text:
The library at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology is actively collecting published descriptions of the world's languages to be able to serve as a research library for both language specialists of less described languages and for comparative linguistic studies.
In addition to the acquisition of newly published works we are actively acquiring out-of-print books when deemed important for our goals. We also try to obtain copies of relevant "grey literature" (disserations, working papers, unpublished manuscripts) from universities all over the world. Currently, our worldwide collection of grammars, dictionaries and other descriptive works on less described languages amount to about 10,000 volumes.
In the library catalogue, all descriptive works relating to a particular language are tagged with an ISO 639-3 code (i.e. Ethnologue, 15th edition) to allow easy access and discovery of relevant literature. We also collect links to electronically available versions of literature on less described languages.


text:
Search dozens of job boards at once with the largest job board in the region.
Find jobs, employment services, child care, transportation options and more near you.
Who is hiring in the region and what occupations are being recruited?
Who are the people looking for work, and what are they searching for?
We are collecting data to better understand who is looking for work and what kind of opportunities jobseekers are searching for. This data is completely anonymous and non-personally identifiable.
Your Age:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
29 comments:
- krsinc said...
Well said Geoff. If you aren't willing to put your name behind your comments keep them to yourself. Geoff I always enjoy your candid unfiltered approach to your blog, don't change that because of a few haters.
- January 19, 2011 at 12:40 PM
- brownie said...
In defense of anonymous posters, without them Tony's nickname "Douche Rocket" would never have made it onto the interweb. I might have to start calling him John Lennon as well.
- January 19, 2011 at 1:04 PM
- jun said...
I couldn't agree more with what you've said or that of Kenneth's comment. If people can't stand up to be counted by name and face they should stow it.
Congrats on the win and good luck at UTMB. - January 19, 2011 at 1:05 PM
- HollyV said...
I love your blog, and I love the quality of discussion that often follows your posts. Agree completely with the decision to disallow anonymous posting. Keep up the good work, and congrats on the UROY; I am looking forward to see what you do this year!!
- January 19, 2011 at 1:11 PM
- Devon said...
I totally agree with your choice. As public as blogs are they can be an extension of us personally and a personal reflection on our chosen subject. Thus, it does sting when people take it as an opportunity to attack and say things they wouldn't likely say to one's face (and do it anonymously).
Having a lively discussion via comments and feedback is one thing. Disagreeing is perfectly ok. But it just seems kind of ridiculous that people go out of their way to say such negative things. - January 19, 2011 at 3:15 PM
- Drew Gunn said...
Geoff, thanks for the intelligent response to the anonymous slander that so often takes place on the internerd. If you are ever in the Durango area (maybe for Hardrock training?) it would be great to get out on a run with you. Keep up the good work.
- January 19, 2011 at 3:18 PM
- matteo said...
well done man!
Have fun at the UTMB, that race it's made for you. - January 19, 2011 at 5:04 PM
- Jon Allen said...
Belated congrats on the UROY award. And we all understand with limiting comments to people who will sign their name to them.
- January 19, 2011 at 6:27 PM
- Lab Admin said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- January 19, 2011 at 6:38 PM
- Justin Angle said...
Very well put, Geoff! Gotta make people take responsibility for their words, especially online and especially now.
Huge congrats on UROY!
-justin - January 19, 2011 at 6:42 PM
- Unknown said...
Perhaps those anonymous comment dropping haters are immersed in a competition of their own: Hater of the Year.
- January 19, 2011 at 6:45 PM
- Steve said...
Good choice. If someone wants to read a bunch of pointless, inflammatory, anonymous comments, there is always letsrun.com.
- January 19, 2011 at 7:08 PM
- Hone said...
Just read the ANON comments on your previous post and thought it sounded just like the trolling that goes on over at letsrun.
Anyways congrats on the repeat this year. You for sure deserved it. - January 19, 2011 at 7:53 PM
- HEATHERRUNS said...
Well, now you know you're 'famous' cuz you got your first taste of negative publicity :) my fav quote from Bill Cosby " I don't know the key to sucess, but the key to FAILURE is trying to please EVERYONE " And you just chose to not please everyone- good on ya!
Heather - January 19, 2011 at 10:29 PM
- Tatiana said...
Well, I did not read the comments until this post and almost never comment myself, although I read your and Tony's blogs on regular basis...
Having read the comments, I am surprised you did allow the anonymous comments before...
I must say I never read *anything* negative re. other runners from you or Tony, although Tony seems to ignore my few comments on his blog, well that's understandable ;-) Congratulations, Geoff and may be I'll have a chance to say hello to you before Mont Blanc... - January 19, 2011 at 10:31 PM
- Jeff said...
"At least this way we can all know who we are laughing AT" ---> great line! :)
- January 20, 2011 at 4:33 AM
- PaulDJesse said...
I personally think no one should ever be allowed to leave anon comments. The BS that goes on from internet tough guys is a joke. It's good to see you taking an approach to at least stop this kind of nonsense in your part of the cyber world.
-Anonymous (just kidding man) - January 20, 2011 at 4:42 AM
- J. Shearer said...
Ha, the anonymous guy was almost so out-fucking-landinsh that it was more comedic than offensive. Always going to be some dick out there trying to rile people up.
Congrats on your year and your award. You make me proud of our misfit sport. - January 20, 2011 at 7:29 AM
- Wyatt Hornsby said...
Geoff: Well said. As I previously said on here, I also had to turn on comments moderation on my blog. There was one anonymous poster who was writing that all of my running meant I was neglecting my son and this poster also questioned why my wife would want to stay with a derelict dad and uncaring husband. Lots of people with ill intentions out there.
I don't know Anton K. but I did meet him briefly before the Leadville 100 this past August. He took time to talk with everyone who approached him and seemed like a genuinely nice guy. I was duly impressed. I'm sure you're the same way.
One of the things I love about yor blog is that you are honest. I actually wrote a post on my own blog about what you said about prize money. You are making people think about and consider the future of the sport. Keep at it!
Wyatt - January 20, 2011 at 12:59 PM
- Billy said...
Good move. Here's to another great year Geoff.
- January 20, 2011 at 1:25 PM
- Paul Mastin said...
Hi Geoff! Sorry about those goofs. Thanks for keeping up this blog. We've never met, but if we ever race together, I'll be that middle-aged guy at the back of the pack, just happy to be on the trail. I'll keep dropping in here from time to time for news from the front of the pack! Keep it up!
- January 20, 2011 at 1:33 PM
- Unknown said...
Geoff, I respect the position you've taken about anonymous posts. When I maintained a blog, I was quite surprised at the relationship between anonymous postings & discourteous dialogue. It's as though people feel they can check their civility at the door if you don't know who they are. Keep posting - most of us want to know what you think. I gave up trying to analyze motivations when I stopped working as a clinical therapist 14 years ago! Mark (not "anonymous")
- January 20, 2011 at 7:12 PM
- robison52 said...
I've been reading your blog for over a year, but haven't posted a comment as I'm a beginner ultra-marathoner and didn't feel that I could post to what I considered an ultra-marathoner God! Nevertheless, your recent post of not allowing anonymous comments is a good idea as it also prevents spammers. I often feel those who make such negative comments are like certain members of my own non-running family...they think they make themselves bigger by knocking someone else down. Keep your chin up and keep fighting the good fight!
- January 21, 2011 at 8:30 AM
- wiglebot said...
The only downside is that you might be cutting off the shy girls writing about what a hunk they think you are.
- January 21, 2011 at 10:54 AM
- GMack said...
Sometimes these types of anonymous posts become self-policing because supporters come out to tell the anonymous coward they're full of it. Anyway, keep up the posts. Ultra commentary like what you write and other blogs like Karl's and AJW's are always interesting.
Congats on UROY, you earned it. - January 23, 2011 at 7:42 AM
- joerunner said...
Congratulations and well deserved!
- January 23, 2011 at 8:33 AM
- Unknown said...
I agree with your decision. If you are not willing to put your real name to your comment, then you should keep the comment to yourself. Have a great 2011!
- January 23, 2011 at 5:02 PM
- dannie chOOng said...
hey hey, congrats for being nominated as one of the "Best Running Blogs 2011" hope to read many more of your fantastic running stories. sending you greetings from Malaysia...
- January 23, 2011 at 9:15 PM
- Bruther said...
Totally agree with your decision, if someone posts anonymously they are obviously too scared to say what they say face to face and that equals cowardice. Anonymous negative comments hold absolutely no weight whatsoever.
