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Led World Community Fails, Palestinians On Brink Of
24 December 2009
By Nicola Nasser*
"In the absence of all hope, we cry out our cry of
hope," Palestinian Christian leaders, representing
churches and church-related organizations, meeting in
Bethlehem on December 11, concluded in their 13-page
document titled "Kairos
Palestine – 2009: A Moment of Truth," enlisting
Christians worldwide in proactive efforts to end the
Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Their
"cry" symbolizes the popular mood of their people as
well as the political status quo.
both sides of the inter-Palestinian divide between the
U.S. – backed presidency and the Israeli – hunted
legislative, the Fatah – led West Bank (where the
leadership of the Palestine Liberation organization
(PLO) is committed to peace, direct negotiations and
security coordination with the Israeli occupying
power, but the 16 –year old "peace process' has
reached an impasse and the negotiations are deadlocked
in a one –year old stalemate over the cancer – like
expanding Jewish colonial settlements) and the Hamas –
led Gaza Strip (where the Islamic resistance Movement
(Hamas) is strictly committed to ceasefire save in
self – defense while conducting indirect negotiations
mediated by Egypt and Germany over an exchange of
POWs), both political and military solutions for the
century – old Arab – Israeli conflict have failed and
aborted all prospects of peace, which have proved an
elusive mirage, a stark failure of the U.S. led world
community. An imminent explosion seems the only
breakthrough ahead.
"There is no bilateral solution. The fastest road to
the next round of violence is through another failed
negotiation process ... and it has zero chance. Next
year … could be ripe for an explosion," Gershon Baskin
of the Israel-Palestine Center for Research and
Information told a Russian-sponsored debate on the
Jordanian side of the Dead Sea last week. The
"dangerous standstill" needs a "rescue mission," the
speakers said, according to Reuters. Former Russian
Prime Minister Evgeny Primakov warned that a "real
crisis" could develop if the international community
did not intervene, adding that the role of the
so-called Middle East Quartet (the United States,
United Nations, Russia and the European Union) was in
default. On December 15, Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas told the PLO Central Council in Ramallah: "Now
the ball is in the international community's court and
in America's court."
But Abbas seems to knock at the wrong
door. Barak Obama will go down in history as the first
U.S. president who pushed a life - long Palestinian
ally like Abbas to publicly pronounce the first ever
pronounced Palestinian "disappointment" with the
United States and its role as the mediator in the
conflict, despite the Palestinian euphoria Obama
invoked when he chose Abbas as the first foreign
leader to give a phone call as soon as he set foot in
the White House. The Obama Administration "made
zero progress. Not only, of course, has it failed even
to get negotiations going … but there isn't the
slightest shred of evidence to believe that anything
is going to change in the rest of its term," director
of the Global Research in International Affairs
(GLORIA) Center, Interdisciplinary university, Barry
Rubin wrote in Global Politician on December 19.
shot down the mission of his presidential envoy to the
Middle East, George Mitchell, when he sent Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton early in March ostensibly on
a mission to bring together Palestinian and Israeli
leaders to resume their negotiations, but her mission
was a resounding failure because she did exactly the
opposite, which made her visit the milestone of her
administration's shift from what was believed by the
Palestinians as an honest broker to a mediator who
aborted his mediation by completely adopting the views
of the Israelis.
following U.S. – Israeli deal to kill the Goldstone
report in the bud -- allegedly because it created a
"fairly substantial gap" between the two sides
(Assistant U.S. Secretary of State P.J. Crowley on
December 10) -- indicated that Clinton's failure was
not a personal one but an official policy that should
have been expected after Obama failed to back up his
earlier demand for a "freeze" of Israeli colonial
settlement as a pre-condition for the resumption of
Palestinian – Israeli talks, a demand that misled
Abbas to demand no less, and to become the hostage of
an un-honored U.S. promise and of his own decision to
put all his eggs in the American basket.
and his administration show no regrets, but are
following in the footsteps of the traditional U.S. –
Israeli strategic alliance, dispelling whatever
remains of Obama's promises of "change' to his voters.
Last week Obama signed the foreign aid budget law for
2010, raising security aid to Israel by US$225 million
the next year to US$2.775 billion, an aid which under
a MoU is to rise from $2.55 billion in 2009 to $3.1
billion in 2013. Arabs, including Palestinians, view
this aid as fueling the Israeli intransigence in the
peace process. The $500 million allocated to the
Palestinian Authority (PA), including $100 million to
be used by US General Keith Dayton, practically boils
down to a contribution to keep the PA floating as a
collateral for Israel's security.
in the best of times, long before the
inter-Palestinian division, the 2002 military
reoccupation of the PA territory in the West Bank and
the current tight siege imposed on Gaza, the PA has
become dependent on donors since the PLO-Israeli
"Declaration of Principles" (DoP) was signed in
Washington DC in 1993, relieving the Israeli occupying
power of its obligations under international law.
Grudgingly but gratefully the PLO accepted the donors
money as a temporary arrangement, pending the end of
the interim period in final status negotiations that
were supposed to conclude by the creation of an
independent Palestinian state living in peace and
security side by side with Israel as promised by the
U.S. – led international community first in 1999, then
in 2005, again in 2008, and now within two years
according to Obama administration.
Politically however the donors money have become a
temporary permanent arrangement, relieving the budget
of the occupying power of burdens it must be held
responsible for, financing the unending military
occupation, defusing the economic incentive for revolt
against the occupation, and holding the PA and the PLO
hostages to the political conditions attached to
donors' contributions.
Disillusionment with the role the donors' money is
playing is growing alongside the Palestinian
disillusionment with the 'peace process." The
Palestinians, who contributed substantially to
regional state building and who still contribute to
many regional economies are a resourceful and
indignant people who have the capital, the expertise
and skillful labor, the scientific and intellectual
manpower, and the intelligence and the political will
to build their own society once they are empowered
with self – determination to gain liberty, freedom and
independence. With the growing disillusionment, the
donors political role is increasingly becoming
suspicious, creating a sense of humiliation,
exacerbating the national frustration, and could not
any longer keep the lid tightly on the boiling refusal
of the interim – turned – permanent status quo.
Palestinian sense of betrayal by the international
community is as old as the United Nations General
Assembly's 1947 resolution No. 181 for the partition
of their homeland into two states and its resolution
No. 194 of 1948 for their return to their homeland.
This same sense of betrayal has a strong vocal voice
in the West Bank recently in the "disappointment" that
Abbas, the signatory to (DoP), made clear by declaring
his irrevocable decision not to run anew for
presidency: "I found all ways blocked, then I decided
not to rerun for another term. I am not optimistic and
I do not want to have illusions." he had told the
London – based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat. In the Gaza Strip,
the latest chapter of the betrayal of the world
community was voiced in Paris on December 22 by
sixteen rights groups, including Amnesty
International, Oxfam, and Christian Aid: "The
international community has betrayed the people of
Gaza by failing to back their words with effective
action to secure the ending of the Israeli blockade …
World powers have also failed and even betrayed Gaza's
ordinary citizens. They have wrung hands and issued
statements, but have taken little meaningful action,"
they said in a report.
sense of betrayal is explosive given the political
siege imposed under the direct Israeli military
occupation on the PLO and PA in the West Bank and the
Israeli military siege imposed tightly on the Gaza
Strip. Conditions are ripe for a third Palestinian
"Intifada" (uprising) in the West Bank and all
indications refer to a renewal of Israeli military
invasion of Gaza.
in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on
December 22 warned of an imminent 'Intifada." True he
pledged that, "As long as I'm in
office, I will not allow anybody to start a new
intifada. Never. Never. But if I leave, it's no longer
my responsibility and I can't make any guarantees," he
Meanwhile in the Gaza Strip, Hamas, on
the eve of the first anniversary of the December 27
Israeli three -week invasion, is warning against an
imminent Israeli new invasion. Their strongest
indicator is a steel wall the U.S. Engineering Corps
are building underground to block an estimated
1,500 tunnels that span the 14-kilometer Sinai-Gaza
border. In January 2008 thousands of Arab Palestinians
from Gaza swarmed the Egyptian – Gazan borders as an
outlet into a compatriot Arab government who
nonetheless proved no more compassionate to their
plight under siege than the Israelis when they
immediately after the episode closed their border
crossings. The tunnels were the Palestinian
the U.S. – made 18 – meter steel slabs, which were
tested in U.S. laboratories to resist bombs, melting
or cutting and meant to reach 30 meters underground,
threaten -- in addition to disrupting and
contaminating the underground water flow -- when the
project is completed, reportedly in eighteen months,
to deprive them of sixty percent of their basic needs,
according to the UNRWA American Commissioner –
General, Karen Koning AbuZayd, who told a forum
organized by the American University in Cairo that the
steel wall is more secure than the Bar Lev Line, built
by Israeli military along the eastern coast of the
Suez Canal after it occupied the Sinai Peninsula from
Egypt in 1967.
people or country in the world would tolerate such a
"defensive" wall on their borders, a first worldwide,
or view it as not an act of war. The steel wall serves
only Israeli political and military goals,
notwithstanding the fact it is "U.S. – made" --
according to AbuZayd -- and the labor as well as the
guarding soldiers are Egyptians. As such the wall is
viewed as part of the Israeli occupation and as an
integral part of the Israeli siege mechanisms, and
accordingly, from a Palestinian point of view, its
targeting is legitimate. However, Palestinians, at
least in Gaza strip, are in a state of war with
Israel, but not with Egypt. Consequently, any expected
violent flare up which the wall could ignite would be
Palestinian – Israeli hostilities. Hamas argues that
Egypt cannot risk the expected angry Palestinian,
Arab, Muslim and international outcry against the
collective punishment of one and a half million
Palestinians in Gaza unless Cairo is expecting an
Israeli invasion that would make such an outcry
Israel is diverting attention away from the
Palestinian imminent explosion and away from both its
political siege of the Palestinian leadership in the
West Bank and its military siege of the rival
Palestinian leadership in Gaza by highlighting as a
priority an Iranian nuclear threat, which has yet to
be vindicated. All indications are that the Obama
administration has subscribed to the Israeli agenda,
dragging with it its European satellites. All other
Middle East regional conflicts could wait, it seems,
even the explosive Arab and Palestinian – Israeli
Nicola Nasser is a veteran Arab journalist based in
Bir Zeit, West Bank of the Israeli – occupied
EsinIslam.Com Add Comments
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Tardy closing or re-opening fontanelles in slim, emaciated children, with sweaty heads.
Diarrhoea or entero-colitis; stool passes with much flatulence and spluttering noise.
Rheumatic troubles, which are < in fall or spring, when the air is full of melting snow.
While on the subject of CALCAREA we may as well notice this other combination.
The PHOSPHORUS element in this preparation seems to change the temperament, for while it retains its wonderful remedial power over tardy bone development it acts best in spare subjects instead of fat. So that if we find a sickly child with fontanelles remaining open too long or re-opening after once closed, the child being spare and anaemic, we think of this remedy.
We would also think of SILICEA in one of these poor subjects, but in the CALCAREA PHOS. the sweaty head is not a prominent symptom, while with SILICEA it is markedly so. CALCAREA PHOS. also has a very peculiar desire, the little patient instead of wanting eggs wants "ham rind," a very queer symptom, but a genuine one. (MAGNESIA CARB. craves meat in scrofulous children.)
Diarrhoea is very prominent, and the stools are green and "spluttering;" that is the flatulence (of which there is much) with the stool makes a loud spluttering noise when the stool passes. I have made some very fine cures in such cases where there seemed little hope for the child and hydrocephaloid seemed impending. The little patients were shrunken, emaciated and very anaemic. MARASMUS.
(CALCAREA PHOS. is an excellent remedy in rheumatic troubles < spring and fall, especially when the air is cold and damp from MELTING SNOW.)
CALCAREA PHOS. is an excellent remedy for broken bones where the bones refuse to knit. (Also SYMPHYTUM.)
I have found CALCAREA PHOS. very useful in the headaches of anaemic school girls. Here we sometimes have to choose between it and NATRUM MUR.
Feels complaints more when thinking of them (OXALIC ACID, HELONIAS).


