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Today I am 22 weeks and one day pregnant with our newest little guy -- the exact gestational age I was when I delivered our son Zachary nearly six years ago. Historically, this has been an emotional milestone for me, and today really is no different. In an average pregnancy (and really even in my pregnancies), there is nothing particularly threatening about being 22 + 1, but in my case, I just can't help but remember how one average everyday turned into possibly the most sorrowful point of my life.
Though the tears still fall when I read Zachary's birth story and recall his death, I am so deeply moved by the Lord's faithfulness towards me in those dark moments and beyond. There were sleepless nights and hard questions to ask, but He was there and waiting to wrestle. I remember reaching a time of such heartache and confusion that I could no longer find the words to pray for myself, and how the Lord met me there by burdening the heart of a literal stranger who had no idea of the grief I was in, yet who pulled my phone number from the air to call and tell me that she was praying for me. I remember reaching a point where every bit of it went on an alter, and the work of "trying again" was over. Though my suffering was intense and lengthy, He was there beside me all along, and I am so grateful. His word was truth in my life: "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18).
And here I am now -- still so surprised to be once-again pregnant, and so amazed to be moving along nicely in this surprise pregnancy. For all intents and purposes, I am as infertile as I've ever been. Besides the placement of a transabdominal cervicoisthmus cerclage to assist in preventing late-term losses, I've had no fertility surgery, no procedure, not one thing done to rationalize the unexpected and explosive growth of our family. The single explanation I have is that we're walking out a real-life restoration of "the years the locusts have eaten" (Joel 2:25). While part of me wishes I had some answers to this change -- something specific to offer to other women with hearts broken like mine -- I am grateful to be on the opposite side of the abyss. A friend told me yesterday that she's been feeling very sad, missing friends (namely me) who are still busy with the baby stage, and while I wish my friend well, I wouldn't trade long, leisurely coffee dates for anything I have now. That's not to say things don't get hard and I don't enjoy it when the babysitter comes by, because they do and I do, but my season of unscheduled free-time has been overcome by pacifiers and poopy pants, and I could not be a happier woman for it.
"He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord." -- Psalm 113:9 NIV
"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward." --Psalm 127:3 ESV


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Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan rebuffed on violent video games ban
By Kurtis Lee
The Denver Post
Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, whose city was the site of a July 20 mass shooting at a movie theater that left 12 dead and 70 injured, was recently rebuffed by the City Attorney's Office as he expressed interest in implementing a ban on the sale of violent video games.
In an effort to quell gun violence in the sprawling suburb, Hogan also inquired into Aurora imposing a possible tax on the sale of such entertainment.
With a debate brewing over guns rights here in Colorado, Hogan, who has largely remained out of the Second Amendment fray, has delved into First Amendment rights and the move has a clinical psychologist calling the idea "ludicrous."

subset: commoncrawl


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Join In - We Share Fishing Reports & Outdoor Information Here
You know what we all love...
The same things you do!!!! Share what you love & enjoy in the outdoors as well as thank those whose posts you 'appreciate.'
Have Fun!!!
Make it count.
Sletten420, in Bemidji, Blackduck, Crookston, Thief River Falls Area Fishing Reports - Hunting - Events


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It's been a long time sindce uploaded any tutorials ever since I made an account on deviantart. I upload all my papercrafts and stuff on there. This is one of the harder drawings in my tutorials so it has more steps than usual. Hope you enjoy it!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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August 3, 2006
Find IP Location With Google Maps
SEOmoz has created a tool that allows you to enter an IP and to locate it on Google Maps. The application uses Ajax so it will display the map as you type (it's useful to test Class C IP ranges).
So next time you find a strange IP in your stats, or when you want to find the address of someone and you know only the IP, use this mashup. The results are not extremely accurate as there are many ways to hide the IP and many machines are behind a NAT.
Note: I'll be gone in a short vacation, but that doesn't mean I won't be around. Starting from tomorrow TomHTML from Zorgloob will keep you company. He asked me to tell you he's not fluent in English, but I'm not either.
18 comments:
- AnonymousAugust 3, 2006 at 2:54 PM
Already present in Windows Live Local!ReplyDelete
WLL is not so fast ;-)ReplyDelete
So, thank you Ionut. I handdle your blog as a chief ;-) I hope
Have a nice vacation!ReplyDelete
Too bad my street is not on google maps :)ReplyDelete
Have a nice vacation! Greetings to tomhtml. We are content hungry;)
Although I live in minnesota, my main comcast thing must be in washington maryland.. because thats where it leads to..ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 5, 2006 at 12:23 AM
Tools like this have been around for many years, and they are only as accurate to the ISP. Sorry, but this isn't new or cool.ReplyDelete
I prefer the http://www.iplocatethis.com same sort of thing but easierReplyDelete
Check this one http://www.ipligence.com/geolocation/ does pretty much the same but they have more free services such as a mail tracer http://www.ipligence.com/mailtrace/ very useful back trace and find the ip location of any sender.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 29, 2007 at 2:12 PM
Found a similar site at http://geo-ip-info.ulrik301.comReplyDelete
this one tells you the location (country and city) of an ip address and can display this on a google map
- AnonymousApril 29, 2007 at 2:13 PM
Found a similar site at geo-ip-info.ulrik301.comReplyDelete
this one tells you the location (country and city) of an ip address and can display this on a google map
Nice and clean implementation. Whatismyipaddress.com also has a Visual Traceroute that uses Google Maps.ReplyDelete
Already present in Windows Live Local!ReplyDelete
Not everyone has WLL o/
Thx for the useful tool!
More of the sameReplyDelete
Locates ip and domains names on a google map: locateip.localizarip.com
- AnonymousMay 4, 2008 at 2:08 AM
Anybody can also try www.ipmango.com for Ip location.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 14, 2008 at 6:09 AM
how can i use this ?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 3, 2008 at 2:52 PM
Or use this Gadget for doing the same but with more detailed user informationReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 30, 2008 at 9:34 PM
My humble attempt to geolocate a place with IPReplyDelete
New comments are not allowed.


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The Lunar New Year celebrations late last month witnessed the reunion of many a family, including visits to family members who are in long-term care. With the financial turmoil last year resulting in a drastic contraction in individual wealth, stability has become a key concern for laid-off workers and first-time job seekers. Pondering long-term care in Taiwan at this point in time requires some deep thought.
It is not as if Taiwan does not have a long-term care program; the problem is the system is flawed, so not everyone in need receives equal care. One also has to bear in mind that institutional care is only a small part of the long-term care system and should be seen as a last resort, rather than as hospital wards or even prisons in disguise. The nation's long-term care system relies greatly on migrant workers. As the living standard in neighboring countries rises, this kind of long-term care system will be difficult to maintain.
It isn't a problem of the government not paying any attention to long-term care, but rather the existing system is unable to keep up with public demand and the changing times. As long-term care is supervised by local governments, how can financially strapped counties map out an innovative, comprehensive and long-term plan?
There are two major misconceptions about about long-term care. First, many think it only concerns the elderly, whereas in truth any person of any age might require long-term care any time. Second, long-term care is not tantamount to medical treatment. If the government fails to improve the long-term care system, it will become increasingly common for emergency care beds to be occupied by chronically ill patients. Not only does this increase the burden on the National Health Insurance (NHI) program, it also leads to waste of limited resources.
A compulsory public insurance program is not necessarily the only solution to financing long-term care. If the government does decide to promote long-term care insurance, it may need to set up a separate program under the NHI. Why? There is a difference in product structure, market, target, service providers and financial management. The NHI is a short-term insurance program in which premiums paid this year do not cover next year. The entire financing system is pay-as-you-go. A long-term care insurance program, however, is an extended insurance in which premiums are calculated based on the population structure of future generations, so that it will not increase the burden on them.
Germany is often cited as an example in discussions on long-term care insurance programs. However, the Netherlands was actually the first country to implement such a program. Germany has drawn more attention given its economic status. Japan has also implemented a long-term care insurance program. In 1993, despite its financial troubles, then German chancellor Helmut Kohl resolutely pushed through his government's plan and submitted a draft for a long-term care insurance program to the parliament. Within four months, the draft passed its third legislative reading.
When I was studying in Germany 20 years ago — the year when the Berlin Wall collapsed — I witnessed the efficiency of the German administrative system, which finished installing the system within a year.
A long-term care insurance program is not a new system and it is not as complex as the NHI. I hope the government will exercise its executive power to set up a comprehensive system for long-term care so that a benevolent system will soon be put in place to help those in need.


