servants and blue-uniformed officers of the Iraqi Police Service. It was easy to wander in. These days the ministry is a very different place. The dusty hinterland that leads to it is busy with the new paramilitary forces that most often have been accused of human rights abuses - the Rapid Intrusion brigades, most notoriously the Wolf Brigade of 'Abu Walid'. There has been no investigation or official findings over the allegations. It was here - 12 months ago - that there was the first intimation that something was going seriously wrong. On the second day of Iraq's new government, US military police were forced to raid the Guest House to 'rescue' dozens of alleged criminals, scooped up in a sweep of the city, who were being subjected to beatings and forced confessions of their crimes. Back then officials were happy to justify the violence - and angry at the US intervention. Criminals and terrorists expected a good beating, one official said, proud of his 100 per cent confession rate. Now it is impossible to reach those officials as they shelter on heavily guarded floors. There are no American MPs to come to the aid of those locked in the cells. A year ago, the worst violence was meted out in the Guest House. Now officials say the abuse happens on the seventh floor, where those suspected of terrorist connections are brought. One of those held at the ministry for 'terrorist interrogation' is 'Zaid'. It is not his real name. Since his release, the 25-year-old Sunni from the western suburbs of Baghdad lives in fear of being brought back. A taxi driver, the college graduate stopped his car in March to buy food in a market. When a bomb exploded nearby, he went to look at the damage. Arrested at the scene by soldiers from the Iraqi National Guard, he says he was handed over to the Ministry of the Interior. At first, said Zaid, he was put in a room, on the seventh floor, measuring 10ft by 12ft, with 60 others. He was crammed in so tightly he could not sit. In some respects Zaid was lucky. Early in his detention, a Ministry of Justice official appeared and, furious at the conditions, demanded the men be moved. 'He said, "You can't have this many people in a room this size," so they moved us to somewhere with more air and fed us. He asked too whether there had been any beatings and some said yes.' For his part, Zaid says he was hung by his arms, but not for so long that it caused any permanent damage. His ordeal was largely to be subjected to threats of violence as up to eight guards circled him during his interrogation. But Zaid claims he witnessed what happened to men brought from another detention facility, a barracks run by the Wolf Brigade, who were kept in the same area as Zaid until his parents paid a hefty bribe for his release. 'I saw men from Samarra [another insurgent stronghold] and from Medayeen. Some appeared to have wounds to their legs,' he recalled. 'There were others who could not use their spoon properly. They had to hold it between their palms and move their heads to the spoon.' His month in the ministry terrified Zaid. If the police came again for him, he said, he would rather throw himself off a balcony than go back. Zaid is not the first detainee to accuse the police of taking bribes for the release of prisoners. It is a common charge, as are descriptions of prisoners being brought from other, less accountable, interrogation facilities where the worst of the violence is taking place. What is most important about Zaid's testimony is that it makes clear a link exists between the Ministry of Interior and the torture being conducted out of sight at other centres. Iraqi and international officials named several of these centres, including al-Hadoud prison in the Kharkh district of Baghdad. A second torture centre is said to be located in the basement of a clinic in the Shoula district, while the Wolf Brigade is accused of running its own interrogation centre - said to be one of the worst - at its Nissor Square headquarters. Other places where abusive interrogations have been alleged include al-Muthana airbase and the old National Security headquarters. 'Abu Ali', a 30-year-old Sunni scooped up in a mosque raid in central Baghdad, was taken to the latter for a week in mid-May where he says he was beaten on his feet, subjected to hanging by his arms and, when he angered his guards by refusing to confess, threatened with being sat on 'the bottle' - being anally penetrated. It is not just in Baghdad. Credible reports exist of Arab prisoners in Kirkuk being moved to secret detention facilities in Kurdistan, while other centres are alleged in Samarra, in the Holy Cities and in Basra in the south. 'There are places we can get to and know about,' said one Iraqi official. 'But there are dozens of other places we know about where there is no access at all.' 'It is impossible to keep track of detentions, and what is happening to people when they are taken away,' complained one foreign official involved in trying to building Iraq's respect for human rights. 'On top of that we have a whole culture that is permitting torture. The impression is the judiciary are simply not interested in responding to the issue of human rights. It is depressing.' But it is not simply the issue of keeping track of where detainees are being taken that is a problem. Accountability has also become more opaque since the formation of the Shia-dominated government of Ibrahim Jaffari with ministers and senior officials at the Ministry of the Interior refusing to meet concerned international organisations including Human Rights Watch. 'We have been trying to break through to someone responsible to express our concerns,' said another international official. 'But it is impossible to meet the people we really need to see. What is so worrying is that allegations concerning the use of drills and irons during torture just keep coming back. And we have seen precisely the same evidence of torture on bodies that have turned up after they have been arrested. There is a dirty counter-insurgency war, led on the anti-insurgency side by groups responsible to different leaders. People are not appearing in court. Instead, what is happening to them is totally arbitrary.' There is a significance to all this that goes beyond the everyday horror of today's Iraq. In the absence of weapons of mass destruction, the human rights abuses of Saddam Hussein's regime became more important as a subsidiary case for war. It has been a theme that has been constantly reiterated: it was horrific then, and it is better now. The second may still just be true. In many aspects there may be some improvement, but the trajectory of Iraq now on human rights is in danger of undermining that last plank of justification. True, there is a question of scale of the abuses. What is also different from Saddam's era is that Iraq is now host to multinational troops, to huge UK and US missions, and is a substantial recipient of foreign aid, including British and EU funds. British and US police and military officials act as advisers to Iraq's security forces. Foreign troops support Iraqi policing missions. What is extraordinary is that despite the increasingly widespread evidence of torture, governments have remained silent. It is all the more extraordinary on the British side, as embassy officials have been briefed by senior Iraqi officials over the allegations on a number of occasions and individual cases of abuse have been raised with British diplomats. In Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights, close to the Communications Tower and the location of one of the secret interrogation centres, they were marking the international day for the victims of torture. As officials gathered for chocolate cake and cola under posters that read 'Non to torture', some senior officials are in no doubt that torture in their country is again getting worse. The deputy minister, Aida Ussayran, is a life-long human rights activist who returned from exile in Britain to take up this post. She concedes that abuses by Iraq's security forces have been getting worse even as her ministry has been trying to re-educate the Iraqi police and army to respect detainee rights. 'As you know, for a long time Iraq was a mass grave for human rights,' she says. 'The challenge is that many people who committed these abuses are still there and there is a culture of abuse in the security forces and police - even the army - that needs to be addressed. I do not have a magic solution, but what I can do is to remind people that this kind of behaviour is what creates terrorists.' There is a sense of frustration too in the Ministry of Human Rights, for even as the security forces rapidly increase in size, the ministry tasked with checking abuses has only 24 monitors to pursue cases, at a time when officials believe it needs hundreds to keep Iraq's police and army effectively in check. If Ussayran is robust about her country's problems with human rights abuses, others are convinced that, far from being the acts of rogue units, the abuse is being committed at the behest of the ministry itself - or at least senior officials within it. 'There are people in the ministry who want to use these means,' said one. 'It is in their ideology. It is their strategy. They do not understand anything else. They believe that human rights and the Convention against Torture are stupid.'

Bodies of 2 Navy SEALs found in Afghanistan

Bodies of 2 Navy SEALs found in Afghanistan One member of American team remains missing Senior Chief Petty Officer Dan Healy was one of eight Navy SEALs killed in last week's chopper crash. RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Afghanistan Military Unrest, Conflicts and War or or Create Your Own WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The bodies of two Navy SEALs have been found in Afghanistan a week after their four-man team went missing, the U.S. military said Tuesday. One SEAL remains missing; another was rescued and is expected to make a full recovery, according to a statement from the U.S.-led Coalition Press Information Center. (Full story) The two SEALs were found Monday during a combat search and rescue operation in Kunar province, the statement said. They were taken to a U.S. military hospital at Bagram Air Base, where they were pronounced dead. The two bodies have not been identified, and the U.S. military has notified the families of all three missing SEALs. The small reconnaissance team was heard from last when it called in for reinforcements June 28 near the Afghan-Pakistan border. The SEALs were participating in Operation Red Wing against insurgents in Kunar. An American military helicopter crashed while bringing the reinforcements to the team, killing all 16 service members on board. (Full story) It was the worst single-day death toll for U.S. forces since the Afghan war began almost four years ago. (Casualties identified) The U.S. military says it believes insurgents shot down the MH-47 helicopter. On Friday, the United States launched an airstrike on a compound that military officials described as a "known operating base for terrorist attacks." The compound was sheltering insurgents connected to last week's chopper downing, military officials said. Gov. Asadullah Wafa of Kunar province told news agencies that 17 civilians, including some women and children, were killed in the strike. In a statement Monday, the Coalition Press Information Center said the number of civilians and "enemy terrorists" killed was unknown. The statement said that a "medium-level terrorist leader" used the compound as a base and the airstrike was hastily ordered for fear the leader would leave the site. "Certainly loss of innocent lives is something that anyone putting together an operation tries to avoid, so loss of innocent lives is something that our forces avoid," said Lt. Cindy Moore, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Moore also said it was common for "enemy forces" to move their families into areas where they are conducting operations, thus putting innocent civilians at risk. CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

GRYNX » Build your own Chat-Cord

In a telephone system both the mic and the speaker signal are multiplexed into one signal. To be able to connect your phone to you mic-in and line-out of your pc you have to de-multiplex these signals. The solution of Chris was to extract the mic an speaker signal before it is multiplexed inside the phone. But this can also be done by a transformer (which is also used to prevent the 9V DC from going into you soundcard). The kind of transformer used for this application is a so called secondary centre tapped transformer. Meaning that it has 2 connections at its primary side (where the telephone will be connected) and 3 connections at its secondary side. The middle connection is physically connected to the middle of the secondary coil of the transformer. This middle connector is used as a shared ground for both the mic and the line-out. Another issue is the input impedance of a phone line. When a phone line doesn’t see the right input impedance reflections will occur, resulting in echoes or even in disabling the line. A telephone line has a input impedance of 600 Ohms, so the transformer has to be a 600 Ohm transformer. At the secondary side of the transformer a 150 Ohm resistor has to be placed at the middle connection to make the secondary input impedance 600 Ohm as well, resulting in a balanced transformer. The second part is the tricky part. A normal telephone system uses only two wires to send both the microphone and the speaker signal. From basic electronics you might know that you need 2 wires to send a signal, and at least 3 to send 2 signals, because one of the wires is acting as a reference (usually called ground).In a telephone system both the mic and the speaker signal are multiplexed into one signal. To be able to connect your phone to you mic-in and line-out of your pc you have to de-multiplex these signals.The solution of Chris was to extract the mic an speaker signal before it is multiplexed inside the phone.But this can also be done by a transformer (which is also used to prevent the 9V DC from going into you soundcard). The kind of transformer used for this application is a so called secondary centre tapped transformer. Meaning that it has 2 connections at its primary side (where the telephone will be connected) and 3 connections at its secondary side. The middle connection is physically connected to the middle of the secondary coil of the transformer. This middle connector is used as a shared ground for both the mic and the line-out. Another issue is the input impedance of a phone line. When a phone line doesn’t see the right input impedance reflections will occur, resulting in echoes or even in disabling the line. A telephone line has a input impedance of 600 Ohms, so the transformer has to be a 600 Ohm transformer. At the secondary side of the transformer a 150 Ohm resistor has to be placed at the middle connection to make the secondary input impedance 600 Ohm as well, resulting in a balanced transformer. This all might seem complicated but as can be seen from this figure, the circuit is pretty simple and small.

Oil 'will hit $100 by winter'

Oil prices could rocket to $100 within six months, plunging the world into an unprecedented fuel crisis, controversial Texan oil analyst Matt Simmons has warned. After crude surged through $60 a barrel last week, nervous investors were pinning their hopes on a build-up in US oil-stocks to depress prices in the coming months. But Simmons believes surging demand will keep prices bubbling well above $50. 'We could be at $100 by this winter. We have the biggest risk we have ever had of demand exceeding supply. We are now just about to face up to the biggest crisis we have ever had,' he said. Opec producers held emergency talks last week to consider making their second 500,000 a barrel increase in production quotas in a fortnight: but the discussions were suspended last Thursday after prices dipped back below $60. The looming oil crisis is not high up the agenda at this week's G8 meeting, although the heads of state are expected to repeat their finance ministers' call for greater transparency from Opec and other oil-producing nations about their reserves. However, global warming is one of Britain's two major priorities, and Tony Blair hopes to secure a pledge to pour more cash into developing alternatives to the oil-intensive technologies that cause climate change. Simmons believes such moves will be too little, too late. He will publish a hard-hitting book this week in which he argues that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer, is running out of oil, and further price rises are inevitable as supplies decline. He warns that the scramble for resources could eventually descend into war. Many analysts expect extra production over the next year, as high prices boost investment by energy firms. But Simmons says after many years of underinvestment, there is even a shortage of drilling rigs. 'Many of these projects are aspirations; many of them won't create peak production in the first year, and many of them within five years will be in decline,' he said. However, the Economist Intelligence Unit predicts that oil prices will peak by the end of this year, and decline by 10 per cent in 2006 as the Chinese economy slows, reducing demand. Chinese imports have been crucial to propping up the oil price in the last two years. But the EIU warned that its forecasts - which show a 30 per cent increase in oil prices for 2005 - could prove too conservative if there are further wobbles in supply. 'The narrow margin of spare production capacity has made prices vulnerable to unforeseen reductions in supply or rises in demand,' it said. Paul Horsnell, head of commodities analysis at Barclays Capital, said supply constraints would continue to bite for the rest of the year. 'It's all getting a bit tight' Brent crude closed almost $2 a barrel higher in New York on Friday night, while futures contracts for heating oil, widely used in the US, hit a record high, which analysts said was unusual for summer. 'It's fear,' said Kyle Cooper, an analyst at Citigroup. 'It's not based on what is happening now. It's based on fear of what could happen.'

False breasts betray exam cheats

Competition is tough for places at Moscow State University Moscow University security guards first thought the applicant had an oversized bust because "she" was trying to take crib sheets into the exam. A search unmasked the false bosom, the university told the BBC News website. The man was barred from the exam and the woman he attempted to cover for was struck off the entrants' list. She had been seeking a place in the university's prestigious psychology faculty. Heavy make-up Yasen Zasursky, a head of department in the university's journalism faculty where the exams were being held, said the man's "especially protruding female features" gave him away. "Someone was trying to sit the maths exam dressed as a lady," he told the BBC. "The guard was suspicious that they were taking some materials into the exam. He opened the jacket and saw it was a young gentleman." The youth was also apparently wearing heavy make-up. Correspondents say cheating is a major problem in Russia's universities and colleges, where bribery is commonplace. But Mr Zasursky seemed to suggest that the ruse was an appropriate one for the subject involved. "They try to see ways of using their knowledge of psychology," he quipped.

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Interaction Design Pattern Library

All patterns are listed here. It's quite a bunch of them, but I have tried to group them meaningfully.Patterns that meet a direct need of the user.Patterns that help the application, or you the designer, communicate better with the userThe context of the design Suggest a pattern Latest comments Have you seen new examples of patterns out there that have not been described on this site? Send me a link to an example and I'll add it to my to-do list. Sometimes the ERROR handling is not explicit enough because when a user makes an... For print pages etc static maps are still relevant. For them, narrow navigation ... Ajax accordion samples with source code http://asp.net-informations.com... I believe the name of this pattern to be misleading. AutoSuggest is the most app... Slideshows on Homepages can be very beneficial. Especially if approached in the ...

Eco-car more efficient than light bulb

Eco-car more efficient than light bulb Kart racer Jack Dex, 13, will drive the Ech2o prototype at this week's Shell Eco Marathon. VISIONARIES YOUR SAY LONDON, England (CNN) -- An eco-car that can travel the world using a fraction of the electricity it takes to power a light bulb has been unveiled by its British creators. The hydrogen-powered Ech2o needs just 25 Watts -- the equivalent of less than two gallons of petrol -- to complete the 25,000-mile global trip, while emitting nothing more hazardous than water, the UK's Press Association reported. But with a top speed of 30mph, the journey would take more than a month to complete, even if the car was driven flat out with no pit-stops. On Thursday Ech2o, built by British gas firm BOC, will bid to smash the world fuel efficiency record of over 10,000 miles per gallon at the Shell Eco Marathon at the Rockingham Raceway track in the UK. The record is currently held by the PAC-Car II, a hydrogen-fueled Swiss vehicle, that traveled the equivalent of 5,385 km/per liter at a testing track in France. The BOC Ech2o, which was originally designed to demonstrate fuel efficiency, is a remodeling of the BOC Gh2ost which failed to break the world record in Aberdeen last year. Unlike most other eco-marathon vehicles that run on petrol or diesel, the BOC Ech2o's driving force comes from electricity, created in a hydrogen fuel cell. John Carolin, BOC global director sustainable energy, told the PA: "It sounds unbelievable how little power is used to keep the BOC Ech2o moving, but it demonstrates the impact of careful design and is a valuable lesson for car makers in the future. "The lessons from this and other projects will show that hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles could be a practical, attractive and a viable economic alternative to diesel or petrol fueled vehicles." Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

London beats Paris to 2012 Games

London won a two-way fight with Paris by 54 votes to 50 at the IOC meeting in Singapore, after bids from Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated. Prime Minister Tony Blair called the win "a momentous day" for Britain. Paris had been favourites throughout the campaign but London's hopes were raised after an impressive presentation by Lord Coe, the bid chairman. IOC president Jacques Rogge made the dramatic announcement at 1249 BST. It will be the first time the Olympics has been held in Britain since 1948. Coe said: "This is just the most fantastic opportunity to do everything we ever dreamed of in British sport." The Queen, in a message to Coe, said: "I send my warmest congratulations to you and every member of the London 2012 team for winning the bid for the UK. "It's a really outstanding achievement to beat such a highly competitive field." HOW VOTE UNFOLDED Round 1: Moscow out Round 2: New York out; Madrid lead in tight poll Round 3: Madrid out Round 4: London 54-50 Paris Full details: Round by round News of London's victory delighted flag-waving supporters who had gathered in Trafalgar Square and Stratford in the East End of London, where the new Olympic park will be built. Shares of British construction companies soared, while mortgage lenders predicted house prices in the capital would rocket. But raindrops began falling on disappointed Parisians outside the Hotel de Ville in the French capital shortly after the result. Mr Blair had helped London's late momentum with a whistlestop 48-hour visit to Singapore, before flying back for the G8 summit in Scotland. Breaking off from the meeting of world leaders, he said of London: "Many reckon it is the greatest capital city in the world and the Olympics will help keep it that way." Rogge had correctly forecast a cliffhanger vote, and offered his congratulations to the winners. "We knew the two bids were very, very close. Well done, London. It will be a superb Games and will strengthen the Olympics," he said. An hour after the decision, London's bid leaders were greeted by warm applause as they signed the official contract to stage the Games. This is how the decision was made by the IOC in Singapore on Wednesday: All five bidding cities gave final 45-minute presentations to the IOC members before the vote began. The electronic ballot started at 1126 BST. Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated from the race in the first, second and third rounds of voting. The final round of voting finished at about 1145 BST, with the committee reconvening at 1230 BST for the official announcement. Rogge revealed the winner, after a nerve-wracking wait, at 1249 BST. Wednesday's decision brings to an end the 18-month race to win the host contract for the 2012 Games. And it was the most keenly-fought bidding contest in recent years. Paris was considered the front-runner for much of the campaign, and was highly rated in the initial evaluation and also by the inspectors after their visits earlier in the year. But it was widely recognised that bid leader Lord Coe, a high-profile personality within the IOC and other governing bodies, hauled London closer to the French capital as the vote approached. Everyone was all together and we never lost our confidence Bid leader Lord Coe on London's Olympic victory Games triumph hailed Madrid was seen as a consistent but not outstanding candidate, while New York's bid was dogged by problems over their proposed stadium, and Moscow was always seen as the rank outsider. Once attention moved to Singapore, the bidding cities called on political and sporting heavyweights to champion their causes. And the spotlight inevitably focused on Paris and London in the days leading up to the vote. The two cities had President Chirac and Prime Minister Blair respectively in their corners. Mr Chirac actually took part in the French capital's final presentation on Wednesday, while Mr Blair opted to lobby alongside the London bid team in Singapore before flying back to Britain to host the G8 summit. London also called on England captain David Beckham and a galaxy of Olympic and Paralympic medallists as ambassadors, while footballers Laurent Blanc and Zinedine Zidane were among those backing the Paris bid.

