text:
Google is increasingly concerned about malware apps cropping up in its Android OS. It recently executed remote kill of an app for the first time due to concerns that it was malware. More recently at the Black Hat security conference, concerns were raised when it was shown that a series of wallpaper apps were sending users' SIM card number, subscriber identification, and voicemail passwords to a Chinese server.
Now Google has been hit with its first full-fledged trojan malware. The trojan is known as SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a and disguises itself as a harmless media player application. Users who install the 13 KB file, which comes with the default .APK extension their phone is essentially "infected".
The installed trojan app launches and begins sending SMS texts to premium numbers, slowly texting its way to profit — and big bills for infected users.
The new malware is the first such trojan — a program masquerading as a innocent program that bears malicious purposes — to see mass distribution to Android phones. There have been a handful of malware app written for Android since 2009 — including some that could be classified as trojans. However, many of these were written by security researchers, and none of them saw mass distribution.
Denis Maslennikov, Mobile Research Group Manager at Kaspersky Lab, "The IT market research and analysis organization IDC has noted that those selling devices running Android are experiencing the highest growth in sales among smartphone manufacturers. As a result, we can expect to see a corresponding rise in the amount of malware targeting that platform. Kaspersky Lab is actively developing technologies and solutions to protect this operating system and plans to release Kaspersky Mobile Security for Android in early 2011."
Fortunately, unlike the more insidious handiwork of its PC brethren, the FakePlayer.a trojan is easily avoided if you just are careful not to authorize the installation of untrusted apps. Further, even after the install is started, you have to grant the app access to phone features, which includes premium SMS texts. The danger here is that many people just blindly click through these permissions dialogs, but if you exercise caution the threat can be averted here as well.
In related news, a Chinese advocacy group contacted us about the wallpaper app claiming that it was not malware as some felt the Black Hat researchers inferred. They claim that this story was blown out of proportion due to nationalistic sentiments towards China. They did not however, offer any explanation as to why the app was taking people's voice mail passwords.
Charles Liu, a Chinese-American Community Activist from Seattle, Wash. writes:
[N]ote your article is inaccurate, that the Android wallpaper app being malicious was mis-reporting by Venture Beat, which they have corrected.
Also the wallpaper app has been declare safe by Google and reinstated in Market.
The truth is no data were ever stolen; only phone info for personalization feature were collected with user approval.
This story was overblown from the getgo, predicated on some rather stereotype "China FUD". I mean are all servers in China inherently evil?
A quick glance at the VentureBeat piece does show that they have added a line that security researchers at Lookout haven't yet detected malicious behavior. Yet the overall conclusions remain the same and it still makes the app sound suspicious — particularly its ability to send your voicemail password to China — which seemingly has nothing to do with its base functionality. Google apparently agreed as it suspended multiple apps over the incident, though some indeed appear to be reapproved (though they may have been modified before the reapproval).