text:
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There are times that you might need to create database or tables right after you run your program instead of manually creating it. In this example I will show you how you can do this using JDBC and MySQL database. The first thing we need to do as usual when creating a JDBC program is to define a JDBC URL. One thing that you'll notice here is that we don't define the database name in the URL. So the URL will be like
After defining the URL we need to create a connection to the database. We issued the
DriverManager.getConnection() method and pass the
username and
password as the arguments. The next step is to create a
PreparedStatement. When we call the
preparedStatement() method we pass an SQL command to create the database, which is
CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS DEMODB. This will create the database when there is database with
DEMODB exists in the database. Finally, call the
execute() method.
Now you can try for your self, start typing the following code snippet in your text editor or IDE and execute it to create the database.
package org.kodejava.jdbc;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.PreparedStatement;
public class CreateMySQLDatabaseExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Defines the JDBC URL. As you can see, we are not specifying
// the database name in the URL.
String url = "jdbc:mysql://localhost";
// Defines username and password to connect to database server.
String username = "root";
String password = "";
// SQL command to create a database in MySQL.
String sql = "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS DEMODB";
try (Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(url, username, password);
PreparedStatement stmt = conn.prepareStatement(sql)) {
} catch (Exception e) {
After you are executing the code snippet above you will find a new database named
DEMODB created in your MySQL database server.
Maven dependencies
- How do I build simple search page using ZK and Spring Boot? - March 8, 2023
- How do I calculate days between two dates excluding weekends and holidays? - January 12, 2023
- How do I discover the quarter of a given date? - January 11, 2023


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Professional Certificate in Educational Neuroscience
The University of Melbourne accepts online applications year-round from domestic applicants. Applying to the University of Melbourne is free for domestic students. The application takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. Once your application is complete, our dedicated admissions team will have an outcome for you in a few weeks. See current assessment turn-around times. We recommend applying early to secure your place.
Prepare your application
You may be required to provide the following supporting documentation with your application:
- previous academic transcripts
- evidence of degree completion (testamur)
- evidence of English language proficiency.
Application process
Submit an online course application directly to the University of Melbourne.
Please note:
- If you are a current or past University of Melbourne student or applicant, use your existing student ID/username and password. Registering as a first-time applicant will delay the processing of your application.
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Application outcomes will be sent to your nominated email address or overseas representative.
Applicants are able to check the progress of their application by logging in to the online course application page.
Graduate Access Melbourne (GAM) is the University's equity program for domestic graduate students. Under GAM, specific circumstances of applicants will be considered in relation to admission and financial assistance bursaries. There are two parts to this program:
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Chile has a unique geography: its territory includes Easter Island, in Polynesia, 3,700 km from the mainland, as well as territory in Antarctica (Chile Antártico, 1,250,000 km2). Continental and insular Chile, which includes the mainland and offshore islands and archipelagos, covers 756,096 km2.
Chile's main territory is roughly twice the size of Germany and consists of a strip of land 4,200 km long and 90 to 440 km wide. In the far south, the land is transected by hundreds of islands and fiords.
Santiago is the country's capital and largest city in terms of population and employment, with 6,061,185 inhabitants as of the 2002 census. Located on parallel 33° S, at roughly the same latitude as Buenos Aires and Montevideo, Santiago is the country's main political, economic, cultural and industrial center. It is the gateway to Chile and one of the most modern capital cities on the continent.


