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Police are questioning two boys over the recordings of calls made to Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Hotline.
The suspects, aged 16 and 17, are being held in the West Midlands by detectives from the Police Central e-Crime Unit.
They were arrested last night on suspicion of offences under the Malicious Communications Act and the Computer Misuse Act.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said the pair were in custody in the West Midlands.
An anarchist group known as Team Poison has claimed it eavesdropped on highly-sensitive counter-terror conversations after bypassing technology from the 1980s.
A number of recordings were posted on YouTube by the group.
The Met said the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), which is leading the investigation, was aware hoaxers had made calls to the hotline and made recordings of their conversations with anti-terrorist hotline staff.
An earlier statement said: "The Anti-Terrorist Hotline remains operational and we continue to urge members of the public to report any suspicious activity to the police.
"Public reporting is an important part of the fight against terrorism and any attempt to disrupt this service will be investigated thoroughly."
Before the arrests Ailsa Beaton, director of information at Scotland Yard, said she was satisfied there was no attack on internal systems.
"We have throughout the day researched the allegation that the Anti-Terrorist Hotline had been 'hacked' and activists' claims that they were able to listen unrestricted to confidential communications," she said.
"We are confident the MPS communication systems have not been breached and remain, as they always have been, secure.
"We are satisfied that any recording would have been made via the receiving handset only and not from an attack on internal systems.
"The public can remain confident in the ability to communicate in confidence and that the integrity of the Anti-Terrorist Hotline remains in place."


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I'm getting tired of seeing listings for dude-dominated digital art shows. Just to count what I've seen in the last month: The USB Show, at Paris's Le Point Éphémère two weeks ago, invited one woman artist to participate out of 21; Astral Projection Abduction Fantasy, which ran from February 23rd to March 23rd in Dublin, included three women out of 29 artists; and the April 12th BYOB show, in Milan, only included 9 women out of 42 invited artists. These shows might as well be Lilith Fair, though, relative to the worst recent offender, Dotcom, a show organized by the anonymous collective BSNP at the Centre d'Art Bastille in France. That group show runs through June 10th and includes no women at all.
Dotcom artist Sterling Crispin has little patience for those who dare to complain. "The gender conversation is so boring" he lamented on a recent Facebook thread, before reflecting a little, "maybe I'm a man and so I have the privilege of saying that, but seriously, come on, let's get post gender". He then suggested that the artists who choose to complain only stigmatise themselves as "women artists" rather than solving the issue.
Crispin subsequently deleted the Facebook thread—one hopes because he realized his response was probably more harmful than saying nothing at all—but he remains in the show. To the best of my knowledge, no artists refused to participate, which, frankly, reflects just as poorly on the participants as it does on the curator. As artist and curator Sally McKay explains:
As a curator in the 21st century, if I put together a show with all one gender (especially a large group show) I have to know that the show is therefore going to be about gender, whether I like it or not. If I do it by accident, then I am missing a big piece of what it is to be a curator. If I do it on purpose, then I have to own it in the curatorial premise of the exhibition. As an artist, if I am curated into an exhibition of all-women then I ask the curator, "Why all women? I don't identify specifically as a female artist…what is this show really about? Maybe it's not really the right context for my work."
It's important for male artists to be similarly sensitive about how their work is contextualized. Unless you're an artist specifically working in the "dude art" genre, it's best not to have your work identified by such an easy trope. Better-known participating artists like Michael Manning, Constant Dullaart, and Travess Smalley, in particular, could and should have made a point about this.
When artist Lorna Mills asked Hugo Scibetta, an artist who helped put the show together, about the curatorial decisions, he responded defensively. "We choosed [sic] those pieces because of the artworks and not because of the people and their sex," he told her over Facebook. "This reaction makes me feel like you're a frustrated person, I hope you are not."
This unwillingness to accept the responsibility of curation is not becoming. These shows tell a story about the participants of net art; that half of them are left out means that the show is worthless as a historical document. These aren't exhibitions organized around a conceit so tightly bound that the curator only has a few artists to choose from, they're large group shows centered on a loose premise. There's no reason or excuse for the disparity.
Gender equality doesn't sideline art; we know that from the work of any number of digital art curators who manage to include women. Lauren Cornell at Rhizome and Lindsay Howard of 319 Scholes both consistently produce smart, gender-balanced exhibitions, and that track record isn't an accident. It's the result of a kind of professionalism that not only demands curators carefully consider how the content of a show may be received, but possess the self-awareness to make sure that happens.

subset: commoncrawl


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FRIDAY, Dec. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. operating rooms got busy once again soon after the first round of pandemic shutdowns, according to a study that challenges the widely held belief that operations have been curtailed indefinitely during the age of COVID-19.
"It's an untold story," said senior study author Dr. Sherry Wren, a professor of general surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, in California. "It's the opposite of what all the headlines say."
For the study, Wren and her colleagues compared 13 million surgical procedures performed in 49 states, comparing each week in 2019 to the matching week in 2020.
As expected, the investigators found a significant (48%) decline in surgeries during the seven weeks after mid-March 2020, when the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recommended that hospitals minimize, postpone or cancel elective surgeries, which are procedures that are medically necessary but can be put off for more than a few days.
"If you think back to that time, nobody was sure if they had enough personal protective equipment [PPE], and doing operations clearly burns through your PPE. There was also the fear of not having adequate hospital beds and ICU beds and ventilators," Wren explained in a university news release.
But 35 days after issuing its initial proclamation to curtail elective surgeries, the CMS issued safe resumption guidelines that focused on adequate facilities, pre-procedure COVID-19 testing and supplies of PPE, the study authors noted.
"If you could manage those things, you could operate," Wren said.
By July 2020, U.S. surgery rates began to return to, or even surpass, 2019 levels. By the end of 2020, the overall total volume of surgeries was only 10% below the 2019 volume, according to the study published online Dec. 8 in JAMA Network Open.
The study focused on 11 major surgical categories. By July 2020, all except one category had returned to pre-pandemic levels. The only exception was ear, nose and throat surgeries, which maintained a persistent decrease of about 30%.
The overall quick rebound in surgeries was likely due to a number of reasons, including COVID-19 testing and the fact that the majority of surgeries can be performed on an outpatient basis, according to Wren.
Even when there was a second COVID-19 surge during the fall and winter of 2020, surgeries continued at normal or even elevated rates, the researchers said.
The investigators also found that more COVID-19 cases correlated with fewer surgeries during the initial shutdown, but not during the surge period, when there was an eightfold increase in COVID-19 cases.
"This tells us that we learned something, institutionally and nationally, about how to provide care during a time of crisis," said study co-author Dr. Arden Morris, a professor of surgery at Stanford.
"Even as supply lines were compromised; as we were trying to preserve PPE; and, most importantly, as we limited transmission of this highly transmissible virus, we managed to provide care at essentially the same rates as usual," Morris noted.
"We know a new COVID surge will be associated with the upcoming winter holidays, especially now that there's a highly contagious new variant," she said. "But this research makes me hopeful that we'll be able to maintain high-quality care during the next surge because of everything we've learned."
More information
For more on COVID-19 and surgery, go to the American College of Surgeons.
SOURCE: Stanford University, news release, Dec. 8, 2021


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The White House President George W. Bush |
Print this document |
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 1, 2002
Presidential Letter on Iraq
Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate
July 30, 2002
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Mr. President:)
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the enclosed notice, stating that the Iraq emergency is to continue in effect beyond August 2, 2002, to the Federal Register for publication. The most recent notice continuing this emergency was published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2001, (66 Fed Reg. 40105).
The crisis between the United States and Iraq that led to the declaration of a national emergency on August 2, 1990, has not been resolved. The Government of Iraq continues to engage in activities inimical to stability in the Middle East and hostile to U.S. interests. Such Iraqi actions pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to Iraq and to maintain in force the broad authorities necessary to apply economic pressure on the Government of Iraq.
# # #


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Available for the first time since 2008, the PRS Artist Package provides thousands of unique combinations and enhanced features for guitarists and collectors alike.
Stevensville, MD (April 4, 2012) – Paul Reed Smith Guitars is introducing the new PRS Artist Package, an exclusive platform that offers expanded features, options, and colors on select models in the PRS core electric guitar line. Available for the first time since 2008, the PRS Artist Package provides thousands of unique combinations and enhanced features for guitarists and collectors alike.
2012 Artist Package instruments come standard with exceptional tone woods, including an artist grade (flame or quilt) maple top, select mahogany back, ebony headstock veneer with inlaid signature, ebony truss rod cover, and premium Mexican ebony fingerboard. This is the first time outside of the Private Stock program that PRS is offering Mexican ebony, a wood which, once oiled, turns a beautiful, deep chocolate brown. Several unique options are also available, including the choice of PRS's coveted 57/08, 59/09, or 53/10 pickups (excluding the P22 and 513); gold, nickel, or hybrid hardware; a figured maple or East Indian rosewood neck; and a figured maple (maple neck only) or ebony fretboard. New artist bird inlays (green abalone with green ripple outlines on Mexican ebony and ebony fretboards / green abalone with black lip mother of pearl outlines on maple fretboards), V12 finish, and an artist case are also included.
The Artist Package will be available on the Custom 24, Studio, P22 (no pickup substitution), 513 Maple Top (no pickup substitution), SC 58, McCarty 58, Hollowbody II (Quilt top and back optional), and Singlecut Hollowbody II (Quilt top and back optional), and the Custom 22 (this model is available via the Artist Package program only).
For more information:


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If you're obsessed with marginal gains and have the wallet to back it up, we made S-Works. But if you're obsessed with phenomenal performance but have a racer's budget—we know the feeling—look no further than the new Tarmac Pro frameset. It's a blank canvas for your dream build.
For the construction, we utilized advanced aerospace composite optimization software to revolutionize the construction and layup of our new FACT 10r carbon. It's the most advanced material and schedule we've ever made—the shape, schedule, and material optimization allowed us to shed nearly 200 grams. That's right, a 20% reduction in frame weight—the perfect recipe for your next hill climb PR.
We started by further improving our Rider-First Engineered technology to ensure that the new Tarmac is stiff and compliant in exactly the right places, all while shedding some serious weight. With this revamp, we also updated the geometry—basing it on countless Retül data points and professional rider input. This enabled us to develop a performance road geometry that perfects the combination of a responsive front-end and short wheelbase, delivering instantaneous response and optimal power transfer.
While stiffness aids in the aforementioned, compliance must also be utilized for an optimal ride quality. That's why we designed a seatpost that builds compliance into the upper 120mm where clamping doesn't happen, dropped the seatstays, and altered the seat tube shape. We also added tire clearance up to 30mm, which translates to a 28mm Turbo Cotton on a Roval CL 50 wheel. This allows lower pressures for decreased rolling resistance, increased traction, and more comfort. Altogether, these additions still have the Tarmac riding like a true race-machine, but they just take a bit of the sting out of those road imperfections. You'll thank us on your next long ride.
This is all great, but we know that aerodynamics are the most important thing we can do to make you faster. Both our Bora-Hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floors Pro Tour riders, after all, are demanding aero improvements on every bike. With this, the aero goal was to discover where we could essentially "add aero for free," by not taking anything away from the hallmarks of the Tarmac design. During the six-month iterative process, three areas were discovered where we could do this—a new fork shape, dropped seatstays with aero tubes, and a D-shaped seatpost and seat tube. The result? A bike that's approximately 45 seconds faster over 40km compared to other lightweight bikes in the same category.
- The FACT 10r carbon frame combines the lightweight performance and compliance of our top-end carbon production methods with our Rider-First Engineered design that ensures every frame size has the same legendary climbing responsiveness and descending prowess you'd expect from a Tarmac.
- The FACT 10r carbon fork with a tapered construction provides incredible front-end stiffness and steering response for instantaneous accelerations and high-speed descents.


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Staff are invited to celebrate Mass together throughout the 2017-18 academic year. All faiths and those seeking faith are welcome to join staff chaplains, Rev. Jim Bracke, C.S.C., and Rev. Tim O'Connor, C.S.C., for this prayer. Mass will be celebrated at 12:10 p.m. in the Log Chapel on April 6.
Originally published at campusministry.nd.edu.


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Saturday, January 30, 2016
{Neat & Tangled Video} Perfect Blend
I'm on the Neat & Tangled blog today with this card and video featuring the Perfect Blend stamp and coordinating die set. I used several techniques to create this card, including creating an ombre background using the latte art images, as well as watercoloured focal points and heat embossed hearts.
The MISTI stamping tool allowed me to double-stamp the background in three shades of ombre ink. I mirrored those same colours in the coffee cups, using distress inks and simple watercoloring. I used a white gel pen to "erase" any colour that bled outside the lines on the coffee cups.
The black hearts were heat embossed using Versafine Onyx Black pigment ink and clear embossing powder. The patterned paper is from Crate Paper's Notes & Things paper pad.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
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Jangos kid
Well-Known Hunter
Hey folks. thought I'd show a few pics of my newly painted chest armor &newly completed vest. the armour is MLC & I absolutely love it!!! Thanx Mardon. I havn't decided if I like the paint job or not yet, so thought I'd get a few opinions if some of you would be kind enough to offer constructive critism. I screwed up on the center diamond, so I'll have to redo that. The vest isn't perfect either, I think the shoulder bells are too long, but I guess it will work for now. Anyway, thanx for looking. Thanx again for hostin Secol!!!


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A significant and quite unpleasant part of my job is to talk to upset customers.
Today I spent well over an hour exchanging pleasantries with an eBay customer who refused to accept the fact that eBay refers to every repair service listing as an "item" and shows, without vendors being able to control that, the words "Items available" on the page.
I learned, along the way, that my use of English language is bad, that our offer is fishy and that my statements are contradicting, so beware - what I say may or may not be correct and if it sounds fishy it might indeed be!
Oddly enough, eBay sided with our version of the story this time and rejected customer's claims, so we had to take care of his issue manually after he learned from another source he was wrong...which we did, of course.
Just for the record, here's part of the exchange, before it got messy:
The reason I am making this post in the middle of a fairly busy Monday is because literally half an hour after we were done with that customer (hardly winning his heart, but being fair nonetheless and not making any money of him!) I received another feedback, from another customer and it looked like this:
Much shorter and easier to process, wasn't it?
What I find ironic is not the mere coincidence that we received condemnation and praise in one day.
That is not uncommon.
What I find ironic is that both customers have no feedback on eBay, which makes it logical that both of them are brand new there and have not had past experience dealing with eBay and repair services.
The first customer accused us in misleading him and making false representation of a repair service due to the term "Items available" placed on the page by eBay (not us!); he also accused us to be profiting from misleading people like him.
The second customer, who used practically identical repair service offer, apparently had no such issues and is now apparently happily enjoying his or her TV at a faction of the cost of a new one.
Where do you think the difference in their experiences comes from?
If it was up to you which customer would you rather be - the ones who sees problems everywhere, but not in himself or the one that reads offer descriptions and follows instructions?
It isn't black and white, I know, and I do not ask anyone to trust us blindly.
yet the public fact is that roughly 98% of our customers on eBay find us of value.
That must mean something, right?
Monday, November 13, 2017
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The day could not have been better - cool morning temperatures, low humidity, zephyr breezes - just right for a long scooter ride. Off I went to Galveston.
(Kinda small isn't it? Click on the map and all the photos to see the full-sized images.)
It is a 400 plus mile ride to Galveston. I was not in hurry, so the scooter and I took the back roads. If I am in a hurry to get somewhere, I just drive the car. I can take the super-slab and cruise at 75-80 mph in the car and, but a bike is more conducive to a lazier cruise at 65-70 mph, going through small towns and along two-lane roads.
Since I was only staying one night away from home, I didn't pack much more than a toothbrush and a bar of soap. Well, a change of underwear too - something clean to put on after washing the bugs off at the end of the day.
As you can see, the topography of deep south Texas is flat - most people's table tops are bumpier than our landscape. Worse, to get north of here towards the east, there are only two roads - neither of them Interstates, but both are divided highways.
In other words, boring.
But, once I got past Corpus Christi, the road was still flat, but it became two-lane and started weaving through small coastal towns. I found a little road side eatery - the kind patronized by construction workers and road crews - and enjoyed the "How ya' doin'?" from the leather-skinned waitress. Not much chance of finding a "fit and lean" menu item here - the burgers were gigantic, covered with cheese and cooked with extra grease.
Ever heard of the town of Blessing, Texas? Neither had I, but there it was - a beautifully maintained old hotel surrounded by the typical small-town main street of deserted shops and dilapidated houses. The Blessing Hotel is on some sort of registry for old historical buildings. The hotel and the town were so named because it was considered a blessing when the railroad came through.
The scoot ran perfectly and its rider did okay too, but the rider's butt was happy to see the motel at the end of the ride. A nice meal, a shower and the evening cigar made for a perfect day.
Morning brought another great day for riding, but before returning home, I wanted to see some of the local area.
Galveston was all but destroyed in the Great Hurricane of 1900 - 8,000 people perished. It was nailed again by Hurricane Ike in 2008. Across Galveston Bay is the Bolivar Peninsula - and Ike's winds and storm surge left little standing in the fishing and resort villages along the peninsula. Four years later, there is still lots of evidence of the destruction.
People being what they are, total destruction doesn't seem to deter them from building anew, as evidenced by some gorgeous new vacation homes.
After a breakfast of croissants (purchased at a shop run by immigrant Cambodians), it was time to head back home. There is only one way to get to the Bolivar Peninsula from Galveston, and that is by ferry. Surprisingly, it is free. I guess the Texas Department of Transportation figures running the ferry is cheaper than building a high bridge over the heavily traveled ship channel into the Houston area. The scooter nestled in between cars and three Harley-Davidson motorcycles on the way back. I find my scooter is always a conversation-starter with other two-wheel riders. Most don't believe a scooter can travel at highway speeds, but once the Harley riders realize I haven't lost my masculinity because I ride a scooter, there is always a friendly bit of chit chat. Once off the ferry and on the highway, I passed the trio at 70 mph - and made believers that my little Burgman can boogie with the big boys.
Galveston itself itself is a neat old city, worthy of further exploration. There is just a little bit of a New Orleans flavor to the place, including some great old houses - and even better people. I think another trip to explore the town may be in the future - but not during tourist season.
Then, the long ride home. I don't have a radio or music player on the bike - on purpose. Besides not wanting to be distracted (and therefore, less safe), I also relish the time alone with my thoughts - pondering ideas, reminiscing some great times or planning new adventures. It is like wakeful dreaming - a time to let the mind sort itself out. I cut contact with the world with the knowledge that it will still be there when the ride is over.
By afternoon, the sea breeze had turned into strong winds, and though the Burgman is stable in the wind, riding is just not quite as much fun in the stiff gusts. A stop for gas and a quick text to Cindy telling her to keep supper warm, I rode home with bugs in my teeth.
Riding is good for the soul.


text: Almost done with my studio closet revamping! This is where I am at so far-and I am pretty happy with it. LaVaughn did a good job with adding the new shelves, love that guy! It looks so much better and it smells so good(not that it was ever stinky!)...just added a candle & diffuser. I will need to hang a few photos, and maybe a mirror-to make it feel bigger. I hope to add a new light & a french door in the next few months. Plus, a few more covered boxes or baskets while the Container Store has a sale going. I also want to spruce up that chest of drawers this week. The closet only had one shelf-LaVaughn added three...it is a big relief having more shelf space in there...


