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Le Chapeau, 1963
oil on canvas
signed Angel Ponce de Leon, titled and dated on verso
24 x 24 1/8 inches.
Frame 24 3/4 x 24 3/4 inches.
Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact or a complete assessment. Hindman Auctions shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
Additional condition information can be requested via email email@example.com or by telephone (513-871-1670).
Array ( [live_biddable] => [inquire] => [phone] => [phone_bid] => 0 [sold] => 1 [unsold] => [make_offer] => [estimate] => 1 [timer] => [current_bid] => [asking_bid] => [start_price] => 1 [buy_it_now_price] => [bid_activity] => )
Have a Similar Item?Consign With Us
Cowan's Cincinnati Office offers an in-house, full-service shipping department which is unparalleled in the auction industry. Shipping costs are provided with your finalized invoice 24-48 hours after auction. For furniture and oversized items, we recommend using third-party services. For more information, click HERE or contact email@example.com.
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If the latest survey from Nielsen holds water, you can expect to see a lot of smartphones, tablets and other popular devices under the Christmas tree this year.
According to a survey of consumers, 62% of people shopping on Black Friday this year plan to purchase consumer electronics, or roughly the same percentage who say they plan to purchase clothing and apparel on Black Friday, Nielsen says. However, the number of gadget buyers drops significantly among non-Black Friday shoppers as just 40% of overall holiday shoppers plan on buying consumer electronics this season.
Nielsen also found that the Web has made Black Friday shopping less strenuous than it used to be, as 80% of consumers say they're staying away from malls on Black Friday.
The high interest in consumer electronics as Christmas presents is no surprise since data released by Nielsen last week showed that 44% of U.S. children between the ages of 6 and 12 are interested in getting an iPad within the next six months, while 30% said they wanted an iPod Touch and 27% said they wanted an iPhone. Among consumers age 13 or older, interest in buying an iPad within the next six months stands at 24% of consumers.
For those of you considering buying consumer electronics yourselves this Black Friday, be sure to check out our report on the top tablet, e-reader and laptop Black Friday deals this year.

subset: commoncrawl


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Report: DoJ Probes Microsoft Over Foreign Bribery
U.S. federal regulators launched a probe over claims that some of Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) business partners bribed foreign government officials to win software contracts, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report said on Tuesday that lawyers from the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into kickback allegations made by a former Chinese representative of Microsoft. The investigation, which is in a preliminary stage, also covers the software giant's relationship with resellers and consultants located in Italy and Romania, the Journal said.
The U.S. government has not accused Microsoft or any of its partners of any wrongdoing, and the report noted that the investigation could end with no charges being filed.
Shares of Microsoft were down two cents at $28.08 a share Tuesday afternoon.
The SEC declined to comment when contacted by FOX Business. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA), which is also the parent company of FOX Business.
"We take all allegations brought to our attention seriously and we cooperate fully in any government inquiries," John Frank, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement.
"Like other large companies with operations around the world we sometimes receive allegations about potential misconduct by employees or business partners and we investigate them fully regardless of the source. We also invest heavily in proactive training, monitoring and audits to ensure our business operations around the world meet the highest legal and ethical standards."
Without confirming any of the details in the news report, Frank wrote in a blog post on a Microsoft website that the company "cannot comment about on-going inquiries."
"The matters raised in the Wall Street Journal are important, and it is appropriate that both Microsoft and the government review them. It is also important to remember that it is not unusual for such reviews to find that an allegation was without merit," Frank wrote, citing a Journal report earlier this week about an investigation into claims against the newspaper.
According to the report, an outside law firm conducted an internal probe for Microsoft to look into allegations in China. That probe lasted 10 months and concluded in 2010.
The government probe related to the claims out of China began when an anonymous tipster made the claims to U.S. investigators in 2012.
Sources told the Journal that the tipster claimed an executive of Microsoft's China subsidiary instructed the tipster to offer kickbacks to Chinese officials in exchange for software contracts. The tipster was also involved in a labor dispute with Microsoft in China.
The U.S. government is reviewing whether the Redmond, Wash.-based company had a role in claims that resellers offered bribes to secure software contracts with Romania's Ministry of Communications. A spokeswoman from the ministry told the Journal that the allegations were inconsistent with agency records.
Allegations out of Italy claim that Microsoft's Italian unit used consultants that specialize in customer loyalty programs to provide Italian officials with gifts and trips.
The investigation into Microsoft's business partners is one of dozens being conducted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits U.S. companies and companies that trade on U.S. stock exchanges from paying bribes to foreign officials.
The SEC created a whistleblower program in 2010, included in the passage of Dodd-Frank. It offers cash incentives for employees to bring securities violations, including those related to the FCPA, to the commission's attention.
Microsoft has offices in 112 countries and nearly 98,000 employees, in addition to roughly 640,000 partner businesses worldwide, according to Frank. He also said Microsoft employs 50 people whose primary role is investigating potential breaches of company policy, while another 120 people evaluate compliance.
Although he did not comment on whether Microsoft had a third party conduct an internal probe related to any of the claims, Frank did note that the company "sometimes retain(s) outside law firms to conduct or assist with investigations" due to the "size and complexity" of Microsoft's business.


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Dust-Mantled Topography near Zephyria Tholus
March 31, 2010
This image covers some high-standing topography just outside the rim of an impact crater about 30 kilometers (19 miles) in diameter near a Martian hill named Zephyria Tholus.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recorded this image on March 9, 2010. The target for this HiRISE observation was a suggestion submitted through the camera team's HiWish public-suggestion program. For more information about how to submit target suggestions, see http://uahirise.org/hiwish/.
What formed this hill? Could it be a volcano? That was hypothesized to be the case in a paper published in 2001, and this suggestion was entered to test that idea, perhaps from seeing internal layering exposed by the crater. This is an example of what we regard as an excellent science justification for a target suggestion: following up on a testable hypothesis with specific observational goals. It was entered by eminent blogospherian Emily Lakdawalla of the Planetary Society. If you're thinking we chose to acquire this image early because we want her to blog nice things about HiRISE and HiWISH, you're right! But it's also a good suggestion.
So what does the HiRISE image show us? Mostly it shows a dust mantle, hiding the bedrock it was intended to study. Bummer! The dustiness is especially apparent from the uniformity of the color data. Much of Mars is covered by dust, so we often favor the relatively dust-free patches for HiRISE imaging. You can usually tell whether a surface is dusty by looking at dust index maps and the nighttime infrared mosaic available at http://www.mars.asu.edu/data/ from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. We hope to get the nighttime infrared map entered as a layer of HiWISH to help image suggesters. The night-infrared bright (warm) stuff is rocky or sandy, and dark (cool) stuff is probably dusty. Dust cools off rapidly at night while rocks store and slowly release heat. If the dust is thin, HiRISE images can still show the underlying meter-scale morphology. Maybe someone will want to study the dust-related processes on Mars, which are actually not well understood. Also, dusty surfaces are where we can find new impact craters that disturb the dust and make easy-to-see dark spots. We'll see if Emily finds something interesting in this image.
This image covers a swath of ground about 1 kilometer (about two-thirds of a mile) wide. It is a portion of HiRISE observation ESP_016954_1590, which is centered at 20.65 degrees south latitude, 173.19 degrees east longitude. The season on Mars is southern-hemisphere autumn. Other image products from this observation are available at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_016954_1590.
Color images from HiRISE combine information from detectors with three different color filters: red, infrared, and blue-green. Thus they include information from part of the spectrum human eyes cannot see and are not true color as the eye would see. The resulting false color helps to show differences among surface materials.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft.


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Cornerstone Capital, Your Best Mortgage Refinancing Solution in Teaneck
- Providing you with the best mortgage and loan service
- A guide on how to properly apply for a loan
- The best professional help from some of the experts in the mortgage and loans industry
Our goal is to make the mortgage process as easy as possible for our clients. We provide focused attention and personalized services to make your experience with us positive from the start until you have the keys to your new property in your hand.
Whether this is your first mortgage application or you have had many mortgages before, we make sure that you understand the process every step of the way. We take the time to get to know you to ensure that we offer you mortgage products tailor-fitted to your lifestyle and goals.
We eliminate the uncertainty of applying for a mortgage by taking the time to answer your questions. When our clients leave the closing table, they feel confident about their decisions.
Let Cornerstone Capital Help You Apply For A New Mortgage in Teaneck Today
When we say we are your full-service mortgage broker, we mean full service. We can find you the financing you need on the terms that you want through a wide range of mortgage options, including:
We have a mortgage solution for every situation. Of course, all of the above comes with the attentive care that you deserve.
Cornerstone Capital started in Edison, New Jersey, in 2007. Ever since its conception, the business has worked closely with their New Jersey neighbors, dedicated to helping them get the mortgage that will allow them to purchase the home of their dreams.
For the employees of Cornerstone Capital, it is more than just a job. The company prides itself as being a Jersey native through and through. That means that the communities that they work with throughout Bergen County are communities that its founders and employees know well. The Cornerstone Capital office is right on Rivers Edge Road, right off parkway exit 161.
Our Mortgage Services:
Areas We Serve:
How to Apply For a Mortgage in Teaneck
Anyone may feel frustrated and confused with the process of applying for a mortgage in Teaneck. Aside from the mortgage being a big commitment, there are many kinds and various steps applicable to different situations. Luckily, Cornerstone Capital has brokers that are available to assist anyone. We have numerous options that allow the process to become convenient and quick. Cornerstone Capital Financial Services has a straightforward method for mortgage loan approval. The following are the various ways you can begin the process now:
Complete Secure 1003 Application: Also known as a Uniform Residential Loan Application, you can easily get started by filling it out online. Usually, this application is completed twice throughout the mortgage acquiring process. Initially, you fill out the form to explore your options. Once you are ready to move forward with a loan, you fill out the application again to firm up the agreement. (Often, this process takes a few months, so the second 1003 Application ensures nothing has changed in the applicant's financials.)
Call Cornerstone Capital LLC at 201-265-4545: Cornerstone Capital understands that some people would like to apply over the phone with a professional that can walk them through the process. This option is welcome, as the firm can immediately assist you with any questions you may have throughout the application process.
Download the Application: If you prefer to fill out the application and mail it, fax it, or bring it to the office, that is still acceptable. You can download the form here for FREE. Then, you need to fill it out and return it in the manner that suits you best.
Contact Cornerstone Capital now so you can set up an appointment, and we can answer your questions. We have pleasantly knowledgeable staff that are always available to answer your questions to help you become the homeowner you ever desired.
It can be a big deal for anyone to buy a home as this decision will follow you forever. Thankfully, Cornerstone Capital has experts that can surely help you every step of the way.


