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So why all the interest? Just look at what's happening out there. The big rumors are all about how Google is going to team up with a host of "also-ran" social networks for an open social platform, including Ning, Hi5 and the like. There is a lust for a single stop to get all your updates, instead of having a dozen or so bookmarks to troll through on a daily basis.
Spokeo's spokesperson (a.k.a. Spokeosperson) reminded me that I glossed over what he felt to be "the biggest feature" in yesterday's release. Essentially, you can now import your address book from AOL, Hotmail, GMail or Yahoo! and automatically, Spokeo will spider out that person's social networks, dragging in updates from MySpace, Flickr, Pandora and the like.
Though I'd seen the feature yesterday, I hadn't used it, as I don't really use those e-mail accounts all that much - preferring to stick with Mac.com for personal e-mail (not yet supported).
But it does work, as you can see on the right. I input my long-neglected Yahoo! and GMail accounts and started seeing photos of people I hadn't talked to in a few years. More than getting me updated on them, it just reminded me I should clean out my online address books!
And therein lies the rub. I love the idea of Spokeo, and trust me, I'm using it, but they still don't support the networks I have embraced: Facebook and LinkedIn, and they don't support imports from Mac.com or from my Apple Address book (via VCF cards). Until that changes, this admittedly very cool feature won't add me much value.
Regardless, if you are a Yahoo!/Gmail/AOL/Hotmail junkie and you keep your address books tidy, this feature can save you a lot of manual labor for sure. We'll keep waiting and watching for more updates.


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I'm really sorry dress pant sweatpants, but there's only room in my heart for one amazing invention at a time, and you've just been replaced by these brilliant Free Key rings that open with a simple press.
I consider myself a fairly dexterous individual, but I'd rather be tasked with finding Atlantis than putting a new key onto a keyring. At least I know I'd be more successful with the former. But I'm fairly confident I could handle the latter with Eric von Schoultz's Free Key. Its brilliantly simple design just introduces a strategically placed bump in one of the loops, essentially creating a button that can be pressed to open it.
It's another one of those "why weren't they designed like this in the first place?" ideas, and the only thing missing is a set of these in my pocket right now. As far as I can tell they will be available for sale at some point, and I'll be honest, even if they were $50 a pop I'd still eagerly buy one. [Free Key via Notcot]

subset: commoncrawl


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I say this only in retrospect. Because traveling alone makes me nervous. Can I reach the parking ticket machine at San Jose Airport's newest garage? Can I balance two bags on my lap on the way to the terminal? Speaking of terminal, will the airline finally do in my wheelchair? Many have tried. Air France being the most thorough, having broken an axle and shorted the electronics while loading my wheelchair at Florence. Nevermind. This isn't Florence. It's San Jose, and I am older and wiser and only flying as far as Phoenix.
First rule, don't choose an airline for the usual merits. Choose the one the Spinal Cord Injury Association rates highest at wheelchair handling: Southwest. I stumble aboard, find a cramped seat and rejoice that the experience will be a brief one. From the window I watch the ground crew load my wheelchair. The airline has a purpose-built lift for scooters and chairs. It does take three guys to keep my 220-pound chair from toppling off the conveyor belt. In the end, I can't watch.
But when I open my eyes in Phoenix, the wheelchair is there, rolled to the aircraft's door. I thank everyone profusely. I also point out that one of two headlights is now dangling from its wires. A skycap kicks the fixture back in place. He follows me to baggage claim, warning me not to roll aboard the moving walkways. Strictly forbidden at Phoenix. Every airport has its oddities, so I don't argue. Actually, at SFO I do roll on the walkways, then accelerate my wheelchair...to achieve a breathtaking maximum ground speed. You can't take the boy out of the man, and so on.
The mythical Phoenix kept rising from the ashes, but the one in Arizona permanently incinerates around June. I can't take the heat, or my neurology can't. Whatever. I'm here for business, which goes well. As does the trip home. Checking in my bags, I ask another skycap to apply some luggage tape to the base of my headlights. The wheelchair arrives at San Jose in perfect condition. I do too, the 73°F breeze feeling like paradise.


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Android Fragmentation Report July 2013 - OpenSignal
A look at the degree of diversity in Android devices, complete with pretty pictures. The term "fragmentation" is usually used in a negative way, but there are great points here about the positive effects for web developers and customers.
You say fragmentation, I say diversity.


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From Erin Cook, Souther Rivers Energy:We have approximately 5149 members without power right now. Outages are spread across our system but mainly in Meriwether, Pike, Lamar and Upson counties. Crews have been working all morning but the wind is causing major problems with the saturated ground and weakened trees and limbs from all the previous severe weather we've had this year. This wind is basically snapping any trees and limbs that were damaged in the ice storm and uprooting trees in some areas all of which can easily tear down a power line even if they're well outside our right of way. We caution everyone to stay away from any fallen power lines or trees or limbs that may be touching a line. Members can call our outage hotline at 1-866-244-4890 to report outages.1 p.m. UPDATE: Crews are making progress with outages down from over 5000 early this morning to approximately 676 as of 11:30 a.m. Two additional crews are on the way to assist with restoration efforts from Middle Georgia EMC in Vienna in addition to help from Harper's Tree Service. The majority of the remaining outages are in Meriwether, Pike and Lamar counties. We appreciate everyone's patience as we continue with restoration efforts and again, we urge everyone to use extreme caution around fallen power lines and trees or limbs that may be touching lines. Outages can be reported at 1-866-244-4890.-Erin Cook
Wind wreaking havoc on powerlines
More from HeadlinesMore posts in Headlines »


