text:
by Alan Forrester
Suppose that somebody told you that if you were exposed to a particular pattern of flickering, coloured lights it would cause you later to take unwise or immoral actions without being able to control yourself. You might well be sceptical. After all, how a person responds to a pattern of flickering light is dependent on their interpretation of that light.
Consider, for example, a red light. If the red light is on a police car and the person viewing it is a criminal, then it might inspire fear in the criminal because he interprets the red light as signifying that might be arrested. If a person is looking at a flashing red light inside a nuclear power station then it might signify an emergency and might inspire fear. Conversely it could inspire bravery since the person might think that he must rescue somebody who cannot get out on his own. If the red light is in a bedroom, then it might inspire amorous feelings.
Now suppose the red light spells out the word "kill". Will people tend to go out on killing sprees if they see such lights? Obviously not. Imagine that you live in a flat and you roommate knows you don't like horror films and is mocking you, in which case you might be either annoyed or amused. So even when the light carries a message, how a person reponds to it is dependent on their interpretation of it.
Furthermore, a person may change their interpretation of the red light, with or without a message, very rapidly indeed. For example, if the criminal sees that the policemen have come to arrest somebody else, on whom he has planted evidence, then he may reinterpret the flashing on the police car as reassuring. If the red light in the bedroom is on because the bulb has blown and she is replacing it with an unsuitable spare because she has flu, then his interpretation of the red light may no longer make him amorous.
However, now a study from the University of Washington in Seattle claims that toddlers who watch too much television have attention deficit problems in later life and that parents should limit their child's access to television:
Already we see conclusions being drawn which have no basis in the study. If brain development is relevant at all, it could equally well be that a bad television programme has less effect on people who have no idea what it is about because their brains aren't yet up to it. As usual, psychologists draw conclusions not from experiment but from their own prior assumptions, and then present them as is they were consequences of a corroborated scientific theory.
The data from 2,500 children covered by the study found that they watched an average of 2.2 hours per day at age 1 and 3.6 hours per day at age 3. But some watched 12 hours or more.
The ages are significant because brain development continues through those years, the study said.
"This study suggests that there is a significant and important association between early exposure to television and subsequent attentional problems," said Dimitri Christakis, a physician at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle who headed the study...A television programme is a pattern of flickering light (and sound) that conveys certain ideas. So, as we have already seen, how a person responds to it is dependent on their interpretation of it. If a television programme conveys bad ideas then a parent ought to explain why those ideas are bad. Any other stance presupposes that toddlers do not think, which is contradicted by the many things that toddlers learn in their first few years of life.
"There is a tremendous and growing reliance on television for a variety of reasons. However parents should be advised to limit their young child's television viewing," Christakis said.
However, let's go a little deeper. When we look at the diagnositic criteria for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), something very disturbing emerges. This set of criteria purports to be an objective, medical diagnosis but the description could not be much further from an objective diagnosis. Take these quotes: "often leaves seat...[when]...remaining seated is expected" and "often talks excessively". By whom is the seating expected and for what purpose? Since such expectations are subjective what are they doing in a medical diagnosis? Whose standards are being used to judge whether speaking is deemed excessive? Again, is this not a subjective determination that has no place in a medical diagnosis? We could go through the entire diagnosis, but we trust our point has been made. ADHD is not a medical diagnosis, it is a moral judgement dressed up as a medical diagnosis. What is more, it is a moral judgement that favours a bad set of moral standards. An authoritarian creed according to which children should not be given a choice over whether they sit or stand or have a conversation. Children who want to walk around when they wish and have conversations when they wish are entirely sensible, those who wish to stop them are not.
This is reminiscent of the medieval idea of demonic possession. Back then, when somebody did something the authorities disapproved of, they might say that he was possessed by demons and punish him, supposedly for the good of his immortal soul. In this sophisticated day and age, the authorities deem television and other such new fangled gadgets which convey dangerous ideas like freedom and critical discussion, to be the new demons causing innocent children to stray from the flock. However, there is no demon in the pattern of flickering light on a television screen waiting to sink its claws of light into a child's skull. The light only contains ideas that the authorities dislike and they ought to stop pretending otherwise.
The bad of television
Submitted by a TCS reader (not verified) on
I wish you were right about the flashing lights of television providing children with ideas of freedom or critical discussion. I doubt it. Children concieve tv as a flashing light for their first year, of maybe two, but when it doesn't move that fast for them anymore they're exposed. They see sexism and violence in a way which often doesn't enable a parent to explain. Besides that, needs for material goods are awakened. Being visually exposed is a very sneaky but effective way which is used by the commercials to get the message across unconsciously. It's not some ADHD we should be worried about but these bad ideals. Like the girls having to be pretty in a certain way, and a happy family happening to be in a big shiny car and so on. Children can't be critical about it, as most adults can't either.
I love what you say about adh
Submitted by a TCS reader (not verified) on
I love what you say about adhd! I find it all too true, except of course there are people with it. There are also people who like yellow better than blue, they should invent a pill to "fix" this disorder. The references to the study on television, however, only glaze the surface, and show no real understanding of studies on this. We are not talking about the harm of the message, we are talking about the harm of the way it is delivered. Much as radiation can hurt someone, even though we can't see or feal it, light that we watch, or a child watches, can affect them. (This of course is fallible, as is the theory that a person can get "drunk", but that doesn't mean it should be dismissed without further study) I truely believe human beings tend to act like those around them. If you truely understand brain developement, it makes perfect sense that this is more so, the earlier into the brain developement stage. So although our ideas of "good" and "bad" may differ, not informing a child that what they view on television is likely to affect them, is irresponsible and controlling, as it is withholding information that they could use to make a decision with. I take studies like this to be written to the general public which, from what I've seen, coerces small children into watching TV, as a baby sitter, because they are given few other intertaining options (look at these books you can't read yet by yourself or watch TV which is a little more self explainetory) Not to mention the violence and "give me" stuff tends to be IMO coerced onto them by lack of choice of what to watch. If there were as many shows available at any time of day as there are books in a library, would they really "choose" to watch violence? I am sure the number of kids who would choose a violent book from a whole library is much smaller than those who would choose to watch a violent show when it came on. I find the TV very controlling, as I don't choose what I watch, I only choose if I watch what someone else has decided to show. I tend to avoid it BECAUSE it makes me frustrated with the level of control someone else has over it. What if food was like TV? How many children under 2 really WANT to watch TV all day? At all (when given other choices that apeal to them)? Yes, we are all different, and so I'm sure there are some. For those who have children who like to watch TV of any age, I would encourage them to try to give them a much wider range of choice (videos give much more choice than preprogrammed - OK does that make anybody else feel "programmed" - TV) than is available just on TV.
Er, what?
Submitted by Alan Forrester on
"Yes, it's the ideas that TV conveys that parents dislike, they usually don't pretend on that. Not only bad ideas like "kill kill" but ideas like "buy buy" and other little lies that are hard to contradict."
So it's wrong to buy things?
'Also, I believe if you close a person in a room for a certain amount of time with a red flickering light saying "kill kill" the person is likely to go mad.'
And this is relevant how? We're talking about a pseudojustification for depriving children of television. We're niot talking about locking them in a room with a television against their will.
Television and Conformity
Submitted by David Deutsch on
I find it, frankly, terrifying that this hatred of knowledge and freedom is so prevalent in our society, and these empty, opportunistic arguments purporting to justify it are taken seriously by scientists and lay people alike.
It is simply not the case that standards of appearance, clothing, spending patterns or any other aspect of life-style have been narrowed by television, for they have not been narrowed at all. You only have to watch an old movie or read a classic novel to see that lifestyles in all these respects are incomparably more diverse now than they were before television was invented. You only need to look at sub-cultures in which children are forbidden to watch television to see that every one of them has standards of appearance and behaviour that are insanely rigid by the standards of the television-watching sector of our society. And the same is true of every country where television watching has yet to become widespread, or where television really is used as a means of enforcing a monoculture.
