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How I love the Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil! Earlier this year I was done with my sixth bottle of the Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil. I still have one full bottle left. Each 120ml bottle lasts between 4 to 6 months so I've been a loyal fan for the past 3 years and have been an active advocate for this amazing makeup remover.
What it claims:
FANCL's original Perfect Blend Oil in the new Mild Cleansing Oil dissolves and removes the most stubborn makeup, eye makeup, even pore-clogging dirt and oil instantly. It is formulated with the best balance of carefully-selected oil and cleansing ingredients, it won't leave any residue. The unique Smooth Cushion Oil glides so effortlessly to wrap and remove any makeup and dirt without stripping natural oil from your skin, leaving your skin soft and moisturized.
Does it perform as it claims?
Here's my review of the Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil that easily removes any trace of waterproof makeup.
Removes all traces of makeup quickly and easily
At the top of my checklist for a good makeup remover is its ability to remove all traces of makeup within a few minutes. What good is a makeup remover if it requires me to sit there for a good 10 minutes, with my skin feeling all stung and swollen, and with still residue on my face?
All you have to do with the Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil is pump the size of a 50-cent coin of that gold into your palm and then massage it on your cheeks, eyes, forehead, lips, and neck. Splash your face with water and voila! Clean and moist skin rid of even the most stubborn of makeup!
Here's my arm with Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette Beethoven swatches, and 'Zero' written with Urban Decay 24-7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in, well, Zero.
Rinse with water!
Gentle to the skin
Because it is formulated to be suitable for any part of the face, it is especially gentle to the eyes. No stinging sensation like the Bodyshop Camomile Gentle Eye Makeup Remover (not gentle at all!!) or super oily feel like the first generation Biore Makeup Remover Perfect Oil.
However one thing I didn't like about the Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil was that it left me with blurred vision, as if the milky mixture, that was the combination of cleansing oil and water, went into my eyes. And it happened even when I was extra careful. Maybe it's just me.
Convenient to use and bring around
This product has a pump dispenser to keep it hygienic and has a stopper to prevent leakage from accidental pump. Very good to bring for travel. Its durable and sturdy plastic bottle makes it a good for reusing. I used my last bottle to hold virgin olive oil.
At S$33 per bottle, the price was one of the reason that I stopped purchasing it. You get discounts for buying more and every dollar spent entitles you to a point on your membership card that you can accumulate for a discount on the next purchase. But still it was something I could not afford with my puny student allowance.
You can ask for free samples of moisturizers, lotion, their famous washing powder or a face mask while you're paying at the counter, if it helps to ease the pain a little. Sometimes the full bottle comes with a travel-sized bottle too.
A cheaper alternative to the more expensive Fancl makeup remover is the combination of Biore Makeup Remover For Eye & Lip and Biore Hydra-Clear Makeup Remover.
Pretty packaging with Limited Edition bottles
If you're a sucker for pretty packaging, then Japanese products like Fancl's will bankrupt you. They keep coming out with Limited Edition bottles with pretty and collectible-worthy designs. The latest email I received from Fancl boasts the Japanese Dance Edition with a quaint-looking Japanese Geisha in a kimono embellished with butterfly motifs.
But if you ask me, I much prefer the simple yet sleek looking bluish-green bottle.
What Bun Bun says of the Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil:
So tell us, have you tried the amazing fancl makeup remover before?


text: I have been setup a Postfix realy backup server but only can service the registered domain. Now I have been edit the config file in main.cf and transport The problem that is I want to open it to other people, and donot want to edit the config file for each customer. I want to change the DNS MX record only. Is postfix can do that (just like sendmail), and how to do that. I can't find any information in the website, pls help

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bratmobile/Tiger Trap [Split EP]
- 1 Songs
- See album details
Along with Bikini Kill, Bratmobile spearheaded the riot grrrl revolution of the early 1990s, battling the long-standing dominance of men within the punk rock community to help empower a new generation of female musicians and fans. Comprised of singer Allison Wolfe, guitarist Erin Smith, and drummer Molly Neuman, Bratmobile made their debut at 1991's International Pop Underground convention, a landmark indie music festival mounted in Olympia, Washington by Beat Happening frontman and K Records honcho Calvin Johnson; after a handful of singles -- with members spread out between California, Washington, and Maryland, recording was a logistical nightmare -- the trio finally released an LP, Pottymouth, in 1993. 1994's The Real Janelle EP was Bratmobile's final studio date, although a July 1993 BBC broadcast was issued the following year as The Peel Session EP. In the wake of the group's demise, Neuman joined the Peechees, while Wolfe and Smith reunited in Cold Cold Hearts. Bratmobile re-formed in March 1999 to play a series of dates as the opening act for Sleater-Kinney; the new album Ladies, Women, and Girls was released in fall 2000.
Jason Ankeny


text:
long time no see
'Ello. :p
You just lost the game
hi hope your good Happy New Year
hows u and life
Thank you for the add! ^_^ Hope you have a great upcoming weekend!
hey hey happy birthday!!! have a great day and hope your wishes come true :3
if you ever need any help feel free to pm me anyday!
-gives apple pie-
lol, well thank you for your greeting
haha why?
Poke poke poke poke
thx for the add
Thanks for the request
thanks for the friend request
Arigatou Gozaimasu ^^
<3 Aoi. watch the dark corners. There's always Shadow's.
Send an Instant Message to Yuto Using...


text: Lindt EXCELLENCE: Prepared especially for you by the Lindt Master Chocolatiers who, from selecting the highest quality cocoa beans to creating the finest textures and tastes chocolate can offer, demand nothing less than Perfection. Lindt chocolate embodies the passion and expert craftsmanship of its Lindt Master Swiss Chocolatiers. Lindt delivers a unique chocolate experience offering a distinctly smooth and rich, gourmet taste.


text:
WENEMOUET (Wenemowet, Wenemuit, Winnenimmit, Awenemwet, Nimimitt, Nimquid; and after 1726, Wenongonet, Wenungenit, Wenoggenet, Wanungonet, Ouenanguenet), a chief of the Penobscot division of the Abenakis; d. March 1730.
In Abenaki Wenemouet's name is winí-mαw∂wet, meaning "weak war chief." With 13 other Abenaki chiefs he signed the peace treaty with the English at Mares Point (now Merepoint, Me.) on 7 Jan. 1698/99. He was probably one of the delegation of more than 40 Penobscots who went with the Jesuit Pierre de La Chasse* to visit Governor Callière at Quebec in October 1702. The Penobscots were unenthusiastic about fighting with the French unless Quebec was threatened with actual conquest, which would deprive them of French support against New England. The delegation asked Callière whether he could sell them goods at a fair price, and the governor arranged with the Quebec merchants to supply them cheaply. At the end of Queen Anne's War Wenemouet and 18 other Abenaki chiefs signed a peace with the English at the second conference of Portsmouth, on 28 July 1714.
In 1722 the Penobscots joined the other Abenakis against the English [see Mog]. Sometime late in 1724 or early in 1725 Wenemouet became head chief of the Penobscots. He was aware that the Penobscot villages were vulnerable to attack and that the French were not actively supporting his tribe; the Penobscots consequently welcomed English overtures for peace in December 1724. The next summer the tribe sent wampum belts proposing peace with the English to their allies, the Canadian Abenakis and the Hurons of Lorette. These Indians rejected the proposals, bringing about a partial political separation of the Penobscots from other divisions of the Abenaki nation and from the French in Canada. A complete rupture did not occur, however.
After preliminary negotiations Governor Dummer of Massachusetts and Wenemouet agreed on a cease-fire east of the Kennebec River, and on 31 July 1725 Dummer ordered an end to all hostilities against the Penobscot division of the Abenakis. Wenemouet twice sent emissaries to Boston in the autumn of that year to draw up terms for a permanent peace, and agreed to urge the other Abenaki tribes to join. The Canadian Abenakis and some of their allies nevertheless continued to make raids on New England, and did not participate in the treaty which Wenemouet and about 40 of his tribesmen concluded with the English on 5 August 1726. During the lengthy conference Wenemouet spoke little because he was ill, and Sauguaaram* (Loron) provided most of the oratory. Dummer reassured the Penobscots about their land titles and guaranteed them the same privileges as other English subjects.
At a meeting of the chiefs and elders of the Penobscot tribe in September 1726, Wenemouet's name was officially changed to Wenongonet to honour and perpetuate the name of a former leader, head chief from 1698 to 1724. In October Wenemouet sent two messengers, Alexis and François-Xavier, to Quebec to request the new governor, Charles de Beauharnois* de La Boische, "to arrest the hatchet of their brethren" settled in Canada, "there bound of which would inevitably fall on them." The French in vain urged the Penobscots to continue the war against the English. The envoys visited Quebec, Bécancour, Saint-François, and Caughnawaga, and persuaded most of the Canadian Abenakis and mission Iroquois to end the war, despite the opposition of Beauharnois and Fathers Aubery* and La Chasse. The two Penobscots arrived home in March 1727 and reported that the peace had been accepted by almost all the Canadian Indians. The only ones who remained hostile were 16 men and 2 chiefs, Gray Lock* and Onedahauet (Comhommon), of Saint-François and Missiassik (on the Missisquoi R., Vt.). Earlier in March Wenemouet had denied any knowledge of Gray Lock's activities, and he now made a complete report of the results of the Canadian mission to John Gyles*, to be relayed to Dummer.
Wenemouet was devoted to establishing a lasting peace. In late April he sent messengers to all the Abenaki tribes, the Malecites, and the Micmacs asking them to attend the Penobscot annual meeting and hear of the peace. In May he sent the Canadian Abenakis a wampum belt to confirm that he strongly opposed any further hostilities. Some of the Norridgewocks left Canada in May 1727 to resettle in their old village, and a large body of Canadian Abenakis and Iroquois camped at Taconock (now Winslow, Me.) on the Kennebec River to await arrangements for a final treaty. Dummer and a New England delegation finally established a satisfactory peace with all divisions of the Abenakis at Falmouth (now Portland, Me.) on 27 July. On behalf of the Penobscots Wenemouet asked that Gyles remain as commander of the fort at St George's River, and that they be supplied with a gunsmith.