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Independent Music Teachers
Local teachers are currently unavailable. Here are teachers offering online lessons.
Monroe, North Carolina 28110
I have been a performing musician now for 53 years and counting. I have had the fortune to tour the world, and work with such Artists like Carlos Santana, Sergio Mendes, Gloria Gaynor, Eddie...
Conga Drum, hand percussion/Cuban/Afro-Cuban/Brasilian/African
Music Genres:
Afro-Cuban. Afro-Caribbean, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Salsa, Latin Jazz, Pop, Pop - R&b - Improv
Novato, California 94948
Daria offers lessons internationally via Skype! Connect the registers! Learn to mix and smooth out the breaks in your voice consistently! Daria is a highly skilled Voice Instructor with
Voice, Hand Percussion
Music Genres:
Jazz, Latin, Pop, All Styles Of Popular Music
Arlington, Massachusetts 02474
Alan Tauber is a gifted percussionist musician facilitator and educator who has spent over 40 years sharing his passion for drumming and healing with the community. In 1990 he established
Djembe, Dunun, Conga, Hand Percussion, Foot Percussion
Music Genres:
Percussion, African Percussion Guinea, West Africa
Making a living in music after moving to a new city is not easy. It is really hard to know what to... Read More
MY WORK AS A MENTOR FOR TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTSI have worked diligently throughout my 39 years as a... Read More


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HP and SAP: What we need is a MASHED UP cloud
'We've moved away from doing it cheaper' (Thank god)
CCWF2012 The next step in cloud computing is to mash up all the different clouds hanging about with traditional IT systems to give one big mixed-up cloud, SAP and HP both insist.
Sven Denecken, SAP AG's VP of strategy and co-innovation cloud solutions and Christian Verstraete, chief technologist of cloud strategy at HP, were sharing their companies' cloudy visions at the Cloud Computing World Forum yesterday and seemed to come up with pretty much the same conclusions.
The hybrid cloud – or converged cloud if you're over at HP – is the way forward, where the stuff on your desktop at work, on the internet, in your personal Dropbox and anywhere else you can think of, is all somehow melded together into one seamless UI for employees.
Things are changing for businesses and the biggest consequence of globalisation and the current economic and financial instability is the speed with which companies need to be moving.
Denecken said in his presentation that a recent Saugatuck Technology survey of CIOs and business leaders showed two-thirds of them agreeing that the long-term benefits of the cloud were greater flexibility and agility.
"We've moved away from the idea that cloud allows me to do things cheaper," Verstraete said. "Now it's cloud allows me to do different things… to respond to the market more quickly."
Denecken got the edge on Verstraete for actually demoing SAP's idea of this UI on (of course) an iPad, which pulled in sales and financial information, as well as chatrooms and other work stuff in handy little boxes.
He said another big part of SAP's cloud strategy was for everything to be mobile, because that's the way that the users wanted it.
"I don't want my travel expenses only in the office," he said, "I want it on my phone, my tablet as well."
Both SAP and HP make the point that people were driving companies into the cloud whether they liked it or not and their use of the internet and personal accounts for business was part of why the cloud needs to be mashed up.
"Shadow IT starts in the public cloud and eventually goes backwards," Verstraete said. "If you don't give your users what they need they'll get it themselves and then you need to see how that data is exchanged, if it's protected, is it still yours even?
"The CIO ends up being responsible for a lot of things he can't control."
But despite how comfy users are in the cloud, neither company is really convinced that we'll all end up in a world without boxes. That's fine for web companies like Pinterest, but not really the most complete solution for regular businesses.
That means that traditional IT and all the different clouds have to be brought together to give users an easier life. And all the complexities of integrating the various different applications and softwares need to be out of view, the tech bosses said.
"You end up getting a lot of things packaged together that might all be in different places somewhere and all of them are going to need different resources," Verstaete said.
"As a user, I don't want to know any of that background."
Denecken agreed, saying that SAP's mixed cloud is looking for a "consumer-like user experience" with mobile at the forefront. ®
Sponsored: How to get more from MicroStrategy by optimising your data stack


text:
Watch CBSN Live
A cutout of a woman in Iranian dress stands in front of the Karim Khani Palace, also a former prison, May 29, 2014.
Shiraz, celebrated for more than 2,000 years as the heartland of Persian culture, is known as the home of Iranian poetry and for its progressive attitudes and tolerance.
Like all of Iran, this week Shiraz observes the 25th anniversary of the death and continued legacy of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the father of the Islamic revolution.
Getty Images photographer John Moore traveled through central Iran in spring to take the following images.
Credit: John Moore/Getty Images
A shopper leaves the Hyper Star market, near a sculpture of a shopper, at the new Isfahan City Center shopping mall, June 2, 2014.
The mall, still under construction, is the largest shopping center in Iran and will include a 5-star hotel, a financial center and an entertainment center with cinema and fair complex. The mall is being built by Prestige Land Iran and was designed by architect Madardo Cadiz of Cadiz International.
Historic Isfahan, with it's immense mosques, picturesque bridges and ancient historic bazaar, is a virtual living museum of Iranian traditional culture.
It's also the Iran's top tourist destination for both Iranian and domestic visitors.
Women hold up their hands pledging to offer their lives, if needed, for the Islamic Revolution outside the shrine of the Ayatollah Khomeini on the 25th anniversary of his death on June 4, 2014 on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran.
Thousands of people gathered to hear speeches to mark the event. Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, is still revered by many Iranians, and his portrait hangs throughout the country.
A donkey stands amongst traditional mud brick homes in the ancient mountain village of Abyaneh, Iran, June 3, 2014.
A woman fills her gas tank at a service station. Gas prices, which are regulated by the Iranian government, have risen sharply in the last month, June 3, 2014.
A pickup truck full of young men rides through town near the town of Abarqu, in central Iran, May 30, 2014.
Hotel doorman Aboul Fazl Kalantari, and driver Mohammad Ali Khabiri await guests in the lobby of the Moshir-al-Mamalek Garden Hotel, June 1, 2014.
Kalantari is one of two employees with dwarfism hired as doormen at the hotel. Such "traditional" hotels are common in the desert town of Yazd, one of Iran's main tourist destinations.
A car carries a wheel barrow down the highway,May 30, 2014.
A goundskeeper waters a topiary peacock at Quran Square, May 29, 2014.
A couple share a moment together behind a park hedgerow, June 2, 2014.
Textile weaver Ali Ghayoumi, 83, makes camel hair cloth on his loom, June 1, 2014.
Ghayoumi, who has worked in the same underground workshop since the age of 10, is one of the last loom weavers in Narin, his craft increasingly replaced by factory production in larger cities.
Narin, known for its mud brick architecture and handicrafts, has been a prominent stop on trade routes since the Sassanid era.
Tourists walk through the ancient Persepolis archeological site, May 30, 2014.
The ruins mark the site of the 6th century BC Persian Achaemenid Empire, the largest empire the world had known up to that time, eventually ended by Alexander the Great.
A pair of Arab clerics speak in a hotel coffee shop before prayers at an Islamic shrine, June 3, 2014.
A woman dressed in traditional Iranian hijab withdraws money from an ATM machine, June 3, 2014.
A wax figure stands behind glass in a historic display in the bathhouse of the Fin Garden, June 3, 2014.
An Islamic Mullah and his daughter walk past a portrait of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, June 3, 2014.
A boy kicks up water in a public fountain near the Amir Chakhmaq Hosseinieh facade, June 1, 2014.
Plastic soccer balls hang from the ceiling in the Hyper Star market located in the new Isfahan City Center shopping mall, June 2, 2014.
A carpet vendor awaits customers at his shop in the Bazar-e Bozorg, June 2, 2014.
International sanctions have severely affected Iran's carpet industry.
A parakeet awaits customers in order to choose a "fortune" outside of the beloved Iranian poet Hafez's tomb, May 29, 2014.
Customers pay a handler for the bird to choose a piece of paper from a box with a verse of Hafez's poetry meant to give advice for future endeavors.
Farmer Abbas Hamamian works his wheat field, June 3, 2014.
He said he has owned the 4-hectare farm for 15 years, and this year's rains have been good for his crop.
Goats seek out grazing material at sunset, May 30, 2014.
Tombs of Achaemenid kings stand hewn into a cliff, May 30, 2014.
The ruins mark the burial sites of three kings from the 6th century BC Persian Achaemenid Empire, the largest empire the world had known up to that time, which was eventually ended by Alexander the Great.
A woman smokes a hookah while visiting a poetry calligraphy workshop, May 29, 2014.
Pilgrims pay tribute at the tomb of beloved Iranian poet Hafez.
Buses carrying pilgrims for ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the death of the Ayatollah Khomeini drive from the countryside towards Tehran, June 3, 2014.


text: For almost 50 years the Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy & Lettering has been a part of the San Francisco Public Library. Richard Harrison (1909-1990), a San Franciscan who loved calligraphy and was a lettering artist himself, began to acquire original works from noted English scribes in the 1950s. In 1963 he chose the library as a permanent home for his splendid collection, which became part of the Special Collections Department, now known as the Book Arts & Special Collections Center. Until the end of his life, Richard Harrison continued to add to and provide support for the collection which bears his name.In addition to original works by an international array of contemporary calligraphers, Richard Harrison also donated his many calligraphy books to the library. These form the basis of the current reference collection, which continues to grow through both purchase and donation, supporting the in-depth study of the history, art and craft of written forms. The collection includes facsimiles of famous illuminated manuscripts, including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells, and historical writing books from the sixteenth century to present day. Books on the history of the alphabet, the development of letter forms, the history of illumination and inscriptional lettering find a place here, as do exhibition catalogues, how-to manuals, and books on the lives and careers of individual lettering artists. Displayed is a selection of books chosen to illustrate the richness and variety of one of the San Francisco Public Library's unique reference collections.


