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Gene Edward Veith, Jr., is Professor of English at Concordia University-Wisconsin, where he has also served as Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. He has authored numerous books, of which Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994. He was a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995 and is a Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center. He is currently the director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia University, a center devoted to the study of Christianity and culture. He is the cultural editor of World magazine.
American troops have been able to handle the Iraqi troops arrayed against them. But it is far more difficult to deal with the nemesis that started it all, terrorism.
Iraqi combatants herd women and children in front of them, using them for cover. Machine-gun nests shoot out of the windows of hospitals. Commanders and political rulers move into civilians' homes. Anti-aircraft batteries are placed on the roofs of schools.
Why do they do this? Don't they want to prevent civilian casualties on their own side?
The answer, of course, is that they know Americans, as well as British and Australians, have qualms about killing civilians. American Marines hesitate to fire through a crowd of women and children, even while their enemies are shooting through the crowd at them. Airmen hate the prospect of bombing hospitals and schools.
The Iraqi regime knows that Americans, even while fighting a war, have a way of valuing human life. They are using our values against us.
Such tactics at least provide a smoking gun for the war that may be more pertinent than weapons of mass destruction or UN resolutions. They prove that Saddam Hussein operates a terrorist regime. Regardless of whether he was involved with al-Qaeda or the 9/11 attacks, he is a terrorist of the same breed. The war with Iraq, like the war in Afghanistan, is not so much a war as a major battle in the overarching war against terrorism.
Underlying this war is not only a conflict of values but a conflict of worldviews. As the terrorists themselves insist, it is a conflict of religions.
Americans tend to be in a state of denial about the religious dimensions of this war, thanks to our habit of political correctness and our omni-tolerant religious relativism. We insist that Islam is a benign religion of peace and tolerance. While it is possible to find certain imams, Muslim intellectuals, and assimilated Arab-Americans who believe that Islam protects women and jihad is a metaphor for moral struggle, this is not the version of Islam we have to contend with.
Just as it is not liberal Christianity that is growing throughout the world but the Bible-believing kind, the Islamic revival that is having its Great Awakening from refugee camps to college campuses is the Quran-believing kind.
Pundits, policymakers, law-enforcement agents, and war planners need to come to terms with a simple fact: A jihad has been declared against Americans.
This means that authoritative Muslim clerics have issued a decree that killing Americans is not just a religious duty but an act that merits salvation. This edict helps explain suicide bombers and the eagerness of Saddam's "martyr brigades" to fight to the death.
It also explains what seems so puzzling to American war planners: why non-Iraqis are sneaking across the border to fight Americans, why we don't seem all that welcomed by the people we are liberating, why opponents of Saddam are turning around to attack us, as well.
We expected the Shiites to rebel against Saddam and his Sunni henchmen. But while these two branches of Islam, like Christianity's Protestantism and Catholicism, have often been at each other's throats, martyrdom is a central tenet of Shiite theology and jihad is a central teaching of the ascendant Wahabi sect of the Sunnis.
Saddam is indeed an infidel, his Baath party holding to an ideology of national socialism based on Arab nationalism. There was a chance to split the Muslim population away from his secularist regime at the end of the Gulf War in 1991, but that was before the Islamic revival and the gospel of jihad. Saddam has been trying to ride that wave, downplaying his Baathism and presenting himself as a pious Muslim, thereby tapping into the new Islamic zeal.
One of the mistakes in human relations is "projection," the tendency to project one's own ways of thinking onto other people. Just as our former European allies project their own history of imperialism onto us, thinking that Americans are just trying to take over other people's land, as Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin were always doing, Americans project their own love of liberty and democracy onto the Iraqis.
We have noble goals of liberating the Iraqi people and replacing tyranny with democracy. This is devoutly to be wished. But American freedom and democracy were built on the foundations of Christian convictions and a biblical worldview.
The doctrine of sin led the Founders to build in checks and balances, to limit the power of the state, to guarantee the rights of individuals. Can a democratic republic be built without these foundations? Can a free society be built from a religious system based on external controls?
Any new post-Saddam government should be based on a constitution that guarantees freedom of religion. Because peace in Iraq will require more than a regime change.
Copyright ©World 2004. Used by permission.


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When I answer questions of a personal nature, Coldplay.com readers often get in touch with their own thoughts. So, we have a weekly feature, Team Oracle, whereby each Friday (with the question asker's permission) we open up a question to all of you to answer too. Then, the following Friday, I'll post a selection of the best answers, alongside my own reply.
ANYONE can join in so, if you'd like to, please email your response to the following question, in no more than 250 words, to email@example.com before midnight Thursday 6th December.
I have been recently out of a relationship. Truth be told, for a time it was amazing beyond the cosmos. You hear stories of how two people meet and fall in love that sounds like it was ripped right out the movies. But truth be told, it was quite simply a love that will and cannot be ever be replicated. It was the perfect conditions for a perfect love. Somewhere in that ether, the relationship could not withstand all the changes that surmounted that culminated in these two people being put in a very unfamiliar place. Simply put, we were taken out of what we knew and moved to mars. It was a once in a lifetime love. I doubt it will ever happen again. But if she sees this, I want her to know that I'll always be around and bond is strong. I wanted let these thoughts permeate into the universe. My question is, "Can lighting strike twice?"
Paul, USA.
Look forward to seeing your replies.
The Oracle
Please email your replies to firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Here's a little note to all of you new people:
if you encounter someone that randomly starts talking to you about helping him/her develop a game, don't just jump into it guns blazing without knowing what you are getting into. Don't oblige yourself or make any promises for the first few days. Get your feet wet with the person and make sure that you feel comfortable working with them. You should also ask yourself "does this person know what he/she is doing?" and "does this project have any hope of getting done?". If either of these are answered with a 'no' then you should either move on or be ready to do some major learning and working. It is a definate must to ask the person for a copy of his/her design documentation and an executable (or code) that has what he/she has done so far. If you don't like the person's code and/or the person's design documentation is unoriginal, uninspired, or non-existant (to some extent), in most cases the person doesn't know what they are doing, and should just do a solo project to learn how to develop a game and how to code effectively. On the internet it is very easy to just get up and leave, leaving little to no tracks behind you: keep that in mind.
I've had a very bad experience with a recruitor in the past and i'd like others to not have the misfortune that i had.


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Chicago Defeats Washington 93-79 - Recap
Chicago got 22 points from Elena Delle Donne en route to a 93-79 victory over Washington on Sunday at Verizon Center.
Chicago was a favorite by 3 points and came through with an ATS victory for bettors. The game went OVER the consensus closing total of 152.5.
Chicago got 21 points from Epiphanny Prince and another 16 points from Swin Cash. Courtney Vandersloot contributed 6 assists, while Sylvia Fowles cleaned the glass with 9 rebounds.
The Mystics got an 18 -point performance from Ivory Latta, who was supported by 16 points from Crystal Langhorne. Ivory Latta had 7 assists in a losing cause for Washington, while Kia Vaughn grabbed 8 rebounds.
Chicago led at halftime, 43-37.
Chicago won the battle of the boards, outrebounding their counterparts 37-26.
Next game, Chicago takes its act home to face Phoenix looking for another win. For Washington, they head on the road to face Indiana.


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A former Durango High School student who drew international attention for the racy photo she submitted for the yearbook will plead guilty to obstruction of a police officer, her lawyer said Tuesday in La Plata County Court.
In accordance with the plea agreement, Sydney Spies, 19, must pay a fine and stay out of trouble. If she is successful, the conviction will be wiped from her permanent record.
Spies, who now lives in California, is expected to sign the paperwork and send it to the courts within two weeks, said her Durango lawyer, Richard Jaye. She will not have to make a personal appearance to resolve the case, he said.
Spies made headlines earlier this year by protesting the omission of a photo she submitted of herself wearing a short skirt with a shawl that exposed her shoulders and midsection for the high school yearbook. Student editors deemed it too racy.
The story and photographs were picked up by news outlets around the world.
Spies and her mother appeared on the Today Show in New York City, where Spies called the photo artistic.
She then landed a bit role in a SyFy channel movie called American Horror House, which aired in October.
Spies was arrested late Aug. 12 or early Aug. 13 at her mothers house on Oak Drive in Durango.
Police responded about 11:20 p.m. Aug. 12 to find numerous party-goers drinking alcohol.
Spies is suspected of trying to block a police officer from entering her mothers house after her mother reportedly fled from police who were questioning her about the house party and underage drinking.
Spies also is suspected of pulling and tugging against officers when they tried to place her in handcuffs. She also attempted to jump out of the police cruiser.
Her mother, Denise Miki Spies, 45, was arrested on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a felony, and obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors.
Prosecutors did not file formal charges for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, saying they couldnt track down any underage drinkers at the party because they were dealing with Miki Spies and her daughter.
Miki Spies, who appeared Tuesday in La Plata County Court, is set for trial next month. She has until Jan. 8 to strike a plea agreement with the 6th Judicial District Attorneys Office.
She also faces charges for an unrelated case in which she is suspected of trespassing early June 24 at River Church, 860 Plymouth Drive. In that case, she is suspected of yelling and refusing to leave the playground when asked.
She was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer.