- January 24, 2011 at 11:51 AM


text: When an accident results in a traumatic brain injury, treatment often begins at one of Beaumont's emergency departments, which offer state-of-the-art imaging and advanced telemetry for fast, accurate diagnosis of traumatic brain injuries. Research has shown that prompt, aggressive traumatic brain injury treatment is key to the best long-term outcomes. At Beaumont, our multidisciplinary team, including emergency staff, trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons and rehabilitation specialists, work together to begin immediate treatment. Planning for recovery begins within 24 to 48 hours of the patient's admission to ensure the best outcome. Head injuries are one of the most common causes of disability and death. The injury can be as mild as a bump, bruise (contusion), or cut on the head, or can be moderate to severe in nature due to a concussion, deep cut or open wound, fractured skull bone(s), or from internal bleeding and damage to the brain. A head injury is a broad term that describes a vast array of injuries that occur to the scalp, skull, brain, and underlying tissue and blood vessels in the head. Head injuries are also commonly referred to as brain injury, or traumatic brain injury (TBI), depending on the extent of the head trauma. What is a concussion? A concussion is an injury to the head area that may cause instant loss of awareness or alertness for a few minutes up to a few hours after the traumatic event. What is a contusion? A contusion is a bruise to the brain. A contusion causes bleeding and swelling inside of the brain around the area where the head was struck. What is a skull fracture? A skull fracture is a break in the skull bone. There are four major types of skull fractures, including the following: Linear Skull Fractures This type accounts for almost 70 percent of skull fractures. In a linear fracture, there is a break in the bone, but it does not move the bone. These patients are usually observed in the hospital for a brief amount of time, and can usually resume normal activities in a few days. No interventions are usually necessary. Depressed Skull Fractures This type of fracture may be seen with or without a cut in the scalp. In this fracture, part of the skull is actually sunken in from the trauma. Usually, this type of skull fracture requires surgical intervention to help correct the deformity. Diastatic Skull Fractures (children) These are fractures that occur along the suture lines in the skull. The sutures are the areas between the bones in the head that fuse with the growth of the child. In this type of fracture, the normal suture lines are widened. These fractures are more often seen in newborns and older infants. Basilar Skull Fracture This is the most serious type of skull fracture, and involves a break in the bone at the base of the skull. Victims with this type of fracture frequently have bruises around their eyes and a bruise behind their ear. They may also have clear fluid draining from their nose or ears due to a tear in part of the covering of the brain. These patients require close observation in the hospital. What causes bruising and internal damage to the brain? When there is a direct blow to the head, shaking of a child (as seen in many cases of child abuse), or a whiplash-type injury (as seen in motor vehicle accidents), the bruising of the brain and the damage to the internal tissue and blood vessels is due to a mechanism called coup-countercoup. A bruise directly related to trauma, at the site of impact, is called a coup lesion (pronounced COO). As the brain jolts backwards, it can hit the skull on the opposite side and cause a bruise called a countercoup lesion. The jarring of the brain against the sides of the skull can cause shearing (tearing) of the internal lining, tissues, and blood vessels that may cause internal bleeding, bruising, or swelling of the brain. Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury The following are the most common symptoms of a head injury. However, each person may experience symptoms differently. There may be varying degrees of symptoms associated with the severity of the head injury. The symptoms of a mild head injury may include: mild head injury raised, swollen area from a bump or a bruise small, superficial (shallow) cut in the scalp headache sensitivity to noise and light irritability confusion lightheadedness and/or dizziness problems with balance nausea problems with memory and/or concentration change in sleep patterns blurred vision "tired" eyes ringing in the ears (tinnitus) alteration in taste fatigue/lethargy moderate to severe head injury (that requires immediate medical attention)-symptoms may include any of the above plus: loss of consciousness severe headache that does not go away repeated nausea and vomiting loss of short term memory, such as difficulty remembering the events that led right up to and through the traumatic event slurred speech difficulty with walking weakness in one side or area of the body sweating pale in color seizures or convulsions behavior changes including irritable blood or clear fluid draining from the ears or nose one pupil (dark area in the center of the eye) looks larger than the other eye deep cut or laceration in the scalp open wound in the head foreign object penetrating the head coma (a state of unconsciousness from which a person cannot be awakened; responds only minimally, if at all, to stimuli; and exhibits no voluntary activities) vegetative state (a condition of brain damage in which a person has lost his thinking abilities and awareness of hiss surroundings, but retains some basic functions such as breathing and blood circulation) locked-in syndrome (a neurological condition in which a person is conscious and can think and reason, but cannot speak or move) The symptoms of a head injury may resemble other problems or medical conditions. Always consult your physician for diagnosis. Diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury The full extent of the problem may not be completely understood immediately after the injury, but may be revealed with a comprehensive medical evaluation and diagnostic testing. The diagnosis of a head injury is made with a physical examination and diagnostic tests. During the examination, the physician obtains a complete medical history and asks how the injury occurred. Trauma to the head can cause neurological problems and may require further medical follow up. Diagnostic tests may include: blood tests x-ray MRI CT scan electroencephalogram (EEG) Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Specific traumatic brain injury treatment will be determined based on: age, overall health, and medical history extent of the head injury type of head injury tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies expectations for the course of the head injury your opinion or preference Depending on the severity of the injury, traumatic brain injury treatment may include: ice rest topical antibiotic ointment and adhesive bandage observation immediate medical attention stitches hospitalization for observation diagnostic tests surgery Treatment of traumatic brain injury is individualized depending on the extent of the condition and the presence of other injuries. If you have a brain injury, you may require monitoring for increased intracranial pressure (pressure inside the skull). Head injury may cause the brain to swell. Since the brain is covered by the skull, there is only a small amount of room for it to swell. This causes pressure inside the skull to increase, which can lead to brain damage. How is ICP monitored? Intracranial pressure is measured in two ways. One way is to place a small hollow tube (catheter) into the fluid-filled space in the brain (ventricle). Other times, a small hollow device (bolt) is placed through the skull into the space just between the skull and the brain. Both devices are inserted by the physician either in the intensive care unit or in the operating room. The ICP device is then attached to a monitor that gives a constant reading of the pressure inside the skull. If the pressure goes up, it can be treated right away. While the ICP device is in place you will be given medicine to stay comfortable. When the swelling has gone down and there is little chance of more swelling, the device will be removed. Care often is initially handled in our neurosurgical intensive care areas, which feature state-of-the-art real-time intracranial pressure monitoring.


text:
Priorities USA Action, a superPAC backing President Obama, has unveiled a new ad running in Michigan in advance of that state's GOP primary next week. It takes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to task for opposing the auto industry bailout.
Both Romney and his leading GOP opponent, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, opposed the bailout. But it has been more of an issue for Romney given his family ties to Michigan's auto industry. (His late father, former Gov. George Romney, used to lead American Motors.)
And the spot implicitly reminds Michigan voters that Obama backed the bailout, which was first proposed by President George W. Bush.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
Number of ex-teachers joining the school workforce: 2021 to 2022
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Web Browser Extensions
Extending the capabilities of various web browsers so that they are better able to integrate with library content. Appropriate topics include both new browser extensions, as well as information about how to create them.
- 1 Bookmarklets
- 2 User Scripts
- 3 Kango - cross-browser extension framework
- 4 Crossrider Framework
- 5 Firefox Quick Search Keywords
- 6 Mozilla/Firefox Search Plugins
- 7 Internet Explorer Search Providers
- 8 Toolbars and Sidebars
- 9 Other Browser Extensions
- 10 Code Generators and Other Tools
- 11 Programming Resources
- 12 Journal Articles and Conference Presentations
- 13 Specific Blog Postings and Mailing List Messages
- 14 Weblogs (sometimes) covering this topic
- 15 Demos
- 16 Acknowledgments
Making Bookmarklets
- Bookmarklets from webreference.com
- Make Search Bookmarklet Tool from bookmarklets.com
- Karin Dalziel's instructions on how to create a Firefox search extension for any library using any OPAC by using the ffirefox "Add to search bar" extension. Also includes instructions on making the search auto discover on your library's web page.
Library-Related Bookmarklets
- The most famous bookmarklet, and the one which launched the idea of better browser integration with libraries, is Jon Udell's LibraryLookup.
- Peter Binkley's Google Scholar OpenURLs bookmarklet
- Homer Township Public Library's implentations of the LibraryLookup bookmarklet and a Search bookmarklet made from the bookmarklets.com make-your-own bookmarklet tool.
- Rijksmuseum Research Library Bookmarklet for MS Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox.
- FRBR Bookmarklets are similar to those available from Jon Udell (listed above), but take variant ISBNs in the same FRBR worksets into account FRBR Bookmarklets
- Canton Public Library's bookmarklet searches the current page for valid ISBNs, then presents a modal dialog with all works on the page available at the library.
General Bookmarklets
- www.bookmarklets.com has lots to try out.
- Jesse's Bookmarklets Site has lots too.
User Scripts
Making User Scripts
- Dive into Greasemonkey, while aimed at making Greasemonkey user scripts, has much content applicable to generic user script writing too.
- If you need help, you might try dunck.us GreaseMonkeyUserScriptRequest
Library-Related User Scripts
- One of the most famous user scripts turned Mozilla extension, is Book Burro by Jesse Andrews. See below for more information.
