text:
(0 = Best, 100 = Worst)
(0 = Best, 25 = Worst)
(0 = Best, 35 = Worst)
(0 = Best, 40 = Worst)
Italy's internet penetration rate—which stood at approximately 57 percent at the end of 2011—lags behind many other European countries. Mobile telephone usage is ubiquitous, however, and internet access via mobile phones has grown significantly in recent years. Italian authorities do not generally engage in political censorship of online speech, and, as in previous years, no bloggers were imprisoned as of mid-2012. In 2011, several decrees that posed a challenge to internet freedom in Italy either expired or were put on hold. In addition, a number of judicial decisions asserted that intermediaries are not liable for the content posted by users. Despite these positive developments, some government efforts to restrict political content were documented, including the shuttering of a well-known blog. Moreover, overbroad interpretations of liability in defamation or intellectual property rights cases resulted in unusual judicial decisions and disproportionate burdens placed on online news providers.
The push to restrict internet freedom in recent years had stemmed in part from the media ownership structure in Italy. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi owns, directly and indirectly, a large private media conglomerate, and his previous political position also gave him significant influence over the appointment of state television officials and telecommunications regulators. Such financial and editorial dominance over the broadcast media created an incentive for the country's leadership to restrict the free flow of information online, whether for political reasons or to influence the competition for viewers arising from online video. Berlusconi's November 2011 resignation and replacement by Mario Monti changed these dynamics and appeared to reduce the government's pressure to restrict online communications.
A group of nuclear physicists created Italy's first computer network in 1980, with the intent of connecting all nuclear research institutes in the country. At the beginning, the internet was just one of several packet-switching networks that coexisted in Italy. The dominant telecommunications firm at the time, Telecom Italia, tried to impose its privately owned system, while various center-left governments, aware of the importance of interconnectivity, supported integration among the networks. Ultimately, the adaptability and simplicity of the internet prevailed. Access to the internet was available to private users after 1995, and the number of internet service providers (ISPs) soared within a short period of time. Among the remaining obstacles to greater internet penetration include a lack of familiarity with computers and with the English language, as well as the dominance of commercial television and the diversion of consumers' telecommunications spending to mobile telephony.
Since the 1990s, the Italian government has supported the internet as a catalyst for economic growth, increased tourism, reduced communication costs, and more efficient government operations. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Italy had an internet penetration rate of 56.8 percent at the end of 2011, an increase from 38 percent in 2006.[1] While Italy's internet penetration rate is higher than the global average, it is lower than the overall rate in Western Europe. The relatively low penetration rate is not due to infrastructural limitations as much as unfamiliarity with the internet among the older generations and a general affinity for mobile phone devices rather than desktop computers.
The main point of internet access is the home, with some 22 million people using home connections at least once a month, as of October 2011.[2] The workplace is the second most common access point, followed by schools and universities. Less than half of Italy's internet users are female, though women comprise 55 percent of new users.[3] Cost is not a significant barrier to access. The price for a broadband connection may range from €20 to €40 (US$26-52) per month, compared to average monthly per capita income of around US$2,600.[4]
Access to the internet for private users is offered by 13 different ISPs. Telecom Italia has the largest share of the market, followed by Vodafone, Fastweb, and Tiscali. Telecom Italia owns the physical network, but it is required by European Union (EU) legislation to provide fair access to competitors.[5] ADSL broadband connections are available on about 96 percent of Italy's territory.[6] This is the basic service and it covers the whole territory. However, the faster broadband subscription rate is still relatively low (22 percent), as not all internet subscribers opt for higher speeds.[7] Meanwhile, fiber-optic cables remain underdeveloped. In 2010, the three large telecommunications operators Fastweb, Wind, and Vodafone Italia, announced plans to invest €2.5 billion (US$3.3 billion) over a five-year period to connect 15 of Italy's largest cities using fiber-optic cable. Telecom Italia announced a similar plan of its own to invest €9 billion (US$11.8 billion) in infrastructure. These plans have subsequently been put on hold, however, as Italy faces the most serious financial crisis in its modern history. Nevertheless, in February 2012, the government of Prime Minister Mario Monti launched a "Digital Agenda" initiative, which aims to expand broadband access and e-government efforts.[8] As of May 2012, few additional details of the program were available.
Mobile phone use is much more widespread than internet access, with the penetration rate reaching 152 percent in 2011.[9] The majority of subscriptions are prepaid. Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), Vodafone, Wind, and 3 Italia are the major carriers, and all of them operate third-generation (3G) networks. Access to the mobile internet has been increasing in recent years, and as of 2011, some 59.4 percent of internet users reported accessing the internet through their smart phones.[10] As elsewhere, sales of tablet computers have been on the rise among the younger generation since 2010 and are likely to keep growing in the coming years.
In a positive development, the year 2011 witnessed the final demise of the Pisano decree, a regulation requiring businesses to obtain a license from the police in order to offer WiFi access to customers. The decree also required users to produce identification documents to access WiFi in public places and for operators to preserve records of internet use. The measures were instituted for security reasons in the wake of terrorist bombings in London in 2005 and were renewed annually over the next several years. They were widely viewed as having stunted the spread of WiFi in Italy, as many businesses chose not to offer such services given the added nuisance and cost involved in complying with the decree. In November 2010, the government announced that it would abolish the decree and remove restrictions on public access to WiFi starting in January 2011. In practice, it was only in December 2011 under the new Monti government, that the Pisano decree was finally allowed to expire.[11]
The main regulatory body for telecommunications is the Authority for Communications Security (AGCOM), an independent agency that is accountable to the parliament. Its responsibilities include providing access to networks, protecting intellectual property rights, regulating advertisements, and overseeing public broadcasting. The parliament's majority party appoints AGCOM's president, and commissioners have been known to come under pressure from the government to take certain actions regarding television broadcasts, particularly when Berlusconi was prime minister.[12] Although Berlusconi resigned from his position in November 2011, concerns remained that his significant economic and political influence could still effect government decisions related to audio-visual broadcasts, including the allocation of digital television frequencies.
Another important player in the field of communications is the Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA). Set up in 1997, the DPA has a staff of more than 100 people, and four of its main members are elected by parliament for seven-year terms. The DPA is tasked with supervising compliance by both governmental and nongovernmental entities with data protection laws, and "banning or blocking processing operations that are liable to cause serious harm to individuals."[13] It is generally viewed as professional and fair in carrying out its duties.
The Italian authorities engage in some blocking of internet sites, though this does not involve restrictions on politically-oriented content for the most part. Italians have access to the websites of a wide range of domestic and international news sources and human rights groups. In a positive development, throughout 2011 and early-2012, several court decisions affirmed that intermediaries are not liable for the content posted by users, though in Italy's civil-law system, some judges occasionally still issued rulings imposing responsibilities on intermediaries to regulate user-generated content. At the same time, at least one blog dealing with a sensitive criminal trial was shut down and, as in previous years, the government considered several proposals that raised alarm bells for free expression advocates, though after local and international outcry, these were dropped. The social-networking site Facebook, the Twitter microblogging service, and international blog-hosting sites are all freely available.
Since 2006, online gambling has been permitted only via state-licensed websites, and ISPs are required to block access to international or unlicensed gambling sites identified on a blacklist compiled by the Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies (AAMS). The list of banned sites is available on the AAMS website and updated regularly.[14] A similar blacklist system is in place for websites containing child pornography. A law passed in February 2006 (Law No. 6) called for the establishment of a National Center for the Fight against Child Pornography on the Internet within the Postal and Communications Police Service. Based on its own research and on complaints from citizens, the center maintains a list of sites deemed inappropriate and forwards it to ISPs for blocking.[15] As with the AAMS list, the child pornography blacklist is publicly available, though some child advocates have raised concerns that this encourages visits to the sites by users with circumvention tools. ISPs also offer subscribers "family internet" packages that block access to adult pornography and sites with violent content, in exchange for a small premium.
In 2011, two controversies arose surrounding the regulation of copyrighted content. In July, AGCOM was considering a resolution that would give it the power to block websites and remove content upon review by an internal panel but without prior judicial approval.[16] Following domestic and international opposition to the plan, AGCOM voted to review the proposed resolution,[17] and a decision is expected by the summer of 2012. Also in July 2011, the Guardia di Finanza (GdF, the police entity responsible for cybercrime) ordered the blocking of access to the website Proxyitalia.com, a general proxy site that among other websites, enabled access to Btjunkie, a torrent search engine. The GdF justified the block by stating that the domain had been created after magistrates had ordered Btjunkie blocked in April 2011 and had censured two ISPs for failing to stop users from accessing it.[18] As of May 2012, the website was still blocked.[19]
In March 2012, AGCOM also ordered the block of an online fashion retailer website following complaints by customers who claimed that the website included content that could mislead consumers about the availability of certain products. Such an executive decision was quite controversial as, until then, provisional orders against third parties had always been given by the ordinary courts. The case remains open as of mid-2012.[20]
Italian authorities have also requested the removal of specific content. According to Google, the government issued 65 requests for content removal between January and December 2011, including 20 without a court order. Google complied with 74 percent of the requests. In one notable example, Google reported receiving a request from the Central Police in Italy to "remove a YouTube video that satirized Prime Minister Silvio Berlesconi's lifestyle," but the technology firm refused.[21] In an indication of the sensitivity to content broadly interpreted as defamatory, nearly half of the requests (32 in total) involved such materials. One incident that drew widespread criticism occurred in May 2011 when, per a judicial order, Google shut down the high-profile blog of freelance journalist Frank Sfarzo, a move that press freedom advocates said was inappropriate and disproportionate.[22] Sfarzo's blog had closely tracked developments in the trial of Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher and was highly critical of the prosecution's handling of the case. The lead prosecutor filed a defamation case against Sfarzo, which led to the shuttering of his blog. Sfarzo responded by creating a mirror blog, which remained available as of May 2012.[23]
In 2009 and 2010, several judicial decisions appeared to hold intermediaries liable for content posted by users, worrying free expression advocates and technology firms.[24] However, since early 2011, other decisions have ultimately asserted that content hosts are not responsible for prescreening content but only for removing it upon receiving notice from a judicial authority. Several of the decisions were based on the European eCommerce Directive that takes such an approach.[25] In July 2011, a Rome court specializing in intellectual property overturned an earlier decision that held Yahoo liable for not removing all of the links from its search results that allowed users to access illegal copies of the Iranian film, "About Elly."[26] The judge found that, based on existing jurisprudence, service providers could not be required to censor search results.[27]
In another decision in December 2011, a Rome court ruled that web platforms were not in breach of the law if users streamed copyrighted materials, so long as they removed it upon being notified. The decision was in response to a complaint by RTI, a subsidiary of the Berlusconi-owned Mediaset, against Google after users on the Blogger platform streamed Italian football matches from Mediaset's TV channels. RTI sought to impose the responsibility on Google to prevent users from doing so in the future. The court rejected RTI's argument, stating that to oblige providers to prescreen user content would be inconsistent with European Union rules and that, even if it were technologically feasible, it would be a violation of freedom of expression.[28] That same month, the Supreme Court said that editors of online magazines were not responsible for defamatory comments posted by readers, taking note of the difference between the printed and electronic press, and overturned a lower courts' guilty verdict.[29] Similarly, previously introduced bills that would require websites to engage in pre-publication censorship remained on hold as of early 2012, after facing public criticism.
Nevertheless, in 2011 and early 2012, cases of defamation have been brought against online content providers and intermediaries that have led to the blocking and/or filtering of ICT content. For example, in April 2011, an Italian businessman successfully sued Google for defamation in a Milan court because the autocomplete feature of the search engine had suggested terms like "fraud" and "conman" to the plaintiff's name when a search of his name was launched.[30] While Google argued that as a hosting provider, it was not liable for the content produced on its search engine, the Italian court maintained that Google was still responsible for producing the autocomplete suggestions, reasoning that not all users are quite capable or skilled enough to distinguish between what is a suggestion and what is an attribute to the search item.[31] In addition to a fine of €3,800 (US$5,500), the court ordered Google to filter the offending search results.
