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In Passing SESTA/FOSTA, Lawmakers Failed to Separate Their Good Intentions from Bad Law
Today was a dark day for the Internet.
The U.S. Senate just voted 97-2 to pass the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA, H.R. 1865), a bill that silences online speech by forcing Internet platforms to censor their users. As lobbyists and members of Congress applaud themselves for enacting a law tackling the problem of trafficking, let's be clear: Congress just made trafficking victims less safe, not more.
The version of FOSTA that just passed the Senate combined an earlier version of FOSTA (what we call FOSTA 2.0) with the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA, S. 1693). The history of SESTA/FOSTA—a bad bill that turned into a worse bill and then was rushed through votes in both houses of Congress—is a story about Congress' failure to see that its good intentions can result in bad law. It's a story of Congress' failure to listen to the constituents who'd be most affected by the laws it passed. It's also the story of some players in the tech sector choosing to settle for compromises and half-wins that will put ordinary people in danger.
Silencing Internet Users Doesn't Make Us Safer
SESTA/FOSTA undermines Section 230, the most important law protecting free speech online. Section 230 protects online platforms from liability for some types of speech by their users. Without Section 230, the Internet would look very different. It's likely that many of today's online platforms would never have formed or received the investment they needed to grow and scale—the risk of litigation would have simply been too high. Similarly, in absence of Section 230 protections, noncommercial platforms like Wikipedia and the Internet Archive likely wouldn't have been founded given the high level of legal risk involved with hosting third-party content.
The bill is worded so broadly that it could even be used against platform owners that don't know that their sites are being used for trafficking.
Importantly, Section 230 does not shield platforms from liability under federal criminal law. Section 230 also doesn't shield platforms across-the-board from liability under civil law: courts have allowed civil claims against online platforms when a platform directly contributed to unlawful speech. Section 230 strikes a careful balance between enabling the pursuit of justice and promoting free speech and innovation online: platforms can be held responsible for their own actions, and can still host user-generated content without fear of broad legal liability.
SESTA/FOSTA upends that balance, opening platforms to new criminal and civil liability at the state and federal levels for their users' sex trafficking activities. The platform liability created by new Section 230 carve outs applies retroactively—meaning the increased liability applies to trafficking that took place before the law passed. The Department of Justice has raised concerns [.pdf] about this violating the Constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause, at least for the criminal provisions.
The bill also expands existing federal criminal law to target online platforms where sex trafficking content appears. The bill is worded so broadly that it could even be used against platform owners that don't know that their sites are being used for trafficking.
Finally, SESTA/FOSTA expands federal prostitution law to cover those who use the Internet to "promote or facilitate prostitution."
The Internet will become a less inclusive place, something that hurts all of us.
It's easy to see the impact that this ramp-up in liability will have on online speech: facing the risk of ruinous litigation, online platforms will have little choice but to become much more restrictive in what sorts of discussion—and what sorts of users—they allow, censoring innocent people in the process.
What forms that erasure takes will vary from platform to platform. For some, it will mean increasingly restrictive terms of service—banning sexual content, for example, or advertisements for legal escort services. For others, it will mean over-reliance on automated filters to delete borderline posts. No matter what methods platforms use to mitigate their risk, one thing is certain: when platforms choose to err on the side of censorship, marginalized voices are censored disproportionately. The Internet will become a less inclusive place, something that hurts all of us.
Big Tech Companies Don't Speak for Users
SESTA/FOSTA supporters boast that their bill has the support of the technology community, but it's worth considering what they mean by "technology." IBM and Oracle—companies whose business models don't heavily rely on Section 230—were quick to jump onboard. Next came the Internet Association, a trade association representing the world's largest Internet companies, companies that will certainly be able to survive SESTA while their smaller competitors struggle to comply with it.
Those tech companies simply don't speak for the Internet users who will be silenced under the law. And tragically, the people likely to be censored the most are trafficking victims themselves.
SESTA/FOSTA Will Put Trafficking Victims in More Danger
Throughout the SESTA/FOSTA debate, the bills' proponents provided little to no evidence that increased platform liability would do anything to reduce trafficking. On the other hand, the bills' opponents have presented a great deal of evidence that shutting down platforms where sexual services are advertised exposes trafficking victims to more danger.
Freedom Network USA—the largest national network of organizations working to reduce trafficking in their communities—spoke out early to express grave concerns [.pdf] that removing sexual ads from the Internet would also remove the best chance trafficking victims had of being found and helped by organizations like theirs as well as law enforcement agencies.
Reforming [Section 230] to include the threat of civil litigation could deter responsible website administrators from trying to identify and report trafficking.
It is important to note that responsible website administration can make trafficking more visible—which can lead to increased identification. There are many cases of victims being identified online—and little doubt that without this platform, they would have not been identified. Internet sites provide a digital footprint that law enforcement can use to investigate trafficking into the sex trade, and to locate trafficking victims. When websites are shut down, the sex trade is pushed underground and sex trafficking victims are forced into even more dangerous circumstances.
Freedom Network was far from alone. Since SESTA was introduced, many experts have chimed in to point out the danger that SESTA would put all sex workers in, including those who are being trafficked. Sex workers themselves have spoken out too, explaining how online platforms have literally saved their lives. Why didn't Congress bring those experts to its deliberations on SESTA/FOSTA over the past year?
While we can't speculate on the agendas of the groups behind SESTA, we can study those same groups' past advocacy work. Given that history, one could be forgiven for thinking that some of these groups see SESTA as a mere stepping stone to banning pornography from the Internet or blurring the legal distinctions between sex work and trafficking.
In all of Congress' deliberations on SESTA, no one spoke to the experiences of the sex workers that the bill will push off of the Internet and onto the dangerous streets. It wasn't surprising, then, when the House of Representatives presented its "alternative" bill, one that targeted those communities more directly.
"Compromise" Bill Raises New Civil Liberties Concerns
In December, the House Judiciary Committee unveiled its new revision of FOSTA. FOSTA 2.0 had the same inherent flaw that its predecessor had—attaching more liability to platforms for their users' speech does nothing to fight the underlying criminal behavior of traffickers.
In a way, FOSTA 2.0 was an improvement: the bill was targeted only at platforms that intentionally facilitated prostitution, and so would affect a narrower swath of the Internet. But the damage it would do was much more blunt: it would expand federal prostitution law such that online platforms would have to take down any posts that could potentially be in support of any sex work, regardless of whether there's an indication of force or coercion, or whether minors were involved.
FOSTA 2.0 didn't stop there. It criminalized using the Internet to "promote or facilitate" prostitution. Activists who work to reduce harm in the sex work community—by providing health information, for example, or sharing lists of dangerous clients—were rightly worried that prosecutors would attempt to use this law to put their work in jeopardy.
Regardless, a few holdouts in the tech world believed that their best hope of stopping SESTA was to endorse a censorship bill that would do slightly less damage to the tech industry.
They should have known it was a trap.
SESTA/FOSTA: The Worst of Both Worlds
That brings us to last month, when a new bill combining SESTA and FOSTA was rushed through congressional procedure and overwhelmingly passed the House.
When the Department of Justice is the group urging Congress not to expand criminal law and Congress does it anyway, something is very wrong.
Thousands of you picked up your phone and called your senators, urging them to oppose the new Frankenstein bill. And you weren't alone: EFF, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and many other experts pleaded with Congress to recognize the dangers to free speech and online communities that the bill presented.
Even the Department of Justice wrote a letter urging Congress not to go forward with the hybrid bill [.pdf]. The DOJ said that the expansion of federal criminal law in SESTA/FOSTA was simply unnecessary, and could possibly undermine criminal investigations. When the Department of Justice is the group urging Congress not to expand criminal law and Congress does it anyway, something is very wrong.
Assuming that the president signs it into law, SESTA/FOSTA is the most significant rollback to date of the protections for online speech in Section 230. We hope that it's the last, but it may not be. Over the past year, we've seen more calls than ever to create new exceptions to Section 230.
In any case, we will continue to fight back against proposals that undermine our right to speak and gather online. We hope you'll stand with us.