text:
Thursday, April 8, 2010
More Monkey Business
Thursday, April 8, 2010
81 comments | Post a Comment
- Jules AF said...
Oh man, the third and fourth ones are TERRIBLE. The third looks like a huge pile o' poo.
- April 8, 2010 at 9:32 AM
Aside from the fact that I don't like monkeys, these CCC's have left me totally speechless.
Great job on the commentary, Number 1. - April 8, 2010 at 9:33 AM
- Kathryn H said...
I suppose it's possible, but I've never seen a monkey with a hare-lip.
- April 8, 2010 at 9:33 AM
Great Job number one. Loved the french teaching monkey with the mustard bottle.
WV:lessesse Iwould like to see even lessesse monkey cakes! - April 8, 2010 at 9:36 AM
- Taylor said...
How can we be so sure they were attempting a monkey on the last one?
- April 8, 2010 at 9:36 AM
OK...so if I tilt my head sideways, squint, tap my heels together three times...I can almost believe that the two lighter coloured cup-cakes on #1 are supposed to be the monkey's tummy...what are the two lighted coloured cupcakes supposed to be on the last one?
(I've been reading Cake Wrecks for too long...haven't I?...I wasn't always this way?) - April 8, 2010 at 9:42 AM
"If it's shaped like a star in a wheelbarrow, then it's just begging for a face and a tail."
It is indeed an Irish proverb.
The Land of Saints and Scholars prides itself on its CCC-related wisdom.
Fantastic blog, as always. Did you know you have a huge fanbase in Ireland? - April 8, 2010 at 9:47 AM
- Unknown said...
Oh my goodness! These are just "nasty!"
Gotta laugh at your French rendition:
Monsieur Maurice! You and your poo belly are under arrest! Drop the mustard bottle and hand over the garden hose, s'il vous plait!"
But shouldn't it read, "Monsier Maurice! Vous and zee poo belly are vunder arrest! Drop zee mustard bottle and hand over zee garden hose, s'il vous plait, pretty peas!"
At least, that's how *I* remember French!
WV: faste I think I shall faste from these cakes! I don't do poo! - April 8, 2010 at 9:51 AM
- Kaede said...
I do believe the top and the bottom design are suppose to be the same.
- April 8, 2010 at 9:58 AM
- Bronwen said...
I know you live in the Orlando area. Pray tell, you didn't take French at Lake Mary High School, did you? That poo-belly monkey looks awfully familiar...
- April 8, 2010 at 10:05 AM
- Allen's Brain said...
Yes, but you DO recognize them as monkeys, so there's *some* success there.
- April 8, 2010 at 10:11 AM
- VeggieT said...
wow that last "cake" has got to be the worst CCC ever... ya know that gives me an idea, jen maybe you should stage the "world's worst cake" competition. You could have real bakers wrecking for the prize, and online voting of all the cakes that you've posted...
- April 8, 2010 at 10:22 AM
- Unknown said...
Et en vrais Francais (sort of, comme ci - comme ca) courtesy of Google translator (since my last French class was in 1973):
Maurice monsieur! Vous et votre ventre poo sont en état d'arrestation! Drop la bouteille de moutarde et de la main sur le tuyau d'arrosage, please vous plaît! "
wv: hadessin
I wish I never hadessin that pooh monkey CCC! - April 8, 2010 at 10:23 AM
- DD said...
I was thinking, 'It's more like monkey droppings,' the whole time. And I was ready to duck just in case one of those chimps decided to start throwing it.
wv: seenasi--I don't know about you, but I seenasi monkey poo all over this one. - April 8, 2010 at 10:31 AM
- Mrs. Mom said...
I think we had the same French teacher in high school..... nightmares!!!
- April 8, 2010 at 10:31 AM
"My high school French teacher was a woman. The resemblance is uncanny. I'm not kidding."
I also happen to read Jen's blog. Sorry "Number 1," I'm afraid a review of your final exam reveals you in fact failed my class. As of this moment you are a credit short of the state requirements and your status as a high school graduate is suspended until you make it up. If you hurry you should be able to register in time for summer school. See you in June! - April 8, 2010 at 10:32 AM
Hell is monkey poo...
- April 8, 2010 at 10:32 AM
- Onyx said...
Those were monkeys?? I gotta get new glasses!
All they really needed to add was mohawk baby carrot jockeys.
Yeah! That's the ticket - April 8, 2010 at 10:44 AM
So wrong, so very, very wrong. Bakeries would do well to print out some of these CWs (complete with comments) and create a book of what NOT to do. Every trainee must sit and look at the book for one entire day. The last page should read:
"Cupcake cakes are evil. Never make a cupcake cake. Never. Ever."
(Just finished icing two dozen cupcakes for meeting tonight. Plain cream cheese frosting, no sprinkles, no coconut, no flotsum, no dusting of anything. Thought of you, Jen, the whole time I was icing them. That's just sick.) - April 8, 2010 at 11:22 AM
- burton said...
Tragically, "Poo Monkey" leads the pack in terms of recognizable ape anatomy.
This trend of bakeries celebrating monkey deformity is deplorable. As is the fact that I can't say "monkey deformity" with a straight face. - April 8, 2010 at 11:22 AM
I kinda think the French Monkey is cute!
- April 8, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Ah, it's good to be back at Cake Wrecks! My life got crazy as hell and I have been away since December. But yesterday and today I have been checking out the archives and reminding myself why I love your blog. Thank you thank you, with tears of joy in my eyes.
- April 8, 2010 at 11:40 AM
That last one completely boggles my mind. How could anyone think that looks like a monkey? It looks like something under a microscope lens. A strange virus with a star-shaped, smiling amoeba nearby, perhaps, but a monkey?!? Seriously? I hope the baker labeled the box for people so they wouldn't have to guess.
-Holly - April 8, 2010 at 11:45 AM
Monsieur Maurice looks like some bug with a belly stinger.
They're all horrors.
Maurice might be a bedica bug... - April 8, 2010 at 11:45 AM
oh my gosh, we had the same french teacher!
aw "revoir" - April 8, 2010 at 11:49 AM
The icing on the last one actually looks yummy...so rich and chocolatey. Poor Chernobyl monkeys.
- April 8, 2010 at 11:52 AM
- sheep#100 said...
Piles of monkey-poo on cakes.
What next? - April 8, 2010 at 12:05 PM
Your french teacher was a woman named Monsieur Maurice?...explains a lot....
- April 8, 2010 at 12:18 PM
Thanks so much to whoever made the last monkey, for putting an extra line of poo icing over the individual poo swirls. That way, there is an indication they meant that big mess of cupcakes to be a tail. Otherwise, I never would have guessed.
- April 8, 2010 at 12:49 PM
- FabFrugalFood said...
All monkeys are French, of course. (Anyone?)
Am I the only one who sees something obscene about those two tan cupcakes in the middle of the last one's body? - April 8, 2010 at 1:07 PM
- Unknown said...
um... ok, so that last one... are those two lighter brown cupcakes supposed to be a monkey BUTT?! Cuz that's sure what it looks like to me... (_)_) !!!
http://cupcakevigilante.blogspot.com - April 8, 2010 at 1:10 PM
- Cheri said...
I would say that these bakeries should just give up, but then there's be no reason for me to snort my coffee from my nose each morning when I visit Cakewrecks.
- April 8, 2010 at 1:17 PM
I hate those stoopid poo monkeys.
- April 8, 2010 at 1:25 PM
- Melissa (& Billy) said...
Ummm, yeah. Of course those look like monkeys. Sure. Mmmmkay. 0_o
(I know the last one could be poo-riffic but that's the FIRST one that actually looks like tasty chocolate icing. The first out of HOW many?? Whereas M. Maurice looks like...a pile of poo. =P )
WV: quetsmon--"No questmon! Dat's no monkey, mon!" - April 8, 2010 at 1:34 PM
There's no right way to eat a rhesus, is there?
- April 8, 2010 at 2:11 PM
- Unknown said...
Wow. I miss normal looking cupcakes. What's wrong with just icing them and putting some sprinkles on them?
The monkeys are the final straw. - April 8, 2010 at 2:11 PM
Did anybody else notice that some of these cakes were laid in a very similar pose and yet look so different?
WV: quethip
That's what wreckers need for cleaning up their ears and listen closely to the customer's instructions! - April 8, 2010 at 2:12 PM
- Zoey said...
I have heard of monkey flinging poo, but never a poo belly. So wrong...
Erin N. - April 8, 2010 at 2:12 PM
- sendingtheclowns said...
Judging by the sorta stunned and loopy expression on its face, the only thing ("the ONLY," she says...HAH!!)
that first one needs are those little pictures of stars and squiggles spinning over its head (like in the cartoons, you know) to indicate that the stupid thing has been severly beaten up. That would make it PERFECT.
The second one should be labeled: Reduced CALORIE (and flavor) -90% recycled plastic.
I'm scaring myself thinking that these things were made by real monkeys.
(It's scary because they may not know the minimum wage laws.)
And @ Anon who said: "I hope the baker labeled the box for people so they wouldn't have to guess." Heh heh... you're funny. Labeling the box is the LEAST of THAT baker's problems...
=^@.@^= - April 8, 2010 at 2:26 PM
what I wanna know, has anyone ever actually bought and had the stomach to eat one of those "poo" looking cakes?
- April 8, 2010 at 2:37 PM
FabFrugalFood said...
All monkeys are French, of course. (Anyone?)
Ha! Le singe est dans l'arbre. - April 8, 2010 at 2:44 PM
in general, one should consider that any use of brown frosting swirled, stacked or larger than a quarter is going to look like poo.
- April 8, 2010 at 2:53 PM
C'est un gâteau à saveur de merde de singe enseignante de français - April 8, 2010 at 2:56 PM
Wow! That last one is NOT EVEN CLOSE!! What are those two light-colored cupcakes in the middle supposed to be? Or do we not want to know?
Love the French monkey with the mustard bottle. You always make me smile (and laugh out loud)!
