text:
Wonkbook: Korea deal back; thaw with teachers; coal plants proliferate
Dylan Matthews is writing Wonkbook while Ezra is on vacation.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that credit card penalty fee rules were part of the financial regulation bill; they are part of the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights.
The Obama administration is launching a renewed lobbying effort behind the South Korea free trade agreement. Meanwhile, Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are reaching out to teachers unions after months of acrimony. And despite widespread opposition and imminent EPA regulation, the construction of old-style coal plants shows no signs of abating.
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The administration is gearing up for a new push on the South Korea free trade pact, reports Howard Schneider: "The agreement would eventually eliminate tariffs between the two countries. Because those levies are typically higher on the South Korean side, administration officials estimate the deal could mean more than $10 billion annually in increased U.S. exports to Seoul and tens of thousands of new U.S. jobs. South Koreans say they would benefit from lower prices -- some tariffs on food imports from the U.S. are as high as 40 percent -- and a more efficient flow of investment in and out of their country."
Teachers unions and the Obama administration are undergoing a rapprochement, reports Kendra Marr: "Just last month, delegates at the NEA convention took a position of 'no confidence' on Race to the Top, the administration's multi-billion-dollar sweepstakes to encourage schools to adopt Obama-backed policies. 'Today, our members face the most anti-educator, anti-union, anti-student environment I have ever experienced,' Van Roekel told thousands of attendees. But the union president has since dialed it back. 'Everyone assumed I was only talking about the Obama administration,' he told POLITICO. 'I was talking about states, too.'"
32 traditional coal plants have been built since 2008 or are under construction, reports Matthew Brown: "Approval of the plants has come from state and federal agencies that do not factor in emissions of carbon dioxide, considered the leading culprit behind global warming. Scientists and environmentalists have tried to stop the coal rush with some success, turning back dozens of plants through lawsuits and other legal challenges. As a result, current construction is far more modest than projected a few years ago when 151 new plants were forecast by federal regulators. But analysts say the projects that prevailed are more than enough to ensure coal's continued dominance in the power industry for years to come."
Swedish techno interlude: The Knife play "Heartbeats" live.
Still to come: Credit card fees are rising; beneficiaries from the $20 billion BP spill fund will have to waive the right to sue; $30 billion in tech spending is under scrutiny as the administration looks for budget cuts; and a contraption to turn plastic products back into oil.
Following penalty fee regulations taking effect yesterday, credit card rates are at historic highs, reports Ruth Simon: "In the second quarter, the average interest rate on existing cards reached 14.7%, up from 13.1% a year earlier, according to research firm Synovate, a unit of Aegis Group PLC. That was the highest level since 2001. Those figures look especially stark when measuring the gap between the prime rate -- the benchmark against which card rates are set -- and average credit-card rates. The current difference of 11.45 percentage points is the largest in at least 22 years, Synovate estimates."
Ylan Mui runs down the new credit card rules.
Housing wealth is down and won't recover for a long time, reports David Streitfeld: Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, estimates that it will take 20 years to recoup the $6 trillion of housing wealth that has been lost since 2005. After adjusting for inflation, values will never catch up. 'People shouldn't look at a home as a way to make money because it won't,' Mr. Baker said. If the long term is grim, the short term is grimmer. Housing experts are bracing themselves for Tuesday, when the sales figures for July will be released. The data is expected to show a drop of as much as 20 percent from last year."
High earners are already planning for the Bush tax cuts' expiration.
There is still considerable disagreement within the administration on an expected housing overhaul, reports Zachary Goldfarb: "One option under consideration is simply to require mortgage lenders to provide a portion of their loans to affordable housing, essentially putting the burden on the private sector. Another idea being discussed is to put the onus on government agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration, which makes loans to borrowers who cannot afford to make a standard down payment. A third choice would be a hybrid...the government could make private firms pay a fee into a federally administered fund that would subsidize affordable housing."
Wall Street firms could be facing deep job cuts.
Paul Krugman breaks down who benefits from making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent: "The policy center's estimates say that the majority of the tax cuts would go to the richest one-tenth of 1 percent. Take a group of 1,000 randomly selected Americans, and pick the one with the highest income; he's going to get the majority of that group's tax break. And the average tax break for those lucky few -- the poorest members of the group have annual incomes of more than $2 million, and the average member makes more than $7 million a year -- would be $3 million over the course of the next decade."
A panel of experts proposes everything from benefit cuts to increased immigration to keep Social Security solvent.
CFOs are systematically poor economic forecasters, writes Richard Thaler: "This puts a new light on the recent comment by Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, that the economic outlook was 'unusually uncertain.' Although I instinctively share that assessment, these results suggest that it may be an illusion: Yes, things feel more uncertain after bad times, but severe market downturns tend to occur after long bull markets when we are feeling least uncertain. In the C.F.O. survey conducted in mid-2007, for example, the average lower bound was for a market return of 0.2 percent in the next year. In other words, the worst-case scenario anticipated by the group was a flat market. Of course, the market was soon to begin its plunge."
Political science on YouTube interlude: Sean Theriault explains why parties in Congress have become more polarized.
Victims of the BP spill must waive their right to sue in order to receive compensation from the $20 billion spill fund, reports Angel Gonzalez: "Mr. Feinberg said claimants could file claims for up to six months of emergency payments between Monday, Aug. 23, and Nov. 23, a 90-day period. He said claimants won't have to waive any rights to sue BP if they receive emergency payments, and that there is no maximum limit for payouts. In addition to emergency payments, claimants can also apply for a lump sum final payment to settle their claim. Mr. Feinberg said that individuals should expect to receive payments 48 hours after finalizing a claim, and businesses would be compensated within seven days."
Federal investigators want to speak with spill witnesses again.
The administration predicted 23,000 lost jobs from the deep-water drilling ban, report Stephen Power and Leslie Eaton: "They show the new top regulator or offshore oil exploration, Michael Bromwich, told Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that a six-month deepwater-drilling halt would result in 'lost direct employment' affecting approximately 9,450 workers and 'lost jobs from indirect and induced effects' affecting about 13,797 more. The July 10 memo cited an analysis by Mr. Bromwich's agency that assumed direct employment on affected rigs would 'resume normally once the rigs resume operations.'"
Australia, even with plentiful non-renewable resources, is moving toward green energy.
Mining waste heaps are providing an unlikely home for renewable energy sources, writes David Rosenfeld: "Hundreds of proposed abandoned mine sites have been floated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for renewable energy projects under a two-year effort called Re-Powering America's Land. The program encourages private developers to transform abandoned mines, landfills, Superfund sites and brownfields into something positive. In some cases, the energy produced actually helps power cleanup efforts such as filtering contaminated groundwater."
Spill response head Thad Allen enumerates the administration's successes in the Gulf.
Thomas Homer-Dixon outlines the effects of continued Arctic warming: "The limited slack in the world's food system, particularly its grain production, can amplify the effects of disruptions. Remember that two years ago, when higher oil prices encouraged farmers to shift enormous tracts of cropland from grain to biofuel production, grain prices quickly doubled or tripled. Violence erupted in dozens of countries. Should climate change cause crop failures in major food-producing regions of Europe, North America and East Asia, the consequences would likely be far more severe."
Energy innovation interlude: A device that turns plastic goods into oil.
Domestic Policy
The OMB is considering overhauling 26 tech spending programs as a part of budget cut efforts, reports Amy Schatz: "A $7.6 billion Interior Department project to consolidate technology systems is also on the list, after Obama administration officials found that despite spending $3.25 billion so far on 200 data centers and 9,000 servers, employees aren't even on the same email system. ... Technology companies and federal contractors have privately raised concerns about the Obama administration's broader review of technology spending, arguing that delays and cost overruns often occur because federal officials change their requirements for the projects."
Critics are pillorying a $1.5 billion farm aid provision as reelection aid to Sen. Blanche Lincoln.
Salmonella outbreaks could have been prevented by a recent change in the federal food regulatory structure, reports Timothy Martin: "The new rules, had they been in place before July 9, "could have prevented" the outbreak, Sherri McGarry, emergency coordinator for the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said in a conference call last week. Ms. McGarry said the FDA had not investigated Wright County Egg, the producer at the center of the FDA's investigation, because it didn't have authority to inspect farms until July 9. Attempts to reach the USDA for comment Sunday were unsuccessful."
Cities are privatizing zoos, airports and parking to meet budget needs.
Obama's weekly address renewed a push for the DISCLOSE Act, reports Abby Phillip: "'They can buy millions of dollars worth of TV ads -- and worst of all, they don't even have to reveal who is actually paying for them,' the president said. 'A group can hide behind a phony name like Citizens for a Better Future, even if a more accurate name would be Corporations for Weaker Oversight.'"
States are aggravated by federal cost-sharing requirements for high speed rail projects.
Dylan Matthews is a student at Harvard and a researcher at The Washington Post.
Dylan Matthews
August 23, 2010; 8:25 AM ET
Categories: Wonkbook
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so basically because teachers unions weren't getting their egos stroked they slapped back at the administration's race to the top which is meant to benefit students. NICE. That'll help with their image.
And as far as the thought that they're all hated I disagree. No one is anti-educator. They teach our kids and certainly no one is anti-student, they ARE our kids. Guess that just leaves the NEA and UFT.
Posted by: visionbrkr | August 23, 2010 8:55 AM | Report abuse
"Housing wealth is down and won't recover for a long time, reports David Streitfeld: Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, estimates that it will take 20 years to recoup the $6 trillion of housing wealth that has been lost since 2005."
that means that there wont be recovery in my lifetime.
that really changes your perspective of optimism.
and who knows, what things might be like in twenty years.
some people may be living in caves, like the anasazi...with fires to keep them warm....and a completely different way of life, carved out by being so poor.
maybe people will return to the wilderness that is left, to escape the cities,where there may be little prospect for a safe or happy life for very impoverished people.
i wonder what things will be like.
what might it be like in twenty years.
Posted by: jkaren | August 23, 2010 9:03 AM | Report abuse
--"that means that there wont be recovery in my lifetime."--
Yep, it's the Soviet Unionization of the United States. Just wait until health care "reform" really kicks in, and FinReg rolls all the way through it all, and interest rates begin to rise and send the service on the U.S. debt through the roof.
And the kids still flop out of places like Harvard with the collectivist dream wedged in the narrow spot between their ears...
Posted by: msoja | August 23, 2010 9:20 AM | Report abuse
You mean like Canada or France?
Gee, I don't see any gulags in those places. And the people there seem quite content and proud overall with their "socialist" gvmt.
What you don't get is that most of freedoms we have lost have been lost under conservatives; indeed, conservatives RULE the US courts. Just try videotaping or talking back at a policeman in the wrong US county if, for example, you are stopped for simple speeding.
Or ask gays whether liberals or conservatives are affecting their lives more.
Or ask medical MJ users who affects them more.
Or ask people suing surgeons because of botched surgeries who will affect them more if the GOP gets their way regards to lawsuits (even as the GOP is the most prolific abuser of the courts to achieve their ideological ends).
Or ask the husband of Terry Schiavo whether it was Republicans or Dems who went bonkers.
Or ask the NY mosque people.
