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WhatsApp Flaw Opens Database Doors to Hackers
Mar 12, 2014 2:28 PM PT
An Android developer's disclosure that it's possible to hack into the WhatsApp database and read the text of the chats from another application could be a big headache for Facebook, which has agreed to purchase the app for US$19 billion.
"This is not a bug, but a design decision of WhatsApp," Bas Bosschert, chief technology officer of Double Think, told LinuxInsider.
"They selected for usability in their design, not security," he continued. "I didn't find anything new -- I only showed how people could abuse this flaw with a working proof of concept."
The flaw works if the database backup capability is enabled, which it apparently is by default, commenters on Bosschert's blog post said.
Although WhatsApp had encrypted its database in February, that encryption is available only in new installations, and updates still use the old, unencrypted version, Bosschert remarked.
Facebook and WhatsApp did not respond to our request to comment for this story.
How the Hack Works
The process seems straightforward -- Bosschert created a PHP script to store the database on a Web server, created an Eclipse project with some additional lines in the AndroidManifest.xml file, and grabbed the mststore.db and wa.db WhatsApp files, which are unencrypted.
His application displayed a simple loading screen during that process so users wouldn't notice their WhatsApp database was being pilfered.
The hack is possible because the WhatsApp database used to be written in SQLite3. Openssl apparently also could be used to hack the database.
Although it appears WhatsApp encrypted the msgstore.db database using the .crypt utility, it's still possible to read chats from the encrypted database by creating a simple Python script, which converts it to a plain SQLite 3 database.
Keeping Chats Safe
Bosschert obtained the database's AES key by using the WhatsApp Xtract tool published in the XDA Developers' Forum. That key no longer works with the encrypted database, according to TiFlo Software, which claims its statistical app cracks the encryption.
"Given the nature of the WhatsApp use model, with backup enabled by default, you could argue that the hack is a key to a treasure house of information ... [but] I personally doubt it," Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told LinuxInsider.
"Given the size of WhatsApp's user base and how popular the app is among young people, finding anything of value would likely be comparable to searching for a needle of enlightenment in digital haystacks of teenaged trivia," King continued.
The Impact on Facebook
The impact of the hack on Facebook's purchase of WhatsApp likely will be minimal at worst.
"It will take something like the Target hack, where millions of people lost their credit card information, to have an impact on the deal," Jim McGregor, founder and principal analyst at Tirias Research, told LinuxInsider.
"That will eventually happen as electronic wallets and other applications emerge, but for now it's going to be another of those 'there's another issue, go fix it' things for Facebook, which is a company that's known for sharing user information anyway."
Still, users "will be screwed if WhatsApp doesn't think of a backwards-compatible solution so existing databases can be converted to a secure implementation," Bosschert said.
Given that competition in the chat apps market is keen and some WhatsApp users have fled to other apps like Viber in the wake of the Facebook purchase, perhaps the situation should not be taken too lightly.


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In this video you will learn how to use the new Sony Reader to use Overdrive ebooks.
If you have an older Sony Reader model, use this video.
In this video you will learn how to use the new Sony Reader to use Overdrive ebooks.
If you have an older Sony Reader model, use this video.
Update: Penguin Group has required that any Penguin ebooks in our collection that available for the Kindle must be downloaded with the Kindle's USB cable. Only Penguin ebooks have this requirement.
If you don't know how to download via a USB cable, watch this video.
This video covers will help you get up and running with the Sony Pocket Reader, which requires the installation of two pieces of software: the Sony Reader software, and Adobe Digital Editions. The video will apply to any Sony Reader product.
Do you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch? You can read ebooks with Overdrive's Media Console app without having to connect your device to a computer! This tutorial takes you through the process of setting up your device to use the service quickly!
Adobe Digital Editions is a free program used to manage your downloads of Overdrive ebooks. In this video, the first of two, you will learn how to download and set up this program.
This video covers things that owners of any black-and-white ereader --except the Kindle -- will need in order to get started with Overdrive ebooks. Owners of the Nook SimpleTouch, older black and white Nooks, Kobo ereaders and other like devices can use this video.
This video tutorial will take you through the process of creating an account at NetLibrary, and downloading an eAudiobook.
One warning: the audio gets a bit ahead toward the end. But, you can rewind as you go.
M - Th: 9am - 9pm
Fri & Sat: 9am - 6pm
Sun: 1pm - 5pm
27333 Center Ridge Rd
Westlake, OH
(440) 871-2600

subset: commoncrawl


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Executive Summary*
Michigan's statewide ballot in November will include Proposal 2, described officially as "a proposal to amend the state constitution regarding collective bargaining" — that is, exclusive workplace bargaining by certified unions. If approved by voters, the measure would have two general effects.
First, the proposal would enshrine collective bargaining powers in the Michigan Constitution. Collective bargaining is already permitted by longstanding state and federal law, but under Proposal 2, these powers would have a broader sweep and could generally be changed only by a state constitutional amendment, not an act of the Legislature. Second, Proposal 2 would establish a radical new constitutional proposition: the power of most union contracts to override, with only limited exceptions, all state and local laws concerning "wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment" or the "financial support" of unions. These phrases are remarkably broad, giving union contracts the power to nullify a wide range of laws, including numerous laws meant to control government spending.
State labor law has permitted unionized collective bargaining for state employees since 1979; for local government employees since 1965; and for a much smaller group of private-sector workers since 1939. Federal labor law has permitted the same for most private-sector workers since 1935. In one sense, Proposal 2 would provide unions and their members with an insurance policy against the unlikely repeal of these laws.
But by placing collective bargaining power in the constitution, Proposal 2 would do more than that. If Proposal 2 were adopted, even small modifications to the scope of collective bargaining for state and local government employees in Michigan would require a state constitutional amendment.
Note that in most cases, Proposal 2 would not affect private-sector workers. Most private-sector employees are governed by federal law, not state law and the state constitution. Proposal 2 primarily concerns state and local government employee unions, since states, not the federal government, have the sole power to determine whether state and local government employees should be allowed to bargain collectively.
Proposal 2's radical power lies in a subsection that allows state and local laws to be overridden by provisions of collective bargaining agreements that deal with "wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment." This phrase is a legal term of art that is incredibly broad. It covers obvious compensation issues like health insurance benefits to social health questions like smoking on the premises to obscure matters like the price of candy in factory vending machines.
Proposal 2 similarly allows state and local laws to be overridden by elements of collective bargaining agreements "respecting financial support by employees of their collective bargaining representative." Contract provisions could thus nullify laws that separate government and politics by preventing government collection of union political money or union dues, which almost always have a significant political component.
Many state laws would be immediately vulnerable to nullification by the terms of government-employee collective bargaining agreements. Included are:
- Public school management provisions:
– protecting good teachers from being laid off due to a lack of seniority;
– creating greater flexibility in assigning teachers to areas of need;
– allowing notification of parents about ineffective teachers;
– freeing school boards to allow interdistrict and intradistrict choice;
– enabling districts to contract freely with private providers of noninstructional services
- Educations reforms meant to modernize the tenure system and make it easier to remove poorly performing teachers.
- A law that puts caps on government contributions towards government-employee health insurance (the so-called "80-20" law)
- The Freedom of Information Act.
- A law that prohibits government employers from collecting money for unions "PACs" (called "separate segregated funds")
Proposal 2 would also preclude the Legislature's enacting a "right-to-work" law — that is, a law that prevents unionized employees from losing their jobs if they object to union membership and choose not to financially support the union.
Proposal 2 would affect many laws meant to control government spending. As a result, the proposal could lead to at least $1.6 billion in projected savings being lost each year, primarily due to changes to the 80-20 health insurance provisions, employee pension contribution and school district contracting for noninstructional services. Contractual changes to public school employee retiree health care benefits could put at risk a total of $7.1 billion in anticipated taxpayer savings, while changes to either the state employee pension system or the public school employee pension system could add billions of dollars more.
Hence, as the study concludes, Proposal 2 "seems less likely to protect jobs than to create larger demands on workers' income to supply better wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment for government employees."
* Citations provided in the main text.


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The "Workaholics" are back tonight! Here are two clips to get you excited for the return of Ders, Blake and Adam "The Laugh Giver" Demamp.
New episodes begin at 9 p.m. CT Jan. 16 on Comedy Central. Time to get weird.
Want more? Discuss this article and others on Show Patrol's Facebook page. Copyright © 2018, RedEye Chicago


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July 22, 2018
12:30-3:30 pm
Audience: Adults, Public, Families, Seniors, Educators, Elementary School Students
Location: Point Bonita
Event Type: Environment/Science, Birds/Wildlife, History, School Field Trip, Tours/Walk/Recreation, Self-Guided
Meet Point Bonita docents along the lighthouse trail. This hidden, historic setting offers breathtaking views and many stories of what life was like living at the head of such perilous waters. The half-mile trial is steep in places. For more information visit the Point Bonita Lighthouse website.


