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http://pastebin.com/74KXCaEZ, decompiled code here http://pastebin.com/DBDqm6Km, and account database here http://pastebin.com/CvGXyfiJ. As a pentester who does attacks similar to what the ComodoHacker did, I find it credible. I find it probable that (1) this is the guy, (2) he acted alone, (3) he is Iranian, (4) he's patriotic but not political.
The hacker describes the full details of his hack. Only Comodo can verify whether the precise details are correct. But, as a pentester who regularly does attacks like this, I can verify that the general details are correct.
People believe that once you compile human readable "source" code, that humans can no longer read the resulting binary "object" code. That is in incorrect. Code can easily be decompiled back to (nearly) the original source. In our (Errata Security) pentests, we regularly find embedded usernames and passwords that nobody believe hackers can read. It usually takes us less than 5 minutes.
But just as important is the other hidden information, such as URLs. The hacker describes how once he had the login info, he still had to reverse engineer exactly how to submit a "certificate request". We've gone through the same experience. For example, we once downloaded an iPhone app of a customer, grabbed all the hidden URLs, then slowly built up valid requests with the right information. In our case, we were aided by the fact that submitting wrong information gives error messages that hint at what the right information should be.
A hacker is somebody who doesn't realize that what he's attempting is impossible. You see that in the ComodoHacker's text. He just followed breadcrumbs, solving one clue at a time. Only after he was done does he realize the enormity of the problem, and how clever (and lucky) he was to solve it. This is why hacking gets addictive -- solving puzzles like this is enormously satisfying. It's also why people are quick to assume the difficulty of a hack means a "nation state" is involved rather than a "21 year old college student".
The hacker (probably) acted alone. People imagine that hackers are part of a larger conspiracy, especially when you can't understand how a single person could have done the hack.
But the reality is that hacking is individualistic. You talk about generalities with your friends, but when it comes time to crack a target, it's a marathon 20 hour session with just you, a computer, and endless supplies of caffeine.
I'm guessing that this guy has talked with his college buddies about cracking RSA keys, but that none of his friends knows that he's the guy who did this attack -- although he probably can't resist bragging to them eventually.
Even the "Iranian Cyber Army" could be a single guy. While essentially loners, hackers like to imagine themselves as a larger movement (with themselves at the head, of course). They use the words "us" to mean just "I".
This dispels the notion that this was a coordinated attack from a state-sponsored actor. The details credibly demonstrate the actions of just one lone person.
The hacker is pro-Iran, but not necessarily political. News in the United States is extraordinarily chauvinistic. We imagine that everyone in Iran is either part of the government or part of the "Green" movement opposing the government. The reality is that most Iranians are neither: they support their country against attacks from outsiders, but that doesn't mean they are happy with everything that happens in their country.
The hacker does say Janam Fadaye Rahbar. Apparently, this means "I'll sacrifice my soul to my leader", which probably refers to the religious leader Ayatollah Hamanei. My impression that this is a sign of patriotism rather than ideology. Even many of the "Green" protesters complaining about the election of the President (a lower position) supported their Supreme Leader.
The ComodoHacker asks:
I heard that some stupids tried to ask about it from Iran's ambassador in UN, really? How smartass you are? Where were you when Stuxnet created by Israel and USA with millions of dollar budget, with access to SCADA systems and Nuclear softwares? Why no one asked a question from Israel and USA ambassador to UN?
So you can't ask about SSL situtation from my ambassador, I answer your question about situtation: "Ask about Stuxnet from USA and Israel", this is your answer, so don't waste my Iran's ambassador's worthy time.
I'm betting he's referring to articles like this one which says:
Representatives with Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations were unable to comment Friday.
I share the ComodoHacker's distaste for how the media covers these events. Let's assume, for the moment, that their government wasn't involved. How would the government know? How could their leaders be certain that some secretive group in their intelligence organization didn't carry out this attack? It would takes months of investigation to say "no, we weren't involved", and even then, they couldn't be 100% sure. What answer would you expect from the Iranian ambassador?
More to the point, what evidence points to the Iranian government in the first place? The answer is "zero". The article I linked to above quotes the Comodo CEO saying "All things point to the Iranian government and their newly founded cyberwarfare department" when in fact NOTHING points to that conclusion. The news story above isn't unique -- almost every story in the press has followed that angle without critically questioning it. Oddly, most stories rightly pointed out that the IP address (located in Iran) couldn't be relied upon because hackers can redirect attacks through other machines, yet not a single one challenged the CEO when he said all other evidence points to the Iranian government.
Why didn't he do more? Mikko Hyponen of F-Secure asks on Twitter:
"Do we really believe that a lone hacker gets into a CA, can generate any cert he wants..and goes after login.live.com instead of paypal.com?"
People labeling him with a stereotype such as "cybercriminal" or "hacktivist" and insist that he behave according to the stereotype we've assigned him. But that stereotype might not be the correct one.
As he said, he started with one goal, that of factoring RSA keys, and ended up reaching a related goal, forging certificates. The most appropriate stereotype would be "researcher" or simply "hacker" -- hacker in the old sense of somebody who likes to tinker with technology, not necessarily lead a life of cybercrime. He didn't think of PayPal because we wasn't trying to do anything at all with the forged certificates.
But the reality more complicated than that. He is is own person, with his own goals and motivations. It would take a lot more of his writing to fully understand why he did everything he did.
By the way, hindsight is 20-20. After the pen-test, when discussing our results, people always ask simple questions, like "why did you go through this convoluted route when you could've taken this more obvious and easier one?". The answer is that we hackers do not see the big picture. We follow the breadcrumbs through the forest, solving puzzles, but we can't see anything beyond the nearest trees.
Here is a screenshot of a database fragment containing 467 account names. This was the file he posted in his third pastebin message:
This database contains the "encrypted" passwords. In order to use this file, a hacker would have to "crack" the passwords, which involves trying lots of combinations until they get one that matches the one in the database.
If you are the hacker, I would love to interview you. Just leave a comment on this post -- comments are moderated, so it won't be public.


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Dawlish Town Beach stretches for over a mile between Langstone Rock and Lea Mount. The beach, a mixture of sand and shingle lying in a secluded bay, is very popular for bathing. Summer temperatures often reach 30 Celsius. Pleasure boat trips around the bay are available during the summer season. Food and drink is available from a kiosk at the beach and near shops. On top of the sea wall, which holds the winter sea back from invading the town, lies a wide foot path taking you the entire length of the beach to Dawlish Warren The walk along the sea wall is pleasant and scenic with cliffs exposing red rock formed in Precambrian times and eroded over time by the changing sea levels. |
Dogs are permitted along the seashore from the slipway adjacent to the Railway Station until 230 metres before Red Rock at Dawlish Warren. |
Red and yellow flagsLifeguarded area: safest place to swim, bodyboard and use inflatables. |
Black and white chequered flagsFor surfboards, kayaks and other non-powered craft. Never swim or bodyboard here. |
Orange windsockShows offshore winds or unsafe water conditions - never use an inflatable when the sock is flying. |
Red FlagDanger! Never go in the water when the red flag is up, under any circumstances. |
See also:

subset: commoncrawl


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HSJ's roundup of the day's essential stories and talking points
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text: Perfect 49th Birthday Gift. 1971 Irish Copper Penny Coins. These unique cufflinks are made from genuine old Irish 1 Penny coins. An image of an ornamental bird, adapted from the Book of Kells, held in Trinity College in Dublin, features on the obverse side of the coin. The other cufflinks features the Irish Harp, a symbol of the history, culture and heritage of the Emerald Isle. These cufflinks are made by hand not machine, the coins are inset into the cufflinks and come in a beautiful silver presentation box. You are covered with our 100% satisfaction guarantee on all our products. Give a piece of history as a gift today..


text:
21 Interviews in 21 Days With the Best of the Counterjihad
You will hear the personal stories of famous people like Robert Spencer, Bill Warner and Nonie Darwish — and of less famous people who are also doing important work, like Chris Knowles, Andy Miller, and the interviewer herself, Elsa Schieder.
What got people to be awake to what is happening?
What have they learned?
What keeps them going?
What have they found most effective in reaching people?
What are their hopes and fears?
Note: these are reruns. Starting in late April, Elsa will be doing new interviews.
Click here to register: http://worldtruthsummit.com/.