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Following a Supreme Court deadlock, Costco beats Omega on remand by invoking the equitable doctrine of "copyright misuse"
While Omega S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corporation may not be the fashion law case of the year (or of immediately apparent relevance to anyone but intellectual property lawyers), a dispositive decision in Costco's favor, handed down last week by a California federal district court, could signal the blossoming of a little-used, but potentially powerful, equitable defense known as "copyright misuse." So, non-IP lawyers, kindly suck it up and pay attention -- or don't... but don't say I didn't warn you!
As regular readers of this blog know, most apparel and fashion accessories, like other material the federal courts have deemed to be "useful articles," are ineligible for copyright protection. That prohibition doesn't include jewelry, but it does include watches, much to luxury watch purveyor Omega's chagrin. As a result, Omega found itself unable to control the unauthorized importation of authentic watches that ended up in "undesirable" sales outlets like discount store Costco, selling at roughly 60% of regular retail prices.
Beginning in 2003, Omega cleverly "decided to affix a new copyrighted design to the reverse side of its watches to take advantage of the copyright law's importation limitations" (to quote from the District Court's November 9th decision; emphasis added.) Then, in 2004, it sued Costco for unauthorized importation of copyrighted material -- not the watches, per se, but rather the "Globe Design" on their reverse side:
While the design might have had aesthetic value of its own, Omega conceded during the litigation that at least one "purpose of the copyrighted Omega Globe Design was to control the importation and sale of its watches containing the design, as the watches could not be copyrighted."
The litigation trudged along throughout the mid- and late-aughts, first working its way from the District Court to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, then from the Ninth Circuit to the U.S. Supreme Court. SCOTUS agreed to hear the case in order to resolve a rather arcane legal question concerning the meaning and interaction of the Copyright Act's provisions on works "lawfully made under this title" (specifically, does that include goods first manufactured abroad?), unauthorized importation, and the so-called "first-sale" doctrine. (Alas, we'll have to save that discussion for another day.) But after the Justices tied, 4-4 (with Justice Kagan having recused herself), the case was remanded to the District Court, and each side moved for summary judgment.
Costco's motion for summary judgment was premised in part on a legal doctrine called "copyright misuse," which the Ninth Circuit described in 2010 as "an equitable defense to copyright infringement, the contours of which are still being defined." Costco's argument was, in essence, that (to quote the district court) "Omega misused its copyright of the Omega Globe Design by leveraging its limited monopoly [over that design, in the form of copyright protection, to] control the importation of that design to control the importation of its Seamaster watches."
The District Court acknowledged that judicial decisions applying the copyright misuse defense had previously "been limited to situations involving antitrust tying agreements and restrictive licensing agreements," but in the Court's view, this did not mean "copyright misuse could not exist in other situations." Indeed, as the District Court opined, the Ninth Circuit had "deliberately chose[n] a broad rule for copyright misuse so that the rule could be applied to new situations as they arose." The Court ruled that this was one such situation, meaning that Omega could no longer pursue its claims for copyright infringement.
Surprisingly, the District Court's decision finding that Omega had engaged in copyright misuse is only four pages long; courts typically write at much greater length when expressly expanding an existing legal doctrine. But the brief opinion won't be the last word on the subject. The parties have already spent a fortune on this litigation, and the District Court's decision is so potentially detrimental to Omega's efforts to "price-differentiate" based on region, that Omega will almost certainly appeal the recent decision to the Ninth Circuit, which will undoubtedly pontificate on the application of the copyright misuse doctrine to these facts at much greater length. [See update below.]
No, this isn't Louboutin v. YSL, but it could turn out to be a quietly groundbreaking decision, whose adoption -- or rejection -- by other courts should be closely monitored by companies in fashion (and other industries in which non-copyrightable goods are manufactured abroad and distribution channels are currently controlled via too-clever-for-their-own-good copyright hooks.) Check back with LAW OF FASHION ® to see how all of this pans out.
[UPDATE: The District Court's ruling on copyright misuse is now on appeal, though we shouldn't expect a Ninth Circuit ruling for months. Meanwhile, SCOTUS has granted cert in a case that should resolve key questions about the "first-sale doctrine" left unanswered by the deadlocked Court in Omega.]
[This post is for entertainment and informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship among any individuals or entities. Any views expressed in this post or at the linked web pages are those of the writer on a particular date, and should not necessarily be attributed to this writer, his law firm, or its clients.]


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Join NYPD's 13th Precinct for their December Community Council meeting.
The New York Police Department's 13th Precinct, which includes Union Square, welcomes the public every month to its Community Council meetings where guest speakers may be heard on a variety of topics and where public-safety concerns may be discussed directly with the precinct's Commanding Officer and Community Affairs Officers.
The Community Council provides a forum for community members to work with local police officers to address safety and quality of life issues.
13th Precinct Community Affairs: 212-477-7427


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Cleveland's Worker-Owned Boom
|In Cleveland's University Circle neighborhood, the university and hospitals invested in worker-owned enterprises that could supply them with such services as laundry and energy. Their investment also brings good paying jobs and a more stable economy to nearby neighborhoods. Photo courtesy The Cleveland Foundation
This June, the doors will open at the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, a state-of-the-art, nearly $6 million facility in Cleveland, Ohio.
What's so special about this laundry? In a word, ownership. The business will be 100 percent owned by its 50 employees, virtually all of whom live in the surrounding community. Life is tough in this neighborhood, where the poverty rate exceeded 30 percent and thousands of homes lay stripped and abandoned even before the current recession began.
In the midst of this urban distress, the Evergreen Laundry employee-owners will earn a living wage and health benefits. As members of the co-op, they will enjoy greater job security than workers at more traditional businesses, and, after seven years on the job, they will have built an ownership stake of as much as $65,000.
The laundry is the flagship of a wider network of Evergreen Cooperative businesses, part of an effort to transform the quality of life for Cleveland's low- and moderate-income residents.
While its planners—the Cleveland Foundation, the Ohio Employee Ownership Center at Kent State University, ShoreBank Enterprise and others—drew on experiences gained in cities around the country, the Evergreen initiative represents some important firsts. It is the first attempt to bring together the economic power of "anchor institutions"—universities and hospitals, in this case—that have a long-term commitment to the city. Instead of luring outside corporations with promises of tax breaks and lax standards for labor and environmental practices, the Evergreen strategy develops home-grown worker-owned enterprises that can offer ongoing services to these anchor institutions.
This represents the first significant effort to create green jobs that not only pay a decent wage, but also build assets and wealth for employees, since they are not only workers, but also owners. If successful, this initiative could become a national model.
Solar Cleveland
Later this summer, Ohio Cooperative Solar (OCS) will begin installing solar panels on the roofs of the city's biggest nonprofit health, education, and municipal buildings. These institutions will lease their roofs to the employee-owned energy co-op, and in turn will purchase electricity from OCS. Within a few years, OCS and its worker/owners will own and reap the income from the largest installation of solar panels in the Midwest. The long-term goal is to develop a workforce capable of carrying out similar installations throughout the state.
Another co-op will advance large-scale urban agriculture—something missing in an area that spends $7 billion on food shipped in from California, Arizona, and even Hawai'i.
Evergreen City Growers will build and operate a year-round hydroponic greenhouse located in the heart of Cleveland capable of producing more than 3 million heads of fresh lettuce and nearly 1 million pounds of basil per year. The company will employ about 50 local low-income residents.
That Cleveland may become a center of an innovative, green, wealth-sharing economy is especially remarkable because the city has been one of the hardest hit by the flight of capital and jobs. Cleveland was once home to major steel producers and auto-makers, and at its peak in 1950, it was the nation's fifth-largest city, with a population of 915,000.
Today, the population is 440,000 and falling. Cleveland is among the five poorest cities in America. There are at least 15,000 vacant buildings in the city and more than 3,300 acres of vacant land.
Is there a future for older industrial cities like Cleveland? That was the question Ronn Richard, president of the Cleveland Foundation, asked himself when he was appointed in 2003.
The answer, he and his colleagues concluded, lay in building on the city's most significant assets: the network of health care, higher education, and cultural "anchor institutions" that are a legacy of the city's once-strong manufacturing base. The university and hospitals are prominent among them.
These institutions together purchase many billions of dollars of goods and services, and they are among the only institutions still growing. Because they are rooted in place, they have a self-interest in ensuring their surrounding neighborhoods are safe, healthy, and vital communities.
"If we could work with these institutions, particularly in helping them focus their business and investment practices locally, we could create economic energy and opportunity for local residents," he says.
Thus was born the Greater University Circle Initiative, which includes the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, and a number of other health and cultural institutions in the city.
The Evergreen Cooperatives represents the Initiative's best bet for Cleveland's future, and other stakeholders are getting on board. Local foundations, hospitals, nursing homes, banks, a university, and City Hall are each investing in the Evergreen network of community- and worker-owned enterprises. These co-ops are structured to serve the anchor institutions' ongoing needs for laundry services, energy, food, janitorial services, records retention, and so on. The goal is to create jobs and wealth within the city, multiply the impact of local dollars by keeping them in the community, and regenerate the local economy, particularly in the city's most distressed neighborhoods.
Evergreen companies will hire and train employees from low- and moderate-income neighborhoods for jobs in the cooperative enterprises. A local nonprofit specializing in workforce development is recruiting workers through church and other networks. More than 90 neighborhood residents—some who have been laid off during the current recession, others who have been underemployed for years—attended the first community hiring meetings. Some of these men and women will become the first Evergreen employee-owners.
By linking green jobs to wealth creation, Evergreen is pioneering a new approach to organizing the green economy. After all, if green jobs are good, isn't a green job you "own" even better?
Green Jobs You Own
The Evergreen businesses are aptly named: all aim to be environmentally sustainable. The Evergreen Laundry, for instance, will be the greenest commercial-scale laundry in Northeast Ohio. The cooperative plans to construct its building to LEED silver certification standards, and it will use energy-efficient washing machines and dryers along with processes to reuse waste heat and water.
These green features give the cooperatives a competitive advantage. Most of the city's anchor institutions are committed to decreasing their carbon footprints, and doing business with the Evergreen enterprises will help them deliver on their goals.
These co-ops are a good start, but there are many people in Cleveland who need good, stable employment.
So the issue of "moving to scale" is central to Evergreens' economic development strategy. Put simply, how do you move from 50 jobs to 500, and then to 5,000?
Access to capital is the key to expanding impact. In Cleveland, the Evergreen Cooperative Development Fund was formed to provide seed financing for the next generations of worker cooperatives. The Fund is modeled in part on Spain's Caja Laboral bank, with initial funding from foundations. But as they grow, the Evergreen co-ops will be an increasingly important source of funding for other co-ops; each will dedicate at least 10 percent of their pre-tax profits to the Fund to help build the cooperative network.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson probably speaks for many mayors when he says: "In these tough economic times, our cities need not only good jobs, but ways for working people to build up their family assets and wealth. Why shouldn't all of our citizens have access to meaningful jobs in workplaces where they can own a piece of the company and participate in the company's direction?"
Matching words to deeds, this spring the mayor's Department of Economic Development became an "investor" in the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry with a low-interest loan of $1.5 million.
|Ted Howard, Steve Dubb, and Gar Alperowitz wrote this article as part of The New Economy, the Summer 2009 issue of YES! Magazine. Ted is the executive director of The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland. Steve is the senior research associate of The Democracy Collaborative. Gar is the Lionel Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland and the author of Unjust Deserts. The Democracy Collaborative worked with the Greater University Circle Initiative on the development and implementation of this economic development strategy. .


