text:
Today I was fortunate to attend a hearing of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). That's me on the far left of the photo, seated behind our MANDIANT CEO Kevin Mandia. I'd like to share a few thoughts on the experience.
First, I was impressed by the attitudes of all those involved with HPSCI, from the staffers to the Representatives themselves. They were all courteous and wanted to hear the opinions of Kevin and the other two witnesses (Art Coviello from RSA and Michael Hayden from the Chertoff Group), whether before, during, or after the hearing.
Second, I thought Reps Mike Rogers (R-MI, HPSCI Chairman) and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD, HPSCI Ranking Member) offered compelling opening statements. Rep Rogers squarely pointed the finger at our overseas adversaries. As reported by PCWorld in U.S. Lawmakers Point to China as Cause of Cyberattacks, Rep Rogers said:
"I don't believe that there is a precedent in history for such a massive and sustained intelligence effort by a government to blatantly steal commercial data and intellectual property...
China's economic espionage has reached an intolerable level and I believe that the United States and our allies in Europe and Asia have an obligation to confront Beijing and demand that they put a stop to this piracy."
You can watch all of Rep Rogers' statement on YouTube as Rep. Mike Rogers criticizes Chinese economic cyber-espionage (currently 21 views -- let's increase that!)
General Hayden reinforced Rep Rogers' sentiment with this quote:
"As a professional intelligence officer, I step back in awe of the breadth, the depth, the sophistication, the persistence of the Chinese espionage effort against the United States of America."
Third, I was very pleased that this hearing was conducted in an open forum, and not behind closed doors. While I haven't found the whole hearing online or on TV yet (aside from Rep Rogers' statement and that of Rep Myrick (R-NC)), I encourage as much discussion as possible about this issue.
One of General Hayden's points was that we are not having a debate about how to address digital threats because no one agrees what the facts are. If you work counter-intrusion operations every day, or participate in the intelligence community, you know what's happening. Outside that world, you likely think "APT" and the like are false concepts. We can really only build a national approach to countering the threat if enough people know what is happening.
As more information becomes available I will likely publish it via my @taosecurity Twitter account.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Inside a Congressional Hearing on Digital Threats
Posted by Richard Bejtlich at 20:51
1 comment:
Here's the link to the full hearing on C-SPAN:
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text: Welcome to Week 154 of the Who's Wearing What Wednesdays link party!! If you're new to the party, welcome. If not, welcome back!! I enjoy having everyone link up each week. Be sure to share this party with others, so that we can watch it grow even more! Love is in the Air!! Continue reading

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Mascus, the fastest-growing online marketplace in the world for buying and selling used construction heavy machinery, trucks and trailers, agricultural equipment, forklifts and forestry machines, is set to build a series of remarketing tools for Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) and its dealers' network.
With over 40 dealers in Europe and Africa, representing more than 50 countries and hundreds of quality used equipment for sale across the continent, HCME wants to strengthen its remarketing activities and support its dealers with the best tools available on the market.
"As manufacturer, we must provide our dealers with tools which enable them to be successful in their markets. Because used equipment is an essential part of the product life cycle, we needed to find a solution so that dealers can manage their used equipment inventory, share this with their peers and market their used equipment easily", says Tom van Wijlandt, Assistant Manager Service Business Support.
Mascus is now building an inventory management system for HCME (intranet) where the dealers can manage their stock of used machines and ultimately market these machines on the Mascus public marketplace and HCME's used equipment webpage which will also be built by Mascus.
"The Intranet is one of the most complex products in our portfolio, which we've tailored specifically with OEMs' needs in mind. It goes beyond a basic inventory management system and offers features such as the possibility to create a stock catalogue or email the stock directly to their customers in just a few clicks, sales history, deep statistics reporting to name a few. On top of that, the intranet will also be feeding a dedicated public Hitachi used equipment webpage that we are building, and of course the Mascus marketplace and others if needed. We are proud to have Hitachi among the list of large manufacturers using our Mascus products; it is a sign that our work is not only appreciated and valued but also brings efficiency and support to our customers' everyday business", says Rickard Krøtø, COO of Mascus.
Contact:Tom van Wijlandt (HCME):
About HCMEHitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) is responsible for the manufacture, sales and marketing of Hitachi excavators, wheel loaders, rigid dump trucks and crawler cranes across Europe and parts of Africa.For more information about Hitachi, visit www.hcme.com.
Contacts:Tim Scholte, CEO, +31 65 182 3389, Rickard Krøtø, COO, +46 70 660 2780,
About Mascus:Mascus - is an online marketplace for farm machinery, forestry, material handling and groundscare equipment, construction and transportation vehicles. Product ranges include tractors for sale, trailers for sale, used trucks for sale, diggers, box trailers, mini diggers and excavators. Mascus makes trading in used machinery and equipment quicker and more efficient by collecting in one place information about the supply and the demand. All dealers, producers, and end users are welcome to offer their used machines and equipment for sale via the marketplace.


text:
Looking Back Year 2009 and Moving Forward into Year 2010!
Dearest Friend,
Thank you for being such a great audience for the last 12 months, despite on the fact that I've been pretty toned down from writing on my life experiences. It's a real blessing to be able to write again!
Indeed, time has flew by SO QUICKLY that it's almost the end of an extremely eventful year for me personally!
And yes, we're all facing the same fact that we're already 12 months closer to death!
Nope, I'm not being pessimistic… I'm just being realistic! 🙂
Let's face it – All of us are going to die somehow… it's just a matter of when and how.
I have a lot of friends who are now doing even more extremely well in life, while others are struggling more in life. Such are the effects of the law of karma. However, what we see are merely worldly achievements. In the long run, all of us will die so is it really worth all the efforts to devote so much time on worldly matters? Fact – nobody defies death, not even emperors and *AHEM* political leaders. So the big question lingers on every wise men – what can we do (everyday) to elevate ourselves spiritually, and hence detached from worldly distractions?
For me, I know very well how I want to live and pass on my spiritual and human touch. As my mentor already said, it's not how much you gain in the material world. Your legacy is determined by how much you have touched humanity. This can be directly achieved by elevating one up in our spiritual cultivations. Thus this post.
Year 2009 has been a very special year for me for the following reasons I shall boldly summarize in a single blog post. Note: If you haven't been finding the year fulfilling, that means you've missed some of the most exciting and eventful time in history!
Advanced Trading Institution & Education:
Year 2009 began for me with my first insight into a World Class professional trader's network – JF Lennon. I was very skeptical initially but later discovered something Visionary that may be about to happen and may be revolutionary to all entrepreneurs.
I admitted that currency trading may be a very useful tool and skill that empowers ordinary individuals to participate in a good cause to end poverty in 3rd world countries (how this is done you've got to consult the founding fathers of JFL). Perhaps the founders themselves are in the process of contributing to something BIG back to humanity.
Unfortunately, a recent change in the management have let many students, including myself, to doubt the integrity of the new management. The new management have recently impressed many students into thinking of some form of magic in their ability to take accurate trades by merely observing chart patterns and finding profitable trade entries and exits. Frankly speaking, I have personally benefited from their course, so I shall not dwell further. Since such activities can take up a considerable amount of time away from what is truly important in life, I shall cease to devote too much energy into such activities… oh well, I'll just let nature takes its course as the new year comes around! 🙂
Here's a video that they've recently put up to prove their worth (the 4 part video series is eye opening!):
Personal Finance & Value Investing:
Value investing has been very rewarding for me. Year 2009 is an excellent year to quickly build up one's portfolio of outstanding income generating assets. I am so blessed to learn so many invaluable investing principles from fellow friends and teachers.
Year 2009 is also my first time to attend all the AGMs (annual general meetings) of companies I've taken a stake in to personally meet up with the CEOs, CFOs and their board of directors. This step is very important so as to allow myself to have a feel of the quality of management that is running the businesses. As of December 2009, I've finished off with the final one. I am very happy to observe all the businesses I've vested in has a high quality team of individuals who understand shareholder values and continuously working through one of the Greatest economic downturn in history.
Personally, I've added one more component to my investing philosophy – Ethical & Moral Value Investing.
It is true that Ethical Moral value investing will reduce my scope of opportunities, it will however, force me to consider businesses even carefully and hence focus on fewer assets. Honestly, I'm not too concern about limiting my options. I'd be more happy to choose quality over quantity since I'm very contented & grateful to every knowledge, wisdom & insights I have developed till today. 🙂
My Spiritual Elevation & The End of
My Search On The Mystery of The Universe:
I must have been one of the most blessed human in this world.
Several important Life questions have plagued me since I was young. When I grew up a bit, I am blessed to have the affinity to learn from the Buddha's teachings. That was more than 13 years ago since I've left Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Secondary school.
When I was conscripted into the Army (conscription is compulsory over here in Singapore), more questions arises and I sometimes pondered about the question if one were ever have a chance to break free from the eternal law of Cause & Effects. The Army is fill with contamination to the mind… *sign* it's just not the right place for someone to find answers.
Is it possible to be free from Suffering and attain Enlightenment in today's environment?
I never had answers nor anyone to consult back then.
Fast forward 13 years…
Not only have I left the Army and Graduated from the local University, I have been in the working industry as an engineer for over 7 years. Yet, my search for Life answers have deviated to pursue of Worldly answers (wealth & maybe fame). Personally, I have met many different exciting and wealthy individuals, but none of them have truly inspired me spiritually until year 2005, when I first met my mentor Manoj Sharma after a coincidental chance (it's a long long story anyway!).
Manoj shared with his mentoring students (I'm in his final public coaching class) what it takes to realize one's Big Self. It was a very intensive course, but deep down inside me, I knew something have changed. My perspective of humanity and the laws of this Universe is just beginning to unfold upon me. For instance, the principles of Quantum Mechanics and the Law of Attraction, all beginning to point to something I sense to be One and the same.
Fast forward to Mid 2009…
Combining all my previous experiences and new insights to the Universe, I have finally understood that all manifestation in this Universe, originates from the same source. This include principles shown by all past Saints & Sages, such as Lord Shakyamuni Buddha.
I must emphasized that this is NOT something worldly, for worldly endeavors (such as wealth and fame accumulation) will vanquish the moment we are dead. Spiritual endeavors (eternal) is what all wise men pursue, while foolish man ignore for plain ignorance. Embracing the Truth of this Universe hence comes very natural for me after putting much investigations and study using my own little wisdom and insights. I am now very deeply grateful to have receive such great blessings from the Universe! Now, I am like a reborn baby, learning everything all over again. 🙂
Full Time Vegetarianism:
One of the most important change in my life is to adopt a full vegetarian diet.
As a Buddhist already, vegetarianism has been to me, an entirely optional choice. I wondered why this has been so until recently that I discovered its importance! I must have been a fool all the while. 🙁
There are numerous reasons for going vegetarian, and I urge you to adopt natural meatless diet immediately; it has been said that giving up meat eating has its mysterious powers to advert the collapse of the world (watch the movie 2012?). However, one must be knowledgeable and well read in order to fully appreciate and understand the deep and meaningful purpose behind.
Here are some quick pointers:
- Better Health!
- Develop A Compassionate Heart (Empathize The Pain of Being at the Brink of Being Killed)
- Put a stop to Accumulating Bad Karmas (of eating Your kins that were from your Past Lives)
- Reduce our contribution from depriving Humans in 3rd World Countries of Poverty & Hunger
- Increase the efficiency in food (plant/crops) production to feed human beings instead of feeders for animals
- Reduce Carbon Emissions (Reduce Greenhouse Effect); Yes, going vegetarian or vegan eventually reduce meet demand and hence less animals reared for food.
Here are some more reasons:
- Seeds For A Better World v.4 (Part 1 of 6)
- Seeds For A Better World v.4 (Part 2 of 6)
- Seeds For A Better World v.4 (Part 3 of 6)
- Seeds For A Better World v.4 (Part 4 of 6)
- Seeds For A Better World v.4 (Part 5 of 6)
- Seeds For A Better World v.4 (Part 6 of 6)
- Slaughterhouse by Gail A Eisnitz
A Once-In-A-Lifetime & Most Memorable Europe Trip:
Hotel Mirabeau – The hotel which I stayed for the course in Lausanne, Switzerland
Year 2009 has been a most memorable year for me too for the simple reason that I had a most blessed time in Switzerland (September). I had the golden opportunity in my life to visit a few cities in Switzerland, and then Paris in France, and finally London in Great Britain! 🙂
I've brought along my trusty little Netbook (MSI U-100) that I've bought in March and it turned out that it has been truly indispensable during that trip!! Boy, Internet connection is a MUST for me to connect back home for very important matters which I looked forward every evening and morning (Euro Zone Time)! 🙂
Fortunately, the accommodations I've booked were mostly connected to the Internet, but the connections can be quite bad (occasionally fading signals from wireless access points).
I've also learned how to use Facebook and Google Picasa more efficiently to manage and upload thousands of photos onto the social network platform (yes, you've heard it right, I've over 2,500++ photos taken in just 1 trip!). 🙂
Other than snapping tons of photographs, videos and visiting lots of exciting places in Switzerland (Yes! I've finally touched snow on Mount Titlis & Jungfrau!), I experienced a lot of sightseeing… vast patches of farmlands, visiting historical buildings, museums, palaces… and not to forget all those endless walking and stair climbing in subways, metros, tubes… you name it! Truly, it has been a really exciting experience! 🙂
All in all, I've stayed in over 6 different hotels and traveled over nearly a thousand miles around, mainly between cities starting from Zurich till London. Oh, and that's not even counting that sinful carbon emission caused from the flight from Singapore to Zurich and back from London. 🙁
Ahh… and not to forget a horrible experience; that I was almost daylight robbed in the city of Geneva, Switzerland (Ha! No good impression for the HQ of United Nation isn't it?). Fortunately, my reflex was fast enough as I managed to grab my camera off from the hands of the young thief (& his partner) who got a shock too when I reacted as fast as he reached into my winter wear pocket!
My colleague(right) and I (left) inside the lecture theater of an Advanced Engineering Course. I am holding a brochure of the new book (unpublished then) written by the first lecturer of my 5-day course.
My colleagues and I setting off for the Wednesday Networking night organized by the course facilitators.
Outside the ticket booth of Mount Titlis before embarking on a mountaineering cable car trip!
This is the first time I see REAL snow on mountain! 🙂
My trusty Netbook operating on above 3,000++ feet above sea level.
On top of Jungfrau, one of the highest mountain in Switzerland & Europe.
Outside Palais Royal, Musée du Louvre with I. M. Pei in the background.
Family & Relationships Breakthrough:
Spiritual cultivation has elevated me into the next phase of life, where I am even closer and dearer to my family and my loved ones. Applying the wise teachings of Saints such as Confucius and Meng Zi, it is not hard to find great blessings this lifetime (and thereafter) by applying principles that are centered around those profound wisdom.
It all starts with One…
Every magnificent achievements in the World begins with simple and manageable steps. Through steadfast and discipline in the Right direction and guidance will one reach the Final destiny!
I have no doubt that year 2009 has been the most fulfilled year of my life to date! 🙂
As I've already said in the previous years and here I am repeating them again; It's no use setting New Year Resolutions for most people. They are mostly either non-realistic, or not practical enough, thereby causing great sorrows and distresses for people when the New Year is to end.
What is more important for each and every New Year, is to cherish every moment of our human lives, to live to the fullest we can, to reach the highest goal of humanity, in every second that our breathe can takes us to.
With this, I wish you and your family, a most Blessed & Fulfilled year ahead!
Go Vegetarian, Go Green!
May All Beings Be Blessed, Live in Peace & Be Enlightened!


text:
A nationwide survey conducted ahead of the Easter weekend has found that a majority of Canadians do not consider religion important to them, although two-thirds of the population say they believe in God.
Just 42 per cent of those polled agreed with the statement "religion is an important part of my life," with women (46 per cent) more likely to value religious activity than men (37 per cent) by a clear margin.
The online survey of 1,522 people, commissioned by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies, also showed relatively low levels of trust in religious leaders, with 48 per cent of respondents attributing the trait of trustworthiness to clergy.
By contrast, 67 per cent of those surveyed said they trusted "people who are religious" in general, and even more respondents - 73 per cent - expressed trust in "people who are not religious."
There were significant regional differences in the results, with Canadians from the Prairies - defined as Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the survey breakdown - most likely to consider religion important to their lives (54 per cent) and most likely to express a belief in God (79 per cent).
Respondents from Quebec, meanwhile, were least likely to agree that religion is important to them (33 per cent) and least likely to say God exists (62 per cent), though British Columbia residents also expressed the same relatively low level of belief in God (62 per cent).
Religion was deemed important to 47 per cent of those from Atlantic Canada, 45 per cent of Ontarians, 43 per cent of respondents from Alberta and just 37 per cent of British Columbians.
Belief in God was expressed by 71 per cent of women and 64 per cent of men. Seventy per cent of respondents in both Ontario and Atlantic Canada said they believe God exists, while agreement on the question was slightly lower in Alberta (67 per cent).
ACS executive director Jack Jedwab, writing in an overview of the findings, highlighted a significant generational divide over religion in Canada: "Younger Canadians appear far less convinced about the existence of God than does the oldest cohort."
Only 30 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 agreed that religion is important to their life, while respondents aged 65 and older were most likely (56 per cent) to consider religion a force in their life.
Likewise, an expressed belief in God was lowest (56 per cent) among the youngest group of respondents and highest (79 per cent) among the oldest.
Jedwab said he was not surprised that less than half of the Canadian population considered religion important to their lives, noting that the result is consistent with previous polling on the subject that shows a clear contrast between Canadians' ambivalence toward formal religion and Americans' stronger commitment to religious activity.
"We're not as engaged religiously," he told Postmedia News. "Our population is more spiritual, if you like, than actually religious in an organized fashion."
The survey, carried out by the firm Leger Marketing during the week of March 26, is considered accurate to within 2.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.


text:
There's no question there's a crisis. In 2011, some 4,000 unaccompanied children were caught after crossing into the United States. In 2012, the number rose to more than 13,000 children. Last year, that number hit 38,759; and already this year, the toll exceeds 52,000, with most minors coming from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Not all of the kids make it. Interim Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra ticked off the sad numbers. In 2012, his department saw 19 immigrant deaths. In 2013, it found 25 bodies. "This year, we have already responded to 14 immigrant deaths," he told the panel. "The hardest to take are the deaths of children."
On July 1, angry protesters dissuaded federal officials from busing 140 detainees into Murrieta, California. No doubt supporters of "comprehensive immigration reform" want these angry individuals to be seen as the face of their opposition.
But the situation is so ugly that many conservative Republicans sound like bleeding hearts. "It's a humanitarian crisis with respect to the way our facilities are overtaxed. Last week, we had 2,000 children in a detention center built for 400 adults," Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, told me Thursday over the phone as he headed home to Corpus Christi after the hearing. Children were sleeping on floors, he said. "This is the United States. We ought to be able to do better than that."
Perry, as you may recall, got to the left of Mitt Romney during his brief run in the 2012 presidential primary. During a Florida debate, Romney criticized Perry for signing a 2001 bill that allowed undocumented students to pay reduced in-state tuition at state colleges and universities. In a primary election famous for chasing Republicans deeper to the right, Perry did not back down. "If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they've been brought there by no fault of their own," he told Romney, "I don't think you have a heart."
Perry showed oodles of sympathy for the detainees. They're victims, he said, who have been used by "vile individuals." Some Republicans want to blame the surge of border crossings on President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but Perry made a point of blaming criminal cartels and human traffickers who cynically have convinced otherwise-law-abiding families that this is the ideal time to risk their children's lives by smuggling them across the border.
If you have any doubt about what a great country this is, consider the risks that others hazard just for the chance to come here illegally.
Perry also showed steel. The more Central Americans who believe that "you get here, you can stay here," he warned, the more people will come. "It will be a deluge," Perry predicted. "After El Salvador and Honduras," he added, there will be new surges from other countries.
For his part, Swalwell used the hearing to mock the notion that the surge has anything to do with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which halted deportations for some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. If that were the catalyst, he argued, the boom would have been bigger in 2012, when Obama announced the idea. Rampant crime has driven this wave of immigrants to the border, he said.
Good point. But I counter that Central Americans are smart enough to know that if they can pay to smuggle their children beyond the border, they've bought years for them in the United States. He doesn't disagree. Everyone knows, he said, that a child apprehended at the border will become "a low-priority removal."
During the hearing, Perry asked Swalwell point-blank whether he thinks unaccompanied minors should be sent back home. "Yes," Swalwell answered, "on a case-by-case basis."
I ask: Just what does that mean?
I think it means: Not really. Swalwell explained that if it is possible to send unaccompanied minors home without putting them in danger -- and in a way that works for their home country -- then he is on board. The United States can't just bus children south of the border. Quoth Swalwell: "Nobody has presented me with a good way to return a Guatemalan teenager to Guatemala."
Actually, the Obama White House is pushing to change the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, signed by President George W. Bush, to ease deportations hampered by the 2008 law.
Could Swalwell support this change? "I'm open to that," he answered cautiously.
The administration also wants $2 billion to speed up deportations of the unaccompanied minors Swalwell thinks are so hard to send home. Farenthold was enthusiastic. "The president basically said, 'Send them back,'" the Republican congressman told me. "I'm with him on that."


text:
RALEIGH � Jaylin Davis belted a three-run home run as Appalachian State topped host North Carolina State 6-3 in Friday�s baseball opener at Doak Field.
Preston Troutman and Noah Holmes hit solo home runs, all coming against N.C. State ace Carlos Rodon. It marked the first collegiate loss for Rodon, who lasted six innings and exited a game with the Wolfpack trailing for the first time. He hadn�t suffered a pitching defeat since May 21, 2010, when he was a high school junior.
Rodon, who was 9-0 last year, allowed more than three earned runs for the first time in 17 collegiate starts.
It was a successful debut for first-year coach Billy Jones.
Trea Turner stole two bases and scored twice for N.C. State. Tarran Senay drove in two runs.
Jamie Nunn was the winning pitcher.
-- NORTH CAROLINA 1, SETON HALL 0: At Chapel Hill, junior left-hander Kent Emanuel threw a four-hitter without a walk at Boshamer Stadium. He�s the first Tar Heel since 1967 to throw a season-opening shutout. He struck out five.
Seton Hall had runners at second and third with one out in the ninth.
The Tar Heels scored off Seton Hall right-hander Jon Prosinski in the sixth inning, with Skye Bolt, who led off the inning with a single, scoring on Chaz Frank�s sacrifice fly.
North Carolinacatcher Matt Roberts, a junior from Graham, earned the opening-day start. He provided a sacrifice bunt prior to Frank�s RBI.
-- UNC GREENSBORO 7, ARMY 4: At Greensboro, Lloyd Enzor hit a two-run home run and Eric Kalbfleisch provided a two-run triple as the Spartans won in Link Jarrett�s coaching debut.
Dylan Hathcock was the winning pitcher, preventing an earned run in 4 1/3 innings of relief.
UNCG center fielder Zac MacAneney, a former Western Alamance High School standout, went 1-for-3 with a RBI triple in the sixth inning. A redshirt sophomore, he played his first game for UNCG after transferring from Virginia Tech.
-- WAKE FOREST 3, ALCORN STATE 0: At Monroe, La., Austin Stadler threw seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts and Nate Jones picked up the save at Warhawk Field. It�s Wake Forest�s first victory in an opener since 2010 and first shutout to start a season since 2003. Stadler missed the entire 2012 season with an injury.
Charlie Morgan went 2-for-2 with a double for Wake Forest.


text:
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-Kelly B.


text:
New Page
If you look at the links above I added a new project page–Sewn! You'd think it would have been up sooner considering it's such a big part of my life *ahem* and *cough* but I didn't have enough finished objects to include. Had I done it any earlier my love for sewing would have seemed almost non-existent, like a phase or a lets-see-if-i-can-do-it sort of thing, next to the my other project pages (knitted and crocheted) which are quite full. Some of the links will take you directly to the etsy listing or section and others will take you to the blog post where I include details and comments. If you want to see progress shots you can click the tag that is the name of the project (all related posts will have it).
I've been working on my hexie afghan and have a whopping SEVEN finished. I'm quite picky with color combinations and redid a few numerous times. I wanted an afghan with light and pale colors so chucked a few bold ones like royal blue and blood red. After realizing that without these bold colors there would be no way I could come up with 100+ combinations, I brought them back out.
My weekend is going to be jam packed with awesomeness (you know how that goes) so I'll be back next week (unless something spectacular happens and I feel the need to blog it immediately) with some crafty goodness.
Happy Weekend!


text:
Kanye West - Pinocchio Story (Freestyle Live From Singapore)
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text:
GARMA, Iraq — Mohammed walked in disbelief through the rich green grass that carpets the farm behind his modest family home. For more than three years, he'd seen no green, no hanging branches in the orchards near his home in Garma, in Anbar province in western Iraq.
For more than three years, he'd worn a yellow jumpsuit in the U.S. detention center of Bucca in the hot desert outside Basra, hundreds of miles from home. He waited for his family's rare visits, and his heart lifted.
Between those visits, there was darkness. He was convinced that he'd never see this familiar place, his fiancee or his family again.
"Sometimes I ask myself, 'Am I truly here or am I dreaming?' " he said.
Even with his release, however, the 23-year-old never surrendered his principles, though he learned what he had to say in order to be freed: "Yes, I fought you. No, I won't do it again."
In America, the U.S. "surge" of additional troops to Baghdad is heralded as a success, and President Barack Obama has said he'll draw down American forces in Iraq and turn his attention to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Iraq, however, what the U.S.-led invasion and occupation started is far from over.
Most Iraqis think that today's lower level of violence is the eye, not the end, of the storm, and that the decisive power struggles are just beginning. The U.S.-backed Iraqi government is widely regarded as an undeserving group of exiles who returned to Iraq on the backs of American tanks.
Over the weekend, fighting broke out between Sunni Muslims and Iraq's Shiite Muslim-led security forces, and it's unclear whether the security forces, still heavily backed by U.S. air and ground support, are loyal to their nation rather than their sect, tribe, town or ethnicity.
Although the Sunni insurgency that earlier had battled U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces and killed thousands of civilians is weakened, Mohammed is one of many Iraqis who still believe in what he calls the muqawima, the resistance. He always will.
Mohammed is one of the thousands of detainees who're being released from U.S. detention centers as America prepares to withdraw forces from Iraq. There are about 13,400 detainees in U.S.-run prisons, and on average 50 are released each day. Some are guilty of crimes, others are innocent, many have never been afforded due process and some have become radicalized by their time in prison.
A U.S. military study of 138,000 Iraqi detainees found that economics motivated 70 percent of them and local issues another 20 percent; fewer than 10 percent were Islamic radicals.
Iraqi officials worry that releasing detainees will trigger a new wave of violence. In some cases, local police are using vigilante law and killing people who've been released from U.S. detention centers, according to residents in Anbar. Most are too afraid to talk about it.
Mohammed came home late last year still determined to resist. He has one rule: Target only American troops, never civilians.
However, the resistance, a movement that he believes is the only way to restore dignity to the Iraqi people, was damaged by zealots who used a warped interpretation of Islam to justify killing Iraqis by the thousands. Damaged by the fatigue and terror that the sectarian war of 2006 and 2007 instilled in every Iraqi heart. Damaged by money and damaged by greed.
"There are people who are just killers, and then there are people who are resistance," Mohammed said. "I am resistance."
Mohammed is from a family of "resistance." His late father, Farouq, is almost legendary in nearby Fallujah. He's known as the first man to face American forces in that town, once the heart of the Sunni insurgency and a death trap for U.S. forces.
Farouq was detained shortly after the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. For months, his family didn't know where he was. That May, he came home a changed man, said his brother Abu Sleiman. Farouq became obsessed with avenging his personal and national humiliation.
"They wanted to mold him like dough in their hands," Abu Sleiman said of the Americans. "He was so hurt."
Farouq organized with others in Garma, and the emerging resistance fighters trained in the vast land behind his home as U.S. tanks drove through the streets and American soldiers raided homes.
At the end of 2003, Farouq went to the outskirts of Fallujah with nine other men to attack the Americans. He and his compatriots wouldn't plant a bomb and run away, as others had. For them, there'd be no retreat.
Mohammed followed his father to the battle. Farouq protested, so Mohammed trailed the fighters by almost a mile.
In the dark of night, he watched the tracer fire of the battle. His father didn't retreat. The lone survivor of the battle said that Farouq had drawn fire to himself to help him get away. His family says that Farouq became a martyr that day, a hero.
"This was my brother, strong to the end," said Mohammed's uncle Abu Sleiman, who's a teacher.
Farouq's wife — Mohammed's mother, Umm Mohammed — was widowed with her seven children, and Abu Sleiman became a father figure to his nieces and nephews. Her grief, however, was mixed with pride.
"I tell my children to follow his footsteps. Walk the same path your father did," Umm Mohammed said. She cradled her 7-year-old daughter in her arms. "The Americans have done us an injustice, a very big injustice."
She ticked off the men in her family, one of them her young son, whom U.S. troops have killed; some with stray American bullets, others as they attacked the Americans.
She thinks that her 16-year-old son was caught in a crossfire and killed by the Americans. Others, however, say that out of desperation and sadness, he turned to al Qaida in Iraq, seeking revenge. U.S. troops killed him while he was with the radical Islamists, and his family never got his body back from the group, and never buried him.
Abu Sleiman still sobs when he's reminded of his nephew's death. He couldn't protect the boy, and his silence carries the guilt that he cannot voice.
"An uncle is not a father," is all he can say.
Mohammed and the rest of his family never worked with al Qaida in Iraq. When the militant group made it halal, or permissible, to kill Muslims, specifically Shiites, it undermined what the family calls the "honorable resistance."
"Al Qaida broke the back of the resistance," said Mohammed's uncle Abu Sleiman.
Another one of Abu Sleiman's brothers, a religious sheik, left the country for a time rather than work with al Qaida in Iraq. Abu Sleiman blames America for the rise of the violent extremist group, which emerged only after American tanks rolled into the country.
Still, Abu Sleiman and his family will continue to resist.
"This generation has learned to hate, more and more," Mohammed said
Throughout the war, the family members joke, their home was a pit stop for American soldiers. Every time a tank passed, another member of the clan was picked up. Almost every man in the family was detained. Mohammed and his uncle Abu Izzuddin, a tribal sheik, spent the longest time in prison.
Abu Izzuddin wrote poetry to remind himself of his loved ones and his beloved town. A respected leader in the community, he was detained in his home in front of a crowd of guests. Only one other act could be more humiliating: his guests being detained in his home.
Mostly, Abu Izzuddin wrote about love and his longing for his wife and children:
"And in me is grief and pain that hurt me in a way
"That no pen and paper can describe
"Injustice, subjugation and deprivation are crushing me
"And the wounds of my heart are oozing pus and pain
"When I see you, I see Paradise approaching
"Towards me, and all the wounds of my soul will heal."
Before they were detained, the U.S. fought two bloody battles to try to retake Fallujah from Sunni fighters, and the city morphed into a prison. Residents were forced to walk in and out of Fallujah through U.S. checkpoints with American-issued IDs.
While Mohammed and his uncle waited in prison, stripped of power and forced to follow the orders of foreigners, Iraq changed. The schism between Sunnis and Shiites grew, and the corpses of people killed in sectarian feuds were thrown into the streets.
Al Qaida in Iraq, initially an ally to Sunni "resistance" fighters, grew stronger and eventually declared an Islamic state in Anbar and other Sunni areas. The extremists forced the population to live under their brand of Islamic law.
A new, U.S.-backed central government formed in Baghdad.
The Sunni Awakening sprang up when tribal leaders grew tired of al Qaida in Iraq assassinating prominent leaders, forcing local women to marry fighters and in some cases cutting into smuggling profits. The U.S. military started doling out cash to Sunni fighters and others to stop shooting or join the fight against al Qaida in Iraq.
After three years, Mohammed lost all hope of returning home. Three times, he was called before an American panel to review his case. Three times, the Americans asked him whether he'd attacked U.S. forces. Three times he denied it.
"Terrorist," they called him, and back to detention he went.
The fourth time he told the truth.
"I am resistance. I had weapons," he said.
"Why?" they asked.
"You are an occupier. You humiliate our people," he replied.
"Will you continue to do it?" they asked.
"No. You were acting bad, but I hear you're behaving in a better way."
A little more than a month later, his jailers let him go.
Mohammed had told one lie, however. He'd never abandon the fight.
"I wanted to save myself," he said, explaining why he'd faked rehabilitation.
The day after he was released, Mohammed married his fiancee. His wife is four months pregnant now.
Mohammed scorns much of the Sunni Awakening, now known as the Sons of Iraq, for selling out its principles, taking cash from the occupier and turning against its own people.
"The people who are with the occupier, we consider him an occupier. These are the same looters, criminal gangs and killers who were in for money," Mohammed said. "If the resistance is stopped, the U.S. will not leave. . . . They want Iraq to be subjugated and to strip it, and now the police and sahwa (Awakening) do their work for them."
The police, known for brutalizing anyone slightly under suspicion of connections to al Qaida in Iraq, detained and beat one of Mohammed's brothers. When he was released, his mother sighed with relief, even at the sight of her son's bruises.
"I thanked God he was released; so many boys never come back," she said.
Mohammed was offered a job with the police. He refused it. He paused and thought about why. Would he be able to detain all these men that Americans said were terrorists?
"If I became a policeman, would I shake the hands of the Americans when they came to the police station?" he asked. "If I was ordered to detain a man whom I knew to be resistance, could I say no?"
"At this moment, it is better for us to sit and be quiet. Once we start fighting . . . ," Mohammed said, and then his words trailed off. "Everything I'm doing is being watched."
As Umm Mohammed offered fruit and other food to her guests, the gracious host stood firm in her beliefs. She needed it to be understood, however, that it isn't Americans she wants to fight, or her children to fight, it's the occupier. If it were any other foreigners, she and her family would fight them, as well.
"The Americans should get out of Iraq, leave Iraq to the Iraqis," she said. "What happened here is because of them, and they will be held accountable."
No one thinks that the Americans will leave, despite Obama's promises to draw down troops. Iraqis have heard American promises before, promises that never came to be.
"History will not have mercy on America," Abu Sleiman said. "I believe that it reached its peak, and now it is on its way down. America was hijacked from the Americans."
© McClatchy Newspapers 2009


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Career Center
Pediatric Cardiology Opportunity in the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA - Carilion Children's, Roanoke, VA
Carilion Children's is recruiting a fourth Pediatric Cardiologist for Carilion Clinic Children's Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia which serves as the tertiary referral center for 185,000 children in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia. Carilion Children's provides a full range of pediatric services including Level 1 Trauma Pediatric ER, but excluding ECMO, open heart and transplants. The hospital includes an 8-bed PICU, a 24-bed inpatient unit and a 60-bed NICU/intermediate nursing. It is part of Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, a 763-bed teaching/tertiary, Level 1 trauma center, that serves nearly 1 million Virginians.
Join a well-established and respected practice with a total of three other pediatric cardiologists providing General Pediatric Cardiology and Fetal Cardiology outpatient care along with inpatient care and consultation for the Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care Service. These services are supported by the Pediatric Hospitalists, Pediatric Intensivists, and Neonatology Service. The cardiology service also provides support to Carilion Children's Pediatric Emergency Department and outside emergency departments who require guidance when a fetus, infant, child or adolescent with congenital or acquired heart disease needs emergency care. On-call coverage is 1:3 with 24 hour on-call echo services provided. Competitive salary with incentive, medical and dental benefits, relocation, paid malpractice, paid vacation, CME days and allowance, and much more.
Candidates must be ABMS/AOA Board Certified in Pediatrics and BC/BE in Pediatric Cardiology. Experience in fetal imaging is desired. Candidates must also possess interest and enthusiasm for clinical service and teaching pediatric residents and medical students. Research activity is encouraged and supported at the new Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine & Research Institute, which graduated it's inaugural class of doctoral students in 2010.
A five time "All American City" the Roanoke Valley is a metropolitan area of more than 300,000, located at the southern tip of the Shenandoah Valley and surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. The region offers recreational, cultural, and professional opportunities, including: Mild four seasons, biking the Blue Ridge Parkway to hiking the Appalachian Trail, boating, swimming, superb fishing and lake front properties at Smith Mountain Lake, theatre, symphony, opera, fine arts, history and science museums, a planetarium, and snow skiing two hours away offering chalets or five-star lodging. Award winning public schools, magnet centers, private institutions, and nationally ranked and acclaimed colleges and universities.
Carilion Clinic is a progressive, emerging leader in American healthcare dedicated to improving outcomes and enhancing value for every patient, while advancing the quality of care through medical education and research. A physician-led, multi-specialty, not-for-profit healthcare organization based in Roanoke, VA serving nearly 1 million Virginians, Carilion Clinic operates 7 hospitals, 220 outpatient clinics , 700+ physicians representing more than 75 specialties, along with 280+ residents and fellows in 25 ACGME programs in affiliation with Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
Penny Daniel, Senior Recruiter PH: 540-224-5373 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Equal Opportunity Employer: Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity


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|editJōmae Village Head
|錠前の里の頭 Jōmae no Sato no Kashira
|Naruto Shippūden Episode #191
|Appears in
|Voice Actors
|Presumed Deceased
He was the leader of the Jōmae Village.
He had shown to be quite arrogant and sure of himself, as seen when he told Team 7 not to underestimate the Jōmae-nin right before he supposedly killed himself in an explosion. This act also showed that he was a very convicted and loyal ninja to his home village, not willing to let any information regarding his own village come into the hands of Konoha. He was also shown to be serious and kept his priorities in check during combat fleeing under confrontation, while also ordering Hanare to deliver the intel she had gathered, safely to the village.
He was a short elderly man with medium length grey hair, which he kept in a ponytail and a long hanging moustache of matching colour. His body was of a slim build and his face had a somewhat narrow jawline. He was always shown wearing a conical straw hat and hand guards similar in style to those worn by Jiraiya. When outside of his village, he was seen wearing a beige cloak and carrying a Monk Staff, which had a lock hanging from the two lower rings at it's top.
Judging from his position, he could be presumed to be a highly intelligent ninja as leader of his village, capable of using information gathered by his subordinates in the best possible way.
Considering he opted to flee or commit suicide rather than face a squad of 3 genin, it can be presumed that he was physically weak. As shown how quickly Team 7 caught up with him, he is evidently not very fast either.
Part II
Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha
He had been personally asked to train Hanare outside the village as a spy so she didn't have any information on the village itself. Years later, he ordered Hanare to spy on Konohagakure. He presumably killed himself with an explosion after getting cornered by Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno.
- "Once a key is locked, not even death can open it."


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If anyone were to dare to tackle it, the work of fixing California's budget system would be hard and take many years. So Californians and their leaders persist in looking for easy ways out.
The latest quick-fix fixation is sin. Californians are about to be told, via a November ballot initiative, that legalizing and taxation marijuana growth and distribution can help dig us out of the hole. And right now, the legislature, desperate for cash, is debating whether to get into the Internet poker business.
SB 1485, sponsored by Sen. Rod Wright of Inglewood, would let companies bid for the right to run three state-sanctioned Internet poker franchises. The companies would have to share 20 percent of what they make with the state. To give these state-sanctioned games a boost, playing Internet poker with any other company or web site would be illegal in California.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
This is a bad idea. Not only are such games highly addictive, but sin taxes have a long history of producing less than promised. (A group calling itself Poker Voters of America has just released a study claiming that the legislation would produce more than $500 million a year for the state). California has another problem. Indian tribes have the exclusive right to casino-style gaming in the state, so it's not clear whether such legislation could survive legal challenges.
Follow us on Twitter @PropZero. Join the conversation about the future of California's cash, kids and jobs.


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Here's the latest article from the Single Life site at BellaOnline.com.
Love Being Single
Living in unpredictable times can evoke feelings of loneliness and fear, however, it is possible to thrive and find happiness in being a person alone.
Please visit singlelife.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Single Life.
To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Single Life located here -
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!
Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
Christyann Anderson, Single Life Editor
One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com


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Cher still has fond memories of her romance with music and movie mogul David Geffen, insisting she was "crazy about him."
The Geffen Records founder and DreamWorks SKG partner came out as gay years ago, but when Cher dated him shortly after she divorced husband Sonny Bono in 1975 they made the perfect couple.
Cher recalls, "I was crazy about him … I was just the right person for him (at that point in his life)."
But she refused to wed Geffen, because she had just come out of one failed marriage.
She adds, "I just had been married (and) I was just so frightened of it."
Cher admits Geffen was one of her most romantic boyfriends: "It was Valentine's Day, there was a big note on my steering wheel (in my car) and a huge package from Van Cleef & Arpels and it was this mega-diamond bracelet … and he said, 'I've never done this before,' and I went, 'Well, I'm glad that I was the one'."


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Previous Lecture
Complete and continue
The Seller Academy Masterclass
Welcome to The Seller Academy (1:16)
Viewing this Course Offline on your iPhone (Apple users only) (0:40)
Join the Seller Academy Mastermind Community Here
My Background: How I got started with Amazon FBA (9:53)
Why Amazon FBA? (6:05)
A Tour of Amazon FBA
The Reasons Amazon Sellers Fail (9:26)
The Mindset of An Entrepreneur (11:10)
Module 1: Amazon 101 - For New Amazon Sellers
Registering for A Seller Account: The Fine Details (8:19)
Choosing a Professional or Individual Account Type (2:31)
An Introduction to Seller Central
Understanding Your Unified Amazon Seller Account
Updating Your Deposit Method (Banking Information) (4:10)
Common Acronyms used by Amazon Sellers
Amazon's Policies and Requirements
Where To Find Products To Sell on Amazon (10:53)
Products Requiring Approval
Seller Performance
Product Legitimacy
Policy Violations
Module 2: Generating your First Sales on Amazon
How to Get your First Sales on Amazon (2:23)
Method 1: Sell A Few Used Books (2:23)
Details on Selling Used Books on Amazon (12:58)
Download Bookselling for Canadians eBook
Method 2: Retail Arbitrage (AKA: Buy Stuff From Walmart and Re-Sell on Amazon) (10:59)
Overview of The Retail Arbitrage Process: How To Get Started (22:18)
Method 3: Introduction to Online Arbitrage (0:52)
Overview of Online Arbitrage (9:07)
A real example and the POWER of OA! (7:34)
My two rules for OA (0:51)
How to find products (21:09)
International Arbitrage (3:51)
Putting it all together (2:05)
Module 3: Creating Amazing Listings
Adding Products: Manage Inventory
Creating/Adding Your Products to a Listing
How to Create Product Variations
Adding Products: Inventory Report
Optimizing your listing to CRUSH your competition (For NEW listings Only)
Product Titles & Search Terms
Adding professional photos that convert (For NEW listings Only)
Adding Products: Manage Inventory
Understanding the Buy Box & Detail Pages
Winning the Buy Box
Introduction to Build International Listings
Module 4: Shipping and Logistics
How Amazon Receives Your Inventory
Creating a Shipping Plan
Fulfillment by Amazon: Providing Box Content Information
Fulfillment by Amazon: One SKU Per Box
Fulfillment by Amazon: Everything In One Box
Printing FNSKU Labels
Creating an LTL Shipment
Using Prep and Ship Companies
Download a List Of Prep Companies
Merchant Fulfilled Orders (17:26)
FBA Shipment Safety Requirements
Shipment Information Accuracy
Module 5: Building a REAL Business with Wholesale
The Three Best Business Models For Selling on Amazon (9:15)
The Wholesale Truth: Why you need Wholesale Accounts (7:30)
Wholesale Myths (9:14)
Types of Wholesale Suppliers (4:04)
Where to Find Wholesalers: Tradeshows/Packaging/Directories/Reverse Searches on Amazon (7:44)
Appearing Professional: Business Cards/Website/GST Number/Obtaining an EIN Number (4:44)
Reaching Out To Suppliers: Making Contact/Dealing with objections/Asking the Right Questions (10:41)
Scaling your Wholesale Business to Seven Figures (5:36)
Download a List of 170 Wholesale Contacts
Download and Read The Wholesale Truth eBook (Contains sample email templates and scripts)
Getting Approved in the Grocery & Gourmet Category
Module 6: Selling on Amazon Canada (Amazon.ca): A Golden Opportunity
Selling In Canada Overview
Why Canada? The Benefits of selling on Amazon Canada (72:28)
Amazon Tax and Accounting-related Questions from Canadian Sellers
Canadian Income Tax Requirements
Canadian Sales Tax Requirements
Shipping to Canada
Module 7: FOR CANADIANS ONLY: How to Sell in the US on Amazon.com
Common Misconceptions about Selling on Amazon in the US (5:14)
Introduction and How to Sell on Amazon.com eBook (18:36)
US Bank Account and Credit Card options for Canadians (4:17)
Importing into the US from Canada (Getting your Products over the border) (12:14)
United States Sales Tax Requirements for Canadian Amazon Sellers
US Income Tax Requirements for Canadians
Module 8: Profit Mastery (Your unfair advantage against other sellers)
Bundles - The Often Overlooked Sourcing Strategy (VERY IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE) (6:40)
What's a Bundle? And Why you Should Care (15:46)
How to Apply for a UPC Excemption (10:42)
Bundle Checklist (12:44)
Creative Bundle Ideas
Calculating Your Costs
Why Will People Buy Your Bundle
Types of Bundles
The Secret Sauce
The All Important Listing Title
Your Image is Everything!
Brand names vs Generic
Packaging and Shipping To Amazon FBA
Preventing Competitors from Jumping on Your Bundle Listing
Marketing Your Bundle
Where to Find Stuff to Create Your Bundles
Module 9: Promotion and PPC Ads
Understanding Advertising and Promotion Options
Create Your First Sponsored Products Campaign
Using Both Automatic and Manual Targeting
Manual Targeting Campaigns
Improve your Advertising Cost of Sales (Acos)
Bidding Strategies
Creating a Successful PPC Ad Campaign (12:05)
Understanding Your Metrics
Understanding Keyword Match Types
Negative Keywords
Advanced Promotion Strategies (11:58)
Sponsored Products targeting features
Download The Advertising Best Practices Guide
Sorting and Filtering in Campaign Manager
Understanding Advertising Reports
Download the Sponsored Products Optimization Guide
Module 10: Operations - Systemizing your Business so you can outsource and scale
Daily Tasks to Perform
Intro to Business Reports
Payment Reports
Daily Account Health Checkup
Removing Negative Feedback
Customer Satisfaction Reports
Fixing Stranded Inventory
Locating and Fixing Listing Defects and Inventory Issues
Inventory & Pricing Issues
Best Practices in Product Authenticity and Quality Guide
Using Automated Pricers
Automate Pricing File Upload
Customer Service Sample Responses (0:48)
Appealing an Account Suspension
Hiring Virtual Assistants (33:59)
Module 11: Become a Brand Ambassador - Representing Brand Owners (For Experienced Sellers)
Introduction (13:39)
Finding Products (11:31)
Reaching out to Brand Owners
Module 12: Insurance
Seller Liability Insurance (27:25)
Module 13: The Amazon Brand Registry
Introduction to the Brand Registry
How to get on the Amazon Brand Registry (6:24)
Adding Videos to Listings
Module 14: Bookkeeping for Amazon Sellers
Introduction (3:23)
Adding Users and Inviting an Accountant (1:45)
Configuring your Company Settings (5:33)
Upload & Manage Chart of Accounts (4:08)
Connecting Bank & Credit Card Accounts (3:20)
Taxes: GST/HST (3:32)
Taxes: Provincial Sales Tax (3:57)
Setting up Tax Rates in Quickbooks (4:25)
Adjusting your Tax Settings in Seller Central (3:08)
Downloading Tax Reports from Amazon Seller Central (7:42)
Amazon Seller Fee Invoices (3:26)
Categorize Transactions (3:58)
Reconcile Accounts (2:58)
Recording Amazon Payout Deposits (20:12)
Profit and Loss Statement (3:32)
Balance Sheet (2:27)
Recording your year end Inventory Balance (5:15)
Detailed Inventory Tracking (4:08)
Module 15: Creating your OWN products (Private Label)
Part 1: How to create your own private label products (23:00)
Part 2: The Private Label Process (8:33)
Part 3: Market Research (7:14)
Part 4: USPs (4:27)
Part 5: Factories & Sampling (1:11)
Part 6: Branding (4:56)
Part 7: Logistics - From China to Amazon (7:12)
Part 8: Listing and Selling your Product (11:58)
Part 9: Case Studies & Challenges (7:41)
BONUS: How to Turn a Brand New product into a Best Seller
PRO Tips
Why you should consider raising your ASP (Average Sales Price) (7:31)
Bonus Material
Outsourcing (1:49)
The top 12 things you need to do to be successful selling on Amazon (7:15)
Facebook Advertising (7:48)
Beyond Amazon
The Amazon Seller Lifestyle (2:50)
Optimizing your listing to CRUSH your competition (For NEW listings Only)
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Google cameras map popular Grand Canyon trails
(AP)—Google and its street-view cameras already have taken users to narrow cobblestone alleys in Spain using a tricycle, inside the Smithsonian with a push cart and to British Columbia's snow-covered slopes by snowmobile.
The search giant now has brought its all-seeing eyes—mounted for the first time on a backpack—down into the Grand Canyon. The so-called trekker will showcase the most popular hiking trails on the South Rim.
It's the latest evolution in mapping technology for the company that has photographed communities in dozens of countries for its Street View feature.
Google announced the trekker earlier this year but made its first official collection of data this week at the Grand Canyon. Google still must stitch images together before making the trails available to its users.
Explore further
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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By now you've all heard how the United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit basically disregarded the Appeal filed on behalf of Grammy-winning Reggae music icon, Buju Banton, and upheld his controversial conviction for "conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute" and "using the wires to facilitate a drug trafficking offense."
Adding insult to injury, the overwhelmingly conservative three judge panel led by Chief Justice Joel Fredrick Dubina (a George H. W. Bush appointee), alongside Circuit Judge Susan Harrell Black (another George H. W. Bush appointee) and Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus (a default Bill Clinton appointee), also reversed trial judge James Moody Jr.'s common sense decision to throw out a third conviction at Buju's sentencing hearing last summer: "knowing and intentionally possessing a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking offense," which carries an additional 5 year penalty.
It clearly didn't matter much to Dubina, Black or Marcus that Buju had no priors and has never been involved in the drug trade. Nor did it matter that he did not participate in any negotiations nor was he present at the deal that actually did go down between well-paid government snitch Alexander Johnson and former co-defendants James Mack and Ian Thomas.
As defense attorney David Oscar Markus recently pointed out "a good man is in jail for talking a big game." He's also paying the price for simply fighting the powers that be. You may recall that after the first trial eneded in a mistrial, prosecutor James Preston Jr., venemously amended the original indictment, tweaking the gun charge and adding two additional charges, in his attempt to make something stick… And it worked. All this for a man who has spent the last 20 years of his life making incredibly uplifting music for his legion of loyal fans around the world. War on drugs? We think not… This is a war on Buju Banton.
Bouncing back from the latest blow to their client, late yesterday afternoon, the legal team for Banton filed a Renewed Motion For A New Trial with the district Court in Tampa. The 27-page motion duly requests a new trial on all counts, or alternately, a new trial on the gun count only. To be clear, if no new trial is granted by Judge Moody, Buju will automatically be sentenced to an additional 5 years on top to the 10 he is currently serving. Team Banton has nothing to lose and everything to gain by filing this latest motion and we pray that the request is granted.
In the meantime, fans can take solace in knowing that Buju is indeed holding firm despite the loss of the appeal and the harrowing prospect of doing even more time. He is reading avidly, has some access to a guitar (there are 2 or 3 in the facility) and is writing new songs, plus he is even teaching a class at FCI Miami, where he is presently being housed. We encourage you to keep him in your prayers, continue writing those letters of encouragement, and, if you should feel so inclined, drop a little something on his commissary.


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February 2015 by Ellen Jefferson, DVM, and Jordana Moerbe
Audience: Executive Leadership, Shelter/Rescue Staff & Volunteers, Veterinary Team
Video Length: 85 minutes
Austin Pets Alive! Medical Clinic treats thousands of cats a year, many who are straight off of the euthanasia list because of medical conditions such as feline leukemia, FIV, renal disease, hepatic lipidosis, skin problems, viral diseases, and trauma. They save them all and this session is about how they do it - what medications they use, where the cats go for care, how to save lives without spending a ton of money and prognosis. Presented by Dr. Ellen Jefferson and Jordana Moerbe, this program was part of the American Pets Alive! 2015 No-Kill Conference.


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It seems Andrew is quite the fan, as he waxes lyrical about this often neglected Fender in his email to me:
During one of my slow days (all of them around this time of year) I decided to plough through your archives and check out some unique guitars. While doing this I realised you had left something out. This something? An Important piece of guitar history and an extremely odd and unique guitar. The Fender Esquire.Thanks for that, Andrew. That is what we need more of on this blog: passion! The Esquire pictured above looks to be in great condition for a guitar from 1955, although it appears to be missing its original "ash tray" bridge/pickup cover. It's currently available for purchase via Vintage & Rare priced at €17,000.
Yes, it is a mass produced guitar, yes it made by Fender, yes it is only available in fairly dull standard spec or ludicrously expensive VOS spec (spec not needed I know, VOS says it all). But it is underappreciated and relatively unknown. Its most famous users are Syd Barratt and Bruce Springsteen for god's sake!
It was the ORIGINAL Solid-Body Guitar, produced before the Telecaster in both single and dual pickup models. But it is the single pickup model which is unique. Not only did it originally ship without a truss rod in the neck, its seemingly superfluous pickup selector allowed tonal modification on a guitar in the most elegantly simple of ways, and still remains an underused feature among many single pickup guitars. As you may well know, the switch modifies the tone of the pickup by making it bassier in the forward position, while enabling use of the tone control knob in the middle position. With the switch in the rear position, these tone controls are bypassed entirely for "hotter" lead tone. This is something you still don't see very often on guitars. It's studio varitone before studio varitone!
You need to feature this guitar for one reason above all: to stop complete *&$£@#s of vintage guitar collectors from taking advantage of the unused neck pup routing (it had the same routig as a Tele) and converting vintage 50s/60s models to a Telecaster setup through the addition of a lipstick pickup and the removal of the tonal circutry. We don't need more damn Springsteen-style Esquires!
G L Wilson
© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!


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SEFFNER, Florida -- Florida rescue workers have ended their efforts to recover the body of a man who disappeared into a sinkhole that swallowed his bedroom while he slept in a suburban Tampa home, and the house will be demolished, a public safety official said on Saturday.
Jeff Bush, 36, who is presumed dead, was asleep when the other five members of the household who were getting ready for bed on Thursday night heard a loud crash and Jeff screaming.
Authorities have not detected any signs of life after lowering listening devices and cameras into the hole.
"Our data has come back, and there is absolutely no way we can do any kind of recovery without endangering lives of workers," said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Jessica Dam.
The sinkhole also has compromised the house next door, officials said Saturday.
Officials planned to let family members, accompanied by firefighters, into the threatened home for about 20 minutes to gather some belongings, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ronnie Rivera told reporters Saturday.
She said demolition of the home would begin early on Sunday.
Bush's body hadn't been removed by Saturday afternoon and the ground near the home was still "very, very unsafe," Rivera said at a televised press conference Saturday.
"At this time we did some testing and we determined that the house right next to the house that's actually damaged is also compromised by the sinkhole," Rivera said.
Jeff's brother, 35-year-old Jeremy Bush, jumped into the hole and furiously kept digging to find his brother.
"I really don't think they are going to be able to find him," Jeremy said on Saturday. He "will be there forever."
A small memorial of balloons and flowers for his brother had formed near the house on Saturday morning.
"I thank the Lord for not taking my daughter and the rest of my family," he said.
Jeremy himself had to be rescued from the sinkhole by the first responder to the emergency call, Douglas Duvall of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. When Duvall entered Jeff Bush's bedroom, all he saw was a widening chasm but no sign of Jeff.
"The hole took the entire bedroom," said Duvall. "You could see the bed frame, the dresser, everything was sinking," he said.
Norman Wicker, 48, the father of Jeremy's fiancee who also lived in the house, ran to get a flashlight and shovel.
"It sounded like a car ran into the back of the house," Wicker said.
"There is a very large, very fluid mass underneath this house rendering the entire house and the entire lot dangerous and unsafe," Bill Bracken, the head of an engineering company assisting fire and rescue officials, told the news conference late on Friday.
"We are still trying to determine the extent and nature of what's down there so we can best determine how to approach it and how to extricate," Bracken said.
After suspending the search overnight, it resumed at daylight on Saturday, with engineering consultants trying to determine the extent of the collapse so that a perimeter boundary can be established for setting up heavy equipment for future excavation.
Several nearby homes were evacuated in case the 30-foot wide sinkhole got larger but officials said Friday it only appeared to be getting deeper. Soil samples showed that the sinkhole has compromised the ground underneath a home next door, engineers said Saturday.
The residents of that house were allowed 20 minutes in their home on Saturday to gather belongings. Firefighters and residents formed an assembly line to move items out of the house into SUVs and trucks.
Rescue officials said that in addition to soil samples, they were focusing on engineering analysis, ground penetration radar and other techniques to determine the extent of the ongoing collapse. Listening devices were being used to detect any evidence of life although Bush was presumed dead.
The Bush brothers worked together as landscapers, according to Leland Wicker, 48, one of the other residents of the house.
The risk of sinkholes is common in Florida due to the state's porous geological bedrock, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. As rainwater filters down into the ground, it dissolves the rock, causing erosion that can lead to underground caverns, which cause sinkholes when they collapse.
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This howto provides step-by-step instructions on writing your own objective function for OpenMx. You will first want to prototype your objective function using either an MxAlgebraObjective or an MxRObjective. An algebra objective consists of an arbitrary number of matrix algebra statements that ultimately evaluate to a 1 x 1 matrix. An R objective consists of an arbitrary R function that evaluates a model to return a numeric value. Algebra objectives are computationally faster than R objectives, but algebra objectives are more limited in their expressive power. When you are satisfied prototyping your new objective function, we will guide you through the process of writing the front-end for this objective function in R, and writing the back-end for this objective function in C.
Can you express your objective function using the matrix operators and functions provided by OpenMx? If so, then create an MxAlgebraObjective. The following example is from the SimpleAlgebra demo.
A <- mxMatrix("Full", values = c(1, 2), nrow=1, ncol=2, name="A") B <- mxMatrix("Full", values = c(3, 4), nrow = 2, ncol = 1, free = c(TRUE, FALSE), name="B") algebra <- mxAlgebra(A %*% B - 3, "algebra") algSquared <- mxAlgebra(algebra %*% algebra, "algebraSquared") model <- mxModel("themodel") model <- mxModel(model, A, B) model <- mxModel(model, algebra, algSquared) model <- mxModel(model, mxAlgebraObjective("algebraSquared")) # Test 1: Algebra is a multiply and subtract modelOut <- mxRun(model)
Otherwise, express your objective function in the R front-end. Write a function in R that accepts two arguments. The first argument is the mxModel that should be evaluated, and the second argument is some persistent state information that can be stored between one iteration of optimization to the next iteration. It is valid for the function to simply ignore the second argument. The function must return either a single numeric value, or a list of exactly two elements. If the function returns a list, the first argument must be a single numeric value and the second element will be the new persistent state information to be passed into this function at the next iteration. The single numeric value will be used by the optimizer to perform optimization. For more help on the slots in the MxModel class, see the help provided with the OpenMx package (type '?MxModel' in R). The following example is from the SimpleRObjective demo.
A <- mxMatrix(nrow = 2, ncol = 2, values = c(1:4), free = TRUE, name = 'A') squared <- function(x) { x ^ 2 } objFunction <- function(model, state) { values <- mxEval(A, model) return(squared(values[1,1] - 4) + squared(values[1,2] - 3) + squared(values[2,1] - 2) + squared(values[2,2] - 1)) } objective <- mxRObjective(objFunction) model <- mxModel('model', A, objective) modelOut <- mxRun(model)
In order to write your own objective function, you will need to create your own objective function class in R. For teaching purposes, we are going to use the MxAlgebraObjective class as a guide. First, your class needs to be a sub-class of the MxBaseObjective class. The MxBaseObjective class contains three slots: 'name' which is a character string, 'data' which is either a character string or a number, and 'result' which is a 1x1 matrix that stores the result of optimization. Your class should contain any additional slots that you need to pass along to the optimizer. In the MxAlgebraObjective, we have an additional slot that will inform the optimizer as to which MxAlgebra to use for optimization.
setClass(Class = "MxAlgebraObjective", representation = representation( algebra = "MxCharOrNumber"), contains = "MxBaseObjective")
Next, you will need to overwrite three generic methods for your new objective function class. These three methods are initialize, omxObjFunConvert, and omxObjFunNamespace.
The initialize method is a constructor method. It will never be directly called by the user, but it will be critical for making new instances of your class. When writing your initialize method, it is required that the default value for the data slot is as.integer(NA) and the default value for the name slot is 'objective'. In fact, the data slot will be modified only be the omxObjFunConvert method, and the name slot will only be modified by the omxObjFunNamespace method.
setMethod("initialize", "MxAlgebraObjective", function(.Object, algebra, data = as.integer(NA), name = 'objective') { .Object@name <- name .Object@algebra <- algebra .Object@data <- data return(.Object) } )
The omxObjModelConvert method is used in the event that you need to perform transformations on the model that are specific to your objective function. One example use-case of this method is to transform RAM objective functions to FIML objective functions, if raw data is provided to the RAM objective function. During that particular transformation, several additional matrices and algebras are added to the model, and the RAM objective function is replaced with a FIML objective function. For now, we will show you the default behavior of this function, which is the most common behavior. You do not need to copy/paste the default behavior into your objective function, it is inherited from "MxBaseObjective".The function omxObjModelConvert accepts four parameters: '.Object' is the current objective function, 'job' is the entire job that was passed to the mxRun() function, 'model' is the individual model associated with the current objective function, and 'flatJob' is a flattened version of 'job'. This function MUST return the job. In order to transform the current model, use the following idiom after updating the model:
job[model@name] <- model.
setMethod("omxObjModelConvert", "MxBaseObjective", function(.Object, job, model, flatJob) { return(job) })
omxObjFunNamespace The omxObjFunNamespace method is used to transform an objective function from its local model namespace, into the flattened model namespace. Basically you must use the function omxConvertIdentifier on any slot that is storing name information. Remember to always invoke omxConvertIdentifier on the 'name' slot and the 'data' slot. Shown below is the implementation for the FIML objective function.
setMethod("omxObjFunNamespace", signature("MxFIMLObjective"), function(.Object, modelname, namespace) { .Object@name <- omxIdentifier(modelname, .Object@name) .Object@covariance <- omxConvertIdentifier(.Object@covariance, modelname, namespace) .Object@means <- omxConvertIdentifier(.Object@means, modelname, namespace) .Object@data <- omxConvertIdentifier(.Object@data, modelname, namespace) return(.Object) })
The omxObjFunConvert method is invoked to transform an objective function from a form that interacts with the R front-end, to a form that is suitable for processing by the C back-end. Any character strings in the objective function are converted into matrix/algebra pointers for the back-end to process. You should read the documentation for the function omxLocateIndex to familiarise yourself with matrix/algebra pointers. Two arguments are passed into this function, a flattened version of the model, and the original model itself. When at all possible, it is recommended that you interact with the flattened version of the model. Below we have included the omxObjFunConvert method for both the algebra objective and the FIML objective. The FIML objective has been included so that you may see how the data slot is processed. NOTE: .Object@algebra is a string on input, and is converted into a matrix/algebra pointer.
setMethod("omxObjFunConvert", signature("MxAlgebraObjective"), function(.Object, flatModel, model) { name <- .Object@name algebra <- .Object@algebra if (is.na(algebra)) { modelname <- omxReverseIdentifier(model, .Object@name)[[1]] msg <- paste("The algebra name cannot be NA", "for the algebra objective of model", omxQuotes(modelname)) stop(msg, call. = FALSE) } algebraIndex <- omxLocateIndex(flatModel, algebra, name) .Object@algebra <- algebraIndex return(.Object) })
NOTE: .Object@data, .Object@means, and .Object@covariance are all strings at the beginning of this function, and are converted into data pointers or matrix/algebra pointers.
setMethod("omxObjFunConvert", signature("MxFIMLObjective"), function(.Object, flatModel, model) { modelname <- omxReverseIdentifier(model, .Object@name)[[1]] name <- .Object@name if(is.na(.Object@data)) { msg <- paste("The FIML objective", "does not have a dataset associated with it in model", omxQuotes(modelname)) stop(msg, call.=FALSE) } mxDataObject <- flatModel@datasets[[.Object@data]] if (mxDataObject@type != 'raw') { msg <- paste("The dataset associated with the FIML objective", "in model", omxQuotes(modelname), "is not raw data.") stop(msg, call.=FALSE) } verifyObservedNames(mxDataObject@observed, mxDataObject@type, flatModel, modelname, "FIML") checkNumericData(mxDataObject) meansName <- .Object@means covName <- .Object@covariance dataName <- .Object@data threshNames <- .Object@thresholds .Object@means <- omxLocateIndex(flatModel, .Object@means, name) .Object@covariance <- omxLocateIndex(flatModel, .Object@covariance, name) .Object@data <- as.integer(omxLocateIndex(flatModel, .Object@data, name)) verifyExpectedNames(covName, meansName, flatModel, modelname, "FIML") .Object@definitionVars <- generateDefinitionList(flatModel) .Object@dataColumns <- generateDataColumns(flatModel, covName, dataName) .Object@thresholdColumns <- generateThresholdColumns(flatModel, threshNames, dataName) if (length(mxDataObject@observed) == 0) { .Object@data <- as.integer(NA) } return(.Object) })
Finally, you should write your own method that creates instances of your new objective function class. This interface will invoke the 'initialize' constructor that you wrote earlier, but should also include some basic sanity-checking before invoking the constructor. Here is the algebra objective function interface. Since this method does not have access to any parts of the model, you will not be able to perform full error-checking at this stage. Full error-checking should be performed in the omxObjFunConvert method.
mxAlgebraObjective <- function(algebra) { if (missing(algebra) || typeof(algebra) != "character") { stop("Algebra argument is not a string (the name of the algebra)") } return(new("MxAlgebraObjective", algebra)) }
The following is the workflow of the mxRun() function, showing where each objective function method occurs in the workflow.
TODO: write this section


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You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2015.
Guest Post by BK
Public Sculpture, both good and bad, has been all the rage lately, and I am pleased to report that Catford now has its own installation, although it does not seem to be wearing well.
I first came across The Turning Tree in May when I was walking my dog through Ladywell Fields and noticed a large log that seemed to be blocking the River Ravensbourne, I assumed that it had been put there by some enterprising children. About a week later we were walking through the park again when we came across a group of people standing around a gazebo and drinking warm white wine; this turned out to be the launch party for The Turning Tree, a new sculpture by Henry Krotatsis.
I must confess that The Secret Garden Festival which ran in Lewisham in 2014 was so secret that it passed me by, but it involved various artistic activities around the borough's main rivers, the Quaggy, Pool and Ravensbourne. The Turning Tree was commissioned as a permanent reminder of the Festival. The sculpture is an exact replica of a large piece of a black cedar tree that Mr Krotatsis found in the park, cast in shiny aluminium, it is mounted horizontally on another cast stump in the middle of the Ravensbourne. According to the project organisers:
This poetic sculpture creates a reticent monument to nature, in contrast to the vainglorious human statues that usally adorn public spaces. Using a section of fallen Black Poplar tree taken from the park, Krokatsis will cast a section of the trunk in polished aluminium. Lying horizontally and raised above the water surface, the sculpture will appear to levitate within the River Ravensbourne. A hidden bearing will allow the whole trunk to gently turn, manipulated by the wind or a change in current.
Children are also invited to bring along there wellies and play on the log as it turns.
Unfortunately, the log does not seem to have generated a great deal of interest. There is no signage anywhere to indicate its presence, (probably still part of The Secret Garden). In May and June a pathway was trampled through the vegetation and down the riverbank at the point next to the statue; but this seems to be so little used that the path has reverted back to brambles and can no longer be accessed. The only was to view the log is from the piece of lowered pathway which is about 10 metres away at the nearest point, the view getting more restricted over the seasons as the vegetation develops. It is possible to access the statue from here if you want to try to swing on it, but you need to scramble down the river bank and along the river. The sign saying 'Caution. Soft Mud!' is not inviting.
The statue's biggest problem stems from the nature of the Ravensbourne river system, the thing it is supposed to celebrate. Although the walks along the riverbank in Ladywell Fields and in the Pool Linear Park are very pleasant and almost rural, where you can spot kingfishers, herons and egrets, the main function of the rivers is to act as a storm drain for the heavily urbanised area from Catford to Bromley. All the rain that falls on hard ground in Beckenham, Bellingham and Downham will have to pass by our statue on its way to The Thames. This means that in times of heavy rain such as we had last weekend the volume of water in the river, and so its speed and height, will suddenly increase alarmingly. As the water sweeps down it also carries along vegetation, broken branches, old plastic bottles and carrier bags (Sainsbury's at Sydenham is a particularly good source of these). All this stuff is then dumped at the nearest handy obstacle.
The rocks at the back of Lewisham Hospital used to form a convenient dumping ground, but now that somebody has placed a barrier in the middle of the river flow in Ladywell Fields then a lot of the detritus gets dropped of there. When I walked past on Monday after the weekend's bad weather it was just about possible to make out the end of the statue, but the rest of it had been buried under a large pile of old branches.
So, we have a public sculpture that is designed to be viewed in ever-changing reflected light that it is very difficult to actually even see; that is meant for children to swing on but can only be accessed through mud; and that is supposed to gently turn in the current, but has placed in a stream that can turn into a torrent and is currently buried in river rubbish.
Barrett are proposing an 18-storey tower block between the Catford stations. As a sweetener they have included a Public Piazza which will replace the present concrete culverts with an attractive water feature. If this goes ahead then maybe the river will be cleaned up. Until then it would be interesting to know who will be maintaining our new public sculpture.


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Verizon Event Set for Tuesday–iPhone Time
And there it is: Verizon will hold a special event at New York City's Lincoln Center (Frederick P. Rose Hall) on Jan. 11–next Tuesday. No details on its focus, but sources close to the company tell me this will indeed prove to be the long-rumored Verizon iPhone announcement. Question now is will Apple CEO Steve Jobs join Verizon President and COO Lowell McAdam onstage to make it. Remember, while there's an enormous amount of interest in the Verizon iPhone, this really isn't much more than a carrier announcement — for last year's iPhone. If it were more (e.g., a hardware announcement), you can bet the event would be in Cupertino or San Francisco.
Below, the event invite, which I'm posting here despite Verizon's mandate not to. Just hope it doesn't result in a personalized data cap.


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Case Blurb: Cunningham; Court Discusses Requests for Admissions
Posted by rjbiii on August 13, 2008
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 36, Plaintiff's Motion requests that the Court determine the sufficiency of Defendant's objections to the RFAs. Pursuant to Rule 36(a)(1)(A), "[a] party may serve upon any other party a written request to admit . . . the truth of any matters within the scope of Rule 26(b)(1) relating to: facts, the application of law to fact, or opinions about either; . . . ." The responding party may specifically admit, deny, or qualify an answer. Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(a)(4). Absent court permission to withdraw or amend, admissions are binding on a party in the pending action. Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(b). Furthermore, Rule 36 allows parties to object to a request for admission so long as the grounds for objection are stated. Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(a)(5). If an objection is justified, the party is not required to admit or deny the truth of the matter. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(a)(6).
The purpose of Rule 36 is to reduce trial time by facilitating proof with respect to issues that cannot be eliminated from the case and by narrowing the issues that must be proved at trial. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 36 Advisory Committee's note. Essentially, requests for admission "expedite trials by establishing as true certain material facts of a case without the necessity of formal proof at trial." Keen v. Detroit Diesel Allison, 569 F.2d 547, 554 (10th Cir. 1978 ). Because requests for admission establish the truth of the matter, they "are not to be treated as substitutes for discovery processes to uncover evidence, and that they may not be applied to controverted legal issues lying at the heart of the case." Cal. v. The Jules Fribourg, 19 F.R.D. 432, 436 (N.D. Cal. 1955); see also Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Rawstron, 181 F.R.D. 441, 445 (C.D. Cal. 1998 ) (quoting 8A Wright, Miller & Marcus, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2252 at 524-525 (2d ed. 1994) (Rule 36 "presupposes that the party proceeding under it knows the facts.")).
As a general rule, parties should use requests for admission to elicit simple and direct answers. Herrera v. Scully, 143 F.R.D. 545, 549 (S.D.N.Y. 1992). "Compound, complex, and vague [requests for admission] are prone to . . . objection." William W. Schwarzer et al., Civil Discovery and Mandatory Disclosure: A Guide to Efficient Practice, 5-6 (2d ed. 1994). For example, requests for admission that are overly broad or vague as to time or scope are properly objectionable. FTC v. Think All Publ'g L.L.C., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18561, 2008 WL 687454, *4 (E.D. Tex. March 11, 2008 ) (unpublished decision). In addition, requests for admission relating to the truth of a legal conclusion are properly objectionable, even though Rule 36 permits the application of law to fact. Utley v. Wray, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68413, 2007 WL 2703094, *3 (D. Kan. September 14, 2007) (citing Disability Rights Council v. Wash. Metro. Area, 234 F.R.D. 1, 3 (D.D.C. 2006)). Specifically, "requests for admissions of law which are related to the facts of the case are considered to be inappropriate." Lakehead Pipe Line Co. V. Am. Home Assur. Co., 177 F.R.D. 454, 458 (D. Minn. 1997).
Cunningham v. Std. Fire Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52518, 3-6 (D. Colo. May 29, 2008 ).


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They had me at "basal ganglia."
Early in Syfy's new series Alphas, ringleader Lee Rosen (played by David Strathairn) explains that one of his crime-fighters can hypnotize strangers on the spot by altering neural connections in others' brains. When a sci-fi show's characters carpet-bomb the dialog with $50 technical terms, it's a sure sign the showrunners will reference some actual science amid the shoot'em-up plot twists.
Co-created by Zak Penn, who wrote X-Men: The Last Stand, Alphas draws from the familiar "exceptional misfits" formula mastered by Marvel Comics mutants and NBC's dysfunctional crew of canceled Heroes.
The appealing difference: These so-called alphas can't fly, burst into flames or turn themselves into ice. Instead, they stretch the normalcy bell curve by only a few fairly credible increments. Like Fringe, the show looks like it will use weird science as a jumping-off point for its crime-busting adventurers.
Here's how Alphas's not-so-super heroes roll:
So-called synesthete Rachel Pirzad (Azita Ghanizada) does not actually blend sensory signals, by for example, hearing sounds in response to visual motion, as ascribed to those who experience synethesia. Instead, Rachel possesses heightened senses that enable her to see evidence with near-microscopic clarity or hear conversations in distant rooms.
It could happen. As documented in HBO's Bobby Fischer Against the World, the chess genius became so focused on his game that he claimed to hear the tiny motors whirring in TV cameras and demanded that they be shut off so he could concentrate.
Influencer Nina Theroux (Laura Mennell) bends people to her will by altering the chemistry in their brains. Granted, Theroux works her magic in record time, and with the enhancement of echo-coated thought waves, but her monomaniacal focus serves as the basic modus operandus used through the ages by con artists, cult leaders, car salesman and other charismatic types.
Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie) is described as hyperkinetic, although that condition is conventionally defined as an acute state of restlessness. More to the point, Hicks possesses exceptional visual acuity and muscle control harnessed by the motor-skill portion of his brain. Hollywood stuntmen and Cirque du Soleil performers boast a similar degree of coordination.
The Alphas storyline kicks into action when Hicks suffers from a lethal variation of aphasia, a neurological disorder characterized by difficulty in processing language. Implanted with a lesion that throws his brain chemistry out of whack, Hicks misinterprets every piece of spoken or written input as telling him it's "time to kill."
Hyperadrenal powerhouse Bill Harken (Malik Yoba) can trigger his fight-or-flight response at will. Showrunners introduce his ability to turn on the adrenalin when Harkin moves a car with his bare hands because someone's blocking his parking space. Urban legends, buttressed by news reports, suggest that sometimes freaked-out parents lift cars to save trapped children. In Alphas, there's no baby trapped beneath the vehicle, as described in urban legend, but the he-man gets enough of a surge to lift the vehicle out of his way.
The big exception to Alphas' this-could-almost-happen rule is Gary Bell (Ryan Cartwright). He's an autistic "transducer" who can read electromagnetic wavelengths with mind power alone. Hacking into cellphone signals and Wi-Fi frequencies without any hardware, he's an invaluable member of the Defense Department's secret unit. But believable? Nope
For all the neurological citations, Alphas remains cable TV, not brain surgery. The pilot episode storyline, directed by Lost producer Jack Bender, adheres in the end to third-act conventions: chase scene/gun fight/damsel in distress. Still, the series sports enough actual science and decent acting to merit further viewing.
Think of Alphas as the prime time equivalent of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in the way it explores the thin line separating gift from illness.
Alphas premieres Monday at 10 p.m./9 p.m. Central on Syfy.
WIRED Above-average rather than "super," these heroes work because they're only slightly beyond the scope of normality.
TIRED Bad guy holds attractive woman hostage with gun pointed to her head ... again?
Photos: Justin Stephens/Courtesy Syfy
See Also:- Behold the Crime-Fighting Brainiacs of Syfy's Alphas


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As far as non-EU members and jobs go - sorry, I have no idea although one of our teachers here is from Singapore....
Student or Learner
Hi! I am planning to do the CELTA course in Berlin (the one month intensive course) in August. I have a question for those who have done the CELTA course - will it take 100% of your time work-wise? or will you have at least 15 hours a week to be able to work in something non-related? and a more general question. What are the chances / opportunities for non-EU members to find a position with the CELTA certificate around the world? Is it harder than for EU-members? Just base the answer on personal experiences or what you know from what people have told you! Thanks!!
As far as non-EU members and jobs go - sorry, I have no idea although one of our teachers here is from Singapore....
Hi, I am in the final week of a CELTA in Prague. I have been told that I have passed- I've met all the requirements- but don't yet know the grade.
It does take up all your time if you want a good grade. If you just want a pass then I'm sure you could spare 8 hours a week to socialise or something.
If you intend to work in the EU then it will be a definate advantage to be an EU citizen as work permits can be time consuming for school administrators but most good schools would rather have a good teacher than a bad one who is from the EU!
Outside of the EU it shouldn't be a factor!
The CELTA can be fun but its hard work and in the final week there's plenty of time to party unless you have to resubmit assignments from the previous week!!!
Good Luck!
Some tips: PAIR CHECK! USE CCQs and USE ICQs! (these terms will make sense when you do the course!)