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CISPA Sponsor Warns Bill Is Needed Because China's Chinese Hackers From China Are Stealing All-American Secrets (China!)
from the give-them-to-us-instead dept
While the focus on the cybersecurity debate shifts to the Senate, the supporters of CISPA are still loudly trumpeting that bill's supposed merits. Though the final legislation that will go before the President is undecided, and may not even be based on CISPA in the end, the details of the bill are still very important, as they contribute to the overall shape of the discussion about cybersecurity. As part of the ongoing media campaign, CISPA author Mike Rogers took to the pages of The Detroit News last week to drum up support with a screed that reeks of nationalist fearmongering and utterly misrepresents the scope and purpose of the language in the bill.
The United States, over time, became a global superpower with its hard work and know-how leading to innovations in new manufacturing, health care and information technologies. Now China is trying to use cyber espionage and theft to take a short cut to achieving superpower status.
It began with China stealing hard-copy business plans and sensitive research-and-development information from U.S. and other Western companies when their executives traveled to China. U.S. companies soon began noticing a surge in counterfeit products as their innovations were being stolen, re-engineered, and sold by Chinese companies on global markets.
With the Internet boom, China turned its focus to cyber espionage and began stealing the hard work and innovations of U.S. companies on a far larger scale.
Rogers should be careful—if he says 'China' any more times, Fu Manchu might appear in the mirror and drain his 401(k). Once he's got the reader good and scared of the Yellow Menace (having thrown in a few emotional appeals to hardworking Michigan autoworkers for good measure), he explains how CISPA is needed to take care of all those annoying regulations that limit government power and protect people's privacy:
Unfortunately, American companies are not getting the best protection available.Today, the U.S. government has intelligence information about the threat posed by nation-state actors that could help the American private sector better protect itself. However, we don't currently have a mechanism for allowing the government to share intelligence about cyber threats with the private sector, nor do we have the ability for private sector companies to share information with others in the private sector, and with the government on a voluntary basis, so that the private sector can better protect itself.
And you know what? That's fine. Even though there is a lot of debate about the true scope of foreign cyber threats, if there is a way for the government and the private sector to share anonymous network analysis data in order to improve technological defenses against hacking and malware attacks, it makes sense to legislate a mechanism for them to do so. Unfortunately, CISPA goes way beyond that—now explicitly so.
This goes back to my opinion when CISPA was amended and passed in the House: my initial reaction that it had gotten much worse was partially incorrect, but even though the amendments did technically limit the government's power under the bill, I still had (and have) a problem with the way they expanded the stated intent and purpose. From the very start, CISPA supporters have insisted (as Rogers does in this column) that it's basically all about technical considerations in fighting off foreign cyber attacks. Initially, privacy and civil liberties groups objected that it would allow the government to do much more, including accessing the private data of American citizens without a warrant—and the response was basically "no, no, it has nothing to do with that".
Right up to the last minute of debate before the House vote, CISPA's backers held to the talking points and expounded on the threat from China and the need to share technical network data. But, to appease privacy groups, they supported an amendment to limit the ways the government could use shared data under the bill to a set of explicit purposes. And what were those purposes? Far from just foreign threats, they include investigating domestic cybercrime, investigating domestic violent crime, protecting children from exploitation, and of course the catch-all "national security" that was already in the language.
It feels trite to add the obligatory preventing violence and protecting children is a good thing here, because d'uh, but when exactly did CISPA become a bill about these things? If the government wants new exceptions to privacy laws for the purposes of fighting crime, that's a major discussion with obvious constitutional implications—a discussion that privacy groups have been trying to start all along, but have been brushed off with claims that CISPA is just about rebuffing those devious foreigners. Now CISPA explicitly includes provisions for collecting evidence on domestic crime, but Rogers is still writing editorials like this one that don't mention anything to do with child exploitation, violent crime, or anything else that doesn't have the word China attached to it.
Rogers finishes the piece with a rather astonishing little rallying call:
It took Michigan's auto industry decades to achieve its prominence and the United States centuries to become a global superpower. We cannot let China steal it all away in a few short years.
I'm not sure how long it's been since Rogers visited Flint, but I think it's changed a little since he was last there. Nonetheless, the point is clear: if the government can't snoop your data for child porn and affiliations with Anonymous, the Chinese are going to start manufacturing American cars and destroy the Michigan auto industry, in turn toppling the U.S. as an economic superpower. Wait, did I say "clear"?
Filed Under: china, cispa, cybersecurity, michigan, mike rogers, nationalism