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Cool Tools and Toys for Web Developers
John, the lead developer (ok, pretty much the only developer) of Style Master is an avowed hacker. He loves exploring and experimenting with the latest features in browsers. Here's a collection of tools for web developers he's put together to help you analyse and debug your sites (and other people's sites as well), play with CSS3 features (bleeding edge browsers recommended) and more.
XRAY works in Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer. It helps you visualize the layout of your page. Add it to your bookmarks, and then on any web page, use it to see the position, margins, padding, dimensions and more details of any element. Try it now.
XRAY uses lots of cool CSS3 features like border-radius, opacity, box and text shadow, as well as the HTML5 canvas.
MRI helps you create the best possible selectors for your CSS. Add MRI to your bookmarks bar, then for any page, click an element, and MRI suggests selectors for that element. You can also test selectors with it. Try it now
MRI also uses lots of cool CSS3 features like border-radius, opacity, box and text shadow, as well as the HTML5 canvas.
CSS3 Sandbox
Explore CSS gradients (both linear and radial) (an experimental feature in Safari 4, and a proposed addition to CSS3). You'll need Safari 4 or a webkit nightly to see the gradients in action, or Firefox 3.6
CSS now lets you create drop shadows on text, and on the box of an element. Explore CSS3 transforms (supported in Opera 9, Firefox 3.5 and Safari 1.2 and higher), and box-shadows (supported in Firefox 3.5 and Safari 3.1).
CSS Transforms
You can rotate, scale, skew, and otherwise transform HTML elements with CSS 3. Explore CSS3 CSS Transforms (supported in Opera 10.5, Firefox 3.5 and Safari 4 and higher).
CSS Text Stroke
You can stroke text with experimental CSS text-stroke, supported in Safari 4
Coming soon
We've got more cool tools coming soon to the sandbox, including tools to help explore opacity, multi-column text, transitions, animations and embeddable fonts. Subscribe to our feed to keep up to date.

subset: commoncrawl


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Despite his core demographic consisting of beer-guzzling young men (or, maybe, because of it?), humanities professors can't seem to get enough of Stephen Colbert. These scholars are giving the faux-conservative TV comedian the full academic treatment, according to the Washington Post. In classrooms north and south, Colbert's signature brand of satire is being deconstructed, reassembled, criticized and praised in a host of journal articles, scholarly books, PhD theses and undergraduate philosophy courses. For example, a chapter from a 2009 philosophy book posits "Is Stephen Colbert America's Socrates?" while a 2010 interdisciplinary journal delved into Colbert's humor from a theological perspective.
(MORE: Stephen Colbert: The 100 Most Influential People in the World)
But why the intense academic interest in a late night comic? The Post explains:
His character, an egomaniacal right-wing gasbag, connects him to a long Western satirical tradition going all the way back to the Roman poet Horace and the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, although neither of those guys had basic-cable gigs.
(WATCH: Maurice Sendak's Last Interview with Stephen Colbert)
Boston University professor Michael Rodriguez, who teaches a class titled "The Colbert Report: American Satire," further elucidates the comic's academic appeal to NPR: "I don't think it's going too far to compare him to someone like Socrates or Plato, who were interested in truth. He also does another thing that Socrates did, which was to use the opponent's own assumptions and presuppositions to then deconstruct them and show that they are, in fact, invalid. And Colbert does that better than anyone I've seen in this generation."
After all, it's not the first time Colbert's humor has landed him a erudite accolade. In 2005 he conceived the term "truthiness," referring to a truth felt in one's gut and indeed not based on the facts. It was so pertinent to the society at large that the American Dialect Society chose it as their word of the year. And now, the man himself is bucking the modern educational arena. What higher acclaim could Stephen Colbert — the self-described "pundit, journalist…and female body inspector" — ask for in this life?
MORE: Stephen Colbert's Super Pac Satire Lands Him a Peabody


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LBI NJ Website Design
- The Top 5 Mistakes Your Web Designer Is Probably Going to Make (or already has).
- 3 Things You Can Do To Drastically Increase Your Online Visibility - For FREE!
- 3 Tips About How To Make Your Website a Traffic Magnet
Our Complete Guide to Getting More Customers Online
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Effective LBI Websites
You need more visibility, more traffic, more leads, and more sales! We can help you do that!
The current state of LBI NJ Website Design is not good. We understand most LBI businesses are not making money from their websites and are not attracting new customers or clients. This is NOT a problem with LBI, with the internet, or even with your business! The problem is that the website design companies operating in and around LBI are (mostly) not very good! We can help!
how we help LBI business owners
DotCom has been helping businesses in LBI NJ with Website Design for over 20 years. We understand the market. We understand the unique opportunities and challenges that businesses in LBI face. Whatever your situation, DotCom is poised to help you succeed online!
Why DotCom?
LEARN why DotCom is the top-rated digital agency in South Jersey
EXPLORE how DotCom can help your business - as we have done for hundreds of other New Jersey Businesses
EXPERIENCE the difference when you work with a 5-star rated agency who has been working with New Jersey businesses for over 20 years.
contact usBenefits of Professionally Developed Websites
Highly attractive, professionally developed websites are important for any business. Whether you are a business owner in LBI NJ or wherever you may call home, your business website must meet the needs of your business and the customers your are attempting to attract. A well designed and developed website will achieve the following 4 things:
More Website Traffic
We design websites that attract more traffic through advanced SEO techniques and aggressive online marketing campaigns.
Higher Conversion Rates
More attractive websites that include all the features known to encourage greater engagement leads to much higher conversion rates.
Increased Revenue
We help our clients understand how to convert online leads into real-world sales. Our process is predictable, repeatable, and measurable.
Improved Workflow
Properly designed and conceived websites can also help your sales staff and your customer service people by allowing them to use it as a resource.
Features of Effective Websites
- Reponsive
Your website should employ modern features to maximize your impact
- Attractive Design
Your website is a reflection of your business. It should look great.
- Effective Design
Your website design should maximize engagement and achieve your goals..
- Modern Design Style
Design styles change with time. Your website should always be modern.
- Features
Your website should be optimized to work on mobile devices.
- Useful Content
Website visitors expect more these days. Provide value or lose them!
- Great Visuals
Stand out and be memorable by including great photos or custom graphics.
- Optimized
Your website should be optimized to attract high search engines ranking.
Our Team of expert website designers and digital marketers reviewed over 100 LBI NJ Website Designs - to find the best and worst that LBI has to offer.
Did your website make the cut? Read our results to find out.
LBI nj website reviewNote: Everything we say is based in research and facts... which automatically means we are right!
- Detailed Report
- Analysis by a Senior Designer
- Specific Recommendations
- Detailed Explainations
Local Directory Listings
After speaking with several dozens of LBI business owners about website design and internet marketing over the years it has become clear that they are not adequately informed about the role and the significance of LOCAL DIRECTORY LISTINGS. We would like to shed some light on this topic here
What Are Local Directory Listings?
Every business in LBI (and everywhere else) is listed in hundreds of online business directories. Even if you, as the business owner, didn't submit your information, it is still "out there".
Mostly these listings include basic contact information about your business and your website.
These listings are used by mobile phone apps, mapping software, Google, and millions of internet users who are searching for various businesses in LBI NJ.
How is My Business Listed?
Unfortunately, most businesses are listed incorrectly in many of these online directories. Because these directories are generated automatically without any quality-control or oversight ... errors are common.
If your business or website information is incorrect, it can harm people's ability to find you online. What's worse is the incorrect information can actually be the contact information for your local competitors ... whether they are located in LBI directly, or in another town nearby.
If you would like to see how many errors your LBI business listing has, you can run an instant real-time report here.
get your instant reportExamples of LBI Directory Listings
In order to help you better understand what these LBI NJ Business DIrectory Listings look like, we are providing a few examples below:
Website Design Review
Did Your Read The Article?
Our Team of expert website designers and digital marketers reviewed over 100 LBI NJ Website Designs - to find the best and worst that LBI has to offer.
Did your website make the cut? Read our results to find out.
LBI nj website reviewA Few Personal Notes about LBI NJ Website Design
We have been developing websites for businesses in LBI for over 20 years!
DotCom offers LBI business owners a rare oppotunity for online success. Working with a local website design company ensures that we understand the particular issues related to LBI. That is a huge plus! However, most "local" website design companies are not experienced enough or talented enough to truly help your business grow. That is why we are such a great choice for your next website. Not only have we been creating websites for LBI business owners for over 20 years, but we are an incredibly accomplished website design agency.
LBI Website Examples and Testimonials
We have worked with hundreds of businesses in and around LBI for a long time. We are certain you have seen some of our work and you probably know some of our clients. In the past, we published the work we had done for LBI websites. However, we have found our local competition stealing our work too often. Now, we provide these website design examples and client testimonials upon request only.
Here are some of the industries we have worked with in LBI. and in the surrounding communities:
- LBI Real Estate Websites.
- LBI Law Office Websites.
- LBI Medical Practice Websites.
- LBI Landscaper Websites.
- LBI Restaurant Websites.
- LBI Insurance Websites.
- LBI Mortgage Company Websites.
- LBI Tree Service Websites.
- LBI Solar Company Websites.
- LBI New Home Builder Websites.
The following are a small sample of LBI NJ Website Design we have completed in the past few years. If you would like to see larger versions and/or a complete list of clients and testimonials, please contact us.
LBI NJ Real Estate Website
LBI NJ Landscaping Website
LBI NJ Law Office Website
LBI NJ Medical Practice Website
LBI NJ Restaurant Website
LBI NJ Insurance Agency Website
LBI NJ Mortgage Company Website
LBI NJ Tree Service Website
LBI NJ Solar Website
LBI NJ New Home Builder Website
LBI NJ Retail Store Website
LBI NJ HVAC Website
Expert Website Design Tips
Every town is different, every business and industry is different. What works well in one situation may not be the best approach in another situation. That being said, we do see a consistent set of issues that seem to apply for a large number of LBI businesses.
After dozens of conversations and consultations with business owners relating to LBI NJ Website Design, I have collected the following list of general website tips and tricks.
Social Proof for LBI Websites
Social proof has 2 different levels. Level one refers to customer testimonials and online ratings and reviews. LBI residents (and residents of the surrounding area) want to know who you've done business with and what was their experience. Including testimonials, ratings, and online reviews on your website is an important way to show people that you are trustworthy.
The second level of social proof is authority and credibility. You should include the company logos of partners, or certifications, or other "official" credentials you may have on your website. The combination of authority and positive client experience is called LAYERING your Social Proof. It is a powerful element to our LBI NJ Website Design strategy.
Read a related article about this: How Social Proof Can Help LBI Businesses.Great Content for Better LBI Websites
After reviewing over 100 LBI websites recently, our team of expert website designers have determined that LBI businesses are not paying nearly enough attention to their website content.
The web is different than it used to be. Website visitors expect more. It is your job to educate your customers, your leads, and your prospects. If they cannot find the information they are looking for on your website, they will go elsewhere to find it.
Our job is to help you use content in an effective way to improve your LBI NJ Website Design
Read a related article about this: How Great Content Can Help LBI Websites.Social Media Marketing for LBI Websites
Across the board, LBI websites are not being properly supported with social media. In fact, things are so bad for LBI businesses that we honestly cannot find a single example of a company doing it properly
Social Media is a powerful source of new prospects and gives you the opportunity to connect in meaningful ways with your existing customer base. In a small town like LBI, a solid social campaign could establish your business in the minds of "strangers" very quickly and easily.
Read a related article about this: How Social Media Marketing Can Help LBI Businesses.Digital Strategy For Better LBI Websites
In a recent survey, only 5% of LBI (and other nearby towns) business owners developed a true digital strategy before developing their websites. That is a remarkable statistic.
Any company spending $10,000 or more on their website and related digital marketing, should go through a rigorous digital strategy process. It will save you time and money in the long run!
Read a related article about this: How Great Strategy Can Help LBI Websites.


