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Court: Miranda Rights don't have to be read to prisoners
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court said Tuesday investigators don't have to read Miranda rights to inmates during jailhouse interrogations about crimes unrelated to their current incarceration.
The high court, on a 6-3 vote, overturned a federal appeals court decision throwing out prison inmate Randall Lee Fields' conviction, saying Fields was not in "custody" as defined by Miranda and therefore did not have to have his rights read to him.
"Imprisonment alone is not enough to create a custodial situation within the meaning of Miranda," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court's majority opinion.
Three justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, dissented and said the court's decision would limit the rights of prisoners.
"Today, for people already in prison, the court finds it adequate for the police to say: 'You are free to terminate this interrogation and return to your cell,"' Ginsburg said in her dissent. "Such a statement is no substitute for one ensuring that an individual is aware of his rights."
Miranda rights come from a 1966 decision that involved police questioning of Ernesto Miranda in a rape and kidnapping case in Phoenix. It required officers to tell suspects they have the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer represent them, even if they can't afford one.
Previous court rulings have required Miranda warnings before police interrogations for people who are in custody, which is defined as when a reasonable person would think he cannot end the questioning and leave.
Fields was serving a 45-day sentence in prison on disorderly conduct charges when a jail guard and sheriff's deputies from Lenawee County, Mich., removed him from his cell and took him to a conference room. The deputies, after telling him several times he was free to leave at any time, then questioned him for seven hours about allegations that he had sexually assaulted a minor. Fields eventually confessed and was charged and convicted of criminal sexual assault.
Fields was then sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison but appealed the use of his confession, saying that he was never given his Miranda rights on the sexual assault charges.
On appeal, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati threw out his confession and conviction, ruling that it is required that police read inmates their Miranda rights anytime they are isolated from the rest of the inmates in situations where they would be likely to incriminate themselves.
The Supreme Court overturned that ruling.
"Not all restraints on freedom of movement amount to custody for purposes of Miranda," Alito said.
Questioning an inmate doesn't bring the "shock" of arrest that free people experience and the coercive pressure that follows, Alito said. There is also no hope for a quick release if the inmate talks to police, like there would be for a free person, and there is also no chance of a lighter sentence or any type of reprisal for not talking because the person is already in prison, Alito said.
"Thus, service of a term of imprisonment, without more, is not enough to constitute Miranda custody," Alito said.
The majority looked to the wrong question in making its decision, Ginsburg said.
"I would ask, as Miranda puts it, whether Fields was subjected to 'incommunicado interrogation ... in a police dominated atmosphere,' whether he was placed, against his will, in an inherently stressful situation, and whether his 'freedom of action (was) curtailed in any significant way,"' Ginsburg said. "Those should be the key questions, and to each I would answer, 'Yes."'
The case is Howes v. Fields, 10-680.


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It's nearly spring and, with thoughts turning to baseball and a new season of "Californication," Evan Handler tells Popcorn Biz he's about five weeks away from heading back onto the hedonistic set with David Duchovny.
That could mean his attendance at L.A.'s Havenhurst 360 lounge on Wednesday was spring training for more ot the real partying we saw last season on the show. But even Handler is in the dark about how Duchovny's Hank Moody character going to get out of his romantic troubles and what the fate of his love-unlucky literary agent will be. "I need to know if I'm going to be married or not," Handler said. "I've been trading emails with (series creator) Tom Kapinos but we haven't gotten together so I don't really know what's going on."
"They're working, that I know," he says, "but I don't know about story lines or anything."
Handler assures us that he is not going completely animal activist before shooting, even if he was attending a party for "The Cove," the Oscar-nominated documentary about dolphin protection.
"I don't exactly have the most pristine image myself when it comes to animal usage," he admits, making a joke about being a "devotee" to dolphin meat. "But there are reasonable boundaries and there are unnecessary acts. And I think this film draws a distinction."
The film shines a light on the annual slaughter of dolphins in a private Japanese cove and Handler said that even he was moved to shoot a public service announcement afterwards. "It was that powerful," he says.
U.S. & World
But rest assured, you will not be seeing dolphin protests in the next season of "Californication."
"The only way a dolphin would be used on that show..." says Handler, "well I'd better not say."

subset: commoncrawl


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For men in heterosexual relationships, time out with the guys can be important. Now, research suggests that it may be better for the guys' sex lives if their female partners don't tag along. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago and Cornell University shows that when a woman forms relationships with her partner's male friends that are as strong or stronger than his own, the man is significantly more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.
The research, which was conducted by sociologists Benjamin Cornwell and Edward Laumann, is published in the August 8th issue of The Journal of American Sociology, and offers insight on a condition typically analyzed from the perspective of medical concern (i.e. erectile dysfunction) from a rarely considered sociological angle. The results of the study, the authors say, point to the ways our social networks affect every aspect of our lives - even the way our bodies behave in private.
The study suggests that a man's access to his male social network is often closely linked to his sense of societal belonging and self esteem. For many men, having their female partner enter this network to a degree equal or greater than his own — a situation the researchers refer to as "partner betweenness" — can interfere with social connections that provide some men with "socioemotional support, social capital," and even "informal social control."
All of these, argue the sociologists, are important for getting it up.
The researchers examined the sex lives of over 3,000 American men ages 57-85. The researchers focused on older men not just because they would be more likely to experience ED, but because they were more likely to experience partner betweenness, under the assumption that older couples' social circles have had more time to overlap.
About a quarter of the men experienced partner betweenness. Incredibly, these men were 92% more likely to report erectile dysfunction than men not in a betweenness situation — a frequency that rivals that of prostate trouble in similarly aged men. These findings are consistent with the notion that for many men, ED could be a result of spending time in social networks that limit their opportunities for experiencing autonomy, control, and privacy.
This article, published over at MSNBC, seems to imply that for a man to perform at his best, it is important for women to keep "female interference" in male relationships to a minimum. It's important to note, however, that the study points more to the easily-bruised egos of men than the "interference" of their female partners.
The researchers don't believe the men were in fear of being supplanted by a friend in their romantic relationships. ED did not appear to be arising out of fear of infidelity, but rather a dependence on social networks for a sense of identity. One piece of seemingly counterintuitive evidence that points to this conclusion is the fact that partner betweenness was shown to have less effect on the study's oldest participants. The authors write:
Partner betweenness has little association with sexual problems among the oldest men. This finding might reveal something about the changing implications of network position for gender identity through the life course. It could reflect shifting relational priorities among older men...or it could be that the independence and control that men can gain through weak ties become less important to them as they experience later-life changes...Either way, older men's focus on close, kin-oriented relationships increases their likelihood of adopting new definitions of masculinity.
So perhaps the problem is that men are seeking confidence from other men in ways that actually undermine their relationships with women?
The authors' research paper, "Network Position and Sexual Dysfunction: Implications of Partner Betweenness for Men," is published in the current issue of the American Journal of Sociology, and will soon be available online from the journal's website. The direct link to the journal article will be posted when the paper goes live.
Top image via


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Big Business Clashes with Libertarians and Tea Party over Ex‐Im Bank
Two weeks ago I wrote about the efforts of big business to defeat libertarian‐leaning legislators in states across the country. To confirm my point, on the same day the article appeared the Michigan Chamber of Commerce endorsed the opponent of Rep. Justin Amash, the one of whom I had written, "Most members of Congress vote for unconstitutional bills. Few of them make it an explicit campaign promise."
Now a battle is brewing in Congress that pits libertarians and Tea Party supporters against the country's biggest businesses. The Wall Street Journal headlines, "GOP's Attack on Export‐Import Bank Alarms Business Allies." The "rise of tea‐party‐aligned lawmakers" is threatening this most visible example of corporate welfare, and David Brat's attacks on "crony capitalism" in his surprise defeat of Eric Cantor have made some Republicans nervous. Amash told the Journal, "There are some large corporations that would like corporate welfare to continue."
The biggest beneficiaries of Ex‐Im's billions are companies such as Boeing, General Electric and Caterpillar, according to Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center. Cato scholars have made the same point, including Aaron Lukas and Ian Vasquez in 2002 and Sallie James in 2011.
Matthew Yglesias of Vox notes, "The Export‐Import Bank is a great example of the kind of thing a libertarian populist might oppose. That's because the bank is a pretty textbook example of the government stepping in to arbitrarily help certain business owners." And he points out that supporters of the Bank include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the AFL-CIO, Haley Barbour, and Dick Gephardt. He could have added Tom Donnelly of the American Enterprise Institute.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R‑IL) said he worried about "a libertarian theology that's really starting to creep in." I hope he's right.