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Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Presidential candidate Kamala Harris zeroed in on the Democratic Party's debate over health insurance Friday as she made her pitch to one of Nevada's most powerful political forces, the casino workers' union.
Leaders and members of the Culinary Union and its parent organization, Unite Here, have made it clear they don't favor "Medicare for all" plans like those proposed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren that would eliminate private insurance.
Before Harris took the stage for a town hall with union members, vice president Leain Vashon said the union fought hard to get the "the best" insurance and "we're not looking for second best from anyone."
Harris, who is struggling to catch up to Sanders, Harris and Joe Biden, highlighted her Medicare for all plan that would preserve private insurance as the biggest contrast between her and some of her rivals.
"I had you in mind because I know what you have given up to get that coverage. I know what you've given up," Harris said.
Culinary Workers Union Local 226, a 60,000-member group of housekeepers, bartenders, porters and others that keep the glittering resorts of Las Vegas humming, is one of the most powerful political forces in Nevada, the third state to weigh in on the presidential contest next year.
An endorsement from the organization could be decisive in the state's February caucuses.
The union has not yet decided it if will endorse anyone in the primary, but it's listening to candidates and telling them what workers want, secretary-treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline said.
Though most of the Democratic candidates have held private meetings with the union's leaders, Harris was the first to get a coveted invite to speak to members. About 250 gathered to hear her Friday night at the union's hall north of the Las Vegas Strip.
The group is planning more town halls with other top Democratic candidates, though it has declined to say which have received invitations.
Nevada, considered the first test of a candidate's appeal in a diverse state, has a 29% Latino population. The heavily immigrant, majority Latino union is seen as a key mobilizer of Latino voters and does outreach in English and Spanish, as well as in Tagalog, Amharic and Chinese.
The union's organizing is credited with helping former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid win a tough re-election campaign in 2010 and delivering Democratic victories in 2016 and 2018.
In the state's early presidential nominating caucuses, the Democratic Party traditionally sets up at-large caucusing locations near the Las Vegas Strip, which allows casino shift workers to participate in the meetings.
The union's backing hasn't always translated to a slam-dunk for candidates: In 2014, union-backed Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford lost in a Republican wave.
In 2008, the union decided to back Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. The move was a boon to Obama, who won more delegates in Nevada, but Clinton won the popular vote and had a strong showing at the at-large caucus sites near the Strip.
The union sat out the 2016 Democratic primary.
Some of the 2020 candidates have waded into the union's dispute with Station Casinos over unionizing votes at several of the company's Las Vegas properties, issuing statements urging the company to join the bargaining table.
Harris on Friday told a worker at one of the company's properties that she had called one of the company's executives to press that point.
The California senator pumped her fist and led members in chants of "We vote, we win" and "Si, se puede" before describing her plans to use executive orders as president to extend protections for young immigrants in the country illegally and their families.
Argüello-Kline said that along with health care, good jobs and workers' rights, immigration is a top priority for the union.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Erie Insurance announces $200 million in auto rate cuts
To continue providing support and financial relief to customers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Erie Insurance announced that it will reduce rates for personal and commercial auto insurance customers in 12 states and the District of Columbia.
Once approved and implemented, the estimated amount of financial relief for Erie Insurance customers is estimated to be approximately $200 million.
According to Erie Insurance President and CEO Tim NeCastro, while ERIE's pricing philosophy has always centered around providing exceptional protection and service at the lowest possible cost, lowering rates during this challenging time is simply the right thing to do.
"For 95 years, ERIE's promise to our customers has remained the same: to be there when they need us most," said NeCastro. "Now, more than ever, we are centered on the Golden Rule and committed to providing near perfect protection and near perfect service at the lowest possible cost."
While some auto insurers this week announced short term auto insurance rebates, ERIE's decision to lower rates is designed to offer more impactful relief to customers — now and in the future.
Pending regulatory approval, actual rate changes for customers will vary by state and also be based on individually purchased policies and coverage options. Once approved, premium adjustments will take effect at the time of new policy initiation or renewal.
The rate reductions announced today are in addition to a range of assistance that ERIE has already provided to thousands of customers, including individualized payment flexibility, updating auto coverages for policyholders to reflect current vehicle usage, offering paramedical exam waivers for life insurance applicants, adding gift card reimbursement coverage to ErieSecure Home policies and delivering significant philanthropic support to COVID-19 rapid relief efforts in the communities ERIE serves.
Flexible Payment and Billing Options
ERIE understands that each customer's situation is unique and we continue to offer flexibility to customers facing hardship.
ERIE agents can help customers with updating coverages. Agents and ERIE's Customer Care teams can also assist with delaying payment dates, adjusting installments, changing pay plans and waiving penalties and fees. Customer Care can be reached at (800) 458-0811 with questions or to discuss these options.
Customers can also access their personal lines and life policies, view current and previous invoices, pay their bill and monitor a claim through Online Account.
Making Life Insurance Attainable
For a limited time, Erie Family Life is offering applicants a path to life insurance coverage without the requirement of a paramedical exam. The option to waive the exam is aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance to maintain social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The waiver provides Erie Insurance customers the ability to obtain life insurance without in-person interaction. The offer is available for customers up to age 55 and policy face amounts up to $500,000.
Gift Card and Gift Certificate Reimbursement Coverage
Pending regulatory approval in several states, Erie Insurance is adding gift card and gift certificate reimbursement coverage to the company's ErieSecure Home® policies. The additional feature, included at no additional cost, would reimburse customers for remaining balances on gift cards that can no longer be used at independently owned and operated local businesses due to business closures. There is no requirement that the business be insured by ERIE. While the additional protection was introduced to help promote buying new gift cards to help small businesses with their cash flows while they are closed, it is not a temporary addition and will become part of ERIE's base ErieSecure Home policies.
Support for Community COVID-19 Relief Efforts
Erie Insurance provided a lead gift to support a new COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund recently established in Erie, Pennsylvania. The COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund will directly support 501(c)(3) organizations in Erie County, Pennsylvania — the location of our headquarters — that are providing support to those in need, administering care for children, serving elderly populations who are most vulnerable and helping those suffering hardships and job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ERIE is also supporting our agents in their philanthropic efforts in their local communities.
"Our customers are looking to ERIE during this difficult time and we will continue to be here for them," added NeCastro. "We will get through this unprecedented time together and continue to offer our employees, agents, customers and communities the support they need and the service they expect."


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The hijacking of the Munich Security Conference
The Munich Security Conference took place between 16 and 19 February. Like every year, it united more than 500 European Ministers and members of Parliament, as well as a number of foreign guests. This is the most important international meeting on European Foreign Policy and Defense.
Ten years ago, in 2007, Vladimir Putin caused a scandal by claiming that it was in the interest of the Europeans not to follow the Pentagon in its military adventures, but to act independently. He also reminded his listeners that his country, Russia, is also a European state, even though it is excluded from the European Union. The participants had laughed at him and his pretentions. As one, they sought protection under cover of the NATO umbrella.
This time, it was Sergey Lavrov who caused a scandal, by calling for a post-Western world order. We are obliged to admit that NATO has lost its superiority in terms of conventional warfare – even though it easily maintains first place in terms of nuclear war. We are obliged to admit that after 15 years of uninterrupted war in the «Greater Middle East», the mirage of remodeling the region into micro-states, each with less than 10 million inhabitants, and the fantasy of eradicating secular régimes for the benefit of dictatorships run by the Muslim Brotherhood, have failed.
Astoundingly, the Europeans persist in pursuing these goals, which have been imposed on them by Washington, but which the People of the United States and their President Donald Trump do not want any more. So the Europeans are counting on the deep US state (that is to say the Raven Rock Mountain Continuity of Government group who organized the attacks of 11 September). Their political leaders continue, as a preventive measure, to denounce Donald Trump's supposed racism and Islamophobia, the same people who applauded when George W. Bush and Barack Obama killed more than 3 million people. Their Press continually insults Donald Trump, whom it presents as capricious and incapable.
Horrified by the opinions of Donald Trump, according to whom NATO is «obsolete», they were reassured by the declarations of his ministers, who in essence, told them the same thing – NATO no longer needs to exist in its current format — it needs to be transformed into a defensive alliance, and if you want to be part of it, you will have to dedicate 2% of your Defense budget.
Obsessed by their imperialist lunacy, the Europeans were terrified by the possible abandon of their anti-Russian investments in Ukraine and Syria. There too, they were reassured by declarations which were nonetheless as vague as could be. Trump's ministers repeated that they would give up no interest vital to the USA in Ukraine, and that they would pursue a «political solution in Syria». So why did the Europeans understand that the People of the United States has vital interests on the banks of the Dnipro and that a «political solution in Syria» means replacing the Republic with the Muslim Brotherhood? Simply because that is what they were taught by the Obama administration – the administration that was rejected by the People of the United States.
Of course, everyone can see the struggle between the Trump administration on one side and the «Continuity of Government» group on the other. The mountains trembled when Donald Trump excluded the CIA and the Joint Chief of Staff from the National Security Council. Everyone noticed the way in which the CIA, in response, refused Defense accreditation to six of the President's advisors, and accused the National Security advisor of being a Russian spy, forcing him to resign, and how they are still pursuing four other representatives from the Presidential team. But losing a few battles does not mean losing the war, and it is distressing that the Europeans – enslaved for so long – do not know this. How can they believe that Donald Trump was going to sweep away such a powerful «deep state» in just a few days? And how could they imagine that his first defeats would be enough to make him give up?
Over the last few years, this Security Conference has been a way for Germany to serve as a link between the United States and their European partners. This year, its only goal was to force the European leaders to confirm their allegiance to the deep US state, without taking into account either the will expressed by the US People, or the change in the White House.
A preparatory document, drawn up by the German organizers of the Conference, was handed to the participants. The Press was careful not to mention it. It contains an article by Volker Perthes, author of the Feltman plan for the total and unconditional capitulation of the Syrian Arab Republic. This eminent «expert» presents his vision of the «Greater Middle East», or rather the vision of the US «Continuity of Government».
1. [Even if we have not managed to remodel it,] this region will not be unaffected by the wars and the «Arab Spring». [We didn't do all that for nothing].
2. The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran has become a sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Chiites [which masks our geopolitical ambitions].
3. While everyone is caught up in this false religious conflict, no-one is paying any attention to the Palestinian situation [for the greater benefit of the colonial state of Israel].
4. While the Europeans are unanimously tired of these bloodbaths taking place far from their homes, and hope for the long-awaited triumph of the Muslim Brotherhood, no-one in the Greater Middle East has yet admitted to having been beaten.
5. During the war in Syria, the alliances have continually been sealed and unsealed at the regional level, the latest of which was the pact between Russia, Turkey and Iran, which should not last [luckily] any longer than the others.
6. Syria and Iraq will not beat terrorism, and will not find peace other than by inclusive government [that is to say, by accepting to introduce al-Qaeda and Daesh into their governments].
7. All of this could only end, for all the populations of the Greater Middle East, by a major international conference during which the Westerners would determine their future, just as, at the Congress of Vienna (1814), the Quadruple Alliance decided the fate of the rest of the world.
Quite clearly, neither faced with the vote of the US People, nor the Resistance of the Arab Peoples, do the European leaders intend to change – they can only be dismissed by the European People.
Thierry Meyssan