- There is a big list at http://userscripts.org/tags/library
- Also see the list at dunck.us GreaseMonkeyUserScriptsSpecific: Amazon
- Seattle Public Library
- Palo Alto Library
- Melvyl (University of California libraries)
- KVK (Germany)
- Lakeland Library Co-op (West Michigan)
- New York Public Library
- Toronto Public Library
- Timberland Regional Library (Washington State)
- Cass District Library (Michigan)
- Ann Arbor District Library (AADL, in Michigan)
- St. Joseph County Libraries (Indiana) - Official, blog.skagirlie.net report
- University of Huddersfield (UK) (Amazon.co.uk only)
Book Burro
Book Burro adds a panel to Amazon (and a few other web book shops') book pages that cross references book prices and links to the same book in other book stores. A branch of the Book Burro project (demonstration page here) has migrated back into user script form and also adds links to Google Book Search and shows book availability in a library, with extensive plans to cover and cross reference any library, in scope similar to that of Jon Udell's bookmarklet LibraryLookup project.
General User Scripts
- userscripts.org has lots to try out.
Kango - cross-browser extension framework
- Greasemonkey-like (userscripts) scripts to modify content of each loaded page.
- Background scripts.
- Browser button with the ability to change badge, icon, tooltip, etc.
- Popups.
- Auto-update.
- Cross-domain requests, storage API, etc.
Crossrider Framework
Crossrider is a new browser extension development framework aimed to solve all the cross browser issues when developing a cross browser extension.
Through a unified API you can write your cross browser extensions very easily and quickly. With its powerful API you can save large data in a local database (local cookies), do cross domain requests, create browser real estate (or buttons), run your code on each page, use browser notifications, access the users social graph with a Social API etc etc.
The language used to write the extensions are Javascript and it has a built in support for jQuery.
Firefox Quick Search Keywords
Quick Search Keywords can be used to make bookmarks you can invoke with a keyword, and even pass a parameter to. The original documentation appears to be offline, but it is available from the Internet Archive: Bookmark Keywords.
In a default Firefox install, you will find pre-created quick searches in Bookmarks->Quick Searches.
Mozilla/Firefox Search Plugins
A search plug-in allows you to access a search engine right from your browser, without having to go to the engine's page first. On Mozilla, you can access plugins via the Sidebar or the Location Bar. On Mozilla Firefox you use the search box on the toolbar.
- Add To Search Bar Firefox Extension Enables a contextual "Right click, Add to Search Bar" functionality in the browser.
- Mycroft. Advanced Mozilla-Search Plugin Documentation
- LibDev: How to create a Firefox Search Plugin
- LCLS Lab How to: Add Your Library Catalog to the Firefox Searchbar
- Seminole County Florida Library - (How to Create a) Mozilla Search Plugin (particularly for Horizon Information Portal)
Mozilla/Firefox Library and Academic Search Plugins
These are links to info, not direct links to the install.
- Library Search A collection of search plugins that search online library catalogs. To request a search plugin for your library, go to the Requests page.
- Academic Search Plugins
- RedLightGreen search plugin
- Ann Arbor District Library search plugin for Firefox (AADL plugin)
- Canton Public Library (MI) has a search provider with auto-suggest for Firefox and IE8+ (with jacket images) based on the title index
- Rijksmuseum Research Library search plugin
- Hennepin County Library (MN)
- You can find Yahoo and Google search plugins for WorldCat at the bottom of Open WorldCat-enabled Web tools
- Several for Colorado libraries have been created by Michael Sauers. Includes a link to a multimedia presentation on how to create Firefox search plugins.
- (Unofficial) Library Search Plugin, Open University, UK
- Homer Township Public Library catalog search plugin (Sirsi iBistro)
- Firefox Search Plugins for Digital Library resources (spanish)
- Firefox search plugin for the Lewis and Clark Library System (LCLS) and (Chicago) Metropolitan Library System (MLS)
- Winnefox Library System 28 different flavors of keyword catalog search Firefox extensions for Winnefox Library System's SirsiDynix catalog
- St. Joseph County Libraries (Indiana)
Internet Explorer Search Providers
Internet Explorer 7 support search providers, similar to (but with a completely different syntax than) Firefox search plugins.
- IEblog - Adding Search providers to IE 7 using OpenSearch 1.1 - September 14, 2005
- Anonymouse.org - Search provider for IE 7 to surf anonymously
- OpenSearch Description for the University of Huddersfield, also available as a search target at a9.com (further info available on this weblog)
Toolbars and Sidebars
Library or institutional toolbars/sidebars that work in browsers to give fast, easy access to catalogs, databases and other useful resources.
Library Toolbars
- Morrisville State College Libraries Toolbar - Created using Conduit.
- FastJack - Stanford Graduate School of Business, Jackson Library toolbar
- HALBar toolbar for The Appalachian School of Law Library.
- Barra Maldura - Una estensione per Firefox (Firefox only, in Italian) Toolbar for the Maldura Library, University of Padua (Italy).
- SBArra - Una barra di strumenti per le ricerche bibliografiche (Firefox only, in Italian) Toolbar for University of Padua Library System (Sistema Bibliotecario di Ateneo - SBA).
- Yahoo! OCLC Toolbar (Internet Explorer only).
- The KnowItNow Toolbar a service of the State Library of Ohio (Internet Explorer only).
- HCPL Toolbar Harris County Public Library Toolbar.
- HS/HSL Web Toolbar Health Sciences & Human Services Library (Internet Explorer only).
- Shrewsbury Public Library Toolbar
- e-klummes toolbar (Firefox only, in Danish)
- Sjøkrigsskolens bibliotek (in Norwegian)
- Tyngsborough Public Library toolbars (Internet Explorer only):
- Patrons toolbar (file exe)
- Staff toolbar (file exe)
- Lansing Public Library Toolbar (Internet Explorer and Firefox versions with RSS feeds built-in)
- Jackson Library Toolbar - Walter Clinton Jackson Library (Firefox only)
- Libraries@Mason Toolbar
- LibraryBar for the New York Public Library and the Morris Automated Information Network. (Firefox only)
- Maryland Library Toolbar, Eastern Shore Regional Library
- HHHL toolbar, Half Hollow Hills Community Library (Internet Explorer only)
- (Unofficial) Library Toolbar, Open University, UK
- LibX Virginia Tech Edition, Virginia Tech Newman Library. See also: LibX Main Page for over 307 other editions. (Firefox and IE) Provides web-wizard interface to construct new editions.
- QuickSearch CMB Toolbar, Central Medical Library, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands. : Download(IE & Firefox)
- UT Southwestern Medical Center Library toolbar, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Library
- University of Illinois Toolbar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Firefox and IE)
- Denver Public Library Toolbar (Internet Explorer only).
- University of Huddersfield (UK) Library Toolbar (Firefox only).
- HBLL Toolbar Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University (Firefox only).
- Penn Library Toolbar (Firefox only).
- Letterenbibliotheek toolbar
- GALEN Toolbar University of California, San Francisco Library.
- Prior Health Sciences Library toolbar
- MGAS library toolbar, Biomedical Library, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. (IE & Firefox, Dutch language)
- Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre Library toolbar, allows to search our library catalogue
- Forbes Library Toolbar
- University of Winnipeg Library Toolbar
- UPS Library toolbar, University of Puget Sound library
- Cumberland Library Community Toolbar
- BettendorfLibrary Community Toolbar
- Izmir Institute of Technology Library Community Toolbar
- New England College of Optometry Library Community Toolbar
- bondlib Community Toolbar, Bond Library
- Columbia Basin College Library Community Toolbar
- The Axe Library Browser Toolbar, Pittsburg State University
- Jackson Library Toolbar, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- Pace University Library Toolbar
- Ball State University Libraries Toolbar
- University of Portland Toolbar, Internet Explorer and Firefox versions
- KATHO libraries toolbar, Belgium, Internet Explorer and Firefox (Dutch)
- Toolbar KHLimmediatheek HB-IWT, Belgium Internet Explorer and Firefox (Dutch)
- WIU Libraries Research Toolbar, Western Illinois University Libraries (Firefox)
Academic, Search, Other Toolbars
- World Time Engine A search plugin to resolve the local time in millions of places on earth
- BioBar A toolbar for browsing biological data and databases (Mozilla/Firefox only)
- PubMed A toolbar that increases your ability to search information in NLM Medline database trough PubMed interface (Mozilla/Firefox only)
- BioMed Central toolbar Allows you to conveniently search BioMed Central, PubMed Central, PubMed, Faculty of 1000 and Google
- bioFOX implementing various bioinformatics tools as an extension on the Mozilla based browsers
- NCBI search toolbar, National Center for Biotechnology Information
- HealthLinks Toolbar University of Washington (Firefox only).
- Die HdBG-Toolbar – das Werkzeug für Historiker und Archäologen Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte
- MyAthens Toolbar can be used to access Athens-authenticated resources
- NeedleSearch The NeedleSearch toolbar lets you bookmark search engines
- SwitchProxy Tool SwitchProxy lets you manage and switch between multiple proxy configurations quickly and easily
- ProxyFacile Automates the configuration of a proxy for the University of Padua
- AustLII Toolbar, Australasian Legal Information Institute
- OAses toolbar for searching Open Access resources. (Internet Explorer only)
- Nature.com toolbar (Internet Explorer only)
Commercial Search Engines
- PubSub Sidebar
- (also see Yahoo OCLC toolbar in Library Toolbars section)
Other Browser Extensions
- Firefox Scholar/SmartFox See Zotero "it will enable the rich use of library and museum web collections" ... "[it] will enable users, with a single click, to grab a citation to a book, journal article, archival document, or museum object and store it in their browser."
