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One of the three remaining fugitives in a string of fires set by environmental radicals in Colorado, Oregon and California surrendered to authorities Thursday after spending years hiding out in Canada.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland, Ore., said Thursday that Rebecca Jeanette Rubin, 39, turned herself in to the FBI at the Canadian border in Blaine, Wash.
Rubin was part of a cell of the Earth Liberation Front known as the Family, based in Eugene, Ore., authorities said. She was sought on charges that she took part in setting fires at the Two Elk Lodge at the Vail ski area, at a timber-company office in Medford, Ore., and at federal wild-horse corrals in eastern Oregon and northern California.
Ten others pleaded guilty in 2007 to conspiracy and arson and were sentenced to prison. Two others remain at large.
Authorities have said the Earth Liberation Front cell was responsible for 20 arsons around the West that did $40 million in damage, including the 1998 fire that destroyed a restaurant and other facilities at the Vail ski area. Other targets included a horse slaughterhouse and U.S. Forest Service ranger stations, research facilities, and an SUV dealership, all in Oregon.
The group disbanded in 2001, but a federal task force known as Operation Backfire turned an informant and broke open the cell in 2005. The leader, William C. Rodgers, ran a bookstore in Prescott, Ariz. He committed suicide in jail in 2005 after his arrest.
Chelsea Gerlach pleaded guilty to conspiracy, destruction of an energy facility and 23 counts of arson in 2007 and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
As a member of the clandestine "Family," Gerlach and others helped cell leader Rodgers in October 1998 haul fuel up to the Vail ski area. There, under the cloak of darkness, he torched the stately Two Elk Lodge and several other buildings and lifts, causing an estimated $24 million in damage.
While the others abandoned the endeavor, Gerlach — who used the pseudonym "Country Girl" — waited for Rodgers to hike off the mountain and then drove him to a public library in Denver, where the pair sent an e-mail communiqué warning that the fires were in protest of Vail's terrain expansion into the habitat of endangered Canada lynx.
Gerlach had an on-and-off romantic relationship with another conspirator, Stanislas Meyerhoff, 29, who played roles in several of the attacks, including the Vail fires. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Authorities said Rubin is to appear in federal court in Seattle, then will be sent to Oregon for trial.


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Jeff Berg
"Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know."
Marion King Hubbert
In 1956 a geologist by the name of Marion King Hubbert created a data model that projected that the U.S. would hit peak oil production in 1970. Outside of the field of geology no one of course had any idea of his name or what peak oil meant. Inside the field of geology he was considered at first a harebrained crackpot by many and within the oil industry, he worked for Shell Oil at the time, his scientific reputation and career were almost destroyed. But lo and behold fourteen years later the U.S. did in fact hit its peak in terms of oil production - 9.5 million barrels a day - though the peak, naturally enough, was not recognized as the peak until a few years later when terminal decline set in.
Obviously the accuracy of this prediction created quite a stir within the geological community not to mention the interest that it created for the insiders of the oil industry. For as you might suspect oil men value accurate geological predictions rather highly. I imagine the conversation between some Texas oil magnate and the reputedly crusty Hubbert going something like this:
MKH: "As is always true of the best science it was quite simple. I used the history of fields that have been tapped and extrapolated from that data set an essentially Bell shaped curve in terms of the extraction life of rock oil geological deposits in the Lower 48."
Texas Oil Magnate: "Come again?"
MKH: "I figured the future would be much like the past and I was right."
Texas Oil Magnate: "Oh. Why didn't you say so in the first place?"
Ever since 1970 the combined production of the lower 48 states has been dropping year after year. (about 2.5% p/a) At this point all fields in the lower 48 are more than 85% depleted and the zero point could come as soon as 2010. What will also come as a surprise to many is that Alaska too is in terminal decline and the only thing the drilling of the ANWR will do is speed the depletion rate. As to natural gas supplies, in North America at least, current depletion rates are quickly driving up the price of this oil 'substitute'.
The world's political leadership is addicted to oil, but we just keep on voting them into office.
Few people seem to recall that the U.S. was the Saudi Arabia of the world at one time producing more oil than any other country. At the beginning of the last century the U.S. was the greatest oil exporter in the world. 7 out of 8 barrels of oil used in the first and second world wars were U.S. oil barrels. The sale and use of oil is in large part how the U.S. became so rich and powerful. For decades the U.S. was the largest creditor nation in the world. U.S. money, "sound as the dollar", flooded into countries all over the world as investment capital and at home it allowed the U.S. to fund the greatest investment in pure research, technological advancement and military power that the world has ever seen.
How things have changed. Today the U.S. is both the largest importer of oil in the world as well as by far the largest debtor nation in the world. These two facts being not at all coincidental. It is very difficult for anyone to fully grasp the enormity of what "by far" means in the case of U.S. debt but let me try to give you an idea. The U.S. national debt is 7 trillion dollars,13 trillion if you add State, municipal and consumer debt and 18 trillion if the Bush economic 'plan' is fully enacted. The entirety of the third world's debt is just about two trillion dollars. In other words the U.S. debt is many times the size of a debt that has been large enough to choke the economic life out of two-thirds of the world's people. Many of whom are being forced to try and get by on $1 a day. To give an idea of what $1 a day means. If you had been paid $1 a day since the time of the birth of Jesus you would not yet have earned your first million. ($731,953 as of this sentence, and now back to our peak oil story.)
M. King Hubbert's other great crystal ball gazing science parlour prediction (how it was portrayed and dismissed at the time) was to look at the world's rock oil geological history: 'petro' meaning rock hence petroleum, and project from that data basis when the world would hit peak oil production. What he came up with was a peak occurring somewhere around the mid to late 1990's. It turns out he was off by a little. Though it must be said that if it had not been for the oil shocks and subsequent conservation efforts there is every possibility that his model would have held. The best estimates today according to Colin Campbell, Mathew Simmons, Richard Heinberg, Julian Darley, Michael Ruppert, Paul Erlich, and others, indicate peak oil will be upon us by next year or by no later than 2010. (If it is not already here. Time will tell.) This takes on added importance given the fact that world demand is likely to outstrip world supply by the end of 2004 even if we have not hit peak. It is also of no small import to note that for countries lacking American dollars, the currency currently denominated by OPEC as the only one with which one can buy their oil, demand long ago exceeded supply.
Now a lot of people say, "But I've heard that we've got oil for another hundred years." and in a sense they are right. Yes, if we still have people around with technology, and it still makes economic sense to do so, we will still be pulling oil out of the ground a hundred or so years from now. That is unfortunately not at all the issue. People have a tendency to see oil depletion, when they think about it at all, like they do their gas tank. With your car you can be going along at a 100 klicks and right up until the moment when you actually run out of gas you can keep going along very much like there is no impending problem. The simplest rebut to this is of course that the world economy is not your car as much as the car industry would like you to think otherwise. The central problem, and it is a huge one, arises as a result of how closely economic growth is tied to oil and gas and not any oil and gas but inexpensive oil and gas. This leads directly to the even greater problem that the stability of our monetary system and hence our very societies is predicated on economic growth. Compounding this enormously destabilizing fact is the added problem that many of the safety nets that were put in place after the crash of 1929 to compensate for poor growth have largely been taken away over the last twenty five years.
Today the world economy is based on an ideology which exalts the virtue of supply and demand and in practice at least to an extent this mechanism is allowed to operate in global trade. What this has meant in the past in terms of the oil and gas industry is that as long as demand kept rising production rose to meet that demand. The monkey wrench to this system will come when the reality of oil supply refuses to cooperate with the demands of our economic 'laws'. (N.B. "When theory and reality collide, theory always gets knocked flat. ", or as our mother's used to say, "If wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets.") When the world hits peak oil, much less terminal decline, and demand outstrips supply our economic world order is forever changed. Because from that point on it will not matter to oil production what our governments say, what our corporate leaders demand or what laws the economists at the WTO assure us are as ineluctable as the law of gravity. It took hundreds of millions of years to make the oil we have now and when there is no more, well, there is no more, ever. Unless of course we're prepared to be somewhat more patient than we have been historically.
"Well what about technology?" people say. "New drilling methods, advances in geology?" It is true to say that there have been major advances in technology and geology. Unfortunately this fact is immaterial and if anything it is likely to aggravate our problem because it will only steepen the depletion curve and thereby rob of us of the very thing we need most, time, to adapt our societies to a world featuring scarce and expensive oil.
Oil discovery peaked in the early 1960's and today we now find only one barrel of oil for every four that we burn. This gap between production and discovery has only increased for the last 40 years despite significant advances in geology and drilling technology. "Well then how about renewable energy sources?" is the natural next question.
To give you an idea of our level of fossil fuel dependence: Imagine if the U.S. were to double all of its renewable energy capacity and then double it again. This would require all of the planning, approval, skilled labour, capital investment and time necessary to quadruple current renewable energy supply, a supply which has taken decades to build. There would also have to be rigorous safeguards put in place so as to ensure that the time and money that were devoted to this effort actually builds something productive in the end and doesn't simply through boondoggle and/or theft become an enormous waste of fiscal and political capital. If the U.S. managed to do all of these not inconsiderable things at the end of that time, however long that time may happen to be, the U.S. would have created enough energy to replace 1% of its current fossil fuel energy needs.
Essentially what we are faced with is a situation where our politicians and business men have bet all of our chips on the ability to grow and 'technology' our way out of our troubles. As a result what we as a people have been bet on is a house of cards that is held together almost entirely by oil's horsepower. A horsepower which today gives the average North American the equivalent of 300 energy slaves working for them 24/7. As far as bets go smart is not a word that immediately leaps to mind.
Since the early 80's the United States has led the charge at the OECD to force global trade into a reliance on 'market forces' and the 'invisible hand of the market place' in order to regulate trade between North and South. This led to the creation of the WTO in 1995 in order to enshrine in international trade rules the free flow of capital and the elimination of many subsidies and tariffs, foreign ownership laws and other such "barriers to trade". Rules that the U.S. and the richest nations are strong enough to ignore when it is to their benefit. Poor countries on the other hand are ruinously penalized if they dare such survival strategies.
Unsurprisingly since the enactment of these rules the gap between North and South has widened enormously to profoundly disturbing effect in the poorest nations. Along with this trend there has been among politicians and mainstream media a blind faith unconcerned with fact as to the virtues of 'smaller government', 'deregulation' and the 'efficiencies of the market'. The results of our elites unswerving devotion to the 'freeing of trade' agenda has been uniform even in the richest countries. i.e. a rapid movement of wealth to the top 1% of the population. This has been especially true in the United States of America and Great Britain. This despite the fact that in that same quarter century America's GDP more than doubled and productivity went up by about 45%. Britain's economic performance was not quite as strong over the same period though the wealth concentration figures are virtually identical. This concentration of wealth to the wealthiest sectors of society has been the longest lasting legacy of Reaganism and Thatcherism unless one is of the belief that the implosion of the Former Soviet Union should also be included in their list of 'accomplishments'. Wealth concentration as a social engineering project has also been something that the Bush men have sought with no small success to accelerate.
Much more importantly, all the while that these battles were being waged and won by the 'free market supply-siders' at the expense of social justice, our biggest problem by far was always that the demand for oil is going to exceed the supply for oil and economic growth is dependent on said oil. Something that elementary logic tells us oil men like Cheney, and the Bush men most certainly knew. As stated earlier, the respect that oil men have for accurate geology is not difficult to understand. There is also the equally salient fact that with a similar method to Hubbert's, "…even though in detail more sophisticated, the study "Global 2000" (commissioned by the US President) predicted in 1980 the date for the global production peak to be somewhere near the end of the 20th century [27]. The biggest uncertainty was predicting oil consumption - not forecasting how much oil still can be found. In fact this study has assessed the total existing reserves with amazing precision (as we now know with much greater certainty) - just the development of demand was greatly overestimated." Something that recent events in India and China has 'corrected'. ("What fools we mortals be.")
In other words those we have entrusted to lead us saw the paradigm shift of peak oil a long time before 'we the people' and decided that they would enable legislation for the privatization of as many public resources, utilities and services as possible before the inevitable fundamental shift took place. This program continues apace on the U.S. home-front with Social Security and other 'entitlements' next in line. Entitlements being the U.S. government's bizarre term for the right of its citizens to life. Today the U.S. government is being starved of cash to the point of collapse with a strategy reminiscent of nothing so much as the worst days of David Stockman's "voodoo economics" budgetary bafflegab.
This time round the recycled Reaganites of the current administration are arranging a fiscal situation where the only politically saleable option for much of what government does and can do will be privatization. To quote CNN, September 24, 2004, "Congress on Thursday approved a $145.9 billion package of tax relief to extend three popular middle-class tax cuts, giving President Bush his fourth major tax victory since taking office." To gain a proper understanding of just how few people the tax cuts of the last thirty years have benefited I highly recommend David Cay Johnston's, 'Perfectly Legal'. Johnston also rightly points out in his excellently researched work that every nation in history that has lost control of its tax system has collapsed. Or to quote Herbert Stein of the Council of Economic Advisors during the Nixon administration, "Things that can't go on forever, don't."
Given the current U.S. debt situation alone these tax cuts should rightly be considered mind-bogglingly, if not criminally, reckless. W. has outdone even Carl Sagan with "trillions and trillions" in tax cuts and with one more term he would easily pass Ronald Reagan as the President who ran up the greatest amount of debt in the history of the United States. No small accomplishment given that Reagan ran up a larger deficit than all the President's before him combined. Given this reality and the fact that these tax cuts are occurring during a time of war they take on a whole new meaning. In short: This is an effort that is nothing less than the deliberate engineering of a fiscal train wreck. The reason this has been done with the full consent of both parties and houses in the U.S. is a matter for another time. A discussion that will feature prominently panicked greed in the face of the ramifications of peak oil, the crash of 29, the banks, debt based monetary systems, the energy czars, FDR, and the efforts being made to ensure that there is no new deal.
All this to say that the world is about to change radically. Most of us (90%+) on the continent of North America are set to become much poorer monetarily and more importantly in terms of energy than we have been at any time since the great depression and just how poor will ultimately depend on how fast we grasp and address the reality of our new situation. (let's hope our track record isn't a perfect indicator of our future choices.) The implosion of Russia's economy and the resulting population 'die-off', 11 million and counting and "a life expectancy dropping to that of Guatemala" , is I think a very frightening harbinger. What 'staying the course' will mean for China and India I can only shudder to think.
The seismic shift that Peak Oil represents to the way we orient our societies will demand flexible thinking, an open mind and adaptation to changing circumstances. Historically these have always been the greatest strengths of our species; indeed one could even say of them that they were our hallmark. They will have to be again if we are going to save any of the wonders that have come about as a result of the oil and information age of the last century.
If you are interested in learning more about the coming century, the following links will take you to sites featuring the best minds in the field of peak oil and what it is going to mean for us all. And remember, that while foresight may not like hindsight always be twenty-twenty, being forarmed always beats being armed unless of course you prefer a kill or be killed world.
I leave you finally with the words of a good friend of mine, Senor Juan G. Carbonel, "Those who saw 1929 coming managed to protect their assets as well as possible, those that didn't jumped off buildings."
http://www.postcarbon.org/ - Learning to live in a post carbon world.
http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/ - Dr. Colin Campbell's seminal video lecture.
http://www.geologie.tu-clausthal.de/Campbell/lecture.html - Text and graphs from Campbell's lecture.
http://www.museletter.com/ - Excellent audio lecture and newsletter by Richard Heinberg
http://www.hubbertpeak.com/hubbert/ - Historical recounting of Hubbert's contributions and recent developments with peak oil.
http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/LECTURES/ - Marvelous is the only word to describe Julian Darley's oratorical style.
http://www.energybulletin.net/1548.html - A wealth of information and statistics.
http://www.postcarbon.org/eos/interviews.php - 'The End of Suburbia' website. Very infotaining audio lectures.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Like you, I was diagnosed with HIV. Almost fifteen years on, I've never been healthier. Let's stay positive and let's beat HIV and AIDS together. IMPORTANT: I am not qualified to give advice on HIV/AIDS treatment. Don't make treatment decisions on anything you see here. Remain critical at al times especially if someone claims hiv/aids doesn't exist or they have found a cure for it. They are lying to you (and to themselves).