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Anti Aging Tip Number 1. Avoid Fragrances in Anti Aging Skin Products
Anti Aging Skin Products containing fragrances can damage your health
Everyone likes to smell nice. There's nothing wrong with that is there? That's why so many of our personal products such as soaps, shampoos, deodorants, skin care products are much more contain fragrances.
What could possibly be wrong with smelling good?
Stay with us here and keep reading. You see a fragrance is nothing more than a chemical that smells good. Whilst we would all like to think that wonderful perfumes are made from essence of rosehip or something like that nothing could be further from the truth.
Fragrances are chemicals produced in a laboratory that smell nice. There are thousands of them, and most of them have never been tested to find out if they are safe for people to put on their skin.
Did you know that the European Union Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products estimates that somewhere around 2 percent of all people can be allergic or hypersensitive to chemical fragrances?
Did you know that chemical fragrances are one of the top 5 allergens causing allergic reactions, and that includes asthma?
Did you know that in 1986 the US National Academy of Sciences recognized chemical fragrances as potentially leading to brain damage, because they were a potential neurotoxin?
So many anti aging skin products that you may use now contain fragrances. Everyone assumes that this is okay, no one questions it.
One of the most common fragrances synthetic musk. Studies have shown that people who use large quantities of personal products with fragrances will commonly have high levels of synthetic musk in their bodies. And new studies are showing that chemical fragrances are even to be found in the cord blood of our newborn babies.
Perhaps now you're beginning to wonder if you should be putting those anti aging products on your skin at all? Good. You see chemical fragrances are only the start of the problem. There are so many other potentially harmful chemical ingredients in many anti aging products, as well as other chemical ingredients that have been clearly demonstrated to be dangerous to our health, including carcinogenic.
This is a scandal that the US government is now beginning to recognise with proposed legislation before the Congress now.
However our best anti aging tip is to avoid big brand-name anti aging skin care products. As well as being potentially dangerous to your health they are also relatively ineffective.
The best natural anti aging products do not contain any chemical fragrances at all. This is for all the reasons outlined above. They contain ingredients which are known to be safe and effective, and which work extremely well at producing the result that a consumer wants, namely high quality skin care.
And the best natural anti aging skin care productscome with a money back guarantee.
Oh and by the way, what do you do if you like wearing perfume? After all perfume is just another chemical fragrance.
What you do is this. Rather than putting the perfume on your skin just deb a little on the outside of your clothes.
That way you smell good without the fragrance chemical getting into your bloodstream.
There you have our best anti aging tip. Avoid fragrances.
Tagged with: anti aging • anti aging skin products • anti aging tip • anti aging tips • fragrance • Fragrances


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The Women's Down Sweater Vest by Patagonia is your go-to piece for light weight insulation. Impossible to confuse with the sweater vests found at golf courses and bingo parlors, ours comes packed with ultra-toasty 800-fill down that traps heat in alpine conditions. It has a minimalist design that practically floats, and is so compact it stuffs into its own stretch-mesh internal pocket (with a carabiner clip-in loop). The innovative, superlight 100% all-recycled polyester shell (1.4-oz 22-denier) with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish provides wind and water protection as well as a high tear-strength; quilting stabilizes the down. With zippered handwarmer pockets, a drawcord hem and strategically placed quilting in the torso and neck for a feminine silhouette.
So sorry, but only 4 items are allowed for comparison, so we're comparing the first 4. I blame the gnomes and so should you.
Would you like to compare the products you have selected now?


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Former Strikeforce heavyweight Josh Barnett could be heading to the UFC, company president Dana White said.
Barnett (32-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who's first UFC stint and title run ended in 2002 after a failed drug test, is again in negotiations with the organization.
However, a deal hasn't been finalized.
"We're talking to Josh Barnett right now," White said on Tuesday's edition of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV. "Yes, we're open to bringing him into the UFC. It's about making a deal now."
Barnett, a Top 10 heavyweight, recently concluded a 3-1 run in Strikeforce, which included a submission victory over overmatched Nandor Guelmino at the organization's final show earlier this month. Barnett is now 9-1 over the past four years.
While Barnett and White have often butted heads in the past, it appears bygones will be bygones. In addition to White's latest comments, Barnett recently hinted at a possible UFC deal in a Facebook post.
"No, I am not in the UFC yet, but I would love to be in the UFC fighting in the Octagon again being back on the mat where I won the heavyweight title 11 years ago," he wrote. "It's the biggest promotion, with the most exposure, and the best heavyweight division. Plus it's abundantly clear – it's where you guys want to see me fighting."
Barnett, who's also competed for organizations such as PRIDE and DREAM during his 16-year career, fought to the final of Strikeforce's ambitious world heavyweight grand prix, where he suffered a decision loss to Daniel Cormier in late 2012. It was his only fight of the year and snapped an eight-fight win streak. The Guelmino victory got him back in the win column.
For more on the UFC's upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.


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Editors note: This is one of several articles from Colorado Parks and Wildlife to prepare hunters for the fall big-game hunting season in Colorado. For this and more stories, visit the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website at http://wildlife.state.co.us/NewsMedia/PressReleases/pages/pressrelease.aspx?PressId=7907.
By Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Reintroduced to Colorado nearly 30 years ago, moose are thriving in many parts of the state. Unfortunately, almost every year, hunters accidentally shoot moose. During the 2011 big game seasons, more than a dozen moose were killed by elk hunters who thought they were shooting at cow elk.
Elk hunters need to be sure to know the difference between these two ungulates. If a hunter without the proper license shoots a moose, the fine can be more than $1,000 and hunting privileges can be lost.
Moose are the largest members of the deer family and have adapted to a variety of habitats. They favor willows along streams and ponds. But be aware; Some moose also inhabit lodgepole pine, oak brush, aspen, spruce, fir and even sagebrush in other words, the same areas where elk live. Moose can be found in almost any high-country habitat area of Colorado.
There is no excuse for mistaking these animals. They are vastly different in size, color, antler shape and habits. A mature Shiras bull moose weighs 1,200 pounds about twice as much as the average bull elk. Moose are dark brown and appear almost black. Elk are light brown a bull elk can be almost golden with a pale yellow rump.
A moose has a very large, long and bulbous nose and a bell under the throat. An elks snout is much narrower and it has no bell. A mature bull moose has broad, flat antlers, unlike the pointed antlers of an elk. But the antlers on some young bull moose have not flattened out yet, so hunters need to look over the entire animal before pulling the trigger.
Moose act very differently than elk when approached by humans. Typically, moose will not flee like elk at the sight of a hunter, which makes them easier to kill. So if it sees you and doesnt run, its probably a moose.
Despite these readily apparent differences, every hunting season brings a number of illegal moose kills. Circumstances vary from mistaken identity by hunters to blatant poaching. The common denominator in most accidental kills is that the hunter is not using other optical aids besides the rifle scope. Always carry binoculars or a spotting scope to help you properly identify the species you are hunting.
The first moose to reach Colorado 12 from Utah were transplanted by wildlife biologists in the North Park region near Walden in 1978. The next year, another dozen were released in the Illinois River drainage, also in North Park. Some of these moose moved into the Laramie River Valley, and, in 1987, an additional 12 animals were brought in from Wyoming.
By 1991, the North Park population was doing so well that some of those moose were moved to the upper Rio Grande drainage near Creede. In 2005 and 2006, moose from Utah were transplanted on the Grand Mesa. In the summer of 2008, the DOW brought a few moose from Utah to supplement the small herd in the La Garita mountains south of Gunnison.
Moose also have been spotted in the San Juan Mountains.


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Wall Street Journal's
investigative staff have unleashed serious
allegations against the world's largest network Facebook and
its partners. According to the report, the site's partners have
been intentionally and blatantly violating its privacy policies.
Makers of some of the site's most popular apps have been sharing
users names with advertisers, something strictly
prohibited under the site's terms of service. App
makers reportedly have even shared the info of users who have their
privacy set to the strictest settings. Users with less strict
settings may also have had the list of their friends shared, which in
turn could affect users with stricter settings,
second-hand.Reportedly over 10 million users were effected by
the violation of terms of service.The breach of privacy is
part of an increasingly lucrative scheme known as data mining.
Today data mining allows advertisers to better target their audience,
by maintaining vast databases of information detailing various
individual's behavior and tastes. Data mining companies call
upon the services of heavily trafficked sites like Facebook and
Google to deliver vast amounts of user data. While many users
don't realize it, their name is instantly associated with a lengthy
record of their internet activity and purchases.Facebook is
claiming the scheme, which brought its partners lucrative advertising
money, was "inadvertent" -- an innocent accident.States
a spokesperson to The
Wall Street Journal,
"A Facebook user ID may be inadvertently shared by a user's
Internet browser or by an application. [Knowledge of an ID]
does not permit access to anyone's private information on Facebook.
Our technical systems have always been complemented by strong policy
enforcement, and we will continue to rely on both to keep people in
control of their information."According to The
Wall Street Journal, 10
of the site's most popular apps, subscribed to by many its over
500 million active users, were involved in the scheme.
Three of the apps involved were -- Zynga Game Network Inc.'s
FarmVille, with 59 million users, and Texas HoldEm Poker and
FrontierVille. Farmville was among three apps thats also sold
information on users' friends to advertisers, collected in violation
with the site's terms of service.Facebook has announced no
plans to discipline these partners, despite the fact that some of
them were clearly caught violating its terms of service. The
debacle comes just a month after West
Wing screenwriter
Aaron Sorkin portrayed the site's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in
a less than flattering manner in the film The
Social Network.
It also comes as the site struggles with its latest
addition, user "groups". As pranks,
users have been adding
their friends to groups associated with taboos such as
pedophilia and terrorism, raising the possibility of legal trouble
for these friends. The site's founder was added to NAMBLA -- a
group supporting pedophilia. Users have no way of blocking
themselves from being added to groups, raising legal risks for them.
Once added, though, users can opt to leave a group at any time.
Facebook has defended the new feature, refusing to make
changes.Facebook did recently roll out a privacy settings
control panel for apps, giving users more control over what
information is shared. One problem, though is that users can
still have their identities shared by friends, if their friends adopt
more lax privacy settings. There currently is no way to limit
what information your friends share with app makers and advertisers,
including your name and potentially other info.For their
part, some app makers claim that they only mistakenly sold private
user data. They said they were merely selling advertisers
referring links, a common practice, and had no idea those referring
links contained personal info, such as the user's name. They,
in effect, blame Facebook for the technical error.Others,
like FamilyBuilder, maker of the Family Tree application, admitted to
harvesting user data intentionally, but say that they kept user info
confidential. Family Tree reported passed on info to data
mining firm RapLeaf, that in turn deposit custom-tailored cookies on
users' computers to further track their activities. Info from
these cookies was sold to a number of other firms, including Google
subsidiary Invite Media.