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Top Rank's ultra-talented stable ran the table winning all the major 2012 awards from the Boxing Writers Association of America. The BWAA announced on Sunday that World Boxing Organization junior featherweight champion NONITO DONAIRE was the recipient of its Sugar Ray Robinson "Fighter of the Year" award. Donaire (31-1, 20 KOs) won all four of his world title fights last year, defeating Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka and Jorge Arce, the last two by knockout, to extend his 11-year winning streak to 30 bouts. Capping a career-best year, Donaire had already been named the 2012 Fighter of the Year by Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Todayand many other websites and newspapers.
Donaire's trainer, former International Boxing Federation junior lightweight champion ROBERT GARCIA, was named the Eddie Futch "Trainer of the Year," for his work with the Filipino Flash as well as with newly-minted WBO featherweight champion Mikey Garcia and undefeated former World Boxing Association lightweight champion Brandon Rios.
"Nonito came into his own in 2012. He will do even greater things in 2013 and beyond," said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. "He will become the next big pay-per-view star. Robert Garcia truly deserves the award as 2012 Trainer of the Year. As the best young trainer in boxing, his future is tremendous."
"2012 was a text book year for Nonito," added Top Rank president Todd duBoef. "Four fights against top division leaders and with decisive, impressive performances."
Manny Pacquiao – Juan Manuel Márquez 4, which was co-promoted with Zanfer Promotions, was named the BWAA's Muhammad Ali – Joe Frazier "Fight of the Year." The action-packed battle, which was held at the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena and sold close to 1.2 million pay-per-views in the U.S. alone, featured excitement, drama and a one-punch knockout victory by the Méxican icon Márquez.
Trampler, a Hall of Fame matchmaker, is the co-winner of the Barney Nagler Award for "Long and Meritorious Service" to the sport of boxing.
The BWAA Awards Dinner will be held in New York this spring at a venue and date to be announced.


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Applying the PDCA Cycle to the Complex Task of Teaching and Assessing Public Relations Writing
Teaching skills, knowledge and abilities appropriate for career-ready graduates and assessing learning are complex issues. Developing a valid and reliable approach is often by trial and error. Instead, the authors employed Deming's PDCA Cycle of continuous improvement as a systematic procedure to incrementally move closer to their goal. This paper outlines a multiyear project where academics and public relations professionals collaborated to answer 4 questions: What are the basic SKAs for a career-ready graduate?; How to orient the pedagogy?; How to evaluate and assess student learning?; and, How to insure validity of the measurements?. The authors used a variety of qualitative and quantitative procedures to (a) gather knowledge and information from public relations professionals; (b) facilitate consensus on career-specific pedagogy; and (c) develop a repeatable and reliable rubric to measure students' news release writing skills.
Full Text:PDF
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v1n2p67
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Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR5175, also known as the Disclose Act, by a 219-206 vote. "Disclose," you see, is an acronym for "Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections."
The measure's author, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., also happens to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- so you know that the bill has nothing to do with helping Democrats retain their seats. (Just kidding.)
Two Republicans voted for the measure; 36 Democrats voted against it. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it deserves to molder. This bill may have passed largely unnoticed, but if the Senate passes HR5175 as is, with its provision to activate the law in 30 days -- conveniently in time for November's midterm elections but before the Federal Election Commission would have a chance to draft careful rules -- voters should see this as a blatant attempt to rig the system.
Proponents want you to think that the bill fills in gaps created by the U.S. Supreme Court's recent controversial Citizens United ruling that lifted restrictions on independent political advertising by labor and corporations. They just want special interests to disclose their funding of independent political campaigns. Disclosure, after all, is one of those happy-face ideas in American politics.
But it's not that simple. For one thing, the measure bans independent campaign expenditures by businesses that do more than $10 million in contracts with the federal government. As the Center for Competitive Politics noted, the bill's provision against political expenditures by government contractors "abandons the government's long-standing policy of subjecting unions and corporations to similar restrictions. (The Disclose Act) would impose no similar burden on unions that directly negotiate for salary and benefits with the government or receive government grants, or on nonprofit groups that receive grants or taxpayer funding."
I understand that in liberal San Francisco, many readers bristle at the notion that corporations have free-speech rights. But you can't call a bill that muzzles business -- but not labor -- even-handed. Left or right, you might want to think twice before supporting a measure that allows Washington to choose which groups can and cannot speak out on issues of the day.
Also, disclosure isn't always apple pie. The ACLU opposes the bill because, according to Michael Macleod-Ball, its chief legislative and policy counsel, "the system is not strengthened by chilling free speech and invading the privacy of modest donors to controversial causes."
Then there's the NRA exemption. In order to win passage of the bill with Blue Dog Democrats, Van Hollen agreed to exempt the NRA from disclosure requirements. Then he agreed to expand the exemption to cover other large special interest groups, like the Sierra Club. So it's an anti-special interest bill that exempts powerful special interests.
"We don't really think the intent of the bill is to withstand scrutiny in the courts," said Jeff Patch of the Center for Competitive Politics.
No lie. Here's a more honest acronym for Disclose: Democrats Intend to Stifle Contrary Leanings with Selective Enforcement.