Or ask people who have 30 percent interest on credit cards to see if their rates will get any higher after financial reform.
I'd be curious to hear you enumerate which freedoms you lost and when you lost them.
Posted by: lauren2010 | August 23, 2010 9:44 AM | Report abuse
"The sponsor of the Card Act, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), said that despite the rising rates, the law benefits consumers because it eliminates unwelcome surprises and provides them with a clear picture of the costs they will face. "Better that consumers should know up-front what the interest rate is, even if it's higher, than to be soaked on the back-end by tricks and hidden fees."
"At Discover Financial Services, a diminished ability to boost rates is causing the Riverwoods, Ill., company to offer fewer interest-free balance transfers for new customers, says Discover President Roger Hochschild. Balance transfers have declined 60% from last year. A typical offer might include 0% interest on the transferred amount for a year, with customers paying a balance transfer fee."
Yeah, this looks like a clear win for consumers. Fewer easy to avoid fees, but higher interest rates and more difficulty transfering balances.
This is a completely unsurprising result, and now Rep Maloney is trying to save face by claiming consumers are better off knowing what they are paying, even if they are paying more.
Posted by: justin84 | August 23, 2010 10:10 AM | Report abuse
the sad thing is you can translate the same thing to healthcare and have a very similar result. They're already backing away from the "deficit reduction" talk and trying to talk up all the consumer goodies in there. Well except when it comes to the high risk pools where nearly two thirds have been deemed ineligible and the covering of dependents to age 26 where some are covered now, many are not and no one seems to know the rules. Just imagine the chaos when the exchanges open. Let's hope they get their acts together before then but if the past is any harbinger of future results look out. its going to get ugly.
Posted by: visionbrkr | August 23, 2010 10:26 AM | Report abuse
--"What you don't get is that most of freedoms we have lost have been lost under conservatives;"--
Doubtful, but even if I grant some of it, nothing justifies, say, Medicare, or government incompetents trying to make home owners of everyone irrespective of basic economics, or bullying around in the automobile industry, or any of the other thousand intrusions inflicted over decades, because you end up with this: "that means that there wont be recovery in my lifetime." Those are YEARS stolen from real people's LIVES. By The State! In an ostensibly free country!
Go to Canada. Go to France. Try it a while. I don't think most Americans would like it.
Posted by: msoja | August 23, 2010 1:39 PM | Report abuse
"Meanwhile, Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are reaching out to teachers unions after months of acrimony"
Uh oh. Guard you pocketbooks folks, they're about to be picked again.
"Well except when it comes to the high r
Posted by: bgmma50 | August 23, 2010 2:02 PM | Report abuse
"Well except when it comes to the high risk pools where nearly two thirds have been deemed ineligible and the covering of dependents to age 26 where some are covered now, many are not and no one seems to know the rules. Just imagine the chaos when the exchanges open." posted by visionbrkr
I read recently that insurers in Florida have notified the state insurance commission that they will no longer write individual coverage for children. They will keep existing policies in effect, but will no longer write new ones for fear that guaranteed issue will mean that the bulk of new policies would be for covering high cost preexisting conditions and will raise costs for existing customers.
Gee. The gov tries to rig the market against the insurers, and the insurers refuse to play. Who knew?
Posted by: bgmma50 | August 23, 2010 2:13 PM | Report abuse
I checked three times, but nothing in your response to me smacks of last rights of the nature that allow you to claim we are like the Soviets.
The losses of liberties I quoted to you, however, are hard core, irrefutable losses of rights lost under conservative rule.
As we speak there are conservative groups using the courts to undermine the liberties I listed.
Posted by: lauren2010 | August 23, 2010 2:31 PM | Report abuse
"The losses of liberties I quoted to you, however, are hard core, irrefutable losses of rights lost under conservative rule.' posted by lauren2010
Would that be anything like declaring martial law and stripping all Republicans of the right to vote?
Posted by: bgmma50 | August 23, 2010 10:17 PM | Report abuse
--"I checked three times, but nothing in your response to me smacks of last rights of the nature that allow you to claim we are like the Soviets."--
Ah, so that's what you were shooting for. You're looking for the gulags, when I was referring to the central planning. Certainly, though, you must admit that the jails are full. And the system is so larded up with the produce of the beavering political elites that we are all now criminals in one way or another, most of us just hoping not to attract the attention of the wrong individual who knows how to work the levers, and has no compunction doing so in service to his own ends.
And so you have convinced me: The proper response to the idiocy of the War on Drugs is to force people to buy health insurance. (And Barry O. would dearly love to abolish the government decrees against marijuana but those filibustering ReThugs just won't let 'im.) The way to counteract ignorant thug police threating people who film them in public is to have corporate rejects at the FCC slobber over every merger and acquisition taking place in the free market. The proper method of insuring that people don't load themselves up with debt that they'll never be able to repay is to make it more expensive for everyone to access lines of credit, especially those responsible enough not to get into trouble.
How am I doin', now?
Posted by: msoja | August 23, 2010 10:19 PM | Report abuse
It is sad. I definitely won't be counting on the politicians getting their acts together.
I look at the estimates for employer vs. exchange coverage, and I see that in 2019 the CBO projects only 3 million fewer people covered by employers and only 24 million covered by the exchanges. Per ADP there are 48 million employees (probably representing ~100 million people including spouses/children) in businesses ranging from 1-49 employees, which receive no penalty from dropping coverage. What if the actual exchange population ends up being 72 million rather than 24 million? For the vast majority of people, the subsidies in the exchange are much higher than the tax subsidy.
Another issue. Use the calculator below, and enter 400 percent of the poverty level in 2014 for a family of four (45 y/o head of household) in a medium cost area - you get a $5,344 tax credit. You put in 401 and recalculate, and you get a $0 tax credit. Earning $240 increases your tax bill by $5,344 (plus whatever your marginal rate is on the $240). More fool the poor slob who manages to earn $96,001 rather than $95,999. No one in their right mind is going to want to earn $95,000 - $103,000 or so.
Try it again with a 56 year old boomer in a high cost area. The tax credit is a whopping $15,545 at 400 percent of the poverty level. At 401 it goes to $0.
Let's say at two earner family makes $100,000, with the prime earner making $64,000. The tax credit at $64,000 is $18,864. At $100,000 it is $0. The tax credit alone represents a 50% marginal tax all by itself. Subtract out FICA (which is pure waste for married couples anyway), and regular income tax and the loss of household production and the second earner might well throw up their hands and not work.
This reduces GDP, tax revenue and increases the subsidy cost.
I'm not smart enough to predict how precisely this will play out, but I will hardly be surprised if Nancy Pelosi pulls a Maloney and says well look, this family making $64,000 could never buy care on their own, so its good we passed PPACA despite the subsidies costing the government 3x what was originally projected.
Posted by: justin84 | August 23, 2010 10:44 PM | Report abuse
yes it is very true that major brands always give out free samples on health products check out http://bit.ly/alBoz6 tell your friends also
Posted by: benjaminjo24 | August 24, 2010 6:10 AM | Report abuse
That should read "threatening" and "FTC". The FCC, too, is a festering carbuncle on the American corpus, but it's the ghouls at the FTC who hold sway over mergers and acquisitions, alá the Soviet commissars of old.
Posted by: msoja | August 24, 2010 9:11 AM | Report abuse
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text:
Dave and Sheila (Ross) Biekert of Longmont will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in Colorado in June with their children and grandchildren. They were married June 15, 1963, in Nashua, Iowa. They met in Nashua where Sheila worked as a dental assistant and Dave was home from college.
Sheila also worked for Berthoud Florist, Eakers clothing store, and Front Range Eye Physicians. Dave worked for Measurement Research Center, Westinghouse Learning Corporation, and Centennial BOCES.
They have three sons: Brent and his wife Jodi of Longmont; Mitch, and his wife Darcee of rural Bond, Colo.; and Greg and his wife Shawna of Danville, Calif. The couple also has five granddaughters, Sydney, Emily, Maya, Audrey, and Lela and two grandsons, Dane and Ben.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Prakhar Srivastava and Tarun Verma
Credit card fraud and its associated risks have risen sharply with the influx of online portals and financial transactions in the last few years, and the pace of the proportional incidents tied to the usage continues to grow exponentially. The cost of financial fraud associated with these transactions reaches into the millions, and the resulting identity theft victimizes millions of people annually.
To decide how to safeguard customer account data when processing credit card information, a group of major credit card companies gathered and issued the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).1
PCI DSS is comprised of 12 separate requirements organized into six different control objectives. Basically, these objectives are to:2
In essence, PCI DSS requirements demand that a number of security controls be implemented and governed. However, simply deploying controls is not sufficient to reach compliance with PCI DSS. These controls must be proactively monitored on a regular basis to ensure their ongoing effectiveness and to identify any potential threats and vulnerabilities to the IT infrastructure where the account information of credit card data is being processed.
Tracking, monitoring and reviewing these security countermeasures is so important to the objective of securing the infrastructure landscape that one of the 12 requirements of PCI DSS addresses it directly.3
This article provides information on how log management can play a pivotal role in addressing PCI DSS requirements, be a success factor and enabler for safeguarding cardholder transaction data, and provide a secure and vulnerability-free environment for cardholders.
Today all credit card merchants, service providers and retailers that process, store and transmit credit-card-holder data are mandated to comply with PCI DSS requirements and log management can help organizations meet those requirements. A log management solution (LMS) automates the existing manual log review by collecting log data from enterprise systems regardless of the data's source, presenting the logs in a uniform and consistent manner and managing the state, location and efficient access to those logs. Compliance is a key driver: Many standards explicitly state that logging must be implemented and logs must be analyzed and stored for specific periods under specific conditions.
Relevant compliance standards include PCI DSS, the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the US Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (GLBA). Not complying with these requirements might result in fines, legal exposure and damage to the brand image of the entity. The benefits to organizations include improved operational efficiencies, reduced IT administration, reduced IT labor costs and greater IT productivity.
Figure 1 highlights the necessity of logs for meeting the key requirements in compliance standards such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley and GLBA.
Logs play a key role in discovering potential threats, exposing vulnerabilities, determining whether a data breach has occurred, and, in case there is a breach, determining how to mitigate and remediate it. Log management has taken center stage due to the changing threat in infrastructure landscape and stringent regulatory requirements. Logs, which by nature allow for tracking IT infrastructure activity, are the best way to assess if, how, when and where a data breach has occurred. Management of these logs is the best way to assess what data have been accessed or stolen and who needs to be notified. In the new regulations, such as those from the US Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (FFIEC), logs are considered essential evidence for compliance and conformation to policy.4
Today's regulated environment, combined with a new set of emerging attacks, makes log management an important component of the enterprise security of an organization. The inclusion of log management activities in major regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and PCI DSS highlights the significance these activities play in enterprise security and how they cater to risk management needs.
There is a paradigm shift in the area of regulations and standards mandating the protection of information. A number of regulations explicitly call for the collection, storage, maintenance and review of logs, turning it into a must-do activity. PCI DSS mandates logging specific details and log review procedures to prevent credit card fraud and other related problems in companies that store, process or transmit credit card data. Even though logging is present in all PCI requirements, PCI DSS also contains Requirement 10, which is dedicated to logging and log management. Under this requirement, logs for all system components must be reviewed at least daily, and these log reviews must include servers that perform security functions such as intrusion detection systems, authentication, authorization and accounting protocol servers.5