The diamond cartel - The cartel isn't for ever

HOW much turmoil can the diamond industry sustain without shattering? On July 13th in an Ohio court De Beers, the world's largest producer of rough stones, finally pleaded guilty to charges of price-fixing of industrial diamonds and agreed to pay a $10m fine, thereby ending a 60-year-long impasse. De Beers executives are at last free to visit and work directly in the largest diamond market, America. A few days earlier, on July 9th, the first case of successful industry self-regulation against trade in so-called “conflict diamonds” took place when Congo-Brazzaville was punished for failing to prove the source of its diamond exports. And on June 28th Lev Leviev, an arch-rival of De Beers, opened Africa's biggest diamond-polishing factory in Namibia. Behind all these events lies sweeping change in an industry that sells $60-billion-worth of jewellery alone each year. For generations it has been run by De Beers as a cartel. The South African firm dominated the digging and trading of diamonds for most of the 20th century. Yet the system for distributing stones established decades ago by De Beers is curious and anomalous—no other such market exists, nor would anything similar be tolerated in a serious industry. De Beers runs most of the diamond mines in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana that long produced the bulk of world supply of the best gemstones. It brings all of its rough stones to a clearing house in London and sorts them into thousands of grades, judged by colour, size, shape and value. For decades, if anyone had rough diamonds to sell on the side, De Beers bought these too, adding them to the mix. A huge stockpile helped it to maintain high prices while it successfully peddled the myth that supply was scarce. De Beers has no interest in polishing stones, only in selling the sorted rough diamonds to invited clients (known in the trade as "sightholders") at non-negotiable prices. Sales take place ten times a year. The favoured clients then cut and polish the stones before selling them to retailers. With its near monopoly as a trader of rough stones, De Beers has been able to maintain and increase the prices of diamonds by regulating their supply. It has never done much to create jobs or generate skills (beyond standard mining employment) in diamond-producing countries, but it delivered big and stable revenues for their governments. Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania and South Africa are four of Africa's richest and most stable countries, in part because of De Beers. One family got extremely rich too. The Oppenheimers created the “single-channel marketing” system of shovelling all available stones to the clearing house. They came to dominate De Beers after Ernest Oppenheimer took control of most of Namibia's diamond mines nearly a century ago. He formed a mining conglomerate called Anglo American, before grabbing the chairmanship of De Beers. The family is thought to be worth around $4.5 billion today; Nicky Oppenheimer, Ernest's grandson, is Africa's richest man. The family still owns a more than 40% direct stake in De Beers, and its members—Nicky Oppenheimer and his son, Jonathan—run the firm. It may own more De Beers shares held indirectly through Anglo American's 45% stake. But this stable, established and monopolistic system is now falling apart. Three things have happened. First, other big miners got hold of their own supplies of diamonds, far away from southern Africa and from De Beers's control. In Canada, Australia and Russia rival mining firms have found huge deposits of lucrative stones: BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Alrosa have been chipping away at De Beers's dominance for two decades. De Beers once controlled (though did not mine directly) some 80% of the world supply of rough stones. As recently as 1998 it accounted for nearly two-thirds of supply. Today production from its own mines gives it a mere 45% share. Only a contract to sell Russian stones lifts its overall market share to around 55%. That is a painful shift, but De Beers is still the biggest diamond producer. And rival mining firms do share one big interest with it: high prices for the stones they dig from the ground. That is why, although it is under pressure, the central clearing system that sustains high prices could yet survive a bit longer. Rather than controlling a pure monopoly, De Beers might be able to run a quasi-cartel that stops the market from opening fully. De Beers says the price of rough stones is still rising; the price of polished stones has risen by 10% this year, according to polishedprices.com, an independent diamond website that tries to track such things. Worth fighting for The next challenge might be manageable too. De Beers's system is highly secretive. Nobody knows the ultimate source of particular diamonds it sells, as all are mixed together in London. But De Beers faced extraordinary public-relations pressure after it emerged that rebel armies in Africa were funding their wars by selling what became known as conflict diamonds. Since 2000 almost 70 countries and all of the big industry players (under the threat of consumer boycotts and activist campaigns by, among others, a London-based group called Global Witness) have adopted standards designed to prove the origins of their diamonds. The so-called Kimberley Process is now in force: governments must issue certificates of origin for the stones they export, and the stones can then be tracked. It was under this agreement that Congo-Brazzaville was punished last week by being expelled from the Process (the first country ever to be thus censured). As a result, legal trade in its diamonds should cease. It is a test case for the industry. The introduction of the Process could have threatened De Beers, which wanted to maintain the right to buy diamonds anywhere it pleased and to keep its purchases secret. Eli Izhakoff of the World Diamond Council, an industry body based in New York, says the new rules mean “the industry is changing—it is nothing like it was four or five years ago.” But although the regulations make it easier to track the flow of rough diamonds, they have not required De Beers to open all its books to public scrutiny. Most of those diamond-fuelled African wars are over. And the firm has a declining interest in buying up any rough stones that appear on the market. It knows that its ability to control world supplies is dwindling. It is the third challenge that is much more troublesome. This is a threat to break up entirely the way De Beers organises the industry. It can best be summed up in two words: Lev Leviev. Like the Oppenheimers, Mr Leviev has made himself very rich over the past three decades. An Israeli of Uzbek descent, he is reputedly worth around $2 billion. Though he has interests in transport and property, his real love is diamonds. His Lev Leviev Group is the world's largest cutter and polisher of them. He has mining interests too: his fleet of clanking mining ships began operating off Namibia's coast earlier this year, sucking up diamonds from the sea bed. He boasts it is the world's second-largest fleet; only De Beers has a bigger one. And Mr Leviev recently moved into diamond retailing. He claims that he is the only tycoon with interests in every stage of production from “mine to mistress” (a canard in the industry holds that men buy more diamonds for their mistresses than for their wives). But his real power lies in the cutting and polishing businesses. Mr Leviev says he is the only tycoon with interests in every stage of production from “mine to mistress” He has factories in Armenia, Ukraine, India, Israel and elsewhere. These give him power to challenge De Beers's central clearing house and seek instead to channel stones directly, and at a lower price, to his own polishers. There is a more personal explanation too. Mr Leviev long worked as one of those De Beers sightholders, buying unseen parcels of stones at non-negotiable prices. Even as recently as last year he was among De Beers's clients in South Africa. Being forced to take or leave the stones granted by the diamond cartel infuriated him. He was eager to strike back. His breakthrough came in Russia. Mr Leviev has cultivated close ties with Russian politicians, including Vladimir Putin long before he became president. Already well known as a cutter and polisher of diamonds in the 1980s, Mr Leviev was asked to help the Soviet state-owned diamond firm set up local factories 15 years ago. He agreed and formed a joint-venture with the state firm, now called Alrosa. But he insisted that stones for the factories be supplied directly from Russian mines, rather than diverted through De Beers's central system. De Beers was furious at the loss of supply, but the factories got their local stones. When the factories were privatised, Mr Leviev somehow emerged as the exclusive owner. What happened in Russia set a pattern for clashes elsewhere. Mr Leviev has found that governments welcome factories that create jobs and add value to the diamonds they export; it is a smart way to snipe at De Beers. Can Lev levitate? Angola was next. Angola's diamonds are among the world's best when measured by value per carat (see chart) and promise a lucrative return for anyone who can market them. De Beers has had a long interest there. Mr Leviev first invested $60m in the country in 1996, financing a mine at a time when civil war was raging. And just as he cultivated Russia's governing elite, he struck up warm relations in Angola. It was a well-timed move. The Angolan government despised De Beers. In the days when its monopoly was secure, De Beers regularly bought up any supply of rough diamonds that appeared on the market. It was accused of helping, indirectly, to fund UNITA, the rebel army in Angola, which sold huge quantities of diamonds. In 2001 De Beers ended a spat with the government by quitting the country. By then Mr Leviev had already moved in, eager for another supply of good stones. By the time the government won Angola's war in 2002, thereby getting control of all the country's diamond mines, the contracts it had struck with Mr Leviev (ie, those lost by De Beers) were worth $850m a year, a sum greater even than that lost by De Beers in Russia. Mr Leviev has not had it all his own way. Last year Angola's government abruptly cancelled three-quarters of his deal. Some observers accused Mr Leviev of using underhand means (he is close to the daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola's president) to win them in the first place. Yet, however he did it, Mr Leviev showed in Angola that he could barge aside De Beers in a valuable area near its southern African heartland. Mr Leviev has been inspired to take another swipe at his rival. On June 28th he took the arm of Sam Nujoma, Namibia's president, and guided him around a sparkling new diamond-polishing factory in Windhoek, Namibia's capital. “For years we have been told this could not be done,” commented various Namibian politicians. Now Mr Leviev, saviour-like, strode around his factory, showing off row upon row of workers, who wore uniform green overalls and fiddled with chrome machines and modern flat-screen computers. Mr Leviev boasts that, with its capacity for 550 workers, the factory is Africa's biggest. Jonathan Oppenheimer, affable heir to the Oppenheimer dynasty, says he does not understand what Mr Leviev is up to in Namibia: “And when we don't understand, we worry.” He is right to be concerned. Mr Leviev's obvious next step in Namibia is to challenge De Beers directly. De Beers's mines are run in a joint venture with the government called Namdeb. A 1999 mining law lets the government force any miner to supply stones locally. If Mr Leviev demands it, the government could tell De Beers to provide stones directly to Mr Leviev's new factory, a repeat of the Russian blow. Clearing up More important, if Namibia is able to establish a viable cutting and polishing industry using its own stones, then why not every other diamond-producing country too? That would seriously threaten De Beers. Mr Nujoma all but dared his neighbours to follow suit. “To our brothers and sisters of neighbouring states, Angola, Botswana, South Africa, I hope this gives you inspiration to try to imitate what we have here,” he said at the factory opening. Mr Leviev is building another factory in Luanda, Angola, partly hoping to curry favour with the government. More important, he is offering to build a factory in Botswana, the jewel in the crown of De Beers's empire. De Beers has close ties with the Botswana government: they share a joint venture, Debswana, that exclusively mines the country's diamonds; Botswana gets a huge share of its foreign currency and a large part of its national income from diamond revenues. It is a similar arrangement to that in Namibia. In an interview in Windhoek last month, Mr Leviev said he had offered Botswana's government a factory to employ “tens of thousands” of people, a scale vastly larger than in Namibia. A senior civil servant from Botswana toured the Windhoek factory with Mr Leviev. As Mr Oppenheimer concedes, this is a delicate time for Mr Leviev to be courting in southern Africa. De Beers is still renegotiating the terms of an 18-year lease on the Jwaneng mine, in southern Botswana, which is due to expire at the end of this month. The mine is thought to be worth $1.3 billion a year, producing stones of a quality that would have Mr Leviev salivating. More broadly, De Beers must renegotiate the terms of all its marketing operations in Botswana and in Namibia every five years. These talks are also due. While no-one expects Mr Leviev to break up De Beers's relationships in these countries—Mr Oppenheimer is confident that the government will not do anything to risk its big revenues—his appearance on the scene puts pressure on De Beers. The obvious step for De Beers now would be to take on Mr Leviev at his own game. In Botswana and Namibia there have been a few diamond-polishing factories backed by De Beers. But De Beers does not want to be involved in that stage of diamond production. It is first a miner and only belatedly a retailer of diamonds. But it is blocked from the production steps in between as long as it remains the major supplier of stones to the whole industry, says Mr Oppenheimer. Buyers of its stones would suspect De Beers of holding back the best diamonds for its own manufacture and would revolt. Nor does Mr Oppenheimer think a polishing industry is viable in many diamond-producing countries, whatever Mr Leviev says. In Namibia just a few hundred people work as polishers and cutters. There are few skilled workers, the scale of production is small and wage costs are roughly ten times that of India, which dominates the world market and where 900,000 people work as basic polishers. Nor are small countries, such as Namibia, likely to develop the top-level skills needed for the very highest-quality stones. Those skills are concentrated in a few cities, such as Antwerp, Tel Aviv and New York. Within southern Africa, only South Africa has a long-established cutting and polishing industry, to which De Beers supplies some good-quality stones (“specials” in the language of the trade). But Mr Leviev probably does not care. A few factories may be uneconomic, but if they allow him to get hold of direct supplies of diamonds, then so be it. A polished act Mr Oppenheimer is worried that a more fragmented industry will not just damage De Beers, but that the whole industry might collapse. Consumers believe diamonds are valuable largely because of decades of clever marketing by De Beers and its clients. De Beers itself spent $180m on advertising last year, its clients a further $270m. That sort of spending could not be co-ordinated and sustained, he suggests, if the industry were to fragment. That is a risk; but there are opportunities for De Beers too. As it has lost market share, the old goliath has become nimbler. No longer focusing exclusively on defending a cartel, De Beers is freer to make decisions according to commercial interest. For instance, it now buys fewer stones at uneconomic prices; profits matter more than market share. A trimmer De Beers, with a pared down list of clients, might even be able to make bigger profits than the old giant. Last year it produced healthy profits of $676m on sales of $5.5 billion. But its decision to settle American antitrust charges laid against it in 1994 points to how much it is feeling the pressure. De Beers executives should now be free to travel to America to conduct business without fear of arrest. That should make it easier to promote De Beers LV, a hitherto disappointing partnership with the luxury-goods firm LVMH to market De Beers-branded diamonds. That venture may prove essential for De Beers's long-term health, as more producers bet on getting a presence in profitable diamond retailing. Already rivals are moving: Canada's Ekati mine markets its stones directly to consumers; Mr Leviev's firm struck a deal in May with Bulgari, an Italian jewellery maker, to market Leviev-branded stones. De Beers's days of market dominance are clearly drawing to a close. But consumers should not get too excited just yet. Whether a duopoly or oligopoly emerges, diamond prices are not going to plummet. Mr Leviev will be among those putting a stop to that.

Internet History Sourcebooks

Internet Modern History Sourcebook Editor: Paul Halsall See Introduction for an explanation of the Sourcebook's goals. Explanation of Sources of Material Here. See the Help! page for all the help on research I can offer. The Modern History Sourcebook works as follows: This Main Index page shows all sections and sub sections. These have also been regularized in a consistent hierarchy. This should allow rapid review of where texts are. To access the sub-section pages, simply browse the sections below and select the highlighted section title. The navigation bars on the left also offers links to each sub-section Additional Study/Research Aids In addition to the above structure, there are a series of pages to help teacher and students. Bad Links 1. This project is both very large and fairly old in Internet terms. At the time it was begun (1996), it was not clear that web sites [and the documents made available there] would often turn out to be transient. As a result there is a process called "link rot" - which means that a "broken link" is a result of someone having taken down a web page. In some cases some websites have simply reorganized sub-directories without creating forwarding links. Since 2000, very few links to external sites have been made. An effort is under way to remove bad links. 2. All links to documents marked [at IHSP] should be working. 3. Users may attempt to locate texts not currently available, or where the links have changed via The Internet Archive/Way Back Machine. Alternately, a search via Google may locate another site where the document is available. SECTIONS Subjects covered by the source texts in each Section. Studying History Introduction: Using Primary Sources Nature of Historiography Writing History Ancient Theories 19th Century Philosophies of History Professional Theories History and Epistemology History and Anthropology History and Identity Politics Post-Modern Theories Misc. Discussions Other Sources of Information on Modern History General Guides to Net Text [link to texts at other sites.] General Etext Projects [sites with texts online.] Economics Law Military Religion Philosophy Literature Music Lyrics Western Civilization/Europe United States History Latin American History Student Papers and Projects Student Papers Student Web Projects The Early Modern World Reformation Protestant Reformation Precursors and Papal Critics Luther and Lutheranism Calvin and Calvinism Radical Reformers English Reformation Scottish Reformation John Knox Protestant Culture Catholic Reformation Precursors The Council of Trent Activist Popes Other Catholic Reformers The Society of Jesus Catholic Culture Conflict Women and Reformation Early Modern World The Early Modern World System The European "Age of Discovery" South and South East Asia East Asia The Middle East: Ottomans and Safavids - Rivals of European Powers Africa Eastern Europe Becomes a Peripheral Area Mercantile Capitalism Reflections on the Trade and the New Economy Everyday Life Structures of Life in the West Everyday Life From Popular to Mass Culture Absolutism Absolutism Spain England France and the Ancien Regime The Crisis: French Wars of Religion The Creation of an Absolutist Regime The Sun King Absolutism and Trade Policy French Culture in the 16th and 17th Centuries Constitutional States Constitutional States The English Revolution Tudor Government The Stuart Challenge Civil War and Revolution Radicals Religious Groups "Puritans" Baptists Quakers The Restoration The "Glorious Revolution" English Culture in the 17th and 18th Centuries The Netherlands Philosophical Reflections on Constitutional Politics Internationalist Ideas Colonial North America Early Conquest and Exploitation Political Forms Virginia New England Middle Atlantic American Society Colonial L America Colonial Latin America Conquest and Exploitation The Creation of Latin American Cultures The Transformation of the West Scientific, Political, and Industrial Revolutionion Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution Traditional Aristotelianism New Medieval Analyses of motion The Challenge: Astonomy in the 16th Century Galileo Galilei: The Turning Point Philosophy of Science: Induction/Deduction The Creation of Classical Physics New Medical Theories Scientific Institutions The Scientific Attitude Enlightenment The Enlightenment Precursors The Enlightenment as a Propaganda Project The Enlightenment and Political Analysis The Enlightenment Evaluation of the Human Condition The Enlightenment and Economics Enlightenment and Philosophy Enlightenment Attitudes The Social Setting Enlightenment Philosophy - Full Texts Enlightenment Politics and Economics - Full Texts Religion in an Age of Reason Opposition to Religion Rational Christianity Evangelicalism Catholic Pietism Jewish Responses Government in the Age of Enlightenment Russia Austria Prussia Poland American Independence American Independence Mid-18th Century Politics Early New York French and Indian Wars Benjamin Franklin American Revolution The Establishment of the American State Commentators on America Native Americans Slavery The French Revolution Lead Up Liberal Revolution Radical Revolution Responses to Revolution Napoleon Napoleonic Wars The Industrial Revolution The Agricultural Revolution of the 17th-18th Centuries The Revolution in the Manufacture of Textiles The Revolution in Power Railroads Steam Ships The Great Engineers The Process of Industrialization Social and Political Effects The Lives of Workers Urban Life: New Social Classes Social Reformism Literary Response Romanticism Romanticism Roots of Romanticism Romantic Philosophy Romanticism in the Arts The 19th Century and Western Hegemony Conservative Order The Council of Vienna System and Challenges Reactionary Thought Modern Conservatism Nationalism Nationalism Analyses Non-National Forms of Government Cultural Nationalism: The Nation as Positive Focus of Identity Liberal Nationalism: The Nation as a Basis for Liberal Democracy Triumphal Nationalism: The Nation as a Claim to Superiority Liberalism Liberalism Utilitarianism Laissez-Faire Economics Radical Politics John Stuart Mill Other Liberalisms Welfare Liberalism Feminism Origins Political Feminism United States Britain Other Countries Prohibitionism 1848 1848: Europe in Revolt France Austria Prussia/Germany 19C Britain Britain Radicalism Liberal Reformism The State The Professions The Poor Men, Women, and Sex Social Class Ireland Victorian Sensibility Victorian Literature 19C France France The Restoration The July Monarchy, 1831-1848 1848 The Second Empire The Franco-Prussian War and the Commune The Third Republic French Literature 19C Austria and Germany Austria-Hungary Germany German Literature 19C Italy Italy 19C West Europe Other Western European Countries Switzerland Netherlands Denmark Sweden Norway Spain Portugal 19C East Europe Eastern European Countries Greece Romania [Moldavia/Wallachia/Transylvania] Bulgaria Hungary Poland Bohemia Russia Early US The United States Emerges Political Institutions Economic Development Expansion and Manifest Destiny The United States as a World Power Early US Society Early US Religion US Civil War The American Civil War The Conflict over Slavery The Civil War Confederate Documents Union Documents The Military History of the Civil War The Social History of the Civil War Reconstruction, and Jim Crow US Immigration US Immigration and Its Effects European Immigration General British German Irish Italian Jewish Other Asian Immigration Latin American Immigration Ellis Island and New York Opposition to Immigration US Culture The Maturation of American Culture Legal Framework of American Life The Gilded Age The Emergence of Modern Politics American Thought American Literature Canada Canada: Another North American Society Origins Loyalism Creation of the Canadian State Canadian Society Canadian Regions Australia and New Zealand Australia New Zealand 19C Latin America Latin America in the 19th Century Independence Political Development United States Imperialism Immigration Mexico Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia/Panama Cuba Nicaragua Peru Venezuela Socialism Responses to Economic Growth: Socialism and Marxism Early Socialism Marxism Versions of Socialism Revisionism Fabianism Labor Parties Socialist Culture Trade Unionism Imperialism Imperialism Analyses Motives and Attitudes Celebrations and Objections China and the West India Under the British Africa The Middle East The Japanese Exception American Imperialism Industrial Revolution II The Second Industrial Revolution and Advanced Capitalism Growth: Free Markets and Government Support The Modern Corporation The Life of the Workers The Consumer Marketplace New Technologies The Steel Industry The Chemical Industry Electricity Aviation Confidence and Disaster Darwin, Freud, Einstein Contradictions of the Enlightenment: Darwin, Freud, Einstein, Dada The Classical Synthesis The Advance of Medical Theory and Treatments Geology Biology: Red in Tooth and Claw Reactions to Darwin Social Darwinism Physics: The End of the Classical Synthesis Astronomy Psychology: The Obscurity of the Mind Philosophical Reflections: The End of Reason? Literature: Humanity's Heart of Darkness? Visual Arts: What to Do After Photography? 19C Religion Religion in the Face of Modernity Catholicism: Reaction and Radicalism The Popes: Reaction and Reform Renewed Marianism Converts Converts and Decadence Radicals Missionary Expansion Protestantism: Activism, Rationalism, and Fideism Biblical Criticism Muscular Christianity The Oxford Movement Quakers Fundamentalism Missionary Expansion Resistence to Roman Control Old Catholics "Modernism" Eastern Orthodoxy: Christian Life Under Tsars and Sultans. Judaism and Modernity Eastern Religions in the West Humanist Consideration of Religious Thought World Wars and the End of Western Dominance WWI World War I The Path to War Ottoman Empire: Weakness The Balkans: Conflict Austria Hungary German Arms Race The Alliance System The War Diplomatic History Military History Personal Accounts Resistence to War Literary Responses The Aftermath Russian Revolution The Tsarist State Russian Revolution The Development of the Opposition Lenin 1905 1905 Party Programs 1917 Bolshevik Rule to 1924 Stalinism Age of Anxiety Age of Anxiety: The Interwar Years European Culture Western Europe Britain France The New States of Eastern Europe Yugoslavia Czechoslovakia Hungary Romania Greece Turkey The United States Latin America in the Early 20th Century United States Intervention Mexico Argentina Chile Uruguay Inter-War International Relations The Depression Economic Problems and the Depression War Reparations Economic Problems in Europe The Depression in the US Fascism in Europe Italy Spain Other Countries Nazism The Weimar Republic National Socialism Hitler Elections The Churches and the Nazis Holocaust The Holocaust Anti-Semitism Religious Anti-Semitism Racist Anti-Semitism Violent Racist Anti-Semitism The "Final Solution": The Murder of European Jewry Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust The Handicapped The Roma [Gypsies] Serbs Homosexuals "Revisionism" Pre- and Post-Holocaust Genocides Armenia 1914- Bangladesh 1971 East Timor 1975- Cambodia 1978 Rwanda 1996 Former Yugoslavia WWII Lead Up to War War In Europe The Home Front War In Asia Use of Atomic Bomb After the War The World Since 1945 Bipolar World World Unity The United Nations Organization Human Rights: Universal Ideals or a Western Impositions? The Cold War Beginnings Berlin Crises Cuban Crises Cold Warriors Various Detentes Literary Reflections US Power America as World Leader: External Power American Foreign Relations Realpolitik or Human Rights Relations with the Soviet Union [also see above "Cold War] Relations with China The Korean War The "Vietnam War" US Society America as World Leader: Internal Change US Domestic Politics: The State American Conservatism McCarthyism Republicans Democrats American Radicalism American Society: Immigration The 20th Century Expansion of Legal Rights Balance of Power Rights in Court Racial Equality Free Speech Post-War W Europe Western Europe Since 1945 The Division of Europe Reconstruction European Union The Welfare State Post-War Western European States Britain Germany France Italy Spain Ireland Other Western Countries Post-War E Europe Eastern Europe Since 1945 The Soviet Union/Russia Domestic Politics Foreign Policy Other Central and Eastern European Countries Albania Hungary Yugoslavia 1989: What Happened and Why? Romania After 1989 Decolonization Decolonization Retreat from Empire The Non-Aligned Movement Globalization: New Hegemonies? Asia since 1900 India China Chinese Efforts to Modernize: 1911-1949 Communist Rule Dissidents Post Mao China Hong Kong Japan Korea Vietnam Other Asian States Africa Since 1945 Africa South Africa Other African Countries Middle East Since 1914 Israel and Palestine Zionism The British Mandate The Establishment of the State of Israel Israeli Soceity The Palestinians Turkey Egypt Algeria Iran Kurds 20C Latin America 20th Century Latin America Common Themes and Issue United States Interference Pan-American Efforts Economic Progress National Identity Liberation Theology Argentina Chile Brazil Paraguay Uruguay Peru Central America Nicaragua Mexico Cuba Indigenous Peoples Modern Social Movements Modern Social Movements Feminism Origins of Third Wave Cultural Feminism Political Feminism Liberal Feminism Radical Feminism Black Power The US Civil Rights Movement Radicals Since 1968 Other Ethnic/Minority Movements Lesbian and Gay Rights Post-War Thought Post-War Western Thought Existentialism Post-Structuralism and Offspring Linguistics Anthropology Pomo Marxism Deconstruction Social Constructionism Queer Theor Post-War Religion Religion since 1945 Roman Catholicism Protestantism Eastern Orthodoxy Judaism Islam Buddhism Humanist-Religious Debate Modern Science Science, Technology and the Transformation in the Means of Production Biology: The DNA Revolution Physics Space Exploration Computers Knowledge Based Production The Internet The World Environment: Cornucopeian Plenty or a Crisis Situation Pop Culture Popular Culture United States Europe Sports: The Opium of the People? The Twenty First Century 21st Century Selected Documents Introduction The Internet Modern History Sourcebook is one of series of history primary sourcebooks. It is intended to serve the needs of teachers and students in college survey courses in modern European history and American history, as well as in modern Western Civilization and World Cultures. Although this part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project began as a way to access texts that were already available on the Internet, it now contains hundreds of texts made available locally. The great diversity of available sources for use in modern history classes requires that selections be made with great care - since virtually unlimited material is available. The goals here are: To present a diversity of source material in modern European, American, and Latin American history, as well as a significant amount of materal pertinent to world cultures and global studies. A number of other online source collections emphasize legal and political documents. Here efforts have been made to include contemporary narrative accounts, personal memoirs, songs, newspaper reports, as well as cultural, philosophical, religious and scientific documents. Although the history of social and cultural elite groups remains important to historians, the lives of non-elite women, people of color, lesbians and gays are also well represented here. To present the material as cleanly as possible, without complicated hierarchies and subdirectories, and without excessive HTML markup. What you get here is direct access to significant documents, not the efforts of some whizkid "website designer". In other words, we are interested here in the music, not the Hi-fi!. Within the major sections, to indicate a few high quality web sites for further source material and research. Sources of Material Here The texts on these pages come from many sources: Files posted to various places on the net. In some cases, the source URL no longer exists. Shorter texts created for class purposes by extracting from much larger texts. In some cases, the extracts have been suggested by a variety of commercial sourcebooks. Texts scanned in from printed material. In some cases the printed book may be recent, but the material scanned is out of copyright. Texts sent to me for inclusion. Links to other online texts. In almost all these cases I have made local copies, so please inform me if links no longer work. Efforts have been made to confirm to US Copyright Law. Any infringement is unintentional, and any file which infringes copyright, and about which the copyright claimant informs me, will be removed pending resolution. NOTES: Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site name or location]. Locally available texts are marked by [At this Site]. WEB indicates a link to one of small number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable overview. The Modern History Sourcebook is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action. © Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 22 Sept 1998: latest revision 9 April 2019 The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action. © Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 21 January 2020 [CV]