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For those who didn't already know it, Monday's "inauguration" proved Jerry Brown to be a very different political figure. There was no shortage of evidence.
On three different occasions, both before and after the inauguration, Brown was offered a podium to speak. At the "Delta King" hotel on the river in Old Sacramento on Sunday there was a reunion of his staff from the first administration. Brown arrived, talked to some old friends, but left before addressing the crowd.
He did the same Monday night at the "official" inaugural reception at the California Railroad Museum. A podium was set up for him to address the hundreds who came to celebrate his return, but he deferred.
Local news from across Southern California
The sponsors of both events didn't mind. Jerry always seemed careful on where he would speak and when.
But at the "un-official" inaugural celebration outside the state capitol there were a few hurt feelings.
Thousands showed up for a free hot dog fest sponsored by the Orange County Employees Association. Rumor was the Governor would attend. A podium was set up, on a riser, with a sound system and a mariachi band. The crowd grew, ate, and waited.
Finally, after about an hour, Jerry arrived. A path was cleared to the podium. The horn section belted a triumphant salutation and the new Governor pushed forward... to the hot dog tent.
This was not an effort at partaking in the cuisine of the common man. Edmund G. Brown Jr. was hungry. Moments earlier he had arrived at his new office where high ranking members of Congress (Sen. Dianne Feinstein) and former Governor's (Davis and Schwarzenegger) among other lawmakers and officials had gathered to congratulate him on the new post.
Remarkably, the suite of offices were barren. Boxes were piled on tables and worst of all there was no food. His predecessor, who will forever be known for providing a first class spread, must have been stunned.
Pizza was ordered but Brown needed sustenance. So he grabbed wife Anne and headed out for a hot dog. Security scrambled to keep up.
Once outside Brown took a serpentine route shaking hands with well wishers and those patiently waiting their turn for a free dog. He then consumed one himself ("Very good" he reported to Anne). Once it was finished he returned to the capitol.
He may not have heard it, but the crowd booed. Many had worked on his campaign and were expecting. something. Union leaders went to the microphone to placate the disappointed, no doubt fearing that the snub was an omen of things to come from 'the People's Governor".
Not sure how many of the dignitaries stuck around the pizza but it is doubtful Arnold and Maria were among them. When asked about the spartan spread, Davis, his former Chief of Staff, only smiled "Jerry is a man of his word, he practices what he preaches."