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GFBio supports researchers with software for data management. Two German developer groups ( Diversity Workbench (DWB) and BEXIS 2 ) providing open source platforms for biodiversity data management extend their applications in the GFBio context. Using one of these platforms during the active phase of research projects will facilitate data transfer for long-term archival and data publication via the GFBio portal.
Diversity Workbench (DWB)is a suite of relational SQL databases and tools to process bio- and geodiversity data. DWB tools address data generation, data management, quality assurance and basic data analysis issues in the following scientific domains: molecular and evolutionary biology, systematics, biogeography, ecological and environmental sciences, geosciences. One of the databases has a generic data model. The desktop tools (client-server database applications, data processing and GIS tools) and the mobile app are independent of each other, but might be joint to build a linked data network. DWB offers central cloud services with terminologies, taxonomies, regional taxon checklists, gazetteers and GIS information. The software has been user-tested for more than 20 years, see DWB workshops.
DWB use is free (GPL 2 license) and without costs (as far as MS SQL Server Express is used). The software is open source apart from the underlying MS operating system and MS SQL Server.
DWB has a broad spectrum of users. It is primarily designed as solution for individual scientists and small research groups without availability of a database manager, but basic to intermediate skills in data management. Addressed users include those who are most familiar with spreadsheets and tabular data. They are guided by DWB import wizards to switch to manage their data in DWB databases with user-friendly graphical interfaces. For performing particular data analyses users might adapt DWB data export wizards (e.g. for R, FASTA) and use external software solutions which are standard in their research community.
Because of its scalability and the tools for organizing data publication DWB is more and more used as a system for large data repositories, and is installed at various data centers.
It is comfortable to install Windows authentication services for single-sign-on access to log-on Windows operating system and DWB services with the same user name and password.
Individual researchers and collaborative research groups install DWB tools primarily for managing raw data. Thereby the tools address the early steps of the data life cycle: "Collect", "Assure" and "Analyze".
With network installations at large data centers, as realized at the Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns (SNSB), DWB tools like DiversityProjects and the new DWB filtering and transformation tools guide data archiving and data publication with steps like "Describe", "Submit", "Preserve" and "Publish".
DWB is appropriate for a broad spectrum of users who aim to manage diversity datasets already at the beginning of the data life cycle. Depending on their interest the researchers can install and configure one or more DWB databases and editing tools. DWB editing interfaces with several spreadsheet modes allow high flexibility in organizing diverse data entities/ datasets/ assets of various size and complex structure. Advanced wizards and graphical user interfaces facilitate the import of legacy data, data transformation (also from data matrices) and data exchange. We offer tools for GIS editing, geographic and geometric object storage and image processing. Advanced search options allow for retrieving free combinations of parameters on more than 800 data fields. Each user has open and free access to DWB cloud services (see above) and to several external machine-readable web services (like those of the Catalogue of Life) integrated in the DWB clients.
Guided by graphical user interfaces scientific data managers could organize DWB user accounts and user rights with granular role-based permission for data access and data processing. Data managers are empowered to administer networks of related datasets, projects and subprojects. DWB has mechanisms on board to allow technical and content quality control. The granular management of version history for each single data entity is possible. Advanced functions to organize embargos and withholds for various types of data elements and data objects at several levels are included. There are process pipelines for data transformation, data replication and data publication. DWB has functions for the management of documents, legal issues like property rights and licenses as well as for organizing metadata according to international standards. With a DWB network installation the data managers might strictly distinguish between an in-house master database environment and derived cache databases with selected information for data publication via online portals.
The DWB software can be downloaded here. There are General Download Notes and advices on How to create a personal local DWB environment.
As alternative option you might check various types of hosting solutions. Please discuss possible cooperations with the three GFBio data centers which have DWB networks installed.
The SNSB IT Center offers DWB community cloud services for free. All DWB networks have access to biological terms, taxonomies, nature conservation and GIS information.
The DWB database suite installed by individual researchers and research groups is guiding data producers to generate, manage and quality control well structured data and metadata following the FAIR data principles.
As soon as required, the results are most easily be published via GFBio tools for data submission and publication. Three of the GFBio data centers, i.e. SMNS, SNSB and ZFMK, have DWB networks with GFBio ingest tools, GFBio filtering and transformation tools for data publication and DWB management systems with archiving solutions installed; see GFBio Data Centers – Technical documentations. They are ready to guide data producers in this context. DWB wizards and flexible services for data exchange also support data transfer to the other GFBio data centers without DWB installations.
The exact technical prerequisites depend on the target (network) solution. In all cases, DWB tools run on a (virtualized) MS Windows operating system. For details see Technical documentation at a glance.
The installation might be done in a simple way without distinguishing between administrator role and user role. Alternatively, database administrators and scientific data managers might use a large portfolio of functions designed for them (see above).
The implementation was done for two decades by up to three software developers with permanent strong feedback from a large user community.
For technical support and information on implementation concepts please contact email@example.com or the persons mentioned under co-workers.
There are two DWB mailing lists, one informing on new releases of Diversity Workbench software, the other informing on the maintenance of Diversity Workbench Services installed on SNSB servers.
For advice on DWB please contact the DWB data curation team at the SNSB IT Center or the user help desk teams at GFBio data centers SMNS, SNSB and ZFMK.
There are regular workshops at the SNSB IT Center, GFBio training workshops, DWB training materials and DWB user manuals.
BEXIS 2 is a data management software supporting researchers in documenting, finding, sharing, and publishing data during the active phase of a research project. BEXIS 2 is a modular, scalable, interoperable, free and open source system supporting large research consortia on all aspects of data life cycle management. The software is being developed based on requirements of the biodiversity and ecology domain that mostly deal with tabular data, but is generic enough to serve other domains and data types as well.
BEXIS 2 has been designed for collaborative research projects with up to several hundred researchers. Most of these projects include a dedicated central data management team to administer and maintain the system. However, BEXIS 2 may also serve smaller teams and working groups. BEXIS 2 is used in fields like biodiversity, ecology, forestry, or atmospheric science.
BEXIS 2 aims at supporting researchers on all parts of the data life cycle. However, special emphasis has been put on data collection, documentation, data access, data integration and data publishing
Following the data life cycle researchers managing their data with BEXIS 2 are able to, for example, design a new dataset by specifying its variables (i.e. the data structure), enrich the data with metadata and supplementary files, add and update the dataset at any time, set fine grained permissions (view, download, update, delete), and ultimately publish the dataset in renowned data journals (e.g. Pensoft Biodiversity Data Journal) or data portals (e.g GFBio). Once a dataset is registered with BEXIS 2, the system takes care of different versions of the dataset, provides automatic backups, and ensures the data is findable and accessible. Users of BEXIS 2 are able to access datasets directly from other applications (e.g. R) through API calls (incl. selection, filtering, sorting). A key feature of BEXIS 2 is to re-use existing information whenever possible (e.g. terminologies, variables, data structures, metadata).
BEXIS 2 is a highly flexible and adaptable web-based system. For example, a data manager can incorporate different metadata schemas and provide mappings between them. A data manager may also setup different tenants providing individual projects with a custom look and feel of the application, customize the search interface, manage users and groups and their access to system features, monitor the system usage, or setup a single sign-on service (e.g. LDAP). BEXIS 2 has a modular system architecture allowing to add and replace individual modules while the system is running
BEXIS 2 can be downloaded from http://bexis2.uni-jena.de/. Every BEXIS 2 version comes with a release note that explains the new features released in the version, an installation manual which includes step by step installation guide, and user guides explaining all the different modules of the application.
Within BEXIS 2 a user can initiate a submission to publish data through the GFBio Portal. A bundle including all relevant information and data is created and then submitted to GFBio for further processing and review.
To install BEXIS 2 you need a server with MS Windows operating system. BEXIS 2 also needs a database management system available on your server. You are free to choose among PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MySQL or IBM DB2 Express-C. There is a step by step installation guide to follow in the installation manual available in the software package.
BEXIS 2 is developed by a community driven open source project. There is an active development community on GitHub. This is the place to post bug reports and feature requests. There is also a developers' mailing list: https://lserv.uni-jena.de/mailman/listinfo/bexis2-dev for technical discussions on concepts, software architecture, installation.
For any further support needed, please contact email@example.com.
There is a community of active users and data managers of running instances who will help on data management questions, or provide hints on the usage and configuration of BEXIS 2. Feel free to join the public mailing list at: https://lserv.uni-jena.de/mailman/listinfo/bexis2-users


text:
I have suspicions about my Windows XP.
Well I no longer seem to be able to download anymore, even AV updates. I could at one point and got some, doing a scan now but still unsure whats going on.
There is also a reg entry I found in CodeStuff Starter that is completly blank with nothing at al that I can stop but I dont kno what it is.
I am just suspicios as I also cant start my firewall anyway and cant download one.
Any theories/