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"North Cyprus – Once upon a time we had this dream of a deep blue sea and lazy days in the sun"
We emigrated to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the Summer of 2002.
This website is a record of our ongoing adventures.
Read about life in Northern Cyprus, the best places to eat in the TRNC and what life is like living in the sunshine!
We have for some time now been in favour of retirement to some place where the sun shines and the pace of life is more relaxing.
Many would have expected us to choose Holland, we lived there before, have many friends there and it is a boat lovers paradise, but the climate is no better than North England and the cost of living would certainly be no improvement. Apart from that, nowhere is more than a plane ride away, so we can always visit both the U.K. and Holland, from any Mediterranean hideaway. It is probably also true that friends and family can also ride the same airplanes to their holidays in the sun.
We have been looking and considering our choices for some time. France was a runner at one time, you can drive there from anywhere in Europe, the weather is good in the south, but it's not always quite so good in the winter. Add to this the fact that the further south you go so the more the house prices rise. Spain was a possible contender, as we have friends, both Dutch and English who chose to live there so we could visit them, have "free" holidays and assess for ourselves. House prices are very reasonable still and there is no doubt that the winter weather is at least three overcoats warmer than the south of England. The cost of living is favourable and if you are careful were you buy your home, then maybe you won't have to eat roast beef and yorkshire pudding washed down with cold English keg beer. The next possible was Crete, the most southerly of the Greek islands. This was quite a strong contender for some time, there are some lovely village houses ripe for development and even some resident English builders who know their way round the planning rules etc. We don't quite know why Crete fell out of favor, possibly only because we fell in love with Northern Cyprus which is still as yet undeveloped, a bit like the Greek islands used to be before the tourists.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is still split off from the South of the island, only recognised by Turkey and still has trade and travel embargoes, in place since 1974, which hinder economic development. The Greek Cypriots in the south and the Turkish Cypriot population in the north are actively trying to find a solution, which brings the island together again. Should a solution be found then it is probable that entry into the E.U. will be the next step. Such a step will change the entire economic position of Northern Cyprus and probably bring greater and much needed, prosperity to the people. We have had two previous holidays in Northern Cyprus and found that apart from the advantages of weather and cost of living, the people were relaxed and friendly and made you very welcome in their land. A detailed information source on Northern Cyprus is www.northcyprusonline.com there you will see that it is a Mediterranean island that has history, and sunshine, and blue sea, and magnificent mountains, in short, a place to relax and enjoy life.
All the above was written in 2002, when we first came to settle on the island. Now it is 2016, 14 years later and the island is still divided. Talks have been taking place on a regular basis and there have been promises of unification, but as a personal opinion, I would say that these two people cannot live together and despite all the promises nothing has changed. Both halves of the island live in harmony in their own right, why not just leave well enough alone but with the exception of allowing the Turkish Cypriots some trading rights with the rest of the world.
Back in 2004 there was "The Annan Plan" and a referendum on both sides to bring the island together. The Turkish Cypriots voted "Yes", lets do it, but the Greek Cypriots voted "No". For some reason unknown to everybody, after this referendum the Greek Cypriots were allowed to join the EU, they saw this as an open door to borrow money from the EU and now have a debt of 61.3 billion Euros. You have to ask the question, why would the Turkish Cypriots want to merge with them in the EU and probably inherit part of this debt.

subset: commoncrawl


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I just love pretty girly papers! I pray everyday that I have a little girl whenever we decide to have children. I know, I know....you should just pray that your unborn child be healthy, but I will admit. I really want a girl when we do have kids.
In another not so selfish subject...Casey got his cast off today!! So glad for him! He was definitely ready to be out of that huge thing...so I am doing a little cheer for him! It has to be in a brace for the next month at least....but no more hot and itchy cast. He loves his incision. It is at least six inches long, and is going to leave quite the scar. He thinks it is cool...a battle wound of sort. Boys are so weird....you would never hear a girl excited over something that is going to permanently scar her skin for life. I forgot to ask when he officially gets to start competing in track...he is practicing on the stationary bike right now so he doesn't lose practice hours. Hopefully soon!
Well, tonight I am getting some scrappy time in! I have to do my make-up Provo Craft assignments for February.
Happy crafting,
14 comments
This is so cute! You did an awesome job with these papers. To be honest, I wasn't really crazy about this paper line. But seeing your card, I like it a little better now.ReplyDelete
Holy CUTENESS! How fun---just love it!ReplyDelete
Can't wait to see your PC projects!
I found your blog on Melissa's blog and I am so glad I found it. you have some of the most beautiful cards I have ever seen. You are one talented gal! Wow! I love the girly card you did on the last post. I will be back to see more Thanks!ReplyDelete
Wonderful day for you and it included happy mail. Yeah! Beautiful card.ReplyDelete
frilly goodness!ReplyDelete
can you say 'shandy' ??? ???
What an AWESOME card, Lea. I love all the girly goodness going on! Hooray for Casey! Glad the cast is finally off. (BTW, I always wanted a girl, too, but now that I have a boy I have to tell you, being the mom of a little guy is fabulous. I wouldn't have it any other way. ;) )ReplyDelete
What a fun, happy, gorgeous card!ReplyDelete
What an awesome card, way to rock the girl papers. Glad Casey has his cast off! :0)ReplyDelete
What an adorable card, Lea! I always wanted a little girl too. The third time was the charm for us, although our two boys are pretty charming as well ;)ReplyDelete
This is such a cute girly card Lea!ReplyDelete
Girls are so much fun! When the time comes I hope you have a beautiful, healthy little girl:)
Have a great weekend!
What a sweet *girlie* card, Lea! (And I hope you have one! ;-D)ReplyDelete
i love everything about this!! super cute! that line by elsie is darling.ReplyDelete
Love what you did with the Love,Elsie Claire paper !Such inspiring cards you make , Lea !Just brill !ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 8, 2008 at 10:28 PM
I'm soooo jealous!! awesome as always!!ReplyDelete