You're giving me Intermittent Explosive Disorder
Submitted by a TCS reader (not verified) on
I wonder if anybody has investigated the link between reading these type of studies and Intermittent Explosive Disorder?
I have a 14 month old daughter. She enjoys watching TV but is very selective about what she watches, presumably because she doesn't understand most of what she sees. Her favourite movie is Monsters Inc. and she likes to watch it on DVD time and time again. Oftentimes she will take the DVD from the shelf and hand it to me as an indication that she wants to watch it. She has clearly learnt a lot from these repeat viewings. She now knows that the action will unfold in a predictable way and can recognise what is coming next. I am not going to deny her this fun and educational experience. And it would be wrong for me to do so.
Isn't it funny that children exposed to television between the ages of 1 and 3 start to show "symptoms" of ADHD some 4 years later?
Brian Scurfield
tv and reality
Submitted by a TCS reader (not verified) on
Television is not real and has mega bucks to pour into advertising and attraction grabbing marketing so why would this type of media be something I should want to allow child to watch unconditionally? Why would anyone want to allow their child to be subjected to this billion dollar advertising gimmick all in the name of "uncensorship" or allowing a child the right to choose? It seems ridiculous to me.
TV is good
Submitted by Alan Forrester on
Some person wrote:
'Television is not real and has mega bucks to pour into advertising and attraction grabbing marketing so why would this type of media be something I should want to allow child to watch unconditionally?'
TV allows a child low cost access to lots of great ideas about thw world that child and parent can discuss. It also gives access to may conflicting viewpoints about which people can argue.
It also allows them access to interesting fantasy worlds. Exploring these worlds and their consistency and so on provides valuable practise in exploring new ideas.
I don't understand the relevance of the objection about advertising. If people like television that they are willing to give TV companies money to sponsor the activities needed to make TV programmes, such as good advertising, then why is that bad?
ADHD and chemicals
Submitted by a TCS reader (not verified) on
well to be totally honest my research into health has shown me that ADHD is not caused by TV but rather by exposure the the chemicals that are used in our environment and in our foods. consider the fact that most people regularally get their homes fumigated with organophosphates which are highly neurotoxic and how that may affect an unborn child. and i know of several cases where this has definately been the case. try looking for multiple chemical sensitivity on the web and you will find a lot of information and think carefully before just strait out blaming TV though the electromagnetic fields they put out are quite bad for you too as are many of our household appliances today. microwaves are some of the worst for it and the actually kill a lot of the nutrients in out food as well
Chemicals and ADHD
Submitted by Alan Forrester on
'try looking for multiple chemical sensitivity on the web and you will find a lot of information and think carefully'
A correlation between the presence of chemical and diagnoses of ADHD are irrelevant for two reasons. The first is that ADHD is a rationale for coercion, not a disease. The second is that the correlation in and of itself proves nothing, especially since pesticides are usually present in the environment in quatities so low you would have to live for a million years to get a dangerous dose. However, more to the point, there isn't any known mechanism by which chemicals can give rise to a complex set of behaviours like a child acting bored. The problem-situation in the child's mind can do this.
Looking for multiple chemical sensitivity also strikes me as rather desperate. The larger the number of chemical you look at the greater the chance that you will think you see a correlation where there is only random noise. There was a television show I saw once in which a bloke went around leaving tape recorders in empty rooms claiming to hear the whispers of dead people in the sounds recorded on the tape. Naturally, all of these 'dead people' only spoke a couple of words and none of them seemed capable of managing a full sentence. This chap found patterns because he wanted to find them, not because they actually existed. Similarly, if you just look for a correlation rather than having a spoecific theory in mind that would rule out some patterns and not others you're bound to find something that looks meaningful.
television is a drug
Submitted by a reader (not verified) on
it's one of the ways that the domination system of gov & big business keeps the masses stupefied.
most children's shows are obviously more about turning the children in to tiny consumers than about presenting an entertaining &/or edifiying story. and it's not just the commercial breaks; the shows themselves are often nothing but commercials for this or that stuffed animal or action figure or what-have-you.
the more we feel free to buy buy (within our economic capabilities)the more we mistake this for real freedom & the less unsatisfied we'll be with this modern life--at least until we need to make another purchase.
meanwhile the companies own us. they provide us with our wage-slave incomes & then they take it from us with all this meaningless stuff which, by the way, we could do without or grow or make ourselves if we weren't made so lazy & so helpless by their tactis.
& this works just fine for the gov who doesn't have to worry about all us consumptive, listless couch potatoes rising up in revolt to the injustices of their capitalist/war machine/repressive society.
caution with correlations
Submitted by LF (not verified) on
I do not doubt the findings of the University study. I am willing to assume that their statistics are accurate, that higher/lower rates of TV viewing predict higher/lower rates of ADHD in later childhood. There is no reason to doubt their basic data (unless emotional reasoning causes you to doubt what you don't like). However, their INTERPRETATION of the data is more than a bit premature.
Any basic introductory course work in research methodology will hit you over the head with this point "a correlation does not imply causation". That is to say, from survey or observation, we can know that two variables are associated but this does not imply that one causes the other to happen.
The correlation between TV viewing and ADHD diagnosis may be due to many possible reasons, such as: a) early TV viewing leads to later symptoms of ADHD b) children diagnosed with ADHD simply LIKE TV more than other kids, therefore watch it more even in early childhood c) children diagnosed with ADHD are more "difficult" so their parents use TV as a babysitter more frequently d) a certain parenting style causes children to have more ADHD-type behaviors AND allows more TV viewing e) exposure to ____ (fill in the blank, such as Wonder Drug X) causes both ADHD and a propensity for TV viewing f) and so on
Where the University researchers went wrong is not in finding the connection, but in their suggestion that one of the various possible conclusions was the correct one. The only way to really know if TV causes ADHD is to do a properly controlled experiment with randomized assignment of young children to specific levels of TV viewing. Somehow I don't think this controlled research sounds practical, leaving things up in the air.
PS: Freedom and critical discussion on TELEVISION?! All I can say is hmmm, I must be missing some channels.
You are missing some channels
Submitted by Alan Forrester on
LF wrote:
Freedom and critical discussion on TELEVISION?! All I can say is hmmm, I must be missing some channels.
Parents can critically discuss the content of programmes with their children after watching the programme, if the child is interested.
Aside from Sarah's observations on the merits of TV soap operas, other TV programmes have merits too. The Simpsons and South Park both raise controversial issues with different characters taking different views. CNN and Fox News often have different interpretations of the same event. Then there are history programmes which sometimes present different interpretations of the same set of historical events. The freedom and critical discussion aren't quite as wide as they are on the internet, but that's preimarily an issue of how expensive it is to make TV programmes.
Southpark is awful show i
Submitted by a reader (not verified) on
Southpark is awful show i would.nt want any child watching that
this is interesting stuff
Submitted by Sebastan (not verified) on
this is interesting stuff indeed. the not so illumined elite have devised the utter destruction of our species and we as a collective have bought into it hook,line,and sinker.
Cause of ADD and ADHD
Submitted by L K Tucker (not verified) on
There is a problem of human physiology discovered when it caused mental breaks for office workers in the 1960's. The cubicle was created to deal with that problem and where they are used the mental breaks stopped.
Too-close side-by-side seating in classrooms is the same design problem.
Humans quickly learn to consciously ignore detected movement in peripheral vision to be able to continue to concentrate but we do not have voluntary control of the brain system that subliminally detects movement in peripheral vision.
This problem is called Subliminal Distraction in the field of Design.
There is little exposure in classrooms compared to unprotected business offices because students do the same things at the same times. There is rarely human traffic walking beside a student who is concentrating to a level of slight dissociation. But some exposure will happen.