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Deploying an ASP.NET Web Application with SQL Server Compact using Visual Studio or Visual Web Developer: Deploying to IIS as a Test Environment - 5 of 12
by Tom Dykstra
This series of tutorials shows you how to deploy (publish) an ASP.NET web application project that includes a SQL Server Compact database by using Visual Studio 2012 RC or Visual Studio Express 2012 RC for Web. You can also use Visual Studio 2010 if you install the Web Publish Update. For an introduction to the series, see the first tutorial in the series.
For a tutorial that shows deployment features introduced after the RC release of Visual Studio 2012, shows how to deploy SQL Server editions other than SQL Server Compact, and shows how to deploy to Azure App Service Web Apps, see ASP.NET Web Deployment using Visual Studio.
This tutorial shows how to deploy an ASP.NET web application to IIS on the local computer.
When you develop an application, you generally test by running it in Visual Studio. By default, this means you're using the Visual Studio Development Server (also known as Cassini). The Visual Studio Development Server makes it easy to test during development in Visual Studio, but it doesn't work exactly like IIS. As a result, it's possible that an application will run correctly when you test it in Visual Studio, but fail when it's deployed to IIS in a hosting environment.
You can test your application more reliably in these ways:
- Use IIS Express or full IIS instead of the Visual Studio Development Server when you test in Visual Studio during development. This method generally emulates more accurately how your site will run under IIS. However, this method does not test your deployment process or validate that the result of the deployment process will run correctly.
- Deploy the application to IIS on your development computer by using the same process that you'll use later to deploy it to your production environment. This method validates your deployment process in addition to validating that your application will run correctly under IIS.
- Deploy the application to a test environment that is as close as possible to your production environment. Since the production environment for these tutorials is a third-party hosting provider, the ideal test environment would be a second account with the hosting provider. You would use this second account only for testing, but it would be set up the same way as the production account.
This tutorial shows the steps for option 2. Guidance for option 3 is provided at the end of the Deploying to the Production Environment tutorial, and at the end of this tutorial there are links to resources for option 1.
Reminder: If you get an error message or something doesn't work as you go through the tutorial, be sure to check the troubleshooting page.
Configuring the Application to Run in Medium Trust
Before installing IIS and deploying to it, you'll change a Web.config file setting in order to make the site run more like it will in a typical shared hosting environment.
Hosting providers typically run your web site in medium trust, which means there are some things it is not allowed to do. For example, application code can't access the Windows registry and can't read or write files that are outside of your application's folder hierarchy. By default your application runs in high trust on your local computer, which means that the application might be able to do things that would fail when you deploy it to production. Therefore, to make the test environment more accurately reflect the production environment, you'll configure the application to run in medium trust.
In the application Web.config file, add a trust element in the system.web element, as shown in this example.
<!-- Settings -->
<trust level="Medium" />
<!-- Settings -->
The application will now run in medium trust in IIS even on your local computer. This setting enables you to catch as early as possible any attempts by application code to do something that would fail in production.
If you are using Entity Framework Code First Migrations, make sure that you have version 5.0 or later installed. In Entity Framework version 4.3, Migrations requires full trust in order to update the database schema.
Installing IIS and Web Deploy
To deploy to IIS on your development computer, you must have IIS and Web Deploy installed. These are not included in the default Windows 7 configuration. If you have already installed both IIS and Web Deploy, skip to the next section.
Using the Web Platform Installer is the preferred way to install IIS and Web Deploy, because the Web Platform Installer installs a recommended configuration for IIS and it automatically installs the prerequisites for IIS and Web Deploy if necessary.
To run Web Platform Installer to install IIS and Web Deploy, use the following link. If you already have installed IIS, Web Deploy or any of their required components, the Web Platform Installer installs only what is missing.
Setting the Default Application Pool to .NET 4
After installing IIS, run IIS Manager to make sure that the .NET Framework version 4 is assigned to the default application pool.
From the Windows Start menu, select Run, enter "inetmgr", and then click OK. (If the Run command is not in your Start menu, you can press the Windows Key and R to open it. Or right-click the taskbar, click Properties, select the Start Menu tab, click Customize, and select Run command.)
In the Connections pane, expand the server node and select Application Pools. In the Application Pools pane, if DefaultAppPool is assigned to the .NET framework version 4 as in the following illustration, skip to the next section.
If you see only two application pools and both of them are set to the .NET Framework 2.0, you have to install ASP.NET 4 in IIS:
Open a command prompt window by right-clicking Command Prompt in the Windows Start menu and selecting Run as Administrator. Then run aspnet_regiis.exe to install ASP.NET 4 in IIS, using the following commands. (In 64-bit systems, replace "Framework" with "Framework64".)
cd %windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319 aspnet_regiis.exe –iru
This command creates new application pools for the .NET Framework 4, but the default application pool will still be set to 2.0. You'll be deploying an application that targets .NET 4 to that application pool, so you have to change the application pool to .NET 4.
If you closed IIS Manager, run it again, expand the server node, and click Application Pools to display the Application Pools pane again.
In the Application Pools pane, click DefaultAppPool, and then in the Actions pane click Basic Settings.
In the Edit Application Pool dialog box, change .NET Framework version to .NET Framework v4.0.30319 and click OK.
You are now ready to publish to IIS.
Publishing to IIS
There are several ways you can deploy using Visual Studio 2010 and Web Deploy:
- Use Visual Studio one-click publish.
- Create a deployment package and install it using the IIS Manager UI. The deployment package consists of a .zip file that contains all the files and metadata needed to install a site in IIS.
- Create a deployment package and install it using the command line.
The process you went through in the previous tutorials to set up Visual Studio to automate deployment tasks applies to all of these three methods. In these tutorials you'll use the first of these methods. For information about using deployment packages, see ASP.NET Deployment Content Map.
Before publishing, make sure that you are running Visual Studio in administrator mode. (In the Windows 7 Start menu, right-click the icon for the version of Visual Studio you're using and select Run as Administrator.) Administrator mode is required for publishing only when you are publishing to IIS on the local computer.
In Solution Explorer, right-click the ContosoUniversity project (not the ContosoUniversity.DAL project) and select Publish.
The Publish Web wizard appears.
In the drop-down list, select <New...>.
In the New Profile dialog box, enter "Test", and then click OK.
This name is the same as the middle node of the Web.Test.config transform file that you created earlier. This correspondence is what causes the Web.Test.config transformations to be applied when you publish by using this profile.
The wizard automatically advances to the Connection tab.
In the Service URL box, enter localhost.
In the Site/application box, enter Default Web Site/ContosoUniversity.
In the Destination URL box, enter
The Destination URL setting isn't required. When Visual Studio finishes deploying the application, it automatically opens your default browser to this URL. If you don't want the browser to open automatically after deployment, leave this box blank.
Click Validate Connection to verify that the settings are correct and you can connect to IIS on the local computer.
A green check mark verifies that the connection is successful.
Click Next to advance to the Settings tab.
The Configuration drop-down box specifies the build configuration to deploy. The default value is Release, which is what you want.
Leave the Remove additional files at destination check box cleared. Since this is your first deployment, there won't be any files in the destination folder yet.
In the Databases section, enter the following value in the connection string box for SchoolContext:
Data Source=|DataDirectory|School-Prod.sdf
The deployment process will put this connection string in the deployed Web.config file because Use this connection string at runtime is selected.
Also under SchoolContext, select Apply Code First Migrations. This option causes the deployment process to configure the deployed Web.config file to specify the
MigrateDatabaseToLatestVersion initializer. This initializer automatically updates the database to the latest version when the application accesses the database for the first time after deployment.
In the connection string box for DefaultConnection, enter the following value:
Data Source=|DataDirectory|aspnet-Prod.sdf
Leave Update database cleared. The membership database will be deployed by copying the .sdf file in App_Data, and you don't want the deployment process to do anything else with this database.
Click Next to advance to the Preview tab.
In the Preview tab, click Start Preview to see a list of the files that will be copied.
Click Publish.
If Visual Studio is not in administrator mode, you might get an error message that indicates a permissions error. In that case, close Visual Studio, open it in administrator mode, and try to publish again.
If Visual Studio is in administrator mode, the Output window reports successful build and publish.
The browser automatically opens to the Contoso University Home page running in IIS on the local computer.
Testing in the Test Environment
Notice that the environment indicator shows "(Test)" instead of "(Dev)", which shows that the Web.config transformation for the environment indicator was successful.
Run the Students page to verify that the deployed database has no students. When you select this page it may take a few minutes to load because Code First creates the database and then runs the
Seed method. (It didn't do that when you were on the home page because the application didn't try to access the database yet.)
Run the Instructors page to verify that Code First seeded the database with instructor data:
Select Add Students from the Students menu, add a student, and then view the new student in the Students page to verify that you can successfully write to the database:
From the Courses menu, select Update Credits. The Update Credits page requires administrator permissions, so the Log In page is displayed. Enter the administrator account credentials that you created earlier ("admin" and "Pas$w0rd"). The Update Credits page is displayed, which verifies that the administrator account that you created in the previous tutorial was correctly deployed to the test environment.
Verify that an Elmah folder exists with only the placeholder file in it.
Reviewing the Automatic Web.config Changes for Code First Migrations
Open the Web.config file in the deployed application at C:\inetpub\wwwroot\ContosoUniversity and you can see where the deployment process configured Code First Migrations to automatically update the database to the latest version.
The deployment process also created a new connection string for Code First Migrations to use exclusively for updating the database schema:
This additional connection string enables you to specify one user account for database schema updates, and a different user account for application data access. For example, you could assign the db_owner role to Code First Migrations, and db_datareader and db_datawriter roles to the application. This is a common defense-in-depth pattern that prevents potentially malicious code in the application from changing the database schema. (For example, this might happen in a successful SQL injection attack.) This pattern is not used by these tutorials. It does not apply to SQL Server Compact, and it does not apply when you migrate to SQL Server in a later tutorial in this series. The Cytanium site offers just one user account for accessing the SQL Server database that you create at Cytanium. If you are able to implement this pattern in your scenario, you can do it by performing the following steps:
- In the Settings tab of the Publish Web wizard, enter the connection string that specifies a user with full database schema update permissions, and clear the Use this connection string at runtime check box. In the deployed Web.config file, this becomes the
DatabasePublishconnection string.
- Create a Web.config file transformation for the connection string that you want the application to use at run time.
You have now deployed your application to IIS on your development computer and tested it there. This verifies that the deployment process copied the application's content to the right location (excluding the files that you did not want to deploy), and also that Web Deploy configured IIS correctly during deployment. In the next tutorial, you'll run one more test that finds a deployment task that has not yet been done: setting folder permissions on the Elmah folder.
More Information
For information about running IIS or IIS Express in Visual Studio, see the following resources:
- IIS Express Overview on the IIS.net site.
- Introducing IIS Express on Scott Guthrie's blog.
- How to: Specify the Web Server for Web Projects in Visual Studio.
- Core Differences Between IIS and the ASP.NET Development Server on the ASP.NET site.
- Test your ASP.NET MVC or Web Forms Application on IIS 7 in 30 seconds on Rick Anderson's blog. This entry provides examples of why testing with the Visual Studio Development Server (Cassini) is not as reliable as testing in IIS Express, and why testing in IIS Express is not as reliable as testing in IIS.
For information about what issues might arise when your application runs in medium trust, see Hosting ASP.NET Applications in Medium Trust on the 4 Guys from Rolla site.


