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Michigan's "rape-shield" statute generally prohibits a criminal defendant from introducing at trial evidence of an alleged rape victim's past sexual conduct. However, a statutory exception permits a defendant to introduce evidence of his own past sexual conduct with the victim, provided that he files a written motion and an offer of proof within 10 days after he is arraigned, whereupon the trial court may hold an in camera hearing to determine whether the proposed evidence is admissible. Because respondent Lucas failed to give the statutorily required notice and, therefore, no admissibility hearing was held, a state court refused to let him introduce, at his bench trial on charges of criminal sexual assault, evidence of a prior sexual relationship with the victim, his ex-girlfriend. He was convicted and sentenced to prison, but the State Court of Appeals reversed, adopting a per se rule that the statutory notice-and-hearing requirement violates the Sixth Amendment in all cases where it is used to preclude evidence of a past sexual relationship between a rape victim and a criminal defendant.
O'CONNOR, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which REHNQUIST, C.J., and WHITE, SCALIA, KENNEDY, and SOUTER, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, [500 U.S. 145, 146] J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, post p. 153. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which MARSHALL, J., joined, post, p. 155.
Don W. Atkins argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the brief were John D. O'Hair and Timothy A. Baughman.
Solicitor General Starr argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae urging reversal. With him on the brief were Assistant Attorney General Mueller, Deputy Solicitor General Bryson, Michael R. Dreeben, and Sean Connelly.
Mark H. Magidson argued the cause for respondent. *
[ Footnote * ] Arthur J. Tarnow filed a brief for Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan as amicus curiae urging affirmance.
JUSTICE O'CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
Because Nolan Lucas failed to give statutorily required notice of his intention to present evidence of an alleged rape victim's past sexual conduct, a Michigan trial court refused to let him present the evidence at trial. The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed, adopting a per se rule that preclusion of evidence of a rape victim's prior sexual relationship with a criminal defendant violates the Sixth Amendment. We consider the propriety of this per se rule.
Like most States, Michigan has a "rape-shield" statute designed to protect victims of rape from being exposed at trial to harassing or irrelevant questions concerning their past sexual behavior. See Mich. Comp. Laws 750.520j (1979).Fn [500 U.S. 145, 147] This statute prohibits a criminal defendant from introducing at trial evidence of an alleged rape victim's past sexual conduct, subject to two exceptions. One of the exceptions is relevant here. It permits a defendant to introduce evidence of his own past sexual conduct with the victim, provided that he follows certain procedures. Specifically, a defendant who plans to present such evidence must file a written motion and an offer of proof "within 10 days" after he is arraigned. The trial court may hold "an in camera hearing to determine whether the proposed evidence is admissible" - i.e., whether the evidence is material and not more prejudicial than probative.
Lucas was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct. The State maintained that Lucas had used a knife to force Wanda Brown, his ex-girlfriend, into his apartment, where he beat her and forced her to engage in several nonconsensual sex acts. At no time did Lucas file a written motion and offer of proof, as required by the statute. At the start of trial, however, Lucas' counsel asked the trial court to permit the defense to present evidence of a prior sexual relationship between Brown and Lucas, "even though I know it goes against the Statute." App. 4. [500 U.S. 145, 148]
The trial court reviewed the statute, then denied the motion, stating that "[n]one of the requirements set forth in [the statute] have been complied with." Id., at 7-8. The court explained that Lucas' request was not made within the time required by Michigan law and that, as a result, no in camera hearing had been held to determine whether the past sexual conduct evidence was admissible. A bench trial then began, in which Lucas' defense was consent. The trial court did not credit his testimony. The court found Lucas guilty on two counts of criminal sexual assault and sentenced him to a prison term of 44 to 180 months.
The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed. Relying on People v. Williams, 95 Mich. App. 1, 289 N.W.2d 863 (1980), rev'd on other grounds, 416 Mich. 25, 330 N.W.2d 823 (1982), the Court of Appeals held that the State's notice-and-hearing requirement is unconstitutional in all cases where it is used to preclude evidence of past sexual conduct between a rape victim and a criminal defendant. 160 Mich. App. 692, 694-695, 408 N.W.2d 431, 432 (1987). The court quoted language from Williams stating that the requirement "`serve[s] no useful purpose'" in such cases, and therefore is insufficient to justify interference with a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. 160 Mich. App. at 695, 408 N.W.2d at 432, quoting Williams, supra, 95 Mich.App. at 10, 289 N.W.2d at 867. Williams surmised that the purpose of the notice-and-hearing requirement is "`to allow the prosecution to investigate the validity of a defendant's claim so as to better prepare to combat it at trial.'" 160 Mich. App. at 694, 408 N.W.2d at 432, quoting Williams, supra, 95 Mich. App. at 10, 289 N.W.2d at 866. It concluded, however, that this rationale "`loses its logical underpinnings'" when applied to evidence of past sexual conduct between the victim and the defendant, because "`the very nature of the evidence . . . is personal between the parties,'" and therefore impossible to investigate. 160 Mich. App. at 694, 408 N.W.2d at 432, quoting Williams, supra, 95 Mich.App. at 10, 289 N.W.2d at 866-867. [500 U.S. 145, 149]
The Court of Appeals, relying on Williams, thus adopted a per se rule that the Michigan rape-shield statute is unconstitutional in a broad class of cases. Under this rule, a trial court would be unable to preclude past sexual conduct evidence even where a defendant's failure to comply with the notice-and-hearing requirement is a deliberate ploy to delay the trial, surprise the prosecution, or harass the victim. We granted certiorari, 498 U.S. 980 (1990), to determine whether the Michigan Court of Appeals' per se rule is consistent with our Sixth Amendment jurisprudence.
Michigan's rape-shield statute is silent as to the consequences of a defendant's failure to comply with the notice-and-hearing requirement. The trial court assumed, without explanation, that preclusion of the evidence was an authorized remedy. Assuming, arguendo, that the trial court was correct, the statute unquestionably implicates the Sixth Amendment. To the extent that it operates to prevent a criminal defendant from presenting relevant evidence, the defendant's ability to confront adverse witnesses and present a defense is diminished. This does not necessarily render the statute unconstitutional. "[T]he right to present relevant testimony is not without limitation. The right `may, in appropriate cases, bow to accommodate other legitimate interests in the criminal trial process.'" Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 55 (1987), quoting Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 295 (1973). We have explained, for example, that "trial judges retain wide latitude" to limit reasonably a criminal defendant's right to cross-examine a witness "based on concerns about, among other things, harassment, prejudice, confusion of the issues, the witness' safety, or interrogation that is repetitive or only marginally relevant." Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 679 (1986).
Lucas does not deny that legitimate state interests support the notice-and-hearing requirement. The Michigan statute [500 U.S. 145, 150] represents a valid legislative determination that rape victims deserve heightened protection against surprise, harassment, and unnecessary invasions of privacy. The statute also protects against surprise to the prosecution. Contrary to the Michigan Court of Appeals' statement that a notice requirement "`serve[s] no useful purpose'" when the victim is alleged to have had a prior sexual relationship with the defendant, 160 Mich. App. at 695, 408 N.W.2d at 432, quoting Williams, supra, 95 Mich. App. at 10, 289 N.W.2d at 867, the notice requirement permits a prosecutor to interview persons who know the parties and otherwise investigate whether such a prior relationship actually existed. When a prior sexual relationship is conceded, the notice-and-hearing procedure allows a court to determine in advance of trial whether evidence of the relationship "is material to a fact at issue in the case" and whether "its inflammatory or prejudicial nature . . . outweigh[s] its probative value." Mich. Comp. Laws 750.520j(1) (1979).
We have upheld notice requirements in analogous settings. In Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78 (1970), for example, this Court upheld a Florida rule that required a criminal defendant to notify the State in advance of trial of any alibi witnesses that he intended to call. The Court observed that the notice requirement "by itself in no way affected [the defendant's] crucial decision to call alibi witnesses. . . . At most, the rule only compelled [the defendant] to accelerate the timing of his disclosure, forcing him to divulge at an earlier date information that [he] planned to divulge at trial." Id., at 85. Accelerating the disclosure of this evidence did not violate the Constitution, the Court explained, because a criminal trial is not "a poker game in which players enjoy an absolute right always to conceal their cards until played." Id., at 82. In a subsequent decision, the Court described notice requirements as "a salutary development which, by increasing the evidence available to both parties, enhances the fairness of the [500 U.S. 145, 151] adversary system." Wardius v. Oregon, 412 U.S. 470, 474 (1973).
This does not mean, of course, that all notice requirements pass constitutional muster. Restrictions on a criminal defendant's rights to confront adverse witnesses and to present evidence "may not be arbitrary or disproportionate to the purposes they are designed to serve." Rock v. Arkansas, supra, 483 U.S., at 56 . It is not inconceivable that Michigan's notice requirement, which demands a written motion and an offer of proof to be filed within 10 days after arraignment, is overly restrictive. The State concedes that its notice period is the shortest in the Nation. Brief for Petitioner 38. This case does not require us to decide, however, whether Michigan's brief notice period is "arbitrary or disproportionate" to the State's legitimate interests. The Court of Appeals found the statute to be unconstitutional only insofar as it precluded evidence of a rape victim's prior sexual relationship with a defendant. Because the court expressed no view as to the brevity of the notice period, neither do we.
The sole question presented for our review is whether the legitimate interests served by a notice requirement can ever justify precluding evidence of a prior sexual relationship between a rape victim and a criminal defendant. The answer from the Michigan Court of Appeals was no; it adopted a per se rule prohibiting preclusion of this kind of evidence. This ruling cannot be squared with our cases.
We have indicated that probative evidence may, in certain circumstances, be precluded when a criminal defendant fails to comply with a valid discovery rule. In United States v. Nobles, 422 U.S. 225 (1975), for example, the defendant wished to put on the witness stand an investigator to testify about statements made to him during an investigation, but the defendant refused to comply with the District [500 U.S. 145, 152] Court's order to submit a copy of the investigator's report to the prosecution. The District Court therefore precluded the investigator from testifying, and this Court held that the District Court's "preclusion sanction was an entirely proper method of assuring compliance with its order." Id., at 241. Rejecting the defendant's Sixth Amendment claim, the Court explained that "[t]he Sixth Amendment does not confer the right to present testimony free from the legitimate demands of the adversarial system." Ibid.
Even more telling is Taylor v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 400 (1988). There, the defendant violated a state procedural rule by failing to identify a particular defense witness in response to a pretrial discovery request. The trial court sanctioned this violation by refusing to allow the undisclosed witness to testify. This Court rejected the defendant's argument that, under the Compulsory Process Clause of the Sixth Amendment, "preclusion is never a permissible sanction for a discovery violation." Id., at 414 (emphasis in original).
We did not hold in Taylor that preclusion is permissible every time a discovery rule is violated. Rather, we acknowledged that alternative sanctions would be "adequate and appropriate in most cases." Id., at 413. We stated explicitly, however that there could be circumstances in which preclusion was justified because a less severe penalty "would perpetuate, rather than limit, the prejudice to the State and the harm to the adversary process." Ibid. Taylor, we concluded, was such a case. The trial court found that Taylor's discovery violation amounted to "willful misconduct," and was designed to obtain "a tactical advantage." Id., at 417. Based on these findings, we determined that, "[r]egardless of whether prejudice to the prosecution could have been avoided" by a lesser penalty, "the severest sanction [wa]s appropriate." Ibid.
In light of Taylor and Nobles, the Michigan Court of Appeals erred in adopting a per se rule that Michigan's notice-and-hearing requirement violates the Sixth Amendment in all cases where it is used to preclude evidence of past sexual conduct between a rape victim and a defendant. The Sixth Amendment is not so rigid. The notice-and-hearing requirement [500 U.S. 145, 153] serves legitimate state interests in protecting against surprise, harassment, and undue delay. Failure to comply with this requirement may, in some cases, justify even the severe sanction of preclusion.
Recognizing our prior decisions, Lucas spends little time trying to defend the Court of Appeals' broad ruling. He argues primarily that preclusion was an unconstitutional penalty in this case because the circumstances here were not nearly as egregious as those in Taylor. He insists that the prosecution was not surprised to learn that the victim had a prior relationship with Lucas - she had admitted this in the preliminary hearing. Additionally, he contends that his failure to comply with the notice requirement was negligent, not willful.
We express no opinion as to whether or not preclusion was justified in this case. The Michigan Court of Appeals, whose decision we review here, did not address whether the trial court abused its discretion on the facts before it. Rather, the Court of Appeals adopted a per se rule that preclusion is unconstitutional in all cases where the victim had a prior sexual relationship with the defendant. That judgment was error. We leave it to the Michigan courts to address in the first instance whether Michigan's rape-shield statute authorizes preclusion and whether, on the facts of this case, preclusion violated Lucas' rights under the Sixth Amendment.
