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This week, Opinio Juris has organized a symposium on social media and international law in the wake of KONY2012. There are already a number of thought-provoking posts up, including this prescient piece by Charli Carpenter (see here too). The following is my contribution to the discussion. Enjoy!
It is widely accepted wisdom that social media is radically transforming how we understand the world and share information. In this context, the emergence of Twitter, Facebook, blogging, etc. challenge the very practice and scholarship of International Law (IL) and International Relations (IR). Yet, IL and IR appear to be moving on a fundamentally divergent trajectory from social media. By bridging these diverging trajectories, however, IR and IL can retain salience in an increasingly interconnected world.
Reducing complexity is central to social media. The viral campaign by Invisible Children, KONY2012, serves as an obvious example. The campaign efficiently, if brutally, simplified the situation in northern Uganda and areas of Central and Eastern Africa afflicted by Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army. While widely discredited after a spectacular series of blunders, Invisible Children's message is simple, fitting within the 140 character limit of a Twitter post. Its Twitter 'hashtags' were short and effective, especially "#stopKony". There wasn't much more to the campaign – and surely that's the way Invisible Children wanted it to be.
On the other hand, IL and IR scholarship and practice seek out complexity. More and more academic journals proliferate with increasingly specific subject-areas. The result is the creation of 'knowledge ghettos' where complexity is deified and often conflated with accuracy. Consider the recent verdict in the case of former Democratic Republic of Congo rebel, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the first-ever verdict by the International Criminal Court. Controversially, Lubanga was charged and convicted to what amounts to a single charge: the use of child soldiers in an armed conflict. Yet, the Lubanga judgement is 624 pages long! Of course, legal judgements have always tended to be lengthy, the ICC judges were tasked with adjudicating on a number of critical and difficult issues, and the verdict may signify more of an exception rather than a trend. But still, 624 pages? As Dov Jacobs pointedly wrote, "international judges have to stop acting as if they are giving a lecture."
Yet the primary effect of social media in the fields of IL and IR is not merely the simplification of complex legal and political issues. Social media is, at its core, about shifts in language, demanding that complexity be communicated in increasingly coherent and concise language while eschewing rigid jargon. Simplification is thus a by-product of social media rather than its purpose.
By challenging the complexity of language, rhetoric and jargon, social media has created new pressures on IR and IL scholarship to find ways to communicate issues in increasingly tight packages. The bad news is that academia has been rather conservative and recalcitrant when it comes to engaging in social media. One of the untold lessons of the KONY2012 campaign was that, while there were dozens of scholarly accounts, the situation in northern Uganda and LRA-affected areas has been poorly communicated to broad audiences by those researchers in the best position to do so. This allowed Invisible Children's starkly over-simplified story to capture the imagination of millions without any obvious forum for people to turn for a more informed analysis.
The good news is that it has been shown that IL and IR academics can have an immense influence on contemporary debates when they engage in social media. Opinio Juris is a leader when it comes to engagement with issues pertaining to international law. This site's roundtable on the Lubanga verdict provided an invaluable middle-ground between he Court's treatment of the case as a long and arduous tome and Twitter's treatment as "Lubanga found guilty! #DRC". Others, like Anne Marie Slaughter and Roland Paris on twitter, and William Schabas and the scholars at The Duck of Minerva on their respective blogs, have had a tremendous impact on some of the most pressing recent debates in IR and IL. And they participate, not from any secular pulpit, but by engaging with others who challenge them and their views in free forums and real time.
Others have put social media central to their research outputs. Forward-thinking academic projects now often have a web-presence and blog, explaining their research to a broader audience. Data sets which inform cutting-edge academic work are increasingly published and shared online, as Louise Mallinder's indispensable 'Amnesty Law Database' demonstrates.
In reaction to increased specialization within the fields of IR and IL it has become popular to talk about inter-, multi- or cross-disciplinary engagement. Creating and expanding communication lines between IR and IL is undoubtedly a critical task. But, while necessary, it isn't sufficient. Social media has created a world where students can and want to learn just as much, if not more, about IR and IL from blogs and other social media platforms.
Of course, peer-reviewed academic papers and books will, and should, remain the lifeblood of IR and IL scholarship. However, those academics who have the broadest appeal, it seems, are those who engage in 'multi-media scholarship', sharing their academic papers through various social media, writing overviews of their work on blogs and creating free and accessible intellectual spaces by engaging in various social media forums.


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Affordable Cooling at its Peak
An inexpensive process for adding reflective coatings to rooftops saves energy and lives.
Prompted by the summer heat wave of 1999, during which 52 Philadelphians died of heat exposure in their own homes, the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released a round of emergency cooling funding. These funds provided $100 grants to help cover the electricity bills of eligible seniors and disabled persons, and fans or air conditioners for those with medical needs. The nonprofit organization I direct, the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA), had the responsibility of delivering more than 4,000 air conditioners and 2,000 fans.For many, this assistance will prevent suffering and what health professionals call "excess morbidity" in future summers.
Unfortunately, this cooling equipment was not accompanied by any energy conservation treatment to offset the higher electricity bills that the funding was inadvertently causing. Prompted by the experience of delivering all those expensive-tooperate air conditioners,we strove to design a solution that would better help our clients: a passive cooling approach that reduces indoor temperatures to healthy and comfortable levels without increasing the customer's energy bills. The keystone in our approach was a light-colored roof,which could reduce summer heat gain.We secured funding to perform a 400- home pilot, called Cool Roofs, from local foundations and DHHS. The Rohm & Haas Company—which manufactures the chemicals used in white acrylic elastomeric coatings— provided additional funding and technical support.
Philadelphia has some of the country's oldest homes. In poor neighborhoods, much of this housing stock has endured decades of deferred maintenance. The typical lowincome home in Philadelphia is a two- or three-story brick row house—essentially a brick box with a flat,black tar roof. In the best of times, this roof has a short life span, typically carrying a warranty of five to ten years. On an extremely hot day, the surface temperature of the roof can exceed 180°F, transferring much of that heat to the upper story and to the occupants.When the windows are closed in these homes—as they often are if the elderly residents cannot physically lift the window, or if they believe that closed windows provide more security—the temperatures on the top floor can exceed 115°F on a day when it's 95°F degrees outside.
White acrylic elastomeric roof coatings have the potential to solve the problem of excess heat buildup in houses. The coatings have an initial solar reflectance of more than 80%.While this reflectance does diminish over the life of the coating, it never falls below 55%. The white elastomerics are an acrylic plastic. They form a membrane covering the roof, reflecting the sun's rays while also protecting it from ultraviolet radiation,which breaks down the asphalt roofing material. These roof coatings are also highly emissive, unlike aluminized coatings, remaining relatively cool on even the hottest days. All of the white elastomeric roof coatings used in Cool Roofs meet Energy Star ratings.
These coatings are easy to apply. They are waterborne and are applied like an extremely thick latex paint; they can be sprayed, rolled, or brushed on. They tolerate a wide range of roofing conditions,working well even on highly weathered, alligatored roofing. (Shingled roofs, however, are not suitable for these coatings because the shingles can trap moisture.) ECA has been able to treat roofs in relatively poor condition by carefully preparing the roof, leveling and patching the surface, priming, and then spraying on two coats of the roof coating.
In pushing the limits of these coatings, we have learned to respect their limitations:
• Ambient temperature. The coatings cannot be applied when the temperature is below 50°F.
• Humidity and rain. They cure more slowly in high humidity and will literally wash off in the rain if they haven't had a chance to cure. The normal cure time is one to six hours, depending on temperature and humidity.
• Drainage. Water must drain off the roof.Depressions where ponding can occur must be filled and leveled prior to coating.
Energy savings for the pilot houses are currently being monitored.While applying coatings was the principal objective of the program,Cool Roofs also incorporates weatherization audits,resident education,roof insulation, and some window repairs.
The roof coatings have another important quality that makes them a useful tool in the city's efforts to preserve existing housing.White elastomeric roof coatings extend the life of the roof by at least ten years. They typically cost less than a new three-ply asphalt roof on a row home, and yet they will outlast it.
We also expect that our program will reduce the urban heat island effect by reducing the temperature of the city's roofs.This,in combination with the energy the cool roofs save, may in turn help reduce the rate at which climate change itself occurs
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|Young Entrepreneur Challenges PayPal Founder to Chess Match
|July 19, 2012
On July 17, A.J. Steigman, founder of Soletron, a social networking and ecommerce platform, challenged billionaire & Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel to a $1 million Series A chess match. Both Steigman & Thiel are chess masters that were childhood prodigies. They are currently in the top 1% of all U.S. players.
Steigman told CLO, "Some of the things that (chess) has helped me with educationally & career wise, are: being able to strategize, making quick & informed decisions, memory retention, ability to read people & detect patterns, mental toughness, being able to predict outcomes, mental stamina, and most importantly never giving up."
If Thiel accepts the challenge and were to win, Steigman would lose a pre-negotiated amount of Soletron equity. If Steigman were to emerge victorious, Soletron would receive a $1 million investment.
Steigman has represented the United States in numerous World Youth Chess Championships. He pinpointed a game from the 1997 World Youth in France as one of his favorite games, partly due to the stakes—he was in medal contention. "My coach Bill Cornwall & the team coach GM Ron Henley made the decision for me to play for the first time in my history (even to this day) 1. D4. It was a very gutsy move. The look on my opponent's face was priceless though, as all of his preparation went down the drain. The game was seven hours long."
If Steigman does face Thiel, he thinks that it will be a Sicilian, likely a Dragon if Thiel is White and a Closed Sicilian if Steigman plays White. "If Peter were to accept, I think the match would be extremely exciting and entertaining. We are both very tactical players. We were both one of the top youth players in the U.S. for our respective generations. I hope that he accepts the challenge, as it would be a great event for highlighting entrepreneurship & chess."
Specific terms & details of the match would be discussed if Thiel accepts the challenge.
Steigman also thinks that chess can be beneficial to budding entrepreneurs. "The strategy element is so important in business with forecasting and predicting outcomes in a structured way. You have to see the variation trees." He also thinks that chess teaches you persistence: "You might be in a bad chess position for hours in a tournament, and you have to train yourself to fight through the mental pain. Conversely, if you are winning in a game, you might have the tendency to become overconfident, and blow it. The game isn't over until its over is the bottom line. This mental precision that comes from chess preparation is extremely applicable for business deals. Until the deal is signed, the game isn't over."
Find out more about soletron at Facebook.com/soletron and Twitter.com/soletron and see an interview on the soletron blog with CLO editor Jennifer Shahade.


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Cardiac Output (Fick)
Cardiac Output (Fick) is a topic covered in the Calculators.
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"Cardiac Output (Fick)." Calculators, 2020. Anesthesia Central, anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/calculators/134031/all/Cardiac_Output__Fick_.
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On a hot summer day, sometimes there's nothing better than a glass of crisp, refreshing white wine. Want to add something new to your repertoire? My go-to wines tend to be a little off the beaten path, but are still inexpensive and super satisfying, with or without food.
Casal Garcia Vinho Verde*
Portugal, $6
Tangy, fresh (the "verde" means these wines are meant to be served young) and slightly fizzy, this is the ultimate summer wine, especially at only 10% alcohol. Terrific with salty foods like potato chips!
Domaine de la Pepière Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine
France, $15
Muscadet is typically quite dry and a bit citrusy and minerally — this is no exception. It's perfect with light shellfish and fish dishes (oysters are a classic pairing). Try it with our seafood salad.
More From Good Housekeeping
Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina*
Italy, $15
If you like unoaked (non-buttery) Chardonnay, you'll love Falanghina. This Italian grape makes wines that are somewhat robust (think the texture of whole milk vs. skim), yet still light enough to be refreshing. It's delicious with aged cheeses and cured meats.
Decopas Sauvignon Blanc*
Argentina, $12
An easy-drinking sauvignon blanc from Argentina, this wine is fresh and uncomplicated. Try it with fried fish tacos.
Loosen Brothers Dr. L. Riesling
Germany, $13
At only about 8% alcohol, this is an ideal for sipping as an aperitif. While I have yet to try the recent vintage, this German producer's wines are reliably fruity with enough acidity to make you want that second glass. Although not a sweet wine, like many Rieslings, this would be great with Asian foods that are a bit on the spicy side.
TELL US: What's your summer white of choice?
Catherine Lo is an associate food editor in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen.
NEXT: New Portable, Travel-Sized Wines to Try »
*Wines sent to us by the company for sampling


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Mumbai, Feb 4 Composer Lalit says he never blamed his nephew for his sister Sandhya Singh's murder and adds that the family wants "a decent closure of her case" and also wants to know "who killed her".
Sandhya, 50, was missing since Dec 13 from her residence in the NRI Colony at Seawoods Estate, Thane. Forty-nine days after her disappearance, police in Navi Mumbai recovered remains suspected to be of Sandhya.
"We spend the entire day at the crime branch. Now that we know our sister has been so brutally murdered, we want a decent closure of her case. We want to know who killed her," said Lalit who has been quoted by "police sources" as laying the blame on the slain woman's son.
Lalit denies ever holding anyone culpable.
"I was shocked to read police sources claim that I had blamed my sister's son Raghuvir. After reading the report, I spoke to the police at the Nerul police station. He told me that no such statement had been issued by anyone in the police department. It'd be the height of irresponsibility on my part to blame my nephew," he said.
At the same time, Lalit admits that the deceased woman's son was a problem child.
"It's a fact that he's wayward and a bum. Sandhya was upset with her son and they shared a very stormy relationship. Raghuvir is definitely a shady character. But that doesn't mean he must have killed his mother. Raghuvir was questioned and so were several of his friends.
"We were at his interrogation till late in the night on Saturday evening. Police informed us that these people (Raghuvir and his friends) are petty thieves. But the cops are not able to link my sister's murder to these people."
Sandhya's husband, Indore-based Customs & Central Excise Commissioner Jaiprakash Singh, had lodged a missing person complaint with the Nerul police in Navi Mumbai and even announced a reward of Rs.50,000 for any information on her.
The police have formed a special team to investigate the murder.
Said Lalit: "Intense interrogations are on by different Crime Branch teams. They are even questioning Sandhya's family from her husband's side. Until now nothing has come out."
The slain woman's husband would also be questioned.
"I don't think the son could have committed such a heinous crime. But Raghuvir's friends are not desirable company. And they keep changing their statements at the interrogation. I am sure the police have clues that we are not aware of," said Lalit.
Lalit's elder sister, singer-actress Sulakshana Pandit has not been informed about the gruesome crime.
"We'll break it to her gently after the case is solved. She is not well. We don't know if she'd be able to take the shock. Dec 25 was Sandhya's birthday. Sulakshna didi wanted to wish her as usual. We somehow convinced her that Sandhya is in a no-network area," said Lalit.


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Multigrain Adai Dosa | Methi Millet and whole grain adai
Multigrain dosa or this adai is one of the healthiest breakfast from Karnataka kitchen! Breakfasts are one of the most important meals of the day. It has to be loaded with protein, fiber, and carbohydrate to take you through whole day. It is very important for kids to have a good morning breakfast to be energised, attentive and focused at school. It is always boring to eat the same dish in the morning, so we have another delicious, super healthy breakfast to add to your breakfast list – multi grain Adai Dosa with super grain of the era Millets. This Multi grain(whole) Adai is very nutritious, Instant Dose with no fermentation needed.Best for breakfsat, lunch or dinner. It also has good amount of methi seeds.. Millets believed to be good for diabetic patients since it releases the glucose slowly. Al millets are non glutinous grains. Here we are using whole grains/lentils, if this is not available you can use split lentils


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Pre-K, Kindergarten and Readiness. SDE Presenter.
Hands-on, center-based, creative and fun to engage all learners!
2002 WalMart Teacher of the Year
I graduated in 1993 from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. I have a degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education.
I am a proud mother of two beautiful girls. I love scrapbooking, beading, the beach, and spending time with my husband and daughters.
PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, Homeschool
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Reading, Spelling, Vocabulary, Specialty, Math, Geometry, Numbers, Science, Social Studies - History, Health, Geography, Religion, For All Subject Areas, Classroom Management, Writing, Reading Strategies, Holidays/Seasonal, Back to School, Thanksgiving, Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanzaa, Poetry, Autumn, Halloween, Winter, Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring, Earth Day, Summer, Occupational Therapy, Handwriting, End of Year, Phonics


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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two years after the Chargers left their home of 56 seasons, pro football returned to San Diego on a cold, rainy winter Sunday, with a different dynamic mixed in with a beloved local tradition.
On the field at SDCCU Stadium, the San Diego Fleet of the new Alliance of American Football, coached by San Diegan Mike Martz, played their home opener against the Atlanta Legends on a field drenched by repeated downpours.
Out in the parking lot before the game, tailgaters of all persuasions — Chargers fans, ex-Chargers fans, Los Angeles Rams fans, Fleet fans — huddled under pop-up tents to drink beer, grill meat and enjoy loud music.
Members of the Chargers fan group Bolt Pride set up a tailgate next to the Rams World Order, many of whose members cheered for the Rams before they left for St. Louis after the 1994 season, and then welcomed them back in 2016.
"I'm from San Diego. I've got to represent my town, no matter what," said Bolt Pride member Jorge Santiesteban, 38. "There's disappointment that the Chargers left. I hate the owner of the team, you know what I mean? There's nothing I can do. A lot of people stayed on board, a lot of people didn't. I did. I've still got my season tickets. I support them 100 percent."
The Rams World Order fans were here to support Martz, who was with the Rams when they moved to St. Louis and was their offensive coordinator when "The Greatest Show on Turf" won the Super Bowl after the 1999 season, and receivers coach Az-Zahir Hakim, a former player with the Rams and San Diego State.
"It's all about football," said Michael Martinez of Lake Elsinore, president of Rams World Order. "It's kind of sad with the San Diego Chargers leaving for L.A., but it's nice that San Diego has another football team. We're here to represent, we're here supporting Mike Martz, Az Hakim.
Fellow Rams World Order member Greg Hill of San Diego said he was living in Orange County when the Rams, who at the time played in Anaheim, left for St. Louis.
"We feel their pain," he said, referring to fans of the San Diego Chargers who have declined to support them in L.A. "Our team left us before coming back."
The rain probably kept many fans away. At the first play from scrimmage — the AAF did away with kickoffs — there might have roughly 9,000 fans in the 70,000-seat stadium, although there might have been more in the clubs and concourses. The Fleet announced the attendance as 20,019.
San Diego won, 24-12.
There has been plenty of angst in San Diego since the Chargers left, with some ex-fans hating on those who continue to support the Bolts.
There was no such angst in the parking lot Sunday as everyone's common goal was to try to stay dry and have fun.
Shawn P. Walchef, owner of the popular Cali Comfort barbecue restaurant in suburban Spring Valley who has remained a Chargers season-ticket holder, hosted a birthday tailgate for radio talk show host Scott Kaplan, who started the Chargers Hater Club when the team bailed.
"We're all here for the Fleet," Walchef said. "We all love football, we all love pro sports, we all love tailgating. That's why we're here."
Walchef understands the hate and the spite, and said San Diegans have the right to be upset with the way Chargers owner Dean Spanos left town. But he said he'd never tell anyone who they should cheer for.
"It's weird to see more anti-Chargers fans attacking Chargers fans than vice versa, than we ever used to fight with the Raiders, which is weird," he said. "I can't believe there's a fan base that actually has 32 NFL teams cheering against them, because you have the former fans. It's not just 31 teams, it's 32."
Former Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, who splits his time between San Diego and L.A., was at the game.
"You still have a ton of people down here who love football, even when the NFL is not going on," Merriman said. "They're hungry for football. I was in San Antonio for the opening weekend and it was rocking. It shows you that people love to watch football all year long."
The Alliance, co-founded by Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian and TV and film producer Charlie Ebersol, is the latest alternative league. While others failed, this one has strong NFL connections and is full of players who hope to get a shot at the big time.
The Chargers had a scout in the press box.
Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/berniewilson


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Valentine's Day is TWO WEEKS away, and if you're planning on picking up a store-bought card to commemorate the day, you need to rethink your strategy. We found the ultimate card to gift on February 14th, and it blows cards, boxes of chocolate, and yeah, even that adorbs teddy bear holding a heart out of the water.
First of all, everything is always better when it's homemade, so grabbing that card at the drugstore reads "as little effort as possible." But more importantly, everything is always better when it's food, so we were instantly sold when we saw blogger Liz Bushong turn cherry pies into pastry envelopes. Sorry, but scribbled "I love you's" have nothing on pie filling. Actually, not sorry.
It sounds crazy complicated, but it's actually pretty fool-proof. You take Pillsbury Pie Crust cut into a square, add some cherry pie filling, then fold it up into an envelope shape, sprinkle some sugar on it, and bake it. You can even cut out a heart with the leftover pie crust and place it on the envelope seal to make it even more V-Day worthy.
More From Delish
Be mine. (No, seriously—there's pie involved.)
For the full tutorial, visit Liz Bushong.
Follow Delish on Instagram.
Sienna is a senior editor at Hearst. She lives in Montecito, California with her husband and two littles.


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The Europeans have just agreed to another bailout for Greece. That's the bad news.
The good news is…well, there is no good news. Sarkozy, Merkel, and the other statists have once again failed to do the right thing and instead have decided to throw good money after bad and dig the debt hole even deeper.
But there is worse news. The IMF is financing part of the bailout and American taxpayers are "shareholders" in the IMF.
In other words, I'm helping to reward bad behavior and misallocate global capital. This doesn't make me very happy – especially since the White House supports this misguided approach.
But this is business-as-usual for the IMF, and here's a first-hand example.
I'm in El Salvador where I just finished two days of speeches, meetings, and interviews to discuss how the country should deal with its fiscal imbalance.
My message is simple. El Salvador should reject tax hikes and instead put government on a diet by capping annual spending growth so the budget grows by 1 percent or 2 percent annually.
Ever single reporter responded by saying some variant of "but the IMF says we need to raise taxes."
During the first interview, I simply said the IMF was wrong. During the second interview, I said El Salvador should refuse to let IMF bureaucrats in the country. After I heard the same IMF message the third time, I suggested shooting down any flight carrying IMF bureaucrats and their snake-oil economic advice.
The last comment was a joke, of course, but it does raise a fundamental question. Why are American taxpayers subsidizing an international bureaucracy that runs around the world urging higher taxes and bailouts?!?
To be fair, the IMF usually includes some good advice in their reports. If you read the fine print, the bureaucrats often recommend reductions in subsidies, red tape, government payrolls, and handouts.
But if you give politicians in any country a set of options, and higher taxes and/or bailouts are on the list, it doesn't take a genius to realize that the good reforms will get ignored while the bad policies will be adopted.


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Google may be rolling out 1Gbps Internet access to Kansas City, but there are about 19 million American households and businesses that still lack any access to broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Most of them are in rural areas, and some will soon benefit from broadband projects financed by one of the last pillars of the FCC's National Broadband Plan: the Connect America Fund.
"I'm pleased to announce today that nearly 400,000 residents and businesses in rural communities who currently lack access to high-speed Internet will gain access within the next three years," declared FCC Chair Julius Genachowski on Thursday.
This first phase of the program will invest about $115 million of public money for private broadband projects in 37 states. Carriers are also bringing their own money, of course. They include ACS (Alaska), CenturyLink, Consolidated Communications, Fairpoint, Frontier, Hawaiian Telcom, and Windstream. "Of these, Frontier took almost $72 million and Century $35 million," an FCC spokesperson told us.
CAF draws its money from the FCC's Universal Service Fund, which tithes phone consumer phone bills to subsidize rural and low-income phone service. Connect America, however, is designed to (hopefully) finance rural broadband service without incurring the famous inefficiencies and corruptions associated with the USF's ironically named "high cost" fund. The term was supposed to signify helping carriers in low density regions where broadband delivery is expensive. But the program subsidized companies without adequate auditing or even a proper assessment of whether the service could be provided by the market.
The old system, for example, paid multiple companies to provide service to the same areas, such as a region of Mississippi where, in 2009, no less than 13 carriers all received "high cost" cash.
Thus, Connect America recipients can only receive Uncle Sam's money in regions where "there is no private sector business case to provide broadband and high-quality voice-grade service," as the National Broadband Plan put it. The fund can assist only one provider per geographic area. And all broadband network technologies should be eligible for support (which may mean satellite service in some areas).
These first Connect-assisted projects must roll out their networks in three years. The FCC wants all 19 million rural households and businesses reached by 2020. "Today's action is just the beginning of our efforts to unleash the benefits of broadband for millions of homes and small businesses in unserved rural communities across the US," Genachowski promised.
A big fact
Interestingly, this development comes as the author of the FCC's National Broadband Plan is rethinking broadband development. Following the completion of the plan, Blair Levin packed his bags and relocated to the Aspen Institute, then became executive director of Gig. U.—a consortium of research universities rolling out high speed networks on their campuses. In May, Gig. U. announced plans to build "an ultra-high-speed, Gigabit Main Street Internet Network" around the University of Maine's Old Town and Orono areas.
The consortium has almost 40 member campuses, including the University of Chicago and California Institute of Technology. A month later, Levin spoke at a conference in San Jose, California. "Here's a big fact," he declared. "For the first time since the beginning of the commercial Internet, the United States does not have a national wireline provider with plans to build a better network than the currently best available network."
This is not news to us. In late May, Ars's Timothy Lee outlined four signs that the US's national broadband policy is failing, among them Verizon's announcement that it would put the kibosh on fiber-to-the-premises rollouts, "without reaching some of its most important markets, including Baltimore, downtown Boston, and my own apartment in Philadelphia."
The regional Bell operating companies don't seem to be in a rush to pick up the slack, either—fiberwise. "Instead of an arms race between telephone and cable incumbents, we seem to be getting a truce," Lee noted.
But it's an ominous sign, Levin suggested. It means that there's no fire under the feet of the cable industry to go to the next level (instead, Verizon and Comcast are negotiating spectrum deals, speaking of truces). And that means that for most Americans, "five years from now, the best network they have is the network they have today."
It's true that there's still a lot of innovation in wireless, but "looking down the road, only wireline can provide the excessive bandwidth that provides the platform for creating the next generation of big bandwidth services," he added.
So the big question isn't just about rollouts, it's about upgrades.
Bandwidth psychology
"When it comes to the wireline access network, instead of talking about upgrades, we are talking about caps and tiers," Levin warned. "The government should not attempt to micromanage the packaging or pricing of a service. But those in policy positions should understand this: a country that is talking about an upgrade, and not caps, will be better off in a few years; a country that is talking about caps, and not upgrades, will not be better off in a few years, and likely will be worse off." The speech then framed the choices for future policy makers:
So today, we can spend billions of dollars connecting rural America to baseline broadband by building on top of old technology, or we can figure out an upgrade strategy using new technology to bring far bigger broadband at far lower prices. We can spend billions trying to get everyone on a network, or we can create upgrade options for low-income individuals through the utilization of untapped resources in the existing network [and] can bring a compelling value such that market forces do most of the trick. We can, like Korea, mandate spending billions to upgrade everywhere to drive more effective use of the network, or we can upgrade in those places [that] we know... create the kinds of improvements that scale everywhere and create new market forces that incent the private sector to invest in a broader upgrade.
We spoke with Levin for a few minutes on Thursday. He acknowledged that rural broadband rollouts and network upgrades are separate tasks. But the latter challenge generates a higher payoff for the economy as a whole, he emphasized.
How is the US supposed to get to this place? "I hope next year, the president of the United States tells the chair of the FCC that his or her mission is to deliver a strategic bandwidth advantage for the country and a psychology of bandwidth abundance for consumers," Levin's talk concluded.
Lots of wild cards here, such as who will be president next year, and consequently, who will chair the FCC. But Levin's commentary reflects a growing consensus that US broadband policy has stalled, and a restart will require more than the completion of one of the National Broadband Plan's last action items.


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A post on the Official Google Blog confirms the company is currently "dogfooding" a "mobile lab" device. Beyond that, we're still in the dark, but it all falls in line with what we heard before. Updated:
Google isn't saying much, but the way the post ends with "We hope to share more after our dogfood diet" suggests that there's something coming. It's much more coy than their usual outright denials (by the way, Google, what about those?).
TechCrunch is reporting that the mystical Google Phone is indeed the HTC Passion we saw leaked a few weeks ago (pictured above). Our sources are calling it the Passion, too. Update: Now the Wall Street Journal is calling it the Nexus One.
Update: TmoNews is also saying that the device will be sold directly by Google, but supported by T-Mobile at launch. No word on if T-Mobile will be the exclusive carrier.
Everything keeps lining up. Judging by how fast this news is coming, I wouldn't be surprised if this thing pops up in the wild soon. [Official Google Blog via TechCrunch, TmoNews, thanks Travis]


text: Business Supervision Service is an company which is used by the federal government to offer monetary support to approaching smaller businesses. The mission of your company would be to improve the economic climate of the nation through aiding these small, and at times undermined enterprises. This is done by offering start-up loans to fund a… Continue reading Business Administration Service


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Judge to Ohio: Recognize out-of-state same-sex marriage
CINCINNATI – A federal judge on Monday ordered Ohio authorities to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples performed in other states, the latest court victory for gay rights supporters.
Judge Timothy Black ruled that refusing to recognize gay marriage is a violation of constitutional rights and "unenforceable in all circumstances."
"The record before this court … is staggeringly devoid of any legitimate justification for the state's ongoing arbitrary discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation," Black wrote.
The order does not force Ohio to allow gay marriages to be performed in the state.
Last week another federal judge issued an emergency ruling that Indiana must recognize the out-of-state marriage of one couple. One of the women in that marriage is dying of cancer.
The state plans to appeal Black's ruling, arguing that Ohio has a sovereign right to ban gay marriage, which voters did overwhelmingly in 2004.
Black delayed deciding whether to issue a stay of his ruling pending the state's appeal in the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals until after attorneys on both sides present arguments on the issue by Tuesday.
However, Black said he is inclined to stay his ruling pending appeal, except for a portion that applies to the four gay couples who filed the February lawsuit that led to the court case. That would mean the state would immediately have to recognize their marriages and list both spouses as parents on their children's birth certificates.
If Black declines to stay his broader ruling, that would allow gay couples in Ohio to obtain the same benefits as any other married couple in the state, including property rights and the right to make some medical decisions for their partner.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told The Associated Press last week that he believes marriage is between a man and woman, and that Ohio voters decided the same in 2004 when they passed the statewide gay marriage ban.
"My job as attorney general is to defend statutes and defend Ohio's constitutional provisions," he said Wednesday. "This was voted on by voters so my job is to do that."
DeWine declined to speculate what the outcome of the state's appeal will be or the future of gay marriage rights as a whole.
"Every state is having a lively debate over this and I think that's a proper thing to do," he said. "I think it's pretty obvious that all these issues are going to be resolved by the 6th Circuit and some cases are going to get to the Supreme Court. They're going to have a decision in the United States Supreme Court and we're all going to have to accept that."
Attorneys representing the four same-sex couples who filed the lawsuit that triggered Black's ruling argued that it amounts to state-approved discrimination and likened it to when interracial marriage was illegal in the United States.
Gay marriage is legal in 17 states and Washington, D.C. Federal judges recently have struck down gay marriage bans in Michigan, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia, though stays have been issued pending appeals.
Similar to Ohio's ruling, judges in Kentucky and Tennessee have ordered state officials to recognize out-of-state gay marriages. The Kentucky decision has been stayed pending appeal, while Tennessee's ruling applies to only three couples.
Al Gerhardstein, the Cincinnati civil rights attorney who has filed three gay marriage lawsuits in Ohio since June, said several gay couples who want to win the right to marry in Ohio have contacted him. He's considering filing a new lawsuit on their behalf aimed at striking down Ohio's gay marriage ban entirely.
"The ultimate goal is full marriage equality," Gerhardstein said.


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The $100,000 Aston Martin Vantage Signals The End Of An Era
Automakers are slowly but surely pushing the traditional manual transmission toward obsolescence, and that's bad news for drivers who prize the skill and control of a manual gearshift.
The case against manuals is strong. Auto technology has become so advanced that computers can control cars better than most humans.
Automatic transmissions have wider appeal because they're easier to use. Developing only one system saves money, especially for high-end cars with lower production numbers.
Ferrari and Lamborghini have decisively moved away from stick shifts, and now Aston Martin has joined the movement.
However, all is not lost for those who want to feel like James Bond and a master driver. One high performance Aston remains available with the tried and true manual shifter.
Just a year or two ago, virtually every vehicle in the Aston Martin lineup was offered with a manual transmission. Now, only the V8 Vantage GT remains.
Unveiled at the New York Auto Show, the V8 is the most racetrack-ready model in the Aston lineup. The company's venerable 430hp 4.7 litre V8 engine will push the car all the way up to 190 mph and from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.
With a traditional 6-speed manual transmission, the V8 Vantage GT will feel much more like the legendary Aston Martin sports cars of the past than any other model out there.
Even better, it's the rare Aston that will start for less than $100,000 ($99,900, to be precise). The V8 will hit American shores in the third quarter of this year.
Here's a closer look at Aston Martin's last manual hurrah:
See Also:
- How One Man's Simple Vision Produced Some Of The Most Beautiful Cars Ever Made
- Alfa Romeo Returns To America After 2 Decades With A Gorgeous Little Sports Car
- Nissan Just Revolutionized The Rearview Mirror
SEE ALSO: How One Man's Simple Vision Produced Some Of The Most Beautiful Cars Ever Made
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Brisbane is recognised as Australia's New World City for many reasons, including its ability to stage extraordinary incentive programs and events that echo its energetic spirit and enterprising optimism. In Brisbane you'll discover a modern, vibrant and welcoming city bursting with experiences that embody the envied Australian lifestyle. From fun-filled urban adventures to awe-inspiring natural wonders, take your pick from what the city has to offer and make Brisbane a part of your story.
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We take our food pretty seriously here in Brisbane. If you love to experience a city via your stomach, Brisbane is the place to unfold your napkin.
From January to December, Brisbane's event calendar is packed with events that fully embrace this beautiful city's outdoor lifestyle and climate.


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THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) — National strategies should be developed for the use of evidence-based criteria and improved oversight of equipment to minimize radiation exposure for patients undergoing diagnostic procedures, according to a study published online Feb. 3 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
Martha S. Linet, M.D., M.P.H., of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., and associates reviewed epidemiologic data on cancer risks associated with diagnostic procedures. The authors reviewed the definitions of radiation doses, mechanisms of radiation carcinogenesis, epidemiologic studies of medical and other radiation sources and cancer risks, and diagnostic procedure dose trends. Cancer risks were described in experimental studies, and risks projected from current imaging procedures. They also proposed a framework of strategies to decrease radiation from diagnostic imaging.
To decrease the risk of future cancer from diagnostic procedures, the authors recommend the widespread use of evidence-based appropriateness criteria for decisions about imaging procedures; oversight of equipment to deliver the minimum radiation dose necessary to achieve clinical objectives; development of imaging procedure electronic lifetime records for patients; and a commitment by relevant medical and professional personnel to educate stakeholders in reducing radiation from diagnostic procedures.
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"Professionals and professional organizations that play a key role in the appropriate utilization of medical imaging are the referring medical practitioners who are responsible for ensuring that a diagnostic procedure involving ionizing radiation is necessary for a patient's care and should be expected to do more good than harm (designated as justification)," the authors write.