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Dean Lueck, Jonathan Yoder
Fri, 07/22/2016
In this PERC Policy Series essay, Dean Lueck and Jonathan Yoder use economics to examine wildfire management and current wildfire policy debates.
Reed Watson
Wed, 06/25/2014
Iowa Supreme Court strikes a significant blow for property rights and the environment by ruling that common law nuisance claims are not preempted by the Clean Air Act.
Roger Meiners
Wed, 03/19/2014
With central planners promising such extraordinary economic returns from regulation, what could possibly go wrong?
Daniel Benjamin
Wed, 12/04/2013
A cautionary tale of ozone regulation
Shawn Regan, Fred Thomas
Wed, 11/06/2013
How opposition to coal exports is impacting one of the poorest communities in Montana — the Crow Indian reservation.
Reed Watson
Wed, 11/06/2013
The next time you fly in or out of Bozeman, Montana, remember Ronald Coase and his wisdom about markets as problem solvers.
Jonathan Adler
Tue, 10/15/2013
The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA concerning the Environmental Protection Agency's regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. PERC's Jonathan Adler explains.
Fri, 07/19/2013
This summer PERC welcomed 14 entrepreneurs from all over the world for its 13th annual Enviropreneur Institute. One of our enviropreneurs, David Hoffman, is an avid outdoorsman with a particular interest in air quality.
Charles Kolstad
Free market environmentalism has a lot to offer, but Kolstad says the case for FME is weaker when dealing with environmental goods such as clean air.


text: Well here is my latest project & my first BMW Twin. It belonged to my best mate Gav who was taken early this year by the Big C at only 49, way to young. Anyway he had this old girl for 16 years but she has not turned a cylinder in approximately 8 years. He also spent 5 years living 50 meters from the shoreline so she is not in a good state & is going to be a long term complete ground up rebuild. Looking forward to doing her In a cafe style & have been inspired by many on here. He also had a Moto Guzzi V65 Lario which is In better shape but will still need work. I will pick that up later in the year & work on it alongside the BMW & my immaculate Ducati 906 Paso. Not a bad stable if you like old Euro Twins. Anyway the BM is a 1983 R100, here are some pics to give you an idea of what lies ahead for me. I look forward to milking your collective minds of knowledge over the next year or two.


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"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."
Basic InformationName: Guts
Gender: ♂ Male.
Age: 20
Nickname The demon slayer
Clan: N/A
Guts has black hair fitted with constant, short pointy spikes already built from short hair itself. At the base of his hairline, he allows a few strands (to take on the role as bangs) to hang just above his forehead. He wears bandages over his right hand (a style he has used since the beginning, most likely to assist in handling a sword) and wears a sleeveless white undershirt beneath it, allowing him to move his arms freely. On his pants there is also a set of armor featured in the groin area most likely for protective purposes.
Guts has a very tactical personality, when he is not enraged he will study his opponent thoroughly if given the opportunity. He has become a brilliant fighter because of this and ontop of his normal survival instincts, this advantage of his brain allows him to survive some of the most difficult battles. He is prone to using decoys and tricks to defeat his larger enemies, ontop of evasive maneuvers and hiding while looking for a weak spot. Guts can act like a wild animal with only the will to kill and survive...he will use anything that he can forge as a weapon and is not afraid to practically cover himself in blood to kill all of his enemies. Sometimes Guts can become very serious, thus showing his resolve and determination to kill anything in his way to achieve victory. Guts has somewhat of a bloodlust, getting an intense beastial satisfaction off of killing other people...almost to the degree that he could be considered somewhat psychotic. He will occasionally grin in such a manner that makes him appear to be a demon and loves the feeling of killing scum. He's always open for a challenge and does not mind litterly crushing somebody's body and internal organs. That being said, Guts has no morals on how he kills people and will easily slaughter anyone without giving it a second thought. When it comes to how he acts with other people, his personality is really picky. If it is someone he is friendly with, he'll act just like one of the guys (or at least attempt to) and be rowdy, reckless and sometimes a bit goofy. When it comes to people he has a close kinship to, he will smile and talk with them on an even level...very interested in sharing his own thoughts but keeping his secrets as well. Guts is, first and foremost, an incredibly resilient man. Despite the hardships he's been meant to suffer from his cursed birth, he has grown and changed considerably, gaining in both strength of body and mind. The brash stubbornness of his youth has melted into a somewhat "worldly" view on things and the people around him; he's come to realize over time what matters most to him and what he is willing to sacrifice to protect it - everything. He gives of himself relentlessly for the sake of those precious few whove managed to fight their ways into his heart despite the long voyage it took to get there; Guts is both incredibly loyal and incredibly selfless, though this was not always the case. It took unfathomable loss for him to finally understand what his priorities truly were.
Village Info.
Village of Birth: Land of Iron.
Village of Alliance: Kirigakure.
Rank//Chakra Info.
Ninja Rank: Sannin.
Your ninjutsu Kenjutsu|Taijutsu: Samurai Techs (Needs Training)
Taijutsu:B rank
Background Info.History: In an incredible unusual and grotesque way of coming into this world, Guts was released from his mother's womb sometime after she was hung from the Hanging Tree in the land of iorn. Surviving the fall without any physical damage done to his body , Guts lay apparently dead until a local mercenary party led by Gambino arrived at the scene to discover the child. Gambino's lover Shisu quickly scoops up the newborn infant into her arms and cradles him to life, surprising everyone around. Of course, several of the party members make observations of a possible curse that would fall upon them for taking this forsaken child, which becomes a reality with Shisu's death at the hand of a terrible disease and ultimately Gambino's own undoing.
Because of the event of how Guts was born, this event foreshadows his entire life bloodstained and with many disturbing things to come his way. It could be that he was also born from such an unusual "death" that his desire to kill others in combat can be traced here.This would later come back to bite him has one day Gambino his father figure of sorts lost his legs in a battle and the things following it by with depression and anxiety Gambino was a shadow of his former self. One distant night when Guts was 13
years old and sleeping in his tent peacefully the moon was high and white and everything seemed alright until a huge sword came crashing down on his pillow. Guts barley made it out of alive and has he turned around to see who it was it was none other then Gambino himself.
With the memories of his wife coming back to him he started to curse at Guts and blame him for the death of his beloved wife because of the way he was born unto this world and a curse. Shocked by this and confused Guts froze in disbelief that the man who took care of him sense he could remember would try to kill him. Gambino swinged his sword one final time has Guts did what he only knew how to do and drew out his sword and slashed Gambino head off in a blinding rage.
Following the events afterwards Guts was dethrone and hunted down by samurais and ninjas alike, roaming around from battle field to battle field doing what he does best and kill kill kill.
Theme Song and Background Music:
Lost: :rag:
If approved will be dropping Sharmarke Senju | Credit goes to Mephiles