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Finding Legal Help
You are not required to hire an attorney, but legal matters can be complicated. Consider talking to an attorney to go over your options. See the Finding Legal Help page for information about free and low cost ways to get legal help.
Como encontrar ayuda legal
Usted no está obligado a contratar un abogado, pero los asuntos legales pueden ser complicados. Considere la posibilidad de hablar con un abogado para hablar de sus opciones. Para información sobre cómo obtener ayuda legal vea nuestra página Como encontrar ayuda legal.
Default Judgments
What is a Default Judgment?
Default means that a party has not answered in the time allowed. In most cases, the party will be the defendant (in some casetypes called the respondent) who has not answered. But a party who does not answer is in default regardless of the party designation. (For example, the petitioner has to answer the respondent's petition to modify a divorce decree. The party designations remain the same even though the positions change.)
A default judgment is the order entered in favor of the party who filed the complaint (in some casetypes called the petition).
Service, Proof of Service, Answer
The plaintiff (in some casetypes called the petitioner) must have the defendant served with the complaint and a summons. The summons directs the defendant how and when to answer the complaint. Proof of Service must be filed with the court. Service is governed by URCP 4. For more information and forms, see our webpage on Serving Papers.
If the defendant is served in Utah, they have 21 days after service in which to answer. If the defendant is served outside Utah, they have 30 days after service in which to answer. There are other ways in which a defendant can appear in a case - and so avoid a default judgment - without first filing an answer, but usually the defendant files an answer.
If the defendant has not answered or otherwise appeared within the time allowed after the complaint and summons are served, then the court can enter a default judgment. See Section 78B-3-208.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act creates special rights for service members. One of those rights is to protect against default judgments in civil cases that the service member may not be aware of.
Before the court can enter a default judgment in any civil case, the plaintiff must tell the court whether the defaulting party is in military service. If you knowingly make a false claim about a party's military service, you can be fined or imprisoned or both. Military service means active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard or called to active service in the reserves or National Guard.
The plaintiff must also describe the research they have done to conclude that the defendant is or is not in military service. If, after doing the research, the plaintiff is unable to determine whether the defendant is in military service, they can inform the court of that inability, again describing the research that was done.
If the judge is satisfied that the defendant is not in military service, the default judgment can proceed. If the defendant is in military service, the judge will vacate the default certificate and appoint a lawyer to represent the defendant. If the plaintiff is unable to determine whether the defendant is in military service, the judge can do one of three things:
- enter the default judgment and require plaintiff to post a bond to protect the defendant's rights;
- enter the default judgment and waive the bond; or
- deny the Motion for Default Judgment until more research is done.
If the defendant appears, there is no default, and the case can proceed, even if the defendant is in military service. For more information about the rights of service members in civil litigation, see our webpage on Lawsuits Involving Military Service Members.
Research to Determine Whether the Party is in Military Service
Some sources are more reliable than others in deciding whether a party is in military service, but there is no particular source that must be used. Even a plaintiff's personal knowledge about the defendant may be used. Whether the research is enough to convince the judge that the defendant is or is not in military service is entirely up to the judge.
A certificate from the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center is the preferred evidence of the party's military service status. Follow the instructions for identifying the person you are inquiring about. The more identifying information you can provide, the more definitive the certificate can be.
If you don't have the person's Social Security number, you may request by mail a manual search, using the date of birth of the individual instead of the SSN. You must send a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your mail request. Requests can take several weeks to process.
Defense Manpower Data Center
Attn: Military Verification
1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400
Arlington, VA 22209-2593
Phone: 703-696-6762 or -5790
Fax: 703-696-4156
Each branch of service has a military locator service. There is usually a fee. Requests can take several weeks to process.
- Air Force: 1-210-652-5775
- Army: 1-866-771-6357
- Coast Guard: 1-800-842-8740
- Marines: 1-703-640-3942/43
- Navy: 1-901-874-3388
If you knowingly make a false claim about a party's military service, you can be fined or imprisoned or both.
Asking for a Default Judgment
The steps to ask for a default judgment are:
- serve the complaint on the defendant;
- file proof of service;
- wait the time that the defendant has to appear;
- research whether the defendant is in military service; and
- file the forms required for asking for a default judgment.
Defendant Who is a Service Member
If the defendant is in military service and does not answer, the defendant is in default, and the plaintiff should take the steps to ask for a default judgment. In signing the Military Service Order, the judge will appoint a lawyer and enter a 90-day stay. A stay means that nothing will happen in the case until the stay is lifted.
The lawyer's job is to try to contact the service member and determine their wishes. If the lawyer cannot contact the service member, the default judgment can be entered at the end of the stay. Default judgments against service members can be vacated later.
If, after being contacted by the lawyer, the service member wants to waive their rights and consent to the judgment, the lawyer will file the waiver and consent forms. The service member is no longer in default, so the default certificate will be vacated, and a judgment by consent will be entered.
If, after being contacted by the lawyer, the service member wants to contest the case, they may waive their rights and file an answer, in which case the default certificate will be vacated, and the case will proceed in the normal course. If the service member wants to claim their rights, they can ask for a stay to be entered for as long as military service materially affects the service member's ability to appear and defend the case.
Notice of Judgment
A default judgment must follow the complaint exactly. The judge cannot make any findings about things not alleged in the complaint. The court cannot grant any relief not asked for in the complaint. This website has a judgment form for some types of cases. If there is a form, follow the instructions for using it. Or write your own judgment for the judge to sign.
After the judge signs the judgment, plaintiff must serve a copy of it on the other parties in the case, even the party who is in default.
Small Claims
Everything stated here applies in small claims cases, except that in small claims cases the defendant does not file an answer. The defendant defaults by not appearing at the trial. In small claims cases, the plaintiff can research whether the defendant is in military service and prepare the forms before trial, to be ready in case the defendant does not appear. Or the plaintiff can do the research and prepare the forms afterwards and file them with the judicial services representative.
Setting Aside a Judgment
A judgment can be set aside if there are good enough reasons for doing so. If a default judgment is set aside, the case is reopened, the defendant must answer the complaint, and the case proceeds normally from there. A military service member has special rights to set aside a default judgment. See our Motion to Set Aside Judgment page for more information and forms.
Military Service Declaration Forms
Forms to Request a Default Judgment
- Checklist - PDF | Word
- Proof of Service
- Motion for Default Certificate - PDF | Word
- Default Certificate - PDF | Word
- Military Service Declaration - PDF | Word
- Military Service Order - PDF | Word
- Motion for Default Judgment - PDF | Word
- Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order (If you are preparing your own document, it may include findings and conclusions only on the matters you alleged in your Complaint/Petition. If the court website has a form, use the form and follow the instructions provided in that section of the website.)
- Request to Submit for Decision - PDF | Word
- Notice of Judgment - PDF | Word
Related Information
- Answering a Complaint or Petition
- Department of Defense Manpower Data Center
- Fee Waiver
- Fees
- Filing Procedures
- Finding an Attorney
- Flowchart of the Service Member Attorney Volunteer Program - PDF
- Free Legal Clinics
- Going to Court
- Hill Air Force Base information about SCRA
- Lawsuits Involving Military Service Members
- Mediation
- Rule of Civil Procedure 55. Default.
- Rules of Civil Procedure
- Service Member Attorney Volunteers
- Service Members Civil Relief Act Fact Sheet - PDF
- Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) - PDF
- Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Judge's Guide - PDF
- Serving Papers
The Utah State Courts mission is to provide the people an open, fair, efficient, and independent system for the advancement of justice under the law.