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College Boy Gets Fucked Bareback By An Older Priest With A Big Uncut Cock
Oh you guys are going to love this new video from Bareback Me Daddy — especially you Catholic boys! Oscar Hart attends a private Catholic University. After he organized a big party in one of the dormitories, he get's called to the chancellor's office to have a meeting with Father Victor. Father Victor has had enough of Oscar causing trouble on campus and the college boy knows he is in big trouble this time. Oscar decides to seduce the priest with his youthful good looks. He starts by giving the priest a tender kiss. Father Victor can't help the feelings he is feeling. He pulls out his big uncut cock and Oscar starts sucking on the priest's big dick. Once Father Victor has a raging boner, Oscar pulls down his pants and the priest starts sucking his cock. Both of them have raging boners, and Oscar knows the only way to stay in school is to bend over. Father Victor pushes his big uncut cock inside of Oscar's ass and begins giving him a bareback fucking. After some intense raw fucking, Father Victor flips Oscar over and fucks him on his back. Oscar loves the feeling of Father Victor's big uncut cock inside of him and begs for more. Father Victor sits on his desk and the boy hops on his big uncut cock and takes it for one last ride. Riding Father's cock, Oscar shoots a big load of hot cum all over the priests desk. Father Victor pulls out and shoots his massive load of cum right into Oscar's open mouth! Holy shit this is hot! Make sure to check this one out.


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Air Optix Multifocal contact lenses from Alcon allow 5 times more oxygen to flow to your eyes than regular soft contact lens. This provides the wearer with exceptional comfort, and visual acuity for extended periods of time. The lens also features a patented technology that creates a deposit resistant surface, which creates a healthier usage experience. Air Optix Multifocal are multifocal contact lenses. These lenses are a great monthly disposable option for those who are nearsighted or farsighted. These lenses are approved for 7 days of continuous wear without removal. Please consult with your eye doctor for the wearing schedule that is optimal for your vision requirements. There are 6 lenses per each box of Air Optix Multifocal.
Add power range:
- Hi: +2.50
- Mid: +2.00
- Low: +1.00


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Welcome to the ICESTI 2015 Website!
ICESTI 2015 will provide a forum for accessing to the most up-to-date and authoritative knowledge from both industrial and academic worlds, sharing best practice in the field of Electrical Systems, Technology, and Information towards sustainable development. The conference will provide an opportunity to highlight recent developments and to identify emerging and future areas of growth in these exciting fields.
The second event of this conference series (ICESTI 2015) will be held in Bali, Indonesia, on 9-12 September 2015. ICESTI organizing committee are inviting submissions from scientists, academicians and industry practitioners worldwide.
Please visit ICESTI 2015 website regularly for more updates!


