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Now, here's a noble goal. European telecom giant Orange on Friday (Feb. 21) launched a campaign to encourage companies to be much more transparent about the data they are collecting with their mobile apps, as well as helping consumers to better control how such data is used. Laudable, really -- and terribly unrealistic.
I'm not even talking about the fact that most companies would rather not be transparent about why they retain consumer data. ("We're trying to get you to buy expensive stuff that you don't need and probably don't even really want. Why do you ask?") The real problem is that you can't disclose what you don't know.
And companies seem to know frighteningly little about what their mobile apps are doing, if efforts by Starbucks, Delta, Facebook, Match.com and eHarmony are any indication.
In a phone interview yesterday (Feb. 24), one of the leaders of that Orange report said that the disconnect between what companies know and what they really need to disclose is alarming. "Every industry needs to make a call to action for transparency," but such an effort is severely complicated by instances where "senior management is not even aware of" the data being retained, said Fred Lindgren, who runs much of mobile strategy for Orange and whose actual title is "senior manager of business anticipation."
Not being aware that data is being retained is a real problem, as the cases cited above demonstrate. I have argued that the problem is that companies that develop mobile apps are likely to test them to make sure they perform the functions that they want the apps to perform, but they don't really think about the need to make sure that the apps aren't doing things that no one expected, such as exposing passwords in plain text.
I actually see companies following one of three paths to data retention. In the first, the companies want to retain the least amount of intrusive data possible, but are not sure how to do it. Those companies can end up issuing mobile apps that are retaining information that they don't even know about. Ask them to be transparent about what they are retaining and they will tell you what they think is the truth but could in fact be very far from it. Companies that follow the second path do want to retain as much data as possible, but they want to hide that from their customers as much as they can. These companies see transparency on this issue as inimical to their interests. That doesn't mean that they are staffed by evil people. They probably think that their data retention is as much a boon to the consumer as it is to the corporation, since it helps their customers get pointed toward the products and services that they really want. If they are secretive about all of that, it's because they figure the customers would get the wrong idea, but the sheer helpfulness of the benefits that arise from data retention make it all OK. Companies on the third path lie somewhere between the other two types of company. They think they know what they're collecting, but don't.
The reasons vary, but transparency wouldn't work for any of those companies. Some would reject it as a threat to their business model, and some just wouldn't know enough about what their apps are retaining to tell consumers.
But the whole idea that transparency is the right thing to do is built on shaky ground. Lindgren's argument for transparency is a common one in privacy circles: Fundamentally, the data belongs to the consumer, and whether such data is retained and how it is to be used should rest with the consumer. It's a high-minded principle, but not really based on fact. It can be legitimately argued that data belongs to whoever pays to have it collected (assuming that, where permission is needed, it has been granted). In other words, if a consumer agrees to data collection (even though that agreement might be buried within a long and poorly worded "click here to use this app" declaration) and then a retailer, manufacturer or third-party app developer pays a lot to collect, analyze, retain and store that data, it's not clear that the consumer does indeed own it. (Whether the user should own such data is a very different question, but until legislation is passed or the courts rule on that explicitly, it's not a fact that consumers own their own data, which is quite clear to anyone who has tried fixing errors in a credit report.)
Another key point in the Orange report is that, compared with just a couple of years ago, consumers are far less confident that large companies will handle their mobile data properly. The problem with that stat is that it's unclear what is behind it. Were consumers being naive and overly optimistic when they answered, a couple of years ago, that they were reasonably confident that major companies would handle their data properly? If so, do the more recent answers merely show that consumers are now sadder but wiser now that they understand better the level of corporate apathy that exists when it comes to mobile data?
But corporations haven't cornered the market on apathy; consumers haven't really shown that they care about this issue -- that is, until they're affected by a breach. That's why I scoff when the Orange report notes, "There is currently no stand-out body who is seen to be educating the consumer about how to control their data." That's true, but frankly, consumers don't care about these issues to a degree that they inform their decisions. The overwhelming majority of consumers who want an app go ahead and get that app without thinking at all about what personal data that app might retain or even expose.
The alarming truth is that, in many cases, the company that developed the app isn't thinking about that either. Before transparency can mean anything much, companies are going to have to get a whole lot better at that. They must expend the effort to know exactly what their apps are doing, in terms of data retention, data usage and data protection (security). Until that happens, none of these privacy efforts stand a chance.
Evan Schuman has covered IT issues for a lot longer than he'll ever admit. The founding editor of retail technology site StorefrontBacktalk, he's been a columnist for CBSNews.com, RetailWeek and eWeek. Evan can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com and he can be followed at twitter.com/eschuman. Look for his column every Tuesday.