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It's been a bad week for the metrosexual male.
Guy guys Tony Abbott, the newly elected Aussie prime minister, and Vladimir Putin, the newly elected king of the world, have been having a grand week. Metrosexuals Barack Obama and John Kerry? Not so much.
Could it be that the time for the staunch masculine virtues to play a role in the affairs of men (oops!) has rolled around again? A delightful throwback to the halcyon 1950s, Tony Abbott reminds me of my own uncles and the fathers of my contemporaries. Some of his pronouncements are Rick Santorum on steroids—but without the icky sweater. He has reminded women that instead of sending the laundry out it's cheaper to do their own ironing!
Yet Abbott just won a landslide victory in a bitter campaign in which Labor pulled out the "war on women" meme that was instrumental in giving President Obama a second term. Comparisons are in order.
In 2012, the Obama campaign trotted out "Julia," a fictional woman who lived cradle to grave on public assistance from the government, the star of an Obama campaign infomercial entitled "The Life of Julia." Just FYI: In the view of the Obama campaign, Julia's dependence was a good thing.
There was also a Julia in Mr. Abbott's life in 2012—former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who, alas, is not at all fictional, and who viciously attacked Abbott from the floor of the Australian House in what is widely referred to as her "misogyny speech."
The occasion for Ms. Gillard's 15-minute rant was that Abbott sought to sack Speaker of the House Jack Slipper, her ally, because the Slipper had slipped up and gotten caught sending vulgar emails to a female staffer. The emails, among other unsuitable things, compared female genitalia to a shellfish. While Ms. Gillard condemned the—uh—banter, she nevertheless thought it was the right time to attack Abbott.
"I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man," Gillard said, gesturing towards the gallant Abbott. "If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn't need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror."
Sadly, one imagines such a charge would have been devastatingly effective were in tried in the United States. One recalls the furor over Mitt Romney's "binders full of women" remark. Americans seemed anxious to read some hidden misogyny in his eager attempt to demonstrate that he goes to great lengths to hire female staff. Australians, however, apparently didn't buy the charge that Abbott was a raging sexist merely because he had conservative leanings and he won in a landslide.
No matter who is the Democratic standard bearer in 2016, the "war on women" rhetoric will be a key weapon against the Republican nominee. It worked once, and so why not? If the Democratic nominee is Hillary Clinton, rather than celebrating that a woman is leading the ticket, the Democrats will build on the notion that a woman is "owed" the White House. So Abbott's triumph, despite his having been characterized as a sexist troglodyte, is something Republicans should study.
I have a theory for why Abbot was able to survive this rhetorical: He didn't get his feelings hurt. You could feel how unfair Romney felt the trumped up "binders of women" controversy to be, as you can feel Republicans at the thought of voting against any legislation that the Left claims helps women.
But Abbott never seemed frightened by the "war on women" hype. He was comfortable in his skin in the same way that fathers in the 1950s were comfortable in theirs. Don't get me wrong. I love women politicians—or some of them. The irony is that sometimes women politicians are more manly than the guys because they guys are so afraid of the women. Margaret Thatcher, for example, I regard as one of the three greatest figures of recent times (Pope John Paul II and Reagan are the other two). Germany's Angela Merkel has sometimes seemed to be the only person standing between Europe and financial oblivion. Heck, I even have a soft spot for village-razing Boadicea, who led a revolt against the Romans. But I want men to be less afraid of them. We need more of the decisiveness of the Abbotts and Putins. It was galling to have Czar Vladimir lecture us on American exceptionalism, but you have to admit: the guy is a leader.
One more thing. Abbott was propelled to his sweeping victory by his opposition to an economically-damaging carbon emissions tax and his promise to crack down on illegal immigration. Neither of these factors is likely to give solace to Democrats.
Maybe the lesson of Australia is that, when real issues are paramount in the public consciousness, the phony "war on women" becomes moot. I have a hunch that, after three more years of President Obama, more substantial issues than the war on women will occupy our attention.
Charlotte Hays is the director of cultural programs at the Independent Women's Forum.


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Conesys/Aero -Electric Connector is a first-rate designer and cost competitive manufacturer of high performance environmental and firewall-rated cylindrical connectors machined from aluminum, carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum nickel bronze. Conesys/J-Tech specializes in front and rear release 5015 connectors as well as customer- specific applications for customized connectors and fiber optic assemblies. Conesys/EMP Connectors designs and manufactures EMI filter and EMP transient suppression devices. Conesys Europe markets and assembles product for Aero-Electric, J-Tech and EMP. Conesys/Aero Industrial Products sells and manufactures connectors and cable assemblies intended for the industrial marketplace.
Markets Our connectors are widely used in all types of applications spanning markets such as: Military/Aerospace, Commercial Aviation, Business Aviation, Aircraft Engines, Marine Applications, Heavy Equipment, Rail Mass Transit, Geophysical, Machine Automation/Motion Control, Medical Equipment, General Industrial and Telecommunications.
Excellence Conesys' manufacturing process is vertically integrated, ISO 9001:2008 and AS9100, Rev. C certified and most importantly focused on continuous improvement through prevention of defects and reduction in variation and waste.
Molding In house, using internally built molds allowing for tighter controls and improved cycle times.
Plating In house, using state-of-the-art equipment and processes with environmentally friendly results.
Assembly In house, using cellular concepts for better efficiency, cost control and reduced cycle times.