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By Ezra HaLevi
Israel National News
Iran is planning on submerging the tomb of King Cyrus (Coresh), the Persian King known for authorizing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Holy Temple.
According to a report by Omedia, an Iranian organization is demanding that the International Criminal Court take action against those responsible.
The Iranian ayatollahs are planning on destroying the tomb as part of a general campaign to sever the Persian people from their non-Islamic heritage; Cyrus was thought to be a Zoroastrian and was one of the first rulers to enforce a policy of religious tolerance on his huge kingdom. Journalist Ran Porat quoted a young Iranian who said that the measures being taken by the Islamic Republic's regime include the destruction of archaeological sites significant to this heritage.
"The government is in the final stages of constructing a dam in southern Iran that will submerge the archaeological sites of Pasargad and Persopolis – the ancient capital of the Persian Empire," the report states. "The site, which is considered exceptional in terms of its archaeological wealth and historical importance, houses the tomb of the Persian King Cyrus."
Cyrus, who lived from 576-530 BCE, liberated Babylonian Jewry from their exile in the famous Declaration of Cyrus (mentioned in the book of Ezra in both Hebrew and Aramaic).
A group of Iranian academics opposed to the regime's policies founded a group called the Pasargad Heritage Foundation with hopes of getting the United Nations involved in protecting the historical site. Most recently, the foundation filed a petition with the International Criminal Court against the Iranian official in charge of maintaining the sites, charging him and his bureau with "crimes against humanity, due to the systematic state-sanctioned destruction of the culture of the ancient Iranian world and its historical heritage."
Though the city of Pasargad is a ruin, Cyrus's Tomb has remained largely intact and it has been partially restored to counter its natural deterioration over the years.
Cyrus was praised in the Tanach (Isaiah 45:1-6), though he was also criticized for believing the false report of the Cuthites, who wanted to halt the building of the Second Temple. They accused the Jews of conspiring to rebel, so Cyrus in turn stopped the construction of the temple, which would not be completed until 516 BCE, during the reign of Darius the Great, the grandson of Queen Esther.


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It was late and Charlie was about to climb into bed when his wife informed him that there was a light on in their garden shed. Charlie started to go outside to turn off the light but noticed some people in the shed who were busy stealing his things.
He ran back inside right away and called the cops, who asked him "Are there any intruders in your house?" to which Charlie replied no and explained his circumstances. The cops told Charlie that all patrol cars were otherwise occupied, and that he should just lock his door and a uniformed cop would be at his house when one was free.
Charlie answered, "Alright," hung up, waited 30 seconds, and then called the cops again.
"Hello, I just called a short while ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. I want to let you know that they're not a problem anymore because I've just shot every one of them."
Charlie then hung up the phone. In five short minutes, three patrol cars, a SWAT team, and an ambulance arrived, and Of course, the cops caught the burglars in the act.
One of the cops snapped at Charlie: "I thought you said that you shot every one of them!"
"I thought you said there were no patrol cars free!" Charlie answered.


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Should TV companies be entitled to broadcast criminal trials on a regular basis? Ought journalists - or members of the public - to be allowed to sit back in the public gallery, furiously live-tweeting a judge's sentencing statement, or relaying the arguments being advanced by counsel in the latest round of litigation engulfing Rangers Football Club, to the interested public?
The issue of cameras and tweeting court proceedings contemporaneously has quietly inched up the agenda in Scotland and the UK. Recent years have seen sections of Nat Fraser's trial for the murder of his wife broadcast on Channel 4. STV sought and secured permission to transmit Lord Bracadale's remarks sentencing David Gilroy for the homicide of Suzanne Pilley and more recently, Lord Matthews jailing Angus Sinclair for the Worlds End Murders.
But it isn't all about the conventional media. During Tommy Sheridan's perjury trial in 2011, James Doleman curated a blog, providing accurate and contemporaneous commentary on the evidence heard in the High Court that day.
These issues have been weighing on the mind of Scotland's most senior judge, Lord President Gill, who asked his colleague Lady Dorrian to look into the rules governing social and traditional media reporting from Scottish courtrooms. In Edinburgh this morning, at a conference on digital justice, Lord Gill announced the general findings of this review. He told the conference:
"... access to justice should not operate solely in favour of those already using the system. Access to justice encompasses a broader aim – to open our court s to public scrutiny and to public understanding and, in that way , to de - mystify our law and its procedures. In recent years there has been considerable pressure from the media for the televising of proceedings in the courts. On one or two occasions my predecessors have allowed there to be cameras in court. When I became Lord President it was clear to me that there was no overall policy in the matter. We simply could not go on making ad hoc decisions on individual applications to film or to televise."
So what did Lady Dorrian and her colleagues recommend? Gill outlined the proposals under six key headings which will considerably liberalise media access to Scottish courtrooms, while continuing the protect the integrity of live criminal proceedings:
- Filming of civil and criminal appeals and legal debates in civil first instance proceedings, such as judicial review or hearings on the Procedure Roll, should be allowed for live transmission. Subsequent news broadcasting and documentary film-making should be allowed subject to clear and comprehensive guidelines
- In certain circumstances and subject to certain safeguards, criminal trials may be filmed for documentary purposes, but not in cases involving children, sexual offences and vulnerable witnesses. However, no live transmission should be allowed for any criminal first instance business, or for first instance civil proceedings involving witnesses.
- For subsequent news broadcasts, the delivery of the sentencing remarks of the judge should be permissible, with filming focused only on the judge.
- Similarly, in first instance civil business filming for documentary purposes may be allowed, but should exclude certain cases such as those involving family and immigration matters.
- Filming should be subject to robust, clear and comprehensive guidelines.
- Journalists who register with the Scottish Court Service to gain access to the electronic portal-based system, should also be required to undertake compliance with the Contempt of Court Act. Journalists so registered should be permitted to use live text-based communication. Any person who is not on the register should require the permission of the presiding judge.
As Lord Gill notes, giving effect to these general principles will require additional work. "This may involve further consultation with the media on practical points", he says. With my social media hat on, I am interested in the final point -- which will allow hacks to live tweet proceedings, but only if they have been put through the wringer on the dos and don'ts of the tough contempt regime of the 1981 Act.
This is a safety-first approach, and would seem to imply that duly registered reporters should be able to tweet from criminal trials while they are ongoing. It will undoubtedly save some journalists, whose court training is a bit rusty, from themselves. If an unthinking reporter inadvertently tweets legal argument heard outwith the presence of the jury, a jail cell of their own beckons, and if that can be avoided, so much the better.
I wonder, however, if these strictures aren't excessively paternalistic. Are these restrictions really necessary, for example, in less sensitive cases, where criminal penalties are not at stake? It should not, I think, be assumed that folk are only likely to be interested in relating criminal cases, blow by blow, on social media. In particular, the travails of certain football clubs in our civil and tax courts are of considerable interest to a significant section of the public -- and are likely to be reported by journalists and interested citizens, unused to visiting and relaying court proceedings and therefore unlikely to have registered with the Court Service.
Justice sometimes demands some limits to be imposed on the openness of the proceedings of our courts, but unless some overriding interest dictates otherwise, the principle of open justice must prevail. Weighed on that scale, the Lord President's commitments this morning are broadly to be welcomed. Lord Gill and Lady Dorrian are also to be commended for their openness to the
possibilities - as well as the challenges - of these innovations for our
Today's plans lend new meaning to the old principle of open justice, and stand in quiet rebuke to the vision of the judge as a technical Luddite, who still regards the transition from vellum to paper with ill-disguised suspicion.
Today's plans lend new meaning to the old principle of open justice, and stand in quiet rebuke to the vision of the judge as a technical Luddite, who still regards the transition from vellum to paper with ill-disguised suspicion.