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ZICARELLI v. NEW JERSEY INVESTIGATION COMM'N(1972)
After appellant invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions concerning organized crime, racketeering, and political corruption in Long Branch, New Jersey, appellee Commission granted him statutory immunity "from having such responsive answer given by him or such responsive evidence produced by him, or evidence derived therefrom used to expose him to criminal prosecution or penalty or to a forfeiture of his estate . . . ." Appellant still refused to answer, contending that full transactional immunity was required, that the statutory ban on the use and derivative use of "responsive" answers is unconstitutionally vague, and that the immunity would not protect him from foreign prosecution, of which he has a real and substantial fear. Appellant was adjudged to be in contempt and the judgment was upheld on appeal. The New Jersey Supreme Court, construing the responsiveness limitation, held that "the statute protects the witness against answers and evidence he in good faith believed were demanded." Commission procedure provides for an advance statement of the subject matter of the questioning and permits a witness to have counsel present at the hearing. Held:
POWELL, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C. J., and STEWART, WHITE, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined. DOUGLAS, J., post, p. 481, and MARSHALL, J., post, p. 481, filed dissenting statements. BRENNAN and REHNQUIST, JJ., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Michael A. Querques argued the cause for appellant. With him on the brief were Daniel E. Isles, Harvey Weissbard, and Joseph E. Brill.
Andrew F. Phelan argued the cause and filed a brief for appellee.
George F. Kugler, Jr., Attorney General, argued the cause for the State of New Jersey as amicus curiae urging affirmance. With him on the brief were Barry H. Evenchick and Michael R. Perle, Deputy Attorneys General.
Melvin L. Wulf filed a brief for the American Civil Liberties Union as amicus curiae urging reversal.
Robert G. Dixon, Jr., filed a brief for the National District Attorneys Association et al. as amici curiae urging affirmance.
MR. JUSTICE POWELL delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case, like Kastigar v. United States, ante, p. 441, raises questions concerning the conditions under which testimony can be compelled from an unwilling witness who invokes the Fifth Amendment privilege against compulsory self-incrimination.
The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation 1 subpoenaed appellant to appear on July 8, 1969, to testify concerning organized crime, racketeering, and [406 U.S. 472, 474] political corruption in Long Branch, New Jersey. 2 In the course of several appearances before the Commission, he invoked his privilege against self-incrimination and refused to answer a series of 100 questions. The Commission granted him immunity pursuant to N. J. Rev. Stat. 52:9M-17 (a) (1970), and ordered him to answer the questions. Notwithstanding the grant of immunity, he persisted in his refusal to answer. The Commission then petitioned the Superior Court of Mercer County for an order directing appellant to show cause why he should not be adjudged in contempt of the Commission and committed to jail until such time as he purged himself of contempt by testifying as ordered. At the hearing on the order to show cause, appellant challenged the order to testify on several grounds, one of which was that the statutory immunity was insufficient in several respects to compel testimony over a claim of the privilege. The Superior Court rejected this contention, and ordered appellant incarcerated until such time as he testified as ordered. The Supreme Court of New Jersey certified appellant's appeal before argument in the Appellate Division, and affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court. In re Zicarelli, 55 N. J. 249, 261 A. 2d 129 (1970). This Court noted probable jurisdiction and set the case for argument to consider appellant's challenges to the sufficiency of the immunity authorized by the statute. 401 U.S. 933 (1971.)
A majority of the members of the Commission have authority to confer immunity on a witness who invokes [406 U.S. 472, 475] the privilege against self-incrimination. 3 After the witness testifies under the grant of immunity, the statute provides that:
Appellant also contends that while immunity from use and derivative use may suffice to secure the protection of the privilege from invasion by jurisdictions other than the jurisdiction seeking to compel testimony, that jurisdiction must grant the greater protection afforded by transactional immunity. In Kastigar, we held that [406 U.S. 472, 476] immunity from use and derivative use is commensurate with the protection afforded by the privilege, and rejected the notion that in our federal system a jurisdiction seeking to compel testimony must grant protection greater than that afforded by the privilege in order to supplant the privilege and compel testimony. Our holding in Kastigar is controlling here.
Appellant contends that the immunity provided by the New Jersey statute is unconstitutionally vague because it immunizes a witness only against the use and derivative use of "responsive" answers and evidence, without providing statutory guidelines for determining what is a "responsive" answer. The statute does not come to us devoid of interpretation, for the Supreme Court of New Jersey construed the responsiveness limitation as follows:
Moreover, the contention that ambiguity in the term "responsive" poses undue hazards for a witness testifying under a grant of immunity must be considered in the context in which the statute operates. This is not a penal statute that requires an uncounselled decision by a layman as to what course of action is lawful to pursue. A witness before the Commission is entitled to have in advance of his testimony a statement of the subject matter on which the Commission intends to examine him. 7 This advance notice of the subject of the inquiry will provide a background and context that will aid a witness in determining what information the questions seek. The New Jersey statute further provides that a witness before the Commission is entitled to have counsel present during the course of the hearing, 8 and counsel may secure clarification of vague or ambiguous questions in advance of a response by the witness. 9 The responsiveness limitation is not a trap for the unwary; rather it is a barrier to those who would intentionally tender information not sought in an effort to frustrate and prevent criminal prosecution. 10 The context [406 U.S. 472, 478] in which the statute operates 11 reaffirms our conclusion that the responsiveness limitation does not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Appellant further asserts that he cannot be compelled to testify before the Commission because his testimony would expose him to danger of foreign prosecution. He argues that he has a real and substantial fear of foreign prosecution, and that he cannot be compelled to incriminate himself under foreign law. It follows, he insists, that he cannot be compelled to testify, irrespective of the scope of the immunity he receives, because neither the New Jersey statute nor the Fifth Amendment privilege can prevent either prosecution or use of his testimony by a foreign sovereign. This Court noted probable jurisdiction to consider appellant's claim that a grant of immunity cannot supplant the Fifth Amendment privilege with respect to an individual who has a real and substantial fear of foreign prosecution. We have concluded, however, that it is unnecessary to reach the constitutional question in this case.
It is well established that the privilege protects against real dangers, not remote and speculative possibilities. 12 At the hearing before the Superior Court of Mercer County, appellant introduced numerous newspaper and magazine articles bearing upon his self-incrimination claim. He called a number of these articles to the court's attention in an effort to demonstrate the basis of a fear [406 U.S. 472, 479] of foreign prosecution. 13 These articles labeled appellant the "foremost internationalist" in organized crime, 14 and detailed his alleged participation in unlawful ventures growing out of alleged interests and activities in Canada 15 and the Dominican Republic. 16
While these articles would lend support to a claim of fear of foreign prosecution in the abstract, they do not support such a claim in the context of the questions asked by the Commission. Of the 100 questions he refused to answer, appellant cites only one specific question 17 as posing a substantial risk of incrimination [406 U.S. 472, 480] under foreign law. That question is: "In what geographical area do you have Cosa Nostra responsibilities?"
We think it plain from the context in which the question was asked that it sought an answer concerning geographical areas in New Jersey. The subject of the hearing was law enforcement, organized crime, racketeering, and political corruption in the city of Long Branch, which is located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Eleven of the 13 questions preceding the question under consideration related specifically to the city of Long Branch and Monmouth County. 18 Of course, neither the fact that the Commission was not seeking information concerning appellant's activities outside the United States, nor the fact that the question was not designed to elicit such information, is dispositive of appellant's claim that an answer to the question would incriminate him under foreign law. When considering whether a claim of the privilege should be sustained, the court focuses inquiry on what a truthful answer might disclose, rather than on what information is expected by the questioner. 19 But the context in which a question is asked imparts additional meaning to the question, and clarifies what information is sought. A question to which a claim of the privilege is interposed must be considered "in the setting in which it is asked." Hoffman v. United States, 341 U.S. 479, 486 (1951).
Considering this question in light of the circumstances in which it was asked, we agree with the conclusion of the Supreme Court of New Jersey that appellant was never in real danger of being compelled to disclose information that might incriminate him under foreign law. Even if appellant has international Cosa Nostra responsibilities, he could have answered this question truthfully [406 U.S. 472, 481] without disclosing them. Should he have found it necessary to qualify his answer by confining it to domestic responsibilities in order to avoid incrimination under foreign law, he could have done so. To have divulged international responsibilities would have been to volunteer information not sought, and apparently not relevant to the Commission's investigation. We think that in the circumstances of the questioning this was clear to appellant and his counsel.
Appellant is of course free to purge himself of contempt by answering the Commission's questions. Should the Commission inquire into matters that might incriminate him under foreign law and pose a substantial risk of foreign prosecution, and should such inquiry be sustained over a relevancy objection, 20 then a constitutional question will be squarely presented. We do not believe that the record in this case presents such a question.
The judgment of the Supreme Court of New Jersey accordingly is
MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS dissents for the reasons stated in his dissenting opinion in Kastigar v. United States, ante, p. 462.
MR. JUSTICE MARSHALL dissents for the reasons stated in his dissenting opinion in Kastigar v. United States, ante, p. 467.
[ Footnote 2 ] The New Jersey Code of Fair Procedure requires that persons summoned to testify before the Commission be served prior to the time they are required to appear with a statement of the subject of the investigation. N. J. Rev. Stat. 52:13E-2 (1970). The subpoena served on appellant contained this statement. App. 3a.
[ Footnote 3 ] N. J. Rev. Stat. 52:9M-17 (a) (1970).
[ Footnote 4 ] See In re Zicarelli, 55 N. J. 249, 270, 261 A. 2d 129, 140 (1970).
[ Footnote 5 ] See 3 J. Wigmore, Evidence 785, pp. 200-202 (J. Chadbourn rev. 1970).
[ Footnote 6 ] Cf. Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 12 (1964); Hoffman v. United States, 341 U.S. 479, 487 (1951).
[ Footnote 7 ] N. J. Rev. Stat. 52:13E-2 (1970).
[ Footnote 8 ] N. J. Rev. Stat. 52:13E-3 (1970).
[ Footnote 9 ] Appellant does not contend that counsel, although present, is so limited in his role that he cannot obtain clarification of any questions that the witness does not understand fully. Counsel for the Commission states that a witness may even object to questions on the ground that they are not relevant to the subject matter of the inquiry, and obtain a court ruling on relevancy before being required to answer. Appellee's Brief 81-82.
[ Footnote 10 ] In re Zicarelli, 55 N. J., at 270-271, 261 A. 2d, at 140. See generally Comment, The Federal Witness Immunity Acts in Theory and Practice: Treading the Constitutional Tightrope, 72 Yale L. J. 1568, 1572 (1963).
[ Footnote 11 ] Appellant refused to answer 100 questions. None of these questions is pointed to as an example of a question that is so vague that an ordinary man could not determine what information the question seeks.
[ Footnote 12 ] E. g., Mason v. United States, 244 U.S. 362 (1917); Heike v. United States, 227 U.S. 131, 144 (1913); Brown v. Walker, 161 U.S. 591, 599 -600 (1896); Queen v. Boyes, 1 B. & S. 311, 329-331, 121 Eng. Rep. 730, 738 (Q. B. 1861).
[ Footnote 13 ] Cf. Hoffman v. United States, 341 U.S., at 489 .
[ Footnote 14 ] Life, Sept. 8, 1967, p. 101.
[ Footnote 15 ] Life, Aug. 9, 1968, p. 24.
[ Footnote 16 ] Life, Sept. 8, 1967, p. 101. Appellant also alleges that these articles support his claim of a real and substantial danger of prosecution by Venezuela. The only reference to Venezuela, however, is a statement that appellant "has holdings in Venezuela." Life, Sept. 1, 1967, at 45.
[ Footnote 17 ] Appellant also raises a vague objection on grounds of incrimination under foreign law to these five questions: "Q. Are you a member of any secret organization that is dedicated to or whose principle is to pursue crime and protect those of its members who do commit crime?" App. 8a. "Q. Do you know that organization by the name Cosa Nostra?" App. 17a. "Q. Are you a member of the organization known as Cosa Nostra?" App. 18a. "Q. In whose family of Cosa Nostra are you a member? "Q. Do you know Joseph Bonanno?" App. 20a. These questions do not seek answers concerning foreign involvements or foreign criminal activity. Indeed, they do not relate to criminal acts. Nor is it even remotely likely that their answers could afford "a link in the chain of evidence" needed to prosecute appellant in a foreign jurisdiction. Cf. Blau v. United States, 340 U.S. 159, 161 (1950). For if appellant identified himself as a member of the Cosa Nostra in the "family" of Joseph Bonanno, he would only confirm an assumption widely held by law enforcement authorities. See, e. g., S. Rep. No. 91-617, p. 38 (1969). To confirm the operating assumption of law enforcement authorities hardly provides a new "link" to evidence that could be used in a foreign prosecution.
[ Footnote 18 ] The question under consideration was followed by the question: "Is Monmouth Country within that geographical area?"
[ Footnote 19 ] See Hoffman v. United States, 341 U.S. 479 (1951).
[ Footnote 20 ] See n. 9, supra. [406 U.S. 472, 482]