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*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 26, No. 14 April 6, 2007 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +Civilian to accompany next ISS crew into space * +League cites the downside of 60 meter DXing * +FCC accepts license for cancellation, issues warning * +Ham radio directly links students to human space travel * +Groups set to mark anniversary of Titanic disaster on ham radio * +Amateur Radio blackout continues in Iraq * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration +Swains Island N8S DXpedition is on the air! +Construction company fined for illegal amateur band operation +CubeSat launch reset Puerto Rico gets new Section Manager Ed Fong, WB6IQN, wins March QST Cover Plaque Award The Daily DX debuts public search engine Florida fire department honors radio amateur We stand corrected +Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> =========================================================== ==>Delivery problems: First see FAQ <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery>, then e-mail <email@example.com> ==>Editorial questions or comments only: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, <firstname.lastname@example.com> =========================================================== NOTE: ARRL Headquarters is closed, Friday, April 6. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions that day. The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News for April 6 will distribute one day early. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Monday, April 9, at 8 AM Eastern Daylight Time. The K7RA Solar Update will be posted on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> as soon as it becomes available. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday! =========================================================== ==>FOURTH US CIVILIAN SPACE TRAVELER, EXPEDITION 15 ISS CREW LAUNCH APRIL 7 The fifth civilian to visit the International Space Station will accompany the station's Expedition 15 crew into space Saturday, April 7. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> reports that software pioneer and aviator Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP, plans to talk with students at four schools during his ISS stay -- one in his native Hungary plus schools in Ohio, Washington and Virginia. He also may make casual contacts. A client of Vienna, Virginia-based Space Adventures Ltd <http://www.spaceadventures.com/>, Simonyi, 58, will be the third passenger aboard the Soyuz TMA-10 "taxi mission" that will carry Expedition 15 Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin, RN3FI, and Oleg Kotov, to the ISS. Simonyi is paying an estimated $25 million for the privilege of spending eight days in space. "Charles and crew are now in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, participating in final flight preparations," a Space Adventures mission update said this week. "These activities include suit pressure checks, launch day press conference rehearsals and spacecraft fit checks. The crew also participated in a traditional flag raising ceremony." Simonyi also has taken part in other longstanding Russian space program traditions, including visits to Red Square in Moscow and to the tomb of Soviet space pioneer Yuri Gagarin. During his stay aboard the ISS, Simonyi will conduct experiments on behalf of several international space agencies. Upon their arrival at the ISS, the two cosmonauts will join US astronaut Suni Williams, KD5PLB, whose duty tour will span Expeditions 14 and 15. Yurchikhin and Kotov will spend about six months aboard the ISS, while Williams will return home in June. Simonyi will come back to Earth with Expedition 14 crew members Mike Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK, and Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT, aboard the Soyuz TMA-9, now docked to the ISS. Yurchikhin, 48, will be making his second flight to the ISS; he was a member of a 2002 shuttle crew that did construction work on the station. Kotov, 41, is making his first spaceflight. The Expedition 14 crew this week has continued readying the space station for the arrival of the Expedition 15 crew and Simonyi. The Soyuz TMA-10 will launch from Kazakhstan at 1731 UTC on April 7. It is scheduled to dock with the ISS at1903 UTC on April 9. A footnote from NASA: On April 3, Lopez-Alegria set a US record for a single flight of 196 days in space. A one-time Microsoft application developer and reputed billionaire, Simonyi has established a Web site <http://www.charlesinspace.com/> to chronicle his experiences. Space Adventures organized the flights for private space explorers Dennis Tito, KG6FZX, Mark Shuttleworth, Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, and Anousheh Ansari. -- some information from Space Adventures Ltd and NASA ==>DXING ON 60 METERS HAS DOWNSIDE, ARRL NOTES The ARRL is expressing concern that negative consequences could result from chasing DX on 60 meters. Some DXpeditions have announced plans to operate on Amateur Radio's only channelized band, where amateur operations hold secondary status to fixed service operations, including some US government stations. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, says that while it's legal for DXpeditions to operate on the 5-MHz band provided the licensing administration extends privileges there, DX pileups on 60 meters pose the potential for real and unique problems. "US amateurs are limited to five channels on 60 meters, USB only, maximum effective radiated power (ERP) of 50 W, audio bandwidth not exceeding 2.8 kHz, and not all of the channels are useable because of ongoing fixed service operation," Sumner points out. "It is absolutely imperative that any amateur transmitting on a 60 meter channel be prepared to relinquish the channel immediately upon being requested to do so" by a primary service user. Among other things, Sumner says, this means constantly monitoring the transmitting channel, thus ruling out any split-frequency operation while using a single-channel receiver. The Swains Island N8S DXpedition, just under way, announced plans on its Web site to operate SSB on the 60-meter frequency of 5.4035 MHz, although that band was not among those on an updated frequency list released this week. While Sumner said he wasn't singling out the N8S operation, working into the South Pacific on 5 MHz running just 50 W ERP on phone would be a challenge under the best of circumstances. "Amateurs must resist the temptation to exceed the radiated power limit," Sumner stressed. He also warned amateurs in countries that do not authorize amateur operation on 60 meters to resist the temptation to make contacts on the band. Radio amateurs transmitting on a 5 MHz frequency without authorization, Sumner asserts, not only are breaking the law but are putting their continued participation in the ARRL DXCC program in jeopardy. "Anyone who submits a 5 MHz confirmation for DXCC credit may be asked to provide evidence that their operation on that frequency was authorized," he said. Even countries that authorize operation on 60 meters impose the express condition Amateur Radio stations not cause harmful interference to fixed and mobile service stations. "Should such interference occur and not be immediately corrected, it will place in jeopardy our existing limited privileges, our chances of increasing those privileges on a domestic basis, and any chance we might have of ever obtaining an international allocation," Sumner emphasized. Last fall, the ARRL asked the FCC to expand 60 meter operating privileges and substitute a new channel for one that's often occupied by a federal government user. The League filed a Petition for Rule Making (PRM) October 10. The petition said amateurs have proven, through interference-free operation on the five channels, that compatible sharing of the channels is possible. The League wants the FCC to authorize radio amateurs of General and higher class to run 100 W ERP and to allow Morse code and data communication. It also asks the Commission to replace the 5368.0 kHz center-frequency channel with 5358.5 kHz, so amateurs can avoid federal government digital traffic on the current channel. If the FCC goes along with the ARRL's suggested changes, operation on 60 meters would remain on a secondary basis, and radio amateurs would still have to avoid interfering with incumbent federal government and other services. In an unrelated move, the ARRL has supported efforts to have World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07) establish a worldwide secondary amateur allocation of 5.260 to 5.410 MHz. A participating national administration must formally propose the change for it to be considered this fall at WRC-07. ==>FCC ACCEPTS TECHNICIAN TICKET FOR CANCELLATION, WARNS INDIANA LICENSEE The FCC has accepted for cancellation the Technician ticket of a licensee who has been the target of inquiries and warnings from the Commission's Enforcement Bureau dating back to 2005. Special Counsel in the FCC's Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth wrote Brandon Duke, KC0UWS, March 6 to confirm receipt of Duke's Amateur Radio license <http://www.fcc.gov/eb/AmateurActions/files/2007_04_03_14_28_24.pdf>. "We have forwarded your license to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau [WTB] for cancellation and for dismissal of your application for a vanity call sign," Hollingsworth informed Duke, who has a Minnesota address on file with the Commission. Duke applied for W0BMD last fall. In January, a "last warning" from Hollingsworth, mailed to Duke at a Colorado address, came back as undeliverable. The WTB has not yet cancelled Duke's license. Past "Riley-Grams" to Duke have cited "information before the Commission" as well as his own admission to indicate he had been operating on 10 and 20 meter frequencies not available to him as a Technician licensee. In the past Hollingsworth also has taken Duke to task for allegedly ignoring requests to stop using repeaters in his area. "You have used false call signs, transmitted sexually explicit material and other recordings over radio and re-broadcast radio activity on police frequencies," Hollingsworth charged in a January 2007 letter to Duke. "In spite of your assurances on January 26, 2006, that your rule violations would end, you have continued operating in violation of Commission rules and the Communications Act." In 2006, an apologetic Duke had pledged in a letter to Hollingsworth to change his on-the-air behavior, noting that he'd destroyed an audio CD containing apparently objectionable material he'd been accused of airing. He also said he'd "refrain from jamming, interfering, kerchunking and using any repeaters." Another frequent Riley-Gram recipient heard from the FCC again on March 8, when Hollingsworth warned David O. Castle, WA9KJI, of Evansville, Indiana, to keep off a local repeater system <http://www.fcc.gov/eb/AmateurActions/files/2007_04_03_14_26_43.pdf>. In February, Hollingsworth noted, the trustee of the Tri-State Amateur Radio Society's W9OG repeater asked Castle to refrain from using the system. "That letter was issued as a result of your failure to follow operational rules set forth by the licensee/control operators of the repeater system for its users," Hollingsworth wrote. Hollingsworth told Castle the FCC expects him to abide by the request "and any other such request by a repeater licensee, control operator or trustee." He also raised the specter of fines and license revocation. Castle's license renewal application has been referred for a Hearing Designation Order, and Hollingsworth said the issue of the alleged interference to the Tri-State Amateur Radio Society repeater would be "an issue in your upcoming license renewal hearing" before an administrative law judge. The WTB had referred Castle's renewal application to the Enforcement Bureau for review "as a result of long standing complaints against the operation of your station," Hollingsworth told Castle last October. Castle's General ticket expired last July, but he may continue to operate while his renewal application is in limbo. The FCC now posts Amateur Radio Service enforcement actions on its Web site <http://www.fcc.gov/eb/AmateurActions/Welcome.html>. Direct all concerning Amateur Radio enforcement questions via e-mail only to Riley Hollingsworth <firstname.lastname@example.com>. ==>HAM RADIO HELPS BRING SPACE TRAVEL TO LIFE FOR YOUNGSTERS Thanks to the magic of Amateur Radio, students in Japan and Belgium are among the latest to learn about life aboard the International Space Station right from members of the crew. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged the March 24 contact between Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK, and youngsters at the Juvenile Space Club in Tatsuno, Japan, and the March 27 QSO between Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Suni Williams, KD5PLB, and students attending the International School of Brussels in Belgium. Lopez-Alegria told the Tatsuno students how he deals with stress aboard the ISS. "Well, you know we have some good exercise equipment, and sometimes it's good to work out," he said. "It makes you sweat, and that helps out a lot." Sweaty workouts notwithstanding, Lopez-Alegria said ISS crew members sometimes wear the same pieces of clothing for weeks. "We wear the shirts for about a week, our socks for about a week and we wear our shorts for up to a month," he said. There's no laundry aboard the ISS. Crew members simply dispose of their soiled clothing in the trash. The control operator at 8J0T was Yoshihiro Kuribayashi, JA0AWK, an elementary school principal. Twenty youngsters from three elementary schools participated in the ARISS event, and Lopez-Alegria was able to answer 16 of their questions during the approximately eight-minute contact. An audience of about 100 was on hand for the contact, and media included four TV stations -- including national network NHK -- and four newspapers. ARISS Mentor Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ, said NA1SS qualified for the All Japan District Award as a result of the successful contact with NA1SS. A few days later, students attending the International School of Brussels posed questions to Williams. She said she anticipates spending several weeks readjusting to Earth's gravity and recovering from the effects of living in space after she comes home this summer. "We have about a 45-day program, which is pretty intense rehabilitation, just to make sure that your muscles and your bones have returned to working with gravity, as well as neuro-vestibular issues," Williams explained, "since your brain sort of slows down a little bit up here insofar as reactions, because that's how you adjust to how things move up here. All of those things are affected, and you need to readapt when you get home." Williams also told the students that "every days is a little bit different." She said meals are a somewhat difficult because everything needs to be prepared separately, so "you sort of eat serially, one thing after another." A Verizon Conferencing link between NN1SS at Goddard Space Flight Center and the International School of Brussels made the contact possible. Dave Taylor, WA8AAS, served as primary control operator at NN1SS. Williams was able to field 16 questions before the ISS went out of range. Some 200 students, parents and teachers assisted. Before the contact, ARISS International Vice President Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, did a presentation on Amateur Radio in general and ham radio aboard the ISS in particular. "Students were very enthusiastic, and at least two of them, a boy and a girl, asked lots of questions on how to become a radio amateur," Bertels commented afterward. ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational outreach, with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. ==>SPECIAL EVENTS TO COMMEMORATE 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF TITANIC TRAGEDY Several Amateur Radio special event operations are scheduled to mark the 95th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The "unsinkable" White Star Line passenger vessel was on its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City when it struck an iceberg and sank early on April 15, 1912. More than 1500 people perished, while some 700 passengers in 19 lifeboats were rescued by the RMS Carpathia, whose radio operator copied the frantic distress call (the still common "CQD" signal, possibly coupled with the then-new "SOS") transmitted by MGY radio operator Jack Phillips as the Titanic foundered. Special event W0S <http://www.wzeros.com/> (for "White Star Line") will be on the air from the Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri, commencing at 1300 UTC on Saturday, April 14, and concluding at 2400 UTC on Sunday, April 15. Members of the Nixa Amateur Radio Club and the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club (SMARC) will be among those at the helm of W0S. Icom has loaned Amateur Radio equipment for the special event. Look for W0S on or around: SSB, 3.860, 7.260 and 14.260 MHz; CW, 3.560, 7.060 and 14.060 MHz. Operators will be listening 2 kHz up for calls. Visitors are welcome. E-mail the Nixa club for more information <email@example.com>. In conjunction with the W0S operation, GB2MGY will be on the air from Belfast, Northern Ireland. In Titanic wireless operator Jack Phillips' home town of Godalming, England, members and guests of the Wey Valley Amateur Radio Group <http://www.weyvalleyarg.org.uk/> will run special event station GB95MGY. Operation will begin at 1000 UTC on April 14 and continue through 0547 UTC on April 15, the time the Titanic sank. After a short radio silence, operation will continue until April 16 at 0547 UTC. The special event will celebrate Phillips' heroism. The 25-year-old radio operator went down with the ship. GB95MGY will operate CW only on all HF bands, 80 through 15 meters, 15 kHz up from the band edge, and will QSL all contacts (QSL via the bureau). For more information, contact Michael Shortland, G0EFO <firstname.lastname@example.com>. Special event station W1MGY will be on the air from the Titanic Historical Society Museum in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts. Operation will concentrate on 40 and 20 meters April 14 from 1400 UTC until 2030 UTC, although W1MGY may be on the air at other times, bands and modes throughout the 95th anniversary weekend. Look for W1MGY on or around: CW, 3.533, 7.033, 14.033, 18.099, 21.033 and 28.033 MHz; SSB, 3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 18.160, 21.360 and 28.336 MHz, conditions permitting. To schedule a contact with W1MGY, contact Dave Isham, KB1MU <firstname.lastname@example.com>, indicating a preferred date, time, and frequency. Include an SASE with QSL requests to Titanic Historical Society, W1MGY, PO BOX 51053, Indian Orchard, MA 01151-0053 USA. ==>IRAQI AMATEUR RADIO SHUTDOWN CONTINUES Iraq Amateur Radio Society (IARS) President Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, says there's no end in sight to a ham radio blackout in his country. As part of the new security plan for Baghdad, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense requested in March that radio amateurs remain off the air until security improves. Because of a miscommunication, however, word failed to reach the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission, which was still issuing licenses. Sayah chalks up the open-ended ham radio blackout to a misunderstanding of Amateur Radio on the part of Iraq's defense minister. Working through the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, the IARS has attempted -- so far without success -- to explain Amateur Radio to the Ministry of Defense. "Because it's between ministries, this will take time also," Sayah told ARRL, adding that he was not optimistic about getting an opportunity to discuss the issue anytime soon with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "Now anyone on the air is a pirate, as everyone is obliged not to use their radios at the present time," he added. He said IARS members continue making contacts using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) modes such as IRLP, EchoLink and others. The Ministry of Defense had asked the IARS to store all licensees' ham radio equipment during the shutdown, but Sayah says that's not happening because of the dangerous situation that persists within the capital. The ham radio shutdown affects members of the military and contractors holding YI9-prefix call signs. It does *not* apply to Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) operations, which use military frequencies. __________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * This weekend on the radio: The ARLHS Annual Spring Lites QSO Party runs April 7-15. The ARCI Spring QSO Party, the SP DX Contest, the EA RTTY Contest, the Missouri QSO Party, the FeldHell Spring Sprint, the UBA Spring Contest (SSB), the SARL Hamnet 40-Meter Simulated Emergency Contest are the weekend of April 7-8. The Low Power Spring Sprint and the 144 MHz Spring Sprint are April 9. The YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL Contest (SSB) runs April 10-12. The NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint and the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (SSB) are April 11. JUST AHEAD: The Georgia and Montana QSO parties, the JIDX CW Contest and the EU Spring Sprint (CW) are the April 14-15 weekend. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest is April 16 (UTC). The 222 MHz Spring Sprint is April 17 The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (data) is April 19. See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info. * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration: Registration remains open through Sunday, April 22, for these ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (CEC) program <http://www.arrl.org/cce/> online courses beginning on Friday, May 4: The ARRL Ham Radio License Course (EC-010), Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1 (EC-001), Radio Frequency Interference (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009), Analog Electronics (EC-012) and Digital Electronics (EC-013). These courses will also open for registration Friday, April 20, for classes beginning Friday, June 1. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department <firstname.lastname@example.com>. * Swains Island N8S DXpedition is on the air! The Swains Island N8S DXpedition <http://www.yt1ad.info/n8s/index.html> now is on the air and will continue until April 15. The international N8S team got up and running at around 1000 UTC on April 4 and plans to operate on all HF bands as well as moonbounce on 6 and 2 meters. The Daily DX <http://www.dailydx.com/> reports the DXpedition, in grid AH48lw, will fire up on VHF by April 6. On 2 meters, N8S will run 200 W into a 17-element antenna, transmitting on 144.112 MHz and listening on that frequency and up. Most activity will be during Swains Island local sunrise and sunset. Six-meter moonbounce also will begin as early as April 5. Listen 50.195 or 50.205 MHz. N8S will always transmit first. The same team is set to operate from Samoa as 5W5AA from April 17 to April 24. YT1AD will handle cards for N8S; YZ7AA will handle QSLs for 5W5AA. Swain's Island appears atop at least two lists of most-wanted DXCC entities. * Construction company fined for illegal amateur band operation: The FCC has affirmed a $10,000 fine it had proposed levying on a Florida construction company for transmitting on ham radio frequencies without a license. In a Forfeiture Order (NoF) <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-1486A1.pdf> released April 2, the Commission said it was fining Parker Construction Inc of Panama City, Florida, for "willful and repeated violation" of the Communications Act of 1934 for operating radio transmitting equipment on 2 meters without a license. Responding to a complaint of apparently unlicensed radio activity, agents from the FCC's Tampa Office using mobile direction-finding equipment tracked the source of the transmissions. Parker's owner admitted the company had been using Amateur Radio transceivers for about three years to talk with crew members. Agents found an Amateur Radio handheld transceiver set to 145.02 MHz. Responding to the FCC's January 2007 Notice of Apparent Liability in the case, Parker requested a reduction claiming it did not know that Amateur Radio Service radios required a license, that it had stopped using them and had obtained the proper radio license. The FCC turned down the request, saying corrective action taken to come into compliance with the rules "does not nullify or mitigate any prior forfeitures or violations." * CubeSat launch reset: A CubeSat launch that was to have taken place March 27 has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 17, from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Four of the seven CubeSats will use Amateur Radio frequencies and modes. They are: CalPoly's PolySats CP3 and CP4, 436.845 MHz and 437.325 MHz respectively, 1200 bps FM AFSK, AX.25, 1 W, operating under an FCC Part-5 Experimental license; University of Louisiana CAPE-1 435.245 MHz, 9600 bps FM FSK AX.25 and CW telemetry during opposing 30-second intervals, 1 W, call sign K5USL (e-mail telemetry reports); Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Colombia, Libertad-1, 437.405 MHz, 1200 bps FM AFSK AX.25, 400 mW, call sign 5K3L. AMSAT News Service reports that the CubeSat team will not provide a live Webcast for this launch but will offer live updates on the CubeSat IRC Channel. Point your IRC client to: #cubesat on irc.freenode.net. -- AMSAT News Service * Puerto Rico gets new Section Manager/Puerto Rico tiene un nuevo Section Manager: Roberto Jimenez, KP4AC, of San Juan, became ARRL Puerto Rico Section Manager, effective April 1. He succeeds Victor Madera, KP4PQ, who held the office since January 2000. Jimenez had been serving as an Assistant Section Manager since early this year, working with Madera to ensure a smooth transition. His term of office will run through October 2008. // Roberto Jim�nez, KP4AC, de San Juan, toma la posici�n de ARRL Section Manager para la Secci�n de Puerto Rico efectivo el 1 de abril de 2007. Jim�nez asume la posici�n que deja vacante Victor Madera, KP4PQ, quien la ocup� desde el a�o 2000. Desde comienzos de a�o Jim�nez ha ocupado la posici�n de Assistant Section Manager, trabajando junto a Madera para asegurar una transici�n apropiada. El t�rmino del nuevo SM se extiende hasta el 1 de octubre de 2008. * Ed Fong, WB6IQN, wins March QST Cover Plaque Award: The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for March is Ed Fong, WB6IQN, for the article "The DBJ-2: A Portable VHF-UHF Roll-Up J-Pole Antenna for Public Service" <http://www.arrl.org/qst/2007/03/fong.pdf>. Congratulations, Ed! The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/QSTvote.html>. Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the April issue by Monday, April 30. * The Daily DX debuts public search engine: The Daily DX editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, says his paid subscription DX newsletter's Web site now offers a Google-powered search engine. Open to all, the search engine scours back issues of The Daily DX <http://www.dailydx.com/>. McClenny says when he's done uploading, the search engine will make available up to the last six or eight weeks of back issues. Issues of The Weekly DX are not included. The "Google Custom Search" box is in the middle of The Daily DX home page. McClenny advises users to include as many key words as they can when initiating a search. He also suggests starting with one search word then adding more words to narrow down the subject. Subscription information: <http://www.dailydx.com/order.htm>. * Florida fire department honors radio amateur: The 2007 Firefighter of the Year in Dania Beach, Florida, is Steve Adams, N4JRW -- a firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT). A 31-year fire department veteran was cited for his "unselfish dedication to the department and his fellow firefighters." An ARRL member, Adams says he's participated in a lot of public service and emergency operations. "I am very proud of this honor," he told the League. "I was totally taken by surprise." Adams oversees the ham radio program for the Dania Beach and Hollywood emergency operations centers (EOCs). During hurricane emergencies, Adams and his son Josh, N4OSO, staff both EOCs. Over the years, Adams has spent many hours of his own time to put the best equipment and procedures in place so Amateur Radio can back up normal telecommunications in an emergency or disaster. Ham radio also permits the local EOC to link with the Broward County EOC. * We stand corrected: The article "HAM RADIO READINESS PROVIDES SAFETY MARGIN IN NEW MEXICO TORNADO OUTBREAK," in The ARRL Letter, Vol 26, No 13 (Mar 30, 2007), incorrectly identified a highway. The article should have said, "US Route 70 was shut down between Portales and Clovis." =========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League: ARRL--the National Association For Amateur Radio, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; <http://www.arrl.org/>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President. The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential and general news of interest to active radio amateurs. Visit the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> for the latest Amateur Radio news and news updates. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> also offers informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast" compiled and edited from The ARRL Letter. It's also available as a podcast from our Web site. Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The ARRL Letter/American Radio Relay League. ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): email@example.com ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, firstname.lastname@example.com ==>ARRL News on the Web: <http://www.arrl.org/> ==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call 860-594-0384 ==>How to Get The ARRL Letter The ARRL Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly from ARRL HQ. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail delivery: ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site <http://www.arrl.org/members/>. You'll have an opportunity during registration to sign up for e-mail delivery of The ARRL Letter, W1AW bulletins, and other material. To change these selections--including delivery of The ARRL Letter--registered members should click on the "Member Data Page" link (in the Members Only box). Click on "Modify membership data," check or uncheck the appropriate boxes and/or change your e-mail address if necessary. (Check "Temporarily disable all automatically sent email" to temporarily stop all e-mail deliveries.) Then, click on "Submit modification" to make selections effective. (NOTE: HQ staff members cannot change your e-mail delivery address. You must do this yourself via the Members Only Web Site.) The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these sources: * ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be posted each Friday when it is distributed via e-mail.) * The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio Club: Visit Mailing email@example.com <http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/letter-list>. (NOTE: The ARRL cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via this listserver.)
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GOP poll has Gomez down 3 in Mass.
A Republican poll conducted for a Super PAC boosting Gabriel Gomez found the GOP candidate trailing by only 3 points ahead of next week's Massachusetts special election.
The survey—conducted Monday through Wednesday by conservative pollster John McLaughlin and shared first with POLITICO—has Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) leading 47 percent to 44 percent.
"The environment is such that an electable moderate Republican like Gabriel Gomez could still become the next U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," McLaughlin wrote in a four-page memo to Americans for Progressive Action, which launched a $700,000 ad buy for Gomez last week.
( Also on POLITICO: Brown to stump for Gomez on Monday)
Gomez's own internal poll, released Tuesday, showed him down 7 points. A Boston Globe poll published Sunday had him down 13 points.
Even as a host of public polls showed Markey up in the high single digits, McLaughlin released a poll two weeks ago that showed Markey ahead by 1 point, 45 percent to 44 percent. Another poll that McLaughlin took at the beginning of last week showed Markey up 6, 47 percent to 41 percent.
The new poll shows 28 percent of voters view Markey as very unfavorable.
"Ed Markey's move up in the ballot last week may have been primarily attributable to his massive media spending and ad blitz driving up his favorability rating among voters as well as decreasing his unfavorable ratings," McLaughlin wrote. "This week's poll shows Markey's favorables frozen and his unfavorables rising."
The pollster says his new survey reached 1,100 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.