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Oakbrook Center undergoing largest renovation since 1962 opening
Before it was ever a Marshall Field's, it was just a field.
Barb Siegman remembers the site very well — the vastness of it, the emptiness.
The Villa Park native remembers too when the field at the corner of 22nd Street and Route 83 in Oak Brook became the Oakbrook Center mall.
For Siegman, just a girl when the mall opened in 1962, and many others from Oak Brook and the surrounding area, the mall always has been something of a special place. Her mother, Elfriede Lohrentz, worked there from 1966 until 1981, and Siegman worked there while attending college.
When Oakbrook Center opened, the closest mall was in Hillside and, truth be told, that one couldn't hold a candle to the new facility. Woodfield was still a decade away from taking its place as one of the region's premier tourist destinations.
If you were around DuPage County back then, Oakbrook Center with its gardens and walkways and selection of stores was the place to go.
Now, more than 50 years later, the center is undergoing its first major renovation at a cost of more than $30 million.
The mall has seen its share of additions over the years but never a full-scale makeover of this size. With the center celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, mall General Manager Chuck Fleming says the timing just seemed right for a major facelift.
"You always need to reinvent yourself," Fleming says. "We really wanted to enhance what we have, and also maintain the things that have kept shoppers coming to the Oakbrook Center."
The plan
Renovation talks began three or four years ago. When the construction is finished — a few weeks before Black Friday, if all goes as planned — it will be just as Fleming described it: an enhancement to what always has lured shoppers.
Oakbrook Center has always been an outdoor mall, and the renovations will only improve that experience, he says.
A spiraling fountain, located outside Crate & Barrel near the center of the mall, is being added, along with the "Village Green" — an open lawn area that will be used for seasonal entertainment and special events, including live music.
Another new feature is what the mall is calling an "amenities pavilion." Located near Sears on the mall's west side will be an enclosed glass pavilion where shoppers can find soft seating, tables and a warming station that includes a fireplace. The amenities pavilion will be open-air in summer and enclosed in winter.
There also will be a number of smaller fountains added across the mall and fire totems for keeping warm during winter months. New walkways have been put in, but Fleming says the square footage of trees and flowers will remain the same.
And no mall renovation would be complete without the addition of new stores and restaurants.
The lower level of Neiman Marcus, a three-story store on the mall's east side, is being converted into Perry's Steakhouse, a Texas-based chain making its debut in the Chicago area, and Old Town Pour House, a popular bar and restaurant branching out from its primary location on Chicago's Near North Side.
The former Bloomingdale's, which closed in 2012, will now feature six individual retailers: Tommy Bahama, Lululemon Athletica, Hugo Boss, Fixtures Living, The Container Store and a yet-to-be-announced sixth shop.
"I think this is something people are excited about," Fleming says. "I believe this renovation will enable us to move into the next 50 years."
Executing the plan
Anyone who has stepped foot in Oakbrook Center during the past year has heard the clanking and clamoring of construction.
Shoppers have had to take roundabout paths to get from store to store, but none of the retailers has been forced to close during the work.
And while the construction may have caused groans every once in a while, Fleming says it has not noticeably hurt the mall in terms of day-to-day operations.
A number of the anchor stores also have undergone renovations of their own. Lord & Taylor completely remodeled its main floor and expanded many of its departments, completing the work in April.
Nordstrom is undergoing a roughly $35 million makeover. Store manager Shea Jensen said many of the departments have outgrown their space. Men's and women's apparel will no longer be split between floors, and a full-service restaurant with a bar is now open on the first floor.
Nordstrom renovations are expected to be complete in early November. Jensen says she would be lying if she didn't think construction affected the store's business.
"It can be disruptive," she says. "Our intention has been to be available and accessible to serve customers through it."
Jensen says Nordstrom has tried to confine the loudest work to when the store is closed, or at least when it is not at its busiest.
But it's harder to hide construction on the main concourse at the center.
Oak Brook Community Development Director Bob Kallien says the village has not received any complaints about the construction. The village is well aware of the mall's importance to the community.
"(The Oakbrook Center) has been a centerpiece (of Oak Brook) for the last 50 years," Kallien says. "Its success leads to the successes of the village."
The future
Construction has not stopped Siegman from shopping at Oakbrook Center. With the renovations coming down the home stretch, she's excited to see how the changes turn out for her lifelong shopping destination.
"I'm going to go over and see how the whole area looks and how it all came together," Siegman said. "I'm interested to see the fountain area and how they put all the plantings in."
When Siegman's mother retired from Marshall Field's in 1981, the store rewarded her with a lifetime discount. And when Macy's acquired Marshall Field's in 2005, it continued to honor the agreement.
Elfriede continued shopping at her former employer into her 90s. And when age began to take its toll, Siegman would shop for her. Elfriede died last year at the age of 95.
"Marshall Field's was definitely my favorite store (growing up)," Siegman says.
Oakbrook Center has come a long way since 1962. The vast and empty field is long gone. And so is Marshall Field's.
But the memories of those early days remain strong for Siegman and others like her who were around when the mall sprouted from seemingly nothing and provided a backdrop for at least a small portion of their lives.
Mall officials know all that. With any luck, they say, the new-look Oakbrook Center will play a similar role for the next 50 years.


text: My latest column in Tax Analysts' Tax Notes International is here. I argue that the IGAs have a dubious legal pedigree because they are not treaties, not congressionally-authorized executive agreements, and not interpretations of existing agreements; therefore they are sole executive agreements--entered into by the executive branch with no authorization or oversight from Congress. This puts them on very shaky ground in terms of the constitutional process for binding the US internationally, and I argue that this is both unhelpful to other governments as a practical matter (IGAs override the statute, so if they fail, then what) and an unnecessary muddling of the rule of law, which should make other governments wary (if you have a process in place to bind the US under international law, why aren't you using it).


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"Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and a pure heart…" says the Bible. But as the College of Cardinals gets closer to choosing a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who retired on February 28, it is becoming an increasingly daunting task to find anyone who passes the smell test.
This week, as the cardinals descended on Rome for pre-conclave congregational meetings to share concerns for the global church and form a profile of what they want in a new pontiff, another group of concerned Catholics held court of their own to voice the concerns of victims of predator priests. SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests), the 12,000-member strong priest abuse victims' group, issued its "dirty dozen" of potential popes who they feel would be "the worst papal candidates for the safety of children" and gave their blessing to three others who they feel are "the least of the bad" who could lead their church out of its darkest hour. They also presented a wish list for what they believe the church should do going forward, which includes "to severely and clearly discipline, demote, denounce and defrock bishops caught concealing sex-abuse crimes." They would also like the church to order bishops in local dioceses to "turn over every piece of paper relating to accusations of abuse," which they believe would stop predators in their tracks.
The list of "nay" contenders, which includes three American cardinals, was vetted based primarily on the prelates' documented actions in the cover-up of the child-sex-abuse scandal. According to SNAP Executive Director David Clohessy, Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, tops the list for his controversial move to pay predatory priests $20,000 to leave the ministry when he was archbishop of Milwaukee from 2002 to 2009. A dozen priests took the offer, according to documents released when the Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for bankruptcy. Dolan has dismissed the group as scurrilous, first denying the payouts and then stepping back after bankruptcy documents filed by the diocese of Milwaukee proved otherwise. "SNAP has no credibility whatsoever," Dolan said last summer when allegations of the payout first surfaced.
SNAP's dirty dozen also includes names that are topping the "papabili," or most likely candidates for the papacy, like Italy's Angelo Scola, who makes the list thanks to a 2010 homily he delivered in St. Peter's Basilica in which he "shifted blame and minimized church wrongdoing" on abuse. George Pell of Australia was included for calling media coverage of the child-sex-abuse scandal "smears," and Marc Oullet of Canada charted for refusing to meet with sex-abuse victims. Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico earned the dubious recognition for once claiming there were no documented cases of abuse against minors in his country despite allegations that he harbored predatory priests like Nicholas Aguilar Rivera, who left the Los Angeles diocese under Cardinal Roger Mahony when he was accused of abusing Mexican children. (Mahony is not on the list because he is not seen as a top contender.) Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, another front runner on many lists, is named because of his adamant opposition to bishops alerting civil authorities about abuse. "I would be willing to go to jail before harming one of my priests," he once said, according to SNAP. "I am not a policeman."
SNAP also singled out Sean O'Malley of Boston, whose alleged list of offenses includes a reluctance to post names of offending priests on his website. Leonardo Sandri of Argentina was included because he supported the controversial Legionaries of Christ founder Marcial Marciel, who admitted to fathering several children with different women and to molesting seminarians. The last of the 12 scorned cardinals is papabili favorite Peter Turkson of Ghana, who said there were scant child-molesting cases in Africa because "we don't tolerate gay people."
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi quickly dismissed SNAP's dirty-dozen list as irrelevant to what's going on as the cardinals meet to decide Benedict's successor. "It's not up to SNAP to decide who participates in the conclave and who they choose," he said at a press briefing earlier this week. Still, the leaders of SNAP also offered up three potential prelates who they say are "the best of the worst" to lead the church. Their favorite is Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines, a name that many Vatican insiders have also been mentioning. Tagle has spoken out on the "culture of shame" inside the Catholic church and even commended the media for investigative work uncovering the scandal. "The church must stop waiting for a bomb," he said at a symposium on child abuse in the Catholic church last year, arguing that the church should focus on prevention rather than reaction.
SNAP also gives a nod to Austrian prelate Christoph Schonborn, another name that has been mentioned by several Vatican experts as a potential pope. Schonborn was disciplined by the Vatican in 2010 for speaking out about the Roman Curia's handling of abuse, which has won him a badge of honor with victims. But the group had to go outside the College of Cardinals to find a third candidate they approved of, naming Archbishop of Dublin, Ireland, Diarmuid Martin, an outspoken prelate who has been a trailblazer on abuse in the Irish church for his condemnation of the cover-up. Even though he is not a cardinal, he could still be pope.
"Any man can become the pope," Father Thomas Reese, analyst for the National Catholic Reporter told The Daily Beast. "As long as they are willing to be ordained a priest, become a cardinal, and then be pope. The only real stipulation is that it cannot be a woman."
Of course, the victims of church crimes have no vote in the conclave and no real bearing whatsoever on what happens inside the Sistine Chapel when the cardinals go into the conclave. They also admit to being what Clohessy calls a "one-issue group" in their battle against priestly sex abuse. But their membership, which includes 12,000 victims and family members, want the cardinals to remember the tormented stories of those abused by priests when they make their decision. No one knows the sordid details of the child-abuse scandal better than Clohessy. He and his three siblings were molested by their priest in St. Louis for years when they were growing up. One of his brothers went on to become a priest who Clohessy says then molested young children in his parish.
"It still hurts, even 30 years later," Clohessy said, tears streaming down his face, as he announced SNAP's list of acceptable candidates for the papacy. "There is nothing we can do to make them listen except to keep talking."