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ROBOLinked.Me - Оповещение о риске
TEST Margin FX and CFD products are considered speculative products which are highly leveraged and carry significantly greater risks than non-geared investments, such as shares. You should not invest in Margin FX or CFD products unless you properly understand the nature of Margin FX and CFD products, and are comfortable with the attendant risks. You should obtain financial, legal, taxation and other professional advice prior to entering into a Margin FX or CFD transaction to ensure this is appropriate for your objectives, needs and circumstances.
No Advice
Any opinions provided by FX Junction (including its website and representatives) is general in nature and does not take into account your financial circumstances. Before making an investment decision based on the above, you need to consider whether the advice is appropriate for your own personal financial circumstances. This might mean that you seek personal advice from a representative authorised to provide personal advice.
Internet Trading Risks
You shall be responsible for providing and maintaining the means by which to access the electronic trading platform, which may include without limitation a personal computer, modem and telephone or other access line. While the internet and the World Wide Web are generally reliable, technical problems or other conditions may delay or prevent access thereto. If you are unable to access the internet and thus, the FX Junction website, it will mean you may be unable to copy a trade from an FX Junction member when desired and you may suffer a loss as a result. We cannot be responsible for communication failures, distortions or delays when trading via the Internet
A high degree of leverage is obtainable in trading Margin FX contracts because of the small Margin requirements which can work against you as well as for you. The use of leverage can lead to large losses as well as large gains. The impact of leverage is that even a slight fluctuation in the market could mean substantial gains when these fluctuations are in your favour, but that could also mean considerable losses if the fluctuations are to your detriment.


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Spanish artist Oscar Parasiego creates Diaspora, a photographic series that illustrates the transformation and adaptation of individuals who emigrate to other countries in search of a better future.
At that point, there is a transition between the person we have been so far and the person we are going to be.
Inspired by his own move to the UK from Spain, Parasiego uses photography in order to literally depict the varying feelings and states of mind of immigrants as they seek comfort and stability in a brand new countries. Each of these 'portraits' are altered in order to only depict a silhouetted, invisible outline of the subject, one that interestingly reflects the environment around them. Through this technique, we are to assume that this person has seamlessly become part of their new environment. Their invisibility,tough positive in some ways, is telling of their struggles to be part of something new while also maintaining the old and familiar. We can say that by becoming part of this new environment (by blending in and becoming 'invisible'), he/she (the immigrant) risks loosing their 'true self' by assimilating to customs and enviroments that are not truly theirs.
Parasiego's work is telling of his struggles while transitioning to his new home. His experiences, and his renditions of them, nicely encapsulate the experiences of many (myself included). I moved to the U.S from Argentina about ten years ago, and my experiences in the first few years of living in the U.S felt significantly similar to those rendered in these photographs. Feeling invisible whilst trying to fit in by assimilation were two things that were hard to live through. Thankfully this state of mind, slowly but surely, went away, letting me became visible for who I was and for who I became once I was settled in my new home. (via Feature Shoot)
Oscar Parasiego Depicts The Alienation Of Immigrants In Ghost-Like Portraits appeared first on Beautiful/Decay.


text:
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Do business with Cuba + travel to Cuba trying to get paid = go to jail
The Miami Herald reports on Panamanian businessman Nessin Abadi, in his early 70s and owner of the large Audiofoto chain of electronics stores
, jailed without charges in Cuba for over a year, like many others,
Few of those cases "have been reported in the press and there are many more in the system than is widely known," [Stephen] Purvis wrote. "As they are all still either waiting for charges, trial or sentencing they will certainly not be talking to the press."
Purvis also appeared to indicate that Cuba targeted certain businessmen in order to make room for deals with businessmen from other countries that are more politically in tune with Havana and may not push so hard for their debts to be paid.
Purvis wrote to The Economist that the jailed businessmen are from several countries, "although representatives from Brazil, Venezuela and China were conspicuous by their absence."
Stephen Purvis's company, as you may recall, Coral Capital, was behind the Bellomonte Golf and Country Club development, which lost £10.6 million. He spent 16 months in jail and was released last July, along with Amado Fakhre, who was the company's executive director.
The Herald mentions others,
Canadian Sarkis Yacoubian was sentenced to nine years in a prison in June even though he cooperated with authorities in detailing a corruption scheme that also brought down several government officials. His cousin and business partner, Krikor Bayassalian, a Lebanese citizen, was sentenced to four years in prison.
Still awaiting trial is another Canadian, Cy Tokmakjian, who like Yacoubian sold transportation and other equipment to the Cuban government. He was arrested in 2011.
Abadi is not the first Panamanian businessman to run afoul in Cuba.
Alejandro Abood, then 50, was arrested in Havana in 2001 in what an El Nuevo Herald report at the time described as a roundup of Cubans and foreigners suspected of spying activities close to the offices of then-ruler Fidel Castro.
Purvis asserts that "there are many more in the system than is widely known." You can read his letter to The Economist here.