This is probably the source of ADD, ADHD, and Indigo Children.
VisionAndPsychosis.Net is a psychology project about Subliminal Distraction.
you miss the point. They are
Submitted by a reader (not verified) on
you miss the point. They are saying that the brain possibly becomes rewired, so to speak. It's not exactly flashing lights, its that the images do not appear in 'real time.' The stimulation is excessive and the brain learns to adjust to it.
A Medical Disorder Called ADHD
Submitted by CS (not verified) on
A very interesting read. It certainly provides parents and educators another point of view as to the real cause of ADHD.
Truth about negative phenomena
Submitted by a reader (not verified) on
I would like to say, as someone who has suffered with psychosis in the past that no matter how much we are told that we have a mental illness we know after reading scripture that it is an affliction that we suffered from and not mental illness. ADHT and other labels are all man made for the benefit of giving a name for a diagnosis, thus being able to supply drugs to that person,to the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry. The fact that we have a labelling system for the brain is laughable. Many of these toxins like seroquel and depakote should be given to the children of psychologists so they can see the permanent damage being done to them. I succeeded in being healed, not cured, as I refused all my drug treatment at the time of my affliction. I knew what I had from "Day one". The mental health department is beginning to take note of spiritual afflicitons even though it denies God. If I said I was healed by singing, reading a book and getting on my knees every day you would say I am nuts........but if you would only read scripture and find there are healing powers available and that Satan is using tv and the internet for it's resources of sinful material, then you would be doing justice to the sufferer. What right have unbelievers got to impose their lack of knowledge, or Western Society knowledge on sufferers ? Sufferers do not lie. They have no reason to lie. I suggest that psychologists study physics and theology and religious history and archaeology. Oxygen, nitrogen, air, electricity, gravity and magnetism all are accepted but not seen. What is the problem of belief here ? Spiritual affliction has no more relevence to mental illness any more than an Englishman has to learning Kung Fu. Do you think that people were less intelligent centuries ago because they did not have our technology ? Would you trust a seventy five year old aspirin or a five thousand year old herb tried on trillions of people ? Then there is something amiss...... Demons do exist.Get real and do your non-Western society research.
What exactly makes you think
Submitted by a reader (not verified) on
What exactly makes you think we're not being given depakote and seroquel? Try looking around the web for the phrase "children of psychologists" (for extra credit, swap in "psychiatrists") and see what you find.
I'll help you along the way: lots of broken people. You haven't got the worst of it. You may have been born with whatever neuroses you were given, but I guarantee it wasn't from birth and continuing through to the death of your parents.
Good luck with that self-pity.
(trillions of people, chuckle..)
Submitted by a reader (not verified) on
"However, more to the point, there isn't any known mechanism by which chemicals can give rise to a complex set of behaviours like a child acting bored."
Not true. Damage to known parts of the frontal lobe of the brain (say from strokes or head injury) predictably recreates attention-deficit symptoms, including impulsivity and easy boredom.
There are many excellent conjectures explaining this phenomena including that frontal lobe nerve centers inhibit limbic activation of the brain, and limbic activation can cause strong emotionality and impulsivity. Failure to inhibit the limbic system, because of frontal lobe damage, causes impatience and emotionality.
It is coercive to deny a child access to medications that can help him or her focus and concentrate better, if he or she needs it to focus and concentrate.
It is illogical to assume that because a child has a medical diagnosis (like ADHD or diabetes) that the diagnosis should not be given because the parent can then use it to hurt (coerce) the child.


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ITHACA, N.Y., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. stay-at-home mothers spend 6.8 hours a day cooking, shopping and playing with children, 2.2 more hours than full-time working moms, researchers say.
Lead author John Cawley of Cornell University's College of Human Ecology and colleagues said the employed father devoted just 13 extra minutes daily to these activities with his children on days his partner worked an 8-hour day, while the non-working father contributed 41 extra minutes a day to his children on days his wife worked a full-time shift.
The findings were consistent across socioeconomic lines measured by the mothers' education, family income, race and ethnicity, Cawley said.
The findings might help explain some of the increase in child obesity because to make up for their lack of time, working mothers were significantly more likely to buy prepared foods -- takeout from restaurants or prepackaged, ready-to-eat meals from grocery stores -- which are generally less nutritious than home-cooked meals, Cawley said.
"It's inaccurate to pin rising childhood obesity rates on women, given that husbands pick up so little of the slack," Cawley said in a statement. "Working moms spend less time with their kids, but they also spent less time on themselves -- they spent 31 fewer minutes sleeping and less time watching TV, at leisure and socializing."
The study is to be published in the December issue of Economics and Human Biology.

subset: commoncrawl


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Contrary to reports, Jessica Biel is not eating for two.
Amid tabloid articles claiming the actress is expecting baby No. 2 with husband Justin Timberlake, Biel stopped by "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" Thursday to promote her new restaurant, Au Fudge, and to dispel pregnancy rumors in the process.
"Isn't it exciting, guys?" she joked of the rumors. "I don't even know what to say about these things. I feel like, man, I thought I was doing good with my yoga practice. I thought I was doing good in the gym. But, no! I have a gut, apparently."
U.S. & World
After hearing the rumors, Biel gave Timberlake a call just to verify that she's not pregnant. "I was like, 'Are we? No? OK, cool.' He usually knows more about everything than I do," she joked.
Biel, who described herself as Timberlake's "No. 1 fan," also opened up about their 11-month-old son Silas. "Silas loves his music, so I want him to hear it a lot. We listen to it in the car a lot."
When she was pregnant, Biel said she attended between 40 and 50 of Timberlake's concerts.
"The music was just slamming. I actually thought, 'I'm going to damage this child,'" she joked, adding that Silas is a "very musical" baby. "He is really, really in love with Erykah Badu. He loves her music. He beats to her music. He loves that. He's gotten, just recently, these drum sets. He likes to drum, and he likes to play his piano and he likes to drum with his head – which I just think that's genius, if you ask me."
After DeGeneres joked that it might have been wiser for Biel to give her son a less noisy instrument, the actress explained, "This was a gift and I had to accept it. Parent fail No. 2! This is a continuous daily experience for me, a bunch of failures."
PHOTOS: Jessica Biel's best looks


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( Spanish - Español ) Radio / TV Spot
- Drop in the Bucket
( Spanish - Español ) Radio / TV Spot
- Drop in the Bucket
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Public, Private Sectors: Join Forces to Fight Cyber Crime
By sharing what they know about cyber threats, the public and private sectors can improve their ability to detect, prevent, and remediate cyber security incidents.
Security pundits have long viewed information sharing between the public and private sectors as critical to proactively addressing cyber threats. Yet neither side has been completely willing, or even able, to share information regarding malware threat signatures, known malicious IP addresses, cyber attack incidents, and the like. At times, U.S. government agencies have withheld classified threat information from the private sector, while private sector enterprises have been reluctant to reveal information about cyber incidents taking place on their networks.
Mary Galligan has seen the issue of public/private sector information sharing from both sides, first as a special agent in charge of cyber and special operations for the FBI's New York office, and now as a director with Deloitte & Touche LLP's Cyber Risk Services practice.
Why is public/private sector information sharing so important in fighting cyber crime?
Galligan: Efforts to detect, prevent, and remediate threats are hampered because neither the public nor private sector has the whole picture. The government lacks visibility into the many private networks maintained by companies in the U.S., and the private sector lacks access to intelligence information collected by the government. Consequently, each sector can see distinct types of cyber threats.
For example, the private sector often sees "ransomware" before the government does. (Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to encrypt files on a computer system until a sum of money is paid.) Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies may realize certain computer network activity is malicious because they can associate the activity with classified information on known malicious IP addresses. If business and government can put both sides of their threat information together, they'll have a fuller picture and be in a better position to fight against attacks.
