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Since the December 17, 2014, announcement of rapprochement, Cuba has voiced at least three demands or issues regarding its lease of Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. The most serious one is ending the lease and returning this territory to complete Cuban control. The second is the U.S.' paying for use of the territory since the Cuban Revolution's takeover of the island in 1959. The third is Cuba's objection to the U.S.' establishing and maintaining a prison for detainees after 9/11 and to the U.S.' alleged mistreatment and torture of those detainees.
Understanding these issues requires an examination of (a) the Cuban war for independence, 1895-1898, and the Spanish-American War of 1898; (b) the terms of seven documents relating to the lease, all of which predate the Cuban Revolution; and (c) the position of the Revolutionary government toward these documents and the lease. [1] In conclusion, this post will discuss methods for resolving these issues.
Before all of that, here are maps and photographs of Guantanamo Bay.
The Cuban War for Independence and the Spanish-American War [2]
In 1895 Cubans started a revolt or war of independence from Spain, which responded with ferocity, launching its "reconcentrado" campaign that herded 300,000 Cubans into re-concentration camps. Spain's tactics infuriated many Americans, who began to raise money and even fight on the side of the Cuban nationalists while American businesses with economic interests on the island were worried about the safety of their investments. U.S. President William McKinley wanted an end to the Cuban-Spanish conflict, but demanded that Spain act responsibly and humanely and that any settlement be acceptable to Cuban nationals.
In November 1897, an amicable resolution appeared possible when the Spanish granted the Cubans limited autonomy and closed the re-concentration camps. But after pro-Spanish demonstrators rioted in Havana in January 1898 to protest Spain's more conciliatory policies, McKinley ordered the U.S. battleship Maine to Havana to protect American citizens and property and to demonstrate that the U.S. still valued Spain's friendship.
With the Maine safely moored in Spanish waters, the Spanish-American relationship was jolted by the publication in a New York newspaper of a letter by the Spanish minister to the U.S. describing McKinley as "weak and a bidder for the admirations of the crowd" and revealing that the Spanish were not negotiating in good faith with the U.S. Americans saw the letter as an attack on both McKinley's and the nation's honor. The American public's anger only intensified following an explosion on the Maine and its sinking on February 15, 1898, in Havana Harbor, killing 266 crew members. The Navy, on March 21, reported that an external explosion, presumably from a Spanish mine, had destroyed the ship.
With diplomatic initiatives exhausted and the American public wanting an end to the Cuban crisis, McKinley, in mid-April 1898, asked Congress for authority to intervene in Cuba, which it granted. Spain soon broke relations with the U.S., and the U.S. blockaded Cuba's ports. On April 23, Spain declared war on the U.S. Two days later the U.S. did likewise with the Teller amendment committing the U.S. to the independence of Cuba once the war had ended, disclaiming "any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island, except for the pacification thereof."
What became known as the Spanish-American War lasted only a little over three months with U.S. victories in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines ending in a cease fire on August 12, 1898. Under the Paris Peace Treaty of December 10, 1898, the U.S. obtained Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands while Spain renounced its claim to Cuba, which remained under U.S. military occupation until 1902.
Thereafter, Cuba would be a de facto U.S. protectorate until 1934.
The Lease of Guantanamo Bay
The first five of the seven documents relating to the Guantanamo lease were created during the period that Cuba was a de facto protectorate of the U.S.
- Act of Congress (March 2, 1901). On this date, President McKinley signed an Act of Congress that included what was called "the Platt Amendment," which authorized the U.S. President "to leave the government and control of the island of Cuba to its people so soon as a government shall have been established in said island under a constitution which, either as a part thereof or in an ordinance appended thereto, shall define the future relations of the United States with Cuba, [and shall include the following: provisions]:
- "I. That the government of Cuba shall never enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or permit any foreign power or powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes or otherwise, lodgement in or control over any portion of said island."
- "III. That the government of Cuba consents that the [U.S.] may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the treaty of Paris on the [U.S.], now to be assumed and undertaken by the government of Cuba."
- ""VII. That to enable the [U.S.] to maintain the independence of Cuba, and to protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defense, the government of Cuba will sell or lease to the [U.S.] lands necessary for coaling or naval stations at certain specified points to be agreed upon with the President of the United States."
- Constitution of Cuba (May 20, 1902). On this date, the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba was promulgated, and Article VII of its Appendix provided: "To enable the [U.S.] to maintain the independence of Cuba, and to protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defense, the Cuban Government will sell or lease to the [U.S.] the lands necessary for coaling or naval stations, at certain specified points, to be agreed upon with the President of the United States."
- U.S.-Cuba Agreement (February 23, 1903). Pursuant to the just mentioned Cuban constitutional provision, on February 23, 1903, the U.S. and Cuba entered into the "Agreement . . . for the Lease of Lands for Coaling and Naval stations." Its Article I stated that Cuba "hereby leases to the United States, for the time required for the purposes of coaling and naval stations, the following described areas of land and water [Guantanamo Bay and Bahia Honda] [3] situated in the Island of Cuba"
This Agreement's Article II stated, "The grant of the foregoing Article shall include the right to use and occupy the waters adjacent to said areas of land and water, and to improve and deepen the entrances thereto and the anchorages therein, and generally to do any and all things necessary to fit the premises for use as coaling or naval stations only, and for no other purpose." (Emphasis added.)
This Agreement concluded in Article III, whereby the U.S. "recognizes the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba over the above described areas of land and water, on the other hand the Republic of Cuba consents that during the period of the occupation by the [U.S.] of said areas under the terms of this agreement the [U.S.] shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said areas."
Unlike most leases, this agreement did not set forth a set period of time for the lease or the compensation or rent to be paid.
- Treaty between the United States of America and Cuba (May 22, 1903). This treaty in Article I states, "The Government of Cuba shall never enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or permit any foreign power or powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes, or otherwise, lodgment in or control over any portion of said island."
Article III provides, "The Government of Cuba consents that the United States may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the United States, now to be assumed and undertaken by the Government of Cuba."
Article VII adds, "To enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba, and to protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defense, the Government of Cuba will sell or lease to the United States lands necessary for coaling or naval stations, at certain specified points, to be agreed upon with the President of the United States."
- Lease of Certain Areas of Land and Water for Naval or Coaling Stations in Guantanamo and Bahia Honda (July 2, 1903). This instrument details additional terms of the lease in seven articles. Its Article I specified the compensation that the U.S. would pay to Cuba for the leased territories: "the annual sum of two thousand dollars, in gold coin of the United States, as long as the former shall occupy and use said areas of land by virtue of said agreement." Under Article II, the U.S. agreed "that no person, partnership, or corporation shall be permitted to establish or maintain a commercial, industrial or other enterprise within said areas."
There still was no set period of time for the lease of the territory.
On November 12, 1903, Guantánamo Bay Outer Harbor passed into U.S. hands "without any formality" and was "effected in a quiet manner."
- Treaty between United States of America and Cuba (May 29, 1934). By 1934 there had been changes in the overall relationship between the two countries. The U.S., pursuing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "good neighbor" policy, proposed to nullify the previously mentioned May 22, 1903, U.S.-Cuba Treaty. Cuba had become increasingly upset with the earlier treaty's Platt Amendment granting the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuba, and Cuba welcomed the idea of nullifying the 1903 treaty. Negotiations to that end proceeded quickly; and a new Cuban-American Treaty of Relations was signed on May 29, 1934, and after rapid ratifications by both states it entered into force on June 9, 1934. This effectively ended the U.S. de facto protectorate of Cuba.
The 1934 treaty in Article II also stated: "All the acts effected in Cuba by the [U.S.] during its military occupation of the island, up to May 20,1902, the date on which the Republic of Cuba was established, have been ratified and held as valid; and all the rights legally acquired by virtue of those acts shall be maintained and protected."
Article III added the following language with respect to the naval station at Guantánamo Bay: "The supplementary agreement in regard to naval or coaling station signed between the two Governments on July 2, 1903, also shall continue in effect in the same form and on the same conditions with respect to the naval station at Guantánamo. So long as the United States of America shall not abandon the said naval station of Guantánamo or the two Governments shall not agree to a modification of its present limits, the station shall continue to have the territory it now has, with the limits that it has on the date of the signature of the present Treaty."
The implication of Article III is that the U.S. at any time can walk away from the lease at Guantánamo (abandon the base), but the Cubans can never revoke the lease.
- Change in Amount of Rent (1938). Although the source document has not been located, secondary sources say the annual rent for Guantanamo was changed in 1938 to $4,085 (U.S. Dollars), which was the 1938 equivalent of $2,000 in U.S. gold coins. That term has never been changed. Indeed, the U.S. documents transmitting the annual rent checks in that amount for 2011, 2012 and 2013 merely refer to the July 2, 1903, Lease while stating the amount of $4,085 was "computed in the manner of which the government of Cuba has been advised in connection with previous rental payments." [4]
Cuba's Revolutionary Government's Positions Regarding the Lease
Soon after the Cuban Revolution took over the government in January 1959, it started calling for the U.S. to get out of Guantanamo. Over time Cuba set out four different, and sometimes contradictory, legal arguments for invalidating the lease. Even though some international law experts thought Cuba had a good argument for such invalidation: rebus sic stantibus (fundamental change of circumstances), [5] Cuba never instituted legal proceedings to that end. In addition, while the U.S.S.R. still existed and was a major Cuban ally, the Soviets argued that the lease was an "unequal treaty," but that legal theory was not embraced by the U.S. and most Western nations.
In addition, Cuba has refused to cash the annual U.S. checks for $4,085 made out to the "Treasurer General of the Republic" (a position that ceased to exist after the Revolution). One such check, however, was cashed in the early days of the Revolution, Cuba says, due to confusion. (Many years ago during a televised interview, Fidel Castro opened a desk drawer in his office to show the collection of uncashed checks.)
At least by 2004, Cuba accepted the lease as valid while asserting that control over Guantanamo "will eventually revert to Cuba because of the nature of the arrangement, ad defined by its domestic law, which prohibits perpetual leases. For example, in 2004, Cuba's Foreign Ministry stated the arrangement "does not grant a perpetual right but a temporary one over that part of our territory, by which, in due course, as a just right of our people, the illegally occupied territory of Guantanamo should be returned by peaceful means to Cuba." In short, said Cuba, the lease is valid, but U.S. occupation of the territory is illegal. This argument is ridiculous, in the opinion of this blogger, a retired U.S. lawyer.
There have been at least two U.S. responses to these Cuban arguments of invalidity of the lease. First, under the international legal principle of pacta sunt servanda (the contract is the law between the parties), the lease remained a valid agreement between the two states and Cuba has a legal obligation to adhere to agreements previously entered into despite a change in governments. [6] Second, the revolutionary government's acceptance of at least one of the annual rent checks was an admission of the lease's validity or a waiver of Cuba's objections thereto.
As a retired U.S. lawyer, without doing any legal research, I see potential issues of lease invalidity due to (a) possible undue influence or coercion by the U.S. in establishing the terms of the original lease in 1903 and the modifications in 1934 and 1938; [7] and (b) the U.S. use of Guantanamo possibly exceeding the uses permitted by the lease. Any such claim, however, would be potentially subject, at least in a domestic legal dispute, to the affirmative defenses of waiver, estoppel, ratification, laches and statute of limitations. [8]
The argument for invalidity based on the U.S. use of Guantanamo has been rejected by Professor Strauss. He notes that the lease permits the use of Guantanamo as a "naval station," which is a term created by the U.S. to allow its Navy to determine the range of activities that could occur at such a "station" and which has been used for fewer functions than a full naval base and more recently as a full naval base. As a result, says Strauss, the limitation on use is "largely meaningless in a practical sense."
In any event, if Cuba now were to assert a right to terminate the lease, over U.S. objection, then I suggest that such a claim should be submitted to a panel of three arbitrators at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague under its existing Arbitration Rules. Presumably the U.S. in addition to resisting the claim would have a contingent counterclaim (in the event of an arbitration award of termination) for reimbursement for the value of U.S. improvements to the territory.
Such an arbitration proceeding should also include any Cuban claim for compensation for the U.S. use of Guantanamo for 66 years (1960-2015). If, however, such a claims is only for the $4,085 annual rent established in 1938 for a total of $269,610 (without interest), then the claim should be resolved quickly by the U.S. paying the amount of the claim. If, however, the claim is for a higher amount based upon some theory to void the $4,085 figure and instead use a larger amount of alleged fair market value, then presumably such a claim would be contested by the U.S. and a proper claim for arbitration.
Of course, at any time the two parties could negotiate a new lease of Guantanamo, presumably for a specific term of years, with a right of renewal, at a higher and annually adjustable rent. Such a new lease could also impose limits on U.S. use of the territory such as prohibition of the operation of a prison or detention facility.
[1] An excellent overall discussion of the U.S. lease of Guantanamo is contained in Strauss, Cuba and State Responsibility for Human Rights at Guantanamo, 37 So. Ill. Univ. L.J. 533, 533-36 (2013). See also Notes on Guantanamo Bay; Wikipedia, Guantanamo Bay Navy Base.
[2] This brief summary of the two wars is based on American President: William McKinley: Foreign Affairs, Miller Center, Univ. Virginia.
[3] Bahia Honda was never used by the U.S. and reverted to Cuban control.
[4] Boadle, Castro: Cuba not cashing US Guantanamo rent checks, Reuters (Aug. 17, 2007); Shiffer, Annual rent for Girmo Naval Base: $4,085, payable to Cuba, StarTribune (Oct. 10, 2014) (contains U.S. transmittal advices for rental checks for 2011, 2012 and 2013).
[5] The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties that entered into force on January 20, 1980, sets forth "the codification and progressive development of the law of treaties," which are "international agreement[s] concluded between States in written form and governed by international law." (Preamble & Art. 2(1)(a).) Its Article 62 recognizes a "fundamental change of circumstances" as a ground for "terminating or withdrawing from" a treaty and defines the conditions for such a ground. Cuba is a party to the treaty, and although the U.S. is not, the State Department has said that this Convention "is already generally recognized as the authoritative guide to current treaty law and practice." (David Weissbrodt, Fionnuala Ni Aolain, Joan Fitzpatrick, Frank Newman, International Human Rights: Law, Policy, and Process at 127-28 (4th ed. LexisNexis 2009).)
[6] The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties notes that "the principles of free consent and of good faith and pacta sunt servanda are universally recognized" and its Article 26 under the heading "Pacta sunt servanda" states, "Every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith."
[7] The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in Article 52 provides, "A treaty is void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations."
[8] The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides in Article 45 that a "State may no longer invoke [breach by the other party or fundamental change of circumstances] if, after becoming aware of the facts: (a) it shall have expressly agreed that the treaty is valid or remains in force or continues in operation . . .; or (b) it must by reason of its conduct be considered as having acquiesced in the validity of the treaty or its maintenance in force or in operation . . . ."