Similarly, in early February 2012, a court in Belluno found Tizziano Dal Farra, the webmaster of the disaster information site Vajont.info, guilty of defamation, leading to the website's seizure and blocking. The website's allegedly defamatory content concerned the 1963 Vajont dam disaster and the political cover-ups and court cases that had ensued, which parliamentarian Maurizio Paniz (the plaintiff) found to be libelous. In its guilty verdict against the webmaster, the court ordered Italy's 226 ISPs to block the site altogether.[32] Nevertheless, the website continued to be available via mirror sites and ultimately, a different judge ruled in March 2012 that the DNS/IP blocking was illegal while another judge ordered the website to be "un-seized."[33]
Some unusual restrictions on internet content remain in place in Italy that are uncommon in other Western European countries. Drawing on a 1948 law against the "clandestine press," a regulation issued in 2001 holds that anyone who wants to provide a news service, including on the internet, must be a "chartered" journalist in the Communication Workers' Registry (ROC), with membership in the national journalists' association.[34] With the exception of one case from 2008, these rules have generally not been applied to bloggers, and in practice, millions of blogs are published in Italy without repercussions.[35] Nonetheless, as of early 2012, many people who create websites on a range of issues (including scholarly research) continued to collaborate with registered journalists to protect themselves from potential legal action.
In April 2012, the Supreme Court imposed an obligation on publishers to update their online archives to ensure that outdated facts do not inadvertently damage someone's reputation. The case involved a story about the 1993 arrest of a politician on corruption charges in northern Italy. Although the man was ultimately acquitted, news of his arrest continued to appear in search results. Following the European Union principle to "the right to oblivion," the Supreme Court found that there was no ground for libel against the online news outlet that posted the story because the events in the article were true and just incomplete given subsequent developments. The court ordered the outlet to update the account.[36]
Even in the absence of legal requirements, ISPs tend to exercise some informal self-censorship, declining to host content that may prove controversial or that could create friction with powerful entities or individuals. Online writers also exercise caution to avoid libel suits by public officials, whose litigation—even when unsuccessful—often takes a significant financial toll on defendants in the traditional media. The Italian government does not proactively manipulate news websites. However, coverage in traditional media does affect what is published on news websites, giving the outlets controlled by former Prime Minister Berlusconi an indirect influence over online reporting.
Blogging has become popular in Italy, though television remains by far the leading medium for obtaining news. Most policymakers, popular journalists, and figures in the entertainment industry have their own blogs, as do many ordinary citizens. Social-networking sites, especially Facebook[37] and Twitter, have emerged as crucial tools for organizing protests and other mass gatherings, such as concerts, parties, or political rallies, although at times, some content on social-networking platforms has been aggressive enough to potentially incite violence.[38] As of May 2012, the country was home to over 21 million Facebook users (about 37 percent of the population), the 11th highest number in the world.[39]
Italian internet users and free expression advocates have recently mobilized against two legal initiatives perceived to threaten internet freedom. In October 2011, Wikipedia's Italian edition took all entries offline to protest the reintroduction of draft wiretap bill to parliament, threatening to take down its Italian site entirely if the law was passed. Meanwhile, Italian protestors wearing gags gathered outside the legislature's building in Rome.[40] After the change of government in November 2011, the bill was effectively put on hold. In February 2012, internet rights activists scored another victory when parliamentarians across the political spectrum rejected legal amendments that had been called by the media the "Italian SOPA," a reference to a controversial anti-piracy bill that was under consideration in the United States. If passed, the Italian amendments would have enabled any "interested party" (rather than only the "competent authorities") to ask hosting providers to remove any content by claiming it to be an illegal infringement of copyright, rendering the provider legally liable without any judicial or other authorized entity needing to evaluate the claim. The free expression group Agora Digitale and other civil society representatives organized a press conference in late January to alert the public and parliamentarians to the ramifications of the proposed amendment. After the change was rejected, Luca Nicotra, president of the Agora Digitale, commented that the vote was "a sign that there is a small all-party group of MPs determined to defend the values of an open and free Internet."[41]
As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and other relevant international treaties, freedoms of speech and the press, as well as the confidentiality of correspondence, are constitutionally guaranteed in Italy.[42] Yet, given the country's civil law system, inconsistent judicial interpretations are not unusual. This has created some uncertainty when judges issue conflicting decisions on similar cases related to internet freedom, such as intermediary liability (see "Limits on Content"). For this reason, online free expression advocates have focused their efforts on proposing legal amendments to improve protections and prevent censorship rather than engaging in public interest litigation.[43]
Defamation is a criminal offense in Italy, punishable by prison terms ranging from six months to three years and a minimum fine of €516 (US$670). In cases of libel through the press, television, or other public means, there is no prescribed maximum fine.[44] Though these provisions are rarely applied, civil libel suits against journalists, including by public officials and politicians, are a common occurrence, and the financial burden of lengthy legal proceedings may have chilling effects on journalists and their editors. As of May 2012, however, libel suits against bloggers and other online writers remain rare,[45] with only one defamation case against the blogger Frank Sfarzo occurring in 2011 (see "Limits on Content"). Nevertheless, as also noted above, there have been a few defamation cases brought against online content providers in recent years, such as the defamation case against Google in April 2011 that resulted in a fine and court order to filter out the offending content.
Monitoring of personal communications is permissible only if a judicial warrant has been issued, and widespread technical surveillance is not a concern in Italy. Nevertheless, the country's authorities are known for engaging in a large number of wiretaps.[46] According to the most recent figures from the German think-tank, the Max Planck Institute, in 2006, Italy led the world in terms of wiretaps, with 76 intercepts per 100,000 people.[47] Wiretapping is generally restricted to cases involving ongoing legal proceedings, except for terrorism investigations. In such instances, since 2001, "pre-emptive wiretapping" may occur even if no formal prosecutorial investigation has been initiated. More lenient procedures are also in place for Mafia-related investigations.[48]
In early 2010, a draft wiretap bill was introduced in parliament. The bill's proponents said it aimed to address concerns over the right to privacy and the problem of news media regularly publicizing wiretap information that is leaked to them. However, several provisions appeared to threaten media freedom and the right of the public to access independent information. These included high fines and jail sentences for filming an individual without permission, and obligations for websites and blogs to issue corrections within 48 hours of receiving notice of an alleged error. Both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) representative on freedom of the media and the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression criticized the bill in its proposed form. The bill was subsequently put on hold in late 2010 but revived in October 2011 after incriminating and embarrassing wiretaps of Berlusconi's conversations related to a sex scandal were published in newspaper and online.[49] However, after Berlusconi's resignation, the bill remained pending in parliament. Although not a priority for the Monti government, the executive branch, especially the minister for justice, decided not to drop entirely the matter as of spring 2012.
In March 2008, Parliament approved a law (No. 48 of 2008) that ratified the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime, which established how long internet-related communication data should be retained.[50] This matter was further refined with the inclusion in the Italian legislative system of the 2006 EU Data Retention Directive.[51] Under the current legal framework, ISPs must keep users' traffic records—though not the content of communications—for 12 months. This includes broadband internet data, internet telephony, internet use via mobile phone, and email activity.[52] The records can only be disclosed in response to a request from a public prosecutor (a judge) or a defendant's lawyer, and, like their counterparts elsewhere in Europe, Italy's law enforcement agencies may ask ISPs to make such information readily available so that they can respond to the needs of criminal investigations. Given the technical burden of this directive, most ISPs now use a third-party service that offers the necessary security guarantees for encryption and data storage.
As Italy moves towards greater e-governance, some concerns have been raised over the protection of user data in the hands of public agencies. In June 2011, the national postal service Poste Italiane's certified electronic mail (PEC) service was named as the public agency most damaging to individual privacy at the annual Big Brother awards for its gross mishandling of private information kept by the government's "Registro delle Opposizioni," a register of people who wish to keep their contact information hidden from advertisement companies.[53] Nevertheless, in November 2011, it became mandatory for all business to use the PEC service in their communications with the public administration, to cut costs and reduce paperwork.[54]
Reports of extrajudicial intimidation or physical violence in response to online activity are rare in Italy, though individuals directly exposing the activities of organized crime in some parts of the country may be at risk of reprisals. Nevertheless, in April 2011, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote to the Italian government to voice concerns over the harassment of blogger and freelance journalist Frank Sfarzo as he sought to cover the trial of Amanda Knox. According to the CPJ, Italian police regularly prevented Sfarzo from entering the courtroom, seized his mobile phone, and verbally insulted him. Moreover, Sfarzo reported that in September 2010 police forcibly entered his apartment, assaulted him, tried to get a psychiatrist to issue a statement questioning his mental capacity, and then took him before a judge, attempting to charge him with "injuring an officer."[55]
Defacement or launching denial-of-service (DoS) attacks against websites—mostly government-linked ones—as a form of political protest are becoming increasingly common in Italy. More serious cyberattacks—particularly against banks, government institutions, and business websites—are a problem in Italy, as in other European Union member states. Despite some problems, Italy does not seem to rank high on the list of countries identified as points of origin for cybercrimes.[56]
The law enforcement agency with primary responsibility for cybercrimes is the Postal and Communications Police Service. Police officers are primarily concerned with cybercrime in the form of child pornography, cyber-bullying, and various forms of fraud.[57] A special branch within the service, the National Center for Infrastructure Protection (CNAIPIC), is tasked with the protection of the country's critical infrastructure.[58] However, in one incident that received widespread attention in July 2011, the hacker groups Anonymous and LulzSec claimed responsibility for hacking into CNAIPIC's own website and posting confidential information online in an apparent act of revenge for the arrest of group members in the United States and parts of Europe.[59]
[1] International Telecommunication Union (ITU), "Percentage of individuals using the Internet, fixed (wired) Internet subscriptions, fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions," 2011 & 2006, accessed July 13, 2012, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx#.
[2] Giancarlo Livraghi, ed., "Dati sull'internet in Italia" [Data on the Internet in Italy], accessed February 20, 2012, http://www.gandalf.it/dati/dati3.htm.
[3] Ibid.
[4] "Broadband—Italy," Socialtext, accessed March 4, 2011, https://www.socialtext.net/broadband/index.cgi?italy; "Italy," Population Reference Bureau, accessed August 21, 2012, http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Geography/Data.aspx?loc=453.
[5] Lorenzo Pupillo, Duct and Pole Sharing: An Operator's Perspective (Rome: Telecom Italia, April 10, 2008), slide 14, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/35/61/40460866.pdf (site discontinued).
[6] "Domestic Market," Telecom Italia, November 7, 2011, http://www.telecomitalia.com/tit/en/about-us/profile/domestic-market.html.
[7] "OECD Key ICT indicators, Broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants in OECD countries," OECD, last updated on June 23, 2011, http://www.oecd.org/internet/broadbandandtelecom/oecdkeyictindicators.htm; "OECD Key ICT indicators, Availability of Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) in OECD countries," OECD, last updated on June 30, 2011; Including portable and hand-held devices; "OECD Key ICT indicators, Households with access to a home computer," OECD, last updated on November 9, 2011; International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Measuring the Information Society 2011 (Geneva: ITU, 2011), p.152; "OECD Key ITC indicators, Availability of Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) in OECD countries," OECD, last updated on June 30, 2011, http://www.oecd.org/document/23/0,3746,en_2649_34449_33987543_1_1_1_1,00.html; "Including portable and hand-held devices; OECD Key ITC indicators "Households with access to a home computer," OECD, last updated on November 9, 2011; ITU, Measuring the Information Society 2011, p.152.
[8] Riccardo Luna, "'Migliaia di aziene al via I giovani imparino a creare lavoro'" [Thousands of companies launch and young people learn to create jobs], La Repubblica, February 6, 2012, http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2012/02/06/news/profumo_piano_digitale-29408048/; "Profumo: 'Priorità Internet per tutti'" [Profumo: Priority internet for all], Corriere delle Comunicazioni, February 6, 2012, http://www.corrierecomunicazioni.it/pa-digitale/13686_profumo-priorita-internet-per-tutti.htm; Andrea Di Maio, "Italy and its Digital Agenda: New Government, Old Risks," Gartner Blog, February 9, 2012, http://blogs.gartner.com/andrea_dimaio/2012/02/09/italy-and-its-digital-agenda-new-government-old-risks/