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|Gravel Water Retention
To test water retention of different types of soils, we use a graduated cylinder, panty hose (which the kids think is hilarious!) and different types of soil. We put each individual type of soil (200ml) into the panty hose, SLOWLY add 200 ml of water, and figure our how much water was retained by the soil by looking at the amount of water than fell into the beaker. The kids are always surprised by how much water the sand retains!
|Sand Water Retention
|Top Soil Water Retention


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S.F. Ethics Commission hearing on Mirkarimi begins
The San Francisco Ethics Commission on Tuesday began the unprecedented task of deciding whether suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi should be allowed to keep his job - or whether the argument that led to him bruising his wife's arm was enough to remove him from office.
"I think that as one of the top law enforcement officials for the city, he ought not to have engaged in the beating of his wife. That's what it comes down to," Mayor Ed Lee said just hours before the Ethics Commission hearing got under way. "I just think that the violence against a spouse was not appropriate for occupying that office."
Lee suspended the new sheriff three months ago after he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of false imprisonment of a spouse.
Mirkarimi, who was sentenced to three years of probation and domestic violence intervention classes, admits that he bruised his wife's arm, and says the attempt to remove him from office is a witch hunt.
'Does not disqualify me'
"Our belief all along has been that I want to take responsibility - have taken responsibility - for what's occurred with my wife and I. That does not disqualify me from being sheriff, not in the eyes of the federal, state or even municipal law or code. Whatsoever," he said before the hearing. "And I believe that by trying to remove a democratically, duly elected peer of the mayor and the way that they're going about it, it sets a horrible precedence for the City and County of San Francisco."
Later, during a break in the hearing, Mirkarimi responded directly to Lee's statement: "He is simply resorting to sensationalism and smear."
This is the first hearing of its kind for the Ethics Commission.
Over the past two months, the commission has reviewed and discussed how to go about holding its fact-finding hearing. There will be both sworn written statements and live testimony before the commission presents its findings, with a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The supervisors will decide Mirkarimi's fate. Dismissal would require the votes of at least nine of the 11 supervisors.
Mirkarimi to testify
Mirkarimi is tentatively scheduled to testify before the Ethics Commission on June 28, the mayor the following day. After next week's sessions, the hearing is expected to resume in mid- to late July.
The commissioners spent nearly four hours in the opening session Tuesday going line-by-line through the witness declarations to determine whether the assertions were relevant. Only one witness declaration, from the mayor's criminal justice adviser, Paul Henderson, was dismissed outright. The statements of many others, including that of Mirkarimi's neighbor, Ivory Madison, who first reported the abuse, were limited. Attorneys for both sides will submit further objections and rebuttals in writing before next week's hearings.
"If we admit something, it's admitted," said commission Chairman Ben Hur. "What weight we give the evidence may depend on whether it's hearsay or not hearsay evidence."
A sworn statement by Mirkarimi's wife, Eliana Lopez, is expected to be filed Wednesday, her attorney, Paula Canny, said. Asked in an interview whether she will testify, Canny said, "probably" - in person or remotely by video. Lopez has been in her native Venezuela with the couple's son, Theo, since March 25.
Others who offered sworn statements, and who may be called to testify, include two veteran law enforcement officials with differing views.
Longtime San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who endorsed Mirkarimi in last year's race to succeed him, said that Mirkarimi should not be forcibly removed from his job. He said he knows of two other sheriffs in California who were convicted of misdemeanors and kept their jobs. One was San Francisco Sheriff Richard Hongisto, who was held in contempt for refusing to carry out an eviction order in 1977.
Hennessey's statement
"If Sheriff Mirkarimi is reinstated as Sheriff, my opinion is that his subordinates will carry out his orders," Hennessey wrote. "My opinion is also that the fact that Sheriff Mirkarimi has suffered a misdemeanor conviction for which he is on probation will not impair him from performing the duties of Sheriff of San Francisco."
But San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne, who has served as an expert witness on dozens of cases involving police management and policy, said Mirkarimi shouldn't hold the sheriff's job because he refused to cooperate with the police investigation in the criminal case and that while on probation he would be in an "untenable" position of having to work with other law enforcement agencies and prosecutors.
"A top law enforcement officer - a sheriff or chief of police - is held to the highest standard and must lead by personal example," said Lansdowne, an expert witness called by the mayor.
Neighbor made a video
Police opened their investigation after being contacted by neighbor Madison. She said Lopez confided in her the day after the fight with Mirkarimi.
She took a short video of Lopez tearfully talking about her marital problems and showing the bruise on her upper arm. Lopez said she wanted the footage used in case she got into a custody fight with Mirkarimi.
Lopez said she never intended the video to be released and has chastised prosecutors and the mayor for going after her husband in what she described as a coup d'etat. The Ethics Commission is expected to decide June 28 whether the video can be entered into evidence in the misconduct proceedings.
Rachel Gordon is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: email@example.com Twitter: @rachelgordonsf


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On May 31, Karl Rove returned to the White House for the first time since Barack Obama's Inauguration. Bush's Brain, as Rove was known during the nearly seven years he worked there, joined a group of former colleagues for an East Room ceremony to unveil George W. Bush's official portrait.
10 Questions for Karl Rove
Rove was...
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text:
Buying a new home may be the biggest investment you'll ever make in Lake Lure NC.
Although the process is very exciting it can quickly become overwhelming. While the home you have selected may appear to be just what you're looking for, how can you be sure there aren't potentially serious unknown defects which can make your investment in your future a costly one?
A professional inspection can save you thousands of dollars.
We thoroughly inspect all major components of the subject property to expose unknown defects and advise you about future maintenance on your home once the purchase is complete. Our inspection team will give you the critical information you require to make an informed decision.
Client Friendly Service
For our clients who are able to be at the inspection, we will review the inspection on site, answering any questions about possible defects, or instructions for operating systems. For our clients who are not able to attend the inspection we e-mail the report out within 48 hours and are more than happy to reply to any questions via telephone or email. Whether you can attend the inspection or not, as you go through the process of a real estate transaction, we will remain available to you to help with any questions or issues that may arise.
Lake Lure NC. Services Include:
- Complete Home Inspections – Lake Lure, NC.
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- License Home Inspector – Lake Lure, NC.
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Certified Experience
Since 2001 Affordable Inspections Inc. has performed over 10,000 inspections in Western North Carolina. Our chief inspector and operations manager, Austin Boleman, has more than 25 years experience building and inspecting homes. Our senior inspectors enjoy the distinction of being nationally Certified Master Inspectors, a coveted honor. All of our inspectors must have a minimum of two years supervised experience before we consider them qualified to perform an inspection.
Thorough Inspection Standards
The minimum standards of practice required by the North Carolina Home Inspector Licensing Board are just that: Minimal. An inspector is required to carry only four tools; a 4 foot ladder, a screw driver, a flash light and a simple outlet tester.
Our inspections greatly exceed these minimal standards:
- we carry ladders up to 16 feet as part of our standard equipment. Longer ladders are available on request if the job requires.
- We inspect all accessible attics and crawl spaces.
- We test all doors, windows, and outlets (not just one in each room as per the standards).
- We use electronic gas detectors and moisture meters to help discover hidden dangers that could threaten your investment and your family.
- We also have thermal imaging technology available by request.


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The best historical movies from the 2000's on Netflix in Australia
Find something to watch on Netflix right now. Flixboss is the unofficial Netflix guide that makes it easier to discover the best movies, TV shows, documentaries, new releases and Originals that are available to stream on Netflix in Australia.
Found movies
Sort by Netflix release date IMDb rating


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Poor eating and activity habits, not genetics, are the underlying causes for most cases of adolescent obesity, new research suggests.
"For the extremely overweight child, genetic screening may be a consideration," study senior author Dr. Kim A. Eagle, a cardiologist and a director of the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor, said in a center news release.
"For the rest, increasing physical activity, reducing recreational screen time and improving the nutritional value of school lunches offers great promise to begin a reversal of current childhood obesity trends."
The study findings were published in a recent issue of the American Heart Journal.
The authors noted that, in 1980, just 6.5 percent of U.S. children aged 6 to 11 years were considered obese, but that percentage rose to nearly 20 percent by 2008.
The recent study found that 15 percent of the participants were obese. And almost all had poor eating habits.
Nearly one-third of all the students said they drank a soda the day before, while fewer than half said they could recall having eaten two portions of fruits and vegetables in the same time frame.
Source: U.S. News & World Report