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Looking for a non-toxic, eco-friendly, sensory-friendly seating option for kids of all abilities?
Then the EnviroKid™ cushion would be a great option to consider!
We have been trying out two of the EnviroKid™ cushions at the JD McCarty Center for Children with Developmental Disabilities in OMazing Kids Yoga, in a Storytime group and as an adapted seating option.
Key features of the cushion:
- PVC-Free and Phthalate-Free EnviroKid™ Cushion is available in a variety of soothing colors.
- The outer covering is EnviroLeather, PVC-Free Synthetic Leather® which is engineered to:
- adjust to your child's body temperature quickly
- stand up to even the most "active" of children
- be cleaned easily
- 26"x 26" dimensions.
The uses for the EnviroKid™ cushion in a kids yoga studio setting are wonderfully described in a post by Childlight Yoga (http://www.thekidsyogaresource.com/2011/08/envirokid-cushions-a-zafu-for-kids-and-a-whole-lot-more.html). So rather that duplicate that information, I am focusing my review on the additional therapeutic uses for this cushion.
The unique properties of the EnviroKid™ cushion are difficult to describe….. but after sitting on it you will see what makes it very different from any other cushion or bean bag chair. You gently sink in and the beads in the cushion conform around you and then remain in place to provide a nice feeling of support. The non-toxic, eco-friendly aspects of the cushion are especially important when working with kids with special needs as they tend to be more sensitive or susceptible to environmental toxins.
Brittany H., one of our Physical Therapists, was amazed at how well the EnviroKid™ cushion supported one of her patients… "A child I see frequently has been working on trunk control. He has spastic quadriplegia and requires maximal assistance to maintain an upright position at the edge of a mat table with his feet supported on a bench. He loses his sitting balance after only a few seconds when manual support is removed. I have been using the EnviroKid™ cushion during our last few sessions. The cushion provides enough support to allow him to sit independently for 1-2 minutes at a time while still challenging his trunk control. He was able to use his dominant hand to play with a toy while sitting independently. I love the way the cushion forms around his pelvis, giving just enough support to provide independence while still requiring trunk righting responses and engaging core muscles for strengthening and control".
One of our Speech-Language Pathologists used the cushion with a patient whose disabilities are secondary to Shaken Baby Syndrome. His grandmother was so excited about how well he sat in the EnviroKid™ cushion that she indicated she is going to see if his school will order one so he can sit on the floor with the other kids.
Given my observations of kids reactions to the EnviroKid™ cushion, it is likely that kids with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) would enjoy sitting on the cushion because it conforms around you, has a soft suede-like surface, is lower to the ground than a typical beanbag chair & is odor-free (no chemical-like odor like many beanbag chairs have).
One of the EnviroKid™ cushions has been out for general use in our very busy rehab treatment area and after several weeks of use has not shown any signs of wear…. A good sign since the kids we work with can tend to be tough on stuff.
The price of the EnviroKid™ cushion ($57.95) may be a little high if folks think it is just an eco-friendly pillow or beanbag chair alternative…. but it's a good price compared to yoga zafu cushions or when compared to therapeutic adapted seating options.
The EnviroKid™ cushion is available for ordering on their website: http://myenvirokid.com/envirokid-cushion/
For more info about the dangers of PVC, BPA, Phthalates, etc…. read this: http://myenvirokid.com/why-pvc-free-phthalate-free/
A YouTube video about the Info about the EnviroLeather material used to make the EnviroKid™ cushions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSUDI24wn-8
Disclaimer: I received two free EnviroKid™ cushions to facilitate my review. Opinions expressed are my own based on direct observations and feedback that I received regarding their use.
Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP, IAYT, RCYP-2
Speech-Language Pathologist with 21 years of pediatric experience
Radiant Child Yoga Certified – Levels 1 & 2
Founder of OMazing Kids Yoga – inclusive yoga for kids & teens of all abilities
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsYoga
JDMC Website: www.jdmc.org

