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Over the next 15-20 years, the U.S. and China are headed for a confrontation in the western Pacific, with Japan caught in the middle. And China, currently the underdog, could very well come out on top. That's the unnerving conclusion of a new report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
The nine authors of "China's Military & the U.S.-Japan Alliance in 2030," released Thursday, stress that a full-blown shooting war is not in the cards. "The threat is not a war with China," the report states. Rather, Washington and its close ally Tokyo could find themselves losing influence and disputed island territory to an increasingly unconstrained Beijing that finds it can "win without fighting" owing to a combination of its own military rise and its rivals' relative declines.
But Chinese "victory" in this projected 2030 conflict is not preordained. It's also feasible the U.S. and Japan could "win" as their own armies and economies rally against a China dragged down by shrinking exports and demographic stagnation.
In any event, change of some sort is probably coming, the report authors say, although what change is unclear. The status quo – a western Pacific comfortably dominated by the U.S. with its aircraft carriers, bombers and Marine regiments, with Japan playing a key supporting role and China steadily adding to its military arsenal while biding its time – is "unsustainable," they claim.
What follows are sketches of three possible scenarios from the report, representing two extremes plus a sort of strategic middle ground in the anticipated Great China-America Showdown of 2030.
New World Order —————
China's 10-percent annual economic growth continues unabated despite high debt, an aging population and vexing ecological concerns. The People's Liberation Army enjoys year after year of elevated spending. Its homegrown ships, planes and missiles get better and better alongside improving Chinese military doctrine, leadership and training.
But on the opposite side of the Pacific, the United States succumbs to its own internal problems. Economic growth slows to just 1.5 percent per year, leading to what the Carnegie experts describe as "enormous downward pressures on U.S. defense spending and U.S. military deployments in Asia."
The stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, meant to rescue U.S. air power from obsolescence, instead falters, as does an ambitious program to develop a new, affordable stealth bomber. A shrinking American naval fleet runs low on floating sonobuoys used to detect the new and improved Chinese submarines pouring out of the country's shipyards.
Broke and demoralized, America retreats from the Pacific, leaving an equally struggling Japan to fend for itself against its powerful neighbor. Instead of ramping up its own military spending in order to confront China, Japan strikes a conciliatory tone with the world's new Pacific hegemony.
This worst-case (for Washington and Tokyo) combination of events is "highly unlikely but not entirely inconceivable," according to the Carnegie report. But if they or similarly bleak circumstances come to pass, the Asia-Pacific in 2030 truly will belong to Beijing. "Needless to say, this scenario would present an enormous potential for severe crises."
America Rules ————-
The opposite extreme is an era of substantially increased U.S. presence in the western Pacific. For Washington and Tokyo, a stronger Asia-Pacific posture would result in "a more stable long-term regional security environment," according to the Carnegie authors. Especially if American resurgence meets with a collapse in Chinese military capabilities and strategy.
But this rosy scenario counts on a big boost in U.S. military spending, amounting to a full four percent of GDP – an assumption that itself hinges on a rapid economic recovery from today's depressed levels plus a sustained high birth rate. In addition to more spending, the "America-wins" future assumes ideal outcomes across a wide range of military initiatives. The F-35 fighter and the new stealth bomber come in on time and on budget – and they both work as advertised. A U.S. plan to expand its naval fleet also proceeds without a hitch.
At the same time, all the major trendlines towards a stronger and more assertive Chinese military would have to reverse themselves – and fast. The open spigot of weapons funding would have to close. Technologies already in development would have to fail. Training exercises currently growing more realistic would need to end or somehow get dumber.
In short, this outcome is unlikely. "It is quite probable that the United States and Japan will lack the financial resources, technological capacity and political willpower necessary for such an ambitious military response, especially in the next 15 to 20 years," the report warns.
Middle Ground ————-
So which scenario is probable? America does not collapse back into economic crisis but neither does yearly growth reach the three-percent threshold policymakers desperately hope for. China also enjoys moderate economic expansion sustaining continued improvement of its air, sea, land, space and cyber forces.
Japan meanwhile navigates perilous domestic politics in order to somewhat increase its own military investment, resulting in a more powerful navy, a small number of stealth fighters for its air force and a naval infantry force modeled on the U.S. Marine Corps.
This "slightly unstable" scenario is the "most likely" of those studied, according to the experts. With relations between China and the U.S.-Japan alliance slowly eroding year on year, "this situation would result in a greater likelihood of tensions and incidents" compared to now. But the chance of major flare-ups, to say nothing of a shooting war, would be as remote as it is today.
This version of the western Pacific circa 2030 is also probably the best that anyone in Washington should hope for, given economic, cultural and strategic realities. It's "manageable," and its military balance still "slightly" favors the U.S, according to the report.
If the Carnegie experts are to be believed, the likely future of U.S.-Japanese-Chinese relations looks a lot like today, although more volatile. In that sense the think tank's report could be mistaken for, well, accepted wisdom. It's tempting to project current, short-term trends in straight lines over decades, although in reality today's trends are often fleeting – and poor predictors of the future.
It should not come as a surprise, then, if the seemingly unlikely fringe scenarios spelled out in the Carnegie report – both pro-U.S. and pro-China – look a lot more realistic in just a few short years. Between America and China, with Japan watching closely from the sidelines in the world's new strategic center of gravity, the future could be a toss-up.