In 1729 Wenemouet protested "tree cutting" and the encroachment of English settlement on Abenaki lands. He notified the Massachusetts authorities that "if any Pass St. Georges River to Plant we shall not thinke them to be our frinds."
Near the end of his life Wenemouet was described as "a well looking man, more like a frenchman than an Indian," who seemed "grave and reserved." He died in March 1730. By freeing the Penobscots from French ties and seeking an amicable accommodation with the English, he enabled his people to avoid defeat and to retain at least part of their ancient territory into modern times. Although the aged Moxus of the Norridgewocks was the nominal head chief of the Abenaki nation, Wenemouet assumed tacit leadership and induced all the Abenaki tribes to forsake their old alliance with Quebec and to seek peace. After his death, the continued encroachment of the New Englanders upon Abenaki lands once again forced his nation to resume ties with the French and the Indian allies who had supported the Abenakis in 1722.
Joseph Baxter, Journal of several visits to the Indians of the Kennebec River, 1717, ed. Elias Nason (Boston, 1867), 16. The conference with the Eastern Indians at the ratification of the peace held at Falmouth in Casco-bay in July and August 1726 (Boston, 1726). The conference with the Eastern Indians at the further ratification of the peace held at Falmouth in Casco-bay in July 1727 (Boston, 1727). Documentary hist. of Maine, X, 317–18, 358, 365–66, 375–78, 385–87, 389–92, 408–9, 445–47, 458–68; XI, 150–51; XXIII, 235. "Journal of Edward Goddard, 1726" in Trans., 1917–19 (Col. Soc. Mass. pub., XX, Boston, 1920) 128–47. Maine Hist. Soc. Coll., 1st ser., III (1853), 355–58, 377–447. New Eng. Hist. and Geneal. Register, XXI (1867), 58. NYCD (O'Callaghan and Fernow), IX, 736–38, 955–56, 990–91. Penhallow, History of wars with Eastern Indians (1726), 118, 129. [Thomas Westbrook, et al.], Letters of Colonel Thomas Westbrook and others relative to Indian affairs in Maine 1722–26, ed. W. B. Trask (Boston, 1901), 157. Frederick Kidder, The Abenaki Indians; their treaties of 1713 and 1717 . . . (Portland, 1859), 19–21.
© 1969–2023 University of Toronto/Université Laval
Cite This Article
Frank T. Siebert, Jr., "WENEMOUET," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 2, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed September 24, 2023, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/wenemouet_2E.html.
The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style (16th edition). Information to be used in other citation formats:
|Author of Article:
|Frank T. Siebert, Jr.
|Title of Article:
|Publication Name:
|Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 2
|University of Toronto/Université Laval
|Year of publication:
|Year of revision:
|Access Date:
|September 24, 2023


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Who Were the Witches?
Parents putting a pointed hat on their young son or daughter before Trick-or-Treating might never pause to wonder this question, seeing witches as just another cartoonish Halloween icon like Frankenstein's monster or Dracula. But deep within our ritual lies a hidden history that can tell us important truths about our world, as the legacy of past events continues to affect us 500 years later. In this book, Silvia Federici takes us back in time to show how the mysterious figure of the witch is key to understanding the creation of capitalism, the profit-motivated economic system that now reigns over the entire planet.
During the 15th - 17th centuries the fear of witches was ever-present in Europe and Colonial America, so much so that if a woman was accused of witchcraft she could face the cruellest of torture until confession was given, or even be executed based on suspicion alone. There was often no evidence whatsoever. The author recounts, "for more than two centuries, in several European countries, hundreds of thousands of women were tried, tortured, burned alive or hanged, accused of having sold body and soul to the devil and, by magical means, murdered scores of children, sucked their blood, made potions with their flesh, caused the death of their neighbors, destroyed cattle and crops, raised storms, and performed many other abominations" (169).
In other words, just about anything bad that might or might not have happened was blamed on witches during that time. So where did this tidal wave of hysteria come from that took the lives so many poor women, most of whom had almost certainly never flown on broomsticks or stirred eye-of-newt into large black cauldrons?
Caliban underscores that the persecution of witches was not just some error of ignorant peasants, but in fact the deliberate policy of Church and State, the very ruling class of society. To put this in perspective, today witchcraft would be a far-fetched cause for alarm, but the fear of hidden terrorists who could strike at any moment because they "hate our freedom" is widespread. Not surprising, since politicians and the media have been drilling this frightening message into people's heads for years, even though terrorism is a much less likely cause of death than, say, lack of health care.1 And just as the panic over terrorism has enabled today's powers-that-be to attempt to remake the Middle East, this book makes the case that the powers-that-were of Medieval Europe exploited or invented the fear of witches to remake European society towards a social paradigm that met their interests.
Interestingly, a major component of both of these crusades was the use of so-called "shock and awe" tactics to astound the population with "spectacular displays of force," which helped to soften up resistance to drastic or unpopular reforms.2 In the case of the Witch Hunt, shock therapy was applied through the witch burnings - spectacles of such stupefying violence that they paralyzed whole villages and regions into accepting fundamental restructuring of medieval society.3 Federici describes a typical witch burning as, "an important public event, which all the members of the community had to attend, including the children of the witches, especially their daughters who, in some cases, would be whipped in front of the stake on which they could see their mother burning alive" (186).
Federici puts forward that up until the 16th century, though living in a sexist society, European women retained significant economic independence from men that they typically do not under capitalism, where gender roles are more distinguished. "If we also take into account that in medieval society collective relations prevailed over familial ones, and most of the tasks that female serfs performed (washing, spinning, harvesting, and tending to animals on the commons) were done in cooperation with other women, we then realize... [this] was a source of power and protection for women. It was the basis for an intense female sociality and solidarity that enabled women to stand up to men."
The Witch Hunt initiated a period where women were forced to become what she calls "servants of the male work force" (115) - excluded from receiving a wage, they were confined to the unpaid labor of raising children, caring for the elderly and sick, nurturing their husbands or partners, and maintaining the home. In Federici's words, this was the "housewifization of women," the reduction to a second-class status where women became totally dependent on the income of men (27).
The author goes on to show how female sexuality, which was seen as a source of women's potential power over men, became an object of suspicion and came under sharp attack by the authorities. This assault manifested in new laws that took away women's control over the reproductive process, such as the banning of birth control measures, the replacement of midwives with male doctors, and the outlawing of abortion and infanticide.4 Federici calls it an attempt to turn the female body into "a machine for the reproduction of labor," such that women's only purpose in life was supposedly to produce children (144).
But we also learn that this was just one component of a broader move by Church and State to ban all forms of sexuality that were considered "non-productive." For example, "homosexuality, sex between young and old, sex between people of different classes, anal coitus, coitus from behind, nudity, and dances. Also proscribed was the public, collective sexuality that had prevailed in the Middle Ages, as in the Spring festivals of pagan origins that, in the 16th-century, were still celebrated all over Europe" (194). To this end, the Witch Hunt targeted not only female sexuality but homosexuality and gender non-conformity as well, helping to craft the patriarchal sexual boundaries that define our society to this day.
Capitalism - Born in Flames
What separates Caliban from other works exploring the "witch" phenomenon is that this book puts the persecution of witches into the context of the development of capitalism. For Silvia Federici, it's no accident that "the witch-hunt occurred simultaneously with the colonization and extermination of the populations of the New World, the English enclosures, [or] the beginning of the slave trade" (164). She instructs that all of these seemingly unrelated tragedies were initiated by the same European ruling elite at the very moment that capitalism was in formation, the late 15th through 17th centuries. Contrary to "laissez-faire" orthodoxy which holds that capitalism functions best without state intervention, Federici posits that it was precisely the state violence of these campaigns that laid the foundation for capitalist economics.
Many of us will not remember that during Europe's Middle Ages, before the Enclosures, even the lowliest of serfs had their own plot of land with which they could use for just about any purpose. Federici adds, "With the use of land also came the use of the 'commons' - meadows, forests, lakes, wild pastures - that provided crucial resources for the peasant economy (wood for fuel, timber for building, fishponds, grazing grounds for animals) and fostered community cohesion and cooperation" (24). This access to land acted as a buffer, providing security for peasants who otherwise were mostly subject to the whim of their "Lord." Not only could they grow their own food, or hunt in the relatively plentiful forests which were still standing in that era, but connection to the commons also gave peasants territory with which to organize resistance movements and alternative economies outside the control of their masters.
The Enclosures were a process by which this land was taken away - closed off by the State and typically handed over to entrepreneurs to pursue a profit in sheep or cow herding, or large-scale agriculture. Instead of being used for subsistence as it had been, the land's bounty was sold away to fledgling national and international markets. A new class of profit-motivated landowners emerged, known as "gentry," but the underside of this development was the trauma experienced by the evicted peasants. In the author's words, "As soon as they lost access to land, all workers were plunged into a dependence unknown in medieval times, as their landless condition gave employers the power to cut their pay and lengthen the working-day" (72).
For Federici, then, the chief creation of the Enclosures was a property-less, landless working class, a "proletariat" who were left with little option but to work for a wage in order to survive; wage labor being one of the defining features of capitalism.