subset: commoncrawl


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WASHINGTON — Military parades, "treasonous" opponents — do you sense a pattern here?
President Trump is such a master of the politics of distraction that everything he says and does is assumed to be a diversion from something more important, the Russia collusion issue above all.
It's certainly true that in Trump's exotic circus of scandal and outrage, many stories that would have engulfed earlier administrations roll right off the back of the news cycle.
Consider, for starters, his profiting while president from his resorts and golf clubs, his alleged payoff of a porn star, and the resignation of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over conflicts of interest.
On the substance of policy, he can govern largely by stealth.
Discussion of the decisions his administration has made on a range of regulatory, environmental, labor, health care and tax matters gets pushed to the bottom of the public agenda.
It will thus be tempting to dismiss Trump's desire to have a big military parade as yet another ploy to change the subject.
Trump knows perfectly well that many liberals are uneasy with massive demonstrations of military strength, so some who might raise their voices in dissent could draw back out of fear that he is baiting them and that they'll play into his hands.
Trump clearly longs to be the lead figure on the reviewing stand gazing out on the tanks and missiles as a tribute to his own power, while casting his critics as unpatriotic foes of our men and women in uniform.
But this is precisely why his parade proposal should be treated as dangerous and not simply another bout of Trumpian ego enhancement.
It comes within days of Trump's charge that Democrats who did not stand and cheer him during his State of the Union address could be guilty of "treason."
When a leader who often praises strongmen abroad defines routine political opposition as disloyalty to country and then suggests hauling out the military to march in our streets as he looks down from on high, friends of freedom should take notice.
Those who challenge the portrayals of Trump as an authoritarian or an autocrat because our freedoms are still intact miss the point.
In enduring democracies such as ours, liberty is eroded slowly by politicians who undermine the norms and practices that protect it.
There is good reason why we have not made military parades a standard part of our patriotic repertoire.
Trump said he got this idea from France, our democratic ally whose Bastille Day military procession goes back 138 years.
This gives him cover because spectacles of the sort Trump has in mind are associated less with free nations than with dictatorships in Russia, North Korea, China, and the totalitarian regimes of the 1930s.
The United States, born in republican opposition to royalist rule, has been properly reticent about flaunting our formidable arsenal, typically limiting such displays to celebrations of war victories.
This is in keeping with a tradition that regularly honors those who sacrifice to defend our country, but resolutely limits the political role of the armed forces.
There is also an element of pragmatism in our shunning of martial ostentatiousness.
Our military is, as Defense Secretary James Mattis has said, "the world's most feared and trusted force."
There is no need to prove this with a pageant of might that is at least as likely to inspire resentment as respect — especially since it is now inevitable that even our friends abroad would see Trumpian excess in this break with our past, as Rick Noack noted in The Washington Post.
Mattis has done better than most Trump appointees in avoiding complicity with the president's worst abuses.
Perhaps Mattis has decided to preserve his influence by humoring Trump's parade envy.
Here's hoping that instead, a Marine who knows what genuine battlefield heroism entails will find a way to sideline this very bad idea.
He might persuade Trump to contain his self-indulgence and spend the money a parade would cost on scholarships for the children of wounded warriors and those who have died in battle, or to help homeless vets.
This is what real patriotism looks like.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the last great general to serve as president, urged "an alert and knowledgeable citizenry" to mesh the "huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." ]
Trump's parade is the antithesis of Ike's prudence and his commitment to safeguarding our democracy.
E.J. Dionne is a nationally syndicated columnist with The Washington Post.
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Washington, D.C.— Michael J. Fitzpatrick, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), released the following statement on President Obama's remarks on health care to the Joint Session of Congress:
"NAMI agrees with President Obama that the time for action on health care reform is now. It is time for both Democrats and Republicans to come together and deliver on what, for too many years, have only been promises.
Mental illness—like most illnesses—does not discriminate. It affects Democrats and Republicans alike. It affects the young and the old. Too many parents are forced to confront "the sheer helplessness and terror" that comes when their children—at any age—become gravely ill.
That is the experience of NAMI members. It is the experience of too many Americans. For those who already have health insurance, health care reform will prohibit denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions, arbitrary caps on annual or lifetime coverage or excessive charges for out-of-pocket expenses.
NAMI also will continue to work for four key areas of reform.
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Palestinians Bristle At Gingrich Comments
It happens every four years: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict crops up as an issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.
Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich brought it to the fore this year when he told The Jewish Channel, a cable channel, that the Palestinians were "an invented people."
The remark was a focal point of the Republican debate on Saturday evening, during which Gingrich defended his earlier comment and also called the Palestinians "terrorists." This has also sent sparks flying among Palestinians, while many Israelis see it more in terms of U.S. domestic politics than as a serious discussion on U.S. foreign policy.
It is unbelievable that Mr. Gingrich, who studied history at two outstanding American universities and even taught history, could make such a misguided comment, solely for the sake of political pandering.
"It is unbelievable that Mr. Gingrich, who studied history at two outstanding American universities and even taught history, could make such a misguided comment, solely for the sake of political pandering," said Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent Palestinian legislator. "Not only did Mr. Gingrich downright reject centuries of history and an important cultural legacy, Mr. Gingrich labeled us as terrorists."
Natalie Fish, a 38-year-old Jewish American, also thought that Republicans in general have been pandering to Jewish voters in the U.S.
Fish was in Jerusalem's Baka neighborhood, an area popular among Jewish American expats who tend to keep up with U.S. politics. She cited a recent event "with all the [Republican] candidates saying what they had done in Israel and using their little bit of Hebrew. They're just looking for the vote."
Gerald Steinberg of the NGO Monitor, a conservative group, says the support by Democratic or Republican candidates doesn't necessarily help Israel. He said that partisan remarks can actually diminish bipartisan U.S. support for Israel.
"A lot of Israelis, including me, are disturbed by the degree to which policies over Israel, debates over Israel, slogans about Israel, are so centered in the American primaries and political process," Steinberg said.
Arabs Criticize Gingrich
Gingrich's remarks drew harsh criticism not just from Palestinians, but from across the Arab world.
Mohammed Sobeih, the Arab League official who handles Palestinian affairs, said the comments by Gingrich were "irresponsible and dangerous."
"If an Arab or Palestinian official said a racist comment that was one-millionth of what the U.S. candidate said, the world would have been in continuous uproar," Sobeih said.
The Palestinians are seeking an independent state, which they have never had. The Ottomans ruled the region for four centuries until the British received a mandate after World War I. After World War II, the United Nations proposed separate states for the Israelis and the Palestinians, but the plan was rejected by the Arabs. The U.N. proposal was never implemented. Israel declared independence in 1948, while the Palestinians are still on a quest for statehood.
While an earlier generation of Israeli leaders may have questioned whether Palestinians deserved statehood, polls in Israel consistently show that a majority would now accept a Palestinian state in exchange for a peace agreement ending the decades-old conflict.
Rachel Liel, head of the New Israel Fund, a liberal group, says that mainstream Israel would disagree with Gingrich's sentiments.
"I think this comment is bad for Israel," she said. "There is a Palestinian people, and everyone knows that. Besides, I think it's [disrespectful] to our neighbors the Palestinians, and it really kind of blocks the possibility to continue for peace."
But some Israelis supported Gingrich.
"It was very sincere and very right, the things he said," according to Danny Dayan, a leader among West Bank settlers. "I'm glad he had the courage to say that."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Welcome To AlbumLinerNotes.com
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The Stanley Brothers
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The Stanley Brothers
Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine & David V
If you even think you know bluegrass, you have to know Ralph (born 1927) and Carter Stanley (born 1925), the Stanley Brothers. Parallel to Flatt & Scruggs and Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, though not with their renown, were Virginians Ralph and Carter, mountain boys who took those mountains and their traditions and their songs and wove them into a traditional bluegrass sound of utter purity, simplicity, and astonishing beauty. Their first band, formed around 1947, played more of a mountain/folk music reminiscent of the old string bands, changing to their style of ultra-traditional bluegrass when Monroe's band became popular. Even on their recordings in the early '50s, the Stanleys' unmistakable sound is there, with guitarist Carter singing lead and banjo player Ralph singing tenor harmony. In the opinion of many, Carter possessed the best lead voice in bluegrass history -- rich, emotional, and (in the best sense of the word) lonely. He took a happy song and sang it sad; he took a sad song and sang it sadder. And Ralph's unworldly mountain tenor matched his brother's voice perfectly, soaring above and often lightening the emotional load of the lyrics, creating a duet unsurpassed in country history.
Ralph and Carter were born into a musical family -- their father sang and their mother played banjo. As teenagers, the brothers began performing around their hometown. After graduating from high school, the siblings both served in the Army during World War II. Carter was discharged before Ralph. When he returned to the States he got a job singing in Roy Sykes' Blue Ridge Mountain Boys. He quit the group as soon as Ralph returned from the Army in October of 1946, and the brothers formed a band, the Clinch Mountain Boys.
The Stanley Brothers had a regular gig at WNVA Norton for a few months. Then they moved to the Bristol, TN-based WCYB, where they appeared regularly on the Farm and Fun Time program. While they appeared on the show, they gained quite a following and soon signed a contract with the Rich-R-Tone label. The Stanleys made their first records early in 1947, the same year they began playing various radio stations in the South, including ones in North Carolina, Louisiana, and Kentucky. The Brothers and their five-piece Clinch Mountain Boys were developing their style, moving from traditional string band sounds to a Monroe-inspired bluegrass style. During the late '40s and early '50s, several well-respected musicians passed through the band, including Curly Lambert, Pee Wee Lambert, Chubby Anthony, and Bill Napier.
After recording ten songs for Rich-R-Tone, the Stanley Brothers were signed to Columbia in 1948. For the next three years, they stayed with Columbia, producing 22 songs during their stint at the label -- these songs would become bluegrass classics. For a brief time in 1951, the Stanley Brothers broke up. Carter sang with Monroe and made a handful of records with the father of bluegrass. Ralph was sidelined for several months following a car crash. The break was brief and the band was back together before the end of the year.
In the summer of 1953, they left Columbia for Mercury Records. During the mid-'50s, they made a series of recordings that expanded their boundaries, as they played gospel, honky tonk, instrumentals, and a number of original songs.
At the end of the decade, the Brothers left Mercury and signed to both Starday and King, moved to Live Oak, FL, and began playing the Swannee River Jamboree. In the early '60s, they played a number of television shows and concerts throughout the South and recorded numerous records. However, the duo began to suffer financial problems beginning in 1961, which meant they couldn't afford to retain a whole band. Nevertheless, the Stanley Brothers continued to tour, playing clubs and various bluegrass festivals. However, they rarely left the South and their career suffered because of this. They recorded for a number of smaller labels after leaving King, though none of the records sold much. In 1966, Carter became seriously ill. On December 1 of that year, he passed away. He was only 41 years old.
Ralph continued performing with a new lineup of the Clinch Mountain Boys. For the next three decades, he performed with various new lineups of the band, playing festivals and clubs and recording numerous records.
Content provided all All Music Guide. (C) 2012 All Media Guide, LLC.
Content copyright 2007-