What challenges do companies face sharing cyber threat information with the government?
First, many private sector companies are concerned the information they share will go public and tarnish their reputation or, in the case of publicly traded companies, negatively affect their stock performance. They're also concerned it will increase scrutiny from regulators.
Second, there's no established process for sharing information. Many enterprises don't know who in government to call when they notice unusual activity on their networks or discover a breach. They also don't know what kinds of information federal agencies find valuable.
What information are law enforcement agencies looking for, and which agency should a CIO or CISO call when they suspect a cyber incident has occurred?
Broadly speaking, the government wants to know about significant breaches of companies' networks. If a company discovers a breach or network intrusion, calling US CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) is a simple first step. If necessary, they can then contact their local FBI or Secret Service office. Industries are also choosing to work through the ISAC (information sharing analysis center) for their sector. ISACs are trusted entities established to provide sector security analysis, which is shared within the sector, with other sectors, and with government. Services provided by ISACs vary by industry sector, but can include risk mitigation, incident response, alerts, and information sharing.
What are some steps the government is taking to facilitate public/private sector information sharing?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has set up the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), with representatives from 16 industry sectors who share information within and across their industries. The FBI has established the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF), which includes representatives from 19 intelligence agencies and law enforcement. The NCIJTF's goal is to predict and prevent cyber threats, as well as pursue those who perpetrate cyber attacks. Representatives of the task force rapidly share information among each other and with local FBI offices that then disseminate it to the private sector.
Are there incentives for the private sector to share information with the public sector?
Some companies are motivated simply by their desire to be good corporate citizens. And companies that do choose to share cyber threat information with the government may get helpful information in return. But while representatives from the public and private sectors have ongoing discussions, there's little in the way of concrete incentives at this time.
Are there restrictions on what information the private sector can share with the government, and vice versa?
Before sharing information with the government, private companies need to consider numerous legal factors as well as existing privacy protections for certain information, like personally identifiable information and third-party information. The government, of course, relies on a system of security classifications to protect national security interests. Therefore, the government may only share cyber threat data with the private sector in ways that don't jeopardize the sources or intelligence techniques used to obtain it.
Have federal agencies made progress complying with President Obama's February 2013 cyber security executive order, which called for declassifying certain cyber threat information and for providing security clearances to "appropriate" personnel of critical infrastructure companies?
Yes, the government is declassifying information more frequently and more efficiently. The government is also providing more temporary security clearances to business leaders in critical infrastructure sectors.
Beyond sharing information with the public sector, what else can private sector enterprises do to crack down on cyber threats?
Information sharing within the private sector is as important as public/private sector information sharing. When it comes to cyber security, there should be no competition, and companies across industries can employ various methods (from formal working groups to informal relationships) to share cyber threat intelligence with their peers and competitors. The FS-ISAC has done this for the financial services industry. Members don't share proprietary information; they share anomalies they see on their networks. They've found the ISAC offers an effective process, and they recognize they each have blind spots that their competitors may be able to alleviate through information sharing.
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Conservation and Environment in Peru: Monthly Updates
Monthly Update - February 2008
This month we have had what can only be described as an unwanted adventure as the heavens opened and the river rose to unprecedented levels leaving Taricaya underwater and forcing the volunteers to Puerto Maldonado for a week's evacuation. This was the second time in Taricaya's history that such catastrophe has struck but fortunately the water did not rise as high as the flood levels of 2003. Hence we were exiled for just a week but nonetheless it was an inconvenience and whilst the staff diligently kept a close eye on the water levels at the lodge we needed to find something worthwhile to do in town. As it turned out the week spent in Puerto Maldonado gave us a chance to make a real difference at the local zoo and at a nearby monkey sanctuary giving us a real sense of achievement.
"El Jaguar" is the very poorly maintained zoo in Puerto Maldonado and the owners are old friends who do the best they can with the limited income the zoo provides (a school trip of 20 students will provide them with just 20 soles of income- about 3 pounds!). This income barely covers the food for the animals and so the cages were in a very bad condition. Soon after the zoo's foundation it began to receive animals confiscated by the government but when funding dried up it had to decline new inmates. Things got so desperate that the owners tried opening a disco next door but the income was still insufficient and the animals became very stressed and aggressive making their management more difficult. Hence the disco closed and the owners started to rely on good will to help with the zoo's upkeep. During our week in town we worked at the zoo over four days and managed to recondition many of the cages and paint the entire place. The transformation was amazing as we used our experience to equip the cages according to the species it held resulting in the residents becoming more active and less aggressive. It was incredibly rewarding to see the changes take effect as the week wore on and the volunteers came into contact with many of the locals involved with the zoo and felt their open generosity and gratitude often in the form of a cold bottle of water or just some cookies. They had nothing else to give but the volunteers felt very welcome and genuinely respected for their help. The final touch was to provide updated signs for all of the animals giving information in English and Spanish about each species natural history, diet and status.
Our second town-based project involved working with Magaly Salinas who has moved from Lima with the intention of receiving unwanted primates that are currently suffering from overcrowding in Lima's zoos. She has all the permits and is building a series of enclosures at her new rescue centre. The animals she receives will never be released as their origin is unknown and mixing gene pools can damage the local populations in this area but she has decided to try and improve the conditions in which these poor animals spend the rest of their days. She had just received her first inmate, a cute night monkey called Pancho (Aotus sp.), and she asked for our help in completing and designing her first cage. So we all piled into the truck and went off to build the first monkey cage with the materials she had already bought. She had heard about our work and wanted to benefit from our experience and as usual we finished the work by early afternoon and again the volunteers were warmly thanked whilst seeing another project through to completion.
Eventually water levels dropped and so it was back to Taricaya for a damage evaluation and whilst we soon discovered that the lodge had held up very well we found that our trails would remain damp for many weeks to come! The route to canopy is now a very long, albeit shallow, swimming pool and many of our other trails have suffered a similar fate. This is not too disastrous as walking around the reserve this time of year would normally involve the occasional swamp crossing but it makes the daily observations problematical as sitting in wet clothes for a couple of hours is not all that pleasant! Still New Farm Platform was accessible and we soon discovered some trail routes that were above water and so life returned to a semblance of normality.
The rest of the month was a series of limited activities but we were able to concentrate on working at the farm where a major clean-up was required after the floods. The majority of the crops had survived but many of our neighbours were not as lucky as their banana and papaya trees died as a result of the 7-day submergence. These plants cannot survive when their root systems are covered by water for any length of time and the tree slowly dies even if the water drops relatively quickly. This has meant that the family which provides us with fruit for our animals has suffered and so we are now struggling to find enough food for our fruit-eating residents. Fortunately the farm is starting to produce many fruits native to the region and so our monkeys and macaws are enjoying a more varied diet even if our workload is greatly increased as we struggle to find them enough to eat.
One of my major concerns during the flood were our animals as their cages were also flooded and it was touch and go for many residents as we tried to build temporary platforms well above the rising water levels. We were alert enough to prevent any major catastrophe including the premature release of our young male agouti (Dasyprocta variegata) before his cage flooded. I was very pleased when he happily returned to the camp area to forage as he had escaped the encroaching water by temporarily moving to higher ground deeper in the reserve. The only casualty to the floods was one of our blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna) which suffered from occasional seizures and had fallen from its perch and drowned. It is always sad to lose an animal but staff and volunteers equipped themselves admirably to the dangers our animals faced and I have nothing but praise for their dedication during this tough time. Repair work has already begun and next month we will complete the rehabilitation of the cages as we ship sawdust from Puerto Maldonado to cover the muddy floors and keep the animals dry and away from the bacteria-infested sediment left by the river.