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Fast Forward and December is almost Here! - It feels so good to be back on my blog. I haven't really had the time to update my blogs since January because I have been quite busy. To make the story sh...
2 years ago
"A pinch of this and a little dash of that...this kitchen is seasoned with all the love in the world".
Posted by texaswithlove1982 at 11:42 PM 2 comments
Labels: Filipino Dish, Food Trip, Pork Recipe, Sweet and Sour Pork


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Forms Jobs
Amenities & Seating
- Seats approx. 64
- (8) 8-ft. tables
- 1 large grill, 1 small grill
- Overhead lighting
- Restroom
- 2 electrical outlets
- Playground, ball fields, tennis courts & fitness trail in park
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Struggling to find the best buy-to-let mortgage in Stevenage? speak to one of our buy to let mortgage advisers today
The term 'buy to let' generally refers to either the practice of buying a property to be let for profit or to the type of mortgages used to purchase a property for such letting. Many countries, both in the western world and in the developing nations, have seen a surge in the growth of the buy to let property market in the last 2 decades and this has fuelled a growth in amateur landlords and the but to let mortgage providers who are keen to encourage and profit from them in turn. In addition, this growth has generated a lot of commerce in other related sectors such as buy to let insurance.
What Is The Best Way To Work Out Rental Demand and Supply?
Many countries, both in the western world and in the developing nations, have seen a surge in the growth of the buy to let property market in Stevenage the last 2 decades and this has fuelled a growth in amateur landlords looking for quality mortgage advice, this is why mortgage brokers in Stevenage who specialise in Buy-to-let are so important and the but to let mortgage providers who are keen to encourage and profit from them in turn. In addition, this growth has generated a lot of commerce in other related sectors such as buy to let insurance.
Stevenage Buy to let mortgages have been available in the UK since the mid-nineties and they are specifically designed for investors to borrow money to purchase property in the private rental sector. The amount that a prospective but to let investor can borrow is generally determined by the rental valuation of the property. The annual income for a rented property has to cover a certain percentage of the mortgage repayments, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) states that landlords should seek to be able to obtain gross rent returns equivalent to between 130 per cent and 150 per cent of the rental property's mortgage repayments, this takes into account the surplus rent to cover costs of property maintenance and slack periods when the property may be vacant of tenants.
Stevenage Buy To Let Mortgages.
Some buy to let mortgage lenders in Stevenage will lend you a maximum sum based on a multiple of your salary (usually a multiple of three) plus a percentage of the forecast rental income on the property. So if your annual salary is said 30,000 Franks and the forecast rental income is 10,000 Franks they will lend you 95,000 Franks. Other mortgages, in addition to factoring in your salary, will include any existing loan commitments you have, and then apply what is known as the 'deduction rule'. This rule relates to the annual mortgage payments worked out at a pre-set level of interest.
Buy to let mortgage interest rates are generally fairly close to residential mortgage rates but will generally be slightly higher and typically charge higher fees. This is due to the fact that buy to let loans are considered by the financial sector to represent a greater risk than residential owner-occupier mortgages, and they generally are.
The Situation in the UK About Buy To Lets
The buy to let market literally 'exploded' in the Stevenage around the beginning of the millennium with rising property prices and the increasing availability of buy to let funding fueling a surge in would-be investors trying to cash in on the trend of the market. One reason for their popularity is the tax advantages that are available to the UK buy to let investors. Rental income is treated just like a salary by the Inland Revenue, and is therefore often taxed at 22% or even 40%. However, landlords are allowed to deduct costs from the taxable portion of their rental income, and these costs can include the interest of the buy to let mortgage repayments as well as maintenance costs on the property. These tax incentives made the buy to let market very attractive for both professional investors and amateurs looking to make the most out of their savings.
Would-Be Buy-to-let Investors
The market peaked around 2007 and now the market is saturated in many areas across the country with too many properties available to tenants. While buy to let is generally not a good idea for people who do not possess some extra budget there are a lot of remortgage deals which will fund a deposit for a home. If you are worried about losing money during void periods many companies will provide insurance which can deliver as much as six months mortgage payments in the event of a property in Stevenage remaining unoccupied.
You may still be lucky, and find a hotspot but you need to do your homework and the figures correctly. Buy to let trends differ from town to town and literally from street to street. Good advice for potential investors is to visit the local letting agents who should be able to tell you who is renting what at the moment so you can define your target audience. It could be students, young professionals or families, for example. Look for areas that do have a shortage of properties and for indicators that people will move there, such as new business developments.
Buy to let mortgage deals are still rife and the rates are almost as competitive as with conventional deals. The mantra with your buy-to-let must be 'don't expect to get rich quickly'. You need to look long-term: an absolute minimum of five years – but probably nearer to ten years.
Rental property management - should you usea letting agent or do it yourself? Managing your own rental property can sound appealingto some people when they first start out because they'll know they will save on the lettingagent fees.
But you should consider whats involved and be honest with yourself and thendecide whether property management is right for you.
I have 3 questions that you can ask yourselfto see if you have what it takes to be an effective property manager, coming up.
Hi I'm Andy Walker from monoperty.
Com whereI blog online about my journey as a property investor and landlord, sharing what worksfor me and what doesn't, to help you start or expand your property portfolio.
Now it's true, letting agents do not haveany special qualifications.
Anyone can act as a letting agent.
But what they do haveor should have, are these 3 key areas which you need to check and decide as to whetheryou can deliver them yourself.
Do You Have The Knowledge? Do you know all the steps you need to taketo comply with the law and protect your asset? For example, securing the tenants depositin a Deposit Protection Scheme, checking that prospective tenants are eligible under theRight To Rent scheme if your letting in England.
And you need to be aware of any certificatesand any licensing for your area depending on the type of property and number of occupantsthat you will have.
A good letting agent will know the answers to all these questions andmore, and they will have systems that keep them update with both national and local lettingsrules.
Do You Have The Resources? For example tenancy agreements, guarantorforms, background checks for prospective tenants and membership with professional organisationsthat you can turn to for advice or if things go wrong.
As soon as the tenant moves into a property,they become the legal occupiers of that property.
And you don't want to give tenant's that legalright until you know that all background checks, contracts, deposits, and the first monthsrent is in place.
And the last question is, Do You Have TheTime? to run a rental property legally and effectively.
Are you willing and do you havethe time to take and respond to phone calls from your tenants at all hours of the dayand night? And can you handle co-ordinating all the maintenance? I think lots of inexperienced landlords makethe mistake of not putting value on their time.
They think they are saving money bymanaging their properties themselves, but they're not getting paid for the time thatthey're acting as a property manager they are simply just saving 5 - 12% on their income.
I would like to point out that if you do usea letting agent, you as the landlord are still responsible for the safety of your tenants,but by employing a professional agent, you will reduce the risk of anything going wrong.
There is risk associated with any type of investment, and I like to reduce that riskwas much as I can.
As a landlord, your aim is to provide an excellentservice to your customers, otherwise your customers are not going to stay for long.
If you don't have the time, knowledge or resources to serve your tenant, you will not be providinga good service.
If you have been able to answer yes to my questions and you have a passionfor property management, then brilliant, and I wish you all the best, but if your juststarting out, I don't want you to think that property management is easy and thatit's a good way of cutting back on costs.
Now, everything I have mentioned in this videocan be learnt.
So why not take one step at a time if your just starting out on your propertyinvesting journey? I was a landlord for over 8 years whilst I was in the Army and I useda letting agent because I didn't have the time to manage my properties.
But I pickedthings up during that time and got a feel for what was required to meet the standards.
Once I retired from the Army, I reviewed my situation and decided to continue using aletting agent but I dropped the maintenance services.
If any repairs are required, theagent will now contact me and I will decide whether I take it on or I give it back tothem.
Letting agents typically charge an administration fee for arranging any repairs or any maintenanceand issuing of any certificates so I decided to take that on and save on some of the costs.
Before I finish there is one piece of goodnews, and that is if you do use a letting agent, all their fees are tax deductible.
If you have any questions about property management,please leave a comment down below and if this is your first time visiting this channel definitelysubscribe so you won't miss any of my future videos that will all be geared towards helpingyou, start or improve your property business.
Thank you so much for watching, please likeand share this video if you found it useful and I will see you soon.
and you don't want to give tenants …….
argh! which you need to be aware of ….
no ….
argh! and … huh (exhale).
What Is The Best Way To Work Out Rental Demand and Supply?
hi there this is Emma from Martin & Co Estate agents here I've got my midweek buy-to-let deal of the day for you to have a little look at so the one I picked up with you today is a two-bedroom modern apartment on duty around in chelmsford now this one is modern.
Goodier Road is a very good location in Chelmsford you're walking distance to Centre, train station and all the shops that Chelmsford has an offer and the property is in very good condition quite neutral decor which is good and allocated parking as well which is by most especially being this close to the city centre where parking is always a premium and so we know this property is a good-looking property, it takes a lot of boxes on that front just come on the market with property street and it has an asking price of £249995 so price-wise it's pretty competitive with similarities in the area and and if we have a look at rental potential now and potentially you're going to be looking around about the 900 pounds a month mark.
We rented one very similar to this in the area, maybe this individual block for £900 and so that's a pretty good indication of an accurate figure for you.
Now we do a little yield calculation and the £900 rent against our asking price of 249995 and that could potentially generate you an annual return 4.
3 percent so it's a pretty good return also of course that isn't taking into account the service charges or ground rent but of course you know we All in all the figures do seem to stack up if this property is of interest to you better get in touch with the agent who is advertising it, Property Street to book yourself a viewing because properties are flying off the shelves like hot cakes at the moment so you don't be missing out thanks for checking in and I'll speak to you all in a couple days with my next buy to let deal of the day.