Cut off from their traditional soil, many communities scattered across the countryside to find new homesteads. But the State countered with the so-called "Bloody Laws", which made it legal to capture wandering "vagabonds" and force them to work for a wage, or put them to death. Federici reveals the result: "What followed was the absolute impoverishment of the European working class... Evidence is the change that occurred in the workers' diets. Meat disappeared from their tables, except for a few scraps of lard, and so did beer and wine, salt and olive oil" (77). Although European workers typically labored for longer hours under their new capitalist employers, living standards were reduced sharply throughout the 16th century, and it wasn't until the middle of the 19th century that earnings returned to the level they had been before the Enclosures.5
According to Federici, the witch hunts played a key role in facilitating this process of impoverishment by driving a sexist wedge into the working class that "undermined class solidarity," making it more difficult for communities to resist displacement from their land (48). While women were faced with the threat of horrific torture and death if they did not conform to new submissive gender roles, men were in effect bribed with the promise of obedient wives and new access to women's bodies. The author cites that "Another aspect of the divisive sexual politics to diffuse workers' protest was the institutionalization of prostitution, implemented through the opening of municipal brothels soon proliferating throughout Europe" (49). And in addition to prostitution, a legalization of sexual violence provided further sanction for the exploitation of women's bodies. She explains, "In France, the municipal authorities practically decriminalized rape, provided the victims were women of the lower class" (47). This initiated what Federici calls a "virtual rape movement," making it unsafe for women to even leave their homes.
The witch trials were the final assault, which all but obliterated the integrity of peasant communities by fostering mutual suspicion and fear. Amidst deteriorating conditions, neighbors were encouraged to turn against one another, so that any insult or annoyance became grounds for an accusation of witchcraft. As the terror spread, a new era was forged in the flames of the witch burnings. Surveying the damage, Silvia Federici concludes that "the persecution of the witches, in Europe as in the New World, was as important as colonization and the expropriation of the European peasantry from its land were for the development of capitalism" (12).
A Forgotten Revolution
Federici maintains that it didn't have to turn out this way. "Capitalism was not the only possible response to the crisis of feudal power. Throughout Europe, vast communalistic social movements and rebellions against feudalism had offered the promise of a new egalitarian society built on social equality and cooperation" (61).
Caliban's most inspiring chapters make visible an enormous continent-wide series of poor people's movements that nearly toppled Church and State at the end of the Middle Ages. These peasant movements of the 13th - 16th centuries were often labelled "heretical" for challenging the religious power of the Vatican, but as the book details they aimed for a much broader transformation of feudal society. The so-called "heretics" often "denounced social hierarchies, private property and the accumulation of wealth, and disseminated among the people a new, revolutionary conception of society that, for the first time in the Middle Ages, redefined every aspect of daily life (work, property, sexual reproduction, and the position of women), posing the question of emancipation in truly universal terms" (33).
Silvia Federici shows us how the heretical movements took many forms, from the vegetarian and anti-war Cathars of southern France to the communistic and anti-nobility Taborites of Bohemia, but were united in the call for the elimination of social inequality. Many put forth the argument that it was anti-Christian for the clergy and nobility to live in opulence while so many suffered from lack of adequate food, housing or medical attention.
The gender politics of peasant movements proved to be a strength, and they attracted a wide following that undercut the power of a feudal system which was already in crisis. Federici explains how the movements became increasingly revolutionary as they grew in size. "In the course of this process, the political horizon and the organizational dimensions of the peasant and artisan struggle broadened. Entire regions revolted, forming assemblies and recruiting armies. At times, the peasants organized in bands, attacking the castles of the lords, and destroying the archives where the written marks of their servitude were kept" (45).
What started as a religious movement became increasingly revolutionary. For example, in the 1420s and 30s, the Taborites fought to liberate all of Bohemia, beating back several Crusades of 100,000+ men organized by the Vatican (54-55). The uprisings became contagious all across Europe, so much so that in the crucial period of 1350-1500, unprecedented concessions were made including the doubling of wages, reduction in prices and rents, and a shorter working day. In the words of Silvia Federici, "the feudal economy was doomed" (62).
The author documents that the initial reaction by elites was to institute the "Holy Inquisition," a brutal campaign of state repression that included torturing and even burning heretics to death. But as time went on, ruling class strategy shifted from targeting heretics in general to specifically targeting female community leaders. The Inquisition morphed into the Witch Hunt.
Soon, simple meetings of peasant women were stigmatized as possible "Sabbats," where women were supposedly seduced by the devil to become witches, but as Federici clarifies, it was the rebellious politics and non-conforming gender relations of such gatherings which were demonized (177). Strong, defiant women were murdered by the tens of thousands, and along with them the Witch Hunt also destroyed "a whole world of female practices, collective relations, and systems of knowledge that had been the foundation of women's power in pre-capitalist Europe, and the condition for their resistance in the struggle against feudalism" (103).
For elite European nobles and clergy, the Witch Hunt succeeded in stifling a working class revolution that had increasingly threatened their rule. Even more, Silvia Federici puts forward that the Witch Hunt facilitated the rise of a new, capitalist social paradigm - based on large-scale economic production for profit and the displacement of peasants from their lands into the burgeoning urban workforce. In time, this capitalist system would dominate all of Europe and be dispersed through conquistadors' "guns, germs and steel" to every corner of the globe, destroying countless ancient civilizations and cultures in the process.6 Federici's analysis is that, "Capitalism was the counter-revolution that destroyed the possibilities that had emerged from the anti-feudal struggle - possibilities which, if realized, might have spared us the immense destruction of lives and the environment that has marked the advance of capitalist relations worldwide" (22). How might things be different if the forgotten revolution had won?
Conclusion - Rediscovering the Magic of Truth-Telling
"Day by day, it's worse for my people, especially for the women. And that's why, because of all of these main reasons, we say this is the mockery of democracy and mockery of War on Terror." - Malalai Joya, Afghan democracy activist, 2009
Most strongly, she writes, "It is impossible to associate capitalism with any form of liberation or attribute the longevity of the system to its capacity to satisfy human needs. If capitalism has been able to reproduce itself it is only because of the web of inequalities that it has built into the body of the world proletariat, and because of its capacity to globalize exploitation. This process is still unfolding under our eyes, as it has for the last 500 years" (17).
It's been said that we can measure a society by how it treats its women. This book provides compelling documentation to suggest that capitalism is and has always been a male dominated system, which reduces opportunities and security for women as well as marginalizing those who don't fit within narrow gender boundaries. In particular, Silvia Federici uses the story of the Witch Hunt to illuminate the inner workings of capitalism to show the restraining, silencing, and demonizing of female sexual power built into it.7 Responding to our question that started this essay, she writes, "The witch was not only the midwife, the woman who avoided maternity, or the beggar who eked out a living by stealing some wood or butter from her neighbors. She was also the loose, promiscuous woman - the prostitute or adulteress, and generally, the woman who exercised her sexuality outside the bonds of marriage and procreation... The witch was also the rebel woman who talked back, argued, swore, and did not cry under torture" (184).
In other words, the witches were those women who in one way or another resisted the establishment of an unjust social order - the mechanical exploitation of capitalism. The witches represented a whole world that Europe's new masters were anxious to destroy: a world with strong female leadership, a world rooted in local communities and knowledge, a world alive with magical possibilities, a world in revolt.
We need not despair for the world that has been lost. Indeed, it is still with us today in the struggles of people everywhere organizing for justice. Today from Afghanistan we can hear the clarion voice of Malalai Joya, a courageous woman who was expelled from the Afghan parliament in 2007 for speaking out against the U.S.-installed warlords who now rule her country. She appeared recently on Democracy Now! saying, "Now my people are sandwiched between two powerful enemies: from the sky, occupation forces bombing and killing innocent civilians... [and] on the ground, Taliban and these warlords together continue to deliver fascism against our people."8
Joya risks her life to make these comments, but her words carry the sparkling truth that is so necessary to end the insanity of war and occupation in the Middle East. Those who are summoned to action by her call do so in the immortal spirit of the "heretics" and "witches" who resisted capitalism and feudalism before it, carrying forward a movement that is wide as the Earth and old as time.
1 - Harvard University researchers released a study on Sept. 17, 2009 showing that approximately 45,000 Americans die unnecessarily from lack of medical coverage every year, unfortunately many times more than the number killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks. See this article for more on the Harvard study.
2 - "Shock and Awe", Wikipedia. Online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_and_awe. Accessed Nov. 2, 2009.
3 - This "shock therapy" strategy is examined with detailed case studies by Naomi Klein in the excellent The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Metropolitan Books 2007. For example she offers that the US-led devastation of Iraq's social infrastructure, including destruction of hospitals, schools, and food and water systems traumatized the Iraqi people such that they could not mobilize to prevent the highly unpopular privatization of the country's oil wealth.
4 - for more on the Witch Hunt's effect on the male domination of reproduction and medicine, see Barbara Ehrenreich's Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers, The Feminist Press at CUNY 1972, pamphlet.
5 - "The high point of wages was immediately preceding the 'long' sixteenth century [roughly 1450], and the low point was at its end [roughly 1650]. The drop during the sixteenth century was immense." Wallerstein, Immanuel. The Modern World-System. Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York: Academic Press, 1974. pg. 80.
6 - see Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, W.W. Norton Press 2005. Jared Diamond's study of the rise of Europe focuses more on ecology than patriarchy, but is nonetheless useful for exposing the carnage of the colonization process.
7 - for a brilliant collection of insights into the many ways female sexuality is still under attack, see Friedman, Jaclyn & Jessica Valenti. Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape. Seal Press 2008. My review of this book can also be found here.
8 - Democracy Now! October 28, 2009 broadcast. "A Woman Among Warlords: Afghan Democracy Activist Malalai Joya Defies Threats to Challenge US Occupation, Local Warlords."