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At St. Norbert College, G Suite brings easy collaboration, communication, and information-sharing to campus
Inflexible email systems and inefficient processes slowed down communication and information-sharing at St. Norbert College. By switching to G Suite and creating custom applications, students can access coursework and messages from any device, and staff save time and reduce errors.
Even with a small student body, St. Norbert College (SNC) students and staff found that working across departments was hampered by paper-based processes and previous email and productivity tools. Technology leaders like instructional technologist Ben Hommerding saw the potential of cloud-based tools to help students and professors work together easily and share information accurately and quickly.
"Before we switched to Google, we were using our own email system that was hosted on site, and we stored all of our files on our servers," says Hommerding. "But there wasn't a lot of collaboration. Documents would be sent around in long email chains, and information got stuck in many places." Administrators used paper forms to gather and update course descriptions, a cumbersome process that resulted in delays and errors.
"When we chose Google, we made sure that we can offer the capabilities our students need this year and in years to come."Ben Hommerding, Instructional Technologist, St. Norbert College
Storage for everything—and accessing from anywhere
"Once people understood how G Suite works–the unlimited storage for email, and sharing documents with the entire campus–there were a lot of mind-blowing moments," Hommerding says. Professors discovered they could use Google Docs to comment on student work while it was in progress, creating "a live conversation with students," he adds.
Professors also began using Google Drive to store documents needed for classes. "In the past, downloading documents off campus or from home would have been an issue," Hommerding says. "Now we can access everything from anywhere."
The "everything from anywhere" mindset was part of the college's new "bring your own device" (BYOD) program for students and teachers, including replacing teachers' desktop computers with laptops. "If you're transitioning to a BYOD policy, you need strategies for people to share content via G Suite no matter what kind of device they have," Hommerding says. "That's why we thought Google was a good fit for us."
Google Team Drives, in which files belong to groups rather than individuals, provided shared storage for administrative documents. That made it easier for the administration to manage student hires, since files wouldn't be stored in their student Drive.
Saving time and improving accuracy for common admin processes
To improve updates to the college's course catalog, the SNC ITS team used Apps Script to create custom G Suite code that collects course descriptions from Google Forms and feeds the information into Google Docs and Google Sheets. This application streamlines the approval process for changes and new courses so approvers and faculty know where their submissions are in the process. With the help of student workers Hommerding is now testing App Maker for these processes as part of an Early Access Program (EAP), Google's product pilot program that invites users like Ben to test and provide feedback on products before they're fully launched. Feedback from these EAPs is used to improve and tailor products to user needs.
After Hommerding created the custom G Suite code, administrators then created the catalog using Docs. The new process eliminated the back-and-forth email chains and error corrections that added time to catalog creation. "The team we created this process for was over the moon," Hommerding says.
Google Forms also help administrators gather information quickly and accurately, especially within the college's Sturzl Center for Community Service & Learning, which promotes community engagement.
"We manage many one-time service events, and prior to using Google Forms, registration was a cumbersome process," says Community Engagement Coordinator Susan Angoli. Last year, the Sturzl Center reviewed the registration process for its MLK Day of Service to make it more user-friendly. Angoli used the Choice Eliminator add-on for Google Forms, which removes choices for volunteering options once enough students have signed up for a particular site or time.
SNC ITS team is also using G Suite and App Maker to streamline check-in and approval process for the college's Tech Bar, a new service providing technology training and troubleshooting for students and staff. For some St. Norbert class projects, students need to attend Tech Bar workshops to show they've undergone training in certain skills, such as blog and video creation.
With App Maker, Hommerding built a custom application to allow Tech Bar instructors to send a "receipt" to faculty showing that students completed the training. In addition, the app allows students to rate Tech Bar instructors. Hommerding plans to add an appointment scheduling system to the Tech Bar; for now, meetings are scheduled using the appointments slots feature in Google Calendar.
Prepping for the future
By adopting G Suite, St. Norbert College is preparing for a future where collaboration and access are requirements, not just "nice to have" options, Hommerding says. That includes reducing reliance on servers and tools that IT teams have to maintain. "We recently had a power outage across campus," he explains. "We were still able to send emails and documents from our phones or by using hotspots–something we couldn't have done with our old email system."
Preparing for the future also means choosing tools that students are already using, so that technology ramp-up time is minimal. "Our data shows that 90 percent of students arrive on campus already using Google products," Hommerding says. When professors use G Suite to share course resources and schedule online meetings, they know that students will quickly adapt to the collaborative learning environment.
The college's Office of Institutional Effectiveness is testing BigQuery, part of Google Cloud Platform, to crunch data on jobs they obtain, as well as advanced degrees–with a goal of determining how well the college is preparing students for careers.
Hommerding is considering using other Google Cloud Platform tools to help staff better share research data and analyze the college's performance.
"When we chose Google, we made sure that we can offer the capabilities our students need this year and in years to come," Hommerding says. "If professors can work more closely with students, and staff can better serve our campus, we can set the college apart in a competitive market."

subset: commoncrawl


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The 330/340mm top deck chair supports both top mesh and top reinforcing bars in suspended decks, thick precast and tilt-up panels and any tall spacer applications, where strength and stability is critical. Mela top-deck barchair's primary feature is that it has a square base design which allows it to sit very rigid on bondeck and formwork slabs.
- Rust Free
- Lightweight
- Unique Square base design


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- News
- Business
- Sports
- Entertainment
- Lifestyle
- Health
- Travel
- Technology
A weight-loss drug recently approved for use in the U.S. may be headed for Canada — a move that could mark a turning point in a controversial corner of medicine that last saw a new drug approved more than a decade ago.
The makers of Belviq say they are poised to market their drug in Canada, a plan that, if approved, would double the country's prescription diet pill market – from one drug to two.
Doctors who specialize in the treatment of obesity say Belviq, which works on the brain to make people eat less and feel full faster, could breathe new life into a stagnant segment of the medication market.
And with 62 per cent of adult Canadians overweight or obese, the potential market is enormous.
Belviq — whose chemical name is lorcaserin hydrochloride — works on a receptor for serotonin, a brain chemical involved in controlling appetite. In three randomized, controlled trials involving nearly 8,000 obese and overweight patients, nearly half (47 per cent) of those without type 2 diabetes lost at least five per cent of their body weight after one year compared with about 23 per cent of patients treated with placebo. In people with type 2 diabetes, about 38 per cent of the Belviq group lost at least five per cent of their body weight, versus 16 per cent treated with sugar pills.
According to the University of Calgary's Dr. David Lau, while the weight loss isn't "huge," "I think this could be quite exciting."
"There are some people who really are struggling, and even a little bit of weight loss is extremely important in improving their health status," said Lau, professor of medicine and chair of the diabetes and endocrine research group at the university.
Belviq was one of two anti-obesity drugs approved back-to-back this summer by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the first weight loss drugs to receive the FDA's blessing in 13 years. The other was Qsymia — a combination of two pills already on the market, phentermine and topiramate.
Phentermine is an amphetamine-derived drug; topiramate is an anti-convulsant. Results from two studies presented to the FDA showed that, one year after treatment, patients on Qsymia had an average weight loss of about seven to nine per cent, depending on the dose. The most common side effects include tingling of hands and feet, dizziness and insomnia.
Neither Belviq nor Qsymia should be used during pregnancy. Babies exposed to topiramate (one of Qsymia's components) in the first trimester of pregnancy have an increased risk of cleft lips.
Qsymia's makers haven't yet submitted their drug for Health Canada approval, according to a spokesperson.
Past attempts to bring — and keep — weight loss drugs on the market have been shaky. Fen-phen was pulled from the market in 1997 after being linked to heart problems. Two years ago, the makers of Meridia voluntarily pulled their drug from drugstore shelves over an increased risk of heart attack and stroke in some people.
That left Canadians with a single option — orlistat, or Xenical, a drug that prevents dietary fats from being absorbed by the intestines but whose side effects include oily or fatty stools.
"There are very high safety standards that are being set up for obesity drugs, because these drugs could potentially be used by many, many people. Even the smallest side effect, if it happens, would happen to a lot of people," said Dr. Arya Sharma, scientific director of the Canadian Obesity Network. Sharma was on the safety monitoring board for one of the early studies of Belviq.
Belviq can cause side effects such as headache, dizziness, fatigue, dry mouth and nausea.
As with any newly approved drug, the potential long-term risks are unknown, doctors say.
With Meridia and fen-phen, it wasn't until the drugs started to be prescribed widely that "signals" for severe adverse effects were picked up.
"The hope is that these two new medications won't suffer the same fate," said Dr. Sean Wharton, an internal medicine specialist and director of the Wharton Medical Clinic in Burlington, On., one of the largest provincially government-funded weight management clinics in the country.
Another concern is runaway prescribing, Wharton says, where doctors unfamiliar with the medications and their side effects start prescribing them "in a cavalier way" and to all comers, "or people go online to try to get these drugs from other countries.
Tim Kirkham, an authority on the biopsychology of appetite at the University of Liverpool, said people would potentially have to stay on the drugs for life. "It looks like as soon as you stop taking the drugs, your weight will just rebound," he said.
"The drug company strategies are all based on (brain) signals that are supposed to stop us feeling hungry," he added. But people can feel full at the end of a meal, "and then start to eat again immediately as soon as something more attractive comes along," Kirkham said.
Humans are hardwired through evolution to seek out food at every opportunity, he added. In today's environment, those opportunities are plentiful "and fabulous."
A more effective strategy would be to develop drugs that target the desire to eat, Kirkham said — "what makes us want to eat," he said, "or what makes us enjoy eating once we start."
firstname.lastname@example.com" TARGET="_blank">email@example.com


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Industry News highlights press releases from our Members. Sign-up to receive press releases.
Press releases may be sent to the Industry News inbox for consideration.
News items must involve a NEMA Member company, and the topic should be an executive personnel appointment, contract award, acquisition, or award.
Industry News Guidelines:
Click on the links below to view news items by year.