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Lighting controls: LEED Platinum in 15 days
In 2008, Boston-based developer Leggat McCall Properties decided to outfit its new 10,000-sq-ft office with energy-harvesting products from lighting control company ILLUMRA, a member of the EnOcean Alliance.
In 2008, Boston-based developer Leggat McCall Properties decided to outfit its new 10,000-sq-ft office with energy-harvesting products from lighting control company ILLUMRA, a member of the EnOcean Alliance. ILLUMRA is a supplier of self-powered, battery-free wireless lighting control and energy management systems in North America.
The interior fit-up project, referred to as "15 Days," was initially anticipated to take 12 weeks to complete. Instead, the project team utilized an unconventional approach by employing rapidly deployable energy-harvesting sensors and radio frequency (RF) technologies. By setting aggressive benchmarks and adopting a forward-thinking implementation process, the project was completed in less than three weeks.
The new space was constructed to the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum standard and included raised-access flooring, displacement air system, low-W/sq ft lighting, and demountable wall systems. To save energy and reduce the costs associated with hardwired systems, Commodore Builders and Audrey O'Hagan Architects chose wireless switching technology. On day 12 of the project, an ILLUMRA wireless lighting control system was quickly installed, saving money on both labor and materials. System components included self-powered light switches, relay receivers, and low-voltage room controllers.
No new wires
Wireless energy management systems are popular in retrofit scenarios, but the Leggat McCall project is a great example of why they can be advantageous in a build-out as well. In the Leggat McCall building, wireless technology was chosen over a fixed wiring solution to save on expensive copper cabling and its labor-intensive installation requirements. The ability to rapidly install the lighting controls was crucial to meet the accelerated project completion objectives.
In retrofit installations, using an ILLUMRA energy management system can minimize office closures and disruptions by averting traditional wiring obstacles. The project specifications also required the lighting controls to operate on a maintenance-free basis, which was accomplished with ILLUMRA's EnOcean-enabled, battery-less energy harvesting technology.
Rapid deployment and ROI
The conventional placement of lights, switches, and traveler wires can consume valuable time and add days to a project. ILLUMRA controls, however, do not use switch leg or traveler wires and can be surface mounted anywhere, even after the building is finished. This eliminates difficulties arising from design revisions and change orders.
This flexibility speeds up electrical planning and simplifies installations, delivering an adaptable wireless control system that cuts costs, saves on labor, accelerates completion time, and increases profits. These receivers are easily installed with light fixtures, and light switches can be added at convenient locations for building occupants.
LEED and lighting controls
In combination with other approved systems, technology provided by ILLUMRA can be applied to LEED credits in the categories of sustainable sites, energy and atmosphere, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design or operations. EnOcean-enabled lighting controls provided Leggat McCall with personal control of lighting and integration with other building systems. In addition to environmental benefits, energy-harvesting technology offers economic benefits for end users, including energy savings, reduction in peak demand, increased lamp and ballast life, improved environmental management and tracking, increased building value, and improved employee productivity.
"As a result of the project, Leggat McCall reduced its utility spending by 40%," said Karl Neubauer, senior vice president of Leggat McCall. "In addition, lighting power density is 50% less than the previous footprint on a different floor in the same building and 30% less than Massachusetts energy code requirements." The Leggat McCall HQ project exceeded its original goal of being LEED certified and became Boston's first LEED Commercial Interiors project to reach Platinum certification.
Information provided by EnOcean Alliance
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Ralph Obenberger likely to be appointed county sheriff soon
Undersheriff Ralph Obenberger will likely be appointed Mono County Sheriff by the county supervisors soon, after Sheriff Richard "Rick" Scholl recommended Obenberger for the post at Tuesday's county supervisor's meeting—with no oppostition from the supervisors, who were quick to voice their support for Obenberger.
Scholl recently announced he will retire about halfway through his four year term. His last date will be Dec. 20.
"It seems like the logical choice, and Ralph is certainly qualified," said Supervisor Byng Hunt—words echoed by the rest of the supervisors.
The supervisors spent time acknowledging that appointing anyone to an elected position incurs some risks, but so would opening the job to applicants. A special election would be the other option, but the cost, and the fact that there are only two years left in Scholl's term made the decision relatively easy.
They unanimously agreed.
The board faced a similar situation earlier this year, when District Attorney George Booth announced he would retire halfway through his four-year term. In that case, Booth recommended his deputy DA, Tim Kendall, to replace him and Kendall was unanimously appointed by the board to the post in early summer.
The supervisors also acknowledged that Obenberger has been in the middle of the recent spate of talks between the Town of Mammoth Lakes and the sheriff's department over the possible repercussions to public safety after Mammoth's police force is cut by seven officers due to the town restructuring in the wake of the Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition lawsuit.
That means he is already up-to-date on the issues likely to face the town and county.
"This is likely to be a massive failure at the public safety level, in my opinion," said Supervisor Duane "Hap" Hazard, referring to the cuts. "I think the town is going to need help and there are going to have to be some serious discussions about how that occurs. I'm willing to look any citizen in the eye and say Ralph is the right man for this job."
Hazard, a former Mono County sheriff's deputy, said it is probably inevitable that Mammoth's police department was going to call on other law enforcement agencies for backup at some point, especially during busy weekends when the town's numbers swell from about 7,000 permanent residents to 30,000 people.


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Arthur's BirthdayBook - 1989
From the critics
Community Activity
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CommentAdd a Comment
I have this book of Arthur at home. It is a good book, but i did borrow it from the library before. It was really good. I watched Arthur ever since I was a kid with my little brother. Of course, it's about Arthur having a birthday party at home and he wants to invite everyone from his class and Muffy was inviting every one too, so later they had to decide which party to go to. Then, Arthur had an idea to write a note to Muffy and ask her to come to his house to pick up her present because it's too big to carry. So, Arthur made a surprise for Muffy with her friends by writing a letter to everyone. The next day, Muffy came to his house and said "I came for my present." and then she saw everyone was there and they all surprised her. So, Muffy stayed at Arthur's house for the birthday party for all of his friends.
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text:
LeadsCon necesitaba un nuevo diseño de botón o icono y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 34 diseños de 16 diseñadores freelance.
We're an industry association of online marketing companies. We're a professional services organization comprised of member companies.
We are business to business offering. Our client is our member, and we want them to display this seal / badge on their sites and in their emails. Think of us like the BBB (bbb.org) or TRUSTe. You will see their seals and badges on sites and in emails. That's just what we are looking to do but with our brand - LeadsCouncil - http://www.leadscouncil.com
We are looking for something that will make other companies proud to display the seal. Professional is the key. Something that looks authentic and mature. Nothing cartoony. We also don't want our logo wrapped in a simple rounded oval. No real skill in that.
We have two membership levels - Founding Member and Member. The seal / badge should be able to accommodate both. You will see from the examples below that many have room to designate the type of members.
Example badges in action:
http://www.hotels.com/ - verisign secured at bottom
http://www.verticalresponse.com/ - bbb, and two industry specific associations (which is what we are)
http://www.thesearchagency.com/ - many industry specific associations, as well as TRUSTe. TRUSTe and SEMPO are the closest parallels to what we are / do.


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Skip to comments.On Gay Marriage In MJ, Gov. Chris Christie Tries A Political Dodge
Posted on 01/26/2012 8:42:24 AM PST by transducer
Maybe they should cut a deal: Gov. Chris Christie can put gay marriage to a popular vote, as long as Democrats can do the same with the millionaires tax, the Port Authority toll hikes and the governor's personal use of state helicopters.
The governor's plan is not serious. It is a political dodge. He is trying to provide a safe haven to shelter his obedient Republican legislators. The idea is they could safely vote against gay marriage, saying they only want the people to decide.
Imagine how different American history would be if this rule by referendums had carried the day from the start.
Take race relations. If Southern states could have held a referendum on free speech rights for Martin Luther King Jr., can anyone doubt how it would have turned out? How long would it have taken for voters in Mississippi to integrate its public schools?
Gallup has traced attitudes toward interracial marriage for decades. Note that when the Supreme Court struck down Virginia's ban in 1967, fewer than 1 in 5 Americans supported the court's position. If Christie's philosophy had carried the day, the ban would have remained in place until the late 1990s.
The point is that minority rights should not be subjected to majority vote. That misses the gist of constitutional rights....
The governor is seeking a referendum for purely political reasons. He would leave the basic rights of gay people vulnerable to the unpredictable winds of a political campaign. Those legislators who go along with him will be responsible for the results.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.nj.com ...
He is a RINO piece of crap....
Christie....Mitt's buddy lol.....!
It figures that one of Mitt's supporters would be afraid to take a stand.
MJ? Moo Jersey?
I think I KNOW where he stands, he's just a coward...! Like Mitt...!
Chris Christie - Caddy to the Country Club Democrats
"Just take a mulligan on that one!"
"Why, thanks, Chris,"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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2018 POP ConferenceNovember 5–7, 2018Providence, Rhode Island
Deborah Lamm Weisel is an assistant research professor and the director of police research in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at North Carolina State University. Her portfolio includes research on police responses to crime problems such as gangs, street drugs and graffiti, as well as community policing, safety and security in public housing, and repeat victimization from burglary and robbery. Her work has been published in Justice Quarterly, Public Management, the NIJ Journal, and the American Journal of Police. She holds a doctorate in political science/public policy analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
E-mail: email@example.com
Telephone: (919) 513-3551
Copyright © 2018 Center for Problem-Oriented Policing