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Monthly reviews: April and May 2011| monthly
Time flies! Travel throws me a little off track when it comes to reviewing, but that's okay – I'm back on the ground and will probably stay home for at least the next little while.
Based on March's plans:
[X]Get a good prototype together for project C
[X]Get the paperwork in place for project M
[X]Prepare for training on project I
[X]Help with other work
[X]Assist with "Get Social, Do Business"
[X]Put together more study group resources
[-]Practise driving – eep!
[X]Prepare for May trip
[X]Start garden
[X]Write and draw a lot
[X]Focus discretionary time on plans and experiments
Mostly there, except for the driving bit! I may just register for classes again, or set up a training schedule with W- and stick with it. But it's summer and I'd much rather bike than sit in a car. Excuses, excuses… =)
Here's what went on in April and May:
April: Started learning Latin. Worked on Ruby on Rails project (yay!). Gave a presentation on training. Helped with math study group sessions. Sewed a dress.
May: Celebrated my sister's wedding in the Netherlands! Wore the red dress I made. =D Started the garden. Deployed a PHP site and conducted training in Colorado. Started with community-supported agriculture. Shifted to eating lots of salad and vegetables. Lots of learning. Some sewing, too.
My favourite posts:
- Learning from Mr. Collins: Practice, conversation, and what to do when someone says something mean
- Developing a workflow with Autodesk Sketchbook Pro
- Notes from the airport: Missed my flight; not the end of the world after all
- Presentation draft: Mentoring on the Network
- Travel updates: GPS, Pearl Street, Vibram toe shoes
- Finding the bright side of business travel
- Back from the Netherlands
- Tweaking married life for everyday happiness
- Giving a presentation using Autodesk Sketchbook Pro and a web conference
How do I want June to add to my life?
I'm looking forward to lots of gardening, lots of biking, and lots of fruits and vegetables. Some of my friends are getting married – hooray! Work is ramping up, too. Back on the development track, making useful websites… Yay!


text:
Hi all,
I have begun sitting every weekday morning at 6:45AM Eastern United States Time (GMT -5) with Daizan. Very simple; 30 minutes of zazen and a bow at the end, if anyone would like to join in. Just be on G+ at about that time and the sit should show up a little before 6:45. I am doing the inviting through the Treeleaf "Community" so you need to be a member for it to show up in your "stream". If you need instructions on how to join the Treeleaf Community, just let me know.
All are welcome!


text:
Home > Back to Search Results > Winslow Homer Christmas prints...
Show image list »
Winslow Homer Christmas prints...
Item # 172218
December 25, 1858
HARPER'S WEEKLY, New York, December 25, 1858 The front page features a print: "Santa Claus Paying His Usual Christmas Visit to His Young Friends" shows him in a sleigh pulled by a turkey, with many toys. This is an early image of Santa Claus before the more common imagine created by Thomas Nast changed his appearance forever.
Inside pages have four prints by famed artist Winslow Homer: "The Christmas Tree" plus 3 more half page Christmas-themed prints captioned: "Christmas - Gathering Evergreens", "Christmas Out of Doors" and "Santa Claus and His Presents".
Complete in 12 pages.
Category: 1857-1860
Available Now
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text:
Recently a thread at the Eng-Tips forum prompted me to look for help on the Go To-Special function in Excel. Pressing F5-Alt S, then clicking the help icon in the dialog box brought up:
It seems that the offline help AI can't work out that if you click the Help icon in the Go To-Special dialog, that is probably what you want help with. If you give it a little hint, it gets the message:
Never mind that I had just come from the Go To dialog, so I must know how to find it, I'll follow the link to the help. Here it is in full:
That's it, the full extent of the offline help: the Find and Select function lets you find and select things. It doesn't even mention using the F5 key, let alone give any details on the "Special" options.
Using the online help works better. It takes you straight to help on using Go To Special, and it gives a reasonable amount of detail (although still no mention of the F5 key).
Now I know that Microsoft would really, really like us to use their on line help, but dumbing down the off line help to the point of making it totally useless really isn't the way to go about it. There are actually good reasons for using help off line:
- It's quicker
- Many people still have slow and/or unreliable connections
- Many people like to work when travelling, or otherwise not connected to the Internet
One of the things that made the Lotus 123 spreadsheet so popular in the early days of personal computing was that it gave near instant helpful and relevant help at the touch of the F1 key. Now more than 30 years later, in spite of processing speeds and available storage increasing by factors of thousands, the help available in Excel doesn't come close to matching what we had then.
OK rant over, let's get back to what we can do with Go To-Special. The discussion linked above asked how we could use VBA to fill a table containing blanks using the last entry above the blanks as the text, and filling down to the next non-blank cell. Left to myself I would have looped through the table cell by cell in VBA, which would work OK, but there is a much simpler way (provided by the original poster in the discussion):
Select the range to be filled, then open the Go To-Special dialog (with F5 Alt-S), and select blanks (or press k):
All the blank cells will be selected, and the cursor will move to the first blank cell. Type "=" and select the cell immediately above:
then press Ctrl-Enter:
The table is instantly filled as required. The remaining step is to convert all the generated formulas to text, which can be done quickly by selecting the entire table, press Ctrl-C, then Paste-Special as values.
A few lines of VBA will do all this automatically:
Sub FillInBlanks() 'select the range you want to fill in and generate formulas: Selection.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeBlanks).FormulaR1C1 = "=+R[-1]C" ' Convert to text: With Selection .Copy .PasteSpecial xlPasteValues End With End Sub
For more on using Go To-Special see these articles at Chandoo's Blog:


text:
Should you change your passwords often? What's the risk if you don't? Little did I know, listening to one podcast would cause me to rethink how I would answer those questions.
I now understand why my friend insisted I listen to Episode 229 of the Security Now series. He wanted to introduce me to Cormac Herley, Principle Researcher at Microsoft and his paper, "So Long, and No Thanks for the Externalities: The Rational Rejection of Security Advice by Users."
Dr. Herley introduced the paper this past September at the New Security Paradigms Workshop, a fitting venue. See if you agree after reading the group's mandate:
"NSPW's focus is on work that challenges the dominant approaches and perspectives in computer security. In the past, such challenges have taken the form of critiques of existing practice as well as novel, sometimes controversial, and often immature approaches to defending computer systems.
By providing a forum for important security research that isn't suitable for mainstream security venues, NSPW aims to foster paradigm shifts in information security."
Herley's paper is of special interest to the group. Not only does it meet one of NSPW's tenets of being outside the mainstream. It forces a rethink of what's important when it comes to computer security.
Radical thinking
To get an idea of what the paper is about, here's a quote from the introduction:
"We argue that users' rejection of the security advice they receive is entirely rational from an economic perspective. The advice offers to shield them from the direct costs of attacks, but burdens them with far greater indirect costs in the form of effort. Looking at various examples of security advice we find that the advice is complex and growing, but the benefit is largely speculative or moot."
The above diagram (courtesy of Cormac Herley) shows what he considers as direct and indirect costs. So, is Herley saying that heeding advice about computer security is not worth it? Let's find out.
Who's right
Researchers have different ideas as to why people fail to use security measures. Some feel that regardless of what happens, users will only do the minimum required. Others believe security tasks are rejected because users consider them to be a pain. A third group maintains user education is not working.
Herley offers a different viewpoint. He contends that user rejection of security advice is based entirely on the economics of the process. He offers the following as reasons why:
- Users understand, there is no assurance that heeding advice will protect them from attacks.
- Users also know that each additional security measure adds cost.
- Users perceive attacks to be rare. Not so with security advice; it's a constant burden, thus costs more than an actual attack.
To explain
As I read the paper, I sensed Herley was coaxing me to stop thinking like an IT professional and start thinking like a mainstream user. That way, I would understand the following:
- The sheer volume of advice is overwhelming. There is no way to keep up with it. Besides that, the advice is fluid. What's right one day may not be the next. I agree, this link is to US-CERT security bulletins for just the week of March 1, 2010.
- The typical user does not always see benefit from heeding security advice. I once again agree. Try to explain to someone who had a password stolen by a key logger, why a strong password is important.
- The benefit of heeding security advice is speculative. I checked and could not find significant data on the number and severity of attacks users encounter. Let alone, data quantifying positive feedback from following security advice.
Cost versus benefit
I wasn't making the connection between cost-benefit trade-offs and IT security. My son, an astute business-type, had to explain that costs and benefits do not always directly refer to financial gains or losses. After hearing that, things started making sense. One such cost analysis was described by Steve Gibson in the podcast.
Gibson simply asked, how often do you require passwords to be changed? I asked several system administrators what time frame they used, most responded once a month. Using Herley's logic, that means an attacker potentially has a whole month to use the password.
So, is the cost of having users struggle with new password every month beneficial? Before you answer, you may also want to think about bad practices users implement because of the frequent-change policy:
- By the time a user is comfortable with a password, it's time to change. So, users opt to write passwords down. That's another whole debate; ask Bruce Schneier.
- Users know how many passwords the system remembers and cycle through that amount, which allows them to keep using the same one.
Is anything truly gained by having passwords changed often? The only benefit I see is if the attacker does not use the password within the password-refresh time limit. What's your opinion? Is changing passwords monthly, a benefit or a cost?
Dr. Herley does an in-depth cost-benefit analysis in three specific areas, password rules, phishing URLs, and SSL certificate errors. I would like to spend some time with each.
Password rules
Password rules place the entire burden on the user. So, they understand the cost from having to abide by the following rules:
- Length
- Composition (e.g. digits, special characters)
- Non-dictionary words (in any language).
- Don't write it down
- Don't share it with anyone
- Change it often
- Don't re-use passwords across sites
The report proceeds to explain how each rule is not really helpful. For example, the first three rules are not important, as most applications and Web sites have a lock out rule that restricts access after so many tries. I already touched on why "Change it often" is not considered helpful.
All said and done, users know that strictly observing the above rules is no guarantee of being safe from exploits. That makes it difficult for them to justify the additional effort and associated cost.
Phishing URLs
Trying to explain URL spoofing to users is complicated. Besides, by the time you get through half of all possible iterations, most users are not listening. For example, the following slide (courtesy of Cormac Herley) lists some spoofed URLs for PayPal:
To reduce cost to users, Herley wants to turn this around. He explains that users need to know when the URL is good, not bad:
"The main difficulty in teaching users to read URLs is that in certain cases this allows users to know when something is bad, but it never gives a guarantee that something is good. Thus the advice cannot be exhaustive and is full of exceptions."
Certificate errors
For the most part, people understand SSL, the significance of https, and are willing to put up with the additional burden to keep their personal and financial information safe. Certificate errors are a different matter. Users do not understand their significance and for the most part ignore them.
I'm as guilty as the next when it comes to certificate warnings. I feel like I'm taking a chance, yet what other options are available? After reading the report, I am not as concerned. Why, statistics show that virtually all certificate errors are false positives.
The report also reflects the irony of thinking that ignored certificate warnings will lead to problems. Typically, bad guys do not use SSL on their phishing sites and if they do, they are going to make sure their certificates work, not wanting to bring any undue attention to their exploit. Herley states it this way:
"Even if 100% of certificate errors are false positives it does not mean that we can dispense with certificates. However, it does mean that for users the idea that certificate errors are a useful tool in protecting them from harm is entirely abstract and not evidence-based. The effort we ask of them is real, while the harm we warn them of is theoretical."
Outside the box
There you have it. Is that radical-enough thinking for you? It is for me. That said, Dr. Herley offers the following advice:
"We do not wish to give the impression that all security advice is counter-productive. In fact, we believe our conclusions are encouraging rather than discouraging. We have argued that the cost-benefit trade off for most security advice is simply unfavorable: users are offered too little benefit for too much cost.
Better advice might produce a different outcome. This is better than the alternative hypothesis that users are irrational. This suggests that security advice that has compelling cost-benefit trade off has real chance of user adoption. However, the costs and benefits have to be those the user cares about, not those we think the user ought to care about. "
Herley offers the following advice to help us get out of this mess:
- We need an estimate of the victimization rate for any exploit when designing appropriate security advice. Without this we end up doing worst-case risk analysis.
- User education is a cost borne by the whole population, while offering benefit only to the fraction that fall victim. Thus the cost of any security advice should be in proportion to the victimization rate.
- Retiring advice that is no longer compelling is necessary. Many of the instructions with which we burden users do little to address the current harms that they face.
- We must prioritize advice. In trying to defend everything we end up defending nothing. When we provide long lists of unordered advice we abdicate all opportunity to have influence and abandon users to fend for themselves.
- We must respect users' time and effort. Viewing the user's time as worth $2.6 billion an hour is a better starting point than valuing it at zero.
Final thoughts
The big picture idea I am taking away from Dr. Herley's paper is that users have never been offered security. All the advice, policies, directives, and what not offered in the name of IT security only promotes reduced risk. Could changing that be the paradigm shift needed to get information security on track?
I want to thank Dr. Cormac Herley for his thought-provoking paper and e-mail conversation.


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Retail employees rebel against early Black Fridays
- 91 petitions filed on Change.org against retailers opening Thanksgiving night
- Major retailers opening at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving
- Protests likely won't sway retailers to change hours
Retailers with plans to open their doors Thanksgiving night instead of waiting until Black Friday officially begins at midnight or the next morning are facing increasing criticism from employees upset at not being able to spend the holiday with their families.
For the second year in a row, employees of retailers including Target, Walmart and Toys R Us have started or signed petitions on Change.org calling for Thanksgiving day off.
Toys R Us led the pack last year by opening at 9 p.m. Thanksgiving night. This year they'll open at 8 p.m., along with Walmart, Sears and Kmart, though most Walmart stores are open 24/7 and Kmart stores will be open earlier in the day before closing briefly at 4 p.m. Target will open at 9 p.m.
When Casey St. Clair, 24, heard she would have to work Thanksgiving night at the Target in Norco, Calif., she felt like the retailer had gone too far. The petition she started on Change.org to save Thanksgiving from Target now had more than 340,000 signatures Sunday night.
As of Friday, Change.org had 91 petitions against Black Friday sales that start on Thanksgiving, said spokeswoman Charlotte Hill. Last year the site ended up having 150 total, and with 10 to 15 new petitions a day this year, Hill expects to surpass that number.
The backlash comes as groups of Walmart workers across the country have been walking off the job to protest unfair wages and poor working conditions. The protests, organized by employee rights group OUR Walmart, are expected to continue this week and into Black Friday.
Walmart spokesman David Tovar says the protests only represent a handful of stores and won't affect the retailer's Thanksgiving or Black Friday plans.
Last year's calls for retailers to alter their hours were unsuccessful, and the same is likely this year given the pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers to compete with both each other and e-commerce players heading into the biggest shopping period of the year.
A statement by Target on its website about the decision to open at 9 p.m. acknowledges a "highly competitive" holiday season and says "our opening time this year reflects the feedback we have heard from our guests — many prefer to shop following their family gatherings rather than in the very early hours of the morning."
But even if employers don't back down, the protests by employees and others create an unfavorable narrative, says David Johnson, CEO of public relations agency Strategic Vision, which represents corporations and has worked with retailers in the past.
"It creates the public persona of these big corporations who just care about profit," he says. "Thanksgiving used to be sacrosanct."
Johnson expects retailers opening early to see reduced traffic from shoppers who don't condone opening Thanksgiving night and infringing on their and employees' holiday plans.
Maura Ducharme, 41, is one of them.
"Employees should be mad, and they should not have to work," she says. "It is pathetic that our consumer-driven economy worships the dollar over people."