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Preparations are at an advanced stage for the largest day in the parading calendar, with upwards of an estimated half-a-million people expected to participate or spectate in what is widely regarded as the largest annual festival in the Province.
As is tradition, Armagh will once again host the biggest Twelfth gathering 'in the world' as Orangemen and women from across the county congregate in the village of Richhill. The traditional sight and sound of Lambeg drums will add to the festivities.
A large Scottish contingent is expected in Belfast, as the city holds the longest Twelfth parade on the day, with participants walking over six miles to the field. Alongside Ballymena, the capital stages a Twelfth demonstration every year.
Other sizeable parades will take place in Lisbellaw (Fermanagh), Cookstown (Tyrone), Coleraine (Londonderry), Cloughfern (Antrim) and Banbridge (Down).
Edward Stevenson, grand master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, hailed the enhanced cultural experience offered by the yearly celebrations.
"The Twelfth of July offers a unique opportunity for the Orange Institution and the bands community to showcase our culture and heritage, and we are confident of welcoming increasing numbers of visitors, tourists and families to all of our parades," he said.
"Surely there is no other event on these islands that can bring such vast numbers of people onto the streets, either by taking part or simply to watch the music and pageantry."
Mr Stevenson will attend the Cookstown demonstration.
He added: "Our proud cultural traditions will once again be on display, and equally apparent, at 18 venues throughout Northern Ireland. The Twelfth is truly a day like no other as we celebrate much that is important to the Reformed faith, our civil and religious liberties and our Protestant heritage."
The Twelfth demonstrations will follow the traditional Rossnowlagh parade held in the Republic on the preceding weekend. This year the annual Donegal procession takes place on Saturday July 8.
The 18 demonstrations on Wednesday July 12 will be held in: Richhill; Belfast; Lisbellaw; Cookstown; Beragh; Clogher; Coleraine; Kilrea; Hillsborough; Bangor; Ballynahinch; Banbridge; Annalong; Cloughfern; Broughshane; Ballymena; Cullybackey and Cloughmills.


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Hurley, Patrick Jay
Hurley, Patrick Jay, 1883–1963, U.S. cabinet officer, b. Choctaw Territory (now in Oklahoma). Hurley practiced law in Tulsa, Okla., was (1912–17) national attorney for the Choctaw Nation, and fought in France in World War I as a colonel in the U.S. army. He was Under Secretary of War (1929) and Secretary of War (1929–33), served on diplomatic missions, and participated in Republican party politics. After the outbreak of World War II he saw active fighting in East Asia as the personal representative of Gen. George C. Marshall. Hurley served (1942) as the first U.S. minister to New Zealand and afterward was (1942–43) President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's personal representative in the Middle East. He was promoted (1944) to major general, and was envoy (1944–45) and ambassador to China. A champion of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Chinese government, he later charged that officials in the U.S. Department of State had subverted the U.S. policy of support to Chiang's government.
See study by R. D. Buhite (1973).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies


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Moose & Meika
This was from one of my favourite photo shoots... these two amazing Newfoundlanders were as adorable as they look here, and absolutely love each other. (they are sibblings). The shoot itself was a total gong show - with a small room, 3 big lights, background stands & canvas, camera, tripod, people... and two giant, affectionate dogs at the centre of it all.... wonderful memories of that day!
Hey!! I thought I heard a cookie...:-))
Bruno is quite talented in some very unusual ways... he can hear the crunch of a dog cookie from 500 yards, or maybe it's 5oo miles.
Have a great weekend, hope you find a few treats here and there..!!


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In this new series on Self-Care for Writers, I'm sharing insights on looking after yourself, body and soul. In this article, because it's January, we're talking goals. Not all goals are good goals; some can be downright unhealthy.
In the first article in my Self-Care for Writers series, Seven Tips for Flourishing as a Writer, I touched on discerning between the things we can and can't control. It's a critical distinction if you want to last the distance in the writing business.
Of course, most writers want to sign with a world-class agent, experience a bidding war over their manuscript, sell out their first print run, hit the best seller's list, and become wildly and internationally famous. The trouble with all of those awesome events is they are completely outside of a writer's control. Setting any of them as a goal will lead to disillusionment, heartache, and burnout.
Dreams & Goals
The old adages hold true: Go big or go home. Shoot for the moon. Dreams should be big enough and wild enough to scare us. We should engage our faith and speak into the universe.
But dreams and goals are two very different things. Dreams engage your wishbone. Goals rely on backbone.
Writers—all creatives in fact—need both 'bones'. Your wishbone is a trellis that supports your imagination, fosters your vision, and trains your creativity into something uniquely yours. Your backbone is a girder for your growth, dedication, resilience, and longevity.
Goals or SMART Goals
The SMART acronym has been bandied about since 1981 when it was coined by George Doran and associates in an article in Management Review. I particularly like this amplification of the basic qualities of good goals:
S = specific and stretching
M = measurable + meaningful and motivating
A = achievable and action-oriented
R = realistic + rewarding and results-oriented
T = time-bound and trackable
I whimper on the inside when my writing peers say their goals for the year are to get an agent and land a publishing deal. Both are superior dreams but inferior goals, because they aren't specific, measurable, achievable, realistic or time-bound. Lots of wishbone, little backbone.
Compare these SMART Goals:
- By the end of January, I will identify ten agents who are suitable matches for my work and my desired career path.
- Each month I will research two of the ten agents to discover their preferences, clients' work, sales record, and wishlists.
- I will craft a tailored query letter for an agent by the 15th of the month, and before sending it out at the end of the month, I will have it critiqued and proofread by my writing buddies.
But Will Setting SMART Goals Get Me My Agent?
Well, not exactly… But it will lay stepping stones in the direction of that dream. Instead of chasing a hazy desire, you create a clear path to follow. Won't it feel amazing to know where you're going and how far you've come?
As a bonus, tranquillity, optimism, and contentedness flow more freely when we focus on the things we can control. Setting smart goals makes the journey pleasant and healthy!
Self-Care is a Non-Negotiable
Hitting send on your query letter simultaneously hits pause on the part you control. I can tell you from years of experience: unless you are unbelievably lucky, freaky talented, or have an X-factor idea whose time is RIGHT NOW, waiting is the name of the game.
The waiting "to get somewhere" in the life of a writer can be frustrating and bewildering and downright disheartening. It can feel like being stuck in a terminal with no flight information while everyone around you takes off on time or lands safely and falls into the embrace of waiting loved ones. That's why it's so important to have clear steps to care for yourself.
It's common—normal even—for emerging and aspiring writers to feel lousy about "not getting anywhere", which is industry shorthand for not getting an agent or a publishing deal. Unchecked, disappointment can fester into disillusionment, despair, and even deeper into mental health issues. If you are vulnerable (genetically or circumstantially or both), please, please take steps to be proactive about self-care.
The creative life is a zany rollercoaster with an unpredictable series of highs and lows and tummy-squeezing, knuckle-whitening loop-de-loops. Try to step back so you can view the whole ride, rather than bogging down on the slow or disappointing bits. And above all, share the ride with friends. It's more fun to scream in symphony than all alone!
Own the Process
We control the quality and quantity of our work. We control how we use our time, how we spend our resources, who we include in our networks. We can control what we read, who we listen to, where we find inspiration, and how we treat other writers. We cannot control whether an agent will like our work enough to sign us as a client. Therefore, own what we do control and let the rest go.
This is a workout for the backbone, not the wishbone.
A Word from the Wise
An email I received today from the Manuscript Academy inspired me to write this article. In it, author Julie Kingsley shared some excellent tips and examples of good goals.
Julie says:
"My goals are all about controlling what you can control in this crazy world. You have control over the body of your work. You can set clear and concise goals that are achievable. You can write down goals that won't give you a one way ticket into full blown therapy."
Check out Julie's examples of healthy goals, shared with her permission:
- Write for twenty minutes every day.
- Brainstorm 100 story ideas.
- Write a first chapter in both first person and third.
- Create a playlist for your work-in-progress.
- Find five new writer friends.
- Go to at least one writing conference.
- Buy five books from debut authors. Read them. Review them.
- Write multiple last chapters of a book you haven't started.
- Be brave. Get a critique from an expert.
- Turn your work-in-progress into a screenplay.
- Draw five pivotal scenes from your work, dive back into pivotal scenes. What do you know now? Revise.
- Set a specific word count, meet it.
Every one of these hits the markers of SMART goals, and they are completely within your control. Any or all of the above will contribute to both your growth and health as a writer. Plus, they are meaningful and useful exercises to engage in AS YOU WAIT for responses to your queries.
Julie also says this:
"Take a deep breath. You've got this. It's all about putting one word before the next. It's all about the people you meet along the way."
I totally agree! On that note, I'll wrap it up.
Over to You
I hope this is the year of your breakthrough or continued success in the creative life—whatever that means for you, signing with your dream agent or landing a publishing contract. May it also mean growing in your ability to find joy in the act of creating and strength in the practice of caring for yourself.
I'm adding some of Julie's goals to my list. I especially like the screenplay idea, which will stretch me to acquire new skills. Which of Julie's sample goals do you like best?
Until next time, take care of yourself!
Image Credits:
Bouquet by rawpixel on Unsplash
Stars photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash
Tranquil Fog by Sasha • Stories on Unsplash
Waiting by kelvin balingit on Unsplash
Rollercoaster by Conor Luddy on Unsplash
Something Great by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash


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|J.B. Holmes at the Verizon Heritage in Hilton Head in April.
J.B. HOLMES IS RECOVERING FROM brain surgery performed on September 1. The 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup star had a quarter-sized piece of his rear skull removed to alleviate pressure on his brain. Holmes is on schedule for a full recovery and told Jeff Rude of Golfweek that he kept the piece of bone to remind himself "how lucky I am to be where I am and have a second chance."
Rude reported that the Campbellsville, Kentucky, native also got outfitted with something else as a result of the surgery:
As part of the procedure, a piece of titanium was inserted into his skull. That means he not only has that light but strong metal in his driver, but also his head.
"It should give me 5 extra yards," cracked Holmes, who doesn't need the yardage, considering he has ranked in the top 7 in driving distance in each of his six PGA Tour seasons, including first this year at 318.4 yards.
Holmes started experiencing vertigo in May and had headaches and balance problems throughout the summer. He eventually withdrew from the PGA Championship and opted for the low-risk surgery after being diagnosed with structural defects in the cerebellum.
A two-time PGA Tour winner, Holmes has been doing physical rehabilitation to strengthen his neck muscles. This month he has been chipping and putting, and will soon be hitting iron shots. Holmes hopes to be back in action in December at the Franklin Templeton Shootout, if he's invited.
−The Armchair Golfer
(Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr, Creative Commons license)


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Party Bus Limo Hire in Chingford
On the search for an experienced party bus hire business in Chingford? Well, you're in luck, with the Cheap coach hire team enjoying a stellar reputation for their Party Bus Limo Hire and party buses for Hire services. Having been transporting groups within Chingford and the surrounding areas for over 20 years, we've developed a style that the area admires, hiring our amazing coaches at affordable prices. Understanding that everyone requires great rates when it comes to party bus hire we work hard to keep costs as low as possible, having saved the people of Chingford thousands of pounds on transport during that time.
What's the occasion for Party Bus Hire?
In recent years, the people of Chingford have displayed a keen interest in Party Bus Hire. As a result, we have seen growth in many different areas of our business. Investing in our staff and vehicles as a result, we are now proud to be the top option for Party Bus Hire for all sorts of occasions. These are namely:
- Weddings
- Birthday celebrations
- Proms
- School trips
- College trips
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- City tours
- British excursions
- Sporting events
- Corporate events
If you are in the process of planning any of the above and haven't considered hiring a coach with us, then we highly recommend getting in touch. With Cheap Coach Hire famed for being the most reliable, affordable transport option in Chingford, we can ensure your trip kickstarts the right way.
For more details, a free quotation for Party Bus Hire, or for answers to any questions you have, contact our team when possible.


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If you are looking for a superior sound system for your home cinema then a wireless system is something you should investigate. The name really says it all with these types of systems as the main differential is that you can set up your home cinema without the need for bulky wiring. But before you go ahead and invest in one there are a few pros and cons that need to be investigated.
The predominant reason why people love this type of system is the fact that it is wireless. When you are trying to set up your home cinema system it can be very frustrating to be limited by the design layout of your room. In order to achieve the best sound quality, speakers need to be a distance away from each other, however having extension cords and wiring draped around the floor not only looks unsightly and messy it can be a safety hazard. Having a wireless sound system gives you total freedom as to where you can place your furniture to achieve the best effect. The system can also easily and quickly be packed away out of sight if you need to.
The main reason people invest in a sound system is to create a great audio experience and a wireless home cinema is much more likely to give you this. Superior clarity of sound is achieved through the use of bluetooth and infrared which are top of the line technologies that produce a smooth transfer of data to the speakers.
The benefits of a wireless home cinema are huge but like most thing in life there are a drawbacks as well.
One of the things that may put this type of system out of reach for many is the cost. Because of the use of such up to date, state of the art technologies the cost can end up almost double of that of a more standard design that uses wiring attached to the speakers.
A factor that some people may not be aware of is that there can be some interference to the wireless connection and this is generally caused by other wireless things you may have in you house. The interefence can cause the system to generate a poor standard of sound or malfunction althogether. This disadvantage sounds more damaging than it is however as the problem can be fixed by simply taking the other device out of the room or switching the system off and on again.
It is important that you consider all the advantages and disadvantages of a wireless home cinema before you go ahead and purchase one. That way you are guaranteed of making the best decision for you and your family.


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An even newer installation is the Model TAS 16/80 thermoform/fill/seal system, which also comes from Hassia. The machine is notable for its ability to apply roll-fed paper labels to the sidewalls of the cups as they are thermoformed from sheet.
The product in this case is yogurt with fruit on the bottom. A private-label yogurt contract with the Tesco chain of supermarkets in England was a key driver behind this installation.
"In-line labeling like this is not new to Hassia," says Campina plant manager Martina Schilling. "But it's new to us."
An added complication where this machine is concerned is that two different cup shapes are being produced. The Tesco container is not the same as the cup that Campina makes for its own Optiwell brand of yogurt.
In addition, the Tesco brand is produced in a six-pack format while the Optiwell is a four-pack. With both formats, consumers buy the multipacks and then tear off individual cups along a score line. Hassia says the tooling change required in going from one format to another takes about two hours.
"We expect to make a format change once a week," says engineering manager Horst Breitenoder. At the time of Packaging World's visit, he notes, Campina was just moving into full-production mode with the new system. "We'll see how things go as we settle into a weekly rhythm," he adds.
The roll-fed label application—performed 24 cups/cycle—is a marvel of precision and control. Two rolls of label material are fed into the thermoforming station from a right angle. A series of eyemarks, sensors, and rollers keep the long strips of paper on track and under control as they move into a station that cross-cuts them from the continuous rolls and hands each individual label to a mechanical gripper.
From here, each label is fed into a forming cavity. When the 24-cavity mold closes and the heat-softened polystyrene sheet is pressed and blown into the cavities, a heat-activated coating causes the label to bond to the PS sidewall. The mold opens, and the 24 attractively decorated containers are now ready to move to filling and lidding stations downstream. Cups hold 125-g (4.4-oz) each.
The PS forming sheet is supplied by Cedap. The heat-activated paper labels come from Constantia Hueck.
"In some ways, I expected start-up to present more difficulties than it has," says Schilling. "But it's been very smooth so far. Quality and consistency of both the label material and forming web are absolutely critical. If there's any inconsistency in either one, they won't match each other at that crucial moment when they meet and are married in the mold."
As cups exit the Hassia system, an Oystar A+F (www.osystar.afautomation.com) tray packer places the four- or six-cup groups into corrugated trays. The remaining equipment in the line is an AL Tech (www.altech-uk.com) thermal-transfer labeler that labels each corrugated tray with date and production code information. The trays are then palletized and made ready for shipment.


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How to enable Google Now on iOS for Google Apps accounts
Earlier today Google officially pushed out an update to its existing Google Search app for iPhone enabling the Google Now service with weather and traffic conditions, updates on breaking news and sports, and more. Some users logging into Google Search through a Google Apps account might have noticed that using the features would prompt an error that "your administrator hasn't enabled Google Now for your domain." Hanselman.com shares instructions on enabling the feature which aren't exactly obvious since the setting is buried in "Android settings".
Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government: Google Now needs to be turned on by an administrator before it can be used.
If you are an administrator, you can enable Google Now for users in your organization by following these steps:
- Sign in to your Google Apps control panel.
- Go to Settings > Mobile > Org Settings > Android settings.
- Click the checkbox next to Enable Google Now to turn on Google Now.
- Click Save.


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IRIS, The Scandinavian Chapter of AIS
- The IRIS Association
- The IRIS Conference
- The SCIS Conference
- The SJIS Journal
- Membership
Welcome to the IRIS Association
If you are a researcher or practitioner in the field of information systems interested in your own
development and in the building of knowledge in organizations and society - you are most
welcome to become a member of IRIS Association.
The IRIS (Information Systems Research in Scandinavia) Association is a non-profit
organization aiming to promote research and research education in the use, development and
management of information systems in Scandinavia, and making that research known in the
international research community and among practitioners.
The Association has as its major purpose to develop and maintain the following:
- The Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (free to all members)
- The Seminar
The IRIS Association is the Scandinavian Chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AIS).


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There's this website that's new to me, courtesy of the Elder of Ziyon, and he has the link to the site. There you will find this headline: What's a Proportional Response? and this wonderful memo (and therefore quote) from Ben Gurion, explaining an action against the Syrians in 1955: "Ben Gurion's explanation for the background of the action:
"We're in a difficult situation with the Arabs, because when they wish to destroy or murder, they don't have to kill hundreds of us at a time. Instead, they make our life miserable day by day. Maybe they can't do otherwise, since they're afraid to send an entire military unit against us. So they send a small squad, and the squad crosses the border and waits for nightfall. Under cover of darkness they wander around until they find an object or a person, and they destroy it or kill the person. Their intention is to do this for years and wear us down...
We can't do what they do, even if we wished to, because we can't kill civillians, say to start killing Arab civilians we meet along the way..
So we have two options. We can resign ourselves to this situation, or we can not resign ourselves to it. This government was created to not resign itself to such a situation. I announced this in the Knesset. Based on that announcement, I called [Eedson] Burns [the UN commander in the area] and informed him that this government would respond and he should tell [Gamal] Nasser...
On the Sea of Galillee they've got a system. They shoot at our fishermen, and they shoot at our police boats. The entire lake is in our territory, no-one disputes that. It's the begining of the fishing season, and they've been shooting a lot. It's merely a coincidence that none of our people was hurt, but the boats have been hit. We can't accept this situation... In Syria there's no efficient regime, they're perpetually on the verge of a putsch. Either we'll aquiesce with the loss of our right to fish, or we'll have to destroy their fortifications. We could do as they do, and simply shoot back, but then we'll hit their civilians, beause their troops are all protected by their fortifications. I said: we're not going to target their civilians, their women and children, their villages, so we'll have to take and destroy their fortifications."
By: Brian Goldfarb
06 December 2012
So, what do we mean by proportional? Not what the anti-Zionists mean, for sure.
There's this website that's new to me, courtesy of the Elder of Ziyon, and he has the link to the site. There you will find this headline: What's a Proportional Response? and this wonderful memo (and therefore quote) from Ben Gurion, explaining an action against the Syrians in 1955: "Ben Gurion's explanation for the background of the action:
Posted by
Labels: History , Israel , Middle East
8 comments:
- Glenn Mark Cassel said...
At some point, a full blown retaliatory strike will be necessary
- 11:40 AM, December 06, 2012
- SnoopyTheGoon said...
No doubt whatsoever. Unless a miracle happens and Hamas will join the Israeli labor.
- 12:31 PM, December 06, 2012
- Dick Stanley said...
Good old BG, what a mensch.
- 1:39 PM, December 06, 2012
- Lynne T said...
Hopefully, Hamas's friend in Cairo is about to get knackered.
- 2:41 PM, December 06, 2012
- SnoopyTheGoon said...
Dunno. So far the army follows orders.
- 3:25 PM, December 06, 2012
- SnoopyTheGoon said...
- 4:05 PM, December 06, 2012
- KatieNorcross said...
Sooner or later the victim will hit the bully. Let it be sooner for later will result in dead children.
- 10:14 PM, December 06, 2012
- SnoopyTheGoon said...
Let's wait and see.
- 12:41 PM, December 07, 2012