Elsewhere in the rescue program we received two new residents and a snake ready for instant release after the floods passed. The first was a young male spider monkey (Ateles belzebuth chamek) which has already incorporated itself into the resident troop, which now numbers six individuals. The second arrival was a baby collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) that is currently installed in our juvenile enclosure where we can keep a close eye on it during its critical first few weeks with us. The snake was a 2m green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) which we released straight into the creek where it has surely found a new home already.
The month of February has been a challenge for all of us involved in the project out here in Peru and I just wish to offer my thanks for all the hard work during this difficult period. The rest of 2008 looms before us and I am confident that the project will continue to move forward as life returns to normal after the floods.
Stuart Timson
3rd March, 2008
Conservation Director,
Projects Abroad


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by Kim Hone-McMahan, MCT News Service
MANY folks are skipping marriage these days, but a new study shows that happily married couples consider themselves healthier than their unmarried peers.
A University of Missouri assistant professor found that, in all stages of marriage, positive or negative relationships affect a person's perception of his or her health. So spouses should note that the way they treat each other, and how happy they are in their marriage, affect both partners' health. In other words, cool it with the unnecessary arguments.
"Engaging with your spouse is not going to cure cancer, but building stronger relationships can improve both people's spirits and well-being and lower their stress," Christine Proulx, who analysed data from more than 700 married folks, said in a news release.
So, is the study accurate? "I know from experience that being in an unhappy marriage can be very unhealthy physically and mentally for a person. I was in an unhappy marriage for 19 years and paid the price for it with my health," offered Suzanne Cordner of Uniontown, Ohio, who is now remarried. "The stress I was under created havoc in my body. It weakened my immune system, leading to many illnesses, and I still, to this day 14 years later, have medical issues that I need to see a doctor every week for."
Lynn Ruediger of Richfield, Ohio, agrees that a bad marriage is certainly terrible on a person's health — physical and mental.
"Negativity can be so destructive on a human being that having an unhappy partnership should be assessed and possibly ended," said Ruediger, who has been married for 46 years. "I feel there are times when married people who still enjoy their lives together are happier and healthier. Often, a loving spouse is the reason you take better care of your health. You socialise often with like-minded people, and you generally feel cared for."
Proulx suggested health professionals consider a patient's personal relationship when designing a treatment plan.
"I suspect we'd have higher rates of adherence if medical professionals placed more of an emphasis on incorporating families and spouses in patients' care," she said.
But Dave Egan, of Stow, Ohio, who has been married for 38 years, said that while mental and physical health can be attributed to a happy marriage, that doesn't necessarily mean that the happily married are more fit than their unmarried counterparts.
"To personalise it, I have a happy marriage and satisfy the requirement of being mentally and physically healthy. However, could I be just as healthy if I were single? There is no way to test that unless I were to get a divorce, allowing for a comparison," noted Egan, adding he's not interested in trying that out.
But what about a person whose spouse has died? Does the happiness from a good marriage linger enough in the heart to keep the person healthy?
Becky Costello of Akron, Ohio, has been widowed for two years. She and Tim were married 36 years. It wasn't a perfect marriage, she noted, but Tim was perfect for her. And their marriage was happy.
"During my period of acute grief, I was not as robustly healthy as I had been prior to Tim's death. I lost interest in food (Tim was a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and a talented chef) and I had difficulty maintaining a healthy diet and meal schedule, and as a result I lost weight," she said. "My sleep habits were also affected; four or five hours of sleep each night constituted a new good night's sleep."
Mentally, the bereaved Costello lost her ability to feel joy, hope and other emotions. "But I know the happiness from loving Tim and being his wife was still in my heart even during the time of acute grief. And as I worked through the acute grief, I began to reconnect to those feelings, including the happiness and love from our marriage, which remain with me to this day."
Guide to happiness
Kathaleen Stevenson, a counselor with Kessler Psychological Services in Hartville, Ohio, notes that whether single or married, those who are the happiest:
Don't keep grudges. They forgive easily and wisely, keeping healthy relationships by being active participants in creating positive interactions.
Have a sense of purpose for their lives, engaging outside of their relationships to contribute to the greater good, thus enriching their relationships and personal joy.


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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has published a new blog entry on JrsBarBq.com. Here are some highlights.
Thoughts on John Cena: John Cena has put himself into a situation where he has every thing to lose and what to gain in his match with Punk next week? Curious to see how this is addressed. Perhaps it's as simply as Cena wanting to silence Punk and get the elusive win over the former WWE Champion that has escaped Cena.
Thoughts on Mark Henry: Mark Henry is on a roll since returning a few weeks ago from an extended absence due to injury. Henry has a 'bad attitude' and I find him one of the more compelling, intimidating villains in WWE.
Thoughts on The Miz: Miz winning by using Ric Flair's Figure Four surprised me. Flair seemingly rarely won in his later career with his signature maneuver. Miz needs to watch lots of Flair tape to see how seamlessly Naitch applied the hold. It's not as easy as Ric made it look.
Zeb & Swagger segments: Getting lots of Tweets regarding Zeb Colter's politically based comments and many feel that the comments are untimely. Isn't that what wrestling villains do, make inflammatory, controversial comments that strike a nerve with the audience? Same type of comments are made daily on a variety of news outlets so I'd suggest to the most vocal of critics to simply, "Lighten Up Francis." Zeb's TV persona is that of a political zealot who has controversial opinions. Zeb…if that is his real name.
Jack Swagger is too good of a big, athlete to not have a viable shot at long term success in WWE. The former, two time, Oklahoma State High School Heavyweight Wrestling Champion AND All State football lineman went to OU as a two sport star and earned two time All American Honors in wrestling while a Sooner. Colter is helping develop Swagger's TV persona which is timely while Swagger is as athletic a big men, 6'6″-270, as anyone on the WWE roster.
New WWE Championship title: The Rock unveiled the newly designed WWE Title of which has been a topical, Twitter subject @JRsBBQ. I've stated many times in the past, I'm not a title belt aficionado and have never invested much of my time on the design of any championship. I think classy, simple is better but, again, I won't lose any sleep over how a championship belt looks. Personalized Championship tittles are simply what they are. I always thought the old WCW Title belt was WAY too big as was the UWF Title back in the day while I still think that the Lou Thesz version of the NWA Title along with the Race, Funk, Brisco NWA title belt was classy and cool. But again, I'm not your best source for an opinion on the Spinner Title or Rock's Brahma Bull Title. I'd say the same thing re: the Smoking Skull title as well in case you're wondering.
Rumors on Rock Wrestling at WM30, WWE Talent Not Happy with Segment on Raw, Ziggler Title Plans


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Photograph courtesy of Robert Todd
Having had a quiet Christmas, we're now into Hogmanay. Celebrating on Auld Year's Night is traditionally a bigger event in Scotland than Christmas, as celebrating Christmas was banned in the 16th century after the Reformation of the Church who regarded it as a "Popist festival". The ban lasted for about 400 years and Christmas Day was a normal working day in Scotland until the 1960's.
Torchlight processions and fireworks reminiscent of the ancient Scottish pagan festivities are common and many towns and villages retain their own odd customs. In Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, on the stroke of midnight sixty men parade the streets swinging balls of fire in the ancient Fireballs Ceremony. Check out the video – I can almost smell the singeing of the kilties' hairy legs.
Photograph courtesy of the Stonehaven Fireballs Association
Many people go to ceilidhs to dance, have a few drinks and see in the New Year with friends and family. It's traditionally a warm, friendly time and everyone wishes each other a "Happy New Year" with a hug and a kiss, even strangers. As the parties are winding down, the revellers link arms, forming a circle and sing Rabbie Burns' song "Auld Lang Syne" while moving in and out, standing on toes on the way in and stretching arms on the way out. This gets progressively faster, louder and rowdier and is nearly as hazardous as Scottish country dancing. The BBC Symphony Orchestra do a more genteel version of the song. Partying often goes on until very late on Ne'er Day, the 1st of January, so it's appropriate that the first two days of January are Scottish holidays, to allow for Recovery Time.
