text:
**NOTE** Please test the free "lite" version of this application before purchasing to ensure that it works on your phone.
Don't miss what matters most, get notified!
This application will display a popup notification window when certain phone/app events occur.
This app is extremely customizable with many options. Updates and new features are frequently added.
Features including:
Popup Window Notifications for:
• SMS/MMS Messages
• Missed Calls
• Calendar Events/Reminders
• K-9 Mail Clients (Kaiten Mail, K-9 Mail, K-9 Mail For Pure)
• Gmail
• AquaMail
• Twitter Notifications
• Facebook Notifications
• Google Voice Notifications
• More full featured notification options are in the works as well!
Customizable features:
• Themes
• Customize Contacts
• Quiet Time Feature
• Blacklist Feature
• and many more...
Region features:
• Supported in multiple languages
• Region Specific Display Options
Visit Me
Google+: https://plus.google.com/106330578986972156117
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DroidNotify
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DroidNotifyApp
App Online Resources
An outline of the application preferences can be found here: http://code.google.com/p/droid-notify/wiki/ApplicationPreferences
Development Website: http://code.google.com/p/droid-notify/
If you run into any problems with this app, please visit the FAQ pages at http://code.google.com/p/droid-notify/wiki/FAQ, or email me at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text: You have the latest AirPods and you want to keep them as new as you got them? Here is the perfect leather AirPods case to protect your Apple earphones. Semi-rigid in terms of conception and designed accurately to fit, this ear pods case has a very practical snap button closure. At the bottom of the case, there is a smart cut that allows you to charge your AirPods box. Wireless charging is also accessible, without removing the leather cover. You may even customize this beautiful AirPods Holder with initials to make it a perfectly unique accessory.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Love in Full Bloom
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
This is the first of a three-part series on the brahmaviharas, which show us the way to a kinder, more compassionate relationship with ourselves and others. Read Part II: I'm So Happy For You and Part III: Calm Within.
How would you like to be unconditionally loved, just as you are, without having to be or do anything special? What would it be like to feel truly, completely, radically accepted, without feeling as though you had to hide or deny or apologize for any aspect of yourself?
All of us crave this kind of love and acceptance, but few can honestly say we offer ourselves such unconditional regard. The trouble is, if we cannot love and accept ourselves just as we are, we will find it difficult to truly love anyone else in such a limitless, unconditional way. And, perhaps even more unsettling to contemplate, if we are fortunate enough to find someone who accepts and loves us unconditionally, how can we be open to receiving that love from someone else if we haven't fully accepted ourselves?
Unconditional love becomes possible when you practice cultivating the four states of mind known as the brahmaviharas. Collectively, these four qualities of friendliness or lovingkindness (metta), compassion (karuna), joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha) are the qualities of true, authentic, and unconditional love. Both Patanjali, the Indian sage who compiled the Yoga Sutra in the second century BCE, and the Buddha taught the importance of cultivating these four states of mind.
Quieting the Mind For Full Self Acceptance
Swami Satchidananda (1914-2002), yoga master and founder of Integral Yoga, translates Yoga Sutra I.33, which addresses the brahmaviharas, as saying, "By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness." Satchidananda says that these qualities are the four keys to establishing the mind in serenity: "If you use the right key with the right person, you will retain your peace." Cultivating these states of mind is a way of restraining or reversing what Patanjali calls vikshepa, the tendency of the mind to be distracted and outwardly directed. Patanjali tells us that when we react haphazardly or callously to what people do around us, inner disturbance is the result. These four attitudes combat that disturbance and bring us closer to a state of balanced equilibrium.
When we see happy people, cultivating a friendly attitude toward them will help forestall feelings of jealousy and envy. When we encounter those who are suffering, we should compassionately do what we can to help—for our own sake as much as for the person who is suffering. "Our goal is to keep the serenity of our minds. Whether our mercy will help that person or not, by our own feeling of mercy, at least we are helped," Satchidananda says.
Appreciating and delighting in the qualities of virtuous people will inspire us to cultivate such virtues ourselves. And finally, when we are faced with those we deem nonvirtuous, the classical yoga tradition teaches that we should strive to have an indifferent attitude toward them. Often, we indulge in judging and criticizing those who we feel are misguided. This hardly helps us maintain a serene state of mind! Commentators in the classical yoga tradition point out that the yogi should not divert attention from his or her own practice in order to try to reform those who are unlikely to heed advice. As Satchidananda points out, "If you try to advise them, you will lose your peace."
Love Unlimited
Many contemporary yogis interpret Patanjali's Yoga Sutra I.33 more broadly. Chip Hartranft, an author and teacher of Buddhism and yoga, translates the sutra as saying, "Consciousness settles as one radiates friendliness, compassion, delight, and equanimity toward all things, whether pleasant, unpleasant, good, or bad." This broader view is the one emphasized in the Buddhist tradition, where the brahmaviharas are also known as "the Four Limitless Ones" and "the Four Immeasurables," reflecting Buddhist yoga's emphasis on social relationships and the interdependent nature of all beings. Both of these perspectives are valuable; reflecting on the intention and purpose behind each gives greater depth to our own practice.
Metta or Maitri (lovingkindness):
Buddhist yoga, the word metta (the Pali equivalent of the Sanskrit maitri used by Patanjali) is most often translated as "lovingkindness." Metta is related to the words for "gentle" (think of a soft, misty rain) and "friend," and it signifies the good-natured, kind-hearted feeling we have for a close friend. It isn't gooey and sentimental, nor is it possessive and clingy; it's a gentle, loyal acceptance with a deep sense of appreciation and regard.
Karuna (compassion):
Karuna is related to the word karma. It is the intention and capacity to relieve and transform suffering, to lighten sorrow. While the word karuna is generally "translated as "compassion," which literally means to suffer with," Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk and teacher, has pointed out that we don't need to suffer ourselves in order to alleviate the suffering of another person. Doctors, for instance, do not have to suffer illness in order to relieve their patients' pain. The Buddha described karuna as the "quivering of the heart" we experience when we are open and able to truly see suffering and are moved to do something about it.
Mudita (joy):
True love brings joy, and mudita is the joy we take in the simple pleasures of the breath or the eyes that enable us to see a child's smile or the blueness of a clear sky, and the delight we take in watching a puppy play. When we love, joy seems to surround and pervade us.
Upekkha or Upeksha (equanimity):
Finally, the word upekkha (or upeksha in Sanskrit), translated by those in the classical yoga tradition as "disregard" or "indifference," is understood in the Buddhist yoga tradition as meaning "equanimity," or the even-mindedness of nonattachment. True equanimity is neither indifference nor detachment. It is the ability to feel connection fully, without clinging or possessiveness. Upekkha is traditionally the last of the brahmaviharas we work with, and it is the one that allows us to deepen and extend the other three immeasurably, avoiding pitfalls like compassion fatigue, emotional burnout, and stifling codependence.
Begin with Yourself
In this article, the first of three exploring the brahmaviharas in detail, I will begin with an integrated approach to the first two, metta and karuna, which I often encourage students to combine into one seamless practice. When we practice metta and karuna, we start by cultivating a friendly, unconditional regard for ourselves, before attempting to cultivate the same for others.
This kind of radical self-acceptance can be challenging for those of us who have trouble feeling worthy or deserving of love. When we practice lovingkindness toward ourselves, we might come face-to-face with feelings of self-deprecation that we've been suppressing or ignoring, feelings that have been affecting our hearts and relationships unconsciously. I practice and teach metta and karuna together because it is often through opening to these suppressed feelings with compassion that a friendly, accepting love for ourselves and others can develop.
In the Buddhist yoga tradition, detailed instruction on the practice of cultivating the brahmaviharas has been maintained through the millennia, and the practice I teach is reflective of this tradition. To begin, seat yourself in a comfortable position. As a preliminary practice for metta bhavana (or cultivating metta), call to mind your own goodness, a time when you did or said something that was kind, generous, caring, or loving. This can be something as simple as offering your seat on the bus, or preparing your family a nourishing meal. If you can't think of anything, turn your attention to a quality in yourself that you enjoy, a strength or skill that you can recognize and appreciate. If nothing comes to mind, you can simply reflect on the basic rightness of your innate wish to be happy. After settling in with the breath and the reflections of the preliminary practice, bring your attention to your heart center and acknowledge how it feels here—whether open and receptive or closed and defended, whether heavy or light. Open to how it feels, without judging, and simply witness and befriend the heart. Then begin to repeat the following metta phrases:
May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be safe from harm.
May I enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.
May I experience ease and well-being in body, mind, and spirit.
If you experience any physical or emotional pain, or if any difficulty arises as you practice saying these, such as having feelings of unworthiness, anger, fear, or sadness, add in these phrases of karuna bhavana (cultivating karuna):
May I be free from suffering.
May I hold myself with softness and care.
May I be free from suffering and the root of suffering.
May I be free from the suffering caused by greed (or anger, fear, confusion, and so on).
May I experience ease of body, mind, and spirit.
May I respond to suffering with compassion.
As you repeat these phrases to yourself, feel your breath and notice your body's response to each phrase. Settle into the reverberations of each phrase as it echoes in your mind's ear. You may find that you cannot connect with feelings of friendliness and compassion. It might feel mechanical to repeat the phrases, as if you're being inauthentic. If it does, remember that sending love to a closed heart is still part of the practice, and that you can, as one of my teachers once said, "Fake it till you make it!" Just as you would in any other meditation practice, notice when the mind strays into story, memory, fantasy, or planning. When it does, simply let it all go and return to the practice.
After you express metta karuna to yourself as the essential foundation for being able to offer genuine love to others, the next step is to direct these phrases to benefactors—those who have been good to you and for whom you feel respect and gratitude, such as parents, friends, teachers, or anyone else who has helped you in any way. After benefactors come beloved friends, a group that includes family members, lovers, friends, and animal companions. These are beings whom you already hold dear in your heart.
Sometimes, when working with these categories, I find it difficult to conjure up the image of just one benefactor or beloved friend. I feel that I have to make my heart bigger to make space for all the beings I love. And indeed, this growing awareness and appreciation of the love we already have is a great source of joy that we can access through this practice at any time. I like to allow the faces of the many loved ones I hold in my heart to arise in my mind's eye, and then I address each person with a phrase or two, so as to really feel the connection between us.
The next step is to direct the phrases toward a neutral person, someone you have no strong feelings for one way or the other. Perhaps it's someone you see around your neighborhood but do not know. When I first began to practice metta karuna, I was living in Brooklyn, and there was an older man who walked his dog down my street several times a day. I knew nothing of this man, and realized I had no strong feelings about him, so I chose him as my neutral person. And then a funny thing happened.
After several months, I realized I could no longer send him love as a neutral person. While I still did not know anything about him, I found that I had come to really care for him! When I brought up his image, I felt the familiar warmth of concern and kindness. He had moved into the "beloved friend" category.
After the neutral person, this practice challenges us to send metta karuna to a difficult person. This is someone toward whom you feel anger, fear, or a lack of forgiveness, someone you perceive as having hurt you in some way. It is important to be patient with yourself when sending love to a difficult person. Begin with the less challenging difficult people in your life; over time, you can work your way up to the really challenging difficult people. While practicing, if strong emotions arise, you may need to honor the limits of your present capacity and go back to directing love and compassion toward yourself. Go back and forth between yourself and the difficult person, reflecting on how much pain holding on to these feelings is causing you.
I had a student who had been estranged from his abusive father for nearly 30 years. After he directed metta karuna to himself for nine months, I suggested he begin to broaden his circle to include benefactors, loved ones, and neutral beings. After a few months of this, he began to consider the idea of sending metta karuna to his father.
Feelings of anger and resentment arose, so he'd go back to sending love to himself. In growing to accept his own reactivity with love and compassion, he eventually developed the capacity to send love and compassion to his father. Although his father is still a toxic person for him, my student has grown in inner peace, stability, and compassion. He still keeps his distance from his father—while love can be unconditional, relationships require conditions—but he now feels compassion and understanding, not fear and rage.
The final step in the practice is to direct metta karuna toward all beings. If you like, before doing this you can choose to send metta karuna to more specific groups of beings, such as those in prisons or those who are hungry, abused, or homeless. Don't forget other species, as all beings wish to be happy and free from suffering just as you do. And that's just where this practice ultimately takes us: to wishing that all beings everywhere, seen and unseen, great and small, are happy and free from suffering.
Metta Karuna on the Mat
As important as it is to practice metta karuna as a formal seated meditation, you also need to take it off the cushion into your life, and your asana practice can serve as a wonderful bridge. To bring metta karuna into your asana practice, recline in a gentle, supported backbend, with a rolled blanket or bolster supporting the lower tips of the shoulder blades, to encourage greater awareness of the heart center. Tune in to how you're feeling as you start practice, not judging whether the heart is heavy or light, or whether you feel nourished or vulnerable in this position. Simply attend to how you are, and then set your intention for practice by repeating the phrases of metta karuna. As you move through your asana practice, if you're practicing backbends, shoulder-opening stretches, and twists, you may find that a physically opened heart center allows for easier access to loving feelings. By mindfully moving through the poses, you can feel how the quality of the heart changes.
Your reactions to the sensations of asana practice can serve as a mirror for your deep-seated patterns. As you move into a more challenging posture, fear or anger might arise, and you can use that as an opportunity to send compassion and love to yourself. One student, after holding Vrksasana (Tree Pose) for a long time, noticed that she was irritated by the pins-and-needles feeling in her standing foot. Looking deeper, she saw that her aversion was not because the sensations were painful but simply because they were different. With wonder she noted, "This is how I react whenever I am confronted with difference, whether it's a new situation or someone's opinion about politics or religion." In sending compassion to herself and her aversive reactivity, she was able to soften and, over time, become more accepting of other people's differences. This is just one example of the freeing potential of boundless love!
Many students notice how critical their inner voices are as they move through their asana practice; without the focused awareness of mindfulness, they believe these voices. But when practicing with mindfulness and the intention to open the heart, they are able to nonjudgmentally note the voices and use them as "bells of mindfulness" to remind themselves of the metta karuna phrases.
Metta Karuna in the World
Off the mat and throughout the day, you can cultivate metta karuna by simply paying attention to all of the opportunities around you to do so. As you wait in line at the grocery store, you can send metta karuna to the others in line, the stock clerks, and the cashier. Walking down the street, you can send karuna to the homeless woman sitting beside her shopping cart. And if you notice that aversion arises when you see that homeless woman, you can send some karuna to yourself, as well.
I'd like to now share a practice that my students and I have found invaluable for transforming our relationships to all of the people and situations that life presents. The first thing every morning, set your intention to cultivate metta karuna throughout the day by reciting the following verse:
Waking this morning, I smile,
A brand-new day is before me.
I aspire to live each moment mindfully,
And to look upon all beings
With the eyes of kindness and compassion.
May you, and all other beings, be happy and free from suffering.
Frank Jude Boccio is a teacher of yoga and Zen Buddhism and the author of Mindfulness Yoga.