- Peter Binkley's Google Scholar OpenURLs Extension (Firefox only).
- Openly Informatics OpenURL Referrer for Google Scholar and COinS (Firefox only).
- COinS Browser Extensions for Your Library
- LibrarySearch "when you select text in the browser and right-click, a new context menu appears (Look up selection) that allows you to select which library/resource you would like to pass your selected text to search". From Wayne Graham.
- Evergreen An open source Integrated Library System (ILS), written in Xul, developed and maintained by the Georgia Public Library Service (Firefox only).
- Mozilla Amazon Browser A Rich Web Application to search products on Amazon-branded sites, written in Xul (Mozilla/Firefox only).
- OPAX A prototype XUL OPAC user interface, built on the functionality and appearance of the Mozilla Amazon Browser (Mozilla/Firefox only).
- ResearchBuddy Will help you capture quotes on webpages, with citations.
- Gnosis ClearForest Gnosis is a Firefox extension that automatically locates people, places, companies and other entities on the web page as you surf. You can then use these tagged entities to launch additional searches in Wikipedia, Technorati and a variety of other sources.
- The Wikipedia extension for easy editing of this page!
- Various Y!Q Firefox extensions for Yahoo contextual searching.
- More extensions at Mozilla Update.
- More extensions at Extension Room.
- Zotero is a free, open source scholars' extension for the Firefox browser, that enables users to collect, manage, and cite research from all types of sources from the browser.
- Canton Public Library offers an IE Accelerator, Chrome Extension and Theme, and Firefox Persona
Code Generators and Other Tools
Tools to automatically generate code for you.
- LibraryLookup bookmarklet generator Info here
- Make Search Bookmarklet tool
- Extension Developer's Extension An extension to make life easier for extension developers. A Meta-extension if you will.
- Firefox extension install generator If you need help updating or creating an extension for Firefox, you can use this helpful CGI.
- Turn on Updates For Your Firefox Extensions. An online form to generate update.rdf contents.
- Greasemonkey compiler, converts Greasemonkey user scripts into full-fledged Mozilla Firefox extensions.
- DevBoi, a sidebar extension for Mozilla and Firefox that offers easy access to XUL documentation and reference manuals.
- LibX - A Firefox Extension for Libraries, LibX is a framework from which editions for specific libraries can easily be created. "Librarians: if your library uses Millenium, Horizon, or Voyager, getting your own edition of LibX can take as little as 15 mins..."
- One great resource for building toolbars is Conduit. Over 90 libraries have used it so far. It provides a toolbar for Firefox and Internet Explorer. (Formerly Effective Brand)
Programming Resources
Websites, Books, Forums on creating web browser extensions.
Websites about Firefox Programming
XUL (XML User-interface Language) the cross-platform language behind Mozilla and Firefox interfaces.
- XUL Tutorial at Xul Planet All you need to know about Xul user interface. A must read.
- Firefox Toolbar Tutorial The best Firefox extension tutorial, at Born Geek. Step after step you will be guided in creating a Google toolbar
- Dev : Extensions Extension development documentation project at MozillaZine. Includes: Getting started with extension development for Firefox 1.5 and later (Mozilla 1.8 branch)
- Application Extensions Packaging Extensions, Deployment of Extensions and Themes, Updating, Versioning and Compatibility at mozilla.org
- Creating a Mozilla Extension Tutorial at mozilla.org
- The XPToolkit Architecture The most comprehensive (yet often out-of-date) guide to XUL widgets, at mozilla.org
- Devmo Site dedicated to providing solid information, documentation, and community for Mozilla and Firefox developers of all types
- Extensions Main Page at Mozilla Developer Center. Includes: Building an Extension A tutorial about building extensions for Firefox 1.5 (Mozilla 1.8 branch)
- XulFr.org All about Xul, Mozilla, Firefox and Thunderbird — and a Xul tutorial (French language)
- Firefox Extension Tutorial A short and simple Firefox extension tutorial
- How to create Firefox extensions Another good and often cited Firefox extension tutorial
- Lazy Programmers (LP) Guide To Creating A Firefox Mozilla Extension Another Firefox extension tutorial
- Créer une extension Another short Firefox extension tutorial (French language)
- XML User Interface Language (XUL) The home page for Mozilla XUL documentation at mozilla.org
- Mozilla Tutorial English French Xul, Mozilla Tutorial with clear examples (English and French language)
- XUL A short introduction to Xul at Everything2
- XUL Programmer's Reference Manual A reference manual at mozilla.org
- Writing an Extension for Firefox A look at installing a really simple extension into Firefox that adds a "Hello World" menu item to the Tools menu, on Brian Duff's weblog
- Creare estensioni per Firefox - livello 1 A Firefox Extensions tutorial (Italian language)
- Come creare una estensione per Firefox A Firefox Extensions tutorial (Italian language)
- Construye tu propia extensión para Firefox con Zootropo http://zootropo.f2o.org/archivos/2004/06/21/construye-tu-propia-extensin-para-firefox-con-zootropo/ http://zootropo.f2o.org/wiki/doku.php?id=construye_tu_propia_extension_para_firefox Two pages, one Firefox Extensions tutorial (Spanish language)
- The Xul Periodic Table Examples of all widgets — Boxes, Buttons, Checkboxes, Lists, Menubars, Trees ...
- Multi-Part Tutorial on creating XUL + PHP apps
- Creating Rich Applications with Mozilla, XUL, and AMP Technology a live presentation by Jay Sheth.
- Free GUID generators http://www.hoskinson.net/webservices/guidgeneratorclient.aspx http://www.famkruithof.net/uuid/uuidgen A GUID is a unique identifier for your extension. You definitely need one.
- Extension Developer's Extension As the Author says "An extension to make life easier for extension developers"
- Extensions Firefox/Signer Une Extension How to sign an extension (French language)
- So you want to sign your XPI package? How to sign an extension
- Enabling Extension Updates "This tutorial will show you how to keep your users up to date with your latest version automatically." A must read for localization
- Writing Mozilla Extensions This DemoExt extension has the goal "to provide the simplest amount of functionality necessary to demonstrate how to make a localized, cross-platform extension that works with Firefox and Mozilla Suite." It helped me in figuring out how to localize text strings in javascript files
- The Future of Mozilla Application Development Among other things explains how to add a custom button for your toolbar to Firefox
- Firefox Toolbar Tutorial - How to make your own toolbar in Firefox/Mozilla
- Developing Firefox Extensions with GNU/Linux Very long tutorial.
- Creating Custom Firefox Extensions with the Mozilla Build System This article describes how to set up the development environment for a large, complex Firefox extension with components written in C or C++ (not only JavaScript & XUL.)
- George Nava's XUL applications Collection of XUL application examples. At the bottom of the page there is "Codex" app that you can use to poke around the source code for the entire collection to see how he made it all work.
- Your First Firefox Extension Extensions tutorial at Webmonkey.
- Browser extensions using XUL, Part 1: Create a Firefox browser extension with user-interface features
Books on Mozilla/Firefox
- Creating Applications with Mozilla by David Boswell, Brian King, Ian Oeschger, Pete Collins, Eric Murphy. ISBN 0596000529. Available under the terms of the Open Publication License.
- Rapid Application Development with Mozilla by Nigel McFarlane. ISBN 0131423436. Available under the terms of the Open Publication License.
- Firefox Hacks by Nigel McFarlane. ISBN 0596009283.
- Greasemonkey Hacks Mark Pilgrim. ISBN 0596101651.
- More Mozilla and Firefox Books
Discussion Forums
- XUL Forums The place to talk about XUL at XulPlanet
- Extensions - MozillaZine Forum The forum about Mozilla/Firefox Extensions on MozillaZine
- Extenzilla A forum about Mozilla/Firefox Extensions (Italian language, registration required)
News and Feeds
News and feeds from browsers developers that worth a read
- Planet Mozilla News feeds aggregator from Mozilla/Firefox developers' blogs
Software Tools
- Bluefish for code editing in Linux
- Jedit for code editing in Windows and Linux
- The Gimp for raster artwork
- Inkscape for vector artwork
- Wink for screencasts
Journal Articles and Conference Presentations
- Bailey, Annette LibX: A Firefox Extension for Libraries (MP3 audio) Access 2006
- Bridgewater, Rachel and Heins, Beth. Firefox Can Do That? Using Extensions to Customize Your Web Browser Online Northwest 2006
- Akerman, Richard. How to Enhance Access with Browser Extensions Internet Librarian International 2005
- Wusteman, Judith. "About XML: from Ghostbusters to libraries - the power of XUL." Library Hi Tech 23.1 (2005): 118-129.
