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NE Disaster Solutions Proudly Offers in Dracut Massachusetts, Water Damage Restoration, Fire Damage Restoration and Repair, Fire Debris Removal, Smoke Removal, Mold Removal and More | Serving Dracut Massachusetts
We have you covered for both residential and commercial disaster emergencies including water damage restoration and fire damage restoration services in Dracut Massachusetts 24/7, 365 days a year! Call now and rest easy knowing the situation is well at hand.
Need Help? We have you covered! Contact Us Now!
NE Disaster Solutions offers water damage restoration, fire damage restoration and repair, fire debris removal, smoke and smoke odor removal, soot cleanup, mold removal and mitigation, asbestos removal and bio-hazard and hazardous material cleanup in Dracut Massachusetts area
Here is a List of Water Damage Restoration Services Offered in Dracut Massachusetts
- Water Damage Restoration
- Water Damage Repair
- Water Damage Mitigation
- Water Damage Remediation
- Emergency Water Damage Repair
- Emergency Water Damage Cleanup
- Flood Damage Cleanup
- Flood Damage Restoration
- Water Extraction
- Water Removal
- Drying and Dehumidification Services
- Sewage Cleanup
Our Client Testimonials
Comprehensive Water Damage Restoration and Repair Services in Dracut Massachusetts – Trust the Experts at NE Disaster Solutions for Swift and Effective Solutions
Water damage restoration and repair for your Dracut Massachusetts commercial or residential property is best left to professionals due to the complexities of removing water and the water extraction, drying, dehumidifying, disinfecting and removal equipment required to complete the job properly. The expert team at NE Disaster Solutions has the experience, certifications, and equipment to complete any size restoration and repair project quickly, correctly, and affordably.
Our experienced team is dedicated to providing professional and prompt water damage restoration and repair for commercial businesses and homeowners so they can get back to work or back in their home as soon as possible. Give us a call any time and we'll respond immediately to resolve water damage issues for your property.
"I hired NE Disaster Solutions to clean our carpets and upholstery. Brian worked so hard making our furniture and carpets look like new. So impressed. Will only use NE Disaster Solutions from now on. I really like how they had the proper cleaning and equipment. I know their service will make our home healthier as we have small children . They also provide exceptional service to our clients for air duct cleaning mold remediaiton and disinfecting. Great job!"
Water Damage Repair Services for Homes and Residential Properties and Working With Your Dracut Massachusetts Insurance Provider and Policy
Let NE Disaster Solutions Help Guide You Through The Complex Process Of Your Insurance Claim Submittal.
NE Disaster Solutions Can help you navigate the somewhat troublesome process of filing an insurance claim by assisting with direct billing. Additionally, understanding your entitlements within your policy can add some additional confusion, and the professionals at NE Disaster Solutions can help you understand your policy provisions so you can be brought back to pre-loss condition as quickly, and painlessly as possible.
It's important to act quickly during, and just after an event. Whether it's water damage, fire and smoke damage, or any other covered event, the burden of mitigating future damage and loss falls on the shoulders of the policy owner. Not only do you have to file a claim as soon as you know an insured event has occurred, you must take any and all necessary steps to mitigate future damage, failing to do so may have an impact on the amount covered.
Managing your insurance claim whether it is commercial or residential requires patience and knowledge, something most people in crisis mode are in short supply of. Adding to the complexities of properly filing a claim is the emotional stress that many times accompanies an emergency event. NE Disaster Solutions is positioned to help you navigate this process as well as offer direct billing with reporting to your insurance provider to help streamline the insurance claim filing and settlement process as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
Why NE Disaster Solutions
- NE Disaster Solutions is Fully Insured
- IICRC Certified
- Workmanship Quality Guarantee
- Comprehensive and self instituted train and retrain program for employees
- NE Disaster Solutions performs background checks on all staff members
- Instituted project management and quality control systems and processes
- Dedicated account and project managers for each and every project
- True 24 emergency response, not just emergency "call" response
- 2 hour or less onsite response times during emergencies to 95% of service areas
- Personalized service from initial consultation to project completion follow up
- Direct insurance billing (we work for you and not the insurance companies during mitigation, national franchises have loyalties to large insurers that may be biased based on the funneling of work)
- Experience managing state and federal contracts
- Locally owned and operated (decisions are taken locally and not mandated at some national level with disregard for onsite needs for both property and people, with NE Disaster Solutions you're not just a number)
- Big company resources with local decision making and compassion
Commercial Water Damage Restoration and Repair
Water damage restoration and repair for commercial properties can quickly become complex projects with many stages, all requiring expert work and attention to detail. Our expert team of restoration and repair specialists are standing by to tackle any size water restoration project from multi-family dwellings to multi-story office buildings to restaurants, hotels and shopping malls. You can count on us to get the job done as quickly as possible while also maintaining a high quality of work to restore your commercial building and get your business back on track.
Some of the Major Types of Water Damage Restoration and Cleanup Services we Regularly Provide in the Dracut Massachusetts Area
- Burst Pipes
- Broken Pipes
- Failed Plumbing Fittings
- Water Heaters
- Tub Overflows
- Toilet Backups and Overflows
- Sewage Backups
- Broken Sewage Pipes
- Failing Sewage Pumps
- Broken Sump Pumps
- AC Leaks
- Roof Leaks
- Flooding
- Storm Damage
- Gutter Backups
- Refrigerator Leaks
- Ice Maker Leaks
- Water Dispenser Leaks
- Dishwasher Leaks
- Dishwasher Flooding
- Water Main Breaks
- Frozen Pipes
Fire Damage Restoration and Fire Debris Removal Services for Dracut Massachusetts
When it comes to fire damage restoration and repair in Massachusetts find a trusted local restoration contractor with experience, training, and resources. Fire damage, more so than any other type of damage to your property, can permeate many areas with many types of damage that all need to be considered before, during, and after the restoration process. All fire damage restoration projects require close attention to details and each project typically requires expertise in multiple areas of restoration.
Count on NE Disaster Solutions When it Comes to Fire Damage Repair, Cleanup and Restoration in Dracut Massachusetts
Here is a List of Fire Damage Restoration Services Offered in Dracut Massachusetts
- Fire Damage Restoration
- Fire Debris Removal
- Smoke Removal
- Smoke Odor Removal
- Soot Removal
Some of the Major Types of Fire Damage Restoration and Cleanup Services We Regularly Provide in Dracut Massachusetts
- House Fires
- Kitchen Fires
- Chimney Fires
- Fireplace Fires
- Electrical Fires
- Grill Fires
- Dryer Fires
- Woodstove Fires
- Oven and Stove Fires
- Wildfire
- Wildfire Smoke
- Furnace Puff-Back Smoke
- Smoke Odor
Feel Free to Browse to Our Fire Damage Restoration, Wildfire Damage Cleanup and Debris Removal and Smoke Damage Repair Pages to Further Understand Our Fire Damage Repair Process
Mold Removal, Remediation and Mitigation Services in Dracut Massachusetts
Mold can thrive nearly everywhere, removal is imperative for the health of all involved, with the climate in Massachusetts as it is, it becomes even more important to quickly remediate the mold issue before it escalates. When excessive mold growth becomes or is found to be a problem in your new or current home, it's vital to take care of the issue as soon as possible. That's where our Massachusetts team of mold removal experts comes in. Entrust NE Disaster Solutions to identify the problem, provide a swift resolution, and help you and your loved ones return to a healthy, safe, and mold-free residence.
Dracut Massachusetts Mold Removal Services Include
- Attic Mold Removal
- Basement Mold Removal
- Kitchen Mold Removal
- Bathroom Mold Removal
- Basement Encapsulation
- Crawlspace Encapsulation
We Remove The Common Forms of Mold Found in Dracut Massachusetts Including
- Black Mold Removal
- Green Mold Removal
- White Mold Removal
- Pink Mold Removal
Call NE Disaster Solutions Today For Water Damage Restoration, Fire Damage Restoration and Repair, Fire Debris Removal, Smoke Removal, Mold Removal and More for Homes and Residential Properties in Dracut Massachusetts
In times of unexpected emergencies and property disasters, you need a reliable partner you can trust. At NE Disaster Solutions, we stand ready to be that partner for you in Dracut Massachusetts. From water damage restoration and fire damage repair to fire debris removal, smoke removal, mold remediation, and a wide range of other services, we are committed to bringing swift and effective solutions to your doorstep.
Our dedicated team of experts is not just here to restore your property; we are here to restore your peace of mind. With a track record of excellence, state-of-the-art equipment, and a commitment to affordability, we prioritize your well-being and satisfaction above all else. Don't let the aftermath of a disaster hold you back any longer. Call NE Disaster Solutions today and let us bring your property back to life, ensuring a safe and comfortable environment for you and your loved ones. Your trusted partner in restoration awaits your call – contact us now, and let's get started on the path to recovery.