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LONDON (REUTERS) - British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday told Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt and other business leaders that he expected their companies to pay their taxes in exchange for benefiting from low tax rates.
Mr Cameron's intervention came days after British lawmakers accused Google of using "smoke and mirrors" to avoid paying tax, fuelling a debate over corporate taxation that has angered the public and led to calls for a tougher approach from the government.
Mr Cameron was speaking at a regular quarterly meeting of the government's business advisory group attended by Mr Schmidt at which corporate taxation was discussed.
"He said, on tax and transparency, that as part of having very low corporation tax he expects companies who are due to pay tax, to pay that tax," a government source said.
All those present at the meeting agreed with Mr Cameron's position, the source said.
Britain holds the G8 presidency and will host a meeting of G8 leaders on June 17 to 18 at a golf resort in Northern Ireland.
Mr Cameron said in April that tax compliance was one of his G8 priorities, along with trade and financial transparency.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Cameron wrote to Britain's overseas territories, urging them to "get their house in order" over the sharing of tax information.
Google is one of several high-profile companies to face far greater scrutiny of its tax affairs in recent months.
Apple Inc, Microsoft and Amazon.com have all been in the spotlight at a time of weak economic growth, high levels of public debt and squeezed household incomes in Britain.


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NEW YORK (JTA) — Haredi Orthodox leaders are planning what they say will be a massive rally in New York City to call attention to the dangers of modern digital technology.
Tens of thousands are expected to gather for a May 20 rally at Citi Field, the Mets' baseball stadium in Queens. The Hebrew-language Jewish Daily News reported that $1.5 million has been raised so far from donors to pay for the event.
"This will be a mass rally never before seen in the history of Orthodox Jewry in the U.S.," one of the organizers said, according to the Jewish Daily News, as translated by The Jewish Press. "It will be a gathering of unity of all the Jews living in the U.S., a gathering to disseminate information and a prayer rally for the success of Klal Israel's war on the technology which threatens the sanctity of the homes of Israel."
A Citi Field representative reached by JTA confirmed that the stadium was booked for that date, when the Mets will be in Toronto, but would not confirm the nature of the event.
A statement has been published in Haredi Orthodox newspapers promoting the event, and ads promoting the rally have run in American haredi newspapers.
"It is well known that in recent times that through the Internet many serious family-related problems have been created, and it all happens because of it, and something must be done so they won't be hurt," the statement said, according to The Jewish Press. "And since this touches almost everyone, we must assemble together to protect and be protected, and we hope that through this gathering in search of ideas we will be helped from Heaven to save the many, and may it be that we will be successful in encouraging the public not to stumble over this obstacle, and the Lord will guide us in a truthful path."
The letter is signed by a few leading Israeli haredi rabbis.


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Cara Mengetahui Aktivitas Klik Invalid Google Adsense
Invalid click activity consists of any clicks or impressions that may artificially inflate an advertiser's costs or a publisher's earnings, and for which we decide not to charge the advertiser. This includes, but is not limited to, clicks or impressions generated by a publisher clicking on his own ads, a publisher encouraging clicks on his ads, automated clicking tools or traffic sources, robots, or other deceptive software.
Penyebab Aktivitas Klik Invalid
Cara Mengetahui dan Ciri Invalid Click/Activity
CTR/RKT = Jumlah Klik / Jumlah Tayangan x 100 = ...%
4. Instal ekstensi (Chrome) Adsense Publisher Toolbar atau instal aplikasi android Google Adsense agar bisa melakukan cek secara realtime, rutin, dan cepat tanpa masuk dashboard.
© copyright Ahmad Khoirul Azmi, published only for buka-rahasia.blogspot.com


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Last year was a memorable one for the global economy. Not only was overall performance disappointing, but profound changes – both for better and for worse – occurred in the global economic system.
Most notable was the Paris climate agreement reached last month. By itself, the agreement is far from enough to limit the increase in global warming to the target of 2º Celsius above the pre-industrial level. But it did put everyone on notice: The world is moving, inexorably, toward a green economy. One day not too far off, fossil fuels will be largely a thing of the past. So anyone who invests in coal now does so at his or her peril. With more green investments coming to the fore, those financing them will, we should hope, counterbalance powerful lobbying by the coal industry, which is willing to put the world at risk to advance its shortsighted interests.
Indeed, the move away from a high-carbon economy, where coal, gas, and oil interests often dominate, is just one of several major changes in the global geo-economic order. Many others are inevitable, given China's soaring share of global output and demand. The New Development Bank, established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), was launched during the year, becoming the first major international financial institution led by emerging countries. And, despite US President Barack Obama's resistance, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was established as well, and is to start operation this month.
The US did act with greater wisdom where China's currency was concerned. It did not obstruct the renminbi's admission to the basket of currencies that constitute the International Monetary Fund's reserve asset, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). In addition, a half-decade after the Obama administration agreed to modest changes in the voting rights of China and other emerging markets at the IMF – a small nod to the new economic realities – the US Congress finally approved the reforms.
The most controversial geo-economic decisions last year concerned trade. Almost unnoticed after years of desultory talks, the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Round – initiated to redress imbalances in previous trade agreements that favored developed countries – was given a quiet burial. America's hypocrisy – advocating free trade but refusing to abandon subsidies on cotton and other agricultural commodities – had posed an insurmountable obstacle to the Doha negotiations. In place of global trade talks, the US and Europe have mounted a divide-and-conquer strategy, based on overlapping trade blocs and agreements.
As a result, what was intended to be a global free-trade regime has given way to a discordant managed-trade regime. Trade for much of the Pacific and Atlantic regions will be governed by agreements, thousands of pages in length and replete with complex rules of origin that contradict basic principles of efficiency and the free flow of goods.
The US concluded secret negotiations on what may turn out to be the worst trade agreement in decades, the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and now faces an uphill battle for ratification, as all the leading Democratic presidential candidates and many of the Republicans have weighed in against it. The problem is not so much with the agreement's trade provisions, but with the "investment" chapter, which severely constrains environmental, health, and safety regulation, and even financial regulations with significant macroeconomic impacts.
In particular, the chapter gives foreign investors the right to sue governments in private international tribunals when they believe government regulations contravene the TPP's terms (inscribed on more than 6,000 pages). In the past, such tribunals have interpreted the requirement that foreign investors receive "fair and equitable treatment" as grounds for striking down new government regulations – even if they are non-discriminatory and are adopted simply to protect citizens from newly discovered egregious harms.
While the language is complex – inviting costly lawsuits pitting powerful corporations against poorly financed governments – even regulations protecting the planet from greenhouse-gas emissions are vulnerable. The only regulations that appear safe are those involving cigarettes (lawsuits filed against Uruguay and Australia for requiring modest labeling about health hazards had drawn too much negative attention). But there remain a host of questions about the possibility of lawsuits in myriad other areas.
Furthermore, a "most favored nation" provision ensures that corporations can claim the best treatment offered in any of a host country's treaties. That sets up a race to the bottom – exactly the opposite of what US President Barack Obama promised.
Even the way Obama argued for the new trade agreement showed how out of touch with the emerging global economy his administration is. He repeatedly said that the TPP would determine who – America or China – would write the twenty-first century's trade rules. The correct approach is to arrive at such rules collectively, with all voices heard, and in a transparent way. Obama has sought to perpetuate business as usual, whereby the rules governing global trade and investment are written by US corporations for US corporations. This should be unacceptable to anyone committed to democratic principles.
Those seeking closer economic integration have a special responsibility to be strong advocates of global governance reforms: If authority over domestic policies is ceded to supranational bodies, then the drafting, implementation, and enforcement of the rules and regulations has to be particularly sensitive to democratic concerns. Unfortunately, that was not always the case in 2015.
In 2016, we should hope for the TPP's defeat and the beginning of a new era of trade agreements that don't reward the powerful and punish the weak. The Paris climate agreement may be a harbinger of the spirit and mindset needed to sustain genuine global cooperation.
Joseph E Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and professor at Columbia University, is a former chief economist of the World Bank, chair of the US president's Council of Economic Advisers and co-chair of the High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices. He is a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation.


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Dan Adams and Amanda Adams Professor of General Medicine; Chief, Section of General Internal Medicine
Research Interests:Dr. O'Connor has focused his research on the interface between primary care and addiction medicine. This has included research examining the transfer of addiction treatment strategies from "specialty" settings to primary care and other general medical settings. His publications in this area include studies on the management of opioid withdrawal in primary care settings, opioid maintenance in primary care, and the use of naltrexone for treating alcohol dependence in primary care patients. He has been active in medical education on addiction both nationally and internationally and has served as the President of The Association for Medical Education and Research on Substance Abuse (AMERSA) and of the The American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) and The Addiction Medicine Foundation. Selected Recent Publications:O'Connor, PG. Brief Interventions for Problem Drinking: Another Piece of the Puzzle. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2007; 146(3):223-225. Martell BA, O'Connor PG, Kerns RD, Becker WC, Morales KH, Kosten TR, and Fiellin DA. Systematic Review: Opioid treatment for chronic back pain: prevalence, efficacy and association with addiction. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2007; 146:116-127. Sledge, WH, Brown, KE, Levine, JM, Fiellin, DA, Chawarski, M, White, WD, O'Connor, PG. A Randomized Trial of Primary Intensive Care to Reduce Hospital Admissions in Patients with High Utilization of Inpatient Services. Disease Management. 2006; 9(6)328-338. O'Connor PG. Problem Drinkers: Find Them, Keep Them, Don't Lose Them, Treat Them. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2005; 20(1):96-97. D'Onofrio G, MS; Pantalon MV, Degutis LC, Fiellin DA, O'Connor PG. Development and Implementation of an Emergency Practitioner-Performed Brief Intervention for Harmful and Hazardous Drinkers in the Emergency Department. Academic Emergency Medicine. 2005; 12(3):249-256. O'Connor PG. Methods of Detoxification and Their Role in Managing Patients With Opioid Dependence. JAMA. 2005; 294(8):961-963. Sullivan LE, Fiellin DA, O'Connor PG. The prevalence and impact of alcohol problems in major depression: A systematic review. American Journal ofMedicine. 2005; 118(4):330-341. Kernan WE, Holmboe E, O'Connor PG. Assessing the teaching behaviors of ambulatory care preceptors. Academic Medicine. 2004; 79(11):1088-1094. O'Malley S, Rounsaville BJ, Farren C, Namkoong K, Wu R, Robinson J, O'Connor PG. Initial and Maintenance Naltrexone for Alcohol dependence using primary care vs. specialty care: A nested sequence of three randomized trials. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2003; 163(14):1695-1704. Kosten T, O'Connor PG. Current Concepts: Management of Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal. New England Journal of Medicine. 2003; 348(18):1786-1795. Reid MC, Engles-Horton LL, Weber MB, Kerns RD, Rogers EL, O'Connor PG. Use of opioid medications for chronic noncancer pain syndromes in primary care. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2002; 17(3):173-9. O'Connor PG. Treating opioid dependence—new data and new opportunities. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2000; 343(18):1332-4. Fiellin DA, Reid MC, O'Connor PG. Screening for alcohol problems in primary care: A systematic review. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2000; 160(13):1977-89. O'Connor PG, Fiellin DA. Pharmacologic treatment of heroin-dependent patients. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2000; 133(1):40-54.D'Onofrio G, Fiellin DA, Pantalon MV, Chawarski MC, Owens P, Degutis LC, Busch SH, Bernstein SL, O'Connor PG. A brief intervention reduces hazardous and harmful drinking in emergency department patients. Annals of Emergency Medicine 2012, 60:181-192. PMID: 22459448.Moore BA, Barry DT, Sullivan LE, O'Connor PG, Cutter CJ, Schottenfeld RS, Fiellin DA.Counseling and directly observed medication for primary care buprenorphine maintenance: a pilot study. Journal of Addiction Medicine 2012, 6(3):205-211. PMID: 22614936. Tetrault JM, Moore BA, Barry DT, O'Connor PG, Schottenfeld R, Fiellin DA, Fiellin LE. Brief versus extended counseling along with buprenorphone/naloxone for HIV-infected opioid dependent patients. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 2012, 43(4):433-439. PMID: 22938914.Fiellin DA, Barry DT, Sullivan LE, Cutter CJ, Moore BA, O'Connor PG, Schottenfeld RS. A randomized trial of cognitive behavioral therapy in primary care-based buprenorphine. American Journal of Medicine 2013, 126(1):74-9. PMID: 23260506.O'Connor PG. Managing substance dependence as a chronic disease: is the glass half full or half empty? JAMA 2013, 310(11):1132-4. PMID: 24045739.Edelman EJ, Chantarat T, Caffrey S, Chaudhry A, O'Connor PG, Weiss L, Fiellin DA, Fiellin LE. The impact of buprenorphine/naloxone treatment on HIV risk behaviors among HIV-infected, opioid-dependent patients. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2014, 139:79-85. PMID: 24726429.Gueorguieva R, Wu R, O'Connor PG, Weisner C, Fucito LM, Hoffman S, Mann K, O'Malley SS. Predictors of abstinence from heavy drinking during treatment in COMBINE and external validation in PREDICT. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 2014, 38(10):2647-2656. PMID: 25346505.O'Connor PG, Sokol RJ, D'Onofrio G. Addiction medicine: the birth of a new discipline. JAMA Internal Medicine 2014, 174(11):1717-1718. PMID: 25201642. Fiellin DA, Schottenfeld, RS, Cutter CJ, Moore BA, Barry DT, O'Connor PG. Primary care–based buprenorphine taper vs maintenance therapy for prescription opioid dependence: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine 2014, 174(12):1947-54. PMID: 25330017Tetrault JM, O'Connor PG. Unhealthy alcohol use, including alcohol use disorder: Epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, course assessment, and diagnosis. UpToDate 20Bagley S, Peterson J, Cheng DM, Jose C, Quinn E, O'Connor PG, Walley AY. Overdose Education and Naloxone Rescue Kits for Family Members of Individuals Who Use Opioids: Characteristics, Motivations, and Naloxone Use. Substance Abuse 2015, 36(2):149-54. PMID: 25564892.Fiellin D, Samet J, O'Connor PG. Addressing bias in observational studies of alcohol withdrawal syndrome: a call to the field. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 2015, 39(2):390. PMID: 25665029.D'Onofrio G, O'Connor PG, Pantalon MV, Chawarski MC, Busch SH, Owens PH, Bernstein SL, Fiellin DA. Emergency department-initiated buprenorphine/naloxone treatment for opioid dependence: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2015, 313(16):1636-44. PMID: 25919527.O'Connor PG. Alcohol use disorder. In Goldman-Cecil Medicine, 25th Edition, 2015:149-156.Gueorguieva R, Wu R, Tsai W, O'Connor PG,Fucito L, Zhang H, O'Malley SS.An analysis of moderators in the COMBINE Study: Identifying subgroups of patients who benefit from acamprosate. European Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 Oct;25(10):1586-99. PMID: 26141511.Edelman EJ, Hansen NB, Cutter CJ, Danton, C, Fiellin LE, O'Connor PG, Williams EC, Maisto SA, Bryant K, Fiellin DA. Implementation of Integrated Stepped Care for Unhealthy Alcohol Use in HIV Clinics. Addiction Science and Clinical Practice. 2016 Jan 13, 11: 1. PMID: 26763048. Education:B.S., Union College, 1978M.D., The Albany Medical College, 1982M.P.H., Yale University School of Medicine, 1988 Training: Internal Medicine Residency: The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 1982-1985Chief Residency: The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 1985-1986Fellowship: The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Yale University, 1986-1988


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If you claim that "XSS is not a big deal" that means you never owned something by using it and that's your problem not XSS's
-Ferruh Mavituna, Author of XSS Shell, XSS Tunnel and NetSparker
If you claim that "XSS is not a big deal" that means you never owned something by using it and that's your problem not XSS's
-Ferruh Mavituna, Author of XSS Shell, XSS Tunnel and NetSparker
I'm thinking that this coupled with Middler of Airpwn (two wireless cards) would make a fantastic local attack.ReplyDelete
That's a great idea Stewart. As long as we can successfully inject our JS in to the target session, Shell of the Future can be used for taking over it.
JS Injection methods + 1
Very nice job indeed.
This is help proving the possible effects of XSS. Hurray!
Great Tool, But lava
1) Will it also work without any problem if there is some firewall or anything in between the client browser and the attackers public page.
2) Its valid for all types of websites with xss....or like only asp or php with some particular code is req. what are the limitations on this tool. for example will it also run on banking site with secure cookie and session validation enabled on server,etc..
Thanks :)
Thanks buddy!
1) As long as the victim can reach the attacker's web server this will work.
2) It will work on almost all websites, server-side language or framework does not matter. Http-Only, Secure cookies, IP Address-Session ID binding does not affect Shell of the Future's performance.
The limitations are:
1) If you inject code in www.google.com then you can only browser www.google.com, you cannot access code.google.com. This is due to Same Origin Policy.
2) I have mentioned couple more in the FAQ section - http://www.andlabs.org/tools/sotf/sotf.html#faq
I'm getting the following error:
Unable to start server, exiting application. Reason: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.
It isn't, I also restarted the box and same error.
Help... thanks.
There could be two reasons:
1) Because you are running the tool as a normal user. Try running it as administrator or set the server port to something greater than 1024 instead of the default value of 80.
2) Or there already is some software listening on port 80 on your machine. Change the server port to something else and it should fix it.
If both of these don't work then we need to investigate further.
Good work Lava.ReplyDelete
Thanks anon!ReplyDelete
awesome workouts lava!ReplyDelete
Epic fail on my part... finally got it running, but when I go to http://127.0.0.1/soft.console
I get a blank page. :\
This one is pretty easy, another user had the same issue.
The Console URL is '/sotf.console' and not '/soft.console' :P
Don't know why this is happening... but i managed to hijack the session just using the script src version.
That happens in Firefox, adding a new element to the DOM from the URL bar does not seem to work. Try it in Chrome, it works perfectly.
I have a small issue with the tool, I'd be happy if you could help me out. I get the JS script properly loaded and logged into the Sotfconsole, however clicking the link just brings me to the website, no banner, no control.
The link "Hijack Session" is just a blank link to the XSSed website with the parameter&ShelloftheFuture_victimID=1
Kind of puzzled right now, thanks for any help
Am glad you are trying out the tool.
From what I understand you are able to hijack the session but the hijacked session does not display a banner like it should.
The reason this could be happening is because the URL ends with '.html' or some other extension which is part of the 'direct fetch' white-list. So Shell of the Future is fetching this page directly from the server instead of routing it through the victim.
If this is the case then make suitable changes to the direct-fetch configuration and it should work.
The 'Hijack Session' link is meant to be the way you explained. When you click the link Shell of the Future sets the victim ID in a cookie and starts tunneling your session.
Hopefully this should resolve the issue, please let me know if it doesn't.
Client side XSS is not a serious problem. Only an idiot would click on a link that looks like this
I mean seriously, if you're going to get them to click on a link, make it a less conspicuous one that gives them a java driveby RAT, which is far more serious than this shell.
The link is not really a problem, it can be encoded to look harmless. Moreover the payload does not even have to be a part of the link, it can be inside a page which would load the URL with the payload automatically.
If an attacker is only interested in accessing the victim's account on a site then exploiting an XSS on that site is all he needs.
Unless you are looking at running a botnet or gaining complete system access, installing a RAT is an unnecessary overkill and you also run the risk of being picked up by AVs.
Needless to say that these days people store more information online than they do on their local hard drive.
I'll admit that you make some excellent points, lava.
Curious, does this shell exploit user session info for only the target site or all of the user's traffic?
The effect is specific to the site containing the XSS vulnerability unless we are looking at an Universal XSS browser bug.
However with cross-domain resource usage and interdependence on the raise, one vulnerable site could indirectly render others vulnerable as well.
A smart attacker would piggyback on the trust the user places on the vulnerable site to obtain further access. dev.twitter.com is currently vulnerable to XSS. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to display a fake message to the victim asking them to install a new browser plug-in from Twitter.com. Since the user trusts Twitter.com he is going to install this plugin giving the attacker complete control over his browser.
Sorry if I'm a bit late.
I'm trying to create a good presentation for XSS attack. After XSS tunneling, I've tried your application. It seems very interesting for PoCs (not for exploitation by malicious attackers).
I want to add some codes to your application. However, I'm not sure if you allow others to do that as you did not say anything about the license. Could you please tell me if I can modify your codes for my needs? Can I add new modules to it?
You sure can Soroush.
I realize that I didnt specify any license, was a little lazy to do that :D. You can do whatever you want with that code, full rights!
If possible it would be nice if you could share your module with others as well. I could probably add it in the next version.
Do you hava any idea to spread a binary file through this XSS Shell :DReplyDelete
How do you want the binary to be delivered, prompt the user for download or by exploiting a browser vulnerability?
I am trying to keep this specific to proxying for now.
The next version of BeEF (http://code.google.com/p/beef/) would probably be able do that. Keep an eye on that project, lots of interesting things going on there :)
i have tried to work with the program as a proxy only.
and for some reason it doesn't work.
i have tried to work with a victim passing through the proxy and then replace is title with something else with no success ,on the victim i didn't got any response.
am i doing something wrong or the proxy has a problem
the proxy-only mode would work when the server component is hosted separately, in an external web server.
if you are running it locally then select the 'server+proxy' mode which is default.
the victim talks with the server and since you were not running the server, the victim didnt get any response.
hope this helps.
hi lava thanx for the fast replay
let me try to explain again what i am trying to do:
i want the victim to use your server+proxy as a proxy and then when he connect to it to take a new page from www.yahoo.com for example => i will replace /script/ with your script.
is it possible ?
cause from what i understood you are working as a full proxy to the victim
thanx again roni
no Roni, thats now how it works. The victim does not use Shell of the Future as a proxy. The attacker configures his browser to use it as proxy.
The victim only talks to the server component. You must inject your script in to the victim's browser using XSS or from the url bar.
the match and replace is it for the victim or the attackerReplyDelete
Its for the attacker's browser so that he can add a banner or something to the victim's session when browsing from his machine. Makes for a better PoC.
If you want to make changes to the victim's browser then you would have to add that code to the JS exploit that gets injected in to the victim's browser.
hey admin ! This tool very slow pls update thread codes needReplyDelete
The slowness is not due to threading issues but due to the nature of the technique used.
Please refer to points 4 & 5 on the FAQ - http://www.andlabs.org/tools/sotf/sotf.html#faq
Hi lava! Thanks for creating this wonderful tool, but it would be great if you could add some commands on like alert messages like the ones on xss shell by ferruh.. i know this is kinda off topic but im having problems with xss shell, the commands are not working. I have already upload it to 3 hosting sites and still no luck on executing the commands.ReplyDelete
Thanks, that's a good suggestion, however I plan to keep this specifically for 'Reverse Browsing Shell' alone.
I would recommend taking a look at the latest version of BeEF - https://code.google.com/p/beef/
It has many powerful features including the one you mentioned. Hope this helps!
Yup I've tried beef already and I was amaze on its capabilities however it is only limited to a single session only, the attack won't work if the victim clicks another page.. hmmmm but I got an idea to bypass this somehow. I'll try your script above and replace with BeEF's hook.js hahaha...
Is there a solution for this malware on the site? An infection on the Linux server, where we're constantly in the Wordpress script generates files of type wb 5433712.php antimalware program is a malware called Backdoor.PHP.WebShell! E2
The worst thing is that this malware also creates. Htaccess file which redirected to sites infected and compromised the Russian site.
Is there a solution?
i know this is kinda off topic but im having problems with xss shell, the commands are not working. I have already upload it to 3 hosting sites and still no luck on executing the commands.hey admin ! This tool very slow pls update thread codes needReplyDelete