WV: wineren - You will not find a wineren this bunch of cakes. - April 8, 2010 at 2:58 PM
- Christy said...
Oh my, those are horrifying poop monkeys, lol. For some reason I am getting a chewbacca feel from the first one.
- April 8, 2010 at 3:05 PM
- Larisa said...
my 5 yr old just said, "What in the what?!" I had to tell him what the cakes were supposed to be.
- April 8, 2010 at 3:25 PM
- sendingtheclowns said...
I *meant* "severely".
"Severly" would mean that its head- or something- was cut off.
Which is not a bad idea, though, is it? - April 8, 2010 at 3:52 PM
- Lori @ Stoney's Crew said...
I am disappointed...so many monkeys, but none of them have wings!
- April 8, 2010 at 4:14 PM
"Macaques au merde"
Is it just me or that really sounds better than it is? - April 8, 2010 at 4:33 PM
My question is, who would go in to the store and say, "Hey, what I am really looking for today is a cake shaped like a monkey"? What would be the correct occasion for a monkey cake?
- April 8, 2010 at 4:45 PM
- Christine said...
Oh never mind! - April 8, 2010 at 4:48 PM
- Rebecca Jane said...
The plastic-faced monkey is not unlike the mask a serial killer might don before having at his victims....which is the opposite of delicious, unless you are insane.
- April 8, 2010 at 4:52 PM
Ever wonder what happens to the "wreckerators" who get fired for screwing up cakes? Check out the San Francisco Jersey here: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/san-francisco-giants-eugenio-velez-jersey-misspelling-040710?GT1=39002.
- April 8, 2010 at 5:21 PM
I want to start a campaign - NO MORE Chocolate Swirl CC's to be piped with a plain nozzle - no matter what, they all end up looking like a pile of poo. Whosoever started this trend should be force-fed Monkey CCC's till they burst. This may conjure up some nasty pictures in your mind, but probably not as bad as some of the wrecks !
WV - scurami - the ancient art of folding scuba diving suits !
(sorry if this appears twice - this is my first comment & not sure I'm doing it right !) - April 8, 2010 at 5:34 PM
- Shalmeno said...
@ Anonymous: "Poor Chernobyl monkeys" and @ Vanessa: "There's no right way to eat a rhesus." My co-worker just came over to make sure I was okay; I was laughing so loudly. Thank you - I needed that!!!
- April 8, 2010 at 6:00 PM
- Fanboy Wife said...
Are those two light colored circles on the right the monkey's butt?
- April 8, 2010 at 6:36 PM
- burton said...
I am humbled by the brilliance of your question. - April 8, 2010 at 7:12 PM
- snuzzle said...
The saddest part is I'm pretty sure CCCs 1, 2, and 4 are all from the same "pattern". If you squint real hard at #1, you'll see what I mean.
- April 8, 2010 at 7:24 PM
The first one's actually kinda cute once you figure out where the limbs are.
WV: croaf--the sound I am making looking at these - April 8, 2010 at 8:15 PM
- Cheri said...
You know it's bad when your daughter looks at the picture and says, 'That looks like a dog.' To which you reply, 'It's supposed to be a MONKEY.' And she states, 'Whoa! Seriously?!? It looks like VERY bad dog.'
And, SHE'S 6! - April 8, 2010 at 8:25 PM
I'm finding it easier to imagine that most of these cakes (apart from your french teacher) are not monkeys but dogs- brown poodles.
I'm not sure what kind of guidance on the design is given but a CCC is a lot like looking for star signs in the night sky- a lot of imagination required! Of course, stars a pretty whereas these cakes are not.
WV gabityr
Just gabityr here and there, put some chocolate frosting on it and I'll be a monkey's uncle, you made a wreck! - April 8, 2010 at 8:51 PM
- Unknown said...
very impressed that you got 'monkey' out of that last CCC... it's like one of those gaudy images you have to squint at to see the sailboat
- April 8, 2010 at 9:10 PM
A lot of us must have had a very scary French teacher for Maurice to remind us of her!
Every time I look at that picture, all I see are poo logs for limbs! It's just gross!
The rest just leave me speechless.
---Ashley - April 8, 2010 at 9:19 PM
- sendingtheclowns said...
Anonymous said...
"Did anybody else notice that some of these cakes were laid in a very similar pose and yet look so different?"
Hmmmmm...(How to put this delicately...?)...I guess it's the variety that makes it exciting. Or perhaps the challenge of the new conquest while exhibiting a *fixation* for a particular, repetative quirk of some nature...or
or... - April 8, 2010 at 9:49 PM
- Gypsy said...
Now I go to sleep and dream
of cakes topped off with whipping cream
and laugh my way through cakery wrecks
monkeys, lambs and wedding hex.
I thank you so for all these things
that bring me smiles, give my heart wings!
Sigh. You are the best medicine!
Aryd'ell in Western NC - April 8, 2010 at 11:05 PM
- Chakolate said...
Hey, Jen!
I was surfing the intarwebs and found what I believe to be a picture of you as a child:
You were such a cutie!
Chakolate - April 8, 2010 at 11:07 PM
- Lanae Brown said...
If it doesn't have a tail it's not a monkey, even if it has a monkey kind of shape. If it doesn't have a tail it's not a monkey, if it doesn't have a tail it's not a monkey it's an ape!
- April 8, 2010 at 11:16 PM
- Monica said...
The first one isn't SO bad, comparatively speaking...except for the body, but the head's pretty good...well, kind of. Ah, who am I kidding? They're all full of poo.
- April 8, 2010 at 11:24 PM
- Bethany said...
My two year old loves monkeys. So I showed her these pictures, and here are her comments, in order of the photos:
1. "Is that a monkey?"
2. "Oh, that's a monkey!"
3. "Um, that's NOT a monkey."
4. "That's not a monkey, that's a... starfish?"
Yeah, I think she's right. - April 9, 2010 at 12:06 AM
Blargh! Those "monkey" CCC's are the ugliest bunch of poo a wreckerator can come up with at least as far as I have seen. Yuck who on earth could even stay in the same room with them without either laughing or trying not to gag? Brown frosting is never a good idea to decorate anything apparently since it always ends up looking like poop!
- April 9, 2010 at 1:58 AM
- CookieMonster said...
"Monsieur Maurice! You and your poo belly are under arrest! Drop the mustard bottle and hand over the garden hose, s'il vous plait!"
hysterical! - April 9, 2010 at 8:06 AM
- Wolverine Girl said...
So why were the monkeys flinging poo at the cakes?
- April 9, 2010 at 8:52 AM
i am LOVING that fireman cake. such priceless idiocy went into that!
- April 9, 2010 at 8:41 PM
Oh, wow. I didn't realize that was a monkey until the 4th time I read that post. :/
- April 9, 2010 at 11:14 PM
- Barbara Anne said...
vanessa said...
There's no right way to eat a rhesus, is there?
OMG- that's hysterical!! (I ate a Reeses PNut Butter cup earlier)
Actually, if these were all of monkey butts they'd be a LOT better looking... - April 10, 2010 at 12:38 AM
- Christina said...
My 3 year old just came over and asked what was on that last CCC. I said "It's a monkey." She says No, it's more like a starfish and a bunch of seashells. And she's been pretty forgiving about some of the wrecks in the past.
- April 10, 2010 at 12:10 PM
Apart from the Monkey face I couldn't tell that the last one was actually a monkey. Or a cake, for that matter.
Funny as always,thanx! - April 11, 2010 at 2:16 PM
- Ally said...
POO BELLY! I'm dying with laughter. Love it.
- April 11, 2010 at 11:15 PM
- Goob said...
I'm just a little unnerved by the pornographic nature of those monkey balls...i mean cupcakes
- April 12, 2010 at 11:50 AM
ok... as my husband tells me daily, i'm going to hell... but why is it that 2 of those monkeys are showing their butts and giving "come hither" smiles? what kind of sick person makes a monkey like that?
- April 13, 2010 at 1:43 PM
- Jason Legler said...
Oh my god, the commentary on these is just brilliant. I'm still giggling 10 minutes later.
- April 14, 2010 at 4:30 PM
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bennett, M. M.
This record contains the information from an original registration card from the twenty-first annual United Confederate Veterans (UCV) reunion. Although the original items in this collection contain no significant amount of additional content, they are available for viewing on microfilm rolls MG03435-MG03436 at the Arkansas State Archives research room.
Biographical/Historical Note
The twenty-first annual United Confederate Veterans (UCV) reunion was held in Little Rock, May 16-18, 1911, fifty years after the beginning of the Civil War. The reunion brought more than 140,000 people to the city, including approximately 15,000 veterans, making it one of the largest events in Little Rock history. A huge parade was the reunion's centerpiece event.
Most of the veterans who attended filled out registration forms, which included personal and service-related information. Along with Confederate veterans who completed forms, numerous others provided their information as well, including some Union veterans, women, and possibly even members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), since that organization was holding a convention in Little Rock at the same time as the UCV. Approximately 10,000 of these forms are now housed at the Arkansas State Archives.
The entries in this collection contain the information from the registration forms.
Confederate States of America; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; United Confederate Veterans
Geographical Area
Baiden, Baiden County (Miss.)
MS.000979, M. M. Bennett
Resource Type
United Confederate Veterans reunion registrations, 1911, MS.000979
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
M. M. Bennett, United Confederate Veterans reunion registrations, 1911, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at email@example.com.
Military History | United States History
15 Miss. Inf.