[9] International Telecommunication Union (ITU), "Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions," 2011, accessed July 13, 2012, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Indicators/Indicators.aspx#.
[10] ITU, Measuring the Information Society 2011, p.154, http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/backgrounders/general/pdf/5.pdf.
[11] "Decreto- Legge 29 dicembre 2011, n. 216," Gazzetta Ufficiale, December 29, 2011, www.gazzettaufficiale.biz/atti/2011/20110302/011G0260.htm.
[12] Michael Day, "Silvio Berlusconi caught out trying to stifle media," The Independent, March 18, 2010, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/berlusconi-caught-out-trying-to-stifle-media-1923147.html .
[13] "The Italian Data Protection Authority: Who We Are," Data Protection Authority, November 17, 2009, http://www.garanteprivacy.it/garante/doc.jsp?ID=1669109.
[14] The blacklist is available (in Italian) at http://www.aams.gov.it/site.php?id=2484.
[15] "Centro nazionale per il contrasto alla pedopornografia sulla rete" [National Center for the Fight against Child Pornography on the Internet], State Police, March 10, 2010, http://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/view/10232/.
[16] "Subject: Internet censorship in Italy—via administrative procedure," European Parliament, July 13, 2011, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2011-006948+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN; Francesca Biggio, "Freedom of the Web at Risk in Italy, Copyright to Hide Censorship," Toonari Post, July 2, 2011, http://www.toonaripost.com/2011/07/world-news/freedom-of-the-web-at-risk-in-italy-copyright-to-hide-censorship/.
[17] "Italian Agency to Review Internet Filtering Project," Reporters Without Borders, July 7, 2011, http://en.rsf.org/italy-italian-agency-poised-to-assume-05-07-2011,40595.html; "Internet Blocking Stopped in Italy (for Now), Digital Civil Rights in Europe, July 13, 2011, http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number9.14/internet-blocking-agcom-italy.
[18] "Diritto d'autore e caso Btjunkie: oscurato anche Proxyitalia. Gli Isp favoriscono la pirateria?" [Copyright and case Btjunkie: Proxyitalia also obscured. Do ISPs promote piracy?], Key4biz, July 15 2011, http://www.key4biz.it/News/2011/07/15/Policy/proxyitalia_AIIP_fastweb_ngi_Btjunkie_torrent_diritto_d_autore_internet_provider_Enzo_Mazza_204544.html.
[19] See, http://proxyitalia.appspot.com/btjunkie.org; The Guardia di Finanza at times displays excessive zeal in seizing web sites, because in addition to blocking the Btjunkie, it also blocked "two innocent websites, italianstylewebsite.net and freeplayclub.org. See, "Italian Police blocks sites that had banners to alleged illegal websites," Digital Civil Rights in Europe, November 30, 2011, http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number9.23/italian-police-blocks-legal-websites.
[20] "Italy: Problematic Internet blocking decision against fraudulent website," Digital Rights Europe, March 28, 2012, http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number10.6/italy-internet-blocking-case.
[21] Google, "Italy," Google Transparency Report, accessed August 21, 2012, http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/government/IT/?p=2011-12.
[22] Steve Shay, "Google shuts down site run by Italian blogger critical of Amanda Knox prosecutor Mignini," West Seattle Herald, May 11, 2011, http://www.westseattleherald.com/2011/05/11/news/google-shuts-down-site-run-italian-blogger-critic; "Italian prosecutor files defamation lawsuit, shutters blog," Committee to Protect Journalists, May 11, 2011, http://cpj.org/2011/05/italian-prosecutor-files-defamation-lawsuit-shutte.php.
[23] Perugia Shock (blog), accessed August 21, 2012, http://perugiashock.com/
[24] See for example, a February 2010 decision in a case widely referred to as the "Vivi Down" case. A judge sentenced Google executives to jail sentences in abstentia for having allowed circulation of a video posted by a user that showed a mentally disabled child being bullied by his classmates, although Google removed the video as soon as it was notified.
[25] Martine Wubben, "Court of Appeal Rome: no monitoring requirement for hosting provider Yahoo," Future of Copyright, July 16, 2011, http://www.futureofcopyright.com/home/blog-post/2011/07/16/court-of-appeal-rome-no-monitoring-requirement-for-hosting-provider-yahoo.html.
[26] Giulio Coraggio, "Yahoo! Liable for Searchable Contents!" IPT Italy Blog, April 3, 2011, http://blog.dlapiper.com/IPTitaly/entry/yahoo_liable_for_searchable_contents; "PFA vs Yahoo: la decisione del Tribunale di Roma riapre il dibattito sulla responsabilità degli ISP nei casi di violazione del diritto d'autore" [PFA vs Yahoo: the decision of the Court of Rome reopens the debate on ISP liability in cases of violation of copyright], Key4biz, July 14 2011, http://www.key4biz.it/News/2011/07/14/Policy/About_Elly_yahoo_pfa_film_internet_service_provider_isp_diritto_d_autore_204511.html.
[27] "'About Elly'—Yahoo! Appea granted," Law & the Internet (blog), July 27, 2011, http://www.blogstudiolegalefinocchiaro.com/wordpress/?tag=about-elly; Martine Wubben, "Court of Appeal Rome: no monitoring requirement for hosting provider Yahoo."
[28] Guido Scorza, "Mediaset e Google: tra copyright e libertà" [Mediaset and Google: between copyright and freedom], Punto Informatico, December 16, 2011, http://punto-informatico.it/3368416/PI/Commenti/mediaset-google-copyright-liberta.aspx; http://www.telecompaper.com/news/google-not-responsible-for-streaming-football-from-mediaset; "Court of Rome: not to precautionary controls of online content by intermediaries," Law & the Internet (blog), January 17, 2012, http://www.blogstudiolegalefinocchiaro.com/wordpress/?tag=rti.
[29] "Italian Supreme Court: web magazines are not to be held responsible for readers' comments," Law & the Internet (blog), December 14, 2011, http://www.blogstudiolegalefinocchiaro.com/wordpress/?p=279.
[30] "Google Loses Defamation Case in Italy," Legalzoom (blog), accessed August 21, 2012, http://blog.legalzoom.com/first-amendment/google-loses-defamation-case-in-italy/.
[31] "Il tribunale di Milano impone un filtro a Google Suggest," Itespresso.it, April 6, 2011, http://www.itespresso.it/il-tribunale-di-milano-impone-un-filtro-a-google-suggest-51323.html.
[32] "Digital censorship – Italian judges close down disaster information site," Three Monkeys Online (blog), February 19, 2012, http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/digital-censorship-italian-judges-close-down-disaster-information-site/.
[33] Fore more details see the web page http://www.vajont.info/.
[34] Law No. 62, March 7, 2001, "Nuove norme sull'editoria e sui prodotti editoriali" [New Rules on Publishing and Publishing Products], InterLex, accessed August 21, 2012, http://www.interlex.it/testi/l01_62.htm.
[35] A known case is that of author Carlo Ruta whom, in September 2008, a judge in Sicily found guilty of publishing a "clandestine newspaper" in the form of a blog (Ruta was fined €250 and forced to take down his blog). See, John Ozimek, "How an Italian Judge Made the Internet Illegal," The Register, September 26, 2008, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/26/italian_law_kills_blog/.
[36] "Italian Supreme Court: the right to oblivion to be protected with newspaper archive updates," Law & the Internet (blog), April 23, 2012, http://www.blogstudiolegalefinocchiaro.com/wordpress/?p=360. See also, Morena Ragone, "Il diritto alla memoria, tra privacy e oblio" [The right to memory, including privacy and oblivion], LeggiOggi.it, April 10, 2012, http://www.leggioggi.it/2012/04/10/il-diritto-alla-memoria-tra-privacy-e-oblio/.
[37] As of November 2011, there were 21 million Italians on Facebook (out of 27 millions Internet users); see M. Vecchio, "Italia, la Repubblica di Facebook" [Italy, the Republic of Facebook], Punto Informatico, November 28, 2011, http://punto-informatico.it/3349331/PI/News/italia-repubblica-facebook.aspx.
[38] For example, in 2009, fan pages for imprisoned Mafia bosses emerged, as did a Facebook group called "Let's Kill Berlusconi." See Eric Sylvers, "Facebook to Monitor Berlusconi Content," The New York Times, December 15, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/technology/internet/16iht-face.html.
[39] "Italy Facebook Statistics," Socialbakers, accessed August 21, 2012, http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/italy.
[40] "Italy wiretap law: Wikipedia hides pages in protest," BBC, October 5, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15192757.
[41] "Internet—Italian free speech groups claim victory," Giannifava.org, February 7, 2012, http://www.giannifava.org/it/doc-s-27-589-1-internet___italian_free_speech_groups_claim_victory.aspx.
[42] An English copy of the constitution is available at, http://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf. See especially Articles 15 and 21.
[43] Andrea Monti (lawyer specialized on Internet freedom and activist), interview with author, February 20, 2012.
[44] Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, Libel and Insult Laws: A Matrix on Where We Stand and What We Would Like to Achieve (Vienna: OSCE, 2005), 79, http://www.osce.org/fom/41958.
[45] See for example the case of Roberto Mancini in, Reporters Without Borders, "A Blogger Unfairly Convicted of Defamation," news release, June 20, 2006, http://en.rsf.org/italy-a-blogger-unfairly-convicted-of-20-06-2006,18068.html.
[46] Although it is difficult to determine the real number of people affected by wiretaps (estimates range from 25,000 to over 130,000), many individuals who are caught up in wiretaps have no incriminating connection to the main target of the eavesdropping. The current law stipulates that such peripheral communications cannot be transcribed and any recordings should be destroyed right away, though this is not always carried out in practice. Thus it may happen that some exchanges are recorded and leaked to the media. This is the problem that the proposed bill on electronic surveillance was meant to address. See for example Cristina Bassi, "Intercettazioni, quante sono e quanto costano" [Interceptions, How Many and How Much They Cost], Sky TG24, June 13, 2010, http://tg24.sky.it/tg24/cronaca/2010/06/12/intercettazioni_quante_sono_e_quanto_costano.html.
[47] Duncan Kennedy, "Italian bill to limit wiretaps draws fire," BBC, June 11, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10279312. It might be as high as 150,000 phones, which does not say anything about "people" (arguably one person has 2/3 fixed and mobile phones). See for example, "Intercettazioni: dati ufficiali" [Interceptions: official data], Il Chiodo (blog), June 19, 2010, http://ilchiodo.blogspot.it/2010/06/intercettazioni-dati-ufficiali.html.
[48] Privacy International, "Italy: Privacy Profile," in European Privacy and Human Rights 2010 (London: Privacy International, 2010), https://www.privacyinternational.org/article/italy-privacy-profile.
[49] Tom Kington, "Berlusconi wiretaps reveal suspected pimp had visa to join him in China," The Guardian, September 18, 2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/18/berlusconi-pimp-china-visa-wiretaps; Jeffery Kofman, "Silvio Berlusconi Wiretaps: 'Only Prime Minister in His Spare Time,'" ABC News, September 18, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/International/silvio-berlusconi-wiretaps-prime-minister-spare-time/story?id=14546921; John Hooper, "Silvio Berlusconi faces fresh claims over parties, prostitutes and pay-outs," The Guardian, September 15, 2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/15/silvio-berlusconi-claims-prostitutes-wiretap.
[50] For a useful timetable of the required retention periods, see Gloria Marcoccio, "Convention on cybercrime: novità per la conservazione dei dati" [Convention on Cybercrime: News on Data Retention], InterLex, April 10, 2008, http://www.interlex.it/675/marcoccio7.htm. See also Andrea Monti, "Data Retention in Italy. The State of the Art," Digital Thought (blog), May 30, 2008, http://blog.andreamonti.eu/?p=74.
[51] Legislative Decree No. 109, May 30, 2008.
[52] Privacy International, "Italy: Privacy Profile."
[53] Cristina Sciannamblo "Big Brother Awards Italia: tutti i vincitori," Punto Informatico, June 6, 2011, http://punto-informatico.it/3182022/PI/News/big-brother-awards-italia-tutti-vincitori.aspx.
[54] "Ulteriore Deroga fino a fine giugno 2012 per la casella PEC aziendale," IlSoftware.it, accessed July 24, 2012, http://www.i-node.it/2012/05/ulteriore-deroga-fino-fine-giugno-2012-la-casella-pec-aziendale/.
[55] "In Italy, journalists threatened for reporting on murders," Committee to Protect Journalists, April 19, 2011, http://www.cpj.org/2011/04/journalists-threatened-for-reporting-on-murder-cas.php.
[56] "Italy leader in mobile attacks," Global Cyber Security Center (blog), accessed August 21, 2012, http://www.gcsec.org/blog/italy-leader-mobile-attacks. It should be noted, nonetheless, that the Global Cyber Security Center has been established by Poste Italiane. As active stakeholder in the area of cyber security, the agency may have a vested interest in presenting a picture of Italy's cyber security that is not reassuring by stressing weaknesses rather strengths of the Italian information infrastructure system. See, C. Giustozzi, "Italia patria del malware?" Punto Informatico, May 12, 2012 http://punto-informatico.it/3513450/PI/Commenti/italia-patria-del-malware.aspx. The "Symatec Threat report 2011" shows Italy as highly infected only as far as bots are concerned, http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/enterprise/other_resources/b-istr_main_report_2011_21239364.en-us.pdf (published April 2012), and the independent report by HostExploit shows Italy scoring well on a "badness" scale (Germany and the Netherlands, for example get a worse score), http://hostexploit.com/downloads/viewdownload/7-public-reports/39-global-security-report-april-2012.html). These results are also graphically visible in here: http://globalsecuritymap.com/#nl
[57] Figures on cybercrime are difficult to assess, as the main providers of data are computer security companies such as Symantec or government entities like the postal police, as opposed to "third-party" sources. Nevertheless, Italy's rates appear to be slightly above the world average. See, Tiziana Moriconi, "Crimini online, i dati italiani" [Online Crime, the Italian Data], Daily Wired, November 23, 2010, http://daily.wired.it/news/internet/hacking-accordo-tra-symantec-e-polizia-postale.html; Alessandra Talarico, "Cybercrime. Italia vittima e carnefice: è il paese che più abbocca al phishing e tra i più attivi negli attacchi web based" [Cybercrime. Italy Victim and Victimizer: It Is the Country That Takes the Bait in Phishing and Is Among the Most Active in Web-Based Attacks], Key4Biz, April 22, 2010, http://www.key4biz.it/News/2010/04/22/e-Security/cybercrime_botnet_spam_ebanking_social_network_spyware_adware_phishing.html. For a recognition of the professionalism of Italy's postal police, see Alessandra Talarico, "Lotta al cybercrime: avrà sede a Roma nuova task force Usa-Europa. Utilizzerà le tecnologie di Poste Italiane" [Fighting Cybercrime: A New U.S.-European Task Force Will Be Based in Rome. Will Use the Technologies of the Italian Post], Key4Biz, June 30, 2009, http://www.key4biz.it/News/2009/06/30/eSecurity/cybercrime_sicurezza_reti_European_Electronic_Crime_Task_Force_US_Secret_Service_Massimo_Sarmi.html.
[58] Critical infrastructure includes telecommunications networks, energy and water distribution systems, banking networks, and transportation and emergency services.
[59] "'Anonymous' attacks Italian cyber police website," The Raw Story, July 25, 2011, http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/25/anonymous-attacks-italian-cyber-police-website/; "Hackers hit back with attack on Italian police," Agence France-Presse, July 25, 2011, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h7VBHxIVebJWDKXPGW5UCq0l2Mnw?docId=CNG.1c9bc08f90c82172428a633d1b6e8077.9d1.


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Doc talk: The psychology of a perfect union
You can talk all your want with your partner about finances, sex, and having babies. But if you don't know your partner's "main emotional issue," says clinical psychologist Tom DeMaio, you could be in for a very rocky ride.
Those issues can range from a fear of rejection to a desire for protection to a need to feel successful and respected. Couples are often drawn to each other because each can uniquely fill the other's need. The problem comes, says DeMaio, when that need is neglected.
If you don't even know what your real need is- much less your partner's it's easy to believe that you really are fighting over the toothpaste cap or the dishes in the sink.
But that's not it, says DeMaio.
"Under every argument," he insists, "is likely to be the same theme."
DeMaio says couples' counseling is one way to get to the root of the matter, but talking regularly with a religious leader, family member, or close friend can also help you sort out what's really going on in your relationship.
Once you know what makes your partner tick, says DeMaio, it becomes much easier to please him or her.
What can you do to prepare for an upcoming marriage or make your own longtime partnership happier? DeMaio offers these tips:
1) Learn how to talk about emotions rather than opinions, ideas, or judgments. Being judgmental, he says, is almost always disastrous.
2) Realize that it's how you care about your partner, not the size of the necklace you give or the size of the house you live in. DeMaio says he's seen plenty of very wealthy, very unhappy married couples.
3) Learn to say "I'm sorry" when your partner is upset. It's not necessary to say "I was wrong," but it's important to show you care that your partner's feelings were hurt.
4) Deal with problems in the relationship as soon as you recognize them. If your car was making a funny noise, he explains, you wouldn't wait until it died on I-64 before you took it to the shop.
Dr. Tom DeMaio says finding the main emotional issues is key to a healthy relationship.

subset: commoncrawl


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- Inside Athletics
- Tickets
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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (June 23, 2011) – Junior Dylan Pratt (Johnson City, Tenn.) has been selected to be one of eight collegiate baseball sluggers who will compete in the 2nd annual TD AMERITRADE College Home Run Derby at TD AMERITRADE Park Omaha on Saturday, July 2. The event will air nationwide Sunday, July 3 on CBS at 2 p.m.
"This is a wonderful and exciting opportunity for Dylan," said ETSU head coach Tony Skole. "He is very deserving and I know he is excited to go to Omaha and compete against the other top sluggers in the country."
Pratt will look to keep the TD AMERITRADE College Home Run Derby title in Johnson City after Paul Hoilman (Johnson City, Tenn.) won the inaugural event in 2010 at Rosenblatt Stadium.
The collegiate home run hitting competition will feature eight of the nation's premier power hitters facing off in an elimination-style format. Competitors were selected from a pool of eligible players that have ranked among the nation's home run leaders during the 2011 college baseball season.
The 2011 TD AMERITRADE College Home Run Derby will also feature MLB Legends Paul Molitor, Frank Thomas and Joe Carter. Molitor, Thomas and Carter will participate in several events throughout the day and will serve as honorary hitting coaches for Derby participants. ETSU head coach Tony Skole will serve as Pratt's pitcher for the contest.
Fans are asked to come to One12 Downtown on July 3 at 2 p.m. for the official TD AMERITRADE College Home Run Derby viewing party hosted by the ETSU Athletic Department.
General admission tickets for the 2011 TD AMERITRADE College Home Run Derby will cost $12 and are on sale now. To purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com.
For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com or follow the Bucs on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ETSUAthletics.


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City of GlendoraHome Menu
La Colina-Former Monrovia Nursery
Concerns or complaints about construction related issues including dust and noise? Please contact Site Manager Pete Navarro at (949) 279-7148 or pete.navarro@lyonhomescom.
The Monrovia Nursery Specific Plan calls for the development of 121 single-family homes on 20,000 square foot lots that will match the existing neighborhood density and character. The project brings a number of amenities not only to the future homeowners but also to the existing neighborhood and community, including:
- Greatly reducing the flooding that occurs due to runoff from the foothills
- Providing a continuation of the pedestrian path to the eventual Metro Gold Line Station at Citrus Avenue
- Cleaning up the residues left in the soil from the former nursery operations on the property
More enhancements will come as a result of the development and make this one of the most sought after housing opportunities in the area.
The goal of this web page is to provide the public with a way to access the latest happenings occurring with the development and to answer questions about the development. Given the complexity and extent of infrastructure to be installed, the project will take several years to complete. We realize that for residents in and around the project area, it will have an impact despite the City's best efforts to mitigate them. We will be updating this page when significant milestones occur to keep the public abreast of information that may be of interest.
This page will also try to address unsubstantiated rumors that can occur when a project of this size takes a long time to develop or individuals confuse this project with what may be happening elsewhere in the region. We encourage interested persons to always contact the Planning Department directly if you have any questions or concerns. We will do our best to get answers and address your concerns.
Recent Project Approvals
- Annexation of land into Glendora approved by Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) in August 2013; annexation effective September 17, 2013
- Removal Action Workplan (RAW) for soil remediation approved by Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)
Permits Issued
- Grading permit for rough grading of southern portion of project site issued January 17, 2014
- Demolition permit to remove remaining structures from southern portion of project site issued January 7, 2014
- Grading permit for soil remediation issued September 25, 2013
Significant Activity and Schedule
- Annexation of nearly 100 acres of unincorporated area in and around the project was approved by LAFCO and effective September 16, 2013
- Soil remediation as approved by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) began in October 2013 and was completed in January 2014
- Grading of the site started in January 2014
- Grading and infrastructure improvements are expected to be complete by mid-2015; City of Glendora staff will continuously monitor the project for dust control and compliance with all conditions of approval
- Construction of model homes begun in 2015
- As of December 19, 2018 58 homes have been built.
Contact Information
- Glendora Planning Department > Mark Carnahan, City Planner (626) 914-8253 or firstname.lastname@example.com
- Glendora Public Works Department > Alison Sweet, City Engineer (626) 914-8248 or firstname.lastname@example.com
- Construction Related Issues > Pete Navarro, Site Manager (949) 279-7148 or email@example.com
- Developer - William Lyon Homes> Rola Ann Nicasio, Project Manager (949) 476-1312 or email@example.com
- Soil Remediation > Department of Toxic Substances Control - Steve McArdle, Project Manager (818) 717-6521 or firstname.lastname@example.com
Current Documents
- Conceptual landscape plans
- 1-story house plans: part 1 | part 2 | part 3
- 2-story house plans: part 1 | part 2 | part 3
- Approved revised Specific Plan
- Ordinance approving Specific Plan amendment
- Resolution approving revised Development Plan Review
- Revised Tract Map No. 66608 (northern portion)
- Resolution approving revised Tract Map No. 66608
- Revised Tract Map No. 66609 (southern portion)
- Resolution approving revised Tract Map No. 66609
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
|La Colina Project (former Monrovia Nursery) | Presentation to the City Council - 10/28/2014


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text:
Rodents of Unusual Size - Trailer
Preview: Season 20 Episode 7 | 30s
Rodents of Unusual Size is a real-life horror "tail" about the various and eccentric methods Louisiana residents have employed to tackle a growing menace that lurks in the bayous and backwaters: hordes of monstrous 20-pound swamp rats known as nutria.
Aired: 01/14/19Video has closed captioning.
The full episode is no longer available for online streaming. Why?
Please continue to enjoy extra(s) from this episode.


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Idol-eyes; Sci-Fi, Otome, Romance, Friendship [Updated 7th]
Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 6:35 am
26.10.2012: Added new character art.
25.08.2013: Added new screenshots.
20.07.2013: Added new blog post.
23.06.2013: Added background artwork.
08.06.2013: Added new artwork and character descriptions.
19.05.2013: Updated description, added characters.
11.05.2013: Added GUI mock-ups, added new Xander design.
Me and a couple of my colleagues have started developing our first complete/full length Visual Novel. It's called Idol-eyes, and will feature a full range of unique artwork and plenty of gameplay options, as well as an inventory system and unlockable CG Gallery.
'Amidst the chaotic war between the planet Everdeen and Duslo, a competition sprouts on both sides to give citizens hope. Alicia Dew is one such contestant in the fight for fame and fortune. The winner of the Everdeen Promise Project will become the beauteous symbol of the military and the greatest celebrity in the land, all whilst boosting morale for the troops and the citizens. Yet the lines between allies and enemies begin to blur when Alicia is kidnapped. Now she has seen both sides of the story, who will she choose?'
Alicia Dew- A headstrong student and the heroine of Idol Eyes, Alicia focuses hard on her studies and sticks by her morals at all times. After entering an idol competition with a scholarship prize, will brains alone be able to hold up against the hard-core competition or will her quick temper get her into trouble?
Luna Lexilei- The heroine's best friend and fashionista, this army brat has her ear on all the latest gossip. Can reputation alone help her through the competition or will her selfish ways trip her up on the last hurdle?
Justine Jackson-Chen- A new ally of the heroine's, the rebellious young Justine is full of surprises and laughter. Why is such a girl in a prestigious government competition though, when she seems to hate the war so much?
Sergeant Xander Frost- Both a young model and military star, why is this brooding youth suddenly a judge for an idol competition? His harsh manner and mysterious past are bound to cause trouble.
Malakai Vesper- The main man on the hunt for juicy scandal at the competition, Malakai is a world renowned blogger with his eyes on the heroine and Xander. What will he discover as he snoops about and will he go too far?
Captain Damon Fitzgerald- A mysterious man mentioned in many of the enemy military reports. Why does Alicia feel like she has seen him before?
If you would like to see the games progress, this is my blog: http://slblake.blogspot.co.uk/
It also features other games that I am working on, as I don't solely work with Ren'py.
Thanks for taking the time to look, any comments or feedback are more than welcome.
Sprites: 70%
Backgrounds: 100%
Code: 80%
Story: 70%
Music: 100%


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Photo Gallery: 22 Designer Bedrooms
Try their bold decorating ideas.
Use black-shaded table lamps for a soft glow.
Linen in an attention-grabbing citrine injects a heavy dose of pattern into designer Sarah Callanan's 260-square-foot bedroom. The queen-size bed takes up most of the space, so a small dresser and built-in were tucked under a three-foot-deep beam, and a new closet and laundry area were installed in one tidy corner.
Get more design and decorating ideas in our Designer Bedrooms photo gallery, or tour the rest of Sarah Callanan's home in our Online TV segment.
Art Deco accents connote glamour and languor.
In the principal bedroom of designer Nam Dang-Mitchell's Calgary home, an iconic double-armed Serge Mouille sconce functions as both lighting and art. A sleek upholstered bed offers a low-key backdrop for graphic black and white patterns. The Deco-style cabinet holds books and a TV.
Get more design and decorating ideas from Designer Bedrooms, plus see more of Nam Dang-Mitchell's work in our photo gallery.
A pretty chandelier, built-in bookcase and mauve walls add richness.
A departure from more standard little girl colours and details, this Mitchell–designed room is outfitted with a tailored canopy bed upholstered in a print sophisticated enough for a principal suite.
Architectural elements are the star attraction in a minimal, all-white space.
Designer Julie Charbonneau's principal bedroom feels luxurious with its floor-to-ceiling drapes, cosy chaise and soft upholstered bed with a wall-to-wall headboard.
Exotic details and a shapely velvet headboard shine in this space.
While many of us choose beige or off-white walls, interior designer Theresa Casey embraces the rainbow: "Colour is the easiest way to transform your space — you can have a wall come forward or recede. Sometimes a small room doesn't have a lot of light, and you add a beautiful eggplant purple and voilà, your space is cosy and warm."
Get more design and decorating ideas in our Designer Bedrooms photo gallery, or see our Theresa Casey photo gallery.
Use soft blues and greens for a calming, subdued space.
This Theresa Casey–designed bedroom, in a three-storey Edwardian, is flush with old world sophistication and a soulful, literary air that perfectly reflects its book-loving inhabitants.
Stately wing chairs layer sophistication into a kid's room.
Designer Sarah Richardson chose a lavender colour for this ceiling to contrast softly with the red toile bedspread. Crisp, relatively unadorned walls are the perfect foil for an ornate mirror.
Paint walls a light, bright green to make a space feel more open.
In the bedroom of a London, England home, designer Sarah Richardson looked to nature as her guide, setting twin antique brass beds against soft green walls and bedding. "This shade is a favourite of mine," she says, citing a mossy stone wall visible outside the windows as inspiration for the palette.
Get more design and decorating ideas in our Designer Bedrooms photo gallery, or in our Sarah Richardson photo gallery.
Play with pattern in a neutral room.
In the principal bedroom of a Victorian reno, HGTV star and Toronto designer Tommy Smythe went with a mostly grey palette. To add interest, he combined grey patterns — a graphic charcoal rug, chevron bench, and duvet with Egyptian key pattern. A vintage glass light fixture also adds personality to the room.
See Tommy Smythe's Victorian Makeover photo gallery for more photos of this home, plus watch Suzanne Dimma tour through the kitchen.
A humble space, kept simple and cottage-like.
This home's only bedroom illustrates Richard Ouellette and Maxime Vandal of Les Ensembliers' approach to decor: nothing matches yet it melds together effortlessly. Bird-print wallpaper acts as a neutral backdrop for modern ikat pillows and weathered-wood pieces.
See more designs from our 25 Top Designers in our photo gallery.
A thick-striped headboard balances out the bold zebra-print rug.
The neutral scheme found throughout designer Christine Ralphs' home continues in the principal bedroom, accented with bold hits of black. A small mirrored desk reflects light below the window.
Barely visible guard panels are made of low-iron Starphire glass.
A Corian bathtub was installed in this cottage's open-concept principal bedroom, designed by architectural firm gh3, to take advantage of the lake views. For more privacy, a flick of a switch encloses the tub with sliding ceramic frit panels.
Use furniture pieces in new ways — cabinets can make wonderful bedside tables.
In designer Karen Cole's bedroom, a large kilim-upholstered ottoman, layered atop a graphic Madeline Weinrib area rug, brings the home's eclectic feel upstairs.
Double-duty furniture makes for a well-used room.
An old apothecary cabinet in designer Karen Cole's guest bedroom opens up in several ways, including a drop-leaf desk. Antique twin beds loaded up with brightly patterned throw pillows offer an inviting spot to curl up and read, but can be made up as guest beds within minutes. Bold art and antique rugs contribute to a space that's as cosy and useful for Karen as it is for her guests.
Watch a video tour of Karen's house, plus see more Gorgeous Guest Rooms and Double-Duty Offices.
Add romance with antiques and bold colours.
In designer Theresa Casey's bedroom, textured velvet wallpaper, a butterscotch silk headboard, fringed curtains and a Chinese silk brocade duvet transform the space into an embracing haven. The bowed legs of the mirror-topped bedside table provide visual breathing space.
See more of Theresa Casey's projects in our photo gallery.
Create an old-world atmosphere with patterned bedding, ambient lighting, matching side tables and art in mirrored frames.
A ceiling mounted canopy — made of the same fabric as the bed skirt — adds height and dramatic flair to this elegant bedroom by designer Anne Hepfer.
Use a showstopping bed to create a focal point.
Lynda Reeves designed this cosy space around House & Home's Rustico bedding in soft tan, rust and cream. A stunning uphostered bed topped with plush linens and throw pillows makes guests feels like royalty.
Custom furniture provides smart storage in this small apartment.
Designer Brad Ford deftly carved out an oasis of calm amid the chaos of urban living. In his bedroom, his dog Turbo relaxes on the low bed, which features built-in end tables and reading lamps, designed to fit snugly under the window.
Adding colourful accents to a room brings it to life.
Designer Connie Braemer designed the four-poster bed in homeowner Betsy Aziz's principal bedroom. Pattern and colour are evident throughout: chartreuse chests, vibrant art, and the suzani covering the back of the sofa.
A patterned duvet cover is an easy way to brighten a bedroom.
Designer Patti Rosati painted this contemporary bedroom's sunken bookshelves thundercloud grey. "I wanted a colour to ground and warm up the room," she says. Colour-blocking select books creates stylish vignettes.
Cedar-beamed ceilings enhance the rustic style.
Toronto designer Barbara Purdy helped her brother Jim Hill and his wife Susan design the stone farmhouse of their dreams. In the guest bedroom, twin iron beds and a wood chandelier boost the cosiness.
A crisp palette contrasts with the country warmth of painted wood panelling.
This Murphy bed uses a suspension system that makes it possible to lift with one finger. On both sides of the queen-size bed, a niche in the wall acts as a side table and is wired with a reading light. When the bed is folded up, homeowners Barbara and Michael Purdy use the freed-up space as a workout area.
Learn more Budget Basement Decorating Tips, watch an Online TV tour of this basement, plus see more Barbara Purdy Designs.


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Customer Superchargers ?
Customer Superchargers ?
Getting that level electrical service to your home might be a problem and would definitely be expensive. More likely, the only way to get higher charging speeds like that would be to have a large battery at your house, charge it slowly, and then dump that charge into the Model S quickly at supercharger rates.
That isn't going to be cheap, and I can't imagine they would build something that maybe 20 people would buy.
EXTREMELY bad idea. High voltage/amperage lines are NOT things to be fooled with. Besides, your power bill for one of these stations would be crazy during use unless you found a way to make power back.
well, customer superchargers for home purposes are very bad idea...
However, lets say I am fan of EVs (and maybe even owner of some Tesla EV) and I own a restaurant or museum or whatever so I would make some kind of contract with Tesla to mount 1 supercharger at my parking lot for me and my customers. This way it is much more likely than mounting it at my house ;)
Contract could be something like I would pay whole or large part of building cost, but not paying electricity charget to the car, so this way it could stay free for Tesla cusomers while owning the supercharger.
It's just an idea, I really don't know whether it could work...
That idea would expedite getting Superchargers all over the place more quickly and internationally. Almost seems like necessity to adopt some variation of this model for quicker expansion.
Well, unless they run out of, or can't get, locations with utility buy-back for solar (enough to feed the cars on average), the free electricity isn't really sustainable. Semi-private or private placements would be well down the list of desirable spots, IMO.
The "free long-distance charging for life" model works in part because it is only a fraction of total use -- intercity l.d. travel.
Sorry, that first sentence has missing bits.
"Well, unless they run out of, or can't get, locations with utility buy-back for solar (enough to feed the cars on average), free electricity (currently covered by Solar City) paid out of Tesla revenues is not in the plans and isn't really sustainable."
Don't forget that a setup like this will likely flip you into whole new rate category from your utility. Most electric utilities impose a demand charge when maximum demand exceeds a certain level. The load profile of one of these units would have a very low power factor, so the electricity could get very expensive. When I have time, I'll take a look at my utility's rate schedule to get an idea of what the difference would be.
It's hard to think of a set of circumstances that would make it worthwhile to install a supercharger at one's house.
I think residential superchargers are just silly, huge cost, safety and regulatory difficulties for so little gain. The far more important question is when/if they will offer private commercial superchargers for sale or license their production? I can imagine a service station having a commercial supercharger pay per use, or a restaurant wanting it as a marketing and customer attraction tool. In the end if offering commercial licenses got more rapid charging out there at no direct cost to Tesla (in fact a profit to Tesla) then surely that's something worth pursuing.
@Docrob ++
yea, free usage of superchargers is great, but I agree that most people would also be able to pay for it so this commercial SC could work fine.
Superchargers owned by Tesla/SolarCity would be free, commercial SC would be paid (or included in the lunch/dinner/ticket to whatever).
But that torpedoes the "free charging for life" promo value Musk/TM want. Don't think it will happen.
Right now the bottleneck is utility/regulatory clearances. Lotsa h/w ready to go.
It also creates a whole special admin layer of overhead. This way is SO much simpler.
I think it would be pretty cool. Great for that occasion where you drive around all day and then want to get out of town for dinner.
I see no real issue if it is installed professionally and the home owner had sufficient service at the house.
I had always assumed it required 408V service to drive it and didn't know about the "stacking" of the chargers as mentioned by the original poster.
Almost feels like you would actually need more like 600A service in order to take full advantage so you could dedicate 400A just to charging while using the other 200A for the rest of your house. If you had multiple cars you could charge them sequentially since it would be so fast.
The big problem with the Model S is going to be that if you have a significant other, you might not get to drive it all that often.
not to go off track (this has been discussed many times before), this is why I am going for dual chargers and HPWC: "poor man's supercharger", e.g. the best currently available for home installation!
And more for their replacements when the kiddies inherit yours ...
So lets see, to do this the home owner would have to be willing to spend maybe $20,000+ for the Supercharger cabinet populated by 8 to 10 chargers and electronics, and several thousands for an addition new electric service panel. Then he/she would have to be prepared to pay for the substantial demand charges. Finally, there's going to be the huge utility fees to install a second dedicated tranformer and service at 480 volts, probably at three phase (assuming that three phase is even available near the neighorhood) to the residence.
Why would anyone need to spend this very serious money? Running an electric taxi service out of your home? ;-)
Running an electric taxi service out of your home? ;-) (Larry Chanin)
In that case you'd probably be better off with owning more than one Model S and charging/driving them alternating.
true, but so rare and potentially troublesome that it would not be worth TM's while to offer or facilitate it.


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Our Group organises 3000+ Global Conferenceseries Events every year across USA, Europe & Asia with support from 1000 more scientific societies and Publishes 700+ Open Access Journals which contains over 50000 eminent personalities, reputed scientists as editorial board members.
Headaches experienced by most people from time to time. But if one is having a headache for days, then he might be experiencing chronic daily headaches.
CDH includes transformed migraine (TM), chronic tension-type headache (CTTH), new daily persistent headache (NDPH), and hemicrania continua (HC). Around 40% of patients attending a specialized headache clinic meet CDH diagnostic criteria, of which 80% are women. In these clinics about 60% of patients suffer from TM, 20% from CTTH, and 20% meet NDPH criteria. Most, some 80%, overuse symptomatic medications. One should be very cautious on extrapolating these numbers to the general population.
CDH prevalence in the general population seems to be around 4% to 5% (up to 8% to 9% for women). Regarding the prevalence of CDH subtypes, NDPH is rare (0.1%), whereas the prevalence of TM (1.5% to 2%) and CTTH (2.5% to 3%) is clearly higher.
In contrast to data from specialized clinics, only around a quarter of CDH subjects in the general population overuse analgesics; the prevalence of CDH subjects with analgesic overuse being 1.1% to 1.9% of the general population. Most of these patients with analgesic overuse are TM patients.


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Hi guys
There's another one.
I remember finding once how to do it around 2 years ago, unfortunately could not do it now.
I need to change format in which MySQL stores dates to dd-mm-yyyy.
I know that formats can be changed in the queries, but it will be taking up extra cycles on the server, doing it once seems more apropriate, as my server system is SLOW.


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25 October 2013 at 4.19pm | Comment on this article
The Jette Parker Young Artists will be performing in a series of lunchtime recitals over the forthcoming weeks.
'The lunchtime recitals offer the public the chance to hear performers in a more intimate surrounding, up close and without an orchestra rather than in a big theatre,' says David Gowland, Artistic Director of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme.
'I insist that all of the Young Artists do a lunchtime recital,' he continues. 'It's one thing developing your craft for a big opera stage, but it's quite another to engage with an audience right there and sustain yourself for an hour on your own.'
The lunchtime recitals, which take place in the Crush Room, Linbury Studio Theatre or the Paul Hamlyn Hall, are free to attend and tickets can be reserved online up to nine days before the concert.
On 28 October, British baritone Ashley Riches, who is now in his second year of the programme, will perform a programme entitled 'myths' that includes songs by Schubert, Liszt and Saint-Saëns among others.
On 4 November, Brazilian baritone Michel de Souza will perform a programme that includes Mahler's Kindertotenlieder and Schumann's Dichterliebe; followed on 9 December by Jette Parker Principal Jihoon Kim, who will perform a programme of classical Korean works.
'I often suggest repertory that will take the artists out of their comfort zone in terms of language and style,' explains David. 'It gives them the opportunity to learn a group of songs with the greatest coaches in singing, language and stagecraft.'
The lunchtime recitals also feature performances by members of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, The Royal Opera Chorus and Southbank Sinfonia. View the full lunchtime recital listings.
Throughout the course of the Season, the Jette Parker Young Artists perform in a variety of main stage productions, concerts and recitals, as well as covering lead roles. At the end of the year, their work is showcased in a JPYA Summer Performance. Find out more about the annual performance.
The Jette Parker Young Artists opened the Season with the UK premiere of El gato con botas. Pedro Ribeiro's production of Xavier Montsalvatge's opera was performed alongside Berio's Folk Songs.
Rachel Kelly as the Cat with puppeteer Rui Rodrigues in El gato con botas © ROH / Catherine Ashmore 2013
Anush Hovhannisyan as the Princess with puppeteer Sara Henriques in El gato con botas © ROH / Catherine Ashmore 2013
Luis Gomes as the Miller and Rachel Kelly as the Cat in El gato con botas © ROH / Catherine Ashmore 2013
Puppeteer Sara Henriques with Jihoon Kim as the Ogre in El gato con botas © ROH / Catherine Ashmore 2013
The Jette Parker Young Artists Programme is supported by the Oak Foundation. Find out more about the programme in our News and Features section.


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A Crofton motorist suffered life-threatening injuries in a two-vehicle collision on Route 450 in Gambrills Tuesday evening, Anne Arundel County Police said in a prepared statement on Wednesday.
Spokesman Justin Mulcahy said that at 10:38 p.m., officers responded to a report of a collision on Route 450 near Hallmark Drive and found both vehicles blocking the westbound lane. Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that Daniel James Pfarr, 34, of Crofton was driving a 1999 Honda Accord eastbound when he lost control, crossed double yellow line and ventured onto the path of a 2012 Mazda 3, which was driven by a 17-year-old female from Gambrills.
Pfarr was transported by ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma, where he is listed with life-threatening injuries. The driver and an accompanying 17-year-old passenger of the Mazda were transported to Anne Arundel Medical Center. Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said the Accord's speed could have been a factor in the collision and added that there was no evidence of alcohol by either driver. The case is still under investigation, police said.


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Code Master - Source Code Editor 4+
Justin Bush
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Choose from one of our professionally designed HTML5 templates that are available to users, commercial-free! Turning website building from a complex process for some, to an easy two-step solution. Code Master is designed for any user looking to save time. All templates have been designed for use with both desktop computers and mobile devices. Optimizations for all device types are included.
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Furthermore, the project has officially been funded by Facebook! This will be an exciting year for Code Master and I intend on adding a slew of new features, as well as fluency updates. More on this soon.
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• New Code Editor (2.0)
• Support for 170+ Languages
• Added 70+ Syntax Themes
• Added New Website Templates
• UI Overhaul & Graphical Updates
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• Fixed Bluetooth Keyboard Bug
• Fixed UI Bug Blocking the TextView
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• Improved Compatibility for iOS 8
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Upcoming Updates: Dropbox, iCloud Drive, FTP and Web Publishing.
Ratings and ReviewsSee All
Export files
I'm wondering if it is possible to export files to the files app?
Not bad
Not bad... but the latest version, each time I try to change something in the code, the left menu pop-up. Each. Time. Very annoying. So I will wait for an update - the one with Dropbox, Drive etc.
Good App
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Family Sharing
Up to six family members will be able to use this app with Family Sharing enabled.


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Bernard Madoff's Right Hand Man Pleads Guilty, Will Tell All
Frank DiPascali ordered by judge to be taken to jail.
August 11, 2009 -- Bernard Madoff's right hand man in his monumental Ponzi scheme, Frank DiPascali, will "tell all and name names" under the terms of a guilty plea deal announced today in federal court in New York City.
DiPascali apologized for his actions and described the transactions as "all fake. It was all fictitious. It was wrong, and I knew it was wrong at the time."
Dressed in a dark suit, DiPascali entered pleas of guilty to ten counts and the judge rejected a request by prosecutors that he be allowed to post bail. He was immediately ordered to jail and was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom, leaving everyone surprised.
Click here to see the letter to the judge from prosecutors.
Sentencing in May 2010
His sentencing is set for May 2010. The maximum he faces is 125 years in prison.
In the interim, he is expected to provide prosecutors with a road map of those in the Madoff inner circle who were involved in the scheme that swindled investors out of an estimated $64.8 billion.
Click here to go behind the scenes of Brian Ross' investigation into Bernie and Ruth Madoff.
During the hearing, DiPascali read a statement into the record explaining how he was an 18 year-old high school student from Queens, NY when he joined Bernie Madoff in 1975, and he didn't know how he became the person who stood in court today. "I didn't know anything about Wall Street," DiPascali said.
"There was one simple fact that Bernie Madoff knew that I knew: It was all fake, it was all fictitious," he said, adding that he "perpetrated the illusion" that trades were taking place when none actually took place. "I knew no trades were happening," he said.
At the end of his statement, DiPascali's voice cracked as he said, "There is no excuse. I regret everything that I did. I accept complete responsibility for my actions."
Click here for complete Blotter coverage of Madoff and his Ponzi scheme.
DiPascali said he is "very, very sorry" and that while he knows his "apology means almost nothing," he hopes that his "actions going forward do mean something."
The judge at this point said he accepted his guilty plea and then began a long discussion of remand, saying that bail is "dwarfed" by the magnitude of the fraud. He said that while the prosecutors were looking forward at what DiPascali could do to help them, he was looking backwards at what he did for the past decades. "I am unpersuaded," Judge Richard Sullivan said.
DiPascali Cooperating with Investigators
DiPascali's cooperation was deemed crucial because Madoff refused to help the FBI unravel the scheme and maintained he "acted alone." It is a claim investigators say is a "huge lie."
Over 33 years, DiPascali rose to the position of chief financial officer at Madoff's investment advisory business despite his lack of college education or any experience in the financial industry.
DiPascali was one of two people who ran the notorious 17th floor at Madoff's office where thousands of bogus monthly account statements were produced to give investors confidence their money was well invested. In fact, investigators say there is no record that Madoff and DiPascali ever traded any stocks for the clients.
Madoff and DiPascali
Madoff and DiPascali would often meet in a room that had "Do Not Enter" and "Do Not Clean" signs on the door.
In the last years, according to investigators, his salary was close to $3 million and he enjoyed many privileges at the expense of the company.
DiPascali had the use of a corporate Platinum American Express credit card which he used to charge personal expenses, including plane tickets for his son and fraternity brothers to go to the Bahamas over spring break.
In addition, the captain of DiPascali's yacht was paid through funds from the account used for Madoff's investors, according to investigators.
Prosecutors said Madoff had complete trust in DiPascali to keep the secret of the scam operations. He had been recruited to the firm by Madoff's former secretary, Annette Bongiorno who lived next door to DiPascali in the New York borough of Queens.
DiPascali entered guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, falsifying books, mail fraud, wire fraud, perjury, international money laundering and income tax evasion.
He said he followed Madoff "too loyally since 1975."
Anna Schecter and Asa Eslocker contributed to this report.


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432 Park Avenue, 95A - Midtown, New York
This spacious 3952 square foot, three-bedroom Penthouse with library and three-and-a-half-baths features 12'-6 ceilings, expansive 10' x 10' windows providing Northern, Western and Eastern exposures with remarkable views of Central Park and City. A gracious entry foyer and a grand 29' x 29' corner living and dining room. The custom windowed eat-in kitchen includes a center-island, marble floors, countertops, white lacquer and natural oak cabinetry, Miele stainless steel appliances and Dornbracht polished chrome fixtures. The expansive 30' x 17' master bedroom suite boasts dual walk-in-closets, a windowed master bathroom with marble floors and walls, cubic marble vanity, custom dressing table, freestanding soaking tub and separate shower, radiant heated floors and Dornbracht polished chrome bath fittings.
This listing courtesy of Douglas Elliman
Click more information to get more information.
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
F: email@example.com


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2008 articles
Big hit from Monsanto's new GM cotton - study
- Details
A study conducted by the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development predicts that the introduction of Monsanto's new GM cotton will lead to substantial losses to both the state's cotton industry and its wider rural economy.
EXTRACT: The total economic output loss to the Georgia economy due to changing seed technology could be $128.32 million, say the economists, with changes in the Georgia cotton industry having economic impacts throughout the state's economy.
Cottonseed changes to impact Georgia economy
By Paul L. Hollis
Farm Press, May 20 2008
Future changes in cottonseed technologies could be costly to Georgia farmers and the state's cotton industry and general economy, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development.
Cotton is now ranked as Georgia's No. 1 row crop in acreage and farm income. However, the elimination of currently available single-gene Bollgard technology could lead to declines in cotton productivity, resulting in losses to the state's cotton industry and economy, according to the study, conducted by Archie Flanders, Don Shurley and John McKissick.
The total economic output loss to the Georgia economy due to changing seed technology could be $128.32 million, say the economists, with changes in the Georgia cotton industry having economic impacts throughout the state's economy.
Due to expected declines in production, Georgia cotton producers are expected to lose $54.65 million in income, which averages approximately $59 per acre. Reduced yields also will contribute to lost revenues associated with ginning, marketing, classing and storing cotton.
Monsanto, which owns the single-gene Bollgard technology, has opted not to re-register the variety with the Environmental Protection Agency due to insect resistance concerns. The registration for Bollgard (B1) is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2009. EPA will allow growers to plant carryover seed in 2010 as long as the seed is purchased and delivered by Sept. 30, 2009.
The study estimates employment declines by 808 jobs as declining cotton production has impacts in other sectors of the state economy. Employment declines in the agricultural sector are concentrated in ginning but also extend to other agricultural support industries including those related to cotton marketing.
According to the study, a decline in the services sector of 255 jobs occurs because of decreased spending. Decreased employment in the trade sector is concentrated in retail trade as demand decreases due to declining income.
Losses in total state wages and benefits are pegged at $78.87 million. Income to farmers declines by $54.65 million which averages $59 per acre.
Diminished economic activity and income losses also impact tax revenues collected by state and local governments. State tax revenue losses are estimated to be $2.36 million, and local governments in the state have declining revenues of $1.84 million.
As expected, economic impacts associated with a change in cottonseed technology are concentrated in rural Georgia counties with economies that are dependent on cotton production.
Georgia continues to be a national leader in cotton production, ranking second in the United States in cotton acres planted and typically third in total cotton production. This past year, Georgia accounted for 9.5 percent of U.S. acres harvested and 8.7 percent of U.S. production.
In 2007, Georgia and U.S. cotton acres decreased due to high prices and relatively high net returns from corn and soybeans, but cotton remains the state's largest crop in acreage and value. Georgia farmers planted 1.03 million acres of cotton in 2007. Cotton acres in the state reached a high of 1.5 million acres in 1995 and again in 2000.
The 2007 Georgia crop is valued at an estimated $550 million of lint and cottonseed. Cotton production in the state had a $1.4 billion economic output impact on Georgia's economy in 2006 and led to 11,700 jobs. Cotton production composes more than 1 percent of the total economy in 46 Georgia counties. Of these 46 counties, total economic output impact from cotton is greater than 3 percent of the economy in 21 counties, greater than 7 percent in 10 counties, and greater than 10 percent in three counties.
Of last year's total acreage, more than 92 percent was planted in B1 varieties, reports the University of Georgia study. More than 83 percent of the state's cotton acreage is planted in the DPL 555BR variety, which contains the single-gene Bollgard technology. DPL 555BR has proven to be a consistently high-yielding variety in the University of Georgia Official Variety Trials.
Newer two-gene Bt varieties such as Bollgard II and WideStrike have not yet gained widespread acceptance among growers, but Extension cotton specialists and industry leaders are encouraging farmers to begin planting a portion of their cotton acreage in these insect-resistant varieties.
Bollgard II was commercialized in 2003 and WideStrike was commercialized in 2005.
"From an insect resistance management standpoint, the move from the single-gene Bollgard technology to two-gene Bt cotton technologies is advantageous," says Phillip Roberts, University of Georgia Extension entomologist.
"In terms of insect control, both Bollgard II and WideStrike are superior to Bollgard. The two-gene Bt cottons have a broader spectrum of activity and increased efficacy," says Phillips. "However, the potential of caterpillar damage remains and both technologies should be scouted and treated on an as-needed basis. We have evaluated these technologies for several years and have a general understanding of insect control performance. However, as these cottons are planted on tens or hundreds of thousands of acres, we will learn more."
Growers, he adds, should consider planting a portion of their acres to varieties with Bollgard II or WideStrike technology. "Growers need to gain experience in how these two-gene technologies and varieties perform on their farms and in their production systems," he says.


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Craig Ferguson Addresses Anthrax Scare [VIDEO]
Mere days after a death threat was made against David Letterman on an Al Qaeda website, an envelope containing white powder was delivered to the L.A. offices of 'The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.'
The powder was suspected to be anthrax, but police later deemed it harmless. Two show staffers were exposed to the substance, but were released after a brief period of observation.
Ferguson treated the incident humorously during his monologue on Tuesday night's show. "It's a frightening day here at the studio," he said. "Today someone sent here an envelope packed with white powder. I said, 'I'll test it for you if you want.' I have a special test that I conducted between 1979 and 1992."
"I was going to come out and talk about the earthquake, but I can't do that now," continued Ferguson, referencing the earthquake which rattled the East Coast yesterday. "Because the earthquake only scared millions of people on the East Coast, but the white powder did something much worse — it scared me."