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Martin and Sinatra are apparent, but where's the Bard in Commonwealth Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona"?
A patient audience and a troupe of game actors proved once again that the show must go on, despite the Wednesday evening weather upstaging "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" on the Boston Common.
Between holding for a patch of clear sky, and watching the stagehands mop puddles of water from the playing surface, a small band of stalwart fans had plenty of down time to consider these lazy, hazy, changeable nights of summer.
No matter your level of tolerance for updating Shakespeare, you might wonder at this version of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," alternately ripped from the Broadway musical "Guys and Dolls," and films starring the Rat Pack on a rampage in Las Vegas.
As the rain clouds parted, the leading characters strutted the stage as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike (a succulent Ellen Adair as Silvia), the beloved of the jittery-legged but adorable Valentine (Andrew Burnap). Her father, the Duke of Milan (Rick Park), behaved as if he were the Godfather or Tony Soprano, complete with a New Jersey accent. Director Steven Maler reinforced his concept by adding a live five-piece band to back up the actors as they stepped to a stand-up mic to warble a suite of 1950s ballads. Shakespeare's famous song, "Where Is Silvia?" was set to the melody of Dean Martin's signature number, "Volare." Yikes!
You might well ask what was left of Shakespeare? "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is widely considered to be one of his early works, written before the playwright had learned to develop fully drawn characters and a plausible conclusion to the multiple plot lines. The resolution of the conflict between the honest Valentine and his double-crossing best friend Proteus (Peter Cambor) is the most troubling part of the play. After Proteus tries to snake Silvia from Valentine and dump the valiant Julia (Jenna Augen) who loves him, the play ends happily ever after and is explained in only a few lines. Clearly Shakespeare still had much to learn before he went on to write "Twelfth Night" and "The Tragedy of Othello" which deal with similar but more complex human motives and desires.
Given the over-the-top inconsistencies of Maler's revision, it comes as a surprise that the actors do fine when they are simply speaking Shakespeare's lines. Of course, the goofiness of the clown-servants, Launce (Larry Coen) and Speed (Remo Airaldi), is fun to watch, along with their real-life, pooch Crab (a role shared by four dog-actors). Augen as Julia manages to bring down the house with a hot rendition of "Fever," which leaves little to the imagination about her feelings for Proteus.
The whole of the concoction unfolds on a bright red platform stage, backed by a half-moon-shaped drop painted with names of Las Vegas hotels and nightclubs, designed by Beowulf Boritt. A series of practical doors for the second act, a Mack Sennett film-like chase scene, and some second- and third-story windows punched into the backdrop help to expand the places for action.
Choreographer Yo-el Cassell has contributed not only the big production numbers, complete with chorus girl cuties in sequined costumes and feather headdresses designed by Nancy Leary, but also plenty of moves for the actors.
Maler is a pro at staging the plays of the Bard, now in his 18th year as artistic director of the annual Boston Common summer presentations. Last year, his "Coriolanus" was a marvel of clear thinking in its updating to underline the universal follies of war. "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is an entertaining romp, but perhaps Maler should have put more trust in Shakespeare than in Martin and Sinatra.
"The Two Gentlemen of Verona"
Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
WHERE: On the Boston Common
WHEN: Through July 28
ADMISSION: Free. Chair rental $35
INFO: www.commshakes.org


text: I was surprised it went more than one season. It was terrible, from the pathetic excuse for writing to the acting that made a third grade production of Hair look like the RSC. I'm not saying the casting couch is alive and well in Hollywood. I am saying she did not get cast because of her acting talent - she has none. Not really Anthony's fault. It's the writers'. He wasn't a character, he was set dressing, and the scripts treated him as such.


text:
Rocket League is free to play on Steam this weekend
If you haven't played Rocket League yet, now's the time.
Cars headlines
New GTA 5 video shows in-game garage, car customization
A new Grand Theft Auto 5 video has emerged, showcasing a few of the highly anticipated game's cars as well as giving you a sneak peak of the place where you will be able to customize them.
Disney Infinity adds Pixar's Cars to playset roster
Disney Infinity will feature a playset based on Pixar's Cars franchise. It will feature figures of Lightning McQueen, Mater, Holley Shiftwell and Francesco Bernoulli.
Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure announced for March
Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure has been announced by Microsoft. Set for a March 20 release, the game, previously code-named "Rush", brings five "beloved Pixar films to life like never before." Players can team up with characters from: The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up!, Cars and Toy Story to "race against time and solve time-based challenges." […]
Kool & the Gang, Katy Perry, Bowie all confirmed for February Lips DLC
Microsoft's confirmed the list of February DLC for Lips, with David Bowie, Katy Perry, The Human League and more all confirmed.
New Gears of War 2 shots show dead cars
Get along and release it already, Microsoft. New Gears of War 2 shots came out today, showing dead cars and muscle-men, as you'd expect. See them on Destructoid. Game's out on November 7.
Cars latest
Kool & the Gang, Katy Perry, Bowie all confirmed for February Lips DLC


text:
Longboat Key residents Bill and Judy Carman recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married July 27, 1962, in Ann Arbor, Mich., and honeymooned on Mackinaw Island, Mich. To celebrate 50 years of marriage, the couple revisited the island in June and enjoyed the annual Lilac Festival.
The Carman's also celebrated locally in July with a dinner hosted by their three sons Matthew, Christopher and Jeffery and attended by close friends.
The couple has lived on Longboat for 43 years and was formerly in business at Carman's shoes and Handbags on St. Armands for 46 years. They retired two years ago.


text:
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text:
Just my luck, I leave perfectly good warm pizza here in the Lab (thanks Kimberly) to sprint over to Duke Law for the announcement of the winners of The Center for the Study of the Public Domain's Moving Image Contest. Once I got there their pizza was cold.
You may recall that I was one of three judges for the contest; the others were Creative Commons' Glenn Otis Brown and FullFrame Documentary Festival's Laurie Racine.
The winners chosen by the three of us and the winner of the People's Choice Online Voting were announced by Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle.
As you can imagine, especially if you know the judges, there was a divergence of opinions, but we picked four very strong and enjoyable films. The People did a fine job too — since I agree with them that "Stealing Home" is particularly good.
"The contest asked for 2 minute movies about the ways that intellectual property affects art– specifically documentary film or music."
Drop by and have a view.
Let me put in a plug for "Music for Our Grandchildren" which was produced in Poland. If you want to watch that one and you are not in Poland, then you might want to get your download from Duke.


text:
I don't believe in it. When you're happily married, every day is Valentine's Day.
But I did stoop to explaining where the heart is located in an arthropod, with diagrams, to my intro biology course, just in case they wanted to make a card for their favorite invertebrate. That's my only concession to this manufactured event.
Also, the Morris Freethinkers are tabling at our student center today, celebrating a belated Darwin Day. Stop by and get your picture taken with Charles Darwin!


text:
Submit News
Samsung Shys Away From Apple, Plans To Sell Chips to Chinese Smartphone Makers Instead
Tiffany Kaiser
January 10, 2013 11:14 AM
Recipient E-mail
Sender E-mail
Samsung's Stephen Woo
(Source: i.i.com.com)
Apple will purchase about $8.8 billion USD worth of chips from Samsung this year, but then decline
With Samsung and Apple's relationship turning sour in recent years due to patent litigation, Samsung recognizes that it must move on and
supply its chips elsewhere
-- and it's looking to new Chinese entrants in the mobile market.
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, Samsung's President of LSI business Stephen Woo said that it's crucial for the South Korean electronics maker to focus on alternatives to Apple when it comes to the chip sector.
"As there are just two smartphone makers that are doing really well, chipmakers supplying them have grown in tandem. So we plan to bolster our relationship with those key customers," said Woo.
"(We) should diversify our customer base and are making such efforts already, adding some Chinese customers. We see emerging players who have potential to grow in smartphones and we will continue to make efforts to supply them with our chips."
Samsung has already made a bit of headway in its latest decision. It has been supplying Exynos quad-core chips to Chinese smartphone company Meizu and also to Lenovo's K860 LePhone.
Samsung is forced to move on to other chip customers now that Apple has turned into an enemy. Samsung was the main supplier of Apple's iPhone and iPad chips, which made up a bulk of Samsung's chip-making efforts along with its own Galaxy line. However, after a
nasty patent war
broke out between the two nearly two years ago, Apple has been distancing itself and will make its own chips.
According to Goldman Sachs, Apple will purchase about $8.8 billion USD worth of chips from Samsung this year, which is about 80 percent of Apple's allowance for processors, memory chips and screens. But Apple is expected to move 30 percent of its business away from Samsung next year and about 80 percent by 2017 -- meaning Samsung better find new clients.
"So if you want to save the planet, feel free to drive your Hummer. Just avoid the drive thru line at McDonalds." -- Michael Asher
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text:
Total Smartphone Shipments Slip in China
Decline Signals Moderation in Market's Explosive Growth
BEIJING—Total smartphone shipments in China fell 4% in the fourth quarter of 2013 from the third quarter, according to research firm IDC, the latest signal that the explosive growth in the world's largest smartphone market is likely to moderate in coming years.
According to IDC, 90.8 million handsets were shipped in the fourth quarter, compared with 94.8 million in the third. It is the first drop in shipments in more than two years,...


text:
Reds draft Rutgers first baseman O'Grady
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
In the eighth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft on Friday, No. 245 overall, the Reds took first baseman Brian O'Grady from Rutgers University.
O'Grady, a 22-year-old from Warminster, Pa., batted .328/.402/.510 with five home runs and 30 RBIs in 54 games this season. He earned all-conference third-team honors.
"It was an unbelievable feeling when I got the call today," O'Grady said on the Rutgers athletics website. "This was my goal and it validates all the hard work put in over the years. It will be an honor to represent Rutgers at the next level, as the program made me into the player I am today. I would like to thank all of my coaches and teammates for all of their support and guidance."
couldnt be more excited to have been drafted by the @Reds cant wait to get on the field and follow in the footsteps of @FlavaFraz21- Brian O'Grady (@BrianOGrady21) June 6, 2014
The team leader in homers, triples (five) and slugging, O'Grady was also tied for the lead in hits with 67.
"He's a very good athlete," said Chris Buckley, the Reds' senior director of amateur scouting. "He's played a number of positions. In his junior year, he was a center fielder. When you can get a kid that can play first base and play center field, he's got to be a pretty good athlete."
The Reds have taken seven players from Rutgers in the school's history, including third baseman Todd Frazier in 2007 with the 34th overall pick in the first round.
"I am very happy for Brian," Rutgers head coach Joe Litterio said on the school website. "He has worked very hard for this opportunity and I would like to thank him for his contributions to the program over his four years. We wish him the best of luck going forward." The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.
Reds draft All-Pac 12 pitcher Strahan
On the second day of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, the Reds certainly demonstrated a pattern. Of their eight picks from Rounds 3 through 10, they took only pitchers and infielders.
"The righties are all hard throwers. The infielders fit in with what we always try to do. These are guys that play multiple positions and do a lot of things," Reds senior director of amateur scouting Chris Buckley said.
All five of the pitchers taken on Friday were from the collegiate ranks. Among them was a right-hander in third-round selection Wyatt Strahan from USC.
Strahan, 21, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds and has been a starting pitcher for the Trojans the past two seasons after being a freshman reliever.
"He's a big guy and a hard thrower," Buckley said. "He pitched in a great conference. If we miss and he can't start, we certainly think he can pitch late in the ballgame."
The Reds love their power pitchers and Strahan, who had done his research about the organization, was equally thrilled about being picked by Cincinnati.
"I can't even say how excited I was," Strahan said. "I just know from hearing different stories, from a quality guy like Michael Lorenzen, they're pretty good at progressing their pitchers and developing their pitchers. I'm pretty excited to play for the organization."
Lorenzen, another power pitcher, was the 38th overall pick of the Reds last season out of Cal-State Fullerton, and is currently at Double-A Pensacola as the No. 4 prospect in the organization, according to MLB.com. There is another righty that Strahan is particularly fond of, this one in the big leagues.
"I love watching power pitchers, guys like Homer Bailey of the Reds," Strahan said. "The way those types of guys pitch instead of just throws is fascinating to me."
In 16 games, including 15 starts this season, Strahan was 6-5 with a 3.28 ERA. In 104 1/3 innings, he allowed 91 hits and 41 walks while striking out 89. In one outing vs. Utah, he struck out a career-high 13 batters.
Learning how to deal with adversity was the biggest takeaway for Strahan from his final season with the Trojans.
"There were times during the season where it wasn't going my way," he said. "It was more of how you react more than anything. That was the biggest thing I learned. In my last start of the season in the first inning, I gave up two runs solely because of putting guys on base. After that, I went six scoreless. I said 'that's as much as they're going to get today' and I ended up having a decent start."
According to the MLB.com scouting report, Strahan added velocity that has him touching the mid-90s with his fastball. This year, he earned All-Pac 12 conference honors.
Strahan is the first USC player to be picked by the Reds since pitcher Brad Boxberger was taken in the 2009 supplemental first round. Boxberger has since been traded to the Padres.
The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.
Slimmed-down infielder goes to Reds in fourth round
Losing weight did not mean losing power for third baseman Gavin LaValley, who has been a star hitter for Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Okla.
LaValley weighed 270 pounds as a freshman and realized it wouldn't help him with his aspirations to play professionally or in college.
"My sophomore year, I realized I wanted to play baseball and go far in baseball," said LaValley, a former football player. "I just changed my diet and started working out harder to get my body right. I got a shot at third base and [the coach] liked me over there and started putting me there for two seasons."
LaValley is now listed at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds.
"The power stayed there. It never left," he said. "It just made me a lot faster, agile and mobile. It helped me all around in every aspect of the game."
The Reds made LaValley their fourth-round selection in the First-Year Player Draft on Friday. It marked the first time in this year's Draft that they took a high school player after four college picks. Just before his name was revealed publicly by the Reds, the organization sent him a text message about their intentions.
"I knew it was a dream come true when that happened," LaValley said.
Thank you everyone for the congratulations!! I really appreciate it! I am very blessed to have this opportunity!! Thanks again to everyone!
- Gavin LaValley (@Gavin_LaValley) June 6, 2014
LaValley, 19, led his school to three straight state championships and batted a combined .516/.618/1.126 with 54 home runs and 202 RBIs in 121 games.
This season, LaValley batted .539 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs.
"Gavin is a good high school hitter with the potential to have plus power. I really like this kid's bat," said Reds scout Mike Keenan.
LaValley has a letter of intent signed with the University of Oklahoma.
"I'm going to sign professionally," LaValley said. "I just want to get started in pro ball and make my way to the Majors. I want to get in the system, get comfortable in the system and just get ready for it."
"He could have gone to Oklahoma to play football," Reds senior director of amateur scouting Chris Buckley said. "He's a big high school kid that we'll try him at third base. If he can't, he'll make his way over to first base. But he has the power for the position."
The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.
Reds pick college transfer Antone in fifth round
The Reds selected right-handed pitcher Tejay Antone with their fifth-round pick (155th overall) in the First-Year Player Draft on Friday.
Antone spent this year with Weatherford College in Texas after he spent his freshman year at Texas Christian University in 2013. For Weatherford, he was 7-6 with a 2.88 ERA and a team-leading 84 1/3 innings pitched.
During his freshman season at TCU, Antone was used sparingly.
"At the year-end meeting with the TCU coach, he said he saw me as a bullpen guy for them next year [this season]," Antone told the Weatherford College athletics website in April. "I wanted to start in college, so I let him know I was going to transfer to Weatherford College to start and get my innings in."
Listed as 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, the 20-year-old Antone has a letter of intent signed to pitch next season for Auburn. According to the MLB.com scouting report, he has a 91-93 mph fastball and can touch 95 mph with some sink. He has a changeup, slider and curveball, but the secondary pitches have not drawn praise in the scouting reports.
"He's another big guy with a really good arm," Reds senior director of amateur scouting Chris Buckley said. "He did well at TCU. Our game is just a lot different than college baseball. There is a lot more patience on our side to develop. Their game is about winning. They wanted to put him in the bullpen. Tejay wanted to start and get drafted."
Antone was a 22nd-round pick of the Mets as a high school senior, but elected to go to TCU.
The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.
Seton Hall pitcher Lopez taken by Reds
Seton Hall right-handed pitcher Jose Lopez could wind up being a steal for the Reds. Because he did not pitch in 2014 after he had Tommy John surgery on his elbow, Lopez's Draft stock dropped.
As the Reds continued a trend of accumulating college pitching talent Friday, the organization used its sixth-round pick (185th overall) to take the 20-year-old Lopez.
"He would have been a high Draft pick," Reds senior director of amateur scouting Chris Buckley said. "He's already well into his rehab. We're taking a little risk but he wants to come out."
In 2013, Lopez had a 3-3 record and 3.40 ERA in 20 games, including five starts. He had 42 strikeouts and 18 walks over 47 2/3 innings while opponents batted a team-best .180 against him.
"He was 94-97 [mph] with a hard slider," Buckley said. "He got hurt at the end of the fall and tried to rehab it and then had the surgery."
This isn't the first time that the Reds have landed a pitcher from Seton Hall. Reliever Nick Christiani, who was a 13th-round pick in 2009, made his big league debut last season and was on the Opening Day roster this season.
The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.
Reds take high school infielder in seventh round
With their seventh-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft, No. 215 overall, the Reds selected second baseman Shane Mardirosian out of Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, Calif.
"So stoked," Mardirosian posted on Twitter after being picked.
In 103 games over four seasons with the King varsity team, the 17-year-old Mardirosian batted .383 with four homers and 60 RBIs. A left-handed hitter, he batted .347 in 25 games as his team's shortstop.
"We really liked the way he swings the bat," Reds senior director of amateur scouting Chris Buckley said. "He runs very well. It's very hard to find left-handed-hitting middle infielders. It's like finding a left-handed-hitting catcher. It's hard to do for whatever reason."
Currently, Mardirosian has signed with UC Santa Barbara to play collegiate baseball.
So stoked! #CincinnatiReds pic.twitter.com/itgmOchlRA
- Shane Mardirosian (@shanemardi) June 6, 2014
The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.
Hartford right-hander selected by Reds
The Reds' ninth-round selection (No. 275 overall) in Friday's Day 2 of the First-Year Player Draft was used to take right-handed pitcher Brian Hunter from the University of Hartford.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Hunter mostly started for Hartford. This season in 15 games, including 13 starts, he was 4-8 with a 4.13 ERA.
Over four seasons, Hunter struck out 182 batters -- which is second-most in school history.
Hunter's teammate in the rotation, Sean Newcomb, was the 15th overall selection in the first round by the Angels.
The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.
Reds take Ohio lefty to finish Draft Day 2
When the Reds used their 10th-round pick in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft on Friday, they kept it local.
Left-handed pitcher Seth Varner, the 305th overall selection, pitched for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. A native of Batavia, he attended Clermont-Northeastern High School.
This season in 15 starts, Varner was 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA and one shutout. In 104 1/3 innings, the 22-year-old gave up 95 hits and 25 walks and struck out a school-record 123 batters.
"We're excited about him," Reds senior director of amateur scouting Chris Buckley said. "We just had him at our pre-Draft workout. The kid can pitch. He's a local guy -- we like to do that when we can."
Varner was a first-team All-MAC conference honoree and is the first Miami pitcher to ever win the MAC pitcher of the year award. He was also a third-team Louisville Slugger All-American.
In 2013, Varner was mostly a reliever and the Redhawks' leader in appearances, Varner had a 2-1 record and 5.13 ERA in 21 games, including three starts. He did not allow a home run this season and his 25 strikeouts led relievers on the team.
The Draft concludes Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.
Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
Neymar's message to Messi: Beat the Germans
TERESÓPOLIS: Brazilian superstar Neymar said on Thursday he wants Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi to lead Argentina to victory in the World Cup final against Germany.
At an emotional press conference, Neymar broke down in tears as he relived the challenge which broke a vertebrae in his back and left him fearing he would be paralysed.
With Brazil's dream of winning a sixth World Cup decimated by their 7-1 hammering by Germany, Neymar said he wants Barcelona teammate Messi to claim the trophy on Sunday against the Germans.
"Messi's history in the sport is so important, he has won a lot of trophies and I will be cheering for him," Neymar told a press conference.
"He is a friend, he is my teammate and I wish him luck."
Neymar returned to Brazil's training camp in Teresopolis for the first time since the incident on Thursday in a bid to lift his teammates' spirits after their humiliation at the hands of Germany.
"It is not a pleasant situation, but it is good just to be back here so I can see my friends and I told them we stared together so we should finish this together regardless of the result."
And, despite not being able to take part himself, he urged the rest of the Brazil squad to at least salvage some pride against the Netherlands in their third-place playoff on Saturday.
"What matters is that we are united and we are going to finish this with honour on Saturday," he said.
"We had the chance to be champion in our country and we failed. We didn't get it right, we fell short. We know we had a good campaign, but we did not play our best.
"We did not show how good Brazilian football is, its superiority and charm, but we have to look at this last match as if it were the final.
"Victory won't assimilate all the pain we feel today, but it is important."
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text:
See how Vodafone stacks up against other providers
See how Vodafone stacks up against other providers
Vodafone to enter fixed-line market with NBN plans
- Vodafone will offer fixed line fibre connections under the NBN
- Vodafone warns about making sure the market is competitive
- Mobile broadband may improve once NBN takes the strain off it
The NBN has given Vodafone (1300 106 571) the chance to move into the fixed-line broadband market, the company announced today at a parliamentary committee.
Vodafone, long known for their great value mobile plans and mobile broadband services, praised the NBN for the way it has opened up room for competition amongst Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia.
Matthew Lobb, Vodafone's general manager of public policy, said: "Globally, Vodafone is quite an active fixed line player... but Australia has not been an attractive fixed line market because of Telstra's 70% market share and vertical integration. Recent reforms and the NBN have changed our thinking."
Click here for the best ADSL2+ plans.
With the stranglehold Telstra has over the market and over wholesale prices gone, other ISPs will feel free to compete to get the best prices and plans to customers. In addition to that, the NBN will mean access to rural and remote areas of Australia where previously only Telstra or mobile broadband had been available. This means that even Telstra, if they want to still be an option amongst other, cheaper ISPs, will have to lower their prices in order to stay afloat, and the Australian consumer should see a lot more choice and diversity in their broadband options. It will be a hefty budget downgrade, as well!
Matthew Lobb stressed the need for Australians to be aware of the new choice that would be available. He said: "There needs to be a pro competition plan. Saying nothing will change is a missed opportunity. NBNCo should promote new entrants."
Lobb warned against Telstra keeping their hold on rural Australia just by virtue of brand dominance: "They are going to be a formidable competitor, and what we want to make sure is that competition is undertaken fairly. One of the messages is: make informed choices, don't just consider your current supplier. It's not just more of the same – migrate across to fibre but think about new entrants."
NBN plans are not yet widely available. Call us on 1300 106 571 to see if you can get some of TPG's great plans in your area – they have 400 DSLAMs around Australia and counting.
Hopefully, the NBN will address many misconceptions around broadband speed and reliability that we hear every day at Compare Broadband.
Many customers think that the only explanation for Telstra's inflated prices is that they somehow provide better service on a fixed line than other ISPs. Generally, though, the main determining factor for the speed and reliability of an ADSL2+ connection at any house is about the distance from your telephone exchange and the quality of your copper line. No matter which provider you go with, these two factors aren't going to change - generally, we recommend that you make your decision about which provider to sign up with based on price and customer service.
This confusion isn't helped by the different technology behind mobile broadband. A customer might decide that Company X were terrible, with lots of drop outs and incredibly slow loading times, when they were using them as mobile broadband (that USB stick that you plug into your computer). However, mobile broadband uses totally different technology to the ADSL2+ or fibre optic connections that will be provided via the NBN or that can be provided now.
Mobile wireless broadband doesn't rely on the stability of a fixed line connection. Instead, it uses mobile phone towers to find a signal and then broadcasts that to your computer. As a result, just like when you're using a mobile phone, sometimes the internet will work really well – and at other times, it will work really, really badly. It sounds confusing – and don't even get us started on wireless vs. WiFi! – but the basic thing to understand is that your speed and the strength of your connection with an ADSL2+ fixed line connection will usually be pretty constant, no matter which provider you go with.
Lobb supported this idea further, pointing out how flawed the argument that the NBN isn't important "because consumers love mobile tech, they don't like wires". Ironically, he argued that mobile broadband speeds would pick up once more options were available in areas where mobile broadband is dominant, because "if you can take traffic out of the mobile network you increase the speed", insisting that "getting fixed line right is absolutely crucial for mobile networks."
Ultimately, according to Lobb and Vodafone, the NBN is going to be great for both fixed line and mobile broadband connections. He asked customers to "watch this space" for the Vodafone bundle, hinting that a fixed line connection would be all that was needed to complete a Vodafone-happy household.
NBN-based connections are not yet widely available. For those who want to take advantage of great value plans with short or no contracts, we recommend:
TPG's Unlimited $60 ADSL2+ Bundle (6 month contract) – Call 1300 106 571;
Club Telco has an unlimited phone and internet connection for $70/$90 (depending on location) with no contract- Call 1300 138 155;
Internode has a 200GB Easy Bundle for $80 with no contract, call on 1300 106 571.
Vodafone 4G Delayed to June – But Do I Need 4G?
- Faster than even Telstra and Optus
- Could still be this month, but unlikely
- What good is 4G with only 1GB of data?
If you're trying to buy a mobile phone or mobile broadband service right now, your options are limitless. And confusing. But most people have managed to grasp the narrative that Telstra's network is miles ahead of Optus, while Optus is miles ahead of Vodafone. Even people who aren't aware that Vodafone had a well-publicized network breakdown about 2 years ago that they're barely recovered from, have at least heard from clued in friends and relatives that they should stay away at all costs. That popular story is due for a change, but not quite as soon as most of us thought- Vodafone have started moving their projected rollout date for 4G services from 'April' to 'soon', with most believing this translates to 'June'.
Who is Better, and Why?
What makes Telstra 'better' than the other two is pretty simple. They have more mobile towers, packed in denser configurations in more places around the country. This means that their network blankets a wider area with few gaps. More than that – more and more of their towers communicate back to the core network via a fibre-optic link at the base of the tower, while Optus and Vodafone still rely heavily on what we call Microwave Relay – where the wireless signal from your phone to the tower is communicated back to the network by yet another wireless signal. As in all things with communications, the more air time, the worse off you are. Can-and-string still beats radio.
Telstra has also upgraded a larger swathe of their network to the next generation of high speed wireless data technology, known as 4th Generation (or 4G). This term is roughly equivalent to another term that confuses the issue, Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE can refer to a range of different wireless solutions that includes (but is not limited to) 4G. Right now, here in Oz, 4G is LTE.
Official figures for the extent of Telstra and Optus' 4G rollouts are not easy to get, but estimates have it that Telstra has about 4000 4G base stations, with Optus sporting around 1500. That number will swell as competition heats up, and eventually, 4G should completely replace 3G (or 3G might be a backup).
Vodafone meanwhile has been busy upgrading its network to a standard that Telstra had going 3 years ago, let alone jumping on the 4G bandwagon. That upgrade has brought their network up to a decent level; coverage is still not great outside of major cities, but at least within cities the quality of calls and data has improved. Their inevitable 4G rollout has been fraught with controversy, delays and speculation. But they're definitely planning on a big splash, with newer tech than either Telstra or Optus (wider bandwidth to generate more speed) and a wider initial rollout than either at first launch. But several Vodafone spokespeople on forums such as Whirlpool, have indicated that this launch will be more like June than this month, as was previously suspected. At any rate, Vodafone is pushing sales of 4G capable hardware, like the iPhone 5 and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4.
Is It Worth It?
3G speeds on the Telsstra network can get above 20 Mbps, which is super fast. Optus rarely gets above 7 Mbps. Same with Vodafone. 4G on all networks can easily exceed 50 Mbps. Those are all speeds that leave even most wired broadband connections in the dust, and even compete with the National Broadband Network.
But it really doesn't matter how fast your wireless network is if you aren't allowed to use it. Before Vodafone hit the wall in late 2010, they were busily bulking up their data plans and lowering prices across the board. They offered the iPhone 3G at a lower price than any other telco, and whammo – those generous data plans were suddenly actually getting used. The result was a severely crippled network.
Since then, data demands have increased as data allowances have stayed relatively stagnant, and have even begun recently dropping. This goes for both mobile broadband and mobile phone services. All three carriers are being very cautious to not overload their networks and repeat Vodafone's folly. So the question is – why introduce faster speeds, and then tell people they can't use it? Even worse – introduce faster speeds, keep the same old conditions in place, and see more people than ever get huge bills for overusage?
The problem with mobile data is poor connectivity, not speed per se. Speed helps – it means that applications which just need to hop on and hop off the link will work faster and better. That could mean downloading a map or song, or loading a webpage. But turn-by-turn maps (using aGPS), Skype, Streaming video and other popular web applications won't improve dramatically from more speed, if connection issues aren't also addressed. And since all of those things eat data, they won't be terribly practical to use on plans with next-to-nothing in the way of Gigabytes.
A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) is anyone who sells mobile broadband or mobile phone service who isn't Optus, Telstra or Vodafone – in other words, not a wholesale network owner. So that's Amaysim, Kogan, Red Bull, Woolworths, TPG, iiNet, Vaya, LiveConnected – even Virgin belongs to Optus and uses their hardware.
MVNOs have been the smart choice for a while – so long as you don't need a new phone and just want a SIM card. Amaysim created a new class of value by offering an Unlimited call, text and 4GB of data for $39. They use the Optus network, as do most MVNOs. Red Bull uses Vodafone, and recent entrants Kogan and Aldi use Telstra Wholesale (througha complex two-tier system that is showing signs of distress).
The Big Three are starting to shed their 3G network off to these firms, and reserving 4G for their own customers. 4G access has been granted to some MVNOs, but only from Optus, and the plans are not yet competitive. Even so, the 3G plans will suit most customers. Speeds are adequate for the types of applications you should be doing wirelessly- such as quick browsing, email, maps and a little bit of multimedia. The faster 4G speeds won't offer anything more than that, because anything more would quickly exhaust your data. Most of that speed advantage is wasted.
The Future
100 Mbps! Wasted on a single hi-def YouTube trailer for Back to The Future Part IV!
Analogue TV used to run on a radio band that was specifically reserved for high speed transmission that was powerful enough to cover large distances and still penetrate walls and buildings well. Witht he shift to Digital TV, this radio band is now open for other applications – such as better high speed mobile broadband and phone service.
The band in question is between 680 and 800 MHz, and known as the 700 MHz band. The government gets to decide who gets what, and will do so with an auction. It's one of the ways a government can generate cash, apart from taxes- selling off assets owned by the state. This slice of radio wave is considered a Holy Grail for communications. Unfortunately, this auction has been delayed time and again, and are currently scheduled for April 23. But even then, towers won't start going up until 2015, and services might not get switched on until 2017.
So in the meantime, stronger (rather than faster) mobile comms will be off in the distance, failing to improve the bigger issues – coverage and data allowance.
The problem with your current mobile phone or mobile broadband service isn't really speed – so more speed won't fix it. Stick with a well priced 3G plan, and wait-and-see on 4G unless you desperately need the speed for a specific application. Vodafone knows this, which is why they're probably not too concerned about more delays.
Vodafone's future – the NBN, LTE and more
- Vodafone now trialing NBN services
- Will attend spectrum auction, but might just be window browsing
- 4G network slated for early to mid 2013
Vodafone CEO Bill Morrow held his first TV interview over the weekend, in which he addressed the firms rapidly declining fortunes (including a $260mn loss in the first 6 months of 2012) and the status of the firm going forward.
Click here to check out the Vodafone Online Store - great deals on Samsung Galaxy S3! Or call us on 1300 106 571
Unsurprisingly, Morrow pinned the well publicized 'Vodafail" fiasco, in which the network's data service fell over in 2010, on the rise of smartphones. With the iPhone, the demand for mobile full browsing, video streaming and content downloads finally had an outlet. Until then, data on phones was a patchwork affair, with clumsy interfaces that made it mostly a gimmick.
Vodafone's lack of response at the time may have contributed to the exodus of 700,000 customers to date, a rate which has begun to slow as Vodafone has invested a billion dollars in improving its 3G systems to the 850MHz standard used by Telstra Next G. Morrow has pledged that internal communications have improved, as has Vodafone's ability to acknowledge their network woes. Vodafone currently offers a 30 Day network guarantee to new customers, as a means of demonstrating their faith in their increased capabilities.
Where to now?
Vodafone has not yet pledged to bid on the next big auction for mobile spectrum. The Digital Dividend Spectrum, scheduled for early 2013, will allow firms to bid on allotments of radio space in the 700 MHz band, previously used for analog commercial television broadcast. The band is considered the prime allocation for digital data services, as it finds the best flashpoint between speed (how much data can flow per second), range and penetration.
Morrow has said that VHA (the firm comprising Vodafone Australia and Three) will certainly 'have a seat at the table', but that they will not be bringing their pocketbooks. Morrow is personally excited for their 1800MHz 4G rollout, scheduled to begin in April 2013.
Moreover, Morrow has been a supporter for a National Broadband Network – both the current Labor Government planned rollout, and the coalition's Fibre-to-the-Node alternative. Vodafone has been trialing customers in early rollout sites, marking a significant shift from a mobile-only provider to a full blooded telecoms, a status in enjoys in the UK and many other markets.
What Wireless Means To Most of Us
All this points to Vodafone believing that while wireless might be the future, there's only so far that our current perception of 'wireless' can take us. With more than 50% of connected Australians now on mobile broadband solutions, the appetite for mobile communications can't be denied. But the science and economics just aren't there.
The amount of data permitted on mobile broadband plans tops out at 20GB, while the average Australian data usage has gone a bit over that. And that completely excludes customers who use hundreds of gigabytes of data. Even though some of these users can be summarily dismissed as porn fiends and copyright infringers (a common accusation from the anti-NBN crowd), there are plenty of individual users who use this much data legitimately. Most of it might be for entertainment (streaming video, online gaming, etc), but those are still businesses, generating income for some and taking part in the economy. This can't be ignored.
Vodafone might be best placed to understand the extent to which the thirst for data can break a network. The iPhone took a marginal exercise (mobile data use) and made it mainstream, simply by tweaking the interface. If every Australian had easy access to high speed fixed-line broadband, with tons of data available and an easy-to-understand market, then the convenient-yet-erratic mobile broadband market might collapse.
Mobile Broadband has two things going for it – portability, and an ease of understanding. You buy a stick and it goes into your PC. Voila, internet. Fixed-line broadband requires installation, modems, long contracts, line rentals for services you seemingly don't use, and other arbitrary conditions that do a lot to confuse the issue. In an NBN world, where every home has a network termination device built to the house, and a Wi-Fi router already connected at that point, then there will be little competition. You could call a service provider and have your service switched on within a day or two, like it was gas or electricity. You wouldn't be 'wireless', but it would be 'wireless' in the way many customers want but don't know how to ask for – wireless to the modem, with the modem connected directly to a high speed, high capacity feed.
Vodafone seems to understand this, and realizes that truly mobile broadband – where the modem (or just the SIM card, depending on the device being used) connects over a 3G or 4G network, will return to being a niche product, or a network reserved for tablets and mobiles. This would be good news all-round – it would reduce network traffic and more people would be on the type of connection they want, but don't know how to ask for.
In this scenario, buying up expensive spectrum to provide ever faster mobile data would be a bit of a waste, as the 1800 MHZ spectrum (already in use) can provide huge speeds – if used correctly. It would make more sense for Vodafone to invest in their fixed-line future on the NBN.
Vodafone's plans are murky, but point to a future where mobile broadband becomes an add-on to easily connected fixed line home services – a scenario we should be enjoying now, given the respective capabilities of those technologies.
TIO reports dramatic fall in broadband complaints: Telstra, Vodafone big winners
- Telstra, Dodo, Vodafone have improved
- Internode and iiNet remain solid
- Optus sees smallest decrease amongst major providers
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has been around for 20 years, serving as an independent adjudicator for those situations when you and your telco can't come to an agreement.
In the last 5 years or so the agency has risen in prominence, as confusion around phone and internet provision has increased. Once word got out that the seemingly intractable impasses that many customers had with their telco could be mediated by a body with the power to make binding decisions, TIO complaints exploded. The increase in complaints, and the costs associated in handling these complaints, has forced every company involved in telecommunications to lift its game and concentrate on fixing issues in-house.
CompareBroadband has taken a snapshot of 17 major providers, showing a 51% fall in claims overall. Telstra, frequently the target of the most ire, experienced a 62% drop. VHA (comprising Vodafone Australia and 3) suffered from network instability and an exodus of customers throughout 2011. Their complaints numbers are down an impressive 70%.
The providers picked by CompareBroadband for analysis include the major providers of extensive DSLAM and/or HFC Cable networks for fixed-line broadband (Telstra, TPG, iiNet, Internode, Optus, iPrimus and Eftel). For mobile broadband we have included the three major network operators (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone) and also significant Mobile Virtual Network Operators like Virgin. The rest of the list is made up of majority resellers who have a subscriber base arounf the 100,000 mark, such as Exetel, MyNetFone, Spintel, TransACT, Dodo and Southern Cross Telco.
Click here to see CompareBroadband's sample drawn from TIO's website
Big Winners
Telstra – The nation's top telco and owner of the Copper Access Network (CAN) which most other providers rely upon, is normally subject to the closest scrutiny and draws the most vehement complaints. But CEO David Thodey's commitment to customer satisfaction has paid dividends.
Billing and Payments – down from 4,370 in Jan-Mar 2011 to 1,357 in Jan-Mar 2012 (69% drop)
Customer Service – down from 6,141 in Jan-Mar 2011 to 2,450 in Jan-Mar 2012 (60% drop)
TPG – The largest competitor in terms of backhaul capacity and overall presence for ADSL2+ connections, TPG cuts every corner it can and focuses energy in providing bare-bones, high volume connections. TPG draws criticism for its overseas call centre and tendency to ignore tricky connections and line faults; their decision to actively engage with customers on forums like Whirlpool has led to an encouraging drop in customer complaints. Overall, the ISP saw significant drops in every category of escalated TIO complaints.
Complaint Handling - down from 758 in Jan-Mar 2011 to 158 in Jan-Mar 2012 (79% drop)
Customer Service – Down from 956 in Jan-Mar 2011 to 308 in Jan-Mar 2012 (68% drop)
Vodafone and 3(VHA) – The $1bn rollout of an 850Mhz network has been swift and effective, drastically reducing the amount of fault complaints. But also of note is Vodafone's social media presence on blogs, Facebook and Twitter. An army of Vodafone agents have taken to these networks to publicize every little movement of the rollout, and keep loyal customers happy with quick responses to enquiries.
Note – VHA stats refer to 3, with Vodafone tallied separately to reflect that the two networks were separate this time last year.
Vodafone Faults - Down from 1,123 in Jan-Mar 2011 to 249 in Jan-Mar 2012 (78% drop)
Internode and iiNet – Internode, the ISP of choice for IT professionals and hobbyists has once again outshone the competition, recording just 140 complaints compared with an estimated 200,000 – 300,000 customers. Similarly iiNet, which acquired Internode in Dec 2011, recorded just 619 complaints across an estimated subscriber base of close to 700,000 customers. Both companies have always enjoyed reputations for superior complaint handling and customer service, albeit while attracting a higher price.
Dodo – The aggressively priced champion of budget internet has emerged from a horrid 2007-2008 period which saw it as the most complained about ISP by customer percentage, and edging close to equaling the raw number of complaints about Telstra, a company with nearly 40 times the subscriber base. Dodo saw a marked decrease in overall complaints over the last year, even if the percentages were less impressive than the competition. The carrier still recorded 982 complaints overall in Jan-Mar 2012.
Most Improved
Southern Cross Telco has seen a 79% decrease in complaints, albeit from a small pool of subscribers and from a small figure in 2011. Of greater significance is the improvement from Vodafone and VHA, which respectively saw decreases of 71% and 70%.
Least Improved/Risen
Spintel was the only reasonably sized ISP to see any type of increase, with TIO complaints rising from 67 in this period 2011 to 75 in 2012. But with such a small sample and such a relatively small increase, this may be more a consequence of growth. Of the larger providers, Optus had the smallest decrease in complaints, from 2,754 in Jan-Mar 2011 to 2,171 in Jan Mar 2012. This represents only a 21% decrease.
Category with the greatest improvement
Complaint Handling fell by 83% across the 17 ISPs sampled, reducing from a sobering 10,497 complaints this time last year, with only 3,993 for 2012 to date.
The TIO complaint log provides a compelling snapshot for customers and ISPs alike. Strategies employed by Vodafone, Telstra and Dodo to improve either customer service or network stability can be said to have paid off well.
By contrast, Optus' relatively unchanged performance suggests that their recently announced strategy to improve their profile in broadband, after concentrating for so long on mobile, is well justified.
The agency has had its share of knockers, most notably the late John Linton, founder and CEO of Exetel. Mr Linton dragged the TIO through the courts in 2010-2011, arguing that up to 80% of complaints brought against the ISP were incorrectly handled. Mr Linton sought compensation for the costs involved in dealing with the complaints, which can range from $70 for initial complaints to several hundred dollars for escalated complaints (not counting binding decisions which can address bills in the tens of thousands).
The TIO and Exetel came to an agreement in Mid 2011, in which the TIO paid no compensation but did agree to review their complaint process. The final result was that the TIO will reject a large number of claims that are made in cases where the customer simply couldn't reach the appropriate department with the telco to register their complaint; instead the TIO agreed to provide guaranteed escalation points to first have the issue resolved without the TIO's involvement. As a result, the TIO has experienced a significant drop in complaints year-on-year, with the latest results comparing Jan – Mar 2011 and Jan – Mar 2012. The next quarter results, which will cover just the period after the Exetel ruling, might prove more telling in how well each provider is actually doing. Even with this proviso, the drop in complaints suggests that telcos are being proactive in a bid to increase customer satisfaction.
Vodafone Australia is focused solely on mobile technology and offers mobile wireless broadband connections to 92% of the Australian population. Constantly updating its network to deliver data transmission speeds of up to 1500kbps in more areas, the provider's 3G broadband HSDPA network currently covers most major metropolitan areas as well as all international airports across Australia. Vodafone also offers a slower GPRS service to 92% of the places people live and work in Australia. Vodafone offers free modems on 5GB plans. There are no setup costs on Vodafone wireless broadband plans but there is a 2c per MB excess usage charge for exceeding the monthly download limit. Mobile wireless broadband plans are easy to set up and the software is automatically checked and updated when required.
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text:
you know what i want? I want nearly all of the scenes after jacob turns into a wolf to be him shirtless i might just die if theres not enough scenes for me to hyperventilate in.
im somewhat worried about the parts where jacob's nasty.... cause i'll probably injure someone in those scenes.