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Alcohol affects people differently, depending on their size, sex, body build, and metabolism. General effects are a feeling of warmth, flushed skin, impaired judgment, decreased inhibitions, muscular in coordination, slurred speech, and memory and comprehension loss. In states of extreme intoxication, vomiting is likely to occur, possibly accompanied by incontinence, poor respiration, a fall in blood pressure, and in cases of severe alcohol poisoning, coma and death.
Drinking heavily over a short period of time usually results in a "hangover" - headache, nausea, shakiness, and sometimes vomiting, beginning from 8 to 12 hours later. A hangover is due partly to poisoning by alcohol and other components of the drink, and partly to the body's reaction to withdrawal from alcohol.
Combining alcohol with other drugs can make the effects of these other drugs much stronger and more dangerous. Many accidental deaths have occurred after people have used alcohol combined with other drugs. Cannabis, tranquillizers, barbiturates and other sleeping pills, or antihistamines (in cold, cough, and allergy remedies) should not be taken with alcohol. Even a small amount of alcohol with any of these drugs can seriously impair a person's ability to drive a car.
This shows a 20-year old female nondrinkers response to the spatial working memory task. Brain activation is shown in bright colors. |
shows an alcohol-dependent 20-year old female's response
to the spatial working memory task. Brain activation
is shown in bright colors.
People who drink on a regular basis become tolerant to many of the unpleasant effects of alcohol, and thus are able to drink more before suffering these effects. Yet even with increased consumption, many such drinkers don't appear intoxicated. Because they continue to work and socialize reasonably well, their deteriorating physical condition may go unrecognized by others until severe damage develops - or until they are hospitalized for other reasons and suddenly experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Psychological dependence on alcohol may occur with regular use of even relatively moderate daily amounts. It may also occur in people who consume alcohol only under certain conditions, such as before and during social occasions. This form of dependence refers to a craving for alcohol's psychological effects, although not necessarily in amounts that produce serious intoxication. For psychologically dependent drinkers, the lack of alcohol tends to make them anxious and, in some cases, panicky.
Physical dependence occurs in consistently heavy drinkers. Since their bodies have adapted to the presence of alcohol, they suffer withdrawal symptoms if they suddenly stop drinking. Withdrawal symptoms range from jumpiness, sleeplessness, sweating, and poor appetite, to tremors (the "shakes"), convulsions. hallucinations. and sometimes death.
Alcohol abuse can take a negative toll on people's lives, fostering violence or a deterioration of personal relationships. Alcoholic behavior can interfere with school or career goals and lead to unemployment.
Long term alcohol abuse poses a variety of health risks, such as as liver damage and an increased risk for heart disease. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome may result from a pregnant woman's drinking alcohol; this condition causes facial abnormalities in the child, as well as growth retardation and brain damage, which often is manifested by intellectual difficulties or behavioral problems.
The left image is an averaged image of 10 nondrinker/social drinker young women, and the right is an averaged image of the 10 alcohol-dependent young women. Red, orange, and yellow show where the brain was active during spatial working memory, with yellow indicating the highest level of activity. Notice that there is less yellow in the back (bottom of the picture) right of the alcohol-dependent women's fMRI.
The effects of any drug depend on several factors:
- the amount taken at one time
- the user's past drug experience
- the manner in which the drug is taken
- the
circumstances under which the drug is taken (the place,
the user's psychological and emotional stability, the
presence of other people, the concurrent use of other
drugs, etc.).
It is the amount of alcohol in the blood that causes the effects. In the following table, the left-hand column lists the number of milligrams of alcohol in each decilitre of blood - that is, the blood alcohol concentration, or BAC. (For example, an average person may get a blood alcohol concentration of 50 mg/dL after two drinks consumed quickly.) The right-hand column describes the usual effects of these amounts on normal people - those who haven't developed a tolerance to alcohol.
Alcohol Concentration
(ma/dL) Effect
50 | Feeling
of warmth, skin flushed; impaired judgment; decreased inhibitions |
100 | Obvious
intoxication in most people Increased impairment of judgment, inhibition, attention, and control; Some impairment of muscular performance; slowing of reflexes |
150 | Obvious
intoxication in all normal people Staggering gait and other muscular incoordination; slurred speech; double vision; memory and comprehension loss |
250 | Extreme
intoxication or stupor Reduced response to stimuli; inability to stand; vomiting; incontinence; sleepiness |
350 | Coma Unconsciousness; little response to stimuli; incontinence; low body temperature; poor respiration; fall in blood pressure; clammy skin |
500 | Death likely |


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Ricotta and sun-dried tomato tart
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Makes 1 tart
- 200g shortcrust pastry
- 30g unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped + 5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 3 eggs 2 yolks
- 500g ricotta
- 20g chopped basil ½ tsp salt ½ tsp black pepper
- 200g sundried tomatoes (plus a little of their oil) + 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- STEP 1Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3. Roll out the pastry and cut out a circle that is just slightly larger than the base of a 24cm spring-form cake tin. Place this inside the tin and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cover with baking paper and baking beans, and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper, and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked through and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down.
- STEP 2Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan over low-medium heat, then sauté the onions and four of the garlic cloves, stirring from time to time, for 20 minutes or so, until the onions are soft and sweet but haven't taken on any colour. Set aside to cool.
- STEP 3Whisk the eggs and yolks in a large mixing bowl, preferably with an electric mixer, until light and airy. Add the ricotta carefully and work just until it is well incorporated. Fold in the onion and garlic mix, basil, salt and pepper, then pour over the pastry and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until just set.
- STEP 4While the tart is in the oven, blitz the sundried tomatoes, the picked leaves of three thyme sprigs, the reserved chopped garlic, a pinch of salt and a few tablespoons of the tomato oil – you want a smooth paste. Spread this mix evenly over the top of the tart as it comes out of the oven, top with three whole thyme sprigs, then return to the oven for five minutes. Remove, leave to cool, and serve warmish or cold.


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New York City's best high school seniors from the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL), Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) and the independent schools will compete for the title of "Best in the City" in the inaugural NYC Mayor's Cup Lacrosse All-Star Games June 2–3. On Saturday, June 2, the independent boy all-stars will take on the PSAL boy all-stars at 11am. On Sunday, June 3, the PSAL girls will play the independent school girls in the championship game at 1pm, followed by the championship boys game, where the CHSAA boys will play the winner of Saturday's matchup. All games will take place at Poly Prep Country Day School, 9216 Seventh Ave., in Brooklyn, and admission is free for all spectators.
The NYC Mayor's Cup series, which encompasses a variety of sports events throughout the year, is produced by NYC & Company, the City's marketing, tourism and partnership organization. For more information on the NYC Mayor's Cup series and for a complete schedule of events, visit facebook.com/nycmayorscup.
Saturday, June 2
11am PSAL Boys vs. Independent Boys
Sunday, June 3
1pm Girls Championship Game: Independent vs. PSAL
3pm Boys Championship Game: CHSAA vs. PSAL/Independent Winner
5pm Awards Ceremony
Poly Prep Country Day School
9216 Seventh Ave.
Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
Emily Mayrath
NYC & Company
Click here to view the boys' and girls' rosters.


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Edwin Meese III
Edwin Meese III served as the seventy-fifth Attorney General of the United States, 1985-1988, under President Ronald Reagan.
Attorney General Confirmation
During his Senate confirmation hearing to become Ronald Reagan's Attorney General, Edwin Meese faced difficult questions from Democratic Senators. One area of questioning regarded an unsecured loan for $60,000 on which he did not pay any interest on for over 20 months, after it was noted the Washington Post. The loan had come from a trust fund managed by John McKean, who Meese barely knew, but had supported to be a Reagan appointed member of Postal Service board of governors. Another line of questioning regarded Meese's role in the Reagan Administration's decision to back out from their support for the IRS determination to revoke Bob Jones University's tax-exempt status, because of its interracial dating/marriage policies. [1]
"Attorney General Edwin Meese III became directly involved in the Reagan Administration's secret plan to sell weapons to Iran in January 1986, when he was asked for a legal opinion to support the plan. When the secret arms sales became exposed in November 1986, raising questions of legality and prompting congressional and public scrutiny, Meese became the point man for the Reagan Administration's effort, in Meese's words, 'to limit the damage.'" [2]
Edwin Meese III served on the Council for National Policy (CNP) Executive Committee in 1994 and as CNP President in 1996. Meese was "distinguished fellow and holder of the Ronald Reagan Chair in Public Policy, the Heritage Foundation; former Attorney General of the U.S.; Counselor to the President, 1981-1985; former Chief of Staff and Senior Issues Advisor for the Reagan-Bush Committee; former president, Council for National Policy; former professor of law, University of San Diego; former vice president for administration, Rohr Industries.
"As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Council and the National Drug Policy Board, and as a member of the National Security Council, he played a key role in the development and execution of domestic and foreign policy. During the 1970s, Mr. Meese was Director of the Center for Criminal Justice Policy and Management and Professor of Law at the University of San Diego. He earlier served as Chief of Staff for then-Governor Reagan and was a local prosecutor in California.
"Mr. Meese is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute of United States Studies, University of London. He earned his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
"During the Reagan Kitchen Cabinet, Joseph Coors and others from the Heritage Foundation received a letter of endorsement from White House Chief of Staff Ed Meese in which Meese promised Edward J. Feulner, Jr., the president of Heritage, that 'this Administration will cooperate fully with your efforts.' After leaving the Reagan administration, Meese joined the staff of the Heritage Foundation." [3]
- Trustee, Free Enterprise Foundation
- Trustee, Center for the Study of the Presidency
Articles and resources
Related SourceWatch resources
- ↑ "Fending Off Tough Questions", Time Magazine, March 12, 1984
- ↑ Final Report of The Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Volume I: Investigations and Prosecutions, Lawrence E. Walsh; Independent Counsel, Chapter 31. Edwin Meese III: November 1986
- ↑ The Council for National Policy: Past/Present Officers & Prominent Member Profiles, Part II ~ H - M, Watch Unto Prayer watch.pair.com
External resources
- "Edwin Meese" in the Wikipedia.
- Edwin Meese, Conservative Hall of Fame, townhall.com.
- Edwin Meese III profile, Heritage Foundation.
- Edwin Meese III profile, Hoover Institution.
- Lawrence E. Walsh, Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters. Volume I: Investigations and Prosecutions, August 4, 1993, Washington, D.C.; Chapter 31: "Edwin Meese III: November 1986." Posted by Federation of American Scientists.
- "Edwin Meese III" profile at watch.pair.com database.
- Right Web Profile, last updated: November 22, 2003.
- AFSCME Resolution: "Opposition to the Nomination of Edwin Meese, III," International Executive Board, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, March 1984.
External articles
By Edwin Meese III
- "The Dangerous Federalization of Crime," Hoover Digest, 1999, No. 3: "Federal crimes used to be limited to matters that truly involved the whole nation, such as treason and counterfeiting. But lately the federal government has been amending its criminal statutes to take over more and more criminal prosecution from the states. Edwin Meese III on an especially pernicious form of federal aggrandizement."
- "How Reagan Helped to Build the House of Bush," Hoover Digest, 2001 No. 1: "George W. Bush, it seems plausible to argue, wouldn't have been elected president in 2000 if George H.W. Bush hadn't been elected president in 1988. And George H.W. Bush wouldn't have been elected president in 1988 if Ronald Reagan hadn't invited him to be Reagan's running mate in 1980. Edwin Meese III describes how Reagan decided to issue that 1980 invitation—starting the Bushes on their way."
- "At His Side. Remembering Reagan," The Nation, June 23, 2004; appeared in National Review, June 28, 2004.
- "Partisanship Is Their Principle. Senate Dems on judges — then and now," The Nation, July 16, 2004.
- "Reagan Revolution Revived?" FullDisclosure, May 26, 2005: "Ed Meese on Tax Limits, Pornography & Mental Health Reforms." Lead-in to purchase streaming video online.
Articles & Commentary
- Email String January 2001, Wolves in Sheep's Clothing; re: "Should the Boy Scouts be Saved? - with background on their 'savior' Edwin Meese. Meese was listed as one of the possible presidential successors - outside of the Constitutionally designated successors - to the presidency in case of nuclear disaster. From the Continuity of Government plan being touted today by the controlled media as Bush's 'Shadow Government'"; accessed July 8, 2005.
- Nicholas Stein, "Business Behind Bars. Former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese has a way to slow the exodus of jobs overseas: Put prisoners to work," Fortune, September 3, 2003.
- News Release: "American Library Association condemns attack by former Attorney General Edwin Meese; calls for open debate of PATRIOT Act powers," American Library Association, September 30, 2003.
- Heritage Foundation, "Edwin Meese III Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy, The Heritage Foundation," undated, accessed January 2005.
- "CNN's John King let Meese falsely claim that Plame was not an undercover officer," Media Matters for America, July 7, 2005: "On the July 5 edition of CNN's Wolf Blitzer Reports, guest host John King left unchallenged former Attorney General Edwin Meese's false claim that CIA officer Valerie Plame was not an undercover operative. ... King asked Meese to comment on the possibility that New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper could be jailed for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leaking of Plame's identity. Meese told King, 'I'm surprised the case has even gone this far, because I don't think this was really a covert agent. She was some sort of administrative person at the CIA, I think, at the time this occurred and I think, perhaps, this is an exaggerated case in its entirety.'"