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Nigeria deeply divided, says UN report
Posted On 07 Sep 2016
Paints gloomy picture of nation's economy By Vincent Ujumadu
AWKA—A REPORT just released by the United Nations, UN, on Nigeria's Common Country Analysis, CCA, has revealed a deeply divided society on the basis of the plurality of ethnic, religious and regional identities that had tended to define the country's political existence.
The report also painted a gloomy picture, with most of the development and social indices in the country registering at levels unacceptable.
The report, which was read during a consultative meeting on the formulation of the UN Development Assistance Framework IV (UNDAF IV) for the South East geo-political zone in Awka observed that for decades, different segments of Nigeria's population had, at different times, expressed feelings of marginalization, of being short –changed, dominated, oppressed, threatened, or even targeted for elimination.
The report read in part: "Nigeria, with a population of over 75 million, is the most populous nation in Africa and the seventh most populous in the world. Her population will be approximately 200 million by 2019 and over 400 million by 2050, becoming one of the top five populous countries in the world.
"Nigeria is one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the world, with over 80 million or 64% of her population living below poverty line. The situation has not changed over the decades, but is increasing. Poverty and hunger have remained high in rural areas, remote communities and among female –headed households and these cut across the six geo-political zones, with prevalence ranging from approximately 46.9 percent in the South West to 74.3 percent in North West and North East. "In Nigeria, 37% of children under five years old were stunted, 18 percent wasted, 29% underweight and overall, only 10% of children aged 6-23 months are fed appropriately based on recommended infant and young children feeding practices.
"Youth unemployment which is 42% in 2016 is very high, creating poverty, helplessness, despair and easy target for crime and terrorism. Over 10 million children of school age are out of schools with no knowledge and skills. "Nigeria's economy is currently in a recession and it is estimated that government revenues have fallen by as much as 33 percent, which has further resulted in the contraction of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, by 0.36 percent in the first three months of 2016.
"The vulnerable macroeconomic environment in Nigeria is affecting investors' confidence in the domestic economy." When contacted last night to react to the report, federal government officials said they where not aware of it and couldn't, therefore, react. "Despite the fact that Nigeria is a signatory to a number of protocols on sustainable and renewable environment, the country had, over the decades, failed to protect the environment, ecosystem and natural resources. Over-exploitation of natural resources and pollution of the environment, desertification are exposing the population to vulnerability and risks caused by climate change, among others.
"Nigeria is well-endowed with forest resources, accounting for 2.5% of GDP. But Nigeria has one of the highest rates of forest loss in the world. Between 1990 and 2000, Nigeria lost an average of 409,700 hectares of forest per year on average deforestation rate of 3.5% per annum. "Increase in population, human activities like farming, construction and cutting of trees, use of wood and effect of climate change lead to environmental destruction across Nigeria." This in turn leads to unpredictable weather, drought and floods. The implication of destruction of the environment includes reduced agricultural productivity, destruction of property and loss of lives.
"Nigeria faces humanitarian and emergency crises of considerable proportions fueled by a combination of factors including climate change, inter-communal conflicts and violence, insurgency, recurring floods, heavy handed tactics of security forces in combating crime and insurgency.
The overall consequence is the situation of systematic and chronic internal displacement that has given rise to different humanitarian crises that include the most egregious and dehumanizing human rights abuses. "Over 80 million Nigerians live in poverty and are affected in one way or the other by the current humanitarian crisis. Available reports indicate that there are over 3.3 million Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, which is Africa's largest, ranking behind Syria and Columbia on a global scale.
"The major challenges Nigeria is currently facing that constrain her economic growth and social development are lack of good governance, general increased insecurity across geo-political zones in North East, Niger Delta and Lake Chad region in particular. The situation is exacerbated by the existence of systematic accountability challenges, limited capacities of independent institutions/ commissions and limited accountability at the federal, states and local government levels.
"Nigeria is a deeply divided society considering the plurality of ethnic, religious and regional identities that define her political existence. Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has struggled to build and sustain national integration. For decades, different segments of Nigeria's population had, at different times, expressed feelings of marginalization, of being short-changed, dominated, oppressed, threatened, or even targeted for elimination."
The report recommended that transforming and diversifying Nigeria's development paths needed a radical and new approach, especially by investing in people and in a strong more dynamic and inclusive productive informal sector.
It also called for a design and support of joint programmes to address good governance, peace and security.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/nigeria-deeply-divided-says-un-report/

subset: commoncrawl


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Onkyo, one of the world's leaders in A/V receivers, made a big announcement on June 29, 2010. Their new receivers, the TX-NR3008 and TX-NR5008, are now, not only DLNA certified, but also Compatible with Windows 7. This means they support the Windows Play To feature.
So, what does all of this mean? In Microsoft's own words this is what it means:
"Play To allows you to seamlessly play music, video, and photos through your home network to any network media device that carries the Compatible with Windows 7 logo."
If you haven't used Play To, it's pretty simple. From any PC on your network you can open Windows Media Player or Windows Explorer, right-click an audio track, and choose "Play To". If you don't see the Play To option then you can download the plugin HERE. A Play To icon also appears above the Now Playing list in Windows Media Player. This does require Windows 7.
My guess is that we will be seeing many of these Windows 7 and networking features added to home theater devices in the near future.


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Unique and baffling construction details on the replica Dover Bronze Age boat. I say baffling because the replica was unsuccessful, so even its builders didn't understand how some of these features worked. Photo from Robin Wood. |
That recreation effort came to a disappointing conclusion recently, when the finished boat failed to float, as reported in Robin Wood's blog here. At the bottom of that particular post are links to all the previous posts detailing the project. And Robin's next post, here, contains more of a wrap-up, including more photos of the finished boat and the news that the replica was named Ole Crumlin-Pederson, for the renowned boat researcher who consulted on the project and who passed away before it was completed.
(This post previously included a time-lapse video showing the construction of a bronze age boat that I mistakenly associated with the Ole Crumlin-Pederson described above. It has since been removed and placed in the following post.)
Thanks to Edwin Deady of Dark Age Boats for this news.


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Voted the #1 show in Las Vegas, V- The Ultimate Variety Show is an ingenious collection of the greatest variety acts, internet sensations and TV talent show winners from around the world. The fast-paced, high-energy production includes hilarious comedy and stunts so difficult, no other performers in the world have been able to duplicate them. E! Entertainment calls it the "perfect show for the entire family." From its opening at The Venetian to its current venue at V Theater, inside the Miracle Mile Shops of Planet Hollywood, V The Ultimate Variety Show has wowed audiences with its ever changing cast of incredible performers. Featuring the comedic hosting of world famous juggler Wally Eastwood to the beauty and death-defying skills of the Skating Aratas, "V" has it all. There is no need to go see three different shows to experience the best of Las Vegas. V – The Ultimate Variety Show is perfect for audiences of all ages, and it makes an excellent addition to any vacation. Want to get a little closer to the action? No problem! Upgrade your order with our VIP option and get special access to our VIP line and reserved seating inside the showroom. Don't wait, pick up your tickets right now! Showtime: 7pm & 8:30pm nightly Show Length: ~75 minutes Location: V Theater at Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile Shops Phone: 1-866-932-1818 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com No Age Restriction For Tickets to V The Ultimate Variety Show: https://www.vtheaterboxoffice.com/las-vegas-shows/V-The-Ultimate-Variety-Show |
Presented By
7:00pm to 8:15pm
Balcony Seating: $44.99
All Ages


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Christian Leader Killed by Militants Linked to Boko Haram
Islamist terrorists in Nigeria are thought to have killed a prominent Christian leader in the northern reaches of the country after the country's president recently declared a state of emergency.
"Suspected Islamic militants have killed a Christian leader in north-eastern Nigeria shortly after the president declared a state of emergency in the region to tackle insurgents and terrorists' threatening Africa's most populous nation," BosNewsLife reported.
Two suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram shot Faye Pama Mysa, a Pentecostal pastor and secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state of Borno while he was in his home on Wednesday.
"The Borno CAN secretary has been killed. We've got the report and the national president received it with heavy heart. It is very sad," CAN spokesperson Kenny Asaka told BNL during an interview.
Mysa, 47, was killed shortly after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.
The president called the emergency state to address "systematic effort by insurgents and terrorists to destabilize the Nigerian state and test our collective resolve," referring to the recent intense surge of violence in northern and central Nigeria.
BNL noted that "Borno State governor Kassim Shettima reportedly told senators and the military last week that Boko Haram was on the verge of seizing control of the state."
President Jonathan said he would increase troops in the three states, but did not remove state politicians from their post.
"Nigeria is currently facing an unprecedented threat to national unity," Christian Solidarity Worldwide Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston told BLN.
"It is vital that the international community fully supports Nigeria as the nation contends with the security challenges engendered by international terrorism and a multifaceted, evolving insurgency," he added.


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Intensive studies and research have long since been showing us how best to feed our pond fish the whole year round and to strengthen their immune system, and we obviously want to do this.
Our concept means the koi get food appropriate for each season and each temperature range, but always with the perfect protein/fat ratio. With our JBL ProPond Summer the ratio is 4:1, which means that the floating pearls are perfectly adjusted to stay on the water surface in warm water. An absolute highlight are the high-quality treats which are ideal for when your grandchildren visit or when you want to show off your pets with pride. It also has a positive side effect: when the koi come close to eat it, you can take the opportunity to count them and check their external well-being, even in very large ponds.