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Rural US gripped by meth epidemic

Meth abuse is particularly bad in rural areas of the US A survey of 500 county law enforcement agencies found meth-related arrests had gone up over the past three years. More than half of the police, sheriff departments and other agencies polled said the highly addictive substance was their biggest drug problem. Less than 20% singled out cocaine and fewer still pointed to marijuana. Highly addictive Methamphetamine is a chemical variant of amphetamine with much more powerful effects. METHAMPHETAMINE Sold as powder, tablets or crystals Can be snorted, smoked, injected or swallowed Can alter personality; increase blood pressure and damage brain It is easy to produce using chemicals found on farms, and the homemade labs which produce it are less easy to detect in the countryside. The findings are based on figures collated from rural and suburban areas and do not include most of the country's largest cities. Half of the counties surveyed said 20% of people in their jails were there because of meth-related crimes. In some places it accounts for more than 50% of people detained, and law enforcement officials say burglaries, domestic violence and assaults have increased because of it. The problem started in the northwestern US, but it is moving east - and it is now having what the Washington-based National Association of Counties (Naco) calls a "devastating" effect on communities nationwide. "Methamphetamine abuse is mainly a rural and suburban problem but it is slowly moving to the cities," Naco research director Jacqueline Byers told the BBC news website. Children also suffer - from neglect and abuse of addicted parents or carers, and from the side effects of the drug being produced in their homes.

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AZ-Safford Awrs AZ-Scottsdale AZ-Show Low AZ-Tucson AZ-Williams AFB AZ-Winslow AZ-Yuma AZ-Yuma Mcas AZ-Yuma Prv Gd CA-Alameda NAS CA-Alturas CA-Arcata CA-Bakersfield CA-Beale AFB CA-Beaumont CA-Bicycle Lk CA-Big Bear Apt CA-Bishop CA-Blue Canyon CA-Blythe CA-Burbank CA-Camp Pendlet CA-Campo CA-Carlsbad CA-Castle AFB CA-Chico CA-China Lake CA-Chino CA-Concord CA-Crescent Cty CA-Daggett CA-Edwards AFB CA-El Centro CA-El Monte CA-El Toro CA-Eureka CA-Fort Hunter CA-Fort Ord CA-Fresno CA-Fullerton CA-George AFB CA-Hawthorne CA-Hayward CA-Imperial Bch CA-La Verne CA-Lake Tahoe CA-Lancaster CA-Lemoore NAS CA-Livermore CA-Long Beach CA-Los Alamitos CA-Los Angeles CA-Mammoth Lks CA-March AFB CA-Marysville CA-Mather AFB CA-Mcclellan CA-Merced CA-Miramar NAS CA-Modesto CA-Moffet NAS CA-Mojave CA-Montague CA-Monterey CA-Mount Shasta CA-Mount Wilson CA-Napa CA-Needles CA-North Is CA-Norton AFB CA-Oakland CA-Ontario Intl CA-Oxnard CA-Palm Springs CA-Palmdale CA-Palo Alto CA-Paso Robles CA-Pillaro Pt CA-Point Mugu CA-Pt Arena CA-Pt Arguello CA-Pt Piedras CA-Pt Piedras CA-Red Bluff CA-Redding CA-Riverside CA-Sacramento CA-Salinas CA-San Carlos CA-San Clemente CA-San Diego CA-San Francisco CA-San Jose CA-San Jose/Rei CA-San Luis Obi CA-San Mateo CA-San Miguel CA-San Nic Isl CA-Sandburg CA-Santa Ana CA-Santa Barb CA-Santa Maria CA-Santa Monica CA-Santa Rosa CA-Shelter Cove CA-Siskiyou CA-Stockton CA-Superior Val CA-Susanville CA-Thermal CA-Torrance CA-Travis AFB CA-Truckee-Tahoe CA-Tustin Mcas CA-TwentyNine Palms CA-Ukiah CA-Van Nuys CA-Vandenberg CA-Visalia CO-Air Force A CO-Akron CO-Alamosa CO-Aspen CO-Brmfield/Jef CO-Buckley CO-Colo Sprgs CO-Cortez CO-Craig-Moffat CO-Denver CO-Durango CO-Eagle CO-Englewood CO-Fort Carson CO-Fraser CO-Ft Col/Lovel CO-Ft Collins CO-Grand Jct CO-Greeley-Wld CO-Gunnison CO-La Junta CO-Lamar CO-Leadville CO-Limon CO-Montrose CO-Pueblo CO-Rifle CO-Salida CO-Steamboat Sp CO-Trinidad CO-Winter Park CT-Bridgeport CT-Danbury CT-Groton CT-Hartford CT-New Haven CT-New London CT-Windsor Loc DC-Washington/Dulles DC-Washington/Natl DE-Dover DE-Wilmington FL-Apalachicola FL-Astor NAS FL-Avon Park G FL-Cape Canaveral FL-Cecil FL-Crestview FL-Cross City FL-Daytona Bch FL-Duke Fld FL-Eglin AFB FL-Egmont Key FL-Fort Lauderd FL-Fort Myers FL-Ft Lauderdale FL-Ft Myers FL-Gainesville FL-Homestead FL-Hurlburt Fld FL-Jacksonville FL-Key West FL-Key West NAS FL-Lakeland FL-Macdill AFB FL-Marianna FL-Mayport NAS FL-Melbourne FL-Miami Intl FL-Miami/Opa FL-Miami/Tamiami FL-Naples FL-Nasa Shuttle FL-Orlando FL-Orlando FL-Panama City FL-Patrick AFB FL-Pensacola FL-Pensacola FL-Ruskin FL-Saint Peters FL-Sanford FL-Sarasota FL-Tallahassee FL-Tampa Intl FL-Titusville FL-Tyndall AFB FL-Vero Beach FL-W Palm Beach FL-Whiting Fld GA-Albany GA-Alma GA-Athens GA-Atlanta GA-Atlanta/Dklb GA-Atlanta/Fltn GA-Augusta/Bush GA-Brunswick GA-Columbus GA-Dobbins AFB GA-Dobbins AFB GA-Fort Benning GA-Ft Stewart GA-Hunter Aaf GA-La Grange GA-Macon/Lewis GA-Moody AFB GA-Robins AFB GA-Rome/Russell GA-Savannah Mun GA-Valdosta GA-Waycross HI-Barbers Pt HI-Barbers Pt HI-Barking San HI-Fr Frigate HI-Hilo HI-Honolulu Int HI-Kahului Maui HI-Kaneohe Mca HI-Ke-Ahole/Kon HI-Kilauea Pt HI-Lanai-Lanai HI-Lihue-Kauai HI-Maui HI-Molokai HI-Upolo Pt Ln HI-Waimea-Koha IA-Burlington IA-Cedar Rapids IA-Des Moines IA-Dubuque IA-Estherville IA-Fort Dodge IA-Lamoni IA-Mason City IA-Ottumwa IA-Sioux City IA-Spencer IA-Waterloo Mun ID-Boise ID-Burley ID-Challis ID-Coeur d'Alene ID-Elk City ID-Gooding ID-Grangeville ID-Idaho Falls ID-Lewiston ID-Malad City ID-Malta ID-Mccall ID-Mountn Home ID-Mullan ID-Pocatello ID-Salmon ID-Soda Springs ID-Sun Valley ID-Twin Falls IL-Alton IL-Aurora IL-Bistate Park IL-Bloomington IL-Bradford IL-Cairo IL-Carbondale IL-Centralia IL-Champaign/Urbana IL-Chicago IL-Chicago/Meigs IL-Chicago/Midway IL-Chicago/O'hare IL-Danville IL-DeKalb IL-Decatur IL-Du Page IL-Galesburg IL-Glenview NAS IL-Kankakee IL-Macomb IL-Marion IL-Marseilles IL-Mattoon IL-Moline/Quad IL-Mount Vernon IL-Peoria IL-Quincy IL-Rockford IL-Salem IL-Scott AFB IL-Springfield IL-Sterling IL-Taylorville IL-Vandalia IN-Bakalar Af IN-Bloomington IN-Elkhart IN-Evansville IN-Fort Wayne IN-Gary IN-Grissom AFB IN-Indianapolis IN-Muncie IN-South Bend IN-Terre Haute IN-W Lafayette KS-Chanute KS-Col. J Jabar KS-Concordia KS-Dodge City KS-Elkhart KS-Emporia KS-Ft Leavnwrth KS-Ft Riley KS-Garden City KS-Goodland KS-Hays KS-Hill City KS-Hutchinson KS-Johnson Cnty KS-Liberal KS-Manhatten KS-Mcconnell Af KS-Medicine Ldg KS-Olathe KS-Russell KS-Salina KS-Topeka KS-Topeka/Forbe KS-Wichita KY-Bowling Gren KY-Ft Campbell KY-Ft Knox KY-Jackson KY-Lexington KY-London KY-Louisville KY-Owensboro KY-Paducah KY-Pikeville LA-Alexandria LA-Barksdale LA-Baton Rouge LA-Boothville LA-Cameron Heli LA-Claiborne R LA-England AFB LA-Eugene Is. LA-Fort Polk LA-Grand Isle LA-High Island LA-Houma LA-Intercoastal LA-Lafayette LA-Lake Charles LA-Lk Palourde LA-Missippi Can LA-Monroe LA-Morgan City LA-New Iberia LA-New Orleans LA-S Marsh Isl LA-Shreveport LA-Slidell MA-Bedford MA-Beverly MA-Boston MA-Cape Cod Can MA-Chatham MA-Fort Devens MA-Hyannis MA-Lawrence MA-Marthas Vine MA-Nantucket MA-New Bedford MA-Norwood MA-Otis ANGB MA-Pittsfield MA-S Weymouth MA-Westfield MA-Westover MA-Worcester MD-Andrews AFB MD-Baltimore MD-Fort Meade MD-Hagerstown MD-Ocean City MD-Patuxent MD-Phillips MD-Salisbury ME-Augusta ME-Bangor ME-Bar Harbor ME-Brunswick ME-Caribou Mun ME-Greenville ME-Houlton ME-Loring AFB ME-Portland ME-Presque Isle ME-Rockland ME-Rumford MI-Alpena MI-Ann Arbor MI-Battle Creek MI-Benton Harbor MI-Chippewa MI-Coopersville MI-Copper Harb MI-Detroit MI-Detroit MI-Escanaba MI-Flint/Bishop MI-Grand Rapids MI-Hancock MI-Harbor Beach MI-Houghton Lake MI-Iron Mtn MI-Ironwood MI-Jackson MI-Kalamazoo MI-Lansing MI-Manistee 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MT-Bozeman MT-Broadus MT-Butte MT-Cut Bank MT-Dillon MT-Drummond MT-Glasgow MT-Glendive MT-Great Falls MT-Harlowton MT-Havre MT-Helena MT-Jordan MT-Kalispell MT-Lewistown MT-Livingston MT-Malmstrom MT-Miles City MT-Missoula MT-Monida MT-Sidney MT-Thompson Fal MT-W Yellowston MT-Wolf Point NC-Asheville NC-Cape Hattera NC-Charlotte NC-Cherry Point NC-Dare Co Gr NC-Diamond Sho NC-Elizabeth NC-Fayetteville NC-Fort Bragg NC-Greensboro NC-Hickory NC-Hot Springs NC-Jacksonville NC-Kinston NC-Mackall Aaf NC-Manteo Arpt NC-New Bern NC-New River NC-Pope AFB NC-Raleigh-Durh NC-Rocky Mt NC-Seymour-John NC-Southern Pin NC-Wilmington NC-Winston-Salem ND-Bismarck ND-Devil's Lake ND-Dickenson ND-Fargo ND-Grand Forks ND-Jamestown ND-Lidgerwood ND-Minot AFB ND-Minot Intl ND-Roseglen ND-Williston NE-Ainsworth NE-Alliance NE-Beatrice NE-Broken Bow NE-Burwell NE-Chadron NE-Columbus NE-Cozad NE-Falls City NE-Grand Island NE-Hastings NE-Imperial NE-Kearney NE-Lincoln Muni NE-Mccook NE-Mullen NE-Norfolk NE-North Omaha NE-North Platte NE-O'neill NE-Offutt AFB NE-Omaha/Eppley NE-Ord/Sharp NE-Scottsbluff NE-Sidney Muni NE-Valentine NH-Berlin NH-Concord NH-Jaffrey NH-Keene NH-Laconia NH-Lebanon NH-Manchester NH-Mt Washingtn NH-Nashua NH-Pease AFB NH-Wolfeboro NJ-Atlantic Cty NJ-Barnegat Ls NJ-Fairfield NJ-Lakehurst NJ-Mcguire AFB NJ-Millville NJ-Morristown NJ-Newark Intl NJ-Teterboro NJ-Trenton NM-Albuquerque NM-Cannon NM-Carlsbad NM-Clayton Arpt NM-Corona NM-Cuba Awrs NM-Deming NM-Farmington NM-Gallup/Clark NM-Grants NM-Hobbs NM-Holloman AFB NM-Las Cruces NM-Las Vegas NM-Los Alamos NM-Moriarity NM-Northrup Str NM-Raton NM-Roswell NM-Santa Fe NM-Silver City NM-Socorro NM-Taos NM-Truth Or Con NM-Tucumcari NM-White Sands NV-Austin NV-Battle Mtn NV-Caliente NV-Elko NV-Ely/Yelland NV-Eureka NV-Fallon NAS NV-Hawthorne NV-Ind Sprng Rn NV-Las Vegas NV-Lovelock NV-Mercury NV-Nellis AFB NV-Owyhee NV-Reno NV-Tonopah NV-Wildhorse NV-Winnemucca NV-Yucca Flat NY-Albany NY-Ambrose NY-Binghamton NY-Buffalo NY-Dansville NY-Elmira NY-Farmingdale NY-Fort Drum NY-Glens Falls NY-Griffiss AFB NY-Islip NY-Ithaca NY-Jamestown NY-Massena NY-Monticello NY-New York NY-New York/JFK NY-New York/LGA NY-Newburgh NY-Niagara Fall NY-Ogdensburg NY-Oneonta NY-Plattsburgh NY-Poughkeepsie NY-Rochester NY-Saranac Lk NY-Schenectady NY-Syracuse NY-Utica NY-Watertown NY-Westhampton NY-White Plains OH-Athens/Albany OH-Canton OH-Cincinnati OH-Cleveland OH-Columbus OH-Columbus Osu OH-Dayton OH-Findlay OH-Mansfield OH-Rickenbacker OH-Toledo OH-Willoughby OH-Wright-Pat AFB OH-Youngstown OH-Zanesville OK-Altus AFB OK-Ardmore OK-Bartlesville OK-Clinton OK-Enid OK-Fort Sill OK-Gage OK-Hobart OK-Lawton OK-Mcalester OK-Norman OK-Oklahoma Cty OK-Page OK-Ponca City OK-Stillwater OK-Tinker AFB OK-Tulsa OK-Vance AFB OR-Astoria OR-Aurora OR-Baker OR-Brookings OR-Burns Arpt OR-Cape Blanco OR-Cascade OR-Corvallis OR-Eugene OR-Hillsboro OR-Klamath Fall OR-La Grande OR-Lake View OR-Meacham OR-Medford OR-Newport OR-North 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Hooks TX-Dalhart TX-Dallas NAS TX-Dallas/Addis TX-Dallas/FW TX-Dallas/Love TX-Dallas/Redbr TX-Del Rio TX-Dyess AFB TX-El Paso TX-Ellington Af TX-Fort Worth TX-Ft Hood Aaf TX-Galveston TX-Gray AFB TX-Greenville TX-Guadalupe Ps TX-Harlingen TX-Hondo TX-Houston TX-Houston/Hobby TX-Junction TX-Kelly AFB TX-Kerrville TX-Killeen TX-Kingsville TX-Laredo Intl TX-Laughlin AFB TX-Longview TX-Lubbock TX-Lufkin TX-Marfa TX-Mcallen TX-Midland TX-Mineral Wlls TX-Palacios TX-Paris/Cox TX-Plainview TX-Port Arthur TX-Randolph AFB TX-Reese AFB TX-Rockport TX-San Angelo TX-San Antonio TX-Sanderson TX-Sherman-Deni TX-South Brazos TX-Stephenville TX-Temple TX-Tyler/Pounds TX-Victoria TX-Waco-Madison TX-Wichita Flls TX-Wink UT-Blanding UT-Bullfrog Mar UT-Cedar City UT-Delta UT-Dugway Prvgr UT-Eagle Range UT-Green River UT-Hanksville UT-Hill AFB UT-Logan UT-Milford UT-Moab UT-Ogden UT-Price/Carbon UT-Provo UT-Roosevelt UT-Saint George UT-Salt Lake Ct UT-Tooele UT-Vernal UT-Wendover VA-Charlottesvi VA-Chesapeake VA-Danville VA-Fort Belvoir VA-Fort Eustis VA-Hot Springs VA-Langley AFB VA-Lynchburg VA-Newport News VA-Norfolk NAS VA-Norfolk Rgnl VA-Oceana NAS VA-Quantico Mca VA-Richmond VA-Roanoke Muni VA-Staunton VA-Volens VA-Wallops Sta VT-Burlington VT-Montpelier VT-Newport VT-Rutland VT-St Johnsbury VT-Wilmington WA-Bellingham WA-Bremerton WA-Burlington WA-Colville WA-Ephrata WA-Everet/Paine WA-Fairchild WA-Fort Lewis WA-Hanford WA-Hoquiam WA-Mcchord AFB WA-Moses Lake WA-Oak Harbor WA-Olympia WA-Omak WA-Pasco WA-Port Angeles WA-Pullman WA-Quillayute WA-Renton WA-Seattle WA-Seattle/Boeing WA-Shelton WA-Spokane WA-Stampede Pass WA-Tacoma WA-Toledo WA-Walla Walla WA-Wenatchee WA-Whidbey Is WA-Yakima WI-Appleton WI-Eau Claire WI-Green Bay WI-Janesville WI-La Crosse WI-Lone Rock WI-Madison WI-Manitowac WI-Milwaukee WI-Milwaukee WI-Mosinee WI-Neenah WI-Oshkosh WI-Rhinelander WI-Rice Lake WI-Volk Fld WI-Wausau WV-Beckley WV-Bluefield WV-Charleston WV-Clarksburg WV-Elkins WV-Huntington WV-Lewisburg WV-Martinsburg WV-Morgantown WV-Parkersburg WV-Wheeling WV-White Sulph WY-Big Piney WY-Casper WY-Cheyenne WY-Cody WY-Douglas WY-Evanston WY-Gillette WY-Jackson WY-Lander WY-Laramie WY-Moorcroft WY-Rawlins WY-Riverton WY-Rock Springs WY-Sheridan WY-Worland WY-Yellowstone --Choose Another Canadian City-- AB-Calgary AB-Edmonton AB-Grande Prairie AB-Jasper AB-Lethbridge AB-McMurray AB-Medicine Hat AB-Red Deer BC-Dawson Creek BC-Fort Nelson BC-Kamloops Co BC-Nanaimo BC-New Westminster BC-Penticton BC-Prince George BC-Prince Rupert Co BC-Trail BC-Vancouver BC-Victoria Co MB-BrandoN, MB-Churchill MB-Dauphin MB-Flin Flon MB-Portage La Prairie MB-The Pas MB-Winnipeg NB-Campbellton Co NB-Chatham NB-Edmundston Co NB-Fredericton NB-Moncton NB-Saint John NL-Corner Brook NL-Gander NL-Goose Bay NL-St John's NL-Stephenville NS-Amherst NS-Halifax NS-Kentville NS-New Glasgow NS-Sydney NS-Truro Co NS-Yarmouth NT-Fort Smith NT-Frobisher NT-Inuvik NT-Resolute NT-Yellowknife ON-Belleville ON-Chatham ON-Cornwall ON-HamiltoN, ON-Kapuskasing ON-Kenora ON-Kingston ON-Kitchener ON-London ON-North Bay ON-Oshawa ON-Ottawa ON-Owen Sound ON-Peterborough ON-Sarnia ON-Sault Ste Marie ON-St Catharines ON-Sudbury ON-Thunder Bay ON-Timmins ON-Toronto ON-Windsor PE-Charlottetown PE-Summerside QC-Thetford Mines QC-Trois Rivieres QC-Bagotville QC-Chicoutimi QC-Drummondville QC-Granby QC-Hull QC-Megantic QC-Montreal QC-Quebec QC-Rimouski QC-Sept. Iles QC-Shawinigan QC-Sherbrooke Co QC-St Jean QC-St Jerome QC-Val D'or QC-Valleyfield SK-Estevan SK-Moose Jaw SK-North Battleford SK-Prince Albert SK-Regina SK-Saskatoon SK-Swift Current SK-Yorkton YT-Whitehorse --Choose Another UK City-- Belfast, Northern Ireland Birmingham, England Bradford, England Bristol, England Cardiff, Wales Coventry, England Derby, England Edinburgh, Scotland Glasgow, Scotland Kingston upon Hull, England Leeds, England Leicester, England Liverpool ,England London, England Manchester, England Nottingham, England Plymouth, England Sheffield, England Stoke-on-Trent, England Wolverhampton, England - or - Enter your own Latitude/Longitude in the format shown below.