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I'm Sam Foster, a video game composer. I score in all genres (ethnic, electronic, jazz, orchestral, etc.). I just finished working on some mobile games and an Xbox Live Indie game. I've also scored a game under development by engineering students in Rennes, France. And, I've just finished scoring two other games under production in France.
For further info (rates, contact info, credits, demo reels, etc.), visit: http://www.samanthafoster.net
I also have a small selection of royalty free tracks available here:
http://samanthafoster.bandcamp.com/albu ... -bag-vol-1


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On Exhibit
Animal Facts
Scientific Name
Littorina planaxis
Animal Type
diatoms, microscopic algae, lichens
to .7 inches (18 mm) high
limpets, turban snails, jeweled top snails, other snails; Family: Littorinidae
Charleston, Oregon to Bahia Magdalena, Baja California
Natural History
A dirty-gray eroded shell camouflages this periwinkle on rock faces in the high intertidal and splash zones. Only salt spray and splashes from high waves reach here, forming pools that dry in the sun. Out of reach of the tide, eroded periwinkles live out of the water most of the time.
During dry periods, the periwinkle draws into its shell and closes its operculum (trap door)—this keeps its gills moist, and also keeps fresh water and dry winds out. A periwinkle secretes a mucous glue that holds its shell to its rocky home. Adult eroded periwinkles can survive in this mode for extended dry periods—up to 17 weeks.
The hobby or business of collecting seashells, especially by killing live animals in their shells, causes problems for marine creatures and could seriously affect the population of some species of snails. Even empty shells have a place in the marine environment—many shells provide homes for other animals, like hermit crabs. Instead of collecting snails, it's best to just look. Without disturbing them, you can photograph snails or make notes of their behavior and habits. Consider sending your observations to a marine biologist—you just might discover a behavior never before seen!
Cool Facts
Periwinkles can survive in fresh water—like puddles made by rain—for several days; most marine animals cannot.
A periwinkle, like most molluscs, uses a radula (a rough tongue or band of horny teeth) to scrape diatoms and algae from rocks. The rasping activity of the periwinkle may deepen high tide pools by almost one-half inch (1.25 cm) every 16 years. When a periwinkle population is thriving, it can considerably erode tide pools.
The checkered periwinkle, L. scutula, ranges from Alaska to Baja California. It lives lower down on the rocks than L. planaxis and is not as well adapted for dry periods. Instead, the checkered periwinkle migrates up and down rocks, following the high and low tides.


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The Clash of Dimensions is going on as we speak.
In a sign of the staggering rise of 3D films, Warner Brothers will decide in the next 10 days whether to convert the much-awaited "Clash of the Titans" remake into a 3D sword & scorpion bout, the Hollywood Reporter writes.
They have to move quickly for the March release. The film was shot in 2D, but after noting the success of "Avatar," execs at the company have ordered up batches of the film to be transferred to 3D and screened in the next week. While a film such as "Avatar" was shot beginning to end in 3D, there is a conversion process for a traditionally-shot film like "Titans."
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
This last-minute tinkering might be a queasy sign for the awaited-remake of the 1981 classic, this time starring Sam Worthington (no stranger to the 3D screen) as Perseus. Do we really need to have to shoe-horn 3D so that Liam Neeson as Zeus is throwing 3D thunderbolts? Is this going to look a little funky? Laurence Olivier, who played Zeus in the original, would probably shake his bearded head.
But clearly the rush is on. If it goes through, "Clash" will be the second movie that March 26 weekend which will open in 3D alongside DreamWorks "How To Train Your Dragon."


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50 Things Men Are Afraid to Ask for (but Really Want Super-Duper Badly)
We found 50 guys to spill what men want most—even the stuff most don't have the guts to say out loud. Warning: We must have found the most honest guys in the universe. We asked—and, wow, did they open up the vault: the good, the bad and the OMG, did he just get in a time machine to 1950?' Read on to find out what tops guys' secret wish list (even the ones that probably should have stayed secret!).


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Play Super6 from Sky Sports and Win £250,000
Sports broadcasting giant 'Sly Sports' return with their weekly, free-to-play competition 'super6'. Open to all players in the UK aged 18 or over it gives them the opportunity to play for a weekly cash prize of £250,00 with no financial outlay whatsoever!
The competition takes place every Saturday at 3pm during the football season and to be in with a chance of winning the jackpot you will need to correctly predict the exact score of 6 different football matches! Sounds easy? Well it's only ever won a few times each season but sky sports have given away £1,000,000s over the years to lucky players.
Early in 2015 53 players all won in the same week! This meant they shared the £250,000 prize pool and took home just under £5,000 each! This is far from normal as most times the jackpot is won it is taken by someone in it's entirety. In the case of a tied result a 'golden goal' is used. This is when a player selects the minute of the 1st goal, the person closest will win the jackpot.
Don't worry if you don't win as there are prizes every single week for the person that gets the most correct (£5,000) as well as prizes for progressing up the monthly and yearly league tables.
Getting started is easy! Simply download the super6 app for your smart phone or visit the super6 website. If you are stuck for tips or have no idea what predictions to submit then visit https://oddsjunkie.com/super6.html remember you have until 3pm each Saturday to get your predictions in!
Super6 is a free to enter competition from Sky sports. For more information on the competition and find out how to play visit https://oddsjunkie.com/super6.html
Media Contact:
Jason Anders
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website: https://oddsjunkie.com/