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Invitation and roundup from Stuart Ainsworth.
Topic d'jour? JOINS (I'm in a fundamentals mood lately). Note that I also like creative and esoteric posts, so if you can find a way to apply SQL as a metaphorical language for community activity, I'll read it and enjoy it. If you just want to tell me in a simple fashion the difference between a HASH and MERGE join, I'm cool with that, too.


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Danny Cullenward and Andy Coghlan describe what happened in "Structural oversupply and credibility in California's carbon market," which appears in The Electricity Journal (June 2016, 29, pp. 7-14). (The article isn't freely available on-line, but many readers can probably obtain access through library subscriptions.) But the broader issue here goes beyond the California auctions and should be a concern to anyone who advocates a cap-and-trade approach to reducing carbon emissions. A couple of years ago, prices for carbon allowances in the European Union carbon trading market also dropped dramatically. Is what went wrong in the California cap-and-trade market for carbon emissions related to what happened in the EU--and do these experiences point to an underlying problem with this approach?
Here are a couple of figures from Cullenward and Coghlin about the recent California experience. The first figure shows how many carbon allowances remained unsold after each auction since 2011. The solid line shows unsold allowances for current carbon emissions. The auction also sold allowances for emissions up to three years in the future, which are shown with the lighter bars. You can see that in the past, most of the allowances were sold, but not the pattern changes in early 2016.
This figure shows prices of carbon allowances in California. The darker line shows the price in the secondary market for buying carbon allowances in California. The shaded area shows the price floor for the state auctions--that is, the state would not accept a lower price than this level. The price in the secondary market had been hovering just above the state price floor for a couple of years, and then in 2016, buying carbon allowances in the secondary market became cheaper than the price floor in the state auction--which is why so many carbon allowances went unsold in the May 2016 auction. The authors describe it this way:
"The history of California's carbon market can be separated into four phases: (a) an initial speculative trading period prior to the first quarterly auction; (b) an intermediate phase following the launch during which the market regulator informally indicated its goal of relaxing cross-border resource shuffling regulations; (c) a period of stability following the formal adoption of resource shuffling reforms, with secondary prices stable at a small transaction cost above the auction price floor; and (d) a new phase in which government-run auctions fail to sell all available allowances and secondary market prices fall below the auction price floor."Cullenward and Coghlan point to several main issues for the California carbon market. One issue is that California wasn't just relying on the carbon market to reduce emissions: instead, the state was also enacting an array of standard regulatory rules to reduce carbon emissions. I had not known that even back before the market started, the official plan was for regulatory steps to account for 80% of the reduction in carbon emissions, and the carbon market for only 20%. As the authors write: "As a result of these design choices, the carbon market's role in driving climate mitigation and ensuring the economic efficiency across sectors is far less significant than at first it might appear."
In addition, there are always issues that arise in the fine print of how carbon emissions are happening and what counts as a reduction in carbon emissions. In California, one of the issues involved electricity companies that received energy generated from out of state. When the 2006 law went into effect and the carbon market was looming in the near future, many California utilities started signing contracts with their out-of-state suppliers specifying that they were not buying the electricity from coal-burning generators, but only the electricity from natural gas-burning generators, hydroelectric power, and wind or solar. This "resource shuffling" meant that the California utilities could be legally credited with lower carbon emissions, although the actual way that electricity was generated didn't change. The state of California tried to pass various rules to limit this kind of resource shuffling.
Given these issues, a prominent group of California energy economists had forecast back in 2014 that, as Cullenward and Coghlin put it, "the most likely market outcome was a persistent condition in which the supply of compliance instruments (including both allowances and CARB-approved [California Air Resorces Board] carbon offset credits) would exceed market demand."
One final kicker is that the 2006 legislation had an end-date of 2020, and without new legislation, California apparently cannot plan for its carbon market to exist after that date. Thus, carbon emitters in California only need to figure out if they are likely to have sufficient allowances to make it through to 2020--and it certainly appears that plenty are available.
The issues with the European Union cap-and-trade market (which I discuss here) are different in details, but broadly similar. If you have a strict regulatory regime which is tamping down carbon emissions, demand will fall for carbon allowances in the market. If you allow carbon emitters to reduce their emissions with various kinds of offsets that involve signing contracts about what will happen in other places, demand will fall for carbon allowances in the market. If the legal and institutional future of the carbon market looks uncertain a few years off in the future, demand will fall for carbon allowances in the market. If a carbon cap-and-trade market is going to function as a way of reducing carbon emissions, the ability of legislators and regulators to manage these kinds of issues needs to be taken into account.