Since most organizations are subject to multiple regulations or audits of their information systems, logs must be collected in detail to enable an assessment and audit by the reviewer. Lack of log management competency is one of the major reasons for security breaches and data compromises.6
To meet corporate governance and regulation needs, log retention policies must be in place to ensure that data are retrieved after a definite period of time as desired by various compliance standards. Moreover, log data, when retained for a long period of time, bring tremendous value in terms of saving noncompliance costs, such as fines and increasing audit efficiency.
An LMS can apply intelligence to the logs it collects with correlation rules. When a series of events hits a threshold or violates an IT policy, the log solution provides alerts and automated notifications as a proactive response to serious activities before they emerge as a security risk. Figure 2 illustrates the steps involved in the life cycle of an LMS.
Logging has emerged as one of the essential components for protecting information and establishing a security program. Logging can no longer be ignored if the organization wants to meet regulatory requirements and legal obligations to protect information.
Log retention technique requirements are now driven by the need to have the right information on hand to meet security audits and must be kept on hold over the long term to meet legal requirements.
An LMS offered by various vendors in the industry provides a broad range of capabilities such as strong reporting for compliance, user activity monitoring and centralized aggregation of logs. Selecting, planning and deploying an LMS can help organizations proactively detect threats, breaches and policy violations. It involves the careful assessment of an organization's needs in terms of its compliance, security and reporting—before selecting the vendor. Vendor selection also depends on the number of log generation sources and the number of logs to be stored and tracked by an organization. Figure 3 highlights the LMS needed to address the large volumes of data generated through a central repository for access and analysis.
An LMS is important to address regulatory compliance and security goals. It creates a central repository for easy access and analysis, and can go a long way in addressing customer concerns for transparency. It can also aid in forensic analysis and improve IT efficiency and security. An LMS mandates reduction in resources that are required to integrate solutions such as compliance management, database activity monitoring, and security change and configuration management.
Log retention requirements must be implemented to meet PCI DSS requirements for the audit trail and to control access to sensitive data. Compliance regulations have resulted in an LMS focusing on storage and reporting. The solutions need to have capabilities that are powerful and flexible—not limited to select data sources. This will ensure that compliance is maintained and not just validated at a point in time.
An LMS can do drill-down monitoring for databases, applications and incident management. To reduce cost overheads and efficiently comply with PCI DSS, log management and intelligence solutions incorporate a broader mandate for information security.
Regulatory and compliance initiatives have driven the need for an emerging technology—security information and event management (SIEM), which is positioned to provide a much broader view of threats by collecting forensic data.
SIEM solutions can collect logs from various platforms, data centers and customer-specific devices to a centralized security management solution that provides an easy-to-review aggregation point for all security events.7 Effective management of log data is essential to reducing the cost and complexity of demonstrating security process and to ensuring that measures comply with external and internal requirements.
SIEM solutions provide automation in policies and their enforcement. They streamline workflow and simplify a complex environment. Figure 4 illustrates the collection of logs from all log sources and highlights the reports for Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, PCI DSS and GLBA.
What is essential at this point is one way to implement the diverse solutions for log management and SIEM—and even configuration management and file integrity monitoring. Log management stands out at capturing and retaining considerable amounts of log data, while SIEM provides a means for analysis and event correlation.
PCI DSS is at an important juncture. Compliance levels are up, but the rising cost of compliance due to inefficiencies in terms of strict adherence to and completeness of all requirements and controls as defined by PCI DSS results in cost overheads and an increased time window to ensure compliance.
At the same time, the growing number of incidents, as well as the cost and variety of security breaches, remain unchecked. SIEM is positioned to provide a much broader view of threats by collecting forensic data, analysis, reporting and correlation of events.
Logs provide a readily available and massive source of information that can be controlled to introduce significant efficiencies into compliance projects for PCI DSS and other mandates. SIEM solutions have been widely used to unleash this value, overcome the many challenges of log infrastructures, and bring efficiency and visibility to the IT security arena.
PCI DSS compliance has now become the immediate need of all organizations that handle, process and store cardholder data. To ensure network and system security and meet PCI-DSS-compliance deadlines, companies must give up on manual event log management and implement automated solutions for log management.
The reason behind such a requirement is the need for organizations to protect themselves from threats, rather than react to them after the damage has been done. Effective management of log data is essential to bring down the cost and complexity of demonstrating the security process and to ensure that measures comply with external and internal requirements.
Automation of log management helps businesses in cost-effectively collecting, normalizing and reporting on enterprisewide security-related data that are necessary for compliance and security investigations.
Logs show system-user activity and administration changes made by employees who manage critical production systems, illuminate the health of the IT environment, and capture evidence of policy violations and malicious activity. The massive volume and complexity of security and audit data that record IT activities in different formats make log analysis a challenging task. Log management is turning out to be a key enabler for successful implementation of PCI DSS.
1Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council, Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard Requirements and Security Assessment Procedures, Version 2.0, USA, 2010, www.pcisecuritystandards.org/documents/pci_dss_v2.pdf2PCICompliance/PhoneFactor, "What are the PCI DSS Requirements?," www.pcicompliance.org/pci-compliance-faqs/what-are-the-pci-dss-requirements3Op cit, PCI Security Standards Council4GFI Software, Automated Event Log Management for PCI DSS Compliance, USA, 2009, www.gfi.com/whitepapers/automated-event-log-management-for-pci-dss.pdf5Op cit, PCI Security Standards Council6Op cit, GFI Software7Nicolet, Mark; "The Gartner Security Information and Event Management Magic Quadrant 2010: Dealing With Targeted Attacks," Gartner, 13 May 2010, www.gartner.com/it/content/1380400/1380414/june_30_security_information_mnicolett.pdf
Prakhar Srivastava is a senior consultant with Infosys Technologies Ltd. and is part of the Infrastructure Transformation Services Group. Srivastava is a solutions-oriented IT professional who has experience in managing, designing and implementing critical IT infrastructure for enterprises.
Tarun Verma is a senior associate consultant with Infosys Technologies Ltd. and is part of the Infrastructure Transformation Services Group. Verma has several years of diversified experience in information security, information systems audits, compliance and regulations, IT service management, and risk management.
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The Cisco SDN story to investors: Hardware matters, VMware no threat
Cisco hit the road to explain the Cisco SDN strategy to investors. The key messages: Hardware still matters in SDN … and VMware is no threat.
Cisco's CTO of Engineering Dave Ward made the investor rounds last week in New York to outline the Cisco SDN strategy. Reading between the lines, I think the Cisco wants to send Wall Street two clear messages: "SDN will not cannibalize our hardware business" and "VMware will not eat our network virtualization lunch."
Explaining Cisco Open Network Environment (ONE), which is still more vision than products, Ward said the technology will enable application-aware, dynamic virtual network provisioning, along with virtual network services from the cloud through the WAN and to the connecting campus.
"This is not just about orchestrating the cloud; it's about tying the cloud to the WAN to access for end-to-end orchestration," explained Ward in a busy midtown Manhattan restaurant.
Customers care more about network programmability to support specific applications than about an SDN buzzword, he said.
"In 2012, people said, 'Explain why SDN is good for me,' but in 2013 they are saying, 'I want a specific solution,'" explained Ward.
More on Cisco network virtualization and SDN
Cisco will double software business with SDN
VIDEO: SDN will boost security, Cisco says
Overlays may be the future of programmable networking
Customers want the ability to spin up network instances dynamically to support a wide range of content and multimedia applications delivered from multiple clouds across the WAN and to a wide range of devices, branch offices and the campus.
"They don't want to treat their network in silos," said Ward.
One way to break down silos is to enable an SDN MPLS WAN that pulls Layer 2 over Layer 3 using network overlays that a network operator can dynamically provision in response to the need of applications and users. Those overlays will be accompanied by virtual Layer 4-7 services, like load balancing and firewalling.
Cisco ONE will enable all of this by exposing "bidirectional programmatic interfaces" or open APIs both above and below the orchestration layer, Ward said.
With open southbound APIs, engineers can programmatically configure devices, define data flows and create virtual networks segments. They will no longer have to go deep into CLI each device on the network. And northbound APIs will extract information on users, applications and availability out of the network for use in the orchestration layer for intelligent provisioning and integration into a broader cloud orchestration context -- such as OpenStack.
Cisco SDN plan: VMware and others can't compete
More than VMware or any other vendor, Cisco will have a deeper level of intelligence that links the underlying physical network and the software overlay, Ward said.
"The overlay networks are based on what the network can do and what is available," he said. Other vendors provision overlays without that depth of knowledge, which limits what they can do and also could cause problems for the underlying network.
Cisco's acquisition of Cariden helps Cisco tighten its link between the physical network and the overlay, Ward said. Cariden provides a network design and modeling tool that uses southbound protocols such as BGP and OpenFlow to scout out everything on the network and enable automation for IP/MPLS networks.
Cisco will use that technology to give applications visibility into available bandwidth, latency and other network conditions so that they can reactively trigger paths. This information can be used for traffic engineering and QoS across network segments -- also something competitors can't provide. All of this will result in better utilized networks and will raise the bar on service assurance and SLAs, Ward said.
Why Cisco's physical networks still matter
Overlay networks can work over any physical infrastructure, so how can Cisco prove that its bread-and-butter switches and routers still matter?
Cisco's physical networks are more important than ever, Ward said. Every virtual network environment lives on top of a physical infrastructure that will have to be more intelligent to be better linked to the virtual world. And these physical networks will have to provide more bandwidth and capacity than ever before.
Overlays may eventually reduce the amount of physical infrastructure customers need, but Cisco will adapt to that by selling SDN/programmability support services. He even hinted at sales models that center on selling software.
Where does VMware play into the Cisco SDN scenario?
Cisco and VMware have partnered closely in the past on networking inside the virtualization stack, but VMware appears to have a slim role in Cisco ONE.
VMware's role in Cisco network virtualization is now like that of any other hypervisor provider, Ward said. Cisco is now partnering with Red Hat and IBM. It also has a growing relationship with Citrix. "We don't sell hypervisors. We want to work with all of them. The hypervisor can sniff out what's happening on the network." But Cisco is also partnering with Red Hat and IBM.
Cisco ONE could feasibly bring about an important shift for SDN and network programmability, and the link between Cisco's virtual and physical infrastructure could set it ahead of competitors -- especially VMware. No one can know for sure until users have product in their hands. For now, Cisco is working with a group of 50 beta super-users that range from enterprises to cloud providers. We're looking forward to hearing the results. Cisco reps hint that word of these trials and/or product release could happen very soon -- maybe even this week.