Even if you're at home, there are traditions to be observed. The house should be cleaned ("redding up"), and the ashes from the fire emptied – if you're lucky someone may be able to read the ashes for you, like reading tea leaves, to see what the New Year will bring.
In days gone by, twigs from a Rowan tree would be placed above a door to bring luck, and a piece of mistletoe would protect the health the householders. Holly kept the fairies out and the magical powers of hazel and yew twigs protected the house and its occupants. Juniper would be burnt throughout the house, then all the doors were opened for a good blow-through before the house was then ready to bring in the New Year.
The "first foot" (the first visitor to come to your door after midnight) should bring a good luck gift (usually of an Adult Beverage nature and preferably whisky), salt, black bun (what's that?), shortbread and a piece of coal are all acceptable. It's a good sign if he is tall and dark haired – historically a blond visitor meant potential trouble of the Norse kind 🙂 If no visitors are expected, a suitable person may be chosen to be sent out of the house and come back in again with the requisite gifts. The back door and the front door of the house are opened at midnight – the New Year comes in the front while the Old Year leaves by the back.
"Here's tae us – wha's like us? Damn few, and they're a' deid!"
I wish you a Happy New Year when midnight arrives in your part of the world – may 2012 bring you peace, joy, happiness and success in all your endeavours. Consider yourself hugged.
Check out other Sepia Saturday posts – and please leave a comment, bloggers love a comment!


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A recent study of older back pain patients concluded that individuals with both chronic lower back pain along with multiple other health conditions had lower health care costs and better outcomes when they used chiropractic treatment compared to those who did not. The study contributes to the evidence that doctors of chiropractic (DCs) should have an expanded role in the overall care of all patients with back pain.
The causes of back pain can be puzzling, as a multitude of diagnostic possibilities and a kaleidoscope of treatment approaches are available. Yet even more confounding is that regardless of discipline, providers often fail to utilize the available evidence-based approaches to treat the problem. Despite this, back pain sufferers should not be limited to just a few care options, but should have access to the wide variety of existing and viable treatments.
Back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and musculoskeletal disease and pain account for substantial medical costs, with expenditures for imaging, pharmaceuticals and medical/surgical procedures straining our bank accounts as well as the struggling health care system. Many medical approaches for back pain pose significant risk; back surgeries are costly and sometimes fail or render the patient with chronic residual pain, and epidural steroid injection, a procedure routinely used in the treatment of back pain and sciatica, comes with a slight risk of serious neurologic side effects, while also typically providing only a temporary solution. When one has run out of options, these of procedures must be considered.
Chiropractic is an option that more and more people are turning to. In general, chiropractic care is proven to be very safe, and is statistically the safest mode of healthcare in the world for these reasons: it does not involve pharmaceuticals or surgery, the odds of serious adverse effects from care are minimal, and the odds of death from treatment are essentially non-existent. Studies show that patients generally are very satisfied with chiropractic care, and research continues to demonstrate improved outcomes without adding healthcare costs.
As with any medical treatment, finding doctors of chiropractic with good clinical skills is key. Unlike internal medicine or neurology practitioners, for example, chiropractors have widely varying approaches, methods and ideologies. Also, it can be challenging to find DCs who have rightfully abandoned outdated methodologies such as X-raying spines to look for supposed "misalignment" (an unfounded concept), and who have instead adopted modern and clinically valid practices.
With strong scientific evidence to support the validity and efficacy of chiropractic care, more medical institutions will hopefully involve quality doctors of chiropractic to enhance musculoskeletal care for their patients. If your hospital or medical group doesn't have a doctor of chiropractic on board, ask why!
Scott Gillman is a doctor of chiropractic in Natick, in practice since 1991. He is also a chiropractic sports medicine specialist with a diplomate from the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians. He can be reached at 508-650-1091 or through www.drgillman.com.


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Scharffenberger chocolate factory
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Joined: 09 Apr 2005
Posts: 85
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:30 pm
Post subject: Scharffenberger chocolate factory
Many of you are probably familiar with Scharffenberger - it's a high-end chocolatier that started out making only dark chocolate using old-school European methods and equipment. The chocolate is good, often very fruity. Anyway, the enterprise started out as a small local shop in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a factory in Berkeley that 1) smelled fantastic and 2) gave free tours and tastings. I went at least three or four times in my six years in Berkeley. The company was bought out by Hershey's a few years ago, but for a while things seemed to stay mostly the same in terms of quality, though the company did suddenly add a number of new flavored chocolate bars. Anyway, I just read that Hershey's, despite actually making a profit in 2008, is going to close the Berkeley Scharffenberger factory to cut costs. It just seems sad.
The article about the closing is at
, for anyone interested.
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Joined: 14 Dec 2007
Posts: 8
Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:43 pm
Post subject:
That's so sad but also sort of typical. I think it's pretty indicative that Scharfer Bergen is part of Hershey's "Artisan' subsidiary but will be mass produced just like any of its other more mainstream products.
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Jennifer K
Joined: 08 Jan 2008
Posts: 16
Location: Paris
Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:49 pm
Post subject:
I lived in Berkeley before I moved to France last year, and always meant to take the tour there, but never did. I remember when Scharffenberger chocolate was new, and the resulting buzz in town. So sad.
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Joined: 11 Nov 2007
Posts: 236
Location: Madison, WI
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 6:46 pm
Post subject:
I don't live in the Bay area and have associations with different chocolate makers. However, here is my take on Hershey. Right now big corporations are laying off employees like they were expendable, rather than being humans beings and part of the public the corporations need to buy the products they are producing. Who do they expect to buy what they produce, and with what money, if they keep laying people off? Obviously the Scharffenberger people were pretty special, and I hate to to see them go.
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Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 13
Location: Lerné, France
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 11:20 am
Post subject: John Scharffenberger
I'm a native San Franciscan, now living in the Loire Valley. I knew of John Scharffenberger from Mendocino, as he at that time owned and operated a winery making a very good sparkling wine in the French tradition. He sold the company to a French concern, then moved on to conquer the world of high-end chocolate. Maybe he opened Scharffenberger Chocolate Factory with the end game of a sale to a larger entity?
It's not surprising that Hershey would close the Berkeley plant. Making chocolate in an urban setting is not usually a corporate plan, and yes, I'm not sure that quality will be kept up.
At least there's Valrhona!
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Joined: 18 Oct 2004
Posts: 1654
Location: Within view of Elliot Bay, The Olympics and every ship in the Sound
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 11:21 pm
Post subject:
Try Theo, their chocolate is wonderful.
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."
"It's hot ham water."
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Joined: 09 Apr 2005
Posts: 85
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 11:45 pm
Post subject:
ExpatSteve, the story behind Scharffenberger is that the other partner - Robert Steinberg - was diagnosed with cancer in the mid-90s and told he didn't have long to live. He toured around Europe for a while, didn't die when expected, and finally decided to do something he loved - namely, making European-style, high-quality chocolate. So he and John Scharffenberger started the company. I don't know if they ever had an "endgame" in mind, given the circumstances, but one of their former employees was quoted in the SFGate article as being glad that Steinberg died (last fall) before Hershey's decided to close the Berkeley plant, because it would have upset him so much. But who knows - if you sell a tiny company to a global giant, you can't really be surprised if they radically change the small company.
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DIY Halloween Costumes for Babies, Toddlers And Kids
Feb 2017
Kids' Lego costumes
What kid wouldn't love to dress like their favorite toy — Lego's!
How to make it:
· Find a cardboard box and cut off the bottom flaps with a utility knife. Tape down the top flaps.