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Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
PORTLAND, Ore. (JTA)—Jessica Bettelheim, a business ethics lecturer at Portland State University and a young Jewish mother, has little time to spare on weekends. Like other professionals her age, she's busy bonding with her husband and 4-year-old daughter, meeting friends at one of Portland's many fine restaurants or gardening, a favorite pastime in this verdant metropolis known as the City of Roses.
So when Bettelheim received an email from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland last month advertising Food for Thought, a festival that included a tour of the Portland Art Museum, she put it on her maybe list.
"The only event that was appealing was the art walk," she said over coffee during an interview jammed between dropping off her daughter at day care and delivering a lecture at the university. "I might check it out."
Things came up, however, and she didn't.
It was a near miss for the local Jewish federation, which has been trying to engage unaffiliated Jews like the Bettelheims ever since a demographic study came out in 2010 showing Portland with about 47,000 Jews—twice as many as previously thought.
The profile of these mysterious Jewish arrivals is murky, as the study provided few details about them. It is widely hypothesized, however, that they are young, secular, liberal transplants from the coasts lured by professional opportunities at major multinationals such as Nike and Intel, or by the city's casual lifestyle and famed weirdness. Portland, as the joke has it, is where young people go to retire.
The Bettelheims moved from New York in 2009, drawn by the promise of a less pressured lifestyle. The couple routinely hold Shabbat dinners and observe the High Holidays, but they haven't taken part in any organized religious activities.
"We get home around 5 or 6 on Friday," Bettelheim said. "The last thing I want to do is drive to the west side and go to shul."
Jodi Berris, who works at Nike's sprawling headquarters in nearby Beaverton and organizes gatherings for young Jewish adults, says she's been trying to involve an unaffiliated colleague of hers for years, thus far unsuccessfully.
"It's not part of her life," Berris said. "Still, the survey counts her, her non-Jewish husband and all three kids as Jewish."
Portland's Jewish establishment is eager to bring these elusive newcomers into the fold with events like Food for Thought, which featured a smorgasbord of cultural events including a tour of a historically Jewish neighborhood, a party for Israel's Independence Day and a latkes-hamentashen debate in which the the merits of sweet and savory Jewish dishes were considered (latkes won).
After the survey was released, the federation allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars for engagement events, applied for outreach grants and brought in a Jewish Agency for Israel youth emissary.
"We don't want one-shot deals," Marc Blattner, the federation's president and CEO, told JTA. "We want lifelong involvement in the Jewish community however way they want."
Two weeks ago, hundreds of well-dressed party goers attended Food for Thought's opening ceremony at the Portland Art Museum. Federation donors noshed on mini salmon burgers, drank champagne and mingled at a reception preceding the main event. Later, Jewish comedians David Steinberg and David Javerbaum regaled the audience with stories about working with comedic greats such as Jon Stewart, Larry David and the late Johnny Carson.
The event had a solid turnout—but the crowd was predominantly elderly, not the sought-after newcomer demographic.
"The Jewish youth and Jewish adult communities seem to be two completely separate entities that want nothing to do with each other," said Justin Chilton, 25, one of the few younger people at the event. "Trying to bridge that gap is really weird and seemingly weirdly impossible."
One challenge is geographic. Nearly all the community's institutions are west of the Willamette River, while most of the unaffiliated Jews are believed to be on the city's hipper east side.
That is beginning to change. Shir Tikvah, a progressive synagogue, was the first Jewish place of worship to open on the east side of Portland. Chabad recently followed suit with a new outreach center in the trendy northeast. Meanwhile, Blattner said the federation is considering opening a Jewish day care center there.
"The river becomes a barrier to people," Blattner said. "We do not have formalized Jewish institutions on the east side of town, but we're in discussions about that and the No. 1 thing we're looking into is a Jewish preschool."
It's unclear whether enough east siders are prepared to spend on the funding needed for such an endeavor, but Blattner hopes events like Food for Thought might plant the seeds for change. If not, and the gathering speaks only to the core group of committed Jews in Portland, he's fine with that, too.
"I hope that [the Jewish newcomers to Portland] know that when they do decide to come to the Jewish community," Blattner said, "we will be waiting here with our hands open."


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The SBA is not your only source for a small business loan. State and local economic development agencies, as well as numerous non-profit organizations, provide low-interest loans to small business owners who may not qualify for traditional commercial loans. This page will help to ensure that you are prepared when you decide to apply for a small business loan.
Documentation Needed for Small Business Loan Applications
While every loan program has specific forms you need to fill out and documents you need to submit, you will likely need to submit much of the same information for different loan packages. Before you start applying for loans, you should get some basic documentation together. The following are typical items that will be required for any small business loan application:
Personal Background: Either as part of the loan application or as a separate document, you will probably be asked to provide some personal background information, including previous addresses, names used, criminal record, educational background, etc.
Resumes: Some lenders require evidence of management or business experience, particularly for loans that are intended to be used to start a new business.
Business Plan: All loan programs require a sound business plan to be submitted with the loan application. The business plan should include a complete set of projected financial statements, including profit and loss, cash flow and a balance sheet.
Personal Credit Report: Your lender will obtain your personal credit report as part of the application process. However, you should obtain a credit report from all three major consumer credit rating agencies before submitting a loan application to the lender. Inaccuracies and blemishes on your credit report can hurt your chances of getting a loan approved. It's critical you try to clear these up before beginning the application process.
Business Credit Report: If you are already in business, you should be prepared to submit a credit report for your business. As with the personal credit report, it is important to review your business' credit report before beginning the application process.
Income Tax Returns: Most loan programs require applicants to submit personal and business income tax returns for the previous 3 years.
Financial Statements: Many loan programs require owners with more than a 20 percent stake in your business to submit signed personal financial statements. You may also be required to provide projected financial statements either as part of, or separate from, your business plan. It is a good idea to have these prepared and ready in case a program for which you are applying requires these documents to be submitted individually.
Bank Statements: Many loan programs require one year of personal and business bank statements to be submitted as part of a loan package.
Collateral: Collateral requirements vary greatly. Some loan programs do not require collateral. Loans involving higher risk factors for default require substantial collateral. Strong business plans and financial statements can help you avoid putting up collateral. In any case, it is a good idea to prepare a collateral document that describes cost/value of personal or business property that will be used to secure a loan.
Legal Documents: Depending on a loan's specific requirements, your lender may require you to submit one or more legal documents. Make sure you have the following items in order, if applicable:
Business licenses and registrations required for you to conduct business
Articles of Incorporation
Copies of contracts you have with any third parties
Franchise agreements
Commercial leases
Questions Your Lender Will Ask You
Forms vary by program and lending institution, but they all ask for the same information. You should be prepared to answer the following questions. It's a good idea to have this information prepared before you fill out the application:
Why are you applying for this loan?
How will the loan proceeds be used?
What assets need to be purchased, and who are your suppliers?
What other business debt do you have, and who are your creditors?
Who are the members of your management team?
Our small business counselors are here to help you prepare for your small business loan.


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With the June 13, 2013 confirmation by senior Obama administration officials that the president has authorized sending weapons directly to Syrian rebels, there is a trend developing that can no longer be ignored. This is the third country and the third instance in which Barack Obama has leapt into the fray of revolution to the defense of al-Qa'eda and Muslim Brotherhood forces within days of an explicit call for action by Yousef al-Qaradawi, the senior jurist of the Muslim Brotherhood. While no ironclad case for linkage can be proven, even just the appearance, in and of itself, of responsiveness by the U.S. government to declared Brotherhood imperatives ought to be concerning.
Speaking on Al-Arabiya Television on June 9, 2013, al-Qaradawi called for jihad in Syria:
Jihad is now incumbent upon all Muslims, each according to his capabilities – both individuals and countries. Nobody must spare a thing in helping this country…
Four days later, on June 13, Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, announced that the intelligence community had arrived at an assessment "that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year." This conveniently-timed and entirely unsourced finding set the stage for the White House announcement the next day about Obama's authorization of military aid to the Syrian rebels. The Supreme Military Council, which claims leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Free Syrian Army and is headed by BG Salim Idriss, has been selected to receive the weapons.
This pattern of an al-Qaradawi pronouncement quickly followed by White House action began in Egypt in January 2011. On January 26, 2011, speaking in an interview on Al-Jazeera television, al-Qaradawi issued an unambiguous demand that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step down:
"President Mubarak … I advise you to depart from Egypt … There is no other solution to this problem but for Mubarak to go…"
By January 29, a mere three days later, Obama fell in line and told Mubarak that "an orderly transition must …begin now…"
It was not long afterwards—on February 21, 2011—that al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa, again on Al-Jazeera television, calling for the killing of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. The Islamic revolution against Qaddafi's regime had broken out just days before, on February 17. The news that President Obama had signed a secret order, known as a "presidential finding," to authorize covert U.S. government support for the al-Qa'eda-dominated militias then fighting to oust Qaddafi, emerged in late March 2011. Reports cited "government sources," however, who said the president had signed the finding "within the last two or three weeks." In any event, by March 14, 2011, U.S. envoy Christopher Stevens had been named official liaison to the Libyan opposition, which consisted primarily of al-Qa'eda militias such as Ansar al-Shariah, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), and Libya Shield. The president's cover story about intervening in the Libyan uprising cited a pending "massacre" in Benghazi "that would have….stained the conscience of the world." Of course, there was no such massacre in the offing, but rather the very real possibility that Benghazi, the center of the rebel uprising, might have fallen to Qaddafi's advancing forces. Had Benghazi fallen, the jihad offensive in Libya could well have been stopped in its tracks. So, once again, the U.S. administration lost no time in hopping to follow al-Qaradawi's lead after he called for another Islamic Awakening domino to fall.
It might be noted that a similar sequence of events in Syria apparently precipitated the al-Qaradawi call for jihad against Bashar al-Assad and his Shi'ite Iranian and Hizballah backers as well as the U.S. administration's pledge to send weapons (openly) to the Syrian rebels. It was the fall of rebel-held Qusayr to Syrian regime forces on June 5, 2013 that seemed to spur both the al-Qaradawi jihad fatwa and Obama's decision to follow suit and expand assistance to the al-Qa'eda and Muslim Brotherhood-led rebels.
In each of these instances — Egypt, Libya, and now Syria — it is "completely clear," as Barry Rubin writes, "that the United States is backing people who hate it." It is also completely clear that, at least since President Obama green-lighted the Islamic Awakening in his June 2009 Cairo speech, U.S. policy has been turned upside-down: in very tangible terms, the U.S. government has joined the forces of jihad to overthrow the unfaithful Arab and Muslim rulers that the Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammad Badi so blatantly threatened (along with the U.S. and Israel) in his late September 2010 call for jihad. In so doing, U.S. leadership is deliberately and proactively enabling the self-declared forces of Islamic jihad and shariah, who make no secret of their enmity and loathing for the U.S. and Western civilization in general, to come to power in country after country of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The results have been disastrous. Christians in Libya, Egypt, and rebel-conquered Syrian territory face attack, ethnic cleansing and slaughter. Strict shariah enforcement is spreading across the region. Since the fall of Qaddafi in October 2011, weapons have been flowing out of Libya in all directions, some of the weapons apparently with the active assistance of the former Benghazi U.S. mission, now closed since the al-Qa'eda attack of 11 September 11, 2012. According to a Libyan intelligence official, speaking to a reporter in a May 2013 interview, Libya has now become the main MENA base for Al-Qa'eda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). "Libya has become AQIM's headquarters," he said, adding that new AQIM terror training camps were opening in the southern part of the country. Egypt, especially in the Sinai, is in no better shape. After falling under the control of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt faces economic disaster, its Coptic Christian minority fears genocide, and its leaders call Israel and America its enemies. In Syria, intrepid reporting from the front lines confirms the jihadist objectives of the anti-Assad coalition that now includes openly pro-shariah fighters from both Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qa'eda (Jabhat al-Nusra) militias. McClatchy Newspapers' David Enders reported in December 2012 that one of these shouted, "When we finish with Assad, we will fight the U.S.!" at him when told he was an American journalist.
"We have come full circle from going after al Qaeda to indirectly backing al Qaeda," said one U.S. official, speaking about the recent decision to arm these jihadist Syrian rebels. Angelo Codevilla, professor of international relations at Boston University, a former U.S. Naval officer and State Department official, and currently senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, might well have been speaking about the entire contingent of Islamic jihadis with which the U.S. has now associated itself when he summed up the Syrian rebels, saying "They are not our friends and are unlikely to become such."
The sooner U.S. senior leadership realizes that, whether Shi'ite or Sunni, jihadis fight for the same objectives — restoration of the Caliphate (or Imamate) and enforcement of Islamic Law — the better for American core national security interests. Of course, on battlefields such as Iraq and Syria, they go after one another as they always have for the last 1300 and more years; but when it comes to the Dar al-Islam vs. the Dar al-Harb, Shi'a and Sunni find common cause in hating the infidel with an even greater intensity than they hate one another. There are battlefields where U.S. intervention can accomplish good; and there are battlefields such as Libya, Egypt, and Syria where appearing to jump to the tune of Muslim Brotherhood fatwas does no good, and arguably much harm, to U.S. interests and image.