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Freedom on the Net
You are here
2012 Scores
Freedom on the Net Status
Freedom on the Net Total(0 = best, 100 = worst)
(0 = Best, 100 = Worst)
Obstacles to Access(0 = best, 25 = worst)
(0 = Best, 25 = Worst)
Limits on Content(0 = best, 35 = worst)
(0 = Best, 35 = Worst)
Violations of User Rights(0 = best, 40 = worst)
(0 = Best, 40 = Worst)
Germany has a high level of internet and mobile penetration. Media and internet freedom are generally well-respected but have been challenged in recent years by legislative initiatives on blocking of harmful content, as well as surveillance measures by secret services and the police. Nevertheless, 2011 and early 2012 were characterized by a remarkable mainstreaming of internet issues. Topics such as copyright protection, net activism, access blocking, and online surveillance experienced significant attention in federal and state parliaments, major newspapers, and on television.
The growing political relevance of internet-related topics is partly due to an active, articulate, and well-networked civil society, which successfully framed issues such as access blocking in terms of threats to freedom of expression or as incompetence of established political actors in internet regulation. Consequently, in December 2011 the Federal Parliament repealed the Access Restriction Act, which called for blocking of child pornography websites, and instead, most political parties now support the system of take down notices and criminal prosecutions of those who post such content. Internet freedom was also a subject of several important court judgments including a decision to protect as free speech the posting of links that may lead to copyright infringing websites.
Nevertheless, several recent measures, taken by secret services and police in the context of surveillance, violated users' rights and potentially overstepped the existing laws. In October 2011, it became publicly known that the police in several German states used a Trojan-like piece of software in order to spy on criminal suspects. Also, the police systematically used traffic data obtained by means of radio cell queries to investigate a series of car burnings in Berlin and demonstrations in Dresden.
Germany has a very well-developed information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and 73 percent of the population has internet access at home, representing an increase by 6 percentage points between 2010 and 2011.[1] According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), overall internet penetration in Germany stood at 83 percent in 2011,[2] and the vast majority of users (86 percent) access the internet through DSL-technology. Alternative connections such as cable and LTE are slowly gaining market share (rising from 10 percent in 2009 to 13 percent in 2011), while 16 percent of the population still relies on dial-up connections.[3] A recent survey by Eurostat shows broadband adoption by Germany households at 78 percent, 10 percentage points above the European Union (EU) average.[4] With regard to high-speed broadband connections above 50 Mbps, there is currently a striking gap between supply and demand. While more than 40 percent of German households have access to high-speed internet connections thanks to well-developed cable networks, the subscriber rate is only 2 percent. Current broadband internet flat rates range from 15€ to 40€ per month (US$20 to $55) depending on the bandwidth of connection.
Most schools in Germany provide computers and internet access to their students mainly in dedicated computer rooms. Only 25 percent of German schools have classrooms equipped with computers.[5] According to an international survey by the World Economic Forum, Germany ranks tenth among the 15 most developed ICT countries in terms of internet access in schools.[6] Meanwhile, the difference between urban and rural internet access is decreasing with rural areas having higher growth rates. For example, Berlin and Bremen have an 80 percent broadband penetration, while rural Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has 67 percent.[7]
While the gender difference in younger demographics of internet users is disappearing, it persists in the population above 50 and especially among the elderly over 70.[8] Men also significantly outnumber women in the adoption of mobile internet access (26 percent vs. 13 percent). Levels of formal educational remain a crucial factor influencing the use of the internet, as 90 percent of people with higher education access the internet regularly compared to 60 percent of Germans with basic education. However, these gaps are beginning to close as internet penetration increases. In contrast, income-related differences in internet use have persisted: only 53 percent of households with a monthly income below €1,000 (US$1,280) access the internet from home compared to 92 percent of households with an income higher than €3,000 (US$3,835).[9]
Mobile phone penetration in Germany is almost universal, with a penetration rate of over 132 percent at the end of 2011.[10] Only Finland, Italy and Great Britain have higher penetration rates.[11] However, the adoption of mobile internet is below the EU average, with only 28 percent of Germans accessing the internet by phone (compared to 34 percent in the EU).[12] Germany's 3G coverage of 89 percent is also slightly below the EU average.[13]
The telecommunications sector was privatized in the 1990s with the aim of fostering competition. Over the past decade, market consolidation has led to a competitive environment dominated by large companies both in fixed-line as well as mobile internet access; consequently, several smaller internet service providers (ISPs) have been forced out of business. The incumbent Deutsche Telekom's share of the broadband market is 46 percent. Other relevant ISPs are 1&1 (United Internet), Arcor (Vodafone), Telefónica, and Kabel Deutschland.[14]
There are four general carriers for mobile internet access: market leader Vodafone (33 percent), incumbent T-Mobile (31 percent), E-Plus (19.8 percent), and Telefonica (16.2 percent). The latter two are more recent market entrants with higher growth rates that have resulted in a redistribution of market shares.[15] In effect, the mobile market is seen as one of the most competitive in the EU,[16] though competition in downstream markets of mobile services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or instant messaging is limited, since all German mobile providers contractually prohibit or limit these services. Nevertheless, these prohibitions have yet to be enforced systematically by the carriers.[17]
Management of network traffic and bandwidth availability is very common.[18] The online platform RespectMyNet.eu,[19] initiated in 2011 by La Quadrature Du Net and Bits of Freedom to collect and publish information on violations of net neutrality in Europe, shows that German users most frequently report the (temporary) throttling of YouTube data, the blocking of peer-to-peer (P2P) websites, and the contractual blocking of internet protocol (IP) telephony servers for mobile internet. Although practically all ISPs support net neutrality in theory, they nonetheless include in their general terms and conditions constraints on internet access. Typical services subject to exclusion or restrictions are tethering (the use of smart phones as a router for providing internet accessing to other devices), VoIP, and limitations of the monthly data volume included in flat rates.
Internet access, both broadband and mobile, is regulated by the Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post, and Railway (Bundesnetzagentur, or BNetzA) operating under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The president and vice president of the agency are appointed for five-year terms by the federal German government following recommendations from an Advisory Council consisting of 16 members of the lower house of parliament and 16 representatives of the upper house. The German Monopoly Commission and the European Commission (EC) have both criticized this highly political setting and the concentration of important regulatory decisions in the presidential chamber of the Federal Network Agency.[20] The appointment of President Jochen Homann, the former state secretary in the supervising federal ministry who took over the post from Matthias Kurth after he was surprisingly dismissed in February 2012, seems to affirm the concern over a lack of independence. Similarly, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the EC noted that the regulation of data protection and privacy by agencies under state supervision does not comply with the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC.[21]
In addition to such institutional concerns, regulatory decisions by the BNetzA have been criticized for providing a competitive advantage to Deutsche Telekom, the former state-owned monopoly.[22] The most recent example of preferential treatment has been the setting of the price the incumbent is allowed to charge competitors for the "last mile,"[23] yielding one of the highest prices in Europe.[24] The industry associations Eco and BITKOM represent the political and economic interests of ISPs and regularly participate in debates concerning provider liability, copyright enforcement, and access blocking.
While the blocking of websites rarely takes place in Germany, court orders mandating the deletion of websites have been a common occurrence. Due to substantial criticism by activists and NGOs that provoked an intense political debate, the 2010 law on blocking websites containing child pornography, the Access Restriction Act (Zugangserschwerungsgesetz),[25] never came into effect and was finally repealed by the German parliament in December 2011.[26] The law would have required ISPs to block access to pages containing child pornography and authorized the Federal Criminal Office (BKA) to maintain continuously updated lists of sites to be blocked. All parliamentary parties have now agreed on the position put forward by the Working Group Against Internet Blocking and Censorship (AK Zensur)[27] supporting take down notices and prosecution rather than blocking as an appropriate remedy. Furthermore, attempts by the district council Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, to block illegal gambling sites were rejected by various administrative courts.[28]
In response to an initiative by the European Commission on introducing access blocking at the EU level, German diplomats under the auspices of the German Department of Justice joined NGOs and members of the European Parliament in vetoing the proposed directive. In effect, the European Parliament and the European Commission agreed on a considerably weakened directive that no longer includes mandatory EU-wide blocking but rather stipulates that EU member states focus on the removal of webpages containing actionable content (such as child pornography) in and outside their territory.[29]
Evidence suggests that ISPs across Europe regularly use deep packet inspection for the purposes of traffic management but also to throttle peer-to-peer traffic.[30] In Germany, there is a clear lack of transparency regarding the scope of traffic management, in general, and the use of deep packet inspection, in particular, since ISPs are not required to make such information public.
There is no censorship prior to publication of internet content. However, figures released by the Google Transparency Report concerning requests by public authorities for post-publication content removal indicate that this strategy is used extensively. During the first six months of 2011, Germany ranked second behind Brazil among 62 listed countries with 125 government requests for the removal of 2,405 items.[31] In the last six months of 2011, Germany ranked third behind Brazil and the United States with 103 government requests to remove 1,722 items.[32] The most common reasons for court order requests were defamation, privacy, and security matters.
The protection of minors constitutes another important legal framework for the regulation of content. Youth protection on the internet is principally addressed by states through the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Human Dignity and the Protection of Minors in Broadcasting (JMStV), which bans content similar to that outlawed by the criminal code such as the glorification of violence and sedition.[33] A controversial provision of the JMStV reflecting the regulation of broadcasting media mandates that adult-only content on the internet, including adult pornography, must be made available in a way that verifies the age of the user. Compliance with the interstate agreement is overseen by the Commission for Youth Protection Relating to Media. Importantly, the JMStV opens up the prospect of content being blocked if other actions against offenders fail and if the blocking of content is expected to be effective. Owners of offending websites residing outside of Germany are put on blacklists that are made available for privately-developed filtering software. Members of the self-regulatory body, Voluntary Self-control for Multimedia Service Providers (FSM), have committed to removing blacklisted websites from their search results.
In late 2010, the JMStV's planned amendment to introduce age rating for online content failed due to both procedural issues, particularly the lack of public consultation, and substantive issues. According to critics, the amendment did not sufficiently take into account the categorical differences between content made available by broadcasting media and the distributed mode of content production on the internet.
Although access providers are not responsible for the content they transmit, there is a certain tension between the underlying principles of liability privilege and that of secondary liability (breach of duty of care).[34] The Telemedia Act §8, based on Articles 12 to 14 of the European E-Commerce Directive, explicitly states that access providers are not legally responsible for the content they transmit over the internet unless they violate reasonable audit requirements or collaborate with users in unlawful behavior. Recent court rulings both on the national and the European level have confirmed the liability privilege for information intermediaries following several years of contradictory rulings. The liability privilege also applies to host providers who are not required to monitor content or install filtering devices. As the European Court of Justice ruled in the 2011 case "Scarlet Extended," "a measure ordering an ISP to install a system for filtering and blocking electronic communications in order to protect intellectual property rights in principle infringes fundamental rights."[35]
Another important ruling refers to liability for URLs. In the 2011 "AnyDVD" case, the German Federal Constitutional Court confirmed a lower court's decision that URLs belonging to copyright infringing websites are protected by freedom of expression and freedom of opinion.[36] Likewise, host providers are not liable for blog entries; they just have to act upon objections.[37] An important exception concerns wireless networks. In 2010, the German Federal High Court sentenced the private owner of a wireless router on the grounds that his or her open network allowed its use for illegal activities.[38] Because of the adverse effects of this judgment on the operators of open networks, the Berlin state legislature is planning to modify the secondary liability in question.[39]
The principle of proportionality has constitutional status in Germany to which public authorities must comply. There is no specific supervisory body in place to oversee the implementation of this principle. Yet, the interplay between the Ministry of Justice, national data protection officer, association of internet service providers (Eco), and internet community effectively hold the bodies involved to account.
Court proceedings are generally public, and there are no so-called gag orders that would restrict media coverage of ongoing law suits. While there is no comprehensive list of all content blocking or deletion orders, there is general media coverage of such measures. One important exception in reporting concerns the index of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) and the Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Young People (BpJM), which are kept secret.
There is no systematic self-censorship in the German press; however, there are more or less unspoken rules codified in the publishing principles of the German press.[40] The code, which has the status of a voluntary commitment, specifies the ethical principles of journalism and seeks to strike a balance between the public interest and the protection of personal rights and privacy. Since 2009, these principles have applied to online journalism. The penalty code and JMStV prohibit content in a well-defined manner (e.g. child pornography, racial hatred, and the glorification of violence). The JMStV also regulates adult content that is potentially harmful to minors, stipulating that content unsuitable for certain age groups must be protected to prevent access by children or young individuals (see discussion on deletion of content).
In line with the European Commission's regulatory approach toward net neutrality, the German Federal Network Agency principally supports net neutrality but rejects its legal codification. At the same time, the national regulator has shown sympathy for the ISPs' practice of traffic management. The regulator is also open to new business models based on price discrimination and differentiated classes of service as long as ISPs are transparent about their policies and give customers a choice.[41] Yet, the latest amendment of the Law on Telecommunications (Telekommunikationsgesetz, TKG) adopted in December 2011 authorizes the government to define basic requirements for non-discriminatory data transfer and minimum quality of service standards in order to prevent a deterioration of internet services.[42]
The use of proxy servers is common in Germany but for the purpose of circumventing copyright provisions than to avoid censorship. There are no figures available about the extent of use.
Germany is home to a vibrant internet community and blogosphere with growing political influence on public and private regulatory action. Policies affecting internet regulation, data protection, or surveillance are enjoying increasing public attention and media coverage. The disproportionate number of young males in the internet community is striking, however. The recent success of the Pirate Party (with 8.9 percent of the vote) and the Saarland (with 7.4 percent)—parties that are known for their strong positions in favor of the free sharing of knowledge and substantial reforms in copyright law—in state elections in Berlin confirms both the growing popularity of internet-related topics and the predominantly male composition of the internet community.
The multi-stakeholder Commission of Inquiry (Enquete Kommission) on the Internet and Digital Society, set up by the German Federal Parliament in 2010, has significantly contributed to the mainstreaming of internet issues. [43] All political parties by now have internet experts and feel the need to express and justify opinions on internet-related topics. Also, there are regular public interactions between politicians and the internet community on Twitter and blogs and at public events. An example of the growing discursive power of the internet community concerns the forced resignation of the defense minister in 2011 due to plagiarism exposed in detail on a dedicated website.[44] Another example involved the widespread demonstrations in roughly 60 German cities against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in early 2012, which led the minister of justice to make a political U-turn and put the signing of ACTA on hold.
German Basic Law guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the media (Article 5) as well as the privacy of letters, posts, and telecommunications (Article 10). These articles generally safeguard offline as well as online communication. In addition, a groundbreaking 2008 ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court established a new fundamental right warranting the "confidentiality and integrity of information technology systems" that is grounded in the general right of personality guaranteed by Article 2 of the Basic Law.[45]
These rights were contested in the political aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States (cf. the 2001 Act for Limiting the Secrecy of Letters, the Post, and Telecommunications).[46] However, after several cases concerning the infringement of journalists' rights, a Federal Constitutional Court ruling in February 2007 set a strong precedent for the protection of journalists' sources.[47] Following this ruling, the federal parliament issued in 2012 the Act on Strengthening Press Freedom (Gesetzes zur Stärkung der Pressefreiheit im Straf- und Strafprozessrecht, PrStG), which protects journalistic sources and establishes high barriers for searching and seizing journalists' properties.[48] In addition to the aforementioned rulings on the liability privilege of providers, these developments constitute a trend of strengthening media freedom in Germany. The rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court continue to promote freedom of expression in particular.
Online journalists are generally accorded the same rights and protections as journalists in print or broadcast. Although the functional boundary between journalists and bloggers is becoming blurry, the German federation of journalists maintains professional boundaries by handing out press cards only to full-time journalists. Similarly, the German Code of Criminal Procedure grants the right to refuse testimony solely to individuals who have "professionally" participated in the production or dissemination of journalistic materials."[49]
Incidents of confiscated video material covering demonstrations, for example, have led to a debate about extending the right to refuse testimony to a larger group. In August 2011, the Pirate Party filed a petition to the Federal Parliament asking to discard the term "professionally" in the relevant paragraph of the German Code of Criminal Procedure, but this issue has not gained a lot of attention.[50]
The German penal code (StGB) includes a paragraph on "incitement to hatred" (StGB §130), which penalizes calls for violent measures against minority groups and assaults on human dignity. [51] This provision is generally regarded as legitimate by the German population not least because it is mostly applied in the context of holocaust denials.
The anonymous use of email services, online platforms, wireless internet access points, and public telephone booths are legal. Although the federal minister of the interior and other members of the conservative parties have repeatedly expressed their disapproval of anonymity on the net,[52] this situation is not likely to change. With explicit references to the constitution, several courts have repeatedly affirmed the right to anonymity and its necessity for the exercise of the constitutional right to freedom of expression.[53] At the same time, the Telemedia Act (Telemediengesetz, TMG) and the Interstate Treaty on Broadcasting (Rundfunkstaatsvertrag, RFStV) mandate a legal notice that includes contact data for most websites and blogs.
Under Sections 112 and 113 of the Telecommunications Act, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors can obtain users' contractual data without a judge's order. For traffic and content data, however, judicial approval is required. The Federal Network Agency serves as the data collecting intermediary between telecommunications companies and law enforcement bodies. The agency reported six million requests from public authorities and 36 million queries directed to telecommunications service providers in 2010.[54] A small number of government entities are authorized, for narrowly circumscribed purposes, to request sensitive data under Section 113 of the Telecommunications Act (TKG). This data may include personal identity numbers (PINs), personal unblocking keys (PUKs), and passwords that allow access to devices or online services. Such inquiries may only be used to identify the person who generated a certain communication or connection at a certain point in time.[55]