subset: commoncrawl


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Fire up that 1400-baud modem and enjoy how the Web used to look like when one visited the Internet homes of Comcast, Verizon, Apple, Boxee and more
Cable's got a handful of projects in the works that will prolong having to extend fiber to the premises in a big way
John Chambers takes care of some paperwork on the Friday afternoon before the Christmas holiday
Faster speeds, better offload and cheaper roaming are still paramount tasks for Wi-Fi even in an age of 4G
Jeff Reedy, Overture co-founder and 12-year exec, will leave after the first of the year
One of Microsoft's closest telco allies is hoping Windows 8 will be a hit with customers
From its acquisitions and by following chasing mobile device demand, AT&T has become the dominant name in carrier Wi-Fi
Faster speeds, smoother connections and better 4G integration are all coming for carrier Wi-Fi in 2013
Cisco might look for more acquisitions to fill gaps in its small-cell portfolio, but it's not hungry for a major wireless acquisition
AT&T continues to push the pace on its 4G LTE deployment as we round out 2012
Arris and Moto Home claim their combo would fill some important product holes. But they would also need to address some glaring overlaps
6:00 AM Well, it seems to be going everywhere, but here are some guesses as to what might come of that
3:15 AM New strategy targets cloud service providers, content companies and mobile operators, promising data center connections and more
It's time to slam the speculation engine into overdrive and highlight some deals – both big and small – that could come in the new year
Also: Senator launches Data Cap Integrity Act; Comcast's X1 remote gets a voice; TiVo swaps out CFOs
An SEC filing also reveals that Arris would be saddled with a $117.5 million break-up fee should its $2.35B deal for Motorola Home go south
We look at five operators deploying small cells next year as the 4G versions of these tiny basestations come of age in 2013
The Converged Cable Access Platform is no longer an idea, but an actual technology in the marketplace
René Obermann asks Deutsche Telekom to (eventually) terminate his contract; CFO Timotheus Höttges will succeed him in 2014
As mobile-to-mobile (M2M) and intelligent buildings growth continues, the two technologies will intersect
12:00 PM Reports suggest the company's cable-laying fleet is on its way to FT
11:00 AM The $2.35B deal for Motorola's Home business would remove Arris from the shadows of Cisco and cement Bob Stanzione's legacy
9:10 Vendor posts blog quoting its CEO as it counters security claims
Also: Comcast starts HD-DTA rollouts; Nintendo Wii U connects with pay-TV; DirecTV cranks up the TV Everywhere volume
Previously unpublished survey results give us some feel for how mobile operators feel about data caps, 4G network spending and mobile device usage
6:40 AM But what would it do with LTE?
Ericsson's antenna integrated radio (AIR) product was a hit with operators this year for improving 3G and 4G network performance
Arris's financial exposure to the TiVo-Motorola patent lawsuit is immaterial, Arris CEO Bob Stanzione stressed ... again and again and again
Just in time for the holidays, Arris picks up a little something to increase its competitiveness against Cisco
Which is worse, having Carl Icahn on your back or getting sued for alleged infringement of seven patents?
Software defined networking and network functions virtualization were 2012's big hits, but will they continue on their path in 2013?
10:30 AM Is 'digital' the new black? Wasn't it the old black?
Netgear's the first vendor to announce it has won CableLabs certification for a modem that can bond 24 downstream channels
Cloud video conferencing addresses many issues companies are facing
Also: Comcast's market cap breaches $100B; Casa lands a CCAP deal; Symmetricom's rough Q2; TWC speeds up business installs in NYC
6:50 AM Screen envy is the order of the day at Bharti Airtel's Gurgaon operations center
Also in today's EMEA roundup: Mobile ticketing collaboration in Italy; Colt counts restructuring costs; UK all set for BlackBerry 10 on 4G
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3:50 PM With the Chicago deployment expanded, Sprint now has LTE up in 49 markets. Here's a snapshot of 4G's state of play in the USA
Cisco buys again – this time, it's acquiring policy management specialist BroadHop
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US District Judge Lucy Koh ruled Monday that the jury finding against Samsung for violating Apple patents did not merit banning the sale of the products
But John Malone may have a fight on his hands as Telenet's advisors believe the Belgian MSO's worth more than what Liberty's offering
Also in today's EMEA roundup: T-Mobile and Huawei demo LTE-Advanced in Austria; Rostelecom shareholder eyes Tele2; BT rolls out more fiber
5:30 PM The 3.5GHz radar band could be interesting for small-cell applications, but don't hold your breath for the military to move off that turf
With AlcaLu disclosing some detailed numbers, we can see how painful the pain points really are
Google Fiber will ring in first part of the New Year by expanding services to five more Kansas City 'fiberhoods'
Clearwire is running out of strategic alternatives if the Sprint deal does not go through
Well, there's some optical. The point is that TeraStream is taking IPoDWDM seriously and might be a showcase for Cisco's homemade transceivers
Cox's top-end Cisco boxes gain the ability to recommend video selections for up to eight individuals in a given household
Also: Ziggo and UPC drop out of LTE auction; Avail-TVN goes multi-screen with subscription VoD; Akamai names new CEO
Sprint offers $2.97 per share to buy the remaining 49% of Clearwire it doesn't already own
It's likely that Cisco will get much less than the $500M it paid for Linksys in 2003, Bloomberg reports
Also in today's EMEA roundup: Telenor hooks up in the cloud with Microsoft; AlcaLu scores in Tunisia; Orange buys Spanish MVNO
Billing spinoff Cycle30 will try to beat Amdocs and Convergys for cable deals using a system tailored for commercial services
4:40 PM At $3.38 a share, Clearwire is trading way above the premium that the Sprint offer is supposed to establish
The first earnings results following the spinoff reveal the challenges facing the SPIT vendor
11:20 AM The big three US wireless carriers appear to be better off with bandwidth than it would sometimes seem
11:10 AM The dots suggest it's Michael Willner's new company, Penthera
A six-month trial revealed that CCAP's operational impact won't be trivial, Comcast's Jorge Salinger says
Also: A bunch of firsts - Aereo strikes its first cable network deal; Comcast gets first dibs on A&E's iPad app; 3net's first cable partner
In other regional news: Alcatel-Lucent's overdraft; the impact of video; legal disputes; and so much more
A €1.615B credit facility gives vendor some breathing room as it attempts a turnaround – but is it enough?
The network infrastructure group gets scaled down, but Huawei is far from giving up on the United States
AT&T adds seven more LTE markets as it spanks Sprint in the race for the 4G silver medal
Tough network integration decisions face Sprint even if it succeeds in getting its hands on Clearwire's fat belt of nationwide 4G spectrum
A forklift upgrade to the converged platform won't be necessary until operators are delivering 1Gbit/s to service groups, the vendor claims
Some interfaces beyond OpenFlow are the really important hot spots for software-defined networking, according to the startup's CEO
Also: Verizon pushes 'FlexView' titles; former Moto exec takes reins of SeaChange platforms unit; commercial loudness rules take effect
10:15 AM Telefónica Digital's Wayra operation is opening a startup incubator in the Czech Republic
Bring me the rest of our 4G provider, say Hesse and crew, while Clearwire says it is reviewing the offer
Optical vendor ends its financial year in the red
Also: Verizon expands its 100G reach; NSN's virtual core; H3G cleared for Orange Austria acquisition; Tellabs gets SaaSy in Ireland; and more
5:00 AM The $176M acquisition of startup Contrail looks like an attempt to create an open-source movement in software-defined networking
Claiming the mini basestations could increase capacity 10X over macrocells, the FCC proposes opening up some 3.5GHz spectrum for them
The startup with some fresh ideas about how to apply software defined networking has already been snapped up for $176M in cash and stock
FCC Commissioner says old rules 'no longer make sense in an all-IP world,' as agency launches a task force that could signal the close of the copper era
5:00 PM Eric Schmidt says Google's fiber project is 'not an experiment' and hints at expansion. But what else is he really supposed to say?
1:35 PM From an 18th-story San Francisco office, Broadcom shared its ideas for a wireless near-future
1:20 PM A stocking full of personalized data plans, it seems…
Application programming interfaces can provide telcos numerous opportunities and generate billions of dollars
Cisco unveils two line cards that boost the capacity of its flagship CMTS as it develops a next-gen CCAP platform
European operator sees more potential in HP's pay-as-you-use enterprise networking model than in the managed service developed with Cisco
HP develops utility networking equipment model for telco-managed services that lumps the capex strain onto HP's books UPDATED 12:50 PM
Also: Belden buys PPC for $517M; another Apple TV rumor; Suddenlink broadens TiVo Stream offer; Comcast dunks Celtics MetroE deal
The folks who brought you the 'freemium' iPod data sleeve are taking on the big boys with 2GB of home broadband for less than $10
Also in today's EMEA roundup: BT sells remaining stake in Tech Mahindra; Ericsson's LTE debut in Africa; Kcell IPO kicks off
Dish gets approval to use its AWS-4 spectrum for mobile broadband but will 'consider its strategic options' before making its next move
A year-long R&D project is yet another sign that the carriers might need that intermediate step while waiting for 1Tbit/s
Looking back at carriers' history with Wi-Fi, Broadcom thinks it knows what it will take for near-field communications to become a hit
3:45 PM Netflix ranks the nation's 'major' ISPs, and apparently Google Fiber qualifies as one while satellite broadband providers get the cold shoulder
Mobile workers want access to cloud-based services and data, but supporting those workers creates potential new security breaches and a major challenge for enterprise, says BT Assure's Toby Weir-Jones
Controller/MAC and PHY device integration presents challenges and opportunities to 10GBase-T PHY vendors and adapter vendors
2:35 PM Hurrah! 4G auction process gets under way today as regulator Ofcom starts taking applications
Mobile operators have a number of ways to deal with 4G LTE access network constraints, says Heavy Reading Chief Analyst Graham Finnie
Also: Cablevision gets closer to selling Bresnan systems; Google Fiber's national sticker shock; Samsung backs TV app startup
Heavy Reading Chief Analyst Graham Finnie talks about the development of RAN congestion strategies and technologies
6:00 AM For all the talk of a software-and-services makeover, Cisco might not be ready to let the switch/router market fall prey to SDN
In today's EMEA roundup: Ericsson takes on tough Global Video Platform role; Huawei takes R&D to Finland; NSN trumpets LTE market-share growth
An internal Comcast broadcast drops hints about the X1 QAM/IP successor and a possible strategy to avoid future TiVo lawsuits
Software-defined networking (SDN) and OpenFlow controllers together will allow for more efficient services from data center operators
The X1, Comcast's next-gen video platform and its cloud-based UI, has launched in San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno and Santa Barbara
AT&T reaches 113 LTE markets as the carrier continues its fast-paced 4G deployment
U.K.-based set-top giant is first to confirm that it's bidding for Motorola's cable business, which might fetch from $1.5B to $2.5B
By acquiring Zinc.TV, TiVo gains technology that searches movies, TV shows and video clips from more than 500 online sources
New company called Connectem has developed software that will take 4G packet core networks into the cloud
Except that we found out. Because they told us. But it has a cool French name. Take that, Cisco
Also: Videon joins the Comcast RDK ranks; Yahoo links up with NBC Sports; SEC targets Netflix over Facebook post; HBO CTO is retiring
In today's EMEA roundup: Chinese giant scores with 3; Ericsson looks for new mobile chip JV partner; AlcaLu upgrades for Airtel in Africa
It's hard to call Infinera a favorite for another US Tier 1 win, but there's a chance, one analyst says
2:25 PM If Google doesn't get what it wants for Motorola's cable unit, it might reset the auction and try to sell off the parts
Putting Ericsson and Ruckus on notice, Cisco has scored a deal with PT Telekom to deploy and offload 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across Indonesia
Also: Cook stokes Apple TV rumors; rivals rally for green set-tops; Cablevision to bump broadband fees; Cisco & Cox make CES connection
Information technology has shifted to networks rather than computers. That means it's time for Cisco to become No. 1 in IT, CEO John Chambers says
Google has set Friday as the deadline for bidding, reports The Wall Street Journal, identifying Arris among those expected to make a play
In today's EMEA roundup: AlcaLu slips out of France's CAC 40 index; DT boosts investment, cuts dividend; Telecom Italia says no to Sawiris
The carrier outlines an ambitious spending plan that includes LTE, fiber-to-the-curb and a new mystery box
The rapid growth of LTE is being enabled by the development of highly integrated SoC devices for LTE base stations and handsets
Heavy Reading's Sterling Perrin and Doug Junkins, CTO of NTT Communications, discuss the rapid rise of 100G transport and the drivers and requirements for a terabit transport future
So much for doing that part in-house. Akamai's CDN servers will glom onto AT&T's IP network, taking over from AT&T's own CDN
DT says T-Mobile will get Apple in 2013 – but will it get 4G LTE devices?
Customers like AT&T's 4G but still hate the company, which has big plans for expanding its LTE network
Also: Charter's set-top plan gets more static; Cablevision's Lightpath drops 'Optimum'; Netflix says Disney deal won't jack up prices
Nokia Siemens details the products that will transfer to Redknee as part of the proposed $52M deal for its business support systems unit
Comcast has deployed, in several large markets, an Ethernet-over-Docsis 3.0 platform that offers dedicated symmetrical speeds up to 6Mbit/s
Also in today's EMEA roundup: UK's least popular man banks on 4G cash; TeliaSonera chairman departs; EE wants to borrow £350M for masts refurb
Alarmed at the billions lost in data breaches, enterprises and governments want to write security requirements into their contracts
RGB has IPO aspirations of its own, but the CEO says his company won't fall into the trap of going public before it's truly ready
The $130M purchase of Endace taps a hot market and could help Emulex fulfill its networking ambitions
The company's software-defined networking architecture takes a whole new approach to provisioning and planning the data center
UK mobile operator Everything Everywhere offers insight into how it launched the country's first 4G service and what it has learned so far
Poor sales coverage contributed to another net loss at the multi-screen video firm, which has also lost its COO amid a restructuring
NFC tests are underway in Austin and Salt Lake City, but the challenge is to get the technology in mobile devices, says AT&T Mobility CEO
Also: Analyst says Starz was wise to step away from Disney bidding; Synacor connects with Zynga; Cable Show starts its paper chase
After 20 years of providing business services, Cox Business is still seeing double-digit growth rates, driven by SMB sales and sustained by a strong local presence, says SVP Phil Meeks
The $52M acquisition of Nokia Siemens's BSS assets would give Redknee the scale its CEO has been craving
In today's EMEA roundup: NSN's "non-profitable field service subsidiary" faces the axe; Redknee to buy NSN's BSS unit; Telenor probe
Still smarting from criticism that the 7950 XRS isn't a 'core router,' AlcaLu is playing up its Telefónica win –- which is in the core, of course
Redknee steps up as the buyer for NSN's business support systems business in a deal worth up to $52M
More hints are emerging about Sprint's 4G LTE plans for the coming months with a few NY cities slated for upgrades
Can telcos compete with Google and Apple? TMF thinks they can and it's fighting on multiple fronts to get them ready
AT&T, Sprint and DT say they want to build M2M platforms for others to deliver applications over; Verizon may be a different story
Netflix will pay up to obtain the rights to Disney flicks during the coveted pay-TV window
2:55 PM Can we put the dropping of underperforming cable networks next to switched digital video, analog reclamation and advanced compression?
'You don't make up the kind of lead we've got within a couple of quarters,' Verizon's CEO boasts of the operator's 441-market LTE footprint
Also: Cablevision streams to Androids; Sony TVs connecting with interactive ads; Elemental touts revenue surge
Kevin O'Toole of Comcast Business Services explains how the operator is beginning to use Ethernet-over-coax to complement a Metro Ethernet platform it's using to target mid-sized business customers
Verizon CEO says copper lines damaged by the superstorm Sandy in New York and New Jersey will be replaced by the company's FiOS platform
Operator launches public-access small-cell service offering free 3G data in restaurants and cafés in Greece
The DWDM vendor's win with a Tier 1 US carrier is finally out in the open
Also in today's EMEA roundup: French rivals discuss network sharing; Nokia to sell and lease back Espoo HQ; not-so-testing times for Anite
The private-equity spinoff of Nokia Siemens's optical business is about consolidation, but some wonder if that's the wrong play
CEO Tom Rutledge says Charter's positioned to reverse its relatively low service penetrations but downplayed the role M&A will play
The cut of 40 employees comes seven months after the set-top silicon company's headcount doubled via its acquisition of Trident Microsystems
Looking to migrate more from wireline to wireless, AT&T is looking at launching next-generation 4G LTE next year, say TBR analysts
The No. 2 US MSO has quietly expanded a usage-based broadband policy targeted to relatively light Internet users
Making voice calls over LTE networks reduces smartphone battery life by half, according to a study by Metrico Wireless
The former Vyyo is selling off its assets, but at least one group hopes to revive the company's bandwidth-expanding technology
AT&T is now up to 109 towns and cities with new 4G LTE networks deployed
Also: Cogeco finishes Atlantic Broadband buy; TW Cable blunts Google Fiber's assault with Wi-Fi; Belden sells coax unit for $265M
Microwave vendor beefs up backhaul portfolio to meet operator requirements for Heterogeneous Network rollouts
Nokia Siemens Networks is offloading its optical division, including its 100G assets, to the private equity firm that bought Sycamore
Also in today's EMEA roundup: NSN sells optical business to Marlin; C&WC offloads its islands; Vodafone integrates C&WW
6:00 AM Light Reading's 'State of the Market: Ethernet Expo' report is now available, and a special virtual Ethernet Expo starts tomorrow
TWC is using WeFi's client software to help broadband customers locate the best-performing Wi-Fi hotspots when they're on the move