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Isn't it bizarre that not particularly long ago a whole bunch of women just assumed they'd grow up to be housewives? Wives! Just in a house! Wifing around! ALL THE TIME. This isn't news, I know, it's just what women of a certain class did. For years and years and years and years and years and years, the expectation was that you should find a "good" husband, and then you're taken care of. 4 LYFE. You take care of the house, beat the rugs, maybe you get a cute little vanity degree, you sleep in a weirdly chaste twin bed with your hair in a scarf. That's your "job." He pays the bills, provides the penising, trips over the ottoman, maybe has an affair or two. That's his no-quotation-marks job. He's happy. You're happy. The end. Except — PLOT TWIST — women weren't happy. And it wasn't the end, it was the beginning of all this shit we're endlessly shouting about.
A new poll suggests that, perhaps, public opinion is (slowly, arduously) beginning to shout with us. Researchers asked 1,000 British parents what they thought would be the determining factors in their kids' longterm success. A hundred years ago, the parents of girls would, almost certainly, have put "marrying well" at the top of their list. 200 years ago? Scratch the "almost." But today, in our 21st-century matriarchal utopia (lolololoolllolll), here's what happened:
When asked whether their daughters thought their financial future was dependent on having a husband, only 31.9 per cent agreed.
By contrast 37.7 per cent of those with sons thought having a wife would make them financially secure.
Parents were also asked to choose what they thought their child would see as providing the greatest financial security from a list of options including matters like getting a good job or getting married.
Only seven per cent of parents with daughters chose "marrying well" as a top priority – with another one per cent chosing "marrying a celebrity".
By contrast 57 per cent thought that their daughters should prioritise getting a good job and 22 per cent singled out the importance of doing well at school or university. Only four per cent ranked starting a family as a top priority.
Among parents with sons almost 14 per cent chose either marrying well or marrying a celebrity.
Meanwhile only 47 per cent singled out getting a good job as the most important option for their son.
Okay, full disclosure: I have no fucking idea what's going on here, but I'm kind of excited about it. What's stumping me is that the numbers didn't even out — or equalize — they flip-flopped. Now more parents see a "good" marriage as essential for their sons—while those with daughters seem to not give much of a shit. So why on earth would that happen? Here are some theories:
It's the End of Men!!! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! Panic! Tip some shit over! Buy all the Tasty Bites! Drums in the deep! Doom! Doom!! DOOOOOOOOM.
With more women entering the workforce and becoming financially independent, men are feeling less pressure to do anything. It's not like your kids will starve if you don't get that promotion, so why not play some video games and crack a Zima, bro? Like, I don't get any work done if I don't have a deadline. So maybe the nation's men are just me-trying-to-write-my-book-proposal. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. No wonder their moms are worried.
All of the people polled coincidentally happen to have Tracy Flick daughters and besweatpantsed-manchild-trapped-in-a-carbon-monoxide-leak sons. Seems totally plausible.
Feminism worked! For lack of a better option, I'm going to go with this one. Feminism worked. Or, is working, finally, to some tangible extent. Here are some more newish numbers:
The vast majority of young people – about 80% of women and 70% of men across all races, classes, and family backgrounds - desire an egalitarian marriage in which both partners share breadwinning, housekeeping, and child rearing.
That same piece goes on to explain that though young people express those desires in theory, in practice their actions play out differently:
With this in mind, Gerson asked her respondents what type of family they would like if, for whatever reason, they couldn't sustain an equal partnership. She discovered that, while men's and women's ideals are very similar, their fallback positions deviate dramatically.
Men's most common fallback position is to establish a neotraditional division of labor: 70% hope to convince their wives to de-prioritize their careers and focus on homemaking and raising children. Women? Faced with a husband who wants them to be a housewife or work part-time, almost three-quarters of women say they would choose divorce and raise their kids alone. In fact, despite men's insistence on being breadwinners, women are more likely than men to say they value success in a high-paying career.
It sounds grim, but I actually find that data deeply heartening. Sure, those "fallback positions" complicate things a bit, but the study as a whole indicates that the Role of Women is genuinely shifting. (Also, high-five, women.) Whatever they actually do in practice, the fact is that 70% of men expressed a desire for an egalitarian relationship. That's huge. And it makes sense that it would take time for practice to catch up to theory. We can want equality before we achieve it. In fact, we have to.
Feminism has deep roots in the concept that women deserve to have a voice and a presence outside of the home—that we're more than just babymakers and rug-scrubbers and penis-receptacles. Our sphere is bigger. We want to vote and work and be listened to. Maybe it's because my mom worked and took care of the house, but to me, the idea of marrying a rich dude and then just hanging out for the rest of my life is completely foreign. Like to the point where I sometimes fantasize about it, in the pie-in-the-sky way a person might fantasize about having a private island or a team of raccoon butlers. (All of which, I have a feeling, would be much better in theory than in practice. Like, ugh, what do I do with this entire island? I couldn't even keep my studio apartment tidy — now I have to MAKE INFRASTRUCTURE? BUT I'M SO TIRED. WHY IS THERE BUTLER POOP ALL OVER THE GUEST HOUSE MEZZANINE.)
And we want all of the benefits and the responsibilities that go along with that liberation. In other words, modern women understand that the right to be breadwinners comes along with the hard work of actually winning the bread. The right to fight in combat comes with the possibility of dying. The right to not be property comes with the responsibility of splitting the check. We're cool with that. Really! We really really mean it.
So it makes sense, in a way—the suggestion that marriage might, suddenly, be more important for men than for women. I'm going to think of it as aspirational. The parents with male kids are recognizing the value of women as breadwinners. (Teaming up with these plucky gals might actually be beneficial!) The parents of female kids are throwing their support behind women's independence. (My daughter is a scholar and a brain surgeon and she doesn't need some man to win her bread!)
Whatever it means, it makes me happy. Keep it up, world.


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JavaScript-Specific Guidelines
This feature is supported in the Ultimate edition only.
With IntelliJ IDEA, you can develop modern web, mobile, and desktop applications with JavaScript and Node.js. IntelliJ IDEA supports JavaScript and TypeScript programming languages, React and Angular frameworks and provides tight integration with various tools for web development.
On this page:
- Prerequisites
- JavaScript support
- Developing an application that contains JavaScript: general overview
- In this section
JavaScript support
JavaScript files are marked with icon.
JavaScript support in IntelliJ IDEA includes:
- Switching between JavaScript language versions:
- Full coding assistance:
- Smart code completion for keywords, labels, variables, parameters, user-defined or built-in functions, and JavaScript namespaces.
- Error and syntax highlighting.
- Code formatting and folding.
- Numerous code inspections and quick-fixes.
- Support of the strict mode standard.
- Code Generation
- Generating code stubs based on file templates during file creation.
- Inserting, expanding, and generating JavaScript code blocks using live templates.
- Creating various applications elements via JavaScript and AJAX intention actions.
- Possibility to create line and block comments (Ctrl+Slash/Ctrl+Shift+Slash).
- Unwrapping and removing statements.
- Possibility to build and view type, method and call hierarchies.
- Refactoring, both JavaScript-specific and available for all the supported languages, see Refactoring Source Code and Extract Parameter in JavaScript.
- Numerous ways to navigate through the source code, among them Navigating with Structure Views, Show/Goto Implementation (Ctrl+Alt+B) from overridden method / subclassed class, etc.
- Advanced facilities for searching through the source code.
- Support of the JSDoc format and generating documentation comments.
- Viewing reference information:
- Definitions, inline documentation, parameter hints.
- JSDoc comments.
- Lookup in external JavaScript libraries.
Running and debugging.
- Launching applications directly from IntelliJ IDEA by opening the starting application HTML page in the default IntelliJ IDEA browser.
- A dedicated debug configuration for launching debugging sessions directly from IntelliJ IDEA.
- A JavaScript-aware debugger that lets you execute applications step by step, evaluate expressions, examine related information and find runtime bugs.
- Support for JavaScript breakpoints.
- Tight integration with related frameworks and technologies.
- Support for the JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format:
- A JSON file type template mapped to
jsonfile extension.
- JSON code formatting and folding.
- A JSON file type template mapped to
Developing an application that contains JavaScript: general overview
Developing an application that contains JavaScript, generally, includes performing the following steps:
- Create a project to implement your application. On the first page of the New Project wizard, select Static Web.
- On the JavaScript page of the Settings dialog box, choose the JavaScript language version that you are going to use in your project.
- Install the project dependencies via the Node Package Manager by doing one of the following:
- Open the Settings / Preferences Dialog by pressing Ctrl+Alt+S or by choosing for Windows and Linux or for macOS, and click Node.js and NPM under Languages & Frameworks.
- On the Node.js and NPM page that opens, the Packages area shows all the Node.js-dependent packages that are currently installed on your computer, both at the global and at the project level. Click .
- In the Available Packages dialog box that opens, select the required package.
- Optionally specify the product version and click Install Package to start installation.
- Right-click the
package.jsonfile in the editor or in the Project tool window and choose Run 'npm install' on the context menu.
- Open the built-in Terminal () and run the
npm install <required_package>commands.
- Install the required packages on the Node.js and NPM page of the Settings / Preferences Dialog.
For details, see Installing and Removing External Software Using Node Package Manager.
- Populate the project. Use the following IntelliJ IDEA facilities, where applicable:
- Coding assistance.
- Code Generation.
- Various types of navigation and search through the source code.
- Viewing reference and generating documentation comments.
- Look-up in external libraries.
- Improve the quality and maintainability of your code using various types of refactorings, built-in code quality tools, and integration with other linters, see Using JavaScript Code Quality Tools.
- Run your application by opening its starting HTML page in the IntelliJ IDEA default browser.
- Debug your application in the Google Chrome browser.
The JavaScript debugging functionality is incorporated in IntelliJ IDEA, so just configure the debugger, whereupon you can start the debugging session and proceed as usual: set the breakpoints, step through them, stop and resume the program, and examine it when suspended.
In this section
- Configuring JavaScript Libraries
- Creating JSDoc Comments
- Viewing JavaScript Reference
- JavaScript-Specific Refactorings
- Testing JavaScript
- Minifying JavaScript
- Using AngularJS
- Using Angular
- Using the Flow Type Checker
- Using Grunt Task Runner
- Using Gulp Task Runner
- Using JavaScript Code Quality Tools
- Using Meteor
- Using PhoneGap/Cordova