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Lilian Broca was 12 years old when she found out she was Jewish.
Until then, the Canadian artist, born in Romania under Communist rule, knew little about religion, except that, during funerals, the local Orthodox church would give out food.
"God was not a word that I heard in my childhood," said Broca, who starred in a documentary about her return to Romania, called Return to Byzantium – the Art and Life of Lilian Broca.
It was at a church, while vying for a treat, that she saw her first piece of Byzantine art – a colourful icon depicting Mary and the infant.
"I remember looking at these beautiful icons. The colours were so bright. There was so much gold. It left a wonderful impression on me. Those days were so grey. My childhood was in black and white. The only colour was in church."
When Broca was 12, her parents decided it was time to leave Romania. Canada, the family's first choice, refused them entry, so Broca's parents settled on Israel.
Finally, Broca found out she was Jewish.
While studying Hebrew, Broca started learning about biblical stories, which she would eventually base her art around.
After moving to Canada, Broca studied art at Concordia University before getting her master's of fine arts in New York's Pratt Institute. Fuelled by her love of mythology and religious heroines, she started working on the first of three series devoted to strong heroines, all of whom were tied to mythology and biblical stories.
"There were three women. Each took (around) six years to do. Each was used as a metaphor for (female) self empowerment," she said.
Lilith, Adam's first wife who left the safety of the Garden of Eden, represents independence.
"She was a very good metaphor for gender roles and equality," Broca said, adding this series is made up of paintings and drawings.
Esther, a Jewish woman chosen by a Persian king to be his wife, was an example of sacrifice and strength. Esther eventually used her courage and wit to save the Jewish people from destruction.
While working out how the series would unfold, the artist realized that in Esther's kingdom, the floors would have been encrusted with rubies.
"I thought, 'Oh my goodness. This is mosaic,'" she said.
Broca had learned mosaic art in Concordia, and had even kept some leftover glass with her for about 35 years.
Mosaic, according to Broca, is a painstaking process.
"The challenge wasn't creating (the sketches), … it was interpreting these into glass," she said.
After completing the Esther series, Broca moved on to Judith, a widow who used her beauty and intelligence to win over, and then kill, an enemy general.
"Judith, in a way, sacrificed also. But she was a warrior. She was proactive. She knew what she wanted to do," Broca said, adding this mosaic series is a work in progress.
The complete series will be exhibited at Toronto's Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery in 2016, Broca says.
Broca's documentary, which will air on CBC this fall, follows the artist as she explores her roots in Romania.
When she was approached by Adelina Suvagau, the film's director, Broca was skeptical of the idea.
"I actually laughed. I said, 'Nobody's going to fund this.' She kept telling me, 'You don't have faith in yourself. Leave it to me.' And she did it."
In the documentary, viewers get a glimpse at the mosaic process, as well as Broca's life as a child.
When visiting her old home in Romania, Broca led its new inhabitants to the attic, where her father's name was scrawled in the cement.
"I had goose bumps," she said. "I remember being overwhelmed."


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Uris Hall. Photo courtesy of Souren Papazian.
Protesters at the opening of Uris Hall. Photo courtesy of WikiCU.
On the day Uris Hall was completed, students at the School of Architecture came out with signs that read "No More Mudds" and "No More Uglies," and claimed that if they were to design something like Uris, they would fail their classes. The fact that Uris is a desecration of the McKim & White Beaux-Arts campus is, perhaps, the only consensus that Columbia students have ever arrived to. Although we may be used to Uris being there, it is important to take another look at it not so much to criticize it, but more so to understand the implications behind its history and its future trajectories.
University Hall. Rogers' project section and plan. Images courtesy of WikiCU.
Of course, the boxy structure was not always the plan for the central piece of the Northern part of the campus. The original plan of the campus included University Hall, a horseshoe-like building that looked similar to the red-brick structures surrounding it. Due to a lack of funds, only the first floor of that building was completed in 1900. In 1927, Low was still overfilled with books, so a librarian proposed to expand it to the site of University Hall, and architect James Rogers produced drawings for the project. The project was massive, almost the size of St. John the Divine in plan, and, obviously was not built.
Instead of the library project monstrous in its massiveness, the university decided to build Uris Hall, monstrous in its brutal ugliness. When in 1959 the Business School received the permission to build on the site, University Hall was demolished. The only "legacy" of the U-shape of the original building is the circular library on the ground floor. The history of Uris Hall makes one wonder why Columbia settled on what some describe as a huge air-conditioning unit as the suitable design for the site. Well, the project was made possible by a generous donation of $2.5 million from the megabuilder Uris Corporation, under the condition that Uris Corporation itself would oversee the design process. That resulted in "an ugly box that was devised to be cheap and quick to erect, featuring a hideous glass curtain wall and mill finish aluminum as its exterior," as described in Everything by Design: My Life as an Architect by Alan Lapidus, who was a student at the School of Architecture during the building's construction and completion.
Left: Uris Hall. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons. Right: Low Library. Photo courtesy of Columbia University.
Uris Hall claims to be a continuation of the original campus, geometrically referencing Low Library. Uris, especially with the 1984 addition of a front lobby, is similar to Low in size, its steps leading to the entry reference Low Steps, its vertical elements reference Low's columns, concrete matches Low in color, and the plan of Uris is sort of a deconstructed version of Low's Greek cross plan with a circular dome. However, the failure of this design is that it replaces Low's majesty and elegance with aggressiveness. Lapidus remembers the day of Uris' opening: "Watching from our fourth floor studio windows as the powerful, the great, and the near-great and the near-powerful assembled to honor and glorify the despoliation of a classic campus design – crass commercialism disguised as largesse – all of us architect hopefuls were filled with disgust." McKim & White's plan of the campus is not a frozen moment in time – it was designed as framework for interpretation and negotiation, as proven by various other buildings on campus, from Butler to NoCo, that were not a part of the original plan but became a harmonious part of it. Uris does not fit in not because it is more contemporary than its neighbors are, not because of its brutalist aesthetic, not because it doesn't reference the old campus enough, but because it is a manifestation of commercialistic cockiness on the otherwise elegant campus.
Now that the Business School is looking forward to its relocation to the Manhattanville campus, President Bollinger promised the building to the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, which comprises five of Columbia's schools, including CC, GS, and GSAS. Bollinger's vision is to make Arts & Sciences the focus of the Morningside Heights campus. As much as Uris is an architectural stain on Columbia's campus, it is revealing of the university's politics, especially in the 1950s-1960s. These decades are exemplified by the school's projects and decisions that were at best mediocre (e.g. Uris,) at worst scary and discriminatory (e.g. Morningside Park gymnasium a.k.a. "Gym Crow") from architectural, social, and political points of view. Uris could not reign in its ugliness because its ugliness goes beyond its boxiness. In this context, giving the space of Uris to the Arts & Sciences, whose mission is to "advance the pursuit of learning and communicate that intellectual and moral heritage to successive generations of students," will potentially create interesting dynamics on campus.