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- This event has passed.
The Orchard Ecosystem
Wed, March 18, 2015 @ 12:30 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT
Wellesley, MA 02481 United States + Google Map
Join ELA and our host, Wellesley College, for an in-depth discussion of the Orchard Ecosystem. Farmer, writer, and organic orchardist, Michael Phillips will discuss his holistic approach to growing healthy and wholesome tree fruit and berries in this three-hour seminar. Our primary role as fruit growers is to build system health. Embracing forest edge ecology is an important starting point for biological advantage for fruiting plants. Equally apropos are fascinating ecosystem connections that keep insect challenges far more manageable. This presentation will examine dynamics like beneficial accumulators, pollinator habitat, spider allies, even how plant growth cycles suggest particular task timing to enhance these connections. Holistic methods are about deep nutrition and competitive colonization … which are enhanced by knowing stewardship of the orchard ecosystem.
Registration fee includes lunch.
Michael Phillips is known across the country for helping people grow healthy fruit. The "community orchard movement" that he helped found at www.GrowOrganicApples.com provides a full immersion into the holistic approach to orcharding. His Lost Nation Orchard is part of a medicinal herb farm in northern New Hampshire. Michael's newest book, The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way, covers all fruits and recently received Garden Book of the Year honors from the American Horticultural Society.
- Date:
- Wed, March 18, 2015
- Time:
- 12:30 pm EDT - 3:30 pm EDT
- Series:
- The Orchard Ecosystem
- ELA Office
- Email:
- email@example.com
- Website:
- View Organizer Website
- Wellesley College
- 106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481 United States + Google Map
- Phone:
- 617-436-5838
- View Venue Website


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I finally got around to saving this strawberry pot. It was beginning to fall apart. I had some gems left over from the 'frogs' project.
If your pot has been used before, a old pot such as this one, soaking the pot in half bleach and half water you need to clean the inside thoroughly. are using will clean all the spores. After It has dried completely, I started by slightly cleaning it up with a sandpaper sponge, then dusting off any particles, so I can seal it. I used Rustoleum Clear Matte seen below…
After 24 hrs, the sealer was dry. I sprayed on a beautiful 'Aqua'. You can see the pot in some places were definitely ready to corrode. I had applied the sealer on the inside and the outside of the pot before and after painting it aqua.
I had all these gems already from my other project. So after 24 hrs when the aqua dried, I applied the sealer to the outside and waited a full 24 hrs for it to dry, I started adding the gems.
I used, for the first time, I tried this Gorilla Sealant in clear. It states 30 min. and its rain/shower ready….we shall see….
I liked that I cut the tip the size I wanted, nice and small dabs.
This glue didn't go on tacky, so the gems would slide down. The glue takes only 30 minutes to dry. So I laid the pot on its side and started with one section at a time, wait 30 minutes , rotated the pot just a little, do another section, wait 30 minutes, and so on and so on.
Now what I have learned since posting this….the gems will slip..to avoid this just put a little piece of painters tap to hold it on.
When I finished, I put it outside to dry. It took such a long time waiting in between. But the doggies got to go on 2 walks tonight, so we're happy. I don't believe this glue is what I should have used on this type of project.
But when it was all dry, I couldn't wait to put plants in it. I had already decided to use succulents in this project also. I had done the Up Cycled Fountain by using the baby succulents that are starting to grow good re planting size. Also, I knew the pot would last longer with the succulents in them.
I added the soil for the succulents in pot. I added water to the soil
I made a bit of mess putting the plants in. I had filled the 'pockets' with too much soil prior to adding the plants. So I made more work for myself having to remove the soil in the pockets.
A good solution for watering your plants. Take a piece of pvc pipe, the length plus 2 inches, and drill holes up and down the sides, put a little piece of duck tape over the bottom. This is so when you stick the pipe all the way down, the dirt doesn't collect up the pipe and clog it. You push the pipe all the way down to the bottom, leaving about a inch or two on top. Water through the pipe, which with the holes the water will leach out in different levels from the holes.
What's so great about succulents is they are so easy to grow and start new plants. Just cut off a piece from another succulent, and put inside the soil…in a short time, it will start growing. That's what I did to the succulent above.
I'm happy with it! This pretty makeover for this strawberry pot gave it new life, and looks so pretty with the solar light in center. So go grab that strawberry pot and start creating……so much fun! See below 1 month later they are all growing.
Thank you for looking!!!