text:
Better than a quarter million Washington sport fishermen will say a fervent "good riddance" Saturday to the infamous "rainbow runt," that piddling 8-inch hatchery trout that for decades was the unfortunate mainstay of the state's put-and-take fishery.
This opening day will see the culmination of a two-year switchover to rainbows raised long enough to be an ordained 11 to 12 inches when released — bigger, heavier, sportier trout — in every planted lake in the state.
The larger trout are the result of polls conducted among anglers by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife that showed a strong desire for bigger fish, even if it means fewer of them. Innovative work by the state's hatchery division pretty much achieved both larger rainbows and roughly similar numbers.
Additionally, the department continues to purchase privately pen-raised triploid rainbows averaging 11/2 to 2 pounds but going considerably larger, which are planted in selected lakes to spice up the catch.
All this is in addition to plants of rainbows between 12 inches and 10 pounds purchased by various organizations and fishing clubs for kids' fish-ins and other events.
Here's a quick rundown of what are expected to be the most productive lakes around north Puget Sound on Saturday, the opening day of Washington's general trout fishing season:
Snohomish County
Wagner Lake: This small lake, located two miles northeast of Monroe, was planted this month with 2,700 of the new "catchables" and is a good prospect for the opener. Creel checks last year showed an "encounter" rate (both kept trout and those released) of 6.5 rainbows per angler. State access is on the southeast shoreline.
Lake Stickney: Year-around lake with multiple species. Located northeast of Lynnwood, with public access on the east shoreline. Planted with 3,000 catchables this month. Put out 6.3 trout kept and released per rod on the 2012 opener.
Lake Howard: This smallish lake could be one of the best bets Saturday morning. It received plants this month of 3,500 catchables and 500 triploids. Always known for good-sized, high-quality trout, Howard put out 4.5 fish per person on last year's opener. Lake Howard is in the "Resort Lakes" group northwest of Marysville, just west of the north end of Lake Goodwin.
Lake Riley: Has had a good opener three years in a row (4.4 trout per rod last year) and should repeat. Received a plant of 3,500 catchables this month. This small, shallow lake east of Arlington has access on the southeast corner.
Crabapple Lake: Another small but productive water in the Lake Goodwin area, Crabapple is deep and can be cold on the opener. Produced an average of 4.3 rainbows per rod last year, and was planted with 3,000 catchables this month. Often puts out a scattering of carryover rainbows in the 15-inch range on the opener.
Lake Bosworth: Received a big plant of 9,500 catchables this month, duplicating the numbers from the past couple years, so Bosworth should again be a good bet for three to four fish per person. Located south of Granite Falls, with access on the northeast side.
Storm Lake: This popular lake east of Snohomish put out an average of 3.4 rainbows per rod in 2012 and has received a nice plant of 9,200 catchables this month. Public access is on west side.
Martha Lake (Alderwood Manor): Had a good opener in 2012 at 3.3 trout per person and received 7,200 catchables this month and 291 triploids prior to that. Good access, a state ramp, a county park and two fishing piers make Martha a popular spring fishery.
Lake Ki: No longer gets the triploids that were so popular there for a couple of years, but still a very productive opening-day prospect. Received a plant of 12,000 catchables and put out an average of 2.8 trout per person on the 2012 opener. Located northwest of Marysville, off I-5 through Lakewood, with county road access on the north side. Little bank fishing access.
Lake Armstrong: This small lake north of Arlington off Highway 9 put out just 1.5 rainbows per person on the 2012 opener, the second disappointment in a row. Has received a plant of 4,000 catchables.
Skagit County
Lake Erie: It was nearly limits all around in 2012 on this fish factory just south of Anacortes, and it almost certainly will produce at that level once more. Stocked this month with 4,500 catchables and 350 triploids. Scenic area with large access on the east shore and pretty fair bank fishing access.
Heart Lake: Lies just south of Lake Erie and is just as productive. Average of 4.1 trout per rod in 2012. Stocked this month with 6.500 catchables and a big plant of 600 triploids. Access is on east shore. If there's a lake in Western Washington where you can put money on catching trout, this is it.
Lake Sixteen: Small lake east of Conway can be up and down on the opener, probably depending on the temperature. Had a good opener last year, with an average of 4.0 rainbows per rod. Stocked this month with 6,500 catchables.
Lake McMurray: Dependable producer of fat rainbows on opening day and for several weeks thereafter, McMurray has been about as consistent as a trout lake can be. Put out an average of 3.9 fish last year. Has been stocked with 17,000 catchables this month. Primed and ready to go.
More state-purchased triploids averaging around 2 pounds each have or will be planted in the following lakes: Deer Lake (Whidbey Island) 204 fish in April; Silver Lake (south Everett) 590 fish, some in March and the balance in May; Lake Tye (Monroe) 212 fish in March, plus a bunch more for the kids' fishing day on Sunday; Flowing Lake (Snohomish), 390 state fish in April, plus more by the Snohomish Sportsmen's Club; Blackmans, 250 state fish scheduled for June, but many more already in the lake from sportsmen's club plants; Lake Campbell (just north of Deception Pass) big triploid plant of 1,071 fish in April and June; Lake Cassidy, 460 fish in March; Lake Roesiger, 517 fish in March; Gissberg Ponds (Twin Lakes), 660 state fish in May and June, plus a lot more in early May, prior to the May 18 kids' fishing event on the north (juveniles only) lake.
Recommendations? Absolutely: 1. Lake McMurray; 2. Heart Lake; and 3. Lake Howard.
You heard it here first.
For more outdoors news, read Wayne Kruse's blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
Talk to us
- You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing email@example.com or by calling 425-339-3428.
- If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to firstname.lastname@example.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
- More contact information is here.