· To create head and arm holes, trace a dinner plate on the top of the box and saucers on each of the box's sides, and cut out with the utility knife.
· Using hot glue, affix eight round 2" x 4"diameter craft boxes in two vertical rows along the front.
· Once the glue has dried, spray-paint the entire piece glossy red or blue. If necessary, coat multiple times for a brighter color, then let dry.
· Have your child wear a long-sleeved shirt and pants to match the color of the Lego.
· This costume will cost you about $13 for the spray paint and craft boxes.
Kid's Heisman Trophy costume
Take a football uniform to the next level with this Heisman-Trophy-inspired get-up.
How to make it:
· All you need is an old pair of sneakers, sweat shirt, sweat pants, vintage helmet and a football. · Spraypaint all those items gold and paint your child's face with gold face paint.
· Have him make the signature Heisman Trophy pose and he's all set!
· Total cost for this costume is about $20 for the spray paint, face paint and the vintage helmet — pick on up at a Halloween costume store.
Kid's cupcake costume
Isn't this cupcake costume sweet?
How to make it:
· This costume takes a little bit of time to create, but — good news — there's no sewing necessary!
· To make the frosting, cut two layers of pink felt with scalloped edges and glue assorted colored pom poms on the felt as sprinkles
· Cut a hole in the middle for your toddler's head and hot-glue ruffled fabric around the neckline
· To make the cupcake wrapper, fold poster board accordion style, wrap around you toddler's body and hot glue the ends to make a jumper, and hot-glue the ruffled fabric to make straps.
· To top if off, we gave little Mackenzie a headband with pom pom sprinkles glued on — yum!
· This costume will cost about $12 for the felt, pom poms, poster board, ruffled fabric and headband.
Baby lobster costume
This little lobster looks good enough to eat!
How to make it:
• Grab a red hoodie and matching red pants.
• Cut out claws using red felt and glue them to the arms of the hoodie.
• Then, for our favorite part, glue some googly eyes onto Styrofoam balls. Stick red pipe cleaner on the top of the balls for antennas and then glue the eyes to the top of the hood. (Warning: If your child is under three years old, make sure the Styrofoam balls are bigger than the opening of a toilet paper roll and draw black circles on the balls instead of using googly eyes to eliminate choking hazards.)
• Extra points if your baby lets you carry her in a lobster pot!
Baby "Chicken Little" costume
This Chicken Little costume looks elaborate, but it's super easy to make!
How to make it:
· Grab a yellow hoodie and matching yellow pants or dye a white outfit with yellow dye.
· Take some yellow feathers and glue them to the arms of the hoodie, around the ankles, on the belly and the hood.
· Then for the adorable feet, stuff some rubber gloves with cotton and slip your baby's feet in, securing at the ankle with a rubber band and tucking the excess under the pants!
· This costume will cost you about $8 for the feathers, rubber gloves and stuffing.


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U.S.-Bound Spanish Iberico Pata Negra Hams to Lose Black Hooves, Cost Double
About a year ago, Iberico hams, the most gourmet of Spanish piggies, were first sold in the United States. They arrived with black hooves on—a symbol of Spanish hospitality and a guarantee of Iberico authenticity.
Now after a USDA ruling effective January 2009, all hams will arrive "pata negra sin pata" (without the telltale black hoof). To make it worse, the ruling added a punitive 100 percent tariff on all bone-in Iberico hams, which will double the price of any delivered after March 2009. So one of these ridiculously expensive (and seriously delicious) $1,400 hams will now set you back $2,800. Talk about starting the year off on the wrong foot. [After the jump, where you can find the last of these hoofed hams.]
Virginia-based gourmet Spanish food retailer La Tienda bought all the remaining "pata negra" hams to sell online. "I don't think the officials are aware of the profound cultural implications of what they are doing—you might say they're ham fisted," La Tienda owner Don Harris said in a press release on the issue.
Iberico hams start with pigs who gorge themselves on acorns in forest meadows, giving them an olive-oil-like flavor. Unlike the garden variety pink pig, the Iberico's hooves are normally coal black, hence the "pata negra."
Ibérico Ham: Crazy Good But Worth the Price?
Photo of the Day: '$169 a Pound'
Haminal, the Canned Ham-Shaped Animal
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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Why is Mortgage Disability Insurance so important?
Accidents happen, so the saying goes. But when they happen to you, you could risk losing your home.
Nearly half of all foreclosures in America occur because a homeowner becomes disabled, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. What's more, a recent government report reveals that one in five individuals will suffer a long-term disability before they are 65. Putting a mortgage protection plan in place can protect your family against the financial devastation of an illness or injury by providing the much-needed funds for your monthly house payment, even if you are unable to work.
With mortgage disability insurance, you can focus on getting better, not on paying the bills. If you are a homeowner, simply complete the form on the right to request a free quote. You will receive personalized attention from one our highly skilled mortgage protection specialists to determine whether you qualify for mortgage disability insurance and find a plan that fits your needs.


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The cycle of life and death
By Adnan Abidi
"Ganges is Holy," said my boatman as I pointed my camera to photograph devotees half submerged in the blackish brown waters of the sacred river, the second most polluted in India. It was my third day on a photography assignment on Bihar- a sprawling state on the Gangetic plains of eastern India. My brief was to cover the overall progress of Bihar, hence I planned to photograph a bridge under construction over this sacred river. After a couple of shots with my wide angle lens I shifted to telephoto and as I zoomed in I saw a crow, a crow savoring or maybe just sitting on a corpse.
The boatman wasn't as shocked as I was. This was no extraordinary sight for him. He continued to praise the progress of the state, and its new efficient minister but said things will not change overnight. On seeing me still shocked about the corpse he revealed that as Hinduism describes Moksha as liberation from the cycle of life and death, freedom forever from earthly miseries and sufferings, the holy river Ganges is believed to be a pathway to attain Moksha. And Hindus believe that dying on the banks of this holy river enable a soul to attain Moksha. So at very short intervals, sometime just weeks, people here see corpses floating on the river, and its an accepted phenomenon. He said that's the way of life here and still there was progress!
I smiled at his optimism. He was all praises about the current government and the development it had brought even though personally he still lived hand-to-mouth. Earning his daily bread was an extreme challenge, for he like many boatmen had no option but to stay in the boat (floating in water) as they could not afford land. Even though there is a lack of basic resources, catastrophic flooding every year, and the lingering impact of poor past governance, there was a ray of hope in Bihar. I wondered if all this progress could bridge the gap between prosperity and poverty- a mammoth task that lay ahead for the current Bihar government.
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Adnan great lead picture, corpse and crow
Thanks Russell
This part of country once held a first university ever on the face of earth and unbelievably its a most backward state holding on to remnants of superstitions!!!…..


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"And on this farm they had some"……yes, a variety of critters, big and small, and yes, YOU will help care for them when you book your next vacation at Flip Flop Ranch in Southern California's Lucerne Valley. Nestled in the high desert, surrounded by mountains, Flip Flop is owned and operated by a wonderful, welcoming family who recently decided to invite guests onto their 40-acre farm. It's only been a year that they've shared their quarters with outsiders, and it's still in the process of evolution.
Lisa Harvey and her daughters Serina and Tashelle and Tashelle's husband Thomas run the place with the help of "WWOOFERS" (participants in the organization: worldwide opportunities on organic farms)…young people from around the world who spend weeks at a time helping with the chores in exchange for room and board. And with your help should you decide to venture into this less than luxurious vacation.
The rooms are pretty basic, although Tashelle plans on livening them up soon with her brilliantly hand painted murals; there are shared bathrooms with only soap and towels provided; no sleeping in past 8 when the animals let you know it's time to be fed and the goats need milking. On the plus side you'll be greeted with a full breakfast after morning chores and a hearty dinner after evening chores. Lunch, you ask? Probably won't be hungry….