The judgment of the Michigan Court of Appeals is vacated and remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
Fn [500 U.S. 145, 146] The Michigan statute provides:
JUSTICE BLACKMUN, concurring in the judgment.
I concur in the judgment. I write separately because I was among those who dissented in Taylor v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 400 (1988), where the Court's majority rejected the argument that the Sixth Amendment prohibits the preclusion of otherwise admissible evidence as a sanction for the violation of a reciprocal discovery rule. [500 U.S. 145, 154]
In a separate dissent in Taylor, id. at 438, I specifically reserved judgment on the type of question presented in this case - whether preclusion might be a permissible sanction for noncompliance with a rule designed for a specific kind of evidence - based on my belief that the rule may embody legitimate state interests that differ substantially from the truthseeking interest underlying a reciprocal discovery rule. In my view, if the sanction of preclusion can be implemented to further those interests without unduly distorting the truthseeking process, the Sixth Amendment does not prohibit the sanction's use.
The notice-and-hearing requirement adopted by the State of Michigan represents, as respondent Lucas does not deny, "a valid legislative determination that rape victims deserve heightened protection against surprise, harassment, and unnecessary invasions of privacy." Ante at 150. In addition, a notice-and-hearing requirement is specifically designed to minimize trial delay by providing the trial court an opportunity to rule on the admissibility of the proffered evidence in advance of trial. Finally, as with a notice-of-alibi rule, the notice requirement in this Michigan statute represents a legislative attempt to identify a kind of evidence - evidence of past sexual conduct - with respect to which credibility determinations are likely to be dispositive, and to permit (or perhaps compel) the defendant and the State to gather and preserve evidence and testimony soon after the alleged offense, when memories of witnesses are fresh and vivid. It seems clear that these interests, unlike the State's interest in truthseeking, may in some cases be advanced by imposition of the sanction of preclusion, and that the sanction therefore would not constitute an arbitrary response to the failure to comply. See Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 56 (1987).
Of course, the State's interest in the full and truthful disclosure of critical facts remains of paramount concern in the criminal trial process, and it may be that, in most cases, preclusion will be "disproportionate to the purposes [the [500 U.S. 145, 155] rule is] designed to serve." Ibid. Nonetheless, I agree with the Court that failure to comply with the notice-and-hearing requirement of Michigan's rape-shield statute "may in some cases justify even the severe sanction of preclusion." Ante, at 153.
JUSTICE STEVENS, with whom JUSTICE MARSHALL joins, dissenting.
Because the judgment entered by the Michigan Court of Appeals in this case was unquestionably correct, I would affirm. The fact that a state court's opinion could have been written more precisely than it was is not, in my view, a sufficient reason for either granting certiorari or requiring the state court to write another opinion. We sit not as an editorial board of review, but rather as an appellate court. Our task is limited to reviewing "judgments, not opinions." Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842 (1984); see Black v. Cutter Laboratories, 351 U.S. 292, 297 -298 (1956); see also K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 485 U.S. 176, 185 (1988).
In this case, I am not at all sure that the Michigan Court of Appeals adopted the "per se" rule that this Court describes in its opinion. See ante at 146, 149, 151, 152. In its per curiam, the state court never uses the word "per se," never mentions the Federal Constitution, 1 and indeed, never cites any federal cases. Rather, the Michigan Court of Appeals simply holds [500 U.S. 145, 156] that the trial court's preclusion of potentially relevant evidence in reliance on an unconstitutional notice provision in a limited class of rape cases requires a new trial. 2 The notice provision at issue here requires a defendant who intends to introduce evidence of a victim's past sexual relations with him to give notice within 10 days after arraignment on the information. Mich. Comp. Laws 750.520j (1991). As both petitioner and respondent acknowledge, "Michigan appears to be the only State which requires the notice to be filed `within 10 days after the arraignment on the information. . . .'" Brief for Petitioner 38. Other States and the Federal Government simply require that notice be filed at various times before the start of the trial. Ibid.; see Brief for Respondent 29, and n. 24.
Although the Court of Appeals does not explicitly rely on the unduly strict time period ("10 days after arraignment") provided by the statute, it does hold that "the ten-day notice provision" is unconstitutional when used to preclude testimony [500 U.S. 145, 157] of a victim's past sexual relationship with the defendant. 160 Mich. App. 692, 694, 408 N.W.2d 431, 432 (1987); id., at 695, 408 N.W.2d at 432, quoting Peopler v. Williams, 95 Mich. App. 1, 11, 289 N.W.2d 863, 867 (1980), rev'd on other grounds, 416 Mich. 25, 330 N.W.2d 823 (1982). Because the 10-day requirement, in my view, and possibly in the majority's view, see ante at 151, is overly restrictive, the use of that notice requirement to preclude evidence of a prior sexual relationship between the defendant and victim clearly provides adequate support for the Court of Appeals' holding that the statute is unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals, however, discusses the second theory more fully than the first, and therefore, I address it as well.
As I read the Court of Appeals' per curiam, as well as its earlier opinion in People v. Williams, in the class of rape cases in which the victim and the defendant have had a prior sexual relationship, evidence of this relationship may be relevant when the defendant raises the defense of consent. The Court of Appeals reasoned that, in such a situation, the in camera hearing does not play a useful role; rather, it is likely to become a contest of the victim's word against the defendant's word, with the judge reaching his decision based upon his assessment of the credibility of each, and that decision is better left to the jury. 95 Mich. App. at 9, 289 N.W.2d at 866. As the Court of Appeals explained by quoting extensively from Williams, when surprise is not an issue 3 because both victim and defendant have had a prior relationship, and do not need to gather additional witnesses to develop that information, 4 then notice "`in this situation . . . would serve no [500 U.S. 145, 158] useful purpose.'" 160 Mich. App. at 695, 408 N.W.2d at 432 (quoting Williams, 95 Mich. App., at 10, 289 N.W.2d, at 867).
The rule that the Michigan Court of Appeals adopts, in which it generally assumes that preclusion is an unnecessarily harsh remedy for violating this statute's particularly strict notice requirement when the defendant and victim have had a past relationship and the defendant is raising the defense of consent, not only is reasonable, but also is consistent with our opinion in Taylor v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 400 (1988). 5 Although in Taylor we held that the preclusion sanction was appropriate, we did so because, in Taylor, it was "plain that the case fits into the category of willful misconduct in which the severest sanction is appropriate." Id., at 417. Of course, in those cases in which there is strong reason to believe that the violation of a rule was designed to facilitate the fabrication of [500 U.S. 145, 159] false testimony, an exception to the general rule can be fashioned. I find nothing in the Michigan Court of Appeals' opinion in this case that would preclude an exceptional response to an exceptional case. See id. at 416-417 (preclusion may be appropriate if the violation was the product of willful misconduct, or was purposely planned to obtain a tactical advantage). Although the Michigan Court of Appeals' opinion may be less precise than it should have been, I do not believe it went so far as to adopt the "per se" straw man that the Court has decided to knock down today.
Because I am convinced that the Court of Appeals correctly held that this unique Michigan statute is unconstitutional, I would affirm its judgment.
[ Footnote 2 ] The court's holding is summarized in the following portion of its opinion:
[ Footnote 3 ] In this case in particular the prosecutor did not claim surprise because most of the excluded evidence had been adduced at the preliminary hearing.
[ Footnote 4 ] The Court of Appeals was careful to distinguish this situation from the situation in Williams in which the four defendants sought to introduce evidence of prior sexual conduct between the victim and one of the defendants as evidence that the victim would consent to sex with all of the defendants. The Court of Appeals noted that the Michigan Supreme Court had found [500 U.S. 145, 158] "this premise untenable." 160 Mich.App., at 695, 408 N.W.2d, at 432. The Williams court, like the Court of Appeals here, acknowledged the validity of the notice requirement as applied to "sexual conduct between a complainant and third persons." People v. Williams, 95 Mich. App., at 10, 289 N.W.2d, at 866; see 160 Mich. App., at 695, 408 N.W.2d at 432.
[ Footnote 5 ] It should be noted that in Illinois, the sanction of preclusion is reserved for only the most extreme cases. In People v. Rayford, 43 Ill. App. 3d 283, 356 N.E.2d 1274 (1976), the Illinois Appellate Court explained:
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text:
Border restoration's odd couple
Law enforcement and environmentalists are working together to save southwestern Arizona wetlands
IN THE BORDERLANDS of southwestern Arizona lie the remains of Hunters Hole, a clump of tangled marshland sprawling across the lower Colorado River. This 440-acre wetland just south of Yuma was once so full of ducks people couldn't sleep for all the quacking, and an angler could snare a fish so fat it filled a frying pan. Cocopah Indians relied on the bounty of Hunters Hole in days when the only line separating the United States from Mexico was the river itself. As new settlers moved in, the area became a cross-cultural meeting place, where German farmers fished and hunted alongside tribal members.
"It was a way of life," says Cocopah elder Colin Soto, "not just for Cocopah, but for everybody."
That life faded over the last century as the once-full flows of the Colorado turned to little more than a trickle; invasive trees overran the shores, and communities changed. Rather than a place teeming with flotillas of birds and fish, Hunters Hole became a dense thicket of tamarisk, littered with the occasional old car, discarded shoes and bullet shells. It became a forgotten place, where bandits and illegal immigrants hid amid the brush. "That camaraderie, the social ties didn't really exist anymore," says Soto. "It all dwindled down to nothing without anyone really noticing."
Now, almost 30 groups, ranging from the Cocopah Indian Tribe to the U.S. Border Patrol, are teaming up to rescue this degraded habitat and rid it of crime. This effort entails the unlikely marriage of habitat restoration and national security. "I guess we all have the same goal in mind," says Arizona Border Patrol supervisory agent Carlos Dominguez. "Restore the area and make it safer."
That common ground has not always existed. The Border Patrol has been criticized for tearing up the desert as it pursues illegal immigrants. And while a proposed border fence could keep out border crossers who litter and trample sensitive ecosystems, it would also close important wildlife corridors.
Occasionally, the Border Patrol has helped with restoration, but mostly in a peripheral sense. Earlier this summer, Dominguez was one of several agents cleaning up trash along the California border, and recently, Arizona-based Border Patrol agents guarded workers as they cleared roughly 100 acres of non-native vegetation from the Cocopah Tribe's western reservation.
The Hunters Hole project significantly advances the Border Patrol's role in restoring borderland habitat. Planners see the project as a possible alternative to "the fence," as well as a way to foster more environmentally friendly patrolling efforts.
THE PROJECT IS COMING NONE TOO SOON. Crime has invaded the lower Colorado as though it were a derelict urban neighborhood. At least two people a year have been murdered there since 2004, and during the last year and a half alone, there were more than 250 armed robberies involving at least 1,500 victims, says Yuma County Sheriff Lieutenant David McBride, an eightfold increase from the previous year. Most of those victims, he says, are illegal immigrants.
But police officers have also fallen prey to area bandits: Since 2005, 20 have been injured, and there have been more than 50 assaults on officers. Twenty-foot-high walls of tangled branches mask people standing 10 feet away, says Dominguez, making bandits virtually invisible. "I wouldn't send my worst enemy down there to hunt or fish," agrees lead restoration planner Fred Phillips. "Hunters Hole is rampant with crime."
Violence and the lack of strong partnerships hindered previous restoration efforts. But now, the Border Patrol and the Yuma County sheriff have agreed to provide protection to researchers and other volunteers as they work in the field. "In order to restore Hunters Hole, we're going to have to secure it," says Dominguez.
THE EFFORT TO CLEAN UP Hunters Hole is modeled on the nearby Yuma East Wetlands project, a roughly 1,400-acre wetland adjacent to town. Though situated farther from the border than Hunters Hole, the Yuma East Wetlands exhibited similar problems - a degraded and trashed wetland, harboring vagrants and illegal activity.
The marsh is an important Quechan tribal area, and in late 2005, the tribe began working with Phillips and other collaborators, including the Yuma Crossing Natural Heritage Area, on restoration. In contrast to the sluggish pace of many environmental recovery efforts, sections of East Yuma were transformed in little more than a year, with native cattail marshes and flocks of migratory birds replacing tangles of salt cedar and trash. One can now visit areas like Ibis Lake Marsh to watch great egrets tip-toeing amongst the reeds.
Hunters Hole should be similar, except that along with restoring the wetland, crews will also incorporate patrol routes and levees into the landscape, melding security into the natural environment.
Restoration crews will excavate five miles of existing canal swamped by invasive vegetation and replant its banks with native cattail, bulrush and mesquite. Groundwater wells will re-supply water to the dried-out wetlands as well as to a 60-foot-wide channel running the length of Hunters Hole. And native vegetation will blanket the entire area, opening the view to illegal activity and providing habitat for wildlife, such as the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher and Yuma clapper rail.
Phillips estimates the project's cost to be about $7 million, funded primarily through grants. He has already received almost $200,000 from sources such as the Yuma Crossing Natural Heritage Area, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Walton Family Foundation. Restoration, says Phillips, should be under way by early 2008.
In the meantime, Cocopah elder Soto looks forward to a day when wildlife returns to Hunters Hole, and the river near his home is once again filled with fish. For him, restoration is a necessity, a treasure beyond all price: "We have a saying," he says. "If the river dies, we die."
The author has just completed her time as an HCN intern.