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Senate overwhelmingly passes criminal justice overhaul
The bill addresses concerns that the war on drugs has led to the imprisonment of too many Americans for nonviolent crimes.
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a sweeping criminal justice bill Tuesday that addresses concerns that the nation's war on drugs had led to the imprisonment of too many Americans for non-violent crimes without adequately preparing them for their return to society.
Senate passage of the bill by a vote of 87-12 culminates years of negotiations and gives President Donald Trump a signature policy victory, with the outcome hailed by scores of conservative and liberal advocacy groups. The House is expected to pass the bill this week, sending it to the president's desk for his signature.
The bill gives judges more discretion when sentencing some drug offenders and boosts prisoner rehabilitation efforts. It also reduces the life sentence for some drug offenders with three convictions, or "three strikes," to 25 years. Another provision would allow about 2,600 federal prisoners sentenced for crack cocaine offenses before August 2010 the opportunity to petition for a reduced penalty.
"America is the greatest Country in the world and my job is to fight for ALL citizens, even those who have made mistakes," Trump tweeted moments after the vote.
"This will keep our communities safer, and provide hope and a second chance, to those who earn it. In addition to everything else, billions of dollars will be saved. I look forward to signing this into law!" Trump added.
The vote also thrilled Democrats. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said the nation's prisons are full of Americans who are struggling with mental illness and addiction, and who are overwhelmingly poor. He said the nation's criminal justice system "feeds on certain communities and not on others," and said the bill represents a step toward "healing" for those communities.
"Let's make no mistake, this legislation, which is one small step, will affect thousands and thousands of lives," Booker said.
When the bill appeared to have stalled in recent weeks, Sen. Charles Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pleaded with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring it up for a vote. With Trump's urging, McConnell eventually agreed, and voted for the bill as well.
"The First Step Act takes lessons from history and from states — our laboratories of democracy — to reduce crime, save taxpayer dollars and strengthen faith and fairness in our criminal justice system," Grassley said.
The Senate turned back three amendments Tuesday from Republican senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and John Kennedy of Louisiana, who said the bill endangered public safety. Supporters voiced concerns that passing any of the amendments would have sunk the bill.
One amendment would have excluded more prisoners from participating in educational and training programs that allow them to earn credits. Those credits can then be used to gain an earlier release to a halfway house or home confinement to finish out their sentence. Another amendment would have required that victims be notified before a prisoner gets that earlier release. The third would have required the Federal Bureau of Prisons to track and report the re-arrest rate for each prisoner who gets early release.
"While the bill has marginally improved from earlier versions, I'm disappointed my amendments to exclude child molesters from early release and to protect victims' rights were not adopted," Cotton said. "I also remain concerned that reducing sentences for drug traffickers and violent felons is a threat to public safety."
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the bill already carves out some 60 different crimes that make prisoners ineligible for early release to a halfway house or home confinement. He said Cotton's amendment was too expansive and would prevent at least 30,000 prisoners from participation.
Durbin said the Federal Bureau of Prisons also gives victims the opportunity to be notified upon a change in the prisoner's status, but it's a choice. He said about 10 percent of victims choose not to be notified because of the trauma involved in revisiting the crime. Meanwhile, the amendment from Cotton and Kennedy would make it a requirement.
"Supporting the Cotton amendment is basically saying to these crime victims, 'We're going to force this information on you whether it's in the best interest of your family, whether you want it or not,'" Durbin said. "That is not respectful of crime victims."
The bill would affect only federal prisoners, who make up less than 10 percent of the country's prison population.
An array of liberal and conservative advocacy groups rallied in support of the bill. For example, the Koch brothers-backed group, Americans for Prosperity, applauded senators for putting "policy ahead of politics." The American Civil Liberties Union said the bill was "by no means perfect. But we are in the midst of a mass incarceration crisis, and the time to act is now."
Law enforcement groups were more split. It was backed by the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police but opposed by the National Sheriff's Association. The union representing federal prison guards also joined in supporting the measure.


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(AP) CALABASAS, Calif.–Deputies were investigating claims made Tuesday by a neighbor that Justin Bieber attacked and threatened him during an argument in suburban Los Angeles, authorities said.
No one was arrested and few details were immediately available.
A representative of Bieber did not immediately return a request for comment.
Online schedules indicate the "Baby" singer is in the midst of a European tour and performed a show in Poland on Monday night.
Authorities were called to the Calabasas scene just after 9 a.m., said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
"There have been allegations made against Mr. Bieber of battery and making threats," Whitmore said.
It's unclear who called authorities, and whether there might have been previous problems between the 19-year-old singer and neighbors, Whitmore said.
The investigation was first reported by TMZ.com.


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Official Website Of The Pre-ordering Goods In Duty-free
Maximum benefit — how to buy all you need in duty-Free
For certain, you have heard about the duty-free, but are all secrets of favorable shopping known to you? Duty-free shops are available to everyone who is going to make a trip or business trip as they are behind a check rack on the border and in the airport. But it is not their only feature.
What differs duty-free from the usual shops?
- goods which are difficult to find in ordinary shopping centersHere it is possible to acquire rare goods from exclusive collections, unusual national snack, high-quality alcohol, decorative and care cosmetics, and also perfumery for every taste. Trading floors that are habitual to us, unfortunately, seldom pass the production originality test, but here you will never meet a fake.
- low pricesThe name "duty-free" means duty-free trade, that is duty free prices do not include excises, duties and taxes as the goods will be taken out from the country. It significantly influences their cost.
- convenient shoppingShops represent the wide range of products, therefore, you will be able to buy various gifts and souvenirs directly before boarding the plane. Also, it will be possible to take aboard any products, including liquids in an extra package, and their quantity depends only on the rules of the country to which you fly (for example, it is necessary to consider a limit on the import of alcohol and tobacco products).


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Weather: Galveston Storm Surge
Galveston Storm Surge
Of course, snowstorms haven't been the only atmospheric heavyweights to come along. The warm season brings its own weather wonders, including hurricanes with their triple threat of wind, rain, and tidal surges. The twentieth century had just gotten underway when one of the greatest natural disasters in history took place. In 1900, Galveston, Texas, bore the brunt of a gigantic storm surge associated with a hurricane.
On Saturday, September 8, overcast skies and a light drizzle fell across the Texas Gulf coast. The wind increased, and the surf started to pound. The barometer fell to a very low 29 inches. By midday, the pressure had fallen another half inch. The wind increased so much that weather instruments were knocked out of service. During the evening, the wind increased to over 80 mph, and a huge storm surge hit at 7:32 P.M. By midnight, the storm began to abate, but the damage had been done. Galveston Island had washed into the sea, and 6,000 people had been killed. In terms of loss of life, there hasn't been another disaster of that magnitude in U.S. history. At the time, Galveston's highest point was only five feet above sea level. Since then, the city has been rebuilt and the entire island raised 17 feet.
Isaac Cline was the meteorologist-in-charge at the Weather Bureau office in Galveston at the time. His experiences in the storm were captured in the best-selling book Isaac's Storm.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weather © 2002 by Mel Goldstein, Ph.D.. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.