text:
What questions left unsolved by Gibbons v Ogden did Cooley v. Board of Wardens attempt to resolve?
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In these cases, the Supreme Court was ruling on the Commerce Clause and its meaning. It was ruling on the degree to which the states could make regulations that would have an impact on interstate commerce, which is the federal government's to regulate under the Commerce Clause.
In Gibbons, the Court ruled that the state of New York's grant of monopoly steamboat privileges on their waters went directly against the commerce clause. It prevented other steamship companies from carrying between New York and other states. What the Court did not decide was how much regulation the states could impose before running afoul of the Commerce Clause. To put it in modern terms, we can imagine that speed limits in different states affect interstate commerce. When driving from one state to another on the freeway, you may have to slow down. Is that a violation of the Commerce Clause?
The Court needed to address this. It did so in part in Cooley. In that case, it ruled that a requirement that ships hire local pilots to guide them into Philadelphia harbor did not violate the Commerce Clause. It ruled that some aspects of commerce fundamentally had to be uniform across the country while some aspects (such as piloting or speed limits) could easily be left to the states without harming commerce.


text: Hello Frederic, Frederic CAND wrote: > Sigmund Augdal Helberg wrote: >> On Mon, 2006-01-16 at 16:01 +0100, youssef mcharek wrote: >> >>> I have a skystar1 CI(twinhan clone), I can watch FTA channels but >>> cannot succeed to descramble using ca_zap and a professionne viaccess >>> aston module. I tried TPS channels on hotbird as I have the >>> subscription card for it. >> >> Many of the twinhan cards I've tried have been completly allergic to >> aston cams. This is in part due to a bug in the twinhan firmware, and in >> part due to a as of yet unfound bug in the linux drivers. To check >> whether this is the case for you do "dst-test -a", if this lists the >> name of the module then it should be working and you can try ca_zap. If >> it lists only FF FF FF FF etc then try "dst-test -r" and wait a good >> while then "dst-test -a" again. If that didn't work then you have the >> buggy twinhan firmware and the only thing you can try now is coldbooting >> the box. >> > > do you mean that today, Twinhan cards are bug free (or at least some > issues have been solved by Twinhan) and Aston Pro Cams work with > Twinhan ? The functionnality of MultiService descrambling can be use > now ? As far as i remember I never could make an aston pro cam work > with a twinhan card and the abiltiy to descramble up to 12 programs > can be a great help ... > > I can't say that they are bug free, but the older firmwares had issues as well as we had other issues too .. The newer firmware based cards are considered okay. Some or many of the issues have been solved i can say, but can't say all issues have been fixed either. Manu