text:
You may think an image of rotting teeth and a mouth lesion are gross. But the U.S. government says it's just what you need to kick the habit.
Cigarette packs in the U.S. will soon feature new warning labels with graphic images of the negative health effects of smoking, including diseased lungs and the sewn-up corpse of a smoker. The U.S. government hopes the new warnings will discourage smoking, but smokers and nonsmokers alike question whether the ads are too gory.
"Somebody said when they first saw the warnings, 'These are really gross.' And they are," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said at a White House briefing. "We want kids to understand smoking is gross __ not cool __ and there's really nothing pretty about having mouth cancer."
The labels, which were released on Tuesday, are a part of a campaign by the Food and Drug Administration that aims to convey the dangers of tobacco, which is responsible for about 443,000 deaths in the U.S. a year.
The warnings, which must appear on cigarette packs by the fall of 2012, include several images that could be seen as shocking to some __ and disturbing to others. Among the images: A man with a tracheotomy smoking, a mother holding her baby with smoke swirling around them and a man with an oxygen mask. The labels also feature phrases like "Smoking can kill you" and "Cigarettes cause cancer." They will take up the top half — both front and back — of a pack of cigarettes and be featured in advertisements.
Some consumers on Tuesday said that they were concerned that the images on the new labels were too explicit for children and others who might come across them in store aisles.
Zenobia Marder, a nonsmoker and high school student from New York City, was startled when she looked at some of the labels. "Oh my God!" screamed the 15-year-old.
Ashley Johnson, 21, of Cincinnati, had a similar reaction. "They look so bad," says Johnson, who has been smoking for about a year. "I think that when people see these pictures, they might put the cigarettes back and get something else instead."
Warning labels first appeared on U.S. cigarette packs in 1965, and current warning labels that feature a small box with text were put on cigarette packs in the mid-1980s. Changes to more graphic warning labels that feature color images of the negative effects of tobacco use were mandated in a law passed in 2009 that, for the first time, gave the federal government authority to regulate tobacco.
Tobacco companies and others have argued graphic warnings like the nine new labels may cross the line of social acceptability.
In comments to the FDA, some tobacco companies argued the "shock and awe" of the labels have been used in numerous ideological debates like when anti-abortion protesters display photographs of aborted fetuses or animal-rights activists display photographs of mutilated animals.
"Although such images illustrate actual effects of abortions and actual animal treatment, no one would contend that they are 'purely factual and uncontroversial,'" Reynolds American Inc., parent company of America's second-largest cigarette maker, R.J. Reynolds; No. 3 cigarette maker Lorillard Inc.; and No. 4 cigarette company Commonwealth Brands Inc., told the FDA. The companies also are part of a federal lawsuit that in part deals with the legality of the new labels.
Cigarette labels with more graphic images could also concern some retailers; customers who may be offended or disgusted by the packs behind the counter may take their business elsewhere.
"You're going to run into people that will not necessarily like this," said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, a group representing an industry that gets about 160 million transactions each day. "When somebody's hungry, they get something to eat. When somebody's thirsty, they get something to drink, and we just want to make sure that when they go in, they still want to get that."
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged that the labels are "frank, honest and powerful depictions" aimed at making tobacco-related death and disease part of the nation's past. Marketing and tobacco control experts say that's what's needed.
"It's clear to us that the stronger, the more graphic, the better," said Jeremy Kees, a marketing professor at the Villanova School of Business who has done studies on graphic cigarette warning labels. "Fear really drives the effectiveness of these warning labels ... mild, weak images are, in some cases, no better than a plain text warning."
Marketing experts also say the new labels aren't unique to the U.S. In fact, the new U.S. labels are typical of what's being used in the more than 40 other countries, said Stanton Glantz, a tobacco researcher at the University of California at San Francisco. Canada, for instance, in 2000 rolled out warning labels to include a pregnant woman smoking. Uruguay also shows rotting teeth and gums on its labels, similar to the images on the new warning labels in the U.S.
"These are the images that work," Glantz said. "What the research shows is that images that evoke a strong emotional response are the best ones."
New Cigarette Health Labels: Gross or Effective?
You may think an image of rotting teeth and a mouth lesion are gross. But the U.S. government says it's just what you need to kick the habit.