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Where and How to Buy and Sell Bitcoin or Cryptocurrency in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India with 350++ Payment methods?
Bitcoin is a type of virtual currency that you can use for digital purchases or you can trade like stocks or bonds. To buy and sell cryptocurrency including Bitcoin, you need to use a bitcoin exchange.
The best cryptocurrency exchanges are secure, cost-effective, quick to set up, easy to use, and accept a variety of funding sources. Here are our picks for the best places to buy bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency exchange you use will depend on what your goals are. Some people buy only bitcoin, while some buy many cryptos. Some trade, while some buy and hold.
We'll outline some of the best options for each type of buyer and trader.
Best for Buying Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India
If your only goal is to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum or another coin, the following exchanges have smooth and easy buying processes:
Best for Buying Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India #1:
Paxful is a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace where users can buy and sell Bitcoin with 380+ payment methods. Fow now, Paxful has 12,000+ Trusted offers, 12,000+ Trusted vendors and 4,800,000+ Happy customers. Simply select your preferred payment method and type in how many bitcoins you will buy. Be sure you choose reputable traders.
Paxful was started in 2015 by Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback. It operates across major cities globally. Ever since its launch, Paxful has allowed sellers to sell Bitcoins without any hassles. Vice versa, the buyers also benefit from multiple payment options, smooth transactions and seller trust ratings. It fills the gap between miners and exchanges.
Unlike exchanges that grapple with geographic restrictions, Paxful allows buyers the freedom to choose the seller and connect independently. It truly represents the spirit of the decentralized concept of cryptocurrencies.
With Paxful you can elevate your financial freedom to a higher plane with Paxful:
- Buy Bitcoin on Paxful in real time. Trade with other users online using live chat.
- Sell your Bitcoin at your chosen rate, and get paid in one of numerous payment methods.
- Your Bitcoin is held in our secure escrow until the trade is completed successfully.
- Their user feedback system enables you to identify trusted and experienced peers to trade with.
- Get a life-time free Bitcoin wallet maintained by BitGo, the leading provider of secure Bitcoin wallets.
- Take advantage of our Affiliate Program to create a steady income stream.
Become a vendor on Paxful and empower millions around the world with financial freedom. Offer multiple payment methods that buyers like, eliminate middlemen, and they will help you with all the resources and guidance needed to succeed.
Register on Paxful Now!
Best for Buying Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India #2:
LocalBitcoins is an escrow service which also helps to match bitcoin buyers and sellers. Users may advertise trades for whichever payment method they prefer.
Buying bitcoins via an in-person meeting, secured and facilitated by LocalBitcoins, may be one of the fastest and most private ways to buy bitcoins in any country, including the United States, Europe (besides Germany), UK, Singapore, Canada, Australia and many more.
We may receive compensation when you use LocalBitcoins. Please visit LocalBitcoins for its exact pricing terms.
- Can be private, fast and easy
- In-person trades require no personal information
- Purchases of bitcoin can be made quickly via cash deposit
- Beware of scams; always follow the rules!
- Harder to buy large amounts of bitcoins compared to large exchanges
- Slightly to significantly higher prices than regular exchanges; premium for higher privacy
Register on LocalBitcoins Now!
Best for Buying Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India #3:
LocalCoinSwap describes itself as a community-owned, peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange that connects people from all around the world to buy and sell a variety of the most popular cryptocurrencies. As there is no KYC or ID verification required to get started, trading is reportedly fast, secure and private. After creating a free trade advertisement, users can reportedly start trading locally or internationally with people, established businesses, and OTC cryptocurrency brokers worldwide.
LocalCoinSwap currently supports P2P trading across a host of cryptocurrencies. It reportedly supports 250+ payment methods including cash, bank transfer, Zelle Pay, Skrill, international wire, Paypal, cash deposits, Western Union, Amazon gift cards, iTunes gift cards, and 160+ fiat currencies. The team claims that its availability in 190+ countries makes it the largest selection of currencies available on any P2P platform worldwide.
LocalCoinSwap claims to offer 24/7 customer service and a revenue-sharing model that uses 20% of the platform trade fee revenue to buyback and subsequently burn their native LCS token.
Register on LocalCoinSwap Now!
Best for Trading Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India
If you plan on trading in and out of different coins, the following exchanges support many cryptocurrencies:
Best for Trading Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India #1:
The best crypto-to-crypto exchange for beginners is probably Binance. Binance is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange located in Cayman Islands. There are 293 coins and 994 trading pairs on the exchange.
The main reasons are:
- Binance's mobile apps make it easy to use for beginners
- Binance's web interface is quite simple to use as well
- You can start trading instantly on Binance with just an email address
- You can use its native BNB coin to get discounts on trading
- Binance is the world's largest exchange according to CoinMarketCap and Coingecko
Register on Binance Now!
Best for Trading Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India #2:
The best fiat-to-crypto exchange for beginners is probably Coinbase Pro. Coinbase Pro is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange located in United States. There are 47 coins and 142 trading pairs on the exchange.
I say this for a few reasons:
- It has the best user interface and is very easy to use
- The verification process is fast so you can buy almost instantly
- It has excellent mobile apps for iPhone and Android
- It's a regulated exchange and its cash holdings are FDIC insured.
Register on Coinbase Now!
Best for Trading Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India #3:
The best instant swap exchange for beginners is probably Changelly. Coinbase Pro is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange located in United States. There are 47 coins and 142 trading pairs on the exchange.
Changelly already managed to garner quite some attention around it. It almost seems that the vast majority of the cryptocurrency communities already know this platform.
By being one of the leading swap platforms that people use naturally, it has a lot of eyes directed to it. People are wondering "is Changelly safe? Is Changelly legit?" and are looking at Changelly reviews to help them make up their minds.
A TL;DR would be that Changelly is a very popular cryptocurrency exchange platform. Some Changelly reviews go as far as to claim that it is the most popular crypto exchange platform in the world. It is a non-custodial exchange – this means that it holds no liquidity and does not require any deposits. This makes Changelly one of the most secure choices you can make when trading.
Register on Changelly Now!
Best for Trading Bitcoin in Delhi, DL-UP-HR,India #4:
Bitfinex is a large yet controversial exchange. It's biggest claim to fame is the creation of the first stablecoin, Tether (USDT). Bitfinex is a popular exchange because in terms of USD trading volume it has the most liquidity. It currently owns about a 10% share of the US dollars trading market. Because of its confusing interface, it's probably only a good choice for traders who really know what they are doing.
Despite getting hacked and losing $70 million or more in customer funds, Bitfinex remains a popular option for serious traders. Still, the hack is scaring some people away.
One thing that has made Bitfinex popular is that if you only make a deposit with cryptocurrency no verification is required. If you want to deposit dollars or euro then you WILL have to verify your ID.
Bitfinex offers very low fees even for low volume buyers, at 0.1% per buy for market makers and 0.2% per buy for market takers.
Register on Bitfinex Now!
Things to keep in mind
While a cryptocurrency exchange with high volumes definitely presents an advantage for the user, it is worth keeping in mind that it shouldn't be the definitive criteria. Exchanges have been known to manipulate trading volumes with the help of bots. Additionally, high volumes aren't a guarantee that a cryptocurrency exchange is entirely reliable.
For instance, Bitfinex, the forth name on the list above, was hacked in August 2016 and $72 million in Bitcoin was stolen from this exchange. Just before the theft, Bitfinex was fined by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for offering illegal commodity transactions. As such, users shouldn't rely on volume alone while selecting a cryptocurrency exchange.
Moreover, certain new exchanges have been growing at a really impressive rate. Gemini, for instance, was witnessing 100% volume growth every two days back in 2015, and it is now looking to widen its horizons by bringing institutional investors into the cryptocurrency market. This should ensure further volume growth going forward, which also means that users shouldn't restrict themselves to exchanges with only high volumes and consider other options as well that are fast coming up.
What is a Bitcoin Exchange?
A bitcoin exchange is a digital marketplace where you can convert currency like U.S. dollars into bitcoin. Many exchanges that support bitcoin also support other digital cryptocurrencies.
Every bitcoin exchange uses its own pricing and platform, which may instantly draw you to one exchange over another. Advanced bitcoin users may be interested in more details about the type of exchange. For example, some exchanges use centralized systems and user accounts while others are decentralized with a focus on privacy. Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, you may prefer one type of exchange over another.
How Does a Bitcoin Exchange Work?
Bitcoin exchanges connect buyers and sellers and act as a middleman, or a broker, in some cases. When you buy bitcoin using a bitcoin wallet, the transaction is recorded on the Bitcoin Blockchain, which publicly tracks bitcoin-based transactions. In some cases, exchanges may transact on your behalf and not deliver bitcoin to an external digital wallet.
Are Bitcoin Exchanges Legal?
Bitcoin exchanges are generally considered legal in the United States. However, it is your responsibility to report capital gains to stay on the right side of the law for your annual tax filing.
What Are Some Differences Between Bitcoin Exchanges and Wallets?
Bitcoin exchanges are a place you can buy and sell bitcoin. In many cases, the exchange also includes a wallet, which is the "account" that holds your cryptocurrency. When you use a centralized exchange online or through a mobile app, the exchange will effectively hold the bitcoin on your behalf.
Bitcoin also enables you to use external wallets outside of an exchange. These include computer-based and web-based "hot wallets" and offline "cold wallets" that work kind of like a USB security fob. If you buy bitcoin at most exchanges, you have the option to transfer your coins to any bitcoin wallet.
What Are Some Differences Between Bitcoin Exchanges and Mining Software?
Bitcoin mining software is a type of application that helps maintain the Bitcoin Blockchain. Every transaction on the blockchain is public and recorded on countless computers around the world. When a transaction takes place, computers called miners race to record the transaction and get a small fee, which is paid by those who make the transaction.
When you run a bitcoin miner, you can effectively "create" your own bitcoin if you win the race and get paid the transaction fee. To improve your chances, you can join a pool with other miners. However, be aware that mining is very power-intensive and could wind up costing you more than it makes you. Bitcoin mining is best for those who are very computer savvy.
Is Buying Bitcoin Safe?
Buying Bitcoin is safe whenever you use a vetted and respected platform. It's important to research any platform where you're considering purchasing Bitcoin before you decide to take the plunge. In terms of Bitcoin being a safe investment, the value fluctuates more frequently than many other traditional investments. If you're looking to support a decentralized method of making payments, Bitcoin can be valuable. However, there's no guarantee or insurance protecting any value of what you're purchasing.
How Can I Buy Bitcoin?
If you're looking to buy bitcoin, follow these steps to get started:
- Pick an exchange and wallet provider: The first step is to pick a place to buy and store your bitcoin. The easiest and fastest way to start is to choose an exchange that also offers secure bitcoin storage.
- Open an account: Once you've picked your favorite exchange, you will most likely need to open an account and supply basic personal information. Some decentralized exchanges don't require an account, but you'll need an existing wallet and more technical know-how to use this type of exchange.
- Fund your account: If you choose a provider that allows you to deposit fiat current (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.), you'll probably have to fund your account before you can make an order. You may be able to buy right away with a debit or credit card, but beware of extra fees.
- Place an order: Now it's time for the big moment. Place your order and wait for it to fully execute. Because blockchain processing takes some time, your purchase may not be instant. There are many factors that can lead this to take anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour to complete.
Once your order is done, you should see your new bitcoin in your bitcoin wallet or account. Congratulations! You're a cryptocurrency owner.
How We Chose the Best Places to Buy Bitcoin
We looked at more than a dozen of the best places to buy and sell Bitcoin online and settled on the top six places based on a number of factors. These factors included the history of the exchange, customer reviews, the fees each charge, the strength of features for each digital wallet, and the speed at which you can buy Bitcoin.
https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/united-states/ https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/ https://www.thebalance.com/best-places-to-buy-bitcoin-4170081 https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/sell-bitcoin/ https://99bitcoins.com/buy-bitcoin/bank-account-wire-transfer/