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Yarmouth and Acadian Shores
Yarmouth and Acadian Shores is in Canada.
Other destinations[edit]
Yarmouth & Acadian Shores is located at the southwest end of Nova Scotia, Canada, and offers travelers a variety of coastal and backwoods experiences, gourmet dining, vacation packages, and travel deals.
Everywhere you go you'll discover the hospitality of a region unlike any other in Atlantic Canada. Pass through the Pubnicos and be welcomed to the oldest Acadian settlement in the world. Travel along the scenic coastline of Argyle and the colourful French Acadian shore of Clare as the sea unfolds before you. Wander through Yarmouth and enjoy museums, restaurants and shopping in a truly historic port town. Visit Kemptville and the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, the largest protected wild area in the Atlantic provinces. The Yarmouth & Acadian Shores region is a rich blend of heritage, culture and community spirit. A place where the sea influences all aspects of life, and Acadian warmth beckons you to extend your stay.
Get in[edit]
By Car[edit]
Yarmouth to Halifax
Yarmouth to Halifax
Scenic drive from Shelburne (Nova Scotia) through Kemptville to Carleton, near Yarmouth
By Bus[edit]
Campbell's Shuttle Service 1-800-742-6101 Between Yarmouth and Halifax, including Halifax International Airport and Via Rail-Halifax. http://www.campbell-shuttle-service.com/
Cloud Nine Shuttle 1-888-805-3335 Yarmouth to Halifax/Dartmouth, operating on the #101 and #103 highways and points en route. Also parcel pickups and deliveries. Service 7 days a week. http://www.thecloudnineshuttle.com
By Air[edit]
Get around[edit]
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Spanning parts of 5 counties, the Tobeatic Wilderness Area remains the largest wild area in the Maritimes. Unique barren and semi-barren landscapes with outstanding undisturbed glacial landforms characterize the area, including esker fields, moraines, kettles and outwash plains. It protects remote and undisturbed wildlife habitat, protects expansive wetlands, pockets of old-growth pine and hemlock forest, and the headwaters of 9 major river systems flowing to both the Atlantic and Fundy coasts.
Taken together with the neighbouring Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site the Tobeatic Wilderness Area forms the central core of an expansive protected landscape within interior southwestern Nova Scotia.The Tobeatic Wilderness Area contributes significantly biodiversity protection in Nova Scotia. An historic refuge for wildlife, today the Tobeatic Wilderness Area protects native biodiversity, with undisturbed wildlife habitat for many species, including a small but provincially significant remnant native Nova Scotia moose population, healthy and abundant black bear, and a re-introduced population of American marten.
A Brief History of the Tobeatic by Andy Smith
In the late 1930s, Chief Sanctuary Warden, Chester Gray of Kemptville, Yarmouth Co., led Burton Spiller, a writer for the American magazine Field & Stream, on a 10-day fishing trip into the newly created Tobeatic Game Sanctuary. In his account of the trip, Spiller described portaging his canoe in the area of Siskech Lake:
"I was struggling along . . . when I suddenly heard a great organ playing. The sound came from somewhere before me and I went on eagerly, for organ music has a strange power to stir my soul. Presently I found myself in a great cathedral. Towering hemlock trunks rose all around me, stretching upward of fifty - sixty - seventy feet to where the lofty and interwoven branches barred the sunlight. Among these branches the winds stirred, and the effect was one of celestial music. Soft, resonant, deep, it sang of a time when God walked in the cool of the forest. Then as the wind played upon muted pipes, the chorus rose, full, swelling, triumphant, a mighty diapason of sound that held me breathless." [Burton L. Spiller, Fishin' Around, New York: Winchester Press, 1974, p. 53.]
What Spiller described was a remnant of what the Mi'kmaq called "Tupsie'katik," or "place of the alder, known today as "the Tobeatic." For more see http://www.swpaddlers.com/Article4.html
"Into the Tobeatic" Guide: http://www.gov.ns.ca/nse/protectedareas/docs/TobeaticGuide_Text.pdf
Tobeatic Wilderness Area Map: http://www.gov.ns.ca/nse/protectedareas/docs/TobeaticGuide_Map.pdf
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Lately there's been a lot of controversy about the future of Star Wars' Expanded Universe, and what this portends for J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan's Episode VII. It's pretty clear that the events of the upcoming trilogy (plus the one-shot spin-offs about Boba Fett and other characters) will likely upend a lot of the established EU canon, to the extent that they don't wipe it out. (All of it.) These rumors — and nothing is set yet — have divided fans and critics; some welcome the prospect of resetting the EU completely in favor of a new, leaner, better, stronger, more integrated universe, while others are still attached to the likes of Thrawn, Mara Jade, Jacen, Jaina, and those lovable, cuddly ysalamiri.
So here's my hypothetical for you, the honest to Gonk, Force-Being-With Star Wars fan: If, tomorrow, you were given the opportunity to make your own, real, 100% canonical, saga-tomically correct Star Wars movie (after having demonstrated your cinematic prowess with brilliant and idiosyncratic films of your own, natch — this is a fantasy here, after all), what would it be about? Would you stick to the established "G" canon, or adopt — or even adapt — other letters of the LFLabet? Who would be the central characters? What planets — old or new — would be the principal settings? Who would the bad guys be — Empire remnants, a resurgent Sith, or someone entirely different? How much of the established iconography (including the prequels) would you use? What would be the most controversial decision you made? Who would love you? Who would burn you in effigy and say snide things about you on the Internet?
Excelsior, and live long and prosper.


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In this newly released video from the folks at TED-Ed, educator Dennis Wildfogel teams up with animator Ash Barker to explain not only what the universe is made of, but what it took for those cosmological building blocks to get where they are today.
Via TED-Ed:
The atoms around you have existed for billions of years — and most originated in the flaming, gaseous core of a star. Dennis Wildfogel tells the captivating tale of these atoms' long journeys from the Big Bang to the molecules they form today.
Complement with "What do we mean when we say the Universe is curved?" and "When will the universe end?"
G/O Media may get a commission


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2013 record: 8-5 overall, 3-5 in SEC (T-5th in SEC West)
2013 postseason: Music City Bowl vs. Georgia Tech (25-17 win)
2013 final AP/coaches' ranking: unranked/unranked
Head coach: Hugh Freeze (45-18 overall; 15-11 in two years at Ole Miss)
Offensive coordinator: Matt Luke (third season); Dan Werner (third season)
2013 offensive rankings: 42nd rushing offense (109 ypg); 23rd passing offense (283.3 ypg); 21st total offense (473.3 ypg); 57th scoring offense (30 ppg)
Returning offensive starters: Five
Defensive coordinator: Dave Wommack (third season); Jason Jones (second season)
2013 defensive rankings: 51st rushing defense (154.9 ypg); 36th passing defense (215.5 ypg); 38th total defense (370.5 ypg); 37th scoring defense (23.7 ppg)
Returning defensive starters: Nine
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Stadium: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (60,580; FieldTurf)
Last conference title: 1963
Unbelievably, with Bo Wallace under center, Ole Miss will enter the 2014 season with the most experienced quarterback in the conference. While that might give some cause for pause, Wallace was actually, quietly, a very solid quarterback in 2013. While the Rebels lost its leading receiver yardage-wise in Donte Moncrief, they have a handful of talented players who can help replace the lost production. The running game is a productive two-headed creature, while the defense returns nine starters from what was one of the more solid defenses in the defensive-minded SEC. The schedule sets up somewhat favorably as well, with two of the four road games consisting of trips to Vanderbilt (9-4, but with a new head coach) and Arkansas (3-9 overall, 0-8 in SEC play). But, then again…
Believe it or not, there's not a whole heck of a lot bad going on down in Oxford. Freeze has the Rebels rounding into a very nice football program, one capable of peeling off eight or nine wins a year and one that looks, based on recruiting, capable of reeling in the ofttimes elusive sustainability. The offense will be one of the best in the SEC year-in and year-out, while the defense is vastly underrated. The biggest bad for Ole Miss? The division in which they reside, over which they have no control. At the moment, they simply can't consistently compete with West compatriots Alabama, Auburn and LSU. Texas A&M, despite the attrition they've suffered in the offseason, are in this for the long haul as evidenced by the money they're pouring into the football program, so there's that College Station hurdle as well. Since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012, the Rebels are just 2-6 against those four programs — a three-point home win against LSU last season and a win in 2012 against an Auburn team that would ultimately win three games and fire its head coach. And that's without even mentioning that Ole Miss has lost four of the last five Egg Bowls against in-state rival — and divisional foe — Mississippi State. Ole Miss has a tough row to hoe if they're looking to climb to elite status; if they're just looking for eight-ish wins a year plus a nice bowl bid, then they're set.
While nine starters on the defensive side of ball return, just five do so on offense. Included in the attrition are three starters along the offensive line along with, as previously mentioned, one of the most productive receivers in school history. With a neutral-site game against a very good Boise State team with what should prove to be an improved — and disruptive defense — leading off the 2014 schedule, it's imperative that Freeze and his offensive coaching staff quickly identify the line replacements and give them plenty of work as a unit in summer camp.
MAKE-OR-BREAK GAME: at Texas A&M, Oct. 11
There's a fairly decent chance that, heading into this game, the Rebels will be 4-1, with the lone loss coming the week before against powerhouse Alabama. This could be viewed as a swing game for Ole Miss, with A&M serving as the second game of a gauntlet that goes Alabama/Texas A&M/LSU/Auburn in a span of five weeks. If the Rebels can come out of that meat grinder 1-3 at worst, they're set up for a perhaps a nine-win season that would likely launch them into one of the better bowl games to which the SEC is attached. If they can somehow manage that beast of a four-game stretch at 2-2? The Rebels could be staring their first 10-win season since 2003 square in the face.
HEISMAN HOPEFUL: Quarterback Bo Wallace
This is one of those no-brainer kind of things. And, as jarring as it may be, Wallace possesses the most impressive pedigree of all the returning quarterbacks in the SEC. The stats, though, show Wallace has quietly put together a nice career. Last season, he completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for over 3,300 yards and 18 touchdowns. He added six touchdowns on the ground for good measure. The 10 interceptions might be a bit of a cause for concern, but considering they came in the midst of 437 pass attempts the concern it's somewhat mitigated. Any off-the-radar Heisman candidacy that hopes to get on the radar will be determined by how Wallace — and his team — performs in that brutal four-game midseason stretch.
(Click HERE for the CFT 2014 Preseason Preview Repository)