Flip Flop Ranch is striving for complete sustainability, and they're well known for breeding nearly extinct species of farm animals. They boast the largest flock of Cotton Patch Geese (27), which were used in the 1800's to weed cotton in the South. They also raise Dorking Chickens from England, which took three years to acquire, Ancona Ducks which lay 250 eggs a year, Bourbon Red Turkeys, Baby Doll Sheep, Guinea Hogs and Nigerian Dwarf Goats.
The milk and eggs you gather each morning will be on the table that day, and if you haven't had fresh dairy right from the farm, you haven't had the real thing!
Either Tashelle or Serina will teach you the art of making bread, ice cream (hand cranked), goat cheese, fresh chicken (if you dare) and soap. Everyone has to at least try to milk the goats. If you succeed on filling up a bucket, you'll be rewarded with a certificate. I have to admit I didn't make it. Midnight kicked over the bucket! And no, I didn't cry over it, though I was tempted.
Goat milking is free since it's a daily chore, but other classes do require an extra fee. For instance if you want to learn cheese making it's $25 a couple, while butchering a chicken will cost you $50 (I, of course, wouldn't even do it if they paid ME….but as my son said, if you're willing to eat it…well….)
One of my favorite tasks was checking the incubators for newly hatched chicks and goslings and helping them transition to life outside the shell. I also loved the "cat house" where the moms, dads and kittens frolic in the hay and enjoy interacting with the humans who venture into their habitat. We nearly kidnapped a pair of calico kitties with whom we fell madly in love, but they were also the Harvey's faves. Alas!
In the evenings there's pool, air hockey, darts or chess on a board handcrafted by Tashelle. Although there are no TVs in the bedrooms, there's a large flat screen in the game room or you can do what we did, sit and talk to this wonderful family for hours, hearing ghost tales and stories about the history and fascinating folks of Lucerne Valley.
There's a beautiful pool nestled in large boulders with an attached spa. The pool isn't heated, but with summer temps climbing to 100 and above, you probably will relish the cool water. There's also a dry sauna off to one side of the game room. Coming soon: a gift shop, produce from their garden and home made wine. They let us sample their first vintage of Merlot....wow! For a first venture, I'm excited to taste what's next.
Rates for a room for two including breakfast and dinner are $150 per night….$50 for each additional person. It may seem strange to pay for working your "you-know-what" off on your vacation, but, truthfully, our family never had a better time!
9522 Donaldson Road
Lucerne Valley, CA 92356


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Samira Mazloom-Angels or Demons Jewellery
At Design Interviews
Interview with Samira Mazloom : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Samira Mazloom : We constantly witness the battle between good and bad, darkness and light, chaos and order, war and peace, hero and villain. Regardless of our religion or nationality, we have been told the story of our constant companions: an angel sitting on our right shoulder and a demon on the left. The angel persuades us to do good and records our good deeds. The devil persuades us to do bad and keeps record of our bad deeds. The angel is a metaphor for our "superego" and the devil stands for "Id". They represent the constant battle between the conscience and the unconscious. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Samira Mazloom : Designing a piece of Jewellery which is meaningful. This collection has many different pieces but for this specific piece, I wanted the wearer to literally have an Angle over the right and a Demon over the left shoulder. .Frank Scott: What are your future plans for this award winning design?. Samira Mazloom : This design is part of a complete collection for both women and men which hopefully will be soon available to clients all over the world. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Samira Mazloom : From concept to production, It has taken almost two years. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Samira Mazloom : I was not commissioned. After I thought about this concept, I fell in love with it and I was really surprised to know that nothing like this has ever been done before. .Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Samira Mazloom : I have full copy right of this design and I wish not to sell or lease this right. I wish to produce the work myself but of course I am human and may change my mind. .Frank Scott: What made you design this particular type of work?. Samira Mazloom : I am a jewellery designer but I think like a fine artist. I create what inspires me and I don't really pay attention to what the market expects. The first reason to create, for me is to satisfy the artist inside me but of course it makes me extremely happy to get positive feed back from people, costumers and the market. .Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Samira Mazloom : Any one who likes the pieces is a potential costumer. .Frank Scott: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?. Samira Mazloom : I have done my research and have not seen a similar or resembling concept. I claim that this concept and this collection is extremely unique and I am honoured to be the creator. .Frank Scott: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?. Samira Mazloom : Angels and Demons is a book by Dan Brown which I started reading. After I started working on this collection, this name kept coming to mind. but I changed it to Angels Or Demons because we always have a choice between these two. .Frank Scott: What is the most unique aspect of your design?. Samira Mazloom : I think it is fair to say that both the concept, and the design are extremely unique. .Frank Scott: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?. Samira Mazloom : The concept of this design is completely mine, I spent a lot of time working on the designs. I consulted a designer regarding the engineering side of pieces. Due to the unique shape of the pieces, we needed different attachment techniques to make sure the pieces stay in place. I also worked with an amazing Photographer. .Frank Scott: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?. Samira Mazloom : I am a very competitive person. The great thing about winning these international competitions is that I don't need to worry about marketing anymore. It is taken care of. .Frank Scott: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?. Samira Mazloom : I have learnt that my first design is not my first produced piece. from the time I design something until the time when I have the piece in my hand, The design keeps evolving. I can say it has changed a lot and this is how design works but as a designer, I always envision a piece from the beginning and I can say I will stick to my vision as much as I can. I am very loyal to those first rays of inspiration. .
Samira Mazloom-Angels or Demons Jewellery Images:
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In my quest to decipher just what inspires a seven-figure advance to a romance novelist, I tucked into a different series by Maya Banks. In Bed with a Highlander was definitely a better story than the quasi-military pandering and weird paranormal oddities in the last Banks book I read. This one has a classic story of gruff lord of the keep–laird in this case as we are in Scotland–falling under the spell of the obstinate and spunky young woman who enters his protection unwillingly but eventually romps with great enthusiasm in his bed. Plots of regicide, internal perfidy, threats and violence abound. The characters were as unstable as romance characters usually are–tough and then unaccountably shy and then tough again, no real substance to them. But attractive, volatile, highly-sexed, multi-orgasmic and beset by battles at every turn.
The oddest thing is the way these books are slapped together and marketed, as if the story there is exists only to fill the pages with predictable dangers and sex–and then more danger and more sex, punctuated by startling moments of personal enlightenment in which the main players admit that they love each other. It's a convention of the genre; it's fine. But the cover! The cover of In Bed… was truly weird. A battle-scarred Scottish laird, muscled and shaggy, is depicted as a hairless, shirtless bodybuilder from Venice, California wearing a pair of shorts. The heroine, a Scottish bastard with green eyes, Celtic curling hair and clothes of the period is a sinuous Asian vamp with long dark hair and a sort of blue teddy-like thing that has just a little too much fabric in it to be from Victoria's Secret. Does this indicate that the publisher believes the intended audience for a Scottish period romance is too stupid to require more than half-naked bodies in a clinch set against a backdrop of green tartan? Tacky.
I'm getting this genre a bit now. I'll probably need a few more books to suss out why it is so appealing as a storyline to so many people. Romance sells like hotcakes–hot romance like hotcakes with real maple syrup. Is it Cinderella for grown-ups, or Sleeping Beauty maybe? I'm puzzled at the flattened-out nature of it but that might just be because I'm not reading more complex, nuanced versions of the basic plot. Murder mysteries are more satisfying, in general, although the badly written ones are as bad as anything unreadable, whatever the genre. So, no more contemporary military types with their bulging jeans and Wal-Mart spectrum of emotions. I might hunt for historical romantica so there is at least some marginal world-building to examine in between the sighs, moans, poisoned goblets of ale and clashing of bloody swords.
In Bed with a Highlander (McCabe Trilogy) Maya Banks | Ballantine Books 2011


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