- Lauke, Patrick. "Mozilla Firefox for Rapid Web Development." Ariadne 42 (2005).
- Kelly, Brian. "Interfaces To Web Testing Tools." Ariadne 34 (2005).
- Chudnov, Daniel, Richard Cameron, Jeremy Frumkin, Ross Singer and Raymond Yee "Opening up OpenURLs with Autodiscovery." Ariadne 43 (2005).
- XTech 2005 Presentations: XUL - Mozilla's XML User Interface Language by Ben Goodger, lead engineer for Mozilla Firefox.
- Janes, Joseph. "The Right Tool for the Right Job" American Libraries December 2003: 84-85
- Chang, Daphne, and Helen Keil. "Need Another Toolbar for Your Toolbox?". Searcher 14.9 (Oct. 2006): 39-43
Specific Blog Postings and Mailing List Messages
- More on Jon Udell's LibraryLookup Bookmarklet The Shifted Librarian, 2002
- Toolbar Tidbits /usr/lib/info, 2003
- Firefox search extension for OPACs? code4lib Mailing List, 2005
- Harris County Public Library - Internet Explorer Toolbar The Distant Librarian, 2005
- A Library Toolbar LibrarianInBlack, 2004
- Library Technology for the New Year TechnoBiblio, 2005
- All I Want for Christmas is a Library Toolbar LawLibTech
- The user interface that isn't Lorcan Dempsey
- Stitching services into user environments - intrastructure Lorcan Dempsey's weblog
- Reference wish list Digital Reference, 2005
- PL Toolbar Tame the Web
- Firefox extension for Maldura Library Science Library Pad, 2005
- more on Firefox sidebars Science Library Pad, 2005
- Toolbar Goodness Linux Librarian
- Harris County Public Library Creates Toolbar for Online Customers LISNews, 2005
- Stanford toolbar BiblioAcid, 2005
- One New Thing: Library toolbar! One New Thing, 2004
- lii.org Toolbar Free Range Librarian
- Toolbar Tidbits, Toolbar Tidbits (Google Cache version) LibraryCog: Library Systems Stuff
- Harris County Public Library - Internet Explorer Toolbar SEMLS Tech Watch, 2005
- OUseful Firefox Library Toolbar 0.1
- OUseful - the Jackson Library Toolbar
- More Library Toolbars OUseful Info
- LibrarySearch Firefox Extension July 22, 2005
- Google Print in Book Burro 0.17, and future library plans
- Distance from the default: Web browser extensions Lorcan Dempsey's weblog
Weblogs (sometimes) covering this topic
- Science Library Pad - Firefox extensions, SLP - Bookmarklets
- Lorcan Dempsey's weblog
- The Shifted Librarian
- OUseful Info
- ecmanaut
- SlayerOffice "web experiments gone horribly awry"
- Library toolbar Blog voor bijhouden van info over het gebruik van Library Toolbars
- Screencasts about the Maldura toolbar by Gianluca (Flash format):
- Installazione (280KB, 45s)
- Utilizzo (1700KB, 2m+45s)
- Funzioni Avanzate (1700KB, 2m+45s)
- MyJack toolbar screencast by OUseful Info
- Firefox Advanced Search screencast
- These screencasts show LibX's predecessor, the VT Library Bar (Flash format):
- Basic use of the toolbar (about 2min)
- Context searches and xISBN (about 3min)
- Access to the OpenURL resolver (about 3min)
- Cues (about 3min)
- Jon Udell's four-minute screencast on, among other things, LibraryLookup and a Greasemonkey user script that looks up Amazon books in Keene Library, right on the Amazon book page.
NOTE: Much of this content originated, with permission, from Gianluca Drago's excellent Maldura Toolbar - Firefox Extension page. Additional material from Richard Akerman Science Library Pad - Firefox extensions category.


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NATO – delivering security in the 21st century
Speech by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Chatham House, London
Doctor Lewis,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here at Chatham House. This august institution has become a by-word for free and open debate. It is full of history, yet focused on the future. For nearly nine decades, speakers from around the globe have come to Chatham House to discuss their vision for shaping international affairs. So I can think of no better place to set out my vision for the future of NATO.
These days, it's not easy to be an optimist. Indeed, we appear to be surrounded by professional pessimists. In the newspapers. On our television screens. In the blogs.
We see speculation that the euro could unravel and Europe could break up. Fears that the world is slowly but surely passing Europe by. And that as Europe looks inwards, our neighbours are turning away, and North America is looking elsewhere for friends and partners.
We see turmoil and uncertainty across the Middle East and North Africa. We witness the emergence of new powers -- economically, politically, and militarily. And we hear many commentators predict the decline of the West as we know it.
Undoubtedly we live in a time of momentous shifts, in a world that is increasingly unpredictable, complex and interlinked. But I strongly disagree with the vision of doom and gloom.
Europe and North America still have tremendous resources, resolve, and ideas. And when we work together, there is no greater force for positive change.
But we do have to answer the fundamental questions. How can the Trans-Atlantic community keep its global power of attraction and influence? And as the world shifts, how do we embrace that shift and help shape it?
My message today is that NATO will be a key part of the answer. In this time of uncertainty, a strong NATO is a source of confidence. It is an essential contributor to wider international security and stability. It means we can face today's challenges from a position of strength.
For over sixty years, NATO has guaranteed the security and stability that have allowed this continent to flourish. We are an Alliance of 28 democracies. A unique forum for transatlantic dialogue – and transatlantic action. We can launch and sustain complex joint operations in a way that no one else can. We can work effectively with partners in a way that no one else can. And at our recent summit in Chicago, we took important steps to make sure this Alliance can deal with security challenges despite the economic challenges, and remain fit for the future.
At a time of global risks and threats, delivering security must be a cooperative effort. And this means NATO must continue to strengthen its connection with other countries and organisations around the globe.
Our partners have been key to NATO's success over the past two decades. Much has been already achieved and we have reason to be proud. Militaries around the world aspire to our standards and the ability of our forces to work together. Importantly, we can integrate other nations' contributions into complex multinational operations like no other organisation.
From Afghanistan to the Balkans, and last year over Libya, our partners have played a vital role in the operational outcome and the political legitimacy of our missions. They have made NATO stronger and kept the world safer. So it is as important for NATO to invest in strong partnerships as it is to invest in modern military hardware, and in flexible forces.
Partnership is not a choice between staying at home or going global. It is not peripheral to our business – it is part of NATO's core business. In almost all areas, we need effective partnerships to be successful. To manage crises. To defend against emerging security challenges. And to promote stability.
We cannot deal with today's security challenges from a purely European perspective. What matters is being engaged wherever our security matters. That means here in Europe. Across the Euro-Atlantic area. And around the globe.
Ladies and gentlemen,
First and foremost, we must finish our unfinished business here in Europe.
Alongside the European Union's enlargement, NATO's Open Door policy has already transformed this continent fundamentally, and permanently.
Throughout Central and Eastern Europe, NATO membership has been a powerful incentive for reform. Countries aspiring to membership have restructured their armed forces and brought them under democratic control. They have enhanced accountability and transparency. And strengthened the rule of law.
At the same time, the prospect of NATO membership gave confidence to investors. Which in turn led to economic drive, development and dynamism. And it is no coincidence that those countries who have joined NATO over the past thirteen years have also joined the European Union, or are preparing to do so.
10 years ago, I was Prime Minister of Denmark when my country held the presidency of the European Union. That year, at the Copenhagen and Prague Summits, we invited new members to join the European Union, and NATO. These were bold steps towards a Europe whole, free and at peace.
But that journey is not yet complete. Both we, and our partners, still have some way to go. On this journey, there are no shortcuts. And NATO's door does not open automatically just because you stand in front of it.
Membership of our Alliance requires hard work and political commitment. It takes a solid track record of reform and responsibility. And it needs new resolve to settle old disputes. Our commitment to keep our door open has to be matched by our partners' commitment to do what it takes to go through that door when the time is right. Because it contributes to the security of the North-Atlantic area. And it opens the prospect of a better future for all of us.
A more open and stable Europe has already brought many benefits to the wider Euro-Atlantic area. Including to Russia. I know that's not necessarily how it's seen in Moscow. But the fact is that Russia's trade with NATO's new members has soared. And our Open Door policy has, in effect, helped provide Russia with a strategic setting it has always wanted. Stability on its western borders.
Still, Russian misperceptions about NATO's Open Door policy persist. As do many other myths about the Alliance. We must work to overcome this. To help Russia understand that it can build security together with us, not against us.
NATO's security and Russia's security are intertwined. That is why our stated goal is to forge a true strategic partnership. A partnership based on mutual confidence, transparency and predictability. Where we work together constructively in the many areas where we have a common interest, such as Afghanistan. And where we can also address the outstanding issues that still divide us.
The Alliance is not a threat to Russia. And we do not believe Russia is a threat to us. So once and for all, let's stop looking at each other through the prism of the past. Let's look instead for opportunities to work closer together in the future.
And a major opportunity for such cooperation is missile defence. It has the potential to be a real game changer – for the better. We must redouble our efforts to make that change, because the threat of missile proliferation is grave, and growing, and it knows no borders.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As I have outlined, NATO's partnerships start at home, in the Trans-Atlantic area, and in our close neighbourhood. But they cannot stop there. Our economy is globalised. Our security is globalised. And if we are to protect our populations effectively, our approach to security has to be globalised too.
This is why cooperative security is fundamental to the Alliance's way of doing business. It means NATO must be able, and willing, to engage politically and militarily with other nations, wherever they may be, and with other international organisations, such as the United Nations and the European Union.
Just a few weeks ago I visited Australia, where Prime Minister Julia Gillard and I signed a Joint Political Declaration. And this is significant: because although we may live on different sides of the world, NATO and Australia are on the same side when it comes to security. We share common values. We share the same determination to develop common approaches to common challenges. And our joint declaration lays out how we will do this. It is the first of its kind. But I am confident it won't be the last. Because many other nations are also working closely with NATO to address common challenges.
In Afghanistan, for instance, Australia is part of a NATO-led coalition of 50 nations, the largest in recent history. Our partners come from all five continents. Because we all want to ensure that Afghanistan will not again provide a safe haven for terrorists who threaten our nations.
Our combat mission will be completed by the end of 2014. But we know that we won't get a holiday from history afterwards. We will remain engaged in training the Afghan security forces. And we will continue to face many other, complex security challenges. So we must build on the practical experience of working with our partners in order to work even more closely together in the future.
Let there be no doubt. This is not about replacing our existing partnerships. It is not about expanding our foot-print into other parts of the world. Nor is it about NATO assuming global responsibilities.
This is about NATO assuming a global perspective. Playing its part globally, and strengthening our ability to act in concert with our partners around the globe.
Today, we hold regular consultations with all our partners on security issues of common interest. I would like to see those consultations become much more frequent, focused and substance-driven. I believe there is considerable scope for developing clusters of willing and able Allies and partners ready to cooperate in specific areas.
I see these clusters being flexible enough to accommodate different groups of partners, yet focused enough to deliver concrete results. And I am thinking of areas such as training and education, emerging security challenges, and Smart Defence.
Today, many partner countries take the opportunities NATO offers to participate in our military education, training and exercises. But this is largely on an ad-hoc basis. I would like to see a much more structured approach. And the broadest possible range of nations being involved in such activities.
One example is cooperation among special forces. This offers considerable potential to learn more, and do more, both for NATO, and for partners. We must build on the lessons that we learnt together in action in Afghanistan. So we can boost our ability to act together in the future.
Dealing with emerging security challenges is another area where we could do more together. Issues such as maritime security, energy security, and cyber security are complex. And to confront them successfully demands a high degree of consultation, coordination, and cooperation. Taking maritime security as an example, I believe there would be huge benefit from Allied and partner navies working more closely together in specific aspects, such as counter-piracy.
The third area for cluster cooperation is Smart Defence. There is scope not just for NATO and partner nations, but also for NATO and the European Union to work more closely together on multinational capability projects. We can both learn from each other's initiatives. And the cluster approach will help to focus our efforts and get the most out of our resources.
As well as expanding the range of issues where we cooperate, we must also expand the range of nations with whom we engage. Take China, for example. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It is playing an increasingly important global role. And as an organisation which is driven by the UN Charter of Principles, NATO needs to better understand China and define areas where we can work together to guarantee peace and stability. This is why I believe we need to hold a more active dialogue with China.
There are other important countries too, such as India, with whom we should increase our dialogue and seek opportunities for cooperation.
To do all this, we need an alliance that is globally aware. Globally connected. And globally capable. That is my vision for NATO.
Ladies and gentlemen,
NATO's partnerships play a key part in meeting the security concerns of today and tomorrow – be they local, regional, or global. The range of our partnerships reflects the world we live in. And the challenges we face.
But there is one partnership that stands out above all others. For its importance. Its uniqueness. And its value to all Allies. That is the transatlantic partnership.
The transatlantic bond lies at the very heart of NATO. It represents our common belief in freedom, democracy and the rule of law. And it provides shared leadership between North America and Europe.
Some see the United States' pivot to Asia-Pacific as the end of this unique partnership. They are wrong. The security of America and Europe is indivisible. We are stronger, and safer, when we work together. And that is why NATO remains the indispensable Alliance.
It is around this essential transatlantic bond that we can -- and we must -- strengthen our partnerships. In Europe. With Russia. And around the globe. Because in the twenty-first century, we are all connected, whether we want it or not. Our positive connection and continued engagement with partners is a cure for pessimism. A cause for optimism. And the key for the security we all seek.
Thank you.
[MODERATOR DR PATRICIA LEWIS]: I want to open up the floor but before I do so, I'm allowed a question I think from the chair. So my question is why is it so long after the Cold War we're still struggling with this relationship between NATO and Russia, and why the missile defence issue has been such a hard sell, and where can you take it now beyond all of this history that's gone on since the end of the Cold War? How do you see changing that dialogue, you mentioned that we need to, but how, how we are actually going to dot that?
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN (Secretary General of NATO): The brief answer is that it's because of old-fashioned Cold War thinking leftovers from the Cold War and we have to get rid of that. And there may be old-fashioned thinking on both sides. But I hope the Kremlin leadership will realize that it's better for Russia to focus on real threats instead of investing so many political efforts and maybe also money in offensive measures against an artificial enemy; an enemy that doesn't exist. Because NATO is not an enemy of Russia.
I think it's better for Russia to cooperate with the West, with European Union to promote economic development, with NATO to provide overall Euro-Atlantic security which in turn will also facilitate a positive investment climate. It is of mutual benefit to Russia and NATO countries to cooperate.
When it comes… And let me add to this, a very positive experience… Soon after I took office as secretary general, I visited Moscow, participated in a radio show, probably with a relatively young audience. The radio host asks a question, made a poll, so to speak, among regular listeners: do you consider NATO a friend or an enemy? Sixty-two percent answered a friend. That's positive.
MODERATOR: So it's the next generation.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: That's my point. I think the next generation will probably have a more global western-oriented outlook. I hope so.
Now your specific question about missile defence. The Russians have requested what they call assurances or guarantees that our system is not directed against Russia. They claim that they have not received such assurances and this is the reason why we have not yet reached an agreement.
But I have three points to make. Firstly, we have explained to the Russians and we have had experts on both sides to meet. We have explained to the Russians that our system is not designed to attack Russia or undermine Russian deterrence policies. So technically it's not designed to threaten Russia.
Secondly, politically of course we don't have any intention to attack Russia. Actually 15 years ago we signed a joint document called The Founding Act. In that Founding Act, Russia and NATO declared that we will not use force against each other. We stay committed to that declaration; I hope the Russians do the same. We are prepared to reiterate that political commitment.
And thirdly we have suggested that the best way for Russia to see with their own eyes that our system is not directed against Russia would be to engage in practical cooperation. In concrete terms, we have suggested the establishment of two jointly staffed centres that could create a framework for exchange of data, preparation of joint exercises, the elaboration of joint threat analyses, etc., so they could see with their own eyes that our system is not directed against Russia.
Well so far we have not reached a conclusion. The dialogue will continue and I hope at a certain stage we will reach an agreement.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much.
Okay, I'm going to open up the floor now. When the microphone comes to you, please can you state your name, and keep your comment or question brief. I see somebody here on the right.
Q: Musa Sur (?) … Channel, (inaudible). Basically I want to ask about the new world order and security. Mr. Lavrov has declared that the outcome in Syria will determine the new world order. Does that refrain NATO to interfere in Syria? And the other question is President Bashar al-Assad regrets for shooting down the Turkish jet so he is trying to defuse the tension with NATO and Turkey. What is your comment on that? Thank you.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: On the latter, I do believe that the fact that NATO has expressed a very strong solidarity with Turkey has also had an impact in Damascus and may be the reason why President al-Assad so strongly has expressed his regrets for this unacceptable act.
On Syria as such, let me stress that NATO has no intention to intervene militarily in Syria. We have expressed our solidarity with Turkey; Turkey is an Ally; Turkey has been impacted by what is going on in Syria; so it's normal we have expressed our solidarity. But NATO has no intention to intervene militarily because we do believe that the right way forward in Syria is a political solution, for many different reasons; it would be too complicated to go through all that, but that's the bottom line.
In that respect, I appreciate that the contact, or the action group meeting that took place in Geneva last weekend made some steps forward; not many, not far, but some steps forward. And I hope the international community as a whole will send a unified and strong message to the political leadership in Damascus to initiate a transition to democracy. That's the clear message from that Geneva meeting. And I think, and let me speak very openly about it, I think Russia taking into account Russia's position in Damascus and in Syria, that Russia has a special role to play to live up to her international obligations and facilitate such a transition to democracy that will accommodate the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.
MODERATOR: Thank you. I'm going to turn to Benoît Gomez. He is going to use his opportunity to give us questions from the Twitter stream from the live channel.