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this is bad. Really bad.
I'd go to the library, but truly? With the small town library budget, most of the books there that I want to read have been read – and I've donated most of them! I've not read anything really satisfying lately – it's been like when you're really hungry and you don't know what you're craving and nothing is quite satisfying. I want a really good read! I wish James Rollins would write faster…or that Dean Koontz would go back in time to the mid-90's and write a bunch more.
Any suggestions?


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Egg in a Basket with Smoked Turkey and Asparagus
Serving Size: 4
- 0.75 Pound asparagus stalks (about 3/4 bunch), woody bottoms removed
- 4 pieces whole-wheat sandwich bread
- 4 tsp butter, melted
- Cooking spray
- 6 Ounce sliced smoked turkey, sliced again into thin ribbons
- 0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 large eggs
- Place the asparagus in a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water. Cover and steam until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Chop the asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Brush both sides of each slice of bread with the melted butter. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut a hole in the center of each slice of bread; reserve the cutouts.
- Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Cook the turkey slices until they are browned around the edges, about 3 minutes.
- Add the asparagus and cook until it is heated through, about 2 minutes, then season with the pepper. Transfer the mixture to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Place 2 of the bread slices and cutouts in the same skillet and crack one egg into the hole of each slice. Cook until the egg whites are set and the bread is toasted on the underside, about 3 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the bread/egg slices and cutouts and cook an additional 1 minute. Transfer the bread/egg pieces to individual plates. Repeat with the remaining bread slices and cutouts. Top each one with 1/4 of the turkey-asparagus mixture. Arrange the cutouts on each plate.