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via press release:
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially when she's on a mission to murder. There's no shortage of these tempestuous DEADLY WOMEN in season six of Investigation Discovery's signature hit series about women who have been driven to kill. Jealousy, revenge, desperation, and greed all play their devilish hand in driving these daughters, sisters, mothers, and wives to commit the ultimate sin. While male murderers are often motivated by anger, impulse, and destruction, women usually have more complex, long-term motives. Former F.B.I. criminal profiler Candice DeLong helps viewers distinguish between the emotionally-charged impulses and sociopathic intentions that lace each story. The sixth season of DEADLY WOMEN premieres Friday, August 17 at 10 PM E/P.
Each episode of DEADLY WOMEN features three thematically-related stories. The premiere episode is:
Hunting Humans Premieres Friday, August 17 at 10 PM E/P
When a killer is in the pursuit of blood, being caught in their path is a dangerous place to be – unless you are the partner in crime. When these Deadly Women meet their mates, they not only gain a partner in life, but also in the hunt.
- Suzan Carson – San Francisco & Santa Rosa, CA – 1981-1983
Suzan and Michael Carson were serial killers active in the counter-culture movement, their crimes emerging from a shared drive to exterminate individuals they believed to be "witches." They remain in prison to this day with little chance of being granted parole.
- Pamela Lynn Perillo – Houston, TX – 1980
Pamela Lynn Perillo was a topless waitress high on speed and hallucinogens when she strangled two men to death with her accomplice James Michael Briddle. A drug addict and a thief, she took their lives for $800, a camera, a machete, and a cassette recorder. Perillo became the longest-serving woman on death row, but in 2000 she had her sentence commuted to life.
- Chelsea O'Mahoney – London – 2004
On Halloween 2004, 14-year-old Chelsea O'Mahoney and three male gang members embarked on a "happy-slapping spree." In only an hour, they attacked eight people for no other purpose than the sadistic pleasure of inflicting pain, ultimately kicking one victim to death. O'Mahoney was sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter and grievous bodily harm.
DEADLY WOMEN is produced for Investigation Discovery by Beyond Entertainment Ltd. with John Luscombe as executive producer and Geoff Fitzpatrick as co-executive producer. For Investigation Discovery, Pamela Deutsch is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.
About Investigation Discovery
Investigation Discovery (ID), America's leading investigation network and the fastest-growing network in television, is the source for fact-based investigative content about culture, history and the human condition. Providing the highest quality investigative programming focused on fascinating stories of human nature from the past to the present to nearly 79 million U.S. households, Investigation Discovery's in-depth documentaries and series challenge viewers on important issues shaping our culture and defining our world. For more information, please visit investigationdiscovery.com


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Comment on Don't frack Willemsland by Peter.
@ Bruce: Philosopher George Santayara famously said those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Willem seems to suddenly have realised there is no such thing as a safe seat in the Territory.
Come August 27, Willem and his mates may have to quickly accept the fact that the vast majority of their constituents are now fervently opposed to the CLP.
Speaking of petitions, I started one in Tennant on Saturday morning calling for a youth curfew. I knew people were upset about an incident that happened here last week (check out the Deadly Sweets Tennant Creek Facebook page and watch the video, it's a doozy).
A lot of people were out of town for the long weekend. I still got more than 800 signatures over the weekend despite not advertising it anywhere. That's about the equivalent of 2000 in Katherine or 7000 in the Alice.
People are angry and it's not just about fracking.
Recent Comments by Peter
Multi million dollar Alice Redtails plans advance
@ Jimmy: Ah Jimmy, you had to use the "m" word didn't you. There will be one promised before the elction now – and it's all your fault.
Census: Tell them you're Indigenous, says academic
Just a question for anyone who may know the answer (which is probably no one, as the Minister himself didn't appear to have the answer on ABC this morning).
I don't trust any level of government and, as the Minister kept saying this morning, the information gathered is to be shared with all levels of government.
Instead of putting my non-Indigenous name on the census, can I use my skin name instead?
And can I use my homeland instead of my street address?
I just don't want some subcontinental backpacker from Barkly Regional Council selling my details to one of his telemarketing mates.
Of course it's not going to happen. There is no corruption in any level of government in the NT, is there, and that's why we don't need an independent anti-corruption body.
Dylan Voller's mistreatment started in Alice Springs
@ Janet: We have been pushing to establish such a place for four years now.
It's near one of our most dysfunctional communities. There is abundant water, great soil and close to major transport routes.
We have the full support of the elders. They want it to happen.
We have prepared a comprehensive business plan. It will cost less that $1.5 million a year to run initially and will be paying for itself within five years.
It's using something the Territory Government spent $12 million building and the keys are still swinging in the doors.
We went to Darwin to sell it. Adam fobbed us off the Ron Kelly, who couldn't be bothered getting back to us.
Styles wasn't interested, nor was anybody else.
Somebody from the Federal Minister's office at least read the proposal and got back to us but told us we were wasting our time because "blackfellas won't work". Her exact words.
Our plan isn't all about working in a garden. Half the day will be spent on genuine education with a view to getting proper qualifications.
Good luck getting the CLP to listen.
Bulldoze vile, medieval Don Dale centre: CLP candidate
@ Steve: As you are apparently about to stop being a local government representative and seek higher honours, I would like to offer you some advice.
Feel free to accept or ignore it, it is offered with good intentions to hopefully help you in your campaigning.
Firstly, you need to rethink your strategy of abusing and insulting people as your opening to pretty much every conversation.
Yes, it is a well-worn CLP tactic. If you want to guage its effectiveness, remember that by the 2020 election they will have been in power for just five of the past 20 years.
You really also need to stop attacking Labor, unions, Robyn and parents for all of the Territory's ills.
Yes, the CLP inherited a train wreck. So did Labor in 2001, and again in 2016. By the way, Ms Lambley is in the same boat. Hearing politicians whinging about each other is a turn off at the ballot box.
It's about playing the ball and not the man. In 14 paragraphs of bile, you managed just one paragraph where you offered any positive reason for voting for you. That paragraph was long on rhetoric – the same tired "just you wait" stuff many people stopped listening to ages ago – and short on any actual detail.
Yes Steve, the ALP will win the election. Part of the reason the Territory has ended up in its current state, however, is that your average voter feels disenfranchised by the process.
I have not read the part in the constitution, nor the Sentencing Act or the Electoral Act for that matter, that people cannot run as an independent.
Call me old fashioned but I have a belief that a robust exchange of reasoned opinion, backed by solid evidence and sound, non partisan advice is how Australia was built way back when.
I have no doubt you have many very good ideas based on your extensive experiences. I also have no doubt many of those ideas would work well in practice.
In our two-party preferred system, however, I also have absolutely no doubt you will be greatly disillusioned should you be lucky enough – or work hard enough – to win on August 27. You will be simply told to sit down the back and speak only when you are spoken to, using the lines that will be provided to you.
If you doubt that in any way, I suggest you try having a civil conversation with your opponent about it. If you don't want to talk to her – and I wouldn't blame you – I can provide a list.
That's why I suggested you run as an independent. I was not joking. You impress me as a passionate person who is genuine in their desire to do some good for their community.
That's a great thing. Every community needs champions. I personally doubt, through bitter experience, that you can achieve anything at all through a major party these days.
One day the CLP can hopefully be rebuilt to the wonderful institution it once was. One day the well-intentioned party faithful will start being listened to again.
Just don't hold your breath waiting for it.
Yes Steve, I was a member of your branch for a time. My disillusionment with the party these days is in part that some of your heirachy has trampled all over the Westminster system but in the most part, that those same people have trampled all over the conventions of the organisation.
There is a lack of understanding of the real reasons for separation of powers and the damage done when those conventions are dispensed with.
One final thing – you asked what I have ever contributed to my community.
Four years ago I started a not for profit organisation in the Barkly that focused on delivering genuine, well researched youth justice outcomes.
As a result of the genuine, documented advances made by our team, we were finalists last year in ACOSS's community service organisation of the year awards.
The other finalists were White Ribbon Day, Salvation Army and Red Cross.
The Minister removed our funding – without explanation – the day after we received the award.
We still operate, funded by my super.
Dylan Voller's mistreatment started in Alice Springs
@ Janet: Ah yes, the politicians are the scapegoats here.
Never mind that it was the CLP that framed and passed the legislation around the hood chair and all those other nasties.
Never mind it was the CLP which removed the youth from the old Don Dale into the "evil, mediaeval" Berrimah facility, despite plenty of protest from just about everyone in youth justice that it wasn't fit and proper.
Never mind the CLP's very own Attorney-General who ordered the police to go after the kids with dogs last year.
Never mind it was the CLP who ordered an "independent" report into that very same facility last year, then ignored its findings.
Never mind it was the CLP who had a report from the Children's Commissioner 11 months ago that laid out everything that was in Four Corners on Monday night and didn't just ignore it, moved on the author instead.
Never mind it was the CLP who invented a cover story to demonise the youth who were tortured as a justification.
Never mind it was the CLP who closed down effective, fuctional youth programs that were having evidential success in the youth justice arena.
Never mind it was the CLP who turned a blind eye to the abject failures of the former Corrections Commissioner, then rolled out the red carpet for him afterwards.
Never mind it was the Godfather of the CLP who, despite actually being the Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, couldn't even be bothered watching it.
Of course, Corrections is the only dysfunctional department under the CLP. Say it three times, click your heels and spin around.


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While North America's professional players continue on in their quest for the Stanley Cup, across the Atlantic in Slovakia the other championship of note for the Spring is taking place.
The 2011 IIHF World Championships continue on through until the Gold Medal game on May 15th, as sixteen teams work their way through the elimination rounds and on towards the sudden death finals.
Below items of note we have discovered on the championships, with particular dedication towards the efforts of Team Canada and Team USA.
The full review of the tournament can be found on our HockeyNation anchor page here.
May 14-- Putin promises firs-class worlds
May 14-- Finland, Sweden eye world hockey gold
May 14-- Time for no-shows to step up for nation
May 14-- Russian coach says Finland deserved victory in semifinals
May 13-- A player by player look at Canada at the IHHF World Hockey Championship
May 13-- Nicholson: Two years without medal at hockey world's totally unacceptable
May 13-- Canada makes another early exit at world Championship with 2-1 loss to Russia
May 13-- Hitchcock hoping for NHL coaching job
May 12-- Canada knocked off podium
May 12-- Canadians can't hold off Russian push
May 12-- Russia rallies to eliminate Canada at hockey worlds
May 12-- Finland blitz Norway to reach world semis
May 12-- Canada turns to 'calm' Bernier
May 11-- Russians to crank up intensity: Hitchcock
May 11-- Familiar Foes
May 8-- With Canada and Sweden, it's heart vs. skill
May 8-- Dubnyk will be wary if Canada calls again
May 8-- Jonathon Bernier gets next start for Canada at worlds
May 8-- Team Canada remains fresh at World Hockey Championship
May 8-- Danish team robbed of computers, iPads, iPods at world hockey event
May 7-- Canada hangs on to beat Norway at worlds
May 7-- Canada edges Norway at Hockey worlds
May 7-- United States advances to quarter finals
May 6-- Canada rallies to top U. S. in shoot out
May 6-- Canada needs shootout to beat U. S. at hockey worlds
May 6-- Eberle, Nash rescue Canada in shootout against U. S.
May 5-- Canadian players thinking about keeping visors after world championship
May 5-- Jeff Skinner's breakthrough season continues at hockey worlds
May 4-- Mature Phaneuf impresses Team Canada brass at worlds
May 4-- Phaneuf leaving his mark on the world
May 4-- Phaneuf making presence felt at hockey worlds
May 4-- James Reimer expected to continue heavy workload
May 3-- Phaneuf's thunderous hit doesn't miss Swiss forward
May 3-- Canada needs overtime to beat Swiss at world hockey championship
May 3-- Canadians need OT to beat Swiss
May 2-- History has Switzerland believing it might beat Canada at worlds
May 2-- U. S. rallies to beat Norway at hockey worlds
May 1-- Canada demolishes France at hockey worlds
May 1-- Canada has no trouble with France second time around
May 1-- Canada crushes France 9-1 at hockey worlds
May 1-- Spezza brings 'real maturity' to worlds
April 30-- Stewart skates into big role for Canada at hockey worlds
April 30-- U. S. cruises to 5-1 over Austria, Finland beats Denmark 5-1 at hockey worlds
April 30-- U. S. and Finland begin worlds with easy wins
April 30-- Youngsters lead Canada over Belarus
April 29-- Germany shocks Russia


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Sun Fin wrote:I went to see a local production of 'A Sound of Music' tonight. It's probably illegal to say this but it's actually one of my least favourite musicals; however the little girl who was playing Gretel is a family friend and she was very cute!
I hate 'A Sound of Music' so you're safe from my goons, at least.


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Welcome back. And now, all the way from the home office in Redmond, Washington, here is tonight's top ten list: the top ten least-known features of Microsoft Windows Server 2008! Tonight's list is courtesy of MCP Magazine Online.
Number 10: The Print Management Console (PMC). First making its debut in Windows Server 2003 R2, this new release is a native function and is available as a snap-on addition for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). This handy utility lets an administrator see every printer in the entire organization, and map printers to specific user groups.
Number 9: Auditpol. This logging tool allows admins to configure and back up audit policies for any computer in the network, greatly expanding the range of auditing tools available in Windows Server 2003.
Number 8: Windows Remote Shell (WinRS). This is a more advanced version of Terminal Services that allows connections to many remote computers at a time, all from a single console.
Number 7: Event forwarding: This only works if you have Vista on the desktop. It allows clients to automatically forward their event logs to the server, making it easier to diagnose problems on remote machines.
Number 6: Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS). This was available in Server 2003 but only as an add-on purchase. The new version adds new features to limit access to certain files.
Number 5: New password policies. No longer is there a restriction of one password policy per domain.
Number 4: Group Policy database. Server 2008 adds a searchable database for group policy managers, so admins no longer have to track this manually.
Number 3: Group Policy comments. Now admins can add comments to explain what various Group Policy settings actually mean.
Number 2: A new tool that will help admins successfully deploy, update, and maintain Server 2008, giving advice on upgrade options before installing.
And the Number 1 least-known feature of Windows Server 2008 is... (drumroll please) Huge network speed increases!
Thank you! We'll be right back with our special guest, Steve Ballmer!


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Facebook stock jumped 12.59 per cent yesterday despite early investors getting the go-ahead to offload millions of shares if they so wished.
A lock-out period that prevented staff and others from trading their shares ended on the biggest block of Facebook shares yesterday. The time limit was put in place to give the social network a head start after its stock market debut earlier this year.
The trading restrictions were lifted on about 800 million shares, nearly doubling the 921-million share float that's been on the market up until now.
Facebook stock has performed disappointingly since its initial public offering in May. After feverish anticipation, technical problems on the day and the realisation that underwriter Morgan Stanley wasn't so sure about the firm's future, the share price fell by at least 30 per cent in the first few weeks from its start price of $38.
The first lock-out period finished in August, putting 270 million shares on the market, and pushed Facebook's share price to an all-time low, close to half the IPO price. One of the network's earliest investors Peter Thiel dumped most of his majority stake the same month, offloading $400m worth of shares.
Anyone expecting the same result yesterday was disappointed: shares rose instead of falling, though the lift still only took the price to $22.36. That somewhat steady price suggests calmer investors are hanging on to the stock to see if Facebook can translate its success on the web into mobile ad revenue, which is what it needs to survive as more and more of its users access the site on their phones and tablets. ®


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Relationships with
Photo Credit: Bai Ling's picture is courtesy of go4celebrity. Photographic illustrations of Bai Ling are copyright © by their respective holders. The images are published with permission or as allowed by the copyright law's fair use or quotation provisions. If any copyright holder objects to an image being included, please notify us and it will be removed immediately.
Disclaimer: This information about Bai Ling is derived from astrological interpretation of Bai Ling's date, time, and place of birth.


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These are all the News & Announcements posted on Wednesday, 9 April, 2014.
National Library Week 2014
National Library Week is April 13-19, 2014. First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. This year's theme is Lives Change @ Your Library.
Gallery Walk: Friday, April 11, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.: The library will be a host location in Logan's downtown gallery walk and will feature the watercolor paintings of Lester B. Lee.
Community Fair: Saturday, April 12, 10:00 AM-2:00 p.m To celebrate how lives change at our library, we're sponsoring a community fair and bringing life-changing nonprofit organizations right into the library! Bring your friends and family for a fun and inspiring time!
Drop-in Storytime 1: Monday, April 14, 3:30 p.m., Lake Bonneville room: Bring your kids to a storytime with firemen! Children under age three must be accompanied by an adult. No registration required.
Drop-in Storytime 2: Friday, April 18, 3:30 p.m., Jim Bridger room: Bring your kids to a storytime with policemen! Children under age three must be accompanied by an adult. No registration required.
Library Birthday: Friday, April 18 is the library's 98th birthday! Why not visit the library that day and have your life changed by the thousands of items and services the library provides?
Posted By Logan Library at 10:54 AM in Category:Events
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Oct 16, 2018
» Community Book Discussion Oct 10, 2018
» The Dead Awaken Oct 5, 2018
» Library Closed Columbus Day


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Clank's on a mission. His best buddy, Ratchet, has been framed by a ruthless enemy and jailed for a crime he did not commit. Not only that, but Ratchet's maximum security prison is full of the universe's most dangerous criminals most of whom are lining up to personally 'welcome' Ratchet into his new cell.
Luckily for Ratchet he's got Clank on the outside, and luckily for Clank he's the kind of brainy little robot who is cool under pressure and knows a thing or two about tracking down a mysterious enemy. That's why, as Secret Agent Clank, he's hot on the trail of clues to unravel the mystery and secure Ratchet's release from jail.
Key Features:


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Been working on my own version of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and i am about 90% finished. Would anyone care to set up some districts for me? I know what i want for them but its going to take me another week to finish because i still get lost in the hex and find myself mindlessly scrolling trying to pinpoint things i want feeling overwhelmed. I have already finished everything else. The districts A.I and the Force Behaviors need tweaking but i know what i want done. All forces have been positioned, all officers have been properly placed and affiliated and all neutral cities modified etc.
Every single officer is either serving one of the rulers, underage or searchable and all starting deeds are 0 (I Hate seeing crappy officers in places of power just because they were historically. This way only the best get the best.
All base HP has been doubled (Still working on a way to virtually eliminate base hp, i think its stupid personally)
I know some of you guys have made quite a few scenarios and can probably make a handful of district A.I's way faster then me if you're willing to lend a hand.
I'v put alot of work into this, it will be a pretty fun and balanced scenario by the time it's 100%
It plays just fine as it is the only real problem is the typical crappy Liu rulers and the fact that the factions don't prioritize the areas i want them to yet.


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Gentoo X86 Handbook
This is the Gentoo Handbook, an effort to centralize Gentoo Linux information. This Handbook contains the installation instructions for an Internet-based installation and basic instructions about working with Portage, Gentoo's package manager.
Installing Gentoo
- About the Gentoo Linux installation
- This chapter introduces the installation approach documented in this handbook.
- Choosing the right installation medium
- It is possible to install Gentoo in many ways. This chapter explains how to install Gentoo using the minimal Installation CD.
- Configuring the network
- To be able to download the latest source code, networking will need to be configured.
- Preparing the disks
- To be able to install Gentoo, the necessary partitions need to be created. This chapter describes how to partition a disk for future usage.
- Installing the Gentoo installation files
- Gentoo installs work through a stage3 archive. In this chapter we describe how to extract the stage3 archive and configure Portage.
- Installing the Gentoo base system
- After installing and configuring a stage3, the base system is set up so that a minimal environment is available.
- Configuring the Linux kernel
- The Linux kernel is the core of every distribution. This chapter explains how to configure the kernel.
- Configuring the system
- Some important configuration files need to be edited. In this chapter an overview of these files is provided and an explanation on how to proceed.
- Installing system tools
- In this chapter some important tools are selected and installed.
- Configuring the bootloader
- In this chapter the right bootloader is installed and configured.
- Finalizing the installation
- The installation is now almost done. The last finishing touches are documented in this chapter.
Working with Gentoo
- A Portage introduction
- This chapter explains simple steps readers must understand to maintain the software on their system.
- USE flags
- USE flags are a very important aspect of Gentoo. In this chapter, readers learn to work with USE flags and understand how USE flags interact with their system.
- Portage features
- Discover the features Portage has, such as support for distributed compiling, ccache, and more.
- Init script system
- Gentoo uses a special initscript format which, amongst other features, allows dependency-driven decisions and virtual initscripts. This chapter explains all these aspects and explains how to deal with these scripts.
- Environment variables
- With Gentoo environment variables can be easily managed. This chapter explains how to do that, and also describes frequently used variables.
Working with Portage
- Files and directories
- To know Portage in-depth, first learn where it stores its files and data.
- Variables
- Portage is completely configurable through various variables that can be set in the configuration file or as environment variable.
- Mixing software branches
- Gentoo provides software separated in several branches, depending on stability and architectural support. "Mixing Software Branches" explains how these branches can be configured and how to override this separation individually.
- Additional tools
- Portage comes with a few extra tools that might make the Gentoo experience even better. Read on to discover how to use dispatch-conf and other tools.
- Custom package repository
- This chapter gives some tips and tricks on how to use a custom package repository, how to synchronize only the categories necessary, inject packages, and more.
- Advanced features
- As times goes by, Portage evolves and matures further and further. Additional features are continuously being put in - many of these are only of use by more advanced users. This chapter will go into more detail of these specific features.
Gentoo network configuration
- Getting started
- A guide to quickly get the network interface up and running in most common environments.
- Advanced configuration
- Here we learn about how the configuration works - this is prerequisite knowledge before continuing with modular networking.
- Modular networking
- Learn how to choose different DHCP clients, setting up bonding, bridging, VLANs, and more.
- Wireless
- Configuring Gentoo for wireless networks
- Adding functionality
- Adventurous users can add their own functions to the networking tools.
- Dynamic management
- For laptop users or people who move their computer around different networks.
This page is based on a document formerly found on our main website gentoo.org.
The following people contributed to the original document: Grant Goodyear, Roy Marples, Daniel Robbins, Chris Houser, Jerry Alexandratos, Seemant Kulleen, Tavis Ormandy, Jason Huebel, Guy Martin, Pieter Van den Abeele, Joe Kallar, John P. Davis, Pierre-Henri Jondot, Eric Stockbridge, Rajiv Mangliani, Jungmin Seo, Stoyan Zhekov, Jared Hudson, Colin Morey, Jorge Paolo, Carl Anderson, Jon Portnoy, Zack Gilburd, Jack Morgan, Benny Chuang, Erwin, Joshua Kinard, Tobias Scherbaum, Xavier Neys, Joshua Saddler, Gerald J. Normandin Jr., Donnie Berkholz, Ken Nowack, Lars Weiler
They are listed here because wiki history does not allow for any external attribution. If you edit the wiki article, please do not add yourself here; your contributions are recorded on each article's associated history page.
A handbook dedicated to installing and configuring the x86 architecture.


text: A onetime member of Berlin's Sonar Kollektiv roster, electro-soul vocalist Clara Hill has dabbled in the various genres of Germany's urban dance scene since the early '90s. Falling in love with the Fender Rhodes electric piano at age 17, she formed the local acid jazz duo Superjuice (though the duo later worked together as Hill & Funès), and the two gained a following in Berlin's many dance clubs. At one of their shows, Hill met DJ Alexander Barck of Germany's famed jazz-house ensemble Jazzanova. In 1998, Barck pressed her talents upon fellow Jazzanova producers Stefan Leisering and Axel Reinemer, who were taken aback by Hill's soothing vocals. Leisering decided to produce one of her first professional songs, "No Use," which would end up on Jazzanova's landmark In Between album four years later. Before Jazzanova set up their Sonar Kollektiv record label, Hill had put together another group in 1997, the hip-hop jazz band Stereoton. The band cut some of the label's first tracks, like "Kick Me Off," which appeared on some early compilations around the turn of the century. It was clear that the experience with Jazzanova was helping her evolve into a singer who could stand on her own. Thus, in early 2004, Sonar Kollektiv suitably released her first solo album, Restless Times. Hill's reflective song lyrics were featured over the dreamy, soul-inducing deep house produced by Leisering and Reinemer (known together as Extended Spirit) as well as her old friend Funès. The album caught the attention of some of the genre's most reputable artists, including Vikter Duplaix, Atjazz, and King Britt. They each contributed to the making of her 2006 follow-up, All I Can Provide. She took a slight turn toward acoustic material with 2007's Sideways, credited to Clara Hill's Folkwaves. In 2013, she released her downcast fourth album, Walk the Distance, featuring collaborations with Schneider TM, Hanno Leichtmann, and Kalle Kalima. It was issued by the Tapete label. ~ Cyril Cordor


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The British are very good detectives, but that isn't stopping the investigation in London from taking unexpected twists and turns. The story already has been revised in three important ways since the bombings last Thursday. Today, evidence emerged that at least one and perhaps all four of the bombers, whom police say they have identified, may have died in the attack. That contradicts the initial assumption that the London bombers, like the ones in Madrid last year, planted the bombs and fled. If true, it would make London the first European city to have suffered a suicide bombing. The British also have concluded that the bombs used were industrial or military-grade explosives rather than crude devices, as was initially believed. And investigators now think that the three bombs on the subway were coordinated and went off within 45 seconds of each other. (The bomb on the double-decker bus blew up nearly an hour later.)
These revisions should be taken in stride, because investigations of this kind of terrorist attack are rarely smooth and linear. British and American investigators of the December 1988 downing of Pan Am 103—the deadliest terrorist attack in United Kingdom history, with 259 killed on board the plane and 11 on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland—ran through three theories for the crash before hitting on the right one. Initially, London and Washington believed that Syria had hired a Palestinian hit squad; next they thought Iran should be held responsible. Then, more than a year after the attack, a massive sweep of the Scottish countryside paid off. Police moving slowly, shoulder-to-shoulder, discovered unimpeachable forensic evidence: a sliver of a circuit board from the bomb's timing device the size of a thumbnail. A match between the circuit-board fragment and a Libyan-built timing device photographed in Africa revealed Tripoli's role.
The key to that investigation may prove useful this time as well. It is unlikely that the four men who investigators think planted the bombs were the ones who built them. As British Home Secretary Charles Clarke put it today, the detonators were the "foot soldiers" of a larger plot. Behind them was a bomb maker who investigators believe assembled all four devices. Sophisticated bombers are a finite resource: That's why the Israelis make a point of going after them. They're also idiosyncratic, and even the most skilled leave behind a signature. The CIA has a bomb archive that includes photographs, descriptions of countless devices, and pieces of debris from previous bomb sites. These can be used to identify the fingerprints of most bombers who have pulled off a previous attack. In the days and weeks to come, the British will painstakingly comb the crime scene for remnants of the four bombs detonated in London in an attempt to identify their maker. They will hope that this is not the bomber's first attack and that he traveled to London to do this work—he most likely is not native to the United Kingdom. Both scenarios would make it easier to find more clues by making it possible to identify him through evidence of his work elsewhere or possibly at other sites through analysis of immigration records. If he didn't use his name to enter the United Kingdom, he may have slipped up by using a known alias.
Almost immediately after the London attacks, investigators began scanning the faces caught on security cameras in the Tube on Thursday. This will be slow work: An estimated 3 million people pass through the London subway system each day. The British will also look at the security tapes from the days before the attack—if tapes are kept that long—because terrorist incidents are preceded by intelligence collection. The Sept. 11 hijackers rode transcontinental flights weeks before they flew into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in order to determine when cockpit doors were open and the movements of the flight crew after takeoff. One advantage that American investigators had was that the 19 hijackers used their own names to buy airline tickets. It is perhaps too much to ask that the London bombers bought monthlong subway passes, which require a photograph.
Other forms of intelligence may also help solve the crime—especially if the terrorists failed to cover their tracks, as others like them have in the past. Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-Owhali, one of the intended suicide bombers in the August 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, lost his nerve and jumped from the cab of the Nairobi truck-bomb before it blew up. He then called a Compact-M satellite telephone linked to Bin Laden to ask for assistance. According to the records from the U.S. trial of the East African bombers that followed, that phone had been purchased in the United States using a British credit card, and Bin Laden had used it at least 200 times over two years to call from Afghanistan to his chief lieutenant in London, Khalid al-Fawaz. British intelligence had been monitoring these calls, and agents were listening the day al-Owhali dialed Bin Laden's number. Meanwhile, fax machines linked to al-Qaida by the British and the United States began to issue statements claiming credit for the East African blasts. Together, the links gave the CIA solid proof that Bin Laden had ordered the attack on the embassies—proof that led Bill Clinton to retaliate with the cruise missile attack on al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan.
Yesterday's raid of six homes in the West Yorkshire town of Leeds shows that the British are already making progress. A missing person's report from a Muslim family, along with personal effects found at three of the four bombing sites, led to the identification of the four suspected bombers, who reportedly boarded subway cars together Thursday morning and may have died near the seats where the bombs were placed. The British have arrested one suspect who is alleged to be a relative of one of the suspected bombers. If the attack turns out to have been a coordinated suicide bombing, the British will continue using these leads to track down others in the bombers' supporting network. As Israeli investigators discovered long ago, suicide bombers are not self-contained operators. They need logistical support and cover while they prepare an attack.
There is one troubling aspect so far of the British investigation: With an Islamic population of 2 million that has a history of radicalism, the British doubtless had in place a system of Muslim informants, especially in poor areas like West Yorkshire, with sizable unemployed Muslim populations. Yet either the informants missed the planning for the attacks, or British intelligence overlooked the chatter they reported. That lapse is a reminder that even in a time of heightened security, important warnings can be missed.
Although the breakthroughs in the United Kingdom today and yesterday are encouraging, it is worth remembering that not all terrorism cases get fully solved. In December 1975, a bomb ripped through a baggage claim area at LaGuardia Airport used by TWA and Delta, killing 12 people and injuring an additional 74. Nearly 30 years later, the FBI is still not sure who planted it. Many important unknowns remain about the Madrid attack last year, the most important being whether there was a mastermind behind the local group of Moroccan immigrants who staged the bombings.
The challenge now for the British is to determine whether they are hunting a large organization, with direct ties abroad, or a local jihadist gang. There is much debate now about the extent to which al-Qaida has metastasized in reaction to U.S. and allied attacks on Bin Laden's sanctuary in Afghanistan. There is no question that the group has devolved into a looser worldwide confederation. The question is whether it has also become more lethal. The solution to the London case may provide some answers. Counterintuitive as this may seem, it would be comforting to learn that these four suspected bombers relied on outside help. That would indicate that they are part of an army of terrorists, and armies have leadership structures that can be destroyed. If, on the other hand, the London bombings were done by four angry young men with the barest amount of local support, the challenge for Western counterterrorism becomes much greater.


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Five dysfunctions of compliance
In many companies, being a member of a compliance team is a tough role. There are a lot
of preconceptions about compliance and many business executives still see the function as a
checking, validation and audit body that does not understand the business and its needs. There are five main reasons as to why a compliance team may not be highly respected by the business or is generally regarded as dysfunctional. Addressing these will go a long way to making sure that compliance is seen as a useful and value-adding business team.
1. Lack of alignment
Compliance teams are there to help businesses. Charities and non-government organisations aside, businesses are there to make a profit. The role of management teams is to execute the strategy of their board and generate shareholder value. That shareholder value is not about the value of the brand, nor is it about how the company looks across the industry – it is solely about how much the company's shares are worth. The compliance team's needs and those of the shareholders are aligned as compliance's role is to increase the value of the business's shares.
There are a number of reasons for shares changing in value that are beyond the control of
a compliance team (for example, macroeconomic changes or stock market changes); however, most increases in share prices come down to something that a compliance team can control: assets and liabilities, or profit. At the end of the day, profit generates share value and increasing profits will in turn increase the value of shares (assuming that the market is reasonably stable). That being said, the compliance team – as part of management – needs to think about how it contributes to profits (that is, increasing revenue and decreasing costs).
Alignment between the compliance team and the business is essential. When the two are not aligned the business loses trust in compliance's value and the team is seen as dysfunctional. Compliance must get aligned by mapping its goals directly against the business's goals.
2. Lack of metrics on value
Every part of the business world works off numbers: speaking in terms of growth and in percentages, graphs, pie charts and red or amber or green lights, and talking about changes over
time and the causes for certain abnormalities. If the compliance team doesn't share that view and cannot produce metrics about compliance at the push of a button and, more importantly, show how they are aligned to the business, then the compliance department is dysfunctional.
If your compliance metrics are not up to scratch you need to invest in some tools to get them
there. However, tools will not do the entire job for you – you must re-engineer the compliance programme itself to allow for it to be measured in the first place. Many compliance programmes
simply don't have any measurement attached to them or the measurement is totally obvious and therefore useless (such as keeping training records). More effective metrics are those where you can see the direct impact of the compliance programme on the business, such as measuring the number of people trained versus the number of violations or issues identified over time and the
increase in revenue.
3. Lack of knowledge
Working in compliance is challenging: a compliance team needs to understand compliance and the law, but, more importantly, it must understand the business. There is nothing more dysfunctional than a compliance team that focuses inwards, learning about compliance but not enough about business.
Everyone in the compliance team needs to know the facts about the business: its drivers, its numbers, where the risks are and the identity of all of its stakeholders. If you do not have a
business mind you are in the wrong job.
4. Lack of communication
A compliance team is dysfunctional if it does not communicate. Too many compliance teams spend all their time on training and not enough on communication.
Communication should not only include emails regarding recent cases or competitors getting into trouble, but also encompass several different forms of delivery. It should address all of the stakeholders that are relevant to compliance –both internal and external.
A dysfunctional compliance team is one that hides away from the business, fights to get any airtime or simply doesn't appear at the front of the minds of those within the business.
5. Lack of trust
All of the above dysfunctions contribute to the potential lack of trust that the business has in compliance. If there is a lack of respect and/or trust, then the compliance function is always going to be seen as an audit function.
It takes a great deal of work to build a business's trust in its compliance team. To do this, compliance team must listen to, communicate with, align to and engage the business. This means understanding the business, allowing the business teams to be heard, and aligning the objectives of compliance back to their business objectives.
The company
The company has a global compliance function as part of their legal department. This group is responsible for, among other things, creating anticorruption programmes. The team is based in the company's United States headquarters and does not have any international or regional headquarter resources aligned with the sales units. They have been around for a long time and have a solid programme in place at a corporate level (policies, procedures, self-assessment and e-learning). They have all the necessary pieces of the programme, and even tour the conference circuit speaking about how well the company manages compliance.
What are the challenges?
Spread around the world is a 'Compliance & Controls' team of more than 40 people. They report directly to the finance officers in the countries in which they operate, and they dottedline report to multiple places – some to internal audit and some to a worldwide Compliance & Controls manager in headquarters' finance group. None report to the legal function – either at corporate or local level – and they certainly do not report to the general counsel or the chief compliance officer (CCO) (and only ever meet with the CCO as a group for an annual meeting, which lasts for one hour).
This Compliance & Controls team did manage to get a meeting with the head of anti-corruption. In the meeting it was made clear that the anti-corruption team took the view that the Compliance & Controls managers were responsible for compliance in each country in which they operate, and that they could reach out to the head of anti-corruption if they had any questions. They never had the chance to speak to any other functional compliance people, nor did they get the chance to speak to the CCO.
What is happening
The Compliance & Controls team is made up entirely of finance people hired into the local finance teams. They are accountants and have backgrounds in finance, controls and internal audit. They predominantly spend their time on audits and business reviews, which are essentially some self-assessment dashboards for which they are required to maintain a 90 to 95 percent achievement. The actual audits themselves are focused on all aspects of spend management, but mainly cover channel payments, discount approvals and processes around pricing. It is acknowledged that some of this may have something to do with the global compliance programmes run by corporate, but realistically the Compliance & Controls team does not see any connection. The audits are entirely reactive and focus on historical issues; they do not in any way address predictive risks or risks that are emerging at a country level.
The team just focuses on its deliverables and business reviews and never really sees the strategic effect of its role and how it connects into the global compliance programme. At the end of the day, the team is simply made up of execution-based tactical-driven control officers focusing on spend management.
The goals
After meeting with several of the people in the Compliance & Controls team, the message was
very clear and consistent in that the members of the team:
• want to be true 'compliance' people
• want to be proactive rather than reactive
• want to fix issues rather than audit them
• want to be part of a globally consistent team, yet feel that, since they were hired locally and report locally, they have no true job family, no common job descriptions or levels, and very different skills
• feel that there are massive gaps in the global compliance programme in various countries and that the team is perfectly positioned to address them
• want a common set of priorities or goals across
the team
• do not have the respect of the business teams in some countries because they are not senior enough and are seen as finance managers
• feel that, despite being seen as responsible for 'compliance' in their country by corporate, they
do not have any real responsibility.
There are a number of clear issues in this company and in the way that it handles compliance. There are some great things that the company is doing. It has the resources and the budget, it is in a growing market, it has a great brand for compliance, and, most importantly, it has great people that are desperate to do more. The challenge for this company is that allowing the Compliance & Controls team to function better means evolving its structure, releasing some stronghold on the staff and taking a different approach.