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Canadian comic book artist Stuart Immonen studied at Toronto's York University, after which he pursued a career in arts. His first comic work was the self-published 'Playground' series, which started in 1988. He then did some work for Ripoff Press, Innovation and Revolutionary Comics, before he began collaborations with the larger companies Marvel and most notably DC in 1993.
Throughout the 1990s, he has worked on several 'Superman' related titles, including 'Action Comics', 'Adventures of Superman' and the crossover mini-series 'The Final Night' with writer Karl Kessel. He also had regular stints on the 'Legion of Super-Heroes' with writers Mark Waid and Tom McGraw between 1993 and 1997, and additionally wrote and drew the spin-off miniseries 'Inferno' in 1997. Immonen also painted and pencilled the first original 'Superman' hardcover graphic novel, 'Superman: End of the Century' in 2000. This was followed by another mini-series called 'Superman: Secret Identity' in 2004.
After 2000, Immonen has been working mainly for Marvel Comics with writers like Warren Ellis, Brian K. Vaughan, Bruce Jones and Brian Michael Bendis on series like 'Thor', 'Fantastic Four', 'The Incredible Hulk', 'Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.', 'The New Avengers', 'Ultimate X-Men', 'Ultimate Spider-Man', 'Ultimate Fantastic Four' and eventually 'All New X-Men' from 2012. He also laid the basis for Marvel's crossover series 'Fear Itself' by illustrating the mini-series 'Fear Itself' in 2011.
Immonen was co-founder of the short-lived Gorilla Comics, where he worked on the series 'ShockRockets' with Kurt Busiek in 2000. In 2004 he worked for the French publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés with the comic 'Sebastian X' in cooperation with Michaelangelo La Neve. He also remained active as a self-publisher with '50 Reasons to Stop Sketching at Conventions' in 2005 and maintained the web-comics 'Never As Bad As You Think' and 'Moving Pictures' with his wife Kathryn.


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Hear Me Out: We Are Under-Appreciating Chris Hemsworth
Last night I got stuck watching Snow White and the Huntsman for the second time, a fate I never would have imagined while squirming through my first viewing in a theater earlier this summer-- but someone had to review the Blu-ray, and sometimes you just draw the short straw. The experience was even more irritating with the clock on my Blu-ray player reminding me that an entire hour had elapsed before the dwarves showed up, or that there was an entire half-hour left when Snow White gave her rousing speech to the troops. When you're locked in a battle of wills with a movie that's driving you crazy, you start looking for any distraction to make it more bearable-- which is how Chris Hemsworth swooped in and saved me.
Though I accused him of being "as bored to be stuck with Snow White as we are" when I reviewed the movie back in June, Hemsworth's Huntsman stood out as easily the best thing in the movie on a second viewing, essentially the only character with a pulse in the whole thing. The character is basically Han Solo with an ax, a guy tossed into battle for the cash and squabbling constantly with the female lead, who you just know he's falling for deep down. Hemsworth plays him with a gruff Scottish accent and dingy brown hair, a long way from the grandiose and hyper-verbal Thor, but not falling into the "hunky hero" trap that Hemsworth's genes seem to have laid out for him from birth.
Nobody ought to see Snow White and the Huntsman just for Hemsworth, but being forced to sit through it did make me think about the guy a little more-- and the fact that, with four movies coming to theaters this year, he might be the biggest rising star who we're not appreciating on his own merits. In Hemsworth's two good movies to come out this year, Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers, he was praised alongside his ensemble but never really singled out; Fran Kranz was the bigger scene-stealer in Cabin, and there were so many stars out-acting each other in The Avengers it's a miracle the movie worked at all. Hemsworth has yet to give a film's flashiest performance-- even in his own movie Thor, Tom Hiddleston's Loki and Kat Dennings' Darcy get all the best lines-- but by never being boring in these solid roles, Hemsworth might be pulling off the biggest acting miracle of all.
In our Great Debate about who gave the best performance in The Avengers, neither Sean or I picked Hemsworth-- and in the accompanying poll, he only got 3% of the vote. But with The Avengers out on Blu-ray today, and Red Dawn coming to theaters in November, I think it's time to change that. Chris Hemsworth has dodged the trap of "hunky and bland hero" over and over again, in movies as different as Star Trek (he anchors what might be the film's best scene) and Thor and even the dull-dull-dull Snow White and the Huntsman. He's been saddled with impossible dialogue both deliberately silly (Thor's " This mortal form has grown weak. I need sustenance!") and not (SWATH's "Troll!"), and sold it like nobody else could. He's so handsome that he's not getting the kind of roles that earn "Best actor working today" recognition-- but he might be getting there.
So jump on the bandwagon with me early and get behind Chris Hemsworth as not just a likable movie star, but a talented actor who's capable of just about anything. Remember, last time I stuck my neck out in support of a hunk who nobody thought was that talented, he proved me very right.
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
Staff Writer at CinemaBlend


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The world is closer than ever to eradicating polio. With only 223 wild poliovirus cases in five countries in 2012, the paralytic disease has been knocked down to just a handful of small reservoirs. Recognizing this historic opportunity to achieve eradication, we have enthusiastically joined more than 400 scientists from 80 countries to sign the Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication.
Through the declaration, we are endorsing a clear path—not just an aspiration—to bring an end to polio: the new Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan. This plan, developed by polio partners, donors and other stakeholders under the auspices of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), is a comprehensive strategy to reach and sustain eradication. Scientists signing the declaration are uniting behind GPEI's plan, urging its full funding and implementation.
What gives us confidence that this plan will work? For both of us, the proof is personal: we served more than three decades ago on the team that eradicated smallpox, the only other human disease to be wiped from the planet. We see in the polio endgame plan the same hallmarks of success that guided smallpox eradication to completion.
The first ingredient for success is a relentless focus on pulling out the roots of the disease, no matter how challenging the circumstances. The smallpox effort required rooting out the disease amid major floods, famines and civil war. In recent years, similar focus has enabled huge obstacles to be surmounted for polio. Notably, India has now gone two years without a new wild polio case, despite a large population, inconsistent infrastructure and hard-to-reach migrant groups.
Over the next few years, the GPEI strategic plan calls for focusing polio efforts on the three countries where the disease remains endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.1 All three countries have already launched emergency action plans on polio, and have made remarkable progress toward stopping transmission.
The second ingredient for success is creative problem-solving. For smallpox, the value of creative and flexible approaches was demonstrated in Nigeria in 1966, when the country faced a smallpox vaccine shortage just as the disease broke out in an isolated village in Ogoga province. An unconventional plan to vaccinate only those at highest risk of contagion proved pivotal. Vaccinators identified these individuals by working with community members and tracking the daily routines of villagers, such as visits to markets. This catalyzed a revolutionary "surveillance and containment" strategy that is now used to fight other infectious diseases.
The polio program itself has spawned spectacular innovations. As with smallpox, vaccination is the main tool against polio, and reaching underserved and migrant children who are perpetually missed during vaccination campaigns is one of the program's biggest operational challenges. In response, new tools like GIS mapping technology have been employed, and polio vaccinators carry GPS-equipped cellphones that quickly identify missed areas. Critically important genomic meta-data is mapped to each new outbreak, creating an innovative "marriage" of epidemiology and genetic detective work.
A third ingredient for success is learning from setbacks. We are encouraged that the polio effort is taking a page from smallpox by continually reviewing where past approaches have been insufficient. GPEI's plan outlines new approaches to ensure vaccination campaigns are not interrupted by political instability and insecurity. The plan also includes a careful timeline for withdrawing versions of the polio vaccine that, in very rare cases, can lead to paralysis – a critical final step toward achieving eradication.
Perhaps the most important way in which polio eradication builds on smallpox is by following up after a country eliminates the disease by building systems for other national health priorities. When the smallpox campaign entered its final stages, those of us involved were keenly aware of our responsibility to contribute to the fight against other diseases. In the same way, the plan for polio eradication looks beyond polio. The future holds promise for the transfers of resources for delivering polio vaccines – including health workers, surveillance systems and community relationships – directly to other health priorities.
Polio eradication has never been closer. Now, the global community must meet its collective responsibility to ensure implementation of the plan, including fully funding it upfront and promoting shared accountability. By working together, we will soon relegate polio – alongside smallpox – to the history books.
1 Although in 2012 there were wild poliovirus cases in five countries, the disease is endemic in only three countries. Endemic countries are defined as those that have never stopped indigenous wild poliovirus transmission.
Images: top: Independent Monitoring Board report, October 2012; bottom: World Health Organization.


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Get Crafty with the Kids & Spread Holiday Cheer in Your Community
Homemade for the Holidays
Spreading Seasonal Cheer in Your Community
Looking for a creative way to participate in community service this holiday season? Does your family make holiday decorations together? Maybe you make garlands of popcorn & cranberries, pomanders (clove studded oranges), salt dough ornaments, mini gingerbread houses out of graham cracker, or decorate your home with paper snowflakes?
Why not make a few extra this holiday season and then take them to your nearest nursing home, children's hospital or food pantry to add some holiday cheer there too? Get the kids thinking about how to share the joy that happens at home out into their community.
Want to start a new tradition in your home? Here are some links to get you started:
- Salt Dough Ornaments at Tinkerlab
- Gluten Free Salt Dough Ornaments at Paint Cut Paste
- Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses at Celebrations
- How to Make a Pomander at All About You
- How to Make Paper Snowflakes at Inspiration for Home
- Old Fashioned Popcorn and Cranberry Garland at Craftmodo
[Photo credit: (ccl) Crazy House Capers]


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|Jeff Young
Media Relations
Akamai Technologies
|Natalie Temple
Investor Relations
Akamai Technologies
- First quarter revenue of $276.0 million, up 15 percent year-over-year
- GAAP net income of $50.6 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, up 24 percent year-over-year
- Normalized net income* of $72.2 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, up 9 percent year-over-year
- Board of Directors authorizes $150 million expansion of share repurchase program
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — April 27, 2011 — Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM, news, filings), the leading provider of cloud optimization services, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011. Revenue for the first quarter of 2011 was $276.0 million, a 15 percent increase over first quarter 2010 revenue of $240.0 million.
Net income in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, for the first quarter of 2011 was $50.6 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, a 24 percent increase from first quarter 2010 GAAP net income of $40.9 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, and a 4 percent decrease from fourth quarter 2010 GAAP net income of $52.5 million, or $0.27 per diluted share.
The Company generated normalized net income* of $72.2 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2011, a 9 percent increase over first quarter 2010 normalized net income of $66.0 million, or $0.35 per diluted share , and a 6 percent decrease from the prior quarter normalized net income of $76.5 million, or $0.40 per diluted share. (*See Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures below for definitions.)
"Continued demand for our value-added solutions, now comprising almost 60 percent of our business, drove our strong results in the first quarter," said Paul Sagan, CEO of Akamai. "We have built a portfolio of cloud computing solutions that leverages our intelligent Internet platform and is designed to address the diverse needs of businesses on the Web."
Adjusted EBITDA* for the first quarter of 2011 was $129.2 million, consistent with the prior quarter, and up from $118.1 million in the first quarter of 2010. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the first quarter was 47 percent, up 2 points from the prior quarter and down 2 points from the same period last year. (*See Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures below for definitions.)
Cash from operations was $88.5 million in the first quarter of 2011, or 32 percent of revenue. At the end of the first quarter of 2011, the Company had approximately $1.26 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.
Sales through resellers and sales outside the United States accounted for 18 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of revenue for the first quarter of 2011. The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a second $150 million expansion of its share repurchase program, which is expected to be funded by cash from operations. The Company's goal for this program, which will extend for 12 months beginning in May 2011, is to offset dilution created by its equity compensation programs.
The timing and amount of any shares repurchased will be determined by the Company's management based on its evaluation of market conditions and other factors. Repurchases may also be made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, which would permit the Company to repurchase shares when the Company might otherwise be precluded from doing so under insider trading laws. The Company may choose to suspend or discontinue the repurchase program at any time but cannot carry over unused authorization amounts to future periods. During the first quarter of 2011, the Company repurchased approximately 1 million shares of common stock for an aggregate of $42.8 million at an average price of $41.60 per share. As of March 31, 2011, the Company had repurchased a total of 6.8 million shares for an aggregate of $201.1 million at an average price of $29.53 per share, under the share repurchase program that was initially approved by the Board of Directors in April 2009.
As of March 31, 2011, the Company had approximately 186.9 million shares of common stock outstanding.
Quarterly Conference Call
Akamai will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET that can be accessed through 1-866-730-5767 (or 1-857-350-1591for international calls) and using passcode No. 76371792. A live Webcast of the call may be accessed at www.akamai.com in the Investor section. In addition, a replay of the call will be available for one week following the conference through the Akamai Website or by calling 1-888-286-8010 (or 1-617-801-6888 for international calls) and using passcode No. 95542558.
About Akamai
Akamai® provides market-leading, cloud-based services for optimizing Web and mobile content and applications, online HD video, and secure e-commerce. Combining highly-distributed, energy-efficient computing with intelligent software, Akamai's global platform is transforming the cloud into a more viable place to inform, entertain, advertise, transact and collaborate. To learn how the world's leading enterprises are optimizing their business in the cloud, please visit www.akamai.com and follow @Akamai on Twitter.
Financial Statements
*Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to providing financial measurements based on generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (GAAP), Akamai has historically provided additional financial metrics that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP (non-GAAP). Legislative and regulatory changes discourage the use of and emphasis on non-GAAP financial metrics and require companies to explain why non-GAAP financial metrics are relevant to management and investors. We believe that the inclusion of these non-GAAP financial measures in this press release helps investors to gain a meaningful understanding of our past performance and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts our performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods or forecasts. Our management uses these non-GAAP measures, in addition to GAAP financial measures, as the basis for measuring our core operating performance and comparing such performance to that of prior periods and to the performance of our competitors. These measures are also used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. There are limitations associated with reliance on these non-GAAP financial metrics because they are specific to our operations and financial performance, which may make comparisons with other companies' financial results more challenging. By providing both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures, we believe that investors are able to compare our GAAP results to those of other companies while also gaining a better understanding of our operating performance as evaluated by management.
Akamai defines "Adjusted EBITDA" as net income, before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization of tangible and intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of capitalized stock-based compensation, restructuring charges and benefits, acquisition related costs and benefits, certain gains and losses on investments, foreign exchange gains and losses, loss on early extinguishment of debt and gains on legal settlements. Akamai considers Adjusted EBITDA to be an important indicator of the Company's operational strength and performance of its business and a good measure of the Company's historical operating trend.
Adjusted EBITDA eliminates items that are either not part of the Company's core operations, such as investment gains and losses, foreign exchange gains and losses, early debt extinguishment and net interest income, or do not require a cash outlay, such as stock-based compensation. Adjusted EBITDA also excludes depreciation and amortization expense, which is based on the Company's estimate of the useful life of tangible and intangible assets. These estimates could vary from actual performance of the asset, are based on the historical cost incurred to build out the Company's deployed network, and may not be indicative of current or future capital expenditures.
Akamai defines "Adjusted EBITDA margin" as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues. Akamai considers Adjusted EBITDA margin to be an indicator of the Company's operating trend and performance of its business in relation to its revenue growth.
Akamai defines "capital expenditures" or "capex" as purchases of property and equipment, capitalization of internal-use software development costs and capitalization of stock-based compensation. Capital expenditures or capex are disclosed in Akamai's consolidated Statement of Cash Flows in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Akamai defines "normalized net income" as net income before amortization of other intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of capitalized stock-based compensation, restructuring charges and benefits, acquisition related costs and benefits, certain gains and losses on investments and loss on early extinguishment of debt. Akamai considers normalized net income to be another important indicator of the overall performance of the Company because it eliminates the effects of events that are either not part of the Company's core operations or are non-cash.
Akamai defines "normalized net income per share" as normalized net income, plus interest add-back for diluted share calculation, divided by the basic weighted average or diluted common shares outstanding used in GAAP net income per share calculations. Akamai considers normalized net income per share to be another important indicator of overall performance of the Company because it eliminates the effect of a non-cash item. Adjusted EBITDA and normalized net income should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, the Company's operating income and net income, as well as other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In accordance with the requirements of Regulation G issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company is presenting the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and reconciling the non-GAAP financial metrics to the comparable GAAP measures.
Akamai Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
This release contains information about future expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai's management that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning the anticipated growth and development of our business and the markets in which we operate. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, failure to maintain the prices we charge for our services, loss of significant customers, failure to increase our revenue and keep our expenses consistent with revenues, inability to continue to generate positive cash flow, the effects of any attempts to intentionally disrupt our services or network by unauthorized users or others, failure to have available sufficient transmission capacity, failure of our stock repurchase program to offset a significant amount of dilution created by our equity compensation programs, a failure of Akamai's services or network infrastructure, delay in developing or failure to develop new service offerings or functionalities, and if developed, lack of market acceptance of such service offerings and functionalities, and other factors that are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.
In addition, the statements in this press release represent Akamai's expectations and beliefs as of the date of this press release. Akamai anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause these expectations and beliefs to change. However, while Akamai may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Akamai's expectations or beliefs as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
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There was something particularly annoying – even harmful to society – during the health care summit held last week between President Obama and leading members of the House and Senate.
It was the president's calling all the congressmen and senators by their first names.
It is easy to appreciate just how demeaning this was of each House member and senator: Just imagine if any of them had called President Obama "Barack."
However negative any conservatives deem this presidency, we would consider it scandalous if anyone publicly referred to this or any president by his first name. For America 's sake, I do not want the office of president or the president himself demeaned.
Likewise, for America 's sake, I do not want the office of representative or senator demeaned.
Yet that is exactly what Obama did. At perhaps one of the most widely watched dialogue between members of the United States Congress and a president in American history, Obama lowered the dignity of the men and women who serve in those capacities.
That this has largely gone unnoted – and, I presume, will be widely dismissed as trivial – is more a statement about the culture of our times than it is of the unwillingness of mainstream media to criticize this president.
Other presidents and members of Congress have on occasion publicly referred to members of Congress by their first names (though this, too, is relatively new and wrong), but rarely if ever in as formal, let alone prolonged and public, a setting as the health care summit.
Why did the president do this? Why did he choose to call the most prominent members of House of Representatives and Senate – and a member of his cabinet – by their first names while he was only referred to as "Mr. President"?
One reason was to place himself on a higher and qualitatively different plane than everyone else at the summit. It was effectively the president of the United States and the boys (and girls) showing him deference. Anyone who disputes this needs to explain why the president did not ask to be called "Barack" and why no one called by his or her first name did the same to the president.
A second reason, that only theoretically conflicts with the first, is that this president is a man of the left to the depth of his soul, and therefore has egalitarian instincts. Consequently, he likely thinks that there is something not quite right in sustaining class-based titles by referring to people by their honorific; and conversely, there is something charming in publicly calling senators, representatives, and members of his cabinet by their first names.
A third – related – reason, is the egalitarian spirit that has pervaded American society since the 1960s and '70s. Obvious examples include students calling teachers by their first name, young people calling adults by their first name, congregants calling their clergymen by their first name, and the like. In almost every case, there has been a loss of prestige to the person and to the profession (yes, adulthood is a profession) and a corresponding loss to society.
In 28 years of radio, I have never called an interviewee who had a title by his or her first name. A psychiatrist who teaches at the UCLA School of Medicine has been on my show a number of times. Though he has been one of my closest friends for over 20 years, I have always addressed him as "Dr. Marmer" on the radio, never "Steve." Likewise all the rabbis, priests and ministers with whom I am friends are all "Rabbi," "Father" and "Pastor" when I address them in public.
Some will argue that this was precisely what Sen. Barbara Boxer was saying when she said to Brigadier General Michael Walsh, who was testifying before a Senate committee, "Could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'" And therefore, anyone who ridiculed her for that comment cannot now complain that President Obama did not call senators and congressmen by their titles.
But the argument has no merit. Walsh never called Boxer "Barbara." If he had, it would have been scandalous. He called her "Ma'am," which, along with addressing a man as "sir," is how the military (and many others) show people respect.
The issue, in any event, is publicly addressing people with titles by their first name – especially when the one doing it must be addressed by his title. Even if President Obama had used "Mr.," "Ms." or "Mrs.," it would have been acceptable.
Perhaps the president thought that Americans would appreciate that he is so friendly with all these congressmen and senators – even Republicans – that he calls them all by their first names. If so, he seriously miscalculated. If he did not object to "Mr. President," he had no right to drop "senator" and "congressman."
But, as noted, Mr. Obama is a man of the left. And the cultural left does not particularly like "Mr.," "Mrs.," "Pastor" or "Rabbi" – or "Senator" or "Congressman." And if you don't think this is a right-left distinction, read right and left reactions to this column.