Circumcision may offer Africa AIDS hope / Procedure linked to much lower rate of new HIV infections

Circumcision may offer Africa AIDS hope / Procedure linked to much lower rate of new HIV infections French and South African AIDS researchers have called an early halt to a study of adult male circumcision to reduce HIV infection after initial results reportedly showed that men who had the procedure dramatically lowered their risk of contracting the virus. The study's preliminary results, disclosed Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal, showed that circumcision reduced the risk of contracting HIV by 70 percent -- a level of protection far better than the 30 percent risk reduction set as a target for an AIDS vaccine. According to the newspaper account, the study under way in Orange Farm township, South Africa, was stopped because the results were so favorable. It was deemed unethical to continue the trial after an early peek at data showed that the uncircumcised men were so much more likely to become infected. All of the men in the study had been followed for a year, and half the men had been followed for the full 21 months called for in the original study design, according to the Wall Street Journal, which obtained a draft copy of the study. Begun in August 2002, the experiment is one of three closely watched clinical trials in Africa to determine whether there is scientific merit to nearly three dozen less rigorously controlled studies showing that circumcised men were much less likely to become HIV-positive. The hope is that, lacking a vaccine, the nearly 5 million new HIV infections occurring each year could be slowed by circumcision, the surgical removal of the foreskin -- a simple, low-cost and permanent medical intervention that is a common but controversial cultural practice in much of the world. In Africa, about 70 percent of men are circumcised at birth or during rite-of-passage ceremonies in early puberty. Medical anthropologists began noticing as early as 1989 that the highest rates of HIV infection in Africa were occurring in regions of the continent where the predominant tribal or religious cultures did not practice circumcision. Adult HIV infection rates above 30 percent are found in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland and eastern South Africa, where circumcision is not practiced; yet HIV infection rates remain below 5 percent in West Africa and other parts of the continent where circumcision is commonplace. Laboratory studies have found that the foreskin is rich in white blood cells, which are favored targets of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. So the theory is that men who are uncircumcised are much more likely to contract the virus during sex with an infected woman, and that the epidemic spreads when these newly infected men have sex with other women within their network of sexual partners. The lead investigators of the study, Dr. Bertran Auvert of the University of Paris and Adrian Puren of South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases, are not talking. The results were expected to be discussed at an AIDS conference in Rio de Janeiro in three weeks. But word about the findings has been circulating among researchers searching for ways to slow the epidemic. "I would be thrilled if it works, but we will also need the results of other trials," said Johns Hopkins University epidemiologist Ronald Gray, who is conducting, in Uganda, one of two other controlled clinical trials of male circumcision. Gray's trial, which has completed enrollment of 5,000 men in the Rakai district of Uganda, is not scheduled to end until 2007. A third trial, under way in Kisumu, Kenya, is still enrolling its quota of 2,700 volunteers and is also expected to be completed in 2007, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is sponsoring it. All three trials were designed to compare the HIV infection rates of two groups of HIV-negative men, one-half of whom would agree to be circumcised, the other to be offered only counseling on AIDS prevention. The studies were designed to show whether or not circumcision provided a statistically significant protective effect of at least 50 percent. The South African study -- if the results are confirmed -- suggests that the level of protection afforded is even higher. Although the apparent protective effect of circumcision has been noted for more than 20 years, doubts linger as to whether circumcision itself is protective, or whether the lower risk may be the result of cultural practices among those who circumcise. HIV rates are low in Muslim communities, for example, which practice male circumcision but also engage in ritual washing before sex and frown on promiscuity.

Contents

Welcome to the Crazy J- a guitar playing machine. This project was created as a part of the Georgia Tech graduate Mechatronics class (6405), by Jason Lawrence, Turner Howard and Susan Knueven. The various links listed to the left will connect you to pictures of the Crazy J, sound clips of the Crazy J actually playing, and technical information on the workings of the Crazy J. Special thanks goes to John Witzel for his electronic expertise, John Graham for his help in the machine shop, and to the original Crazy J himself, for the inspiration. We suggest that you begin in the Photo Gallery for an overview and then get more detailed explanations in the following sections. But don't forget to check out the sound clips of the Crazy J playing some of your favorite tunes!

london explosions

The victims The stories of the 52 people who lost their lives in the London bombings of 7 July 2005.

IBM announces dual-core and low-power G5s

Word first hit the wires yesterday that IBM had announced the long-awaited 970MP and 970FX processors at a forum in Japan. For those who don't follow the Apple scene obsessively, the 970MP is a dual-core G5 and the 970FX is a low-power G5 intended for use in portables. The Japanese press release was linked at Xlr8yourmac.com, with the English press release following it in the Ars forums this morning. Here are the basics on the two chips, ripped from M. Isobe's Xlr8yourmac post. 970MP dual core 1.4-2.5GHz each core has 1MB L2 cache (2MB total) one core can be switched off for low power operation Low Power 970FX 13W @ 1.4 GHz, 16W @ 1.6GHz (Typical) The announcement raises a number of questions about timing, like, when will these parts be available? how long has IBM been sitting on them? if they're to be available soon then why did Apple switch? why the sudden leap in performance per Watt on the same process after a year with so little improvement? I hope to be able to address these questions in a subsequent post, but for now my only comment is that the announcement seems to have caused a minor flare-up of the old platform wars in the MA. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks. I'm sort of sad to see it all go. For what it's worth, I have reason to believe that the 970FX announcement could've been made sooner than today, and that IBM has been sitting on it for at least a month. As I said in my previous coverage of the Apple-Intel transition, Apple's jumping ship was less about IBM's roadmap and more about Intel's volume discounts, especially on non-PC chips like the XScale. But maybe I'll be able to write more on that later.

Saving the Pentagon's Killer Chopper-Plane

Eight RH-53D Sea Stallion transport helicopters lift off in twilight from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Gulf of Oman, bound for a makeshift airstrip 600 miles away in the middle of Iran's Dasht-e-Kavir desert. Their clandestine mission, Operation Eagle Claw, is to rescue 53 Americans held hostage in the US embassy in Tehran. At the airstrip, codenamed Desert One, six bumblebee-shaped C-130 Hercules transport planes wait to refuel the Sea Stallions. The helicopters are there to carry Delta Force commandos 270 miles to a staging area in the mountains outside Tehran, then raid the embassy the next night. The mission can't proceed any faster. The Vietnam-era Sea Stallions have limited range and cannot refuel in-air. The helicopters enter Iranian airspace below 200 feet to avoid radar detection. Somewhere over the desert, they get trapped in a large haboob, a storm of dust as fine as talc. Visibility drops to near zero. One Sea Stallion drops out after a warning light flashes. A second reports gyro failure and turns back. A third loses its hydraulic pump. Only five fully functioning helicopters reach the airstrip. Concerned that the mission is too hobbled to succeed, President Carter orders the team to abort. As the aircraft prepare to evacuate, one Sea Stallion shifts position on the airstrip to allow a C-130 to take off. The pilot lifts off, banks left, and loses his bearings in a welter of dust and downwash. He banks back to the right and collides with the C-130, his rotors slicing into the transport plane's fuselage. Both aircraft burst into flames; eight servicemen die. The fiasco at Desert One in 1980 highlighted the Pentagon's need to replace its antiquated fleet of transport helicopters. The Sea Stallion and its 1960s-era cousin, the CH-46 Sea Knight, were too slow and, in their old age, had become maintenance nightmares and safety hazards. Incoming Navy secretary John Lehman, a pilot during the Vietnam War, thought he had an answer. When he was working for Henry Kissinger on the National Security Council in the 1970s, he saw photographs of a curious-looking experimental aircraft called the XV-15. It was a tilt-rotor hybrid – equal parts helicopter and plane, able to take off vertically and hover like a helo and then swivel its tilt-rotor pods (called nacelles) forward to fly like a traditional fixed wing. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Contact wiredlabs@wired.com to report an issue. After President Reagan put Lehman in charge of the Navy in 1981, Lehman traveled to the Paris Air Show to see the XV-15 in action. It wasn't as cool as, say, the British short-takeoff/vertical-landing Harrier jump jet. In fact, it didn't look remotely aerodynamic – more like a moving van stuck between two 38-foot-wide windmills. But Lehman was smitten. "It was very easy to fly," he says, "far more stable than a traditional helicopter, and simpler and safer than a Harrier. I was convinced it was what we needed." Lehman pushed the plane through the Navy's acquisition process. In 1983, the Navy awarded Bell Helicopters and Boeing Aircraft a $68.7 million joint contract to design an aircraft based on the XV-15. This was the V-22, nicknamed the Osprey. It would carry two dozen geared-up marines or 10,000 pounds of weaponry, fly 2,100 nautical miles at 25,000 feet with just a single, in-air refueling, and land anywhere, no runway required. At least, that was the theory. It's been 22 years, and the skies aren't exactly crowded with Ospreys. After more than two decades and $16.4 billion, the history of the V-22 is a sorry tale of cost overruns, shoddy construction, and managerial incompetence. Thirty people have died in four Osprey crashes, making the V-22 one of the killingest experimental planes ever. The program has teetered on the brink of elimination since almost the beginning. But it never went away, propped up by genuine need, pork barrel politics, and the hope that the money already spent wasn't money wasted. Now the weird hybrid plane has entered a critical test phase called operational evaluation – the last hurdle before full production. The Osprey made it to op-eval once before, five years ago, and failed spectacularly. After an intense few years of engineering and test flights, years of tearing the plane apart and putting it back together under a fix-it-or-kill-it threat from the Pentagon, the Osprey is back. At military bases across the country, from New River Marine Corps Air Base in North Carolina to Edwards Air Force Base in California, pilots and engineers are testing the plane under combat conditions: extreme heat and cold, desert sand, high-altitude flying, aircraft carrier takeoffs. If all goes well, the evaluation will end in July and construction of the fleet will begin in 2006, and the first Osprey squadron will fly in fall 2007. The Pentagon is confident it has a winner. The engineers and pilots believe they have solved the problems, both technological and organizational, that made the Osprey seem like little more than a deadly boondoggle. The Marine Corps has already ordered 360 Ospreys. The Air Force Special Forces is in for 50, and the Navy for 48. Sticker price: roughly $73 million apiece (GlobalSecurity.org, a defense consulting group, estimates the figure is really more like $105 million). "The Sea Knight can fly marines 50 miles from ship to beach, where the enemy is generally waiting," says Marine lieutenant colonel Kevin Gross, a manager on the Osprey team and the program's former flight test director. "With the Osprey, we'll be able to carry them past the beach, around the threat, around the weather, across any terrain, to where the enemy is weakest, where we can dictate the battle." The V-22 barely survived the 1990s. The cold war was over, terrorism was a distant threat, and military spending was under scrutiny. When the Osprey budget ballooned from a projected $2.5 billion in 1986 to $30 billion in 1988 without a single test flight, defense secretary Dick Cheney tried to zero out the funding. Congress, not the Pentagon, kept the budget at the minimum level. The plane finally flew in 1989, and two years later it had its first crash. On June 11, 1991, an Osprey prototype hovering in helicopter mode – about 15 feet off the ground – wobbled. The left nacelle hit the runway and the plane dropped, bounced a few hundred feet, and burst into flames. The two pilots aboard sustained minor injuries in the accident, which investigators traced to incorrect wiring in a flight control system. A second crash a year later generated more attention. At Quantico Marine Air Base, in a special ceremony designed to win congressional support, an Osprey was supposed to roar over the airfield like a military jet, then dramatically drop to the tarmac in helicopter mode. But as members of Congress and government officials watched, the aircraft's right engine caught fire. The plane plunged 500 feet into the Potomac River, killing all seven marines aboard. The program was grounded for 11 months. The Navy's investigation blamed a leak of gearbox fluid from the right nacelle into the engine. For almost a decade, the program limped along, overbudget and behind schedule. Then, in April 2000, a third aircraft crashed, killing 19 marines – the worst military flight accident since a Marine jet sliced through a ski gondola cable in the Italian Alps in 1998, killing 20. The plane, which had taken off from Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, was bound for Marana Northwest Regional Airport near Tucson, Arizona. Flying in tandem with a second Osprey, its mission was to load passengers in Yuma – a simulation of a rescue from, say, an overseas embassy – and fly them to safety. The lead Osprey approached the Marana airport about 2,000 feet too high, but rather than circle to shed altitude, the pilot decided to land. He descended dangerously fast, hitting the runway hard. The second aircraft, with a crew of 4 plus 15 fully outfitted marines on board, followed the lead plane and came down even faster – more than 2,000 feet per minute going just under 45 miles per hour. At 245 feet above the ground, the Osprey lost lift in its right rotor, stalled, and rolled over before it could issue a mayday. It crashed and exploded, killing everyone aboard. The accident was attributed to a little-understood flight phenomenon called vortex ring state, or VRS, in which a helicopter descending rapidly at low forward speed drops into its own turbulence. Its rotors lose their grip on the air, and the bird drops out of the sky. That news especially shook the Osprey community – it suggested that the plane might be fundamentally flawed. One squadron member reportedly turned in his wings. The program took another hit on the ground. Odin Leberman, then a lieutenant colonel and the Osprey squadron commander at New River, ordered marines in his command to falsify Osprey maintenance records. He did it to make the plane appear more reliable than it was, to increase its chances of winning new funding. "We need to lie or manipulate the data, or however you wanna call it," he said in a meeting. A maintenance crew member was secretly running a tape. Leberman was later relieved of duty. Then, on December 11, 2000, another Osprey went down. Its crew was practicing instrument approach landings at night, and the plane fell 1,600 feet into a boggy forest near the New River base; all four marines aboard died. One of the nacelles had a catastrophic leak in the hydraulic system, and to compensate, the pilot hit a systems-reset button. Nothing happened. He hit it again. And again, at least eight times. Later, investigators found a glitch in the aircraft's software. Each press of the button had, for some reason, caused the plane to decelerate, making an accident even more inevitable. On December 12, 2000, the V-22 was grounded indefinitely. The Osprey had reached a crisis. Several engineers transferred to other aircraft projects. The program manager left. The chief engineer was promoted off the project. A new regime at the Pentagon was demanding that the plane get fixed in two years or get canceled. The entire culture of Osprey-making had to be fixed, and a series of significant technological problems had to be solved – fast. Around Christmas of 2000, Ken Baile was offered the assistant chief engineer position. He hesitated. "I talked to my wife, I talked to my dad. I asked myself: Is this plane dependent on some technology that can never work? Do I want to associate my career with this? I talked to a lot of the engineers who'd remained. I read the reports. I took the job because I was satisfied the Osprey's technology was sound." Under the weight of a stack of accident reports and assessments from the Pentagon, other government agencies, and various independent commissions, Air Force colonel Craig Olson, the new program manager for the military, set out to change Osprey Country (the flyboys' nickname for the test center at Patuxent River Naval Air Base). Olson realized that engineers had been in too much of a hurry, pressured by Defense higher-ups and Congress. "Before 2001, we were schedule-driven," he says. "Meeting a funding deadline was more important than making sure we'd done all the testing we could." Evidence of that permeated the program. A Navy investigation following the 1992 crash found that a warning light had flashed in the Osprey's cockpit shortly after takeoff from Florida's Elgin Air Force Base. Yet the pilot kept going. He skipped a stop in Charlotte, North Carolina, under pressure from command not to be late to the fundraising ceremony at Quantico. After the Marana crash, a GAO report revealed that in 1997 and 1998, with pressure mounting to get the Osprey on budget and on schedule, program officials eliminated 70 of 103 planned tests, including rapid descent while carrying a full load. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing after the New River crash, program managers admitted they'd known about the hydraulic leak problem for six months. They hadn't corrected it, they testified, because an important funding deadline was approaching and the plane couldn't afford to fall any further behind schedule. That pattern of eliminating flight tests to stay on schedule worried no one more than the test pilots, who already felt their concerns were being ignored. "I remember one time our onboard primary mission computers were failing, and we'd have a black cockpit for 8 or 12 seconds before the software recognized the problem and the backup kicked in," says Gross, the former flight test director. "That's too long to go with no cockpit displays, not knowing our air state. When we wrote it up in our deficiency reports, the program office got extremely angry and frustrated with us. They didn't want us slowing down the program because of unfavorable reports." But the increased scrutiny from Congress and the media after the last crash scared Pax River straight. "I think another crash would shut us down," Olson says. "People now actually read my flight test reports," says Steve Grohsmeyer, an Osprey test pilot. "Shortcuts don't happen anymore." As a result of the culture changes – and with the Pentagon's 2003 deadline looming – the Osprey engineers dived back into their technology. Armed with the conclusions from a decade of reports and analyses, they set out to correct the failures behind each of the four crashes. The first one, in 1991, was relatively easy. A flight control system had been miswired, and the engineers and mechanics fixed it soon after the accident. Crash number two, a year later, was tragic – seven marines killed in front of an audience – but the pilot knew he had an engine problem. Under pressure to get to his destination, he'd simply ignored the warning light. A more safety-minded, less time-crunched culture would make sure that kind of thing didn't happen anymore. More important, the nacelle was redesigned to prevent fluids from pooling – eliminating a potential fire hazard. The third and fourth accidents, though, were trickier. Even two years after the third Osprey went down, pilots and designers worried about the mysterious aerodynamic problem of vortex ring state. The problem was that nobody knew much about VRS. When airplane wings or helicopter rotor blades cut through the air, they create a region of low pressure above them and high pressure below. That differential creates lift, but maintaining it depends on the smooth flow of air over both surfaces. Spinning helicopter blades turn the air beneath that high-pressure zone into chop – drop into that turbulence and the air stops sticking to the blades. The prop stops pushing, and the bird stops flying. Lead test pilot Tom MacDonald of Boeing was assigned the VRS problem. "It was this mystery area," he says. "So little research had been done on it. People wondered: Would it swallow planes alive?" MacDonald and the engineers worked out a system. He'd take the plane to 10,000 feet, putting enough air between him and the ground so he'd be able to recover if he got into trouble. Then he'd pull the nacelles back until they were almost vertical, in helicopter conformation, slow his forward airspeed, and try to induce VRS. "We'd fly all day long," says Gross, copilot on a few of the test runs. "We'd fall 2,000 or 3,000 feet and recover. We'd fly back up to 10,000 feet, repeat the exercise at 1,000 feet per minute, then 1,500, then 2,000, all the way up to 5,000 feet per minute. Then we'd do it again, this time changing our airspeed." (A typical rate of descent for a 747 passenger jet on runway approach is 700 to 800 feet per minute.) In the process MacDonald, a former Marine pilot, quadrupled the published knowledge base on VRS. What he found was that vortex ring state is surprisingly hard to induce. He had to fly slower than 40 knots while keeping the plane in a steady position for at least five seconds, and then descend at a hot 2,200 feet per minute. He also found that in an Osprey, he could recover from the condition relatively easily, provided he had 2,000 feet of altitude to play with. In the end, the team didn't alter the aircraft. Solution: Install a simple warning system. When a pilot pushes an Osprey toward VRS, a light flashes in the cockpit and a voice cautions, "Sink rate." And Osprey pilots now know to pay attention to those warnings. The hydraulic leaks that had plagued the Osprey – and caused the last crash – required an entirely different kind of problem-solving. Engineers on the ground would have to rip the engines apart and start over. The investigation into the 2001 accident showed that a tangle of tubes in a nacelle had chafed against a main hydraulics line. Chafing had been a problem for years; the titanium hydraulic tubes are ultralightweight but brittle and relatively fragile. The solution seemed obvious: Rejigger the plane's hundreds of feet of hydraulic lines so none of them touch. But that meant remodeling the guts of the nacelles, finding new space for fuel and electrical lines as well. "The technology wasn't in question," says Don Courson, the lead hydraulic engineer. "It was more of a design issue." So Courson's team stripped a nacelle down to its frame and panels. Then, system by system, they started replacing parts – the prop rotor gearbox, the tilt axis mechanism, the engine. Finally, they redesigned and reinstalled the hydraulics lines. Line clearance isn't a common mechanical problem. Pop the hood of a car and you'll find bundles of wires everywhere. The Osprey is unique because the nacelles shift and rotate, pulling lines taut and causing them to rub against adjacent surfaces. To be safe, the engineers decided that all hydraulic lines would have a half-inch of clearance. That's not easy to design or build. "Imagine a million-piece jigsaw puzzle," Courson says. To make sure they'd solved that puzzle, they put the test plane back together and flew it for five hours. Then they took it apart again and checked the lines. No problem. They reassembled it and flew it for 10 hours. Took it apart. Checked the lines. Once they got up to 35 flight hours with no chafing and no leaks, they knew they had it right. But the hydraulic leak wasn't the only problem in the fourth crash. Control software had warned the pilot of a problem, but it hadn't told him what to do about it – in fact, the pilot's attempts to get the aircraft under control had made things worse. "That was a little unnerving," Grohsmeyer says. "The last thing a pilot wants is to feel he's lost control of his plane." There were thousands of lines of code, and weak spots could surface anywhere. Baile's team created what they called a Triple Lab. It consisted of a flight simulator, every bit of software installed in an Osprey, and a full hydraulics system to power it all. They spent a year in the Triple Lab, with a test pilot, letting their minds run wild. "We imagined every conceivable systems failure," Baile says. The first glitch they tried to induce was the one that caused crash number four. The accident report said that a warning light had confused the pilot about the nature of the problem. And the flight manual hadn't explained what the light meant either. In the end, the engineers rewrote the software that set off the warning, and they fixed the bug that caused the Osprey's catastrophic deceleration before the crash. They changed a majority of the existing code and improved cockpit displays. "We wanted to remove all ambiguity, to make sure the pilot would know what and where the trouble was," Baile says. On an April morning 25 years after the disastrous mission in Iran, a V-22 taxis to a grass strip between two runways at Pax River. It's one of the base's seven Ospreys, gearing up for a test run. Covered in primer paint, its Marine Corps insignia barely visible, the craft looks characteristically awkward. From 75 yards away, I see an airman give a hand signal. The plane's twin Rolls-Royce engines rev, generating a backwash so powerful that my sunglasses fly off. The two dozen flight engineers in the blockhouse-like building behind me are spared the windstorm; they're all staring at computers, reading telemetry. The Osprey's rotors, pointing upward, dig into the air with an earsplitting thrum. The 16.5-ton aircraft rises to 15 feet. It floats for half a minute, then tilts its rotors and slides 300 feet to the right. Then to the left. The three-man crew is checking tolerances at low hover. "See how smooth it flies?" says Scott Trail, shouting over the prop noise. Trail, a major in the Marines, is one of a dozen test pilots on the Osprey, and, like MacDonald, he's a big fan. Three years ago he flew troops into Afghanistan in Sea Knights, the Vietnam-era transport helicopter. Twice as old as most of the guys on board, the Sea Knights were so creaky that Trail could carry only eight passengers at a time (even though the chopper has seats for 24). "Watch this," he says. The Osprey starts to move forward, gathering speed like a dragster tearing down the track. The nacelles start to rotate forward – 10 degrees, 30, 70, 90 – until the helicopter has morphed into an airplane and is roaring at 290 miles per hour. In 15 seconds the conversion is complete. The plane shoots skyward and disappears over the horizon. That was one of many tests the Osprey will have to pass. Right now, at air bases around the US, V-22s are performing similar – and more complicated – maneuvers, all part of the op-eval cycle. Even if everything works, the plane faces one last hurdle: Congress can still say no. Depending on the economy, the military's needs, political pressures, and concerns about deficit spending, Congress may balk at the program's final cost. "There's a limit to our resources. You have to decide on priorities," explains Representative Mark Udall (D-Colorado), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, who says he plans to vote to continue funding the planes. Some of the biggest believers are those who started the program. "The fact is, we have an airplane that will save a lot of lives and give us a lot of capabilities we don't currently have," says Lehman, the former Navy secretary who funded the project back in 1983. "When I look at the aircraft, I think of how useful it would have been in Afghanistan and Iraq. That's why the military won't give it up." Mike Lieberman, a military affairs aide on the House Armed Services Committee, has a more pragmatic view: "My God, we've thrown so much money at it, we have to get something out of it." The V-22 Osprey: A Crash Course Planned as a medium-range troop transport craft with unprecedented speed and flexibility, the V-22 became the plane that couldn't get (and stay) off the ground. The latest operation-evalution period ends this summer. Here's a look at how the Osprey is supposed to work – and four tragic times it didn't. 1. June 11, 1991: Miswired flight control system. Left nacelle hits the ground. Two injuries. 2. July 20, 1992: Gearbox fluid leak leads to a fire in the right nacelle. The plane crashes in front of a VIP audience. Seven deaths. 3. April 8, 2000: Rapidly descending plane stalls and crashes. Engineers suspect the rotors lost lift. Nineteen deaths. 4. December 11, 2000: Hydraulic leak cripples an engine; a bug in the pilot's control software slows the plane further. Four killed. SPECS Length: 57 feet Wingspan: 46 feet Weight: 33,140 pounds Cruising airspeed: 288-345 miles per hour Maximum altitude: 25,000 feet Range (with maximum payload): 360 miles Crew: 3 (pilot, copilot, crew chief) Capacity: 24 fully loaded troops, plus crew With its nacelles pointed up, the Osprey flies like a helicopter. When they're positioned horizontally, the rotors act like traditional airplane propellers. Ron Berler is a writer in suburban New York.