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Sobering Information: The Effects of Alcohol on the Body
The holidays are just around the corner, and that means many of us will forego our diets – and common sense – and indulge in a variety of food and spirits. And while it may seem harmless to "live it up" once in a while, drinking too much alcohol can have some pretty dramatic effects on the body.
Here are some of the things alcohol does to your health, and why you will want to limit how much you drink over the holidays:
Brain Fog
Alcohol disrupts the communication pathways inside your brain and can even affect the way your brain looks and works. Not only will you have trouble with clear thinking and coordination, but you may also find your mood takes a dramatic hit.
Heart Damage
Drinking can damage your heart and cause irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, and even strokes. And this can happen to those who drink a lot over long periods of time, and even those who drink too much on a single occasion!
According to the National Cancer Institute, there is a strong correlation between drinking alcohol and the development of certain cancers such as esophageal, liver, breast, and colon cancer.
Compromised Immunity
Drinking too much alcohol can compromise your immune system, making you far more susceptible to illness and disease. In fact, chronic drinkers are prone to catching diseases like pneumonia more so than people who don't drink.
If you're someone that likes to take part in the holiday festivities, take care to not overdo it. And if you believe you may be drinking too much these days, set a New Year's goal of cutting back. Your health will thank you.


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Local: 320-252-0910
Wreath with White Flowers (without ribbon)
1764"Long stemmed bouquet of sympathy with pink roses, white chirrsy and greens without ribbon. Approx. Size may vary. Your purchase includes a complimentary personalized gift message."
All items featured on this site represent the types of arrangements we offer and may vary depending upon availability in certain regions. Substitution Policy


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The Importance of Keeping Shopping and Retail Areas Clean
Unique Cleaning Service understands that clean and orderly retails centers set the tone for a positive customer experience. Consumers are instinctively attracted to a well-organized and sanitary environment and are more likely to purchase items from a store that is well-kept. Dirty or messy shopping areas can shorten browsing time and keep buyers from discovering what you have to offer.
Cleanliness is linked to retail success in Cherry Hill
Image is vital in the retail industry. Knowledgeable owners and managers focus on marketing and pricing strategies to attract customers and also realize that cleanliness plays an important role for increasing sales and profits. Shopping centers and malls face specific cleaning and janitorial issues with regard to the proper maintenance and cleanliness of food courts and managing unsanitary conditions created from general food consumption and litter. Routine cleaning and upkeep is a key factor in maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Unique Cleaning Service cleaning services for shopping centers in Cherry Hill include:
- Litter removal
- Escalator cleaning
- Façade structure cleaning
- Trash collection and disposal
- Cleaning and polishing of high traffic floors
- High pressure cleaning for parking lots, concrete areas and general exterior
- Graffiti removal
- Outdoor landscaping
- Entrance and exit cleaning
- Food court janitorial services
- Carpet cleaning and vacuuming
- Stripping & sealing of vinyl floors
- Sanitization and deodorization of toilets and restrooms
Call (267) 270-9637 for a free consultation and assessment.


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Please provide inputs for at least one field
Capital of the Southern state of Karnataka, Bangalore today is Asia's fastest growing cosmopolitan city. It is home to some of the most high tech industries in India. The I.T industry views Bangalore as the 'byte-basket' of India. Bangalore is also home to some of India's premier scientific establishments. Blessed with salubrious architectural landmarks, shopping malls and business opportunities, Bangalore is the ideal gateway to India and beyond. Bangalore is home to many well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India and offers a plethora of job opportunities. Numerous public sector heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defence organizations are located in the city. It is the hub of jobs and is also known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter.


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By Dr Vandana Shiva – The Asian Age, 10 August 2016
Photo IANS
Source: http://www.asianage.com/columnists/free-people-dictatorship-001-379
The only way to counter globalisation just a plot of land in some central place, keep it covered in grass, let there be a single tree, even a wild tree." This is how dear friend and eminent writer Mahasweta Devi, who passed away on July 28, at the age of 90, quietly laid out her imagination for freedom in our times of corporate globalisation in one of her last talks.
Our freedoms, she reminds us, are with grass and trees, with wildness and self-organisation (swaraj), when the dominant economic systems would tear down every tree and round up the last blade of grass.
From the days we jointly wrote about the madness of covering our beautiful biodiverse Hindustan with monocultures of eucalyptus plantations, which were creating green deserts, to the work we did together on the impact of globalisation on women, Mahaswetadi remained the voice of the earth, of the marginalised and criminalised communities.
She could see with her poetic imagination how globalisation, based on free trade agreements (FTAs), written by and for corporations, was taking away the freedoms of people and all beings. "Free trade" is not just about how we trade. It is about how we live and whether we live. It is about how we think and whether we think. In the last two decades, our economies, our production and consumption patterns, our chances of survival and the emergence of a very small group of parasitic billionaires, have all been shaped by the rules of deregulation in the WTO agreements.
In 1994, in Marrakesh, Morocco, we signed the GATT agreements which led to the creation of WTO in 1995. The WTO agreements are written by corporations for corporations, to expand their control on resources, production, markets and trade, establish monopolies and destroy both economic and political democracy.
Monsanto wrote the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement of WTO — which is an attempt to claim seeds as Monsanto's invention, and own seeds as "intellectual property" through patents. It has only one aim — to own and control seed and make super-profits through the collection of royalties. We have seen the consequences of this illegitimate corporate-defined "property" right in India; with extortion of "royalties" for genetically modified (GMO) seeds leading to high seed prices.
Cargill, Inc wrote the WTO's agreement on agriculture. As a result, India, the largest producer of oilseeds and pulses, has become the biggest importer of both these produce. The edible oils being imported are GMO soya oil and palm oil — both extracted with hexane through solvent extraction; both leading to massive deforestation in Argentina, Indonesia and Brazil. We are importing dal from Canada and Mozambique, while our fertile pulse growing lands are being handed over to foreign corporations for growing bio fuel. This model destroys agriculture and food systems everywhere. We are thus destroying our health as well as the health of the planet.
The junk food industry wrote the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) agreement of WTO. Our Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 was replaced with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is being used to shut India's rich and diverse, small-scale, home and cottage industry-based food businesses, under pseudo-safety laws.
All new FTAs take away the sui generis option in TRIPS in WTO and are aimed at giving fangs to International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which establishes rules of uniformity, at a time when we know that diversity is vital to nutrition as well as climate resilience.
Twelve countries, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam, signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership FTA in February 2016. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an FTA between the Asean nations and their six trading partners — India, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Since Asean countries are the most populous, RCEP will affect a greater number of people than other FTAs. And through RCEP, these countries may be dragged into the TPP under pressure of harmonisation, especially on issues related to seed.
The TPP requires all its signatories to join UPOV 91. It allows patents on "inventions derived from plants" which would open the floodgates of bio-piracy, as in the case of neem, basmati and wheat. The TPP has sections on "biologicals" which covers biological processes and products, thus undoing the exclusions in the WTO TRIPS agreement. Given how there is a rush to patent and impose untested and hazardous vaccines, and new GMO technologies like gene editing and gene drives, it is clear that the TPP is the instrument for the next stage of bio-imperialism.
At WTO, India managed to ensure countries could exclude plants and animals from patentability, which translated into article 3(j) in our patent laws. India ensured that UPOV could not be forced through WTO and countries had a sui generis option for plant varieties. This translated into the Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act 2001, for which the writer was a member of the expert drafting group.
Not having achieved total monopoly on seeds through the WTO, chemical corporations (biotechnology and seed corporations) are trying to impose patents on all living organisms and all production systems based on living organisms through new FTAs. They are also trying to further destroy our local food systems and replace them with industrial junk food by changing food and health safety as well as bio-safety, through "harmonisation".
Finally, global corporations, and those who control them, are trying to define corporations as having personhood through investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems, which are secret tribunals where corporations and investors can sue governments for acting according to their constitutional obligations in the interest of their citizens.
Thus, corporations are trying to replace our democracies with secret agreements and secret courts controlled by the 0.01 per cent super wealthy. The time is ripe for a planetary freedom movement that defends and protects the freedoms of all beings from this 0.01 per cent.
The writer is the executive director of the Navdanya Trust
Also read:
Monsanto Quit India at Allahabad
9 August 2016
The Corporate War Against The Planet, People and Democracy
August 2016
The great seed piracy
By Dr Vandana Shiva – The Asian Age, 16 June 2016
Clash of civilisations: India's ancient love for nature is losing out to modern disregard for it
By Dr Vandana Shiva – Scroll.in, 31 May 2016
Seeds, Biodiversity and IPRs
By Dr Vandana Shiva, 26 May 2016
Monsanto vs Indian Farmers
By Dr Vandana Shiva, 27 March 2016
Related Campaigns
Monsanto Tribunal and People's Assembly
The Hague, 14th – 16th October 2016
Biodiversity Or Gmos: Will the Future of Nutrition be in Women's Hands or Under Corporate Control?
March 2015
Seed Freedom and Food Democracy
An Open letter to Prime Minister Modi and President Obama from democratic, concerned citizens of India and the US (January 2015).