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SV Call for Proposals
You are here
The Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS) is now installed in its new home on the Gemini North telescope and commissioning activities are well under way. Therefore, we invite the Gemini community to propose System Verification (SV) programs for GNIRS. Twelve nights of time are reserved for SV, nominally eight in semester 2010B and four in 2011A. Proposal submissions are due no later than MIDNIGHT, OCTOBER 25, 2010, Hawaii time (i.e., 1 minute after 11:59 p.m. on Oct 25).
System Verification is the final step of GNIRS testing prior to general use of the instrument by the Gemini community. It is intended to be "end-to-end" testing, verifying the readiness of the entire system from observation definition to data reduction (using the GNIRS IRAF data reduction package). It is also intended to exercise the various modes of the instrument and demonstrate to the community, through interesting and challenging science programs, the potential of the GNIRS instrument on Gemini North.
SV proposals will be evaluated by members of the GNIRS Science Team with input from the Gemini Science Committee. Recommended programs will be forwarded to the Gemini Director for approval. It is intended that the SV programs span a wide range of targets and types of observations. SV teams will be responsible for providing written, in depth assessments of SV observations and mode verification within two months of data acquisition. The data obtained during SV will be made available to the international Gemini community after a two-month proprietary period and the assessments of the PI's team will be published on the Gemini SV web pages. Community participation will help ensure that Gemini with GNIRS is a success from the first date of scheduled observations in Semester 2011A.
GNIRS is a versatile instrument with several observing configurations, including long slit spectroscopy from 1 to 5 microns and cross-dispersed spectroscopy from 0.9 to 2.5 microns. Each form of spectroscopy can be used with two pixel scales and a variety of slit widths, and thus a range of spectral resolutions. GNIRS also can be used without or with Adaptive Optics (AO), and the AO can be provided either by a Natural Guide Star (NGS) or the Laser Guide star (LGS). Note that LGSAO has more restrictive telescope elevation limits than other types of observations.
All GNIRS observing modes will be considered for SV time allocations. We have divided the GNIRS observation types into the eight categories listed in the table below and we expect that at least one program from each category will be selected. Please note that:
- Not every combination of grating and wavelength region will be observed in SV.
- The resolving powers in the table are those for the narrowest (2-pixel wide) slits, but wider slits (resulting in lower values of R) may be used.
- Angular resolutions achievable with AO are currently limited to ~0.15 arcsec. Proposals that require either LGSAO or NGSAO should take this into account.
- During the remainder of Semester 2010B we expect that GNIRS will be used to obtain data for high ranking 2010B NIRI spectroscopy programs that have been jeopardized by the recent mechanical problems with NIRI. As these largely involve non-AO spectroscopy in the 1-2.5 micron region at low resolution (categories 5 and 6 in the table), we anticipate that those configurations will be well used and we expect to allocate significantly less time to SV proposals seeking those kinds of data than to SV proposals requesting data in other categories.
- With eight categories to be tested and twelve nights of queue time available, the average available time per category is ~18 hours in each of the categories 1 - 4, 7, and 8, and ~6 hours each in categories 5 and 6. This assumes 10 observable hours of science time per night, which may be optimistic. Proposals requesting considerably more than 6 hours of science time in either category 5 or 6, or considerably more than 18 hours of science time in any of the other categories, are likely to be rejected.
|Long slit
or XDisp?
|Pix Scale
|0.9-2.5 µm
|10 or 32
|1800 or 6000
|H or K
|10, 32, or 111
|1800, 6000, or 18,000
|X, J, H, or K
|L or M
|18,000 or 12,000(M)
|32 or 111
|1800 or 6000
|X, J, H, or K
|32 or 111
|1800 or 6000
|L or M
|6000 or 4000(M)
It is expected that SV observations will take place between December 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011. Targets should have RAs between 23 hrs and 16 hrs (i.e., 23, 0, 1, ..., 16) and Declinations greater than -37 degrees. Programs will be selected to cover a variety of targets, wavelengths, and observing conditions. While we are interested in pushing GNIRS to its faintest limits, and we are hopeful for good weather, projects that can be done in CC70 (thin clouds) and IQ85 conditions (poor seeing) are also needed. For the long-slit observations, both point sources and extended objects, and both near-infrared (1-2.5µm) and thermal (3-5µm) observations are desired.
By submitting a SV program the proposers are agreeing to the following.
- There is no guarantee that the program will be observed.
- The PI will provide reduced data to Gemini for public release within two months of the completion of the SV program.
- The proprietary period for SV data is two months.
- Selection for SV is based in part on the abilities of the proposers to reduce the data and return feedback within a reasonable time. The proposers must include a statement as to their data reduction plans, e.g., in the technical section of the proposal. Proposers may use other data reduction tools in addition to the GNIRS package.
To submit a program, use the 2011A Phase I tool and include observing constraints, target lists, and instrument configuration information. Be sure to click the SV button on the "Submit" page. Submit the proposal BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010, HAWAII TIME.
Scientific justifications must be less than 1000 words and must clearly state which modes are being tested. The technical justification should be sufficiently complete within its 1000 word limit that that feasibility can be assessed easily.
PIs will be informed of the results of the selection process by November 10, 2010, and Phase II (using the Observing Tool) for selected programs will need to be completed by December 1. Gemini scientists will assist PIs in completing Phase II.
More information about GNIRS and its capabilities can be found in the GNIRS web pages, and in particular the gratings/cameras page and the ITC and the Sensitivity Table. Please feel free to contact us with questions or comments. We look forward to hearing from you and reading your proposals!
Tom Geballe and Rachel Mason
GNIRS Instrument Scientists
Gemini Observatory


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Is there an algorithm to check if a given (possibly nonlinear) function f is always positive?
The idea that I currently have is to find the roots of the function (using newton-raphson algorithm or similar techniques, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root-finding_algorithm) and check for derivatives, or finding the minimum of f, but they don't seems to be the best solution to this problem, also there are a lot of convergence issues with root finding algorithms.
For example, in Maple, function verify can do this, but I need to implement it in my own program. Maple Help on verify: http://www.maplesoft.com/support/help/Maple/view.aspx?path=verify/function_shells Maple example: assume(x,'real'); verify(x^2+1,0,'greater_than' ); --> returns true, since for every x we have x^2+1 > 0
Mirror question on stack-exchange: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10625585/an-algorithm-for-checking-if-a-nonlinear-function-f-is-always-positive
[edit] Some background on the question: The function $f$ is the right hand-side differential nonlinear model for a circuit. A nonlinear circuit can be modeled as a set of ordinary differential equations by applying modified nodal analysis (MNA), for sake of simplicity, let's consider only systems with 1 dimension, so $x' = f(x)$ where $f$ describes the circuit, for example $f$ can be $f(x) = 10x - 100x^2 + 200x^3 - 300x^4 + 100x^5$ ( A model for nonlinear tunnel-diode) or $f=10 - 2sin(4x)+ 3x$ (A model for josephson junction).
$x$ is bounded and $f$ is only defined in interval $[a,b] \in R$. $f$ is continuous. I can also make an assumption that $f$ is Lipschitz with Lipschitz constant L>0, but I don't want to unless I have to.