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World of Difference: UAlbany Junior a Role Model for Foster Children
Raven Profit Serves as a Youth Ambassador to Teach Life Skills, Promote Education
UAlbany Junior Raven Profit helps foster children learn life skills and assists them in navigating the U.S. welfare system.
ALBANY, N.Y (December 12, 2011) -- University at Albany student Raven Profit understands the difficulties facing foster children. At age 15, Profit was thrust into the foster care system when her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. While an aunt eventually gained custody of Profit and her brother, the Queens, N.Y., native's eyes were opened to the struggles facing more than 400,000 U.S. foster children. Profit's experience compelled her to find a way to help others in the foster system.
Now a junior majoring in human biology and women's studies, Profit serves as youth ambassador for New Yorkers for Children and UAlbany's Professional Development Program (PDP) at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. Through her role, Profit helps foster children learn life skills and assists them in navigating the U.S. welfare system.
The statistics are staggering: 30,000 kids 'age out' of the foster system each year and are suddenly faced with the challenges of finding a means of supporting themselves, often at just 18 years of age. Only about a third of foster children graduate high school compared to other children in the U.S., and approximately one in five will go on to college. Only 2% earn a bachelor's degree. Behind military veterans, children leaving foster care comprise the largest pipeline to homelessness among young adults in the U.S.
Profit, who entered foster care when she was 15, hopes her own experience can serve as an inspiration to other foster kids.
"Most foster children don't have role models or a parent to look up to – someone to get advice from or who can help them simply learn how to put together a resume -- but it doesn't have to be this way," says Profit. She points out that children can delay 'aging out' of the system until they are 21, allowing time to start college and build a foundation for the future.
Profit attends seminars throughout the year, speaking with foster children to explain to them what benefits they have access to and coaching them on career skills. She hopes her own experience can serve as an inspiration to other foster kids.
"The world is not limited to what is around you," says Profit, who came to UAlbany because she felt the University would provide a challenging learning environment and help her grow as a person. Now on track to pursue a medical degree, Profit hopes one day to follow in UAlbany alum Dr. Robert Paeglow's footsteps by providing affordable health care to the disadvantaged.
"Raven is an excellent role model. She is passionate, driven, and has motivated many of her peers to achieve their dreams," said PDP Executive Director Eugene J. Monaco. "She has been able to utilize her experiences to strengthen her ability to overcome challenges and by her example makes college a reality for many at-risk youth. Raven positive energy inspires all those she interacts with to make a difference."
Profit will also continue to work with foster children to teach them professional skills, and help them avoid falling back into another system or to life on the streets. "I was blessed to have a great support system and access to a lot of programs," says Profit. "So I know how vital that is to children in foster care."
For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds
Educationally and culturally, the University at Albany-SUNY puts "The World Within Reach" for its 17,500 students. An internationally recognized research university with 50 undergraduate majors and 125 graduate degree programs, UAlbany is a leader among all New York State colleges and universities in such diverse fields as public policy, nanotechnology and criminal justice. With a curriculum enhanced by 300 study-abroad opportunities, UAlbany launches great careers. For more information about this globally ranked University, visit https://www.albany.edu/. For UAlbany's extensive roster of faculty experts, visit www.albany.edu/news/experts.shtml.


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- Joined
- Mar 4, 2002
- Messages
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Since we are in the dead middle of the offseason, I am asking everyone with photo shop skills to put forth your best FUNNY but TASTEFUL photoshop picture of Rex and the Jets. Lets see how many pages this thread can get to with hilarious pictures. If done well, this thread will posted at theganggreen site. Start it up Dolfans!


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FORT MYERS, Fla. - A Fort Myers man shot himself in the arm after his girlfriend refused to have sex with him.
Jonathon Guabello, 29, and his girlfriend returned home from a bar early Wednesday morning. The girlfriend told deputies that Guabello had wanted to get intimate, but she wanted to go to sleep, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
When Guabello became irate, authorities say the girlfriend went to a spare bedroom, and several minutes later she heard two gunshots. She told deputies Guabello came into her room and threatened her. He then stumbled into the kitchen and knocked himself unconscious.
Guabello was charged with threatening violence and firing a weapon in an occupied dwelling. He was being held on $100,000 bail.
The 5-foot-7, 220-pound man was a long rap sheet that dates back to 1998 and includes arrests for grand larceny and several petty crimes, according to authorities.


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Daily Slice: Mack & Manco's, Ocean City, New Jersey
A different slice profiled each day.
Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.
If you've ever spent a summer in Ocean City, New Jersey, chances are you're well acquainted with Mack & Manco's. It's the quintessential shore slice, eaten while cruising the boardwalk and dodging what might be the nation's most aggressive seagulls. More saucy than cheesy, it's a slice that tastes like summer, served straight from the heat of oven on to the sun-drenched OC Boardwalk.
The sauciness of Mack & Manco's comes from their Trenton roots where they served up tomato pies. Moving to the shore, they took their signature tangy tomato sauce and spun it into the shore slice that they're known for today. Pizzas are tossed thin boardwalk-side by eager summer season hires and topped with just enough stringy, salty mozzarella to complement their sweet, oregano-heavy sauce that's swirled over the pie.
Mack & Manco's
Various locations in Ocean City, NJ
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Case Study # 1
This week there was a little bitty paper released by Princeton researchers:
Lest We Remember: Cold Boot Attacks on Encryption Keys
Turns out it caused quite a buzz.
The researchers successfully defeated four popular disk encryption products: BitLocker, which comes with Windows Vista; FileVault, which comes with MacOS X; and dm-crypt, which is used with Linux and even the Open Source program TrueCrypt versions 4.3a and 5.0a running on a Linux system.
At the heart of their attack success is the fact that DRAM chips still tend to retain data when a system is shut down for a brief window of time. If the chips are cooled and/or forensically inspected within the window, methods for recovery of the encryption keys may be applied and the drive unencrypted with the information.
(Literally) cool stuff.
Yes, it is does require a focused attack method as the system must already be up and running (say in a locked "hibernation/sleep" mode or grabbed and immediately applied right after a full system shutdown.
I do find it interesting in light of corporations (and some private users) turning to drive-encryption solutions to deal with data-loss from laptops and other storage devices.
Our research shows that data in DRAM actually fades out gradually over a period of seconds to minutes, enabling an attacker to read the full contents of memory by cutting power and then rebooting into a malicious operating system.
Interestingly, if you cool the DRAM chips, for example by spraying inverted cans of "canned air" dusting spray on them, the chips will retain their contents for much longer. At these temperatures (around -50 °C) you can remove the chips from the computer and let them sit on the table for ten minutes or more, without appreciable loss of data. Cool the chips in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) and they hold their state for hours at least, without any power. Just put the chips back into a machine and you can read out their contents.
This is deadly for disk encryption products because they rely on keeping master decryption keys in DRAM. This was thought to be safe because the operating system would keep any malicious programs from accessing the keys in memory, and there was no way to get rid of the operating system without cutting power to the machine, which "everybody knew" would cause the keys to be erased.
Our results show that an attacker can cut power to the computer, then power it back up and boot a malicious operating system (from, say, a thumb drive) that copies the contents of memory. Having done that, the attacker can search through the captured memory contents, find any crypto keys that might be there, and use them to start decrypting hard disk contents.
SANS-ISC Handler's Diary picks up with the dramatic-sounding post: In memory of hard disk encryption?
As they point out, disk encryption is but one (though important) layer in the process of securing data on a portable (or non-portable) device.
Now incident responders need to add a few more questions during their pre/post loss assessment. Modifying slightly the list that ISC Handler Swa Frantzen provided:
- Was the sensitive data on the laptop/device encrypted? If no, why not?
- Why was that data sensitive?
- Are there no better ways to do what that data does?
- Why was sensitive data stored on a portable device?
- Where was the absolute need to have the sensitive data?
- Why was the sensitive data mixed in with less sensitive data?
- Why was sensitive data allowed out of the organization that collected it?
- Why was a laptop containing sensitive data left unattended?
- How long ago was the laptop turned off ?
- Was the laptop turned off, or just asleep?
- What encryption product was used and does it wipe its keys from RAM upon shutdown or sleep actions?
While it gives the "bad-guys" some new techniques, it also gives forensics investigators the same techniques to consider and use during a seizure event if the target system is suspected to be using drive-encryption and acquisition of the password is suspect or impossible.
Computer forensics author Harlan Carvey mentioned in his post on this study that "...TechPathways provides a tool called ZeroView, which can reportedly be used to detect [whole disk encryption]."
There is also a PDF file from Technology Pathways that address some of the issues related to whole disk encryption detection and capture.
While most will see this as mostly an "academic/forensics" issue, I think it bodes a warning against complacency by corporate and government end-users who might have encrypted devices and let their guard down a few notches.
If an end user say, places their encrypted laptop in a "sleep/hibernation" state (say hanging out at the airport getting ready to go through screening or in a conference setting during a break) and let their guard down thinking "it's encrypted, what's the worry?" the attacker could seize the laptop while still "hot" (although locked) and use these methods to latter attack it at their convenience.
See also these related Princeton project items
- Full research paper [PDF]
- Introductory blog post
- Frequently asked questions
- Experiment guide
- Videos and images
Case Study #2
Harlan also posted a great introductory list of freeware forensic software/resource links this week.
Getting started, or forensic analysis on the cheap - The Windows Incident Response Blog
Provided is a nice list of links to Imaging tools, Image/File Integrity Verification, Images/Analysis Challenges, Analysis Applications, Mounting/Booting Images, Analysis Tools, File Analysis, File Carving, Browser History, Archive Utilities, AV and Related Tools, and Packet Capture and Analysis.
As I mentioned in the post comments there, I'm not a forensics guy but I do find as a sysadmin that many of the principles and methods are useful to know from a "foundations" standpoint when I am assessing a response strategy for a malware/virus infection on one of our desktop systems. It also provides me a good perspective for what to do/not do when I encounter "material" on a system that might very well be handed off to our own internal investigations division so I don't accidentally compromise something in my initial response and assessment. Always good skills for anyone who deals with desktop support to have and be on the lookout for.
Case Study #3
I knew the LiveCD list has a number of Linux distributions that focus on workstation forensics.
These are disks that can "live boot" a target system and perform data inspection, case documentation, and other activities without touching the target system.
They should provide a wealth of good tools and activities for budding and experienced forensics experts alike to become familiar with.
Here are the project items that seem to still be (somewhat) actively maintained:
Plan-B- quoting from the developer - "Plan-B is a bootable Linux environment without the need for a hard drive, it runs entirely in ram or from the cd, based on a basic, stripped installation of Red Hat Linux and the fundamental workings of the SuperRescue CD. A list of tools and utilities are also included for projects such as: Forensics/Data Recovery, System/Network Analysis and Security Scanning, Temporary Network Device/Server, IDS / NIDS System, and Network Status Report Creation." - Security Tools, Forensics Tools, and Audit Tools.
Helix- quoting from the developer - "Helix is a customized distribution of the Knoppix Live Linux CD. Helix is more than just a bootable live CD. You can still boot into a customized Linux environment that includes customized linux kernels, excellent hardware detection and many applications dedicated to Incident Response and Forensics. Helix has been modified very carefully to NOT touch the host computer in any way and it is forensically sound. Helix wil not auto mount swap space, or auto mount any attached devices. Helix also has a special Windows autorun side for Incident Response and Forensics. Helix focuses on Incident Response & Forensics tools." - CD Contents
FIRE - Forensic and Incident Response Environment - quoting from the developer - "FIRE is a portable bootable cdrom based distribution with the goal of providing an immediate environment to perform forensic analysis, incident response, data recovery, virus scanning and vulnerability assessment. Also provides necessary tools for live forensics/analysis on win32, sparc solaris and x86 linux hosts just by mounting the cdrom and using trusted static binaries available in /statbins." - FIRE FAQ
FCCU GNU/Linux Forensic Boot CD - quoting from the developer - "This CD is based on KNOPPIX by Klauss Knopper. It is a remaster that I made to use at my work as a computer forensic investigator. Its main purpose is to create images copies of devices before analyse. It does not use a lot of cpu cycles for unnecessary programs, that is why it drops you to a shell right after the boot. It recognizes lots of hardware (Thanks to Klauss Knopper). It leaves the target devices unaltered (It does not use the swap partitions found on the devices). It contains a lot of tools with forensic purpose."
Penguin Sleuth Bootable CD - The boot CD is still available, however the developer is also now working on a new project, a virtualized version of the package that can also master new bootable CD versions of itself. Sounds cool! Stay tuned for more details as they develop. Penguin Sleuth Kit Details and New Penguin Sleuth Kit Statement.
PLAC - Portable Linux Auditing CD - quoting from the developer - "PLAC is a business card sized bootable cdrom running linux. It has network auditing, disk recovery, and forensic analysis tools. ISO will be available and scripts to roll you own cd."
Case Study #4
It's important to be able to clearly and accurately document your case notes during your investigations. There are many commercial solutions on the market, and these may be intimidating for someone to consider using, both from a cost and complexity standpoint. Some of the LiveCD tools above do contain audit and documentation tools that can be used.
Just this week I became aware of two such case-note applications that can run on Windows:
Technology Pathways ProDiscover Basic Edition - (freeware) - "...a complete GUI based computer forensic software package. It includes the ability to image, preserve, analyze and report on evidence found on a computer disk drive. It is freeware and may be used and shared without charge." It comes in both a regular system install version as well as a portable USB U3 format installer .
QCC Information Security UK - Casenotes - (freeware) - "The purpose of CaseNotes is to provide a single lightweight application program to run on the Microsoft Windows platform to allow forensic analysts and examiners of any discipline to securely record their contemporaneous notes electronically." For more information download the PDF Quick Start Guide. The Program does require the Microsoft .NET framework to run. Note, you might get a registration page to complete before you reach the actual download page. If this happens, I found that you can just leave all the fields blank and enter the captcha code only, and it will let you pass to the download page.
--QCC Casenotes spotted via the interesting Mobile Telephone Evidence blog.
Case Study #5
Tiny Apps points out that there is now a great tool that can be used to mount VMWare virtual disks and dd images under Windows.
Pretty clever stuff.
And, just by coincidence, the SANS-ISC Handler's Diary reported that VMWare has a flaw that could lead to malware on a virtual system leaking out onto the host system via shared folders. (Never a good idea have enabled in my humble opinion).
Critical VMware security alert for Windows-hosted VMware client versions - SANS-ISC Handler's Diary:
Workaround (from the VMware advisory)
Until VMware releases a patch to fix this issue, users of affected Windows-hosted VMware products should disable shared folders.
To disable shared folders in the Global settings:
From the VMware product's menu, choose Edit > Preferences.
In the Workspace tab, under Virtual Machines, deselect the checkbox for Enable all shared folders by default.
To disable shared folders for the individual virtual machine settings:
From the VMware product's menu, choose VM > Settings.
In the Options tab, select Shared Folders and Disable.
Happy hunting and gathering!