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Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Audit of UNHCR Operations in Afghanistan (AR2004-132-01), 17 Aug 2004
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United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (UN OIOS) 17 Aug 2004 report titled "Audit of UNHCR Operations in Afghanistan [AR2004-132-01]" relating to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The report runs to 19 printed pages.Note
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UNITED NATIONS Office of Internal Oversight Services UNHCR Audit Service Assignment AR2004/132/01 17 August 2004 Audit Report R04/R25 OIOS AUDIT OF UNHCR OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN Auditors: Berner Matthee Mika Tapio (until August 2003) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES Office of Internal Oversight Services UNHCR Audit Service OIOS AUDIT OF UNHCR OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN (AR2004/132/01) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Between July 2003 and June 2004, OIOS through its Resident Audit team has conducted a series of audits and reviews of the UNHCR Operations in Afghanistan, with a total expenditure of US$ 125 million in 2002 and US$ 81 million in 2003. The audit covered activities with a total expenditure of US$ 101.5 million in 2002 and 2003. Audit Observations were issued directly to the Offices concerned, on which comments were received. The Offices accepted most of the recommendations made and are in the process of implementing them. Overall Assessment � OIOS assessed the UNHCR Operation in Afghanistan as above average. Overall, it was well run, and although weaknesses in the application of internal controls at implementing partners were identified and performance monitoring should further improve, the weaknesses concerned were not sufficiently critical to compromise the overall system of internal control. Programme Management � In Afghanistan's undocumented and cash economy, the use of money traders and authenticity of supporting documentation still poses a major financial risk to UNHCR. � UNHCR offices should direct capacity building initiatives to improve the quality of project records at implementing partners. � Accountability at the Ministry of Repatriation (MoRR) Offices remains weak. Funding of material and cash assistances with this partner should be limited to the maximum extent possible. � ICMC left Afghanistan and the project records for the 2003 sub-projects totalling US$ 1.9 million are no longer available locally. � Performance monitoring should improve and matched with financial monitoring. OIOS, however, recognised the constraints presented by the security situation and the limited capacity at Programme Sections. A large Shelter Programme, in which more than 90,000 beneficiaries were assisted, and many income-generation projects had to be monitored with limited staff capacity. � OIOS questions the feasibility of a number of income-generation projects, in which substantial UNHCR funds were invested: The direct costs invested in the peanut factory in ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zhare Dasht, a revolving project, totalled more than US$ 600,000 without any oil being sold. Also, wool totalling US$ 500,000 were purchased for wool spinning activities in the Kandahar province, but the spin wool could not be sold. The making of doors and windows as cash for work activities in Kabul, was not economical. � A revolving seed production scheme in Eastern Afghanistan totalling US$ 385,000 was not properly monitored by UNHCR or ISRA. � Cost elements in proposals submitted by implementing partners, especially in the "Water" and "Income-generation" Sectors, were not properly benchmarked prior to entering into Sub- agreements. Supply Management � Significant improvements were noted in procurement at OCM, Kabul, in particular through the use of frame agreements. Procurement of shelter materials was successfully limited in the sub-project budgets of implementing partners and at Sub-Offices. Shelter materials and NFIs were also economically transported by GTZ and warehouses were well managed. � Some implementing partners paid high rates to transport shelter materials to beneficiaries. � OCM, Kabul did well in 2003 to update AssetTrak data, but physical verifications of some 4,000 assets under its custody or that of its implementing partners are still outstanding. Security and Safety � UNHCR staff movements are restricted in most districts within the Southern, South-Eastern and Eastern regions. The deteriorating security situation affects performance monitoring. Administration � In the areas of administration and finance, the UNHCR Offices in Afghanistan generally complied with UNHCR's regulations, rules, policies and procedures and controls were operating effectively during the period under review. � OCM, Kabul did not properly supervise and operate the Medical Insurance Plan (MIP). - August 2004 - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER Paragraphs I. INTRODUCTION 1-5 II. AUDIT OBJECTIVES 6 III. AUDIT SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY 7-12 IV. AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Review of Implementing Partners 13-31 B. Other Programme Issues 32-51 C. Supply Management 52-63 D. Security and Safety 64-69 E. Administration 70-74 V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 75 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. INTRODUCTION 1. Between July 2003 and May 2004, the OIOS Resident Audit team based in Islamabad, Pakistan conducted a second cycle of audits of the UNHCR Afghan Operation. The audits were conducted in accordance with the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, promulgated by the Institute of Internal Auditors and adopted by the Internal Audit Services of the United Nations Organizations. OIOS reviewed the activities of 28 of its implementing partners and the activities of the UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission (OCM) in Kabul and its Sub-Offices (SO) in Jalalabad, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, Kabul, Herat and Gardez. 2. The first cycle of audits and reviews of the UNHCR Afghan operation was conducted between April 2002 and June 2003. The audits focused on 2002 projects covering expenditure of US$ 87.6 million at various stages of implementation. In its 2003 audit report, OIOS had assessed the UNHCR operation in Afghanistan as average. It was adequately run but key controls were lacking at partners and in particular in the procurement functions and financial systems. UNHCR's procurement procedures also needed to be improved and considerable work was still required to track and record assets. 3. Since the beginning of the 2002, over 3 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan. Whereas 2002 was marked as the year of massive repatriation, the main focus in 2003 was on re-integration activities, such as shelter, water and income generation. 4. More than 90,000 beneficiaries received shelter assistance and 6,000 water points, 8,000 baths and 22,000 latrines completed in the Afghan operation in 2002 and 2003. Under income generation, activities focused on small-scale irrigation projects, rehabilitation of access roads, canal and karez cleaning and micro income generation and cash for work activities. The latter included poultry in the North, tailoring and carpentry in the East, peanut oil and wool spinning for IDPs in the South, vocational training for woman in the West and welding workshops in the Central region. 5. Seven Audit Observations detailing the audit findings and recommendations were issued directly to the Heads of Office. The replies received are reflected, as appropriate in this report. OCM and its Sub-Offices have accepted and implemented most of the audit recommendations. II. AUDIT OBJECTIVES 6. The main objectives of the audits were to evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of controls to ensure: � Reliability and integrity of financial and operational information; � Effectiveness and efficiency of operations; � Safeguarding of assets; and, � Compliance with regulations and rules, Letters of Instruction and Sub-agreements. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. AUDIT SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY 7. The audits focused on 2002 and 2003 programme activities under projects 02/SB/AFG/RP/330, 02/SB/AFG/RP/331, 02/SB/AFG/RP/332, 03/SB/AFG/RP/331, 03/SB/AFG/RP/333, 03/SB/AFG/RP/334, 03/SB/AFG/RP/335 and 03/SB/AFG/RP/336 with expenditure of US$ 64 million. 8. The partners reviewed and the expenditures incurred at the time of OIOS's audits are as follows: 2002 � InterSOS � expenditure of US$ 2.1 million, � Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) � expenditure of US$ 766,000, � International Rescue Committee (IRC) � expenditure of US$ 525,000, � Cooperazione e Sviluppo (CESVI) � expenditure of US$ 839,000, � Solidarites � expenditure of US$ 254,000, � Humanitarian Assistance Europe Foundation (FOCUS) � expenditure of US$ 412,000, � Samaritan's Purse International Relief (SPIR) � expenditure of US$ 402,000, � GUARDIANS � expenditure of US$1 million, � Voluntary Association for Rehabilitation of Afghanistan (VARA) � expenditure of US$ 983,000, � Organization for Humanitarian Assistance (OHA) � expenditure of US$ 649,000, � Southern Western Afghanistan & Balochistan Association for Coordination (SWABAC) � expenditure of US$ 96,000, � Central Asia Development Group (CADG) � expenditure of US$ 654,000, � International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) � expenditure of US$ 203,000, � Bureau for Rural Rehabilitation and Afghan Reconstruction Development Unit (BRR/ARDU) � expenditure of US$ 811,000, � Ministry of Repatriation (MoRR) � expenditure of US$ 900,000. � Agence d'Aide a la Cooperation Technique et au Developpement (ACTED) � expenditure of US$ 2.4 million 2003 � GUARDIANS � expenditure of US$ 474,000, � Voluntary Association for Rehabilitation of Afghanistan (VARA) � expenditure of US$ 274,000, � Organization for Humanitarian Assistance (OHA) � expenditure of US$ 431,000, � Southern Western Afghanistan & Balochistan Association for Coordination (SWABAC) � expenditure of US$ 96,000, � Central Asia Development Group (CADG) � expenditure of US$ 789,000, � InterSOS � expenditure of US$ 655,000, � International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) � expenditure of US$ 444,000, � Independent Humanitarian Services Association (IHSAN) � expenditure of US$ 187,000, � Bureau for Rural Rehabilitation and Afghan Reconstruction Development Unit (BRR/ARDU) � expenditure of US$ 604,000, � Country Development Unit (CDU) � expenditure of US$ 121,000, � Sina Association Rehabilitation Services (SARS) � expenditure of US$ 347,000, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- � Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA) � expenditure of US$ 274,000, � Hewad Reconstruction Services (HRS) � expenditure of US$ 370,000, � Ansari Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (ARAA) � expenditure of US$ 1 million, � Sherzad Reconstruction Organization (SRO) � expenditure of US$ 748,000, � International Rescue Committee (IRC) � expenditure of 1 million, � Malteser Hilfsdienst (MHD) � expenditure of US$ 933,000, � CARE International (CARE) - expenditure of US$ 1.4 million, � GTZ International Services (GTZ) � expenditure of US$ 4.3 million, � Ministry of Repatriation (MoRR) � expenditure of US$ 250,000, � Agence d'Aide a la Cooperation Technique et au Developpement (ACTED) � expenditure of US$ 173,000, � Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) � expenditure of US$ 1.3 million. 9. OIOS also reviewed activities directly implemented by UNHCR with expenditure totalling US$ 11 million. 10. The audit reviewed the administration of OCM, Kabul and its SOs in Jalalabad, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, Kabul, Herat and Gardez with administrative budgets totalling US$ 22.5 million for 2002 (US$ 9.5 million was disbursed since OIOS' previous audits conducted during 2002) and US$ 21.7 million for 2003 (US$ 17 million was disbursed at the time of OIOS' various audits) and assets with an acquisition value of US$ 18 million and a current value of US$ 10 million. The number of staff working for the UNHCR Operation in Afghanistan was 870 in 2003. This included staff on regular posts, National Professional Officers and United Nations Volunteers. 