Telecommunications interception by state authorities is regulated by the code of criminal procedure (StPO) and is understood as a serious interference with basic rights. It may only be employed for the prevention or prosecution of serious crimes for which specific evidence exists and when other less intrusive investigative methods are likely to fail. According to recent statistics published by the Federal Office of Justice, there were a total of 20,398 orders for telecommunications interception in 2010, of which 997 concerned internet communications. This is an increase of about 25 percent compared to 2008.[56] There were also a total of 12,576 orders asking for internet traffic data in 2010.[57]
Surveillance measures conducted by the secret services under the Act for Limiting the Secrecy of Letters, the Post, and Telecommunications exceed these figures. The competent Parliamentary Control Panel reported for 2011 a total of 37 million emails scanned, of which only 239 were considered relevant.[58]
Excessive interceptions by secret services formed the basis of a 2008 Federal Constitutional Court ruling, which established a new fundamental right warranting the "confidentiality and integrity of information technology systems." The court held that preventive covert online searches are only permitted "if factual indications exist of a concrete danger" that threatens "the life, limb, and freedom of the individual" or "the basis or continued existence of the state or the basis of human existence." The court also established that any covert infiltration of information technology systems requires a court order and that statutes permitting such infiltrations must "contain precautions in order to protect the core area of private life." [59] Based on this Constitutional Court ruling, the Federal Parliament passed an act in 2009 authorizing the Federal Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BKA) to conduct covert online searches to prevent terrorist attacks on the basis of a warrant.[60] In addition to online searches, the act authorizes the BKA to employ methods of covert data collection including dragnet investigations, surveillance of private residences, and the installation of a program on a suspect's computer that intercepts communications at their source.
In October 2011, the Chaos Communication Club (CCC), a German hacker organization, uncovered the use of a Trojan-like piece of software by the police for crime investigation purposes in several German states. The CCC's analysis of the software showed that the Trojan not only enables the police to (legally) eavesdrop on encrypted conversations but also allows for a far wider range of actions, which are illegal to deploy for both police and secret services. Among these encroachments include the searching of digital devices, logging of keystrokes, and even planting of "backdoors" that allow for the remote installment of additional software or insertion of false evidence. Five German states admitted the use of the "Bundestrojaner" (Federal Trojan) as such but denied the use of any illegal functions.[61]
Together with evidence that the police made use of radio cell queries in the context of the car burnings investigations in Berlin in late 2009 and demonstrations in Dresden in 2011 and 2012,[62] the proportionality of the surveillance measures must be questioned. However, the rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court form a strong counterweight to massive violations of user rights.
Following the EU Data Retention Directive, the 2007 Law on the Revision of Telecommunications Monitoring and other Covert Investigation Measures and the Implementation of Directive 2006/24/EC require ISPs and mobile phone companies to retain traffic data for six to seven months to facilitate criminal investigations. A constitutional complaint filed by nearly 35,000 individuals, including the justice minister herself, with the Federal Constitutional Court led to the repeal of the national data retention provisions in 2010.[63] A revision of the data retention law, as required by the European Commission, is still pending as of mid-2012. Under discussion is the option of a "quick freeze" procedure for traffic data which would allow for data to be stored only upon concrete preservation orders from law enforcement agencies. A legal opinion commissioned by the federal government expressed strong doubts about the compatibility of the data retention directive with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.
As part of the data retention law, the government also revised the duty of identification, obliging ISPs to store contractual data of their customers. The obligatory identification concerns phone lines, SIM cards for mobile phones, and DSL connections. Email, WLAN services, and internet cafes are exempted from this obligation.
Building on the Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU,[64] the minister of interior suggested in 2011 that providers of social networks and search engines agree upon a code of conduct in order to support the protection of minors and that of consumers.[65] This initiative also follows a national code of conduct developed under the auspices of the organization for Voluntary Self-Monitoring of Multimedia Service Providers (FSM), which focuses on data protection for minors.[66]
As part of its cyber security strategy,[67] the federal government established in 2011 a cyber-defense center operating under the auspices of the Federal Office for Information Security, itself a subordinate body of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In the face of an increasing number of cyberattacks, the German government has attached growing importance to the protection of "critical infrastructure."[68] Within the first months of its activity, the cyber-defense center apparently dealt with three to five cases of cybercrime a day.[69] Considering the potential impact of cybercrime and its conspicuous rise since 2009, the founding of a cyber-defense center is viewed as a useful if somewhat belated step.
[1] Birgit van Eimeren and Beate Frees, Ergebnisse der ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie 2011 [Findings of the ARD/ZDF Online Survey 2011], 2011, p. 335, http://www.ard-zdf-onlinestudie.de/ (accessed March 20, 2012).
[2] International Telecommunication Union (ITU), "Percentage of individuals using the Internet, fixed (wired) Internet subscriptions, fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions," 2011, accessed July 13, 2012, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx#.
[3] Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie [BMWi, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology], Breitbandatlas 2011 [Broadband Atlas 2011], 2011a, p. 5, http://www.zukunft-breitband.de/Dateien/BBA/PDF/breitbandatlas-bericht-mitte-2011-teil-1,property=pdf,bereich=bba,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf; Bundesnetzagentur [Federal Network Agency], Tätigkeitsbericht 2010/2011 Telekommunikation [Report 2010/2011 Telecommunications], 2011, p. 34, http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/BNetzA/Presse/Berichte/2011/TaetigkeitsberichtTK20102011pdf.pdf?__blob=publicationFile; Initiative D21, (N)Onliner Atlas 2011, 2011, p. 61, http://www.initiatived21.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/NOnliner2011.pdf.
[4] BITKOM, "Breitband-Anschlüsse: Deutschland in der Spitzengruppe" [Broadband connections: Germany in the leading group], Press Release, January 31, 2012, http://www.bitkom.org/de/markt_statistik/64042_71099.aspx. The Federal Network Agency provides different numbers based on provider subscription data it reports 27 million households with a broadband connection (Bundesnetzagentur, 2011, p. 34). For the sake of comparison, the data provided by Eurostat have been chosen.
[5] Initiative D21, "Bildungsstudie: Digitale Medien in der Schule" [Digital Media in Schools], 2011, p. 8-9, http://www.initiatived21.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/NOA_Bildungsstudie_140211.pdf (accessed 20 March 2012).
[6] Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie [BMWi, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology], Monitoring-Report Deutschland Digital 2011, 2011b, p. 75, http://www.bmwi.de/Dateien/BMWi/PDF/IT-Gipfel/ikt-monitoring,property=pdf,bereich=bmwi,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf.
[7] BMWi, 2011a, Breitband-Atlas 2011.
[8] Eimeren and Frees 2011, p. 337; Initiative D21, 2011, (N)Onliner 2011, p. 42.
[9] Initiative D21, 2011, (N)Onliner 2011, p. 16.
[10]International Telecommunication Union (ITU),"Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions," 2011, accessed July 13, 2012, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx#.
[11] Bundesnetzagentur, 2011, p. 50; BMWi 2011b, Monitoring, p. 101.
[12] BMWi, 2011b, Monitoring, p. 119.
[13] European Commission, "3G coverage (as a % of total population)," Digital Agenda Scoreboard Survey 2011, accessed March 20, 2012, http://cl.ly/FL2U.
[14] European Commission, "New entrants' share in fixed broadband lines," Digital Agenda Scoreboard 2011, accessed March 20, 2012, http://cl.ly/FK1q.
[15] Bundesnetzagentur, 2011, p. 51.
[16] EU Digital Agenda Scoreboard 2011. Electronic Communications Market Indicators, p.10, accessed March 20, 2012. Cf. also the study by Haucaup et al. documenting a fairly competitive market: Haucap/Heimeshoff/Stühmeier, 2010, Wettbewerb im Deutschen Mobilfunkmarkt: Ordnungspolitische Perspektiven Nr. 4.
[17] Call Magazin, "Brüssel will das Blocken von VoIP-Diensten stoppen," April 21, 2011, http://www.call-magazin.de/handy-mobilfunk/handy-mobilfunk-nachrichten/bruessel-will-das-blocken-von-voip-diensten-stoppen_29988.html.
[18] See the report of the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission Internet and Digital Society on net neutrality: p. 12, www.bundestag.de/internetenquete/dokumentation/Netzneutralitaet/Netzneutralitaet_Zwischenbericht_1708536.pdf.
[19] Respect My Net website: http://respectmynet.eu/.
[20] Monopolkommission [Monopoly Commission], Telekommunication 2009: Klaren Wettbewerbskurs halten (Berlin: Monopolkommission, 2009), 75, http://www.monopolkommission.de/sg_56/s56_volltext.pdf [in German]; European Commission, Progress Report on the Single European Electronic Communications Market, 15th Report {COM(2010) 253}, 196, http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/doc/implementation_enforcement/annualreports/15threport/15report_part1.pdf.
[21] European Commission, "Data Protection: European Commission requests Germany to ensure independence of data supervisory authority," press release, Brussels, April 6, 2011, http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/407&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en.
[22] European Commission, Progress Report, 196.
[23] The final leg of delivering connectivity from a communications provider to a customer, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile.
[24] For an overview on European prices, cf. the international tariff comparison by the BNetzA, accessed March 20, 2012, http://cl.ly/FW13. For the criticism of the competitors cf. "Telekom muss Miete für die letzte Meile kaum senken," golem.de, March 31, 2011, http://www.golem.de/1103/82473.html.
[25] Law on the reduction of access to child pornography in communication networks (Access Impediment law), February 17, 2010, http://beck-online.beck.de/default.aspx?typ=reference&y=100&g=ZugErschwG.
[26] EDRI, "German web blocking law repealed," EDRi-gram Newsletter, No. 9.24, December 14, 2011, http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number9.24/german-internet-blocking-law-repealed.
[27] Ak-Zensur website: http://ak-zensur.de/.
[28] Thomas Stadler, "Auch das VG Köln spricht sich gegen Netzsperren bei Glücksspielen aus" [Also, the Cologne Administrative Court is opposed to Internet blocking in games], Internet-Law (blog), January 12, 2012,
[29] Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 13, 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, accessed March 20, 2012, http://eurlex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:335:SOM:EN:HTML. For more information on the development of this directive, cf. "Provisional conclusion of negotiations on blocking," European Digital Rights Initiative (EDRi), accessed March 20, 2012, http://www.edri.org/blocking_negotiations, and the procedure file of the European Parliament, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?id=584949.
[30] "BEREC preliminary findings on traffic management practices in Europe show that blocking of VoIP and P2P traffic is common, other practices vary widely," Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, press release, 2012, http://www.erg.eu.int/doc/2012/TMI_press_release.pdf. See also the preliminary report on net neutrality by the multi-stakeholder Commission of Inquiry (Enquete Kommission) on the Internet and Digital Society, set up by the German Federal Parliament in 2010: p. 12, http://www.bundestag.de/internetenquete/dokumentation/Netzneutralitaet/Netzneutralitaet_Zwischenbericht_1708536.pdf.
[31] Google complied fully or partially with 86 percent of these requests. Google, "Germany," Google Transparency Report, January to June 2011, accessed August 2, 20122http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/government/countries/?p=2011-06.
[32] Google complied fully or partially with 77 percent of these requests. Google, "Germany," Google Transparency Report, July to December 2011, accessed August 2, 20122, http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/government/DE/?p=2011-12.
[33] Cf. the respective paragraphs 130 and 131 in the Crimical Code: http://dejure.org/gesetze/StGB/130.html; http://dejure.org/gesetze/StGB/131.html.
[34] Liability privilege means that information intermediaries on the internet such as ISPs are not responsible for the content their customers transmit. Secondary or indirect liability applies when intermediaries contribute to or facilitate wrongdoings of their customers.
[35] Court of Justice of the European Union, PRESS RELEASE No 37/11, Luxumbourg, April 14, 2011, http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2011-04/cp110037en.pdf.
[36] "German Constitutional Court confirms BGH's 'AnyDVD' copyright decision," The IPKate (blog), February 21, 2012, http://ipkitten.blogspot.de/2012/02/german-constitutional-court-confirms.html. For the concrete reasons given for the judgment, cf. the court's ruling: http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/rk20111215_1bvr124811.
[37] Cf. the opinion of the court: http://www.telemedicus.info/urteile/Internetrecht/1317-BGH-Az-VI-ZR-9310-Pruefpflichten-fuer-Hostprovider-Blogspot.html.
[38] Christopher Burgess, "Three Good Reasons to Lock Down Your Wireless Network," The Huffington Post (blog), June 8, 2010, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-burgess/three-good-reasons-to-loc_b_599945.html.
[39] "Berliner Initiative für offene WLANs" [Initiative for free WLAN in Berlin], heise.de, April 7th 2012,
[40] Cf. the codex of the German Press Council: http://www.presserat.info/uploads/media/Novellierter_Kodex_03.pdf.
[41] See the minutes of the Expert Meeting on net neutrality of the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission, October 8th, 2010, http://www.bundestag.de/internetenquete/dokumentation/Netzneutralitaet/Gespraechsprotokoll_-_6_Sitzung_BNetzA_2010-11-08.pdf.
[42] See the report of the parliamentary board of economy and technology, October 26th, 2011: http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/075/1707521.pdf.
[43] Cf. the website of the commission: http://www.bundestag.de/internetenquete/
[44] Cf. the website "GuttenPlag": http://de.guttenplag.wikia.com/wiki/GuttenPlag_Wiki.
[45] Bundesverfassungsgericht [Federal Constitutional Court], Provisions in the North-Rhine Westphalia Constitution Protection Act (Verfassungsschutzgesetz Nordrhein-Westfalen) on online searches and on the reconnaissance of the Internet null and void, Judgment of 27 February 2008, 1 BvR 370/07; 1 BvR 595/07, http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/rs20080227_1bvr037007en.html; See also, Press release no. 22/2008, http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/en/press/bvg08-022en.html. For more background cf. W Abel and B Schafer, "The German Constitutional Court on the Right in Confidentiality and Integrity of Information Technology Systems – a case report on BVerfG, NJW 2008, 822," (2009) 6:1 SCRIPTed 106, http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/ahrc/script-ed/vol6-1/abel.asp.
[46] This Act enables secret services to intercept, monitor, and record private communications, including the surveillance of journalists under specific conditions. It also restricts journalistic privileges such as the right to refuse to give evidence. "Gesetz zur Beschränkung des Brief-, Post- und Fernmeldegeheimnisses" [Law on the restriction of correspondence, posts and telecommunications secrecy], Bundesministerium der Justiz, accessed March 20, 2012, http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/g10_2001/index.html.
[47] Bundesverfassungsgericht [Federal Constitutional Court], "Cicero-Urteil," Decision 1 BvR 538/06, accessed March 20, 2012, http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/rs20070227_1bvr053806.html. For the European context, see David Banisar, Speaking of Terror: A Survey of the Effects of Counter-terrorism Legislation on Freedom of the Media in Europe (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 2008), accessed March 20, 2012, http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/media/Doc/SpeakingOfTerror_en.pdf.
[48] Cf. the press release of the Federal Ministry of Justice, accessed March 20, 2012: http://cl.ly/FVeK.
[49] Strafprossordnung (StPO) [Code of Criminal Procedure], Paragraph 53 (1) 5, accessed March 20, 2012, http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stpo/englisch_stpo.html#p0198.
[50] File of the petition in the parliamentary epetition-system, accessed March 20, 2012, https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/index.php?action=petition;sa=details;petition=19350.
[51] For an English translation of the German penal code see: http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#StGBengl_000P130, accessed March 20, 2012.
[52] See for example, "Innenminister Friedrich will Blogger-Anonymität aufheben" [Federal Minister of Interior wants to abolish anonymity of bloggers], Tagessspiel online, August 7, 2011, http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/internet-innenminister-friedrich-will-blogger-anonymitaet-aufheben/4473060.html.
[53] Eg. Oberlandesgericht (OLG) Hamm [German Federal Court of Appeals Hamm], File I-3 U 196/10, August 3, 2011, http://www.justiz.nrw.de/nrwe/olgs/hamm/j2011/I_3_U_196_10beschluss20110803.html.
[54] The period from 2001 to 2010 shows a steady increase on both counts, from an initial 1.5 million requests from security authorities and 3.2 million queries by the Federal Network Agency in 2001, cf. Bundesnetzagentur, Annual Report 2010, 125, accessed March 20, 2012, http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/BNetzA/PressSection/ReportsPublications/2011/AnnualReport2010pdf.pdf.
[55] This procedure was ruled as partly unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court in January 2012. The legislative is asked to revise the paragraph until 30 June 2013. Federal Constitutional Court, Decision 1 BvR 1299/05, January 24, 2012, http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/rs20120124_1bvr129905.html.
[56] Bundesamt für Justiz [Federal Office for Justice], "Übersicht Telekommunikationsüberwachung (Maßnahmen nach §100a StPO) für 2010," July 29, 2011, http://www.bundesjustizamt.de/cln_115/DE/Themen/Buergerdienste/Justizstatistik/Telekommunikation/Uebersicht__TKUE__2010,templateId=raw,property=publicationFile.pdf/Uebersicht_TKUE_2010.pdf [in German].
[57] Bundesamt für Justiz, "Übersicht Verkehrsdatenerhebung (Maßnahmen nach § 100g StPO) für 2010," July 29, 2011, http://www.bundesjustizamt.de/cln_115/DE/Themen/Buergerdienste/Justizstatistik/Telekommunikation/Uebersicht__Verkehrsdaten__2010,templateId=raw,property=publicationFile.pdf/Uebersicht_Verkehrsdaten_2010.pdf [in German].
[58] Cf. the report of the Parliamentary Control Panel: Deutscher Bundestag, Drucksache 17/8639, February 10, 2012, http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/086/1708639.pdf. The Parliamentary Control Panel periodically reports to the parliament and nominates the members of the G 10 Commission. The G 10 Commission controls surveillance measures and is also responsible for overseeing telecommunications measures undertaken on the basis of the Counterterrorism Act of 2002 and the Amendment Act of 2007. See also: http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/bundestag/committees/bodies/scrutiny/index.html [in German].
[59] Bundesverfassungsgericht [Federal Constitutional Court], Provisions in the North-Rhine Westphalia Constitution Protection Act (Verfassungsschutzgesetz Nordrhein-Westfalen) on online searches and on the reconnaissance of the Internet null and void, Judgment of 27 February 2008, 1 BvR 370/07; 1 BvR 595/07, See also, http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/en/press/bvg08-022en.html, accessed March 20, 2012. For more background cf. W Abel and B Schafer, "The German Constitutional Court on the Right in Confidentiality and Integrity of Information Technology Systems – a case report on BVerfG, NJW 2008, 822," (2009) 6:1 SCRIPTed 106, accessed March 20, 2012, http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/ahrc/script-ed/vol6-1/abel.asp.
[60] "Gesetz über das Bundeskriminalamt und die Zusammenarbeit des Bundes und der Länder in kriminalpolizeilichen Angelegenheiten," http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bkag_1997/ (accessed March 20, 2012). Cf. Dirk Heckmann, "Anmerkungen zur Novellierung des BKA-Gesetzes: Sicherheit braucht (valide) Informationen," Internationales Magazin für Sicherheit nr. 1 (2009), http://www.ims-magazin.de/index.php?p=artikel&id=1255446180,1,gastautor [in German].
[61] Deutsche Welle, "Several German states admit to use of controversial spy software," October 11, 2011, http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15449054,00.html.
[62] André Meister, "Massenhafte Funkzellenabfrage jetzt auch in Berlin: Was Vorratsdatenspeicherung wirklich bedeutet," Netzpolitik.org (blog), January 19, 2012, http://cl.ly/FjXb [in German].
[63] "Leitsätze zum Urteil des Ersten Senats vom2. März 2010" [Guidelines to the judgment of the First Senate of March 2, 2010], Bundesverfassungsgericht, accessed August 20, 2012, http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/rs20100302_1bvr025608.html.
[64] European Commission, "Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU," February 10, 2009, http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/social_networking/docs/sn_principles.pdf.
[65] Innenministerium setzt auf Datenschutz-Selbstkontrolle von Facebook [German Government favors self-regulation by Facebook], heise.de, September 8, 2011.
[66] Cf. the code of conduct on the website of the FSM: http://fsm.de/de/Web_2_0.
[67] Cf. the policy paper on Cybersecurity of the Federal Ministry of Interior: http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Themen/OED_Verwaltung/Informationsgesellschaft/cyber.pdf?__blob=publicationFile.
[68] Cf. the press release of the Federal Ministry of Interior: http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2011/mitMarginalspalte/06/cyber.html.
[69] "Täglich bis zu fünf Fälle für das Cyber-Abwehrzentrum" [Cyber-defense center handles five cases each day], FOCUS Online, June 8, 2011,http://www.focus.de/digital/computer/computer-taeglich-bis-zu-fuenf-faelle-fuer-das-cyber-abwehrzentrum_aid_635369.html.