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|Deletions are marked like this.
|Additions are marked like this.
|Line 20:
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| * ["DDTP"] (translated package descriptions) out of the box?
nota bene: doesn't seem so, you'll need sid and ftp.de.debian.org for it to work
|Line 84:
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|* Firefox 184.108.40.206
|* Firefox 220.127.116.11
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|* udev 105 (/dev/ and hotplug management daemon replaces the old hotplug scripts)
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|* hotplug (["udev"] is the new hotplug daemon)
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|* mkisofs replaced by genisoimage
[:NewInEtchGerman:NewInEtch]: Deutsch
New Features and other interesting stuff in Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "Etch"
A list of more technical issues regarding the upgrade from Sarge to Etch is available at Sarge2EtchUpgrade. The [http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/errata Errata] page for the [http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/ installer] may also be of interest to those who've installed Sarge and now want to try Etch.
New Features
- apt:
SecureApt (apt-key, gui-apt-key, debian-archive-keyring)
- apt-get update -o Acquire::PDiffs=false
apt.conf.d & sources.list.d
- -t release works on all actions e.g. source and build-dep
- installer:
- integration of base-config functionality into the installer
- graphical installer
supports scripts with composed characters (sometimes called complex languages): Indic, Tibetan, Khmer, Thai
- encrypted partitions
- "default desktop environment" improvements
- update notification (using update-notifier)
- local deb install (using gdebi)
- printing support
- scanner support (post beta-3 stuff)
- better artwork (being discussed now)
- instant messaging (using gaim)
- partition management (using gparted) and more.
- UTF-8 environment by default on new installs.
- Use utf8-migration-tool for upgrading from earlier releases.
- ["udev"] by default on new installs
?DebTags in the Packages file; debtags smartsearch
- pcmciautils replaces pcmcia-cs
RubyGems, a package management framework
- Common framework for database configuration when installing packages (dbconfig-common).
- This gives the admin a consistent interface for setting up packages which need database access in order to work.
- ...
New introduced Packages
(Just the most important ones.)
[http://wiki.ltsp.org/twiki/bin/view/Ltsp/Ltsp5 Linux Terminal Server Project] (LTSP) (ltsp-server can be used to build an LTSP environment out of debian packages, rather than install foreign LTSP binaries)
["Xen"] and [wiki:?LinuxVserver vserver] kernel variants (no more patching)
- Eclipse in main
- Tomcat 5 in main (no more in contrib)
- ["Mono"] (22.214.171.124)
- TeX Live distribution (+350MB, yay)
- SER (SIP Express Router) and OpenSER, for advanced VoIP architectures
- ["Compiz"]
- SIL fonts e.g. Gentium, in main
- p7zip, p7zip-full
Manufacturer provided PPD files for ?PostScript printers: linuxprinting.org-ppds, hp-ppd
- erlang (the Ericsson programming language) providing ejabberd (the most featureful open source Jabber/XMMP server), yaws (a high performance webserver), wings3d (a polygon mesh modeller) and manderlbot (an IRC bot)
Sun Java 5.0 - sun-java5-bin, sun-java5-demo, sun-java5-doc, sun-java5-fonts, sun-java5-jdk, sun-java5-jre, sun-java5-plugin, sun-java5-source (non-free)
?OpenSync (update of Multisync) with packages multisync0.90 and multisync-tools and associated ?OpenSync library, utilities and plugins
Updated Packages
(Just the most important ones.)
Note: A good way to obtain that information is by looking it up in Distrowatch: http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=debian (it might not be totally updated, though)
OpenOffice.org 2.0.4
nota bene: splitted packages; you don't need to install everything, if you just need OpenOffice.org writer
- KDE 3.5.5a
- GNOME 2.14 (with cherries from 2.16)
- Xfce 4.4
- X.org 7.1
- nota bene: Brings not only new drivers, but also modularised packages (and with that no mega downloads for security fixes)
- Includes AIGLX, allowing accelerated compositing used by compiz
- Firefox 184.108.40.206
- Thunderbird 1.5
- nota bene: Due to tradmark issues, neither firefox nor thunderbird are currently shipped with those names - see 'Renamed and replaced packages'
- Beagle
- Banshee
- F-Spot
- Apache 2.2
- Asterisk 1.2
- MySQL 5.0.32
- OTRS 2.0.4 (in package otrs2)
- Postfix 2.3.6
- PostgreSQL 8.1 including Slony and PostGIS
- XSP / mod_mono 1.2.2
- Linux Kernel 2.6.18 (i386 and amd64 smp runtime support, i386 bigmem image for up to 64 GB memory)
- GCC 4.1 as default compiler
- libc 2.3.6
- support for 2.2 kernels has been dropped (except for m68k). libc will refuse to be installed on 2.2 kernels, the solution is to install a 2.4 (or a 2.6) kernel before the upgrade.
- udev 105 (/dev/ and hotplug management daemon replaces the old hotplug scripts)
- initramfs-tools early userspace (works with SATA, USB, RAID, LVM NFS, cryptoroot, ..)
- mdadm 2.5.x: now requires an mdadm.conf file.
- sun-java5
- NFSv4 support (optionally with Kerberos) for both client and server
internal changes
What changed between the release of Sarge and the upcoming release of Etch, which might be interesting for users, even if it didn't effect them directly.
New python policy (see DebianPython/NewPolicy)
- Python 2.4
- New policy for web applications
- New policy for Java packages
- New policies for packaging Mono, other CLRs and CLI based applications and libraries
- Updated menu policy
- New policy for dictionaries and stuff
- mirror split
- AMD64 arch (see ["DebianAMD64"])
LSB 3.1 (see DebianLsb)
- FHS: Documentation under /usr/share/doc (no /usr/doc anymore)
- linux-2.6 common package builds linux-images
- conglomeration packages for the most common oot-modules are in place: users are not requiring to build them anymore when using Debian kernel images.
- Many packages with desktop files
- Better support for DRI
[http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2006/12/msg00006.html many more cd-sets] available for download
Removed packages
- 2.4 kernels are only supported for upgrade from sarge. Users should install a 2.6 kernel after (or before) the upgrade.
- xfonts-base-transcoded (Etch is the first fully UTF-8 Debian release, so there's no version of xfonts-base with legacy encodings anymore)
- Mozilla (iceape and xulrunner as replacements)
webmin and usermin (see bug [http://bugs.debian.org/343897 343897])
eGroupWare? ([http://email@example.com/msg15266.html see this discussion])
- ladspa-plugins (contents merged into ladspa-plugin)
latex-xft-fonts (see bug [http://bugs.debian.org/402148 402148])
libc5 ([http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/09/msg00156.html see thread])
(Might be mostly interesting for the release-notes? Some way to autogenerate such a list? ask tbm?)
Renamed and replaced packages
- kernel-image-* packages renamed linux-image-*
- mozilla-firefox* packages renamed iceweasel*
- mozilla-firefox-locale-* packages renamed iceweasel-l10n-*
- mozilla-thunderbird* packages renamed icedove*
- mozilla renamed seamonkey then renamed iceape
- ethereal renamed wireshark
- cdrecord replaced by wodim
- cdrtools (cdrecord et.al) replaced by cdrkit
- cdrtools-doc replaced by cdrkit-doc
- cdda2wav replaced by icedax
- mkisofs replaced by genisoimage
- gimpprint renamed gutenprint
- cupsys-driver-gimpprint renamed cupsys-driver-gutenprint
- gimpprint-doc renamed gutenprint-doc
- gimpprint-locales renamed gutenprint-locales
- xserver-xfree86 replaced by xserver-xorg (a dummy still exists)
Split packages
- openoffice.org-gtk became openoffice.org-gnome and openoffice.org-gtk
- ssh became openssh-client and openssh-server