text:
I try not to get worked up about politics, but I hate the Tea Party delusion that we've become a nation that is split between makers and takers. It's the false idea that Mitt Romney, who probably doesn't believe it, parroted in that cringeworthy video to suck up to wealthy donors who do. The point of my Sept. 17 TIME cover story, aside from getting pictures of my kids and dogs in the magazine, was to show that most Americans are makers and takers, including me. But we're proud of our making and blind to our taking, which is why appeals to the 53% — minus Romney's gross I-got-mine attacks on families who think they're entitled to eat — have some political appeal. Most of the alleged moochers in the 47% — seniors, disabled veterans, the working poor — don't even realize they're part of it. They understandably assume politicians must be talking about some other moochers, because they don't feel like moochers.
(PHOTOS: The Rich History of Mitt Romney)
I really hope the stir over Romney's political snuff film will help end the slur that half the country pays no taxes. As many political reporters who never bothered to correct that nonsense when it wasn't part of a "gaffe" are finally pointing out, the 47% of Americans who don't pay something imprecisely called income taxes do cough up payroll taxes on their income as well as state and local taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes and other taxes. And most of us cough up more than the 13% of Romney's (unearned!) income that he paid in 2011 while running for President. It's hard to say if we pay more than Romney did before that, because, well, you know.
It's good to see a broader recognition that most of us are makers and that most of the nonmakers are seniors on Social Security and Medicare. What I tried to show in the article is that we're takers too, even those of us with a comfortable income. We benefit not only from publicly subsidized roads, water, electricity, schools, trash collection, police protection, national defense and, in my case, tennis courts but also lucrative tax advantages for our mortgage interest, health care, child care, 401(k)s, business expenses and, in some cases, dressage costs. Some Americans who work in the financial sector enjoy lucrative tax breaks for their "carried interest," but of course it's impossible to know without seeing their returns.
I hope you'll read the article; it's even more relevant today, although I'm heartbroken to report that one of those hyperactive unsubsidized Boston terriers, our beloved Shamu, died last weekend after his star turn. I hope Romney's nasty comments will attract more attention to that crazy, irritating, theatrical, soulful, unbelievably wonderful dog scavenging under the chair. RIP, Shampers. We miss you terribly.
(LIST: All Campaign Gaffes from 2008)
But back to Romney. I doubt he really believes those obnoxious things he said; his political career would suggest that he was just saying what he thought his audience wanted to hear. That said, it doesn't really matter what he honestly believes if he feels he has to do what his audience wants. It's hard to imagine a President Romney standing up to the Tea Party and his wealthy donors. In any case, this should calm the latest furor over his supposedly inept staff, which, as I've argued in the past, is doing a pretty impressive job with an inept candidate. You can't blame that awful video on Stuart Stevens.


text:
Access Your Medical Information Online
We care about our patients. Our goal is to provide you and your family with the best experience possible when interacting with our practice. We understand that it is not always possible to visit the clinic, leave message, wait on the phone, or update your personal health information. By offering online access to your health information we look forward to simplifying your healthcare experience.
Why sign up?
My OneCare is a secure, online tool that connects you directly to your personal medical record. My OneCare will enable you to:
- Update personal information
- Request or change appointments
- Ask clinical questions
- View medication and allergy lists
- Request a prescription refill or change a pharmacy
- View Lab Results, Tests, and Clinic
How to start
During your clinic visit you will be asked to provide an email address. You will be emailed a My OneCare invitation which includes instructions on how to register. Communications will come from the following: [email protected]. If you do not receive an invitation check your spam folder. The invitation expires after 60 days.
- Click the registration link in the email you receive from [email protected]
- Create your portal login using a unique username and password.
- Enter the invitation code provided by your medical organization and click "Agree" to the release of information.
If you already have a portal account, you can add our office to your existing account. Please call 888-670-9775 if you have any questions.
The patient portal invitation you receive after visiting one of our facilities will never expire. Once you sign up, the portal will be available to you 24/7.
You can also use another application to access your health information, if you prefer. To do so, you will need to first set up a portal account with My OneCare. The username and password you choose will be the security component for your health information and make it possible for you to access and import it.
Currently available for use with My OneCare:
- The My Links app, available at www.mylinks.com.
Please note: Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) reserves the right to disable a third-party application, if needed. That application's terms of use will apply and CHI will not have the control or ability to secure the data you place within that system.


text:
Jump to navigation Jump to search
| A reader requests expansion of this book to include more material.
You can help by adding new material (learn how) or ask for assistance in the reading room.
Corsets have a curious history. Western women of the upper class wore them for centuries. Women have protested the use of corsets, saying their restrictive nature is un-feminist. Still, people wear corsets to this day. This wikibook aims to provide information about the history, making and cultural significance of corsets. New contributors welcome!
The Corset Book[edit | edit source]
- History
- Tightlacing in Corset
- Make a Corset
- Against Corset
- Books About Corsets
- Corsets in popular culture
- Dictionary
See also[edit | edit source]
| This book is an undeveloped draft or outline.
You can help to develop the work, or you can ask for assistance in the project room.


text: Inaugural History For more than two hundred years America's citizens have witnessed the Inauguration ceremonies of the President and Vice President of the United States. From the first Inauguration of George Washington, in New York City, in 1789, to today, as we prepare for the 56th quadrennial Presidential Inauguration, the swearing-in ceremony represents both national renewal and continuity of leadership. As each president has offered a vision for America's future, we reflect… Read More


text:
Release dates for new Apple products have been tougher to predict lately, with the end of the yearly refresh for new iPads and the ever-shifting launch window of new iPhones.
Fortunately, Rene Ritchie at iMore has some unnamed sources who claim to know what's up:
iMore has learned that Apple is planning the release of the iPhone 5S for this summer, currently for August. Next generation iPads, presumably the iPad 5 and potentially the iPad mini 2, may also debut as soon as this April.
iMore has a developed a solid track record for Apple rumors, and the timing doesn't seem too far-fetched for the iPhone, at least.
However, even Ritchie seems a bit skeptical about the chances of new iPads next month. Apple just launched its fourth-generation iPad and the iPad Mini in October, and a Retina display for the latter would probably take more time to implement.
The iPhone 5S is rumored to have a similar design to the iPhone 5, but with an improved camera and possibly a built-in fingerprint sensor. The next full-sized iPad is expected to be much thinner and lighter than its predecessors, with a design that hews closer to the iPad Mini.
iPhone 5S planned for August, next iPads may debut as soon as April [iMore.com]


text:
Sign up for news & offers
On all orders over €75
On selected products
By choosing to proceed you agree to our Terms & Conditions
Embrace family life, your greatest adventure yet - with confidence and freedom.
For Life's Little Adventures
© LittleLife 2022 All Rights Reserved. | Privacy & Cookies


text:
8 Items
8 Items
Black Diamond® Crapemyrtles are a jaw-droppingly gorgeous series of crape myrtles that provide deliciously dark black foliage from the first day of spring until the last day of fall. Each branch is topped by a mass of brilliant, jewel-toned blooms in a rainbow of colors.
You'll find just the right variety to fit your landscape. With a naturally compact habit, Black Diamond crape myrtles reach a maximum height of 10-12 ft. and width of 8 feet. Some are more naturally shrubby, and others display a more upright growth habit. They are very versatile and can add privacy and shade while giving you a beautiful, vibrant and healthy visual accent to enjoy.
Style-wise, Black Diamonds make attractive flowering hedges or beautiful trees to line your driveway or fence. Homeowners all across the United States can use them in decorative pots to place on decks, porches or balconies.
You'll simply love how low-maintenance and drought-tolerant Black Diamonds are. They'll bring seasons of interest to every garden with their outstanding foliage, flowers, and attractive bark and branch structure. Enjoy!
Best Red™ | Blush™ | Crimson Red™ | Mystic Magenta™ | Purely Purple™ | Pure White™ | Red Hot™ | Shell Pink™


text:
Goodyear tire test at Homestead moved back 2 weeks
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) The Goodyear tire test at Homestead-Miami Speedway has been moved to Sept. 9, when the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field has already been set.
The original test date was Aug. 26. NASCAR said Friday it was moved because too many teams already planned to test that week at Chicago.
It's not been determined yet if Chase drivers will be allowed to test at Homestead, site of the season-ending race that will decide the champion.
NASCAR initially said no Chase drivers could participate in the test, but all organizations represented in the Chase could attend. Teams were told to send a substitute driver instead of a Chase driver.
The restrictions hurt many teams, including Team Penske, which has both of its drivers already qualified for the Chase.