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Use Rope (Dex)
With this skill, you can make firm knots, undo tricky knots, and bind prisoners with ropes.
Check: Most tasks with a rope are relatively simple. The DCs for various tasks utilizing this skill are summarized on the table below.
Use Rope DC | Task |
10 | Tie a firm knot |
10¹ | Secure a grappling hook |
15 | Tie a special knot, such as one that slips, slides slowly, or loosens with a tug |
15 | Tie a rope around yourself one-handed |
15 | Splice two ropes together |
Varies | Bind a character |
¹ Add 2 to the DC for every 10 feet the hook is thrown; see below. |
Secure a Grappling Hook: Securing a grappling hook requires Use Rope check (DC 10, +2 for every 10 feet of distance the grappling hook is thrown, so a maximum DC of 20 at 50 feet). Failure by 4 or less indicates that the hook fails to catch and falls, allowing you to cry again. Failure by 5 or more indicates that the grappling hook initially holds, but comes loose after 1d4 rounds of supporting weight. Your DM should make this check secretly, so that you don't know whether the rope will hold your weight.
Bind a Character: When you bind another character with a rope, any Escape Artist check that the bound character makes is opposed by your Use Rope check. You get a +10 bonus on this check because it is easier to bind someone than to escape from bonds. You don't even make your Use Rope check until someone tries to escape.
Action: Varies. Throwing a grappling hook is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Tying a knot, tying a special knot, or tying a rope around yourself one-handed is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Splicing two ropes together takes 5 minutes. Binding a character takes 1 minute.
Special: A silk rope gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Use Rope checks. If you cast an animate rope spell on a rope, you get a +2 circumstance bonus on any Use Rope checks you make when using that rope. These bonuses stack.
If you have the Deft Hands feat, you get a +2 bonus on Use Rope checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Use Rope, you get a bonus on Climb checks made to climb a rope, a knotted rope, rope-and-wall combination.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Use Rope, you get a +2 bonus on Escape Artist checks when escaping from rope bonds.
If you have 5 or more ranks in Escape Artist, you get a +2 bonus on checks made to bind someone.
In conjunction with the Climb skill, you can make Use Rope checks to rappel down a rope. See Climb for details.
Expanded Description - Complete Adventurer
You can tie knots more quickly than normal.
Quick Knot-Tying: You can try to tie a knot, a special knot, or a rope around yourself more quickly than normal. By accepting a -10 penalty on your Use Rope check, you can accomplish any one of these tasks as a move action (rather than a full-round action).


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Daphne Ashbrook
Acting Credits | expand all 5 roles | |
1 credit in 1 entry | ||
Perfection: The Next Life[BF] | 1 credit in 1 entry | |
5 credits in 2 entries | ||
Self: The Doctors Revisited: The Eighth Doctor[Factual]; Doctor Who Explained[Factual] | 2 credits in 2 entries | |
Ruth Matheson: Mastermind[BF]; The Worlds of Doctor Who[BF] | 5 credits in 2 entries |
(this image appears for illustrative purposes only and no attempt is made to supersede any copyright attributed to it)
Daphne Lee Ashbrook
Born: Wednesday 30th January 1963 (age: 61)Daphne Ashbrook is an American actress. raised in the San Diego, CA area. Her parents are San Diego theatre actress D'Ann Paton and late actor/Director Buddy Ashbrook. Her siblings are actor Dana Ashbrook and director Taylor Ashbrook.
Ashbrook has appeared in many television and film roles including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (as the titular character in "Melora")
In 1996 she was cast as Doctor Grace Holloway in the US produced TV Movie version of Doctor Who. Her portrayal as Grace in Doctor Who caused consternation among some of that show's fans because she was the first character to romantically kiss the Doctor.
A 2004 trip to the United Kingdom was filmed for the 2005 documentary Daphne Ashbrook in the UK. This DVD documentary followed her work with Doctor Who, including her role as Perfection in the Big Finish Productions audio play The Next Life. She performed opposite Paul McGann for first time since the 1996 telemovie.
In 2006, she played Charlotte Howell in the audio drama Dark Shadows: The Book of Temptation for the same company.
She is notable as being one of only a few actors to be credited in both the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises.
Her past TV work includes Cold Case, CSI, Crossing Jordan, JAG, Murder She Wrote, Judging Amy, the Profiler, Guardian, The O.C. and Cupid. She also starred in one episode of Street Hawk titled, "Dog Eat Dog" which aired in February 1985. Her recent roles include a part in David Ondaatje's 2009 motion picture "The Lodger" starring Alfred Molina, Shane West, Simon Baker and Hope Davis, and guest starring roles in The Ghost Whisperer, with Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Without a Trace with Anthony LaPaglia and Steven Weber. She guest starred as a dancer visiting from (the former) Czechoslavakia in the third season of Fame.


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(a) In general
The Secretary shall provide, on the basis of the need and the eligibility of students at each participating institution, and parents of such students, for such loans, funds for student and parent loans under this part—
(1) directly to an institution of higher education that has an agreement with the Secretary under section 1087d(a) of this title to participate in the direct student loan programs under this part and that also has an agreement with the Secretary under section 1087d(b) of this title to originate loans under this part; or
(2) through an alternative originator designated by the Secretary to students (and parents of students) attending institutions of higher education that have an agreement with the Secretary under section 1087d(a) of this title but that do not have an agreement with the Secretary under section 1087d(b) of this title.
(b) No entitlement to participate or originate
No institution of higher education shall have a right to participate in the programs authorized by this part, to originate loans, or to perform any program function under this part. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed so as to limit the entitlement of an eligible student attending a participating institution (or the eligible parent of such student) to borrow under this part.
(c) Delivery of loan funds
Loan funds shall be paid and delivered to an institution by the Secretary prior to the beginning of the payment period established by the Secretary in a manner that is consistent with payment and delivery of Federal Pell Grants under subpart 1 of part A of this subchapter.
(d) Institutions outside the United States
Loan funds for students (and parents of students) attending institutions outside the United States shall be disbursed through a financial institution located or operating in the United States and designated by the Secretary to serve as the agent of such institutions with respect to the receipt of the disbursements of such loan funds and the transfer of such funds to such institutions. To be eligible to receive funds under this part, an institution outside the United States shall make arrangements with the agent designated by the Secretary under this subsection to receive funds under this part.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 1087b, Pub. L. 89–329, title IV, §452, as added Pub. L. 90–575, title I, §141, Oct. 16, 1968, 82 Stat. 1031, authorized grants for programs of cooperative education, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 94–482, title I, §129(a), Oct. 12, 1976, 90 Stat. 2144, eff. 30 days after Oct. 12, 1976.
2010—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 111–152 added subsec. (d).
1998—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–244 substituted "Federal Pell Grants" for "basic grants".
1997—Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 105–33 redesignated subsecs. (c) and (d) as (b) and (c), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (b) which required the Secretary to pay fees to institutions of higher education and alternative loan originators to assist in meeting the cost of loan origination.
1993—Pub. L. 103–66 amended section generally, substituting provisions relating to funds for origination of direct student loans for former provisions relating to payment rules.
1992—Pub. L. 102–325 amended section generally, substituting provisions relating to payment rules for former provisions authorizing demonstration projects.
Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 105–244 effective Oct. 1, 1998, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 105–244, see section 3 of Pub. L. 105–244, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title.
Effective Date of 1992 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 102–325 effective Oct. 1, 1992, see section 2 of Pub. L. 102–325, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title.