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What is "Kony 2012" and is it legitimate?
(CNN) -- A controversial film about an African warlord and his army spread to the far corners of the internet this week, racking up more than 50 million YouTube views in record time and prompting a heated debate about the filmmakers and the effectiveness of their advocacy.
What is "Kony 2012"?
"Kony 2012" is a half-hour video campaign about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, the leader of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, and alleged atrocities his army has committed since the 1980s, including the killing and disfiguring of villagers, forcing children to become soldiers, and forcing girls into sexual slavery.
The film features a former Ugandan child soldier and highlights the plight of children there, contrasting their lives with the director's own young child in America and pushing the notion that the Western world can stop Kony's reign of terror. Its makers say the film "aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice."
Who made "Kony 2012"?
The film was produced by Invisible Children, a San Diego-based nonprofit activist group founded by three filmmakers whose goal is to raise awareness about Kony's LRA and stop what it calls the longest-running armed conflict in Africa.
The group also made a film in 2005 about the LRA called "Invisible Children: Rough Cut," and has put pressure on both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations to take a side in the fight between the LRA and the Ugandan government, according to a 2011 story in Foreign Affairs.
The group says it has built schools in Uganda and operates a high-frequency radio station that broadcasts anti-LRA messages to fighters urging them to defect.
Invisible Children has been criticized for everything from how the group made "Kony 2012" to how it spends its money.
Is the film accurate?
Critics say "Kony 2012" manipulates the facts and ignores the Ugandan military's own rights abuses in its war with the LRA. A 2011 Foreign Affairs story accused Invisible Children of "exaggerating the scale of LRA abductions and murders and emphasizing the LRA's use of innocent children as soldiers."
And in a Foreign Policy blog post, journalist Michael Wilkerson wrote: "But let's get two things straight: 1) Joseph Kony is not in Uganda and hasn't been for 6 years; 2) the LRA now numbers at most in the hundreds."
CNN's Christiane Amanpour says the constant pursuit of Kony, long the International Criminal Court's most wanted man, means he is now largely a "spent force" in Uganda.
"His crimes against these children were committed largely in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and because people have been going after him he's actually considered to be much more of a threat now in the Democratic Republic of Congo," she said.
The filmmakers have also drawn heavy fire for a 2008 photo showing the founders holding AK-47s and RPGs while posing with members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, which has itself been accused of widespread human rights abuses during its decades-long conflict with the government of Sudan.
Is Invisible Children wasting donors' money?
While critics say that far too little of Invisible Children's money actually makes it to the Ugandans who need it the most, the group claims its mission is misunderstood.
Only 32% of the money Invisible Children spent last year went to direct services, according to the group's financial statement, with much of the rest going toward the production of film, travel costs and staff salaries.
Co-founder and film narrator Jason Russell told CNN's Piers Morgan that the group is not a traditional on-the-ground development charity.
"We are not an organization that does amazing work on the ground -- if you want to fund a cow or help someone in a village ... that's only a third of what we do," said Russell.
"We work outside the traditional box of what you think about charity," he told CNN. "We have three Ms: the movie, which is going viral ... the movement, which is actual volunteers around the world ... and the mission -- to stop Kony and rehab the war-affected children through education, reintegration and building jobs for the community."
Independent charity evaluator Charity Navigator gave Invisible Children an overall rating of three out of four stars, but just two stars for "accountability and transparency" -- a fact the group attributes to not having five independent voting members on its board of directors.
In a statement, the group wrote: "We are in the process of interviewing potential board members, and we will add an additional independent member this year in order to regain our 4-star rating by 2013."
Is the film doing more harm than good?
Critics say "Kony 2012" will draw resources away from more effective charity organizations while reinforcing the idea that Africans are helpless and that Westerners must intervene to save them.
"Campaigns that focus on bracelets and social media absorb resources that could go toward more effective advocacy," write Amanda Taub and Kate Cronin-Furman in current affairs magazine, The Atlantic.
"Treating awareness as a goal in and of itself risks compassion fatigue -- most people only have so much time and energy to devote to far-away causes -- and ultimately squanders political momentum that could be used to push for effective solutions."
While some Ugandans appreciate the attention being put on Kony, CNN's David McKenzie says the group hasn't posed a real threat to Uganda for several years. "Nice message .... 15 years too late," one Ugandan military official told McKenzie.
Despite the negative attention heaped on Invisible Children, CNN's Amanpour says that any raised awareness of Kony and his crimes is a net positive.
"What's really important is that will not just sensitize people about war criminals like Kony, but try to get society onboard to pressure their government to do something about these atrocities."
CNN's Ashley Fantz contributed to this report.


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Move Your Money and Save
Big banks don't just undermine local economies—they're bad for your wallet, too.
by Stacy Mitchell
Bigger banks were supposed to lower costs for consumers. That was the promise made repeatedly in 1994 and again in 1999, when Congress dismantled laws that had long restricted the size and scope of banks, ushering in a wave of mergers that left the industry dominated by a few financial giants.
Testifying in support of the so-called Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999, Michael Patterson of J.P. Morgan used the word "consumer" no less than twenty-one times in his remarks. He told Congress that freeing up big banks to get even bigger would provide consumers with "greater convenience, more innovation, and lower costs."
Many regulators and lawmakers echoed his assertions. Robert Rubin, then Secretary of the Treasury and later a director at Citigroup, said that the "reforms" would "lead to better service and lower costs." Congress passed the bill by wide margins and President Bill Clinton enthusiastically signed it into law, promising that the changes would "save consumers billions of dollars a year through enhanced competition."
Just seven years later, the fees consumers were paying on their checking and savings accounts had skyrocketed, rising from $21 billion in 1999 to $36 billion in 2006. (And these amounts do not include credit card and ATM fees, which also shot up.)
That bigger banks would mean higher prices was plainly evident in 1999 to anyone who bothered to consult the data. For the previous five years, the Federal Reserve had issued yearly reports to Congress that showed that bigger banks charged significantly higher fees on checking and savings accounts.
The Fed's 1999 report, published five months before the Financial Services Modernization Act passed, found that overdraft fees were 41 percent higher at big banks compared to small. Big banks charged more for almost every fee imaginable, including 43 percent more for bounced checks, 57 percent more for stop-payment orders, and 18 percent more for ATM withdrawals.
But rather than allow the evidence in favor of smaller banks to guide policy, Congress decided to get rid of the evidence. At the urging of then Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, Congress ordered the Federal Reserve to stop publishing its annual report on bank fees. "The Fed fought to get rid of it," said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at the US Public Interest Research Group. "They said transparency was not a good use of their resources."
For most of the last decade, information on the average cost difference between big banks and small local financial institutions has not been publicly available. But, as it turns out, the firm that the Fed once employed to gather this data, Moebs Services, has continued to survey fees at more than 2,000 financial institutions. Moebs agreed to share its 2009 data with the New Rules Project. As our chart shows, the biggest banks still impose much higher costs on their customers than small financial institutions do.
Not only are fees lower, but several studies have found that smaller banks and credit unions pay higher interest on savings accounts. In a study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, researchers Kwangwoo Park and George Pennacchi examined data from 1998 to 2004 and found that rates on one-year CDs were an average of 14 percent higher at small banks (under $1 billion in assets) than at large ones (assets of $10 billion or more) and rates on interest-bearing savings accounts were 49 percent higher.
Why are small banks and credit unions a better deal? One reason is that they really want your deposits. Unlike big banks, which have access to wholesale funding, community banks rely much more on customer deposits to finance their lending and investments.
A second reason is that many small banks are more efficient than their big competitors. That may seem surprising at first. In many industries, more volume lowers costs, but in banking there's an upper limit—a point at which a bank's bloated bureaucracy makes the cost of doing everything more expensive, not less. Exactly where that threshold lies is a matter of debate, but some analysts suggest that the sweet-spot for efficiency starts as low as $500 million in assets and ends once a bank hits $4 or $5 billion. To put that in perspective, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase are about 300 times that size.
But perhaps a more instructive question to ask is not why are small banks a better deal, but how do big banks get away with charging so much more? After all, people have a choice about where to bank and free markets are suppose to drive down prices.
Christopher Peterson, an expert on consumer finance at the University of Utah School of Law, says there are two main theories. Those who believe the market is working contend that "bigger banks have more comprehensive branch locations, so people will pay a premium for convenience."
Another explanation is that banks are adept at obscuring their prices and make it hard to comparison shop. "I think our impulse in this country is to overestimate the ability of people to shop down fees that are not transparent," said Peterson.
Indeed, the Government Accounting Office recently sent secret shoppers into 185 bank branches. They were unable to obtain detailed information on account terms at one-third of those branches and unable to obtain a comprehensive schedule of fees at one-fifth, despite the fact that such disclosures are required by federal law—a law that apparently is not enforced. More than half of the banks did not provide this information on their websites, either.
Mierzwinski says big banks have the advantage of having recognizable names and branches everywhere. Many people simply go to the nearest big bank branch and don't shop around. "They particularly don't compare the bank's penalty fees, which are so hard to find," he said. "Everyone advertises free checking, but 'free' only defines monthly maintenance fees."
If you bank at a big bank, all of this should prompt you to give some serious thought to ditching it. Even if you are good at avoiding penalty fees, why do business with a bank that charges exorbitant prices and attempts at every turn to hit its depositors with sneaky fees? Shop around instead for an institution that treats its customers fairly. Consumer advocacy groups say the best place to start is with local credit unions and community banks. The smallest have the lowest costs on average. But keep in mind that averages are just that; institutions vary and each should be evaluated individually according to how well it meets your needs and how responsive it is to your community.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons License
Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher with the New Rules Project, a program of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance that challenges the wisdom of economic consolidation and works to advance policies that build strong local economies. She is the author of the monthly bulletin the Hometown Advantage and the book Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses, which was named one of the top ten business books of the year by Booklist.
This article is part of the New Rules Project's Community Banking Initiative and was originally published on Huffington Post as part of a partnership with their Move Your Money campaign.
Move Your Money
Move Your Money is a growing national movement to switch money out of big, national banks and into local, community banks. A video paralleling "It's a Wonderful Life" promotes the campaign.


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Welcome to Natasha D'Schommer Studio
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"Natasha's photographs provide a personal inventory of possessions and a record of a cloistered, rarified world that few will ever experience, except through her sensuous pictures."– Elizabeth Carpenter, Curator, Walker Art Center
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