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arugula, barefoot contessa, cheese, fontina, goat cheese, ina garten, italian, mozzarella, pizza, spring
That's slush outside right now. Melting snow and ice are forming rivulets that wend their way along curbs, searching out drains, forming murky puddles. Patches of grass left exposed are at last revealed, mats of brown carpeting the landscape.
It's that shoulder season between winter's end and the birth of spring when everything is dirt-covered, mottled from months of being hidden under cold and damp and snow.
So, until those pops of green start to stand out in relief against the landscape, until those buds burst out along tree branches and from the once-frozen ground, the next best thing, as far as I'm concerned, is to eat like spring is already here.
It's time to shed the stews and soups of winter comfort and embrace herbs, baby lettuces, tender chard, pencil-thin stalks of asparagus and peppery arugula.
Well, in my kitchen at least.
There was something about this recipe for White Pizzas with Arugula that caught my eye at one point as I flipped through the Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics cookbook ages ago.
I like a good traditional pizza. And some of you may remember a version I did last year topped with shaved asparagus.
But this one appealed because I like the idea of garlic and cheese matched with an arugula salad that had been tossed in a lemon vinaigrette. It was like a salad and main dish combined to make something even better.
Arugula, which is also known as rocket, has a nice pepper bite to it, owed, apparently, to being a relative to radishes and watercress.
The lemon would add a nice bright kick, but the melted cheeses – Fontina, mozzarella and goat cheese – would lay a decadent foundation on the pizzas.
Oh, and garlic-infused olive oil? Well, that would take the whole thing over the edge.
The only thing that could have stood in my way was attempting to knead dough (a task that remains my culinary nemesis for now), but Ina Garten's recipe calls for pretty much the entire thing to be done in a stand mixer.
The pizzas are simple to put together and came out of the oven crisp, the cheese just starting to change to a soft golden colour. Topped with the arugula, they're a food metaphor for the changing season: bright green emerging from white.
And the taste was a marriage between the comfort food of winter and the emerging flavours of spring: the peppery arugula and acidic zing of lemon vinaigrette played well against the rich pizza with its creamy cheeses and garlicky oil.
Don't be intimidated by the rather lengthy recipe; it's all pretty straightforward. And the result is worth it. Because even if this isn't the last we see of winter -and, judging from the last several years here, I suspect it's not – I can at least taste spring.
White Pizzas with Arugula
This recipe comes from The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics. To make all at six pizzas at once, you will need three parchment-lined sheet pans. But this recipe is easily halved if you want. She also calls for a few sprigs of thyme to steep in the olive oil with the garlic, but I didn't have any on hand and I don't think I missed out by not adding it.
I've found arugula at Lina's Italian Market, at the farmer's market and sometimes in clamshell-type packages at major grocery stores.
- 1¼ cups (300 mL) warm water, 100?F to 110?F (38?C to 43?C)
- 4½ tsp (22 mL) dry yeast
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) honey
- olive oil
- 4 cups (1 L) all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
- salt
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) crushed red pepper flakes
- freshly ground pepper
- 3 cups (750 mL) grated Italian Fontina
- 1½ cups (475 mL) grated fresh mozzarella
- 11 oz (300 g) creamy goat cheese
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) olive oil
- 1/4 cup (50 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 8 oz (250 g) baby arugula
For the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey and 3 tbsp (50 mL) olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. When the yeast is dissolved, add 3 cups (750 mL) flour, then 2 tsp (10 mL) salt, and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1 more cup (250 mL) flour, or just enough to make a soft dough.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl. When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the garlic oil. Place ½ cup (125 mL) oil, the garlic and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't burn.
Preheat the oven to 500F (260C). Dump the dough onto a board and divide into 6 equal pieces. Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
Press and stretch each ball into an 8-inch (20cm) circle and place 2 circles on each parchment-lined sheet pan. (If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature.) Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil, and sprinkle each one liberally with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with Fontina, mozzarella and goat cheese. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tbsp (15 mL) more of the garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.
Meanwhile, for the vinaigrette, whisk together ½ cup (125 mL) oil, the lemon juice, 1 tsp (5 mL) salt, and ½ tsp (2 mL) pepper. When the pizzas are done, place the arugula in a large bowl and toss with just enough lemon vinaigrette to moisten. Place a large bunch of arugula on each pizza and serve immediately.
Makes 6 pizzas.
This originally ran in the Calgary Herald. For more recipes, check out the Herald's online food section.
Bonus pizza: Homemade pesto topped with tomatoes.


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So, Max in the comments to my previous post says:
1. Public employees in Massachusetts make LESS (total pay and benefits) than private employees with comparable education. The same is true is Wisconsin. You can look it up.Is there any research showing that teachers with more education (beyond a basic teaching degree) are better at educating students? All the research I've run across says that advanced degrees don't matter.
2. No "public good" for higher than average wages? Huh? Isn't that PRECISELY the way you attract good people to do important jobs...like teach your children? Back to Finland: one crucial way they took an average educational system (as it was in the 1960s and 1970s) and made it the best (as it is now) was to dramatically raise the pay of teachers. That attracted lots of the best graduates....like the ones who in the United States go right to law school or business school so they can become investment bankers.
Why the heck wouldn't you want to pay people who perform absolutely essential jobs a top wage?
As for paying people who perform absolutely essential jobs more: I completely agree, as long as they actually do a good job. We have been paying teachers more and more and yet we're not seeing better results. We have run the experiment of throwing money at underperforming schools, but money doesn't work. Listening to a recent podcast from the Center for American Progress (CAP is a progressive think-tank) drove that point home for me (podcast here).
By the way: I can think of a lot of things that are MORE essential than learning where the private sector seems to do a good job with non-unionized workers. Starting with the food and shelter industries.
One of the things that drove me nuts working at UMass in a unionized position was that my job performance didn't affect how much I was paid, or what benefits I got, one iota. Salary was based on years of service, and the union, while I was there, was actively trying to DEFEAT a pay-for-performance proposal.
Maybe I'm weird expecting that if I do a good job I'll be paid more. Wouldn't we get better teachers if we paid them more when they did a great job?
I think employees should have the right to organize themselves to demand better wages and working conditions. But I don't think it is right that most public employees in Massachusetts must, by law, be unionized.


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External Borders Fund (2007-2013)03 February 2010
by Ina Dimireva -- last modified 03 February 2010
As part of the general programme "Solidarity and management of migration flows", Decision No 574/2007/EC establishes the External Borders Fund (EBF) for the period 2007-13 with resources totalling €1820 million.
Decision No 574/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 May 2007 establishing the External Borders Fund for the period 2007 to 2013 as part of the General programme "Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows".
This decision defines the objectives of the External Borders Fund (EBF) and the rules for its management, as well as the available financial resources and the criteria for their allocation.
Objectives of the EBF
The fund has four objectives:
* efficient administrative organisation, focusing particularly on systems for exchanging information, collecting statistics and improving coordination between border crossing points, as well as checks, surveillance tasks and registration mechanisms at external borders;
* efficient management of flows of persons at external borders and, in particular, effective consultation of the European information systems (SIS and VIS), as well as enhanced collaboration in respect of forged or false travel documents;
* uniform implementation of European Union (EU) legislation, for example through promotion of the use of the practical handbook for border guards and of state-of-the-art technology for the surveillance of external borders;
* enhancing the activity of consular services, including reinforcement of the operational capacity of the network of immigration liaison officers and the development of common consular offices.
Eligible actions
The EBF can finance national actions as well as transnational actions and actions that are of interest to the Community as a whole ("Community actions"). National actions are implemented by Member States within the framework of multiannual programming consistent with the Community's strategic guidelines for the intervention of the fund (shared management). The budget allocated for Community actions is implemented by the Commission (direct management).
The EBF can support national actions relating to:
* surveillance infrastructures at external borders and at border crossing points;
* surveillance equipment;
* means of transport;
* investments in state-of-the-art technology;
* personnel training and exchanges;
* data-exchange equipment and systems;
* studies and pilot projects relating to the implementation of good practices.
The EBF can also compensate Member States for certain costs relating to the issuing of special transit documents.
The EBF can support transnational and Community actions:
* promoting the progressive inclusion of customs, veterinary and phyto-sanitary activities in integrated border management;
* providing support services in emergency situations;
* assisting the uniform application of Community legislation on external borders;
* assisting the development of statistical tools;
* assisting the exchange of information and the entrenchment of good practices;
* assisting the setting up of studies and pilot projects on new forms of cooperation, in particular with regard to common consular offices.
Principles governing the EBF's actions
In line with the priorities and objectives laid down by the EU, the fund will provide grants to support actions of a non-profit nature already co-financed by public or private sources.
Support from the EBF must not exceed 50% of the total cost of national actions. Exceptionally, this may be increased to 75% for projects addressing specific priorities identified in the strategic guidelines. The Community contribution is increased to 75% in Member States covered by the Cohesion Fund.
The fund's annual resources are allocated to Member States on the basis of the type of border (30% being earmarked for external land borders, 35% for external sea borders, 20% for airports and 15% for consular offices) and according to weighting factors determined by Frontex in its annual risk analysis report describing the difficulties encountered by Member States in carrying out border surveillance.
The Commission will adopt strategic guidelines for the period 2007-13, defining Community priorities for each of the objectives of the fund.
The Commission will approve Member States' multiannual programmes that set out, on the basis of the Commission's strategic guidelines, a strategy for and a description of the actions designed to achieve their objectives, and additional indications regarding project financing. It will also adopt annual financing decisions approving each annual programme implementing the multiannual programme.
Committee and review
The Commission is assisted by the Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows Committee. This decision must be reviewed by the European Parliament and the Council by 30 June 2013.
This decision furthers the implementation of a common European policy in the field of external border management instituted by the action plan of 14 June 2002, which was based on the Commission communication of 7 May 2002. With resources totalling €1820 million for the period 2007-13, the EBF is part of the general programme "Solidarity and management of migration flows", established by the communication of 6 April 2005.
Decision (EC) No 574/2007
Entry into force: 6.6.2007
Official Journal: OJ L 144 of 6.6.2007
Commission Decision 2008/456/EC of 5 March 2008 laying down rules for the implementation of Decision No 574/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the External Borders Fund for the period 2007 to 2013 as part of the General programme "Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows" as regards Member States' management and control systems, the rules for administrative and financial management and the eligibility of expenditure on projects co-financed by the Fund [Official Journal L 167 of 27.6.2008].
To ensure the efficient implementation of the External Borders Fund, this decision provides common rules for Member States on:
* designated authorities;
* management and control systems;
* information concerning the use of the fund that must be passed on to the Commission;
* procedures for reporting irregularities to the Commission;
* information and publicity for beneficiaries and the general public;
* protection of personal data;
* electronic exchange of documents with the Commission.
Commission Decision 2007/599/EC of 27 August 2007 implementing Decision 574/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the adoption of strategic guidelines for 2007 to 2013 [Official Journal L 233 of 5.9.2007].
This decision provides the strategic guidelines setting out the support scheme of the External Borders Fund. It defines the following priorities that Member States must address in order to receive increased financing (up to 75%) from the fund:
* the establishment of the common integrated border management system;
* the development and implementation of a European Surveillance System and Patrol Network;
* the fight against illegal immigration through enhanced consular activity of Member States in third countries;
* the establishment of IT systems to implement EU legal external border and visa instruments;
* the efficient application of the EU legal instruments, namely the Schengen Borders Code and the European Code on Visas.


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Updated to include Mint Debian Changes
This HowTo assumes you can connect to a remote share from Nautilus. If you cannot, this HowTo will not help you. If you have problems connecting to a remote share manually I suggest you post a separate topic asking for help.
Linux Mint Debian Edition Prerequisites
You need to install one package:
Code: Select all
sudo apt-get install gvfs-fuse
Code: Select all
sudo gpasswd -a your_user_name fuse
When you use Nautilus to access a samba share manually you may not know that Nautilus actually creates a mount point. The problem is it's in a hidden directory. You have to enable Nautilus to "see" that directory by going to:
Nautilus > Edit > Preferences > View > Show hidden and backup files.
The mount point is at :
/home/your_user_name/.gvfs ( note the "." in front of the gvfs - that indicates a hidden directory )
Step 1: Connect to the Server from Nautilus
Nautilus > Network > Workgroup > Machine > Share
If the server requires authentication then enter it and click on the "remember forever" option before entering "Connect"
Once you have successfully connected go back and unmount the remote share.
Step 2: Connect from the terminal
Open Terminal
Type gvfs-mount smb://Server/share_name
Substitute the actual "Server" and "Share_name" for the ones above
The "Server" in that command can take many forms, for example:
gvfs-mount smb://WinXP/share_name
gvfs-mount smb://WinXP.local/share_name
gvfs-mount smb://192.168.0.100/share_name
The last one is by ip address of the server which is the most reliable method.
Make sure this remounts the remote share to /home/user_name/.gvfs without prompting for authentication.
Step 3: Create a script that will automate this process and place it in the Autostart folder:
Open Terminal
Type gedit
Enter the following:
Code: Select all
gvfs-mount smb://Server/share_name
Save the file as, for example: /home/user_name/share_name_mount.sh
Exit gedit
Back in the terminal make the script executable by issuing the command:
chmod +x /home/user_name/share_name_mount.sh
Go to Menu > Preferences > Startup Applications > Add > point it to /home/user_name/share_name_mount.sh.
Logoff and logon again and you should have your share mounted to /home/user_name/.gvfs/ automatically ( assuming the server is running ) and you should have a mount icon on your desktop.
[]Your Specific Application Cannot Access The Hidden Mount Point
One way around this is to create a symlink to the .gvfs folder. For example:
Open Terminal
Type mkdir /home/your_user_name/LanShare
Type ln -s /home/your_user_name/.gvfs/"share_name on host_name" /home/your_user_name/LanShare
Another way to do this is to create a bookmark to the .gvfs folder so that is shows up in the Open and Save boxes:
Run the following command:
Code: Select all
nautilus $HOME/.gvfs
*** Right click the resulting ".gvfs" bookmark > Rename and rename to LanShares for example. It should then be visible in your application as LanShares.
[]Multiple Samba Shares.
If you have many shares you want to automount you may be tempted to create one script with many gvfs-mount lines in them.
I would advise against that. I have found that if one of them fails, all subsequent lines will not be executed. What I do is simply create a separate script for each share I want to mount.
[]Karmic Bug
There is a bug in Karmic ( basis for Mint8 ) dealing with accessing a remote share with a saved password https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... bug/463267. You will get an error message that looks like this:
Doesn't happen to everyone but unfortunately the fix is to remove the saved password for the share. Guest shares will work it's just that auto mounting of authenticated shares may not. To remove the saved password:Unable to mount location
DBus error org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply: Message did not receive a reply (timeout by message bus)
Menu > Accessories > Passwords and Encryption Keys > Passwords Tab
Expand the "Passwords: login" entry and you should see the the entry for the remote share.
The traditional method of doing this requires adding entries into fstab. Although it requires more effort, the traditional method has the advantage of being universal in that it can be used the same way on all systems. This way requires Gnome ( or at least gvfs ). This is not a better way - it's just another way. I found this method on the Ubuntu forums (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1186877). Credit belongs to the original author. I've tried to improve the flow a bit and point out a few quirks I've discovered through use.