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Your acne treatment will work best if you follow your treatment plan. Be patient. Acne often takes months to improve, not days or weeks. Ask your healthcare provider when you can expect your skin to look better. If you don't see results by your goal date, call your healthcare provider. They may want to give you some other type of treatment.
Besides following your treatment plan, take care in choosing skin care products and cosmetics. The following tips may help:
Choose gentle, oil-free soaps and facial cleansers.
Don't use harsh acne scrubs, cleansers, or astringents. They can irritate your skin and make acne worse.
Ask your healthcare provider before buying over-the-counter acne treatments. Some of these, such as those with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, can work. But they often have side effects, such as skin getting too dry with treatments that are too strong.
Read labels on makeup and moisturizers. Choose those that are water based and oil free. Look for the term noncomedogenic. It means that the product won't clog your pores.
The right skin care routine can help keep your skin healthy. To take good care of your skin, try these tips:
Gently wash affected skin twice a day with a mild cleanser. Using your fingertips, smooth the cleanser over your skin. Rinse your skin well. Pat it dry.
If your healthcare provider has approved any over-the-counter acne medicine, use as directed. Use it after you wash your skin. Apply the medicine to all areas where you get acne. Don't just treat acne you can see now. New blemishes may be in progress but not in view yet. Treat all the skin.
Don't squeeze or pick blemishes. Acne blemishes may heal on their own. But squeezing can cause scarring. Scars will remain after acne blemishes heal.
Using sponges, brushes, or other abrasive tools to clean your skin can irritate the skin. Don't use them.
If you use soft sponges or cloths to apply makeup, keep them clean.
Try not to touch your face.
If possible, don't wear clothing or equipment that blocks or rubs the skin with acne.
Learning more about acne is the first step toward controlling this condition. Acne that's being treated often gets worse at first before it improves. But with correct treatment and skin care, you can manage your acne and feel better about your skin.


text: >Andy Spencer >Department of Biochemistry >Michigan State University >>What is the most common eukaryotic cell? > >Probably a plant leaf cell. Is there a scientific term for plant leaf >cells? Not a plant guy so I don't know. There are different cells within the leaf, but there are many leafs out there. Could they compare in number with the algae of the sea?


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You meet a guy, sparks ignite, you spend time together, you're into him, he's really into you, you can't help but think of the amazing future that lies ahead….and then something shifts.
Suddenly he's not as attentive, he doesn't pursue you with the same level of enthusiasm, he doesn't text in the middle of the day just to say he's thinking about you, he doesn't go above and beyond. He's still there…but something seems to have changed.
Sometimes this doesn't mean anything. The guy just got busy or wrapped up in other areas of his life and the girl gets herself into a panic over nothing. Other times, he is over the relationship, he just doesn't quite know how to break it to you.
No matter what, that sense of panic and dread can cause a real hindrance to your life and happiness. It can also put an unnecessary dent in your relationship.
To help you find out what's going on and where he stands, take this super easy, super quick quiz to find out if he's losing interest….or if you're just being paranoid and everything is fine.
The quiz will ask you 10 questions about your relationship. As long as you answer honestly, you will get startlingly (even shockingly) accurate results and will know for sure how he feels.
Note: In order to receive your quiz results, we collect your email at the end of the quiz. Just wanted to give you a heads up so you know what to expect. :)


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IIoT Hardware
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text:
Follow the steps below to complete your order.
Step 1 : Add your desired item to Cart
Choose your desire item, insert the quantity of the item and click on "Add to cart" button.
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Click on "Continue Shopping" to add more items into your cart. When you finish shopping click on "Secure Checkout" to proceed with your purchase.
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For new customer, click on the "Add Address" button to add your shipping address first before proceed to payment.
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After you confirm your shipping address, choose your shipping option on the left and click on "Continue Checkout" to proceed your purchase.
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You have now successfully purchase your item. Once we have received your payment, we will arrange to deliver your items soonest possible. The tracking no will be received via SMS and Email. Please ensure the key-in data is correct.


text:
These are exciting times for Comaco Toys. We have more suppliers, more lines and more stock than ever before in our history. A couple of weeks saw me heading south to Harrogate for our first visit to the Toymaster show at the Majestic Hotel.
After experiencing the less subtle delights of the London Toy Fair and NEC Spring Show, it was something a relief to find that this was a slightly lower key and less formal event. This is largely due to it being a trade only fair with only fairly limited stand space for the exhibitors.
After a long drive from the north of Scotland, I arrived early afternoon and gave myself a good hour or two to recaffeinate and aclimatise. My pre-booked appointments were all for the following day, so the afternoon was free to browse and explore.
Mutant Ninja Turtles were on display at GP Flair, as well as Shopkins – currently a big seller. Teletubbies (which I once wrote a dissertation on) were making a reappearance at a couple of stands, and Paw Patrol and Angry Birds also had a definite presence. Super Hero Girls looked the business at Mattel.
H Grossman had a range Of Ghostbusters tie ins to come out later in the year, and I had already earmarked Posh Paws Ltd with its range of movie related plush toys. A little different was Stikbot from Brainstorm: fun figures with suction arms and feet who are designed to make simple stop motion animation using a mobile phone app.


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We're always excited when someone writes a review about Wirecast live streaming software. Our friend Kevin P. McAuliffe over at ProVideoCoalition has spent some time and wrote up his thoughts on Wirecast 14.
"I like Wirecast, and this update is no exception. The issues I have with it are all very minor. If you haven't used it up until this point (version 14), it has really been fleshed out to be an all-in-one production package that can even be hardware upgraded, if you're really serious about it. "
Head on over to see his review!
(PS. One of the things he says he wishes Wirecast 14 had was the ability to ISO Record Rendezvous guests' video. Guess What!? Our 14.1 Beta version has Shot ISO recording – which lets you do exactly that! Download the 14.1 Beta version on our forum here, and let us know what you think!)
If you are looking for professional live streaming software (or hardware!), be sure to download the free trial of Wirecast and try it out!


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9 new gamma pulsars
Pulsars are the lighthouses of the universe. These compact and fast-rotating neutron stars flash many times per second in the radio or gamma-ray band. Pure gamma-ray pulsars are extremely difficult to find despite their high energy because they radiate very few photons per unit of time. Using an improved analysis algorithm, Max Planck scientists and international partners have now discovered a number of previously unknown gamma-ray pulsars with low luminosity in data from the Fermi satellite. These pulsars had been missed using conventional methods. The number of known gamma-ray pulsars has thus grown to over 100. (The paper will be published in the Astrophysical Journal.)
These cosmic beacons still pose a few puzzles for scientists: not all radio pulsars can be identified as gamma-ray pulsars and, on the other hand, not all gamma-ray pulsars are "visible" in the radio band. A plausible explanation is the varying width of the light cone over the wavelength range. This may be because emissions at different wavelengths spread out differently. Lower-energy radio waves are bundled more tightly at the magnetic pole of a neutron star field while the cone of high-energy gamma-rays will spread out. Depending on its spatial orientation and intensity of the cone, a pulsar will thus be observed as a radio and/or gamma-ray pulsar. However, other models also describe this phenomenon. To determine the actual cause, as many sources as possible should be examined.
The search for pure gamma-ray pulsars literally starts with the scientists "in the dark". A typical pulsar will rotate several times per second, or at least 108 times per year. Its emission region will sweep across the observer with that frequency. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on NASA's Fermi satellite however only detects an average of a few thousand photons per year from any given gamma pulsar. This low detection rate makes it extremely difficult for even the fastest supercomputers to assign the individual gamma quanta to an unknown pulsar with a defined rotation period.
For several months, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute/AEI) in Hanover, the Leibniz University of Hanover and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn analysed data from the LAT in an international collaboration. Using a new method, they have been able to identify nine new pulsars which were "invisible" up to now.
"We used a new kind of hierarchical algorithm which we had originally developed for the search for gravitational waves," explains Bruce Allen, Director at the AEI and professor at the Institute for Gravitational Physics of the Leibniz University Hanover. "It's like digging for diamonds or gold: it's very exciting when you find something," Allen continues.
The nine new pulsars netted by the scientists emit less gamma radiation than those previously known and rotate between three and twelve times per second. Only one of these pulsars was later also found to emit radio waves. The total number of gamma pulsars observed by Fermi has thus risen to over 100.
About three-quarters of the gamma pulsars previously observed by Fermi had first been identified as radio pulsars. In these cases the search for additional gamma radiation is relatively easy. Sky position, rotation period and rotation period change rate are all derived from the radio data, so it takes only a few additional calculations to determine whether detected gamma quanta match a particular set of parameters or not.
A blind search is far more complex as neither position nor pulse period and its change over time are known. At first, each photon from a particular observation sector is assigned a certain probability for a sky position. If a significant accumulation of gamma quanta is observed from a rough direction in the sky, scientists check if the photon's arrival time at Fermi's on-board detector matches an exact sky position and pulse period and its change over time. However, with only a few thousand photons detected over a period of three years but rotation frequencies of only a few hertz, a huge number of prospects have to be tested.
During a first blind search in Fermi data, astronomers found 24 pure gamma pulsars within one year of the launch of the satellite in 2008. A further two were discovered in the following year. After that, the number of new pulsars found stagnated until physicists from Hanover started searching with an algorithm that is 10 times more efficient, and employing additional computing power. They found a further nine gamma-ray pulsars which on average emit only one quarter of the photons compared to previously discovered pure gamma-ray pulsars.
Scientists at the MPI Bonn examined the emission spectra of the corresponding gamma-ray sources to see whether they were candidates for the gamma-ray pulsar blind search. "About one-third of the gamma-ray sources observed by LAT were unknown before the launch of Fermi," says Lucas Guillemot, a member of the research group of Michael Kramer, Director at the MPIfR. "We determined the spectral properties of the Fermi LAT sources, and compared them to those of known gamma-ray sources," he said.
The candidates for a gamma-ray pulsar blind search were then analysed in detail. "The new computing method permits us to evaluate data sets much faster than before," said Holger Pletsch, a member of Allen's group leading the work. The analysis was also run on the ATLAS computing cluster at the AEI in Hanover. ATLAS has one hundred times the computing power that was used in previous blind searches. "Together with the more efficient analysis, this does not only mean that we can analyse the data much faster. We can now search for gamma-ray pulsars which rotate even faster, with periods measured in milliseconds," adds Pletsch. The computing power needed for the search increases proportionally to the cube of the rotation period.
Additionally, part of the computing power of the Einstein@Home project is now allocated to the search for the first pure gamma-ray millisecond-pulsar. This discovery would be a significant contribution to our understanding of pulsars.
Provided by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft


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The New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music exhibit is a cultural history of America's Musical Landscape. It's the story of a diverse mix of people interacting with the New World, a world where cultures and customs met, mixed, and mingled to create new sounds. The distinct cultural identities of all these peoples are carried in song – both sacred and secular – and the music that emerges is known by names like blues, country, western, folk, and gospel.
New Harmonies tracks the unique history of many peoples reshaping each other into one incredibly diverse and complex people – Americans. It also promises a fascinating, inspiring, and toe-tapping listen to the American story of cultural exchange with its multi-media components. As a unique traveling exhibition, it is full of surprises about familiar songs, histories of instruments, the roles of religion and technology in shaping new sounds, and the continuity of musical roots from the colonial period to modern day punk and hip-hop.
New Harmonies will display from October 23, 2010 through December 5, 2010.
Museum Hours: Tuesdays – Saturdays from 10 AM – 4 PM
For more information, please contact the Western Illinois Museum at 309.837.2750.


text:
Advaxis Appoints Daniel J. O'Connor President and CEO and Elects Dr. James Patton Non-Executive Chai
Advaxis Appoints Daniel J. O'Connor President and CEO and Elects Dr. James Patton Non-Executive Chairman of the Board
PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Advaxis, Inc. (OTCQB:ADXS) ("Advaxis" or the "Company"),a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, announced the appointment of Daniel J. O'Connor, formerly Executive Vice President, to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. O'Connor has also joined the Board of Directors. Dr. James Patton, currently the Chairman of the Audit Committee, has been elected Non-Executive Chairman of the Board. Thomas A. Moore, formerly Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Advaxis, will continue to serve on the Board of Directors and as a consultant to the Company.
Mr. O'Connor has fifteen years of executive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry with ImClone Systems, formerly (NAS: IMCL) , PharmaNet (now inVentiv Health Clinical), and Bracco Diagnostics. As ImClone's Senior Vice President, he played a key role in resolving numerous issues facing ImClone and closed several important deals leading to its sale to Eli Lilly (NYS: LLY) in 2008.
Dr. Patton is a founding member of the Advaxis Board of Directors, an internist, and the Vice President of Millennium Oncology Management, Inc., which provides management services in oncology. Dr. Patton is also an Independent Trustee for the DundeeWealth U.S. mutual fund family and a founder and chairman of VAL Health, LLC, a healthcare consulting company.
Dr. Patton stated, "We sincerely thank Tom Moore for his tireless efforts leading Advaxis for the last 6+ years. Importantly, the ADXS-HPV proprietary technology platform has achieved proof of concept and Tom has assembled an experienced management team to continue to advance the clinical pipeline. Over the past six months, the Advaxis team has accelerated its licensing negotiations, achieved several clinical milestones including the recent designation of orphan drug status for ADXS-HPV in anal cancer, and has worked to improve its balance sheet; all of which have been fundamental advancements of the Company's business. However, we know there still is a lot to accomplish to take Advaxis to the next platform and we remain focused on the goal of unlocking significant stockholder value."
"The Company is now entering a transformational phase, and Dan's appointment as CEO is the outcome of Tom and the Board's succession planning initiatives over the past year in preparation for this important time. Dan has brought tremendous energy to Advaxis since joining in January, and we believe his industry experience and professional track record are perfectly aligned with the Company's strategic priorities," concluded Dr. Patton.
Mr. O'Connor stated, "I am very pleased to be appointed to lead Advaxis at this pivotal point in its drug development and commercialization efforts, and I am prepared for this challenge. The Company's innovative science and IP hold great promise for addressing many important areas of unmet medical needs. We have an excellent team in place, and together we will be focused on continuing to fundamentally transform the Company on multiple fronts, including the preparation for our registration studies with ADXS-HPV and continuing to strengthen our balance sheet. I would like to thank the Board of Directors and Tom for their vote of confidence in me, the Advaxis team for their commitment to the success of the Company, and our stockholders for their continued support over the past several months and in the years ahead."
Thomas A. Moore added, "I am grateful for having had the opportunity to lead Advaxis and wholeheartedly believe this is the right time for Dan to transition to CEO of the Company. I will work in every way to support Dan, the Board, and the team in their expected coming accomplishments and am pleased to work with the Company as a consultant during this time. I will continue to be a significant stockholder and Director of Advaxis, and will support the Company as needed in the future."
About Advaxis, Inc.
Advaxis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. Advaxis immunotherapies are based on a novel platform technology using live, attenuated bacteria that are bio-engineered to secrete an antigen/adjuvant fusion protein(s) that is designed to redirect the powerful immune response all human beings have to the bacteriumto the cancer itself.
ADXS-HPV is currently being evaluated in four clinical trials for human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers: recurrent/refractory cervical cancer (India), locally advanced cervical cancer (GOG/NCI U.S. study, Clinical Trials.gov Identifier NCT01266460), head & neckcancer (CRUK study, Clinical Trials.gov Identifier NCT01598792), and anal cancer (BrUOG study, Clinical Trials.gov Identifier NCT01671488). Advaxis has over 15 distinct immunotherapies in various stages of development, developed directly by Advaxis and through strategic collaborations with recognized centers of excellence such as: the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Research - UK, the Wistar Institute, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of British Columbia, the Karolinska Institutet, and others.
For more information please visit: www.advaxis.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: statements as to the advancement of the clinical pipeline, achieving significant stockholder value, the promise of the Company's science and IP to address unmet medical needs, fundamentally transforming the Company, including preparing for registration studies and strengthening the Company's balance sheet.These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, including the risk factors set forth from time to time in Advaxis' SEC filings, including but not limited to its report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2012, which is available at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.
Advaxis, Inc.
Diana Moore, 609-452-9814
Director, Investor Relations & Business Development
Jenene Thomas Communications, LLC
Jenene Thomas, 908-938-1475
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Advisor
KEYWORDS: United States North America New Jersey
The article Advaxis Appoints Daniel J. O'Connor President and CEO and Elects Dr. James Patton Non-Executive Chairman of the Board originally appeared on Fool.com.
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Exercising with friends helps you stay motivated, and Fitocracy, your favorite fitness tracking site, just added a slew of new social tools to help you find friends, join groups of like-minded workout buddies, and stick to your fitness goals.
Most of the new features center around the new "Connect" tab you'll see when you log in. Fitocracy has always had groups, but the connect page makes them easy to find, offers up some suggested groups based on your interests and activities, and gives you quick access to the groups you're already a member of. If you're interested in a group, hover over it for a description or to join. Additionally, Fitocracy now allows you to add photos and video to your feed and workout updates, and unveiled a new dashboard that makes tracking your workouts and following your friends even easier.
Fitocracy | via Fitocracy Blog