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Pro/Designer (ProCDRS-02) Screen Captures
Silicon Graphics 540 550MHz Pentium III Xeon Cobalt
© Copyright 1998, Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation
The images below are captured automatically by Viewperf during each test, for the purposes of visual quality assessment and verification. The pictures are in
format, which uses lossless compression and supports up to 16-bits per color component, but which some browsers may require a plug-in to view correctly. These images are provided for comparison purposes only and are not guaranteed to be representative of actual screen display.
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In 1987, Kingston® entered the market with a single product. Founders John Tu and David Sun fulfilled a severe shortage of surface mount memory chips with a memory module that would serve to redefine industry standards for years to come.
Combining one of the most extensive and stringent testing processes in the memory industry, an exceptional free tech support center and a consistent roll-out of innovative technologies, Kingston Technology has continually set industry standards of quality and reliability throughout its history.
Kingston Technologies Story
Reliability is the cornerstone of the Kingston product strategy. It has played a key role in maintaining the long-term relationships developed over the years with customers. Kingston remains committed to exceeding industry standards with every new development while maintaining the signature reliability of its products.
Kingston has grown to be the world's largest independent manufacturer of memory products. With global headquarters in Fountain Valley, California, Kingston employs more than 3,000 people worldwide. Regarded as one of the "Best Companies to Work for in America" by Fortune magazine, Kingston's tenets of respect, loyalty, flexibility and integrity create an exemplary corporate culture. Kingston believes that investing in employees is essential and that each individual employee is a vital part of the company's success.
Kingston serves an international network of distributors, resellers, retailers and OEM customers on six continents. The company also provides contract manufacturing and supply chain management services for semiconductor manufacturers and system OEMs.


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No, this isn't the touch-based Clockwork Recovery that was created for the Galaxy Nexus at the beginning of the month. This is a fully touch-enabled version that no longer uses arrows or physical buttons to get the job done. Our man Koush released a teaser on G+ to get some feedback and to show the progress that he has made. You can't test it yet and he has promised a better UI, so try to be patient.
Via: Google+


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Dan Bricklin's Web Site: www.bricklin.com
Software That Lasts 200 Years
The structure and culture of a typical prepackaged software company is not attuned to the long-term needs of society for software that is part of its infrastructure. This essay discusses the ecosystem needed for development that better meets those needs.
I've been following some of the writings and actions of the Massachusetts State Executive Office for Administration and Finance as it deals with its Information Technology needs. It was through listening to Secretary Kriss and reading the writings he and other Massachusetts government officials have produced that I've come to look at software development from a whole new perspective. This essay tries to present that perspective and examine some of its implications.
Many things in society are long-term
In many human endeavors, we create infrastructure to support our lives which we then rely upon for a long period of time. We have always built shelter. Throughout most of recorded history, building or buying a home was a major starting step to growing up. This building would be maintained and used after that, often for the remainder of the builder's life span and in many instances beyond. Components would be replaced as they wore out, and the design often took the wear and tear of normal living into account. As needs changed, the house might be modified. In general, though, you thought of a house as having changes measured in decades.
Likewise, human societies also create infrastructure that are built once, then used and trusted for a long period of time. Such infrastructure includes roads, bridges, water and power distribution systems, sewers, seaports and airports, and public recreational areas. These also would be used and maintained without major modifications after they were built, often for many decades or even centuries.
Software has been short-term
By contrast, software has historically been built assuming that it will be replaced in the near future (remember the Y2K problem). Most developers observe the constant upgrading and replacement of software written before them and follow in those footsteps with their creations. In the early days of computer software, the software was intimately connected to the hardware on which it ran, and as that hardware was replaced by new, better hardware, new software was built to go with it. In the early days, many uses of computing power were new -- they were the first application of software to problems that were previously done manually or not at all. The world got used to the fact that the computer version was an alternative and the special features and cost savings were what was special.
Today, hardware is capable enough that software can be written that will continue to run unmodified as hardware is changed. Computers are no longer new alternatives to other applications -- they are the only alternative. Despite this, old thinking and methodologies have remained.
Computers and computer software have been viewed as being valuable for no longer than common short-term durable goods like an automobile or sometimes even tires. In accounting, common depreciation terms for software are 3 to 5 years; 10 at most. Contrast this to residential rental property which is depreciated over 27.5 years and water mains and brick walls which are depreciated over 60 years or more.
Another aspect of human society is the keeping of records. Common records kept by governments include property ownership, citizenship and census information, and laws. Personal records include images (such as portraits) and birth, death, and genealogical information. General information kept by society includes knowledge and expression, and artifacts representative of culture. Again, the time frame for keeping such records is measured in decades or centuries. I can go to city hall and find out the details of ownership relating to my house going back to when it was built in the late 1800's. "Family bible" records go back generations. The Boston Public Library, like many city libraries, has newspapers from over 200 years ago available on microfilm, and many from the last 150 years in the original paper form.
Most of these societal records have been kept on paper. When computers were first introduced, they were an adjunct to the "real" paper records, and paper printouts were made. Computer-readable "backups" and transaction logs were produced and stored on removable media such as magnetic tapes, or even paper printouts. These were usually written and then rarely accessed, and even then accessed in a manner akin to the newspaper stacks of a library. Only the recent, working copies of data were actually available to the computers on an instantaneous basis. Much of the use of computers was for "transactions", and only the totals at the end of the time period of interest needed to be carried forward except in rare circumstances, such as disaster recovery or audits. Switching to a new computer system meant copying the totals and then switching the processing of new transactions to the new system instead of the old.
When it comes to moving ahead, most new software and hardware can only access the most recent or most popular old data. Old manuscripts created with old word processors, often archived on obsolete disk cartridges in obsolete backup formats, are almost impossible to retrieve, even though they are less than 25 years old. The companies that built the software and hardware are often long gone and the specifications lost. (If you are older than 30, contrast this to your own grade school compositions saved by your parents, or letters from their parents, still readable years later.)
Today's world and Societal Infrastructure Software
The world is different now than it was even just a decade or two ago. In more and more cases, there are no paper records. People expect all information to be available at all times and for new uses, just as they expect to drive the latest vehicle over an old bridge, or fill a new high-tech water bottle from an old well's pump. Applications need to have access to all of the records, not just summaries or the most recent. Computers are involved in, or even control, all aspects of the running society, business, and much of our lives. What were once only bricks, pipes, and wires, now include silicon chips, disk drives, and software. The recent acquisition and operating cost and other advantages of computer-controlled systems over the manual, mechanical, or electrical designs of the past century and millennia have caused this switch.
I will call this software that forms a basis on which society and individuals build and run their lives "Societal Infrastructure Software". This is the software that keeps our societal records, controls and monitors our physical infrastructure (from traffic lights to generating plants), and directly provides necessary non-physical aspects of society such as connectivity.
We need to start thinking about software in a way more like how we think about building bridges, dams, and sewers. What we build must last for generations without total rebuilding. This requires new thinking and new ways of organizing development. This is especially important for governments of all sizes as well as for established, ongoing businesses and institutions.
There is so much to be built and maintained. The number of applications for software is endless and continue to grow with every advance in hardware for sensors, actuators, communications, storage, and speed. Outages and switchovers are very disruptive. Having every part of society need to be upgraded on a yearly or even tri-yearly basis is not feasible. Imagine if every traffic light and city hall record of deeds and permits needed to be upgraded or "patched" like today's browsers or email programs. Needing every application to have a self-sustaining company with long-term management is not practical. How many of the software companies of 20 years ago are still around and maintaining their original products?
Software development culture
Traditional software development falls into two general categories: Prepackaged and Custom. Prepackaged software is written by Application Software Companies (often called Independent Software Vendors, ISVs) who produce a program and then sell the same product to multiple customers. Custom software is written either by an independent company under contract or by in-house developers for a specific user. Common elements may be reused from project to project, but the overall program is unique.
Prepackaged software has the advantage of using the leverage one gets by spreading development costs over multiple users. Custom software has the advantage of being able to be tuned to very specific needs and circumstances of each user. A challenge when developing prepackaged software is developing a product that appeals to a wide audience. A challenge when developing custom software is to take advantage of "generic" prepackaged components to lower development costs.
The most successful prepackaged software applications have been those that may be inexpensively customized to meet the needs of users by developers with less and less computer skills, most desirably by the users themselves, or that form a base on which other prepackaged or custom software are built. Examples of such software are the common "productivity" applications like word processors and spreadsheets and "plumbing" software like operating systems, database engines, and web servers. The developers of prepackaged software are driven by a need to make their products appeal to today's potential users (and buyers), usually through features that distinguish them from competition.
A traditional prepackaged software company is organized as an ongoing enterprise, usually with a desire and plans for growth. An initial core of technical and product design people build the first version of the product. Marketing and sales people are added to sell the product and bring in revenues. Development continues and new, better versions are produced. New revenue comes from selling to existing customers, with each new version needing to give existing users a reason to replace the old product. The mentality, and the resulting major investments in corporate marketing, sales, and research activities, is focused on obsolescence and "upgrading" -- but only upgrading to products from that company. The potential for new customers and upgrade revenue is often a requirement to procure initial funding.
There are prepackaged software companies that are structured to make their profits from services and activities separate from the actual delivery of software code. The software itself may be available with no or little charge, but the organization is set up so that support of various sorts is provided by the company which has special knowledge of, and access to, the product. Again, there is a culture of obsolescence, to keep customers upgrading to new versions and paying for maintenance.
The needs of Societal Infrastructure Software
Let us look at the needs for societal infrastructure software. They include the following:
Meet the functional requirements of the task.
Robustness and long-term stability and security.
Transparency to determine when changes are needed and that undesired functions are not being performed.
Verifiable trustworthiness of all three of the above.
Ease and low cost of training for effective use.
Ease and low cost of maintenance.
Minimization of maintenance.
Ease and low cost of modification.
Ease of replacement.
Compatibility and ease of integration with other applications.
Long-term availability of individuals able to train, maintain, modify, determine need for changes, etc.
The structure and culture of a typical prepackaged software company is not attuned to the needs of societal infrastructure software. The "ongoing business entity" and "new version" mentality downplay the value of the needs of societal infrastructure software and are sometimes at odds.
By contrast, custom software development can be tuned better to the needs of societal infrastructure software. The mentality is more around the one-time project leaving an ongoing result, and the cost structures are sometimes such that low maintenance is encouraged. The drivers of custom software are often the eventual users themselves, paying upfront for development.
Some of the problems with custom development with regards to societal infrastructure software are the inability to spread the development and maintenance costs among a large number of customers and the narrow focus on the current requirements of the particular customer and their current stage of need (which often may change in ways visible to other customers but not yet to them).
A new style of development
What is needed is some hybrid combination of custom and prepackaged development that better meets the requirements of societal infrastructure software.
How should such development look? What is the "ecosystem" of entities that are needed to support it? Here are some thoughts:
Funding for initial development should come from the users. Bridges and water systems are usually funded by governments, not by private entities that will run them for generations. The long-term needs of the funders must be more inline with the project requirements than the investment return needs of most private sources of capital.
The projects need to be viewed as for more than one customer. A system for tracking parking tickets is needed by many municipalities. There is little need to have a different one for each. As a result, the funding should also be able to come from a combination of multiple sources. Funding or cost-sharing "cooperatives" need to exist.
The requirements for the project must be set by the users, not the developers. The long-term aspects of the life of the results must be very explicit. Best-practices must be established, tracked, and revisited.
There is the whole issue of data storage and interchange standards that is critical to the long-term success and ability to do migration. Impediments such as intellectual property restrictions and "digital rights management" chokepoints must be avoided. (Lawmakers today must realize how important data interchange and migration is to the basic needs of society. They must be careful not to pollute the waters in an attempt to deal with perceived threats to a minor part of the economy.)
Another critical issue is platform (hardware and software) independence. All development of long-term software needs to be created with the possibility of new hardware, operating systems, and other "computer infrastructure" in mind.
The actual development may be done by business entities which are built around implementing such projects, and not around long-term upgrade revenue. Other entities are needed for providing the ongoing services with a mentality of keeping existing systems running. (The two entities may or may not be related.) Many such companies already exist.
The attributes of open source software need to be exploited. This includes the transparency of the source code and the availability for modification and customization. Much has been written with regards to open source and its value for bug finding, security checking, etc., which is why this is needed. The added benefit here is that society as a whole may benefit in unforeseen ways as new applications are found for programs, be they in the private or public sector. The availability of the source code, as well as the multi-customer targeting and other aspects, enables a market for the various services needed for support, maintenance, and training as well as connected and adjunct products.
The development may be done in-house if that is appropriate, but in many cases there are legal advantages as well as structural for using independent entities. Some governmental agencies may be precluded from licensing their results under licenses that are most appropriate for the long-term health of the projects. For example, they may be required to release the program code into the public domain where it may then be improved by others (and re-released under restrictive licenses) without a return benefit to the original funders.
Unlike much of the discussion about open source, serendipitous volunteer labor must not be a major required element. A very purposeful ecosystem of workers, doing their normal scheduled work, needs to be established to ensure quality, compatibility, modifications, testing, security, etc. Educational and other institutions may be employed with the appearance of volunteer labor as students and other interested parties are used, much as courts and other governmental agencies have used interns and volunteers for other activities. The health of the applications being performed by the software must not be dependent upon the hope that someone will be interested in it; like garbage collecting, sewer cleaning, and probate court judging, people must be paid.
The ecosystem of software development this envisions is different than that most common today. The details must be worked out. Certain entities that do not now exist need to be bootstrapped and perhaps subsidized. There must be a complete ecosystem, and as many aspects of a market economy as possible must be present.
Learning from civil engineering
My friend Peter Levin pointed out to me that the analogy between software engineering and civil engineering (the building of bridges, dams, and sewers) should be used to help flesh out a potential structure of the ecosystem. Here are some more thoughts inspired by that:
Architects, civil engineers, and contractors as part of their training learn a set curriculum, pass tests, and are often licensed. They are supposed to share a body of knowledge and experience and demonstrate competence. What thrust should be part of the training of software engineers? For years we emphasized execution speed, memory constraints, data organization, flashy graphics, and algorithms for accomplishing this all. Curricula needs to also emphasize robustness, testing, maintainability, ease of replacement, security, and verifiability.
Standards bodies publish best practices (how high should a railing be above the stair tread, how thick should a concrete footing be under a supporting pillar, etc.). Even though a project might be novel (such as a new bridge or Boston's Big Dig), there are many standards that can (and must) be applied. By standards here we mean a conservative approach that is intended to minimize error, increase security, and lower maintenance costs, not just facilitate data interchange. Like all engineering, new software, as we know, commits old errors. We need to teach the right "war stories".
Physical projects are subject to inspection by standards bodies. When you have electrical or plumbing work done, the town inspector comes to check the work before the job can be considered finished. Transparent societal infrastructural software needs inspection. This will raise the role of independent testing entities. There is much talk about such roles in the discussion about electronic voting and gambling machines, but it is also important for the software we are covering here. These jobs -- part QA, part auditor, part private investigator -- can be very high status because of the range and depth of knowledge and experience needed. For public projects, the transparency of open source is needed to allow multiple, independent inspections. There are also different inspection specialties, including standards compliance, security and other stressing, maintainability, and functionality.
When physical projects fail (a suspension bridge twists in heavy winds, an elevated freeway falls down in an earthquake, an airplane crashes) public inquiries are performed, reports are published, and fixes are designed and retrofitted to existing projects. What we learn from failures enter the standards lexicon and is used for training and new design. We don't do this yet in the world of software. Access to the source code, the right to discuss it in detail, and the ability to search for similar code elsewhere is crucial to many such studies.
Further thoughts
The heart of this is some sort of open source software. The exact license requirements are not yet clear, and will probably vary depending upon the project. The depth of thinking that went into the GNU General Public License is needed, and it is a good start.
The role of open source software scares many traditional software developers. There is an image of a need for volunteer labor, and developers not getting paid. This is far from the case. Developers and companies are still needed, and the best will be in high demand and well paid. Criteria of what is "good" may change -- the ability to write clear, robust, maintainable code with an eye to the future, or do clean modifications, or explain how to use old software in new contexts, will become even more important. Documentation, training, servicing, testing, and more will still be paid for. In fact, the knowledge that such work has long-term consequences and may be amortized over longer periods of time raises their value. What does go away is the effort spent on making upgrading and replacement a desirable thing, both in development time and marketing dollars.
What about competition? There is nothing that says that there should only be one product for each application. Competition is very helpful for bringing out the best in product development. With that knowledge, funders should consider funding more than one project and keep all promising ones alive even if, as is the tendency with software, one comes to dominate in deployments.
What does this say about the size of the development entities? There is no special requirement. Some may be very big, some may be very small. Smaller entities (and projects) have a better chance than today, because in such an ecosystem they would not be evaluated based on their own ability to provide long-term support (a major impediment today), but rather on their products' characteristics for fitting into the ecosystem.
The structure of the development may be concentrated mainly all in one entity, much as with a product like MySQL or Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively, it may instead be coordinated by a strong center, but distributed among many players, such as with Linux. The key skills will include the ability to manage such projects in the ecosystem. There is probably a separation between managing the initial development and the long-term maintenance and monitoring.
Is this "socialized software", with the government making all decisions? No. While funding and management cooperatives seem a likely part of the ecosystem, there is no need for a single such entity; in fact, that would be bad. Developers with promising ideas can still use risk capital for initial development, and would still be able to find single customers to provide the funding. Also, some projects may be worth funding solely because they are synergistic with existing products that are being supported by existing entities. So, for example, a training and support company may help fund a product that lowers maintenance costs and that will need training.
Remember, this is only for one part of the software world -- that of social infrastructure software. There are many other uses of software, each with their own preferred ecosystem for development and support.
As part of this, buyers must get used to funding projects in advance. This is already the case in many areas, and the addition of cooperative funding with others can lower the costs or increase the scope of potential projects. Buyer funding lowers the requirement for potential "big hits" to incentivize development.
There is much talk about open source software in relation to existing software firms and lowering costs. What we are discussing here is opening up new types of firms, with huge potentials for revenues stemming from valuable services.
Open source essays often revolve around cost savings of acquisition and the use of volunteer labor for testing and maintenance. That is not the thrust here. In fact, the acquisition costs may actually be higher, and paid labor is assumed. The key is a model for long-term use, with a lowering of total cost of ownership, less disruption, and better integration. Open source discussion for government and business is often just in regards to existing open source applications, such as Linux and hoped-for desktop applications. There needs to be more discussion about projects of less general interest to the common software developer, such as EPA compliance monitoring systems, government record keeping, court workflow systems, and e-government components. Open source software discussion should be about keeping the trains running on time and not just saying it should run on Linux. The discussions should be about funding the companies needed in such an ecosystem and assuring their sources of healthy revenue. The code is not the only part of the equation, and leadership for all aspects of the ecosystem need to be addressed.
I hope that this essay is helpful to people that need to be involved in bringing about this needed ecosystem.
-Dan Bricklin, 14 July 2004
As a continuation of examining the area of long-term software, I've written another essay as part of a process of looking for design principles to follow. See "Learning From Accidents and a Terrorist Attack".
-Dan Bricklin, 7 September 2004
Related material:
Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance Eric Kriss: "Open Mind on Open Source". History and rationale for sharing source in government.
Dan Bricklin's Log reports of meetings with Secretary Kriss: October 8, 2003 and January 12, 2004.
GNU Project: "Philosophy of the GNU Project". Links to essays about Free Software and free software licenses such as the GPL.
Peruvian letter about Open Source in government: Reactions from a Peruvian lawmaker to statements about open source submitted by a Microsoft representative.
Government Open Code Collaborative Repository: "...a voluntary collaboration between public sector entities and non-profit academic institutions created for the purpose of encouraging the sharing, at no cost, of computer code developed for and by government entities where the redistribution of this code is allowed." Includes Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, West Virginia, and a variety of cities.
Avalanche Corporate Technology Cooperative: "...a private exchange that enables it's members to contribute, collaborate and legally distribute intellectual property to other members." Founded by Best Buy, Cargill, and others. Shares code and procedures among members. It is not open source.
Leopard Project of the Open Government Interoperability Project of the Open Source Software Institute: "The Open-Source Software Institute (OSSI) is a non-profit (501 c 6) organization comprised of corporate, government and academic representatives whose mission is to promote the development and implementation of open-source software solutions within U.S. Federal and State government agencies and academic entities." The Leopard Project is an eGovernment web services platform based on LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python open source components).
Copy Protection Robs The Future: Dan Bricklin's essay about the long-term dangers of Digital Rights Management.
The New York Times article on why slot machines are more trustworthy than voting machines because of testing and enforcement: "Gambling on Voting".
Books about the role of failure in engineering:
Henry Petroski's "To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design". This book, which has a picture of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapsing and the Challenger in flight on its cover, discusses several well-known engineering failures. It goes into detail about how the failures were analyzed and what we can learn from them.
Another Petroski book: "Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering". Petroski presents several general paradigms of error, such as errors in conceptual design, errors related to scale in size, errors in logic, success masking failure, and others. To quote from the Preface: "This book argues for a more pervasive use of historical case studies in the engineering curriculum."
Charles Perrow's "Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies". This book emphasizes learning about failures through detailed study of many "accidents" and especially "near-misses" and the systems around them. Don't say "Whew!" and ignore "almosts", or say "well, it was an accident" -- learn from them both. There are about 5,000 people a year killed in U.S. industry. This book is covered in great depth in my "Learning From Accidents and a Terrorist Attack" essay.
© Copyright 1999-2018 by Daniel Bricklin
All Rights Reserved.


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Turkey's besting Iran in the contest for the hearts and minds of advocates of change in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa is proving to be both a blessing and a curse. With tension mounting over Iran's nuclear ambitions and the perceived window of opportunity for a military strike closing, Turkey faces increased challenges and the threat of a proxy war with Syria and the Islamic republic. This is compounded by the fact that the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia need Turkey in their effort to further corner the regime in Syria and to isolate Iran, but want to prevent a shift in regional power away from the kingdom and the Israeli state to Ankara — increasingly held up as the model of an economically successful, Islamist-led democracy.
A concerted effort by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia to further isolate Iran has laid bare the challenges facing Turkey against the backdrop of an ever more severe sanctions regime, increased debate regarding a military strike to prevent the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear weapon and popular revolts sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
The challenges are evident in the anti-Iranian campaign's little noticed subtext, with the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel seeking to prevent a shift of power in the region from Israel and the Gulf to Turkey and Iran. All three see benefit in Turkey's rising star as a result of its emotional support for Palestine, its deteriorating relations with its erstwhile ally Israel, its perceived support for the Arab revolt, an impressive economic performance and the fact that it is ruled by an elected Islamist government. (The Justice and Development Party (AK Party), despite its Islamist origins and appeal as well as a continued widespread perception of the party as Islamist, rejects this label, arguing that it has put its Islamist past behind it.) However, the trio does not want Turkey's ascendance to be at the expense of either the kingdom or the Jewish state.
Turkey has so far largely been shielded from criticism that it, like the US, is seeking to maintain the status quo in the Gulf and has failed to match words with deeds in its condemnation of the Syrian regime's brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, one which has already cost more than 5,000 lives. The veil shrouding contradictions in Turkish — as well as US, Israeli and Saudi — policy could well soon be lifted, with Syria emerging as a crucial flashpoint in the mushrooming power struggle in the Middle \ East \ and North Africa (MENA). Increasingly it is looking like a matter of when rather than if the wave of protests truly spreads to the energy-rich Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia first and foremost among them.
The gradual morphing of the 11-month old Syrian protests into a civil war, much as was the case in Libya, leaves Turkey stuck between a rock and a hard place. With little appetite for military intervention despite its support of the revolt and warnings that there would be consequences if Syria's President Bashar al-Assad failed to engage with his detractors and initiate political and economic reform, Turkey risks being perceived as a paper tiger. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu insisted Turkey was "ready for all possible scenarios" but had as yet not considered military intervention and didn't want to. Similarly, he suggested that Turkey could create a military buffer zone within Syria, should tens of thousands of Syrians seek refuge in Turkey, all the while insisting that such a zone was "not on the agenda." This reluctance to put its money where its mouth is from Turkey is not a stance it is likely to be able to maintain for much longer, with the failure of Arab League monitors in Syria, tightening economic sanctions and an Arab League-backed move to get UN Security Council endorsement of its call for al-Assad to step down.
Turkey could end up in the same boat as the US, which has seen its influence and credibility in MENA wane because of its inability to match its words with deeds. Despite its denunciations of al-Assad, Turkey has — like the US — remained silent on the need for change in the Gulf.Like the US it has a vested interest in ensuring that the revolt does not hit the region, Saudi Arabia in particular, with full force.
Consequently, the struggle of US President Barack Obama is one Turkey may well face. The US administration is finding it difficult to wield its influence in a region with a more assertive Arab public opinion, one demanding that Washington make good on its promises in terms of both the revolution and declared support for an independent Palestinian state.
Obama's inability to do so, particularly in an election year, means that the US is finding it increasingly hard to perform its past balancing of diametrically opposed demands and expectations from its allies in the Middle East and North Africa. US support for the toppling of leaders like Egypt's Gen. Hosni Mubarak has damaged its ties to key autocratic allies like Saudi Arabia, while the need to be seen to be make real steps in furthering Palestinian independence threatens to put it on a collision course with Israel.
Turkey's potential policy dilemma is complicated by continued fallout from the 2010 killing by Israeli Special Forces of nine Turkish nationals aboard the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish aid ship seeking to run Israel's blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Israel imposed its naval blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized control of the territory in June 2007, with Tel Aviv saying it was necessary to prevent weapons being supplied to militants in the strip. Critics of the sea and land blockade describe it as collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants.
Turkey has painted itself into a corner with its refusal to reverse the downgrading of diplomatic relations with Israel to the level of second secretary and the suspension of all military cooperation. Ankara is adamant that these measures will continue as long as Israel fails to apologize or offer compensation for the death of the Turkish activists, and maintains its blockade of Gaza. Short term, Turkey's attitude has garnered it popular support across the Arab and Muslim world, but longer term it has complicated Turkey's efforts to shield itself from being drawn into the region's multiple conflicts.
Turkey's stance on Israel means it has little (if any) ability to bring Israel and Iran back from the brink of a military confrontation at a time that escalating tension between the two countries threatens to impair Turkey's efforts to project itself as a regional Islamic, democratic, economic and military power.
While Turkish defense and military officials have little doubt that Israel would prevail in a military confrontation with Iran, even if it is unlikely to fully destroy Iran's decentralized and heavily fortified nuclear facilities, they worry that likely Iranian retaliatory attacks against Israel, as well as against US targets in the Gulf and Afghanistan, would escalate confrontation with Iran. As a result, members of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party have criticized him for responding emotionally to Israeli policies. While they remain critical of Tel Aviv, they have urged Erdogan to repair relations with Israel in a bid to ensure that Turkey can truly act as a bridge across the West-East divide as well as MENA's fault lines. The key to Turkey's role may indeed lie partially in Israel, but Turkey has only a limited window of opportunity to keep the door open as Western nations and Israel increasingly rattle their sabers.
In the event of a pre-emptive attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, any effort by Ankara to remain on the sidelines risks Turkey's being portrayed in Tel Aviv and Washington as having not only turned on Israel — often a yardstick in the West for assessing Turkish foreign policy — but also sided with the enemy. Already Tehran eyes Ankara's condemnation of al-Assad, as well as its mounting popularity in a swath of land stretching from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Gulf, with suspicion. Tehran views these developments as a US-Saudi conspiracy designed to prevent the Islamic Revolution of over 30 years ago getting the credit it deserves as an inspiration for the Arab revolt and to stymie the appeal of the Islamic republic for states in the turbulent region.
In a series of messages, Iranian leaders warned Turkey that Turkish support for an international campaign against Syria, the Islamic republic's foremost Arab ally, and Syrian opposition groups would constitute a red line — warnings Turkey has so far ignored. Without Syria, Iran would be left only with Iraq as its foremost interlocutor in the Arab world. Iraq lacks Syria's relationship with groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine and is unlikely to be as compliant and strategic a friend as Syria is. Turkey compounded Iran's narrowing options by not only setting its warnings aside but going a step further with its agreement to install on Turkish soil a NATO radar system believed to constitute a shield against Iranian ballistic missiles. In recent weeks, it has also started looking at reducing its dependence on imports of Iranian oil as Western powers crack down on Iran's oil sales and the Islamic republic threatens to retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz. Turkey sought to soften the blow by suggesting that majority state-owned Halkbank would continue to handle Iranian oil payments as long as that does not run afoul of the sanctions regime.
Turkish officials and analysts fear that mounting tension with Iran could produce a covert proxy war, with Iran and Syria supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has stepped up attacks on Turkish military targets in the southeast of the country. Syria and Iran have already halted their security cooperation with Turkey with regard to the Kurds. Conservative Iranian columnists have denounced Erdogan's government in recent months as a Sunni Muslim dictatorship that does not represent half the country's population — a reference to Turkey' large Kurdish and Alevi communities. They warned that Turkey's minorities constituted its Achilles' heel and a potentially destabilizing factor.
In a strange twist, Iranian soccer, pockmarked by nationalist and environmental protests in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province, offers a perspective of how Turkey could respond in a proxy war with Syria and Iran — one using ethnic minorities as pawns. The soccer protests in the Bagh Shomal and Yadegar-e-Emam stadiums in Tabriz, the capital of the province, signal a rise in Azeri nationalism. This trend would enable Turkey to exploit secessionist sentiments among its Turkic brethren in the predominantly Azeri East Azerbaijan Province, which borders the Turkic former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, a close Turkish ally.
In the latest soccer incident in Tabriz, fans of Tabriz soccer club Tractor Sazi Tabriz F.C. — a focus of Iranian Azerbaijan's identity politics owned by the state-run Iran Tractor Manufacturing Co. (ITMCO) — wore shirts bearing Turkey and Azerbaijan's flags and raised the latter emblem during a match against Fajr‑e Sepasi F.C. of Shiraz. "[The] Iranian regime will […] charge them with separatism and even arrest them. The main [Iranian concern] is that the idea of Turkism is strengthening in South Azerbaijan," Azeri news website news.az quoted Saftar Rahimli, a member of the board of the World Azerbaijanis Congress, as saying. Rahimli was referring to the East Azerbaijan Province by its nationalist Azeri name.
A conservative, pro-Iranian website, Raja News, confirmed the incident in November, charging that the soccer fans had employed "separatist symbols" and shouted separatist slogans during the match. Raja News accused the fans of promoting "pan-Turkish" and "deviant" objectives. It urged authorities to ban nationalist fans from entering soccer stadiums.
The protests during the match against the Shiraz-based club followed similar protests in September and October sparked by the Iranian parliament's refusal to fund efforts to save the threatened Lake Orumiyeh and by anti-government protests in Tehran's Azadi Stadium. The latter occurred both during last month's 2014 World Cup qualifier against Bahrain and at a ceremony in May following the death of Nasser Hejazi, an internationally acclaimed Iranian defender and outspoken critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
A decision by security forces in early October to bar fans' entry into the stadium during a match against Tehran's Esteghlal sent thousands into the streets of Tabriz shouting "Azerbaijan is united!" and "Long live united Azerbaijan with its capital in Tabriz!" Scores were injured as security forces tried to break up the protest. Cars honking their horns choked traffic.
"Wherever Tractor goes, fans of the opposing club chant insulting slogans. They imitate the sound of donkeys, because Azerbaijanis are historically derided as stupid and stubborn. I remember incidents going back to the time that I was a teenager," said a long-standing observer of Iranian soccer.
Mounting Iran-focused tension serves, at least in the case of Israel and Saudi Arabia, multiple purposes that go beyond the nuclear threat. It puts Turkey on the spot and shifts attention away from the wave of revolts sweeping MENA.
About The Author:
James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.


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2013 Grammys Red Carpet Fashion – Florence Welch Proves It Isn't Easy Being Green in Givenchy
That lovely British songbird Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine realizes she has to often dress for her flame-hued hair. Green is always a safe choice, so she rocked a slinky, second-skin, emerald green Givenchy gown at the 2013 Grammys.
But the shiny fabric with the "horns" sticking out everywhere made it look like she donned a cartoon dinosaur skin.
While Flo pointed out that her dress matched her eye color and we liked the peek-a-boo slit, and the fact that she was able to cover on top while flashing some leg, the material was a bit too tight and those protruding things looked dangerous.
Hey, at least she has the figure to pull it off.


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Put on your rubber boots, grab the shovel and let's start planting some trees. You are about to enter the marvelous journey of tree planting across the world. You still have much to learn, but big things often have small beginnings...
You are on a good track, at least you know what a shovel is for and you can water the tree seedlings. Nevertheless, you still have a long way before earning a degree.
Great Job! you know how to handle all the planting tools, and sometimes you spend long working days under the rain. You can now tell when the weather will change just by looking at how the wind waves the leaves of your trees. If you keep it up you will become an expert.
You are an advanced planter. You recognise the species you are planting just by looking at the seed, you know the planting seasons of each country, and you could even teach environmental classes. Get excited you're close to the top.
Now we can address you as a professional planter! You have come far and your skills are outstanding. You can walk between trees to pick up leaves, seeds, and roots, to create your own medicine. Your hands are responsible for hundreds of healthy trees in the forest. Congratulations!
You are Mother Earth's noteworthy partner and a role model. Flowers sprout from the footprints you leave behind on the forest trail. Bravo! You have reached the highest peak and from above you can imagine a forest extending as far as the horizon!


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Welder dons Batsuit, builds Batpod becomes Chibatman!
Saturday, September 6th, 2014Here in the states we're all pretty used to Christian Bale as Batman getting in peoples' faces and barking like he's trying to carry on a conversation in a dance club.
But what if there was a kinder more approachable version of the Dark Knight who's only mission was to bring smiles to an area rebuilding from a devastating earthquake.
Well there is such a person.
He's called Chibatman.
A 41 year-old Chinese welder's donned Batman's suit (thankfully not the Clooney one) since 2011 as well as built his own version of the Batpod and taken to the streets to simply make people smile.
"I started doing this around three years ago. As for my reasons, during the great earthquake [the 2011 Fukushima earthquake], people forgot how to smile. I wanted to help bring the smile back, and that's why I started."
So while Chibatman rolls around distributing awesomeness and smiles (and the English translator in the video channels his inner Christian Bale producing even more smiles to the rest of us) to an area distraught and repairing itself after a horrific disaster, it's the little kid in the video that kind of sums up how awkwardly cool this whole thing is…
"I think it's cool how he goes around town looking like Batman without feeling embarrassed at all."
We agree.
Might be more superheroes in the world.


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Athens, Ga. – Two University of Georgia scholars argue against the conventional wisdom that the 20th century was a disaster for vegetable crop diversity by showing that there was no overall loss of vegetable diversity in that era.
Paul J. Heald, Post Professor at the School of Law, and Susannah Chapman, a Ph.D student in the anthropology department, have compared the availability of varieties in commercial seed catalogs in 1903 to those available in 2004.
The two UGA researchers report that in 1903, 7,262 varieties of 48 crop vegetables were available and, in 2004, only 2.2 percent fewer varieties were available, showing almost no loss of overall varietal diversity. However, they did find that 94 percent of the seed varieties listed in the 1903 USDA catalog were no longer available from the most common commercial sources, meaning a 6 percent survival rate from 1903.
"The lack of loss in the overall diversity of seeds can be explained by the fact that preservationists have identified and maintained some of the old seeds, importers have brought in new varieties, and farmers and enthusiastic gardeners have developed new varieties," Heald said.
Today's growers of garden beans, garlic, lettuce, peppers, squash and tomatoes have many more choices than they did 100 years ago, while growers of sugar beets, cabbage, field corn, radishes and rutabagas have vastly fewer selections available to them, according to the study.
Additionally, Heald and Chapman report that W.W. Tracy, author of the 1903 USDA inventory list, said at the time of his study, "Variety names of vegetables in this country are being greatly multiplied every year by the renaming of old varieties."
According to Heald and Chapman, this means many of the reported seed varieties in 1903 were actually the same variety of seed but listed under different names. "Because of the past issue of multiple naming, consumers of seeds today may actually have even more choices than in 1903, even though many of the 1903 varieties no longer exist," Heald said.
During the course of their research, Heald and Chapman discovered a math error in a widely accepted study on crop varieties. Carey Fowler and Pat Mooney reported that a 1983 study of seeds held in the National Seed Storage Laboratory conducted by the Plant Genetic Resources Project of the Rural Advancement Fund showed that 97 percent of the vegetable varieties listed on a 1903 USDA inventory of seeds were extinct, meaning there was only a 3 percent survival rate. However, Heald and Chapman found a calculation error and report the actual survival rate for seed varieties was 7.4 percent through 1983, more than double than what was previously thought.
The next phase of Heald and Chapman's research will further examine patent activity for the crops that experienced the greatest diversity gains during the 20th century. Preliminary findings suggest no correlation between varietal replacement and patents in the six most diverse varieties.
Heald and Chapman's paper can be downloaded for free from the Social Science Research Network at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1462917.


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Peter Newport
Peter Newport is a former reporter for Radio NZ, and a former producer with TV3. He started his career at the ODT and TVNZ before working for Australia's Channel 9 as their London Correspondent, as a senior News Director with BBC TV News and as a Discovery Channel documentary producer. He lives in Queenstown.


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Axel Scheffler
A Sign from Seymour
Boycott Britain
Democratising Science
In the Begining there was the Translation
Mobile Home
Singing from the Same Hymn Sheet
Slow Travel
The Futility of War
Axel Scheffler was born in Hamburg, Germany. He has achieved worldwide acclaim for his humorous illustrations, and his books have been translated into over twenty-nine languages. More recently (2006) he has been called upon to design Gordon Brown's annual Christmas card!
Although always good at art, Axel never really considered a career in illustration. He went on from school to study History of Art at the University of Hamburg, but he didn't like the course and decided to leave. Knowing that he wanted to live in another country and learn a second language, he moved to England to study illustration at the Bath Academy of Art. While he was there he spent much of his time drawing sheep and peacocks in the grounds of Corsham Court.
After graduating with a first class degree, Axel moved to London where he began illustrating for a variety of English and German advertising companies, magazines and newspapers. He took his portfolio to a number of publishers, and Faber commissioned him to illustrate The Piemakers by Helen Cresswell and The Bottle Rabbit by Bernard McCabe.
Axel still lives in London and he makes frequent visits to continental Europe. His hobbies include walking, cooking, reading and beadwork.
Axel often illustrates for Resurgence and is one of our favourite illustrators. An excellent interview with him can be found on www.booksforkeeps.co.uk


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The Prestige is a new condo development by Pinnacle International. The future master-planned, mixed-use community includes the much anticipated One Yonge Street Site in downtown Toronto. One Yonge will transform a legendary address into one of the world's most vibrant go-to places to live, work, play, and shop and pursue your passions. One Yonge condos is planning to be the tallest waterfront tower in Canada overlooking the Lake and the Toronto city skyline sited on the longest street in the world where you can explore the city towards east and west.
A legendary address encounters a vision that launches Toronto's most desirable lakeside location in the world. Holistically designed, visionary in its scope, Pinnacle One Yonge will reflect its prestigious nature through its sophisticated and diverse community that lies at the heart of this work-play-shop and enjoy life neighbourhood. Designed by the globally-recognized Hariri Pontarini Architects, the building will consist of a spacious, light-filled podium and a modern tower, showcasing clean lines and extensive glazing. The podium will house retail at street level, along with a community centre occupying the entire second floor and part of the first. The community centre will feature a range of programs, along with a full-sized gymnasium, swimming pool and a teaching kitchen. . Over 14,000 square feet of indoor amenity space will be incorporated into the building, including a fitness centre, meeting rooms, a kid's playroom and a party lounge with kitchen and private dining facilities. A massive 40,000 square feet of outdoor amenity space will be part of the design too, in the form of several outdoor terraces, including one on the building's rooftop.
Pinnacle International is one of North America's leading builders of luxury condominium residences, master-planned communities, hotels and commercial developments. Based in Vancouver, BC, Pinnacle has been involved in the development, design, construction and management of their projects for over 40 years. With this experience and expertise, Pinnacle has completed over 7,000 residences to help create and enrich neighbourhoods in Vancouver, Toronto and San Diego. Pinnacle has development plans for an additional 10,000 residential suites located in various master-planned, mixed-use locations throughout North America
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How to get a Food Handlers Card
Get a Food Handlers Card from the fastest, easiest online course for food handlers in Massachusetts. Trust a National Leader. Your Food Handlers card is approved for Food Handlers in Massachusetts. An ANSI National Accreditation Board accredited certificate shows you can protect public health by knowing how to properly handle and prepare food. Get your printed food handlers card, certificate and badge when you complete the program. To view Massachusetts / County regulations, click here.
The Massachusetts Food Handlers Card is a certificate that is required for all food employees who are involved in the preparation, storage, or service of food in a food facility.
Do I Need An Official Food Handlers Card Card?
To get a Massachusetts Food Handlers Card, participants must take a food safety training course and pass an examination from an accredited organization.
Learn How To Get Started
eFoodHandlers makes it easy for businesses in Massachusetts to manage food worker training. Manage employee transcripts, determine status of training needs, or set a payment account with quantity discounts.
eFoodHandlers works cooperatively with Government Agencies to provide food safety on behalf of local Massachusetts jurisdictions. This includes custom websites, referral programs and pay-for-click advertising.
eFoodHandlers is a leading provider of classroom food safety and culinary education. Our courses include basic to advanced food safety, culinary math, careers in the restaurant industry, and more.
This food handlers card holds the ANSI National Accreditation Board food handler training program accreditation (ASTM e2659-2018).
The purpose of our food handlers card training is to provide food handlers with the information they need to handle food safely. This information may include content specified by state or local regulations.
This program will teach or reiterate responsible food safety principles to the learner.
(Effective date April 29,2020)
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
After you pass the test, you'll receive your food handlers card.
In order to earn a certificate, you must complete the course and pass the test.
A food handler card is a certificate, card, or permit that shows you have completed a food safety course that is approved by your state and county, and that you understand the basics of food safety.
How long can I access the course?
When you purchase a StateFoodSafety course, you automatically get one year of unlimited access to the training videos. Take your time through the course or come back after completion to brush up on your food safety knowledge!
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Aliens: Colonial Marines season pass shows up in GameStop listing
GameStop has listed a season pass is to be made available for Aliens: Colonial Marines.
According to the listing, the pass will run you $29.99 and is 33% off of what you would pay for all four planned DLC releases.
The packs will start releasing in March and continue through summer and contain content based on the campaign , new multiplayer maps, new modes, customization options, and other goodies.
GameStop only lists the pass for the PC version at press time, but it's doubtful the pass will be PC-exclusive.
Game's out February 12 for PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360.
Thanks, Shack.


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There are gender wars, and then there are casualties. It wasn't until 2011 that the behemoth toymaker LEGO acknowledged girls' desire to build with bricks, even though the company had long before made a seemingly effortless pivot to co-branding, video games, and major motion pictures. So it's little wonder that girls face all-too-real obstacles when […]
Read moreTag: Stanford
"Being able to teach machine learning to tens of thousands of people is one of the most gratifying experiences I've ever had," says Stanford University computer science professor Andrew Ng.
Over 100,000 students signed up for his free, fall 2011 course on machine learning. The impacts were huge. Over 12% of the students completed the course, and received a statement of accomplishment. Ng says he "heard many stories from students about how they're using it at work, about how it's inspired them to go back to school, and so on." In contrast, Ng's normal, for-credit course at Stanford, one of the most popular on campus, would enroll 350 students.
It's part of a new revolution in higher education, and it's serious learning. They deliver complete courses where students are not only watching web-based lectures, but also actively participating, doing exercises, and deeply learning the material. Students are expected to devote ~12 hours a week to the course, to read and watch course materials, complete assignments, and take quizzes and an exam. Online students did not receive one-on-one interaction with professors, the full content of lectures, or a Stanford degree — those who completed the course received a statement of accomplishment. Course materials include prerecorded lectures (with in-video quizzes) and demos, multiple-choice quiz assignments, automatically-checked programming exercises with an interactive workbench, midterm and final exams, a discussion forum, optional additional exercises with solutions, and pointers to readings and resources.