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Armed Robbers Accost Oakland Tech Students On Campus
Oakland Police have arrested two young men who robbed four students at gunpoint at Oakland Technological High School Tuesday morning, March 24.
In a letter e-mailed to the school community, Oakland Tech Principal Sheilagh Andujar said that, although the incident had been "extremely disturbing," nobody was injured, and the situation was diffused quickly.
Located at 4351 Broadway Ave., Oakland Tech is one of six comprehensive public high school campuses in Oakland. Run by the Oakland Unified School District, the school gets students from several neighborhoods, including Oakland Chinatown, Rockridge and Temescal.
Andujar said in her letter that two young men unaffiliated with Oakland Tech entered the school around 8 a.m.
One of the men was carrying a gun, which was not in plain view. The two suspects later used the weapon to threaten four students to give up their possessions.
Responding immediately to a distress call from a teacher, campus security was able to track the two men as they left the campus, passing on the information to Oakland police, who were able to arrest both suspects.
The pair are currently in the custody of the Oakland Police Department.
Law enforcement officials are investigating the situation along with the school and district administrations.
Calls to the Oakland Police Department spokesperson for comment were not returned immediately.
Andujar said in her e-mail that school staff and police checked on students following the incident.
"Certainly some people were shaken by the incident, which is only natural, but I was extremely impressed by the composure both students and staff exhibited throughout the day and the cohesive response I witnessed in the Tech community," said Oakland Unified spokesperson Troy Flint. "There was no real sense of panic, and, after the incident was addressed, school continued in relatively normal fashion."
Crisis counselors were also available on site throughout the day to provide additional support.
"We are already working with law enforcement and the Tech community to continue to assess safety threats and promote school safety," Andujar's e-mail said. "As you know, we are a community at Oakland Tech and we welcome suggestions and comments with respect to this situation and all opportunities for improvement at our school. In the meantime, please know that my door is open and that we at Oakland Tech take this event and all matters affecting student safety with the utmost seriousness."
Flint said that although he did not have ready figures for the number of robberies that have occurred at Oakland Tech or Oakland Unified in the past, "Tech, while not without incident, is generally regarded as a safe campus."
"[It's] a fact that staff members reaffirmed at a faculty meeting today," he said. "That said, we as a district can certainly do more to improve school security generally and with respect to the specific situation on the Tech campus."
Security on campus had been beefed up following the incident, Flint said.
"There was extra police presence throughout the day, and staff was asked to be especially alert," he said. "In addition, we have begun the process of a threat assessment to determine potential security gaps or flaws in protocol. It's extremely likely this will result in some changes that constrict campus access to a certain degree, but specific determinations have not been made at this time."
Authorities have directed the community to contact OUSD's anonymous Tip Line at 532-4867 with any information that might suggest students or staff may be in danger.