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HARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, "The Black Sentinel" Does she hate whites and why does she continue to talk about racism, I mean isn't it dead already.
KING: Many in the Blogosphere are calling her a racist is she and why with the constant racism talk.
The Black Sentinel responds live — uncut, uncensored, unreal.
It's all next on HARRY KING LIVE.
We are in Los Angeles with The Black Sentinel.
How are you?
B. SENTINEL: Hi Harry, I'm doing fine thanks.
KING: So I've been to your Blog and read a couple of posts and it does have a definite racial theme, does it bother you that people think that you're racist and are constantly focusing on racism?
B. SENTINEL: You know Harry; I don't expect people to understand the need I have to point out the disheartening racism which is all around. I am just disgusted that by pointing out the racism, I'm now the racist. It is inexplicable.
KING: Other than that?
B. SENTINEL: I guess I could really care less what these people think of me. I don't care if they think I am racist or full of hate. My Blog speaks for itself.
KING: Really?
B. SENTINEL: Yeah, really. I'm not sorry — to tell you personally, first of all, I'm not sorry at all. I know you and others feel I should be apologetic for my portrayal of people with a white mindset. But, I have nothing to apologize for; the stink of hypocrisy needs to be shoved in everyone's face until they gag themselves awake.
KING: All right, let's discuss this white mindset.
What exactly is a white mindset?
B. SENTINEL: A white mindset is a mindset which is all about the dominant corporate culture which is primarily controlled by white people or non whites that support white privilege.
KING: How do you fix it?
B. SENTINEL: It will take a lot of effort on everyone's part, no ONE person is going to fix it Harry.
KING: Were these the views," that you've had all of your life?
B. SENTINEL: No, I was part of the white mindset trap myself as a youngster. You are being assimilated all throughout your school days, watching cartoons, movies and television in general. Also, your parents are part of the propaganda machine.
KING: So you had been, would you say, living with an assimilated viewpoint, due to your education?
B. SENTINEL: Well, hell yeah– I graduated from high school or the propaganda machine as I like to call it, thinking that the propaganda you hear about blacks was true to the most part, you know. I mean I dropped the bootstrap talk a lot — and I always felt that if you work hard get a degree things would just fall in your lap. Hell I was stupid.
I'm not that kind of girl. I knew I probably wasn't hearing the whole story yet. But I thought having that white education was enough, and I didn't need to know my black roots.
KING: It's tough to hear, but let's read a segment of the Blog that landed you in this world of hurt.
This is courtesy of the "Word Press," which, by the way, made the Blog public.
B. SENTINEL SAID: Unfortunately, I believe that you can't create a system where YOU are subjugating people and enthusiastically denying them equal pieces of the big life pie, then turn around and blame them for the fact that they don't have a larger piece. All the while rewarding and praising those subjugated fools who decide to help spread the message of confusion, creating a class of people who are full of self hate, doubt and bewilderment. Hard work can only take you so far, then it comes down to whether you fit into white societies definition of an acceptable black, which is one that is a white clone willing to subjugate themselves to white society all neatly packaged in black skin.
KING: So is this the education you think you were lacking growing up?
B. SENTINEL: Hell yeah, I wish that someone had given me a straightforward look at exactly what is happening in America. A look at the hypocrisy and not fill me up with disdain for my brothers and sisters.
I knew that the propaganda surrounding the black community as a whole was pretty out of control, you know, anything to make us look lazy, shiftless, prone to criminality and just full of stupidity.
KING: How were you able to escape this as you say propaganda machine?
B. SENTINEL: I was watching television with my son and he questioned me as to why blacks were always the bad guy in the movie. He also was being called things in school such as rug head, nigger, chocolate bar and many more. It was disgusting, depressing and seriously eye opening. I thought I was doing right by my son placing him in all white schools away from the inner city where you constantly hear black on black crime stats and the like.
KING: Placing him in all white schools was the problem in your eyes?
B. SENTINEL: I believe so, absolutely. He was being harassed and couldn't concentrate on getting educated in the things he needed such as math, English, you know the basics. He was getting educated on being assimilated, being discriminated against, being harassed and in being the outcast, the only one like him.
KING: Oh, well don't you think that black on black crime is a problem too?
B. SENTINEL: Yes, of course any crime is a problem. Yet you never hear about white on white crime which happens with much frequency and in higher numbers. Yet with all the propaganda out here you would think that the only crimes that are being committed are by blacks against blacks. When they put white on white stats on the news every night or each time a white person commits a crime against another white person they scream "white on white crime" then you will see the severity of it as well.
KING: All right, what's the story between you and the White Sentinel?
B. SENTINEL: Well, the White Sentinel is ridiculous they are just another white mindset individual who is angry at the fact that I am pointing out hypocrisy within a system they are telling us daily is fair. This person uses racism to try and counter factual statements such as blacks are making only 58% what their white counterparts make. Is that fair? Does that sound like I am using racism to make points?
KING: But how did they know you as it seems your site would attract more blacks than whites?
B. SENTINEL: Well, I know for a fact that this person came to my site looking at a post for a video game that I talked about called Resident Evil 5. They commented and didn't' like my reply so they decided to, how can I put this nicely, bother me by sending me a lot of their racist friends and such.
KING: Now the reason you didn't like — or don't like – the White Sentinel is not that they aren't black?
B. SENTINEL: No. I don't care — you know…
KING: That has nothing to do with it?
B. SENTINEL: Nothing to do with it at all. I don't care what color the person is. In fact I hope that white people as well as the white mindset people, because they are not all one in the same, come to my Blog and get a different take on life.
KING: White and white mindset not one in the same, can you explain?
B. SENTINEL: I thought they were at one time. You know, it is whites who are the problem with racism. Then as I read other Blogs like Brotherpeacemaker and such I found more points of views. And realized that not only whites can enjoy a system that subjugates lots of races do as well and will do what is necessary to protect that system. So there are white people like Donna Lamb or Molly Secours who understand and are enlightened to the plight of all people. So the phrase white mindset is born out of a lack of a better term.
KING: So are you going to continue the Blog undeterred by your protesters?
B. SENTINEL: Exactly right. They are obviously not going to learn anything from me and I sure as hell won't learn much from them. They have closed minds and anyone who challenges the system is obviously to them someone who needs to be put in check. Unfortunately for them I won't be put in check so they can bring on all the racists that they can find it won't stop me from writing what I see in this nation.
KING: Good luck, Black Sentinel. Any last words before we go?
B. Sentinel: Thank you. I hope that more people will understand that pointing out racism doesn't make you the racist. Just like pointing out a murder does not make you the murderer. I believe that my pointing out racism makes me a racial realist.