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- In Alerts 2010
- Post 28 April 2010
- Last Updated on 28 March 2013
On April 15, news media broadcast the first of three live, 90-minute "prime ministerial debates" between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, the leaders, respectively, of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. By the end of the second debate on April 22, the word 'Iraq' had been mentioned a total of five times over the course of the three hours of discussion.
One day later, April 23, a wave of bombings in Baghdad were reported to have killed 58 people and wounded more than 100. Seven people also died that day in a series of bombings in the western town of Khalidya. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8639223.stm)
As usual, the carnage was mentioned in passing - presented as routine in the way of a traffic snarl on the M25 - and then forgotten. By the end of the following day, the death toll had risen to 85 with hundreds seriously wounded from a total of 16 bomb attacks.
Over the previous week, the BBC reported, "US and Iraqi forces said they had killed three al-Qaeda leaders". For our media, there never has been an indigenous nationalist resistance movement opposing the illegal occupation of Iraq, just "al-Qaeda". (In Afghanistan they're called "Taliban". In an earlier time they would both have been labelled "Communists") Iraq under Obama is still very much at war and very much under occupation.
Also on April 23, the World Socialist Web Site published an interview with Iraq war veteran Josh Stieber, whose infantry company can be seen in the harrowing "Collateral Murder" video posted by WikiLeaks showing a July 2007 US massacre of civilians, including two Reuters staff, in Baghdad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0). Stieber commented:
"When I started to see the way the video was framed and the discussion flowing from it, I guess I was surprised too at how extreme it was made out to be. Coming from my background, I can see why the common viewer could see it as pretty extreme, but for me it wasn't really anything out of the ordinary." (http://www.wsws.org/articles/ 2010/apr2010/stie-a23.shtml)
He continued:
"One policy that we had that was fairly similar or even more extreme than this was that if a roadside bomb went off then we were supposed to shoot anyone standing in that area. So it pretty much got to the point that the philosophy was to out-terrorize the terrorists. We were told that we needed to make the local population more afraid of us, so that maybe if they see someone trying to plant a bomb they'll try and stop them rather than having to face whatever we might do afterwards."
Stieber was asked if an aim of his training was to dehumanise the Iraqi people:
"Yes, this was a definite part of it. We'd have battle cries like 'Kill them all, and let God sort them out.' They'd have us sing very dehumanizing songs as we were marching around, talking about killing women and children. There were so many things that were designed to eat away at your common humanity and to stop you from thinking in those terms."
Yesterday, the BBC reported that an officer of the regiment detaining Baha Mousa, a Basra hotel worker who was tortured and beaten to death by British troops, said his soldiers held the view that "all Iraqis were scum".
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ apr/27/baha-mousa-inquiry-soldiers)
In the first prime ministerial debate, Iraq was mentioned twice, in passing, both times by David Cameron. He noted that "over the last decade... we have had the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" and "We brought in helicopters from Iraq." (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi /pdfs/16_04_10_firstdebate.pdf) That was the sum total of mentions in the discussion.
In the second debate, ostensibly on foreign policy, Iraq was mentioned three times in all, each time by Nick Clegg, who said:
"We shouldn't be facing allegations of complicity in torture, we shouldn't have invaded Iraq." (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/ pdfs/23_04_10_seconddebate.pdf)
Clegg added:
"Clearly, the principle of the reason why we went into Afghanistan, why I supported our mission in Afghanistan, unlike the illegal invasion in Iraq, is to keep us safe."
Clegg also argued the need to "equip our troops so they don't get so terribly overstretched, as they were in fighting two wars on two fronts in Iraq and in Afghanistan".
It is easy to become desensitised by the lack of sincerity, honesty and moral concern in the mainstream - even Clegg's level of dissent can seem impressive. But in the five years since the last UK general election, Iraq has continued to be torn to shreds - four million refugees continue to live in traumatised exile and misery, afforded negligible media coverage. Iraq is one of the great criminal acts and human disasters of modern times. Gordon Brown - who, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, wrote the cheques to fund the war - is directly responsible. David Cameron is also deeply complicit. While it is true that the Liberal Democrats opposed the war, they discontinued that opposition the moment British troops began fighting. By any reasonable standard, Clegg's unwillingness to seriously address these issues was shocking.
During the second debate, the three leaders were asked: "Given our involvement in Afghanistan, if there is another multinational operation to remove Al-Qaeda or another terrorist group from a failed state, would the UK participate?"
Revealing everything about what would be in store if he gained power, Clegg followed up on his comment that Britain had intervened in Afghanistan "to keep us safe":
"So, from that principle, if we need to do that again, we should."
Brown responded:
"To keep the streets safe in Britain, we have to take on Al-Qaeda wherever it is."
Cameron was more evasive:
"I would want to think very carefully what's in the national interest, what will make us safer here in the United Kingdom?"
He waffled about the need "to plan properly" and to use the "proper equipment" - clearly, the answer, again, was 'Yes'.
Clegg then responded to Brown and Cameron's comments:
"I think everyone is agreed that if we were to do this again, which is Stuart's question, we need to make sure that we've got the right equipment, the right resources." After all, "then maybe you can equip our troops so they don't get so terribly overstretched".
The pragmatic concern, then, in the wake of the limitless havoc we have unleashed on Iraq and Afghanistan, is the risk of overstretch and lack of resources. This is the familiar psychopathology of a political establishment for which the Western monopoly on high-tech violence is just too valuable to be seriously challenged.
Afghanistan was mentioned 19 times in the first debate, 31 times in the second. The words 'civilian' and 'casualty' or 'casualties' were not mentioned in either discussion. There was not a single reference to civilian suffering in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
All three leaders were of course tireless in praising "our very, very courageous servicemen and servicewomen" (Clegg), "our dedicated forces, our professional forces" (Brown), "the bravery of our forces... you're just blown away by the professionalism of these people." (Cameron) All were keen to emphasise that they had been to Afghanistan.
But the indifference to the suffering of our civilian victims exposes the lie of the alleged concern for "our forces". Journalist and comedian Mark Steel explained:
"(A)nyone who is deeply moved by one set of tragedies while ignoring, and even justifying, those on the other side, in reality is not genuinely touched by either. It's just an arm of their propaganda." (Mark Steel, 'What's Going On?', Simon & Schuster, 2008, p.25)
Battle Of The Body Language
The lack of honest discussion is par for the political course. In the first three weeks of campaigning for the 2001 general election, the communications research centre at Loughborough University found that there had been "little sign of real issues" in media election coverage, where "few issues make the news" (Peter Golding, 'When what is unsaid is the news,' The Guardian, May 28, 2001). Issues like the environment, foreign policy, poverty and defence were "all but invisible" (Golding, email to David Edwards, June 10, 2001), following the pattern of the 1997 and 1992 elections.
Even after the carnage in Iraq, after it had become obvious that Tony Blair and other senior Labour leaders had lied in order to manipulate the British public into supporting war, Iraq comprised just 8 per cent of media reporting during the 2005 election campaign, as compared to 44 per cent for "electoral process", 7 per cent for "asylum" and 5 per cent for "taxation". (See David Deacon et al, 'Reporting the 2005 U.K. General Election,' Communication Research Centre, Loughborough University, August 2005)
The indifference is a sign, not of national unity or political consensus, but of a form of political oppression. As even the liberal intellectual Timothy Garton Ash writes in the Guardian of the three main UK political parties, "the differences between them on international affairs are astonishingly small".
Nevertheless, given the collapse in mainstream political credibility, the media is naturally keen to hype the prospect of imminent radical change. Nick Clegg is the big story following his confident performance in the first prime ministerial debate. A Guardian editorial declared in response: "All change for new politics":
"Get used to it. The whole 2010 general election changed on the night of Thursday 15 April. It may now stay changed until polling day... politics has changed. There is a new electoral reality. And about time too. And doesn't it actually feel rather good?
The Times agreed:
"The spark provided by Nick Clegg on Thursday night has become a fire that has set the general election campaign alight and changed the political landscape. People who think of themselves as anti-politics are now expressing a keen interest in what are very much political issues."
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment /leading_article/article7102182.ece)
Will Hutton wrote in the Observer: "This is becoming an epic and crucially important general election." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree /2010/apr/25/proportional-representation-voting-will-hutton)
An April 16 Independent leader came closer to the truth:
"Mr Cameron's uncharacteristically stiff and nervous performance left Mr Brown unchallenged in appearing prime ministerial..."
The nonsense about "appearing prime ministerial" indicating that "the new electoral reality" was more a matter of style than substance, as Garton Ash acknowledged:
"The eyes have it. And the nose. And the hand gestures, the body language, the way you look into the television camera, the perception of a less-known newcomer challenging the 'old parties': everything, in fact, except the detail of your policies... this week will be less about what they say than about how they say it."
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/ commentisfree/2010/apr/21/questions-leaders-britains-role-world)
As ever, then, we have elections, but little genuine politics. More sobering still, elite Westminster School and Cambridge University-educated Clegg "isn't an outsider at all", Seumas Milne notes in the Guardian: "Along with what he calls the 'old parties', the Liberal Democrats are an integral part of the political establishment, in Westminster and across Britain. Personally, Clegg is part of the free-market 'Orange Book' right of his party, which overlaps heavily with the dominant New Labour and Cameron wings of the other two main parties."
The Orange Book (Profile Books, 2004), to which Clegg contributed, called for the Lib Dems to shift to a more pro-market agenda promoting less state regulation. Milne continued:
"There is already a three-party coalition in support of cuts, privatisation and the war in Afghanistan, as last week's debate showed, which doesn't reflect public opinion."
This cross-party consensus clashes mightily with the fact that 64 per cent of British people think the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable and the fact that 63 per cent want all British troops withdrawn by the end of the year.
Alas, Milne - the elite Winchester College and Oxford University-educated son of former BBC director general Alasdair Milne - is himself no "outsider". Former Guardian journalist Jonathan Cook notes that Milne is one of just four "dissenting voices" writing in the mainstream: "in Britain's supposedly leftwing media we can find one writer working for the Independent (Fisk), one for the New Statesman (Pilger) and two for the Guardian (Milne and Monbiot). Only Fisk, we should further note, writes regular news reports. The rest are given at best weekly columns in which to express their opinions."
Moreover, "none of these admirable writers - with the exception of Pilger - choose or are allowed to write seriously about the dire state of the mainstream media they serve".
Milne can protest political indifference to public opinion all he likes, but he is not free to discuss the extent to which his newspaper, and he himself, is "an integral part of the political establishment" - token gestures aside, that debate is simply not allowed.
Liberal intellectuals build whole careers boldly declaring what +must+ be done to put the world to rights, while blithely ignoring the fact that their own work bolsters a media system that consigns their words to utter irrelevance. The bolstering effect of this handful of dissidents is huge, as media managers are well aware. Cook notes of Robert Fisk: "All the evidence is that the Independent might have folded were it not for his inclusion in the news and comment pages. Fisk appears to be one of the main reasons people buy the Independent". Indeed "the editors realised that most of the hits on the paper's website were for Fisk's articles".
At election time, analysis of prime ministerial bearing is fine, but issues that should clearly be at the heart of any rational discussion are nowhere to be found.
There is no serious analysis of the tectonic interface between the giant global corporations that control the economy and the handful of parties that control politics. There is no exploration of the formal and informal ties and alliances that bind these parties with the state-corporate establishment. After all, why +do+ the main parties offer such similar policies on the big issues? Why +do+ voters consistently have no option in choosing parties opposed to waging war on "failed states" at the behest of the United States? Why are we restricted to such an obviously pre-filtered set of choices despite the equally obvious dissatisfaction of the overwhelming majority of the population? How do powerful elites manage to ensure that they retain control no matter who wins? What is the role of the corporate media in preventing the public from interfering with corporate control of society?
The excellent New Left Project website recently posed a question to us and several other commentators:
"Events in recent years have seen the left's analysis vindicated - in practical and moral terms - on the major questions of the era: from foreign policy to economics to climate change. Yet there is no serious left alternative at the coming elections capable of winning the contest and forming a government. In practical terms, what can we do in the absence of that alternative, in the here and now? And what can be done to build such an alternative for future elections?" (http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/ article_comments/election_roundtable/)
We responded:
"The only way to develop a space in which non-corporate, dissident movements can grow is by undermining the authority and prestige of the corporate media - particularly 'liberal' false friends such as the BBC, the Guardian and the Independent - and by empowering non-corporate media communicating facts and ideas that are so consistently excluded.
"How futile it is to pour time and energy into building green, anti-war and human rights movements while ignoring the massive corporate media system that has evolved to render those movements irrelevant. The internet has changed so much - with the input of even tiny resources (by mainstream, and even left, standards), organisations like Democracy Now!, Real News and Media Lens could have a serious impact and open a door through which progressive movements and even parties could move and flourish. Change is possible - but this unprecedented opportunity is currently being missed on the left."
This is even more obvious to us now than it was when we started Media Lens nearly nine years ago. The corporate media continue to have a (somewhat attenuated) stranglehold on what can and cannot become widely known, on what is or is not politically possible. In the age of the internet, it really doesn't have to be this way. The stranglehold can and must be broken by public support for non-corporate media alternatives.
The goal of Media Lens is to promote rationality, compassion and respect for others. If you do write to journalists, we strongly urge you to maintain a polite, non-aggressive and non-abusive tone.
Write to Seumas Milne
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Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian
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Simon Kelner, acting editor of the Independent
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ALEX Toys Rub a Dub Paint in the Tub Finger Painting Kit
by ALEX Toys
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These soapy finger paints are sure to make bath time fun as kids create sudsy works of art on their body or the bathtub. Includes 5 colors of soapy finger paint, a fish-shaped sponge for clean up and a hand-shaped palette to hold the paints. Safe, clean and fun for kids.
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2013 NAIA Women?s Soccer Players of the Week ? No. 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Karly Linton of Spring Arbor (Mich.) has been named the NAIA National Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week and teammate Sarah Yancer has been tabbed National Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday. Linton and Yancer, who were selected based on their performances from Sept. 9 – 15, are the first teammate to claim National Player of the Week honors in the same week since Megan Marshall and Kristin Perrine of Indiana Wesleyan on Sept. 7, 2010.
Linton, a midfielder from Midland, Mich., scored four times – two game-winning goals – in three victories last week for Spring Arbor. After opening the week with a goal in the Cougars' 4-2 victory at Concordia (Mich.) on Sept. 10, the senior netted arguably her most important goal of the young season in the 98th minute against then-No. 5 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.). The golden-goal score secured the upset victory for Spring Arbor. Linton wrapped up her stellar week with two goals and an assist against St. Francis (Ill.). The performance marked her second multi-goal outing of the season. Linton, a 2012 NAIA All-America selection, ranks second nationally in game winning goals (4) and seventh in total goals (9).
Yancer, a sophomore goalkeeper from Freeland, Mich., allowed no goals while making 15 saves in 252 minutes in net for the Cougars. She registered her first shutout of the season with eight saves in Spring Arbor's 1-0 overtime victory over Olivet Nazarene. Yancer then anchored the Cougars in their third team shutout of the season against St. Francis with a six-save effort in 77 minutes of action. She has compiled a 1.44 goals against average through eight matches.
For a complete list of all the national statistical leaders, click here.
The next NAIA National Women's Soccer Players of the Week will be announced Sept. 24.
Offensive Nominees: Bridget Steiner, Park (Mo.); Lauren Cantin, Montreat (N.C.); Alise Hildreth, Soka (Calif.); Florence Dadson, Robert Morris (Ill.); Shayna Petterson, San Diego Christian (Calif.); Maddie Michalek, Hastings (Neb.); Krista Hooper, Baker (Kan.); Kenya Renteria, Sterling (Kan.); Kari Kowalski, Point Park (Pa.); Schuyler Jones, Shawnee State (Ohio); Sarah McGuire, College of Saint Mary (Neb.) (Neb.); Mariana De Luca, AIB (Iowa); Hannah Langseth, Jamestown (N.D.); Teegan Luckemeyer, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas); Allison Worsham, Oklahoma City; Liene Vaciete, Emmanuel (Ga.); Sara Mira, St. Thomas (Fla.); Lizzie Paul, Davenport (Mich.).
Defensive Nominees: Lindsay Taylor, Benedictine-Springfield (Ill.); Kelly Limon, Montreat (N.C.); Brenna Quinn, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.); Danielle Robinson, Eastern Oregon; Abi Yanke, Westminster (Utah); Lauren Terry, Vanguard (Calif.); Kelly Poland, Hastings (Neb.); Stephanie Gartner, Avila (Mo.); Shea Poynter, Friends (Kan.); Angie Abel, Point Park (Pa.); Emily Kuehn, Shawnee State (Ohio); Ashley Wohlers, College of Saint Mary (Neb.) (Neb.); Morgan Buzzell, Grand View (Iowa); Victoria Vazquez, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas); Haylee Merrill, St. Gregory's (Okla.); Aisling Dyer, Martin Methodist (Tenn.); Rebekka Gisladottir, Embry-Riddle (Fla.); Jordan Roell, Indiana Tech.
2013 National Women's Soccer Players of the Week (Offensive; Defensive)
Week 1 (Sept. 10): Florence Dadson, Robert Morris (Ill.); Brittany Toth, Hastings (Neb.)
Week 2 (Sept. 17): Karly Linton, Spring Arbor (Mich.); Sarah Yancer, Spring Arbor (Mich.)