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Just for You
Admission Process
Other Sites
Onondaga Community College is a college of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and one of 30 locally sponsored community colleges throughout New York State. Onondaga County is our sponsor.
We offer two-year degree programs that serve as transfer
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See degrees and certificates.
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Nine buildings house nearly 50 programs and three state-of-the-art, all-suite residence halls which opened in 2006 accommodate 585 students. A fourth residence hall was opened in the fall of 2012, accommodating an additional 194 students. Enrollment has grown to more than 12,000 students. We strive to provide the full college experience and offer a full complement of clubs, organizations and intramurals to enrich student life. Several of our athletic teams are consistently nationally ranked, and our 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, and 2006 men's lacrosse, 2012 and 2009 women's lacrosse, and 2008 men's tennis teams won national championships. A comprehensive array of student support services enables our students to succeed in meeting their academic goals no matter what their life stage when entering the academic setting.
Storer Auditorium and The Ann Felton Multicultural Center serve as the primary locale for Arts Across Campus, a year-round series of high quality arts and cultural programming designed to enhance student learning through the arts.
Onondaga is a diverse educational learning community. We are committed to creating and maintaining an atmosphere where individuality is not only recognized - but encouraged - to contribute to the fabric of the campus environment. We continue to serve the educational and economic development needs of the region and proudly boast more than 40,000 alumni.
Onondaga Community College
Central New York's partner in education for success.
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KVM and libvirt best practices
Setting up my first environment using KVM on RHEL, I am disappointed about the lack of best practices and standardization regarding KVM on GFS clustering. First thing that should be obvious when sharing a complex and flexible piece of software online for production use, don't allow too many things without proper best practices. Otherwise people will do things differently and possibly for the wrong reasons.


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FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. – An act of love carried out from one side of the world to the other. A solider serving in Afghanistan called his wife's favorite pizza restaurant to deliver a pizza to her home for her birthday.
Shawn Fulker is in the Army National Guard and is in the middle of a 9-month tour in Afghanistan. He said while his days are busy helping to train Afghan soldiers, he's not too busy to remember his wife's birthday and her favorite pizza joint.
Fulker decided to have a pizza delivered to his wife, Josephine. She was all set for a quiet evening on her birthday when the doorbell rang.
Her husband called the Fleming Island Mellow Mushroom from his base in Afghanistan and asked to have her favorite pizza delivered.
"The customer contacted us early Friday morning, saying it was his wife's birthday and that he really wanted to do something special for her," said Brooke Chafee of Mellow Mushroom. "He wanted a pizza and gift card delivered to her, that he would call back later that afternoon with his credit card information, but we didn't ever receive an email back. We decided just to go ahead and deliver a pizza, and we took a few extra steps."
"We were both surprised," said Josephine. "I opened up the pizza and it was shaped like a heart, and each individual pepperoni was cut into a heart shape. It was just so nice."
Fulker in Afghanistan was just as surprised, since he said he never called the restaurant back and had no idea that they had gone to such great lengths.
"He's special cause he's in the military and serves our country," said Chafee. "We just wanted to do something nice for our neighbors, since he's doing something so wonderful for us."
"I think that it's an unbelievably thoughtful act on their part. I will never have pizza anywhere else," said Josephine. "I love Mellow Mushroom. I thought it was just so sweet of them."
Josephine said not only did they make the pizza, Mellow Mushroom also went to Publix and bought some other things, including a $50 gift card.
"It was just very thoughtful my husband, and I appreciate it so much for supporting the troops and just doing that for him," said Josephine.


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15 Great XNA Tutorial Sites
I have compiled a list of fifteen great tutorial sites for Microsoft's XNA Game Studio used to create games for the Xbox 360, Windows, and Zune. This list is in no certain order though the first few are all about beginners.
So there you have it, my list of 15 great XNA tutorial sites. This is by no means all of the tutorial sites on the Internet, there are a lot of them. However, this should get you started in the right direction and even getting you programming in no time.
XNA Creators Club's getting started page has a couple of beginners guides. One for 2d games and one for 3d games. If you haven't seen these in your quest to learn XNA you really should drop by and check them out.
XNA Developer Center contains all the technical specs of XNA including a programming guide, XNA Class Libraries, White Papers and more. If you haven't seen this resource yet, I would certainly encourage you to do so.
XNATutorial.com is a great place for beginners. The video tutorials are for complete beginners, meaning you have no real experience in coding. The tutorials here are a bit old but are a great foundation. If you know nothing of coding or very little, this is the place to start.
Riemer's XNA Tutorials has tutorials for both 2D and 3D games. The 2D series is a complete run through of creating a game from start to finish. The 4 different 3D series look at different aspects of 3D game programming.
Ziggyware has tutorials on everything from programming to graphics. One of the largest resources outside of the creators club, if Ziggyware doesn't have it they probably link to it.
Blue Rose Games, formally XNA 101, has tutorials covering 2D, 3D, sounds, and much more. There is a good amount of tutorials here.
XNA Resources has many good tutorials and other resources for learning and programming games in XNA. One of the older XNA resource sites on the Internet.
RB Whitaker's Wiki is a fairly large tutorial site. Many good tutorials here as well as RB's Game Development Kit, a list of free software for game development.
Innovative Games has good tutorials on games engines and game editors as well as other programming tutorials covering different things including advanced ideas such as matrices, quaternions, and Euler angle vectors.
Game Theory has a great series of video tutorials called Building a 3D Game in XNA From Scratch. A definite must if you plan to build a 3D game.
XNA Wiki is a place for XNA Game Studio users to collaborate and share code, techniques, and tutorials to aid others in the pursuit of game development for all.
XNA Development is another great tutorial resource that has been around since the release of XNA. Many good tutorials, sprites and links here.
Virtual Realm has a large collection of XNA tutorials and tutorials for using Blender, a 3D editor and rendering program. Both video and written tutorials here.
Learning XNA - Webcasts and Tutorials has a good collection of tutorials, webcasts, demos, and many other resources. A great collection of examples, code, and snippets can be found here.
Last but certainly not least is Catalin Zima's Blog. A great source of tutorials and how-to articles that covers many things being done in video games today.
So there you have it, my list of 15 great XNA tutorial sites. This is by no means all of the tutorial sites on the Internet, there are a lot of them. However, this should get you started in the right direction and even getting you programming in no time.