text:
New Delhi: State-run BSNL has launched special tariff vouchers (STVs) wherein its customers would get over 75% cheaper rates for making international calls.
The public sector firm has launched STVs in the range for Rs 23 to Rs 41 for prepaid customers whereas postpaid users have to pay a fixed monthly charge (FMC) of Rs 20 to Rs 40 to avail the cheaper rates.
The company has divided the countries into four groups. "BSNL is providing its customers the cheapest international call rates. It has launched STVs, which are offering ISD calls rates similar to the normal calls," the company said in a statement.
With a STV of Rs 41, prepaid customers can call USA, Canada and Singapore for Rs 1.49 per minute whereas the normal rate is Rs 6 per minute. Users can call China at Rs 1.49 per minute against the normal tariff is Rs 10 per minute.
Postpaid customers too can avail the same rates with a FMC of Rs 40. The SMS tariff has been reduced to Rs 3 from Rs 5 per SMS.
For countries including France, Germany and UK, the rate has been reduced to Rs 4.49 per minute as against Rs 6 with a STV of Rs 38 for prepaid users and FMC of Rs 35 for postpaid customers.
BSNL customers can call Bangladesh, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand at Rs 2.99 per minute with STV of Rs 27 as against a normal price of Rs 10.
For calling Australia, the rate has been reduced to Rs 6.49 per minute with Rs 23 STV and a FMC of Rs 23 while SMS can be send for Rs 3.
Recently some players have increased international calling rates by up to 80% mainly due to the impact of depreciation in rupee.


text:
- Home
- Outdoor Furniture
- Sectionals
- Crossings Sectional
Crossings Sectional
Brown Jordan Crossings Sectional
Crossings elevates the look of woven strap furniture with this sectional design using Brown Jordan's unique and exclusive Sunbrella strapping. Innovative engineering and product flexibility make Crossings the ideal seating collection for limitless customization and superior comfort.
The collection is available in 22 finishes all at standard pricing. Each piece of this collection undergoes a rigorous finishing treatment that results in a beautiful, lasting piece of furniture.
the Brown Jordan Crossings Four Piece Sectional is comprised of one Left Arm Facing Chaise, one Armless Love Seat and two Right Arm Facing Sofas.
A meticulous welding process is taken to prepare assembled frames for painting. Welded joints are ground to achieve uniform dimension. Each frame is then sanded, buffed and polished to achieve a smooth surface allowing for better adhesion for the final powder coat. The end result is a smooth frame with an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Each frame is processed in a special pretreatment wash system with the purpose of removing any particles remaining after the buffing and polishing process. This pretreatment involves a five step application of detergent wash, clean rinse, a special solvent metal preparation bath for superior pain adhesion and two additional rinse processes to ensure exceptional cleanliness. Clean frames are then heat dried to evacuate any liquid within the frame.
A hybrid primer base coat is then applied. Finally an Ultra Fuse powder coat finish is applied with an electrostatic technique that creates a complete and uniform coating on all areas of the frame, including the bends and corners. The result is an attractive, durable, high-quality finish that will not flake, peel or blister.
Choose your own cushions from over one hundred Sunbrella fabrics that will withstand the sun and the elements. Cushions are zippered and the covers are machine washable for easy care.
We have been an authorized Brown Jordan dealer for several years. We have sold hundreds of Brown Jordan items through our brick and mortar stores in Texas. We are confident in the extreme high quality of Brown Jordan furniture. We have exceptional depth of product knowledge. We will support your purchase with replacement parts and warranty claims. We have talented in-house designers who will assist you in making your decisions. This service is complimentary.


text:
Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.Cupressaceae
It is a conifer that grows in low marshy land on the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to Texas and in the Mississippi Valley. The generic name derives from taxus, yew, and eidos, alike, referring to the similar appearance it presents its foliage with this species. It is one of the few deciduous conifers because their leaves fall in autumn. In his natural environment, waterlogged areas of North America - swamp cypress is another of its names-it has aerial roots that look for oxygen out of the water. In the Alcázar there are two specimens in the English Garden, one of which is about 50 or 60 years. However, the most important and ancient Taxodium of Seville is, without doubt, the one in the Maria Luisa Park and planted between 1850 and 1870, that is part from the early nineteenth century of the monument to the poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Seville. It is an arbor that embracing the tree develops its sculptural program in the company of a bench, where originally there were shelves with the writer's work to read under the shade of the plant crown.


text:
It's one of my latest hand painted gaiwan that found its way in my selection.
I've introduced its maker on September 22nd (in French). I realized afterwards that the small pictures can't capture the beauty of the colors and the light touch of the brush. (Best is to click on the pictures to increase their size). That's why I took this close up in today's natural light. Enjoy!
Hoshino Yame Matcha: Revist
20 hours ago


text:
Three lawyers and three engineers are traveling by train to a conference.
At the station, the three lawyers each buy tickets and watch as the three engineers buy only a single ticket.
"How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?" asks a lawyer.
"Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer.
They all board the train. The lawyers take their respective seats but all three engineers cram into a restroom and close the door behind them.
Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and says, "Ticket, please." The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand.
The conductor takes it and moves on.
The lawyers see this and agree that it is quite a clever idea so, after the conference, they decide to copy the engineers on the return trip and save some money (recognizing the engineers' superior ntellect).
When they get to the station, they buy a single ticket for the return trip.
To their astonishment, the engineers don't buy a ticket at all.
"How are you going to travel without a ticket?" says one perplexed lawyer.
"Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer.
When they board the train the three lawyers cram into a restroom and the three engineers cram into another one nearby.
The train departs.
Shortly afterward, one of the engineers leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the lawyers are hiding. He knocks on the door and says, "Ticket, please."
Posted in: Dumb People Jokes, Engineers Jokes, Lawyers Jokes


text:
WhatsApp: Popular Free Messaging Service Puts Users At Risk
For months, free smartphone instant messaging service WhatsApp has been topping the download charts. It is a favorite application for both iPhone and Android users. To the annoyance of cell phone providers, WhatsApp has become a kind of quasi replacement for the old fee-based SMS. According to WhatsApp developers, their servers handle over 10 billion messages per day.
However the service, which is run by small San Francisco start-up WhatsApp Inc., is neither as secure nor as failure-resistant as one would expect from a market leader. In his blog British web developer Sam Granger writes that any relatively ambitious hacker could get into WhatsApp accounts without a problem, either to intercept messages or send messages from their victim's account.
This is because WhatsApp is set up to make the service friendly to new users who don't have to provide their own combination of user name and password – they just use the existing info relating to their phone as login data. Telephone numbers are simply and clearly the basis for user names, and WhatsApp passwords -- at least on Android phones -- are clearly based on a phone's IMEI serial number.
Granger discovered that to generate a password out of the IMEI number the app just changes the order of the digits – "your password is likely to be an inverse of your phones IMEI number with an MD5 cryptographic hash thrown on top of it." What that means is that anybody who knows a phone's IMEI number can figure out the password.
Many apps use IMEI numbers to identify phones, and any installed program can access that information and pass it on to an external database. In the event that what happened to iPhone this week (a hacker group released one million Apple UDIDs) happens to WhatsApp, and a database generated from the phone serial numbers were to be made public, WhatsApp user accounts would be compromised and become targets for spammers. Not that hackers have lost any time -- on gray market sites, databases of Android phone serial numbers and corresponding cell phone numbers are sold under the keyword WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has been criticized many times for its security loopholes. Until recently the app carried unencrypted messages through the net, and a simple program made it possible for them to be accessed from a Wi-Fi network. The app also stores message history unencrypted on the SD memory card of Android phones.
Another issue is that WhatsApp can be completely cut off from the mobile phone network. As this article goes to print, T-Mobile users cannot access WhatsApp after a T-Mobile update blocked the relevant network port. T-Mobile says this was accidental and service would be resumed as fast as possible.