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Atomic Energy Agency, International
Atomic Energy Agency, International (IAEA), independent intergovernmental organization established in 1957 under the aegis of the United Nations to promote safe, secure, and peaceful uses of atomic energy. It reports annually to the UN General Assembly and, when appropriate, to the Security Council. Its headquarters are in Vienna; liaison and regional offices are located in Geneva, New York, Toronto, and Tokyo. It also runs or supports four research centers and scientific labs. The IAEA has three main aims: nuclear verification and security, safety, and technology transfer. It may purchase and sell fissionable materials, offer technical assistance for peaceful nuclear energy uses, and establish safeguards to prevent diversion of nuclear materials to military use. It inspects for compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a power strengthened as a result of the findings of Iraqi violations in 1992. More recently, the organization has been involved in taking measures against the threat of nuclear terrorism. The IAEA is made up of a general conference, consisting of representatives of all member states, a board of governors of 35 members, six deputy directors general, and a secretariat of some 2,200 individuals, all headed by a director-general. There are 151 member nations. In 2005 the IAEA and its director-general, Mohamed ElBaradei at the time, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for working to prevent the use and spread of nuclear weapons and to ensure that peaceful uses of nuclear energy were safe.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: United Nations


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Winter brings low rates for Traverse City lodging—not to mention one of the best snowfalls in years. So grab your skis, your snowshoes or your snowmobile and head Up North. Three sweet spots are ready to give you a deal:
Up North Vacation Rentals
Stay two nights with Up North Vacation Rentals in January and get the third night free. Choose from rental homes, cottages and homes of all sizes in the Traverse City region. Some pet-friendly options are available. Mention this feature when booking via phone to receive deal. Subject to availability. 800-901-8922, visitupnorth.com.
Cherry Tree Inn & Suites
The Cherry Tree Inn & Suites is offering a sweet snowmobile package now until the snow melts. For $255 and up, a couple can get one night lodging at the Cherry Tree, a double-seater snowmobile rental from Blue Sky Rentals, a free movie rental, popcorn, trail map and deluxe breakfast. (2010 update: snowmobile prices vary, please call for package pricing.) Not a snowmobiler? Ask about the inn's great rates for lodging packages that include X-C skiing or snowshoeing at Traverse City's Timber Ridge Resort, downhilling at Shanty Creek or playing the new Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel. 800-439-3093, cherrytreecondohotel.com.
Chateau Chantal
The winery and vineyard perched between the east and west arms of Traverse City's Grand Traverse Bay boasts one of the prettiest inns on Old Mission Peninsula, and it's offering a free midweek night stay when you buy one night of lodging midweek in January or February. Want more incentive? Chateau Chantal offers wine tasting and cooking classes on site. (Offer valid for Sunday night through Wednesday night check-ins only). 231-223-4110, chateauchantal.com.