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One of America's most celebrated modern architects, Richard Meier's work spans six exceptional decades. A member of the New York Five (along with Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey and John Hejduk), Meier is renowned for his abstract aesthetic, exquisite sense of proportion, and marked preference for the colour white.
Richard Meier was born in 1934 in New Jersey, and graduated from Cornell University in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in Architecture. Despite the individuality of his style, he told Architectural Digest in 2013 that "You can't escape the influence of architectural history," naming several predecessors who have inspired his journey. Among them were classical architects Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, both celebrated for their intricate Italian palaces and churches, as well as 20th-century pioneers Le Corbusier and Louis Khan.
After graduation, Meier joined Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the renowned firm that would later be responsible for both the Burj Khalifa skyscraper and the twisted Cayan Tower. Meier also worked for Marcel Breuer, who was one of the first creatives to apply modernist architectural techniques to domestic dwellings.
In 1963, Meier set up his own firm in New York and set to work. Early notable projects include the Smith House in Connecticut, a building that bears all the hallmarks of Meier's now definitive style. In the early '70s, the publication of a slim volume entitled 'Five Architects' by the group that would henceforth be known as the New York Five marked the start of Meier's rise to international prominence.
Over the years he has achieved prestigious accolades including both the Pritzker Prize and the AIA Gold Medal. His firm, Richard Meier & Partners, has been responsible for a number of celebrated designs in destinations ranging from Meier's native New Jersey to Taipei and Edinburgh. Iconic buildings designed by the firm include the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Jubilee Church in Rome, all of which are characterised by pristine white façades and clean lines.
Richard Meier has also been instrumental in designing modernist residential properties. A notable example is the Douglas House on the shores of Lake Michigan, completed in 1973. The property is set into the side of a steep hill, and has the appearance of a futuristic monolith emerging from the trees. The slope is so steep that access to the house is from roof level.
The early Smith House in Connecticut provides another classic example of Meier's aesthetic. The property is split into public and private sections, with large windows in the public section offering unrivalled views across Long Island Sound. The private section is shielded by an opaque wall. The Rachofsky House in Dallas, now a private museum, appears to float above a podium. Large windows at the rear of the property look over the swimming pool, while the front of the house is shielded by an opaque facade.
If you are interesting in investing in an exclusive modernist property, get in touch with Engel & Völkers. Our portfolio includes an array of architecturally interesting buildings in highly desirable locations. E&V represent properties in 39 countries across five continents, so wherever you are planning to buy, our local agents will be able to offer their expert assistance.


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With Him or Against Him
The black-and-white world of Clarence Thomas has nothing to do with race.
Clarence Thomas' new autobiography, My Grandfather's Son, paints a stark picture of an America in which nothing but race matters. In his telling, virtually everyone who has ever wronged him has done so because of his race. Not surprisingly, in the eyes of many of Thomas'defenders, anyone who objects to this book must also do so because of his race. But the prism of Black vs. White in America is the wrong one through which to view this book. The real black/white problem Justice Thomas reveals is his own binary worldview. Everything is good or bad; everyone is either angel or devil. You might say the justice has produced the world's longest Santa Claus list: everything in America classified as either naughty or nice.
This memoir is a painstaking accounting of the people who have supported Thomas (painted in heroic terms) and those who have tried to destroy him (bigots, idiots, or both). It's a directory of journalists he likes and dislikes, judges he admires and mistrusts. It's a detailed ledger of Thomas' many shamings (by lighter-skinned schoolchildren, or law school interviewers) and of his equal number of academic and professional triumphs. Perhaps to symbolize all this, Thomas tots up the trophies he carries with him (a warm letter from a Missouri judge he's carried "from job to job, like an heirloom") against the symbols of his persecution (his diploma from Yale Law School, onto which he stuck a "fifteen-cent price sticker" because it bore the "taint of racial preference"). There is not an inch of gray area in the justice's personal landscape.
It's not hard to have great compassion for Thomas. He is brutally open about the hardship of his early life in the Jim Crow South, his abandonment by his parents, and the tough love of the grandfather who raised him and "control[led] every aspect of our lives." You can't help but wince at the slights and humiliations—whether real or perceived—that dogged him throughout his schooling, or to feel for his personal struggles with financial hardship, a ruined first marriage, and alcohol.
Nor is it difficult to understand how a man both deeply sensitive and deeply intelligent would have had difficulty reconciling the sheer contradiction of his grandfather's teachings: That hard work and self-reliance are the keys to success, but also that college and law school education are worthless endeavors, turning Thomas into an "educated fool." The message? Try and try but know you'll fail. Which helps illuminate why it is that almost everything Thomas has achieved in his life—from law school to the Supreme Court—he has promptly devalued and disdained. As he put it upon learning of his confirmation, "Whoop-de-damn-do."
Yet even when Thomas does see good in the world, he can't help but question the motives behind it. Whites who were kind to him were "condescending." Institutions that attempted to help him (like Yale) were "tricking" and "hurting" him. Everyone is a "rattlesnake" or a "water moccasin." Their approaches may be different, but they'll strike one way or another. Thomas expresses astonishment, upon meeting his second wife, Virginia, that anyone still "thought it was possible to make the world a better place." Having set himself up to hate his oppressors and mistrust his supporters, Thomas is left all alone, leading to repeated scenes in this book of an isolated Thomas, curled up and sobbing.
Thomas' tendency to see everything as black or white is perhaps most in evident in his discussions of his grandfather, for whom the book is named. There can be no doubt that Myers Anderson was an amazing man: strong, self reliant, acidly funny, and devoted to his family. But Thomas is also deeply scarred by his grandfather's cruelty—from tossing the young man out when he dropped out of seminary, to skipping his college and law-school graduations and wedding on some unspecified principle. Anderson may have saved him from a life of ruin, but the man hugged his grandson once in his lifetime. So Thomas alternates between raging at his grandfather and lionizing him as the "one hero in my life."
Perhaps it's unfair to wish Thomas might have decoupled the personal from the political in his life. His confirmation hearing was indeed humiliating, for everyone involved. But Thomas was hardly the first justice to endure humiliating questions around a confirmation hearing. Hugo Black had to answer for his involvement with the KKK, and William Rehnquist had to answer for being a Republican poll watcher in Arizona. Nor was Thomas the first justice to face discrimination. Sandra Day O'Connor couldn't parlay her degree into a job, either. But Thomas cannot seem to avoid linking unrelated personal events to political ones. His grandfather's death occurs while he is addressing a "roomful of angry white women in Chicago." Liberal opposition to him was "a high-tech lynching for uppity black folks" and not legitimate political concern over ideology.
And maybe because he can see no shades of gray, in the end, Thomas careens back and forth in this book between seeing himself as a victim or a self-actualized hero. There is precious little in between.
The problem with black-and-white portraits is also that they produce cartoons where there might have been nuance. Thomas can caricature Anita Hill as a "mediocre" self-entitled shrew, and Sen. Howell Heflin, D-Ala., as a "slave owner sitting on the porch of a plantation house." These portraits have all the subtlety of the worst a.m. radio. But then it appears that Thomas is either too angry or too hurt for subtlety.
But though its author sees only in black-and-white, a careful reading of My Grandfather's Son reveals many gray areas. Clarence Thomas is more complicated than you might have believed, and readers must grapple with the contradictions between Thomas' personal warmth and public rage; the ambiguity with which he views his greatest achievements; the complexity of his love for his emotionally withholding grandfather; and his ambivalence about life in the public eye. For this reason alone the book deserves a careful and nuanced reading. The enduring travesty may well be that Justice Thomas can't think about the rest of us with that same degree of subtlety and care.


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Bonnat, from Voiron in France, began in 1884 and is a highly respected chocolatier known around the world for its extensive range of single origin chocolate bars, ranging from milk to 100% cocoa. Still a family run business today Bonnat is headed by Cécile and Stéphane Bonnat, Bonnat has willingly changed little in its time, including the bar wrapper designs which depict this companies long history. Their maxim is 'What's good for the palate does not harm to the soul'. One of the oldest French bean to bar chocolate makers.
Bonnat, 100% drinking chocolate
From Bonnat
This seriously dark drinking chocolate contains only 100% cocoa and no sugar. Suited to bitter dark chocolate lovers or simply those of you preferring to add your sugar to drinking chocolate. Intense, flavoursome and even healthy.
- Cocoa content
- 100%
- Cocoa Origin
- Blend
- Cocoa Estate
- Blend
- Cocoa Variety
- Blend
- Acidity
- Bitter
- Nut
- Roast
More on Bonnat...
Bonnat from France
The Bonnat family has been creating chocolates since 1884 from the town of Voiron in France. Voiron is situated in the Southeast of France, approximately 25kms from the city of Grenoble and approximately 100kms from the border with Switzerland. Whilst not really described as a tourist town it does receive a passing trade of tourists and this is mainly due to its location next to the national park and Grand Chatreuse monastery famed for its Carthusian monks and their naturally made liqueurs. Bonnat chocolatierie holds tours of their large shop, production and tea-rooms situated in the centre of the town and attracts a wide range of visiting nationalties to this chocolate mecca. Bonnat do in fact make chocolate for the Carthusian monks and are proud to be the only chocolatier to have ever made chocolate for the 'Motherhouse' of the Carthusian order.
The family Bonnat
Bonnat is the oldest family-run chocolate company in France today its first 'Maître chocolatier', meaning master chocolate maker, was Félix Bonnat. Accompanying their father shortly after were his sons, Armand and Gaston, and with their help Bonnat became a highly successful chocolate makers with their chocolates available in more than 180 shops in France.
In 1956 Raymond Bonnat, a grandson of Félix Bonnat who had studied chocolate in preparation for his role, took over the lead role at Chocolat Bonnat. It was Raymond Bonnat who in the early 1980's began making the single origin chocolate bars at Bonnat we see today. Revolutionary at the time, single origin bars have become the pinnacle of a chocolatiers skills, converting the raw cocoa into the rich, charismatic chocolate that all chocolate connoisseurs around the world enjoy and compare.
Three years after his role began Raymond married the daughter of a prominent hoteliers from the region, Nicole. Nicole also helped the company move forward and it is now two of her children, Cécile and Stéphane Bonnat who complement the company today in the fourth generation.
Bonbons Bonnat
Bonnat built its reputation on their decorated range of bonbons when Southeast France was somewhat of a thoroughfare for the chocolate and cocoa business, then being on one of the principal trading routes to Switzerland and the revolutionary introduction of milk chocolate. Many of the original bonbon recipes are still made today, namely the 'pave'; a layered hazelnut and almond praline, and the krugette; a stock of candied orange coated in chocolate. Pralines and nut based chocolate recipes have always been a popular recipe for chocolate bonbons whilst this tradition has slowly given way to more fruits and flavoured ganache, enrobed in chocolate.
Bonnat single origin bars
The range of single origin chocolate bars produced by Bonnat has continuously increased since the 1980's and consists of chocolate bars created from most of the cacao varieties found on the planet today, including some of the rarest and expensive such as the Chuao and Porcelana. With each harvest these single origin chocolate bars differ in their flavour, as with fine wine. It is one of Bonnat's strengths as a bean to bar chocolatier to retain and develop the flavour of the particular cocoa and its origin to its potential within the finished chocolate bar.
Bonnat chocolate is steeped in history and thrives on its family traditions and nostalgia. Bonnat has changed very little along the way compared to many brands but has continued to expand the Bonnat brand throughout the world and introduce many more exceptional single origin and plantation chocolates for us all to enjoy.
Unique to Bonnat
Bonnat produces something quite unique in the single origin bar range; high cocoa milk chocolate. Surabaya, Asfarth and Java are three single origin, milk chocolate bars that Bonnat create with a difference, each with a substantial 65% cocoa content making them quite unlike the sweet, milk chocolate we are all so used to. With this increased cocoa content and of course relative reduced sugar content these bars offer a milk chocolate with punch, reduced sweetness and those acidulous notes and characters found in fine flavour cocoa beans.
Little known facts about Bonnat
- Bonnat supports programs in Peru to reduce the production of cocaine by encouraging farmers to plant cocoa instead of 'coca', the source of cocaine.
- Stéphane Bonnat collects and restores antique chocolate making equipment.
- Bonnat have two branded stores in Tokyo, ran by local partners.
- Bonnat chocolate bars carry wither the symbol KF PARVE or KF Dairy - both certified by the Federation of Synagogues Kashrus as Kosher.


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Welcome to Aston at Papakea Resort
3543 Lower Honoapiilani Road Lahaina, HI 96761 • Reservations: 1-888-671-5309
Aston at Papakea Resort on Maui's Kaanapali Coast is a relaxing haven on 13 acres of expansive lawns and lush gardens. We offer spacious condominium accommodations overlooking the crystal blue Pacific.
All guest studios, one, two and three bedroom suites at Aston at Papakea Resort come with fully equipped kitchens and in-room washer/dryers for extra convenience. You'll have a private furnished balcony or lanai, where you can relax on your own or with friends and family and enjoy spectacular ocean or garden views. All condominiums are air-conditioned, and complimentary WiFi is offered throughout the resort.


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Jonathan Sacks
British rabbi(Redirected from Sacks, Rabbi Sir Jonathan)
Sir Jonathan Sacks (born 1948) is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.
|This religious leader article is a stub. You can help Wikiquote by expanding it.
Universal, 2009Edit
- We have no idea where the world is going, except that it's going there very fast.
- Speech to Kenan Ethics department, 2009.
From Optimism to Hope (2004)Edit
- If we are to cherish freedom, and to guard it, we must remember what the alternative is: the bread of affliction and the bitter herbs of slavery.
- p. 42
- Marriage, sanctified by the bond of fidelity, is the nearest life gets to a work of art.
- p. 69
- The twenty-first century is, and will remain, the Age of Insecurity.
- p. 71
The Authorised Daily Prayer Book (4th ed 2006)Edit
- The first of the "request" prayers in the daily Amidah is a fractal. It replicates in miniature the structure of the Amidah as a whole.
- p.XVII
- The meaning of the word "true" here is similar to the word Amen said after a blessing. It is an act of affirmation and ratification, reminding us that the Shema is less a prayer than a declaration of faith.
- pp.386-7
The Case for God, first broadcast on BBC1, 6 September 2010Edit
- Faith is not a certainty. Faith is the courage to live with uncertainty.
- Judaism is the refusal to give way to despair.
- In Judaism faith means wrestling with God as Jacob once wrestled with an angel...


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Awards Relashio has won:
I love coding and making graphics. I kind of think of them like puzzles that I get to solve and I absolutely adore puzzles. I'm actually a Slytherclaw though I adore Slytherin House and tend to feel it is under appreciated by... everyone. If that makes me evil, I take pride in it!


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Moderators: Minimalist, MichelleH
Ishtar wrote:But I'm still curious as to why you're marring photos with copyright notices that aren't your own, and are already freely available in the public domain - i.e. Google images.
PaulMarcW wrote: I don't think using bars makes things mine. Things with bars have no value to others.
Forum Monk wrote:Well, as anyone who uses my own words or images inevitably finds themselves assimilated within the memetic gestalt of my extended media-phenotype, and is thus in essence reduced to little more than a remote drooling mouthpiece for my will, I say go ahead - quote me.
uh...waiting....still waiting....
Not feeling it WA.
Forum Monk wrote:
In some threads, Mr. Washington, I have asked some direct questions but been ignored. Are you put off my approach to asking or is there another problem?
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Stephen Colbert, in Rare Out-of-Character Moment, Lends Voice to 'It Gets Better' Project [VIDEO]
Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's conservative news spoof 'The Colbert Report,' added his name to the long line of celebs and notables who've shot videos for Dan Savage's It Gets Better project. The campaign's goal is to let LGBT kids know that while they may be enduring taunts from bullies right now, life can and does get better.
What's truly remarkable about Colbert's piece is that he dropped his blowhard TV persona to do it. Colbert is famous for staying in character at all times, even when testifying before Congress, so it's rare for him to appear on camera as just himself.
[via Nerve]


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The Mets have lost 13 of 15 games and their season has long since gone from a fade to a collapse. And, knowing there won't be a season-saving deal, what's the use of watching these guys?
I'll tell you.
Now, you know me as anything but a homer. Of all the Mets' bloggers, I just might be one of the more critical. Even so, there's still a lot to like about watching this team.
Remember, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year, and we're about to see how they response from adversity. Winning a half-dozen games in July has dug an enormous hole.
Here's why I still tune them in:
David Wright: He's having a great season, his recent slump notwithstanding. He's shown us again and again he's not only the face, but the heart of this franchise. It's time to reward him with the extension he deserves.
R.A. Dickey: Yes, he's had some bumps lately, but he's also thrown a pair of one-hitters. He gives the Mets a chance every time he pitches.
Daniel Murphy: The man without a position in spring training has taken to second base. He's not Ryne Sandberg, but he's improving daily.
Ruben Tejada: I won't say, `Jose who?' But, he's shown he can handle shortstop and the bat. A keeper, and for years to come.
Tim Byrdak and Josh Thole: So what if they got into it in the dugout last week. They showed they still care. The losing regardless, their hearts remain in it. If they care, then maybe we should, too. This has been a resilient bunch all year. They still might have a run in them, and it's worth watching to find out.


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Meredith Liberto
Hometown: New Milford, Conn.
Major: Biochemistry, American Chemical Society approved
WCSU Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry
Internships: Five-year intern at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceutical Company in the departments of Immunology and Inflammation, Translational Sciences, and Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics
ACTIVITIES: Chemistry club president and member; volunteer chemistry tutor; National Society of Collegiate Scholars member; dual presenter at WestConn Research Day; "Step into the World International Women's Day" for justice and peace at Franciscan's International, New York City participant; American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans participant; supplementary instructor for general chemistry courses; American Chemical Society; Handy Dandy Man Ministry "Rake and Bake" fall yard cleanup for the elderly and disabled
Honors and Awards: Dean's List; Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award, 2009; American Institute of Chemistry Award, 2009; General Assembly Citation for Academic Achievements, 2009; WCSU Honors Program; WCSU Academic Scholarship; WCSU Alumni Association Scholarship; Student Leadership Recognition Award; Boehringer Ingelheim Connecticut Business and Industry Association Fellowship Grant
Meredith Liberto began her collegiate studies at the University of Sciences in Philadelphia, Penn., pursuing a doctorate of pharmacy. "After four days, I knew I had to come home because I was extremely homesick," she explains. "Although the WCSU semester had already started, the admission deadline had not passed yet. My mother played an instrumental role in my transition from Philadelphia to WCSU. Since I was still in Philadelphia, she met with admissions counselors, submitted my paperwork, and compiled a course schedule for me. I applied, was accepted to WCSU, and rescued from Philadelphia all in the same day. On the way home, I took a self- guided tour of the Midtown campus and prepared for classes the next day. I never had a formal orientation or official tour of the WCSU campus, but leaving Philadelphia and coming to WCSU was the greatest decision I ever made!"
Despite the challenges she encountered her first year of college, WCSU proved to be the best choice for her, Liberto says. "The new, state-of–the-art science facilities and small class sizes were definitely a reason to come to here! I was shocked transitioning from a general chemistry class of hundreds to only 30. In addition, I had never met such a supportive and encouraging faculty and staff. The chemistry department really took me under their wing and relayed a sense of confidence and knowledge when it came to biochemistry."
Liberto says the entire WestConn chemistry faculty has mentored her, especially department of chemistry chair Dr. Paula Secondo and chemistry faculty member Richard Molinelli. "Through their personal experiences and scientific knowledge, the WCSU chemistry department has significantly contributed to my academic, professional and personal success," she says. "Words cannot describe the impact this department has had on my life. I am so grateful for their expertise, friendship, and little 'life lessons.'" Additionally, Liberto's internship provided her with a valuable resource. "Dr. Joseph Woska, my senior research mentor at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceutical Company, has become my greatest inspiration," she says. "His passion and knowledge of science has inspired me to work hard, to pursue all opportunities, to never be afraid to make mistakes, and to strive for excellence. His example and expertise has shaped me into the scientist I am today!"
Asked what she will remember most about her WestConn experience, Liberto says, "Attending the American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans, La. Attending the ACS National Meeting provided an opportunity for me to explore current areas of scientific research, network with senior scientists, attend career enhancement seminars, and explore the city of New Orleans and sample its unique culture. This experience was very exciting and special because I got to share it with my WCSU mentor and friends!"
After graduation, Liberto plans to pursue a job in the pharmaceutical industry in order to enhance her laboratory skills and gain some work experience. "I hope to continue my education and pursue graduate school in the near future," she says.
Liberto's advice to new students entering WCSU is: "In the words of my Boehringer Ingelheim mentor, Dr. Joseph Woska, 'Go big or go home.' Take risks, push yourself, pursue your passions, and strive to do your personal best. Always remember to believe in yourself and surround yourself with good company."


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Margaret's Clean Slate
Name: Margaret Lewis
Location: Spokane, Washington
Your Home Office Organization or Tech Tip: If possible put your office in a place that you enjoy being in. Makes all the difference if you are working in a space that feels good. Make a to-do list for the day. One project at a time on the desk but my favorite tip is to dust the desk at the end of the day, helps to put things where they belong and start the next day with a clean "slate."
Do you like Margaret's home office? Spread the word about Margaret's workspace and also be eligible to win your own Apple iPad by tweeting this entry using the button below. We'll be choosing a random winner from all readers who use Twitter to share their favourite setups from The Perfect Workspace Contest. Or better yet, double your chances and enter your own home office or studio at our contest page.
For information or to enter your home office or studio in Unplggd's 2010 The Perfect Workspace Contest, visit our contest and entry page.


text: If a single tweet is to be believed, then it certainly appears that LB Jonathan Walton of Daphne, AL plans to sign with USC Wednesday at 1:00 PM at his school. But outside of last night's Twitter message, there's nothing else to go on at this point. "I can't say one way or another because I'm not 100% sure," Walton's coach Phil Lazenby said Monday morning. "It sounds like it (a USC commitment). I'm not going to make his announcement for him. I don't want to take away from his announcement." Walton has not commented about his apparent decision other than his tweet Sunday night.


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Plagger - Pluggable RSS/Atom Aggregator
% plagger -c config.yaml
Plagger is a pluggable RSS/Atom feed aggregator and remixer platform.
Everything is implemented as a small plugin just like qpsmtpd, blosxom and perlbal. All you have to do is write a flow of aggregation, filters, syndication, publishing and notification plugins in config YAML file.
See http://plagger.org/ for cookbook examples, quickstart document, development community (Mailing List and IRC), subversion repository and bug tracking.
If you find any bug, or you have an idea of nice plugin and want help
on it, drop us a line to our mailing list
http://groups.google.com/group/plagger-dev or stop by the IRC
#plagger at irc.freenode.net.
Tatsuhiko Miyagawa <firstname.lastname@example.com>
See AUTHORS file for the name of all the contributors.
Except where otherwise noted, Plagger is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.


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WASHINGTON – Even though Arizona remained red on the 2012 electoral map, organizers of the state's solidly blue Latino voters were optimistic this week about the growing clout of their political bloc.
That's because their numbers continue to grow – Latinos are expected to account for half of the state's population by midcentury – and as they do, more of them are becoming eligible to vote and younger Hispanics are becoming more active.
Ignoring Latino voters is not something political parties can do from here on out, said Joseph Garcia, director of the Morrison Institute Latino Public Policy Center.
"You are not going to be able to win an election without the Latino vote. This was perhaps the last time in Arizona," Garcia said.
But this last time was not necessarily the best time for Latino voters, based on election results alone.
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney won the state easily even though 74 percent of Arizona's Latino voters supported President Barack Obama, according to a CNN exit poll.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known for his unyielding positions on immigration, won a sixth term despite a stiff challenge from Democrat Paul Penzone.
And Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Mesa, won the race for Senate by a comfortable margin over Democratic nominee Richard Carmona, who is of Puerto Rican descent.
But advocates said the final results were much closer than they would have been without the participation of a growing, active group of Latino voters.
The idea that Tuesday's losses show that Latino voters are not relevant in Arizona politics is "crap," said James Garcia, chairman of Arizona Latino Research Enterprise.
Garcia – no relation to the Morrison Institute's Garcia – said Latino voters allowed Penzone, an "unknown" with a small campaign budget, to come within 10 percentage points of Arpaio, an incumbent with a multimillion-dollar war chest.
"This election and others are providing tangible proof that Latinos are a political force," James Garcia said.
Joseph Garcia said both major parties will have to find ways to attract and retain Latino voters in the future. While Latinos and Republicans agree on many issues, such as faith and patriotism, he said the GOP's hard line on immigration has been seen by some as anti-Latino and has turned some Hispanic voters away.
The two most important issues to Latino voters in Arizona were immigration and the economy, according to Latino Decisions, a political opinion research firm.
The Census Bureau said there were 1.9 million Hispanics in Arizona in 2010, just under 30 percent of the population. About a third of them cannot vote because they are not citizens, said Joseph Garcia, but that will change as their American-born children reach voting age.
While a Morrison Institute report said Latinos could account for more than half the state by midcentury, Joseph Garcia said change could come sooner than that. If current political trends hold, Arizona could be Democrat-blue by 2025, he said. And political strategists, candidates and the parties are probably planning for 2016.
"The next political campaign is already being shaped out," he said.
That's true even though the 2012 election is not over yet: The Arizona secretary of state's office reported Thursday that 631,274 early and provisional ballots had yet to be counted.
Those ballots "very well could have an impact on the elections," said Matt Roberts, a spokesman for the office.


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Tea party threat defused, Hatch wants to do a deal
Rare is the Tea Party-tested Republican senator who hangs an image of the Kennedys' Hyannisport home over his desk and shows off the painter's personal inscription.
"Orrin," reads the note, scribbled below a cobalt-blue sea. "We'll leave the light on at the compound for you anytime. Ted Kennedy, '91."
The beacon of bipartisanship that defined their odd-couple relationship still guides Utah's Orrin Hatch. He didn't advertise it as he wooed and won over the tea partiers who, two years ago, toppled fellow conservative Robert Bennett from his Senate perch.
But now, with his state's Senate GOP nomination in hand and re-election to a seventh term all but assured, Hatch, 78, can think about his legacy.
He's very clear about what he wants: As the senior Republican in the Senate, his party's top voice on the tax-writing Finance Committee, Hatch wants a deal that restructures the tax code while also slowing and even stopping the government's accumulation of debt. To get it, he says he'll practice the art of compromise over the take-my-marbles-and-leave mentality that has tied up Congress in recent years.
"There has to be a course correction," Hatch said in a recent interview. "If I am chairman of the Finance Committee, you can bet your sweet bippy I will take a leading role."
A new tax code, he says, would have to be bipartisan to pass Congress and, as importantly, have credibility with the Americans who will fork over large chunks of their paychecks under it. Orchestrating it will require a delicate touch with Washington's most muscular interest groups and stubborn factions of both parties.
In the vaulted Capitol hideaway office he inherited from Kennedy -- the seascape hanging nearby -- Hatch offered a reality check on how lawmaking happens.
"Neither side is going to get everything they want," he said. "But it is important that we move ahead, and that we do the art of the doable to pull this country out of the fiscal morass it's in. And I think we can."
Hatch can be so explicit about compromise now because he is the ultimate Senate survivor:
--Of his own stern, televised reading of "The Exorcist" during the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
--Of a failed presidential bid in 2000 that was dwarfed by the George W. Bush juggernaut.
--Of his vote for the 2008 bank bailout, an apostasy to the same tea partiers who ousted Bennett.
--And in June, of the first real threat to re-election since winning his Senate seat in 1976.
Washington's political tribal chiefs know that the conservatism Hatch has emphasized in his re-election campaign co-exists with an interest in getting results on Capitol Hill and a long-demonstrated willingness to compromise.
The type of real, red-faced debate that delighted Hatch and Kennedy also produced landmark laws like the American Disabilities Act and children's health insurance. With former Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, the bellowing begat federally subsidized child care. Tense talks with no less a partisan than Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., produced a patent exemption that cleared the way for the generic drug industry.
Hatch's last two years of ideological purity -- a 100 percent rating from the American Conservative Union, compared with an average 84 percent rating the previous five years -- may have been driven by a survival instinct, but it still irritates some.
Vice President Biden recalled how the Utah Republican was an original co-sponsor of his 1994 bill that became the Violence Against Women Act, only to vote against its renewal and expansion this year.
"Orrin and I always had a good personal relationship. We disagreed on a lot but where we found common ground, we worked together," Biden said in a statement to The Associated Press. "I hope those days return."
Tax reform could well be Hatch's enduring legacy. The contours of the debate are clear and broadly philosophical: Republicans think the government levies enough taxes already but growing the economy would produce more revenue. Democrats say the wealthiest are not taxed enough.
Much, of course, depends on who wins the White House and control of Congress.
Here is where the debate would start: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney agrees with Hatch that there should be a one-year extension on all of the Bush-era tax cuts, then comprehensive tax reform. President Barack Obama wants to let those tax cuts expire for Americans making more than $250,000 a year, and then do reform.
Hatch would have great say in where the discussion ends -- with a new tax code, a collapse of talks or something in-between. He has willing negotiating partners in both parties, beginning with his Democratic counterpart atop the Finance Committee hierarchy, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, and including some of the most agile dealmakers in Congress.
"Orrin is good, one of the best," says Waxman.
No one suggests that Hatch, for all his red meat bluster lately, comes back to the Senate next year any less of a dealmaker. Right now, longtime colleagues say, Hatch is doing what Hatch does best: adapt to the "rhythms of change."
"Politics is not a static business. The ability of someone who's good at this, and unfortunately we don't give enough credit for it, is the ability to understand that the public's mood is not static either," Dodd, now president and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, said in an interview. "Orrin's got a very good ear. And he used it."
The South Carolina Republican who calls himself "Sen. Tea Party" attributes Hatch's longevity to engaging, rather than dismissing, critics from the right.
"He didn't go home and try to explain to people why they were wrong," said Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a chief patron of tea party candidates. "He went home and listened."
By the time the tea party had defeated Bennett in a state convention two years ago, Hatch was already on the move. He faced voters deeply suspicious about Washington insiders. For those who said that 36 years in office was enough, he said that he wouldn't be running again if it weren't for the chance he'll become chairman of the Finance Committee. For those who said he wasn't conservative enough, he gravitated to the right.
Hatch also spent about $10 million on a campaign unlike any Utah had seen. He won endorsement from Romney, another of Utah's favorite sons. In the state's June primary running against former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist, Hatch won two-thirds of the vote.
Three months from the general election, Hatch is still riling up the base. He'll casually toss off a comment about how he doesn't understand why Obama's experience as a community organizer qualifies him to lead the country. He framed Obama's plans to tax the wealthiest Americans as an attack on small businesses.
For many, the question is whether Hatch hews to conservatism in what are sure to be tough negotiations on taxes and changing entitlement benefit programs.


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PITTSFIELD — Earlier this month, Mark Amero flew to Peru, hoping to make a difference in the lives of orphaned children.
PITTSFIELD — Earlier this month, Mark Amero flew to Peru, hoping to make a difference in the lives of orphaned children.
He'll spend February volunteering at a very understaffed medical clinic and orphanage run by nuns.
"I was tired of seeing people being too poor and have no entitlement," he said prior to his trip. "So I wanted to go to another country and see what I can offer those who truly needed help."
Amero, along with six other Americans from around the U.S., are participating in the goodwill excursion through the Global Volunteer Network. Based in New Zealand, GVN for the past 11 years has provided volunteers for grassroots organizations in 19 countries on five continents.
According to the GVN, the other volunteers will be teaching English, building schools and orphanages, and assisting on wildlife, conservation and agricultural projects in and around Cusco.
GVN participants must pay their own transportation costs and living expenses while overseas. Amero says he raised well over $3,200 to fund his trip.
Currently unemployed, the health care professional saw an opportunity to use his down time and skill-set to help children without families.
"I have a chance to be an influence to a child," he said "I'll get to sit down and play games with them."
As the historical capitol of the Inca Empire, the city is Peru's major tourist area, drawing tourists from around the world. However, few visitors see the struggles of the region's rural population, more than half of which live below the poverty line, according GVN.
The organization's founder, Colin Salisbury, says the volunteers' visit will be far from a relaxing vacation.
"Mark will be working five days a week and will be provided simple living arrangements," Salisbury said in a written statement. "His dedication and the impact he will have are noteworthy."
Amero says he plans to learn more about the people he's helping, during his weekends off.
"I do intend to see Machu Picchu and there's also the beautiful country side," he noted. "There's a lot to do in Cusco."
Machu Picchu was built by the Incas in 1450, and abandoned a century later around the time of the Spanish conquest. The site was unknown to the outside world, until it was brought to international attention in 1911 by American historian Hiram Bingham. Since its discovery, Machu Picchu has been under constant restoration and is a destination spot for thousands of international visitors each year.


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What are your digital goals?
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We play to win and our strategy is to out-perform the competition. If that means 18-hour days, great. If it means developing new innovative tech, awesome. If it means picking up the bar tab, well, that's one we really enjoy. Our solutions are based on ensuring that regardless of how successful you are now, there's always more. That means we're always learning, always creating new platforms, and consistently working with our clients to make sure that they're getting everything they need, and more. The bottom line is that we deliver performance-based innovation that maximizes your business potential, and we have fun while we're doing it.
AdReady is a digital media execution partner for advertisers and publishers. AdReady provides customizable, turnkey, platform-based services that deliver cross-channel solutions designed to drive campaign performance.
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Hey everyone,
I have had some success playing pet battles and doing pet dailies on my android tablet, just wanted it to share it with the rest of you in case your interested. It's a little tricky to play normal WoW this way, but since pet battles are turn based, it's cake! As a warning, this is not for everyone since playing on a touch screen with occasionally bad lag (depending on your connection speed) can be pretty frustrating and not worth it, but I am a big fan.
1. Name of the app is Splashtop THD (normally 20 bucks, I bought it for 10 on sale). It's an app designed to only work with a Tegra 3 processor, however I do not have a tegra 3, I have the galaxy note 10.1 and I only had to put a checkbox into "compatability mode" to make it work with my tablet (otherwise it just gave me a black screen while I was remoted). I can't promise that other non tegra 3's will work, but I read a few places online that they do.
A) Splashtop THD lets you remote desktop into your home computer, and play/view anything you want. The THD version has a built in on screen joystick/buttons with a WoW profile already built in (watch the ad videos to get an understanding of it). So your home PC is running it, your just streaming your home PC screen to your tablet via the interwebs.
B) when on the same router as your computer, it's surprisingly smooth with the right optimization. Run the app at 1280x720 or lower (seems to be noticeably less laggy)
C) I highly recommend the "always adjust camera" setting in WoW, because the first time you hit lag and try to adjust your camera angle, you will be very frustrated.
D) so left thumb moves the virtual joystick, and right thumb anywhere on the screen is as if your holding down the right mouse button to turn, takes a bit of getting used to.
2. Why THD and not the other splashtop remote apps? THD has the built in controller and seems to be optimized better for games. It is also appears to currently have no subscription fee (the main splashtop app has a $1.99 a month fee and runs noticeably slower and uglier for me)
3. Read some online resources to optimize your remote connection (including opening the splashtop ports on your firewall, this is super important for a major, major difference in lag).
4. Then log in/que for a pet battle or navigate to your dailies and crush from your couch/work/school/beach hammock works best when your home machine is hardwired to your router (wireless connections usually limit/lower your speed).
That's pretty much it, I recommend sticking to wi-fi if you can, 3g/4g might be brutal! Let me know if any of you end up trying and liking/hating it!


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Recently, I read an article about a new open-source "cloud operating system" called OSv, which was written by the creator of the popular KVM hypervisor. This cloud operating system is designed to run applications in virtual machines extremely fast via a stripped down version of Linux. In other words, it is a custom operating system that runs inside a virtual machine and efficiently runs only a single application.
If you Google "cloud operating system," you will find an ambiguous mess with at least four distinct concepts showing up on the first page of results (not to mention an outdated and incorrect Wikipedia page that is in desperate need of disambiguation). The four different purported meanings of "cloud operating system" in the search results are:
So, will the REAL cloud operating system please stand up? Or, in other words, what is the proper definition of a cloud operating system?
The best way to settle this would be to use the established definition of a "computer operating system" as our baseline. A "computer operating system" is the system (or collection) of programs that enables usage of a computer's hardware by one or more applications, which then enables usage by end-users.
Given that, the proper definition of a cloud operating system would be the set or collection of software that enables usage of a cloud environment (or pooled computing resources) by one or more applications that in turn enable usage by end-users. In other words, just as an end-user application is not an operating system, an end-user cloud application is not a cloud operating system.
Thus, in my opinion, the only meaning of the four above that properly deserves the moniker of "cloud operating system" is the second one (OpenStack's definition). The other ones should change their labeling (and possibly marketing) to more accurately match their meaning.
Overall, this type of ambiguity is an indicator of the rapid evolution of cloud computing and the consequences of that torrid pace of change. On the bright side, this is also an indicator of the high-level of interest, opportunity and innovation in cloud computing that is a harbinger of more good things to come.
Michael C. Daconta (firstname.lastname@example.com) is the Vice President of Advanced Technology at InCadence Strategic Solutions and the former Metadata Program Manager for the Homeland Security Department. His new book is entitled, The Great Cloud Migration: Your Roadmap to Cloud Computing, Big Data and Linked Data.
Posted by Michael C. Daconta on Jan 22, 2014 at 10:31 AM
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what about the Linux (Ubuntu) cloud OS ??
it is only available for server, i still not get an exact idea about it
I see your point, but the intent of the column was to highlight different approaches to cloud by setting up a simple logical exercise: take a broad consensus definition of a computer operating system and use it to compare some of the most repeated claims made about various approaches to cloud tossed out from a random Google search. In doing so, Mike settled on OpenStack as having most in common with a traditional operating system. The real message seems to be that ambiguity among the flavors of cloud is a sign of change. All in all, a useful caveat emptor to have in today's swirling cloud marketplace.
I'll be first to admit to my lack of deep technical knowledge but the fact that a VP and former program director at DHS seems vexed by cloud OS is incomprehensible. Therefore,knowing Daconta is no dummy, I must conclude that this article was written for a purpose other than to profess his idiocy, which immediately erodes his credibility. Jokers like this continuously attempt to mystify these offerings by the worlds leading cloud providers in an attempt to sell more books and keep the door open for the little guys who don't have a solid offering to compete with the likes of Oracle and Microsoft. Who, with separate approaches have both offered the world perfectly definable and viable cloud OSs. My advise, have a GCN author without an agenda or book to sell call Microsoft or Oracle and set up a briefing on the use of enterprise cloud resources. Then write an article worth reading. GCN is constantly pandering to whoever will by add space and reporting on government IT activities that anyone working in government IT knew about last week or got in their latest FedBizOps update. I must stop the madness and cancel my subscription.
Very narrow and almost deceptive logic in your conclusion. I can only assume you are biased toward FOSS solutions to a fault. what about VM and their cloud efforts. They have all the components of OpenStack and a lot more. Yes, the term is difficult, but it doesn't have one conclusion as you have illogically concluded
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Israel's Dr. StrangeloveWritten by Stephen Lendman Subject: Israel
by Stephen Lendman
Uniting Netanyahu and Lieberman is bad enough. Combined with Uzi Arad's influence makes it combustible. More on him below.
Netanyahu and Lieberman represent the worst of rogue Israeli leadership. Both are out-of-control warmongers. They're also war criminals. They deserve prison, not high office.
They deplore peace. They spurn democratic values. Why Israelis tolerate them they'll have to explain. They should vote them out of office instead.
In January they'll have a chance. Don't bet they'll do the right thing. Elections rarely resolve things. More often in recent decades they make them worse.
Haaretz expressed concern. An October 29 editorial headlined "Moment or Truth," saying:
"A special responsibility lies on the shoulders of several major Likud figures, members of the party's more moderate wing, most of whom have been holding their peace. This is a test for those who are not part of Israel's extreme right."
Uniting Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu "requires all of Israel's political players to regroup and make some clear and binding statements to their voters, right now."
It's time for center and left-leaning parties to unite against this lethal combination. "It's time to act," said Haaretz. "Grumbling isn't enough now. This is a test for those who are not part of Israel's extreme right. This a moment of truth for Israeli politics."
Like America, Israel's been on a slippery slope to tyranny. Netanyahu elevated the risk. Partnered with Lieberman shifts it higher. Arad's influence makes regional or global catastrophe more likely.
In 2007, he and then opposition leader Netanyahu discussed Iran with Dick Cheney. They argued for "sufficient punch" to stop its nuclear program.
They urged "crippling sanctions," especially against oil exports, combined with "a clear and present credible military option that continuing the program would not succeed because inevitably it will bring military action."
Much the same things are said today. Then and now, Arad remains hardline in all respects. He opposes Palestinian self-determination. Gaining it will compromise Greater Israel ambitions, he claims.
Earlier he said, "We want to relieve ourselves of the burden of Palestinian populations, not the territories." Palestinians need "one man, one job," not "one man, one vote."
He advocates relocating many Palestinians to Sinai so Israel can more easily have all valued West Banks areas Arab free. Like other Israeli hardliners, he barely disguises his contempt for Islam.
He also founded the Herzliya Institute for Policy and Strategy. He established and chaired is annual Conference Series on the Balance of Israel's National Security.
It's the most important event on Israel's calendar. It attracts high-level Israeli and US politicians, military officials and diplomats. Key domestic and geopolitical security issues are featured. Views similar to Arad's are discussed.
Previously he was Advisor to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He was Founding Chairman of the Atlantic Forum of Israel. His Mossad career spanned 20 years. It included serving as its intelligence chief.
He was also a staff member with the neoconservative Hudson Institute and a Research Fellow at Tel Aviv University's Center for Strategic Studies.
He now teaches international strategy, Middle East politics and security, and transatlantic affairs at Israel's Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy.
He opposed Washington's 2003 Iraq war and Sharon's 2005 Gaza disengagement. He urged prioritizing Iran.
Last June, the Jerusalem Post headlined "Uzi Arad: World at 'moment of truth' on Iran," saying:
On the sidelines of the fifth International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, he said, "The Iranians want to get rid of sanctions against them, and the international community wants Iran to cease its nuclear program."
Events are now on a "collision path. Both sides have advanced. Iran advanced its nuclear program, and the international community has increased sanctions."
Arad formerly was Netanyahu's national security adviser. He's Israel's super-hawk. Some call him the nation's Dr. Strangelove. Stanley Kubrick's film satirically depicted a deranged general's obsession to wage nuclear war.
With or without portfolio, Arad has Netanhayu's ear. Perhaps he has more influence than anyone. He wants Iran's nuclear capability ended in any form.
He believes current sanctions are ineffective. Despite no evidence whatever that Iran has nuclear weapons ambitions, he claims Tehran wants to acquire them.
Last July, Haaretz headlined "Israel's former national security adviser warns against wasting time on Iran," saying:
Earlier it would have been easier to stop Tehran, he believes. Now it's much harder. "It's a crying shame." He calls a nuclear Iran "akin to Auschwitz."
"The Iranian challenge is the supreme challenge." He believes America is coming around to favor resolving it militarily. He believes the road to Tehran runs through Washington.
"It's clear that only the United States can ensure for the long-term that Iran does not go nuclear. So it is obvious that our central objective must be to achieve an unshakable American-Israeli partnership on the issue."
He believes dealing with Iran requires deterrence. America must take the lead, he says. Unilateral Israeli action won't work. He stopped short of revealing state secrets or Israel's chosen strategy.
At the same time, he wants Iran to halt all nuclear enrichment for starters. He insists its entire nuclear capability must end.
Otherwise he calls attacking the Islamic Republic legitimate. He wants America and NATO partners taking the lead.
Stopping Iran before it's too late is vital, he argues. He, Netanyahu, Lieberman, and other Israeli hardliners obsessively crave regional dominance. Claiming an Iranian nuclear threat is red herring cover to eliminate their main regional rival.
Crippling Iranian oil exports and surgically striking Tehran's nuclear facilities and military capability is his strategy of choice. He rejects the notion that attacking Iran will embroil the entire region.
He's hardline and uncompromising. He believes attacking Iran is far less risky than living with its "nuclear threat." He claims having these weapons would "enhance the clout of a militant, extremist Islamic regime."
Arab states would want their own programs. Proliferation would make the region nightmarish, he believes. Destroying Iran's nuclear program should be prioritized.
All means should be employed, he argues. It's vital to enhance Israel's regional dominance, he claims. It may, in fact, hasten its demise.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at email@example.com.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.