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Embracing Differences between Yourself and Others for Clear Communication
Instead of seeing different ways of communicating as a barrier, view them as a bridge. When you show that you're receptive to other people's way of communicating, that you value their point of view, and that you recognise that differences can lead to deeper levels of understanding, you're onto a winner.
People feel that you care about them and what's important to them when you leave judgement and criticism at the door. When you focus not only on what they're saying and how they're delivering their message, but on what they're not saying as well – the underlying message behind the words – you show that you're interested in them enough to take the time and make the effort to appreciate their viewpoint.


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Doris Roberts Loves Post-Raymond Life
Mar 24, 2006 3:00 AM EST
After nine years and four Emmy wins! as Everybody Loves Raymond's exasperating Marie, Doris Roberts decided to mix things up a bit. She returned to the big screen in the semi-raunchy Grandma's Boy, then switched from tickling funny bones to wa… Read more


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Latest News
China says higher military spending is needed to keep the peace
China's plans to increase its military spending by 12.2 percent this year, a boost over 2013, will surely agitate some neighbors but please Chinese nationalists who want their country to assert itself as a dominant Asian power.
The jump in military spending, announced Wednesday on the first day of the National People's Congress in Beijing, comes amid a war of words between Japan and China over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Relations between the trading partners have soured, and some analysts fear that a maritime mishap could spiral into full-blown war.
China spends less per capita on defense than the United States and many other countries do, but it's steadily built up its armed forces, even as its economic growth has slowed. Last year, the world's largest nation spent 10.7 percent of its budget on the military. This year's 12.2 percent increase means that China will spend nearly 808 billion yuan, or nearly $132 billion, on defense, although many experts think the true figure is higher. For comparison, the U.S. Defense Department budget for this year is about $600 billion.
Denny Roy, who specializes in Asia security issues for the East-West Center in Honolulu, said the hike in military spending "will reinforce the image of China being 'assertive,' of preparing to force its will upon some of its neighbors."
Roy noted that Chinese leaders chafe at this kind of perception, arguing they're just building a military that's proportional to China's size and global interests. "But countries with strategic disagreements with China, particularly Japan, the USA and some of the Southeast Asian countries, will continue to ask what is the compelling need on China's part," Roy said in an email exchange with McClatchy.
All this week, the Chinese government has sent mixed messages about the need for its military buildup _ which is gaining increasing scrutiny, at home and abroad _ as the nation holds the line on other government spending. China is expecting a growth rate in its gross domestic product this year of 7.5 percent, the same as the target last year.
Speaking in the Great Hall of the People, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said "the Chinese people love peace and cherish development, and China needs a long-term stable international environment for its modernization."
Yet earlier in his speech Li talked about the need to "build China into a maritime power."
"We will strengthen national defense mobilization and the reserve forces, place water preparations on a regular footing and enhance border, coastal and air defenses," Li said, speaking before roughly 3,000 delegates. President Xi Jinping and other top government leaders sat behind him.
The same day Li spoke, the state-run China Daily newspaper published a provocative interview with a top Chinese military adviser. The adviser, Qian Lihua, a major general and a former head of the Defense Ministry's Foreign Affairs Office, said conflict with neighboring countries couldn't be ruled out, with Japan as a particular problem.
"Japan has lost its direction, and has been taken advantage of by right-wing forces to challenge the international order created after World War II," Qian was quoted as saying.
Friction between Japan and other Asian countries has intensified during the administration of Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe, a politician with a history of making statements insensitive to nations that were victims of Japan's past war crimes. The mounting tensions prompted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to visit South Korea and China last month. Top State Department officials remain concerned about the potential for conflict.
"I do not believe that any party seeks armed conflict in the East China Sea," Daniel R. Russel, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said in testimony to a Senate Foreign Affairs subcommittee Tuesday. "But unintended incidents or accidents may lead to an escalation of tensions or a tit-for-tat exchange that could escalate."
While the meeting of the National People's Congress is largely a ceremonial affair, the annual "work plan" speech by the premier is watched closely for signs of China's growth plans and priorities, much as the State of the Union address is tightly parsed in the United States.
Much of Li's speech was devoted to China's economic reforms _ the transition to a consumer economy with less dependence on exports and heavy industry. He also noted China's myriad challenges, ranging from air pollution to insufficient services for the elderly to, more recently, domestic terrorism.
The session started with a moment of silence for the 29 people killed and 140 injured Saturday in an organized knife attack in the south China city of Kunming. Li broke from his prepared text to say, "We will firmly crack down on all violent crimes of terrorism as they violate the dignity of law."
Authorities have blamed the Kunming bloodbath on assailants from a far western region of China, Xinjiang, which is home to millions of Uighur people, one of China's many ethnic minorities.
Following the speech, a delegate from Yunnan province said she welcomed stronger government efforts to weed out terrorists such as those who'd attacked Kunming, which is Yunnan's capital. The delegate _ Yang Jinsong, a member of the Naxi ethnic group _ compared the shock of the attack to what the United States experienced after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"Just like Americans, we the Chinese will definitely make big progress on anti-terrorism as well," said Yang, standing outside the Hall of the People bedecked in a Naxi robe with a beaded headpiece. "We will collaborate with American people and people around the world to fight against such actions."
McClatchy special correspondent Tiantian Zhang contributed to this report.