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Read next
Gary, Indiana was once of the center of American steel production. Movie theaters, department stores, and restaurants were part of the fabric of a bustling industrial city. Now Gary is a ghost town.
Broadway Avenue in downtown Gary, formerly a commercial hub of the community, is a strip of vacant buildings and empty sidewalks. The city is plagued by high unemployment, crime and a shrinking population.
Gary was founded in 1906 for the workers of the United States Steel Corporation. The population peaked at around 180,000 in 1960. Eventually overseas competition led to massive layoffs. White flight to the suburbs further depressed the city.
Today there are about 80,000 people living in Gary. The city lost around 25 percent of inhabitants in the last decade alone.
Photographer Sylvain Margaine documented the decay of Gary in 2006. The pictures are featured on his site Forbidden Places. Although recently there has been some effort to revive Gary, including economic incentives for technology companies, the photographs depict the struggles of a city tinkering on the edge of collapse.


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The debut season of "Fight Master: Bellator MMA" debuts June 19 on Spike TV, and the organization has unveiled the cast of 32 welterweights who will compete in the show's tournament.
Many familiar names are part of the cast, which features Randy Couture, Greg Jackson, Frank Shamrock and Joe Warren as coaches.
The show, which debuts at 10 p.m. ET/PT with announcer Jimmy Smith as its host, airs weekly, and the eventual tourney winner earns $100,000. Unlike the UFC's similar and popular reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter," Bellator fighters get to choose their own coaches and opponents on the show.
"Fight Master: Bellator MMA" Season 1 features 10 episodes, including an opening three that feature qualifying bouts. The series concludes with a live finale, and the winner will get a berth into a future Bellator tourney.
Notable cast members include the likes of Mike Bronzoulis, Chris Lozano, Joe Riggs, Bryan Travers, Artenas Young and others.
The full cast includes:
Marcus "Lelo" Aurelio
Age: 26
Record: 6-2
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Nick Barnes
Age: 22
Record: 5-0
San Diego
Eric Bradley
Age: 31
Record: 5-1
Las Vegas
Mike Bronzoulis
Age: 34
Record: 15-5-1
Frank Carrillo
Age: 29
Record: 6-3
Darryl Cobb
Age: 32
Record: 6-6
East St. Louis, Ill.
Christopher Curtis
Age: 25
Record: 7-2
Evan Cutts
Age: 22
Record: 5-1
Mike Dubois
Age: 30
Record: 3-0
Thomasville, Ga.
Tom Gallicchio
Age: 26
Record: 16-8
Howell, N.J.
Ismael Gonzalez
Age: 32
Record: 11-10
Los Angeles
Gareth Joseph
Age: 28
Record: 9-5
San Diego
Chris Lozano
Age: 30
Record: 9-3
AJ Matthews
Age: 24
Record: 5-2
Carlsbad, Calif.
Rob Mills
Age: 35
Record: 8-2
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Steve Montgomery
Age: 22
Record: 3-1
Florence, S.C.
Chip Moraza-Pollard
Age: 24
Record: 7-4
Plymouth, Mass.
Brett Nakamura
Age: 30
Record: 6-1
Maui, Hawaii
Jason Norwood
Age: 28
Record: 12-3
Fort Hood, Texas
Dom O'Grady
Age: 31
Record: 15-5-1
Jacob Ortiz
Age: 31
Record: 8-4
San Manuel, Ariz.
Josh Quayhagen
Age: 26
Record: 6-1
Lake Charles, La.
Joe Riggs
Age: 30
Record: 39-14
Eric Scallan
Age: 27
Record: 11-4
Lafayette, La.
Cristiano Souza
Age: 30
Record: 5-0
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Brendan Tierney
Age: 37
Record: 10-5
Queens, N.Y.
Bryan Travers
Age: 29
Record: 13-3
Bakersfield, Calif.
Andy Uhrich
Age: 27
Record: 8-3
Gering, Neb.
Tim Welch
Age: 22
Record: 8-4
Great Falls, Mont.
Cole Williams
Age: 30
Record: 5-1
Darian, Wisc.
Joe Williams
Age: 27
Record: 7-1
Tustin, Calif.
Artenas Young
Age: 32
Record: 9-5


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2008 Mercury Milan Quality Used OEM Replacement Parts
We have recently received this Light Sage Metallic 2008 Mercury Milan, and have inventoried it for all of the quality used OEM parts you need to fix your Mercury.
This Mercury is equipped with a 2.3 L Engine and a 4 speed Transmission.
Some of the parts we currently have in stock off of this vehicle are: AM FM CD Cassette Stereo Receiver, Air Flow Meter, Alternator, Anti Lock Brake Parts, Carrier Assembly, Theft Locking Chassis Brain Box, Transmission Brain Box, Clock, Coil Pack, Steering Column, Combination Switch, AC Compressor, Overhead Console, Dash Assembly, Engine, Fan Blade, Fan Clutch, Front Coil Spring, Front Drive Shaft, Seats, Fuel Filler Neck, Fuel Pump, Fuel Tank, Fuse Box, Glove Box, Headrest, Heat AC Climate Control, Heater Motor, Hood, Interior Motor, Axle Shafts, Door Mirrors, Doors, Spindles, Quarter Windows, Rocker & Post, Taillights, Calipers, Door Trim Panels, Running Boards, Tailgate, Luggage Rack, Master Cylinder, Power Steering Reservoir, Power Brake Booster, Power Window Switches, Rear Axle Assembly, Rear Drive Shaft, Knee, Lower Control Arms, Struts, Roof, Shifter, Speedometer, Stabilizer Bar, Starter Motor, Steering Gear, Steering Pump, Sun Visors, Transmission Crossmember, Transfer Case, Transmission, Front & Rear Wiper Motor, Wiper Transmission and MANY MORE PARTS!
Buy your used parts from a licensed auto salvage, it's better for your wallet and better for the environment.
We are a family run full service auto salvage yard.
East Coast Auto Salvage Inc.
Quality Used OEM Parts Since 1985
733 Killingworth Rd.
Higganum, CT 06441


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Value investing is always a very popular strategy, and for good reason. After all, who doesn't want to find stocks that have low PEs, solid outlooks, and decen t dividends ?
Fortunately for investors looking for this combination, we have identified a strong candidate which may be an impressive value; Komatsu Ltd.KMTUY .
Komatsu in Focus
KMTUY may be an interesting play thanks to its forward PE of 9.5, its P/S ratio of 0.9, and its decen t dividend yield of 3%. These factors suggest that Komatsu is a pretty good value pick, as investors have to pay a relatively low level for each dollar o f earnings , and that KMTUY has decent revenue metrics to back up its earnings.
Komatsu Ltd. PE Ratio (TTM)
Komatsu Ltd. PE Ratio (TTM) | Komatsu Ltd. Quote
But before you think that Komatsu is just a pure value play, it is important to note that it has been seeing solid activity on the earnings estimate front as well. For current year earnings, the consensus has gone up by 3.8% in the past 30 days, thanks to one upward revisions in the past one month compared to none lower.
This estimate strength is actually enough to push KMTUY to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), suggesting it is poised to outperform. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here .
So really, Komatsu is looking great from a number of angles thanks to its PE below 20, a P/S ratio below one, and a strong Zacks Rank, meaning that this company could be a great choice for value investors at this time.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
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Komatsu Ltd. (KMTUY): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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Recent Posts
Monthly Archives: January 2015
Homemade fresh Elderberry Syrup with Vitamin C
I used to buy Elderberry syrup every three weeks, especially when my kids started going to school. I realized I was spending a lot of money when I could just make this myself. I also wanted to experiment to add … Continue reading
Posted in Health Tagged adults, babies, children, cinnamon, cloves, elderberries, elderberry syrup, ginger root, honey, immune booster, immune system, natural, organic, peppercorns, pregnancy immune booster, pregnant, toddlers, vitamin c, vitamin c powder, winter months, women 6 Comments