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Trading in your old vehicle for a new one is a strange concept if you've never done it before. How do you know you're getting a fair deal on your trade? Visit our dealership's website, enter in your vehicle's make, model, and VIN and find out what your car's NADA value is. There's no need to jump through confusing hoops when you have the information you need at hand. Simply utilize our convenient online services, and you'll already know how much you're working with before you step on your lot. Knowing your vehicle's worth can also be a helpful tool to assist you with upkeep. Keeping up with your car's repairs, cosmetic appearance, and interior updates, can make all of the difference when you're trading in your new or used vehicle. Find out your vehicle's value and drive off in an upgraded 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage today! We offer the best new deals on Mitsubishi vehicles in Gainesville, FL. Know your car's worth with our upgraded Trade-In Tool.
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CONSENT TO RECEIVE TEXT MESSAGES *By submitting my cell phone number to the Dealership, I agree to receive text messages, and phone calls, which may be recorded and/or sent using automated dialing equipment or software from Gainesville Mitsubishi and its affiliates in the future, unless I opt-out from such communications. I understand that my consent to be contacted is not a requirement to purchase any product or service and that I can opt-out at any time. I agree to pay my mobile service provider's text messaging rates, if applicable.


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The last weekend in August we had a chance to go up to Washington, DC for a few days. Michael had to go for business and we didn't see much of him because he was in meetings most of the time. Julianne and I went to the International Spy Museum and the Zoo. We also went out to the Hard Rock Cafe one night. We didn't do a lot of the monuments or museums this time; this was a very laid back trip. After all that has happened this summer, it was nice to get away and relax. Our hotel was very nice and right down the street from the Capitol. It was really special to go out each day and see it rising above the trees. We were also a few blocks away from Union Station so we had fun looking at all the shops in there and riding the Metro to the Zoo.
We did get to see Michael one night when everyone he was with had dinner at B. Smith's in Union Station. Very nice! Julianne was able to get vegetarian ribs, which she said were very good.
Pictures of the zoo to come later…..


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Amazon's CEO dismisses the notion that Alexa is all about cashing in on an ever present, voice-activated shopping app, we're told in Yahoo's article, "Jeff Bezos Says We Have it All Wrong About Amazon's Alexa." Bezos asserts their priority is to explore the potentials of voice– playing music, controlling appliances, etc. Writer Matt Weinberger observes:
As people build more 'skills' for Alexa, they're still working out how and where it can be useful. … Still, Bezos' comments shake up the conventional wisdom on Alexa's role in Amazon's grand strategy.
As Bezos notes, (unless reordering) shopping really requires some sort of screen. Our question: is he sincere, or attempting to misdirect the competition? There are rumors Echo may be about to grow a touch screen.
Cynthia Murrell, March 2, 2017


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Southwestern Cheddar Steak Fries are seasoned roasted potatoes topped with cheese, red pepper and cilantro. A delicious side dish for any meal!
It's not often I get a craving for a potato. If you want to know how I feel about potatoes most of the time…just ask my Aunt Marlene. I'm sure she would get a kick out of telling you how she found my mashed potatoes one Christmas day – on the floor behind her garbage can. (wearing a "who me"? face!)
- 1 lb baby potatoes, washed and cut into wedges
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 oz finely shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- Preheat oven to 425. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Combine olive oil, paprika, cumin, garlic powder and salt. Toss potatoes in mixture to coat. Lay on cookie sheet and bake in oven until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese and red peppers. Place back in oven for a couple of minutes to melt cheese. Prior to serving, sprinkle with cilantro.