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Over the past few weeks I have been involved in some Senior Expo style events. It has been fun and I am meeting lots of people of all ages. To be honest I was shocked to see how many people turned out at Husson and what a vast collection of things to learn about!
Don't Let Fraud Get You Down
Learn about it -Knowledge is POWER! Tomorrow, Senator Susan Collins, our Senator and the Chair of the Special Committee on Aging, will be speaking at the Scam Jam that AARP is putting on at Spectacular Events Center in Bangor. It's FREE and click here to watch more about it . You don't have to be an AARP Member to Register and it is still FREE, here is a printed description.
You might be asking, "What does this Scam Jam have to do with Technology, Kelly?"
There will be many discussions about Cybersecurity. There is a workshop by the State Police: "Staying Safe Online: Maine State Police Cyber Security Unit."
Come down and join us! It will be fun, coffee, food, free.


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Catholic Group Denounces Limbaugh's Attack On Pope Francis
Written by Brian Powell
At least one Catholic organization is denouncing Rush Limbaugh's remarks after the radio host chastised Pope Francis for his recent criticisms of global inequalities of wealth.
Pope Francis struck a chord with Catholics and non-Catholics alike when he issued his first apostolic exhortation, "The Joy of the Gospel," a commentary on his "vision of the Church" and his thoughts on the state of modern capitalism and global economic inequality. Among his comments was a specific criticism of "trickle down" economics -- which Francis declared has not been proven to work and reveals a "naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power."
On his November 27 radio show, Rush Limbaugh attacked the pope's message, claiming that it was "pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope":
LIMBAUGH: I came across last night -- I mean, it totally befuddled me. If it weren't for capitalism, I don't know where the Catholic Church would be. Now, as I mentioned before, I'm not Catholic. I admire it profoundly, and I've been tempted a number of times to delve deeper into it. But the pope here has now gone beyond Catholicism here, and this is pure political. Now, I want to share with you some of this stuff.
"Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as 'a new tyranny.' He beseeched global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality, in a document on Tuesday setting out a platform for his papacy and calling for a renewal of the Catholic Church. In it, Pope Francis went further than previous comments criticizing the global economic system, attacking the 'idolatry of money.' "
I've gotta be very caref-- I have been numerous times to the Vatican. It wouldn't exist without tons of money. But, regardless, what this is -- somebody has either written this for him or gotten to him. This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope. There's no such -- "unfettered capitalism"? That doesn't exist anywhere.
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) issued a response on November 27 and began a petition denouncing Limbaugh on December 2. In a statement, the group's representative Christopher Hale indicated that Catholics "of all political stripes are disturbed by Rush Limbaugh's incendiary comments." The full statement read as follows:
"Catholics of all political stripes are disturbed by Rush Limbaugh's incendiary comments this afternoon about Pope Francis. To call the Holy Father a proponent of "pure marxism" is both mean spirited and naive. Francis's critique of unrestrained capitalism is in line with the Church's social teaching. His particular criticism of "trickle down economics" strengthens what Church authorities have said for decades: any economic system which deprives the poor of their dignity has no place within a just society.
Contrary to what Mr. Limbaugh suggests, the Catholic Church isn't built on money, but on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.
We call on Mr. Limbaugh to apologize and retract his remarks. We urge other Church organizations and leaders--both ordained and lay--to also condemn Mr. Limbaugh's comments.
We proudly stand with Pope Francis as he provides prophetic leadership for the Catholic Church and the entire world."
While the pope's comments were deemed controversial by Limbaugh, his views are not new to the papacy. Catholic.org noted that "the pope's skepticism of free markets and concern about the lack of ethics in finance were shared by his predecessor, Benedict XVI. The Catholic World Report agreed adding:
Pope Francis' exhortation Evangelii Gaudium ("The Joy of the Gospel") continues and reinforces a vision of the Church found in the early studies of the future Pope Benedict XVI--a vision that was central to Benedict's teachings as the Successor of St. Peter. In Evangelii Gaudium, Francis draws from his own experiences and in his own way continues his predecessor's vision. In doing so, he is making clear that the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church stands at a critical juncture in a dangerous time. This makes Francis' exhortation a simple one: as Christians have done in ages past, the faithful today must live the Gospel always, everywhere, and radically. They must rely on the grace of God and relentlessly and sacrificially "love in the present," as a young Joseph Ratzinger put it.
Meanwhile, Limbaugh, who has a habit of attacking the faith of progressives, has speculated whether "the worldwide left" may have deliberately mistranslated the pope in an effort to make him appear liberal.


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CAMBRIDGE — Sitting in a prime booth at Legal Sea Foods in Kendall Square, Michael Gilman can look across the street to the MIT lab where he worked as an undergrad in the early 1970s. A few tables over at Legal, he was once persuaded to switch employers by a Nobel laureate. Now, Gilman works a block to the north, overseeing several drug development programs at Biogen Idec, one of the nation's biggest biotech companies. Last year, Biogen Idec acquired Gilman's start-up company, Stromedix, which had its offices a 15-minute walk away.
Gilman's 30-year career has played out almost entirely between the MIT campus and Cambridge Street, a testament to the thriving ecosystem of companies, research facilities, money, and talent that has made Kendall Square the undisputed center of the life sciences universe.
Already dense with start-ups, biotechs, big pharma, and university-affiliated labs, Kendall Square has a gravitational pull that continues to intensify, recently attracting Johnson & Johnson, which is establishing an office to make investments and strike partnerships with local companies.
Meanwhile, 2.5 million square feet of new offices and lab space are going up within a mile of the Kendall Square T stop. It will be filled by companies and academic labs pursuing scientific breakthroughs and new products that could help us stay healthier and live longer.
So what exactly happens in this life sciences community, which can be impenetrable to outsiders? I thought tracing the story of a single company — Gilman's start-up, Stromedix — could provide better insight into the workings of Kendall Square's machinery and how it has changed over the past few years.
In 2005, Gilman left a job as a research executive at Biogen Idec, intent on starting his own business. He spent much of 2006 holed up in the Waltham offices of Atlas Venture, an investment firm that puts money into fledgling life sciences businesses. He was focused on a process called fibrosis, which Gilman describes as "wound repair gone bad," when the body produces excessive scar tissue, which impairs the normal operation of an organ.
Chronic kidney disease involves fibrosis, and so does cirrhosis of the liver and lung disease. There aren't yet any approved treatments in the United States to stop fibrosis.
Very few life sciences start-ups begin with a blank sheet of paper — or an empty petri dish. So Gilman "went shopping for molecules," as he puts it, scouring academic labs and corporations for substances that might be effective against fibrosis.
What Gilman landed on was a specially-engineered antibody that his former employer, Biogen Idec, abruptly stopped working on in 2006. In March 2007, Gilman raised $4.4 million from Atlas and other investors and moved Stromedix to the Cambridge Innovation Center, a Kendall Square facility that rents small offices to entrepreneurs. That May, Gilman finalized a deal with Biogen Idec that would give his start-up exclusive rights to continue work on the antibody, which it dubbed STX-100. Biogen Idec would get a small piece of Stromedix and royalties if the product made it to market.
Part of Stromedix's strategy was picking a spot in the vast spectrum of human disease where it could prove the value of its antibody — without spending hundreds of millions of dollars on clinical trials. The company decided to focus on patients who received kidney transplants, as a sort of "demo app," Gilman says; if the transplanted organ failed because of fibrosis, or the patient needed dialysis treatment, that cost the health care system a lot of money. His antibody might be able to prevent that.
Stromedix started a Phase 1 clinical trial, intended to prove that a drug is safe in humans. Like many of what are called "virtual" biotech companies, it didn't have its own scientists producing the antibody or employees managing the minutiae of the clinical trials. All that was outsourced to consultants and a CRO, or contract research organization.
"The company never had its own lab," says Gilman. "We had a part-time chief financial officer, and part-time human resources people." At its peak, the company had just nine employees, many of whom Gilman hired from Biogen Idec.
The strategy to focus on kidney transplants hit a dead end when it ran into safety concerns during a series of animal tests. Gilman laid off three people, and Stromedix began to look at a condition called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. It affects about 115,000 people in the United States at any given time, Gilman says, and its cause isn't known.
"The survival time is between three years and five years," Gilman says. "It impairs the lung's ability to get oxygen, and people basically suffocate."
While IPF affects a relatively small group of people, it is a death sentence. Gilman thought his company might be able to charge a fairly high price: $40,000 or $50,000 a year for patients on the drug.
Peter Barrett, a partner at Atlas Venture, the firm bankrolling Stromedix, says the company would have needed to raise more money to run new clinical trials. "The question was, do we fund it ourselves, or do we look for a partner," he says. At that point, Biogen Idec's new management, which had changed almost entirely since Gilman departed, began talking to Stromedix about an acquisition.
The deal was announced last February. Stromedix had raised about $38 million, according to Gilman, and Biogen Idec paid $75 million in cash for the company. But the acquisition price could include as much as $487 million more, if drugs based on the Stromedix antibody are approved to treat different kinds of fibrosis. Even though there was still no definitive data showing that the antibody worked, Stromedix had effectively moved the ball by designing an approach to conducting clinical trials that would be relatively fast and cheap
Since Stromedix's founding, Atlas and several other venture capital firms have moved from the suburbs into Kendall. "You just bump into so many people," says Barrett, of Atlas Venture. That helps ideas flow from the lab to a start-up and eventually to a bigger company that will help put a product on pharmacy shelves.
In 2011, Biogen Idec announced it would move its headquarters from Weston to Kendall, so people running the business would be closer to the company's research labs — not to mention potential collaborators in academia and start-ups. After the acquisition of Stromedix last year, Gilman and his five fellow employees moved into a Biogen Idec building along Broadway.
The neighborhood is changing quickly; over lunch at Legal, Gilman reeled off a half-dozen new restaurants that have popped up. There are apartment buildings, cafes, and new boutiques, too. "It feels like the pace is accelerating," he says.
But when it comes to getting a new drug onto the market, things still move like molasses. Gilman says that it will be 2014 before Biogen Idec has data about whether the Stromedix antibody actually works; 32 patients with IPF are taking it, at hospitals including Massachusetts General and Beth Israel. Another trial will follow.
Gilman says he regularly fields calls from people with months left to live, hoping to be included in the trials. "Talking to them has really made the whole thing much more real," he says.
The Kendall life sciences cluster combines the rush of discovering something new in the lab with the plodding process of turning it into a pill that patients can pop or an antibody that can be injected. And there is the ever-present possibility of earning a tidy windfall.
"If you do it right in this business, you're making a difference for people," says Barrett. "And if the science works the way you hope it will, you might even make money at it."
A glimpse at the life sciences ecosystem
Within a mile of the Kendall Square T stop are hundreds of university research labs, start-up companies, venture capital firms, and larger biotech and pharmaceutical entities. All are focused on an elusive goal: bringing to market new drugs and treatments that doctors will eventually prescribe for diseases from cancer to Alzheimer's to obesity. Here's how the ecosystem works:
1. Researchers in academic labs — such as the Broad Institute — discover new substances that could have potential as drugs, or new ways of enabling a drug to target a disease in the body with limited side effects.
2. Venture capitalists or entrepreneurs — such as Peter Barrett of Atlas Venture — typically working with the original academic researchers, incorporate start-up companies and license the original scientific breakthrough from the university. Venture capitalists provide the money and often incubate fledgling businesses in their offices.
3. Start-ups typically form partnerships with established biopharma companies — making connections at industry events such as BIO — to help fund the long drug development process, including clinical trials. These partnerships also put start-ups on the larger companies' radar screens as potential acquisitions.
4. Lots of companies run out of money before conducting clinical trials. Those that succeed are usually bought at some point by a larger company — such as Biogen Idec's acquisition of Stromedix, founded by Michael Gilman. Gilman is now an executive at Biogen Idec, but entrepreneurs and investors often go off to form new companies, based on new academic research.
Scott Kirsner can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottKirsner.