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The other day I overheard a teenaged kid talking about how he has "ADD bad" and is "lucky" he had been "diagnosed" with ADD in middle school.
Why was he lucky? Because that way he could start taking toxic medication as a young kid and get better grades in school than he feels he otherwise would have.
My message to him and others like him?
ADD? There's NO SUCH THINNNGG. YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. GET A CLUE ALREADY!!!
It's just stunning the way this insanity, this learning issues diagnosis thing has taken off. I mean the people I heard talking were reasonably thoughtful, reasonably educated people and they were discussing all this and who should be diagnosed and who shouldn't and the medication and all that AS IF IT ACTUALLY EXISTS!!!
It doesn't exist, not really, not the way people see it as existing, as some chemical, genes caused thing that needs to be corrected with medication, and maybe one day with some kind of "cure". Here's what's really going on.
Kids, and adults, are stressed out and eat messed up food and are told insane things and are "disciplined", and all manner of things go on, and surprise surprise, they have difficulty sitting still and focusing and, among other things, doing schoolwork that may not even be well designed or appropriate for them.
So they get diagnosed with this ADD, ADHD, and other nonexistent things. What a phenomenon. What a boondoggle.
Well I guess with mothers drinking diet soda and even grabbing some of their kids' meds to use as a weight loss aid and fathers taking little blue pills, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised.
Still, it's all ridiculous, and to add some additional perspective here's how I healed myself.
When I was in high school, between the general nuttiness of the way schools work and the stresses of life, I was not exactly enthusiastic, and given my behavior and the difficultly I had getting some things done I could have been so called diagnosed with ADD or some such thing, and I did even try some 1970's style medication for a few days.
I still made it to college, and determined to get the work done, I would buy six packs of beer to drink while doing math and cigarettes to smoke while writing.
Many would call what I was doing with the beer and cigarettes self medicating.
Well guess what.
I finally figured out what was going on. I was all conflicted inside about doing the work and other things and I had repressed emotional stuff going on and I had fears, and there were all kinds of reasons, reasons I could discover myself, for my having difficulty sitting still and grinding through calculus problems.
So I meditated and improved my diet and changed my outlook on some things and processed all kinds of mental and emotional stuff and changed things about the way I was living, and as soon as I did all that I could pretty much focus all I wanted, and now I'm set, no cigarettes, no drinking, no six packs of cola and certainly no toxic, expensive, side effect creating medication.
And anyone having difficulty focusing can solve their problems by doing similar things. For some doing this may be easier than it was for me and for others it may be more difficult. For all it is doable.
So if you ever somehow start to get the insane idea that you or someone you know so called "has ADHD" or one of those things, realize that THAT'S A TOTAL MAD JOKE, and instead of falling for it all, just figure out what is going on and use some determination and common sense to solve the problem.


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Washington (CNN) -- Gen. David Petraeus won unanimous Senate confirmation Thursday to succeed Leon Panetta as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The 58-year-old commanding general of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has said he will retire from the military before assuming his new post later this year. For now, he will continue overseeing the Afghanistan mission during the first phase of troop withdrawals beginning next month.
Petraeus received strong support at his confirmation hearing by the Senate Intelligence Committee. He told the panel he would lead the nation's largest intelligence agency fully independent of his ties to the military.
Petraeus assumed command of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan on July 4, 2010, after serving for more than 20 months as commander of United States Central Command. He previously commanded multinational forces in Iraq, leading the so-called "surge."
During his time commanding the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, he oversaw the development of the Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual, and his experience in working with the CIA on counterinsurgency efforts in the field was cited as a reason for his nomination by President Barack Obama to succeed Panetta, who will take over as defense secretary Friday from the retiring Robert Gates.
In a statement Thursday, Panetta said he looked forward to working with his successor.
"As tough as it is to leave the director's office at CIA, it's made easier knowing that my successor will be someone as supremely talented and capable as Gen. David Petraeus," Panetta's statement said. "Just as Bob Gates and I had a close and effective working relationship, I look forward to having the same kind of ties with Dave. Together, we'll ensure that the critical partnership between the CIA and our war-fighters continues to advance America's values in the world and keep our nation safe."
At his confirmation hearing, Petraeus acknowledged that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is the "leader of the intelligence community," and that the CIA plays a major role in U.S. intelligence gathering, but is part of a larger team.
He assured the committee that under his leadership, the CIA would be "relentless" in pursuing intelligence needed by the government, and said that serving as director of dedicated CIA personnel "would be a tremendous honor and a tremendous privilege."
Asked about enhanced interrogation techniques widely considered to be torture, Petraeus reiterated his past opposition to them, saying methods permitted in the military interrogation manual he helped oversee have proven effective.
However, Petraeus said enhanced techniques could be considered in a so-called "ticking bomb" scenario -- such as questioning someone who planted a nuclear device in New York set to go off in 30 minutes.
"I do think there is a need at the very least to address the possibility," Petraeus said of such a scenario. He called for discussing and working out a process ahead of time that would enable authorization from top leadership in order to prevent lower-level officials from being forced to consider the matter while "reacting under extreme pressure."


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Ahmed Abu Khattala had returned home Sunday night after a day of militia skirmishes in Benghazi when U.S. military commandos swarmed his residence south of the waterfront city and took him captive, quickly moving him out of Libya to a U.S. warship.
"He was isolated," a U.S. official said. "It was pretty clean."
One of the suspected ringleaders of the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi that killed four Americans, Abu Khattala is the first of the alleged perpetrators to be apprehended. He now awaits a transfer to the United States and a federal trial in the District.
U.S. officials said the joint Special Operations and FBI mission had been planned for months and was approved by President Obama on Friday. The Pentagon said that there were no civilian or other casualties and that all involved U.S. personnel had safely left Libya.
The administration provided few details about the operation itself, where Abu Khattala is being held or the timing of his first appearance in court. After news of the capture became public Tuesday morning, Obama, on a visit to Pennsylvania, said Abu Khattala "is now being transported back to the United States." Administration officials said they expected him to appear in court here within days.
Obama praised the commandos, said by one U.S. official to be special operators from the Army's Delta Force, for "showing incredible courage and precision" in capturing the man who "is alleged to have been one of the masterminds" of the Benghazi attacks.
"It's important for us to send a message to the world that when Americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible, and we will bring them to justice," Obama said.
Abu Khattala's capture was a significant breakthrough for the administration in a case that has dragged on for nearly two years since Obama promised shortly after the attacks that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Response to the capture quickly divided along partisan lines, with Republicans demanding that Abu Khattala be thoroughly interrogated at sea and then brought to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for a military trial. Democrats argued, along with the administration, that he belongs in criminal court, where convictions against numerous terrorism defendants have been won in recent years.
"The administration's policy is clear on this issue," said National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden. "We have not added a single person to the [Guantanamo] population since President Obama took office, and we have had substantial success delivering swift justice to terrorists throughout our federal court system."
Hayden declined to specify the nature of Abu Khattala's debriefing, but noted that "as a general rule, we will always seek to elicit all the actionable intelligence and information we can from terrorist suspects taken into our custody."
In 2011, Somali citizen Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsama was picked up off the Somalia coast, held at sea and interrogated for months before being advised of his rights to silence and to counsel. Once brought to this country, he pleaded guilty in federal court to a range of charges, including providing material support for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
In October, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, also known as Abu Anas al-Libi, was captured in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, in a raid by Delta Force operators and the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team. Briefly detained at sea until he fell ill and was brought to the United States for treatment, Ruqai is awaiting trial in New York, accused of involvement in the 1998 al-Qaeda bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa.
A three-count criminal complaint filed by the FBI last July and unsealed in federal court in the District on Tuesday charges Abu Khattala with "killing a person in the course of an attack on a federal facility involving use of a firearm" on Sept. 11 and 12, 2012, providing and conspiring to "provide material support to terrorists resulting in a death" and possessing and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Conviction on the felony counts could make him eligible for the death penalty or life imprisonment. In a statement, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the Justice Department could bring more charges against Abu Khattala.
At least a dozen others are known to have been charged in sealed criminal complaints in connection with the Benghazi attacks, although none of the others have been apprehended.
While the specific timing and location of Abu Khattala's initial court appearance in Washington was not immediately known, past cases involving high-profile defendants have been held in the U.S. District Court's high-security courtroom on the fourth floor, equipped with a wall of bullet-resistant glass between the gallery and the well.
A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately respond to questions about where Abu Khattala will be detained. High-profile suspects in terrorism cases in the past have been held at the D.C. jail.
The State Department designated Abu Khattala a terrorist in January, calling him a "senior leader" of the Benghazi branch of the militant organization Ansar al-Sharia, a group that arose after the 2011 fall of the Libyan regime of Moammar Gaddafi.
Ansar al-Sharia was also designated a terrorist organization and held specifically responsible for the Sept. 11, 2012, assault on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and State Department information management officer Sean Smith dead.
Two CIA contractors, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty, were killed early the next day in a mortar attack at a nearby CIA annex where the attackers moved after overrunning the diplomatic compound.
Believed to be in his 40s, Abu Khattala was imprisoned for many years for his Islamist views by the Gaddafi regime. After Gaddafi was ousted in 2011 by Libyan fighters aided by U.S. and NATO warplanes and subsequently killed by militiamen, Abu Khattala helped form Ansar al-Sharia..
Abu Khattala's residence is a relatively modest, two-story house in the neighborhood of al-Lathi in southern Benghazi, with no armed guards posted outside.
One former Islamist fighter close to Ansar al-Sharia said Monday that Abu Khattala was frequently on the move, had been "unavailable" for weeks and was not answering his phone.
Neighbors in al-Lathi said they had last seen him Sunday night around sunset, when he returned from fighting in Ansar al-Sharia skirmishes with the forces of Gen. Khalifa Hifter. Hifter has declared war against Islamists in eastern Libya and has been carrying out airstrikes against them for weeks.
That night, Abu Khattala looked tired, said neighbors who did not want to be identified.
The Washington Post learned about Abu Khattala's capture Monday but agreed to a request from the White House to delay publication of a story because of security concerns. After publication Tuesday morning, administration officials, prior to making a public announcement, notified the families of the Americans who were killed in the 2012 Benghazi attacks.
"It wasn't something we were expecting," Doherty's sister, Kate Quigley, said in a telephone interview. "So much time has gone by." Quigley said the families had remained in touch with each other.
The administration — which has come under criticism for failing to inform Congress in advance of previous operations, including the May 31 prisoner swap for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan — told senior lawmakers of the planned Libya operation some days ago, according to Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
But senior administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that they had not informed the Libyan government until after the operation was completed and that it was "a unilateral U.S. operation."
In October, the administration notified the Libyans prior to the raid in which Ruqai was captured. But violent reaction to that operation led to postponement of plans to capture Abu Khattala days later. At the time, it led to deep frustration within the FBI, which thought it had perhaps lost its best chance to apprehend him.
This time, with Libya still in a state of turmoil, a decision was made not to tell the government in advance. "We have made clear to successive Libyan governments our intention to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack on our facilities in Benghazi," one official said. "So it should come as no surprise to the Libyan government that we would take advantage of an opportunity to bring Abu Khattala to face justice."
Within weeks of the 2012 attacks, and sporadically thereafter, Abu Khattala was interviewed by American reporters in the open in Benghazi, where he said he did not participate in the initial assault on the Benghazi compound but came on the scene as it was ending. The interviews fueled Republican criticism that the administration was dragging its feet in the investigation.
Officials responded sharply Tuesday to questions about the time it had taken to apprehend Abu Khattala. "Look, terrorists go to great lengths to evade capture," said the Pentagon press secretary, Rear Adm. John Kirby. "What matters is not that it took a matter of time to get him but that we got him."
This story has been updated to clarify a quotation, attributed to National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden, about the debriefing of terrorism suspects.
Erin Cunningham and Nizar Sarieldin in Tripoli and Ann Marimow, Ed O'Keefe, Juliet Eilperin and Thomas Gibbons-Neff in Washington contributed to this report.