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1999-2000 Outside ScholarshipsThroughout the year, the Office of Admissions receives notices of scholarships that are offered through external organizations. Information about the scholarship awards that are currently available is listed below. Award notices are listed by the date on which they were posted.
Another good source of information about outside scholarship awards
is fastWEB on the internet. This site maintains a searchable database
of over 400,000 scholarship awards for which you may apply. You can
visit the fastWEB site at http://www.fastweb.com.


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The autoassault has a bad habit of defaulting to the first option alphabetically. Twice today this meant I attacked a neutral and followed up into a dead end without realizing, messing with both turns severely.
It would be greatly appreciated if the assault drop down target menu defaulted to the first noneutral instead.


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BRISTOL, Tenn. – For the third time this season, a King University women's volleyball player has been named Tennessee Sportswriters Association Player of the Week. This week, King's Maribeth Kern earned those honors after leading the Tornado to a 4-0 week last week.
The Buchanan, Va., native collected 17 kills and 15 digs in a 3-1 victory over Limestone College, her sixth double-double of the year. The sophomore followed that with 11 kills at Lees-McRae College and added five kills and six digs versus Johnson C. Smith. King has won 18 consecutive matches after losing 3-of-4 to begin the season.
For the week, the sophomore posted 33 kills and 24 digs, an average 3.30 kills and 2.40 digs per set. She is second on the club with 184 kills and 199 digs in 72 sets played.
The Tornado have a slow week this week as their only match its on Tuesday night when they host North Greenville University at 7:00 p.m.


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Damage, in his infinite wisdom, gave me the keys to this baby. I will be moderating this forum. If you need anything from Damage, ask him now, obviously, his jet-lag coming back from Taiwan overcame his good judgement.
A little background:
Until recently, I was a diehard PC techie. I have since seen the light and realized that Macs are definitely cool. I still game on the PC, but my laptop is a new Powerbook 667 (most recent rev.) with all the bells and whistles.
I am still learning on this machine, so I probably won't be able to answer many techincal questions, but I am hoping that we have a few experts here that can help out.
My expectations:
I'm pretty easy to get along with. My only request is that you avoid flamewars; this includes the occasional grenade thrown over at the PC guys. If we are going to win this battle, we need to be the rational ones, not the foaming at the mouth fanatics they make us out to be. Personal attacks are also not welcome. Argue facts, not heritage, sexuality, parentage, or nationality.
A word to Windows and other OS fans:
You are welcome here. I think there is an awful lot of tunnel-vision on both sides of the OS debate. Please feel free to share your opinions. However, obvious trolls will be closed or deleted.
That being said, let the fun begin!


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We embarked on some personal archeology this past weekend. Which is to say, we cleaned the garage.
We do this periodically. What's interesting is that we get rid of stuff in layers: our own private dig. We keep things we don't use, if we have a place for them somewhere, only to finally send them off to junk heaven a few years down the line. And so every time we tackle this job from hell, we get yet another reminder of the way we were.
Among the things we excavated on Sunday (some of which we chucked, some we saved): An ornate, heavy 70's-era wrought iron wine opener, the kind with a fat lever, that stands three-feet tall on a bar (Never used it.) A paper shredder. (Never used that either) A year's worth of paper grocery bags equivalent to all the days we forgot to bring our cloth bags. Black garbage sacks of deeply unattractive clothing and shoes. Florist vases. Coffee mugs with stupid sayings. The cedar-lined foot locker my husband brought to college when he was 17. Early edition Nancy Drew books. My grandmother's cutglass punch bowl. Of course we saved this one, though we haven't made punch since we were newlywed and broke.
(At this point, I should probably mention that just before my husband left for an emergency coffee run, we had a CSI moment when he chucked a box of old files into the overflowing recycling cart — along with his car keys, which fell to the bottom of the bin. Guess how we got them out.)
But the most revealing was the stuff left over from our family's youth. Fisher Price people that came with us twice to Europe. Boxes of picture books. Plastic trophies with signed softballs. Cabbage Patch Kids. A disco ball and lava lamp from one kid's college days. A box of hippie posters, Tarot cards and the like from the other's. What we didn't find — had we thrown these out at the last go-round? — were the numerous boy-band posters or boxes of 80's era cassette tapes. Bell Biv Devoe, anyone?
So there you are. We could wax nostalgic about a lot of these things. But there's a lot of blackmail material, too (ahem: boy bands?) But here's the thing. No matter how embarrassing these artifacts are, how incongruous with our current self-image, we deny at our own peril this roadmap of who we were that has led us to who we are.
All this crystalized for me when I clicked onto Maureen Dowd Wednesday morning and found a reference to Tuesday's Oprah, which reunited Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand, the stars of 1973's iconic love story, "The Way We Were." Surely, you've seen the movie. If not, you probably recognize the lyrics of the theme song? Misty watercolor memories. Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind…
Anyway, Dowd led me straight to Oprah where I found Redford talking about why he repeatedly turned down one of the most romantic leads ever. His role, a good-looking preppie and would-be novelist for whom things had always come easy, was too one dimensional, Redford said. 100 percent true to type. And thus, uninteresting. He kept saying no — until he found that flaw, that inconsistency that suddenly made the role real.
And here's the point. Staying completely true to type, refusing to own our inner geeks, denying those hints of who we were or those embarrassing inconsistencies is not only dull but exhausting, too, when every decision we make — from what we wear to what we do — must conform to the standards set out by some arbiter of taste. Or type.
Look no further than Facebook, where the individual presentation of self is often calculated and predictable. One-dimensional. Which is too bad, really. Because how much more interesting, for example, is the intellectual who can talk about both Donnie Darko — and The Hangover. Or the feminist who once played with dolls and can teach you how to hide your under-eye circles. Or the fashionista who laces up her soccer cleats once a week. Or the big city scenester who also loves cheesy holiday movies that make her cry. Or the foodie who loved doughnuts even before they were declared cool. Or the writer who can freely admit she doesn't have a novel in the drawer — and likely never will.
Something we heard over and over again when we were researching our book was that one sure route out of the choice conundrum is to know yourself. Your real self. That's not who you'll find on your Facebook page. It's more than likely the self that's hidden in the back of your garage.
But meanwhile, back to Redford: The flaw he excavated? Deep inside the facade of the preppie for whom everything came easy was a guy who was terrified of expectations, especially the ones pushed on him by Streisand's character, who wanted him to be, well, more. And there it was. The crack that made him real. That gave his character depth. And there, too, was the clash that ultimately led to one of the most heartbreaking moments in movie history.
Whew. Cue the music. (Note: spoiler alert)