text:
Two high-level government officials have: revealed: they were pressured by the Obama administration to change their testimony to Congress in order to favor a wireless company linked to a high-level Democratic Party donor, and to sound supportive of Obama's stated goal of bringing high-speed wireless to at least 98 percent of Americans within five years. General William Shelton, a four-star General and Commander of the Air Force Space Command Center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, disclosed that he was: pressured: to add two items to his testimony; that he supported the White House policy to add more broadband for commercial use, and that the Pentagon would resolve questions relating to broadband company LightSquared through testing within the next 90 days. Anthony Russo, director of the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, also rejected the coercion to change his testimony, believing that it would take closer to six months to resolve concerns with LightSquared.
Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), chairman of the House Science Committee's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight,: observed: that four out of the five government witnesses for the Obama administration who testified about the LightSquared broadband project had virtually identical language in their testimony reflecting the administration's views on broadband.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), House Armed Services subcommittee chair, believes that General Shelton's proposed testimony was leaked in advance to LightSquared. This may have prompted the suggested changes in testimony. The Center for Public Integrity has obtained emails revealing that LightSquared officials lobbied for a meeting with the White House and brought up their political contributions to Obama and Democrats.
LightSquared's major financial backer is Philip Falcone, a high-level Democratic party donor and hedge fund capitalist. His company, Harbinger Capital, has a $3 billion majority stake in LightSquared. Falcone is a Republican but he has given substantial amounts of money to Democrats. He and his wife gave the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee $60,800 in 2009. On the same day that LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja made a $30,400 contribution to the Democratic Party, he sought a meeting with Obama's top technology adviser, Aneesh Chopra, telling him he would be in town for an Obama fundraiser. In 2005, then Senator Obama made a $90,000 investment in LightSquared, known as Skyterra at the time.
The LightSquared controversy arose due to serious concerns that part of its proposed use of broadband in the terrestrial frequency might: interfere with GPS: (Global Positioning System) devices, including GPS used by the US military, GPS for hurricane and tornado tracking, and GPS predicting floods, landslides and volcanic eruptions. LightSquared owns the frequency bands 1525 to 1559 MHz. GPS satellites use the adjacent 1559 to 1610 MHz bands. There is a risk that LightSquared signals could: overpower: weaker GPS signals. The: GPS industry: has been lobbying Congress and the FCC to stop LightSquared plans until further testing has been completed.
General Shelton: testifed: to Congress about the results of tests showing that LightSquared's signals would interfere with military equipment and jam vital GPS receivers. He said GPS would "be completely unusable" for aircraft 500 feet above the ground in the Washington, D.C. greater area. He said it could take: a decade or more: for LightSquared to mitigate the effect of its proposed network on military GPS.
Two government agencies have concluded that LightSquared's network will: interfere: with GPS satellite signals. The National Space-Based PNT Advisory Board, a government entity that advises and coordinates federal departments and agencies on GPS matters, conducted tests in May which found that some GPS receivers lost signal strength or were disabled by LightSquared's signals. Testing commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration showed that GPS for aircraft would be hampered below 2,000 feet in metro areas.
The FCC generously granted LightSquared a conditional waiver in January of this year to set up a land-based network to operate smartphones over its 4G network, but under pressure now says that it will not allow the company to operate its high-speed network until it: resolves: the GPS interference issue. LightSquared owns its own spectrum, but must get approval from the FCC in order to use it for another purpose.
Large cellular phone and broadband companies like Verizon and Sprint use either LTE (long- term evolution) or WiMAX technology. WiMAX operates in a frequency range which does not interfere with GPS, in the higher 2.1, 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5 GHz frequencies. Sprint currently employs WiMAX technology. But Sprint recently reached a $20 billion 15-year network sharing deal with LightSquared that would use its LTE technology and the controversial range that interferes with GPS.
It comes down to money. LTE and WiMAX are: both good technologies. There is no reason why LightSquared using a frequency range in LTE that will likely interfere with GPS should receive preferential treatment over WiMAX – which would not interfere with GPS. LightSquared has bought favorable treatment through its connections and contributions to Obama and the Democrats.
LightSquared is trying to minimize the backlash by offering not to use the top 10 MHz of its spectrum, a loss of $100 million. This did not arouse any sympathy from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Cal.), who pointed out during last week's Congressional hearing that LightSquared: was given: the spectrum from the government in 1989 for nothing. Falcone asserts that the problem was created by GPS satellites that have begun spilling out into other frequencies, and claims that LightSquared has a: 10-cent filterthat will fix the 40,000 military devices at risk. Ted Gartner, a spokesman for GPS manufacturing company Garmin, skeptically told Fox News that LightSquared has been talking about the 10-cent filter for awhile but it has never materialized.
Republican lawmakers are demanding an investigation into LightSquared's contacts with the Obama administration and FCC officials. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said this week his committee will launch an investigation into government loan programs to private corporations.
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) believes that the White House was: lobbying: on LightSquared's behalf. "I've been in politics for 14 years. I have never seen an agency advocate so strongly for something like this, unless there was pressure from above or a relationship that was not being disclosed," he said.
This is more of the same crony capitalism we have come to expect from the Obama administration. This comes just a week or two after the FBI and a House committee started investigating a half billion dollar federal loan guarantee to a failed solar firm tied to a large Obama fundraiser, Solyndra. As these incidents increase, it is becoming apparent that the level of cronyism in the Obama administration may even exceed the level during the Clinton administration. It is time to clean house and put an honest administration into office.


text:
Licences used in FreeCAD
FreeCAD uses two different licenses, one for the application itself, and one for the documentation:
Lesser General Public Licence, version 2 or superior (LGPL2+) For all of the FreeCAD source code found in the official Git repository
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (CC-BY-3.0) For the documentation on https://www.freecadweb.org
See FreeCAD's debian copyright file for more details about the licenses used by the different open-source components used in FreeCAD
Impact of the licences
Below is a friendlier explanation of what the LGPL license means for you:
All users
Anybody can download, use and redistribute FreeCAD free of charge, without any restriction. Your copy of FreeCAD is truly yours, as are the files you produce with FreeCAD. You will not be forced to update FreeCAD after a certain time, nor change your usage of FreeCAD. Using FreeCAD doesn't bind you to any kind of contract or obligation. The FreeCAD source code is public and can be inspected, so it is possible to verify that it doesn't do things without your knowledge such as sending your private data somewhere.
Professional users
FreeCAD can be used freely for any kind of purpose, being private, commercial or institutional. Any version of FreeCAD can be deployed and installed anywhere, any number of times. You can also modify and adapt FreeCAD for your own purposes without any restriction. However, you cannot make the FreeCAD developers liable for possible damage or business loss that could occur from using FreeCAD.
Open-source software developers
You can use FreeCAD as a base to develop your own application, or simply extend it by creating new modules for it. If FreeCAD is embedded into your own application, you can choose either the GPL or the LGPL license, or any other license that is compatible with LGPL, to allow the use of your work in proprietary software or not. If you are developing a module to be used as an extension, and don't include any of the FreeCAD code in it, then you can choose any license you want. However, if you wish to see your module used as much as possible, it is a good idea to use the same LGPL license as FreeCAD itself, so parts of your code can be more easily reused in other future modules or even in FreeCAD itself.
Closed-source software developers
You can use FreeCAD as a base for your own application, and are not forced to make your application open source. The LGPL license, however, ask for two basic things: 1) that you clearly inform your users that your application is using FreeCAD and that FreeCAD is LGPL-licensed, and 2) that you clearly separate your own application from the FreeCAD components. That is usually done by either dynamically linking to the FreeCAD components, so users are allowed to change it, or making the FreeCAD source code, along with the modifications you brought to it, available to your users. You will get support from the FreeCAD developers as long as it is not a 'one way street'.
The models and other files produced with FreeCAD are not subject to any license stated above, nor bound to any kind of restriction or ownership. Your files are truly yours. You can set the owner of the file and specify your own license terms for the files you produce inside FreeCAD, via menu File → Project Information.
Statement of the main developer
I know that the discussion on the "right" licence for open source occupied a significant portion of internet bandwidth and so is here the reason why, in my opinion, FreeCAD should have this one.
I chose the LGPL for the project and I know the pro and cons about the LGPL and will give you some reasons for that decision.
FreeCAD is a mixture of a library and an application, so the GPL would be a little bit strong for that. It would prevent writing commercial modules for FreeCAD because it would prevent linking with the FreeCAD base libs. You may ask why commercial modules at all? Therefore Linux is good example. Would Linux be so successful when the GNU C Library would be GPL and therefore prevent linking against non-GPL applications? And although I love the freedom of Linux, I also want to be able to use the very good NVIDIA 3D graphic driver. I understand and accept the reason NVIDIA does not wish to give away driver code. We all work for companies and need payment or at least food. So for me, a coexistence of open source and closed source software is not a bad thing, when it obeys the rules of the LGPL. I would like to see someone writing a Catia import/export processor for FreeCAD and distribute it for free or for some money. I don't like to force him to give away more than he wants to. That wouldn't be good neither for him nor for FreeCAD.
Nevertheless this decision is made only for the core system of FreeCAD. Every writer of an application module may make his own decision.
Jürgen Riegel—15 October 2006
- Getting started
- Installation: Download, Windows, Linux, Mac, Additional components, Docker, AppImage, Ubuntu Snap
- Basics: About FreeCAD, Interface, Mouse navigation, Selection methods, Object name, Preferences, Workbenches, Document structure, Properties, Help FreeCAD, Donate
- Help: Tutorials, Video tutorials
- Workbenches: Std Base, Arch, Draft, FEM, Inspection, Mesh, OpenSCAD, Part, PartDesign, Path, Points, Reverse Engineering, Robot, Sketcher, Spreadsheet, Start, Surface, TechDraw, Test Framework, Web
- Hubs: User hub, Power users hub, Developer hub


text:
Cub Scout ejected from den after asking Colorado lawmaker Vicki Marble about gun control, chicken
A Cub Scout was kicked out of his den after he questioned a Colorado state lawmaker about her position on gun control and previous comments she made about African-Americans' health and eating fried chicken.
It was the latest political flashpoint for the Boy Scouts after President Donald Trump used his speech at the organization's national jamboree in July to rail against "fake news" and former President Barack Obama and boast about beating Hillary Clinton.
Eleven-year-old Ames Mayfield posed the questions at an Oct. 9 event in Broomfield, between Denver and Boulder. Cub Scouts had been told to come prepared to talk to Republican state Sen. Vicki Marble about issues important to them.
Ames' mother, Lori Mayfield, said a local scout leader later told her that the topic of gun control was inappropriate because of its political nature and that the boy's questions were disrespectful.
The Boy Scouts, which includes the Cub Scouts, refused to comment on why the boy was asked to leave but say he will remain in scouting after finding a new group.
"The Boy Scouts of America is a wholly nonpartisan organization and does not promote any one political position, candidate or philosophy," the organization said Friday in a statement.
Cub Scouts is for children in the first through fifth grades. They meet in groups of children from the same grade called "dens," which are part of larger "packs."
Ames was only kicked out of his den, not the larger pack. Since the other available den met while he attends classes, changing to another den within the pack was not an option. He's joining a den in a new pack at his church, his mother said.
The leaders of the group that kicked Ames out did not return phone messages and emails left by The Associated Press.
In online videos recorded by Lori Mayfield, the scouts asked questions about why people wanted to vote for Obama just because he was black and about Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was unclear which scouts asked the questions. Mayfield blurred the identities of all the children except for that of her son.
In the video showing Ames asking about gun control, he read from a printed sheet, telling the lawmaker that he was shocked that she sponsored a bill that allowed domestic violence offenders to own guns. He also rattled off a list of survey statistics about Americans' views on the issue and spoke about the trouble Las Vegas shooting victims would have paying their bills.
"There is something wrong in our country where Republicans believe it's a right to own a gun but a privilege to have health care. None of that makes sense to me," he said.
After nearly 2½ minutes, an adult is heard cutting him off, remarking on his thorough question. Marble responds by talking about the need for "crime control" instead and saying that the Vegas shooting and the 2012 Aurora theater shooting both happened in "gun-free zones."
Marble drew national attention in 2013 after she seemed to draw a link between the health of black people and eating fried chicken and barbecue in comments made during a legislative committee hearing. The head of the state Republican Party and others criticized her words.
She then issued a statement saying she was saddened that her comments were interpreted as disparaging.
During the scout meeting, Ames told Marble that he was "astonished that you blamed black people" for their health problems.
She replied, "I didn't. That was made up by the media. So you want to believe it, you believe it, but that's not how it went down."
Marble went on to say Americans enjoy multicultural food but cautioned that people also need to consider whether they are predisposed to any diseases because of their genetic makeup.
In a statement Friday, Marble said she did not know about Ames' dismissal until she read about it. She said she did not blame him because she thought there was an "element of manipulation involved" by his mother.
Mayfield denies that. She said she and her son, whom she said is gifted and likes to watch the news, researched Marble together, and she typed up his questions using his words. The mother questioned why the Scouts would chose to invite such a controversial lawmaker to speak.
The Boy Scouts and their Denver-area governing council said they were "pleased that the family will continue their participation in scouting," the statement said. "We are committed to working with families to find local units that best fit their needs."
Associated Press writers James Anderson in Denver and Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this report.


text:
Manuscripts containing language inconsistencies will not be published. Authors should seek professional assistance for correction of grammatical, scientific and typographical errors before submission of the revised version of the article for publication. Professional editing services may also be sought by the team available at Bentham OPEN.
Authors are required to proofread the PDF versions of their manuscripts before submission. To avoid delays in publication, proofs should be checked immediately for typographical errors and returned within 48 hours. Major changes are not acceptable at the proof stage. If unable to send corrections within 48 hours due to some reason, the author(s) must at least send an acknowledgement on receiving the galley proofs or the article will be published exactly as received and the publishers will not be responsible for any error occurring in the manuscript in this regard.
The corresponding author will be solely responsible for ensuring that the revised version of the manuscript incorporating all the submitted corrections receives the approval of all the authors of the manuscript.


text:
The United States averted economic calamity on Tuesday when lawmakers approved a deal to prevent huge tax hikes and spending cuts that would have pushed the world's largest economy off a "fiscal cliff" and into recession.
The agreement hands a clear victory to President Barack Obama, who won re-election on a promise to address budget woes in part by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. His Republican antagonists were forced to vote against a core tenet of their anti-tax conservative faith.
The deal also resolves, for now, the question of whether Washington can overcome deep ideological differences to avoid harming an economy that is only now beginning to pick up steam after the deepest recession in 80 years.
Consumers, businesses and financial markets have been rattled by the months of budget brinkmanship. The crisis ended when dozens of Republicans in the House of Representatives buckled and backed tax hikes approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Asian stocks hit a five-month high and the dollar fell as markets welcomed the news. China's state news agency Xinhua took a more severe view, warning the United States must get to grips with a budget deficit that threatened not a "fiscal cliff" but a "fiscal abyss". Most of China's $3.3 trillion foreign exchange reserves are held in dollars.
The vote averted immediate pain like tax hikes for almost all U.S. households, but did nothing to resolve other political showdowns on the budget that loom in coming months. Spending cuts of $109 billion in military and domestic programs were only delayed for two months.
Obama urged "a little less drama" when the Congress and White House next address thorny fiscal issues like the government's rapidly mounting $16 trillion debt load.
There was plenty of drama on the first day of 2013 as lawmakers scrambled to avert the "fiscal cliff" of across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that would have punched a $600 billion hole in the economy this year.
As the rest of the country celebrated New Year's Day with parties and college football games, the Senate stayed up past 2 a.m. on Tuesday and passed the bill by an overwhelming margin of 89 to 8.
When they arrived at the Capitol at noon, House Republicans were forced to decide whether to accept a $620 billion tax hike over 10 years on the wealthiest or shoulder the blame for letting the country slip into budget chaos.
The Republicans mounted an effort to add hundreds of billions of dollars in spending cuts to the package and spark a confrontation with the Senate.
For a few hours, it looked like Washington would send the country over the fiscal cliff after all, until Republican leaders determined that they did not have the votes for spending cuts.
In the end, they reluctantly approved the Senate bill by a bipartisan vote of 257 to 167 and sent it on to Obama to sign into law.
"We are ensuring that taxes aren't increased on 99 percent of our fellow Americans," said Republican Representative David Dreier of California.
The vote underlined the precarious position of House Speaker John Boehner, who will ask his Republicans to re-elect him speaker on Thursday when a new Congress is sworn in. Boehner backed the bill but most House Republicans, including his top lieutenants, voted against it.
The speaker had sought to negotiate a "grand bargain" with Obama to overhaul the U.S. tax code and rein in health and retirement programs that are due to balloon in coming decades as the population ages. But Boehner could not unite his members behind an alternative to Obama's tax measures.
Income tax rates will now rise on families earning more than $450,000 per year and the amount of deductions they can take to lower their tax bill will be limited.
Low temporary rates that have been in place for the past decade will be made permanent for less-affluent taxpayers, along with a range of targeted tax breaks put in place to fight the 2009 economic downturn.
However, workers will see up to $2,000 more taken out of their paychecks annually with the expiration of a temporary payroll tax cut.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill will increase budget deficits by nearly $4 trillion over the coming 10 years, compared to the budget savings that would occur if the extreme measures of the cliff were to kick in.
But the measure will actually save $650 billion during that time period when measured against the tax and spending policies that were in effect on Monday, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, an independent group that has pushed for more aggressive deficit savings.
Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai, Thomas Ferraro, Mark Felsenthal, David Lawder; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Beech.
© 2013 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.
To contact us or to submit an article, click here.
Get Charisma's best content delivered right to your inbox! Never miss a big news story again. Click here to subscribe to the Charisma News newsletter.


text:
Greece seen as most corrupt European nation, survey says
Transparency International ranks Greece, along with other European countries racked by the financial crisis, poorly in its 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index.
| Berlin
The countries worst hit by the European financial crisis are also perceived as being among the most corrupt in Western Europe, and those perceptions appear to be getting increasingly negative, an international watchdog said in a report released Wednesday.
Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index shows Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece with the lowest scores in Western Europe.
On a scale newly introduced for this year's report, where 0 is "highly corrupt" and 100 is "very clean," Spain was ranked highest of the four in place 30 with a score of 65. Portugal followed in place 33 with a score of 63, followed by Italy in place 72 with a score of 42 and Greece in 94th place with a score of 36.
The index measures the perception of corruption in the public sector and not the financial sector, but Transparency's Europe director Anne Koch told The Associated Press the results clearly indicate that people in countries worst hit by the crisis perceive corruption to be widespread.
"It seems to me to be quite blatantly obvious that the lack of transparency in public finances in these four countries has been reflected in the figures," she said.
Two-thirds of the 176 countries ranked scored below 50, which Transparency said indicates a widespread need for more openness in public institutions and more accountability for officials.
"Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all public decision-making," Transparency International head Huguette Labelle said. "Priorities include better rules on lobbying and political financing, making public spending and contracting more transparent and making public bodies more accountable to people."
In other significant findings, Egypt fell from 112th last year to 118th place this year with a score of 32 – indicating concerns about the new government are even stronger about two years after the end of Hosni Mubarak's rule.
"This week's events in Cairo amply demonstrate that the endemic political issues that drove people to the streets in Egypt are still valid," Transparency's Middle East and North Africa Director Christophe Wilcke said. "Egypt's score is another reminder to the country's leaders that despite the revolution, they have to fight corruption if they are to win the people's trust and succeed in transitioning to democracy."
The survey, which was first conducted in 1995, draws on a variety of sources that capture perceptions of corruption, including World Bank and World Economic Forum assessments, the African Development Bank's governance ratings, and Transparency International's own Bribe Payers Survey.
Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia were ranked the worst overall on this year's list, all tied with a rating of just eight. Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand were thought of as least corrupt with scores of 90.
Canada scored 84, Germany 79, and Japan and Britain tied at 74. The United States was rated 73, giving it 19th place, and France scored 71.
Other European Union countries also fared poorly, with Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, and the Czech Republic all scoring less than 50.
The Greek numbers, which put it in 94th place on the ranking — 14 places below last year — stand out in particular, Ms. Koch said.
"Greece, of course, at place 94, is the lowest state in the European Union," she said. "It's ranked lower than countries like Colombia, Benin, and Zambia ... which gives you pause for thought."