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Illinois Marathon, Half Marathon
These are draft panoramas from the Illinois Marathon. If you are interested in any of these, let me know at email@example.com. You can see a larger version by clicking on the panorama, then select size X3 at the top - or size O for a much larger version. The O size is approximately 1/3 of the original size.Read More


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Review: Third Rail's The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Beauty Queen is part of the Leenane trilogy by celebrated Irish playwright and screenwriter Martin McDonagh. Third Rail and Director Scott Yarbrough have staged the other two plays before (Lonesome West and A Skull in Conemara), and their fluency with the material is evident in this confident production. (Read more about Beauty Queen's historic place in Irish theater in our preview of Portland theater's Irish Spring.)'
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Third Rail Repertory Theatre
Winningstad Theatre
Thru June 22
That's not to say you'll be enthralled right from the beginning, though, as it seems to take a few scenes for this play's gears to really start turning. The peculiar style of dialogue utilizes lots of repeated phrases in Gaelic-inflected English, and the characters' halting back-and-forth makes for an awkward energy when they're just sitting around. But once the action begins and the stakes are clear, that awkwardness morphs into a tangible tension.
Viewers acquainted with McDonagh through his films In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths will be familiar with the disturbing way in which the writer can make audiences laugh in spite of, and yet simultaneously because of, the rapid unraveling of his characters' physical and emotional well-being. That unique nail-biting humor is on full display here, especially during a memorable sequence in the second act involving the delivery of an important letter that must stay out of the conniving Mag's hands. Equally on display is the violence towards which McDonagh tends to direct his plots.
Fortunately, given the small cast, the acting is strong throughout. Maureen Porter lends an unnervingly spellbinding fragility to the play's titular character, and Jayne Taini is just ever so slightly—and necessarily—pitiable in the role of Mag, a character who is otherwise detestable for the determined selfishness with which she slowly unravels the thin thread by which her daughter's mental health hangs. Damon Kupper offers a strong presence and the strongest accent as Pato, and Rolland Walsh nearly steals the show as Pato's unreliable and irreverent younger brother Ray.
For a play so shrouded in the uncertainties of psychosis, McDonagh's script doesn't ultimately leave much room for interpretation. Any nuance in the satisfyingly (if depressingly) symmetrical plot is quashed when one character bluntly and explicitly voices a conclusion that might have been more powerful left unsaid. This is probably par for the course when it comes to a playwright who has claimed that he can't stand audiences analyzing his plays, but you can't help but wish McDonagh would give his own writing a little breathing room.
Granted, these are largely simple characters with pedestrian goals and petty grievances, but that doesn't diminish the play's thematic resonance. Plenty of people feel trapped by family circumstance and weighed down by seemingly paltry concerns. A script like McDonagh's, in talented hands like Third Rail's, is as universal as the characters are limited.


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Pink Peonies In Glass Cube
Capture the romance of peonies all year long with this pretty in pink peony bouquet
- Pink peonies in a glass cube
- Dimensions: 9" diameter x 9" tall.
- Perfect for any room in the house.
- Handmade to order in the USA.
- Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery
- This item will ship directly from Diane James.
Since launching her first collection 1997, Diane James has been creating the most beautiful floral arrangements and orchid plants...and not one of them has ever wilted! After mastering the art of floral composition in England and France, she turned to "faux" in the 1990's when asked to create lasting arrangements for her clients' vacation homes, perfecting her signature "just-from-the-garden" style. Each of these life-like, hand-made arrangements is botanically correct in color and style, and many of the petals are hand-trimmed by one of six floral designers who work in the company's Connecticut-based studio.


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Loving yourself is the best gift that you can give to yourself.
Finding happiness, fulfillment, success and the best version of you comes with the understanding that unconditional self-love is a critical determinant to achieving these things.
Take a listen to my video on 'loving myself' below and do subscribe.
It's my birthday today, now I'm off to eat some cake 🙂


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How it works
Bevv is not a retailer or a distributor. We are a mix of logistics, compliance engine, and an e-commerce storefront specifically created to help connect with customers and reach new markets like never before.START SELLING ONLINE
Alcohol E-Commerce
Sell your alcoholic products and swag directly from your website.
Products and Reach
List all your products online from your dashboard and reach your consumer.
Compliance Grid
Sell online knowing that you are operating legally and compliantly.
Premium Domain Site
Get a premium URL to use as a standalone when selling through social media and elsewhere.
End-to-End Solution
Get full logistics for pick-up/delivery, label generation, reporting, and instant payment.
About us
Founded by a lawyer who owned a bar to put himself through law school and an entrepreneur that helped raise money for craft breweries before realizing that not all breweries were able to get equal distribution. Bevv was started as a way to legally disrupt the outdated three-tier system. We don't believe that access to customers nationwide is an opportunity that should only be given to select brands. Direct-to-consumer is the future. We are excited to connect the craft community like never before by providing state-of-the-art logistics and a compliant e-commerce storefront.


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The Seven Virtues of Senryu:
I am taking on the seven cardinal virtues in a senryu rumble. I couldn't reach my blogging partner in crime, so I'm going it alone. Wish me luck! Salvation, here I come! You better be ready to greet me at journey's end.
If you missed the Seven Deadly Sins of Senryu, you can find all the senryu mayhem by clicking here.
Honor your promise
Bind your eyes, hold your scales high
Abstain from vile acts
Against opinion
Stand tree-firm amid the gale
Let lies not sway you
Hold truth in your hand
Don't let it flow into lies
Drip in collusion
Set pyres for justice
Burn away the illusion
Leave behind the real
~ ~ ~
Image credit: collage of Pixabay images + some photo manipulation by me (Melinda).