text: I live here in North Central Arkansas, not far from Missouri line, I have 9 of my mules in a small pasture here by the house. They like to go in the same places, but not the same place I would like them to. I usually wind up taking the front end loader and scooping it all up and pushing it up in a pile. When the pile gets 8' high or so (usually 2 or 3 times a year) I load it up in an old 1 ton dump I have and move it to where I need it, usually 3 or 4 loads each time. The garden or the yard or somewhere. That is how I have made topsoil in most of my yard, as mostly all we have is rock. They don't call it "Stone" county for nothing. The thing is, I have never noticed any BSF around the big pile. Maybe I just did not know what I was looking for, but I have really never seen any thing besides normal ole house flies out there. The pile gets pretty hot down inside, maybe it is too hot for them?? I have sticky fly strips hanging down by the stables and the same thing, just normal ole house flies. the summers here are really hot, seems like it would not be too cold for them?? Any body know for sure how far their range north is?? It seems logical as stated before if they are not naturally in an area there is probably a reason and it would probably be difficult to propagate them.


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Reid Wilson (c) 2013, The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — The counselors tasked with helping uninsured Texans navigate their way through the complicated process of buying health insurance will have to jump through a series of hoops to get licenses under new rules proposed by the Texas Department of Insurance.
The so-called navigators would have to prove their citizenship or employment eligibility, undergo a background check and show evidence of financial responsibility under the new rules, proposed Tuesday by Texas Insurance Commissioner Julia Rathgeber.
They would also have to receive 40 hours of education on Texas-specific Medicaid and privacy standards, then show proof that they have the proper training to guide consumers to the right health plans.
Navigators would be prohibited from charging for their services and from recommending specific health benefit plans to consumers. The proposed rules would also restrict navigators from providing advice on the substantive benefits or comparative benefits of different health plans, the department said.
"In Texas, we are being vigilant about safeguarding privacy and keeping personal information out of the wrong hands," Rathgeber said in a statement. "These proposed rules address insufficiencies in federal regulations and make the training and qualifications of navigators in our state more readily apparent to consumers and service providers."
The 64 pages of rules and restrictions come after the Texas legislature passed a new law this year requiring Rathgeber's office to come up with the rules if federal guidelines for navigators were deemed insufficient. Rathgeber's office said the federal rules don't address Texas-specific Medicaid programs and privacy standards.
The new rules will be published in Friday's edition of the Texas Register. The Insurance Department will hold a public hearing Dec. 20 and accept public comments until Jan. 6. The rules would go into effect soon after the public comment period ends.
There are about 200 federal navigators in Texas.
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) said the rules, among the most restrictive in the country for navigators, will increase costs and could hinder consumers. The fact that navigators can't give explicit advice to consumers will slow down the enrollment process, those supporters say.
"This is an attempt to add cumbersome requirements to the navigator program and deter groups from working to enroll Americans in coverage in the Health Insurance Marketplace," said Joanne Peters, a spokeswoman for the federal Department of Health and Human Services. "The navigator program is similar to Medicare counselors, which have existed for years and never faced this kind of scrutiny from Texas. Despite the state's efforts, we are confident that navigators will continue to help Texans enroll in quality, affordable health coverage."
Navigators are already required to undergo training on specific health plans, privacy and security standards and eligibility requirements for the ACA's tax credits and subsidies.
Republicans have targeted the navigators as a way to slow down health-care reform. Both Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) have warned that consumer privacy could be at stake.
The Department of Health and Human Services said in August it would provide $67 million in grants to 105 organizations to provide navigator services.
At least 16 states, most with Republican-led legislatures, passed legislation or authored rules to require navigators to obtain licenses or certification from state agencies before helping consumers. Eight states — Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — passed regulations on the types of advice health-care regulators could offer, according to Stateline, a project of the Pew Charitable Trusts.


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CT's annual conference in Washington, DC, at a glance
Campus Technology 2007 Draws the Leaders
Internet2 Insider. Ken Klingenstein's opening keynote, "Leading in a New IT Environment," grabbed Web 2.0-focused attendees who were fascinated by the Internet2 guru's unique perspectives. For more on the future of net-based learning, catch the Mediasite recording here.
R U Digitally Competent? A sharp UT-Austin panel tackled the urgent issue of how to lead institutions in "Preparing 21st-Century Students," and audience interaction was dynamic. Left to right: Robert Bruce, moderator Susanna Wong Herndon, Lucas Horton, and Leslie Jarmon. Watch the discussion here.
Mobility Packs 'Em In. Attendees converge on Jay Dominick's (Wake Forest U) "MobileU" session focused on the hot area of "Moving to the New Converged Device Campus." The assistant VP/CIO kept attendees enthralled with the nitty gritty of how WFU determined strategy and then moved quickly to actionable planning and deployment.
Behind the Model Learning Spaces. The always outspoken San Jose State U AVP Mary Jo Gorney-Moreno led a team "reveal" entitled "Building Innovative Formal/Informal Learning Spaces for Collaboration," and gave attendees a behind-the-scenes look at how project leaders met the challenge of building new high-tech learning spaces and an up-to-the-minute incubator classroom at SJSU. Attendees also learned how the team is reporting their ongoing research to the community. Left to right: Gorney-Moreno, Andrew Milne (Tidebreak), and Menko Johnson (SJSU). See the action here.
HPC and the CIO. How does high performance computing change campuses? MIT's VP of IS/IT Jerry Grochow led an all-star CIO panel in an eyeopening discussion of the true impact. Left to right: Grochow, Betty Leydon (Princeton), Marilyn McMillan (New York University), and Jeff Huskamp (University of Maryland-College Park).
Ad-Hoc Leadership Groups Work! The members of the "Santa Fe Women" shared with both female and male session attendees how the successful networking group has impacted their careers and lives. Left to right: Carrie Regenstein (Carnegie Mellon), Anne Moore (Virginia Tech), Kathy Christoph (U of Wisconsin-Madison), and moderator consultant/author Judith Boettcher.
Exhibits for All. Attendees thronged to an exhibit hall chock-full of technologies for every possible campus application. Demos abounded!
Campus Tours That Wow. Pre-conference attendees were treated to tours of cutting-edge technology applications on the University of Maryland-College Park campus. Hosted by UM's VP and CIO Jeff Huskamp, along with Manager of Learning Technologies Chris Higgins and a veritable army of UM's IT leaders and innovators, the halfday tour took attendees for a first-hand, hands-on look into the classrooms, research labs, and hightech buildings that help make UM one of the nation's most tech-advanced campuses.
MISSED CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY 2007? Head to the follow-on fast-track immersive workshops at the Campus Technology Winter 2007 "LEADERSHIP IN PRACTICE" conference, Dec. 10-12 in San Francisco, CA. Visit here for more information.
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