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Never give robots guns. Guns are for killing. Robots can't make analogue decisions and those are the only ones that should ever control the taking of the life of another person. Robots make quantised decisions, not analogue ones. The quanta reflect the programming, and the programming arises from the approximation and modelling of a human view.
When a technologist embodies their or their employer's view of what's fair into a technology, any potential for the exercise of discretion is turned from a scale to a step and humanity is quantised. That quantisation of discretion always serves the interest of the person forcing the issue.
Calls for better robots that make better judgement calls are misguided and pointless. A robot that can successfully make life-or-death decisions is a piece of bad science fiction. Any technology that attempts to perform human judgement quantises discretion and inherently dehumanises culture. That technology should never have a weapon.
Background reading
[Microsoft]: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/194338-here-come-the-autonomous-robot-security-guards-what-could-possibly-go-wrong
[Halting]: https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/halting-problem-proves-that-a-lethal-robot-cannot-correctly-decide-whether-to-kill-a-human-7c014623c13f
[3-Laws]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics
[Goedel]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems
[Motherboard]: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-the-pentagons-skynet-would-automate-war
[DoD]: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=123651
[DoD-Paper]: http://ctnsp.dodlive.mil/files/2014/09/DTP1061.pdf
[Moratorium]: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-moratorium-killer-robots.html
[Onion]: http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-law-enforcement-robot-can-wield-excessive-forc,36220/


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A couple of years ago I started up Virtual Reality Working Out Loud Week to promote real-world applications of virtual reality.
The inaugural #VRwolweek unearthed 20 real-world examples of the emerging technology, and the enduring popularity of that blog post tells me that we are hungry for more.
Loath to disappoint, I hereby present 25 more real-world examples of virtual reality, drawn from this year's and last year's events. I thank everyone who contributed to the following list.
- Kicking off with the Colonel, it would be remiss of me to omit KFC's virtual escape room The Hard Way. Widely criticised for its evil genius paradigm, I urge us to appreciate the game's otherwise authenticity. If used as a primer for training in real life, then it's an engaging example of setting up an employee for success.
- Anchor Construction uses virtual reality to train its construction workers, while UPS uses it to train its truck drivers.
- South Wales Fire and Rescue uses interactive 360° video to train its new recruits on extricating a casualty from a road traffic incident.
- The Dutch Fire Department uses 360° video to teach the public how to react in case of an emergency, while on the other side of the flames in Australia FLAIM Trainer combines VR with haptics and heat-generating clothing to immerse firefighters in realistic situations.
- In Africa, Meet the Soldier aims to increase empathy among warring cattle farmers, while Cisco and Dimension Data are helping save the rhino.
- This charming Kiwi uses 360° video to record pov tutorials for mobile productivity apps. "See the apps and devices in action, in the context of where we work, live and play."
- A group of middle school students has used 360° photos to create a virtual tour of Fort Vancouver, while the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust uses 360° video to take you on a tour of their Age of Sail galleries.
- This Australian agency creates virtual tours and visualisations for the mining, architecture and tourism industries.
- Have you ever wondered how a self-driving car senses the world around it? Wonder no more with the Waymo 360° experience.
- Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Storytelling, Pearl is a beautiful 360° animation that heralds the future of narrative.
- Virtual reality isn't new to gamers, but now it's social. Check out Evasion and Poker VR.
- I'm continually amazed at what can be achieved with CoSpaces Edu, such as the Virtual Reality Learning Lab's uber cool reboot of Frogger. And while we're going retro, have a laugh at Mario in real life.
- Topshop allows their customers to ride a virtual waterslide over the black cabs and double-deckers of central London.
- SeaWorld hybridises the real world with the virtual. Patrons of The Kraken Unleashed ride a rollercoaster while wearing VR headsets that plunge them into the abyss.It reminds me of Batman Adventure at Australia's Movie World back in 1992, when we all sat on moveable seats in front of a big screen simulating the batplane screaming through Gotham City.A rollercoaster ramps the immersion up a few notches, to say the least, and I can see why it's the perfect vehicle for a pre-recorded experience because the timing is precise.
- In Norway, Audi lets you test-drive their new Q5 in a giant virtual sandbox. It took me a while to work out the prospective customer would dig the racetrack in a real sandbox, which was then scanned and transformed into virtual reality. It's a modern-day twist on Daytona USA presumably intended to attract the Amazon generation in-store to be worked over by the sales reps.Incidentally, I see the clever Scandi's have now moved on to Augmented Reality with the Quattro Coaster app, which lets you build a road and drive a mini car on it in your living room.
- VR needn't have an Audi-sized budget to be effective for marketing. A product manager in the medical industry created a WebVR experience to promote the hi-tech material in her range of surgical gowns. Given her name you may deduce I know this person, so I can tell you this impressive project was done on a shoestring.
- Finally, these other examples of virtual reality in healthcare – for autism, disability and pain management – must surely turn the most ardent of sceptics.
Oh how far we've come since Hugo Gernsback strapped on his teleyeglasses back in 1968. Long may this wonderful technology continue to evolve!