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The Semipalatinsk Test Site ("The Polygon") was the primary nuclear testing site for the Soviet Union. It's about 150 kilometres west of the town Semey (named Semipalatinsk until 2007). The place was selected in 1947 by Lavrentiy Beria, head of the Soviet atomic bomb project, who claimed the huge steppe region was totally uninhabited. It wasn't, but nobody cared. Workers from Gulag camps were brought in to build a big complex of buildings and laboratories. Here's what happened.
Now Kazakhstan, formerly Soviet Union
(via Wikimedia Commons 1 - 2)
The first Soviet atomic bomb with its chief designer Yulii Borisovich Khariton
The RDS-1 (codename: First Lightning, but the Americans called it Joe-1, in reference to Stalin) was detonated here on 29 August 1949 – without evacuating the nearby cities and villages. The Soviet Union became the second nation to successfully develop a nuclear bomb, but this project made a terrible impact on the local people.
(via Twoday.net)
The explosion of the Joe-1
(via Wikimedia Commons)
The Joe-4, the first thermonuclear weapon test in USSR, exploded on August 12, 1953
It detonated with a force equivalent to 400 kilotons of TNT. (1,700 TJ) It was the "layer cake" (Sloika) model: fission and fusion fuel (lithium-6 deutheride) were "layered" here, similar to the never-tested Edward Teller design.
(via Nuclear Weapon Archive)
456 tests in four decades
Between 1949 and 1989 this place saw 456 nuclear tests, including 340 underground and 116 atmospheric explosions with mushroom clouds. These were roughly the equivalent of 2500 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The Soviets conducted these tests without any regard for the effects on the local environment or the almost quarter-million inhabitants of the area.
On the picture: Russian Atomic Weapon Museum, with the Joe-4, Joe-2 and Joe-1, (left to right)
(via Nuclear Weapon Archive)
The early bombs were "dirty", so there is a really huge amount of plutonium on the fields
The big, aircraft wing-like things named "geese" and other buildings without window glass were built to measure the shockwaves of explosions.
(via Gregory Bedenko/Voxpopuli)
Atomic lakes everywhere
The biggest had a 1640 ft (500 m) diameter and 260 ft (80 m) maximum depth, formed in 1965. "That lake is void of any living creature. Fish can't live there," said local farmer Aiken Akimbekov.
(via Gregory Bedenko/Voxpopuli)
Children with genetic diseases, leukemia, infertility, and cancer are really common here. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the birth of Kazakhstan, in the Summer of 1991, the site was closed. But a tenth of the country's total population – nearly 1.5 million people – have health problems. Lots of poor people still live in the most dangerous zone in a semi-nomadic way and sell the remaining scrap metal for money. One in every 20 children in the area is born with serious deformities, and half of them can't reach the age of 60.
(via Gregory Bedenko/Voxpopuli)
The Chagan River
The drinking water from the nearest contaminated river has almost one hundred times more tritium than the recommended limit.
(via Gregory Bedenko/Voxpopuli)
"It smelt… you know, like hair. Like hair burning. The smell came back from the earth every time it rained." – said a local woman, Makysh Iskakova.
(via Ed Ou / Under A Nuclear Cloud)
"I was working in a medical institute, teaching chemistry. Almost every day, announcements on the radio at noon would say: 'Now there is going to be a test of nuclear weapons.' Everything would shake. The windows in my classroom were shattered by the shockwave from one of the blasts." — Yevdokia Matushkina
(via Ed Ou / Under A Nuclear Cloud)
"When I was blinded from the blast, my uncle took me to see the doctor and the doctor said it was my own fault that I looked at the bright light from the explosion. — Yevdokia Matushkina
(via Ed Ou / Under A Nuclear Cloud)
Most of these newborns were abandoned and left for the local orphanages in the nearest cities.
(via Ed Ou / Under A Nuclear Cloud)
Outside and inside the center of the test site, 20 years after its close, 2011
(via Gregory Bedenko/Voxpopuli)


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Associated Press//October 1, 2012
//October 1, 2012
WASHINGTON — American Express is paying $112.5 million in refunds and fines to settle regulators' accusations that it charged unlawful late fees and deceived customers to pressure them to pay off old debts or buy extra credit card services.
The company agreed to the settlements announced Monday by four federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Utah regulators.
American Express is refunding $85 million to about 250,000 customers and is paying $27.5 million in civil fines.
The agencies said American Express violated federal laws prohibiting deceptive practices by using false statements to get customers to settle old debts. The regulators say that included falsely telling customers that if they agreed to settlements to partially pay off their debts, the remaining balance would be forgiven.
The violations were said to have occurred from 2003 to this past spring.
The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, said in a statement that the company violated consumer-protection laws "at all stages of the game — from the moment a consumer shopped for a card to the moment the consumer got a phone call about long overdue debt."
American Express also charged late fees on some credit cards based on a percentage of the debt owed, a violation of a 2009 law prohibiting certain credit card practices, the regulators said.
They said customers were sometimes led to believe they would get $300 as well as bonus points if they signed up for Amex's "Blue Sky" credit card program. Customers who met the conditions didn't receive the promised $300, according to the agencies.
In addition, they said the company:
—Unlawfully discriminated against consumers applying for new card accounts on the basis of age.
—Failed to report customer disputes over billing to the consumer-credit reporting agencies.
New York-based American Express also agreed to end the practices and to hire independent auditors to ensure the company's compliance with consumer-protection laws.
The company said most of the $85 million in refunds is related to late fees and debt collection practices. Customers entitled to refunds will be notified as soon as possible, it said.
Amex also said in a statement that it has put together plans to correct each of the violations cited by the regulators. "The company is strengthening its internal compliance processes and will continue to work closely with its regulators," the statement said.
Amex also noted that it has previously set aside reserves to cover a large part of the refunds and fines.
Also reaching settlements with the company were the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a Treasury Department agency that regulates national banks.
Federal regulators are examining the sale of add-on credit card products in the financial industry overall.
The alleged violations by Amex were discovered during a routine examination of the company's bank subsidiary by the FDIC and the Utah banking agency, the regulators said Monday. Parts of the investigation then were transferred to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
That agency, which began operations last year, was created by the 2010 financial overhaul law to protect consumers from excessive or hidden fees and other financial threats. Its settlement with Amex is its fourth public enforcement action. Last week, the consumer bureau and the FDIC announced an agreement by Discover Bank to pay millions in fees to resolve accusations that it pressured credit card customers to buy costly add-on services like payment protection and credit monitoring.P


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Colourful Bush
From Starbounder - Starbound Wiki
Unobtainable Object
Colourful Bush is an object unobtainable by players through normal means. This item's information is present in the game files, but not intended by developers to be in players' possession.
Colourful Bush is a breakable object found in Colourful mini-biomes. It drops plant fibres when broken.
Racial Descriptions
|Apex :
|Such foliage fails to impress me.
|Avian :
|What an attractive bush.
|Floran :
|Isss this plant or Floran? Floran prod to check.
|Glitch :
|Inspired. A truly beautiful bush.
|Human :
|This would look nice in a pot.
|Hylotl :
|Nature is the purest artist.
|Novakid :
|I think this bush has got a pretty high opinion of itself.
- Perturbed Koala: Added
- Rampaging Koala: Changed appearance
- Pleased Giraffe: Removed price
File Details


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1866 Plat
Here is downtown Portland oriented to the river. As the development went north they gave up and oriented to the compass point. Everything else is oriented to the compass point. However, they did take the same pattern, the 200 x 200-foot blocks with 60-foot streets. These are relatively narrow streets and very small blocks compared to many other cities. We do not have any historical explanation for the small block size. The east side got started when the Southern Pacific Railroad decided they were going to come into the area. It was easier for them to come in on the east bank rather than get through or by the West Hills. For a while it looked as though East Portland might become a new major city.