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I saw that one of the early reviews/impressions (since it's not complete yet) of the game compared it to The Things They Carried, which was one of those stories that really made a huge impression on baby writer me, the idea that you can learn about a person through the things they accumulate over their lifetimes and that as a writer, you can use that, you can turn that into a tool you can use. A lot of video games do have tucked away stories like this, a scrawled message on a wall, pictures of characters in different situations to look at, but it's rare to have those sorts of stories be the focus and the main driving gameplay, I think. Dear Esther was a first shot at trying to do some of this, but I think that game was too linear, too abstract and metaphysical. This game feels entirely concrete.
From the trailer, I am already in love with all the details in the game, specifically the period detail. I remember seeing those magic eye puzzles everywhere. I remember owning an ugly neon Lisa Frank binder. I used to record X-files reruns on VHS tapes. I love how familiar the whole place feels.
The world of storytelling is so rich. There have been a lot of arguments over the past year about video game storytelling and what can we do with it? So much of AAA video game storytelling as of right now is moving more 'cinematic', towards having gorgeous, epic cut scenes and less on figuring out how to make player interactivity an essential part of the storytelling process. I think this game is part of that, and that excites me.
But I think what excites me even more than that is the sorts of stories that video games are now evolving to tell are different too. It's not all violence or horror or even puzzles. It's mundane. Maybe a little heightened in the way movies can get, but still. I'm excited to see that we can tell the stories of teenage girls in our games, too. The kind of girls who don't have superpowers and don't have to save the world but their sadness and their hope and their loves and their dreams are still worth telling stories about anyway.
It's just an indie game, so who knows what kind of impact it will have, but I'm glad it's being made anyway. It's still more interesting than yet another 2-d platformer, right?
This entry was originally posted at http://thedeadparrot.dreamwidth.org/522605.html. You can comment there using OpenID or you can comment here if you prefer. :) comments there


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Until now, all we knew for certain about the iPhone 7 is that the spiteful little upstart is intent on making our favourite headphones completely obsolete.
So surely Apple has something up their sleeve to make up for such a winding punch to the buying public's guts?
Thankfully, according to a new leak from the usually reliable KGI securities, it looks like the rest of the tech is set for a massive upgrade.
Apple's new phone will feature an A10 chip, which will result in a dramatic speed boost.
The camera on the back of the model will also include long-rumoured dual-lens technology, that will help to shoot far crisper (and more professional) images.
The colourways are set for a refresh, too. Classic "space grey" is being phased out, to be replaced by "dark black" and "piano black" (the latter of which might be reserved for premium models).
We'll be getting the official word on the new model in a special Apple event later this week, so until then, give your trusty headphones the send off they deserve.


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10681 - Bromeliads (Garden) - 2013-01-12
(Dimension: 683 x 540 pixels - Counter: 6611)
UNKNOWN - Quesnelia Aechmea Cross???
Locality: USA - Louisiana - New Orleans
Photographer: Victoria Goff
Note: This is a spring bloom which will turn red in full sun. The bloom lasts for about two or three months. (Sent: email@example.com)
Identification: asked
(Click on the picture to enlarge)


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The Washington University in St. Louis has compiled The Supreme Court Database to provide researchers the ability to analyze court decisions by outcome, justice, case components and much more. You can search the Warren Court, the Roberts Court and more in the Modern Search, or choose the Legacy Search to look at decisions from the Taney Court, the Marshall Court or others. You can limit your results to decisions about Civil Rights, Judicial Power, Privacy and Federal Taxation, just to name a few topics.
You can limit your results by lower courts, state courts, majority votes, minority votes and much more. This fact-filled resource can support judicial and legal researchers, thanks to the generous support of the National Science Foundation.


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Ways to Help
- Recommend Conserve School to Educators
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Recommend Conserve School to Educators
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Review Conserve School Online
If you have had a great Conserve School experience please let others know. One way to do this is by using online opportunities such as through Google Plus and Facebook, we have provided links below. Additionally, we always appreciate testimonials that we can share with others. You can send them to email@example.com.
Follow Conserve on Facebook and Instagram
Our Facebook and Instagram pages are the gateway to what is currently happening at Conserve School. Each semester we post hundreds of photos and provide links to online articles and teacher pages. We also share information from others that relates to the mission and vision of Conserve School. By becoming a Facebook and/or Instagram fan of Conserve School and then liking and commenting on our posts you will be helping share the Conserve School story through digital word-of-mouth.
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Many students are first introduced to Conserve School by a friend or a friend of their family. The spreading of the Conserve School story through word-of-mouth is an important way to help others learn about Conserve School and the work we are doing. Take a moment to consider who you know who would benefit from a semester at Conserve School and then let them know. It may be helpful to share a video about Conserve School.
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Finra will examine some member firms to assess how they are protecting themselves from potential online threats, the broker-dealer regulator said in a notice posted on its website Thursday.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. said that it is trying to understand the dangers that lurk online for financial companies and their major information technology vulnerabilities. The regulator will review firms' cybersecurity preparation and supervision.
Finra is surveying about 20 firms across a variety of business models.
The regulator is launching the initiative because cybersecurity is consistently cited by member firms as one of their top five risks, according to Finra spokeswoman Michelle Ong.
(See: Which firms are most at risk for cyber-attacks?)
"Finra is conducting this assessment in light of the critical role information technology plays in the securities industry, the increasing threat to firms' IT systems from a variety of sources and the potential harm to investors, firms and the financial system as a whole that these threats pose," the organization said in its notice.
The move follows an announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission last week that it will conduct cybersecurity examinations before the end of September.
Jane Jarcho, national associate director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, told the audience at a compliance conference Jan. 30 that the commission will review the resources that firms devote to information security, their policies for assessing, preventing and responding to attacks and their systems guarding against identity theft and ensuring business continuity, among other areas.
Cybersecurity has long been a worry for the U.S. government and business. Its profile increased even more in recent weeks following massive customer data breaches at retailers Neiman Marcus, Target and possibly Michaels.
"The hackers are very slick," said Jennifer Openshaw, president of Finect, a compliant social-media platform for financial advisers. "It's in everyone's best interest to be looking for new ways that investors can be harmed."
Last year, the SEC approved a rule requiring investment advisers to implement identity theft programs.
"Think carefully about what policies you have in place to detect identity theft around customer accounts," Norm Champ, director of the SEC Division of Investment Management, said at the Jan. 30 compliance event at the commission's headquarters in Washington.
"Cybersecurity is one of the top issues we're hearing about, David Grim, deputy director of the division, said later in the program.
Some advisory firms won't be prepared for the cybersecurity exams, Ms. Openshaw said.
Smaller firms may lack resources and bigger ones may be relying on outdated technology.
"The most important thing for advisers is to at least have a process — a method and frequency for checking on cyberthreats, protecting data and having a feedback loop to the company, should any problems happen," she said.


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March was a month of accomplishments with many training and certification recognitions.
Lets start with Ed Gonzalez and Blake Bradley who successfully completed Emergency Vehicle Operators Instructors Course. Both are now certified VFIS EVOC Instructors .. Great work gentleman!
Next up was our Leadership Team who attended training on "Managing Today's ESO Organization" at Montgomery County Public Safety Training Facility/Conshocken. Supervisors CollenTuttle, Ray Gonzalez, Blake Bradley, Kim Thomsen, Ben Diaz and Tim Hinchcliff all successfully completed the program presented in 2 sessions in conjunction with the Fire Academy and VFIS.
Our last draft choice was EMT Edward Gonzalez who became an AHA Instructor and joins our expanding Training Team.
Our General Staff was also getting their share of professional growth with training on our new Electronic Patient Care Report Platform by ESO set to launch April 1,2018. All staff and leadership are being prepared to embark on a "state of the art" Pre Hospital Data Management System that will meet and exceed the industry standard.