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If you are traveling for business, you will probably be traveling with and dependent upon at least a smartphone and a laptop to get all of your work done and stay connected with your colleagues and family. That means these devices will need to operate at peak performance while minimizing the risk of a failure that could leave you in the lurch or forced to use an expensive business center at your hotel or serviced apartment.
With that in mind, here are six must do tech tips to do before you leave on your next business trip to ensure you stay productive and connected:
1. Download Any Computer or Software Updates. Before you leave on a business trip, be sure to download and run any and all operating system and software updates (e.g. Windows, Internet browser, Adobe etc.) as such updates can not only take time to download (a real pain if you are in a location with slow Internet), they might even crash your computer after they install. If you use Windows, you can update your operating system by going to the Tools menu and selecting Microsoft Update while Apple Mac users should be able to click on the apple in the top left hand corner of the computer screen and select Software Update.
2. Update and Run the Virus Scan. Make sure the virus definitions for your antivirus software are all up-to-date and do comprehensive virus scans before you leave just in case your antivirus discovers something big that cannot be quarantined while you are away.
3. Reschedule Scans and Download Updates. Both Windows and antivirus software scans and updates that need to be downloaded can not only take awhile to download, they can slow down your laptop's performance or your ability to use the Internet considerably while they download. That means it might be a good idea to reschedule any weekly scans or updates to take place after you return home from your business trip.
4. Run Disk Cleanup. Windows is rather notorious for cluttering up a hard drive with junk or orphaned files that can slow your computer's performance or even cause it to crash. Running the Disk Cleanup wizard and using its advanced settings to delete shadow copies of Windows backups before you leave on your business trip will likely improve your laptop's performance while you travel.
5. Clean-out Your Email and SMS Inbox. If you get tons of email or SMS and/or are carrying around multiple devices to access various types of messages, be aware that the storage space on those devices can quickly fill up if messages aren't being kept on your corporate server. Be especially careful about email downloaded to or sent from your laptop's Windows Mail or Microsoft Outlook programs as these programs are notorious space hogs on your hard drive - which can cause it to fill up and then fail at the worst possible moment when you are on operative info a business trip.
6. Drop Copies of Important Files into the Cloud and Get Synced. Cloud storage services like Dropbox should mean that you will never need to make a frantic call to your secretary asking for a large and important file to be emailed over in a hurry. So before you leave on a business trip, make sure you are carrying the latest and most up-to-date copies of any files you might need by simply dropping them into a cloud storage service. Likewise, make sure that all of the devices you use are synced so that you aren't also calling your secretary for an important phone number, email message or address.
The mornings are getting cooler - a reminder that it's time once again for northern pilots to start preparing their planes for winter. Whether you're planning cross-country flying or not much flying at all, winter flying is all about assessing and managing risk. Here are some important tips and strategies to prep your plane. These do not supercede having your aircraft professionally serviced and maintained.
Know the weather. Obviously, weather is the crucial variable in winter flying. It's important to understand meteorology and keep track of upcoming weather patterns that could affect your flying. Start checking weather patterns three days prior to flight, but keep in mind patterns can change rapidly.
There are several useful weather tracking websites out there that offer forecasts, Doppler radar data, satellite imagery and useful aviation tools. Some of the best are the Aviation Digital Data Service at aviationweather.gov/adds/ and the FAA-sponsored Direct Access User Terminal Systems (DUATS) site at duats.com. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association offers free online weather information for members at aopa.org. Also check out the Weather Underground and The Weather Channel on cable for helpful insight into national weather trends.
Preheat your engine. One of the most important things to do before cold weather flight is to preheat the plane's engine, especially if it is not housed in a hangar. If you use a combustion-type preheater, you'll need to stay with the plane while it's heating, as they can catch fire.
If you have access to electricity, an engine-mounted preheater can work well, but do not leave it plugged in all winter. To be safe, you'll need to get to the airport and start pre-heating well in advance of take off. Another alternative is an Internet-enabled, cell phone-activated preheater, which allows you to start the heater before you arrive. Again, don't leave the plane unattended for long.
Change the oil. Even if your plane isn't ready for an oil change, change it anyway - it's important to remove contaminates in the oil. First, take the plane on a short flight to get the engine oil temp up, then return to the airport and change the oil. Inspect and clean the oil suction screen in the oil sump and remove, cut and inspect the oil filter. After changing the oil, run the engine for several minutes to check for leaks and circulate oil throughout the engine.
Once the plane is back in the hangar, do not turn the prop. Pulling the prop makes the pistons go up and down inside the cylinders which may be wiping the oil off the cylinder walls, increasing the likelihood of corrosion. Also cover the intake or inlet to the air box with duct tape and foam rubber balls in the exhaust pipes to prevent outside air from getting into the engine and reducing the chance of air mixing with moisture, which leads to corrosion.
Important: Mark them well and remove them before starting the engine! Also, a warning against ground running: Running the plane on the ground will not heat up the engine oil sufficiently to burn off contaminates - it will promote internal condensation, which leads to corrosion.
Remember, planes need coats, too. If you keep your plane at an outdoor hangar, consider investing in wing covers to prevent frost, ice or snow buildup on the body. It takes some extra pre-flight prep time to remove, but you also won't have to remove snow and ice from the wings and flight surfaces. Order soon before frost begins.
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When you step inside a house the first thing you will probably see its interior design. A beautiful interior design with 3d wall decoration can definitely catch the attention and impress anyone who will be able to see it. If you are a home owner, you might want to make your home look brilliant so that your family members and guests can enjoy the surroundings and also can tempt everyone's creative spirit.
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Everyone has a unique style, so creating a design that includes all of your distinct characteristics is an ideal approach to start a noteworthy concept for your home. To help gather valuable ideas for your home makeover, given below are some imperative tips to start you off with your interior design adventure.
Now home accents come in different types and designs. A wide array of selections can definitely complement any model of an interior. Home accents can be gorgeous if you choose to have a color scheme because they are quite flexible. Some of the most widely used home accents according to their uniqueness, design, and flexibility are wall décor and wall art.
3D Wall decorations and modern wall art are two awesome decorative ornaments that can transform a dull and boring interior into a place full of happy memories while at the same time, providing fascinating design to a particular area inside the house.
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text: CSB Releases Analysis Showing Cause of Rupture and Hydrogen Blast in 2009 Silver Eagle Refinery Accident in Woods Cross, Utah; Pipe Walls Thinned due to Corrosion that went Uninspected for Years April 10, 2014 Tweet Washington, DC, April 10, 2014 – A massive explosion and fire at the Silver Eagle Refinery on November 4, 2009, in Woods Cross, Utah, which damaged homes in a nearby neighborhood, was caused by a rupture in a pipe that had become dangerously thin from corrosion, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) reported today. The CSB has released a detailed expert metallurgical report that was commissioned in the course of its ongoing investigation of the incident. The catastrophic rupture occurred in a ten-inch pipe at the bottom of a reactor in the mobil distillate dewaxing unit. It led to a massive release of hydrogen, which caught fire immediately and exploded, sending a blast wave across the refinery into a subdivision. The blast wave damaged over 100 homes, many with shattered glass. Two of the homes were severely damaged, including one which was displaced off its foundation. There were four workers near the process unit at the time of the explosion. They were blown to the ground but were not seriously injured. Another worker had been taking readings next to the pipe that failed just one to two minutes before the release. The metallurgical failure study and analysis performed for the CSB by Exponent - a Texas-based engineering and scientific consulting company - details findings from laboratory examination of pipe segments recovered after the incident. The report also examines the history of the pipe that ruptured, determining that the component that failed had no record of ever being inspected for corrosion as it thinned over the years. CSB Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso said, "The findings in the Exponent report are all too familiar: Mechanical integrity programs at refineries repeatedly primarily emphasize inspection strategies rather than the use of inherently safer design to control the damage mechanisms that ultimately cause major process safety incidents. This is the same syndrome we found in the Bay Area Chevron refinery fire of 2012 and the Tesoro refinery explosion and fire that killed seven in Anacortes, Washington, in 2010. Fortunately, there were no fatalities resulting from the explosion and it was only by chance no one was in the immediate area. But many lives were disrupted as residents in Woods Cross, just north of Salt Lake City, had to move out of homes pending repairs." CSB Investigation Lead Dan Tillema said, "The metallurgical analysis details the same kind of sulfidation corrosion at the Silver Eagle Refinery that we found in the Chevron accident; sulfur compounds in the process stream corroded a steel piping segment, causing the pipe walls to become severely thin. This incident is also similar to Chevron in that, while sulfidation is a well-known damage mechanism at refineries that requires regular inspection and monitoring, the segment that failed has no record of ever being inspected." The CSB investigation team notes that the examination of the ruptured pipe segment and adjacent piping clearly indicated wall thinning had occurred in the piping component. The elbow adjacent to the pipe segment that failed was noted to have an original thickness of 0.719-inch. A 2007 thickness measurement of the elbow indicated a wall thickness of 0.483-inch, indicating years of thinning had taken place. The adjacent straight-run segment that failed was found to have a wall thickness as low as 0.039-inch and there were no records of any prvious inspection. The CSB's investigation previously noted records indicating other serious wide spread mechanical integrity deficiencies and gaps across the refinery at the time of the incident and will address these issues in the final report. Dr. Moure-Eraso said, "This is an investigation where we have had to delay its completion due to, ironically, a pressing series of accidents in the oil production and refining sector. However, I want people to know that work has been continuing as this report shows, and that the CSB is working hard to assure refineries and indeed all chemical operations are operated more safely." The November explosion was the second accident at the refinery that year. On the evening of January 12, 2009, two refinery operators and two contractors suffered serious burns resulting from a flash fire. The accident occurred when a large flammable vapor cloud was released from an atmospheric storage tank which contained an estimated 440,000 gallons of light naphtha. The vapor cloud found an ignition source and the ensuing flash fire spread up to 230 feet west of the tank farm. The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems. The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Visit our website, www.csb.gov. For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen, cell 202-446-8094 or Sandy Gilmour, Public Affairs, cell 202-251-5496. Back to news


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Friend of the blog Rembert Browne and the folks at Grantland put together their annual year-end, winner-take-all tournament bracket to determine just who won pop culture in 2013. Yeah, it's a jokey project, but Grantland is better than just about anyone at considering our popular culture without moralizing didacticism or snarky dilettantism.
Rembert came up with a diverse field full of 32 entities that we had to reckon with this year, including:
As the bracket progressed to the later rounds, LeBron James faced off against Peyton Manning. Beyoncé, who is rewriting the rules of pop superstardom, went up against Pope Francis, who is reorienting the focus of his billion-member flock. Kanye West, as exasperating as he is important, tore through the early rounds of Rembert's tournament like a buzzsaw, until he came up against the eventual winner of 2013: cultural appropriation. Which makes sense, because as Rembert points out, cultural appropriation — and the conversation about it — was impossible to miss over the last 12 months year.
Through all the mess, that's what stands out about cultural appropriation in 2013. The fact that, through a newfound ability to talk about things, there was a discourse redistricting. And, like it or not, it wouldn't have happened had Miley not become the ambassador for twerking and an assortment of other things that have been labeled as "minstrelsy," had Lorde not written lyrics for "Royals" that could have been misconstrued as racially insensitive, had the Washington Redskins not continued to remain the Washington Redskins, had Macklemore not struck gold with "Thrift Shop" and "Same Love," had the Harlem Shake been titled something different from a dance popularized a decade earlier, and had Kanye not made songs called "New Slaves" and "Black Skinhead" and then produced apparel decorated with Confederate flags.
A ton of uncomfortable things happened in 2013. But we finally began talking about them together. Declaring cultural appropriation as the winner of 2013 signifies that, for 12 months, we all kind of lost. But I'll take a short-term mess in exchange for long-term progress any day.
(Not bragging or anything — okay, maybe bragging a taste — but the Code Switch teamkind of called this in our very first post.)
Still, I think there were some pretty big omissions here. Even though "Royals" was everywhere, Lorde didn't make the tourney. My Code Switch teammate Matt Thompson suggestedMichael B. Jordan, the charismatic star of Fruitvale Station. (No worries: he's certain to make it to the Sweet 16 one of these years, though.)
What cultural figure should have made the tournament? Daft Punk? Amazon.com, which became so huge that people really believed that delivery-by-drones story? Movies featuring peoples of color? Allie Brosh, whose hilarious, deeply moving webcomic Hyperbole And A Half returned as a book after nearly two years of silence?
We want to hear your suggestions in the comments. You'll find Grantland's list here.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Railroad boxcars are perhaps not only the best-recognized pieces of equipment ever put into service but also one of the most identifiable symbols of the industry itself. During the early years of the industry freight was hauled on simple flatcars or early gondolas. In Upstate New York was the burgeoning Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, the first chartered system in the United States which later became part of the New York Central, came up with the novel idea of covering its gondolas in 1833 since the railroad dealt with snow throughout much of the winter. The car's development continued to improve over the years such as switching from basic wood construction with steel outside-bracing, within the same size specifications; 40 feet, a standard size employed by the American Association of Railroads (AAR). To better enhance crew safety, in 1968 the AAR legislated the removal of roof walks. The 40 foot boxcars needed to be "modernized" to adhere to the AAR mandate. This was to be completed by 1978 for cars in interchange service. Some of these cars had side and end ladders cut down, in some cases, modification included lowering the brakewheel. What made boxcars great, at least in the eyes of the railroads, was, their ability to haul about anything! Railroads thrive on redundancy to maximize efficiency.
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First rule of Hispanic outreach: Don't call it Hispanic outreach.
To reach Hispanic voters, conservatives need to scrap most of the old playbook and replace it with a fresh, innovative and inspirational message that will appeal to every single American — including Hispanics.
The first thing we need to do is resist a knee-jerk reaction that over-interprets the results of the 2012 election and, by consequence, over-simplifies the proper course of action. As we all know, obituaries for the conservative movement have been written with alarming frequency in the past. Typically, they appear shortly before we've come roaring back, to the surprise and disappointment of the self-congratulatory left.
Conservatives should think about the Reagan Revolution — not to dwell on past glories, but to remind ourselves of why the conservative movement has succeeded in the past and how it can succeed again.
In short, the conservative movement has succeeded when we have delivered an inspirational message about expanding opportunity by embracing freedom and personal responsibility. Sure, we can criticize liberal failures. But we can't stop there. We must also lead by presenting a vision of where we must go on a number of policy areas, including welfare reform and deficit reduction. Boldness and decisiveness have always been a part of successful policy promotion.
And, if we want to capture the hearts and minds of the fastest-growing demographic, conservatives need to convey not just ideas, but conviction. Are we convinced that our ideas to improve our country will help every single American regardless of race, ethnicity and gender? Then let it show.
President George W. Bush effectively talked in these terms and it proved to be a winning recipe. In winning re-election, he also captured 40% of the Hispanic vote. Sure, President Bush sprinkled some of his speeches with broken Spanish from time to time as a way of appealing to Hispanics. But he also understood the need to convey why his policies were necessary for the entire country. In so doing, he didn't write off any demographic and was sensitive to tone and rhetoric when dealing with thorny policy issues like immigration.
Ronald Reagan, of course, was the master of the broad appeal. He keenly understood the need to make his message resonate with previously written-off constituencies, like Reagan Democrats.
This is precisely the vision conservatives need if we are to garner and maintain majority support.
Pandering, packaged in short-term gimmickry, will not work. Hispanics, like all voters, demand a serious pitch from us on how our policies can improve their lives and allow them to prosper, save and pursue their ambitions. Hispanics, like all Americans, will be drawn to a hopeful message that is forward-thinking and inspirational.
This is not fluff. On immigration, we can't just say we need to secure the border and enforce the law. We must push back on the terrible proposition that being against illegal immigration is tantamount to being against all immigration. Conservatives need to expose the left's insistence on supporting a system that encourages even more individuals to immigrate illegally in often dangerous circumstances, and then live under the constant fear of being deported. A far more humane policy would encourage legal immigration while discouraging illegal immigration.
Nor can conservatives continue to cede the issues of poverty and social justice to the left. Here again, we need to expose liberal failures in order to demonstrate how conservative policy prescriptions centered on increased personal responsibility and two-parent households are far more effective in reducing poverty rates.
Conservatives have solutions to the escalating high school drop-out rates and high rates of child poverty among Hispanics. Liberal ideas to solve these pressing problems are well past their expiration dates. The problem for us has been an inability to communicate directly and consistently with the Hispanic community on what conservatives are offering.
For far too long, conservatives have only paid attention to the Hispanic community for the few months leading up to an election. We need to become a consistent presence in predominantly Hispanic communications outlets, organizations and institutions.
As the editor of The Heritage Foundation's Spanish-language website and one of our chief spokesmen in the Hispanic media, I have heard countless times that I am one of only a few conservatives to approach a local Hispanic newspaper or radio station. Hispanic media is no longer a niche industry. It is a major player in journalism, as evidenced by the Univision news network's highly publicized interview of President Obama.
Conservatives would be foolish to ignore this changing media landscape. The left understands this. That's why it spends considerable time and energy cultivating relationships with members of the Hispanic media. And it's certainly paid off for them, in terms of favorable coverage for their policies.
Is it too late for conservatives to make their voices heard in the Hispanic media? Of course not. Not too long ago, the left had a near lock on the blogosphere and social media. Once conservatives realized the value of these media, though, we got in the game and are now more than holding our own.
We can do the same with the Hispanic media. But as we wade in, we must carry not just the right policies, but the right message, tone and conviction. All are needed to succeed in the battle of ideas.
Israel Ortega is editor of Libertad.org, the Spanish-language website of The Heritage Foundation.
First appeared in The Daily Caller.


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Yeesh, I'm seriously terrible about updating this blog. Lately I've just had a lot to do, which means not much time for drawing personal stuff. Hopefully that'll change soon. Also, if you want to see new art more often, you can check my tumblr out- I post on there fairly regularly, although a lot of it is dumb stuff like post-it doodles and things like that. Sometimes I post comics and fun stuff too, though.
Here's some of the stuff I've posted to my tumblr lately...also I've got a cool announcement at the bottom of this post, so don't miss it! :]
From Game of Thrones, Catelyn Stark.
Robb Stark
Joffrey "Little Shit" Baratheon
...and the lovely Khaleesi!
Here's Arya...
...and here are some doodles of how I see Arya from the books, rather than the show.
Here's how Ygritte looks in my head.
These next ones are characters from Downton Abbey...a few of these were drawn without reference and I think they turned out to be the funnier ones.
Here's an example of the types of comics I sometimes post on tumblr (Sorry Adam).
Now for the fun stuff! Tomorrow (Friday the 1st) the first episode of Strip Search will be up and ready to watch! For those not in the know, it's a reality style web show for web comic artists that Mike and Jerry of Penny Arcade dreamed up, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. I know it sounds crazy but it was a seriously fun experience.
If you click the picture above it'll take you to the site, which is pretty fun even though the first episode isn't up yet (edit, the show is up now). There's a trailer for the show, bios for each artist, and a couple interviews that are pretty hilarious/enlightening.
To end this post, above is a little drawing of my fellow artists/strippers/friends/competitors. I love them all, so check out their comics! I'll list them in the order that I drew them:


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Family Platycnemididae Yakobson & Bianchi, 1905
stream damsels
- scientific: Protoneuridae Yakobson & Bianchi, 1905 (in part)
This is a morphologically diverse family with 40 genera and over 400 species occurring in the Old World, especially in tropical Asia, New Guinea, and the Afrotropics, where over a sixth of the species are concentrated. Genera with a much shortened anal vein (Elattoneura and part of what is now Allocnemis) have been placed in a pantropical family Protoneuridae. However, genetic research revealed that all Old World genera are not related to the true protoneurids of the New World, but fall within Platycnemididae. The enigmatic Oreocnemis was described in this family but belongs in Coenagrionidae. [Adapted from Dijkstra & Clausnitzer 2014]
No diagnosis of this diverse family is presently available and the genera are best distinguished by considering both it and the Coenagrionidae, together forming the superfamily Coenagrionoidea.
Map citation: Clausnitzer, V., K.-D.B. Dijkstra, R. Koch, J.-P. Boudot, W.R.T. Darwall, J. Kipping, B. Samraoui, M.J. Samways, J.P. Simaika & F. Suhling, 2012. Focus on African Freshwaters: hotspots of dragonfly diversity and conservation concern. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 10: 129-134.
- Pinhey, E.C.G. (1961). Dragonflies (Odonata) of Central Africa. Occasional Papers Rhodes-Livingstone Museum, 14: 1-97. [PDF file]
Citation: Dijkstra, K.-D.B (editor). African Dragonflies and Damselflies Online. http://addo.adu.org.za/ [2024-07-25].


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submitted by email@example.com
Hello Students,
My name is Tiffany Widseth and I am an Exercise Science student and an McNair researcher this summer at Augsburg. I am investigating a modified version of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) test in Division III female college soccer players and need healthy female Augsburg College students (ages 18-24) to participate in this study as part of the control group. You may not be currently a part of an Augsburg athletic team.
This study involves a one-hour visit to Kennedy Center Physiology lab (room 309) for Functional Movement Screen testing and a video of a drop jump. Participants will receive a $10 gift card to Target.
You can reach me at: email@example.com to get more details or to schedule an appointment time.
Thank you!