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OPINION: Sanitation Too Often Overlooked in Developing Nations
For most of us, finding a bathroom or toilet isn't hard. Chances are it's not more than a short walk away - you may even be there now. For 2.5 billion people around the world, however, it isn't that easy. Their bathroom is likely shared, has no running water and is a walk from their house. And you thought port-a-potties were bad.
The lack of access to sanitation is a huge challenge to the 1 billion people living in urban slums in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The dangers of inadequate sanitation infrastructure are well known - contaminated drinking water and disease transmission become difficult to avoid. Even more unfortunate is the fact that these dangers are often lethal to children, the elderly and the sick, the most vulnerable members of communities. And in cities, the lack of bathrooms and latrines can also be dangerous, particularly for women, who are often harassed and assaulted when seeking out a latrine or place to bathe.
Or consider the amount of time that urban residents spend waiting in line for public restrooms. The World Health Organization estimates that the average is 30 minutes per person per day. That's almost 20 days per year, time that could be better spent in economic activities, education or child rearing.
In Pune, a city of almost 5 million in western India, 40 percent live in slums. Ratnakar Gaikwad, the municipal commissioner of Pune, describes the situation: "When I took over as municipal commissioner of Pune, the ratio of toilets to people in the slums was one toilet seat for every 800 persons. We did the math to understand the magnitude of the problem. Technically, if everybody queued up to use one of these toilets, the last man's turn would arrive after 15 days."
And although the benefits of improved sanitation deliver huge boosts to public health, gender equality, economic growth and poverty reduction, they often remain low priorities for budget allocations and official development assistance.
While large intergovernmental organizations such as UN Habitat are working to help slum dwellers gain access to sanitation, there is also a role for smaller organizations, including those in the private sector, to address these issues.
Article continues: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6493