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Hello there, buddies.
The other day I watched a clip about an economist (whose name escapes me) and he was talking about the differences between interests and passions in relation to failure and success. This clip really got my mind buzzing and I turned to my friend saying that I really need to blog about this sort of thing. So...here it is.
Now I think that there is a clear distinction between something you are interested in, and something that you are passionate about. However, the person who was speaking in that clip said that you cannot be successful by pursuing something you are simply interested in, yet not passionate about. This is something I think I am going to chat about today.
It was also said that you have to be successful to have a 'great' career. Now I say to you, what makes a 'great' career? I think that anything that provides a stable income and something you enjoy doing is a great career. I don't know what your opinions on this would be, so please do tell me in the comments below. The idea of a great career is clearly subjective, and most likely is going to change depending on the outlook of a person and what they enjoy. Also, the status of a career is going to change whether it is viewed as good or great. For example, my dad is a firefighter, a career that many people see as great. From someone who has an inside view, I would say that this would be 'good' career based on the theory provided by the economist. This is because he risks his life on a daily basis, doesn't have a high income, and is most likely something that my dad is not 100% passionate about (although others would disagree). However, someone who has an outside view would view this as a 'great' career because of this heroic stigma attached to it.They are often sensationalized as people who saves lives - which of course they do - but what people always tend to forget is that they put the lives of others before their own...and thy get paid pennies to do it. People idolise the likes of football players (who get paid over 30 times more what my dad gets in a year) who just run around on a field for a while chasing a white ball and over-exaggerating any contact they get. These types of people are passionate about what they do, yes, but they only made a career out of things by luck - nothing to do with being passionate. I would label my dad's career as 'good' because of the sheer fear that comes along with it - would you think that it is great wondering whether your dad is OK after tackling a blazing fire?
The thing is, it was said that something you are only interested in basically means you are doomed for failure? Do I agree with this? No, I do not. As someone who doesn't have a passion, this basic theory means that I am doomed to fail in life. Now this is just ridiculous. I have very high aspirations for myself, but in something I am only interested in. Does this mean that I will just spend the rest of my life failing at anything I go for? I think not.
I think it is irrelevant as to whether you are interested in something, or passionate about it, whether you succeed in it. If you are driven enough, know the right people, or have the right attitude then you will succeed. Interest and passion play no role in that.
I would say I am only interested in the subject that I am studying at university, yet I am hoping to have a career in the subject. I also have got relevant experience in it, and a once in a lifetime opportunity in this area without being passionate about it. Do you think I am going to fail simply because I am only interested in it?
The economist is suggested that no external factors play a role in whether you succeed or fail in life, and that it is driven simply by the desire fabricated by a severe interest in a certain thing. Take my blog for example. I wouldn't quite describe my blog as my passion as I find it quite easy to stop blogging for a while and turn my attention to other things; the same can be said about my degree. Someone who is passionate about something can only focus their main attention on that one given subject, without being able to voluntarily cease their involvement in it.
Would a passion mean that I am more likely to succeed in life? I do take two opposing views on this...First of all, it might help me along my way because of the extent of drive it would enforce in me. I would be likely to continue to pursue what I am doing out of pure interest and the desire to succeed because of how I felt about the said subject. But on the other hand, I feel that I don't need to be passionate about about it to get to that level of success. I can see the opinion of the economist, yes, but what I do not understand is why it is viewed that passion overrules interest. Surely you have to be interested in something for it to become a passion? Whether this interest is furthered to become a passion is down to the perceptions of the person involved. Just because they don't develop that strong attachment to it that develops in to a passion, doesn't mean they cannot be successful in that field.
I think that passions are a good thing to have, yes. But I think it's rare that you can find something to be that attached to. Some people have passions and go far in life, and some even become famous, but some people just aren't that lucky. For example, me! I am never going to be famous or crazy successful because I am just not that lucky - but that is a post for another time!
I think I need to draw this all together now; I seem to have rabbited on a bit too much, sorry! Long story short, I don't think people should be made to feel bad for the fact that they don't have something they are passionate about. If it were that people weren't successful because of the fact they haven't got a passion for something, then 90% of the world would be unemployed. I think it's more valuable to have multiple interests than to have one single passion so you can keep your options open and have several different talents. People who focus on more than one thing are probably more valuable in the long run. I don't know, that is just my opinion. Maybe I am biased because I don't have a particular passion? I don't know.
Anyway, enough from me.
I want to know your opinion. In the comments below, tell me what you think about the whole "passions vs interests" thing. If you have a passion I want to know why you have one and how it came about. If you don't have one, then I want to know the things you are interested in, why you're interested in them, etc. Basically, what draws you to the thinks you love?
If you enjoyed this post then do please click "Join This Site". I'd love to know whether you liked this style of post compared to my usual rant-y things.
As always, thank you for reading!
Talk to you soon, lovelies.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Passions vs interests
Posted by Lovelychubly at 3:34 pm
Labels: 2013 , blog , blogger , careers , debate , interests , life , opinion , passions , passions vs interests , september , student , things you love , university , weird
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Financial expert and former Assistant Secretary of Housing, Catherine Austin Fitts, says the U.S. government's actions with Hillary Clinton means it is more lawless than ever. Fitts explains, "The entire country now looks like Arkansas . . . we've all turned into Mena, Arkansas, now. It's pretty tragic. I have watched for two decades while 80% of the federal budget and federal credit has been run outside the Constitution and the laws related to financial management. I have never seen anything as blatant and outrageous as Loretta Lynch, prior to Hillary Clinton's interview with the FBI, meeting with her disbarred husband, who is either the husband of or the target of a criminal investigation, and basically briefing him, I am assuming and what I believe on what Hillary needs to know, so she can skate the (FBI) interview. What the President, Lynch and Comey don't want is the investigative team recommending to indict. . . . If you know anything about civil or criminal procedures, this is so beyond the law. This is so over the top that I have never seen anything more outrageous. It's beginning to look like Mena, Arkansas, during the Mena drug running."
Fitts says the corrupt way they handled Ms. Clinton is how they are handling the business of the federal government. Fitts contends, "We know the entire financial infrastructure of the government has been run as a criminal enterprise for quite some time. The government engineered the pump and dump housing market. The government was the one that let JP Morgan Chase skate on Madoff and many, many other situations. Yes, the government is being run outside of the laws related to money. That requires a double standard and a parallel universe between what you say you are doing and what you are really doing. The actual governance system is different than what the official story is, and that is the problem that you are seeing in every administration since the death of (President) Kennedy. Kennedy wasn't doing what 'Mr. Global' wanted, so he was assassinated. . . . This is now a very, very deep problem. We are financially dependent on organized crime cash flows as an economy. The citizens are going to have to make up their mind if are they going to tolerate this level of corruption or not."
On the economy crashing this year, Fitts says, "Could we turn into a bear market? I think given the commitment to equity markets and given the willingness to debase the currency, I think the chances of that are relatively small this year. Next year, depending on what happens in the election, the gloves are going to come off globally about what's been going on in the U.S. Anything could happen. That's the danger if you are an investment advisor or an investor. The swings here is we could be up 30%, or we could be down 50%. A black swan could happen, so if you are an investor, you need to be prepared for very, very wide swings both up and down in prices in the equity markets. Here's the important thing to remember. . . . We now have $12 trillion sitting in negative interest rates. Where's all that money going to go? It can't sit there getting nothing. It will have to go into real estate. It's going to have to go into equity. It's going to have to go to precious metals because it can't sit there getting no or negative yields forever. . . . The debt game is over."
On gold and silver, Fitts says, "Interest rates coming down makes gold and silver more attractive. I think the number one thing driving precious metals is you've still got growth going on in Asia, and they are buyers. People are afraid, and they are looking at what is going on with the leadership, and they are getting scared. They want to hedge their bets, and gold and silver is where you go when you don't trust the system."


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How to start your own business
Anyone and everyone wants to start a business, "is it so easy to start a successful business" asked my friend. This thought kept bugging us for quite some time that How to start own business?. Having this affecting us all the time we finally decided to meet successful businessmen and his answers left us confused and this would be brief in his answer.
Yes, starting a business is easy, any business for that matter, but making it successful and running it successfully is difficult because running a business isn't for the faint-hearted.
An idea alone will not make a business. An idea along with incessant hard work can make a business, but is it enough? Absolutely not running a business is something that cannot be confined to anything. If in general sky is the limit, then make yourself sure that the limit for business is definitely beyond that.
Anything can be business, from selling a paper clip to building spacecraft.
So what makes a business successful?
Any business can be successful if it is believed in, it should be filled with confident people with never give up attitude and readiness to take risks and sacrifice for it. The main point is not how to start own business; it is about how to start your own "successful business". Just as great wars are won with great guidance it is very important to get the guidance at the right time from the right people in businesses. The route to run a good business also involves knowing the customer, valuing the customer requirements and feedback and communicating with the customer and one's employees.
Legal aspects of starting any business:
How to start own business? The first legal aspect of starting a business will be choosing the business type like private limited or single proprietorship or any other for that matter as this helps identify the required set of laws as each branding has a different set of laws to be heeded to. Few of them are
Taxes: every company has to pay central, state and local taxes, these tax laws are very tricky as they are different in each sector.
SEBI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India have a separate set of laws for companies that are to be listed on the stock exchange and these laws are periodically changed.
Labour Laws: Any business requires people who work for it, be it freelancers, on roll employees or contractors, they come under labour laws. Following labour laws not only help you stay out of trouble with the government it also helps improve quality of your company.
Intellectual property laws: These laws are applicable to companies which develop something new like research. It is also critical in filing patents, trademark and claim copyrights.
Information technology laws: The new age is fully loaded with information technology, hence this law. This law includes digital signatures, e-contracts as using cloud computing and other services gives the business a lot of customer data from name to bank account details, all these are bound by the information technology law. A sound knowledge of this law is important or your dream company might end like "pirate bay".
Common Registrations and licenses
A startup business has many regulations and registrations it has to adhere to, a few of them are
|Permanent Account Number (PAN)
|Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN)
|UdyogAadhaar Number under The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, 2006
|Registration of factories and establishments under The Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948.
|Registration under The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
|Registration of vehicle
|Registration and Licensing of Food Business as per the Food Safety And Standards Act, 2006
|NOC for Ground Water Withdrawal
Successful Businesses and what made them successful
How to start own business? Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Flipkart are all successful start-ups that one knows today. But many have not actually seen the reason behind the success.
Apple was developed with the mindset of being used by itself, unlike other companies who developed products for others, the company made sure that the product they developed was something they couldn't live without themselves, so this provoked them to simplify things and make the products easy to use.
Apple has made sure that it makes a product only if it can make it better, it stayed away from making the stereotyped products hence creating a market for itself, Steve Jobs always believed that even if you create products that are easy to use the variety of uses complicates it so he believed in giving the best customer service experience which became another reason for the company to become successful.
Lesson learnt: Give the client something they would love to own!
When e-commerce was taking the baby steps in India, Flipkart took the challenge and set up Bangalore as its headquarters.
It took a giant leap and identified two major concerns faced by e-commerce companies worldwide and gave an extremely easy solution taking the mindset of the people into account.
When the usage of e-payment gateways was not so popular amongst the masses they introduced the cash on a delivery system which is now an option for all e-commerce giants nowadays. Also, they came with their own delivery boys system thus ensuring short and timely product delivery.
This kind of thinking made them stand apart from the rest, in a country that was very new to the concept of buying online.
Lesson learnt: Take up challenges!
The main theme behind these examples is that from every startup, there is something to learn. It is good to learn from start-ups before starting your own business.
Common reasons behind failed Businesses
We don't want to pinpoint any business and degrade them. So we have collated few businesses that did not do well as expected. Some few common traits that have led to failure in start-ups are
- Building wrong products without knowing the clients.
- Using employees who have no interest to work for the company, which will not let them give their best.
- Not creating enough salary offers like incentives.
- An absence of full confidence in the product and lack of guidance.
- When one plan fails, not shifting to another plan.
- Inability to raise funds.
Few examples of such failed business are Cardback, Stayzilla, Taskbob.
These are the tips on how to start own business, ladies and gentlemen. Anyone can start a business but be running the business successfully is a whole other ball game, but an easily understandable ball game. Only a few factors like, good idea, hard work, readiness to change and accept change, anyone who is ready to treat himself has his own customer can definitely become the best businessman.


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Musoki who graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree in Risk Management and Insurance from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), pleaded guilty to committing criminal nuisance in contravention of Section 46 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform).
According to All African reports, Prosecutors said the 23-year-old student stood up during the graduation ceremony while demanding for employment uttered the unpleasant words 'mabasa ngaadzoke President' (Return to Work) three times, before he was caught and pounced on by State security agencies before he was handed over to the police.
However, during the court hearing Musoki's lawyer Mehluli Dube from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) pleaded with the court to give Musoki a non-custodial sentence, which resulted to a fine of $50 or face two weeks in prison.
Student fined $50 for asking President Mugabe for job in Zimbabwe Reviewed by Unknown on 06:12 Rating:


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Experiencing car problems can be extremely stressful. You might be lost as to how to proceed in fixing them. You should learn more about auto repair if you don't know much about the topic. This article will give you the basics on how to fix a car yourself as well as what you need to know about bringing it to a shop.
Only choose an A.S.E. certified mechanic. This kind of certification tells you that whoever will be working on your car has a couple years of experience and has passed a test. You will then know that you are dealing with a trained professional.
Do not give your keys to your mechanic before knowing more about the cost of the repairs. Should you need clarification about the repairs, speak with the service manager or your mechanic before work begins. Don't be surprised with extra costs when the car has been fixed.
You don't always need a repair-person for your car troubles. Some car repairs are easy to do yourself. Research into auto repair online may help you identify the problem. If the repair isn't too difficult, you might be able to save money by doing it yourself.
You should wash your car often to avoid rust. Every car is going to rust in the future, but this can be delayed if you just get all of the chemicals and salt off your car when you can. Utilize quality waxes to keep the paint looking new.
There is no better way to find an auto mechanic than to get a referral. Ask friends, family or co-workers for recommendations. They will be able to give you a heads up about satisfaction, quality and price. They will be the first to tell you about a dishonest mechanic too!
Experiencing car problems is something many people dread. You have to understand car repairs at least somewhat to feel more confident. This article provided you with the education you need to get started, you just have to put it to use.
Auto Repair Irvine
Foreign and Domestic Auto Service Shop
Call Today: 949-743-0153 – Fix Your Car Today
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The Committee on Nominations & Elections (N&E) laid the groundwork for the council last fall, when it prepared a slate of nominees for the office of ACS president-elect for 2013. The four nominees are Thomas J. Barton, Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames; Luis A. Echegoyen, Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry, University of Texas, El Paso; William A. Lester Jr., professor of the graduate school, University of California, Berkeley, and senior faculty scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and Barry M. Trost, Tamaki Professor, School of Humanities & Sciences, Stanford University.It's time to vote for The Kentucky Colonel, folks.
Also, did you know that the ACS had a code of conduct?!? I didn't. They're going to update it, apparently. I find this section interesting:
To Their Employees
Chemical professionals, as employers, should treat subordinates with respect for their professionalism and concern for their well-being, without bias. Employers should provide them with a safe, congenial working environment, fair compensation, opportunities for advancement, and proper acknowledgment of their scientific contributions.Well, it's aspirational at least.


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Take a moment to view any of our online samples and see why the owners of Boston Event Films have been recognized by their peers time and time again as multiple Platinum Vista Award winners by the National Professional Videographers Association for 3 consecutive years. We also create wedding videos, corporate videos, podcasts and live streaming and music videos. We service the greater Boston Area and Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the Islands, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York but can handle your video requirements anywhere it needs to be worldwide.
We provide a wide range of services that we package as a whole or can provide as needed. Whatever the requirement, we assemble a team of professionals whose creative and production skills perfectly match the challenge.
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