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UTM appliances whip blended security threats
Unified threat management appliances combine multiple perimeter protections with mixed results
Taking one part stateful inspection firewall, one part intrusion prevention, and equal parts anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-spyware, and content filtering, UTM (Unified Threat Management) appliances blend traditionally separate security services into a single device, providing not only comprehensive protection against Internet-based threats but also streamlined access to policies and reporting.
Now, instead of jumping between separate security tools and management UIs, admins need only go to one place to manage and monitor these systems. Updates are scheduled and initiated from a single console, reports are viewed from one appliance, and policy is managed from one device.
By moving all of these security services into a single device, UTM appliances are supposed to reduce the admin's workload; ease-of-use is one of the main selling points. A well-crafted UI can make short work of checking for signature updates, recent activity, and alerts. All of the solutions I tested provided "at a glance" monitoring and management, although some did it better than others. For the datacenter folks, all of the appliances can report back to all common reporting systems, including Syslog and SNMP tools, and all have their own branded central management tool.
A possible argument against UTM appliances is that security guys can no longer pick specific solutions for each defense; they have to use the UTM vendor's bundled products. If, for example, the enterprise has standardized on CA's anti-virus and anti-spyware products but wants another vendor's firewall/VPN, there is no way to integrate the two systems into a common management platform.
For most, this argument is moot. The security services bundled together are typically "best of breed" services in their own right. For example, Astaro uses a combination of Kaspersky and open source signatures for virus protection, whereas WatchGuard and ServGate employ McAfee AV. I don't believe any security administrator is going to stop using desktop anti-virus or anti-spyware protection and rely solely on the network edge device. UTM's goal is to stop the threats before they can enter the network, with desktop protection as the last line of defense.
Take your places, please
For this round up of UTM solutions, we requested the model most suited for branch-office deployment. For us, that meant the smallest rack-mountable device that supports all core UTM features and can be managed centrally from the corporate datacenter. We ended up with a range of products from Astaro, Fortinet, ServGate, SonicWall, and WatchGuard, all 1U appliances and more than up to the task. Symantec, Secure Computing, and TippingPoint were invited but were not able to participate due to various scheduling conflicts.
I ran each appliance through a series of test scenarios similar to what any protected office might experience. I placed each firewall in front of a Windows SBS (Small Business Server) 2003 server running Outlook Web Access, the standard SBS remote workplace portal, SMTP mail services (Exchange), and an FTP server. I created inbound policies designed to expose yet protect each service. I then tried to exploit these services using Core Impact from Core Security Technologies.
My penetration tests included a series of attacks using well-known and well-documented exploits for each service. I targeted the attacks against the exposed services, all of which attempted to either take the service offline (DoS) or run code on the server. Core Impact made these tests extremely easy to set up, but even more importantly, it allowed the same tests to be repeated for each UTM appliance. The results proved that each firewall was more than capable of preventing a direct attack, and not once was my targeted server interrupted. During each attack phase, I kept an eye on the firewall's logs to monitor developments as the attack took place.
One other test was to stress the virus scanning capabilities of each UTM box. To do this, I copied a 160MB virus infected zip file from a "public" FTP server into my protected network from a Windows XP system using Internet Explorer as the FTP client. Only SonicWall and ServGate were capable of handling the file copy correctly without ignoring the virus in the file. I was amazed to find that not all UTM solutions can scan for viruses in all types of traffic in all situations. This is an area that many vendors need to work on.
Astaro Security Gateway 220
The Astaro Security Gateway 220 packs its UTM punch into a chassis loaded with eight 10/100Mbps Ethernet inter¬faces. The ASG 220 has a 40GB hard drive that is also used for Web caching and quarantining of spam and virus-infected objects. Setup and policy creation was not as straightforward as Fortinet's or SonicWall's but didn't take more than an hour to complete. Astaro does, however, have one of the better built-in reporting engines.
Putting together the various inbound and outbound access rules takes a few extra clicks to complete, requiring the admin to create packet filter and dynamic NAT rules in order to allow valid inbound traffic. Other appliances, such as ServGate and SonicWall, take care of this extra step. Outbound policy can be defined different ways using the various proxies to mix and match users, hosts, and destinations along with content filters to provide just the right blend of threat management.
The ASG 220 comes with a full line of standard routing features and can be set up in transparent mode with all eight interfaces bridged — the only unit that can do that. I like having the capability to set up different subnets on the various physical interfaces and to create policies among them, including VLANs. The 220 also works with dynamic DNS and RIP (Routing Information Protocol) v1 and v2. QoS is available per policy but is limited to normal, low, or high settings.
Defining the various security policies for inbound traffic required a mix of packet filters, proxies, and NAT definitions. As opposed to SonicWall, which does the heavy lifting for you, Astaro requires admins to create each packet filter rule and match it with a manually created NAT rule in order for traffic to flow in to exposed Web services. This requirement doesn't limit the functionality of the policy; it just adds a little additional administrative overhead.
Astaro's core UTM features are built as part of the application proxies. For example, virus scanning will check inbound and outbound traffic through the SMTP proxy and can quarantine suspicious messages for later analysis. The HTTP proxy provides content filtering on client-requested traffic and uses Cobion URL filtering lists to mitigate casual surfing. Unfortunately, anti-virus scanning isn't available for FTP traffic unless admins enable the HTTP proxy in standard mode and use a browser to copy files over FTP. A true FTP proxy will be available in the next release and will include anti-virus scanning.
IPS is well represented with a list of more than 4,000 detection signatures. IPS rules are grouped by attack type, which allows for quick and easy management. During my penetration tests with Core Impact, I was never able to exploit any of the services exposed through the ASG 220. Every attack was turned away and logged for later inspection.
Any self-respecting UTM appliance will have a full complement of VPN services, and the ASG 220 is no exception. It has a wide range of cipher strengths and hash algorithms allowing for very flexible deployment. Also included is Microsoft PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) for client-to-site road warriors. Similar to policy definition, IPSec policy required a little more effort to complete.
The well-rounded reporting engine in the ASG 220 provides a wide variety of graphical charts as well as raw log files. There are two additional packages, the Report Manager and the Configuration Manager, that allow for centralized reporting aggregation and policy management.
Fortinet FortiGate 400A
The FortiGate 400A ships with six 10/100Mbps Ethernet interfaces and combines slick policy management with routing capabilities usually found only in bigger hardware. UTM services are complete, as are VPN and dynamic routing services. Remote management is performed through the FortiManager console, and local logging, although included, could be improved. Initial setup and configuration took less than 30 minutes to complete, and FortiGate's IPS proved to be up to the task of stopping all the Core Impact attacks I threw at it.
The most expensive UTM box in our roundup, the FortiGate boasts a very flexible and powerful routing engine. Each of its six interfaces can be a member of a different IP network with distinct routing policies and RIP v1 and v2 settings. In fact, unique among the appliances tested, the FortiGate allows each physical interface to have its own DHCP server. One of the most interesting features is that the appliance can be divided into two virtual domains. This feature essentially splits the firewall into two logical devices. Physical interfaces and policies are each assigned as members of a specific domain.
Firewall access policies in the 400A allow for many different situations without being overly complex to define. I found it easy to create address assignments for specific services and to create security policies based on each type of traffic. Access policies are not automatically ordered, as they are by the SonicWall Pro 2040, but it is easy to reorder them from the UI.
The 400A works with site-to-site IPSec VPNs and also PPTP and L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) client-to-site connections. Encryption strength ranges from DES to AES256 (Advanced Encryption Standard 256-bit) for maximum security. Fortinet's QoS support is among the best, with the capability to prioritize traffic and manipulate the Diffserv values.
All of the expected security services are in the 400A, and as opposed to Astaro and WatchGuard, Fortinet allows anti-virus scanning to be assigned to traffic other than SNMP. Services are enabled and assigned specific actions in a Protection Profile. Profiles can be a specific mix of services tailored to a type of traffic. For example, I created a profile only with anti-virus and IPS enabled and used it as a protection policy for FTP traffic. Admins can create many different profiles, each for a specific need.
The anti-virus service, although better than most, has its limitations. There is an upper limit on the maximum file size that can be scanned as it passes through the FortiGate. If the file exceeds 50MB — the upper limit for the model I tested — admins have the choice of denying the transfer completely or ignoring the oversized file and passing it without scanning it. This size limitation applies to all forms of traffic.
Fortinet maintains its own signature lists for anti-virus, IPS, Web, and spam filters, and updates can be scheduled hourly to make sure the latest definitions are online. In addition to signatures, the IPS uses anomaly detection to protect exposed systems. Admins can create custom signatures or simply use the included list. As with all of the solutions tested here, Core Impact couldn't find a crack in Fortinet's IPS.
Reporting and logging services are average. Five different logs are included, but for the best results, admins will want to ship the information off to either a Syslog or WebTrends server. For centralized management, Fortinet's FortiManager is the platform to use. It allows for direct remote management as well as report and log aggregation.
ServGate EdgeForce M30
ServGate's EdgeForce M30 appliance comes with three 10/100Mbps interfaces and a 20GB hard drive used for Web caching and many of its core security services. Setup and configuration of the M30 was straightforward; I had the unit online with a default outbound policy in less than 30 minutes. The M30 came in as the lowest-cost appliance in our group, and policy creation and maintenance were not overly difficult.
The M30 is based on purpose-built hardware. At its heart is a stateful inspection firewall that provides good all-around protection. As do Fortinet and WatchGuard, ServGate provides dynamic routing, such as RIP v1 and v2, and static routing, as well as dynamic DNS. QoS is included, but it isn't nearly as complete as the support found in Fortinet. VLAN support will be available in the next release of the ServGate OS.
VPN services are also well supported with various flavors of site-to-site IPSec and PPTP, and ServGate's VPN client handling client-to-site chores. Admins can choose between cipher strengths up to 3DES and AES256.
Creating inbound policy for my protected resources required first defining a virtual IP alias for each service and then plugging them in to the appropriate IP mapping policy. Part of the policy creation includes what content filter to apply to the inbound traffic. ServGate's content filters are based on IPS rules and the additional security services such as anti-virus.
For example, I was able to create a "test" content filter for my exposed Web server using a predefined Web server IPS policy and then by choosing to add anti-virus filtering. Admins can use the canned IPS and content filter rules or create new ones to meet specific needs. My only complaint is that I had to hop among three different areas of the admin console in order to manipulate and assign a content filter.


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WASHINGTON (JTA) — At a Rosh Hashanah reception at his residence, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said "there is no daylight" between the United States and Israel when it comes to Iran.
Biden, in a short address before the reception Wednesday on the grounds of the Naval Observatory in northwest Washington, reaffirmed the Obama administration's commitment to Israel's security.
According to tweets posted by Nathan Diament, the Washington director of the Orthodox Union, Biden said that "Both our nations are intently focused on the threat of Iran" and "there is no daylight" between the United States and Israel.
Diament also quoted Biden as saying that "We will use all the elements of our national security, including military" to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The remarks come in the wake of a rare public split between the Obama administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran, with Netanyahu accusing the administration of not making clear what would trigger a U.S. strike on Iran.
Guests said Biden also spoke about the murder the day before of four U.S. personnel, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Among the approximately 75 guests at the event were top Jewish communal officials, including Richard Stone, the chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League's national director; Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, the executive vice president of the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly; and Stephen Savitsky, chairman of the Orthodox Union.
Also attending were Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to Washington; U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee; and Jack Lew, the White House chief of staff, as well as a number of Jewish lawmakers.
Obama is scheduled to have a conference call with congregational rabbis on Friday to deliever a Rosh Hashanah message.