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New Zealand
Report Year
Attachment | Tamaño |
New_zealand.pdf | 624.27 KB |
Proposed new laws and their impact on women
The New Zealand government is taking steps to extend its powers in an effort to manage "harmful digital communications" through new laws proposed in two bills: the Communications (New Media) Bill (developed by the Law Commission and due to be tabled in parliament in 2013) and the Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill (still before the New Zealand parliament in 2013). Both attempt to place greater controls on the use of the internet and online digital environment.
The bills have been criticised by internet rights groups for enabling new, invasive censorship by the government and for limiting free speech. Despite high rates of violence against women in New Zealand and high rates of internet access and use, a significant concern is that little attention has been given to the impact of the proposed new laws on women.[1] The bills have not been subject to thorough feminist or gender analysis by women's organisations. The Ministry of Women's Affairs provided a gender impact statement in the Cabinet Paper for the draft New Media Bill but it focused on women as victims of violence and incitement to commit suicide. [2] Little attention was paid to the enabling aspect of internet access and the role of women as agents with the power to occupy and utilise the digital sphere as a site of engagement, collaboration and empowerment.
As feminists, we know that the digital sphere can be a site of oppression and liberation, pleasure and harm, but this reflects the realities of the offline world; the power dynamics and processes are being acted out on a more dynamic and fast-changing stage. The challenge for feminist activists is to find ways of remaining present in the digital sphere in order to transform online relations and advance ethical digital citizenship. We must use the digital sphere to progress rights, enhance liberation, minimise harms, model ethical digital relations and challenge processes which exclude us and destroy our ability to act as agents of online transformation.
In New Zealand the questions at this moment are: (a) How might the proposed bills shape women's freedoms and protections in the digital environment? (b) Are the bills a balanced and appropriate response to the perceived harms? and (c) Will the bills increase censorship and, if so, what are the implications for women's rights?
Proposed laws
The primary purpose of the Communications (New Media) Bill is the mitigation of harm caused to individuals by electronic communications. The bill has been developed by the New Zealand Law Commission as a result of their 2013 report on Harmful Digital Communications and New Media. [3] The general objective is to shift the process and responsibility of online harm mitigation to an offline environment by establishing an approved agency that will assist and advise people suffering from harmful digital communications. A new criminal offence will be created, targeting digital communications which are "grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character and which cause harm". Harm includes physical fear, humiliation, and mental and emotional distress. The bill will set out communication principles providing that digital communication should not:
- Disclose sensitive personal facts about an individual
- Be threatening, intimidating or menacing
- Be grossly offensive to a reasonable person in the complainant's position (emphasis added)
- Be indecent or obscene
- Be part of a pattern of conduct that constitutes harassment
- Make a false allegation
- Contain a matter that is published in breach of confidence
- Incite or encourage anyone to send a message to a person with the intention of causing that person harm
- Incite or encourage another person to commit suicide
- Denigrate a person by reason of his or her colour, race, ethnic or national origins, religion, ethical belief, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
Remedies will include an order that internet content be taken down (the order may be against a perpetrator or an internet service provider "or any other internet intermediary"); that the perpetrator stop certain conduct; that a correction be published; that a right of reply be given; that an apology be published; or that the identity of an anonymous communication be released. A new criminal communication offence is to be created that entails "using a communication device to cause harm". [4] The new offence will be punishable by up to three months imprisonment or a fine of USD 2,000.
The stated purpose of the Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill is to increase penalties for producing, trading or possessing child pornography. The bill purports to achieve this by increasing the penalties for distributing, importing or possessing "objectionable publications". A presumption of imprisonment will be imposed for repeat offenders and a new offence created of exposing a person under 16 to indecent material.
"Objectionable publication" is comprehensively defined in the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. It includes a number of criteria and a general consideration of material which "describes, depicts, expresses, or otherwise deals with matters such as sex, horror, crime, cruelty, or violence in such a manner that the availability of the publication is likely to be injurious to the public good." The new bill has raised concerns because while it purports to relate only to child pornography, by establishing a scope that incorporates objectionable publications per se, in fact it will capture more than this, including, for example, lawful adult material.
Taken together, these bills have the potential to curtail, or hinder, the exchange of information online and raise at least three significant issues for feminists and for women's rights and freedoms in the digital environment. The first is the transfer of responsibility for determination of whether or not a communication is objectionable, offensive, indecent or obscene, or causes harm, from the online space to a new offline state agency. The new agency's mandate will allow for state censorship of online communications. Increasing state censorship is always a concern, especially for women and sexual rights advocates.
For example, women, young people and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual and intersex (LGBTI) identities and their bodies have been, and continue to be, the site of moral and political battles about decency and indecency, objection and repulsion – bodies are policed, sexual morality is subjective and highly contested. There is a risk that increased censorship will decrease our online presence through the chilling effect of the possibility of complaints (particularly if malicious or mischievous). In addition, the state may further "police" our gender and sexualities by censoring other ways of being that are normatively considered objectionable.
In addition, missing from the discussion on the bills is any analysis or concern about how the bills' contents or processes acknowledge or comply with international standards and norms relating to human rights and internet freedoms. For example, the United Nations Human Rights Council has confirmed, through a resolution signed by 85 countries, that the same human rights standards and norms apply online and offline.[5] But the New Zealand government did not sign the Human Rights Council resolution and has not referred to it in the development of the new bills. In addition, while the New Zealand government has been active in reporting to the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and to the Commission on the Status of Women on progress in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action, there has been no direct focus on women's rights and the internet. The absence of any such analysis is deeply concerning when one of the rationales given by the government for the bill is that it will better protect women.
Advancing women's rights requires a transformation of social relations in the online and offline world. The gender inequalities played out in an online environment mirror the inequalities in the street – online violence plays on the same sex and gender-based power relations. But new complexities also arise, so that it is not a simple transfer of power relations and forms of rights violations.
A further risk is that the new agency will have little oversight and knowledge of the emancipatory potential of the digital environment and the empowerment of women. The associated risk is that, through a narrative of "protection" of women from harm, online discussion which is deemed harmful but which would otherwise have led to valuable outcomes for women will be removed from the digital space. One example is the use of the digital environment for coalescing discussion around abortion rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Some state actors would define discussion of abortion as objectionable or obscene or may even consider it appropriate to intervene to protect the foetus. This would be a particular concern given the age limits in the bill and could affect young women's access to sexual health information. Another example is whether politically and socially contentious reproductive issues will be reframed as obscene and complainants seek to have these removed from the digital sphere. This would also have significant impact on activism and could affect access to vital information about health services for women.
A second issue relates to the legal test in the new bills for material deemed grossly offensive to a "reasonable person". The legal standard of a "reasonable person" has been highly contested in feminist legal critique, which analysed this as a gendered male standard, which has defined reasonableness through the looking glass of masculinity. Associated with masculinity are "protection" narratives that extend to the protection of women from harm by attempting to reduce their exposure to objectionable or obscene material. Applied in the online context, the subjective and politicised tests for objectionable, obscene or offensive material could exclude women from viewing sexually explicit material which may actually be focused on increasing their power, pleasure and agency in sexual relations. Women have the right to claim and maintain the online space as a place where they can actively engage in challenging and changing normative assumptions about gender, sex and sexuality. The bills' application is unclear and therefore poses risks for advocates.
A third and related issue is how women making complaints of online harassment will be treated by offline agencies, including the District Court, in these cases. There is little reason to believe that the approach of the courts (still largely informed by normative gender ideals of appropriate masculine and feminine offline behaviour) would provide an appropriate process or response for complaints from women about online conduct.
The new agency will need to be careful that its processes are not similar to court processes which are often harrowing and traumatic for victims. A quick review of comments online, for example on blogs, suggests that women are not engaged in discussion on the bills. If women are excluded from the public conversations about the content of the bills, it is very unlikely that their online interests will be represented in ways which give them agency and which are empowering and enabling of their rights.
Despite these issues, a number of the proposals may be useful for women who are victims of violence online. For example, the proposal to allow complaints about disclosure of personal facts or information may enable action to be taken against online violence which is not currently adequately provided for (such as sharing of intimate photos without consent or disclosure of information designed to humiliate). Many of those in support of the proposal point to its use to prevent or resist cyber bullying (a major concern for many New Zealanders), to help protect children and young people, to ensure that abusive recording and distributing of intimate filming (such as on mobile phones) can be properly addressed, and to protect the vulnerable from incitement to suicide.
Conclusion and action steps
The digital sphere provides a critical site for transforming relations, but there is a danger that, in the name of protecting women from harm, "keeping them safe" from objectionable or obscene material will simultaneously reduce the transformative capacity of the digital sphere and reduce women to digital victimhood. Rather than a space for democratic dialogue, for challenging inappropriate behaviour and developing in situ solutions and responses to online violence, the bills empower a state agency to do this on an individual's behalf. This approach takes away the opportunity of using the digital sphere as a site of social transformation. Exclusion from the digital sphere, exclusion from a transformative space, can occur through a variety of mechanisms, including a lack of considered, robust feminist and gender analysis of policy and legislative initiatives associated with increased state censorship. We cannot let this happen.
So, what can we do? Here are just a few ideas:
- Use a human rights approach to advancing and maintaining women's interests and presence in the digital sphere.
- Keep a very close watching brief on policy and laws related to the digital sphere and fully engage in policy discussions.
- Engage with the new agency to ensure it takes an enabling approach to the internet as a space of transformation and power for women, rather than a protectionist approach.
- Ensure women's rights defenders are appointed to the new agency and recommend gender audits and analysis of complaints.
- Consider the use of social media, including the use of hashtags, for reporting perpetrators of violence online – deal with violence in situ.
- Advocate for a model of ethical digital citizenship, including ethical relationships.
- Advocate for the promulgation of digital literacy skills, including the ability to understand how the digital world influences individuals themselves and others.
- Become a digital bystander: intervene in online conversation to prevent the perpetuation of gendered ideas and comments.
- Form a digital bystander group, develop shared peer norms, and express online support for ethical use of digital communications.
[1] Only one women's rights group, the National Council of Women, made a submission to the policy review of the Law Commission.
[2] Minister of Justice of New Zealand (2013) "Harmful Digital Communications" Cabinet Social Policy Committee Paper, paras 114-117, p. 16.
[3] New Zealand Law Commission (2013) The News Media Meets 'New Media': Rights, Responsibilities and Regulation in the Digital Age. www.lawcom.govt.nz/project/review-regulatory-gaps-and-new-media/report
[4] Ibid., para 76, p. 11.
[5] Human Rights Council (2012) The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet, A/HRC/20/L.13, 20th Session. The Resolution provides that the Council, inter alia: "Affirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular freedom of expression, which is applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one's choice, in accordance with articles 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."