text: Wow did things fall the Steelers way or what today or what with the Ravens and Bengals losing and the Ravens also losing Steve McNair to injury now and possibly having to have Kyle Boller be there QB here the next several weeks. I wrote a post here last Sunday night that said that the Steelers could win there next 6 games and the Ravens and Bengals could lose a few in between that they would be right back in it and that is exactly what happened today. People need to realize that there is just too many games left to put the Steelers out of this thing and all they needed was one good week for everything to fall there way with them winning and other teams losing and it finally happened this week. Im telling you I still say the Steelers are going to win there next 5 games against Atlanta,Oakland,Denver,New Orleans,and Cleveland and they will be 7-3 going into Baltimore November 26th. Baltimore's next 2 games after the bye are against New Orleans on the road and Cincy. Cincy has Carolina and Atlanta at home the next 2 weeks before going to Baltimore the week the Steelers play Denver. Both of these teams Im telling you will lose games here the next 3 weeks or so and if the Steelers can keep winning as I said on here last week in my post there gonna be in great position to win the North come late November early December. The Steelers came out today and made a statement to the Chiefs. That they still are and can be a force and I expect this game to be a turning point in the season when this team does indeed win the North. We will be looking back to this week and this beating we gave the Chiefs today combined with the Cincy loss to Tampa and Baltimore losing McNair and losing to Carolina as the week where this season turned around. Im going to go on record once again right saying we will win the next 5 games and be 7-3 going into Baltimore Thanksgiving weekend and either tied for first or in first place all by ourselves.


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The remarks of US Secretary Kerry and Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul at the Treaty Room in Washington D.C.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. It's my great pleasure to welcome Foreign Minister Surapong from Thailand here. Let me first congratulate him, congratulate His Majesty, the King of Thailand, who celebrates his 63rd anniversary on the throne today. I know normally the commemoration day is yesterday, but they celebrate today.
And I want to thank our friends in Thailand, who represent the longest security relationship, the longest partner that we have in Asia – 180 years of a treaty relationship with Thailand. They are our partner in the largest multinational field exercise that takes place in the region. They are an important partner with respect to a number of security issues – for instance, in Darfur, where they are partnering with us, as well as in the Horn of Africa, where they've been very productive with us in countering piracy, anti-piracy efforts.
In addition, we cooperate on a far range of issues, from the environment to wildlife protection, species protection, counter-narcotics, organized crime, other initiatives with respect to refugees and trafficking, anti-trafficking efforts. So we have an enormously broad security relationship, and Mr. Foreign Minister, we are very, very happy to welcome you here today. Thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER SURAPONG: Thank you. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased to be here once again in Washington, D.C. Secretary Kerry, thank you for your kind invitation and warm hospitality. Last November, President Obama visited Thailand as his first stop in Southeast Asia after his reelection. His visit served to strengthen our strong partnership. My meeting with Secretary Kerry today will be a good chance to continue dialogue on our future partnership, especially as we mark 180 years of Thai-U.S. diplomatic relations this year. So I am looking forward to a constructive discussion with Secretary Kerry on both bilateral and global issues of mutual interest.
Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much, Mr. Minister. Let's go work on the next 180 years.


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SW-3701 sperm collector
1) Apparatus Introduction
Using of modern digital technology, automatic control technology and simulation technologies, with semen collection and premature ejaculation desensitization training function.
2) Apparatus Features
1.The device can simulate the movement of women's vagina that makes the patient feel comfortable in the process of collecting semen.
2.Provide a full range of visual, auditory stimulation
3.Private used semen-collection sheath can eliminate contamination of semen
4.All-round isolation measures can prevent cross infection
3) Apparatus Functions
Sperm collection
It can simulate vaginal environment, through massage, twitching, sucking, vibration, etc., act upon the human penis, which can make semen collection fast and safe. So it is the best clinical equipment of sperm collection.
Premature ejaculation desensitization training
The strong currents impact and rub the glans penis repeatedly in order to reduce the excitability of nerve endings so as to passivate external nerve of glans penis, sulcus coronarius, and the surface of the penis, and regulate the sex nerve center in order to minimize nerve sensitivity, improve ejaculatory threshold to treat premature ejaculation.
4) Technical Parameters
1.Massage frequency: 0-1.5Hz
2.Motion frequency: 0-2.5Hz
3.Motion journey:30-50mm
4.The adjustable range of sperm-collecting barrel walls:10-30mm
5.Cavity with constant temperatures<36 degree
6.The illumination of glow is more than 800lux
7.Portable DVD player


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Doneil Henry (#20), shown here in a 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Martinique, was named to Canada's roster for a pair of away November 2013 friendlies against the Czech Republic and Slovenia. (Photo: Mexsport)
OTTAWA -- Canada announced a 22-man roster Friday for pair of away friendlies against the Czech Republic and Slovenia, on November 15 and 19, respectively.
The Canadians will be based in Bad Waltersdorf, Austria, for the duration their camp
"From here to the first official games [2018 World Cup Qualifying matches], it's important to focus on our level of play," said Canada head coach Benito Floro. "It is necessary to pay attention in how we defend and attack so for me the best result is to take it step by step to improve our level."
The impact de Montreal's Karl W. Ouimette received his first call-up to the senior team after putting himself in the picture during his second season with the Major League Soccer side.
The defender, 21, was a starter in six of seven regular-season appearances, scoring his first goal as a professional on October 19 in a 2-1 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Union. He also started one game in the Canadian championship and another in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Ouimette initially made a name for himself with the country's youth squads, representing Canada in the 2009 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship in Tijuana, Mexico.
(International Friendlies: November 15, 2013 at Czech Republic; November 19, 2013 at Slovenia)
GOALKEEPERS: Lars Hirschfeld (Valerenga/Norway), Kenny Stamatopoulos (AIK/Sweden)
DEFENDERS: Nana Attakora (San Jose Earthquakes/USA), Marcel de Jong (Augsburg/Germany), Andre Hainault (VfR Aalen/Germany), Doneil Henry (Toronto FC), Nik Ledgerwood (Hammarby/Sweden), Ashtone Morgan (Toronto FC), Karl W. Ouimette (Impact de Montreal), Adam Straith (Wehen Wiesbaden/Germany)
MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Bekker (Toronto FC), Stefan Cebara (no club), Issey Nakajima-Farran (no club), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Pedro Pacheco (CD Santa Clara/Portugal), Samuel Piette (Fortuna Dusseldorf/Germany), Russell Teibert (Vancouver Whitecaps)
FORWARDS: Dwayne De Rosario (no club), Iain Hume (Preston North End/England), Simeon Jackson (Eintracht Braunschweig/Germany), Kyle Porter (D.C. United/USA), Tosaint Ricketts (Bucaspor/Turkey)


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Aquatic ecologist Zeb Hogan travels around the world, striving to save critically endangered fish and the livelihood of people who share their habitats. Get to know the man behind the megafishes.
When he was a child:
"My brothers and I grew up in a city (Tempe, Arizona), but we had a big backyard with lots of trees. We spent our free time climbing trees and catching lizards. We each had our favorite place in the biggest tree and we worked out ways to climb from tree to tree to tree without ever touching the ground.
My family went camping in the summer and we'd usually visit zoos and aquariums on our family vacations. My clearest memories as a child all have to do with animals and the outdoors. As I got older, I became fascinated with animal shows on public television and I'd wake up early to watch Wild, Wild World of Animals before the rest of the family got up," he says.
JOB: Aquatic ecologist and NG Emerging Explorer
WHAT HE DOES: He travels around the world, striving to save critically endangered fish
GREW UP IN: Tempe, Arizona
FAVORITE PASTIME AS A KID: Climbing trees and catching lizards.
HEROES: Jacques Cousteau (ocean explorer) and Ransom Myers, a biologist and conservationist.
TYPICAL DAY: In the field, all of my time is on or near the water tagging and releasing fish. When in my university office, I read, write emails, buy equipment, prepare scientific manuscripts, and submit grants.
FOR FUN: Biking, hiking, swimming, gardening, or just sitting on the river bank and watching the world go by.
FAVORITE PLACE TO EXPLORE: The Okavango Delta in Botswana, and the slot canyons of northern Arizona and southern Utah, the freshwater springs of central Florida, the Yuba River in California, the swimming holes around Eugene, Oregon, and the Hudson River in New York State.
BEST ADVICE: It's okay to take risks, it's okay to fail.
HOW CAN KIDS HELP: We really need more non-biologists who take an interest in protecting our natural world. Kids are great in the sense that they have a love and a curiosity about animals and the outdoors that somehow we lose as adults.