11. The auditors also reviewed the activities of the government implementing partner MoRR to assist with the capacity building initiatives that included an assessment of the functional areas at selected offices responsible for the implementation of sub-projects. 12. External audit firms were engaged to audit the 2002 sub-projects and most of the audit certificates of partners reviewed by OIOS included qualified audit opinions. The qualifications were scope limitations that prevented the external auditors to obtain adequate audit evidence in an undocumented and cash economy. At the date of OIOS' audits, most of the Independent External auditors submitted external audit certificates and management letters to UNHCR and the partners. UNHCR was awaiting comments from the partners on the issues raised in management letters. IV. AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Review of Implementing Partners (a) UNHCR funds with Money Traders 13. Local partners continue keeping their instalments received from UNHCR with money traders who are persons and not legal entities and in most cases unknown to UNHCR. There ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- are no audit trails of transactions and traders are not accountable for UNHCR funds in their custody. In the absence of an adequate banking system in Afghanistan, UNHCR and the partners accepted the associated risks as a given. There are developments and improvements in the banking system and OIOS is of the opinion that partners should be encouraged to make use of the "Afghanistan Bank" or other commercial banks, such as "Standard Chartered Bank". Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan and its Sub-Offices should request local implementing partners to consider opening bank accounts with banks in Afghanistan (Rec. 01). (b) Capacity building and engagement of partners 14. Due to UNHCR Afghanistan's continued capacity building initiatives, the financial accounting and reporting of most local partners improved. UNHCR engaged more than one hundred partners and in most regions, SOs were restricted to partners that operated within specific areas and engaged as many partners as possible to ensure that programme targets are met. 15. Notwithstanding the efforts of UNHCR, some partners continued with rudimentary accounting systems and did not improve their internal controls. The Afghan programme is reducing and Sub-Offices are now in a better position to select partners on more concrete information, past experiences and findings of external and internal auditors. From 2005, the selection of partners should include an assessment of partners' financial systems, procedures and internal controls prior to engagement. Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan and its Sub-Offices should assess partner's financial systems, procedures and internal controls prior to entering into Sub- Agreements in 2005 (Rec. 02). (c) Authenticity of supporting documentation 16. OIOS found instances where partners submitted questionable quotations for contracts, supplies and vehicle rentals, of which some had notable financial implications to UNHCR. SRO entered into two contracts with a company to drill a hundred and seven wells in the Herat province at the cost of US$ 126,000 through quotations. The quotations were US$ 35, US$ 38 and US$ 40 per meter of drilling. For both exercises, the same vendors quoted the same prices, with the unsuccessful vendors quoting the same for gravelling, blaking and apron. These quotations were further questionable as SRO paid 40 per cent more per meter than what the other partners in the province did. The additional cost to UNHCR was estimated at US$ 50,000. 17. Vehicle rent by partners was a positive alternative to the high cost if UNHCR provided the vehicles, but there is a risk that partners or their staff could rent from related parties. In the absence of registration or other documentation that provide proof of ownership, it is impossible to ascertain the regularity of the transactions, but OIOS noted ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- substantial differences in rates. InterSOS paid US$ 1,500 per month, double the US$ 750 paid by ICMC. According to ICMC, a driver's salary is US$ 250 and running costs US$ 300. In the case of InterSOS it leaves a profit margin of US$ 950, which is more than double the amount provided for as a salary to a national Programme Manager under UNHCR sub- projects. 18. In a generally undocumented and cash economy, it is understandably difficult for SOs to ascertain the adequacy of supporting evidence to substantiate the validity of transactions, especially contracts in areas where contractors are limited. SOs undertook to benchmark costs when assessing proposals to act as ceiling amounts in an effort to reduce the risk of being over-charged. Such benchmarking of prices, to act as ceiling amounts in sub-project budgets could substantially reduce financial implications to UNHCR. (d) Record keeping in projects 19. OIOS found the lack of project records as the main weakness at partners, especially in the "Water and Sanitation" and "Income-Generation" Sectors. Most partners did not record actual data of wells, baths, latrines and income generation activities, such as road works, karezes and constructions. Without actual data on projects, UNHCR cannot ascertain as to whether partners completed projects in accordance with plans or proposals and/or compare the cost with a "Bill of Quantities" to determine if UNHCR obtained value for money. Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan and its Sub-Offices should focus its capacity building initiatives at partners on record keeping in projects, especially the recording of actual data in income generation projects (Rec. 03). (e) Staff costs in sub-projects 20. Partners keep records of payments to staff, but do not maintain consolidated payroll data. Neither do they submit the required schedules to UNHCR that indicate the staff members involved in the sub-projects and the remuneration paid to each of the staff members that ties up with staff costs reported in their financial reports. Some partners have many staff members in UNHCR sub-projects, but did not submit staff lists to UNHCR and do not have consolidated data on numbers, positions and remuneration paid and therefore, the expenditures charged to UNHCR cannot be related to the provisions in sub-project budgets. 21. OIOS noted discrepancies in the staff costs charged to UNHCR sub-projects that indicate a need for consolidated information from partners. IRC charged a UNHCR sub- project with remuneration to staff members that were not engaged in the sub-project and CARE charged staff costs to UNHCR on a shared cost basis that was not in accordance with the sub-project budget. Thus far, UNHCR, Afghanistan's efforts to obtain the schedules from partners were not successful. Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan and its Sub-Offices should request all partners to submit a list ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- of staff engaged in future sub-projects that should be attached to Sub-agreements and submit schedules with their final 2004 financial SPMRs that indicate, per staff member, the amount of salaries and other entitlements paid. The total amount of staff costs as per the schedule should tie-up with the amount reported in the financial SPMRs (Rec. 04). (f) OIOS' audit of MoRR 22. In an effort to assist the capacity building initiatives, OIOS reviewed financial and administrative areas at selected MoRR offices responsible for implementation. The financial management of the transport component that accounted for more than 60 per cent of the total sub-projects was well managed by SO, Herat and commended by OIOS. 23. Notwithstanding UNHCR's initiatives to strengthen accountability, MoRR offices made limited progress in record keeping, including financial, the offices lacked internal controls and asset management remained weak. Cash instalments from UNHCR were kept at private houses or at locations unknown to UNHCR. In Kabul, the MoRR office could not present supporting documents for most of the selected expenditures of its 2003 sub-project with reported expenditures at the date of the audit totalling US$ 123,000. There was, in general, a lack of internal controls to ensure that transactions are properly authorised, recorded and reported. Also and although purchases were limited, MoRR offices did not follow basic procurement procedures that resulted in uneconomical purchases. 24. Furthermore, MoRR's office in Herat entered into a construction contract for a new office of US$ 48,000 without informing UNHCR and exhausting the sub-project budget provision of US$ 20,000 for rehabilitation work at the existing office. The office in Farah also started the construction of new office premises with an estimated cost of US$ 30,000. OIOS noted limited construction work, but the US$ 5,000 was utilised that UNHCR provided for rehabilitation work at their existing office. The management of both offices could not indicate how MoRR will fund the remainder of the construction work, but there was an expectation that UNHCR will fund the constructions. 25. SO, Herat duly followed-up on each finding that OIOS reported and was in the process to take corrective steps, especially by increasing financial monitoring. OCM, Kabul is in the process to engage an external firm to provide training in financial management and record keeping. OIOS supports this initiative, but remain of the opinion that an improvement in record keeping and the strengthening of internal controls is not enough to ensure accountability over UNHCR funds. OCM, Kabul should match sub-project budget provisions with up-front agreed activities and increase financial monitoring. The sub-project budget for 2003 was US$ 250,000 against which MoRR only reported expenditures of US$ 123,000 by May 2004, whereas OCM, Kabul paid US$ 172,000 in instalments. Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan should limit provisions in MoRR sub-project budgets to provide only for up-front agreed activities and increase financial monitoring to enhance accountability over UNHCR funds (Rec. 05). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (g) Review of partners' completed activities for 2002 26. From July to October 2003, OIOS reviewed twenty-one 2002 sub-projects with expenditures totalling US$ 13 million that were implemented by 16 partners. With the exception of ICMC, GUARDIANS and VARA, reasonable assurance could be taken that UNHCR funds were properly accounted for and disbursed in accordance with Sub- agreements. 27. ICMC's records were unorganised and the supporting documentation not properly filed for a sub-project with reported expenditures of US$ 200,000. SO, Kandahar informed OIOS that ICMC re-organised its records and that the reported expenditures were verified by its Programme Section. GUARDIANS and VARA could not present supporting documentation for reported expenditures totalling US$ 220,000 and US$ 179,000 respectively. The supporting documentation was eventually submitted to SO, Kandahar that found it adequate. (h) Review of partners' completed activities for 2003 28. IRC implemented sub-projects in three regions, i.e. Gardez, Jalalabad and Mazar-i- Sharif. The Kabul Office performed the accounting function and prepared the financial reports. OIOS found the general ledger and final Sub-Project Monitoring Report of at least one location, Gardez, inaccurate and incomplete. There were miss-allocations, unauthorised charges and distortions in the recording of transactions. The discrepancies were of such an extent that OIOS suggested the re-submission of the final Sub-Project Monitoring Report. 29. Two locations, i.e. Gardez and Jalalabad, included "Agency Operational Support" costs totalling US$ 700,000 that represents 38 per cent of the total sub-project budgets. According to IRC's funding structure at the date of the audit, UNHCR's sub-projects accounted for 25 per cent of the total funding of IRC, substantially less than 38 per cent. UNHCR Sub-Offices negotiated the sub-project budgets separately and each provided for overhead costs with a related risk of double funding IRC's overhead costs. 30. Also, and as "Umbrella NGO", IRC charged UNHCR with additional overhead costs for co-ordinating partners. In the "Shelter" Sector for example, IRC paid an administrative fee of US$ 40 per shelter to the partners and charged the costs to UNHCR. OCM, Kabul will co-ordinate the negotiations of sub-project budgets between SOs and IRC to avoid double funding of IRC's overhead costs. 31. ICMC left Afghanistan in early 2004. For the 2003 sub-project ICMC reported expenditures totalling US$ 1.9 million to UNHCR. However, project records are no longer available in Afghanistan for verification. Given the amount involved, UNHCR should arrange for an external audit of these sub-projects. Recommendation: The UNHCR Bureau for CASWANAME, in consultation with DFSM, should arrange an independent external audit of sub-projects 03/SB/AFG/RP/334 (h$ and 03/SB/AFG/RP/331 (g$ totalling US$ 1.9 million implemented by the International Catholic Migration Commission, for which no project records are available locally (Rec. 06). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Other Programme Issues (a) Water points 32. DACAAR, UNHCR, Afghanistan's main partner in the "Water" Sector, completed more than 30,000 water points in Afghanistan over the years of which 2,700 were under UNHCR sub-projects in 2002 and 2003. 33. The provisions in the sub-project budgets were per well (method when contractors are used) whereas costing was per category of expenditure (method when partner does not use contractors). Therefore the provisions in sub-project budgets could not be related to actual costs incurred. DACAAR overspent its 2003 UNHCR sub-project budget of US$ 1.17 million by US$ 163,000, of which US$ 121,000 (74 per cent) on wells. OCM, Kabul disallowed the overspending. 34. Until mid 2003, DACAAR followed its own strategies and UNHCR's participation was limited in the "site" selection process. In Jalalabad and until UNHCR participated in the selection process in August 2002, DACAAR drilled and deepened 160 wells under a UNHCR sub-project in districts where there were no returnees and reported 32 wells as completed that were not completed. When UNHCR queried this, DACAAR merely installed hand pumps on existing wells to account for the discrepancy. SO, Jalalabad took action by more actively participating in the "site" selection processes. 35. DACAAR maintains a database on wells and has a maintenance program in place. This database is also available to the Ministry of Rural and Rehabilitation Development (MRRD) that is managing national water programs. 36. Since 2002, other partners completed 3,300 of the total 6,000 wells, 55 per cent. They did not record technical data and therefore the data is not available for future planning exercises of the MRRD or for maintenance purposes. 37. Some partners were costly. ACF completed only 17 out of 70 planned water points in Sar-e-Pul and Mazar in 2002. The total reported and verified expenditure to complete the water points was US$ 103,000 that is five times the estimated cost. 38. The salaries paid by ARAA in the Western Region to make rings for shallow wells were triple the cost of rings if purchased. According to ARAA, the produced rings were of a better quality than purchased ones. ARAA also paid US$ 58,000 on drilling contracts for the drilling of fifty-five wells in Ghor. The lowest quote was US$ 17.5 per meter for 30 meters of drilling that is a reasonable price, but the contracts entered into for the drilling of 60 meters, thereby doubling the contract price. Questionable was the US$ 40 per meter paid by SRO in the same region. 39. Sub-Offices undertook to benchmark drilling costs and in particular, SO, Herat established a benchmark of US$ 15 to 18 per meter up to 35 meters using UNICEF's expertise but there are obvious factors to take into consideration, especially the strata. Noted, however, is that in both cases, ARAA and SRO, the procedures followed to enter into the contracts could be irregular. SRO presented questionable quotations and ARAA doubled the drill meters in the contracts. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (b) Shelter programme 40. UNHCR provided good guidance to partners engaged in the shelter programme. The number of beneficiaries to be assisted was mainly determined by returnee numbers and considering the "high return rate" to Afghanistan, the allocation of units was naturally not an easy task that was further complicated by UNHCR's limited programme capacity to effectively participate in all beneficiary selections. 41. OIOS could not base its results of site visits on representative samples of selected shelters because of the difficulty to locate the shelters. Some shelters are also not numbered. The shelters visited in the South, Western, Northern and South Eastern Regions, were generally better occupied than those in the Eastern and Central Regions. OIOS did not find cases where the partners did not provide the shelter materials and cash assistance to the beneficiaries and the assistance, except for SRO, was well documented. Cases were noted where the cash assistance was paid but the shelters and/or latrines were not completed. Also and except for the Kusk-i-Rabat Sangi district in the Western Region and Mir Bacha Kot district in the Central Region, the beneficiaries, in general, used all the shelter materials provided to them. 42. SRO's records of shelter and cash assistance were incomplete. SRO also provided a further seven additional beams per beneficiary as it reckoned that the UNHCR procured beams were of a bad quality and could break. During a field visit to Kusk-i-Rabat Sangi, OIOS noted that SRO provided the additional beams only after the construction of the shelters was completed; they were therefore not used by the beneficiaries. 43. In a nutshell and as per OIOS's findings, the Programme Sections gave good guidance to the partners, were adequately involved in the beneficiary selection processes and ensured that materials and cash assistance are provided, but were understaffed to visit enough of the more than 90,000 constructed shelters. OCM, Kabul engaged the services of a Shelter Monitor to improve shelter monitoring from 2004. This will contribute towards a more structured and effective monitoring strategy, but the question of capacity at Sub-Offices to obtain the desired coverage during visits remains. Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan should match future monitoring strategies with capacity at Programme Sections at Sub-Offices to ensure adequate coverage during shelter visits (Rec. 07). (c) Income-generation and cash for work projects 44. In October 2003, OIOS questioned the feasibility of several income-generation projects, in which UNHCR invested significant funds, such as the peanut oil factory in the Zhare Dasht settlement and the wool spinning revolving projects in the Southern Region. The direct costs only for the peanut oil production amounted to more than US$ 600,000. The monthly labour cost to shell the peanuts was US$ 24,000 per month. It is a revolving fund and OIOS calculated that the minimum selling price as US$ 3.16 per litre if the project is to be feasible. CADG sold no oil. SO, Kandahar undertook to determine the sustainability of ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the revolving project and the possibility to transfer ownership to the beneficiary population. Zhare Dasht is a temporary settlement and therefore the possible transfer to beneficiaries is questionable. Considering the cost of the project, OCM, Kabul should address the matter. Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan should decide on the future of the peanut factory project in Zhare Dasht that cost more than US$ 600,000 as of November 2003 with no return on investment so far (Rec. 08). 45. The cost of wool purchased in wool spinning revolving projects totalled US$ 500,000 in the Southern Region, but partners sold no spin wool. As suggested by OIOS, SO, Kandahar assessed the feasibility of the project as a revolving project and subsequently discontinued it from 2004. 46. ISRA implemented a crop production project in Eastern Afghanistan in 2002 totalling US$ 385,000 in which it provided 12,000 beneficiaries with maize and wheat seeds, fertilisers, toolkits and training. There were inconsistencies in the distribution of maize seeds in the first phase of the project, including allegations that the seeds did not reach the intended beneficiaries. 47. Distribution was better controlled during the second phase, but OIOS assessed SO, Jalalabad's overall monitoring of the project as inadequate. ISRA was also not in a position to provide adequate explanations during the audit in July 2003, with its agriculture engineers finding it difficult to locate the villages in which the beneficiaries were located. Upon OIOS's request, ISRA did submit a report on wheat production that included statistics on production, that SO, Jalalabad undertook to verify. Until such time, the outcome and sustainability of the project is unknown. 48. BRR/ARDU made 1,500 windows and 750 doors in the Central region for the shelter programme. The cost of the materials only totalled US$ 89,000 that was 50 per cent more than the purchase price of the items in Kabul. SARS paid US$ 43,000 for materials to make 500 doors and 1,000 windows. The material cost alone was twelve per cent more than the purchase cost of a door and a window with glass. SO, Kabul undertook to review and suggested central purchasing by OCM, Kabul. OIOS supports this suggestion. (d) Financial and performance monitoring 49. Financial monitoring, except for SO, Mazar-i-Sharif, was adequate, but not adequately matched with performance monitoring. Project Control at OCM, Kabul assisted national staff at SO, Mazar-i-Sharif to improve financial monitoring. 50. Given the security constraints, large number of projects in remote areas and limited capacity of the programme sections, performance monitoring was in most cases based on ad hoc missions that were inadequate to obtain the necessary coverage of activities, measure performance and link performance to financial monitoring. Noted, however, was that Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) under the short format Sub-Agreements, used in the Central (SO, Kabul) and Eastern (SO, Jalalabad) regions, were better monitored than projects under the long format Sub-Agreements. It is difficult to link the expenditures reported in a financial ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub-Project Monitoring Report to an individual project because the actual "Bill of Quantities"; i.e. staff costs, materials, transport costs etc. incurred cannot be related to an individual project. 51. OIOS found that the short format agreement and contracts, as legal instruments, address the major concerns of QIPs, especially in respect of a "Bill of Quantities", better control over actual delivery within a specified period, reduced "paper work" and facilitate a better financial and performance monitoring process. From 2004, UNHCR ceased the use of the short format. Although this is unfortunate, UNHCR, Afghanistan substantially reduced QIPs in 2004. C. Supply Management (a) Procurement 52. OIOS noted a substantial improvement in the procurement processes of the Supply Chain at OCM, Kabul. In particular, entering into frame agreements that resulted in a better and faster procurement process and purchases were more economical. 53. Compared to 2002, when partners were not applying appropriate procurement procedures and monitoring by UNHCR Sub-Offices was limited, OIOS noted a positive development. Delegation of procurement to partners has been significantly reduced, especially for shelter materials. Throughout the audits of 2002 sub-projects, OIOS had noted the difficulties that partners experienced with suppliers and the non-compliance of partners with UNHCR procurement procedures that resulted in uneconomical purchases. InterSOS purchased windows and doors totalling US$ 900,000 from an "import-export" firm, after the originally selected suppliers failed to deliver, and paid US$ 50,000 more than local procurement according to SO, Jalalabad prices. 54. There are activities, such as construction activities, in which partners were still required to procure materials in 2003. For these activities, OIOS found it difficult to obtain benchmark amounts, but noted substantial differences in prices paid by partners for some items. Differences as much as double for construction stone, 16 per cent for cement and 10 per cent for steel bars. More problematic is the failure of partners to keep proper stock records for construction activities. SRO purchased construction materials totalling US$ 168,000 in 2003, without keeping stock records or even a procurement register. 55. A further weakness noted, is the tracking of procured shelter materials. GTZ transported the materials to the partners. The partners recorded distribution to individual beneficiaries, but did not keep stock records and therefore, a consolidated account of items distributed by the partners and materials on hand is not available. Recommendation: The UNHCR, Sub-Offices in Afghanistan should request its implementing partners in the shelter programme to keep stock records for shelter materials received, distributed and on hand, starting 2004 (Rec. 09). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (b) Logistics 56. The main logistical activity remains the transport of shelter materials and NFIs across Afghanistan and in 2003, GTZ transported more than 30,000 metric tons across Afghanistan at the cost of US$ 700,000 and engaged transporters through bidding exercises that were carried out on a six-monthly basis and resulted in commendable reductions in transport prices since the beginning of the operation. 57. The rates paid to contractors, engaged by the partners, to distribute shelter materials to beneficiaries differed substantially; as much as 6 times between the regions and as much as 4 times between partners within the regions. In some provinces US$ 10 per shelter was paid, whereas as high as US$ 70 were paid in others. Quotations obtained by partners were in some cases exactly the amount provided for in the sub-project budget. 58. OIOS is of the opinion that Sub-Offices should have obtained advice from GTZ on reasonable transport rates. Assuming that GTZ trucks transported materials for only 15 shelters per truck and disregarding the distance (GTZ transported mainly long haul whereas implementing partners transported only within districts, in most cases short distances, i.e. 40 km.), OIOS calculated the average transportation cost at US$ 30 per shelter. Given that some implementing partners paid as much as US$ 70 per shelter, it appears that there is a potential for significant cost savings. SO, Herat noted the observation, but cautioned that GTZ rates were not comparable with that of partners. Other SOs mentioned that road conditions and other factors should be considered. Nevertheless, they recognised the need for more cost-effective transport. OCM, Kabul undertook to find a solution. (c) Warehousing 59. OIOS assessed the warehouse management of GTZ in the Afghan operation to be adequate. A total of 57 warehouses and sub-warehouses, including 28 rubb halls, were functional in 2003 and assets and NFIs stored at the date of the audit in May 2004 totalled more than US$ 9 million. 60. Towards the end of 2003, OCM, Kabul entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with UNAMA to use part of the UNAMA compound for warehousing. The cost to UNHCR for four pre-fabricated warehouses, gravelling of the land for rubb halls and access road was US$ 350,000. From March 2004, UNHCR discontinued NFI distributions to returnees. As of May 2004, a comprehensive plan as to the movement of stock, distributions, contingency stock and future utilisation of the warehousing at the UNAMA compound was not yet prepared. OCM, Kabul will compile a distribution plan taking into account the various factors. (d) Fleet management 61. UNHCR deployed 378 vehicles in Afghanistan of which 163, 43 per cent, under the custody of partners. GTZ's workshop in Kabul services only vehicles under the custody of UNHCR; currently the workshop is only utilized at 25 per cent of its capacity. The situation is rather unfortunate, because UNHCR provides for repair and maintenance in the partners' sub-project budgets, whereas GTZ's workshop is under-utilised, thereby risking double funding maintenance costs. The feasibility of using GTZ or other workshops is in the process at OCM, Kabul. Following OCM, Kabul's decision to move the workshop, thereby reducing ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the rental cost of a second compound, GTZ recently build a new workshop in its main compound at considerable cost. OCM, Kabul should consider this cost in such a feasibility study. Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan should consider the costs already invested by GTZ in building a new vehicle workshop when deciding on a concept for servicing UNHCR vehicles under the custody of implementing partners (Rec. 10). (e) Assets 62. The Afghan operation has 8,500 assets with an acquisition value of US$ 18 million (current value US$ 10 million). The AssetTrak records remain centralized at OCM, Kabul and Supply Chain completed the updates of assets at Sub-Offices. OCM, Kabul did not perform physical verifications of some 4,000 assets under its custody or that of its partners. OIOS suggested that OCM, Kabul engage GTZ. 63. OCM, Kabul is of the opinion that most assets are with partners and verified during verifications. The relevant forms are part of the project closure and the function is difficult to delegate to GTZ. The comments are noted, but without physical verifications carried out thus far, it is rather questionable that the Programme Section and the Supply Chain at OCM, Kabul have adequate capacity with the necessary expertise to perform the physical verifications, especially of such a large number of assets. D. Security and Safety 64. UNHCR's security arrangements are in accordance with the Minimum Operating Security Standards (MOSS) for Afghanistan, based on a risk assessment of UNSECOORD for Afghanistan staff, and restrictions enforced by OCM, Kabul on movements within Afghanistan. UNHCR determine areas of "access" or "no access", taking into account the monthly risk classification (high, medium or low risk) of UNSECOORD and inputs from its Sub-Offices, and indicate the areas on a "UNHCR Staff Access" map. UNHCR suspended all activities in areas that UNSECOORD classified as "high risk" areas. Movements are restricted in most districts within the Southern, South-Eastern and Eastern regions. Currently, all Encashment Centres are accessible. 65. As a rule, all road missions are with armed security escorts, provided by the Ministry of Interior. UNHCR is improving escort arrangements, mainly the engagement of better quality and trained armed personnel and the provision of equipment and vehicles to the Ministry. UNHCR also allocated US$ 1.4 Million for security equipment and subsequently, OCM, Kabul ordered 6 "hard skin light vehicles", at the cost of US$ 160,000 each, and ballistic blankets for 70 vehicles. UNHCR is, through these steps and regular update of the "UNHCR Staff Access" map, actively improving staff safety during road missions. Partners follow their own security arrangements, but UNHCR provides some security materials under Sub-agreements. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 66. There is uncertainty as to the whether the official security phase 3 for Afghanistan is appropriate in the current security situation. OCM, Kabul informed OIOS that the UN security team recommended phase 4 for the Southern, South-Eastern and Eastern regions in June 2004, but that was not discussed at following Security Management Team (SMT) meetings. According to OCM, Kabul, UNHCR's security measures in place responded to the security situation in security phases 4 or 5 in these regions. OIOS supports this conservative approach. 67. As of July 2004, the Field Safety Advisors (FSAs) posts at all Sub-Offices were vacant. SOs, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad and Kandahar had FSAs on mission. SOs, Herat and Gardez were without FSAs. The recruitment of FSAs is in process. 68. Security and evacuation plans and day-to-day security measures, such as security clearances, briefings and communication procedures are in place. OCM, Kabul conducted its first evacuation exercise on 3 July 2004, but Sub-Offices did not conduct any such exercises. OCM, Kabul will arrange the exercises and the FSA at OCM, Kabul will attend the exercises at SOs Herat and Gardez that are without FSAs. 69. UNHCR uses the United Nations Humanitarian Air Services (UNHAS), under the umbrella of the World Food Programme, for air travel. There are no co-ordination between UNHCR and UNHAS regarding security arrangements or security of staff using the services. There are circumstances in which security arrangements are required, especially in the case of flight diversions that occurred in the past. Furthermore and according to the latest member list, UNHAS is not a member of the SMT. Recommendation: The UNHCR Office of the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan should, in consultation with UNHAS, establish security procedures for situations/incidents related to the use of UNHAS flights in which UNHCR staff members could be involved (Rec.11). E. Administration 70. In the areas of administration and finance, the UNHCR offices in Afghanistan generally complied with UNHCR's regulations, rules, policies and procedures and controls were operating effectively during the period under review. (a) Medical Insurance Plan (MIP) 71. OCM, Kabul did not properly supervise and operate the MIP in Afghanistan. The data in the system is not accurate and not complete. With the exception of LO, Islamabad, the claims were not processed throughout 2003, merely because of a minor technical problem in the electronic system. It was not until the last quarter of 2003, that OCM, Kabul settled the 2003 claims, 514 claims totalling US$ 40,000. The claims included vouchers that dated as far back as January 2002. Some claims were settled almost a year after submission. 72. Benchmark amounts were not set for the claims and treatments, of which there are ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- many that include treatments incurred in Pakistan that were recorded as not "outside country". Even a treatment in India in August 2003, was recorded as not "outside country". Because there are no prevailing patterns of charges for medical services in Afghanistan, the amounts claimed were paid. After consultation with the Joint Medical Service in May 2004, OCM, Kabul decided that medical expenses incurred in Pakistan and Iran can be, in exceptional cases, considered as reasonable and customary in Afghanistan. OCM, Kabul is also in the process to obtain prices from hospitals and physicians to determine reasonable prices in such cases. 73. The MIP was decentralised early 2004 and OIOS was concerned that the weaknesses in the system will prevail, especially when abuses found in other large operations are considered. The decentralisation was decided by DHRM and a regional workshop was held in Sri Lanka and software already installed. Therefore, it will be difficult to recentralise and not in the interest of staff. OCM, Kabul will ensure that SOs manage the MIP properly. (b) Overtime 74. OCM, Kabul paid US$ 95,000 for overtime work in 2003. OIOS found the overtime arrangements at OCM, Kabul not to comply with the UNHCR rules. Staff members were, in general, paid overtime without obtaining approval before the overtime was undertaken. OCM, Kabul took corrective steps. V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 75. I wish to express my appreciation for the assistance and cooperation extended to the auditors by the staff of UNHCR and implementing partners in Afghanistan. Egbert C. Kaltenbach, Chief UNHCR Audit Service Office of Internal Oversight Services -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


text: Automakers and legislators appear to be coming together on the need for greater cybersecurity for vehicles that are increasingly connected to the internet and controlled by ever-more sophisticated computer systems and software.Volkswagen today announced it will form a cybersecurity company headed by Yuval Diskin, the former head of Israel's security agency. The company, CyMotive Technologies, will be 40% owned by the German automaker and the rest will be controlled by Diskin and two other former leaders in Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency."The car and the Internet are becoming increasingly integrated. To enable us to tackle the enormous challenges of the next decade, we need to expand our know-how in cyber security in order to systematically advance vehicle cyber security for our customers," Volkmar Tanneberger, Volkswagen's head of electrical and electronic development, said in a statement. "CyMotive Technologies provides an excellent platform for doing this. It is a long-term investment in cyber security to make vehicles and their ecosystem more secure." NHTSALast year, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the world's seventh largest automaker, issued a recall for for 1.4 million vehicles to fix a software hole that allowed hackers to wirelessly break into some vehicles and electronically control vital functions.Last month, the same hackers who proved FCA's Jeep Cherokee could be hacked wirelessly demonstrated at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas that the vehicle's Controller Area Network (CAN) could also be hacked by physically connecting to the vehicle's OBD-II diagnostics port.In just nine hours, the hackers proved through a brute-force attack they were able to gain access to and control electronic systems, such as the speedometer, as well as to take control of the vehicle's steering and brakes using diagnostic messages.Since 1996, all vehicles have come with OBD-II ports. A vehicle's CAN is the network that connects the dozens of electronic control units (tiny computers) in a modern vehicle.A modern car has dozens of computers with as much as 100 million lines of code -- and for every 1,000 lines there are as many as 15 bugs that are potential doors for would-be hackers.Prior to last year's Jeep Cherokee hack, which was performed by two independent security experts, the auto industry didn't see an immediate threat, according to Egil Juliussen, director of research at IHS Automotive."Last year they all got kicked in the butt," Juliussen said in an earlier interview with Computerworld. "When that happened, then they had a data point around how much it could cost to fix these things -- 1.4 million cars that may cost $100, so all of a sudden you're looking at $140 million to fix that. So that changed how they looked at it."The Jeep Cherokee was just one of five vehicles identified as "the most" hackable, by PT&C|LWG Forensic Consulting Services, which released their report on cybersecurity last year.Along with the Jeep Cherokee, the report identified the 2014 Infiniti Q50, the 2015 Cadillac Escalade, the 2010 and 2014 Toyota Prius and the 2014 Ford Fusion as the most hackable.Cars with the highest risk of cyber vulnerability, according to the report, tended to have the most features networked together, especially where radio or Wi-Fi networks are connected to physical components of vehicles.By 2020, the number of Internet-connected vehicles will reach 150 million, according to Gartner, and 60% to 75% of them will be capable of consuming, creating and sharing Web-based data.And, by 2035, there will be 21 million autonomous vehicles on roadways, according to research firm IHS Automotive.This week, four Congressional members called for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to lead an industry-wide effort to head off a cybersecurity threat to the increasingly sophisticated and wirelessly connected computer systems in vehicles.The Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee pointed to potentially electronic attacks on the internal networks of automobiles through the use of OBD-II ports and the devices that connect to them."Researchers have been able to leverage either a direct connection to the OBD-II port, or devices that connect to the port, to cause a range of effects, from nuisances like digitally engaging the windshield wipers or car horn, to more consequential exploits such as remotely unlocking a vehicle's doors or cutting a vehicle's brakes or power steering," the letter stated. PT&C LWG Forensic Consulting Services The 2014 Ford Fusion was selected as being vulnerable because of software flaws that allowed hackers to access vehicle systems from anywhere.In July, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the NHTSA will soon release cybersecurity guidelines to the auto industry.This week wasn't the first tine lawmakers called on the NHTSA to address vehicle cybersecurity issues. Last year, the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to the NHTSA calling on it to "track or evaluate" potential cyber vulnerabilities in wirelessly connected vehicles. The committee also sent a similar letter to all of the major automakers in the U.S.Lawmakers pointed to every increasing numbers of vehicles with Wi-Fi, infotainment systems, over-the-air software upgrades, smartphone interfaces and self-driving features as adding to the number of possible hacker entry points."We are entering a new era in cybersecurity," the letter from Committee Chair, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich), stated. "The explosion of new, connected devices and services is exacerbating existing cybersecurity challenges. This will be a significant challenge for the automobile industry."The NHTSA has said vehicle cybersecurity will require a "layered research approach," which will include legislation, and the auto industry must take "independent steps to help improve the cybersecurity posture."This year, at the request of the NHTSA the auto industry formed an Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) to help the industry proactively and uniformly address cybersecurity threats.Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst with Navigant Research, recently co-authored a report on automotive cybersecurity and he said a flurry of companies have sprung up in Israel, including Argus Cyber Security and TowerSec. But not every company is taking the same approach to securing vehicles.For example, Argus offers an intrusion detection and prevention module that ties into a vehicle's controller area network (CAN), which connects the various electronic control units (ECUs) or computers in a car. TowerSec offers software that is embedded in existing ECUs. Karamba's software is made to be integrated as part of a vehicle's original factory setting and is aimed at creating firewalls between ECUs controlling infotainment, telematics and OBD (on-board diagnostics)."Every new vehicle today...has at least some degree of automation capability," said "Essentially, every vehicle on the road is going to need some aspect of cyber security built into it."


text: Eregore Posted November 3, 2012 HYMN: A Heretic Community Project What's next? Now that I have all the submissions I will create a new thread with an episode alpha, including level order (all maps will be included!) Then we play each others' maps. We give one another feedback and suggestions for improvement. Once we have given and gotten feedback we polish our maps for the final release! Stay tuned . . . Hymn of the Fallen Lords (HYMN): A Heretic Community Project! Heretic mappers, get ready, this is the community project you've been waiting for! Anyone can submit a map! You will have until April 1st (04-01-13) to post a link for your level here in the forum. If your interested in joining just let me know, and I will add your name to the roster. File submissions will also be added onto the roster listed below. After the submission deadline (04-01-13) I will announce which maps have been selected as levels for this episode. There will be 8 levels selected, 9 levels total, including one of my own. Once these levels have been chosen BETA testing will begin. Mappers of the selected levels will have another chance to tweak and balance their levels, making final changes and adjustments before the final release. If your map is still incomplete by the deadline SUBMIT IT ANYWAYS! Those who have their maps chosen will get more time to fine tune their entries. Also, If there are over 18 entries a second episode will be created as well. All level submissions will be donated to the Blasphemer project as well, another great reason to submit a map. I will be using the following set of criteria to select which 8 levels are to be included in the episode's final release: -The new texture pack has been used. Get it here: UPDATED v4a: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9TgHAsj1BGtNTVHeHE3ZHdvQ0U/edit -Design for limit extended vanilla format for Heretic. Compatible ports should include Heretic+, ZDoom, Vavoom, Legacy, Doomsday/LibHeretic, and Eternity. Vanilla Heretic is also accepted. -Levels are designed for 'wand start'. -Levels integrate 2 or 3 'fantasy' themes. Examples: medieval towns, castles, lava caves, swamps, dungeons, catacombs, temples, icy areas, etc. -Levels display clever, integrated, non-linear layouts. -Medium sized maps. Somewhere between '3072 x 3072' and '4096 x 4096' is recommended. -Game-play should be challenging but not exceedingly (impossibly) difficult. -New music is allowed, but not necessary. If there is new music it should reflect the Heretic fantasy theme. -All of Heretic's enemies, weapons, and items can be used. This episode should be more complex and more detailed than the original Heretic episodes, so that it feels more modern, epic, and interesting than the original. Can't wait to see the creativity! Happy mapping! About the texture pack: Textures are compatible with Zdoom, Vavoom, Legacy, Doomsday/LibHeretic, and the Eternity ports. 180 textures and flats have been carefully selected from both Medieval and Baker's Legendary texture packs. A few select textures from Cage, Eternal Doom, Gothic Doom, and Community Chest 4 have also been included. Everything is Heretic themed and provides crucial supplements for the very limited original Heretic palette. Download: UPDATED v4a: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9TgHAsj1BGtNTVHeHE3ZHdvQ0U/edit Roster: -A.Gamma (project support) - https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9TgHAsj1BGtWW03YmRNdHk0UzQ/edit?pli=1 -Boared - http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?8k1w7kjc7121w07 -Cacowad - v2 http://www.mediafire.com/?92d6bzpppx3izap -dilks - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/62350852/CastleZ%20v10313.wad -DooMAD - http://www.teamhellspawn.com/adetic.zip[url] -Dragonsbrethren -Egregor (project host) - [url]http://www.mediafire.com/?frzmli8i73mhmb6 -Dragonsbrethren -Egregor (project host) - http://www.mediafire.com/?frzmli8i73mhmb6 -EvilNed01 - http://www.filmklubben.eu/wads/Badlandsv2.wad -LakiSoft -Olympus -Optimus - ftp://ftp.untergrund.net/users/opti...ymn_optimus.zip -Philnemba -ShadesMaster -Stygian Special Thanks: -Quasar (for port compatibility support) -Wesley Johnson (for port compatibility support) Mapset Donation to the Blasphemer Project: To encourage and support the community creation of free IWADs, this project will donate ALL map submissions to the Blasphemer project http://www.doomworld.com/vb/doom-general/62832-whats-happening-to-blasphemer/. If there are any mappers that do NOT want their levels donated to Blasphemer they must say so when they place their submissions. 0 Share this post Link to post


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Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Buy the album today and get a free ticket to the metal Masters tour.
Go to livenation.com/judaspriest, select the show you would like to see, and then click the ticket link you would like. You will be prompted to enter your code (found inside your copy of Nostradamus) to redeem your free ticket.
You can also order the album at judaspriest.skyroo.com, and get a free poster.