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You landed here because 20762 is recommended for the following:
20464: Developing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 & 2014 Databases (See Course 20762 )
Module 1: Introduction to Database Development
Before beginning to work with Microsoft SQL Server in either a development or an administration role, it is important to understand the scope of the SQL Server platform. In particular, it is useful to understand that SQL Server is not just a database engine—it is a complete platform for managing enterprise data. SQL Server provides a strong data platform for all sizes of organizations, in addition to a comprehensive set of tools to make development easier, and more robust.
• Introduction to the SQL Server Platform
• SQL Server Database Development Tasks
After completing this module, you will be able to:
• Describe the SQL Server platform.
• Use SQL Server administration tools.
Module 2: Designing and Implementing Tables
In a relational database management system (RDBMS), user and system data is stored in tables. Each table consists of a set of rows that describe entities and a set of columns that hold the attributes of an entity. For example, a Customer table might have columns such as CustomerName and CreditLimit, and a row for each customer. In Microsoft SQL Server data management software tables are contained within schemas that are very similar in concept to folders that contain files in the operating system. Designing tables is one of the most important tasks that a database developer undertakes, because incorrect table design leads to the inability to query the data efficiently. After an appropriate design has been created, it is important to know how to correctly implement the design.
- Designing Tables
- Data Types
- Working with Schemas
- Creating and Altering Tables
Lab : Designing and Implementing Tables
- Designing Tables
- Creating Schemas
- Creating Tables
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Design tables using normalization, primary and foreign keys.
- Work with identity columns.
- Understand built-in and user data types.
- Use schemas in your database designs to organize data, and manage object security.
- Work with computed columns and temporary tables.
Module 3: Advanced Table Designs
The physical design of a database can have a significant impact on the ability of the database to meet the storage and performance requirements set out by the stakeholders. Designing a physical database implementation includes planning the filegroups, how to use partitioning to manage large tables, and using compression to improve storage and performance. Temporal tables are a new feature in SQL Server 2016 and offer a straightforward solution to collecting changes to your data.
- Partitioning Data
- Compressing Data
- Temporal Tables
Lab : Using Advanced Table Designs
- Partitioning Data
- Compressing Data
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe the considerations for using partitioned tables in a SQL Server database.
- Plan for using data compression in a SQL Server database.
- Use temporal tables to store and query changes to your data.
Module 4: Ensuring Data Integrity through Constraints
The quality of data in your database largely determines the usefulness and effectiveness of applications that rely on it—the success or failure of an organization or a business venture could depend on it. Ensuring data integrity is a critical step in maintaining high-quality data. You should enforce data integrity at all levels of an application from first entry or collection through storage. Microsoft SQL Server data management software provides a range of features to simplify the job.
- Enforcing Data Integrity
- Implementing Data Domain Integrity
- Implementing Entity and Referential Integrity
Lab : Using Data Integrity Through Constraints
- Add Constraints
- Test the Constraints
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe the options for enforcing data integrity, and the levels at which they should be applied.
- Implement domain integrity through options such as check, unique, and default constraints.
- Implement referential integrity through primary and foreign key constraints.
Module 5: Introduction to Indexes
An index is a collection of pages associated with a table. Indexes are used to improve the performance of queries or enforce uniqueness. Before learning to implement indexes, it is helpful to understand how they work, how effective different data types are when used within indexes, and how indexes can be constructed from multiple columns. This module discusses table structures that do not have indexes, and the different index types available in Microsoft SQL Server.
- Core Indexing Concepts
- Data Types and Indexes
- Heaps, Clustered, and Nonclustered Indexes
- Single Column and Composite Indexes
Lab : Implementing Indexes
- Creating a Heap
- Creating a Clustered Index
- Creating a Covered Index
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Explain core indexing concepts.
- Evaluate which index to use for different data types.
- Describe the difference between single and composite column indexes.
Module 6: Designing Optimized Index Strategies
Indexes play an important role in enabling SQL Server to retrieve data from a database quickly and efficiently. This module discusses advanced index topics including covering indexes, the INCLUDE clause, query hints, padding and fill factor, statistics, using DMOs, the Database Tuning Advisor, and Query Store.
- Index Strategies
- Managing Indexes
- Execution Plans
- The Database Engine Tuning Advisor
- Query Store
Lab : Optimizing Indexes
- Using Query Store
- Heaps and Clustered Indexes
- Creating a Covered Index
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- What a covering index is, and when to use one.
- The issues involved in managing indexes.
- Actual and estimated execution plans.
- How to use Database Tuning Advisor to improve the performance of queries.
- How to use Query Store to improve query performance.
Module 7: Columnstore Indexes
Introduced in Microsoft SQL Server 2012, columnstore indexes are used in large data warehouse solutions by many organizations. This module highlights the benefits of using these indexes on large datasets; the improvements made to columnstore indexes in SQL Server 2016; and the considerations needed to use columnstore indexes effectively in your solutions.
- Introduction to Columnstore Indexes
- Creating Columnstore Indexes
- Working with Columnstore Indexes
Lab : Using Columnstore Indexes
- Creating a Columnstore Index
- Create a Memory Optimized Columnstore Table
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe columnstore indexes and identify suitable scenarios for their use.
- Create clustered and nonclustered columnstore indexes.
- Describe considerations for using columnstore indexes.
Module 8: Designing and Implementing Views
This module describes the design and implementation of views. A view is a special type of query—one that is stored and can be used in other queries—just like a table. With a view, only the query definition is stored on disk; not the result set. The only exception to this is indexed views, when the result set is also stored on disk, just like a table. Views simplify the design of a database by providing a layer of abstraction, and hiding the complexity of table joins. Views are also a way of securing your data by giving users permissions to use a view, without giving them permissions to the underlying objects. This means data can be kept private, and can only be viewed by appropriate users.
- Introduction to Views
- Creating and Managing Views
- Performance Considerations for Views
Lab : Designing and Implementing Views
- Creating Standard Views
- Creating an Updateable view
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Understand the role of views in database design.
- Create and manage views.
- Understand the performance considerations with views.
Module 9: Designing and Implementing Stored Procedures
This module describes the design and implementation of stored procedures.
- Introduction to Stored Procedures
- Working with Stored Procedures
- Implementing Parameterized Stored Procedures
- Controlling Execution Context
Lab : Designing and Implementing Stored Procedures
- Create Stored procedures
- Create Parameterized Stored procedures
- Changes Stored Procedure Execution Context
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Understand what stored procedures are, and what benefits they have.
- Design, create, and alter stored procedures.
- Control the execution context of stored procedures.
- Implement stored procedures that use parameters.
Module 10: Designing and Implementing User-Defined Functions
Functions are routines that you use to encapsulate frequently performed logic. Rather than having to repeat the function logic in many places, code can call the function. This makes code more maintainable, and easier to debug. In this module, you will learn to design and implement user-defined functions (UDFs) that enforce business rules or data consistency. You will also learn how to modify and maintain existing functions.
- Overview of Functions
- Designing and Implementing Scalar Functions
- Designing and Implementing Table-Valued Functions
- Considerations for Implementing Functions
- Alternatives to Functions
Lab : Designing and Implementing User-Defined Functions
- Format Phone numbers
- Modify an Existing Function
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe different types of functions.
- Design and implement scalar functions.
- Design and implement table-valued functions (TVFs).
- Describe considerations for implementing functions.
- Describe alternatives to functions.