Olympics Drop Baseball and Softball

It was the first time the International Olympic Committee eliminated any sports in 69 years. Both baseball and softball suffered from low international support because they are not widely played, despite their Olympic inclusion, and remained dominated by North American teams. Cuba won three of the four baseball gold medals and the United States won the other. The United States won all three softball gold medals. Moreover, Major League Baseball never allowed its players to participate and the International Olympic Committee has expressed concern over any sport that is not played in the Olympics with its best players. "Those who bear most of the blame are the owners of the professional leagues, who refuse to free up their ballplayers to compete," Carlos Rodriguez, president of the Cuban baseball federation, told The Associated Press. "It's a shame because this decision will disappoint millions of young people who practice and love this sport." Major League Baseball is about to unveil a world baseball tournament that will include the top players and that will be played before the regular season, a plan that did not help the sport's standing with the International Olympic Committee. "I feel like somebody who has been thrown out - it's certainly not a good feeling," said Aldo Notari of Italy, the president of the International Baseball Federation. "I don't think the I.O.C. members know our sport deeply enough."

Trackback

The Science of Consistency "The official Star Wars Web site touts an 'opaque window' theory to explain why some versions of Star Wars reality, such as the spinoff comic books and videogames, do not seem to capture the main Star Wars reality as accurately as the films do. UPN has adopted an even easier way of preventing the latest Star Trek TV series from creating continuity errors: cancellation." Posted on metaphilm.com Todd Seavey, director of publications, American Council on Science and Health Success Is Viral "I think advertisers will be able to create viral ads if they are willing to take the creative risks necessary to make them happen. To make something viral it can't feel like a traditional ad. If you try to push the same message in a viral piece that you're playing on network TV during prime time, it won't work. If you can do something a little edgier (or self deprecating) it can work. Brand managers should look to the Web as a place to experiment and have a little fun with their brand." Posted on marketingvox.com Gregg Spiridellis, founder, JibJab POSTS Trackback Best. Phone. Sex. Ever. The Future Is a No-Show Zombies at Cannes The Other Turingé Test Robot Wisdom on the Street The Same Old Song

Opinion | If It's a Muslim Problem, It Needs a Muslim Solution

So this is a critical moment. We must do all we can to limit the civilizational fallout from this bombing. But this is not going to be easy. Why? Because unlike after 9/11, there is no obvious, easy target to retaliate against for bombings like those in London. There are no obvious terrorist headquarters and training camps in Afghanistan that we can hit with cruise missiles. The Al Qaeda threat has metastasized and become franchised. It is no longer vertical, something that we can punch in the face. It is now horizontal, flat and widely distributed, operating through the Internet and tiny cells. Because there is no obvious target to retaliate against, and because there are not enough police to police every opening in an open society, either the Muslim world begins to really restrain, inhibit and denounce its own extremists -- if it turns out that they are behind the London bombings -- or the West is going to do it for them. And the West will do it in a rough, crude way -- by simply shutting them out, denying them visas and making every Muslim in its midst guilty until proven innocent. And because I think that would be a disaster, it is essential that the Muslim world wake up to the fact that it has a jihadist death cult in its midst. If it does not fight that death cult, that cancer, within its own body politic, it is going to infect Muslim-Western relations everywhere. Only the Muslim world can root out that death cult. It takes a village. What do I mean? I mean that the greatest restraint on human behavior is never a policeman or a border guard. The greatest restraint on human behavior is what a culture and a religion deem shameful. It is what the village and its religious and political elders say is wrong or not allowed. Many people said Palestinian suicide bombing was the spontaneous reaction of frustrated Palestinian youth. But when Palestinians decided that it was in their interest to have a cease-fire with Israel, those bombings stopped cold. The village said enough was enough. The Muslim village has been derelict in condemning the madness of jihadist attacks. When Salman Rushdie wrote a controversial novel involving the prophet Muhammad, he was sentenced to death by the leader of Iran. To this day -- to this day -- no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama bin Laden.

Fundraising Ideas

Fundraising Ideas And Online Fundraising Help Fundable.org is born again with the same concept but a new focus and management team. Our goal is to provide funding for every type of group, activity or project from funding senior living to helping raise funds for disaster relief. In addition to compiling an extensive list of fundraising ideas, we will be adding a social network portion to the web site. The new Fundable.org will be a great option for individuals who need both social support and financial support for a new project. Here is how it works: Open an account and create a fundraising campaign. Your campaign must have: A financial goal (like raising $500 to help someone in need). A final deadline (to raise the funds) A text (and graphic) description to motive people to get involved and donate to your fundraising campaign Use our social network and yours to create a buzz and get donations for your new idea (campaign). Add our widget to your web site to increase the visibility of your project. We will confirm that the donations are real and continuously compile a current total for your project. When the campaign reaches your goal, we complete all the financial transactions and deposit the money into your account. If your campaign doesn't reach the goal by the deadline, no one pays and the campaign is closed. Fundable.Org can be used to fund anything where you need a group of people to help fund the project. This can include: New business startups from food service to radical new inventions. Buying new equipment and services for non-profits and individuals that need help Short-term care in a assisted living community Buy a Klaser cold laser to help with your joint pain Buy someone a ReGen Pod to help with chronic inflammation. Start music lessons or tutoring for a deserving student Give someone a lifetime membership to Lighthouse Health Get someone the funds they need to start an addiction recovery program Just about any cause that meets our legal and social responsibility guidelines. Fundable is different because we do not charge any fee for our service. We pass on the credit card processing fees but that is it. We hope that by avoiding the service charge, we can re-establish the site's credibility (since it was tainted by scandal with the prior owners) This way your fundraising campaign produces the maximum revenue and you get the most return for your efforts. This site is funded by advertising on the fundraising ideas portion of the web site like our easy fundraising ideas page. We are not a non-profit but we are a little or no-profit business. Our focus is on giving every penny to those in need and not about wasting money on a non-profit image. In the next 3 months, we be releasing a whole new option for fundraising that will include a social network for support of new projects. We will also be posting information for those looking for alternative fundraising ideas. Fundable is a part of a whole family of community oriented sites designed to provide competitive family-style service where most sites are totally commercial. In addition to working with senior living communities and assisted living facilities, Fundable is part of a group of web sites that also help addicts find treatment centers. All our site try to use the highest standards to provide solid content and unique "non-commercial" services. Fundable is our premier site for funding new fundraising ideas. Since the beginning of our internet web site business, we have been trying to find novel solutions to complex problems. With our huge staff of one part-time person, we are able to boldly develop sites with no real commercial value or potential for revenue. Whether you are starting a new business or trying to gather funds to start a business or help a neighbor, Fundable is a good option for fundraisers. If you start a campaign and have problems, please check again later as we still solving problems from restarting this business. Since we are currently rebuilding the system, you might consider visiting one of the other fundraising sites listed on our online fundraising page.

Jim Heid's Mac iLife 09 Site: iTunes, iPod, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, iWeb

Posted Friday, July 08, 2005 How to Make a Life Poster, the Tiger Edition Updated November 4, 2005 Back in January, software developer Mike Matas published instructions on how to use iPhoto to create what he called a "life poster"�a large print comprising a collage of 98 smaller images. It was an exceptionally cool project that required quite a few steps, not to mention a trip into Photoshop. Could the process be automated? Could it be automated with Automator, the Mac OS X Tiger technology that puts your Mac on autopilot? The answers to those questions are yes and yeah, baby. I present your weekend iPhoto fun project: the Life Poster, Tiger Edition. Select 96 photos in your iPhoto library, click a button, then sit back and watch while your Mac does the work of assembling the photos into a spectacular poster. There's no need to manually crop anything, no need for Photoshop or custom paper sizes, and indeed, no need to do anything except continue to perform that oxygen-to-carbon-dioxide conversion process you do so well. When your Mac is done, you can order a 20- by 30-inch poster through iPhoto. Here's how to get it all running. Phase 1: Download and Install Besides your gorgeous photos, this project has two key components: an Automator action and an Automator workflow. Start by downloading this archive (228K). Then, double-click it to expand it. You'll find an installer named "Thumbnail Poster Installer" on your desktop. Install the action. In the world of Automator, an action is an item that performs a single, specific task. For this project, you need to install an action that produces the poster. To install the action, simply double-click the Thumbnail Poster Installer icon. Read the scintillating installation message if you like, then click the Run button. The installer will add the action to Automator and also add a folder named "Thumbnail Poster Files" to your desktop. If you'd like to verify that the action was installed, launch Automator (it's in your Applications folder). In Automator's Library list, click PDF (it's within the Applications list). You'll see the action listed in the Action column as "Create Thumbnail Poster". Now you're ready to become a poster child. Phase 2: Make Your Poster As I mentioned, this project produces a poster containing 96 photos. Thus, a good place to begin is by corralling 96 photos into an album: in iPhoto, create a new album, and then drag your favorite 96 photos into it. Next, select those photos by choosing Select All from the Edit menu (or pressing Command-A). Run the workflow. With your 96 photos selected, you're ready to run the workflow. Return to the Finder and double click the Thumbnail Poster Files folder on your desktop, then double-click the workflow inside; it's named "Create Thumbnail Poster.workflow". Now at this point, patience is a virtue. A necessity, even. The workflow will scan your iPhoto library as a prelude to allowing you specify where your poster will be imported�into a specific album or simply into your library. If you're running this on a slower Mac and you have a large iPhoto library containing a lot of albums, you'll see the spinning pinwheel for a few minutes. Patience. When the spinning pinwheel disappears, click the Run button in the upper-right corner of the workflow window. Then do that patience thing again, because your Mac is going to process each of those 96 photos, crop them to a square format (more about this later), render them to PDF files, and then generate the poster image. Phase 3: Order Your Print After the workflow runs, you'll find your poster image in your iPhoto library (and in a specific album, if you chose one before running the workflow). Select it, click the Order Prints button, and order your poster. Prior to ordering your print, you can, of course, modify the image using iPhoto's Adjust panel or using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. For example, you might want to put a colored border around the montage. Variations on the Theme Here are a few variations you might want to try. Crop Yourself. The square thumbnails created by this workflow may cause some unwanted cropping. If you want square thumbnails and want to be sure that you don't chop someone's head off, crop each of the 96 images manually using iPhoto's Crop tool with the Constrain pop-up menu set to Square. That's a big job. And remember, cropping a photo changes its appearance in any albums, so you might want to duplicate every photo first, then crop the duplicate. (That a lot more time and disk space than I'm willing to invest.) Go Horizontal or Vertical. Don't want square thumbnails? You can also print a mosaic of 72 horizontally or vertically oriented photos. In Step 3 of the workflow, choose Horizontal or Vertical from the pop-up menu, as desired. But note that all of your images must have the same orientation; you can't mix horizontal and vertical photos. There's one more advantage to going the all-horizontal or all-vertical route: the workflow will run much faster. There are more tricks and modifications you can make for this workflow, and I'll share them next week. In the meantime, grab the archive and start posterizing! You've tamed Tiger, now tame iLife. If you liked this tip, you'll love The Macintosh iLife '05, the latest edition of the world's top-selling iLife book. 345 full-color pages plus a two-hour, 43-minute instructional DVD that also contains an exclusive collection of Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes, GarageBand loops, tutorial files, and more�all for $23.09 on Amazon.com (34 percent off the cover price). Read a review, then order your copy.

Students refuse to buy a single song from Napster

Napster has put a new twist on the notion of being a loss leader. It has actually managed to sell more songs for rival online music services than for its own product, according to a survey conducted by a university customer. Not a single University of Rochester student admitted to buying a song via Napster during the Fall 2004 semester. Instead, eight per cent of the students turned to the likes of iTunes and Musicmatch to buy songs they enjoy. That's an ominous sign for a company spending millions to seed the university market with music in the hopes of unseating Apple as the clear leader in online music. Most troubling for Napster, things don't appear to be improving on the music purchase front. During the Spring 2004 semester, a whopping 1 per cent of students did buy tracks off the Nap. Now no one does. The situation worsens with Napster's small number of specialty "buy only" songs not included with its standard service. Two per cent of students purchased such tracks from Napster, while 39 per cent turned to rival services to secure their songs. The University of Rochester has boasted about being one of the Napsterized schools that force music rental services on students in the hopes of curbing P2P file-trading. In almost every case, Napster offers such schools a massive discount off its $9.95 per month fee, making it easier for the schools to stomach the cost of opening music shops. The schools also typically receive hardware donations from unnamed sponsors. Napster has spent tens of millions on a massive marketing campaign, attacking the "$10,000" cost it takes to fill an iPod. (This is a meaningless statistic when you consider that iPod owners are free to add their existing CD collections and those of friends to their device at no cost.) In addition, Napster has subsidized device makers, attempting to create interest in the non-iPod music player market. This strategy left Napster reporting a $24m fourth quarter loss. A host of companies, most notably Napster and Real, appear convinced that consumers will buy into the concept of renting their music. This strategy requires a massive cultural change in which people must accept restrictions on when and how they can listen to music that is of lower quality than a CD. If you pay a monthly fee forever, you receive all the music one could desire. A decent idea until you realize that most people nurture their music collections to reflect their tastes and don't want access to all the blather ever created. For the rental model to succeed, Napster and others would, er, have to turn a profit at some point. The companies appear to believe that a critical mass of consumers would deliver black ink. But in today's reality, hardware makers - mostly Apple - are the ones making serious cash off online music.

Why Do You Work So Hard? / Is it maybe time to quit your safe job and follow your path and infuriate the establishment?

Why Do You Work So Hard? / Is it maybe time to quit your safe job and follow your path and infuriate the establishment? T here remains this enormous and wicked sociocultural myth. It is this: Hard work is all there is. Work hard and the world respects you. Work hard and you can have anything you want. Work really extra super hard and do nothing else but work and ignore your family and spend 14 hours a day at the office and make 300 grand a year that you never have time to spend, sublimate your soul to the corporate machine and enjoy a profound drinking problem and sporadic impotence and a nice 8BR mini-mansion you never spend any time in, and you and your shiny BMW 740i will get into heaven. This is the American Puritan work ethos, still alive and screaming and sucking the world dry. Work is the answer. Work is also the question. Work is the one thing really worth doing and if you're not working you're either a slacker or a leech, unless you're a victim of BushCo's budget-reamed America and you've been laid off, and therefore it's OK because that means you're out there every day pounding the pavement looking for work and honing your resume and if you're not, well, what the hell is wrong with you? Call it "the cafe question." Any given weekday you can stroll by any given coffee shop in the city and see dozens of people milling about, casually sipping and eating and reading and it's freakin' noon on a Tuesday and you're like, wait, don't these people work? Don't they have jobs? They can't all be students and trust-fund babies and cocktail waitresses and drummers in struggling rock bands who live at home with their moms. Of course, they're not. Not all of them, anyway. Some are creative types. Some are corporate rejects. Some are recovering cube slaves now dedicated full time to working on their paintings. Some are world travelers who left their well-paying gigs months ago to cruise around Vietnam on a motorcycle before returning to start an import-export business in rare hookahs. And we look at them and go, What is wrong with these people? It's a bitter duality: We scowl at those who decide to chuck it all and who choose to explore something radical and new and independent, something more attuned with their passions, even as we secretly envy them and even as our inner voices scream and applaud and throw confetti. Our culture allows almost no room for creative breaks. There is little tolerance for seeking out a different kind of "work" that doesn't somehow involve cubicles and widening butts and sour middle managers monitoring your e-mail and checking your Web site logs to see if you've wasted a precious 37 seconds of company time browsing blowfish.com or reading up on the gay marriage apocalypse. We are at once infuriated by and enamored with the idea that some people can just up and quit their jobs or take a leave of absence or take out a loan to go back to school, how they can give up certain "mandatory" lifestyle accoutrements in order to dive back into some seemingly random creative/emotional/spiritual endeavor that has nothing to do with paying taxes or the buying of products or the boosting of the GNP. It just seems so ... un-American. But it is so, so needed. Case in point No. 1: I have this sister. She is deep in medical school right now, studying to be a naturopathic doctor at Bastyr University just outside Seattle, the toughest school of its kind in the nation, and the most difficult to get into, especially if you've had no formal medical training beforehand, as my sister hadn't. She got in. She bucked all expectation and thwarted the temptation to quit and take a well-paying corporate job and she endured the incredibly brutal first year and rose to the top of her class. Oh and by the way, she did it all when she was over 40. With almost no money. While going through an ugly, debt-ridden divorce. Oh you're so lucky that you have the means to do that, we think. I'd love to do that but I can't because I have too many a) bills b) babies c) doubts, we insist. We always think such lives are for others and never for ourselves, something people with huge chunks of cash reserves or huge hunks of time or huge gobs of wildly ambitious talent can do. It is never for us. And truly, this mind-set is the national plague, a fate worse than death. And while it must be acknowledged that there are plenty who are in such dire financial or emotional circumstances that they simply cannot bring change, no matter how much they might wish it, you still always gotta ask: How much is legit, and how much is an excuse born of fear? The powers that be absolutely rely on our lethargy, our rampant doubts, the attitude that says that it's just too difficult or too impracticable to break away. After all, to quit a bland but stable job, to follow your own path implies breaking the rules and asking hard questions and dissing the status quo. And they absolutely cannot have that. Case in point No. 2: I have a young and rather brilliant S.O., a specialist in goddesses and mystics and world religions, who is right now working on a book, a raw funky spirituality "anti-guide" for younger women. She took a six-month leave of absence from a very decent, reliable, friendly administrative job so as to focus on the creation of this project. And while she has no trust fund, she does have the "luxury" of small parental loans to help her through, though it hardly matters: Giving up her respectable gig was insanely stressful and wracked with doubt. Leave a honest job? Give up paid health care? Have no reliable source of income for months on end? Trade calm stability for risk and random chance? No way, most people say. And of course, it was the absolute best choice she could've made. Time instantly became more fluid and meaningful. Mental clutter vanished. Possibility grinned. Case in point No. 3: Not long ago, the CEO of one of the largest and most powerful international real estate firms in the nation quit his job. Stepped down. Not, as you might imagine, for retirement and not to play more golf and not to travel the world staying only in Four Seasons suites, but to work on rebuilding his relationship with his estranged wife. My insider source tells me it was one of the most touching, and unexpected, and incredibly rare corporate memos they had ever seen. No one -- I mean no one in this culture is supposed to quit a job like that just for, what again? Love? Relationship? It's simply not done. But of course, it absolutely should be. We are designed, weaned, trained from Day 1 to be productive members of society. And we are heavily guilted into believing that must involve some sort of droning repetitive pod-like dress-coded work for a larger corporate cause, a consumerist mechanism, a nice happy conglomerate. But the truth is, God, the divine true spirit loves nothing more than to see you unhinge and take risk and invite regular, messy, dangerous upheaval. This is exactly the energy that thwarts the demons of stagnation and conservative rot and violent sanctimonious bloody Mel Gibson-y religion, one that would have all our work be aimed at continuously patching up our incessant potholes of ugly congenital guilt, as opposed to contributing to the ongoing orgiastic evolution of spirit. It is not for everyone. It implies incredibly difficult choices and arranging your life in certain ways and giving up certain luxuries and many, many people seemed locked down and immovable and all done with exploring new options in life, far too deeply entrenched in debts and family obligations and work to ever see such unique light again. Maybe you know such people. Maybe you are such people. But then again, maybe not. This is the other huge truism we so easily forget: There is always room. There are always choices we can begin to make, changes we can begin to invite, rules we can work to upset, angles of penetration we can try to explore. And if that's not worth trying, well, what is?