text:
The Firearms Freedom Act (FFA) is sweeping the Nation.
June 3rd, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments
Originally introduced and passed in Montana, the FFA declares that any firearms made and retained in-state are beyond the authority of Congress under its constitutional power to regulate commerce among the states.
Following initial Montana enactment, clones of the Firearms Freedom Act have subsequently been enacted in Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota, and other clones have been introduced in the legislatures of twenty-some other states.
The FFA is primarily a Tenth Amendment challenge to the powers of Congress under the "commerce clause," with firearms as the object – it is a state's rights exercise.
Help Fund the Lawsuit – Donate


text:
June 29, 2013
Barona Oaks Motorcross Park
https://www.mudrunguide.com/event/san-diego-california-gladiator-rockn-run-2013/ Barona Oaks Motorcross Park, 1800 Wildcat Canyon Road, Lakeside, CA, United States Gladiator Rock n Run email@example.com use-title true MM/DD/YYYY
Race Start Time:
Wave times: 9:00am (competitive plus $10), 9:30am, 10:00am, 10:30am, 11:00am, 11:30am, 12:00pm, 12:30pm, 1:00pm
Each wave consists of both men and women from every age group. You may register for any available wave regardless of your age.
Venue:Barona Oaks Motorcross Park
1800 Wildcat Canyon Road
Lakeside, CA, United States - View Map
Distance & Course Length:
7.00 kilometers
Organizer:Gladiator Rock n Run Dan Clark aka 'Nitro' from the American Gladiators brings you the most insane one day event on the planet - The Gladiator Rock'n Run™. The course challenges all participants to conquer extreme obstacles and harsh terrain, then to celebrate their conquests with a bad-ass post race party filled with music, beer and food. Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) is our charity partner. You want to get involved? You want help out? Be 'Gladiator Tough' and click here and join us in supporting families affected by Autism.
Click "About" above to hide this text again
30 Past Events, 0 other upcoming races
Click here to read or add your own San Diego California The Gladiator Rock'n Run 2013 reviews
Use discount code MRG10 for 10% off your registration
Registration:Visit Event Website
This event has passed, registration is closed.
Who's Attending?
Cost & Pricing:
|March 15th, 2013
|May 17th, 2013
|June 21st, 2013
|June 28th, 2013 (online registration closes)
All entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.
What You Get / What's Included:
- Free beer, limit 1 (must be 21 or older and have a valid ID).*
- Three bands.
- Rock'n Rumble Pit.
- A 'Gladiator Tough' Finishers Medal
- A 'Limited Edition' Gladiator Rock'n Run
- T-shirt by Affliction.
- A Commemorative Rock-wild Red Mohawk.(limited to the first 500)
- Sweet prizes for top finishers.
- Bad-ass post race party.
- The most insane day of your life.
- A memory that will echo into eternity.
Course Description:
Gladiator Rock'n Run™ is 3-4 miles depending on the location. 17 extreme obstacles on harsh terrain plus 2 mystery obstacles.
Gladiator Rock'n Run™ is the most insane one day event on the plan brought to you by Dan Clark aka Nitro of the Original American Gladiators. It challenges all participants to conquer extreme obstacles and harsh terrain and to celebrate their conquest with a bad ass post race party filled with music, beer and food.
An obstacle list you might encounter on the course includes:
- The Pit – Take a plunge into the mysterious depths of this pool of mud.
- Mud Madness – Slither along on your belly through a trough of mud.
- Polar Bear Plunge – Blast through a waist-deep icy pool of water.
- Wall of Fame – Conquer the 8ft. Wall of Fame or face the 4ft Wall of Shame.
- Terrible Tires – You'll burn more than rubber going over this knee-high hell
- Cargo Congo Climb – Scramble up and over massive cargo nets
- Twinkle Toes – Balance your stuff or fall into the drink and swim to shore.
- Gladiator BBQ – Fire – Race through fiery flames.
- Gladiator Bars – Glide across the 30 foot expanse of twisted steel and sex appeal.
- Trenches of Torment – Crawl through the pitch black under ground trenches.
- The Beast – Release your inner beast to scale this monster
- Ring my Bell – Climb up the 14ft hanging rope. Ring the bell and you are dope.
- Skid Marks – Plummet down a tarp into a muddy bog. (Mud will go places you've never dreamed of).
- Spider Web – Walk, crawl, slither uphill under the widow's web.
- Tube Steak – Grovel through the mud and stank to freedom.
- Swamp Stomp – Scamper across water and rocks
- Yipee Ki-Yah – Holla like Bruce Willis in "Die Hard" as you swing on a rope across the water.
Awards will be given for best times and best costumes. Top 3 overall male and female Gladiators in each age group will receive a medal. You must be present to receive medals, they will not be mailed. Age groups are 14-20 21-27 28-35 36-42 43-49 50-59 60-69 70+
Spectators are free, course designed to be spectator-friendly.
Bring one! Bring ten! Bring a hundred! The course was specifically designed to be spectator friendly. We clustered a host of our most hard-hitting, gut busting, mud slogging obstacles together so your family and friends can witness first hand your thrills of victory and spills of defeat.
Parking is $10.00 – so please carpool and bring correct change!
Post Party:
Bad ass party will start immediately after the first participants finish the race and continue all day long!
Free beer, limit 1 (must be 21 or older and have a valid ID).*
Three bands
Dan Clark aka 'Nitro' from the American Gladiators brings you the most insane one day event on the planet - The Gladiator Rock'n Run™.
The course challenges all participants to conquer extreme obstacles and harsh terrain, then to celebrate their conquests with a bad-ass post race party filled with music, beer and food.
Water obstacles won't be more than waist-high. If there's an obstacle that's too much for you, go around. No shame there. Personal safety is the most important thing. But if you're skipping an obstacle to improve your time – we're going to give you a Gladiator smack-down with a pugil stick.
The minimum age to race is 14.
Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) is our charity partner. You want to get involved? You want help out? Be 'Gladiator Tough' and click here and join us in supporting families affected by Autism.
Dress in gear that you won't mind getting filthy. We recommend athletic footwear and bringing a change of clothes and a washable bag to hold your soiled gear. There will be a costume contest immediately after the event where all entries will get a chance to show off their ingenuity and genius on stage.
Showers will be available. We can't promise hot water. If you can't handle it. Stay dirty. There will be a complementary bag check near the packet pick up table.
Sorry no pets on the course. Any type of wheeled device including but not limited to: baby joggers, baby strollers, wheelchairs, in-line skates, roller skates, scooters, bicycles, skateboards are strictly prohibited.
Rockers that rumble together - stay together. Create a team during registration process. Then invite all of your friends to join the action-packed, gut-busting, mud-slogging insanity. Together you can share the thrills of victory and spills of defeat. At the end of the day you'll know which friends are truly "Gladiator Tough."
Teams can be from an army of one to hundreds. They can consist of both Gladiators and Goddesses of all ages as long as they are "Gladiator Tough" and ready to have the time of their lives.
Award ceremony will take place one hour after last wave.
Coupons / Discount Codes:
Please see our obstacle course race discount & promotion page for all the latest discounts, promos, promotions, discount codes, and coupon codes for San Diego California The Gladiator Rock'n Run 2013. There also may be one listed at the top of this page.


text:
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Tilgul Laddu or Til Gul balls for makar sankranti, it's a healthy food made using sesame, crushed peanuts and jaggery. served in a bowl. selective focus showing details.
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Til Gul OR Sweet Sesame Laddu with Sugar ball Crystals and haldi kumkum
Happy Holi colours with Indian lunch food and sweet food or dessert
Modak Sweets variety
Indian sweets or mithai for diwali festival or special occassion
Sabudana Khichdi or Sago Khichadi
Tilgul Laddu or Til Gul Laddoo
Sweet Modak
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text:
Recommended Height: 160-180cm
Max Weight: 110kg
Secretlab PRIME™ 2.0 PU Leather
Secretlab Full-Metal 4D Armrests (2020)
Secretlab Signature Memory Foam Pillows
Full-length Backrest Recline
ADC12# Aluminium Wheel Base
XL PU Caster wheels
Warranty period: 3 years
Experience superior comfort and support with the patent-pending* Secretlab Cold-Cure Foam Mix
Enjoy a next level sitting experience with the improved Secretlab cold-cure foam mix. To give you both immaculate comfort and great support, a patent-pending foam manufacturing procedure was employed to achieve a firmness that feels oh-so good and is beneficial for your posture.
* SG Pat. App. No. 10202002464YNEW AND IMPROVED
Enjoy fully certified reliability with Extended 5-year Warranty*
Sit completely worry-free with your Secretlab chair—created with industrial-grade raw materials and state of the art manufacturing processes, then subject to rigorous international quality tests. With a warranty period that's above the industry standard, you can be assured that your award-winning experience has been made to last.
* Receive a complimentary 2-year extension for a total warranty period of 5 years when you share a picture of your Secretlab chair. Click here to learn more.
Enhance your resting position with Secretlab Full-Metal 4D Armrests (2020)
Easily personalize support for your elbow and wrist with the new Secretlab 4D armrests—updated with a new metal internal mechanism for greater durability and superb ease of customization. Left, right, angled left, angled right, forwards, backwards, up, down, adjust each armrest to have it suit your exact support needs without risk of carpal tunnel.
The concave PU padding also provides ample support while ensuring your elbow stays firmly in place.NEW AND IMPROVED
Get additional support with the new Secretlab Signature Memory Foam Pillows
Elevate your experience with the new Secretlab Signature Memory Foam Pillows. Upgraded with a premium memory foam, this denser material conforms to the curvature of your body at just the right amount needed to support your sitting posture. The Head Pillow comes with a coating of cooling gel as well, enabling you to stay cool while enjoying additional support for as long as you want.
Nap extra comfortably with Full-length Backrest Recline
Whether you're watching your favorite videos or taking a power nap, the full-length backrest can recline almost fully so you can lie down completely strain-free while enjoying all the ergonomic support.
Have your chair adapt to you with the Multi-tilt Mechanism
Whether you want to kick back and relax or sit straight and focus, the rigorously-tested multi-functional tilt mechanism enables your Secretlab chair to adapt to your exact preference. With full control over your chair's position right at your fingertips, you can effortlessly sit at any angle and lock or unlock its position whenever you want.
Sit in absolute peace with Class 4 Hydraulics
To enable you to sit with absolute peace of mind, each Secretlab chair features class 4 heavy duty KGS gas pistons—best in class for consistency, stability, and safety, including safety certifications such as TÜV LGA, ANSI/BIFMA (by SGS) and ISO9001.
Get incredible stability with the ADC12 Aluminum Wheel Base
Constructed to provide impeccable stability and strength, each aluminum wheelbase is not just perfectly balanced but reinforced with ribs and gussets as well.NEW AND IMPROVED
Move effortlessly with XL PU Caster wheels
Glide smoothly over most surfaces without worry as the XL PU Caster wheels are made to be durable yet floor-friendly.


text:
Stacy writes in her bio
MacKenna is my daughter. I am in desperate need of assistance regarding her weight.
She is 6 years old and weighs about 95 pounds. At four, she was normal to underweight.
First clue – she gained 10 pounds in three months. Of course doctor's wanted a food log …. however, as her parent, I knew something was wrong.
So much to say, I NEED to help my baby and am hoping someone on this board can point me to a good pedi endo (I am currently on my second). I have pictures to show the progression of her changes. Her growth pattern is abnormal as she does not gain height while she gains weight and vice versa.
I believe it is cyclical cushings. And if it isn't, I still need help as this is going to kill her – her little frame cannot hold much more.
McKenna's mom will be interviewed June 11 at 6:00 pm eastern in BlogTalkRadio. Archives will be available later in the Cushing's Podcast.