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DETROIT – The pragmatic businessman elected to serve as Detroit mayor was front and center at the podium Wednesday night.
"It is simply a fight that we cannot win at the 11th hour and a 30-minute appeals hearing," said Mayor Dave Bing. "We must take the most productive course of action so as not to prolong the battle knowing what the outcome will be."
Bing flat out said it is pointless to fight a battle you know you cannot win. He will not support the City Council's appeal of the state's finding that a financial emergency exists in Detroit.
Read more: Detroit City Council will appeal Snyder's plan for EFM
It's an appeal which political insiders say is going absolutely nowhere. After the process is complete, Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to appoint and emergency financial manager for Detroit on March 12.
Councilmember James Tate did not appreciate hearing about the mayor's decision on TV. Tate disputes that anyone is fighting.
"If he doesn't want to move forward with it, that's fine, but it's unfortunate that we have to find out about it at a press conference," he said.
Tate says the appeal will continue and when pressed about the possibility of a legal challenge to appointing an emergency manager, he said that's not up for discussion.
"We're not fighting. This is not about, 'We're fighting the state, we're fighting the mayor.' What we wanted to do in this appeal, and we said several times, it's about clarifying the record," Tate said.
Bing says while he respects City Council and agrees that an EFM is not needed, he disagrees with their plan to attempt an appeal.
City Council President Charles Pugh will join Local 4 at 6 a.m. Thursday to discuss the appeal. Among the question he will be asked is, what do you have new to offer?


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Liquid Lipstick - Soft PetalJoy Lorraine Cosmetics
Waterproof Lip
Joy Lorraine Waterproof Matte Liquid Lipstick is not only long-lasting, but is also lip pampering. This full coverage, liquid lipstick glides on creamy smooth to blanket your lips with brilliant color, and dries down to a bold and beautiful matte finish without drying out your lips. The unique waterproof formulation is not only packed with eye-catching pigmented color, but is also enriched with antioxidants and other lip pampering emollients to keep your lips super smooth throughout your day. Made in USA.
Paraben free. Non-animal tested
Pucker up in this pink mauve color that stays on all day.
0.12 oz. (3.5 g)
- Matte finish
- Glides on like a liquid
- Unique waterproof formula
- 24-hour, all day wear
Isododecane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclotetrasiloxane, Trihydroxystearin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Tocopherol Acetate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexyl glycerin. [+/- (May Contain). Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (Cl 77163), Carmine (CI 75470), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Orange 5 (CI 45370), Orange 5 Lake (CI 45370), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 21 (CI 45380), Red 21 Lake (CI 45380), Red 22 Lake (CI 45380), Red 27 (CI 45410), Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360), Red 33 Lake (CI17200), Red 36 (CI 12085), Red 40 Lake (CI 16035), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985) Yellow 10 Lake (CI 47005.


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Sunglasses Styles For Every Face
Sunglass Style Inspiration For Every Face
From cat eye to oversize, to printed or clear — every girl needs an arsenal of standout sunnies to stay eternally chic wherever the sun shines. Whether you're looking for edgy, classic, or quirky shades, we've selected a variety of styles to suit every face and every personality. On Allison: American Apparel top


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Lockheed Martin has been awarded work by the U.S. Army's Product Manager, Joint-Automatic Identification Technology organization to provide operations and maintenance for the Radio Frequency In-Transit Visibility (RF-ITV) system. If all options are exercised over the course of five years, the contract is valued at $126 million.
RF-ITV sites exist worldwide in support of combatant commands and must be maintained at optimal levels of operational readiness to support joint forces. Through RF-ITV technology, the system provides last-known locations and in-the-container visibility for shipments that have active RF tags attached to pallets, containers or equipment.
"With the government's and Lockheed Martin's focus on affordability, the RF-ITV system is critical to manage military shipments such as cargo, supplies and unit movement," said DeEtte Gray, Lockheed Martin IS&GS-Defense vice president for enterprise IT solutions. "The Lockheed Martin team is proud to support the Army's efforts to prioritize, organize and track assets."
Lockheed Martin employees will be located in northern Virginia and Warner Robins, Ga., and field-service engineers will be around the world supporting each combatant command.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 126,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
For more information, visit www.lockheedmartin.com.


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Up to the shack I went, turned on the FT-950, and was nearly blown out of my seat by the signals coming in on 10m, 12m and 15m. I spent a great couple of hours cruising the bands and managed eight solid QRP SSB contacts.....
10m HA0NAR - Hungary
10m 9A208DX - Croatia
10m 9A4WY - Croatia
10m GW4BLE - Wales
10m IT9PQJ - Italy
10m TU5KG - Ivory Coast
15m EG5INT - Spain
12m SV3AQR - Greece
SFI was at 126; A Index at 4; K Index at 1; and the SN at 46. Not the best numbers we have seen but they did the job today.
So, whoever the kind soul was who ran into the telephone pole and cut the internet connection.......thank you for a most enjoyable morning!


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25ml Sanctuary Organic Beeswax Lip Balm - Natural
25ml Sanctuary Organic Aniseed & Lemon Beeswax Lip Balm
25ml Sanctuary Organic Aniseed Beeswax Lip Balm
50ml Sanctuary Coconut hand and skin cream
50ml Sanctuary Honey & Rose hand and skin cream
50ml Sanctuary Lavender hand and skin cream
Bees Wax Polish 100ml
50ml Sanctuary Vanilla hand and skin cream
25ml Santuary Organic Lemon Beeswax Lip Balm
`Then are they truly monks when they live by the labour of their own hands`
Rule of St Benedict, Chapter 48.
Since the foundation of St Augustine's Abbey in 1856, the Benedictine Monks have sought various ways to support themselves. In 2004, one of the monks took possession of a colony of bees which is now a well-established monastic apiary numbering between ten and fifteen hives. Our delicious organic honey continues to sell well (although demand always exceeds yield) both online, through our online shop, and through other retail outlets throughout England and Ireland.
In 2007 a Novice suggested making traditional beeswax furniture polish, as a way of utilising the surplus beeswax from our apiary. Sanctuary Polish is made using genuine turpentine, following a traditional recipe which is sure to nourish and protect all manner of home furnishings from dining-room tables to parquet floors.
After several months, a friend of the monastery suggested making a beeswax lip balm. Although some of the monks had never heard of using beeswax for cosmetic purposes, a recipe was soon discovered, and production of Sanctuary Balm began. Two years on, the monks currently offer a range of five different flavoured beeswax lip balms, which not only moisturise and offer relief for dry, sore, or chapped lips, but also provide a long-lasting savour, thanks to the high-grade, organic essental oils used in the preparation.
In March 2008 the monks began preparing Sanctuary Skin Cream, a moisturising hand and skin cream which contains a blend of organic oils, beeswax, cocoa butter and aloe vera juice. The cream is presented in both 50ml and 100ml containers, and is available in Honey & Rose, Lavender, Coconut, Vanilla, and natural unscented.
In addition to the monastic products highlighted above, there are also a number of further items available from our online shop which, although not made by the monks of our monastery, we feel may be of particular interest to people perusing this web shop. We welcome any comments and feedback regarding the range and quality of our produce. Please see the link below.


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WASHINGTON (July 14, 2004) —The North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. today announced plans to broadcast its public "NASAA Listens" Forum on Arbitration live on the Internet. The Forum will be available on the NASAA website at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) on July 20. The 90-minute audio-only webcast also will be archived on NASAA's website for later listening.
The Forum will address a number of topics, including, legal and procedural issues in arbitration cases, the composition of arbitration panels, arbitration awards and remedies, and the view of the current process from the perspectives of both investors and arbitrators.
Participants include:
- Tanya Solov, Illinois Securities Director and Chair of the NASAA Broker-Dealer Section;
- Matthew J. Nestor, First Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Chair of NASAA`s Arbitration Project Group;
- Linda Fienberg, President of NASD Dispute Resolution;
- Gary Weiss, Senior Writer, Business Week;
- John Mark, an arbitrator; and
- Thomas Grady, an attorney specializing in securities litigation and arbitration
The "NASAA Listens" Forum, begins with lunch at 12 noon, in the First Amendment Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, in Washington D.C. The Forum is free and open to the public on a first come, first serve basis. To reserve a seat, please contact Lonnie Martin, at 202-737-0900 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
NASAA is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. Its membership consists of the securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico.
For More Information:
Bob Webster, Director of Communications


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The annual Style Fashion Week L.A. Spring/Summer runway shows are underway, giving designers in the area a chance to showcase their latest designs. Even though the fashion at the Bes-Moda show was stunning, it was the unique and dark cosmetics the models rocked that certainly stole the show.
The gorgeous runway models were decked out in ultra dark makeup on their eyes and lips – some might find the style too daring, while others may be excited to see a style that is free of pinks and peaches.
Even if the dark look isn't for you, the eye makeup is surly impressive. The ladies stood out thanks to charcoal eyeshadow on their top lids up to the crease lines and a lighter cream color at the inner corners. From here the makeup artists stepped up the trend, using eyeliner to create a winged-out style past the brow lines and a unique lined pattern on the bottom lash line.
The dark eyes were paired with equally as grim lips – models turned heads in a deep red almost black lipstick with a shiny gloss on top.