Module 11: Responding to Data Manipulation via Triggers
Data Manipulation Language (DML) triggers are powerful tools that you can use to enforce domain, entity, referential data integrity and business logic. The enforcement of integrity helps you to build reliable applications. In this module, you will learn what DML triggers are, how they enforce data integrity, the different types of trigger that are available to you, and how to define them in your database.
- Designing DML Triggers
- Implementing DML Triggers
- Advanced Trigger Concepts
Lab : Responding to Data Manipulation by Using Triggers
- Create and Test the Audit Trigger
- Improve the Audit Trigger
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Design DML triggers
- Implement DML triggers
- Explain advanced DML trigger concepts, such as nesting and recursion.
Module 12: Using In-Memory Tables
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 data management software introduced in-memory online transaction processing (OLTP) functionality features to improve the performance of OLTP workloads. SQL Server 2016 adds several enhancements, such as the ability to alter a memory-optimized table without recreating it. Memory-optimized tables are primarily stored in memory, which provides the improved performance by reducing hard disk access. Natively compiled stored procedures further improve performance over traditional interpreted Transact-SQL.
- Memory-Optimized Tables
- Natively Compiled Stored Procedures
Lab : Using In-Memory Database Capabilities
- Using Memory-Optimized Tables
- Using Natively Compiled Stored procedures
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Use memory-optimized tables to improve performance for latch-bound workloads.
- Use natively compiled stored procedures.
Module 13: Implementing Managed Code in SQL Server
As a SQL Server professional, you are likely to be asked to create databases that meet business needs. Most requirements can be met using Transact-SQL. However, occasionally you may need additional capabilities that can only be met by using common language runtime (CLR) code. As functionality is added to SQL Server with each new release, the necessity to use managed code decreases. However, there are times when you might need to create aggregates, stored procedures, triggers, user-defined functions, or user-defined types. You can use any .NET Framework language to develop these objects. In this module, you will learn how to use CLR managed code to create user-defined database objects for SQL Server.
- Introduction to CLR Integration in SQL Server
- Implementing and Publishing CLR Assemblies
Lab : Implementing Managed Code in SQL Server
- Assessing Proposed CLR Code
- Creating a Scalar-Valued CLR Function
- Creating a Table Valued CLR Function
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Explain the importance of CLR integration in SQL Server.
- Implement and publish CLR assemblies using SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT).
Module 14: Storing and Querying XML Data in SQL Server
XML provides rules for encoding documents in a machine-readable form. It has become a widely adopted standard for representing data structures, rather than sending unstructured documents. Servers that are running Microsoft SQL Server data management software often need to use XML to interchange data with other systems; many SQL Server tools provide an XML-based interface. SQL Server offers extensive handling of XML, both for storage and querying. This module introduces XML, shows how to store XML data within SQL Server, and shows how to query the XML data. The ability to query XML data directly avoids the need to extract data into a relational format before executing Structured Query Language (SQL) queries. To effectively process XML, you need to be able to query XML data in several ways: returning existing relational data as XML, and querying data that is already XML.
- Introduction to XML and XML Schemas
- Storing XML Data and Schemas in SQL Server
- Implementing the XML Data Type
- Using the Transact-SQL FOR XML Statement
- Getting Started with XQuery
- Shredding XML
Lab : Storing and Querying XML Data in SQL Server
- Determining when to use XML
- Testing XML Data Storage in Variables
- Using XML Schemas
- Using FOR XML Queries
- Creating a Stored Procedure to Return XML
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe XML and XML schemas.
- Store XML data and associated XML schemas in SQL Server.
- Implement XML indexes within SQL Server.
- Use the Transact-SQL FOR XML statement.
- Work with basic XQuery queries.
Module 15: Storing and Querying Spatial Data in SQL Server
This module describes spatial data and how this data can be implemented within SQL Server.
- Introduction to Spatial Data
- Working with SQL Server Spatial Data Types
- Using Spatial Data in Applications
Lab : Working with SQL Server Spatial Data
- Become Familiar with the Geometry Data Type
- Add Spatial Data to an Existing Table
- Find Nearby Locations
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe how spatial data can be stored in SQL Server
- Use basic methods of the GEOMETRY and GEOGRAPHY data types
- Query databases containing spatial data
Module 16: Storing and Querying BLOBs and Text Documents in SQL Server
Traditionally, databases have been used to store information in the form of simple values—such as integers, dates, and strings—that contrast with more complex data formats, such as documents, spreadsheets, image files, and video files. As the systems that databases support have become more complex, administrators have found it necessary to integrate this more complex file data with the structured data in database tables. For example, in a product database, it can be helpful to associate a product record with the service manual or instructional videos for that product. SQL Server provides several ways to integrate these files—that are often known as Binary Large Objects (BLOBs)—and enable their content to be indexed and included in search results. In this module, you will learn how to design and optimize a database that includes BLOBs.
- Considerations for BLOB Data
- Working with FILESTREAM
- Using Full-Text Search
Lab : Storing and Querying BLOBs and Text Documents in SQL Server
- Enabling and Using FILESTREAM Columns
- Enabling and Using File Tables
- Using a Full-Text Index
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe the considerations for designing databases that incorporate BLOB data.
- Describe the benefits and design considerations for using FILESTREAM to store BLOB data on a Windows file system.
- Describe the benefits of using full-text indexing and Semantic Search, and explain how to use these features to search SQL Server data, including unstructured data
Module 17: SQL Server Concurrency
This module explains how to name, declare, assign values to, and use variables. It also describes how to store data in an array. Concurrency control is a critical feature of multiuser database systems; it allows data to remain consistent when many users are modifying data at the same time. This module covers the implementation of concurrency in Microsoft SQL Server. You will learn about how SQL Server implements concurrency controls, and the different ways you can configure and work with concurrency settings.
- Concurrency and Transactions
- Locking Internals
Lab : SQL Server Concurrency
- Implement Snapshot Isolation
- Implement Partition Level Locking
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Describe concurrency and transactions in SQL Server.
- Describe SQL Server locking.
Module 18: Performance and Monitoring
This module explains how to name, declare, assign values to, and use variables. It also describes how to store data in an array. This module looks at how to measure and monitor the performance of your SQL Server databases. The first two lessons look at SQL Server Extended Events, a flexible, lightweight event-handling system built into the Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine. These lessons focus on the architectural concepts, troubleshooting strategies and usage scenarios.
- Extended Events
- Working with extended Events
- Live Query Statistics
- Optimize Database File Configuration
- Metrics
Lab : Monitoring, Tracing, and Baselining
- Collecting and Analyzing Data Using Extended Events
- Implementing Baseline Methodology
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Understand Extended Events and how to use them.
- Work with Extended Events.
- Understand Live Query Statistics.
- Optimize the file configuration of your databases.
- Use DMVs and Performance Monitor to create baselines and gather performance metrics.
The primary audience for this course is IT Professionals who want to become skilled on SQL Server 2016 product features and technologies for implementing a database.
The secondary audiences for this course are individuals who are developers from other product platforms looking to become skilled in the implementation of a SQL Server 2016 database.
This course requires that you meet the following prerequisites:
- Basic knowledge of the Microsoft Windows operating system and its core functionality.
- Working knowledge of Transact-SQL.
- Working knowledge of relational databases.
After completing this course, students will be able to:
- Design and Implement Tables
- Describe advanced table designs
- Ensure Data Integrity through Constraints
- Describe indexes, including OpGmized and Columnstore indexes
- Design and Implement Views
- Design and Implement Stored Procedures
- Design and Implement User Defined FuncGons
- Respond to data manipulaGon using triggers
- Design and Implement In-Memory Tables
- Implement Managed Code in SQL Server
- Store and Query XML Data
- Work with SpaGal Data
- Store and Query Blobs and Text Documents