text:
Spring Framework Security Training in Columbia
We offer private customized training for groups of 3 or more attendees.
Course Description
| This in-depth course introduces the Java web developer to the Spring
Security framework. We start with an overview and practical exercises in
basic usage: XML configuration for authentication and URL-based
authorization. Then we start to dig into Spring Security as a Java
model, and develop advanced techniques including custom user realms,
custom authorization constraints, method-based authorization, and
instance-based authorization. We then explore two increasingly popular
extensions to Spring Security. We consider the Security Assertions
Markup Language, or SAML, and the wide range of identity and security
features it offers -- but quickly focus on it's support for single
sign-on (SSO), and learn how the Spring Security SAML Extension enables
applications to interact with SAML identity providers to implement SSO
and single logout. And we look at OAuth for Spring Security, which
enables third-party authorization scenarios, and learn how to implement
both the server and client sides of the OAuth 2.0 flow.
Course Length: 3 Days
Course Tuition: $1090 (US)
|Java, in particular Servlet, programming experience is essential.
Course Outline
Chapter 1. Secure Web Applications
Chapter 2. Authentication and Authorization
Chapter 3. Secure Application Design
Chapter 4. HTTPS and Certificates
Chapter 5. Application-Level Cryptography
Chapter 6. Secure Development Practices
Appendix A. Learning Resources
Course Directory [training on all levels]
- .NET Classes
- Agile/Scrum Classes
- Ajax Classes
- Android and iPhone Programming Classes
- Blaze Advisor Classes
- C Programming Classes
- C# Programming Classes
- C++ Programming Classes
- Cisco Classes
- Cloud Classes
- CompTIA Classes
- Crystal Reports Classes
- Design Patterns Classes
- DevOps Classes
- Foundations of Web Design & Web Authoring Classes
- Git, Jira, Wicket, Gradle, Tableau Classes
- IBM Classes
- Java Programming Classes
- JBoss Administration Classes
- JUnit, TDD, CPTC, Web Penetration Classes
- Linux Unix Classes
- Machine Learning Classes
- Microsoft Classes
- Microsoft Development Classes
- Microsoft SQL Server Classes
- Microsoft Team Foundation Server Classes
- Microsoft Windows Server Classes
- Oracle, MySQL, Cassandra, Hadoop Database Classes
- Perl Programming Classes
- Python Programming Classes
- Ruby Programming Classes
- Security Classes
- SharePoint Classes
- SOA Classes
- Tcl, Awk, Bash, Shell Classes
- UML Classes
- VMWare Classes
- Web Development Classes
- Web Services Classes
- Weblogic Administration Classes
- XML Classes
- Beginning Python
16 October, 2023 - 18 October, 2023
- Linux for Unix Administrators
9 October, 2023 - 13 October, 2023
9 October, 2023 - 11 October, 2023
- VMware vSphere 7.0 with ESXi and vCenter
4 December, 2023 - 8 December, 2023
- Enterprise Linux System Administration
23 October, 2023 - 27 October, 2023
- See our complete public course listing
Java Programming Uses & Stats
Year Created1995
Most Commonly Used:
Great Career Choice:
Android Apps Development:
It Can Run On Any Platform:
Great Supporting IDE's:
Uses a Lot of Memory:
Difficulty in Learning:
Slow Start Up Times:
Verbose and Complex Code:
Commercial License Cost:
|Java Programming Job Market
Average Salary
Job Count
Top Job Locations
New York City
Complimentary Skills to have along with Java Programming
- If you are an experienced Java developer, learning a complimentary language to Java should come much more naturally. As an example JetBrains recently created the Kotlin programming language which is officially supported by Google for mobile development. Kotlin compiles to Java bytecode and runs on the JVM; it's purported to address many of Java's shortcomings...


text:
Hayabusa Rider
Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
- Jan 26, 2000
- 50,874
- 4,220
- 126
No surprise.
Iran announced in advance that it was going to not only continue producing highly enriched uranium just before meeting with the IAEA, but it was accelerating the program. Why do we bother even showing up?
Clearly Iran has no interest in doing anything other than aggravating the situation.
President Imadinnerjacket said this past week that he was going to be the first Iranian in space. It's getting near the time we assist, but not in the way he wants.
Iran announced in advance that it was going to not only continue producing highly enriched uranium just before meeting with the IAEA, but it was accelerating the program. Why do we bother even showing up?
Reuters) - Iran said on Wednesday it had started installing a new generation of machines for enriching uranium, an announcement likely to annoy the West and complicate efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute over its nuclear programme.
It came on the day the U.N. nuclear watchdog began talks in Tehran to try to advance a long-stalled investigation into suspected military dimensions of the programme.
Iran had already told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it planned to introduce new IR2-m centrifuges to its main enrichment plant near the central town of Natanz - a step that could significantly speed up its accumulation of material that the West fears could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.
"From last month the installation of the new generation of these machines started," Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).
"We have produced the machines as planned and we are carrying out the installation gradually ... to complete the tests."
One diplomat accredited to the Vienna-based IAEA, which regularly monitors Iranian nuclear sites including the one at Natanz, said he was surprised by the Iranian announcement.
"My understanding until (Abbasi-Davani's statement) was that they hadn't started installation," the envoy said.
Enriched uranium can fuel nuclear power plants, Iran's stated aim, or, if refined to a high degree, provide material for bombs, which the West suspects is Tehran's real purpose - something Iran strenuously denies.
If deployed successfully, new-generation centrifuges could refine uranium several times faster than the model Iran now has.
It was not clear how many of the new centrifuges Iran aimed to install at Natanz, which is designed for tens of thousands; an IAEA note to members implied it could be up to 3,000 or so.
Abbasi-Davani said the new machines were specifically for lower-grade enrichment of uranium to below 5 percent purity.
Interactive timeline link.reuters.com/gad76r
Iran has been enriching some uranium up to a concentration of 20 percent fissile material, only a short step from weapons grade of 90 percent, and it is this stockpile that has prompted Israel and the United States to warn that they will do whatever is necessary to prevent Iran being able to build a bomb.
The major world powers have imposed sanctions to try to press Tehran to give up nuclear activities with a possible military dimension, while Iran wants them to recognise what it sees as its right to refine uranium for peaceful purposes.
The big powers' next talks with Iran are scheduled for February 26, although few expect any movement from Tehran before its presidential election in June.
The announcement of the new centrifuges "could be perceived as an effort prior to any negotiation by Iran to collect as many as bargaining chips as it can", said nuclear proliferation expert Mark Hibbs at the Carnegie Endowment think tank.
"It doesn't necessarily mean they are shutting the door."
The IAEA has been trying for over a year to secure the access that its inspectors say they need to investigate suspicions of nuclear weapons research.
Its immediate priority is to visit the Parchin military base southeast of Tehran, where it suspects explosives tests relevant to nuclear weapons may have taken place, perhaps a decade ago, an accusation Tehran denies.
Iran is ready to come to a "comprehensive agreement" with the IAEA if its nuclear rights were recognised, and this could include a Parchin visit, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
But Abbasi-Davani played this down on Wednesday.
"Currently there is no talk about a visit to Parchin or any other site, " he said, according to the Fars agency.
Iran on Tuesday confirmed a Reuters report that it had begun converting small amounts of its 20-percent enriched uranium into reactor fuel, a move that, if expanded, could slow the growth in its stockpile.
But Abbasi-Davani said on Wednesday that the conversion was only taking place to feed the Tehran Research Reactor.
"This is not aimed at limiting the stockpiles of the 20 percent uranium and will not be," he said, according to Fars.
(Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian in Zurich and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Clearly Iran has no interest in doing anything other than aggravating the situation.
President Imadinnerjacket said this past week that he was going to be the first Iranian in space. It's getting near the time we assist, but not in the way he wants.


text:
A Boeing 787 is in the air on a test flight, the first since the new airliner was grounded three weeks ago because of a battery fire.
The company says the aircraft is flying in and out of Boeing Field in Seattle. The plan is to spend an hour and a half in the air Saturday.
The Federal Aviation Administration granted permission for test flights on Thursday.
The 787 is the first commercial airliner to rely heavily on lithium-ion batteries. On Jan. 7, a battery on a plane that had recently landed in Boston short-circuited and caught fire.
Boeing has billions of dollars tied up in research on the 787, and billions more dollars in 787s parked in Everett, Wash., and other sites that are waiting to be delivered.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense


text:
Mike? Mike was the Ferris Bueller to my Cameron. If you don't pick up on that reference, odds are you've been very confused by my entire blog.
Dude had girls ALL OVER HIM. I kid you not, one night, we were at a party wherein Mike was juggling three, THREE different girls, all of which he was dating, and none of whom knew the others existed. It was straight out of an episode of "Three's Company", making him Jack Tripper and me...Mr. Furley.
One night, when we were 15, Mike decided that we were going to the main strip in Elmhurst, Illinois, a well-to-do and charming community of very, very white people. Nearby York High School housed some of the cutest girls in the western Chicago suburban area, and weekend evenings, packs of them, wearing their designer jeans and Member's Only jackets would descend on the strip to, well, walk up and down the strip.
Mike lived about 5 miles from me and another 2 miles from Elmhurst. Both of us being 15, we had no way there but to either walk, like normal human beings, or...hop the freight train like two idiots.
Guess which one Mike talked me into.
I am TERRIFIED looking back at what we did, nearly as terrified as I was in the moment. But Mike had a knack for sniffing out danger. So my mom dropped me off at his place (I'm assuming because I didn't want to reveal to her that we were going to chase skirts), and we walked the few blocks to where the train would be ambling by any moment. And when I heard the locomotive's "WHOOOOO!", my stomach turned into a pile of dogshit and I nearly puked. Not letting on to Mike, who was howling and laughing up a storm.
"This is gonna be AWESOME!"
Yeah. Awesome. Awesome like, oh, I don't know, GETTING RUN OVER BY A FUCKING TRAIN.
The train couldn't have been going more than 5 miles per hour (a pace we could have nearly kept walking), and I remember him shouting to me, "Run alongside it, get to speed, and then jump forward and up into the boxcar!" Perfect. I'm going to die like a hobo, I thought.
My heart was thumping like it wanted to bust through my ribcage, but there I was, right behind Mike, jogging alongside the train until an open car pulled beside us and BAM. In and up he went.
My legs pumping, shit nearly running down my leg, I kept pace and thought, I HAVE to do this now - he's in the car already, which was a stupid rationalization on my part, I realize now. I sucked in two lungfuls of air, held my breath and rocketed myself into the car, landing on Mike.
"YEAH!" he screamed and slapped my arm.
10 minutes later, we jumped off the train as it pulled in to Elmhurst, screeching to a stop. I think I may have been in shock for the first hour of our wandering around, because this entire night is as vivid in my head like it happened today, save for that first 60 minutes.
Mike was a fucking rock star. He had no issues walking straight up to a group of tittering, giggling girls and introducing himself, usually, at the very least, getting them to chat for 5 minutes while he and I did "The Russ and Mike Show", which resembled street comedy improv fused with the stench of desperation and failure.
So in other words: Street comedy improv.
We dicked around for a couple of hours, grabbing frozen yogurt at "TCBY" (The Country's Best Yogurt, which, at the time, it was the ONLY frozen yogurt in the country, so a job well done!), avoiding the annoyed stares from adults that I myself now give amped up teenagers, and finally, curfew time rolled around.
Well, MY curfew time. Mike treated the concept of curfews like I treated the concept of flirting with girls: Not with a ten foot pole, man.
So in Mike's usual impulsive haste, we were left stranded 2 miles from his house and 7 from mine. I broke into a sweat, worrying about not making it home in time. I voiced my concerns, which Mike waved off like the stench of a fart.
"Hang on," he told me, striding away toward a gaggle of giggling girls.
Within minutes, he spun on his heels and signaled "come on!" to me with his hands, a smile spanning so wide, it wrapped around his head.
"This is Russ," he introduced me to - I kid you not - the most ADORABLE 3 girls I'd ever laid my pimply eyes on, "and he one funny son of a bitch."
No pressure.
"My car's over there," one girl said through her Lipsmacker-glossed smile, pointing at a tiny Toyota that in no way was built to house 5 people. But, our advantage? We were teenagers and couldn't care less.
One young lady in particular seemed to laugh at every voice-cracked word that dribbled from my mouth: Light blond hair, skin as clear as daylight, and a grin that lit up the car. As she sat. On my lap.
Holy shit.
In my mind, I was just trying to be funny and get her to laugh, and I'm sure I. Was. Hilarious (sarcasm intact). Mike was faring well up front with the driver, making small talk, exchanging phone numbers, and once in awhile peering over the headrest to give me a wink of confidence. That's when it hit me:
Holy crap: I'm flirting. And she's flirting back!
The ride lasted far too short, and before I could even get her name, I was out of the car, Mike riding as the solo male in a car filled with bubbly females. As I began waving goodbye, Mike told them to hang on a second and jumped out to say goodbye.
"Have fun?" he asked, devilish smirk on his perfect face.
"Yeah, yeah," I responded, unsure of what I'd just gone through.
"Did you get her number?"
I paused.
"You have to get her number!" he whispered, punching my shoulder.
I heaved a nervous sigh, as I felt the same terror that had visited me while jumping aboard a moving train. I, in fact, was longing to be risking my life sprinting alongside a train at that moment.
I don't remember her name, but she did write it down, her perfect fingers handing over her perfect phone number in her perfect penmanship.
I never did call her: Baby had just learned to walk and wasn't about to run a 5k at the Olympics. But that wasn't the point, I realized. Mike had just given me a coaching in self-confidence. And every day after that night on the town, I had an instilled confidence that hadn't been there until I'd met my friend, Mike.


text:
On Wednesday afternoon, the current President of the United States did what may be described as an unconstitutional end run around the United States Senate by "recess appointing" three nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (as well as to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) even though the Senate is not in recess.
Notwithstanding the CFPB appointment, Obama's seating of the three NLRB appointees—two of whom are ardently pro-union and demonstrate Obama's ongoing willingness to continue his union-backed carpet-bombing campaign on millions of job creators—drew immediate fire U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), who stated:
"President Obama's stunning move to install not one but three new members to the National Labor Relations Board without a hearing or a vote in the United States Senate is an unprecedented abuse of power and an affront to the will of the American people.
"For months, workers and employers have expressed outrage over the board's job-destroying actions, and in response, the House of Representatives took definitive action to rein in the NLRB's activist agenda through two pieces of bipartisan legislation. Now, the president has taken matters into his own hands, unilaterally selecting new board members without allowing the Senate or the public any opportunity to consider their qualifications for this important position.
"Make no mistake – each and every decision issued by this board will be tainted by the president's actions. I will continue to pursue aggressive oversight of the NLRB and take any action necessary to protect the rights of workers and employers."
Obama's appointments to the NLRB comes a less than three weeks following his nomination of International Union of Operating Engineers General Counsel Richard Griffin and former attorney to Ted Kennedy, Sharon Block, to fill vacancies at the Board.
Union bosses, however, are positively gleeful with Obama's move.
The SEIU issued a press release Wednesday afternoon stating:
President Obama Stands With Working Families
Today President Obama appointed three new members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and in doing so took a strong stand for workers around the country.
The appointments bypasses the predictable Republican filibusters or other obstructionist measures they would employ. There is no doubt that if given the shot, the GOP would have done away with the Board entirely, probably the very worst thing working families need right now.
[Apparently, to the SEIU, America's job creators do not work, nor do they have families.]
Noting the presumption of obstructionism, rather than fact, Moe Lane points out:
They have not been in point of fact filibustered; the question hasn't even arisen yet, given that it's been all of nineteen days since the names were submitted and a huge chunk of that time was the Christmas/New Year's break.
Teamsters' boss Jimmy Hoffa (the younger) issued a press release as well, which stated:
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today applauded President Obama for using his constitutional authority to appoint well-qualified people to government posts that are key to protecting working people from union-busting corporations and financial predators.
Not to be left out in heaping praise on the appointments, United Steel Workers president, Leo Gerard stated:
"Republicans left the President with no choice but to recess appoint these four people, three to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and one to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. "President Obama showed today that he will use every means at his disposal to circumvent Republican opposition to safeguarding workers and consumers."
Apparently, "every means at his disposal" includes stepping all over the separation of powers as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
If, in fact, Barack Obama was attempting to restore some semblance of credibility to the union-controlled NLRB, this move only makes matters worse, as the attacks on America's job creators will continue.
For more reactions to Obama's NLRB appointments, go here.
"I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com


text: The Google scanner that checks apps for malware before they are installed on an Android smartphone or tablet has a detection rate that falls far behind that of third-party anti-virus products, a new study shows.Researchers at North Carolina State University wanted to know whether additional antovirus software was necessary, in light of the Google service that is included in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the latest version of the operating system. What they found was a service in need of improvement.\u00a0Out of more than 1,200 malware samples, the Google scanner detected 193 for a "low detection rate of 15.32 percent," according to the study.Antivirus software needs to have a rate of more than 80 percent to be considered at least good, Xuxian Jiang, an associate computer science professor at NCSU who led the research, said.The next step was to test Google VirusTotal, a free online service that can check individual files and URLs for malware. The service uses limited versions of the antivirus engines of multiple vendors.The results were only slightly better with a detection rate of 20.41 percent. In both tests, the research team used malware samples from the Android Malware Genome Project, an NCSU-led initiative to categorize the malware. The devices used were Nexus 10 tablets running Android 4.2.\u00a0[Related news: With BYOD, data breaches just waiting to happen]The Google scanner is designed to check apps downloaded from marketplaces other than Google Play. A weakness is in the limited amount of identifying data the service collects on an app in order to see if it matches malware traits in a Google database.The information collected includes the app name, size and version; the URL associated with the app and the SHA1 value. SHA1 is a cryptographic hash function designed by the National Security Agency.Cybercriminals can easily bypass this mechanism by repackaging malware or mutating it. To make the service more effective, Google would need to gather more information, such as uploading the whole app to its server for analysis, Jiang said.However, this would cause unacceptable delays for many Android users. In addition, gathering more information inevitably raises privacy concerns."It really requires a very delicate tradeoff," Jiang said Tuesday. Google seems to be erring on the side of caution in data gathering."So far, too little information has been used," Jiang said. "Google has been very cautious in trying to avoid triggering user concerns on privacy."Rather than do all analysis on a remote server, Google could add some detection capabilities on the Android device to improve the service, Jiang said. In addition, VirusTotal would be integrated into the server-side analysis to improve detection rates.Not everyone believes antivirus apps are needed on Android devices, if users are careful to download apps only from trusted marketplaces, such as Google Play, and avoid clicking on unknown links in email and text messages.Gartner has a long-standing position that antivirus software is not very effective and can degrade device performance. The analysis firm believes Google should vet apps before they are made available.Jiang said he believes antivirus technology is needed because a large number of people outside of the U.S. download apps from marketplaces other than Google Play, increasing the risk of installing malware.In addition, if security requires people to limit the number of apps they use, the value of the smartphone or tablet is diminished, because users cannot fully extend its features, Jiang said."If the user just buys the phone and never uses any additional apps and never clicks any untrusted links, then likely he will not need any [antivirus] solutions," Jiang said.Most experts believe mobile malware is still at the beginning stages. However, the technology is maturing and the number of malicious apps continues to grow.\u00a0In a 2013 trend report released Tuesday, security vendor ESET found that the number of unique malware soared 17 times globally this year, when compared to 2011.The number is expected to rise "much more rapidly in 2013," the report said.