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Is my dog sick or just bad behaved?
Hi, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong forum.
We've had a German shepherd named Chester for around 8 years now and he's ten. Up until recently he was one of the best behaved dogs in the world; he was a big softy who had never tried to hurt anything. He's always accepted my stepfather as his pack leader and has always done what he was told. A month ago we got a new puppy who's very playful and Chester doesn't like it, which is understandable as he's getting old. Whenever the puppy tries to play he growls and bears his teeth bit his behaviour is steadily getting worse. He is growling at my sister"s cats as they try to eat from their own food bowls, he's barging his way into my sister's bedroom in the middle of night and now he is growling my sister and her boyfriend.
And then today! Last week we took in a two year old boxer named Alfie as he was about to be put down. At first Chester was growling and bearing his teeth but after a couple of hours he was fine and was even playing with him. Alfie is extremely timid and submissive to Chester. Today Alfie walked to the kitchen to get a drink from his own water,bowl and Chester locked on to his neck, dragged him halfway across the kitchen and tried to rip his throat out. My boyfriend, my sister and her boyfriend all tried to break up the fight but it took my boyfriend hitting Chester with a sweeping brush to make him let go. He bit alfie hard enough to draw blood and alfie wouldn't even fight back; he went to the toilet all over the floor in fright. Chester has never done anything like this before! He has been around new dogs his whole life as we used to be a foster home for rescued dogs and he has never acted like this!
Also, my sister brought him to go to the toilet the other night and said that Chester was whimpering as he urinated and she thought she seen drops of blood in his urine. Could this be related to his behaviour? (he is being taken to vet for this on Monday btw). Does Chester have a neurological problem, is he sick, or just badly behaved?! Please help, thank you!
I would do a couple of things.
First, bringing in dogs when you have senior in the house can present its own problems. I would consult a trainer that uses positive reinforcement to help with this transition.
Senior pets can hurt, and can have issues that we don't know about. Joints get achy, etc. Thyroids can run low. I would have a thyroid panel run (be sure the free T4 is included), and, ideally, I would have some xrays run to check on joints. If he isn't on a good joint supplement, I would certainly be starting one at this age. Sounds like you definitely want to have a urinalysis run too, to check for an infection.
When a stable dog starts exhibiting this type of behaviour, the first thing I definitely look for is a medical issue. Good luck!
I agree with a vet visit for sure! and would love to hear the feedback the vet has when you relay this story. I wonder if the poor dooger may be losing some cognitive function.
Please tactfully EDUCATE or IGNORE posters you don't agree with.
Please PM me & Include URLs and post #'s for any issues and it's my pleasure to help.
I'm firm - but fair. Mind the Rules and enjoy your stay.
Newcomers FAQ - How do I post on this BB?
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I am going to along with marko , as I was thinking the same thing . My last never growled at me until he got cancer. Finlay was lying on the couch and out of the no where he looked at me with a glaze in his eyes and started to growl at me as if he did not know me. I think the OP should bring the their dog to the vet for check up. He could also have an infection that causing to act this way. The fact the dog is acting strange around the stepdad is a red flag to me. If the guy is nothing do anything difference to the dog this could sign the dog needs help.
Any updates on Chester. I hope the vet was able to find something that would explain the behaviour. If not then Chester definitely needs to be segregated from the other dogs.
|aggression, behaviour problems, dominance, german shepherd
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text:
|Total population (2015)
|Gross national income per capita (PPP international $, 2013)
|Life expectancy at birth m/f (years, 2015)
|Probability of dying under five (per 1 000 live births, 0)
|Probability of dying between 15 abd 60 years m/f (per 1 000 population, 2013)
|Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2014)
|Total expenditure on health as % of GDP (2014)
Country information
Data & Statistics
Country Health Topics
The Namibia country health profiles provide an overview of the situation and trends of priority health problems and the health systems profile, including a description of institutional frameworks, trends in the national response, key issues and challenges. They promote evidence-based health policymaking through a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the dynamics of the health situation and health system in the country.
The profiles are updated on a periodic basis. Currently, no Health Topics data is available.
Additional Info
There is no Additional Information at this time
Namibia Office Contact
The WHO Representative to Namibia is Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses
UN House, 2nd Floor
38 Stein Street
Klein Windhoek
P.O. Box 3444
Tel: +264 61255121 / +264 61255191
Fax: +264 61229825
E-mail: afwcona [at] who.int


text:
American chipmaker Intel on Monday agreed to buy a 15 percent stake in Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding, according to The New York Times.
The investment is worth a reported US$4.1 billion.
Intel will initially buy 10 percent of ASML's shares for $2.1 billion, and pay an additional $1 billion to finance research and development costs, according to the Times. If approved by ASML shareholders, Intel would kick in an additional $1 billion.
A key component of the deal is streamlining the introduction of bigger chip wafers and cutting-edge semiconductor technology called "extreme ultraviolet lithography," according to the article.
Intel will reportedly pay for the investment with cash currently held in foreign subsidies, allowing the company to avoid paying taxes in the US.
ASML's stock was up more than 9 percent Tuesday morning, according to the Associated Press.
Kickstarter Will Kick Off in UK
Kickstarter, the crowdsourced funding website, will launch this autumn in the UK, according to the BBC.
Thus far, Kickstarter — which facilitates funding for products and ideas ranging from watches to books to dances — has been limited to U.S.-registered projects and, because it uses Amazon Payments, U.S. bank accounts.
That's not to say, though, that British companies haven't tapped in already. For instance, Carmageddon, a UK-based videogame company, raised more than $600,000 in June.
Launched in 2009, Kickstarter has funded more than 20,000 projects.
Olympic to Be Streamed In US – But Only to Customers
NBC Universal will provide online coverage of this summer's London Olympics. But it isn't just giving it away.
Viewers must be pay-TV subscribers to have access to the streaming options, which will include 3,500 hours of coverage and be available on tablet, PC or smartphone, according to Bloomberg.
Subscribers at 104 American "pay-TV systems" will have access to the online coverage, according to NBC's website.
In an effort to prevent single users from sharing their account information, pay-TV operators can restrict the number of devices accessible through each account, according to Bloomberg.
Broadcasters will attempt several different approaches to streaming this year's Summer Olympics. BBC, for instance, will be streaming coverage via Facebook, while YouTube is also providing streams in Asia and Africa.
No Hi-Speed Connection for US Extradition
The United States' attempted extradition of the four founders of Megaupload won't be wrapped up anytime soon.
The New Zealand extradition hearing, which has helped turn primary Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom into a cult hero, has been pushed back to March 2013, according to Wired.
The hearing was originally slated to start this August, but a series of mishaps have intervened. Most recently, a New Zealand judge ruled that the search warrants used in the January raid of Dotcom's home were unlawful, and that the U.S. acted unlawfully when it seized Dotcom's hard drive from his home.
Dotcom and the other cofounders, who are free on bail, stand accused by the U.S. of conspiring to commit large-scale copyright infringement. They face 20-year prison terms and million-dollar fines should they be convicted.
RIM Hometown Subject to Fallout
Waterloo, Ontario, the hometown of BlackBerry maker Reasearch In Motion, could be hit hard by the company's continued decline, according to an article from CNN.
The CNN report, which arrived in advance of RIM's annual shareholder meeting Tuesday, is part of an ongoing media fascination with RIM's impact on Waterloo. In April, for instance, BusinessWeek ran an article quoting various people in Waterloo who said that, sales slump be damned, they were still confident RIM would turn things around.
But with the company still in the tank — it has lost 95 percent of its market value since 2008 — optimism seems to be fading. In May, RIM announced thousands of job cuts in Waterloo, part of the company's plan to recoup some of the $518 million lost last quarter.
In other RIM news: The company is going to sell one of its two business jets, according to Bloomberg.


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We've just updated our PhantomX Hexapod MK-II and PhantomX Quadruped MK-II. These updates are designed to improve the durability and expandiblity of the crawlers.
Improved Body Plates
The Hexapod and Quadruped Body plates have been updated, reducing the length of the mounts for the Coxa servos. This makes the body plates more robust during the assembly/dissasembly process. This change also reduces the number of nuts/bolts required for assembly which makes it easier/faster to build and re-assemble
The body plates also have 2×3 cm hole patterns, making it easy to mount a variety of RobotGeek Sensors directly to the Hexapod.
Top Deck Mounting System
The PhantomX Hexapod now comes with a Top Deck Mounting Plate. This plate can be secured to the main Hexapod Chassis, making it easier to add more batteries, sensors, controllers and more. The top deck come covered in a 1×1 cm pattern, making it easy to attach a variety of RobotGeek Sensors, Turrets and more to your robot.
Future Trossen Robotics products will include 1×1 cm grid compatible MX turrets and adaptor plates for other computers and controllers.
The top deck can be configured to rest at multiple heights, allowing you to customize the look and function of your robot for your exact needs.
Improved Power Distribution
The crawlers now route all power through the new 6 Port AX/MX power Hub. This provides improved power balance and eaiser wiring. This also makes it easier to confiugure the Quadruped in Developer Mode, giving you easier access to the ArbotiX while developing.
Updated Assembly Guides
Both crawler assembly guides have been re-designed from the ground up, making it easier to build the robots. Quadruped / Hexapod
If you have previolsuly purchased a PhantomX Hexapod or Quadruped MK-II and would like updated plates, please Contact Us via this page and include your name and order number.