BENOÎT GOMEZ (Chatham House): Thank you. Benoit Gomez from Chatham House. I am also a Young Atlantist member, so I would like to thank you for coming to the Young Atlantist Summit in Chicago last May.
So I selected two questions from Twitter; one to bring you back to Syria. You said that NATO didn't have any intention to intervene militarily there but has NATO considered scenarios for any form of military intervention in Syria even though it's not its intention? And the second one is from Malcom Savage, a member of Chatham House: how can NATO best contribute to further progress in multilateral nuclear disarmament? Thank you.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: As we have no intention to intervene militarily in Syria, we have not prepared scenarios for such interventions that we are not considering. That goes without saying. But of course we follow the situation closely, not least because one of our Allies, Turkey, is a neighbour of Syria and of course also in the wake of the shooting down of a Turkish aircraft, it's quite natural that NATO follows the situation closely.
Now on multilateral nuclear disarmament, we adopted a document when we met at the NATO Summit in Chicago in May, a so-called defence and deterrence posture review. In that review of our nuclear posture, we reaffirm the commitment to work in the direction of a world without nuclear weapons. That's not breaking news because most of the world's nations subscribe to that vision. Already in 1970, when they signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and it is at the core of that treaty to work towards a world without nuclear weapons. So that's one point.
But secondly, we have also stated in this document that as long as nuclear weapons exist in the world, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance. So we are not naïve, we have a very realistic approach to this. But we have also indicated that we are prepared to take steps in the direction of further reductions in the number of tactical nuclear weapons if – and there is a big if here – if it can take place in a balanced way; and with that, I hint at the Russian stockpiles of tactical nuclear weapons. Because the fact is that NATO nuclear nations have reduced the number of nuclear weapons substantially since the end of the Cold War. But that has not been reciprocated by the Russians. So we have to ensure full transparency and make sure that further reductions – and we are in favour of that – that further reductions take place in a balanced manner.
MODERATOR: You are referring there to the United States' tactical nuclear weapons in Europe vis-à-vis the Russian tactical nuclear weapons.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: Yes.
MODERATOR: Okay. Just a clarification. I have two questions here, and along the row as well. Thank you.
Q: Yes, Tony Baptiste, a member here. You quite rightly emphasized the nature of the transatlantic call about the need to for NATO to be able to respond to security challenges anywhere around the world. But a lot of these challenges nowadays come up quite quick. And do you have any plans or thoughts about how NATO might be in a position to respond more rapidly to these sort of challenges around the rest of the world, particularly I don't know when you were taking about SF coordination whether that was part of it, or whether a more of a standing force structure would be required.
MODERATOR: And if you could pass the microphone along, I'm going to group the questions together in interest of time. Thank you.
Q: Hello, John (inaudible), a member of Chatham House. Secretary, in your remarks you outline significant scope for further collaboration between NATO and the European Union in a multinational conflict. Now looking specifically at post-conflict reconstruction and development, many commentators have argued that the forging of NATO's hard power with the European Union's soft power would be a very potent combination. What are your thoughts, and what's the roadmap in this area?
MODERATOR: Okay, and then one more question on this side. I'll move to the other side. Thank you.
Q: Hello. So you've talked about the importance of NATO's…
MODERATOR: Please say who you are.
Q: Oh, I'm Lucie Fougère (?), student at King's College and member of Chatham House. You've talked about the importance of NATO's partnership with international organizations. My question is on the relationship between the U.N. and NATO. Some people have emphasized a growing political role of NATO and the fact that NATO's growing political role could represent, could maybe clash with the U.N.'s interests in the U.S. … U.N.'s political role and I was wondering what your thoughts were on that issue. Thank you.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: First, on our ability to respond rapidly to emerging security challenges, also more classical security challenges, that's at the core of ongoing reform efforts within NATO. And we need to transform our armed forces from being too stationary to be more deployable. We have made significant progress in that direction; and actually I do believe that our operation in Afghanistan has helped facilitate that transformation process because all NATO Allies have deployed troops in Afghanistan and through that, they have been in the process of transforming their national armed forced into more deployable forces.
Furthermore, I do believe that the current economic crisis could also be used as an opportunity to actually get more security and more value for money by transforming more static structures into more mobile, flexible armed forces.
And a very concrete example of this is the establishment of the NATO Response Force, NRF, and it will be given more prominence in the coming years because the United States have decided as part of their restructuring of their presence in Europe to actually contribute in a more significant way, and on a regular basis, to the NATO Response Force. And by that we will also improve the connectivity between European military and the U.S. military; make sure that we can actually work together, what we call interoperability.
So we do all we can to be able to respond quickly to security threats, including new security threats like missile threats, cyber threats, etc.
Now on the European Union, I know that it's a very popular notion that we could have a kind of division of labour between the European Union and NATO so the European Union could represent soft power, and NATO, the hard stuff, hard power. It's not in my opinion, not that simple. I think the two go hand in hand so to speak. I strongly believe in soft-power instruments but I do believe that if we are to make soft-power instruments work effectively, we have to be able to support them by using hard-power instruments occasionally.
But having said that, taking current economic circumstances into consideration, I think it's hard to imagine the European Union implements what is in the Lisbon Treaty on so-called structured cooperation within defence because that would take quite some heavy defence investments among E.U. member states. And I think it's essential during this time of economic austerity to avoid duplication and competition and make sure that the European Union and NATO work together in a complementary way.
So that's how I see it. I have done a lot, and I will continue to do a lot to really improve the relationship and partnership between the European Union and NATO. But I think we owe it to our taxpayers to make sure that we do not… waste resources by pursuing the same programmess and capabilities in both organizations but help each other to avoid duplication.
Now finally on the United Nations and NATO, we have seen an increasingly positive relationship between the United Nations and NATO during recent years. And I would point to our Libya operation as an excellent example. The U.N. Security Council adopts an historic resolution to protect the civilian population of Libya. NATO Allies decided that the best way they could implement as members of the United Nations, they have an obligation to implement the U.N. Security Council resolution. They decided that the best way to do it would be through NATO. So NATO operated on the basis of a very clear United Nations mandate and we accomplished that operation within seven months. Our current operation in Afghanistan takes place on the basis of United Nations mandate. Our presence in Kosovo is based on a United Nations mandate. And we conduct counter-piracy operations along the coast of Somalia again based on a United Nations mandate.
So NATO operates on the basis of the principles of the U.N. Charter, and this is also a reason why I argued in favour of having a dialogue with all members of... all permanent members but actually all members of the U.N. Security Council.
MODERATOR: I am very conscious of the time. I have one, two, three, four questions that I've seen before and I'm going to stick with those for now and see how we're doing. Please.
Q: (Inaudible). I was a bit surprised that you should pass over cyber security so easily because surely we have now got enough information to understand that you don't know whether you are going to be cyber-attacked or not. And this surely means that in particular the whole missile defence business is all those bits and pieces out there are going to be vulnerable to cyber attack. And my understanding is that the American Missile Defence Agency has not been studying the matter of missile defence cyber vulnerability. I say this after having had answers to evidently difficult questions at the RUSI Missile Defence Conference last month… no two months ago now.
MODERATOR: Yes, six weeks ago.
Q: So that's one question. The other is how is NATO going to fit with the new American strategy which seems to be largely CIA-led intelligence and attack by gun. This is something which is quite difficult for… a grouping like NATO to control and command, I would have thought. There are difficulties there. The extent to which the United States is now setting up bases throughout Africa is going to be quite a new venture for United States as a member of NATO I would have thought.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We have to move along so please. Thank you.
Q: Robert Woodthorpe Browne, bureau member, Liberal International, head of International Relations, Liberal Democrats, and a council member of Chatham House. You alluded to - without using the words - how to R2P, Responsibility to Protect. Is NATO interested in becoming proactive in this? Because obviously R2P is something that should be going on in Syria at present and quite clearly is not.
MODERATOR: Behind you. Yes. Two rows behind.
Q: Arthur Harvey from Cambridge. You indirectly mentioned the fact that NATO is the most powerful organization endowed with the most powerful military prowess that was ever known to man but yet it took us 10 years to find Osama bin Laden and to have him killed. And who knows how long the war in Afghanistan will take. Do we really invest on as you mentioned military hardware, forgetting the fact that the enemy often uses non-conventional military weapons and therefore we are barking [up ] the wrong tree by so-doing.
MODERATOR: Thank you. (Inaudible) Asymmetric Warfare. And there was a question at the back.
Q: Mike (inaudible), I'm partner with Bain & Company and a member of Chatham House. It's just building on the other speakers here, I think perhaps the issue is the supreme military strength that the NATO members bring; you know that was you know probably the most successful in history countering a kinetic threat from the group of Soviet forces in Germany. Now state actors are using you know non-kinetic means, asymmetric means. And what are your thoughts not just within NATO, but with the broader security architecture, we think about a broader spectrum definition of security, if you think about the citizens of NATO nations today, we're dealing with not… we're dealing with state actors, that are using economic means to one would argue artificially inflate energy prices and we are dealing with state actors which some analysts will say are artificially managing their currencies, which is having an impact on the wages of citizens in the NATO nations. And you've highlighted, and a couple of speakers have highlighted cyber warfare. We all depend… we've all got mobile phones today; we all depend on energy networks and telecommunications networks. And there are state actors, including some members of NATO that have now admitted that they're using cyber warfare. And as we look in the 21st century in these broader spectrum threats, what are your perspectives on the architecture for that?