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Monday, January 3, 2011
By Denis O'Hearn
Why would anyone want to go on death row?
A federal judge from Ohio once asked that question. To be specific, he asked, "Why would anyone rather be on death row than at Ohio State Penitentiary?"
Why, indeed!
I've been asking myself that question since I began visiting OSP Youngstown a few years ago.
Now, the death-sentenced prisoners I visit are so desperate that they are going on hunger strike, essentially for the right to be on death row. The four hunger strikers participated in the 1993 prison rebellion in Lucasville and at least some of them saved lives by acting as negotiators with the authorities. In return, they were deemed to be prison leaders and received the death penalty for murders committed during the uprising. The evidence against them was largely testimonies of other prisoners who actually committed the murders.
Let's leave aside the question of whether these men were guilty or, if so, whether they deserve to be executed. The question at hand is, why were they sentenced to death, yet the state of Ohio refuses to put them on death row?
The fact is that there are worse places than death row. Let me explain.
After Lucasville, the state of Ohio decided that a maximum security prison was not secure enough. They built a supermax prison, OSP Youngstown. Once they built it, they had to fill it. Today, a hundred prisoners there are kept in 23-hour lockup in a hermetically sealed environment wherein they have almost no direct contact with other living beings — human, animal, or plant. Even "outdoor" recreation is in a small enclosure with a concrete floor and walls so high that a person can see out only through the grilled ceiling overhead.
Strange group
The system keeps its worst retribution for the four hunger-striking men for whom it built OSP: Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Keith Lamar, Namir Abdul Mateen, and Jason Robb. They are a strange group of prisoners. Two are Sunni Muslim. One an unaffiliated African-American. The fourth an Aryan Brother. Contrary to what we might expect, they are friends and even "best friends". This is not supposed to happen between an Aryan Brother and an Afro-American.
Perhaps this is why prison authorities have written to them that, despite a cursory annual review of their cases, "You were admitted to OSP in May of 1998. We are of the opinion that your placement offense is so severe that you should remain at the OSP permanently or for many years regardless of your behavior while confined at the OSP."
The lack of a reasonable review violates the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. It also violates the explicit instruction of the Supreme Court of the United States in Austin v. Wilkinson. Moreover, keeping men in supermax isolation for long periods clearly violates the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
What does this mean in real terms?
Keith Lamar, who I call by his preferred name Bomani Shakur, may be closer to me than any man on earth. I tell him things about me that no one else knows. He does the same with me. I visit him each month and when we are allowed I spend five hours with him Saturday and another five on Sunday. I love him like a brother. He is a brother to me.
Yet I have never touched Bomani, much less hugged him. One day I asked him how long it had been since he touched a tree. After he stopped laughing, he turned serious. It had been over 15 years.
Bomani told me a story about "outside exercise." One day a leaf fell through the grille to the concrete floor below. He picked it up, hid it, and took it back to his cell. There he enjoyed this dying bit of life until a guard took it away.
Sealing men off from contact with nature, including other humans, is the cruelest punishment I can imagine.
So what would these men have if they were on death row?
On my visits to OSP I have to shout through a wall of bullet-proof glass at a man who is shackled in a small visiting cubicle. A few feet away, a man from death row sits in a booth with a small hole cut from the glass. He can hold his mother's hand. With a little effort, despite his shackles, he can kiss a niece or grandchild. He does not have to shout to hold a conversation.
This may not move you but consider why these men are in prison to begin with. Last year, I taught a course where my students corresponded with supermax prisoners across the US. The men wrote autobiographies. None of them pleaded innocence or for pardon; they regretted what they had done. They had one thing in common: childhoods where they were deprived of love and human contact.
If deprivation of human contact is what led these men into lives where they committed horrific deeds, why do we punish them by intensifying that deprivation? Why not give them the one thing that could have brought them from the brink in the first place: a little bit of loving, human contact? A clasp of a loving hand from time to time. The chance to show that they can be better men than they were. None of us can be hurt by this small mercy. And knowing some of these men and their capacity to contribute to society, even if their society is just a prison, we may have a lot to gain.
Denis O'Hearn is Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University — SUNY. His book, "Nothing But an Unfinished Song," is a biography of the Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands.
Please sign the e-petition in support of Ohio hunger strikers at (and pass it on):
join the facebook page "In Solidarity with the Lucasville Uprising Prisoners on Hunger Strike" at:
-and widely distribute
From the Youngstown Vindicator


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Pro-Palestinian 'eviction' fliers distributed to NYU students
NEW YORK – New York University launched an investigation Thursday after students reported receiving fliers marked "eviction notice" from a pro-Palestinian group.
The group's leaders said they slipped more than 2,000 fliers under the doors at the university's two largest dormitories to heighten awareness of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Shafeka Hashash, co-president of Students for Justice in Palestine at NYU, said the fliers "are very, very obviously fake looking." She refuted allegations the group targeted Jewish students.
But Jewish leaders were quick to condemn the fliers as "disturbing," ''intimidating" and anti-Semitic. Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind condemned them as "pure hate."
Laura Adkins, the vice president of the university's pro-Israel student group TorchPAC, said in a statement that the fliers were inaccurate and created "a hostile campus environment." The Anti-Defamation League called them an "unsettling intrusion."
NYU spokesman John Beckman said in a statement that the university encourages free speech but not when it's meant to "simply provoke."
He said in a statement that a flier titled "eviction notice" and anonymously slipped under doors at night "is not an invitation to thoughtful, open discussion."
"It is disappointingly inconsistent with standards we expect to prevail in a scholarly community," the statement said.
Beckman said officials would talk with students in the affected dormitory halls, Lafayette and Palladium, and will "follow up appropriately."
Emad Rajeh, president of the pro-Palestinian group, said the fliers were designed to resemble the ones Palestinians receive before their houses are demolished.
Rajeh said the campaign was intended to show solidarity with the group's chapter at Northeastern University in Boston after it was suspended last month for distributing fliers to students.
Rajeh said as of Thursday his group had not been contacted NYU officials.
Adkins encouraged them to act swiftly.
"Sneaking around in the dark of night and breaking NYU housing policy by distributing unapproved (fliers) bearing anti-Semitic language and cherry-picked 'facts' is no way to launch an education campaign," she said in the statement.


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A number of myths are circulating about the COVID-19 vaccines. Take this quiz to help learn what's true and what's not.
The FDA has granted Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccines. This means that they have been shown to be safe and effective in data from large clinical trials. In order to receive an EUA, the vaccine manufacturers must follow at least half the people in the study for at least 2 months after they complete the vaccination series. The vaccine must be proven safe and effective in that group of people.
The known and potential benefits of the vaccines have been found to outweigh the harms of being infected with COVID-19.
Most side effects of vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, are mild and temporary. After a vaccine is given and the body is building its defenses, mild side effects are normal and expected. Common side effects and reactions to vaccines include:
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a place for people who get the vaccine to report unexpected vaccine side effects.
A conspiracy theory has spread that Microsoft founder Bill Gates is part of a plan to put microchips into COVID-19 vaccines to track the population with cell towers using 5G technology. This myth began after Gates made a comment about having digital vaccine records.
This is false. No such technology exists to gather personal information or track people using microchips put into vaccines. The technology Gates commented about is not a microchip and it has not been put into use. It has nothing to do with the development, testing, or distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use a type of mRNA (messenger RNA) technology not used in any existing vaccine. There is no DNA in these vaccines. They cannot affect a person's DNA.
These vaccines contain a small part of the genetic code for a harmless piece of the same spike protein found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19. This gives the body's cells instructions to make viral proteins the immune system can recognize. This mRNA is like an instruction manual for the body on how to fight COVID-19. Once the immune system responds, and the cells are finished using the mRNA instructions, the cells break down and get rid of the mRNA. The mRNA does not enter the nucleus of the cells. This is where genetic material is stored. So the mRNA does not affect a person's DNA.
Another myth spreading online is that COVID-19 vaccines can cause infertility and even miscarriage. This is based on claims that the spike protein made when you get mRNA vaccines blocks a protein needed for a pregnancy to be viable. The protein that is needed for a placenta to stay attached to the uterus is not the same protein as the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The antibodies made by the mRNA vaccines will not block the placental binding protein.
Some pregnant women who were infected with COVID-19 have had fetal loss. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advises the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant and lactating women.
Early data suggests natural immunity from COVID-19 infection may not last very long. The CDC states, "Based on what we know from other related human coronaviruses, people appear to become susceptible to reinfection around 90 days after onset of infection."
More studies are needed. But since reinfection with COVID-19 is possible, the CDC says people may be advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine even if they have been infected before with COVID-19.
You can't get COVID-19 from COVID-19 vaccines. None of the vaccines for COVID-19 that are in development or use in the U.S. have the live virus that causes COVID-19.
There are several different types of COVID-19 vaccines. Each of these train the body to recognize and fight the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. After you get the vaccine, it can take several weeks for your body to make the immunity needed to fight infection. It's possible to get infected with COVID-19 just before or just after you get the vaccine. This is because your body has not yet had time to build its defenses. But this infection is not caused by the vaccine.
After a vaccine is given and the body is building its defenses, people may have mild side effects from the vaccine. These can include fever or muscle aches. This is normal and expected. It is a sign that the body's immune system is working.
The vaccines for COVID-19 have so far shown they work to prevent serious illness from the coronavirus that causes it. It is not known if people could be infected and have no symptoms. This means a person could get the vaccine and may still be able to spread the virus to others. Until a majority of the population is has had the vaccine, which will take time, the virus can spread and infect people.
Until there is more data about the role of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, people will need to keep wearing masks.
Vaccines against pneumonia, such as pneumococcal vaccine and Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) vaccine, and vaccines against influenza do not provide protection against COVID-19.
Although these vaccines do not protect against COVID-19, the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) advise vaccination against these other respiratory illnesses to protect your health.


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How Revenge-Porn Publisher Hunter Moore Suffered $250,000 Worth of Payback
Hunter Moore, the Most Hated Man on the Internet, has not, historically, taken legal complaints very seriously. The revenge-porn entrepreneur behind the now-defunct site Is Anyone Up has built his identity around trolling critics and a lawsuit is just another form of criticism.
So when Storage Wars cast member Brandi Passante sued the 27-year-old for defamation last fall, after he posted a nude video of a woman he claimed was her, Moore responded to Passante's lawyer by emailing a picture of his dick.
And by all accounts, he does everything possible to avoid being served with the paperwork that officially implicates him in a suit, including physically hide. So late last August, when online entrepreneur James McGibney tried to serve Moore with a defamation lawsuit—the result of a spectacularly failed attempt to collaborate with and reform Moore—no one would answer the door at Moore's home in Sacramento. The legal team had to set up round-the-clock surveillance. Finally, at 2 a.m., Moore returned from a fast-food run.
The story, as it's been passed along, is that the Moore got out of his car, saw the unfamiliar face heading his way, started to sprint, but tripped and fell, his food flying everywhere. And there on the ground, the internet's Most Proudly Outspoken Bully was served with a lawsuit for publicly accusing a former Marine of being a pedophile, amid Taco Bell goop.
On Friday afternoon, a Las Vegas judge signed off on a ruling that Moore must pay McGibney $250,000 in damages, $11,581 in attorney's fees, and $1,588.50 in suit costs, all with 3.25 percent interest. It was the day before Moore's 27th birthday. He wasn't present, having ignored all the proceedings.
Whether he has the money or not is an open question. Moore has repeatedly boasted on Twitter that he's a millionaire—having made money from DJing, promotion, and merchandise—though he's also claimed he could talk Barbara Walters out of her panties.
"We're all going to find out together how much money Hunter Moore has because we're going after every one of his assets immediately," McGibney told me Monday. "Let's see what Hunter really has. I'm gonna own everything. I'm gonna own his car and HunterMoore.tv." McGibney said he will donate all of Moore's money to battered women's shelters.
Before the puddle of Taco Bell and the quarter-million-dollar judgment, McGibney set out to work with Moore. In April of 2012, he launched Bullyville, a site that rather optimistically aimed to be an online resource for victims of social harassment, where threatened kids can share their stories, write anonymous letters to their oppressors, and read testimonials from famous people who empathize with atomic wedgies.
It was one of the more uplifting of the many imaginary cybertowns of which McGibney is the self-elected mayor: Cupidville.com (dating), Karmaville.com (a home for tales of reciprocity, bad and good), Slingerville.com (tattooing), the forthcoming Dramaville.com. The capital is Cheaterville.com, a user-driven database where vengeful types and jilted lovers can publicly, and anonymously, accuse former partners, exes, or anyone, really, of philandering. Cheaterville was born, McGibney told Anderson Cooper in 2011, after he and a buddy returned from a tour of duty with the Marines to discover that the friend's wife had been unfaithful throughout.
Next to the unauthorized revenge-porn info-dump of Is Anyone Up, Cheaterville is relatively gentle, allowing accused cheaters the chance to rebut the claims, and willingly removing posts if the original poster wants them down. Where Cheaterville.com accommodated remorse, Moore would never take down angrily submitted nudes, even after threat of litigation, even if the original submitter begged for their removal. Instead, he made sure to publish each unwilling model's full name, social-media links, and city of residence.
Yet soon after the launch of Bullyville, McGibney and Moore seemed to have found common ground. On April 19, Bullyville bought IsAnyoneUp.com, got the life-ruining tool taken down, and assumed credit for reforming the apparently irredeemable. The legendarily abusive IsAnyoneUp.com now redirected to Bullyville.com and Moore himself professed a change of heart. "I think it's important that everyone realizes the damage that online bullying can cause," Moore wrote in a public statement, just weeks after having proclaimed that anybody weak enough to complain about cyberbullying should just kill themselves.
"I've become friends with the founder of BullyVille, CupidVille, CheaterVille and KarmaVille and he helped me realize that my talents in the programming and social networking world could be channeled in a positive way," Moore wrote.
"IsAnyoneUp.com served no public good—that is why it is offline," McGibney told me over the phone, hours after the sale was announced. "Over 20,000 e-mails from a lot of women who were on that site, who were fully naked, nothing was blurred out, who could not get it off. Everyone on the planet tried to shut down Is Anyone Up? I was able to work with him and reason with him, and here we are. At the end of the day, I'm really happy with what we did here. I can go to sleep at night with my wife and two kids. I did something positive for society."
"I didn't sell my site, they gave me a job offer," Moore told me that same afternoon. "I'm going to be making original content for the [ville.com] sites. But mostly Bullyville."
Then he burped. "I'm drunk, dude."
The atonement, it soon turned out, was a con. The following August, McGibney got a call from a freelance reporter for The Daily. It regarded something Moore posted the night before to Twitter:
there is a gnarly interview i did coming out tomorrow about who i sold iau to. probs going to get sued for talking so much shit.— Hunter Moore (@Huntermoore) August 15, 2012
Moore had, in fact, talked a tremendous amount of shit about Bullyville and McGibney in an interview, the least of which was a casually indirect request to "suck my dick." It's impolite to request a dick-sucking publicly, never mind when it's in regards to someone you've engaged in a nondisclosure business transaction with, especially when that someone is a former Marine with "Semper Fi" tattooed on his back.
Hunter Moore has trouble keeping his mouth shut. He once threatened to burn down the Village Voice, where I'd published a cover profile about him, after I learned the FBI had been investigating him and planned to write something. (This information would later be confirmed when the FBI raided his house.)
More recently, during a morning-show interview with syndicated DJ and his female partner, Moore got upset when asked aggressively about his finances and said, "I'll rape your fucking cohost in front of you."
So after Moore's conversation with The Daily, McGibney retaliated by having his team turn Is Anyone Up's domain, which had been redirecting to Bullyville.com, into a fake splash page promising an impending IAU announcement. This upset Moore, who embarked on a very long and nasty Twitter tirade against his former business partner. A few examples, though they're all archived here:
hey @bullyville remember when you cried on the phone and were worried about getting kicked off your board because you kept all the underage— Hunter Moore (@Huntermoore) August 16, 2012
when I'm in vegas to fuck @carolinelizbeth I'm going to fuck james form @bullyville 's wife for the money he owes me.— Hunter Moore (@Huntermoore) August 16, 2012
how are you going to help stop bullying when you're a pedophile and go to china to rent children from families with no money @bullyville— Hunter Moore (@Huntermoore) August 16, 2012
hey @gawker you write about me every chance you get let me tell you what james from @bullyville does to underage kids and their nudes— Hunter Moore (@Huntermoore) August 16, 2012
aye james @bullyville get some little kids dick out of your mouth and let me fuck your wife.— Hunter Moore (@Huntermoore) August 16, 2012
Four days later, McGibney filed a defamation of character lawsuit with the help of Nevada-based lawyer Marc Randazza. (The complaint cited Gawker and my reporting at the Village Voice.)
Meanwhile, McGibney also spearheaded a class-action lawsuit and eventually helped rally hacktavist collective Anonymous against Moore, igniting a formal vendetta that would result in a startling amount of Moore's personal information being posted on the Internet.
In December, Hunter Moore began soliciting revenge-porn submissions for an IAU sequel, HunterMoore.tv, a new endeavor he'd described as "very scary," and "something that will [make] you question if you will ever want to have kids." At one point, he even promised to post "people's house info with google earth directions."
The threat of a revenge-porn relaunch was another betrayal to Bullyville. By December, McGibney was more committed than ever to bringing down his former ally in court. "He's crazy if he thinks he's going to get away with bullying the founder of Bullyville," McGibney told me then. "It's ridiculous. You couldn't pick a worse person [to attack]: I'm an asshole, I'm relentless, and I'm the founder of Bullyville. Good fucking luck."
Over email, he continued, "He can threaten to kick my ass, or rape my wife while my kids watch, or spew whatever else he wants to out of his vile mouth. I'm not backing down; sometimes you need to be a bully to beat a bully. I'm going to legally kick his despicable ass through our judicial system."
McGibney tipped off Anonymous to Moore's promise to publish home addresses via Twitter, which ended with Anonymous publishing all of Moore's personal information. "I'm gonna keep going after the guy," McGibney told me. "If you're gonna go online and threaten to rape my wife while my kids watch? I will be your worst enemy ever. Good luck. I'm not stopping."
He wasn't kidding. Moore defaulted on the suit—he entirely ignored it. But McGibney was so committed to receiving a judgment ruling that he brought in two public-relations experts to estimate the monetary cost of Moore's damaging accusations to McGibney's reputation.
Moore, for his part, has so far kept quiet about the $250,000 decision. Huntermoore.tv has yet to go live. (Moore has claimed on Twitter that he had television-show deal and couldn't afford to legal drama while the show was in production, though he wouldn't specify the details to Betabeat.) One thing that's true: He's about to go on tour with "That's Why I Fucked Your Mom" poet Bam Margera.
To this day, James McGibney and Hunter Moore have never met.
Image by Jim Cooke.


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Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of the glowing globe of flame heading straight for the beachhead. Somehow the juxtaposition of the elegant ship, it's sails furled sliding across the moon with the harsh bolts of the tower and the spiked defenses made me think of a few lines by Charles Causley.
But war is a bitter bugle
That all must learn to blow
And it didn't take long to stop the song
In the dirty Italian snow..
O war is a casual mistress
And the world is her double bed
She has a few charms in her mechanised arms
But you wake up and find yourself dead.
from his poem "A Ballad for Katharine of Aragon"
Almost at the end of the quest line for the Operation: Shieldwall, I find myself wondering "What is worth fighting for?" Also I have to admit I preferred Anduin in the days of Lady Prestor when he just stood there as a small but quiet child to his current teenage brat behavior. Constantly running away from his protection detail… pff Jaina should turn him into a sheep for a bit.
Somehow from there, I ended up contemplating Sky Admiral Rogers, Sprout's new role model (possibly because my wandering brain swapped her name for war in the previously mentioned lines). Not only did she tell Admiral Taylor to put his "big boy pants on" but her desire to weaponize everything and anything which might help turn the tide of war speaks volumes to a Gnome!
Plus she's a bit genocidal, which probably means she's going to die at some point in the not to distant future so we should revel in her whilst we can.
Those green dirtbags down there plagued your homes in Southshore, laid siege to your children in Redridge, and massacred every man, woman and child in Theramore.
It. Is. PAYBACK TIME! (from the quest text)
Although Thrall did something similar to unarmed Alliance in the Goblin start zone and he's still alive and kicking so who knows.
Filed under: MoP, Random Musing | Tagged: "A Ballad for Katherine of Aragon", Charles Causley, MoP, Poetry, Sky Admiral Rogers, Warcraft, WoW | 2 Comments »


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New Homes are Hard to Find
In most parts of the country, a new home is hard to find.
"The inventory of unsold new homes is at its lowest level in history," said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). During the first two months of 2011, only an estimated 150,000 new homes were for sale nationwide, according to census data.
In a "normal" economic recovery, this would be the moment when new-home construction surges. The U.S. population is still growing and those people need places to live. Usually, developers hire construction workers to build those homes, creating new jobs and solid economic growth. New-home construction has led the way in every economic recovery since World War II, according to the economists at Freddie Mac.
However, things are different this time around.
Today, the millions of mortgages still at risk of foreclosure have put continued downward pressure on home prices, prompting many potential borrowers to put off buying a home until prices begin to rebound. The unfortunate result of the lack of sales is that workers aren't hired to build, housing demand declines and the recovery of the housing market and overall economy is stalled.
Read: Buying a foreclosure? It's more than just cheap real estate
Last year, the sale of new homes broke a record in a bad way. On a non-seasonally-adjusted basis, only 305,000 new homes were sold in 2011, according to census data, the lowest level since the government started keeping track in 1963. Just to compare, new home sales peaked at about 1.3 million during the housing boom.
Pent up demand
The good news is that the U.S. population continues to grow, creating pent-up demand for new housing units that will eventually have to be built.
"We are not creating new homes to accommodate our growing population," said Nic Retsinas, senior lecturer in real estate at the Harvard Business School. Normally, according to Retsinas, 1.1 to 1.2 million new households form every year, yet the recession has dramatically slowed that process.
Read: 7 terms every homebuyer should know
Over the last three years, the number of new households formed was cut in half. Why? The economy, mainly the lack of jobs, has forced many grown children to move back home and has even forced older Americans to move in with their adult children. The number of multi-generational households increased dramatically over the last few years. Between 2008 and 2010, there was a 15% spike in the number of homes which had three generations or more living under one roof, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
"We estimate 2 million households that would have normally formed are waiting as pent-up demand," said Crowe.
Years of potential supply
However, even if the housing recovery speeds up and the number of new households returns to a more normal level, another issue looms that will not only affect demand, but home prices as well: vacant lots. The construction boom and subsequent downturn has resulted in millions of vacant lots that developers had prepped for new-home construction that never happened.
In the area surrounding Naples, Fla., for example, including Collier and Lee counties, there are just 1,081 new homes for sale, a seven-month supply, but more than 13,000 vacant lots prepared for construction.
"There are years of supply in most of the marquee markets that you talk about," said Tim Cornwell, a demographer and principal for The Concord Group, a real estate consultancy in San Francisco. "If a huge demand started up, there are a ton of builders that would build them for you."
The homes would still have to be constructed, contractors hired and materials purchased. But the lots are prepared and the land costs are cheap. Even if the housing markets in areas like south Florida improve dramatically, the supply of new homes can easily rise to match the demand, no matter how high the demand gets. That will cut into the potential upside for home prices.
Of course, despite the limited supply available for sale today and limited upside in terms of price appreciation, some borrowers just prefer new construction. If you're in the market for a new home, be prepared to compete with other homebuyers over the few new listings left on the market, especially if you're shopping for a new home that was recently finished.
The original article can be found at HSH.com:New homes are hard to find


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When you are choosing your competitive swimwear, you need to find an option that will best meet your needs and provide you with the flexibility and support you need to move more effectively through the water. If you are part of a team, you will also need to find a swim team suit that will work best for your entire team. The Speedo Powerplus Sprint Splice Free Back suit is one of the best Speedo team suits that is on the market.
All the Features a Good Suit Should Have
As you shop for the right swim team suit, you will need to find one that offers all the best features that will complement the abilities of the swimmers who wear them. For instance, this Speedo team suit offers the compression individuals need without causing restriction in their movement. The way this suit fits will give swimmers the comfort they desire, as well as increase their power and allow for more fluid motion to help them move more effectively through the water. The Free Back design also provides free range of motion for even better results.
The Makeup of the Suit
The makeup of this Speedo team suit gives individual swimmers all these advantages and so many more. The Nylon/Lycra fabric from which this suit is made is 50 percent lighter than many of the other swim team suits on the market. The suit also resists piling and keeps its shape, regardless of the number of times you wear it. This makes it a great option for those who swim often.
A Variety of Colors
If you decide the Speedo Powerplus Sprint Splice Free Back swim team suit is the right option for you, you will find it is available in several colors. The suit comes in combinations of black and one of four other colors, including sapphire, yellow, green and true red. Choose the one that reflects your team colors or your favorite if you aren't part of a team.
Finding the right swim team suit can mean all the difference in your success in the water. There are many variations that are available, each of which offers its own benefits. The Speedo Powerplus Sprint Splice Free Back suit offers the right compression, range of motion and less drag, all while offering a lighter material that will help you be the best swimmer you can be.
If you would like more information on finding the right swim team suit, contact us for help!


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Jimmy Tamborello is a bedroom producer. At least he was until a couple of years ago, when he finally moved his studio out into its own room at his home in LA. Still, the man better known as Dntel didn't do too badly out of that bedchamber. It was, as they used to perpetually say on MTV Cribs, "where the magic happened."
A pioneer of glitch and the sort of understated electronica that's become increasingly popular over the last decade, his 2001 album Life Is Full Of Possibilities still sounds fresh and vital today. There are plenty of exquisite moments on that record, but the track which was to prove most fruitful was his collaboration with Death Cab For Cutie singer Ben Gibbard, '(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan'. The pair liked the track so much that they decided to make an album together as The Postal Service. The result, Give Up, was released on Sub Pop in 2003 and went on to become the label's biggest-selling album since Nirvana's Bleach.
Tamborello returned to the name Dntel for 2007's Dumb Luck, which featured collaborations with Conor Oberst and Jenny Lewis among others, but when he started work on new album Aimlessness he initially decided he wanted to move away from vocalists altogether. "I made most of this album instrumentally and at one point planned on it all being instrumental," he says, "but then in the last couple of months we decided to add little bits of vocals. Nite Jewel is friends with my girlfriend, so that's kind of how that collaboration happened! She's someone that I hadn't worked with before and I really like her voice. I thought it could work for a song. I gave her almost the whole album as instrumentals and had her tell me what she wanted to sing on."
The track she plumped for, 'Santa Ana Winds', is one of the highlights of a gorgeous, understated ramble through sweet electronic soundscapes. "I tend to turn on instrumental electronic music more than other music these days," Tamborello explains. "I have this thing of just liking music on in the house that's not super-aggressive and forcing you to pay attention all the time. Stuff that elevates the mood but you can choose how much to pay attention to it. You can take different things from it."
Given that he's inspired by the sort of music fills people's lives almost without them realising, does he consider how people will be listening to his songs when he makes them? "I don't think about it too much," he says. "I rarely know what sort of song I'm making while I'm making it, so to think about the audience for it too would be really hard. I was making a lot of these songs as I was preparing to go on tour, so I pictured them being in clubs. I guess I started making these big dance hits, but then when they get finished they're not that at all! A lot of the electronic music I like is club music, so I want to be like that but it doesn't come out that way."
Listening to his intricate production work, and considering the five year gap since Dumb Luck, it seems easy to imagine that Tamborello has a painstaking perfectionist streak. I ask if it feels like starting over from his beginnings each time he makes a new record, and he pauses for a while before saying: "It's a little bit like starting from scratch. I never mean for it to take so long between albums." He sighs. "I really like the idea of putting out a lot of albums and taking chances and not really worrying about what people think. Just building up the albums, but I haven't really done that because each one has taken me so long."
For this record, though, there was a conscious attempt to go back to his roots: "I was looking back at my older music from before Life Is Full Of Possibilities, at what I was doing in the 90s which was more electronic and melancholy. I tried to recapture some of that energy and that mood, which is also there on Life Is Full Of Possibilities. I felt like 'Dumb Luck' was going in a direction that, by the time it was done, was barely to my tastes. I like the album, but if I put it up against other records that are like it I probably wouldn't like those other records! I needed to re-figure out where I was going."
The direction he's found himself heading in can perhaps best be summed up by the instrumental 'Bright Night', which marks something like the centre point of the album and which he describes as perhaps his favourite moment on the record. "It's a real visual song for me," he says, "It makes me picture things in my head."
It's that alchemy, the way Tamborello's music can draw pictures using the most minimal of palettes, that makes a Dntel record so rewarding. He just wishes he knew how he does it: "It's not always visual but I like sounds that feel physical, like they have a texture or shape to them. I never really know how to get that. It just kind of happens accidentally. Sometimes a song comes out sounding kind of flat, which can be okay too, but sometimes they kind of turn 3D."


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The Water Walker. Photo by Kenneth Tanaka
Written by Kenneth Tanaka
One of photography's old chestnuts is that if you stare at something long enough you will eventually see something remarkable. Maybe it's not such an "old chestnut," after all.
I have been staring at Lake Michigan and, particularly, Chicago's Monroe Harbor for nearly thirty years, year in and year out. I never tire of looking at it. The scene is always changing, but never more so than in winter when freezing and precipitation often produce amazing scenes of abstract beauty.
I was photographing just such a scene one afternoon in late February (2014) as the harbor's surface was re-freezing following a brief thaw. Suddenly I saw something remarkable in my viewfinder: a man walking across the thin ice! Was this real? Where had he come from? That ice is only a couple of days old. Is he crazy? My jaw dropped and took my gut with it as I was certain I was seeing the final moments of someone's life. Falling into that water at this time of the year would certainly kill anyone within a few minutes, as it already had elsewhere along the Chicago lakefront during this winter. Nevertheless the man appeared to be walking completely nonchalantly, slightly under-dressed for the 10°F weather. Was he suicidal, I wondered?
At my first sight there was no evidence of any reaction to this stunt. There was nobody on shore, no emergency personnel as this fellow strolled across the harbor ice, apparently trying to reach the breakwater that forms the harbor. I was certain that each step would be his last, and that we would soon helplessly watch him sink into the icy water. As my wife was ready to call 911 we were relieved to hear sirens heading toward the harbor. At about this same time the "water walker" seemed to encounter ice that rattled his nerves enough to force a retreat. I captured this image as he turned and walked, again nonchalantly, back toward shore where a group of fire/rescue personnel and police officers anxiously awaited him.
I'm happy to report that the man safely returned to shore, apparently perfectly dry, and greeted his prospective rescuers with what appeared from my distant vantage to be a "Gee, what's the fuss?" attitude. Police and fire personnel spoke with him for a few minutes and then loaded him into a waiting ambulance, even though he seemed in fine condition.
And that's the last I heard of this stunt. No news coverage whatsoever.
In my years watching the lake and harbor I have never seen anyone try such a stunt. And of course I certainly would never encourage anyone to try it. But it sure made for a wonderful, rather surreal late afternoon image, didn't it?
I realize that there are likely to be a few readers/viewers who may be suspicious that I've created the "Water Walker" with Photoshop. For them I add the following image showing the fellow as he reached shore.
One last note. A good friend remarked that the image looks equally fascinating when inverted, since it does not show a horizon and the walker is so cleanly reflected. I agree!
UPDATE 10 p.m. Saturday: Since Mike posted this piece my wife found a kind of news item concerning the incident. Believe me, this fellow required no 'rescue,' luckily for everyone. In answer to another inquiry, I can assure everyone that relatively little post-processing was performed on the image. Just enough to make it work nicely in a print. And, finally, someone asked privately about the camera. I used a Fujifilm X-E2 with the XF 55–200mm lens for this image. —Ken
©2014 by Kenneth Tanaka, all rights reserved
Original contents copyright 2014 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.
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Featured Comments from:
Edward Taylor: "Actually, this incident was reported on the national news. I saw this on the evening news (I think NBC). They showed him walking back to shore and being 'rescued.'"
David Paterson: "An otherwise good friend of mine tells me that all my pictures look better upside-down."
Carl Schmidt: "I've read this blog for years but never felt compelled to write anything until now. It's a beautiful picture and one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I assume there's minimal or no post processing. It's the real thing."


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On the first day we've had snow, I'm sharing my favourite chocolate recipe. Guaranteed to bring cheer, for anyone struggling with the onset of cold weather. Like all my recipes, it's quick to make and uses produce from the garden. Autumn Bliss raspberries are still producing fruit. An unbelievably long cropping season this year. I'm still picking a few for my breakfast porridge each day. And think of all that vitamin C. Makes this recipe seem almost healthy! Go on, treat yourself.
Chocolate Tiffin
100g Butter
2 mars bars- chopped
2 tbsp golden syrup
240g milk or dark chocolate
5 digestive biscuits
9 rich tea biscuits
One and a half teacups rice crispies
15g glacé cherries
Three quarters of a cup of sultanas
120g chocolate for the top. I used Cadbury's Bournville.
Melt the chocolate, mars bars, syrup and butter together in the microwave.
Mix with the crushed biscuits, crispies and dried fruit. Cool slightly and add a handful of fresh raspberries.
Spread in a 9″x9″ foil or paper-lined tray.
Cover top with melted chocolate
Place in the fridge.
Cut into slices and serve with fresh raspberries.
Will last three days in a cool place. If you can resist them that long.
Wrapped in cellophane and ribbon, they make a lovely home-made present.
Have a listen in to the BBC Down to Earth radio programme where we answer gardeners' questions on the live phone-in. We are all sitting in the studio – munching my chocolate tiffin- this week. Here's the link for the radio i-player http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05l50wv
I wrote about how to listen to radio programmes on the I-player at https://bramblegarden.com/2017/11/08/how-to-listen-to-gardening-programmes-on-the-bbc-i-player/
Do you have any favourite recipes for cold weather?
For more inspiration – read Making Winter- a creative guide for surviving the winter months, by Emma Mitchell. Published by LOM Art, an imprint of Michael O'Mara Books. Emma's mouthwatering recipes and pretty craft ideas turn even the bleakest wintery day into a warm and cheerful celebration. The book is like a warm hug on a frosty day.
I can highly recommend it. There's a link Here .
There's recipes for chocolate fondant, lemon and ginger bars and even hawthorn gin. Ideas for things to make include a crochet shawl and matching scarf, and knitted wrist warmers. Perfect for coping with the winter chill ahead.
Baking a cake always makes me feel better when it's freezing outdoors. Emma's guide entices you to embrace the drab days and fill them with "baked goodness." I wholeheartedly agree with her there.