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Riot police moved into Istanbul's Gezi Park with tear gas and water cannons on Saturday night. In less than an hour they managed to clear the park at the center of Turkey's protest movement.
Shortly before 9:00pm when police began their operation, the park and adjacent Taksim Square were packed with thousands of celebrants. With live music, barbeques, and street venders, the protest had the atmosphere of a summer festival.
Demonstrators had been expecting security forces to attempt to clear the park, but despite police warnings shortly before they began their advance, most people assumed it would come in the early morning hours when there are less people in the park. As a result many people were caught off guard, including parents with young children and elderly people.
Although the raid succeeded in clearing out the park, the brutal police methods, which have long been a core protester grievance, have galvanized many to continue their anti-government demonstrations. Now many fear the country may see a steady escalation in violence with neither side showing any willingness to back down.
"A movement has started and I think it will continue. Although cops are aggressive everyday we will continue," says Mumu, medical student helping protesters who like many people interviewed asked only to use his nickname due to safety concerns. "I don't know what's going to come next. I don't even want to think about it, but I'm worried the cops will use real pistols."
Protests began two weeks ago when police used excessive force to break up a peaceful sit-in opposing a commercial development that would replace Gezi Park. The park remains an issue, but demonstrations now center on anger with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who protesters accuse of behaving more like an authoritarian than a democratically elected leader.
Mr. Erdogan had agreed to postpone development of the park until the courts determined its legality. But in a speech to members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Saturday he said the park must be "evacuated." Hours later security forces moved on the park, triggering some of the most violent clashes seen in Istanbul over the past two weeks.
As protesters fled a police onslaught, security forces used tear gas, percussion grenades, and water cannons to push thousands of demonstrators away from the park. Amid the flight, demonstrators tried to slow police by pushing trashcans, tables from nearby restaurants, and a host of other objects into the street, setting many of them ablaze.
By the end of the night, protesters had scattered throughout the city and clashes with police continued until the early morning hours, with some still going on after sunrise.
"It will be a failure tonight, but not in the long-term," says Yigit, a bank employee among the protesters. In what may become a rallying point for many people, Yigit also expressed frustration about police carrying out the raid when the park was filled with many people who hadn't come to clash with police.
"We all were expecting something like this, but not today when it was the most crowded with civilians. I saw mothers, children, and disabled people in the park," he says.
Numerous demonstrators who fled the park in the initial chaos of the police raid described seeing young children separated from their parents and elderly people unable to quickly escape the gas fired into the park. Police also fired tear gas into the lobby of the nearby luxury Divan Hotel where a number of protesters had taken refuge to escape the violence.
The excessive force used by police to break up the original sit-in at Gezi Park is among the main reasons listed by many Turks to explain why they joined in calls against the government. Consequently, the clearing of Gezi Park will likely add fuel to the protest movement.
"This is what we are against, the extreme police response so we will continue protesting," says Merih, a banker. "The only one who can stop this is the prime minister and he does not want to. In fact he is doing the opposite."
Erdogan has met with members of the protest movement, but so far has yet to offer any significant compromises beyond a referendum to determine the park's future. Those in the park met the referendum with much skepticism, many saying they worried that voting would not be fair.
Violence and clashes are likely to continue and possibly intensify on Sunday. Yesterday, demonstrators had already begun calling for a million people to march to Taksim Square on Sunday. Meanwhile, supporters of Erdogan, who have thus far staged few public rallies in Istanbul, had also been planning their own demonstration.
"We have demands, but we don't know what's going to happen because no one in the government is going to step back," says Ezgi, a translator.


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The explosion of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) in recent years can put enterprise computers at risk due to name conflicts between internal domain names used inside corporate networks and those that can now be registered on the public Internet.
Many companies have configured their networks to use domain names, in many cases with made-up TLDs that a few years ago didn't use to exist on the Internet, such as .office, .global, .network, .group, .school and many others. Having an internal domain-based namespace makes it easier to locate, manage and access systems.
The problem is that over the past two years, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved over 900 gTLDs for public use as part of an expansion effort. This can have unexpected security implications for applications and protocols used on domain-based corporate networks.
Such is the case for the Web Proxy Auto-Discovery (WPAD) protocol, which is used by computers on local networks to automatically discover the Web proxy settings they should use.
WPAD is enabled in Internet Explorer and Windows, the most common OS-browser combination on corporate networks. It is also supported in Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple Safari, including on Linux and OS X, but is not used by default.
Computers can use the WPAD protocol and a local DNS server to find the location of a wpad.dat proxy configuration file that they should download and use. In the case of a domain-based network, this file can be located on a Web server that is reachable via the host name wpad.internal_domain.tld.
The problem is that when a computer, such as a laptop, is taken outside of a company's network and is connected to a different network, the WPAD DNS query can reach a public DNS server, since the company's internal DNS server is not available.
Because of the gTLD expansion, attackers can register domain names used by companies internally and then host rogue proxy configuration files that will then be downloaded by roaming laptops. This means that those computers' Web traffic will be passed through a proxy server controlled by attackers, allowing for unauthorized traffic inspection or modification. This is known as a man-in-the-middle attack.
To understand the scope of the problem, researchers from Verisign and the University of Michigan have analyzed the WPAD queries that reached 2 of the 13 global root DNS servers from September 2013 to July 2015. Verisign operates those two servers.
The data showed that there are over 20 million leaked WPAD queries hitting the servers every day, accounting for at least 6.6 million potential user victims. The researchers found leaked WPAD queries for 485 of the 738 new gTLDs that have been delegated by ICANN until Aug. 25, 2015, when the data was analyzed.
The problem is likely even more widespread than that, because ICANN has delegated an additional 201 new gTLDs since August and because the analyzed data was only from two of the 13 global root DNS servers.
The gTLDs for which the largest number of leaked WPAD queries were observed are: .global, .ads, .group, .network, .dev, .office, .prod, .hsbc, .win, .world, .wan, .sap and .site. Over 65 percent of the WPAD query leaks originated from computers in the U.S.
The issue has prompted the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to publish a security alert Monday. The team has several recommendations for network administrators including disabling the automatic proxy discovery in browsers and operating systems during device setup if the feature is not needed and a using a fully qualified domain name from the global DNS that the company has registered and owns as the root for enterprise and other internal namespace.


text: VANCOUVER -- Dueling browser-exploit contests at the CanSecWest conference yielded immediate results -- two hacks against Google Chrome -- with contestants in both competitions demonstrating exploits within an hour of the contests' opening.In both cases, contestants first demonstrated they could take over a fully patched Chrome browser and then turned the exploits over to contest officials to verify.MORE EXPLOITS: 10 scariest hacks from Black Hat and DefconIn the Chrome Pwnium contest, run by Google, the exploit preyed on two vulnerabilities and won $60,000 for its author, Sergey Glazunov, a member of the Chromium Hall of Fame for finding Chrome bugs and recipient previously of about $88,000 for finding Chrome bugs.He exploited two vulnerabilities and avoided the Chrome sandbox that is supposed to mitigate exploits to the browser.In Pwn2Own, French consulting company Vupen took down the browser with a zero-day exploit that used a flaw in the browser itself and also broke out of the browser's sandbox that is supposed to be a secure execution environment. The exploit won the five-man Vupen team 32 points in the competition.In the Pwnium case, Glazunov turns over details of his entire exploit to Google, which will then patch it. In the Pwn2Own contest, Vupen's CEO turned the exploit against the browser itself to contest officials, who will reveal it to Google for patching.But Vupen CEO Chaouki Bekrar says he has no intention of turning over details of the sandbox escape. "That vulnerability is very rare. We'll keep it for our own customers," says Bekrar.Vupen sells exploits against browsers to its clients, mainly government covert agencies from countries around the world. "That's life," he says.Both Glazunov and Vupen worked on their exploits prior to the competition and merely demonstrated them when the competition opened today.Glazunov was not at the CanSecWest conference himself, but sent a proxy to demonstrate his zero-day exploit.Vupen sent a team that has been preparing nearly full time for the competition for six weeks, Bekrar says. It has come with more than one Chrome exploit, and exploits for all the other browsers being targeted in the competition -- Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox. It will wheel them out as needed in order to win the contest, Vupen says, so some of the exploits may go home with him without being made public.Pwn2Own is sponsored by the Zero Day Initiative and HP\/Tippingpoint. First prize is $60,000, second is $30,000 and third is $15,000, depending on which team accumulates the most points.Gamesmanship has already started with Vupen scoring 32 points and attacking the second phase of the competition, which calls for writing an exploit that takes advantage of a previously patched flaw. So contestants receive a laptop with earlier versions of browsers that contain vulnerabilities that have been patched in the most current versions, and are tasked with exploiting those specific vulnerabilities.The presence of Vupen's team has apparently intimidated other competitors, at least in the short term, says Aaron Portnoy, manager of security research for HP\/Tippingpoint. In previous years, individuals entered the contest on the first day hoping to win, he says.But this year the rules have changed. Before, contestants were randomly given a browser to attack. This year, contestants can attempt zero day attacks against any of the browsers being targeted in the contest, Portnoy says.The Vupen team and its professed ability to zero-day any browser in the contest may have individuals with fewer resources hanging back. "They may scare people off," he says. Portnoy says he knows of other potential competitors who might jump in on the final day to try for second and third place, essentially conceding first to Vupen.This is the first year for Chrome Pwnium and in previous years, Google has helped sponsor Pwn2Own. This year Google wanted Pwn2Own to require that any sandbox escapes be turned over to Google, and the Zero Day Initiative declined.The rationale for that as expressed by the blog for HP\/Tippingpoint's DVLabs is that nobody would compete if that were a requirement. Sandbox escapes are so rare they are worth more on the open market than the contest organizers could hope to post as prize money. If someone had one, they wouldn't expose it for a mere $60,000 prize.The blog predicts no one will demonstrate a chrome sandbox escape in Chrome Pwnium. It may get some code execution exploits that are more common, the blog says.The Zero Day Initiative figures that if contestants don't have to reveal their sandbox escapes, they may well compete and reveal the code exploits that they have come up with. Those code exploit vulnerabilities can then be patched, which makes at least some progress toward improving Chrome security, the blog says.Read more about wide area network in Network World's Wide Area Network section.


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1975: Ron Gentry becomes the first paid employee of the Allen Fire Department as the part-time fire chief.
1982: Station 2 is built; Allen hires six paid, full-time firefighters to supplement its volunteers.
1998: Fire Station 4 is built on Alma Drive.
2000: The Allen Volunteer Fire Department disbands; AFD becomes an all-paid department.
2002: Bill Hawley becomes Allen Fire Department's second fire chief. Central Fire Station opens.
2011: Station 5 opens; it is among the first stations in the U.S. to be LEED Platinum certified.
2016: Allen Fire Station #2 is rebuilt to accommodate larger trucks and expanding staff.
2018: Jonathan Boyd becomes the third Allen Fire Chief on Aug. 4.
Home | Accessibility | Privacy & Terms | Employee Self Service | Employee Portal


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Artist Douglas Gordon to serve as jury president of CinemaXXI.
The Rome Film Festival's new CinemaXXI section, devoted to new trends in international cinema, will open with the world premiere of Centro Historico, a film jointly directed by Aki Kaurismäki, Pedro Costa, Victor Erice, and Manoel de Oliveira.
The film was developed as part of the Guimaraes [pictured] 2012 European Capital of Culture projects in Portugal. Kaurismaki directs part one, O Tasqueiro, about a lonely barman in the Guimaraes city center; Costa takes on part two Lamento da Vida Jovem, returning to the character of Cape Verdean Ventura; Erice handles part three Vidros Partidos, about a former textile mill and its employees; and de Oliveira delivers O Conquistador, Conquistado, about tourists visiting Guimaraes.
Also, the festival announced that Turner Prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon will head the jury for CinemaXXI.
The revamped Rome Film Festival, in its first edition under Marco Mueller, will run Nov 9-17.