Hob's zeitgeist

"To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the Devil his due."

A step-by-step guide to charisma

By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine Scientists claim to have found the secret to that magical quality, charisma, and they say it can be learnt. But before you enrol for classes, don't think it will get you the job of your dreams. Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is deluded in believing that charisma, or being "well-liked" as he calls it, is more important than ability in making a person a success. His philosophy is exposed as flawed but he did have half a point. After all, most of the greatest leaders in history possessed a star quality that drew others to them. Churchill, Napoleon and Martin Luther King had a magnetism which is often easier to identify than it is to explain. Until now. HOW TO BE MORE CHARISMATIC General: Open body posture, hands away from face when talking, stand up straight, relax, hands apart with palms forwards or upwards To an individual: Let people know they matter and you enjoy being around them, develop a genuine smile, nod when they talk, briefly touch them on the upper arm, and maintain eye contact To a group: Be comfortable as leader, move around to appear enthusiastic, lean slightly forward and look at all parts of the group Message: Move beyond status quo and make a difference, be controversial, new, simple to understand, counter-intuitive Speech: Be clear, fluent, forceful and articulate, evoke imagery, use an upbeat tempo, occasionally slow for tension or emphasis SOURCE: Prof Richard Wiseman Researchers say having an infectious personality induces others to copy your body language and facial expressions. The study, led by British Professor Richard Wiseman, involved more than 200 people taking part in FameLab, a national competition to find the new "faces of science". The ones who scored highest in a questionnaire about how much they seem to transmit their emotions to others also progressed the furthest in the competition, when they used their personalities to impress a panel of judges. "When you see someone else who has charisma, without realising it, you're mimicking their posture and their facial expressions," says Professor Wiseman, a psychologist. "An obvious example is when someone smiles at you and you smile back. And how you hold yourself influences your emotions." You're unaware you're mimicking this person, although you know they make you feel happy, he says. A charismatic person has three attributes, says the professor: they feel emotions themselves quite strongly; they induce them in others; and they are impervious to the influences of other charismatic people. Lucky ones But don't despair if you haven't got these qualities because you can learn them. Professor Wiseman estimates charisma is 50% innate and 50% trained. His tips include keeping an open body posture and communicating your ideas clearly. I honestly believe that these are techniques and skills which can be learnt and practised Jeremy Milnes Confidence tutor Broadcaster and confidence tutor Jeremy Milnes agrees that techniques can make a huge transformation, and says nearly all the people he's worked with have improved. Key areas are listening, asking questions and not trying too hard to be the centre of attention. "There are some people who are just lucky buggers and are just naturally charismatic, like Johnny Depp, David Bowie and Marilyn Monroe," he says. "But I honestly believe that these are techniques and skills which can be learnt and practised and can be made part of your own behaviour. "I don't deny there's a bit of magic there, but these are things which can be worked on. They're not out of people's reach. You might not learn them all but you may be comfortable with some of them." It's not about sex appeal.... Charisma plays a huge part in bringing success because it goes hand-in-hand with self-confidence, he says. But although it can be learnt, it can't be faked. "Whatever skills and techniques you have are routed from your own personality, so you don't come across as fake or insincere. There's nothing worse than that." Michael Mallows, an author and personal development coach, says whether the group he addresses is five, 50 or 500, he usually has their full attention within 10 minutes. Although he teaches people to keep their integrity and avoid over-selling themselves in interviews, it can happen. WHAT IS CHARISMA? Charis means "grace" or "gift" in Greek A gift or power of leadership or authority (OED) A certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities (Sociologist Max Weber 1947) "A lot of work I do is with people who did fabulous interviews but are then not up to the job," he says. "There could have been some rapport in the interview between you and one key person on the panel, but then in the job the people don't like your style and you can't understand why your natural charm isn't enough." But recruitment consultants say charisma is not enough to con a good interviewer. "Interviewing has progressed in recent years and competencies are used to find out what the person has done," says Alison Burgin of Badenoch & Clark. "This means getting down to specifics, so it doesn't matter how much you buy into a wonderful personality if there's no justification for taking that person on." Coaching interviewees in personal skills enables them to overcome nerves and be more themselves, she says. "Without coaching, a good person could be missed, but it won't make a bad person good." A selection of your comments appear below. The debate is now closed. It's all to do with confidence. If you feel uncomfortable with over-smiling or touching upper arms then you simply won't appear charismatic, just awkward. Work on not giving a damn and the rest will follow. Kate Ellis, UK Charisma is for wimps! It's a smokescreen for those people who have no real depth. I have bucket loads of charisma but it's all bravado. When it comes to getting down to business and 'getting the job done' I find it's those people who are not charismatic that achieve more as they have more to prove... Mark Knight, UK Charismatic people, although attractive on a first approach, tend to irritate me, especially those who are self-aware and take advatage of their charisma to climb their career ladder. I'd rather work with a shy, uncharismatic but effective and intelligent person. Oscar Lima, United Kingdom I once saw Maya Angelou speak, and despite her standing in front of around 4 or 5 hundred people she was still able to make the event appear as if we were all guests in her home, listening to her telling a story to each of us. She used song, used rhyming words, took pauses and made good eye contact. She also had a very strong, confident bodily presence that may have come about in part from her clothes but also from her size. It was fascinating to watch, and interesting to see how some of the most attractive people are not necessarily the ones that appear on magazine covers and in movies. Alastair, UK What about Jesus? Jesus was probably one of the most carismatic persons in history! Please note that I'm not a religious person, but I have to admit that there are very few people that can be charismatic enough as to be remembered for more than 2000 years after his/her death! Atheist, Denmark Perhaps we should look for our own best gifts and treat those gifts as if they had quite a lot of their own magentic draw-- and to be eager to find the most charismatic character traits in others. Rather than crowd in like a braying mule. Richard Green, USA Who the heck wants to learn how to be charismatic? Who is that bored? Just be yourself. ughh. Lape, USA Personal sources of charisma come from disarming smiles where the whole face smiles, where the mind smiles. Sincere empathy that helps to connect with an audience also helps. I'd add emotional intelligence in picking issues and turning a phrase that paints pictures. Desmond Tutu has charisma of the uplifting kind. MD, USA I work with managers who have been made redundant and coach them through applications and interviews. The key to charisma is having a genuine interest in the other person - hard to manufacture! Charisma is generated by those who are not too self-aware and there is always a little of the ingenuous about them! Sandra Culham, England What a load of rubbish. Hitler was probably the most charismatic out of any leader in the 20th century - he led an entire country to its doom - but I wouldn't say he smiled a lot! Ian Wild, UK Another word for leader is manipulator. I'd rather "science" also be paying attention to the other side of the equation: How easily followers are lured by charismatics, for better or worse. I'd rather people be taught not how to manipulate others but rather think for him/herself. Dan Stephens, USA (I didn't vote for Bush!) Part of the charisma is also based on the clothes a person wears. There is a saying in Tamil " A person is made of half himself and half cloths" it similar to saying "you are as good as the cloths you wear". Naturally charismatic people, in my opinion have good dress sense too! Malar Ponnusamy, USA Charisma, like common sense, is innate. It cannot be developed or learnt as this strikes at the whole concept of the matter. What these scientists are discussing here is the projection of confidence, which does not necessarily constitute charisma. Many people are confident; this does not mean they can, or will, inspire others to follow them or their lead Matt, UK Charisma is very innate in people. Some people are born with it. I have a cousin, who has been so charismatic since her childhood, it shows in her pictures too!, but it does wear off on people. Seeing her, I too have imbibed some of her charismatic features. It's more like, one can absorb them, but to entirely learn them from a book seems quite difficult to me. Rachna, Canada I believe it's a fallacy to expect people to formally 'learn' these behaviours and implement them successfully. The best method of learning this in this case would be in a natural and informal way. One only needs to look at how insincere politicians come across in interviews (think Michael Howard and his hand gestures) to see how faking it comes across. Sundeep Sidhu, UK Charisma is more than just simple ability to communicate or extrovertedness. And science should be pursuing something more useful with their time. Alex, USA Charisma: Thatcher had it, so did MacMillan. So did Clinton... and Hitler (which goes to show that charisma does not always work to the good). Blair has charisma but over-plays his hand (by which I mean he acts the part rather than lives it). David Davies doesn't have charisma: the Tories will be backing a loser if they make him their leader. David Seekings, England Some of this is just common sense but if anybody makes a habit of trying to touch me on the upper arm (as recommended in the article) it drives me insane. Paul, UK Undoubtedly, the most charismatic person I have ever seen is Bill Clinton. The techniques noted here are so much part of his performances: he has them in spades. I'd use him if you want to learn from a true master. Alan Davidson, London, SW16 Cor I wish I had read this a day earlier! At least then my X factor audition may not have been so uneventful and I could have got a chance to have a pop at Simon Cowell! he he Ant, UK Hitler had charisma but I wouldn't want him working with me. Kevin, UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version

How do I take/edit great photographs?

How do I take/edit great photographs? 6:30 AM Subscribe July 9, 2005 Okay, so everyone loves DaShiv's photographs of SF Meetups, and for good reason. They are incredible. I can take decent photos, but they're obviously amateurish. Here's my question: How do I take it to the next level? How can I get the colors to look as brilliant as DaShiv's, for instance (just an example; I'm sure that there are many other styles of photography that I am not aware of)? What equipment do I need? What software do I need? What type of training is required? BTW, I run a Mac and have a little cash to burn. Thanks in advance.

Jeremy Ruston’s absolutely fabulous TiddlyWiki triggered quite a few interventions recently. Here is a list of wikis I stumbled upon that adapt/extend/enhance/build upon it: ZiddlyWiki [timmorgan.org/ZiddlyWiki/] by Tim Morgan [ZiddlyWiki] provides server-side storage of the wiki (tiddler) content by combining the power of TiddlyWiki with Zope. ZiddlyWiki is unique from other TW adaptations (I think) since it doesn’t modify any of the TiddlyWiki code; it just overrides specific JavaScript functions to achieve the desired result. All the overridden code is provided in a separate JavaScript file, and the original TiddlyWiki empty.html file is uploaded into Zope unmodified. This makes tracking TW enhancements and bug fixes easier, because ZiddlyWiki is less like a project fork and more like a pluggable backend. Kinda. Zope is an open source content management framework based on Python, so an average dummy webhost might not support it (mine doesn’t), but if yours does: ZiddlyWiki has a some more cool features: OnDemandLoading – Tiddlers are only fetched on demand rather than all-at-once TiddlerRevisions – the last 15 revisions of the tiddler can be restored ImportExport – ZiddlyWiki can be exported to and imported from a TiddlyWiki file (hybrid online/offline setup) — TiddlyWikiRemote by Dan Phiffer this one adds: ServerSide saving of Tiddlers (via RSS ) ) SaveHistory – previous revisions of the tiddlers can be restored — Qwiki Web [personal.psu.edu/staff/a/c/ach12/tiddlywiki/] by AlanHecht The purpose of this adaptation is to improve the look and feel of TiddlyWiki when used as the basis for a public web site. this one adds: LanguageOverlay – for setting your own text and language for all buttons and messages ColorThemes – which make customizing the look QwikiWeb very easy UserMode – to set the level of difficulty for the display interface EditMode – e.g. to hide the ‘edit’ button from the Wiki ExcludeFromSearch – allows you to block specific tiddlers from showing up in the search results HidingTiddlers – to hide special tiddlers — TagglyWiki [informationality.com/tagglywiki/tagglywiki.html] and GTDTagglyWiki [informationality.com/gtdtagglywiki/gtd_tagglywiki.html] by Jody The modification adds non-hierarchical organisation of Tiddlers through tags. (tags have been integrated in TiddlyWiki now though) — TiddlyTagWiki by Jonny LeRoy The main functional change from the original TiddlyWiki is the introduction of TiddlyTags – allowing you to categorise your Tiddlers in an ad hoc manner. I’ve also updated the LookAndFeel and layout to suit my Flickr obsessed taste. Other small changes include the automatic saving of the current layout to the OptionsCookie rather than using the DefaultTiddlers. Though they are still used if no layout is set in the OptionsCookie. You can now also select to view the TimeLine filtered to just show Tiddlers that you’ve modified. This has been commented out for now since it isn’t configurable and if you haven’t edited anything then nothing will appear in the timeline. If you UseTheSource then you can put this filter back in ;-) — MyWiki by Henrik Aasted Sorensen This extension contains a server-side component, which allows for easy saving and deletion of entries. The Wiki is stored in plain text on the server, so no database is reqired. — PHPTiddlyWiki [patrickcurry.com/tiddly/] Patrick Curry PhpTiddlyWiki is a brand new kind of Wiki. It combines the awesome front-end of TiddlyWiki with a new PhP/MySql backend. — DirtyWaterWiki [dirtywaterdog.com/wiki.html] Roberto DeFeo Now you can add check boxes to your tiddlers to allow support for a TodoList. Items can be checked and unchecked directly or by editing the tiddler and making the appropriate changes. — YATWA [rumsby.org/wiki/yatwa.html] by Steve Rumsby this one adds Folding (collapse the body of a tiddler but still display the title) and a JavaScript calendar — GTDTiddlyWiki [shared.snapgrid.com/gtd_tiddlywiki.html] by Nathan Bowers this one adds a GTD structure. — Mini-TiddlyWiki-hacks: GTDTWcal creates code fragments for calendars to add to your tiddlers. Blue Mist Style or Zeldman Orange Style – StyleSheet tiddlers for TiddlyWiki 1.2.22 — UPDATE: 9/18/2005 ServerSideWiki [serversidewiki.com] by Josh Goebel The ServerSideWiki is a hosted TiddlyWiki service running on Ruby on Rails, so you don’t have to worry about saving your tiddlers anymore. There are various pricing plans available, the free one gives you 10 pages or tiddlers, maybe enough to get you hooked. It also has nicely animated ToDo tiddlers, so it’s a great way to start playing around with TiddlyWikis, especially if you don’t have any webspace of your own. — TiddlyWiki-SE (Student Edition) [15black.bluedepot.com/twtests/tiddlywikise.htm] by Clint Checketts this one adds easy note-taking capabilities for students (there is a tab for classes, and a special tagspace for notes associated with each class.) Clint has some more good hacks exploring and pushing the limits of the TiddlyWiki, like adding Adsense, or giving them a blog-like look and feel. — Comments: Really great round-up. Thank you. What (combination) of these are you using? posted by Paul Irish : 7/11/2005 04:43:14 PM Be sure to also check out: http://www.geetduggal.com/PileTiddly/ Its minimalist style is coollll… though I wish it had the tick boxes of Dirtywater wiki posted by MaJoHa : 7/11/2005 06:07:27 PM GTDTiddlyWiki is pretty cool. Inspired by it, I built this GTD web “database” app that also lets you save to your local system and work offline: http://trimpath.com/demos/nextaction_static1/nextaction.htm posted by Steve Yen : 7/11/2005 06:29:15 PM Many thanks Paul. I actually use most of them. It’s actually interesting to see which kind of projects/texts each one supports (the way they implement tags for instance makes quite a difference). MaJoHa and Steve, thanks a lot for the pointers, minimalism at its best. posted by saurierduval : 7/12/2005 12:52:17 AM well i guess that settles that. http://www.serversidewiki.com/ posted by Paul Irish : 7/19/2005 03:04:41 AM I wonder now that ServerSideWiki has it’s own distinct style (the cool blue theme) what it would take to get it added to this page along with all the others. It would have been boring when it looked just like GTDTiddlyWiki… but now it can stand on it’s own merit (style wise). posted by Josh Goebel : 9/03/2005 07:08:09 AM Thanks for the links. Well done on sharing your TiddlyWiki knowledge. As a note, you’ll probably want to point the TiddlyWikiSE link to the actual TWSE. posted by Clint : 9/28/2005 06:46:40 PM Thanks, fixed. posted by saurierduval : 9/28/2005 08:39:35 PM Also check out my site, MonkeyPirateTiddlyWiki. It has plugins to do tagging in a different way (where any tag is a tiddler and vice versa), plus some other stuff including a style chooser. posted by simon : 10/06/2005 06:53:35 AM Wonderful list! I need someone to combine the To-Do List wiki with one of the server-side modifications. ;o) posted by Darrel : 1/17/2006 04:49:52 PM Hi, Thanks for your list… I’m trying to choose a version to begin my TiddlyWiki… I wonder if the online version (http://www.serversidewiki.com) could be the good version for me… In fact, I hope that an online version can evoluate with new fonctions keeping compatibility with my previous versions of TiddlyWiki… I don’t really understand how I can use plugins in my TiddlyWiki… posted by Kiaitutoi : 1/20/2006 02:28:49 PM Good article. Do not forget Asciencepad, my preferred one. It’s a wysiwyg TiddlyWiki thought for Scientific work (via MathML), but pretty good even for usual work. You do not need to know the markup. It is based on HTMLArea. If you try it you need only to know one trick: do not use ctrl-V to paste text inside, use Shift-Ins instead. posted by Riccardo : 3/21/2006 01:55:19 PM Good summary, very useful. For my money ZiddlyWiki is the best of these for the following reasons: No changes to TiddlyWiki front end Easy to install Powerful admin capabilities provided by Zope. We’ve been using ZiddlyWiki as an informal collaborative work area quite successfully for several weeks now. posted by Andy : 6/01/2006 10:34:43 AM

Spontaneous 1-on-1 Voice Chat

ODEO is a new social app for college students to connect through guided 1-on-1 voice chats. Select questions you’d like to discuss, get matched with someone on your wavelength, and jump into the conversation – just without the usual small talk.

If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in Asia have a headache?

In the port city of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, there is a museum devoted entirely to noodle soup. It may be Japan's favourite foodie day out: one and a half million ramen fans visit the museum every year, and even on the wintry morning that I went the queue wound 50 yards down the street - young couples, mainly: cold, hungry and excited. Inside the Yokohama Ramen Museum and Amusement Park they meet exhibitions on the evolution of soup bowls and instant noodle packets - more fascinating than you'd think, but these are not the main event. That's deep in the basement, where there's an entire street, done up to look like a raucous 1950s Yokohama harbour-front. Every shop houses a different noodle restaurant, each a clone of one of the best noodle shops of Japan. It's a culinary Madame Tussauds. The Japanese are sentimental about their noodle soup - it's the working-class food that nourished the nation in the bleak days after World War Two. Ramen chefs are TV celebs, in a country that devotes more broadcast time to cookery than even we do. I asked the young pilgrims just what they valued above all in ramen. They sniffed the tangy air, Bisto-kid style: 'The basis of the experience is the broth,' was the consensus. In the great Japanese cod-Western Tampopo - the only movie to take noodle soup, sex and death with equal seriousness - a ramen guru announces that the key to Japan's national dish is that 'the soup must animate the noodles'. What does chiefly animate Japanese soups and broths is an amino acid called glutamate. In the best ramen shops it's made naturally from boiling dried kombu seaweed; it can also come from dried shrimp or bonito flakes, or from fermented soy. More cheaply and easily, you get it from a tin, where it is stabilised with ordinary salt and is thus monosodium glutamate. This last fact is of little interest to the Japanese - like most Asians, they have no fear of MSG. And there lies one of the world's great food scare conundrums. If MSG is bad for you - as Jeffrey Steingarten, the great American Vogue food writer once put it - why doesn't everyone in China have a headache? To begin to answer this we must go back to Japan a century ago. Professor Kidunae Ikeda comes home from the physics faculty at the Tokyo Imperial University and sits down to eat a broth of vegetables and tofu prepared by his wife. It is - as usual - delicious. The professor, a mild, bespectacled biochemistry specialist, turns to Mrs Ikeda and asks - as spouses occasionally will - what is the secret of her wonderful soup. Mrs Ikeda points to the strips of dried seaweed she keeps in the store cupboard. This is kombu, a heavy kelp. Soak it in hot water and you get the essence of dashi, the stock base of the tangy broths and consommés the Japanese love. This is the professor's 'Eureka!' moment. Mrs Ikeda's kombu is to lead him to a discovery that will make his fortune and change the nature of 20th-century food. In time, it would bring about the world's longest-lasting food scare, and as a result, kick-start the age of the rebel consumer. It was an important piece of seaweed. Professor Ikeda was one of many scientists at the turn of the century working on the biochemical mechanics which inform our perception of the world. By 1901 they had drawn a map of the tongue, showing, crudely, the whereabouts of the different nerve endings that identify the four accepted primary tastes, sweet, sour, bitter and salty. But Ikeda thought this matrix missed something. 'There is,' he said, 'a taste which is common to asparagus, tomatoes, cheese and meat but which is not one of the four well-known tastes.' He decided to call the fifth taste 'umami' - a common Japanese word that is usually translated as 'savoury' - or, with more magic, as 'deliciousness'. By isolating umami, Ikeda - who had picked up some liberal notions while studying in Germany - hoped he might be able to improve the standard of living of Japan's rural poor. And so he and his researchers began their quest to isolate deliciousness. By 1909 the work on kombu was complete. Ikeda made his great announcement in the august pages of the Journal of the Chemical Society of Tokyo. He had isolated, he wrote, a chemical with the molecular formula C5H9NO4. This and the substance's other properties were exactly the same as those of glutamic acid, an amino acid produced by the human body and present in many foodstuffs. When the protein containing glutamic acid is broken down - by cooking, fermentation or ripening - it becomes glutamate. 'This study,' concluded Professor Ikeda in triumph, 'has discovered two facts: one is that the broth of seaweed contains glutamate and the other that glutamate causes the taste sensation "umami".' The next step was to stabilise the chemical. This was easy: mixing it with ordinary salt and water made monosodium glutamate - a white crystal soluble in water and easy to store. By the time he published his paper, the professor had, wisely, already patented MSG. He began to market it as a table condiment called Aji-no-moto ('essence of taste') that same year. It was an instant success, and when Kidunae Ikeda died in 1936 he was a rich man: he remains, as every Japanese schoolchild knows, one of Japan's 10 greatest inventors. The food chemicals giant Ajinomoto Corp, now owned by General Foods, pumps out a third of the 1.5 million tons of monosodium glutamate we eat every year - from India to Indonesia 'Ajinomoto' means MSG. Ikeda's original paper muses a little about MSG and why it should excite the taste buds so, without arriving at any convincing conclusion. Much more work has been done since. We now know that glutamate is present in almost every food stuff, and that the protein is so vital to our functioning that our own bodies produce 40 grams of it a day. Probably the most significant discovery in explaining human interest in umami is that human milk contains large amounts of glutamate (at about 10 times the levels present in cow's milk). Babies have very basic taste buds: it's believed that mother's milk offers two taste enhancements - sugar (as lactose) and umami (as glutamate) in the hope that one or other will get the little blighters drinking. Which means mothers' milk and a packet of cheese'n'onion crisps have rather more in common than you'd think. When you next grate parmesan cheese onto some dull spaghetti, what you will have done in essence is add a shed-load of glutamate to stimulate your tongue's umami receptors, thus sending a message to the brain which signals (as one neuro-researcher puts it) 'Joy and happiness!' Supper is rescued - and your system has added some protein and fats to a meal that was all carbohydrate. Ripe cheese is full of glutamate, as are tomatoes. Parmesan, with 1200mg per 100 grams, is the substance with more free glutamate in it than any other natural foodstuff on the planet. Almost all foods have some naturally occurring glutamate in them but the ones with most are obvious: ripe tomatoes, cured meats, dried mushrooms, soy sauce, Bovril and of course Worcester sauce, nam pla (with 950mg per 100g) and the other fermented fish sauces of Asia. Your mate, Marmite, with 1750mg per 100g, has more glutamate in it than any other manufactured product on the planet - except a jar of Gourmet Powder straight from the Ajinomoto MSG factory. On the label, Marmite calls it 'yeast extract'. Nowhere in all their literature does the word 'glutamate' appear. I asked Unilever why they were so shy about their spread's key ingredient, and their PR told me that it was because it was 'naturally occurring ... the glutamate occurs naturally in the yeast'. As they put monosodium glutamate into production, Professor Ikeda and his commercial partners found that making stable glutamate from the traditional seaweed and salt was unnecessary. They developed a much simpler and cheaper process using fermented molasses or wheat - eventually manufacturers realised that almost any protein can be broken down to produce it. The product took off, immediately, and within a few years Ajinomoto (which was now the company's name) was selling MSG across Asia. The breakthrough to America came in the aftermath of World War Two. Like pizza and vermouth, MSG was a taste American soldiers brought home with them. They weren't aware that MSG was what they'd liked in Japan - but the US Army catering staff noticed that their men enjoyed the leftover ration packs of the demobilised Japanese Army much more than they did their own, and began to ask why. MSG arrived in America at a key moment. Mass production of processed food was booming. But canning, freezing and pre-cooking have a grave technical problem in common - loss of flavour. And MSG was a cheap and simple additive that made everything taste better. It went into tinned soups, salad dressings, processed meats, carbohydrate-based snacks, ice cream, bread, canned tuna, chewing gum, baby food and soft drinks. As the industry progressed, it was used in frozen, chilled and dehydrated ready meals. MSG is crucial in no-fat or low-fat food, where natural flavour is lost with the extraction of oils. It's now found in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and dietary supplements. Ajinomoto Corp started manufacturing in the States in 1956 and in 1962 allied itself with Kellogg's. MSG sells in the States in supermarkets, under the brand Ac'cent. In Britain you will have to visit a Chinese supermarket for a supply of pure Gourmet Powder, but MSG plays a role - often in secret - in products on almost every shelf of the supermarket. But MSG's conquest of the planet hit a major bump in April 1968, when, in the New England Journal of Medicine, a Dr Ho Man Kwok wrote a chatty article, not specifically about MSG, whose knock-on effects were to panic the food industry. 'I have experienced a strange syndrome whenever I have eaten out in a Chinese restaurant, especially one that served northern Chinese food. The syndrome, which usually begins 15 to 20 minutes after I have eaten the first dish, lasts for about two hours, without hangover effect. The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck, gradually radiating to both arms and the back, general weakness and palpitations...' And so was born Chinese restaurant syndrome (CRS) and a medico-academic industry dedicated to the researching and publicising of the dangers of MSG - the foreign migrant contaminating American kitchens. Shortly after Dr Ho came Dr John Olney at Washington University, who in 1969 injected and force-fed newborn mice with huge doses of up to four grams/kg bodyweight of MSG. He reported that they suffered brain lesions and claimed that the MSG found in just one bowl of tinned soup would do the same to the brain of a two-year-old. Other scientists were testing MSG and finding no evidence of harm - in one 1970 study 11 humans ate up to 147 grams of the stuff every day for six weeks without any adverse reactions. At the University of Western Sydney the researchers concluded, tersely: 'Chinese restaurant syndrome is an anecdote applied to a variety of postprandial illnesses; rigorous and realistic scientific evidence linking the syndrome to MSG could not be found.' Science has still not found a convincing explanation for CRS: indeed, some researchers suggest it may well be to do with the other things diners have imbibed there - peanuts, shellfish, large amounts of lager. Others say that fear of MSG is a form of mass psychosis - you suffer the symptoms you've been told to worry about. The fact is that, since the eighties, mainstream science has got bored of MSG. Some research continues; in 2002, for example, New Scientist got very excited over a report that MSG might damage your eyesight, after Japanese scientists announced that they had produced retinal thinning in baby rats fed with MSG. It turned out they were putting 20 grams of MSG in every 100g of rat food - an amazing amount, given that, in the UK, we adults consume about four grams of it each a week. (One project took people who were convinced their asthma was caused by MSG and fed them up to six grams of it a day, without ill-effects). However, at no time has any official body, governmental or academic, ever found it necessary to warn humans against consuming MSG. But popular opinion has travelled - spectacularly - in the opposite direction to science. By the early eighties, fuelled by books like Russell Blaylock's Excitotoxins - The Taste That Kills, MSG's name was utter mud. Google MSG today, and you'll find it blamed for causing asthma attacks, migraines, hypertension and heart disease, dehydration, chest pains, depression, attention deficit disorder, anaphylactic shock, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and a host of diverse allergies. Thus since 1968 the processed food industry has had its own nasty headache as a result of MSG. Hundreds of processed products would have to be withdrawn if amino-acid based flavour-enhancers could not be used. They would become, simply, tasteless. By the 1980s a third of all Americans believed it was actively harmful. Crisp-buying teenagers thought MSG made them stupid and spotty. Mothers read that MSG could put holes in their children's brains. So the food industry employed its usual tactic in the face of consumer criticism: MSG was buried by giving it new names. The industry came up with a fabulous range of euphemisms for monosodium glutamate - the most cheeky of all is 'natural flavourings' (however, the industry did remove MSG from high-end baby foods). Nowadays the industry's PR beats a big drum. 'Natural, Tasty, Safe' is the slogan. 'Many people believe that monosodium glutamate is made from chemicals. Monosodium glutamate is a chemical in the same way that the water we drink and the oxygen we breathe are chemicals,' explains an MSG website. MSG manufacturers are now pushing it as actively useful for health - a way to eat less salt - and they have pursued the celebrity route too. Heston Blumenthal, of the Fat Duck in Bray, is among the eminent chefs the industry has enlisted for promotion of the umami principle at conferences across the world - although he uses traditional sources like kombu. It's not surprising that the MSG-makers are so busy on their product's image, because MSG-phobia still shows no signs of subsiding. This despite the fact that every concerned public body that ever investigated it has given it a clean bill of health, including the EU, the United Nations food agencies (which in 1988 put MSG on the list of 'safest food additives'), and the British, Japanese and Australian governments. In fact, every government across the world that has a food licensing and testing system gives MSG - 'at normal levels in the diet' - the thumbs-up. The US Food and Drug Administration has three times, in 1958, 1991 and 1998, reviewed the evidence, tested the chemical and pronounced it 'genuinely recognised as safe. However, there remains a body of respected nutritionists who are sure MSG causes problems - especially in children. And parents listen. Most doctors who offer guides to parents qualify their warnings about MSG - it may cause problems, it has been anecdotally linked with disorders. But public figures like the best-selling nutrition guru Patrick Holford are powerful advocates against MSG. He's sure the science shows that MSG causes migraines and he is convinced of the dangers of the substance to children, particularly in the child-grabber snacks like Monster Munch and Cheesy Wotsits . 'I'm a practitioner and there's no doubt that kids with behavioural problems react to MSG,' he says. 'I've given them the foods, and seen the different reactions. Glutamate is a brain stimulant in the way that it is given, because it enhances sensory perception in the sense that things taste much better - and some kids become very hyperactive.' Holford admits that he has not measured this hyperactivity, or tested MSG by itself on children - his statements are based on anecdotal comparison of the effects of plain crisps versus flavoured ones. But there is some justice in his complaint that in all the acres of research on MSG, 'most is directed at the possible physiological effects, not the behavioural ones'. Eric Taylor, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at King's College in London, is among the leading British experts on food additives and children's behaviour. He was a pioneer of 'elimination tests' that examined food additives and their effect on children - establishing, for one, that the colouring tartrazine did contribute to hyperactivity. Yet he does not think MSG is a culprit and he has never tested it. Why? 'There are so many substances, and there's not much funding. And, with MSG, there's no reasonable physiological theorem to justify the research.' The only investigation he has seen on children's brains and MSG, conducted in the seventies, suggested that the substance might improve reading ability. Patrick Holford, like many of MSG's foes, also talks of its possible addictive properties and he cannot explain why 'natural' glutamate, say in cheese or parma ham, should be any less addictive, or harmful, than glutamate that's been industrially produced and stabilised with salt. The anti-additive movement (check out the excellent and informative www.truthinlabeling.org) admits that 'natural' and 'industrially produced' glutamate are chemically the same, and treated by the body similarly. So why doesn't anyone ever complain of a headache or hyperactivity after a four cheese and tomato pizza (where there's easily as much glutamate as in an MSG-enhanced chicken chow mein)? Their answer is that the industrial fermentation process introduces contaminants. This is possible, of course, but it ignores the fact that whole swaths of the planet - including East Asia, where I live - do not have any problem with MSG. Here in Thailand, the phong chu rot sits on the table with the fish sauce and the chilli powder where you would have the salt and pepper. MSG has had one unarguable effect on us - and it is a benign one. It has made consumers look at the small print. In turn this kick-started the organic food movement and other, more militant consumer power groups. 1968 was a good year for rebels, and the dawn of MSG-phobia coincides with the beginning of a great shift in middle-class consumers' thinking - a withdrawal of our faith in the vast corporations that fed and medicated us. After 1968 we began to question them and their motives. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace came next. It is now 37 years since Dr Ho Man Kwok named Chinese restaurant syndrome, and it's plain that the case against MSG remains unproven. So either you conclude, as some will, that government, science and the mega-corporates of the food industry really are all in league with each other to poison us for profit. Or, like me, you make a different decision. Now, I have little faith in the food industry and I'm as suspicious of food additives as the next person - I spend many hours fighting the grim battle to keep them from my children's mouths. But until new evidence emerges I am going to give MSG a conditional discharge. But would I have it in the kitchen? Well, I did. I bought a little bag of Ajinomoto from the corner shop on our Bangkok street and tried it, a gram (the tip of a teaspoon) at a time. By itself it tasted of almost nothing. So I beat up and fried two eggs, and tried one with MSG, one without. The MSG one had more egg flavour, and didn't need any salting. I tried the crystals on my son's leftover pieces of chicken breast (definitely more chickeny). I tried it in a peanut butter sandwich (nothing). On Weetabix with milk (interesting, sort of malty) and on Weetabix with milk and sugar (thought I was going to be sick). My friend Nic came round. He told me about a Japanese restaurant he'd been to that gave him headaches and a 'weird tingling in the cheeks' - until he told them to stop with the MSG. Then he was fine, he said. I nodded and I served him two tomato and chive salads; both were made using the very same ingredients but I told him one plate of tomatoes was 'organic', the other 'factory-farmed'. The organic tomatoes were far better, we agreed. These, of course, were the tomatoes doused with mono sodium glutamate. Then we ate mascarpone, parma ham and tomato pizza. Nic felt fine. So did I. I had ingested, I reckoned, a good six grams of MSG over the day, and probably the same again in free glutamate from the food - the equivalent of eating two 250g jars of Marmite. I've thrown the Ajinomoto out now. It works, but it was embarrassing - a bit like having a packet of Bisto in the cupboard. There is no need to have MSG in the kitchen. If I want extra glutamate in my food I'll use parmesan, or tomato purée, or soy sauce. Or like Mrs Ikeda, boil up some kelp. So you think you don't eat MSG? Think again... Some of the names MSG goes under monopotassium glutamate glutavene glutacyl glutamic acid autolyzed yeast extract calcium caseinate sodium caseinate E621 (E620-625 are all glutamates) Ajinomoto, Ac'cent Gourmet Powder The following may also contain MSG natural flavours or seasonings natural beef or chicken flavouring hydrolyzed milk or plant protein textured protein seasonings soy sauce bouillon broth spices Free glutamate content of foods (mg per 100g) roquefort cheese 1280 parmesan cheese 1200 soy sauce 1090 walnuts 658 fresh tomato juice 260 grape juice 258 peas 200 mushrooms 180 broccoli 176 tomatoes 140 mushrooms 140 oysters 137 corn 130 potatoes 102 chicken 44 mackerel 36 beef 33 eggs 23 human milk 22 For more on the MSG debate visit: www.truthinlabeling.org, www.msgmyth.com, www.msgtruth.org or www.food.gov.uk.

We're Not Afraid

One important function every good attorney undertakes early on, is to ascertain the types and amounts of available coverage. This is vital and should be done as early on as possible. This issue can be re-visited often, and your information and strategy updated, as more information is developed. It is obviously useful to know if there is $15,000.00 in available coverage or $15 million! This again leads to the central point that to be TRULY certain of the coverage amounts and provisions, you should obtain and read the actual applicable insurance policy. If you are the actual insured, or a guest in the home or car of a named insured you have a right to a copy of the insurance policy. Even if you are the opposing party (the injured plaintiff trying to obtain a copy of the policy from the defendant or his insurance policy) many states mandate that the policy also be provided to you. It can be asked for or obtained directly from the defendant (if he will); or from his insurance company (if they will, or if state law mandates); or from his insurance agent or broker; or in litigation under “discovery,” if that route must be taken. There are many ways to obtain a copy of the policy, and no particular way is the “right” way; just whichever way works. Some have even gone and obtained a small policy from the opposing insurance company just to see what their policy language and provisions include. Some have obtained insurance policies from the insurance agent or broker, or even from a secondary insurance carrier representing someone else involved in the accident [they sometimes share and exchange data]. If the insurance company refuses (when state law demands it), people have registered formal complaints with the state insurance commissioner. At this juncture, it is important to make a clear distinction. Obtaining and reviewing a copy of the actual insurance policy and its provisions, IS NOT the same thing as obtaining the Declarations Page. This is an important document, in some ways maybe the most important document. The Declarations Page is the document that indicates exactly what the AMOUNTS of the actual insurance policy coverages are. The amounts; the types, etc. This is very important, and when used in conjunction with the actual policy itself [which explains coverages and prohibitions, etc.], you will have a complete picture of what you have and what you are up against, and will be able to more fully plan out your personal injury case and strategy. When the policy itself as well as the declarations page is obtained, this is a good start to your case and can help determine what might be covered, whether there is stacking, etc. However, this is not the end of the analysis, only the beginning. Just because there may be ONE policy or set of coverages involved, this ABSOLUTELY does not mean that this may be the only coverage available or that can be involved. Different from “stacking” policies (the addition of multiple independent policies covering one insured) there is the principle of additive policies. For instance, let us say that one day a person is walking to the store and goes to cross the street at an unpainted intersection; one that has a problem with the traffic light. This person gets hit by a car (traveling 40 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. zone) and sustains catastrophic spinal and brain injuries and is in a coma. What potential policy/policies could this injured person pursue? The analysis can be long, but is often done by attorneys in the following way. First, obviously one could and would pursue the driver of the vehicle. (He was speeding, and may be guilty of failure to maintain a proper lookout, negligence, etc.) Second, if the driver was borrowing the car at the time, we could pursue both the automobile OWNER’S auto insurance policy [of the car involved in the accident], as well as the DRIVER’S policy, who was driving the vehicle. Additionally, if the pedestrian had a vehicle which had medical payments coverage Med Pay, or UM/UIM coverage (uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage, they are always listed together) we could pursue either or both of those as well. UM [Uninsured Motorist] coverage covers being hit by someone with no insurance coverage at all, and UIM [Under Insured Motorist] coverage is for situations like this, where there are very large injuries and the available coverage from the defendant is inadequate. Med Pay coverage is medical payments coverage paid to medical providers for the medical treatment undergone as a result of an accident. Med Pay coverage is paid regardless of who was at fault. UM/UIM is very important coverage, and coverage that every person should have. This essentially covers you in an auto accident, as a driver or a passenger (or even as a pedestrian) when nothing else might. This is coverage you can always count on, even if the other party has no insurance at all, or only has the mandated state minimum policy (usually, $15,000.00). UM/UIM is probably the best (and most vital) all around coverage you can have. Medical payments coverage is also important coverage to have as it covers medical bills. Neither Med Pay nor UM/UIM is mandated by the state to be able to operate a motor vehicle; these are optional coverages. However, UM/UIM is important coverage, and it is VERY unwise to operate without it. Finally, in our analysis of the scenario above, the pedestrian might have lawsuits against the city for an improperly working traffic control device and improperly marked crosswalk, as well as against (potentially) the contractor employed to perform those repairs (if any, and if they were done negligently). The list could potentially go on and on, but you see the point. Obviously, there can be many layers of coverage – – not just one – – and it is important to find out what those policies are, what is covered and the amounts of coverage involved. This should also illustrate our prior point that, in essence, damages are king. Meaning, if the injuries and damages are severe enough, they will often drive the continuing search for more coverages and assets to make the injured plaintiff “whole.” Also, recognize there are other types of coverage that potentially could have been pursued. If the pedestrian had “umbrella” coverage he could have availed himself of that as well. [Umbrella coverage is additive coverage, which is also optional to obtain, and operates as sort of a “backstop” coverage, essentially above and beyond all other available coverages like UM/UIM, Med Pay, Homeowners, etc.] This “backstop” coverage, dollar for dollar and pound for pound, is THE best coverage there is. Normally, if you have both your auto and home policies with an insurance carrier, in sufficient minimal limits like $1 million each; they will normally offer you umbrella coverage, usually in increments of $1 million, $2 million, etc., for only a couple hundred dollars a year. This is phenomenal coverage (especially for the amount charged), and coverage EVERYONE should seek to obtain if at all possible. Thus, if something truly catastrophic happened to guests in your home or auto, or you and/or your family; you would have very sufficient coverage to handle 99.9% of any accident scenario that could happen, without having to rely on some third party’s insurance coverage [if they had coverage at all]. After all, often people are uninsured or possess only the state mandated $15,000.00 minimum. In our fictional scenario above, if our pedestrian had been hit by a combination semitractor/trailer, there may have been EVEN MORE levels of insurance to pursue. (There would have been the owner/operator’s own policy, the dispatcher’s policy, the shipping company’s freight policy, etc.; these are governed by D.O.T., I.C.C., etc. and mandated for all such trucks who must have these coverages). Further, we could take the analysis another step if the accident happened on private business property (perhaps at the edge of the property line), there may have been involvement with the premises liability policy (depending on the factual scenario). There are any number of policies which could be brought into play or involved in accidents like this. These are fact driven with many potential scenarios which would determine and dictate what kinds of coverages we might pursue. It is also important to note, that to “involve” coverage, one only need forward an arguable claim. Not everything at this stage needs to be 100% certain. When in doubt, forward the claim and let the insurance company(ies) deal with the matter. The above fictional setting serves to illustrate that there can be many insurance companies involved with various layers of coverages. However, pursuing these commercial insurance policies are not the only possibility in circumstances such as this. There are other types of coverages. There can be claims involving the government or governmental agencies (selfinsured type claims), as well as state or local municipalities which are likewise self-insured [or that have self-insured retentions – like large deductibles]. Essentially, local, state and federal entities enjoy what is known as “sovereign immunity,” and are generally immune from lawsuits. However, almost every one of them has a statutory (partial) waiver of this sovereign immunity, in which they allow suit to be filed against themselves up to certain pre-determined threshold limits. Some entities have insurance; or are self-insured; or have a self-insured retention (basically self insurance up to a point, and insurance beyond that – like a deductible). Each entity sets its own rules. Federal agencies allow suit to be filed via the Federal Tort Claim Act (F.T.C.A.) regardless of the amount of the claim. First, you must file a form (SF 95) and the agency has so many months to evaluate the claim and make an offer (or refuse to make an offer at all). You cannot file suit against the federal agency in federal court until the SF 95 has been filed with the appropriate agency, and either the time period for evaluating the claim has elapsed or the claim is denied. After that, a plaintiff has a certain period of time by which they must then bring their federal law suit. In addition to the above, there are other types of policies. In some states, the regular automobile liability policies are labeled Personal Injury Protection (P.I.P.) policies. These not only offer the regular type of automobile liability and/or UM coverages, but these also offer an extended kind of medical payments coverage whereby a wide variety of things are included; as well as long term care and extended coverage, and wage loss/disability are also added to help someone fully recover. Often these policies allow coverages in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for surgeries, medical care, extended physical therapy, convalescent care, etc., and there are also extensive wage loss provisions as well which can provide someone with coverage for wage losses due to injury for years, in amounts totaling tens of thousands of dollars. This is very good and comprehensive coverage. Obviously, each policy is unique and has unique provisions and coverage amounts. Each state mandates the minimum coverages a policy must cover. Such policies can be a valuable resource and should be investigated fully, even if one was merely a passenger in another’s vehicle. This is where reading the policy carefully and accurately can be of great benefit and extremely helpful to you. An example of the importance of carefully reading an insurance policy, was made clear by two different salesmen who happened to work for a large Chevrolet dealership who were injured in unrelated auto accidents several months apart. Neither salesmen was at fault, and both were rear-ended by people who had relatively modest policies of less than $25K. Likewise, both salesmen had concurrent workman’s compensation claims because the accident happened while they were at work. However, there are legally set limits on what can ultimately be recovered from workman’s compensation, regardless of your injuries. Because both salesmen were fairly hurt, the hunt was on to try to find additional policy limits. Neither had their own UM/UIM policy limits, and it was assumed that because workman’s compensation was involved that ALL they could receive was the negligent, third party defendant insured’s policy limits. Finally, someone exercised due diligence and demanded a copy of the policy from the EMPLOYER’S (Chevrolet Dealership) automobile insurance company. This was met with immediate hostility and resistance; both from the Chevrolet Dealer as well as from their insurance broker and insurance company. All involved tried to claim that the workman’s compensation policy was the “exclusive remedy” to the salesmen and all that they could go after. Normally, this would be the case in a properly constructed and written policy. The employer/auto dealer (Chevrolet) and its’ automobile insurance carrier were none to happy to provide the policy – but they were required to by law. Both entities assured the salesmen that this dealership had been around for many years and that workman’s compensation was all that was available to them or that they could receive; and that the policy provided no coverage for them. They were wrong! Quite plainly the insurance policy had a provision for UM/UIM coverage (even though the dealership insisted that this was meant only for the owner and the general manager of the dealership). Unfortunately for them, the policy was not written that way, establishing such exclusions. Because of a careful reading of the policy, and the provisions which were there (and NOT there) and not just making assumptions or listening to other people, BOTH salesmen ended up receiving policy limits from the respective 3rd party defendants AND from the Chevrolet dealership (UIM) auto insurance policy. Needless to say, the dealership management was quite upset but could stop none of it. The dealership automobile insurance company did not want two bad faith claims ON TOP of the UIM claims. So, the dealership that had gone for years without any such claims, suddenly had two claims against it. Everyone involved learned a valuable lesson about READING THE POLICY! Simply “assuming” things had created this situation and allowed it to go on for years. The policy was later changed to specifically EXCLUDE salesmen or anyone receiving workman’s compensation claims, which is perfectly legal and how most policies are written. However, by then the dealership had two chargeable claims against it. The salesmen later went back to work there, as they were legally protected under workman’s compensation law and entitled to their jobs again. Simply reading the policy proved very valuable for both men; and it also made one wonder how many other salesmen over the years could have used the policy, but did not, simply because they either listened to the dealership personnel or DID NOT READ THE POLICY?! The above are examples of just some of the different types of coverage that could be available to you in auto accident injury cases. Similar provisions might be found concerning a different type accident involving a different policy; for instance a premises liability policy involving a slip and fall or an injury on commercial property. Finding out all that you can, and all of the benefits and provisions available to you, simply takes being a little creative and looking for all possible policies or avenues of coverage, and writing a few letters. Simply exercising a little diligence. In addition to finding out about types of coverages and provisions, one may also find out about policy size from the adjusters themselves. Sometimes they will outright tell you, but some have misgivings [or there may be company policy against that] and feel like people would “over treat” and run up huge medical bills if they knew there was a large policy. More often, insurance adjusters will not necessarily “tell” you [or be able to] policy limit amounts, but they can and often do give you strong hints. So, even if they will not tell you outright, there is still information to be had there. For instance, an adjuster might state that the vehicle insured has “small” policy limits (generally meaning a minimum $15K policy or at most a $25K policy); whereas if they indicate a “medium” policy limit is involved, they generally mean a $25K to $50K policy. Stating their insured has a “large” policy limit amount, usually means $100K or more. If the adjuster indicates that the policy limits are “extremely large” or indicates that policy limits are “adequate/or adequate regardless of claim size,” this generally indicates the largest size policies of $1 million or above; or as a minimum $500K. The reason they say “adequate” is just that; virtually no matter what size the claim ends up being, those policy limits are usually sufficient. Thus, even though you may not always get the exact number from the insurance company, even these hints can be of benefit to you in determining what is, or may be, available for your claim. You can find also sometimes find policy information in a variety of places. You can do online searches or do basic legal information searches. One common place to obtain other insurance information is from the insurance companies themselves, or from brokers or agents. Often times insurance companies will write other insurance companies with their questions, concerns, or theories of liability. Likewise, they write and put other carriers (and parties) on notice that they have “subrogation” rights (the right to recover or recoup amounts they have expended on a claim that was not “their fault,” etc.). Often, insurance carriers are more candid with each other than they are with claimants. Sometimes, just simply asking one carrier, [such as asking your own carrier for a copy of their file] or “poking around” a little bit can often yield the results you seek.

Debunking 8 Anti-War Myths About The Conflict In Iraq

Debunking 8 Anti-War Myths About The Conflict In Iraq 1) George Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.: This is a charge that has been repeated ad nauseum by opponents of the war, but the claim that Bush “lied” about stockpiles of WMDs doesn’t hold up to the least bit of scrutiny. Once you understand one crucial fact, that: numerous prominent Democrats with access to intelligence data also openly declared and obviously believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, it becomes nearly impossible for a rational person to believe that Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq. We’re not talking about small fry or just proponents of the war either. The aforementioned Democrats include Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, John Edwards, Robert Byrd, Henry Waxman, Tom Daschle, and Nancy Pelosi among many, many others. Just to hammer the point home, here’s a quote from the 800 pound gorilla of the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, that was made on Oct 8, 2002: “In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security.” Trending: The 15 Best Conservative News Sites On The Internet To believe that George Bush lied about WMDs is to believe that there is a vast conspiracy to lie about WMDs that goes to the highest level of both parties & that stretches across both the pro and anti-war movements. It’s just not possible — and that’s before we even consider the numerous other pieces of exculpating evidence like: all the non-American intelligence agencies that also believed Saddam had WMDs, CIA Director George Tenet famously saying it was a: “‘slam-dunk’ that Hussein possessed the banned weapons”, the once secret: Downing Street Memo: which certainly proves that our allies in Britain believed Saddam had WMDs… “For instance, what were the consequences, if Saddam used WMD on day one, or if Baghdad did not collapse and urban warfighting began? You said that Saddam could also use his WMD on Kuwait. Or on Israel, added the Defence Secretary.” …and of course, that we did find: warheads designed to carry chemical warfare agents: and artillery shells filled with: mustard gas: &: sarin: (even though they were small in number and weren’t recently made). When you add it all up, it appears that George Bush, like a lot of other people, was wrong about Saddam Hussein having stockpiles of WMDs. But without question, he did not lie about it. 2) A study released in March of 2003 by a British medical journal, the Lancet, showed that 100,000 civilians had been killed as a result of the US invasion.To be perfectly frank, it’s hard to see how anyone who has even a passing familiarity with statistics could take Lancet’s numbers seriously.: Fred Kaplanfrom Slate explains: “The authors of a peer-reviewed study, conducted by a survey team from Johns Hopkins University, claim that about 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the war. Yet a close look at the actual study, published online today by the British medical journal the Lancet, reveals that this number is so loose as to be meaningless.The report’s authors derive this figure by estimating how many Iraqis died in a 14-month period before the U.S. invasion, conducting surveys on how many died in a similar period after the invasion began (more on those surveys later), and subtracting the difference. That difference’the number of “extra” deaths in the post-invasion period’signifies the war’s toll. That number is 98,000. But read the passage that cites the calculation more fully: We estimate there were 98,000 extra deaths (95% CI 8000-194 000) during the post-war period. Readers who are accustomed to perusing statistical documents know what the set of numbers in the parentheses means. For the other 99.9 percent of you, I’ll spell it out in plain English’which, disturbingly, the study never does. It means that the authors are 95 percent confident that the war-caused deaths totaled some number between 8,000 and 194,000. (The number cited in plain language’98,000’is roughly at the halfway point in this absurdly vast range.) This isn’t an estimate. It’s a dart board. Imagine reading a poll reporting that George W. Bush will win somewhere between 4 percent and 96 percent of the votes in this Tuesday’s election. You would say that this is a useless poll and that something must have gone terribly wrong with the sampling. The same is true of the Lancet article: It’s a useless study; something went terribly wrong with the sampling.” Bingo! What Lancet was in effect saying was that they believed 98,000 civilians died, but they might have been off by roughly 90,000 people or so in either direction. Moreover, other sources at the time were coming in with numbers that were a tiny fraction of the 98,000 figure that the Lancet settled on. From a: New York Times: article on the Lancet study: “The 100,000 estimate immediately came under attack. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of Britain questioned the methodology of the study and compared it with an Iraq Health Ministry figure that put civilian fatalities at less than 4,000. Other critics referred to the findings of the Iraq Body Count project, which has constructed a database of war-related civilian deaths from verified news media reports or official sources like hospitals and morgues.That database recently placed civilian deaths somewhere between 14,429 and 16,579, the range arising largely from uncertainty about whether some victims were civilians or insurgents. But because of its stringent conditions for including deaths in the database, the project has quite explicitly said, ”Our own total is certain to be an underestimate.” Via: GlobalSecurity.org, here’s another Iraqi civilian death estimate: “On 20 October 2003 the Project on Defense Alternatives estimated that between 10,800 and 15,100 Iraqis were killed in the war. Of these, between 3,200 and 4,300 were noncombatants — that is: civilians who did not take up arms.” Given all that, how any informed person can buy into Lancet’s numbers is simply beyond me. 3) The Bush Administration claimed Iraq was responsible for 9/11.: It’s always difficult to prove a negative, but that simply never happened. Many people may believe this was the case because in “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Michael Moore truncated a comment by Condi Rice in order to deliberately give viewers of his movie that false impression. Here’s the quote as it appeared in the film: “There is a tie between Iraq and what happened on 9/11” Now here’s the full quote: “Oh, indeed there is a tie between Iraq and what happened on 9/11. It’s not that Saddam Hussein was somehow himself and his regime involved in 9/11, but, if you think about what caused 9/11, it is the rise of ideologies of hatred that lead people to drive airplanes into buildings in New York.” Setting aside Moore’s little deceit, there just aren’t any quotations I’ve ever seen from anyone in the Bush administration saying that Saddam was responsible for 9/11. That’s why, in a piece called “Answering 50 Frequently Asked Questions About The War On Terrorism,” which incidentally was written about a week before the war began, I wrote this: The Bush administration has never claimed that Iraq was involved in 9/11… Furthermore, after the war had begun, in September of 2003,: President Bush himself publicly & explicitly said: “We have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the 11 September attacks.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that. 4) The war in Iraq was actually planned by people like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz back in 1998 at a think tank called the Project for the New American Century.: The problem with trying to claim that the war in Iraq was preordained during some 1998 PNAC meeting is that the United States government has been trying to find a way to get rid of Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. In an interview I did with him back in January of 2004,: David Frum, went into detail on this subject: “The idea that overthrowing Saddam Hussein sprung out of the minds of a few people in Washington forgets an awful lot of history. In the 2000 election, both candidates spoke openly about the need to deal with Saddam Hussein. Al Gore was actually more emphatic on the topic than George Bush was. In 1998, Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act. Just to show how conspiratorial they were, they put it in the Congressional record. In 1995, the CIA tried to organize a coup against Saddam Hussein and it failed. The coup was secret, but it has been written about in 5 or 6 books that I know of. In 1991, representatives of President George H. W. Bush went on the radio and urged the Iraqi people to rise up against Saddam Hussein. So America’s policy on Saddam has been consistent. What we have been arguing about for years are the methods. First, we tried to encourage a rebellion in Iraq, that didn’t work. Then we tried coups; that didn’t work. Then in 1998, we tried funding Iraqi opposition. That might have worked, but the money never actually got appropriated. Then, ultimately we tried direct military power. The idea that Saddam should go has been the policy of the United States since 1991.” The reality is just as Frum pointed out: overthrowing Saddam Hussein by hook or crook was the de facto policy of the US government for more than a decade before the war in Iraq and the disagreement was over how to do it. That argument was settled in many people’s minds by 9/11, not by people conspiring in a think tank back in 1998. 5) The war on terror has nothing to do with Iraq.: This is another historical rewrite. The reality is that the pro-war movement in this country since 9/11 has plainly spoken of dealing with Saddam Hussein as part of the war on terrorism almost from the very beginning. Here’s George Bush in a: speech given on 9/20/2001: “Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success.We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” Iraq certainly was a state that harbored and supported terrorists and the approach Bush discussed, the Bush Doctrine, was adopted and talked about often in relation to Iraq during the lead up to the war. As proof, look to a column called “Answering 50 Frequently Asked Questions About The War On Terrorism” that I wrote back on March 13, 2003: Why are we going to invade Iraq?: Nine days after 9/11, George Bush said,“(W)e will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” That definition fits Iraq and since they happened to be the easiest nation to make a case against at the UN and in the court of World Opinion, they were our next logical target after Afghanistan — although they’re not our last target.” The war on terrorism cannot be won as long as there are terrorist supporting states out there. So one way or the other, we need to get those rogue regimes out of the business of supporting terrorist groups of international reach. Saddam led one of those regimes and now, happily, he’s gone — perhaps before the US was hit with an Iraqi based terrorist attack: “I can confirm that after the events of September 11, 2001, and up to the military operation in Iraq, Russian special services and Russian intelligence several times received … information that official organs of Saddam’s regime were preparing terrorist acts on the territory of the United States and beyond its borders, at U.S. military and civilian locations.” — Russian President Vladimir Putin as quoted by CNN on June 18, 2004 Even: John Kerry, the flip-flopping Democratic candidate for President last year, seemed to at least agree that the fate of Iraq was crucial to the war on terror: “Iraq may not be the war on terror itself, but it is critical to the outcome of the war on terror, and therefore any advance in Iraq is an advance forward in that and I disagree with the Governor [Howard Dean].” — John Kerry, 12/15/03 Kerry even pointed out that he thought Saddam might give WMDs to terrorists: “I would disagree with John McCain that it’s the actual weapons of mass destruction he may use against us, it’s what he may do in another invasion of Kuwait or in a miscalculation about the Kurds or a miscalculation about Iran or particularly Israel. Those are the things that – that I think present the greatest danger. He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat.” — John Kerry, “Face The Nation”, 9/15/02 Now if even John Kerry of all people is willing to admit that Iraq is: “critical to the outcome of the war on terror”: and that Saddam was the kind of guy who might use terrorist groups to attack the US, we should be able to at least agree at this point that it’s not the least bit disingenuous to suggest that Iraq is an important part of the war on terrorism. 6) Saddam Hussein had no ties to terrorism.: It’s amazing to me that today in 2005, people are still trotting out that oft-disproven quip. Christopher Hitchens was also apparently surprised when Ron Reagan, Jr. made a similar assertion recently and you may find his: response to be most enlightening: “CH:: Do you know nothing about the subject at all? Do you wonder how Mr. Zarqawi got there under the rule of Saddam Hussein? Have you ever heard of Abu Nidal?RR:: Well, I’m following the lead of the 9/11 Commission, which… CH:: Have you ever heard of Abu Nidal, the most wanted man in the world, who was sheltered in Baghdad? The man who pushed Leon Klinghoffer off the boat, was sheltered by Saddam Hussein. The man who blew up the World Trade Center in 1993 was sheltered by Saddam Hussein, and you have the nerve to say that terrorism is caused by resisting it? And by deposing governments that endorse it? … At this stage, after what happened in London yesterday?… RR:: Zarqawi is not an envoy of Saddam Hussein, either. CH:: Excuse me. When I went to interview Abu Nidal, then the most wanted terrorist in the world, in Baghdad, he was operating out of an Iraqi government office. He was an arm of the Iraqi State, while being the most wanted man in the world. The same is true of the shelter and safe house offered by the Iraqi government, to the murderers of Leon Klinghoffer, and to Mr. Yassin, who mixed the chemicals for the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. How can you know so little about this, and be occupying a chair at the time that you do?” Mr. Hitchens is entirely correct. Saddam provided “safe haven” for: terrorists with “global reach.”: Among them were terrormaster Abu Nidal, Abdul Rahman Yassin, one of the conspirators in the 1993 WTC bombing, “Khala Khadr al-Salahat, the man who reputedly made the bomb for the Libyans that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over…Scotland,”Abu Abbas, mastermind of the October 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking and murder of Leon Klinghoffer,” & “Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, formerly the director of an al Qaeda training base in Afghanistan” who is now believed to be leading Al-Qaeda’s forces in Iraq. Without question, Saddam Hussein had extensive ties to terrorism. 7) Saddam Hussein had no ties to Al-Qaeda.: A couple of quotes by the 9/11 Commission, which were often used out of context during the polarizing 2004 election cycle, have fueled the ridiculous claim that Saddam Hussein had no ties with Al-Qaeda. Here’s an excerpt from an article at: MSNBC: called: “9/11 panel sees no link between Iraq, al-Qaida,”: that should give you a good idea of the anti-war spin that was put on the Commission’s comments: “It said that reports of subsequent contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida after bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan ‘do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship,’ and added that two unidentified senior bin Laden associates “have adamantly denied that any ties existed between al-Qaida and Iraq.”The report, the 15th released by the commission staff, concluded, ‘We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al-Qaida cooperated on attacks against the United States.’ However, the spin doesn’t match the reality. What the 9/11 Commission was trying to get across was that there was no evidence that Saddam and Al-Qaeda collaborated on specific attacks, not that they didn’t have a working relationship.: 9/11 Commission Vice-Chairman (and former Democratic Congressman) Lee Hamiliton: echoed exactly that point in comments that were largely ignored because they didn’t fit the anti-war storyline some people were pushing: “The vice president is saying, I think, that there were connections between Al Qaeda and the Saddam Hussein government. We don’t disagree with that. What we have said is what the governor (Commission Chairman Thomas Kean) just said, we don’t have any evidence of a cooperative, or a corroborative, relationship between Saddam Hussein’s government and these Al Qaeda operatives with regard to the attacks on the United States.” While there may not be evidence that Saddam and Al-Qaeda cooperated in attacks on the United States, the evidence that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and Al-Qaeda worked together is absolutely undeniable. For example, no one disputes that Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who once ran an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and is leading Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in Iraq today, was in Iraq BEFORE the war started getting medical care. In and of itself, that would seem to strongly suggest a significant connection. But wait, there’s more! Consider this comment by former: CIA Director George Tenet: in a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee on October 7, 2002: “Credible reporting states that al Qaeda leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire WMD capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to al Qaeda members in the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs.” Here’s more from: Richard Miniter, author of “Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton’s Failures Unleashed Global Terror“: * Abdul Rahman Yasin was the only member of the al Qaeda cell that detonated the 1993 World Trade Center bomb to remain at large in the Clinton years. He fled to Iraq. U.S. forces recently discovered a cache of documents in Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown, that show that Iraq gave Mr. Yasin both a house and monthly salary.* Bin Laden met at least eight times with officers of Iraq’s Special Security Organization, a secret police agency run by Saddam’s son Qusay, and met with officials from Saddam’s mukhabarat, its external intelligence service, according to intelligence made public by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was speaking before the United Nations Security Council on February 6, 2003. * In 1998, Abbas al-Janabi, a longtime aide to Saddam’s son Uday, defected to the West. At the time, he repeatedly told reporters that there was a direct connection between Iraq and al Qaeda. * Mohamed Mansour Shahab, a smuggler hired by Iraq to transport weapons to bin Laden in Afghanistan, was arrested by anti-Hussein Kurdish forces in May, 2000. He later told his story to American intelligence and a reporter for the New Yorker magazine. Here’s more from Weekly Standard columnist Stephen Hayes, author of “The Connection : How al Qaeda’s Collaboration with Saddam Hussein Has Endangered America“: “Evan Bayh, Democrat from Indiana, has described the Iraq-al Qaeda connection as a relationship of “mutual exploitation.” Joe Lieberman said, “There are extensive contacts between Saddam Hussein’s government and al Qaeda.” George Tenet, too, has spoken of those contacts and goes further, claiming Iraqi “training” of al Qaeda terrorists on WMDs and provision of “safe haven” for al Qaeda in Baghdad. Richard Clarke once said the U.S. government was “sure” Iraq had provided a chemical-weapons precursor to an al Qaeda-linked pharmaceutical plant in Sudan. Even Hillary Clinton cited the Iraq-al Qaeda connection as one reason she voted for the Iraq War.” So is there proof that Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda worked together to hit targets in the US? No. But, is there extensive evidence that they had ties and worked together at times? Absolutely. 8) The Downing Street Memo proves Bush lied to the American people about the war.: The left-side of the blogosphere has been bleating ceaselessly about the Downing Street Memo since the beginning of May which might lead you to wonder why the reaction to the memo has been so tepid in the scandal loving mainstream media. Well, the problem with the DSM is that there’s no “there, there.” Some of the anti-war crowd’s rantings about the memo have hinged on its acknowledgement of increased bombings in the Iraqi no-fly zones (“spikes of activity”) during the run-up to the war. However, the increased frequency of bombings was common knowledge even back in 2002 (See: here,: here, &: here). We had already been bombing the Iraqis in the no-fly zone and we increased the pace to soften them up a bit just in case we had to go in. It probably saved the lives of some of our soldiers and almost no one except members of Saddam’s government seemed upset about it while it was actually going on. So why should it be a big deal now in 2005? The carping about it at this point is pure political gamesmanship. Moving on to another jejune point in the memos that has led to hyperventilation among Bush foes, take a look at this line: “C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable.” Note that no particular person in the Bush administration said war is “inevitable,” it’s just the perception that C, AKA Sir Richard Dearlove, has. Again, we’re talking about something that was common knowledge back in July of 2002, as even liberal: Michael Kinsley: pointed out in a notably unenthusiastic LA Times column about the DSM: “Just look at what was in the newspapers on July 23, 2002, and the day before. Left-wing Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Scheer casually referred to the coming war as “much planned for.” The New York Times reported Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s response to a story that “reported preliminary planning on ways the United States might attack Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein.” Rumsfeld effectively confirmed the report by announcing an investigation of the leak.A Wall Street Journal Op-Ed declared that “the drums of war beat louder.” A dispatch from Turkey in the New York Times even used the same word, “inevitable,” to describe the thinking in Ankara about the thinking in Washington about the decision “to topple President Saddam Hussein of Iraq by force.” Why, it almost sounds as if many people who weren’t passing around secret documents saw the invasion of Iraq as “inevitable,” even back then! I guess those “secret” memos aren’t as as chock full of sensitive information as you’d think. But, let’s move on to the meat of the DSM. Via: Wikipedia, here is the part of the Downing Street Memo that has caused the most “excitement” on the left: Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime’s record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action. Basically the charge here is supposed to be that Bush “fixed” the evidence for the war. When the word “fixed” is mentioned in the memo, it’s obviously not being used as Americans would use it if they were talking about “fixing” a horse race. Instead, the writer was trying to get across that the Bush administration was attempting to build a solid case to justify its policy publicly. That’s certainly not a unique way of looking at it either. For example,: John Ware, a reporter at the very liberal BBC, seems to have roughly the same interpretation: “Several well placed sources have told us that Sir Richard Dearlove was minuted as saying: “The facts and the intelligence were being fixed round the policy by the Bush administration.” By ‘fixed’ the MI6 chief meant that the Americans were trawling for evidence to reinforce their claim that Saddam was a threat.” Furthermore, to even try to interpret the Downing Street Memo as supporting the idea that Bush was making up evidence — presumably about weapons of mass destruction — is extremely difficult to square with the fact that the DSM itself makes it absolutely clear that the British believed Saddam had WMDs. From theDSM: “For instance, what were the consequences, if Saddam used WMD on day one, or if Baghdad did not collapse and urban warfighting began? You said that Saddam could also use his WMD on Kuwait. Or on Israel, added the Defence Secretary.” If the Bush administration and the Brits believed Saddam had WMDs and was capable of using them, what exactly is supposed to have been forged? Nothing of course, because that’s not how the person taking the notes meant it to be interpreted. If he’d known his notes were ever going to be read by the public, I’m sure he would have been more careful about ambiguous phrasing that could be willfully misinterpreted for political gain. On top of all that, there have already been investigations that have cleared the Bush administration of doing anything shady on the intelligence front. As Cassandra at: Villainous Company: correctly pointed out: Quote (the DSM) all you want. Is there some evidence to back this up? Say, to refute the conclusions of the Butler Report (British), the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, or the 9/11 Commission, which all concluded that there was no improper manipulation of intelligence? Or are we now willing to disregard the conclusions of three official inquiries on the strength of one (word in an) unattributed set of minutes from a single foreign staff meeting?” The Downing Street Memo is a lot of hullabaloo over nothing of note.