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Director Christopher Nolan of "Dark Knight" fame is keeping such a tight lid on his new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, that co-star Michael Caine isn't exactly sure what the movie's about.
"They wouldn't let me read the script. I only got my page. They're all very secretive!" the actor told Empire Online.
Watching the trailer doesn't really offer many clues as to what happens in the film, either, though it's chock full of Matrix-y action, sweeping aerial shots and the tag line "Your mind is the scene of the crime." A visit to the film's website is even less helpful.
U.S. & World
"I play a professor who's teaching a guy science," offered Caine. "It's Leonardo DiCaprio. He's going off to do a science project and he speaks to me before he goes."
In addition to DiCaprio and Caine, the movie stars fellow "Dark Knight" alumnae Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy, as well as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page.
Earlier this month it was announced that the film would be released in IMAX.


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Rail links
The RHS recommends that visitors travel to the show by public transport
Hampton Court and Kingston train stations are approximately 30 minutes from London Waterloo, with trains leaving for Hampton Court every half hour and around every 10 minutes to Kingston. The showground is a 15-minute walk or short ferry ride from Hampton Court station, or a 30-minute ferry ride from Kingston station.
For more information about ferry services, see below.
Ferry service
Ferry services between the Thames entrance of the show and the park & ride drop off point at Molesey Lock are operated by Parr Boat Hire (£2.50 for a single journey). For more information including departure times visit Parr Boats.
Turks Launches run flower show ferry services on the river from Hampton Court railway station to the Thames Entrance and back (£2.20 for a single journey, £8 for a one week season ticket). Turks also run services from Kingston Bridge (near Kingston Station) to the Thames Entrance and back (£6.10 single, £7.60 return) and from Richmond to the Thames Entrance and back (£8.10 single, £9.60 return).The last boat to Richmond from the Thames Entrance to the show is at 5.45pm each day. For more information, visit Turks.
Tube and bus
Visitors are advised to take the District Line to Richmond tube station, then the R68 bus from Richmond to Hampton Court. Buses 411 from Kingston station, 216 from Staines and 111 from Hounslow also stop close to thew showground.
Hedgehogs at Hampton Court Palace Photograph: Christopher Pledger
Driving directions
From Central London, take the A3 and then the A308. From the M25, use junction 11. As you approach to Hampton Court Palace, ignore your satellite navigation systems and follow the temporary road signs and instructions from the police.
The RHS suggests using the park & ride facility for car parking, which is located on the A3050, for visitors arriving from the M25. Parking at the showground is available on the A308 Hampton Court Road.
The Italian Job Show Garden at a previous Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
The park & ride facility, Apps Court Farm (Red car park) is on the A3050, and is ideal for visitors arriving from the M25 (use Junction 11). Frequent courtesy buses run all day between the carpark and Hampton Court station, from where the showground is a 15-minute walk or ferry ride.
For parking at the showground , head to the Stud Gate car park (Black car park) on the A308 Hampton Court Road, and the Hampton Court Green car park (Green car park) opposite Hampton Court Palace.
Car parking prices per day are as follows:
Park & ride facility (Apps Court Farm Red car park): £6
Green car park: £11
Stud Gate Black car park: £11
Disabled parking (Stud Gate Black car park): £6
Horticulturalist at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show Picture: Christopher Pledger
There are bicycle racks available at the Thames Entrance.
Coach parking
The coach park is on Hampton Court Green, opposite the Palace. Coach parking is free of charge. It will take around 20 to 30 minutes to walk to the showground. A mobility bus operates between the coach park on Hampton Green and the showground.


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Yesterday, at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Japanese mobile software company Access announced the availability of the Access Linux Platform development kit. The Access Linux Platform (ALP), which is designed for deployment on phone handsets and mobile devices, includes a Palm OS virtual machine capable of running legacy Palm OS Garnet applications. ALP also supports Java and Gtk software as well as native applications that leverage Access's MAX UI framework. The platform leverages numerous open source technologies, including the GStreamer multimedia framework, the D-Bus interprocess communication system, and the SQLite database library.
Open source developers can now download the source code of Hiker, ALP's userspace application framework. The tarball for version 0.9.1 of Hiker is about 3.5MB, and it includes documentation and examples as well as the source code for ALP's application server and several other components. Released under version 1.1 of the Mozilla Public License, Hiker is open source.
Access, which acquired PalmSource in 2005, is also the company behind the NetFront embedded web browser which is used on Sony's PSP handheld gaming system. The company has leveraged its past experience with mobile development to create a unique mobile Linux platform. "Just as is the case with the ACCESS NetFront Browser, the ACCESS Linux Platform software has been designed from day one specifically for mobile phones and converged devices," said Access CTO Tomihisa Kamada. "We believe this approach has enabled us to deliver an integrated, commercial-grade Linux-based platform that is optimized to provide true flexibility, openness and customizability for handset and mobile device manufacturers, operators and developers."
As a developer who uses Gtk on a regular basis, I've been reading about ALP with growing interest ever since the system was first revealed at last year's 3GSM World Congress. ALP will compete directly with Qtopia, a Linux-based mobile platform developed by Trolltech that leverages Trolltech's open source Qt toolkit. Like Trolltech, Access seems interested in promoting thirdparty development. Although it is still too early to gauge ALP's full potential, its use of prominent open source desktop software development technologies like Gtk and GStreamer is highly compelling.


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Register to Vote
Here at Democracy for America, we believe in making sure everyone has access to one of our country's most important rights -- the right to vote. That's why were teaming up with Vote.org.
With the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, attacks on early voting hours and Election Day registration, and the passage of restrictive voter ID laws, Vote.org's services are more essential than ever.
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