text:
Interpol Headquarters in Lyon, France [FILE PHOTO: Special Arrangements] |
Lyon: Richard Ammar Chichakli, an alleged associate of arms dealer
Viktor Bout and subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice issued at the request of US
authorities for a range of offences including money laundering, fraud and
conspiring to violate economic sanctions, has been arrested in Australia.
Chichakli, a US – Syrian citizen, is alleged to have
conspired with Bout to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA) by attempting to purchase two aircraft from companies located in the US.
Chichakli is also subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions and on
the Travel ban and Assets freeze list as associated with an entity providing
financial or military support to armed rebel groups in Liberia or countries in
the region.
Chichakli was arrested after a security checks as part of a
job application with an Australian government agency, revealed a positive match
with details included in an INTERPOL Red Notice, or international wanted
persons alert, issued at the request of US authorities in 2012.
US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator
Michele Leonhart said, "The international law enforcement community has long
recognized Richard Chichakli as a key criminal facilitator in Viktor Bout's
global weapons trafficking regime and his arrest means the world is safer and
more secure."
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara praised the outstanding
investigative efforts of the DEA and thanked the Australian Federal Police, the
Victoria State Police, the Australian Attorney General's Department, the US
Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, the US Department of
State and INTERPOL for their assistance in this matter.
"As alleged, Richard Ammar Chichakli consorted with the
world's most notorious arms trafficker in the purchase of aircraft that would
be used to transport weapons to some of the world's bloodiest conflict zones,
in violation of international sanctions. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of
all of our law enforcement partners, both here and abroad, Chichakli has
finally been apprehended and will now face justice," said Bharara.
INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said the case
once again underlined the added value brought to countries through the issue of
INTERPOL Red Notices.
"INTERPOL Washington's request for a Red Notice to be issued
for Chichakli ensure that the global law enforcement community was alerted to
Chichakli's wanted status, and the Australian authorities could identify and
arrest him, working with their American counterparts and INTERPOL's Fugitive
Investigative Support unit at the General Secretariat headquarters," said the
INTERPOL Chief.
Head of Australia's INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB),
Australian Federal Police Commander Fiona Drennan, and head of NCB Washington
Shawn Bray commended the significant cooperation between NCBs Canberra and
Washington and the FIS unit leading to Thursday's arrest of Richard Chichakli.
"Cooperation between INTERPOL member countries and effective
use of the international tools available is essential to ensure the safety of
the community and bring criminals to justice," said Commander Drennan.
Chichakli is charged with nine separate offences; conspiracy
to violate the IEEPA; money laundering conspiracy; wire fraud conspiracy; and
six counts of wire fraud, and if convicted faces a maximum sentence of 20 years
on each of the counts.


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I would love to know what some of your favorite photos are. For those who may not be familiar with how Blogger works, the easiest way to look through several previous posts at once is via the Archives (located in the left sidebar). Simply click on a month, and you will then be able to scroll down through all of that month's photos and stories.
So do you think I'll make it to Daily Farm Photo 1,000? Or will I run out of subject material long before that? As always, your comments and suggestions are greatly enjoyed and appreciated.
I'm so glad you're here.
*amazing: adj. astonishing, fascinating, stunning, shocking, wonderful, surprising, bewildering, prodigious, awesome, unbelievable, astounding, incredible, marvelous.