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The Artist in Residence (AIR) Program at Recology King County is a unique art and education program that provides King County artists with access to discarded materials, a stipend, and a studio space at the Recology recycling facility. Modeled after the Artist in Residence Program at Recology San Francisco, Recology King County hopes to encourage people to conserve natural resources and promote new ways of thinking about art and the environment, by supporting artists who work with recycled materials.
During their residencies, artists have scavenging privileges and access to the company's art studio. Artists speak to school classes and adult tour groups about the experience of working with recycled materials. At the conclusion of their residency, Recology hosts a public exhibition and reception for the artists featuring the artwork made during their residency. When the residency ends, artists contribute artwork to the program's permanent collection and these pieces continue to be shown in off-site exhibitions that promote recycling and reuse.
Program Mission:
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FRIDAY, Dec. 3, 2010 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women with epilepsy who are taking carbamazepine (Tegretol) to control seizures may be at a slightly increased risk of having an infant with spina bifida, a new study finds.
Spina bifida is a condition in which the bones of the spine do not close but the spinal cord remains in place, usually with skin covering the defect. Most children will need lifelong treatment for problems arising from damage to the spinal cord and spinal nerves.
"For women with epilepsy, seizure control during pregnancy is very important," said lead researcher Lolkje de Jong-van den Berg, from the division of pharmacy at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. "Our study can help in decisions regarding whether carbamazepine should be the drug of choice in pregnancy."
However, the best option regarding treatment can be chosen only on an individual basis by the woman and her neurologist before pregnancy, weighing the benefits of epilepsy control against the risk of birth defects, de Jong-van den Berg said.
The report is published in the Dec. 3 online edition of the BMJ.
For the study, de Jong-van den Berg's team reviewed existing research to determine the risk of birth defects among women taking Tegretol.
The researchers found that infants of women taking Tegretol were 2.6 times more likely to have spina bifida, compared with women not taking any anti-epileptic medication.
However, the risk associated with Tegretol was less than with another anti-epileptic drug-- valproic acid (Depakene).
In fact, Tegretol was less risky than valproic acid when it came to other birth defects such as hypospadias, where a boy's urinary opening develops in the wrong part of the penis or in the scrotum.
"Carbamazepine is specifically related to an increased risk of spina bifida," de Jong-van den Berg said. "But you have to keep in mind that the absolute risk is small."
For Tegretol taken in the first trimester, the overall risk of a major malformation was 3.3 percent, the study authors reported.
The same group of researchers found in another study, published this year in the New England Journal of Medicine, that women taking valproic acid were six times more likely to have an infant with spina bifida and seven times more likely have an infant with hypospadias, compared with women using other anti-epileptic drugs.
The researchers agree with a recommendation from the American Academy of Neurology that valproic acid should be avoided in pregnancy if possible.
Dr. Orrin Devinsky, director of the Epilepsy Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, said that "for women of childbearing age, these drugs represent a risk."
Women need to balance the risk and benefit of these drugs, he explained. Women with epilepsy need to stay on an anti-epileptic drug while they are pregnant, Devinsky said.
"The risk of seizure to themselves and potentially to their fetus is greater than the risk of anti-epileptic drugs," he added.
There are alternative drugs, specifically lamotrigine (Lamictal) and levetiracetam (Keppra). However, there is little data on any dangers associated with these drugs during pregnancy, Devinsky noted.
Another expert, Dr. Kimford Meador, a professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine, said women need to know the risks associated with Tegretol.
"If a woman is of childbearing potential and you are prescribing this drug, that's when the conversation needs to occur," Meador said.
More information
For more information on epilepsy, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.


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A Nation of Deadbeats
By Scott Reynolds Nelson
By Scott Reynolds Nelson
By Scott Reynolds Nelson
By Scott Reynolds Nelson
Category: U.S. History | Economics | Management
Category: U.S. History | Economics | Management
Mr. Gatling's Terrible Marvel
Remaking the World
Through the Perilous Fight
JFK and the Reagan Revolution
Engineers of Dreams
Manifest Destinies
Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers
Time Lord
The Toothpick
Praise for Scott Reynolds Nelson's A Nation of Deadbeats
"A fascinating historical narrative. . . . This revisionist account is eminently readable, in large part because Nelson offers flesh-and-blood examples rather than relying on abstractions."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Lucid. . . . This astute account of economic disruption and disaster through the Great Depression is a useful and engaging perspective on our propensity for repeating our financial mistakes."
—Publishers Weekly
"This might not qualify as 100% pure revisionist history, but it is certainly unconventional history, and hooray for that. . . . History focusing on the losers instead of the winners is especially effective. . . . A Nation of Deadbeats is especially timely, coming as it does during a nationwide and worldwide economic slowdown of at least four years duration and counting. . . . Even if those debtors are sometimes the victims of circumstances beyond their total control, they nonetheless can start ripples in the economy that become tidal waves."
—USA Today
"Exceptionally readable. . . . [Nelson] has painstakingly extracted the sensational details from the mucky ore of the history of financial crises in the U.S., welding them together. . . . Well worth reading—particularly as it is larded with entertaining characters and powerful citations."
—New York Journal of Books
21 Books You've Been Meaning to Read
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12 September 2023
12 September 2023
Brian Cassin
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We unlock the power of data to create opportunities for people, business and society. At life's big moments – from buying a home or a car, to sending a child to college, to growing your business by connecting it with new customers – we help you to manage your data with confidence so you can make the most of every opportunity.
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We protect and manage our data securely and responsibly. Data quality and accuracy is fundamental to our business.
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We strive to create a great place to work for our people.
We help businesses provide great customer experiences by managing and analysing data that will help them solve problems, drive better decisions and outcomes, and prevent fraud.
We help millions of people in the USA, Brazil, UK, Colombia, India, Peru and South Africa to better manage and improve their financial position, and help to protect themselves against fraud and identity theft.
Experian is the world's leading global information services company. At life's big moments – from buying a home or car, to sending a child to college, to growing a business by connecting it with new customers – we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence.
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German language
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German language, German Deutsch, official language of both Germany and Austria and one of the official languages of Switzerland. German belongs to the West Germanic group of the Indo-European language family, along with English, Frisian, and Dutch (Netherlandic, Flemish).
The recorded history of Germanic languages begins with their speakers' first contact with the Romans, in the 1st century bce. At that time and for several centuries thereafter, there was only a single "Germanic" language, with little more than minor dialect differences. Only after about the 6th century ce can one speak of a "German" (i.e., High German) language.
German is an inflected language with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative), three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), and strong and weak verbs. Altogether, German is the native language of more than 90 million speakers and thus ranks among the languages with the most native speakers worldwide. German is widely studied as a foreign language and is one of the main cultural languages of the Western world.
As a written language, German is quite uniform; it differs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland no more than written English does in the United States and the British Commonwealth. As a spoken language, however, German exists in many dialects, most of which belong to either the High German or Low German dialectal groups. The main difference between High and Low German is in the sound system, especially in the consonants. High German, the language of the southern highlands of Germany, is the official written language.
High German (Hochdeutsch)
Old High German, a group of dialects for which there was no standard literary language, was spoken until about 1100 in the highlands of southern Germany. During Middle High German times (after 1100), a standard language based on the Upper German dialects (Alemannic and Bavarian) in the southernmost part of the German speech area began to arise. Middle High German was the language of an extensive literature that includes the early 13th-century epic Nibelungenlied.
Modern standard High German is descended from the Middle High German dialects and is spoken in the central and southern highlands of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is used as the language of administration, higher education, literature, and the mass media in the Low German speech area as well. Standard High German is based on, but not identical with, the Middle German dialect used by Martin Luther in his 16th-century translation of the Bible. Within the modern High German speech area, Middle and Upper German dialect groups are differentiated, the latter group including Austro-Bavarian, Alemannic (Swiss German), and High Franconian.
Low German (Plattdeutsch, or Niederdeutsch)
Low German, with no single modern literary standard, is the spoken language of the lowlands of northern Germany. It developed from Old Saxon and the Middle Low German speech of the citizens of the Hanseatic League. The language supplied the Scandinavian languages with many loanwords, but, with the decline of the league, Low German declined as well.
Although the numerous Low German dialects are still spoken in the homes of northern Germany and a small amount of literature is written in them, no standard Low German literary or administrative language exists.
Other major dialects
Alemannic dialects, which developed in the southwestern part of the Germanic speech area, differ considerably in sound system and grammar from standard High German. These dialects are spoken in Switzerland, western Austria, Swabia, and Liechtenstein and in the Alsace region of France. Yiddish, the language of the Ashkenazic Jews (Jews whose ancestors lived in Germany in the European Middle Ages), also developed from High German.The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica