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Living in a Debtfare State
Susanne Soederberg
Household debt in North America has reached record levels owing to an unprecedented accumulation of consumer debt. In the United States, student loans total more than $1 trillion – more than all auto loans and credit card loans combined. Since the 1990s, a particularly pernicious form of debt has emerged. "Payday loans" are short-term loans taken out by people who need a few dollars to tide them over until their next paycheck arrives. Issued by private lenders, payday loans often come with annual interest rates that average 400 per cent.
Today, growing numbers of the working poor routinely use consumer credit to cover daily expenses, and many fall behind on their payments. Because harsh penalties are attached to late payments, the debt load quickly adds up and plunges the already cash-strapped borrower into deeper financial trouble. This scenario is being repeated hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of times.
"All this debt, and by extension, the underlying credit-fuelled growth that dominates the global economy, is clearly destructive of people's lives and a threat to the global economy, yet why is it that little is being done to fix this new normal?" asks Susanne Soederberg.
Soederberg is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Political Economy of Development in the Departments of Global Development Studies and Political Studies. For the past 15 years, first at the University of Alberta and now at Queen's, Soederberg has been exploring the institutional and regulatory landscape of global finance and how it affects democracy, economy, public policy and the lives of everyday people.
"Although economists, the media and scholars represent finance as a technical, natural and apolitical phenomenon best left to the experts to manage and explain, its core component – privately-created money (credit) – is highly political," says Soederberg. "People need to know the politics of how the system works and why it breaks down. Financial analysis is too important to be left to economists and their reliance on mathematical models."
In her fourth and most recent book, Debtfare States and the Poverty Industry, Soederberg explores the legal mechanisms through which more and more people in the United States and Mexico have become reliant on expensive forms of credit ("debtfare") to augment or replace living wages. There is no simple explanation for the phenomenon, but part of the answer involves what is known as "financial inclusion" – a concept purveyed by powerful financial institutions like the World Bank, which argue that the best way to reduce or eliminate poverty is to provide widespread access to formal credit through vehicles such as micro-loans. This, say advocates, enables people to start small businesses that provide a livelihood for them and their families. In reality, says Soederberg, "financial inclusion just gives everybody an equal opportunity to get into debt." Soederberg is now turning her attention to the problem of affordable housing for the world's poor through an incipient research project of slum rehabilitation in Mexico City, Manila and Mumbai. As is the case elsewhere, national governments in Mexico, the Philippines and India claim that neither they nor public donors have sucient funds to pay for the sheer volume of housing needed to provide a basic right to shelter for their most vulnerable populations.
As a result, institutions such as the UN-Habitat are proposing that low-cost mortgages be made available to the slum dwellers so that they can afford their own homes. In turn, these mortgages can be bundled en masse as residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and sold in the global marketplace to investors such as public pension funds.
The proponents of RMBS typically portray them as a winwin solution that provides needy people with homes and investors with dividends. What troubles Soederberg is that RMBS are the exact same class of subprime investments that went sour in 2007-08 and triggered the global financial crisis.
"Will RMBS and other forms of private financing really resolve the issues they're supposed to without the guarantee of living wages for the poor?" says Soederberg. "Who really benefits from these arrangements, and why?"
Alec Ross
(e)Affect Issue 5 Spring 2014


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|2010-10-05, 15:24
|Link #41
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Well, she's gonna come up eventually, so I'll start some discussion on Marion.
Such a funny background story. Compared to the Japanese version, however, the English dub seems to make it a tad more sexual-sounding.
Not that I'm complaining, of course.
|2010-10-21, 03:36
|Link #43
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Sydney Australia / Taiwan
Age: 30
Don't know where to place this but guess this is the closest
Ok I played the 1st Game and sort of quartered my way through the 2nd game on PSP
After watching the Anime , my emotions have been high and low towards it
1stly , Faldio you need to Fxck off dude , Alicia belongs to Welkin
2ndly , Welkin, Alicias spreading her legs for you , TAKE IT seriously , you fxcked up once with your university friend.. dont screw it up with a Valkyrian babe
I needed to vent that.. now as for the Animes story..
I was dissapointed where it went after the Naggiar plains part BUT no matter how dissapointing it was , this path is more realistic , if the higher heads found out about that stuff , No shxt she'd be tested on ASAP for winning this war , therefore the Anime has its Justice points , but I would've prefered the original PS3 game story and MORE Development with Alicia and Welkin
|2010-10-21, 21:12
|Link #45
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Canada
Never played the game yet, but I like her character so...
I found my new favorite VC character, from the VC games. My new favorite is... Melissa Dalen. I cheated and watched her entire story on youtube, along with Maragi and Mishlitts stories *the Darcsen girls* funny thing is, I like Melissa SO much more than the 2 new Darcsen girls.
She's just TOO funny for words, look forward to using her character on my team when I finally get my hands on a PSP and the game.
|2010-10-24, 06:54
|Link #46
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Australia
Age: 33
Having played out most of the classmate missions in VC2 (I'm still missing Jugin and Lavinia because you can only get the backstory for those two after you finish the game the first time around), here are my picks for favourite characters in no particular order:
Lavinia: I haven't unlocked her backstory yet, but she's awesome based on her tank alone. You'd be insane not to take her 1 CP Light Tank on the vast majority of missions.
Marion: Probably has one of the most interesting backstories.
However, I dislike the following characters:
Randy: Simply an asshole.
Vicky: Random savages don't fit the Gallian setting very well.
Inghild: Random prophetic hallucinations don't fit very well either.
Vario: His singing in the English version of VC2 is terrible, and he's a bit of a blow-hard.
|2010-11-19, 02:24
|Link #47
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Canada
wonders, how does one do away with explaining Catherine O'Hara's accent??
Is she like Vyse and Aika, a foreign volunteer soldier for both wars or originally from another country, daughter of an ambassador from said country or... what??
It's obvious she's meant to be different, judging from the unique accent from all the other 7's. What's your take on it? or your own idea for her?
|2010-12-13, 19:22
|Link #49
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Oregon, USA
Age: 32
Hello fans. I wonder, do anybody know where Darcsen names are from? I tried to search anywhere on the Internet. Some Darcsen characters I like, for some reason, they're interesting and likable. But those names that I still want to know what certain race's names have it meaning. By the way, I wonder, is anybody a fan of villain characters? Personally, I am somewhat feel bond with "good" guys, but I find villains more fascinating.
I have a few questions about minor villain characters in both VC1 and VC2...
Spoiler for Ace Enemies:
|2010-12-13, 20:55
|Link #50
Join Date: Oct 2010
I am a fan of Geld, Gregor, and His Grace. In a way though I actually see Prince Maximilian as a sort of anti-hero, but that's just my perception of him.
Given the names of the various Darc characters I think only Wavy is the one I've tracked down. Wafi, I think is the closest and its supposed to be Arabic. That could mean anything though and that his family grew up with heavier Arabic influence or his father's friend was named Wafi.
And as for the aces, some I'd regard as different characters. It isn't out of place that Lieutenant or Captain Nonnenkopf are the same person, but that's of course if the latter isn't a naval infantry officer considering his assignment to Marberry. All the times they show up as well as the character named Luther in the DLC it may be they're a pretty big and possibly minor noble clan. Out of all the aces though I think only Matz the Cleaner is the one I like.
|2010-12-14, 00:45
|Link #52
Join Date: Oct 2010
Oswald the Iron does, that is if we're assuming he and young Johann Oswald Eisen are one in the same. He's not a bad character for what little of him we see.
The rest is just a hypothesis and it's subjective. You have to almost be creative in thought to find a way to like an ace unit. On the other hand it is fairly easy to find one to dislike. Ty the Immortal and the various DLC aces come to mind with their Ultimate Whatever stats and potentials that'll mow down eight or nine characters in the space of your turn and the enemy's. Still doesn't change the fact that I like Matz and his tank destroyer though. Many a time him and 'Ozwald the Steel?' have led to the collapse of my right flank on the first phase of Ghirlandaio.
|2010-12-14, 03:06
|Link #53
Charge Me!
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: I'm not gone! I'm where you either use a slingshot or a gun!
Age: 25
Well, Matz does return, swapping that tank destroyer for a Heavy Tank, generally. Him/Her (Matz seems like it would be a surname) and Toyold the Bull might be an interesting pair, along with both Simas (anything akin to the infamous Simo?). I figure, if you got all the Aces together, you could have an Imperial Squad 7 of sorts (with an extra tank, no less; Yarmas the Hound, in his Imperial T-28 Medium Tank.)
|2011-01-03, 21:48
|Link #54
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Oregon, USA
Age: 32
Also -- about ace enemies. You're probably right about some ace enemies, with the same title, may be different persons. But I think the creators of VC may have their own reasons to re-place same aces in different locations -- to me, they suggests us that aces are not different characters. But if they are not, then why did creators give the same names to some of their characters? That is what I think... *shrugs?* So I don't know.
Last edited by Owlette; 2011-01-04 at 05:25. Reason: Removed some spoilers. Thanks for remind me, Yez. Sorry about that.
|2011-01-04, 00:49
|Link #55
Observer/Bookman wannabe
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 33
To keep it spoiler-free, let's just say that the Prince had some issues regarding his birthright and well-being when he was a kid.
But, for me, a ruler who has no use for trust will never go far.
Last edited by yezhanquan; 2011-01-04 at 01:37.
|Thread Tools

subset: commoncrawl


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WWII Bomb Discovery Prompts Airport Shutdown in Japan
(SENDAI, Japan) -- Officials closed one of northern Japan's major airports Monday upon the discovery of an unexploded bomb, believed to be from World War II, near a runway.
Flight arrivals and departures were canceled at Sendai airport while a bomb disposal unit investigated the device, found during construction work. The unit determined the WWII-era bomb had been made in the U.S.
BBC News reports the airport, now under construction for repairs after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, had operated as a Japanese military flight school during the war.
Sendai police officials are considering evacuating nearby homes as the disposal unit decides how to remove the ordinance, BBC reports.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio


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Why wasn't I given a medal??
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Amid a lively week of historic home tours, a boat show, stage productions and concerts, the New Bern-Craven County Public Library presents another piece of history in conjunction with its exhibit, "Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience."
Amid a lively week of historic home tours, a boat show, stage productions and concerts, the New Bern-Craven County Public Library presents another piece of history in conjunction with its exhibit, "Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience."
The Saturday program is �Life in the Negro Leagues� and former Negro League players Clifford Layton and Carl Long will be on hand to talk about their experiences playing baseball. It looks at how these men contributed to the national pastime and to America�s history.
The 2 p.m. program is free.
Sunday kicks off National Library Week with �Poetry Caf�.� The public is invited to join Sandra Ervin Adams, fellow poets and poetry enthusiasts who will share their original works or read the famous lines of others. It is free at 3 p.m.
Here is a sampling of other noteworthy events this week:
The New Bern-Craven County Public Library remains busy. It presents "Let's Talk About It: Explorations of Faith in Literature" Monday at 7 p.m.
The program discusses Anne Lamott�s �Traveling Mercies,� a journey through the author�s often-troubled past to illuminate her devout, but quirky, walk of faith. The discussion will be led by Nan Miller, who is retired from Meredith College. Both advanced registration and the book are available at the library.
�Reel Readers� returns Tuesday with the selected film �Twelfth Night,� a light-hearted romantic comedy that�s rated PG. The showing is free at 10 a.m.
The New Bern chapter of Mended Hearts Support Group hosts a presentation for the community Monday titled �The Daily Grind � Don�t Let It Get You Down.�
The 8:30 a.m.program is by Malinda L. Breda, Ph.D., clinical health psychologist from the CarolinaEast Rehabilitation Hospital. It is scheduled in Classroom 1 of the AHEC Building of CarolinaEast Medical Center.
Craven County Schools presents the gothic tale of �Dracula,� beginning Thursday night in Orringer Auditorium on the New Bern campus of Craven Community College.
Shows are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, April 18, 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. There are 2 p.m. matinees on Sunday and April 21.
Tickets are $5 for students, with identification and $10 for adults.
Multi-talented Pat Wictor comes to Trent River Coffee Company for a Friday concert as part of the Down East FolkArts Society concert series.
He plays at Trent River Coffee in New Bern and, on Saturday, he sings at Clawson�s Restaurant in Beaufort.
General admission is $15, with active duty military and Down East members paying $12. Full-time students are admitted for $8.
The doors open for all Down East series performances at 7 p.m., with the show an hour later.
To reserve tickets, call 646-4657 or email email@example.com
The Sisterhood of Temple B�nai Sholem in New Bern hosts a Jewish Bake Sale on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the temple building at 505 Middle St. in New Bern.
Sale items include Honey Cake, Apple Cake, Challah bread, cookies, Hamantashen and Rugelach. The Sisterhood supports the membership of Temple B�nai Sholem. Founded in 1908, Temple B�nai Sholem is at 505 Middle St. in New Bern.
The temple serves more than 125 members residing in six coastal counties.
The 2013 Spring Historic Homes & Gardens Tour in New Bern is Friday and Saturday, sponsored by the New Bern Historical Society and New Bern Preservation Foundation.
An array of historic district homes open their doors for living quarters tours. Guides present information about the original architecture, renovations and furnishings. Also this year, a number of the gardens will feature artists.
Many downtown churches are on the self-guided tour, along with the Tryon Palace Gardens.
The Palace is the site for its annual Heritage Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days of the tour. Ticket holders will also have the opportunity to buy discounted admission passes for the weekend to Tryon Palace and the North Carolina History Center.
Homes on the tour include the Osgood Cottage, Joseph L. Rhem House, Charles T. Watson House, Attmore-Oliver House, Foy-Munger House, Abbott-Rowe House, the Clark House, the Charles Slover House, the Harker-Sparrow House, the Jerkins-Richardson House, the Shipp-Shields House and the Dunn House.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 days of the tour. Tickets are $13 for active duty military and dependents with ID. There is a special rate of $13 for groups of 12 or more. Tickets are good for both tour days, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tickets on the web: newbernhistorical.org, through PayPal.
Ticket locations include: New Bern Historical Society, 511 Broad St.; New Bern Preservation Foundation, 510B Pollock St.; Harris Teeter, 2019 S. Glenburnie Road; Carolina Creations, 317 Pollock St.; and Mitchell Hardware, 215 Craven St.
Call 638-8558 or email: email@example.com
The fifth annual Rotary-sponsored Oriental In-Water Boat Show is a three-day event, beginning Friday at Pecan Grove Marina in Oriental.
It has informational seminars and a nautical flea market Friday through Sunday. About 80 exhibitors have already committed for the show.
The show will have plenty of new and used vessels, along with charitable groups and other civic organizations on hand. It is an Oriental Rotary fundraiser to support its charitable efforts.
Show times are noon to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $5 and children age 12 and under get in free. Parking is free on the Pecan Grove Marina grounds.
The sixth annual Monsignor Jones Golf Tournament is Saturday at River Bend Country Club. It is sponsored by the Msgr. James R. Jones Knights of Columbus Council No. 3303. Proceeds go to St. Paul Catholic School.
Entry deadline is Thursday. Call River Bend Country Club at 638-2819.
The Oriental Tour of Homes and Gardens is Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Advance tickets are available at Oriental�s History Museum, Denton Pharmacy and Nautical Wheelers for $16. On Saturday, tickets are $20 at any home on the tour or at the museum, 802 Broad Street.
There will also be music on many of the porches over the course of the day and the Farmers� Market on Hodges Street in the morning hours. Art galleries and shops will be open around town.
The tour is co-sponsored by Oriental�s History Museum and St. Thomas Episcopal Church Women to support their respective missions.
For more information, call 249-3340 or email email@example.com.
�Scientific Passport Through Time� brings a day of experiments and activities to Tryon Palace Saturday in conjunction with the North Carolina Science Festival�s multi-day statewide celebration.
Tryon Palace and Craven Community College will provide children of all ages with an opportunity to conduct hands-on experiments that bring together science, history and fun.
Most of the activities are offered at no cost. However, a One Day Pass is required to participate in all activities and pick up all the stamps.
Experiments will be rooted in coastal and historical themes, spanning from river basins and groundwater to the discovery of germs and a little fun with alchemy.
Activities will be spread across Tryon Palace on both the historic sites and the N.C. History Center.
The events are from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The Pamlico Chorale hosts a concert titled �Oceans, Rivers, Creeks & Streams� Saturday and Sunday.
There will be two performances at the Old Theater. The first show is at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday.
Admission is $5. Tickets are available from Nautical Wheelers and Village Hardware in Oriental and from any chorale member.
The New Bern Farmers Market hosts its annual SpringFest on Saturday, with extended hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There will be a 10 a.m. �Blessing of the Crops.� The Color Guard from the Cherry Point air station will present colors for the pledge to the flag and National Anthem.
Among the activities will be chainsaw carving and lathe-turning demonstrations by Danny Malone and Tina Wood of Island Art and Sign from Lowland in Pamlico County.
The day will also be a chance to see how grits and cornmeal are ground and how bees make honey.
Visitors also can learn to weave on a loom, color the �Harvest Bear,� meet Buddy the Alpaca, take a cart ride with Matador the Llama and look at antique tractors.
Submit items for Week Ahead by Thursday of the week before the Monday print edition. Charlie Hall can be reached at 252-635-5667 or email@example.com


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Join the world's fi rst family on their fi rst ever road trip in the The Croods: Prehistoric Party!, as you play as one of the lovable Croods family on a hilarious adventure through a ton of unique and addictive party-style mini-games. With up to fourplayer multiplayer for Nintendo's Wii U and Wii systems (single player for handhelds), explore spectacular landscapes in an incredible new world fi lled with never-before-seen creatures as you battle your friends and family in this awesome adventure.


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Carmel II
The Bowles Resort Series showcases multiple sleep options, all highlighted with a "posturized" spring unit and premium stretch knit fabric.
By Category Inner Spring Mattresses Line
Carmel II
- 2-Sided Mattress
- 13" Mattress profile
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- 2" 1.8 density convoluted foam insert each side
- 3/4" Comfort support layer each side
- Spring barrier each side
- 528 Lura Flex "Posturized" Edge-to-Edge Offset Coil w/ added Edge Supports
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- (Will not work on adjustable beds.)
|Resort Edge to Edge Series Coil Count
|832 coils
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As I promised, here is the interview with lovely Dorothée.
29 Nov 2013
Brussels Beauty - Dorothée
As I don´t want you guys to get tired of me that quickly :-), let´s continue with the series where I show you my friends whose styles I find particularly inspirational and stylish. Today I would like to introduce you Dorothée, a pretty and vivid girl from Brussels. For me, Dorothée is the kind of girl that looks good in literally everything. Adding her charisma and natural charm, one gets a lovely combination which I tried to catch with my camera.
You can read the interview with Dorothée in the next post.
26 Nov 2013
The Cat Hat
A classic beige trench coat accompanied with red details and a funny cat-hat I got in Zara last week... What do you think?
24 Nov 2013
23 Nov 2013
The Wrapper
Well I´m obviously fighting with a cold, and furthermore, had a bad-hair day (again, obviously) but hey, this blog is primarily about fashion, so let´s be gentle and focus on my outfit only! :-) This long coat with lapels and belt is my newest equipment to survive Belgian winter. Well, it shouldn´t disappoint me as its composition is 80% wool, 15% mulberry silk and 5% nylon. I´ve never had an elegant long coat of this kind (it looks like a bathrobe, doesn´t it?), so I´m actually quite curious what outfits I´m gonna match it with. The first one, however, was more than clear - a cream turtleneck and skinny jeans.
21 Nov 2013
A Piece of Prague in Brussels
Recently it got pretty cold in Brussels! This is an outfit from last week, with a fluffy coat and sweater. Actually even my clutch is kind of fluffy... :-) Btw, these pics were taken by the Prague House, a hot-spot for Czech compatriots in Brussels.
19 Nov 2013
Bags Wishlist
|Alexander Wang Rocco Bag Elephant Grey Leather Pale Gold Hardware
I have always been an ultimate shoe-person, so I can´t believe how much I´m into BAGS recently. These are the beauties I´m recently crazy about. Especially Alexander Wang´s "Rocco" bag in grey is my current obsession!
18 Nov 2013
Last Sunday I made a little trip to Ghent, a medieval town in East Flanders. If you ever come to Belgium, this place is definitely worth a visit. With its network of canals, it reminds you Bruges, just less crowded. If you visit Gent in the summer, do not miss the boat ride, you will see astonishing hidden views inaccessible by foot.
Me, I had to skip the boat ride this time cause the weather got sooo chilly! Thank God I had my faux fur coat with me, so I could change the thin leather jacket I was originally wearing. And to be on the safe side, I holed up in the nearest brasserie... :-)
15 Nov 2013
Isabel Marant for H&M
Long-awaited Isabel Marant´s collection for H&M was introduced yesterday, preceded by an extensive ad campaign full of famous faces (e.g. Alek Wek, Daria Werbowy, Devon Aoki or Milla Jovovich). Having this day noted in my agenda, yesterday I went curiously to see it.
Guys, I´m really interested in your opinion on the collection. Because frankly speaking, I wasn´t impressed.
13 Nov 2013
Karl! Karl!
|Dancing in the rain... :-)))
A few weeks ago, Karl Lagerfeld opened his brand-new ´n´ worth-checking concept store in Antwerp. This time I didn´t buy anything there, my traditional favourites in Karl´s collection are T-shirts and gloves, and I already have both in my closet (you could have already seen them here and here). I was expecting some "Choupette items" but the famous cat didn´t appear in the collection.
Nevertheless I guess I got inspired for this outfit there. Even though I definitely failed to learn Lagerfeld´s classic super serious expression and pose... :-D. For a real Karl-inspired look, I suppose I should be wearing a cat-patterned shirt, too, while it seems to be a fox-motive on my shirt.
Talking about Karl, I can not leave out this video of Karl interviewing himself that I found only recently through The Man Repeller. The double Kaiser and his rather specific humor are a real must-see. :-)
10 Nov 2013
Dolce&Gabbana: The One
Dolce&Gabbana introduced a short movie for "The One" campaign shot by Martin Scorsese. Starring Scarlett Johansson and Matthew McConaughey.
8 Nov 2013
Overknee Socks
I discovered overknee socks in the second grade of primary school and have loved them ever since. I admit they are somewhat (OK, totally!) incompatible with the business dress code so I would never ever wear them to work, anyway I´m not ready yet to give them up for leisure time. :-)
7 Nov 2013
For an elegant b/w Halloween masquerade party, I was dressed as a black angel... So funny to wear wings (and pass through doors with them)! Here are some quick snapshots of my costume...
4 Nov 2013
Karen Millen Dress & Coat
Lots of Karen Millen today, all in black, grey and white colour... I got this dress in Barcelona few years ago, cannot believe it didn´t appear on the blog yet as I wear it a lot. But not as much as this coat which is my favourite for the fall.
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Fantails™ Book Banded Library, Set of 10 holders
Decodable Holders have been designed specifically to keep your set of Decodable Readers organized and well looked after. Each holder is color-coded to match the phase readers sets. A color-coded double-sided card is also provided; it has fiction on one side and non-fiction on the other.
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FHM Sexiest Women in Non-Existence - Statue of Liberty
Previous / Next
FHM Sexiest Women in Non - Existence For seventeen years, FHM magazine has been synonymous with the Sexiest Women in Existence, the ranking of sexiest women alive through public voting. But now, FHM wants to shake and spice things up by asking readers to vote for the Sexiest Women in NON – Existence. Forget real women, FHM needs your help to decide which imaginary woman deserves to wear the very real crown. Whether you secretly desire the Queen of Hearts, Wilma Flinstone or The Statue of Liberty, you can rock the vote at http://www.theother100.com Partnering with creative agency BBH Asia Pacific, FHM will announce the winner in a groundbreaking, special edition issue (Singapore), which will feature all 100 girls scandalously re-imagined by top artists from the around the world. The results will also be announced online. Said Douglas Hamilton, Deputy Creative Director, BBH Asia Pacific: "FHM doesn't need ads, it's infamous enough. Instead, we've co-created a new product - the Sexiest Women in Non-Existence issue will give readers something to look forward to every year, and give sexy imaginary women everywhere the recognition they deserve." Polls are now open, so why not show Chun Li, the original queen of fighting games some love, or do you lean more toward leather limbed Catwoman?
Client: FHM Singapore Agency: BBH Asia-Pacific Executive Creative Director: Steve Elrick, Scott McClelland Copywriter: Douglas Hamilton, Daniel Foo Art Directors: Adrian Chan, Ken Choo Illustrators: Eric Foenander, Shyam Deshpande, Ferdi Trihadi Account Exec: Jonathan Kang Digital Producer: Nicolyn Marino Digital Agency: Avantworks


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Hello again! It's Monday and Day 9 of Sew it All TV's 13 Days of Giveaways.
Our Day 8 prize was The Colette Sewing Handbook: Inspired styles and classic techniques for the new seamstress by Sarai Mitnick. (Get extra pattern tips from Sarai in her season 2 episode, "Pattern Play.")
PLUS, everyone gets a free dress pattern & instructions from season 3 guest (and Monaluna designer & owner) Jennifer Moore. Watch her create the dress and learn about organic fabric in her episode, "Go Organic."
Congratulations to our winner, Beth, whose favorite style of dress is a sheath. Please email firstname.lastname@example.com with your mailing address to receive your prize!
Our Day 9 prize is the book Quilting Modern by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen.
Quilting Modern teaches quilters how to use improvisational techniques to make graphic, contemporary quilts and quilted projects. Explore seven core techniques and multiple projects using each technique—all presented with detailed instructions. Quilters can make the 21 projects in the book, but will also come away with the new knowledge and skills to apply to their own unique designs.
Check out Jacquie's instructions for creating matching curtains, a stool cover and a sewing machine cover in her season 3 episode, "Sewing Space Spruce-Up."
Enter to win this prize by answering the following question in the comments section below, "Do you sew for your sewing room?"
Have you tried your hand at a sewing machine cover, or fabric bins for storage? Tell us about your sewing room projects!
The winner will be announced tomorrow, along with the Day 10 prize! Remember, each day you enter, you're also entering to win the GRAND PRIZE, season 3 on DVD! Good luck and have a great Monday!


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Look to Go Back to Back
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After a strong 15-12 victory against Sacred Heart on Jan. 28, the Yale women's fencing team will take on Vassar and Drew at Payne Whitney Gymnasium on Feb. 4.
The Bulldogs are well positioned to build momentum over the weekend, before the Feb. 11-12 Ivy League Championships, hosted this year at home at Coxe Cage. This weekend's match-up is likely to draw strong home crowd support, which will encourage all fencers to work diligently through the course of the competition.
When Yale took on the Brewers last year, they came away with a 16-11 verdict. The Bulldogs were able to claim victory in large part thanks to the stellar performance of the epee squad, which won eight of nine bouts at the meet. Junior captain Robyn Shaffer set an example, going undefeated in three bouts.
The team will face Vassar at 1:00 PM, and afterwards, will take on Drew at 3:00 PM.
The Bulldogs will have a week to train and prepare for the Ivy League Championships after the match-up against Vassar and Drew.
Report filed by James Lu '14, Yale Sports Publicity.


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This section demonstrates adding security to the web service client that references the web service created in the previous section. This web service is secured using the security mechanism described in SAML Sender Vouches with Certificates.
To add security to the client that references this web service, complete the following steps.
This example uses a non-JSR-109-compliant client. To do this, create the client application up to the step where you create the Servlet (step 7 as of this writing) by following the steps described in Creating a Client to Consume a WSIT-Enabled Web Service, with one exception: name the application CalculatorClient (since it's not a servlet.).
Instead of creating a client servlet as is described in Creating a Client to Consume a WSIT-Enabled Web Service, just add the web service operation to the generated index.jsp file to create a non-JSR-109 client. To do this, follow these steps:
If the index.jsp file is not open in the right pane, double-click it to open it.
Drill down through the Web Service References node until you get to the add operation.
Drag the add operation to the line immediately following the following line:

JSP Page

Edit the values for i and j if you'd like.
Write a SAMLCallback handler for the client side to populate a SAML assertion into the client's request to the service.
To create the SAMLCallbackHandler, follow these steps:
Right-click the CalculatorClient node and select New->Java Package.
For Package Name, type xwss.saml, then click Finish.
Drill down from CalculatorClient->Source Packages->xwss.saml.
Right-click xwss.saml and select New->File/Folder.
From the Categories list, select Java Classes.
From the File Types list, select Empty Java File and click Next.
For Class Name, type SamlCallbackHandler, then click Finish.
The empty file appears in the IDE.
Download the example file SamlCallbackHandler.java from the following URL: https://xwss.dev.java.net/servlets/ProjectDocumentList?folderID=6645[amp ]expandFolder=6645[amp ]folderID=6645
Open the file in a text editor.
Modify the home variable to provide the hard-coded path to your GlassFish installation. For example, modify the line:
String home = System.getProperty("WSIT_HOME");
String home = "/home/glassfish";
Set the subject confirmation method to SV (Sender Vouches). For more information on this topic, read Example SAML Callback Handlers.
Copy the contents of this file into the SamlCallbackHandler.java window that is displaying in the IDE.
Drill down from CalculatorClient->Web Service References.
Right-click on CalculatorWSService and select Edit Web Service Attributes.
Select the WSIT Configuration tab of the CalculatorWSService dialog.
Provide the client's private key by pointing to an alias in the keystore. To do this, expand the Certificates node, click the Load Aliases button for the keystore, then select xws-security-client from the Alias list.
Provide the server's certificate by pointing to an alias in the client truststore. To do this, from the Certificates node, click the Load Aliases button for the Truststore and select xws-security-server.
Expand the Username Authentication node. In the SAML Callback Handler field, type the name of the class written in step 3 above, xwss.saml.SamlCallbackHandler.
Click OK to close this dialog.
In the tree, drill down from the project to Source Packages->META-INF. Double-click CalculatorWSService.xml, and verify that lines similar to the following are present, where xwss.saml.SamlCallbackHandler is the SAML Callback Handler class for the client:
<wsp:All> <wsaws:UsingAddressing xmlns:wsaws="http://www.w3.org/2006/05/addressing/wsdl"/> <sc:CallbackHandlerConfiguration wspp:visibility="private"> <sc:CallbackHandler name="samlHandler" classname="xwss.saml.SamlCallbackHandler"/> </sc:CallbackHandlerConfiguration> <sc:KeyStore wspp:visibility="private" location="as-install\domains\domain1\config\keystore.jks" storepass="changeit" alias="xws-security-client" keypass="changeit"/> <sc:TrustStore wspp:visibility="private" location="as-install\domains\domain1\config\cacerts.jks" storepass="changeit" peeralias="xws-security-server"/> </wsp:All>
Compile and run this application by right-clicking the CalculatorClient node and selecting Run Project.


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YSL Shoes – Peep Toes Add Six Inches Height And A Thousand Style PointsCATEGORIES:Christian Louboutin I was really excited to try out these YSL shoes, the Peep Toe Platform heels, the latest in our flurry of shoes reviews from PV. I'm finding, much like the Gucci shoes we reviewed recently, that while shoes are a difficult thing to replicate, perhaps even more so than handbags in some cases. If not for getting the look right, but for the comfort and like, the durability of the shoe.
Yves Saint Laurent Replica Shoes
Shoes are a practical item in other words, and a good replica has to be comfortable and not give you awful blisters or have the heel break on you. In terms of the quality of the construction, these YSL shoes from PV are sensational. They're super comfortable for such a high heel and the seams and construction are really well done. I would certainly say the same for the Gucci shoes I've recently tried. Style-wise they've pretty much got it. The only difference is a slightly lighter leather on the interior of this shoe. While that is annoying it's not a deal-breaker for me. I did some investigating and didn't find any other replica that matched this quality for these particular shoes.
Tags: replica shoes Yves Saint Laurent


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Federal Register Volume 62, No. 78, Pages 19884 to 19887, April 23, 1997
Description: The United States Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. This specific Executive Order (E.O.) 13045 - Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks - was issued by President William J. Clinton in 1997. The order applies to economically significant rules under E.O. 12866 that concern an environmental health or safety risk that EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect children. Environmental health risks or safety risks refer to risks to health or to safety that are attributable to products or substances that the child is likely to come in contact with or ingest (such as the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink or use for recreation, the soil we live on, and the products we use or are exposed to). When promulgating a rule of this description, EPA must evaluate the effects of the planned regulation on children and explain why the regulation is preferable to potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives.
Date: April 23, 1997
Creator: [Clinton, William J.]
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Many of us vote third party even though our friends and family say we wasted that same vote because that candidate couldn't possibly win.
The people who mindlessly parrot the "wasted vote" mantra are the very ones destroying this nation with their "lesser-of-two-evils" voting: http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=81509.msg959150#msg959150
Hi free. We watched as the tea party was infiltrated, yes, depressing at minimum. To add yet another bit of bad news, this gal made a statement about the war, she stated:Its called victory. Past mistakes should not deter our need to stabilize Iraq so we can get our troops home. We can succeed in the future, but we must accompany our efforts with the honor and respect weve earned as a people. We cannot leave on the enemys terms. We must leave on our terms. My take is that is pro war, and my bottom line is simple, if a politician is for the war it goes to follow they are NWO suklings.
The people who mindlessly parrot the "wasted vote" mantra are the very ones destroying this nation with their "lesser-of-two-evils" voting: [
Hi Geo... In regards to the lesser of two evils voting, pray tell, what would you suggest as a solution?
To all you "conservatives" and right-leaning "libertarians" out there: with the arguable exception of Rand Paul, either vote for your 3rd party or independent candidate of choice this November, or don't vote at all!(The same, of course, goes for anti-war/anti-police state "liberals" and "progressives.")
no such thing as a wasted vote
Nonsense. If you passionately oppose policies A, B and C and strongly support policy reforms X, Y and Z, yet vote for a candidate who supports policies A, B and C and opposes policy reforms X, Y and Z (all because he waved a diversionary wedge issue like gay marriage or politically-incorrect religious buildings at you), then -- in terms of having your views represented, which is supposedly the whole point of voting to begin with -- you have indeed "wasted" your vote.Not only that, by voting for the very things you complain about most, you have made yourself part of the very problem you profess to oppose.If you vote for more of what you don't want, then what rightful business do you even have to complain when you wind up getting what you voted for?It absolutely amazes me that so many people who are smart enough to know better have to have all this explained to them in the first place.
You must have missed it, because when it comes to the issue of voting, I addressed that very question earlier in this thread:
PFKAR?Party Formerly Known as "republican"?If things are rigged so RP can't win the nomination, I'm outta there.These attacks on the chairman seem like just that, too. He's been doing a good job of trying to keep things fair IMO.I won't give up on it yet though I'll wait for the Presidential primaries.Go, Ron, go.
Once the republicans take power in the house & maybe the senate it may become easier to expose the NeoCon agenda,
News flash: the "neocon agenda" was exposed years ago when the Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress. That was precisely how Obama got elected in the first place: his public relations experts, knowing that most people were fed up with the neocons, portrayed him to the masses as an anti-neocon candidate.It is therefore the height of absurdity to suggest or imply that conservatives and right-leaning libertarians should resort yet again to "lesser evil voting" in the name of discrediting an already-discredited agenda.
It's not the original Tea Party, no, but -- whether we like it or not -- it is now the current Tea Party as far as the vast majority of both FOX-watching "conservatives" and MSNBC-watching "liberals" are concerned. We could complain all day long about how the original Tea Party was non-partisan, yet our efforts would prove no less futile than trying to convince the masses that the commonly-accepted definition of the word "liberal" was once quite different from what it is today.So rather than get into a semantical turf war over what this or that political label means, I prefer to say -- "What public policy positions does the label in question currently represent in the minds of most people?" -- and to then critique those positions accordingly.
From The Washington Post Rag:A Tea Party of populist posers By Dana MilbankWednesday, October 20, 2010http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/19/AR2010101906085.htmlOn the morning of Oct. 14, a cyber-insurgency caused servers to crash at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.The culprits, however, weren't attacking the chamber; they were well-meaning citizens who overwhelmed the big-business lobbying group with a sudden wave of online contributions. It was one of the more extraordinary events in the annals of American populism: the common man voluntarily giving money to make the rich richer.These donors to the cause of the Fortune 500 were motivated by a radio appeal from the de facto leader of the Tea Party movement, Glenn Beck, who told them: "Put your money where your mouth is. If you have a dollar, please go to . . . the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and donate today." Chamber members, he said, "are our parents. They're our grandparents. They are us."They are? Listed as members of the chamber's board are representatives from Pfizer, ConocoPhillips, Lockheed Martin, JPMorgan Chase, Dow Chemical, Ken Starr's old law and lobbying firm, and Rolls-Royce North America. Nothing says grass-roots insurgency quite like Rolls-Royce -- and nothing says populist revolt quite like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In describing the big-business group as "us," Beck (annual revenue: $32 million) provided an unintended moment of clarity into the power behind the Tea Party movement. These aren't peasants with pitchforks; these are plutocrats with payrolls.There is genuine populist anger out there. But the angry have been deceived and exploited by posers who belong to the same class of "elites" and "insiders" that the Tea Party movement supposedly deplores. Americans who want to stick it to the man are instead sending money to the man.Consider the candidates on the ballot next month who are getting Tea Party support. In the Connecticut Senate race, there's Linda McMahon, who with her husband has a billion-dollar pro-wrestling empire. The challenger to Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold in Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, is a millionaire manufacturing executive. The former head of Gateway computers, Rick Snyder, is spending generously from his fortune to win the Michigan governor's race.In New York, the Republican gubernatorial candidate is developer Carl Paladino, with a net worth put at $150 million. And Rick Scott, running for governor in Florida, has a net worth of $219 million from his career as a health-care executive. Then there's California, where the Republican Senate nominee is former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina and the gubernatorial candidate is former e-Bay boss Meg Whitman.Democrats have their phony populists, too. Billionaire Jeff Greene, who cashed in on subprime mortgages, made an unsuccessful attempt at the U.S. Senate nomination in Florida. But more often this year, it's the Democrats who are defending themselves against the "elite" allegation."The elite's fear and loathing of the tea party movement is rooted in the recognition that the real change is only now coming," writes Tony Blankley, the conservative commentator who exempts himself from the elite label even though he worked for the speaker of the House and now toils for a prominent PR firm. The Tea Party, he wrote, will "constrain the elite's economic and cultural hegemony."Oh? Who will do this constraining of the elite's hegemony? Why, people such as the Tea Party's Senate candidate from Alaska, Joe Miller (Yale Law School); and from Kentucky, Rand Paul (Duke Medical School), and from Colorado, Ken Buck (Princeton University).And who will be helping these anti-elite elites get into office? Well, there's FreedomWorks, a Tea Party outfit run by Dick Armey, the former Republican lawmaker whose last job was with a big lobbying firm. His deputy at FreedomWorks is Matt Kibbe, who worked for none other than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.There's also the Tea Party Express, the creation of longtime Republican consultant Sal Russo. A colleague at Russo's consulting firm pitched the Tea Party Express idea as a way to boost the company's bottom line. According to an internal e-mail intercepted by the New York Times, it came from a "desire to give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force."The guy who put together the Tea Party "Contract From America" previously worked on Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. Another Tea Party group, Americans for Prosperity, has been lavishly funded by the billionaire Koch brothers.A movement of the plutocrats, by the political professionals and for the powerful: Now that's something Tea Partyers should be mad about.
The tea-party phenomenon is forcing possible Republican presidential candidates in 2012 to make early and potentially high-risk strategic gambles over how to harness the movement.Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is traveling the country to build alliances with local tea-party activists in key presidential primary and caucus states.
I agree with everything being said here, but the arguement I get is If I vote for X candidate and you vote for Y candidate your vote is literally nullifying my vote. The total votes don't really matter... only the number of votes greater than that of the other candidates matter. If you vote for a 3rd party long shot, (candidate A) who agrees with you 95% of the time as appose to candidate B, who agrees with you 65% of the time but has a better shot of wining, than you technically voted NOT to nullify one of candidate C's votes, which essentially is you voting for candidate C. See all of the 3rd party candidates votes are going to be nullified. They wont count. You voting for A and not B didn't take a vote from C. Instead you took a vote from B and wasted your vote for A cause candidate A even knew he wasn't going to win.All this said..... this applies only in a general race.... In a primary you should support that with whom you agree with most. if he/she doesn't win then you have to take steps to better get your points across to why your candidate is the best to represent you.... the general election isn't the forum to support the little known, hardly backed 3rd party long shot.How would 3rd party candidates votes be nullified?I guess my question is should a third party candidate be backed in a primary?
Is the tea party the modern conservative movement? Or something new altogether?
Yet the Republicans and Democrats can constantly fail and yet people revote them in again and again.
Unreal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Americans truly prove their stupidity to the rest of the world.
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There's been some talk about file backup and storage in this thread on shooting in RAW, but I thought I'd go ahead and start a dedicated thread for people to discuss solutions.
What's it worth?
If you're working with large files, whether they be RAW photos, PSDs, or video files, space can quickly become an issue. Obviously, gaining access to terabytes of redundant storage space isn't exactly cheap, but at the same time, my feeling is that if you have terabytes of stuff you want to back up, you've probably put a lot of blood and sweat into those files... and that blood and sweat is probably worth more than the storage space (especially for those items which are not reproduce-able). So my feeling is that it's worth making some sacrifices if necessary to make sure you're backed up, and backed up well.
Everyone has relied on a single hard drive at some point, but if it hasn't happened to you already, a single hard drive will fail (I've had four fail on me in the last two years). Typical consumer-grade hard drives fail at a rate of around 5-10% per year. So anything on one hard drive for one year has about a 1 in 10 chance of disappearing, higher when you factor in loss, theft, and hurricanes.
Multiple Drives
Having things on two drives decreases the risk of loss exponentially, because it's very unlikely that both drives will fail at the same time. So having a file on two drives typically makes it "safe," but only if you are consistently checking both drives for failures (by running a thorough test: a drive that contains corrupted sectors will likely still show up on your computer when you plug it in--but that doesn't mean that your files are safe). If you back up to an external drive, and then set it aside for months or years, only going back to it when you've lost a file, that external drive may no longer be dependable. Consequently, I would advise everyone to run thorough tests on your external drives at least once a year.
CDs and DVDs can be good options for backup, but I would suggest using them in addition to hard drive backup, rather than as a replacement (having at least two backups of your most important files--say, one on an external drive, and one on a DVD--is definitely advisable if you aren't checking the discs very regularly). The long-term reliability of optical disc storage is of yet unknown.
Another factor for consideration is "local disaster": if all your backups are stored in your house, and there's a flood or a fire, or some other unfortunate disaster, it won't matter that you had your files on three different drives: they will likely all be gone together. This is where backing up to "The Cloud" (i.e. distant computers via the internet) can be handy. There are a number of services available (Google Drive, Moby, Dropbox, etc.), though the best option for serious long-term storage, in my opinion, is a combination of Amazon's S3 + Amazon Glacier services.
The advantage of online options
Online storage options aren't cheap, but a reliable service like Amazon's is far, far more redundant and fail-safe than any local backup option you can create: Amazon replicates your data across multiple hard drives in multiple geographic regions (so if a facility burns down, you're covered), and performs regular data integrity checks on everything. The service costs $0.125 per GB per month, which is pricey, but the great thing is that you can send older files that you are no longer accessing regularly to Amazon "Glacier", which only costs $0.01 per GB per month (which is just as redundant, but less speedy to access). You can store 1 TB of data on Glacier for $120 per year. Again, not cheap, but not that much more than the price of a single 1 TB consumer-grade external hard drive: and Glacier is providing much, much more reliable storage). Still, the price barrier may be enough to keep people away who aren't "professionally" attached to their files...
Anyway, sorry that this turned into such a long post . I don't mean to be alarmist about data storage: I've just seen so many people lose precious files, that I want to do everything I can to inform people of the risks involved. One last word of warning, and then I'll quit(!): Any backup that has not been tested for retrieval (and is not being regularly tested) is not really a backup.
What do you do / think?
So... what do you guys think? What do you use and why? Do you have a foolproof backup method? Have you experienced disaster? Do you think I'm being overly cautious?


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Friday, August 5, 2011
Natalie E. Tennant: Internet Voting Profile in Courage
She takes seriously the long standing policy of the League of Women Voters in her state, West Virginia. That policy includes this, "Election laws should serve the voter with maximum convenience, simplicity, clarity, and impartiality" (at, http://www.lwvwv.org/)
Tennant applies this principle by providing Internet voting for WV's overseas military voters. Doesn't giving overseas military personnel a secure and convenient means to vote sound like a common sense way to pay them back for their service? If you think so, you may be surprised to here just how uncommon this is.
With rare exception, the growth of Internet voting in the United States is being stunted by special interests. These interests first emerged in 2004.
In 2004 the Department of Defense (DoD), and its sub-agency the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), had an Internet voting system all set up for overseas voters to use in the up coming state and federal elections. The system was ready to handle 100,000 voters, from the half dozen states that volunteered for the trial. Using their own PC, overseas voters could log on to a secure website, and after their registration is checked, vote online. DoD and FVAP officials were so confident that their system was able to mitigate all security threats that they invited 10 outside experts to come and inspect the system, known as the Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment, or SERVE. At least four of the 10 were known anti-Internet voting computer scientists.
FVAP personnel took the whole team on the first of several planned visits. After only the second visit, the four got together in private and wrote a scathing criticism full of speculative "coulds" and "possibles," but short on facts and science. The entire election, they alleged, among other things, could be controlled by some undetectable hacker. (They forgot to mention that the system had an intrusion detection capability.) Then they went to the New York Times with their "report," without any peer review or opportunity for FVAP to attach a response.
The Times, and other major newspapers, played up the story with so much sensation (a hacker could elect the president!) that Undersecretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, felt compelled to order a halt to the program. Thereafter, this report, its authors, and a small cadre of well-funded activists have led the way in discouraging FVAP, or any state government, from further attempts at Internet voting trials. They now have a full time staff that follows the legislative process in Congress and each of the 50 states. Whenever they see an Internet voting bill introduced into a committee, they go into action to stop it. They buttonhole committee members, pull out their well-worn report, spout off all the "coulds" and "possibles," without any science to back up their claims, and then remind the elected officials of how they killed SERVE in 2004, using their access to the New York Times and other newspapers.
Most elected officials buckle under this pressure. They cannot afford the costs of publicity that would be required to fight the activists in the media. As they know well, the best way to get reelected is to avoid controversy, and push off the Internet voting proposals "for further study." As a result, in 2010 over 30 states electronically sent blank ballots to their voters who were in the military and overseas, but they avoided using systems based on the SERVE model. These states required that voted ballots be returned by fax, email, or snail mail – anything but real Internet voting on an official website. Indeed, even now, in 2011, FVAP is offering states up to $16M for electronic ballot delivery systems; but not for systems based on the SERVE model. To get financial aid, the systems must use ballots returned by fax, email, or snail mail.
Despite the threats of anti-Internet voting activists, in 2010 West Virgina enacted a trial of true Internet voting for its overseas members of the military, who were eligible to vote in one of the several volunteer counties. As with SERVE, overseas West Virginians in the military could use their own PC to log on to the state's secure website, and after their registration is confirmed, cast their vote online. The program was supported in the legislative process, developed, and implemented by WV Secretary of State, Natalie E. Tennant.
Just as in the military, a Secretary of State, or any public official, deserves praise whenever they show courage under fire. Tennant showed this courage when she went ahead with her Internet voting trial for overseas military voters. As she stated on the WV SOS website,
"The members of our military are putting their lives on the line every day … I thought it was extremely important to make sure they had secure access to an online ballot. We had to make sure their voice was heard."
The system was first used in the state's primaries. Voter response was quite positive. Tennant reported that of all the satisfaction survey respondents, "we received no negative feedback of the pilot program."
While other methods of absentee voting saw return rates of about 40 percent, the Internet voting ballot return rate was over twice that. Tennant was so impressed that, in her report to the state legislature, she asked them to allow additional counties to participate in the 2010 General Election, which they did.
Tennant made her final report to the WV legislature on 1/19/2011. This report included the statistics on the use of Internet voting in the general election. For example, in the counties where Internet voting was offered, of all the voters who requested that their absentee ballots be delivered electronically, 76% voted on the secure website. In the counties using standard mail as the absentee ballot transmission method, 58% of the requested ballots were returned. Clearly, there was a higher rate of participation with Internet voting.
Most of the voters who used Internet voting in the primary also used it in the general election, indicating a high degree of satisfaction. Indeed, of those who took the satisfaction survey, 100% rated the system's ease of use as "simple" or "somewhat simple."
Tennant reported that to date, "no significant deficiencies or concerns have been identified with the West Virginia online voting pilot." Unfortunately, because of all the media attention to the fiasco in Washington DC's Internet voting trial (which was set up by Oliver and Hardy, and then hacked by yet another comedian), Tennant did not recommend on her own authority that Internet voting should be used in all of West Virginia's counties. She suggested instead that a study group be convened to decide the matter.
Tennant is in the lead on other election reforms. For example, she is overseeing WV's experiment with the public financing of campaigns for election to some state court judgeships.
Tennant made a try for the West Virginia governorship in the first half of 2011, but lost in the Democratic primary; perhaps her courage under fire was not given sufficient profile.
Tennant advocates for more Internet voting in the US at, "Making the Case for Online Voting."
Suggested Readings
On the DC fiasco:
On the Security of WV's Internet Voting System:
FAQ, at http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/voter-information-center/Documents/FAQ%20WVUSOV.pdf
Tennant addresses the technical aspects of how the state handled security issues in two papers.
1. Tennant's NIST Position paper of June 9, 2010
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/UOCAVA/2010/PositionPapers/ZICKAFOOSE_WestVirginiaUOCAVA.pdf (Written after the primary vote, and before the general election; with her request for an extension of the program to other counties)
2. West Virginia's SOS report on the Online Voting Pilot Project 1/19/2011
Also see:
Pew Center Reports
Internet voting for military, overseas voters debuts in West Virginia
Clerks and secretary of state pleased with first use
Pew Report on Military Voting Reform
William J. Kelleher, Ph.D.
Twitter: wjkno1
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/WJKPhD
6 comments:
Internet voting for the troops is great if you don't care whether their votes are counted accurately or not. Unfortunately with internet voting, you'll never know.
Personally I think the troops deserve to have their votes counted by something other than a 100% unverifiable, faith-based system.
One more thing, you wrote "...a small cadre of well-funded activists...." You're kidding me, right?
- August 12, 2011 at 11:11 AM
- wjk said...
RE: "you'll never know"
Strictly speaking, how is that different from today's paper-based system? W/ 110M votes being counted by government employees in over 3000 voting jurisdictions, will you ever know if the vote was counted accurately?
Fact is, computers are the most accurate counting mechanisms made by man. Do you really prefer gov employees?
RE: Verification of the Count
See my post at,
RE: kidding
I'm not kidding. They have stopped the progress of Internet voting in the US through the use of intimidation and scary stories w/o science.
- August 13, 2011 at 3:21 PM
I'm with Anonymous here re: "well-funded activists". If you follow the money trail, the main potential beneficiaries of online voting are corporations who wish to supply large government contracts and politicians and their supporters who wish to control the outcome of elections. The people urging caution are by-and-large individuals concerned about preserving hard-won liberties and have little or nothing to gain personally (in a financial or political sense) from preventing a move to online/internet voting.
- August 23, 2011 at 9:02 AM
- wjk said...
Hi Real!
Thanks for commenting. You and Anonymous should do a little more research into the anti-Internet voting special interests. The Verified Voting Foundation, Overseas Voter Foundation, Fair Vote, and other activist organizations are well-funded. VVF and OVF have a full time staff of researchers who follow state legislative developments, and both have received large grants and contributions from other foundations and donors. Some of the financial info can be found on their websites. I have just looked at the public info. But w/ a little digging, I am sure more info could be uncovered. Paper-based voting makes millions of dollars for paper sellers, scanner makers, printer manufactuers, ink suppliers, DRE manufacturers, etc
Plus rabid anti-Internet voting bloggers, like Brad's Blog, make a nice living from advertisers. Your theory only innocent, well-intended citizen activists are out there is naive. Such folks exist, but they are misinformed and manipulated by crafty special interests. How about joining me in telling some truth?
- August 23, 2011 at 1:21 PM
- wjk said...
Who are the main beneficiaries of Internet voting?
Interesting question, by Real!
He says they are the "corporations who wish to supply large government contracts and politicians and their supporters who wish to control the outcome of elections." Then he says, its not The People.
Bad news, bro! Read my post here about why Independents should demand Internet voting. Then you will see who benefits!
- August 23, 2011 at 1:35 PM
- VoteBoat said...
People might be suspicious if that politician Natalie Tennant runs for office in an election that uses a hardware or software system she helped design, implement or lobby for.
In fact, since your system requires the public to trust certain people, it would be wise to prohibit whoever is associated by family or financial/business ties with those people from being candidates, working for candidates, or having financial/business ties with candidates.
- October 27, 2011 at 10:29 PM


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I always tell people there are three important things I gained from my liberal arts education at Bucknell, and I carry them with me in my career path: 1. Always ask why, and why not; 2. Follow your heart/interest; 3. Make a difference."
Sometimes returning home means venturing into uncharted territory. Last year, Li Wan '10 (economics and mathematics) left her job as an analyst at Goldman Sachs to help co-run a new venture capital firm in Beijing, Younker Capital.
"China is going through a very special, yet crucial, stage for many economic and social changes to take place. These changes will redistribute wealth in the society and shape many specifics of the still underdeveloped capital market," Wan explains.
Younker Capital is a small, young fund that specializes in the seed, start-up and growth stages. The team approaches their investments with a strategy that is untested in China's finance world. "Right now, each partner holds a position in at least one investee company to provide financial oversight and management support. As more liquidity is created though, I would hope to leverage the platform to explore opportunities in securitization and fixed income. I see huge potential in those areas in China as the reform takes place," she says.
The fund, which already has a diverse portfolio, focuses on the high-tech industry. As a start-up itself, Wan says, Younker and its partners are responsible for just about everything, including pre-deal research, valuation, negotiation and due diligence. It's a lot of learning on the fly, but Wan is committed to meeting the challenges — one of which is the cultural differences between doing business in America vs. China. In China, relationship building takes precedence. "Most Chinese like to make friends before doing business together," Wan says. "Back at Goldman Sachs, people talked about weekends and the weather before cutting into the business matter, and that was the end of 'relationship building.' But in China, sometimes you go to a few business dinners without actually talking about business."
While it's still a risky time to be involved in China's private equity environment — the market is controlled, but not regulated — Wan's willing to take the risk in order to be "the entrepreneur behind entrepreneurs."
She plans to return to the U.S. to pursue an MBA, but Wan won't soon forget her time at Bucknell. "I always tell people there are three important things I gained from my liberal arts education at Bucknell, and I carry them with me in my career path: 1. Always ask why, and why not; 2. Follow your heart/interest; 3. Make a difference."
Posted April 2013.


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European Commission (EC) planning to launch a third round of consultation on its Cinema Communication this spring.
The EC Commissioner responsible for Competition Joaquín Almunia replied to questions tabled by French MEP Philippe Boulland of the European People's Party (PPE) that another round of consultation is planned "in early 2013" about the Communication's proposed new rules regarding aid provided by EU Member States to audiovisual production.
A first public consultation had been held from June to September 2011 and a second one from March to June 2012.
According to the German Federal Film Board's representative to the EU Gisela von Raczeck, the forthcoming consultation is to last for two months and will not begin before the end of March.
Von Raczeck added that a multilateral meeting will also be held during the consultation phase between representatives of the Member States and the Commission.
Last November, the EC had delayed adoption of the Communication to the first quarter of 2013, but the indicative timetable now suggests that it will be due to be adopted in the third quarter of this year.
The EC originally agreed on the Cinema Communication in 2001, setting out the state aid assessment criteria for support for producing films and audiovisual works. The validity of these criteria was then extended in 2004, 2007 and 2009 and was due to expire at the end of 2012. The last extension of the Cinema Communication is still valid whilst negotiations continue on a new draft.
Swedish, Austrian, German state aid
The EC has also extended the Swedish Film Institute's "Film Agreement" for a further three years.
The introduction of the Film Agreement sees the Film Institute's overall budget for production and film-related activities increased by around $63.5m (€48.5m) to $190.4m (€145.5m).
In its statement to the Film Institute, the EC confirmed that four specific compatibility criteria, as set out in the Cinema Communication, had been met:
- the aid aims at a cultural product
- the aid intensity is limited to 50% of the production budget of the respective film
- there are no territorialisation requirements
- there are no bonuses for specific filmmaking activities.
The Austrian production incentive scheme Filmstandort Austria (FISA) – with an annual budget of $9.8m (€7.5m) - has been approved until the end of this year" on the basis that the Republic of Austria has undertaken to implement any changes to the scheme which may be required after the expiry of the Cinema Communication".
In addition, the annual production scheme of $11.78m (€9.07m) by the Leipzig-based German regional fund Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) has been given the greenlight by the EC DG Competition for another three years from Jan 1, 2013 to Dec 31, 2015.
At its latest funding sitting, MDM decided to back film projects as diverse as Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel ($1,168,24/€900,000), Elie Chouraqui's The Origin Of Violence ($584,118/€450,000), Hineer Saleem's Aga ($194,706/€150,000) and the animation film Mullewapp 2 ($908,628/€700,000).


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Off the Beaten Path – THE Gift Giving Guide
Stressed over what to get in the next 19 days to sum up a year's worth of gratitude? Don't fret, my pets!! I have some ideas to help you out!
for the rugrats
a. Exercise the imagination of your future architect or engineer and build the classic indoor fort without ruining your fancy couch cushions or overpriced throw pillows.
b. Other than an epic fort, slumber party necessities are sleeping bags and a serious pillow fight. These pillow "weapons" and sleeping bags are perfect and the adults will want them too! Extra points for proper costumes to match!
c. How about orbiting your kids to space? Develop balance and coordination with these moon shoes, enjoy a personal planetarium and projector for a deep in space effect, astronaut costumes are here and here for proper role play, and of course, astronaut food to fuel your mission! Construct a rocket from boxes and shoot for the stars! (Confession: I want all of these!)
d. Tea for two? Tea party sets on Etsy are adorable, ranging from crocheted kits to felt toys if your little ones aren't ready for ceramic. Set up a perfect table with lots of fun outfits to pick from. Remember lots of hats and to keep pinkies up!
for the gentlemen
a. For your favorite dude that's obsessed with Tinder swiping or Fantasy Football score keeping – Tech gloves by here and here.
b. For the entertainer, the grown up version of those Red Solo cups – this Shot/Beer glass. Just don't start playing Flip Cup, though you'll be tempted to.
c. For the foodie or the snobby drinker – a stuffed burger press, bacon of the month club and a kit to make HOMEMADE gin. Just hope that they invite you over!
d. Fitness obsessed or New Year resolutions on the horizon? Check out these great gift ideas from Men's Fitness.
for the ladies
a. For the avid concert/festival goer – a waistpack (the reinvented fannypack) to keep her hands free to hold on to her cocktail freely, to rock the devil horns hand gesture to the beat, and to high-five. Here, here and here.
b. For the lady in your life that "can't even" deal with the frigid temperatures and needs to tell her Facebook friends about it, these gloves.
c. Just read any instagram post, we are freaking obsessed with inspirational quotes. Instead of that profound BS, get behind something real. Pamela Barsky's pouches and purses perfectly express the important stuff like "I have absolutely no intention of aging gracefully" and "If you need to shoot something do it with a camera". Eat your etsy heart out here. It'll be hard to pick which to choose and you can totally get the hands on experience at the pop-up shops in NYC.
d. Glittery and colorful cards (and prints) by Verrier Fashion are not only THE prettiest holders for boring gift certificates and heartfelt sentiments, but put these pieces of ART into a nice frame from Home Goods for an instantly glam, yet cost efficient, gift. You can buy them in person at Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall from now until Christmas!
e. For the quirky girl – ANYTHING from Jump from Paper. These dimensional bags are picture perfect and fully functional. The most difficult part will be choosing only one!
for the party host/hostess
a. Bottle of Bubbly – Make sure to choose one that's not only of quality, but aesthetically pleasing. These bottles by Cavicchioli slay me at about $12 a pop.
b. Film buffs? Make a perfect viewing kit! In a basket, fill with popcorn, an assortment of boxed candy and these retro popcorn buckets. Extra points for this Smartphone Projector!
c. Breakfast! The hosts will be far too pooped to worry about the morning after, so create a cute basket filled with scones, muffins, fruit, cereal, milk, coffee and jam. They'll be surely grateful for your thoughtfulness!
(via the diynetwork.com)
an experience! Every dad has more ties than he can count, and how many more Bath & Body works lotion sets or candles are you going to purchase on a desperate, unimaginative whim? Memories are priceless and fun for all involved. Presence is always more important than presents. Some ideas (also check Groupon or Living Social for deep discounted offers):
a. For the new parents in your life – a night out, even a simple dinner and movie gift certificate, with you offering to be the babysitter.
b. Pricey, but worth it – the ultra hilarious Book of Mormon musical or the McKittrick Hotel interactive experience, Sleep No More.
c. Concert tickets – why not enjoy some live music with your loved ones? Everyone loves an excuse to dance!
d. Night out with your best gal pals – a wine tasting, a sushi dinner, Dancing with the Stars tour (who can perform the best "Carlton"?!?)
e. Any couple – dancing lessons! That grinding-in-the-club dance move isn't working for you anymore. Learn some classic moves and laugh along the way at who has two left feet!
Posted by Olga Turka at 2014/12/06 8:28 PM No Comments
Labels: astronauts, Book of Mormon, breakfast basket, burger press, Cavicchioli, children, Dancing with the Stars, deep space planetarium and projector, experience, gift guide, gifts, Groupon, halogen cashmere gloves, homemade gin, hostesses, hosts, indoor fort, jump from paper, Living Social, men, Men's Fitness, pamela barsky, rugrats, Sleep No More, Smartphone Projector, tech gloves, verrier fashion, waistpack, women


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Community Church Of GodCurrently Closed
- Address: 2500 Gallows Rd, 22027, Dunn Loring, United States
- Timings: 07:00 pm - 08:30 pm Details
- Tags: Community And Government, Religious, Churches
Welcome to Community Church Of God. Located in the city of Dunn Loring, this church is one of the city's sparkling gems. Offering a peaceful atmosphere, you will find this place to be serene and blissful. If you are planning to visit Community Church Of God, and it is your first time, you will find all of its details on our website. In our logistics section, we have the address, the contact number and other details. The Show Map feature allows you to view the neighbourhood and the route. If you have been to Community Church Of God before, and find some of its information missing, do try and add it for other travellers like yourself! You can even give a brief description, or add an image if it is missing.
Scroll further below to check the reviews. People who have visited Community Church Of God have written their views, and you can add to that too.
Planning a vacation can be quite tiring, and if your trip to Dunn Loring is yet to be finalised, log onto our Dunn Loring journey itinerary planner tool. It's easy, customizable and free! On the other hand, if you are looking to stay in the vicinity of Community Church Of God, you will find our top picks of accommodation options listed on this page. From over 4 websites including Agoda and Booking.com, we give you the freedom to compare the rates and choose any property of your choice!
For churches of great historical importance, we have a number of tours that you can book online. So, while planning your tour to Dunn Loring, do check our website if there are any guided tours available for Community Church Of God. If your visit to Community Church Of God is during the day and you would like to step out for a bite, we have the nearest eateries like quick bites, cafes and restaurants listed here. Also available on our page is a comprehensive list of all the nearest tourist attractions. There are so many interesting things to see in Dunn Loring, and a glimpse at some of those will help you plan better!
Another important piece of information that every traveller must have, are all the nearest public service stations. Check out the nearest ATMs, banks, pharmacies and more on this page. In case you need to step out, this information will come in handy!
Dunn Loring is a wonderful place to spend a vacation, and United States is simply incredible! Our trip planner will not only help you make your trip to Dunn Loring special, it will also make it exactly like you want it! And our Dunn Loring vacation packages are even better. Although made by other travellers, you can easily make changes to accommodate your interests like, perhaps Community Church Of God in the itinerary!
- Community Church Of God Address: 2500 Gallows Rd, 22027, Dunn Loring, United States
- Community Church Of God Timing: 07:00 pm - 08:30 pm
- Try the best online travel planner to plan your travel itinerary!
- Website: http://www.dunnloringccog.org
Community Church Of God Reviews & Ratings
Love this church, the Pastors, & congregation. Everyone is friendly & welcoming. Its my home.


text: Isotonic routines require no equipment; just make sure you remind the students to fully engage (tighten) their muscles to get the maximum benefit. Have students stand. Engage the biceps by making a tight fist and do 20 biceps curls. Next, have them raise their arms straight out to the sides at shoulder level, engage their shoulder area, and lower arms on a 3-count, then lift them back up to shoulder level on a 3-count. Do 20. Then, have students tighten their abs and alternate touching right elbow to left knee and right knee to left elbow for 30 lifts. Repeat the entire routine one or two more times.


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Friday, April 2, 2010
Love Is in the Air
We had a wonderful time visiting the birth home of our girls, especially with all the one and two week dwarf goat babies running around. I can't wait until we have our own kiddies frisking about. However, the thought of having to inevitably give them away is already weighing heavy on me. Some people collect Hummels, stamps, comic books and whatnot; I collect pets. I know, I know, we're overrun with animals here, especially with the rats and everything. But seriously, how am I going to give up these 15 inch long, not more than 10 inch high, cubes of cuteness? Look!
In the right hand corner of this pic, you can see a blurry image of the stud who is going "to service" Lucy. He's quite a looker. I think they will have totally adorable babies. He might actually be Lucy's dad. Don't say "Ewww!" It's not like that with goats. I think...
I mentioned to Mary Jane, the queen of goats at Oops Ranch, that I thought Lucy was in heat a couple weeks ago so didn't know when she would come back around again. Mary Jane told me that it was common for a doe to quickly go back into estrus once she caught whiff of a buck. We took a little tour to see all the animals, mostly miniatures, that they breed and raise on the farm and when we returned to give our ladies one last goodbye (Ute teared up as if this were a final farewell, poor baby), I noticed that Lucy was showing signs that she was... well... um... ready. That didn't take long! 15 minutes of male goat stink and Lucy was in the mood for love. Look closely at her backside.
Before we left, I saw that the buck himself was noticing Lucy's odor as it blew downwind in his general direction. I suspect this will be a successful arrangement, though I am anxious for the girls to return. I miss their silly mugs.
4 comments:
"Animal collectors" is a good, descriptive term. We are also animal collectors but try really hard to keep it in check. Our current problem lies with chickens. Do we really need 11 chickens for the two of us? No, of course not. We are now getting 8-10 eggs a day. Good thing we have neighbors, friends and coworkers that like eggs.ReplyDelete
In the next couple of months we'll be sending our own does out for breeding. I'm not looking forward to having to give away the kids.
What kinds of goats do you have Rachel and how many? I've got a friend in Vallejo that I plan to visit one of these days. I would love to see your farm if you ever have time to show it.ReplyDelete
We have two African Pygmy does. We'd love to show you around sometime!ReplyDelete
I'd love to meet the lovely goatladies when they come back!ReplyDelete


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Bird-B-Gone Celebrates 20th AnniversaryTuesday, June 26th, 2012
Mission Viejo, CA – Bird-B-Gone, Inc. leading manufacturer of professional grade bird deterrents celebrated their 20-year anniversary, June 21st 2012.
Bird-B-Gone supplies the commercial, industrial and residential market with effective, humane bird deterrents manufactured in the USA.
In 1992, Bird-B-Gone started in the home of owners Bruce and Julie Donoho with little more than a school desk, a phone and a fax machine. Today, they supply the world with professional grade bird control products in nearly every major city across the globe. (more…)


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Four years ago, I took part in my first Splash for Cash, swimming 27 laps to raise money for the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, in support of children with vision or hearing loss in Australia.
I have a passion for youth and disability, and this Rotaract-lead project has helped me channel that passion. Every year since the first, I have aimed at stretching myself by bettering my mark, lining up sponsors in support of my participation in the swimathon, and extending the number of laps. This year, I am aiming to go more than 100 laps and raise US$2,000.
Rotaract has inspired me to lead and listen with compassion, act with purpose and to apply my role in a Rotaract Club with dedication and distinction. The opportunity to engage in fundraising and humanitarian events, projects and network with Rotaractors internationally is unprecedented.
This week, as Rotary marks Rotaract Week, I have already lined up pledges amounting to an incredible $1,970, surpassing last year. I'm hoping that by pushing my own personal limits I'll encourage people to dig deep. The generosity of just one person really can help children living with the challenge of a sensory impairment.
To support Ben Brown visit his fundraising page at Splash for Cash.


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Women's Mountain Clothing
You need gear that matches the way you ride: smooth, fast, and free. After all, when you're riding hard, the last thing you need is for your mountain bike clothing to get in the way. That's why our women's mountain bike clothing's focus is to help you maintain your rhythm. We only use the best technical fabrics, while also leading the way in terms of style. So whether you want to simplify or coordinate your helmet, gloves, jersey, and shorts, we have you covered.
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