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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Post mega conference
David Rust, the Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy at the Social Security Administration (SSA), opened the conference. As he described the work that SSA is doing to promote financial literacy, the image of a family doctor came to my mind. In the same way that a family doctor attends to his patients over time, caring for them at each stage of the life cycle, treating illness when necessary and preserving health when possible, so Social Security has been taking care of individuals, supporting them when they face problems such as disability. And with the financial literacy initiative, SSA is aiming to preserve and promote future financial stability by making sure that people are accumulating enough for retirement and are well equipped to make savvy financial decisions. SSA is ideally situated to promote financial literacy: it is an institution that is focused on the long term and that has the patience to wait for results in the long run. And investments in financial literacy will bear fruit in the long term, in line with the horizon of SSA.
Michael Barr, the Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of Treasury, delivered the keynote address at lunch. Michael is also a top law scholar and a faculty member at the University of Michigan Law School. He gave one of the most articulate descriptions of the role of financial literacy and financial regulation that I have heard. He generously interacted with the audience after his talk, and the many questions that were asked are a testament to the importance of the work he is doing. The Treasury Department is playing a significant leadership role in the field of financial literacy, and I am proud that Michael Barr is at the helm of many initiatives, including the important work of building the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Punam Keller, the Charles Henry Jones Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business, delivered the closing talk. Punam is an expert on marketing strategy and social marketing and she is also the Marketing Director for the Financial Literacy Center. She described why financial literacy needs a marketing strategy and gave many tips on how social marketing can be of help in designing programs that are effective in influencing behavior. Punam is one of the most engaging, energetic, and brilliant speakers I have heard, and I am very happy to have been able to collaborate with her on so many projects.
The conference was large, with over 500 people registered. We designed the conference for interaction, and I believe we succeeded in engaging the audience. There were a lot of questions at the end of each session, and in the sessions I was able to attend, I learned as much from the questions that were asked as from the presentations. The agenda included an hour dedicated to visiting exhibit booths at which our team members displayed the products and projects they have been working on in the past year and interacted with conference attendees. I walked through the conference foyer during breaks and took stock of the many conversations generated by the topics presented at the conference sessions. A number of people approached me to say how much they enjoyed being involved in the conference. A sense of involvement and engagement is not a given at all conferences and one lesson I took away from this event is the value of creating a dialogue between the presenters and attendees. There is much to be gained from a conference at which everyone feels part of the conversation and everyone feels they have a chance for their voice to be heard.
Some of the programs that were presented speak of the creativity and ingenuity that is being used in designing financial literacy programs. One of the most popular presentations and exhibit booths was that of Doorways to Dreams (D2D). D2D has developed a casual video game, called Bite Club, to teach financial literacy. Bite Club, which is inspired by one of the most popular casual games of all time, Diner Dash, offers players a simulated experience in which they face the real-world tension between managing debt payments and current spending needs on the one hand, and saving for the long-term goal of retirement on the other. Players must manage a "day club" for vampires which demands they successfully pay off debt, meet current consumption needs, and save effectively for retirement. The core instructional design teaches the value of three important real world behaviors: (1) saving for retirement, (2) paying down debt, and (3) managing current consumption. In case you did not think there is a relationship between vampires and financial literacy, think again!
Let me turn now to the topic of food. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I believe food contributes to the success of any event. The food at the Ronald Reagan Center was as expected: breakfast was hearty, with plenty of bagels, muffins, juices, and strong coffee (much needed!). For lunch, we had to go for popular choices: salad as the appetizer and chicken as entrée. But the chocolate dessert was delicious, a tart with fresh raspberries on top of a good layer of melted chocolate. I gulped mine down and, since Michael Barr had to rush off at the end of his presentation, I ate part of his, too!
Presentations, keynote speeches, and photos of conference participants will be posted soon on our new web site http://www.financialliteracyfocus.org/
3 comments:
- Joanne said...
I couldn't agree more about the value and success of the conference last week. I've been to a variety of academically-focused conferences and this one was refreshingly different from past experiences. As you say, there was lively discussion and mutual learning between presenters and attendees throughout. But best of all, clearly all the research was conducted bearing real world applications in mind. And good thing--improving financial literacy nationwide can't come soon enough.
I look forward to seeing the conference materials (especially Punam Keller's excellent presentation on the importance of marketing) uploaded on the website like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.
- November 23, 2010 at 11:10 PM
- Bank of Dad said...
I wish I could have been there. I've been looking over the first-year projects on the Rand website you published last month and will be posting on them and the Mega conference in the days ahead at:
- November 29, 2010 at 3:09 PM
- financial literacy said...
i am agree with your suggestion.All these are really nice and informative.
- March 9, 2011 at 11:18 AM