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Cross Edge Dash
Xbox 360
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In a world where dreams and nightmares become reality, a band of powerful warriors from across dimensions must come together to stop their worlds from being consumed by evil incarnate. Harness the power of characters from such series as Disgaea, Ar tonelico, and DarkStalkers! Utilize the dynamic battle system to unleash powerful special skills and team combos, and choose your destiny!
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In case you've been living under a rock and having seen Google's announcement of Go here's a tip - it's designed by Ken Thompson. Ring any bells? He's the guy who along with Dennis Richie created this little thing called Unix (which virtually every one of the top 100 supercomputers in the world as well as at least half of the Smartphone market runs variants of) and another little thing call the C language. Yes, most every other language was either based on C or used parts of it. Even today Linux is written in C. Had Go just been yet another beta project from Google I wouldn't have paid attention but if Ken says there was a need for a new language then I'm going to take it serious.
Here's the link - golang.org. Since I've just started playing with it I can't tell you if it's any good or not. I also can't tell you whether it's worth learning or not since I don't know the answer to that yet. I will however, tell you that I'm going to play with it and depending on my thoughts I may or may not dedicate a sectin of this site to it. At first glance it looks like compiled Python. Anyway here's how to install it for x86_64 on Ubuntu 10.10.


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I received the following from Anil on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 15:01 ET. I've also made minor spelling and grammar corrections and have tried my best to fill in missing words. I've added hyperlinks where I thought they might help.
Anil Menon, MD is a clinical instructor at Stanford School of Medicine focused on surgery and emergency medicine. His research interests are Aerospace Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Wilderness Medicine. He graduated from Stanford Med in 2006, received a degree in mechanical engineering in 2003 and became a full ER doctor in 2009. He has practiced medicin in combat in Afghanistan and will be practicing aerospace medicine next year at NASA. Menon is a flight surgeon assigned to the 173rd Fighter Wing (F-15s) of the Oregon Air National Guard, and he's part of a team sent to Haiti by Stanford.
This entire series is chronicled under the HaitiDrDispatch tag


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Okay so the TV show called "transparent" is about a transsexual parent highlighting social issues and struggles that trans people and lgbt's have to go through. That is the cover-story. But something tells you there is something deeper under the surface, that they are hiding between their legs.
I was half watching TV with my friend, and I hear this deep voice. There's a lot of talk about money and "the family". Sounds like a gangster movie. I expect to see this male gangster like Al Pacino or something, instead what I get is a tranny. I'm like what? This tranny has a deeper voice than the Joker and sounds way less effiminate. And I realize the show I'm watching is transparent.
So I'm watching the show with my friends, and it's basically a show that's about nothing but sex. And it feels like it was made by a troll in the way it's made. All the characters are jews. All of them. And they all act like a dysfunctional rich family and stereotypical obnoxious jews. It's like how in Rugrats everybody's a jew. Like on the surface your'e supposed to believe the show is pro-jew, when its actually making fun of jews.
So im watching and watching, and the show is just so damn empty. Everything in the show is about either sex, or their dysfunctional family. Like when you watch the show it's like looking at a bunch of hipsters looking at a black hole. Like it litterally feels like the show is sucking out your soul like looking inside a black hole. Everyone is just a total hipster in the show. And the show makes fun of itself, like one of the characters says she wants to move to Israel because she needs more bloodshed in her life, because she is just so sick so sick of the nothingness. And that is litterally just the show, a exploration of nothingness, like that 8 hour film about the Empire State Building by Andy Worhol.
This show actually reduced my drive to transition as a transsexual. It just makes the trans lifestyle look so vapid and boring. Honestly it makes me want to just slit my goddamn throat. I feel like this show was made by a nazi just to troll us.


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Fashion Less Waste Parade this Thursday
Teacher night at the Australian Museum is on this Thursday 26th July.
The most creative entries in the Fashion Less Waste competition will be paraded on the catwalk at the Australian Museum.
Students, inspired by the Deep Oceans exhibition, have created stunning outfits from used, non-clothing material to encourage sustainable fashion. High profile judges from the fashion industry will decide the prize-winning entries on the night.
Teachers also receive free entry to the Deep Oceans exhibition.
Don't miss out on this popular and entertaining annual event. Register now.


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The smartphone battle is heating up -again- in Japan.
Realizing that it was clearly lagging in that fast-growing segment -hey, we're talking 4m units this year in a cell phone saturated market-, au KDDI, Japan's second biggest mobile carrier, has decided to take a bold move. It entered an alliance with Skype, the peer-to-peer VoIP company.
Because calls between Skype users are free, mobile-phone companies have feared their revenue would decline should they make the service available. For that reason, the Skype app was viewed as verboten until now
Bold enough? At least in the eyes of Tanaka, KDDI's Senior VP.
No details have been released yet, though. No package pricing in particular.
Skype on WiFi?
It's only the second time that Skype partners with a cellco. Their first deal was made with US Verizon Wireless.
If you didn't know, Skype calls are actually not made using the data service there. They're being done on the voice line. Skype's press release says KDDI will also do that.
That's a big no-no for Wifi, sorry folks.
It has to be noted that calls will need to use a bit of data before being re-routed to the voice line. Hope KDDI won't charge users for that.
Skype to Japan numbers?
The Verizon deal only allows Skype calls to be made while on US soil. And while Skype-to-Skype are free, the Skype-to-cell/landine minutes are charged against the plan. That should be similar with KDDI in Japan. Or will it?
If you read the press release I just mentioned between the lines, you see that
users will be able to make unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls to any Skype user in Japan and around the globe
Yeah, ok, basically what Skype is for, but let's read on.
KDDI customers with data plans will also be able to […] call international phone numbers at competitive Skype Out calling rates.
Nice. But, if you didn't get it, no mention to Skype Out calling rates for phone numbers in Japan. None. Zip.
So, unlike the Verizon deal where the application lets you call mobile and landline numbers, KDDI's Skype might well force you to exit it for these types of call. Not very practical, isn't it?
Skype on Android
So, starting this November, Japan's second biggest carrier should pre-install the Skype application on all its smartphones (pre-register if interested)
The flagship phone will be Sharp's IS03. Mobile in Japan's good friend Steve and I had the chance to play with it at the recent CEATEC in Tokyo.
We both found it to be a very solid smartphone. Of notice is the integration of an e-wallet function, a feature existing on many keitais but not on the iPhone, and the faculty to keep an existing KDDI mobile email address, again something SoftBank was not able to provide with the iPhone (oh yeah, it also has a pimp-your-email decorating function -so important for the teenager market here).
We weren't able to fully test it, but our limited look at au One Market, a carrier-branded Android app store, left a good impression.
The app will also be rolled-out on the less noticeable IS01, but, strangely enough, no news about Sharp's IS05 that was announced today, nor Toshiba's IS04.
Skype on keitais?
While KDDI promises to use Android for all its upcoming smartphones, the future roadmap for Skype and KDDI promises to go beyond Google mobile operating system.
Other phones might get an app too, not unlike what Verizon is offering in the US with LG and Samsung. I'd say not before Q2 2011 though.
But, in a time when DoCoMo is rolling out its Android smartphone with full fanfare, IS03 + Skype might very well be a sweet deal for KDDI.
Skype on DoCoMo?
Yeah, what about DoCoMo? Does it have to reply with an VoIP offering?
Right now, the king of carriers is kinda blunt. Skype is simply banned from its Android-powered devices. It's as simple as that. And, anyway, none of its Android-powered phones is running 2.1 yet, a pre-requisiste for the application.
But rumors are floating that it is negotiating a similar deal than KDDI's. Skype with DoCoMo might become true by the end of the year, if you're of the optimist kind.
As for Softbank, it already allows Skype on the iPhone, but no news on any other front from them. At least, they can be satisfied that Ustream, a company they've partnered with and invested in, was used by KDDI for its press conference.
My guess is that things are only getting started on the smartphone front. Oh boy, I love that.
We would like to show that we are (competing in the segment) in earnest and with dedication
Tanaka seems to be up for the battle. Let's rumble.