How to make compliance function better as a core element of a company's culture and move beyond just self-assessments and audits
Five key areas to address
1. Reporting lines
Almost any variation of reporting lines is workable, whether 'solid' or 'dotted'. It comes down to personal preference and the type of company as to whether or not the local compliance team solidline reports locally or to headquarters; however, ideally it will solid-line report to the global compliance head and dottedline report to local management. It will, of course, be a business partner to the local teams at all times, irrespective of where it reports. This reaches a balance and gives the independence that is often required by compliance while supporting the business 'owning' compliance and helping it with implementation.
While both options are possible and certainly workable, one thing is fairly clear: having a compliance team report to the local finance team is a mistake. Reporting to finance often means that the team looks solely at financial compliance (whereas if it reports to the business or to legal it tends to have a broader scope). Reporting to legal often helps in the claim of privilege over certain parts of the team's role if that privilege is to be invoked, while reporting to the business gives the team the level and seniority that it needs to be effective as a valid business partner. Due to the way that a finance department is built and the various layers within
the hierarchy of finance (which are much more pronounced and consistent globally than in a legal team), even someone at a manager level is seen as fairly junior (because finance people often hire from the Big 4, even director titles are not that senior in financial circles). Therefore, if a Compliance & Controls manager is reporting to finance they will not be seen as senior enough to be given the necessary respect.
2. Understanding the role of the compliance function versus auditing and self-assessments
It seems that there is a misunderstanding across the company about what the Compliance & Controls team actually does. Members of the worldwide compliance team think that members
of the Compliance & Controls team are the people around the globe who work on compliance. The Compliance & Controls team also strongly supports and locally manages the activities of
internal audit, which places it in an even more challenging position because it means that it is focused on auditing and conducting business reviews. This means that the team ends up doing audits and chasing down gaps in financial reporting, and is responsible for the internal audit dashboard and making things look positive.
Clearly this is a fallacy: they are focused on spend management and self-assessments, not building and implementing a compliance programmein local markets. Even across the
Compliance & Controls team itself, there is a difference in opinion of the roles. This is certainly complicated by the fact that there is no common agreement and structure in which to manage the roles.
A sure way to upset other people within the business is to focus on audits and self-assessments as they are typically negatively received and seen as adding little value to a compliance programme. There is certainly a role for self-assessments, but they are just a small piece of a large puzzle around compliance. Too much focus on selfassessments and auditing will lead to
a tick-the-box mentality. Focus should instead be on:
• building a simple programme
• process excellence
• communication
• behaviour change
• process implementation and change management
• integrity discussions
• reviews and forums to assess integrity buy-in
• monitoring solutions to make sure compliance is adding value.
3. Group position naming
Just the name of the team – 'Compliance & Controls' – is a real problem. If the model is going to stay the way that it is (with the team reporting to finance and dotted-line reporting to internal audit but 'working with the CCO'), then the name of the team should be changed to something such as 'Business Process Excellence' or just 'Business Excellence'. This focuses on the positives rather than the negative elements of 'compliance' and 'controls'.
If the company restructures the group entirely, then the solid lines should change to compliance at a corporate level and dotted lines locally to the business. In these cases, the position titles should be changed to 'Head of Compliance' or 'Director of Compliance' for each particular country or region. Certainly one of the biggest challenges in gaining a great business partner in
compliance is the name itself. In some cases, it is better to take the roles even further to consider governance, risk and compliance (GRC) in each country. This will support the business to look at its overall governance model (including local directors and subsidiaries), the risks that are facing that local company (either as advised by a global worldwide risk group or defined locally through a local risk assessment), and, of course, the compliance of key local legal and
regulatory issues, corporate codes of conduct, policies and global compliance programmes.
4. Global implementations and focus
The issue with a structure such as that of this company is that the consistency of global implementations is at risk. There is no common implementation model because the things being implemented are likely to be different. In fact, the Compliance & Controls teamis not implementing the headquarters compliance programme, which is a problem in itself. Certainly, when hiring for these roles locally (especially into finance), it is going to be tough to get a globally consistent style and approach. It will also be hard to get similar levels across the globe and even similar job descriptions. To really get value out of a global team you need to have very clear goals and objectives. The goals need to be prioritised and pushed down to each person individually; while the goals may be the same, the prioritisation in each country may be different.
The Compliance & Controls team often lacks a consistent set of priorities as there is no central leadership (i.e. from the CCO) to define the goals and priorities of the team. If these priorities are being defined, they are limited to reviews, assessments, policies and auditing. If the plan is to continue to report locally, then there needs to be a common bridge so every person in the team is aligned. It is certainly preferred that this is led by the global compliance office, not by the internal audit or 'controls' group. Compliance is much more than reviews and audits, and not focusing on that is certainly causing a gap. The Compliance & Controls team would much prefer to be proactive than reactive.
5. Business partnering
Business partnering is a key aspect for any person involved in a function that supports the business. It will be very hard for someone in Compliance & Controls to really influence change – the name of the role is a problem, reporting to finance is a problem, lack of seniority is a problem and the work that is being done (primarily auditing) is a problem.All of these problems can be overcome if you have an extraordinarily talented Compliance & Controls person, or a person that simply bucks the position and focuses on what they should be doing instead of what they are structured to do. The business needs business partners locally to help with compliance and to
educate, train, communicate, change behaviours as well as implement fixtures to counsel, coach and assist in making compliance a competitive advantage. It is hard to be a business partner when you are auditing and placing controls on people and actions.
There are a number of things that need to evolve in this company to capture the fantastic skillset that it has locally. The company has a really talented group of people that, if instructed appropriately and leveraged, could be a fantastic asset to the CCO and internal audit and finance teams. To get the most out of the team, the executives who control this function (all of them in various capacities) should:
• change the reporting lines to the CCO, or as a second option, restructure to a worldwide excellence team reporting to the business (preferably to the sales function)
• change the focus of the group to GRC, with an emphasis on implementing and controlling the global risk and compliance programmes, as instructed by headquarters' risk and compliance office
• make self-assessment and spend management responsibilities of the finance team (as they should be anyway)
• make internal audits the responsibility of the audits team (as they should be anyway)
• leverage the Compliance & Controls team to do more with less and focus on broader compliance issues – not just spend management
• re-level some of the people in the Compliance & Controls team and bring in consistent job descriptions, titles, roles and reporting lines
• manage compliance with a great, new and focused team.
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Our Super Faux Fur Bobbles/ Pom Pom come with an either:
An elastic loop which can be attached for many uses such as key rings, handbags etc or easily sewn onto bobble hats to make then this year's winter fashion accessory.
Or with a metal keyring which can be instantly added to keys, zips or act as bag charms!
The center is 4 inches (10cm) the overall size is 6 inches (15cm)
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