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Food mooching.
How do you respond when you sit down to eat and another person asks for a bite?
Is this appropriate behavior? Do you enjoy sharing your dinner platter with others?
When I sit down to eat, I want to eat what is on my plate. This is mine – that is yours, don't ask. Eat your own stuff.
I recognize that there are couples who are deliberate about collaborating on food choices at restaurants so as to each share half a plate. If that's your thing, I think that's cool, but it is so not me. Please don't ask me to share.
I know entire families whose forks are constantly on each other's plates, cutting up chunks of meat and eating freely.
No. Just no.
When it comes to parenting, sharing food is a whole other issue. I often give my kids whatever they ask from my plate just to keep them from bugging. The loss of food is worth the silence it buys. I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about adult on adult food mooching – do you do it? Do you approve? Or do you inwardly cringe and then purposefully "sneeze" all over your food when a known food moocher walks in the room?


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Another View: An alternative to the imperial presidency
In his State of the Union speech to Congress last month, President Barack Obama drew widespread attention for pledging to use his executive authority to advance his priorities. He insisted he intends to act with or without Congress and listed well over a dozen actions he plans to take by executive order. "Wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families," he said, "that's what I'm going to do."
Plenty of people were happy about this. The speech was applauded by pundits who have given up on Congress and believe the only way to move forward is by strengthening the presidency. Our political system is weighed down by too many interest groups, too many checks and balances, and too few avenues for circumventing a Congress that is both polarized and highly susceptible to the wishes of its donors.
The present government is paralyzed, they believe. A stronger presidency would get Washington moving again.
As you'd expect, others are alarmed by this approach. The president, they say, is trampling on the constitutional separation of powers, grabbing powers for himself that were meant to be shared with Congress. They point out that the Constitution gives Congress a primary role in making policy.
The problem with this debate is that it's missing a key part of the equation. Yes, our system needs a strong presidency. But it also needs a strong Congress. We are best off when the two consult, interact and work together as powerful branches.
In truth, every president in recent memory has expanded the power of his office and been accused of a power grab. They've had plenty of motivation to do so. The modern world demands quick, decisive action. Americans tend to support presidents who act forcefully. Congress is complex, convoluted and hard to work with. It is far easier for an administration to act on its own. Even members of Congress often defer to the president, counting on him to address issues they don't want to tackle or can't agree upon.
And presidents have wielded executive orders to great effect. Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, FDR's Works Progress Administration, John Kennedy's Peace Corps, affirmative action under Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan's enshrining of cost-benefit analysis as the key to regulatory review — all came from executive orders.
Yet there are limits to this approach, because in the end there is no substitute for legislation. Presidents cannot write a budget, raise the minimum wage or reform entitlements by themselves. Because executive orders lack the permanence and force of law, they can be hard to implement and can be summarily canceled by a later president. They are more subject to legal challenge than legislation. And most important, executive orders are a unilateral exercise of power and do not benefit from a process of consensus-building and consultation with voices independent of the president's.
Consensus-building can't happen in a vacuum. Without a strong Congress able to find its way effectively through the thickets of lawmaking, this president and his successors will surely continue to address the nation's challenges on their own. The question is, how far down that road can we go before Congress becomes irrelevant, with too much power — and too much potential for the abuse of power — in presidential hands? Like our founding fathers, we should be skeptical of the concentration of power.
Politico recently detailed a spate of executive orders planned by this administration, which would affect everything from how power plants operate to how we commute to how the environment will be regulated. Taken together, they will "push deeply into everyday life" for Americans, the article noted.
Whether a president oversteps his authority with these and other executive orders is inevitably colored by whether you agree with the proposed order. But my point is different: The march toward presidential unilateralism, whether the president is a Democrat or a Republican, dangerously undercuts our constitutional system. Before we give up on the separation of powers, let's try strengthening Congress. This may not be the easy route, but if we don't take it, representative democracy itself is in doubt.
LEE HAMILTON is director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years. Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com.


text: Hi folks. My name is L.G. Barnes. Welcome to my website where you will find many styles of ceramic art and utilitarian wares made by myself. Nature and industry are the main elements that I draw inspiration from. I like to capture these inspirations in digital. The images can be seen here and here. Feel free to browse through the pages and see what you like. In addition to my Personalized Pet Bowls, I'm also available for custom work. Please leave any comments and or requests on the Contact Me page.


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Morning Minutes: July 12
Word of the Day
Winkle WINK-ul (verb) (Chiefly British) To displace, remove or evict from a position, usually used with out; to obtain or draw out by effort, usually used with out - www.merriam-webster.com
Website of the Day
The Transcendentalists
Celebrate Henry David Thoreau's birthday by learning about the philosophical, religious and literary movement called transcendentalism. Read Thoreau's works and see whether you're inspired to embark on your own journey of self-discovery.
Number to Know
2: Number of TV shows that have been No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive seasons. Those shows are "All in the Family" and "The Cosby Show."
This Day in History
July 12, 1962: The Rolling Stones perform their first ever concert, at the Marquee Club in London.
Today's Featured Birthday
Actor/comedian/activist Bill Cosby (73)
Daily Quote
"Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something." - Henry David Thoreau, who was born on this date in 1817.


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Amana Appliance Repair Denver
Amana brings household appliances of just about every kind into customer homes and with them come tasty meals, refrigerated foods, and tidy laundry. In the summer months when kids are outside playing and getting dirty and laundry loads start piling up, you need to make sure your washing machine and dryer are always ready to go in case of emergency. When a failure does happen though, don't panic but instead give the professionals that perform Amana appliance repairs a call and let them tackle it for you.
Before you do call the professional up, you can sift through some basic checks to make sure it isn't a simple problem that was overlooked. Amana washing machines and dryers have owners manuals that come with them that you should never throw away but instead keep to look through in case you have problems. A common problem might be the failure of water to flow into the washer, a washer or dryer simply not turning on, too much water or cycles that last too long, or leaks in the washer hoses or dryer exhaust pipe. The problems you can fix are usually simple things such as making sure that the washer hoses have been connected and that both the hot and cold water valves have been turned on. You'll also have to read the manual to make sure you are using the correct settings on the washer and dryer controls. You can sometimes put on a new dryer exhaust duct yourself without much difficulty.
All other problems not listed in the manual should be handled directly by a licensed appliance repair professional who knows how to work with the internal components of your machine, and has the experience to get it done quick. This can not only save you time, but also keep you safe and save you the money and hassle of getting your appliance replaced due to any damage it might sustain from your attempted repair. Even if you think you know the problem and got it under control, it's always better to be safe than sorry and have a professional confirm that the repair needed is minimal.


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"Tells so much about this curious, difficult man … a wonderfully vivid imagination." –The New York Times
Chaplin's heartfelt and hilarious autobiography tells the story of his childhood, the challenge of identifying and perfecting his talent, his subsequent film career and worldwide celebrity.
In this, one of the very first celebrity memoirs, Chaplin displays all the charms, peculiarities and deeply-held beliefs that made him such an endearing and lasting character.
Re-issued as part of Melville House's Neversink Library, My Autobiography offers dedicated Chaplin fans and casual admirers alike an astonishing glimpse into the the heart and the mind of Hollywood's original genius maverick.
Take this unforgettable journey with the man George Bernard Shaw called "the only genius to come out of the movie industry" as he moves from his impoverished South London childhood to the heights of Hollywood wealth and fame; from the McCarthy-era investigations to his founding of United Artists to his "reverse migration" back to Europe, My Autobiography is a reading experience not to be missed.
"These pages crackle with emotion, poetry, and raw feeling." –The Barnes and Noble Review
"For a star who made his fortune in the silent movies, Charlie Chaplin has a surprising way with words. His 'My Autobiography,' published in 1964 and recently reissued, moves along at a quick clip, lit up throughout its many pages by bright anecdotes, easy humor, and a confident way with a good yarn." –Biographile
"Chaplin was not just 'big,' he was gigantic. In 1915, he burst onto a war-torn world bringing it the gift of comedy, laughter and relief while it was tearing itself apart through World War I. Over the next 25 years, through the Great Depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler, he stayed on the job … It is doubtful any individual has ever given more entertainment, pleasure and relief to so many human beings when they needed it the most." –Martin Sieff