MODERATOR: Thank you. And as I'm being very kind today, I'm going to just go to the last speaker here. Just one. Thank you. He's promised me to keep it very short.
Q: Yes. Hello, Nicolas Garratt (?) Standard Chartered Bank. Just a quick question. You alluded to at the very end of your speech that NATO had a part to play in supporting the American pivot throughout the Pacific. Just roughly what conventional political role would that be?
MODERATOR: Thank you. Anders.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: Yes. I think I can combine some of the questions in one answer. Because the first question related to cyber security and it also connects with the whole question about asymmetric warfare. We are very focused on cyber security. Actually we do give… strengths in the cyber security at the very highest priority. Just to mention some examples, we have taken steps to strengthen the protection of our own systems in NATO. I think the latest statistics indicate that we are attacked 100 times a day, so you can imagine that there is a great, a strong interest out there in what NATO is doing. So we have to protect our systems more effectively and we have taken a number of steps in that direction.
As you will recall, five years ago, Estonia, one of our Allies, was attacked. We have… so it's not just theory, it's a reality. We have established a so-called Centre of Excellence which is located in Tallinn. This Centre of Excellence provides information, facilitates the sharing of experience and best practice. And we have established a unit that can help Allies that are attacked, that are cyber-attacked, if they don't have the capacity themselves to counter such attacks. So we have actually taken a number of steps to improve our cyber security and we will continue on that path.
On the use of drones, if I understand you correctly, my answer to that is quite short because from a legal point of view I don't see any difference between using an unmanned aircraft and a manned aircraft. It is actually from a legal point of view exactly the same thing. So the use of … the fact that a number of Allies use unmanned aircraft does not constitute a problem for NATO. Let me add to that that actually we try to promote the use of drones to improve gathering of information and intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance; and the use of drones actually helped us to conduct what I would call a precision campaign in Libya with the aim to minimize the number of civilian casualties and minimize collateral damage. And I do believe that it is widely recognized that we succeeded in that respect. Now…
MODERATOR: I think that you will find Anders that there is quite a lot of controversy about that in this country and also the use of drones generally in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, and it's a big ethical discussion here. I just want to throw that…
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: Uh… yes, I am aware of that.
MODERATOR: Yes.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: … but I just indicate that I'm not concerned.
MODERATOR: Okay! That's good.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: … but in particular as regards to Afghanistan, let me stress that as far as NATO is concerned, and ISAF, our mandate is restricted to Afghanistan. ISAF does not operate beyond Afghanistan.
ODERATOR: That's true…
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: And I speak on behalf of NATO.
MODERATOR: Right! Good.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: Now on the responsibility to protect, I was asked whether one could imagine NATO take a more proactive stance on that, and then you referred to my statement on Syria; that we have no intention to intervene in Syria. Let me stress that such decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis. Because the one example is not like the other. And there is a clear difference between Libya and Syria, though what we're witnessing in Syria are just as outrageous and horrendous as what we saw in Libya. In that respect there is no difference. But seen from a NATO perspective, there is the very clear difference that in Libya, we had a very clear United Nations mandate, and we got active support from countries in the region. None of these conditions are fulfilled as regards Syria. There is no call from the region; there is no call from the international community on … for NATO action. Furthermore, there is no unified opposition in Syria; it's split, and substantial parts of the opposition in Syria are against a foreign military intervention. And you have to take all these elements into consideration, including of course an assessment whether a military intervention would lead to anything good. And my conclusion is that when it comes to Syria, a political solution is the best way forward. But to facilitate such a political solution, we need a unified and strong message from the international community, including from Russia and China.
Now on the asymmetric warfare, I have already touched upon it. It's a very interesting question, and it deserves a much longer answer than time permits. But we are very much aware of that. And of course we are ready to respond in a flexible manner also to address asymmetric warfare. And one concrete example, just to mention one example, is the so-called improvised explosive devices I think better known as roadside bombs, but actually it's broader than that, they are not that expensive but they can cause a lot of damage. And of course we have to adapt to that and counter such asymmetric warfare and we have initiated projects, also multinational projects within NATO to improve our ability to counter such attacks.
You also mentioned economic, let's call it economic warfare, and that's of course a very interesting issue that goes well beyond my position as secretary general of NATO, but let me just make one point. Economy and security are interlinked not only because of defence budgets and economics related to defence budgets, but also because countries that are indebted, running huge deficits, become more vulnerable than economically-sound economies or countries. So sound fiscal policies are also sound security policies. It's very clear that if you are broke, you can't be safe. And if you're broke, you will be dependent on other international actors, to put it quite bluntly. So we have to get the fiscal house in order if we are to strengthen our security. And that's why, as a politician, I realize that in the very near future, we will not get more… much more money for defence because also the security sector must contribute to getting finances right. That is a prerequisite for strengthening our security in the future.
And… now I can't read my own writing here. The very last question was about… Oh yes! The U.S., as I understand it, the U.S. pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, let me stress that I fully understand that the U.S. strategy… I welcome the U.S. strategy because I do believe that it's in the interest of the whole Allance that the U.S. engage in the Asia-Pacific region, taking into account the rise of emerging powers. Not because we consider them a threat, but because based on our experience in Europe, we do believe that cooperative security, the establishment of partnerships and alliances contribute to security. Actually NATO is the prime example. During more than 60 years, we have been the guarantor of peace and stability in Europe and North America. And to think that experience could also be transferred to other parts of the world, the important thing for me is that the U.S. pivot to Asia will not take place at the expense of the transatlantic relationship. And the Americans have clearly stated that, and they have also demonstrated practical examples that it will not take place at the expense of the transatlantic relationship, including a heavy U.S. contribution to the NATO-based missile defence system which is an example of continued American commitment to European security.
So it's very hard for you to force me into the pessimistic corner…
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: … I'm quite optimistic about the future of our Alliance. I see the transatlantic relationship as the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic security and NATO as a clear response to many of today's challenges and tomorrow's challenges.
MODERATOR: Secretary General Rasmussen, thank you so much for your frankness, the generosity of the time that you have given us. We've gone over time. We really appreciate it. I can hear there are many more questions from our audience. We, clearly, the whole day with you I think to really get into it but we haven't got time, unfortunately. And I want to thank you very much for coming to Chatham House. I'd like to thank everybody here today and everybody who is watching online, I think it's been an extremely interesting session and we much appreciate it and we'd like to show our appreciation the usual manner.


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One more recipe I cooked especially for Joao - one of his crazy out of the blue requests. :)
I had never made butternut squash compote before – we call it doce de abóbora and it's such a traditional dessert here (not to mention easy to find) I guess I just took it for granted.
Luckily Google was there for me. I found many, many different recipes online but the minute I saw one of my dear friend Clarice's post among the other links I knew my search was over.
After reading it, I found out she had gotten the recipe from another talented blogger friend of ours, Silvia – one more reason for me to try it. What a wonderful surprise it was: the compote was absolutely delicious!
While I was in the kitchen cooking the butternut squash, Joao kept telling me from the living room "wow, it already smells like doce de abóbora!".
I hadn't eaten this sweet in many, many years and honestly I can't remember eating one as good as the one I made – I just hope my grandmother doesn't read this! :)
This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by its own creator, the adorable Kalyn, from Kalyn's Kitchen.
UPDATE: during these quarantine days I have been making this recipe quite often. It goes great with cheese and also for dessert. We like to have cheese and wine dinner on Friday nights, and this compote is a great addition to the chese board.
Butternut squash compote – doce de abóbora
500g butternut squash – peel it and remove the seeds before measuring – cut in 2cm cubes
250g sugar
5-6 cloves
½ cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
Place the butternut squash, sugar and cloves in heavy-bottom saucepan and mix well; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft.
After it is cooked and tender, mash it with a potato masher until you get an even looking paste – there will be a bit of liquid still.
Keep cooking until the liquid is gone – make sure you stir occasionally so the compote won't stick to the pan. It takes a while for this to happen, but it is worth it, I promise. :)
Remove from heat, mix in the coconut and set aside to cool. Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Serve it on its own – it also goes really well with soft flavored cheeses.


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With their rounded, triangular shape, these large colored pencils made from unpainted softwood fit easily into the hand of a young child. The extra thick, unbreakable lead makes drawing exceptionally fun. The best part is the extra colorless pencil, the Splender. It allows you to create shadowing and spatial effects by binding and compressing the color particles, giving the colored surface a polished appearance. The Color Giants come in a tin case and include a Splender. Made in Germany.
Colors include: carmine red, vermilion, orange, golden yellow, lemon yellow, yellow green, green, blue, red violet, rust, yellow brown, prussian blue.