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Google's latest earnings call was a bit of a bust – while Google saw a 22% increase in revenue over last year, bringing earnings to $15.96 billion in the second quarter of 2014, and the search giant narrowly beat analyst projections of $15.6 billion in revenue, their ad sales in the US and the UK, their two major markets, have slowed. Non-US revenue (excluding the UK) of $7.7 billion accounted for 48% of total revenue. Their earnings per share were considered a miss as well, at $6.08.
The proliferation of ads in emerging markets worldwide drove profits to $3.42 billion for the period, up from $3.23 billion in Q2 2013. More people are clicking on Google ads – a lot more. Total paid ad clicks were up 25% over last year and up 2% over the first quarter of 2014.
However, the average cost per click is falling; CPC is down 6% from the same period last year (click graph to enlarge).
This is a continuation of a two-year trend – if you'll remember, most of the PPC industry believed Enhanced Campaigns would drive up average cost per click, but that hasn't panned out.
The fact that CPC's continue to fall is great news for advertisers! But is it good news for Google? They're showing impressive growth, but it's still an earnings miss, so you can bet that they're going to continue aggressive monetization of the SERP:
- Sponsored results, AKA paid search ads, no longer have a yellow background, but rather a small label. When ads are less obviously ads, they can take up more of the SERP without users noticing. Again, this is actually beneficial for advertisers – good for you if they think your ad is a natural result.
- The recent deletion of authorship photos from the SERP, followed closely by the loss of video snippets might point to a larger trend: Is Google going to remove all visual elements from the organic results, so that only the paid ads have eye-grabbing images? If so, that sucks for SEOs.
That yellow background stood out more than the yellow label, wouldn't you say?
Since greater mobile adoption and increased penetration into international markets are continuing to drive average CPC down, Google has no choice but to look for growth in increased overall impressions and clicks. You know what that means: more ads everywhere.
You can read the rest of the earnings results straight from Google here (PDF).


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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced in a tweet today that he's postponing the voting on the controversial Protect IP Act—better known as PIPA—according to Ars Technica. This delay comes days after a massive internet blackout protest and mobilization of thousands of voters contacting Congress to register their displeasure with the proposed legislation.
Internet activists' main complaint against PIPA and its more visible counterpart SOPA has been the supposed chilling effect they would have against the free flow of information on the Web. If any similar anti-piracy or intellectual property protection bills get presented before the House or the Senate, it's hard to imagine them getting any warmer reception than SOPA or PIPA did.
The 3 Best And 3 Worst Korok Challenges In Tears Of The Kingdom


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The European Commission has issued its formal "statement of objections" over Oracle's planned acquisition of Sun Microsystems, Sun said in a regulatory filing Monday.
Oracle responded that it would "vigorously oppose" the Commission, saying its position reflects "a profound misunderstanding of both database competition and open source dynamics." The U.S. Department of Justice, which has already approved the deal, also weighed in, saying it studied the deal carefully and concluded that it is "unlikely to be anticompetitive."
[ In anticipation of the statement of objections, Oracle began prepping last week for a long battle with the EU. | Revelations last week that SAP tried to meet with Oracle has fueled suspicions that the EU is blocking the Oracle-Sun merger due to SAP's lobbying efforts. ]
The statement of objections was rumored to be imminent last week, and follows the Commission's decision in September to launch an in-depth probe of Oracle's planned Sun acquisition. It is a procedural step in European antitrust investigations that paves the way for Oracle to make a formal response.
"The Statement of Objections sets out the Commission's preliminary assessment regarding, and is limited to, the combination of Sun's open source MySQL database product with Oracle's enterprise database products and its potential negative effects on competition in the market for database products," Sun said in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The statement of objections is "a preparatory document" and does not necessarily mean the Commission will block the merger, Sun said. It also noted that any final decision can be appealed.
The text of the Commission's objections to Oracle was not released publicly. The Commission is supposed to issue a ruling on the matter by Jan. 19.
Oracle announced its plan to acquire Sun in April for $7.4 billion. The deal was approved by U.S. competition regulators after a brief review, but the Commission said it was concerned about the effects of the acquisition on Sun's MySQL open-source database, which it acquired last year.
In a foretaste of the arguments it will present to the Commission, Oracle asserted in a statement Monday that the deal "does not threaten to reduce competition in the slightest, including in the database market."
"It is well understood by those knowledgeable about open source software that because MySQL is open source, it cannot be controlled by anyone. That is the whole point of open source," Oracle said.
It characterized the database market as "intensely competitive with at least eight strong players, including IBM, Microsoft, Sybase and three distinct open source vendors."
It also argued that the deal is "essential for competition" in the high-end server market because it would revitalize Sun's Sparc processor and Solaris OS platforms. It would also strengthen the Java development platform, according to Oracle.
"Given the lack of any credible theory or evidence of competitive harm, we are confident we will ultimately obtain unconditional clearance of the transaction," the company said.
Oracle is no stranger to antitrust investigations. The U.S. Department of Justice tried to block Oracle's acquisition of PeopleSoft on the grounds that it would unacceptably contract the enterprise software applications market to two large players, Oracle and SAP.
Oracle won that case in 2004, by convincing U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker that there were many other competitors in that market, albeit smaller ones.
The DOJ issued its own statement Monday explaining its decision to approve the Sun-Oracle deal. It said there are "many open-source and proprietary database competitors" and that there is a large community of open-source developers with expertise in maintaining and improving Sun's open-source software.
"At this point in its process, it appears that the EC holds a different view," the DOJ said. "We remain hopeful that the parties and the EC will reach a speedy resolution that benefits consumers in the Commission's jurisdiction."
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has said that Sun is losing $100 million per month as it waits for the deal to close.
On Friday Sun released its financial results for the last quarter, ended Sept. 27. Revenue was $2.24 billion, down from $2.99 billion a year earlier. Its losses narrowed to $120 million, from $1.68 billion in the same quarter last year, thanks largely to cost-cutting efforts.
This story was updated on November 9, 2009


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Solar Energy Tips That Will Save You Money
Solar energy uses sun power to save the planet and also for your wallet. Solar energy can help both residential dwellings and commercial buildings. This article can help you so that you'll feel more confident in your choice to use solar energy systems. There are two major types of panels. Poly-crystalline panels tend to be cheaper but they are generally less efficient and costly than mono-crystalline solar panels. Make sure to really explore all of your home's energy system. The density of your solar panels will be dependent on their density. Panels that are more dense perform better, but they can generate more power.Be sure and compare densities of several different panels before choosing a solar panel. Using any type of solar energy unit can help the environment. You can find solar water heaters. You can install one in bright location or on your roof. If you are thinking about leasing solar panels, be sure the contract you sign allows you to transfer the lease. Think carefull


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The rumors and reports surrounding the impending availability of the iPhone through Verizon are becoming more relentless–perhaps hinting that the speculation may soon, in fact, become a reality. Assuming the Verizon iPhone reports are authentic, the question remains how Apple will make the transition from GSM to CDMA, and whether the Verizon iPhone will embrace Verizon's cutting edge 4G LTE network.
AppleInsider reports suggest that Apple will implement a dual-band chip from Qualcomm that will allow the iPhone to work on both GSM and CDMA networks simultaneously. This approach makes sense from the standpoint that Apple would not have to develop and manufacture separate iPhone hardware for each wireless network. It would also mean that a CDMA-compatible Verizon iPhone would still have international functionality as most of the world relies on GSM.
With the recent Verizon announcement that it will soon unleash its 4G LTE network in major markets around the country, some wonder if Apple should not even bother with a 3G CDMA iPhone, and simply get onboard with LTE. Assuming that Apple is finally ending its exclusivity with AT&T and offering the iPhone with Verizon, what's another few months?
In the end, I don't think that Apple needs to go out of its way to jump on the 4G bandwagon just yet. Aside from giving Sprint a unique marketing brand–enabling them to tack "4G" onto the end of the name of every device–it isn't really an advantage yet. The next generation Wi-Fi technology is not pervasive enough, and has not yet been proven enough for it to be a major consideration for prospective smartphone buyers.
Given the trials and tribulations that the iPhone has had with AT&T's 3G network, it can be argued that Apple should be anxious to embrace cutting edge technology that provides much greater bandwidth and speed. However, Apple is understandably reluctant to be a 4G guinea pig. Essentially, any problem that would arise would be a question mark that could potentially mar the reputation of the iPhone, and Apple is better off to wait for 4G to become entrenched as the standard.
The surveys that have been conducted regarding the likelihood that Verizon customers would buy an iPhone, or whether AT&T and Sprint customers might defect to Verizon just to get a Verizon iPhone, have focused just on the concept of the iPhone. I seriously doubt that the numbers would change much had the survey been worded specific to a 3G vs. 4G iPhone.
The bottom line is that the pent up demand is for the iPhone–pure and simple. Adding 4G capabilities would almost be frivolous, and foregoing CDMA to target LTE would be counter-productive. What is the point of finally ending exclusivity and offering the iPhone through Verizon, if you do so in a limited fashion that yet again restricts the potential audience?
With each passing day, it seems more certain that a Verizon iPhone is coming soon. But, if you were hoping for a 4G Verizon iPhone, I don't recommend holding your breath.