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Translation(s): none
Cleaning spam from the debian-publicity list
Now that the listmasters have created a working toolset to actually remove spam from the mailing list archives, it seems like a good idea to make a coordinated effort to clean spam from the list archives.
This page is intended to coordinate the reporting of spam in the archive for the debian-publicity list.
What's needed is that a few people go through the list archive for every month and consistently report all spam that they see. That should get the messages listed for the next stage, the review by DDs of reported spam, and their eventual removal.
Please try to be as thorough as possible: try to report all spam, but also try not to report mails that are not spam. In general spam is fairly easy to recognize from the subject of the messages, so let's start there: just go through the thread index for a month, select suspicious messages, report them, and then either return to the index (using "back" two times) or go to the next message (using the "thread next" link). I've found that this works well if you look ahead a bit on the index page to check if there's a series of spam messages.
Spam needs to be reported by multiple people. But to avoid too many people doing the same months, please register in the table below which months you've checked. Let's start with the most recent years.
A message currently must have 5 reports to pass to the review stage.
The batch job that makes reported posts available for review and removes posts classified as spam runs only once a week (Sundays).
Let's light all stars
See also
The statistics about spam removals on the mailing lists archive


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Monday, August 8, 2011
Brief Gaming Thoughts on Re-Reading The Lord of the Rings
I'll start with the more specific one first. Right now, in our reading, we're at the point where the Company has entered Moria and are attempting to find their way out. Moria's frankly an amazing creation -- a vast mountain fortress fallen into ruin and now home to numerous fell monsters. Reading it I found myself realizing just how much Moria must have unconsciously influenced my conception of my Dwimmermount megadungeon. I suppose that shouldn't be a surprise. Moria's one of the better examples of something approximating a megadungeon in fantasy literature and I doubt there are very many old school gamers who aren't familiar with it. Still, when I began my campaign, I made an effort to keep it as Tolkien-free as possible. Looks like I failed.
That brings me to my broader thought. One of the "themes," if you will, of a goodly percentage of the old school renaissance is the embracing of early pulp fantasy and the downplaying, if not rejection, of both later fantasy more generally and Tolkien in particular. I still think immersing oneself in the books and authors of earlier eras is an important part of understanding where D&D came from. It's also a useful corrective to the popular notion that D&D is a game about playing "heroes" on an "epic quest." But I have to admit that, in recent days, I've started to fall in love again with Middle-earth and that's made me reconsider the hard line I've taken against including certain Tolkien-derived elements in my Dwimmermount campaign.
It'll be interesting to see what, if any, effect this has on the campaign as it further evolves through play.
34 comments:
I don't have much of a manifesto when it comes to what influences I draw upon. I've even pinched at a coupe of ideas from Robert Jordan; although, I'm sure he pinched them from someone else first. It's not that I don't find the origins of the game interesting so much as I'm far more interested in where I want to go with it. I do, however, very much prefer to avoid world saving as a campaign emphasis. I've done it in the past and while it has an inherent charm, it also tends to deflate any further interest I might have in the setting.
ReplyDeleteI have to ask, what aspects of Tolkien have you fought against all this time? What is it you were (whether perceived or real) afraid to let in that would make (possibly) someone go "Too Tolkien.. No donut for you"?
I mean I have heard the same basic apprehensions before, and ever since I was a kid I had to ask..
"You mean you play a version of D&D without Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, Dwarves, Elves, Dragons, Ghosts, and other 'odd' creatures? Those were all in Tolkien too"
Just the weird thoughts that I thought of again while reading your post today.I try to run high fantasy games, having discovered tolkien and the prydain chronicle immediately before I started playing D&D.
I shy away from "heroes" on an "epic quest" and strive for "regular folk" whose problems and conflicts eventually draw them into an "epic quest" which in the end makes them "heroes", if, that is, they can rise to the occasion.
At some point, to become a hero, a character has to make a choice. Choose to sacrifice on behalf of the greater good, to brave great dangers, to be heroic.
Deciding to take up a sword does not make you a hero, it's what one does with the sword that makes him a hero.
The idea is to inject the game with morality and grit while giving the players the opportunity to be heroes, should they choose to be.
That said, my players have a tendency to take captives, question them, then murder them in horrible ways.
Often heard from the DM is "And our brave heroes burn their defenseless captive alive."
They shrug, and I shake my head.Joe: So you are running and "evils" campaign, right? I mean, are these characters who started out with evil alignments, or are they other than evil and you let them slide rather than alignment shift?
Not everything has to be about being heroic and on some heroic quest. But I totally and utterly reject this apparent popularity in the OSR of the idea that characters are generally these normal "every men" who decide to become disparate tomb robbers (at least for my 1st ed. I've run some White Box games where characters might seem more normal and run of the mill.) If a player wants this, fine, but it is not the norm. Even at 1st level I like characters to be a bit unique, above the norm, and capable than most people. And in Tolkien terms Frodo was a zero level putz, but all the other characters, including the other hobbits, seemed to be born for heroics once thrown into the grinder.I have no issue with the good Professor, or even with many of his imitators. It's the Tolkien-worship and the hackneyed repetition of Tolkienesque tropes (some of which he did create, some of which exist only in the undiscerningly enthusiastic reader's head) that gets to me.
I am a huge, huge fan of Tolkien, but while people mangle his work to reassemble it, Frankenstein-like, as "new" fantasy books and games (made of the same substance, but lacking the grace and unity of the original), the audience for giants like Jack Vance, Clark Ashton Smith and Abraham Merritt dwindles smaller with every passing day.- AnonymousAugust 8, 2011 at 7:48 PM
So all these times when they've murdered their captives, nobody's ever seen what's going on or found the remains afterward? No rogue party on the run from CSI: Fantasyland and the relentless Wizard Constables?
ReplyDelete Moria has always been a point of fascination for me in Tolkien's LOTR. The scale of the thing boggled my young mind, and I always wondered about all those pathways not taken in an effort to get out safely on the other side.
I think this is why I posted the scanned maps from that holy grail of MERP modules: Moria. I mean not only did it have the lair of the Balrog, it had the Endless Stair too!
Of course, I only realized muuuuuuch later it might not be canon. But it was one of those things that really triggered a young boy's sense of wonder.Tolkien is inextricably tied to D&D (and, by the way, to much of the FRP). The original creators of D&D knew their Tolkien, like most of the current members of the hobby. I think the downplay of Tolkien has to do more with his imitators and the brandification of his tropes.
"High Fantasy" is almost a derogative term those days, but Tolkien is not high fantasy, realy: to call "The lord of the rings" high fantasy is like call "The Illiad" peplum. Eddings, Donaldson, Weis&Hickman, Brooks, Jordan and others took the lessons learned from Tolkien and set up the High Fantasy, but the Professor is another thing.
I think the FRP hobby has much to gain from a return to a True Tolkien.- AnonymousAugust 8, 2011 at 9:07 PM
Except Moria isnt a Mountain Fortress. Its a Mine (Mines of Moria). And when a Brit writes about mines he is thinking Coal Mines. A Sea of in situ Columns separating the five foot high ceiling from the Floor. An Underworld. Sure there are chambers where the miners rest and live and they have narrow tunnels linking them to the surface, and most likely there are 'caverns measureless to man' (mostly vertical) down there as well. Subsidence collapses and fissures. All the Horror of a Coal Mine that might just as well be bellow the sea bed.
ReplyDelete Part of the downplaying of Tolkien I think comes from the fact that Gygax himself downplayed Tolkien, aside from a few superficial elements. However, Arneson mentions Mordor being just off the map in the First Fantasy Campaign and includes red eye, white hand and "isengarder" orcs. he clearly was a Tolkien fan even if Gary was not which may explain the Tolkien influence on OD&D more than anything else.
Then of course you have other material like the Judges Guild product Verbosh which mentions Noldor Elves on numerous occasions. Theres a reason the Wilderlands are called the Wilderlands.
For my part I think Tolkien makes excellent fodder for D&D as long as you're looking at the Hobbit. It's about a bunch of greedy treasure hunters who basically experience a number of random encounters. Sounds like D&D to me.
Lord of the Rings can certainly inspire a campaign, but the motivations of the characters an the actions they take are very different than the ones a typical D&D party would.@yellowdingo -- well, the MERP map did structure the levels of the mine as the primary structure. :D But didn't they also live there as well, and therefore have to fortify themselves and have sources of food and water?
Too bad the Balrog was inside the 'defenses' when they delved too deep...- AnonymousAugust 8, 2011 at 10:04 PM
@Alex 'Ka-Blog' Osias: I tell you what, if your Mines of Moria Maps can tell you the thickness of the ceiling to the floor above, stuff it in the following Formula and calculate which parts will have collapsed.
width of lower cave divided by thickness of ceiling equals %Subsidence.
70% means large cracks in ceiling leak water from upper levels.
100% means Ceiling Collapsed and lower level is rubble filled.
Let us know what your mine looks like now. I think the Tolkien backlash has been overdone as well. I prefer a Howard or Leiber style game for a model of "how to play" but for how the world works etc. I think Tolkien does just fine.
@Evan - The Hobbit: it's not just greed, it's a revenge story too. "He took our home and killed our family and now hw's gonna pay".I'd argue that the world that Tolkein produced is eminently suitable for Old School gaming. However the idea of the epic quest where the player character party is the centre of everything that happens, isn't, and belongs properly to the New School (especially if it is effectively impossible for the party to fail*).
[* Of course it may not be the same PCs that started the adventure, but the players will eventually win.]- AnonymousAugust 9, 2011 at 4:40 AM
'That said, my players have a tendency to take captives, question them, then murder them in horrible ways.
Often heard from the DM is "And our brave heroes burn their defenseless captive alive."'
The dungeon crawl environment is exceedingly unforgiving. The nature of the game does not allow many rational modes of inquiry. The player-characters have a high mortality rate. The DM is in a fundamentally asymmetrical power relationship to the PCs.
When I am a player, I often end up doing rational things that DMs will call inhumane. If DMs want humane play, they should seriously consider the nature of the game. For one thing, they should set a house rule at the beginning of the campaign that says, "Players who kill or torture defenseless prisoners will lose experience points."
For that matter, you could establish some set of laws that PCs have to follow when they take prisoners. E.g. waterboarding is okay, hot irons are not, or something like that.
I've gotten in trouble for ham-stringing prisoners to prevent them from running, even though the story in question had abundant magical healing that could heal such a small wound as soon as the prisoners were released. "When I am a player, I often end up doing rational things that DMs will call inhumane."
That's what's known as "evil" -- acting rationally without any moral restraint.
"The dungeon crawl environment is exceedingly unforgiving. The nature of the game does not allow many rational modes of inquiry. The player-characters have a high mortality rate. The DM is in a fundamentally asymmetrical power relationship to the PCs...If DMs want humane play, they should seriously consider the nature of the game. For one thing, they should set a house rule at the beginning of the campaign that says, 'Players who kill or torture defenseless prisoners will lose experience points.' For that matter, you could establish some set of laws that PCs have to follow when they take prisoners. E.g. waterboarding is okay, hot irons are not, or something like that. I've gotten in trouble for ham-stringing prisoners to prevent them from running, even though the story in question had abundant magical healing that could heal such a small wound as soon as the prisoners were released."
Wow. So many of the usual excuses for evil behavior all in one place...
'I was in a very difficult situation, so I had to.'
'There was no other choice.'
'If I didn't, I might've died.'
'The situation was unfair.'
'It was somebody else's fault.'
'There was no reward for doing the right thing.'
'I didn't know it was wrong.'
'It wasn't so bad.'Novice here. But one of the most interesting things to hit me when I started playing D&D with my boys was the fact that some folks really seemed to downplay any real Tolkien influence. That seems to come, in part, because Gygax appeared to go out of his way to do the same.
Though I don't consider myself an RPG scholar by any means, I can't help but think that's a bit of a stretch. Just looking at the old time AD&D works, Tolkien seems to loom large. Not that other authors don't, it's just that one-on-one, Tolkien is right up there.
Some of it seems to be the result of pitting Tolkien against, well, everyone else. Who was a bigger influence, Tolkien or the rest of the fantasy world? That's like saying who was more influential in popular music, the Beatles or everyone else? Well, that would be everyone else. But one-on-one, the Beatles cast a pretty big shadow.
Likewise, I agree with Evan above. Many point out the quest to save the world of LoTR. But we can't forget the Hobbit. Combine the multi-racial party of LoTR with 'band of adventurers on a grand adventure to encounter many traps and dangers to get revenge and get treasure', and you pretty well have a D&D game right there.
Again, not to say the other authors often mentioned weren't influential in their own ways, or that they don't share the stage with Tolkien on their own terms. It's just I can't see the game without the shadow of Tolkien cast across the pages.
And of course in the end the creation of D&D was the result of more than just Gygax, and many others appeared to embrace Tolkien just the same, if not more (at least, if Gygax was really spot on with his memories, someone must have embraced Tolkien beyond cheap marketing ploys). At least that's what I've come out of it seeing.@yellowdingo: Oooh! Cool formula.
Well, no direct measurements between the hallways but there's a scale I think of 1/8" = 125 feet.
The text in the module says that the width of the widest avenues in the city of Moria is 21 feet.
The thinnest distance between avenues on the map that I can see is around 60 feet.
21 feet / 60 feet = 35% Subsidence
I'll try to find thinner areas if I can. But for the major areas and galleries I don't think any approach 60%, unless my math is wrong.I've been re-reading the old "Sorcerer's Scroll" editorials from Gygax, and there is a lot of downplaying of Tolkien in them. I don't think it's antipathy to Tolkien, though, rather antipathy to an endless barrage of letters saying "D&D does X, Tolkien says Y, so D&D is doing it wrong." Nothing annoys an author more than that kind of complaint.
But early D&D was as much Tolkien as Fritz Leiber and REH and Moorcock. It's just annoying when you "I have elves like this" and someone says "But Galadriel wasn't like that, so you're wrong." :)Yeah I can definitely understand the efforts G.G. may have made to try and distance the game from Tolkien. No matter how heavily they may have been influenced by JRRT when they designed the game, its still a game and a seperate entity from any specific influences and it would soon get quite annoying to constantly have to explain why the game does things differently. I mean even if they set out to actually recreate LOTR in game form, they may simply have found through play that other modes of play were simply more fun and worked better...
Really, what I go for is "plowshares to swords".
It's generally understood that lvl 1 characters have had some kind of training, more than your average cobbler, to be sure, but I don't see player characters as "supermen".
The idea being that if the aforementioned cobbler one day got a wild hare up his ass and picked up a sword he could, with a little luck, become a mighty hero.
Time and time again, I've reminded players that they are not special. At least at level one.
My characters are between lvls 5 and 7 now, and are only half way through the Temple of Elemental Evil. They are certainly among the most powerful mortals in their kingdom, but they didn't get that way through blood, sweat, and tears.
And before they ever picked up a sword or crafted a spell, they were just folk.
Point being, that PC's become heroes through choice and action, not by virtue of being PC's.
Also, starting your characters off at lvl 0 is a blast. Facing down a pack of hungry goblins at lvl 1 is already dangerous and exciting, but imagine facing them with a kitchen knife and only the vaguest idea of how to use it. Choosing a class becomes a quest in itself.
What I call "soft character development" is the juice of RPGs, to me. The relationships that develop between characters, the development of the characters themselves, and the arch of the story are what have kept me coming back to the table.
That and the sheer joy of killing hill giants with a single backstab.I think there's no question that Tolkien was an influence on D&D. The difference is that for them, Tolkien was _one_ influence of many -- a big one, sure, but probably no bigger than Lieber, Howard or Vance. A lot of those who took up the game in the 80s, were almost exclusively influenced by Tolkien and his imitators.
There were, of course, also a number of legal reasons why Gary and TSR distanced themselves from Tolkien.aharshDM: Naw, I'll never really get the "zero level 1st game" of a campaign, or other efforts to downplay PC strengths. IMHO life is too short to sit at a table for hourse playing a character who is just "adaquate" or less.
But DM's who want to impose this zero level thing (I cannot imagine many players are into that...I know you'll have exceptions and your players say "it's great," but that would not be the norm) are just trying to knock fighters down a notch, I think. They realize a 1st level fighter is going to have twice or more the hp of Joe Farmer out in the fields, and this is somehow too much power. Baloney. A house wife facing down a goblin with a kitchen knife does not sound like fun gaming to me. But to each his own really.- AnonymousAugust 9, 2011 at 6:07 PM
@Alex 'Ka-Blog' Osias: Oops. Sorry, Formula Error Alex.
Cross Sectional Width of Lower Cave divided by Thickness of ceiling to next floor up equals Subsidence number.
The Percentage of Subsidence is a range based on stone type:
And it began failing at 10% {0.1-0.5}, and Failed at 100%{1.2-1.4}
Basically you can take your Subsidence number and multiply by one hundred to get a percentage. @Matthew Johnson
Couldn't agree more with everything you said.
I came to D&D in the mid to late 80s, as did many of the people I still game with. Most of us did see it as 'Lord of the Rings: the rpg'.
Only later did I find the other literary sources that influenced the game.
I think that in stressing the importance of the lesser known authors whose influence is just as vital as Tolkien, it is easy to understate the influence Tolkien had on D&D.@yellowdingo: I figured it'd be a bit more complex but at least I have a term to Google and find out more.
I'd always vaguely wondered how to deal with %chances for cave-ins given different types of stone and reinforced vs. unreinforced passageways.
I think we're (read: I am) drifting away more than a bit from the post topic so... Yeah. LOTR is awesome.- AnonymousAugust 10, 2011 at 9:05 AM
Indeed, but you can tell the difference between the information sources the designer of a Dungeon had access to - those who slap together any old thing lack fundamental real world knowledge.


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Stephen Fife (0-1, 2.16) vs. Adam Wainwright (13-13, 4.01).
At the very least the Dodgers have secured a series split with the Cardinals, but how unsatisfying would that be? Without a win today, the Dodgers would resume lingering in the Redbirds' exhaust. No, we're going to call today's game a must-win, as in their next two series the Dodgers play the first-place Nationals and the first-place Reds. The Cards? They get the Astros. And the Cubs. Then the Astros again.
No disrespect to Mr. Fife, but unfortunately not-Clayton Kershaw is taking the mound for the Dodgers today. Yet the Cardinals, suffering from their own special brand of NL Central ineptitude, are eminently beatable. We're ready to believe, Stephen!


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Netball flooring in New Mills/Felin Newydd really should be cleaned if you happen to spot any kind of litter or contaminants on the playing facility. Any rips, holes or perhaps damages is required to be fixed at once simply because they might start to get much worse and also are a safety danger.
For more information on renovation or removal, please click here https://www.thermoplasticplaygroundmarkings.co.uk/renovation/removal/powys/new-mills-felin-newydd We will undertake reactive upkeep projects to correct damage on the surfacing.
Our team provide an assortment of expert services such as cleansing, re-painting, fixes and also installing lines marks.
Washing is an essential element of any re-painting job, simply because if your surfacing is just not thoroughly clean, then the color will certainly keep to the contamination and may be removed once the surface area is then washed.
Having a local installer closest to you provide fencing surrounding the sports area in New Mills/Felin Newydd SY16 3 will help keep it protected.
Excellent fencing structures is effective in reducing vandalism whilst keeping the vicinity protected. We'd highly recommend a strong fence spec for instance weldmesh.
The prices for every surfacing job will change, this is because of unique requirements, styles and vicinity sizes etc. One of the most popular surfacings meant for floorings is often a macadam durable court.
For more details on macadam line-marking, please visit this page https://www.thermoplasticplaygroundmarkings.co.uk/surfacing/macadam/powys/new-mills-felin-newydd
The geotextile membrane layer is put in first of all, this approach avoids weed growth plus contamination growing. An angular aggregate sub-base should be installed to behave as a effective sub-base layer.
Once the base is put in, a tarmac level will be installed. Then finally, non-slip paint as well as lines markings are going to be put on to a tarmacadam flooring.
Tarmacadam areas is a low repairs and maintenance flooring and have excellent anti-slip properties. Another flooring that you can use for this sport will be type three and also type 4 polymeric rubberized court surfacing.
To install polymeric flooring types, the same method is done apart from the installer uses polymeric flooring on top of the macadam.
MUGA Sports Lining in New Mills/Felin Newydd - https://www.thermoplasticplaygroundmarkings.co.uk/activities/muga/powys/new-mills-felin-newydd
Football Pitch Line Marking Paint in New Mills/Felin Newydd - https://www.thermoplasticplaygroundmarkings.co.uk/activities/football/powys/new-mills-felin-newydd
Playground Basketball Painting in New Mills/Felin Newydd - https://www.thermoplasticplaygroundmarkings.co.uk/activities/basketball/powys/new-mills-felin-newydd
Schools Tennis Line Marking in New Mills/Felin Newydd - https://www.thermoplasticplaygroundmarkings.co.uk/activities/tennis/powys/new-mills-felin-newydd
If you require any other information about what we offer as a netball lines installer in New Mills/Felin Newydd SY16 3 then please feel free to fill in the contact form provided.
Our team will be happy to help resolve any of your questions or provide you with any necessary information about courts or installers.
We cover New Mills/Felin Newydd (Powys)


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Brockley Central has been very excited about the prospects for a new community art gallery at Brockley Cross. Run by charity Tea Leaf Arts, it will serve as a centre for the local artistic community, a venue for new kinds of events and installations and an expression of Brockley's vibrant community.
However, as the Tea Factory slowly emerges from its scaffold coccoon to reveal a handsome new building, the gallery is still a distant prospect.
During the planning process for the Tea Factory, the Council negotiated with the developer to ensure that, for the first two years of its new life, the Tea Factory would have to give one of the commercial units to the community, at zero cost, to be used as a new gallery. If, after those two years, the gallery was able to run on commercial terms, they will have first refusal on the site. This made sense for a host of reasons...
Firstly, the Tea Factory owners win because this deal was secured as part of the Section 106 agreement, which is the price councils are able to extract from large-scale developers - it's payment in kind, rather than in cash.
Secondly, the ground floor units had to be commercial (rather than residential) anyway and the new development on the west side of the station has proved that these kinds of units, in areas of low footfall, with few other shops around, are hard to shift. By giving away one unit, the developers ensure that they have a nice gallery instead of an empty window - all the better to attract residential buyers and help secure more commercial tennants. The Tea Factory is due to house a new cafe, and there's no-doubt the management would have been attracted by the prospect of having a gallery for a neighbour.
Thirdly, for the Council, it's a much-needed gesture towards regenerating Brockley Cross, but the burden of effort to make it a reality is handed over to the local community and Creative Lewisham.
However, when we recently contacted the community team behind the new gallery for an update, we were shocked. While the Tea Factory is due for completion this month, the gallery has no opening date - in fact, its future is still in doubt.
Instead of a functioning commercial space, the developer is planning to deliver the gallery owners an empty shell, without basic requirements like electricity, heating, lighting, plumbing and even windows. By doing so, the developer will fulfil his agreement under the terms of the Section 106, but leave the gallery team with a £14,000 funding gap.
The gallery team have finalised their plans for the space and are frantically trying to raise funds from other sources, but it is an unexpected mountain they have to climb and, even if they are successful, it is likely to take time before they are in a position to get the Gallery up and running. There are no further funds available from the Council's Section 106 budget to support the project.
We don't understand how the Council could have negotiated a deal which effectively leaves a community group having to pay the fit-out costs for a commercial developer, particularly since, after two years, it becomes the developer's again, to profit from.
In our view, the Council must take more responsibility for this problem than it appears to have done so far. They must intervene by playing an active role in identifying new funding - not just pointing the group in the direction of various funds the group can apply for but actually finding funds within the Council budget, to clear up the mess they've made. After all, if the Gallery doesn't happen then the Council have effectively negotiated zero value from the Tea Factory's redevelopment.
Despite several years of consultation by the Council about the regeneration of Brockley Cross, the Tea Factory is the only meaningful development to have come to fruition. It would be a travesty if their one success story was marred for the want of a small amount of money.


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If you're a parent, you know how easily kids soak up information. They pick up on stuff faster than we care to imagine, and take in the world around them like little sponges.
We all want our kids to grow up to live happy and healthy lives, but what about altruistic lives? Values and beliefs instilled now flourish into actions later. What can you do to instill philanthropic values in your children? To get you started, here are six ways to teach your child about giving.
1. Volunteer as a family.
The greatest way to teach your child about giving is to let them see you giving. Volunteering or donating as a family is a fun way for everyone to be involved in the process. Your kids will see firsthand how you help in the community and the effects giving has on those in need. When you volunteer as a family, your children see an altruistic lifestyle in work, and feel those values instilled in their own lives.
2. Allow them to pick the cause.
One great way to get your children excited about giving is to let them pick the cause you give to. Have some fun with it! Go online and research different non-profits in the area, ask your kids how they want to help others and let them choose the charity to give back to. When your child feels involved in the initial decision process, he or she will be ready and willing to be involved in the actual giving process.
3. Let them choose items to donate.
If your family decides to donate to a local shelter or home, let your child be involved in choosing which items to donate. Go through their clothes and toys together and ask which ones they would like to give to help other children. Focus the process on helping others, rather than on getting rid of their items. Your children will see just how impactful they can be by giving to others in need.
4. Run a lemonade stand.
Lemonade stands are always a fun time, and giving can be too! Help your child set up a lemonade stand on the corner to make some money, with some of the proceeds going to a local charity of their choice. Your kid will learn the value of hard work and living an altruistic lifestyle all in one event. And who knows? Maybe they'll decide to donate all of their earnings!
5. Bring giving into activities.
An easy way to get your child excited about giving is to bring it into family events. Birthday parties, holidays or even fun get-togethers can be great times to incorporate giving. Ask guests to bring canned food or clothing items to donate when hosting a party at your house. Or, have all the kids work on a craft they can send to a local charity. Not only will your child feel more engaged with philanthropy, but you'll be promoting charitable altruism in the community as well.
6. Emphasize the outcome.
Most importantly, emphasize the outcome of giving back with your child. Talk about who volunteering and donating goes to, and how it benefits those in need. Let your child see success stories of people who have been helped by non-profit organizations, and focus on how your efforts are helping them. When kids see the actual results of giving, they'll be even more inclined to continue the practice for years to come.
When it comes to giving back, don't just stop with yourself. Help instill philanthropic values in your children's lives by teaching them the joy of giving to others. What your kids learn now they will become in the future, so help them to lead an altruistic lifestyle from the very beginning.


text: Marjorie Poore Productions introduces an exciting new cooking series featuring one of America's top celebrities in the cooking world. Chef Hubert Keller whose extraordinary on-air charisma and charm is matched only by the mouth-watering recipes that will keep viewers salivating and coming back for more week after week. Chef Keller's magical cooking reflects the many influences of the places he has lived; from his native Alsace with its legendary soups and stews to San Paulo, Brazil where the cuisine pulsates with exciting and bold flavors; to his long-time home in San Francisco where he is a leader of the city's culinary revolution; and finally to Las Vegas where he has pioneered a whole new concept of burger dining that has garnered worldwide recognition. Chef Keller starts with his most famous dishes and transforms them into easy-to-follow recipes, tailored especially for home cooks while demystifying important cooking techniques that are essential to good cooking.


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Studied Homeopathic Remedies
- Nux vomica
- Lycopodium
- Pulsatilla
The term gastritis generally refers to inflammation of the stomach wall. Symptoms include uncomfortable sensations in the stomach area ranging from vague nausea and feelings of fullness to unpleasant burning and even vomiting. In some cases, gastritis may be the beginning of the road that leads to an ulcer, but it can also be a relatively mild, recurrent condition. In the latter case, the description "irritable" or "nervous" stomach is commonly used.
Note: Symptoms of gastritis overlap with more serious conditions, such as stomach ulcers or esophageal reflux. Physician evaluation is strongly recommended if symptoms are severe, recurrent, or prolonged.
Scientific Evaluations of Homeopathic Remedies for Gastritis
Three studies, two of which were randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, examined the effectiveness of treating mild gastritis with the homeopathic remedy Nux vomica . Overall, however, the results were not promising.
The first was a double-blind study enrolling a total of 147 participants, who received either Nux vomica D4 or placebo. 1 The treatment group did not show a statistically significant improvement in symptoms as compared to the control group.
Two other double-blind studies included a total of 69 patients; one tested Nux vomica at a strength of D4, and the other used a D30 potency. 2 In both studies, the patients who were treated with the homeopathic remedy did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in symptoms compared to the control group.
These reasonably sized studies of homeopathic Nux vomica suggest that it is indeed probably not effective for treating gastritis.
Traditional Homeopathic Treatments for Gastritis
In classical homeopathy , there are many possible homeopathic treatments for gastritis, to be chosen based on various specific details of the person seeking treatment.
Homeopathic practitioners have traditionally used the remedy described above, Nux vomica , in the treatment of gastritis. Nux is said to be indicated for those who experience heartburn or stomach pain after eating; wake at night with stomach discomfort, including pain or bloating; and often have constipation or diarrhea. Symptoms are worsened by rich or spicy foods, and made better by warmth. Irritability and impatience are also prominent parts of the classic symptom picture of this remedy.
Lycopodium may be traditionally indicated when belching, bloating, and easy fullness are prominent parts of the symptom picture, along with indigestion related to social stress. Pulsatilla is frequently recommended for emotional, clingy people, who have rapidly changing symptoms, including heartburn and bloating, particularly after eating rich foods.
Other Natural Options
For herbs, supplements, and other alternative treatments that may be useful for gastritis-like symptoms, see the Dyspepsia article.
For a thorough explanation of homeopathy, including dilution of therapies, see the Homeopathy Overview .
REF1 Ritter H. A double-blind trial of the therapeutic effectiveness of a homeopathic medication and the problems that attend such a trial [translated from German]. Hippokrates . 1966;12:472–476.
REF2 Mossinger P. Failed effectiveness proofs [translated from German]. Allgem Homoopath Zeit . 1976;221:26–31.


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The Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools (AGBIS) supports and advises governing bodies of schools in the independent sector on all aspects of governance, under the umbrella of the Independent Schools Council. The charitable objects of the Association are the advancement of education and the promotion of good governance in independent private schools.
HMC (the Headmasters' & Headmistresses' Conference) is a professional association of Heads of many of the world's leading independent schools. It has provided support and advice to Heads for over 100 years and is the oldest and most influential association of its kind in the English speaking world. HMC's membership includes the Heads of co-educational schools, single sex schools and diamond schools where both single sex and co-educational teaching takes place. The association also includes Heads of schools with a particular religious affiliation or with dedicated provision for children with special educational needs. Use the search facility on the site to find HMC schools near Bude or worldwide.


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I have been on quite the whole grain kick lately. With lettuce and other summer vegetables that commonly go into salads a bit more expensive now, I have really been enjoying the more wintery vegetables in whole grain salads as a nice alternative. There was one cup of the farro left in my cupboard just asking to be eaten and I knew that it was time for another farro salad. I have just been looking for excuses to roast cauliflower ever since I found out how good it was when roasted and I was thinking that a roasted cauliflower farro salad would be perfect. The next thing that came to mind was adding some tasty roasted red peppers which are always a favorite. I like roasted red peppers so much that I roasted a bunch of them in the fall when they were in season and froze them for later. Now it is pretty convenient to be able to just thaw them out and use them when needed. I finished the salad off with some onions, chickpeas, walnuts and a simple vinaigrette. The roasted cauliflower and red pepper farro salad turned out great! The chewy farro went well with the roasted cauliflower and the roasted red peppers and feta added a ton of flavour. I enjoyed the salad warm the first night and the leftovers were just as good straight from the fridge.
Roasted Cauliflower and Red Pepper Farro Salad
- 1 small cauliflower (cut into florets)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 roasted red pepper (chopped)
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 1 cup farro (cook as directed on package)
- 1 handful red onion (chopped)
- 1/4 cup feta (crumbled)
- 1/4 cup walnuts (toasted)
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 handful parsley (chopped)
- Toss the cauliflower florets in the olive oil with the salt and pepper.
- Arrange the cauliflower florets in a single layer in a baking dish.
- Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F/200C oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
- Place the cauliflower, red pepper, chickpeas, farro, onion, feta and walnuts in a bowl and mix.
- Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the salad followed by the parsley and mix.
Mushroom and Thyme Farro Salad
Cauliflower Rice Pilaf
Roasted Butternut Squash Farro Salad
Asparagus and Zucchini Farro Salad
Roasted Asparagus and Red Pepper Farro Salad
Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry
Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpea Wheatberry Salad
Roasted Eggplant, Red Pepper and Green Bean Pomegranate Salad
Roasted Mushroom and Green Bean Farro Salad
Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Quinoa Salad in Balsamic Vinaigrette
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Cauliflower Soup with Goat Cheese


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New Congress to vote on superstorm Sandy aid
| Washington
At last, the storm-racked Northeast is getting a House floor vote on billions in disaster relief aid for victims of October's Superstorm Sandy, but only after a host of East Coast Republican lawmakers threatened a near mutiny against GOP Speaker John Boehner.
A $9.7 billion measure to pay flood insurance claims, which amounts to just a down payment on a multibillion aid commitment, is expected to be approved by the House on Friday, boosting prospects for relief for the many home and business owners devastated by the storm. If the House acts as expected, the Senate plans to follow with a likely uncontested vote later in the day.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency warns that the National Flood Insurance Program will run out of money next week if Congress doesn't provide additional borrowing authority to pay out claims. Congress created the FEMA-run program in 1968 because few private insurers cover flood damage.
The flood insurance measure is the first phase of a proposed Sandy aid package. Under Boehner's new schedule, the House will vote Jan. 15 on an additional $51 billion in recovery money. Senate action on that measure is expected the following week. Fiscally pressured local governments are awaiting that money.
Northeast lawmakers say the money is urgently needed for storm victims awaiting claim checks from the late October storm, which was one of the worst ever to strike the Northeast, ravaging the coast from North Carolina to Maine, with the most severe flooding occurring in Atlantic City, N.J., New York City and Long Island and along the Connecticut coastline.
"People are waiting to be paid," said Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., whose district includes Atlantic City and many other coastal communities hard hit by the storm. "They're sleeping in rented rooms on cots somewhere and they're not happy. They want to get their lives back on track and it's cold outside. They see no prospect of relief."
Boehner had promised a House vote on Friday after his decision to delay an action on a broader Sandy relief package provoked outrage from Northeast Republicans, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said he'd lost trust in GOP leaders in Congress after being promised a vote earlier this week.
About 140,000 Sandy-related flood insurance claims have been filed, FEMA officials said, and most have yet to be closed out. Many flood victims have only received partial payments on their claims.
Philip Rock has received $8,000 in flood insurance payments so far but said he is awaiting a statement on the final amount, which he expects to be much more. A house he owns in Toms River, N.J., had a $220,000 flood insurance policy. The house, which he rents out, was destroyed, and he needs to know the final payout before he can demolish it.
The house is a "total loss," Rock said. "We don't want to demolish the house and have them say, 'We have to go around and take more pictures.'"
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were the states hardest hit by the storm in terms of damage from high winds, flooding and storm surges. The storm damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected.
Speaking of the legislation pending Friday, Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., whose district includes Staten Island, said, "This funding will give the city and state the much-needed resources to rebuild our damaged infrastructure and provide further aid to individuals and small businesses struggling to pick up the pieces of their lives."
Sandy was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was blamed for at least 120 deaths. Northeast lawmakers have complained that it took just 10 days for Congress to approve about $50 billion in aid for Katrina but that it hasn't provided aid for Sandy relief in more than two months.
"States and local communities need to know the money will be there before they can give a green light to start rebuilding," said LoBiondo.
More than $2 billion in federal money has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia are receiving FEMA aid.
Associated Press writer Katie Zezima in Newark, N.J., contributed to this report.


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Risk Review: A little global domination for your Windows Phone
We're hard at work on our Skulls of the Shogun review, but it's a long game and also features an extensive multiplayer component. As such, we'll hold our judgment of that title until next week. In the meantime, let's look at one of those formerly Nokia exclusive Xbox games that half of us loved to love while the other half loved to grumble about: Risk.
The Nokia-Electronic Arts partnership has produced games in a variety of genres so far. The mostly highly represented game type is actually board games, with The Game of Life, Connect 4, Trivial Pursuit, and Risk among its numbers. Risk recently gained Windows Phone 8 compatibility, making it a prime target for review. It's also one of the stronger board game adaptations to appear on Microsoft's mobile platform.
Conquest of the world
Risk is a strategy game for 2-6 players. The board contains a map of the world with each continent divided into multiple territories. The goal is to eliminate all other players and take ownership of the entire world, presumably forcing its inhabitants to listen to nothing but the winner's favorite music for the rest of eternity.
At the start of a game, each player receives a certain number of territories. By default, the game randomly assigns territories. The number of units placed on each territory is also random. However, you can choose to manually distribute territories for a slower, more analog experience.
Years ago, I found the real board game a bit tough to learn because of all the dice rolling and my opponents already knowing basic strategies ahead of me. Luckily, the game starts out with a helpful tutorial that makes learning a cinch. Besides, this version is set up in a largely intuitive fashion, with just the right amount of automation to get new players going and keep the overall game moving at a brisk pace.
Game phases
Every turn consists of three phases. Wrap your head around those and you're ready to take on the world, so to speak.
- Deployment: At the beginning of each turn, you're awarded a number of units based on how many continents you have completely under your control. These units can be distributed among your territories at will. Generally, you'll want to put them in places that you'll be launching attacks from or expect to receive attacks.
- Attack: Risk's battles are one part a game of numbers and the other part luck. You'll select a territory with which to attack and an adjacent recipient of the attack. Each side gets to roll a certain number of dice depending on how many units it has involved in the clash. The highest roll wins, while the defender wins in the case of a draw. You can choose to manually watch each dice roll or instantly view the battle results – a much appreciated touch compared to being forced to watch each spin in The Game of Life. A player can launch as many attacks as he or she pleases in a turn before moving on to the final phase.
- Fortification: After your attacks wrap up, you can reposition units from one single territory to another single territory. That's the only gameplay element I'm not crazy about; I'd rather be able to move units to or from multiple territories. But I guess it has the benefit of preventing players from building impregnable defenses.
All in the cards
Risk also has a collectible card system to keep things interesting. At the end of a turn, players are awarded one card if they have successfully conquered another player's territory. Once a player collects three of the same card or one of each card type, he or she is then prompted to trade in those cards for additional units. Those units can make a huge difference in attack or defense, so you'll generally want to cash cards in when you get the chance.
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Single player
Board games are meant to be played with friends, so videogame ports often drop the ball with their single-player components. This version of Risk doesn't introduce a metagame or any fancy new modes to spice up the one-player game. But it does at least offer three difficulty settings and the choice of how many AI players to compete against.
Whereas playing The Game of Life by one's self is about as exciting as watching paint dry, Risk fares much better. The player has a lot of choice in how to approach the game, both from offensive and defensive standpoints. Do you focus on taking the smaller continents first, or take on the larger continents in order to gain a much higher number of troops on your next turn? And who is the greatest threat to defend against?
Even the battles, while relying on the random factor of dice rolls, can basically be won by numbers, so they don't feel too arbitrary. On the whole, playing a game or two by yourself now and then is surprisingly fun.
Like every other Nokia exclusive port to date, Risk lacks online play... But so does this iOS version upon which it's based, so we can't complain too loudly. This one does at least outdo The Game of Life by offering two different multiplayer options: Pass and Play or Local Wi-Fi.
Risk is one of the few mainstream board games that I can actually see being fun enough to play with others in a local setting on a phone. Plus the automation of territory distribution and dice rolls really speeds up what can otherwise be a very time-consuming game.
This game's Achievements are quite reasonable on the whole – far more so than the other Xbox strategy board game, Carcassonne. Most of them come down to winning a certain number of games or receiving different numbers of kudos for attacking and defending in various ways.
The hardest Achievement is 'Allrounder.' You'll have to win a game against the AI on all three difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, and Hard. As you can imagine, the latter difficulty will present something of a challenge. Still, use some careful thinking, practice, and/or a little cheating and you're sure to prevail.
Note: On Windows Phone 8, the in-game Achievements menu has a bug in which a black vertical bar flickers on the screen as pictured above. It's a minor bug and doesn't hurt anything.
Overall Impression
Risk's closest Windows Phone competitor is fellow strategic board game adaptation Carcassonne. That game has a bit more going on under its hood and boasts the online multiplayer that Risk lacks. Still, Carcassonne's actual online implementation is terrible and the Achievements require an insane amount of grinding compared to this one.
Risk also carries the benefit of being easier to learn and generally better known, so it works much better in a local setting. I'm not crazy about pass-and-play multiplayer, thus the addition of local Wi-Fi support is most welcome. Risk stands above most other Windows Phone board games thanks to its relatively deep gameplay and sharp interface. If you like this style of game, consider this one a very low risk purchase.
Risk costs $2.99 and runs on both Windows Phone 7 and 8. You can find its Windows Phone Store page here.
Paul Acevedo is the Games Editor at Windows Central. A lifelong gamer, he has written about videogames for over 15 years and reviewed over 350 games for our site. Follow him on Twitter @PaulRAcevedo. Don't hate. Appreciate!