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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Tiger Woods has missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship after being penalized two shots for wrongly thinking he had a free drop after his ball became entangled in weeds.
Woods thought he had just made the cut by finishing his second round at 1-over 73. But he was advised by the European Tour chief referee of the penalty, giving him a 75 and 3-over total of 147. The cut for the top 65 plus ties is projected at 2 over.
Also missing the cut with a 75 was Rory McIlroy, who struggled for a second day with his new Nike clubs and posted a 6-over total of 150. Even a switch to his old putter in the round didn't help McIlroy.


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10 Wedding Color Tips | The Ultimate Wedding Color Guide
But if you think about it, it's a whole lot easier than you think. And guess what? I'm here to help! The key to creating a stylish and successful wedding color palette is really about understanding the relationship between colors. And no, you don't have to be a color wheel expert to figure it all out. Simply find a starting place and then let your intuition guide you. Here's how:
1. Let Your Location Inspire You
2. Let the Season Be Your Guide
Mother Nature should never be forgotten. Especially if you plan for an outdoor wedding. A color may work year-round, but barely-there hues like beige can appear incredibly washed out for during those Winter months. Doesn't make or break a color, but definitely something you should consider before deciding.
photo credit: Laura Murray Photography
Become aware of color combinations that you are attracted to, whether it's color ideas you've discovered on Pinterest or while flipping through a stack of home or fashion magazines. You'll find that there really is color inspiration to be had almost everywhere you look! Once you find a few favorites, be sure to jot them down.
5. Choose Your Primary Color
After you've compared your favorites to one another, decide on the colors that you're leaning towards most and go ahead and let yourself start dreaming of the possibilities. For example, let's say I decide that I want a purple wedding? Now that I've made that decision, it's time to start thinking about the different shades and tints within that color's spectrum. For example, are you leaning towards a darker shade like eggplant or towards a lighter shade like lavender? Typically Spring and Summer are reserved for the lighter shades and Fall and Winter work best with the deeper, more saturated hues.
6. Determine the Mood
Figure out what emotions you want your celebration to evoke. A peaceful, relaxing retreat? A upscale, romantic affair? A fun and exciting, high-energy party? A modern fete? Now think back to the color that you're considering as your primary color. Does it evoke the sort of feeling you're hoping to communicate? If not, it might be best for you to go back to the drawing board.
7. Consider the Lighting
Let's be honest. Lighting can make or break a space. And it definitely ties into the whole mood thing. I recommend that you talk to your event designer or lighting expert about how to best transform your space - especially if that space includes lots of white walls. Tip: Soft shades like pink will warm up a space without overpowering it.
8. Consider the Big Picture
And last but not least, don't forget about the big picture. You have a bridal party to dress, remember? And so just because you love those romantic and ethereal blush tones, doesn't mean that it will be super flattering on all your attendants. What's pretty on paper, can't always be pulled off as picture perfect in reality. Are you confident that the colors you're considering will work with all aspects of your day?
9. Ask Yourself How?
Now that you've considered the big picture, it's time to start determining the ways you will incorporate your palette into your big day? How will you actually incorporate those colors into your big day? Will you add color to the tables with your florals? Will you have your custom napkins made to match? Maybe a seat cushion to coordinate?
10. Can You Find Items to Purchase?
If you can start imagining exactly how the colors you're considering will actually be used, congratulations, you're well on your way! But before you go ordering that mint cake, make sure that you're able to find other items in those colors that you like that will match or coordinate with your overall palette.
Tip: just because you've chosen a color palette, doesn't mean that it's super easy to locate coordinating decor. So keep this in mind before making your final decision. You don't want to get stuck with a color palette that proves to be too difficult to work with.
Need help getting started? Simply click a color swatch below. They don't call this the Ultimate Wedding Color Blog for nothing ;) Happy planning!
And be sure to check out our inspiration board collection {HERE}.


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Kenneth O. Elvik, Editor IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen A. Zeff, (ed.), Asset Appreciation, Business Income and Price-Level Accounting: 1918-1935, (New York: Arno Press, Reprint Edition, 1976, pp. 208, $28.00).
Reviewed by Louis Goldberg, Professor Emeritus Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
When Henry W. Sweeney's book, Stabilized Accounting was re-issued in 1964, that author included as a prefatory essay a paper entitled "Forty Years After: Or Stabilized Accounting Revisited." Among the many points that he made in that essay, was one to the effect that "the literature of even the 1920's was often superior to many of the pseudo-scientific 'vanity' outpourings since 1936." Sweeney's observation is borne out by the papers on accounting problems arising from changing price levels which are reprinted in this volume, all of them having appeared between 1918 and 1935.
The papers are reproduced by a photographic process from the original publications, complete with some few misprints, which are not serious in themselves, and the original page numbering, which results in the absence of consecutive numbering of pages through-out the volume. The need to reduce the size of the various journal pages to the format of an octavo book has resulted in different sizes of type, that of one article being so small as to be difficult for any but the sharpest eyes to cope with.
Of the eighteen papers included, nine are by Sweeney himself, two by W. A. Paton, two by Fritz Schmidt, and one by each of Living-ston Middleditch Jr., H. C. Daines, Max J. Wasserman, Ralph Cough-enour Jones and Solomon Fabricant.
For the most part, these early articles are written in readily under-standable English, uncluttered by jargon or verbiage, and the argu-ments are clear, direct and forceful. In an introductory essay, the editor, Dr. Zeff, explains that when Stabilized Accounting was pub-lished in 1936 it represented only a portion of Sweeney's doctoral thesis, from which, because of publishing constraints, much of the


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Since some days ago MSN Messenger 6 Beta has been released, i looked through the forums and found nothing about it.
This new version is pretty good in its graphic interface and has really good improvements like:
- NEW GAMES; MSN has made a mess of games you can play with a friend, not all have been added, but play whats there so far! and you also can still play PC games to your friends PC
- SMILIES; they have added more smiles to this new verson, some are animated PLUS creat your own smiles, animaged or not HAVE FUN!
- WEBCAM; now you don't need to download patched for MSN (like 5)
- BUDDY ICONS; you can download an icon from tyhe gallery or make your own (96x96 pixels)
- BACKGROUNDS; you can use the backgrounds msn has given, download new ones, OR MAKE YOUR OWN!
So if you are a MSN Messenger fan you can get it HERE


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Sparta, Middle Tennessee
Sunday September 7th 1862
Dearest Sallie, It has been about ten days since I wrote you last 6 miles this side of Chattanooga. We are now near Sparta about 75 or 80 miles from Chattanooga. We have done some very hard marching since we left, but yesterday was the hardest march we have had. We traveled about 20 miles, the other days about 12 or 15 miles. We have marched about 5 days since we started and rested the others. We are all standing the march tolerably well, rather better than we did from Corinth. Our company has one advantage more than we had from Corinth when we got to Tupelo our Seed' Lieutenant Tom Boone went home and bought two mules and a wagon to haul our knapsacks. A.B. Davidson drives it and hauls all the knapsacks of the company, it is a very great help. We have our guns, cartridge boxes, haversacks, and canteens to carry. I don't think I could have carried my knapsack across these mountains. We have traveled over two very large mountains, Waldron's Ridge and the Cumberland Mountain. They were very rough and steep in places and very rocky. My feet have not blistered as badly as they did before. I have one tolerably large blister on one of my heels, it was made yesterday, but I hope it will be better tomorrow as we expect to leave here in the morning or next day.


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Watch live on CSN-TV as Philip Humber takes the hill vs. the Giants today at 3:05 p.m. CT. Addison Reed and Matt Thornton are also slated to pitch. Gameday | Boxscore
March 25, 2012
White Sox vs. Giants @ 3:05 pm CT; game on CSN-TV
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