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The story is in two parts, The Lawyers Hackers Call and 'Find the Best Defense Attorney You Can', and it includes quotes from me and several others. I had related thoughts in 2011 here. [...]
Archive | Computer Crime Law
Washington Post on United States v. Auernheimer
Last month, I blogged about why I agreed to represent Andrew Auernheimer pro bono in his appeal before the Third Circuit. Tomorrow's Washington Post has a front-page story by Jerry Markon focusing on the case. It begins:
Their guns drawn, a dozen federal agents, police and forensics experts kicked in the door of a run-down two-story home in Arkansas shortly after dawn, barged inside and ordered the occupants to put their hands on their heads.
The target of the raid was neither terrorist nor bank robber. He was a 24-year-old computer hacker suspected of handing off stolen e-mail addresses to the media.
With that, the Justice Department began a case that has come to symbolize what some lawyers and civil libertarians see as overreach in the government's campaign against cybercrime.
The hacker, Andrew Auernheimer, was convicted and sentenced last month to more than three years in prison for obtaining about 120,000 e-mail addresses of iPad users from AT&T's Web site — including New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I), Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein and other prominent figures — and giving them to the Web site Gawker. When it happened three years ago, the data breach jolted federal officials because it affected one of the nation's most prominent companies and triggered fears about the security of increasingly popular mobile devices.
Yet only a few, heavily redacted e-mail addresses were published, court documents show. No one's account was broken into. AT&T fixed the problem in about an hour, and a company official testified that there probably was not enough evidence to sue the hackers.
The case highlights a growing debate over how to define right and wrong in the digital age, what is public and proprietary online, and how far law enforcement should go in pursuing cybercrime.
The Obama administration is
En Banc Ninth Circuit Holds That Computer Forensic Searches Are Like "Virtual Strip Searches" And Require Reasonable Suspicion At the Border
Today the Ninth Circuit handed down its long-awaited en banc decision in United States v. Cotterman, a case on the lawfulness of searching a computer at the border. (My prior posts are here, here, here, and here.) Today the Ninth Circuit announced a special rule for computer searches: Although a "review of computer files" can occur without reasonable suspicion, the "forensic examination" of a computer at the border requires reasonable suspicion because it is "akin to reading a diary line by line looking for mention of criminal activity—plus looking at everything the writer may have erased." Here's the key part of the analysis:
The relevant inquiry, as always, is one of reasonableness. But that reasonableness determination must account for differences in property. Unlike searches involving a reassembled gas tank, or small hole in the bed of a pickup truck, which have minimal or no impact beyond the search itself—and little implication for an individual's dignity and privacy interests—the exposure of confidential and personal information has permanence. It cannot be undone. Accordingly, the uniquely sensitive nature of data on electronic devices carries with it a significant expectation of privacy and thus renders an exhaustive exploratory search more intrusive than with other forms of property.
After their initial search at the border, customs agents made copies of the hard drives and performed forensic evaluations of the computers that took days to turn up contraband. It was essentially a computer strip search. An exhaustive forensic search of a copied laptop hard drive intrudes upon privacy and dignity interests to a far greater degree than a cursory search at the border. It is little comfort to assume that the government—for now—does not have the time or resources to seize and search the millions of devices that accompany the millions
The Prospects for Reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Will Congress amend the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in light of the Aaron Swartz case? Don't expect reforms any time soon, Politico suggests:
Despite some recent momentum, there's not much clamor for change coming from the White House — and as expected, the Justice Department, which once tried to expand the penalties of the so-called Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, has been silent.
While there's a new reform push on Capitol Hill backed by a few powerful members, the key committees with jurisdiction have other plans in mind — and their agendas are packed with immigration reform and gun control. More than that, Congress actually has been fond of stronger punishments for some offenders.
It's not to say the principles known as Aaron's Law won't ever reach the president's desk in some form — just that all the Internet hype and rallying mark only the beginning of a new and lengthy political journey.
I think that's probably right, unfortunately. Narrowing federal criminal law is always hard, both because elected officials don't want to seem 'soft on crime' and because the head of the executive branch has the veto power. Plus, on this issue specifically, the Internet companies and service providers that have a lot of influence on the Hill aren't natural allies with civil libertarians. Those companies want their customers to feel that using their products is private, which can lead companies to favor expanding privacy protections in the context of government investigations. But when it comes to the substantive criminal laws, those same companies tend to see themselves as victims of computer crimes (whether from outside hackers or insiders). As a result, they tend to be wary of narrowing the laws. So as the Politico story says, expect a lengthy political journey. And keep an eye out [...]
"Tom the Dancing Bug" on the Scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — And A Related Note from My Computer Crime Casebook
I have been beating the drum on the need to narrow the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for a decade or so, so I was happy to see today's cartoon for "Tom the Dancing Bug" pick up the cause, too. I don't know if I can reprint the cartoon here copyright reasons, but you can click here to see it. For my related op-ed from 2011, see here. And for a video of me ranting about the broad scope of the CFAA — or at least coming as close as I come to ranting — see here at the 44:10 mark (and pardon the echo).
In the spirit of the post, I thought I would also reprint the conclusion of the CFAA chapter in the 3rd edition of my Computer Crime Law casebook. As lawyers and law students know, it is common for law school casebooks to supplement cases with extensive "notes and questions" offering additional points and questions for further thought. Here's the last "note" in the chapter:
The scope of criminal liability for computer misuse is very broad. A critic of existing law might say that the legislature's basic approach is to criminalize everything and then rely on prosecutorial discretion to select appropriate cases for criminal punishment.
Is this criticism accurate? And if it is, do you think the legislature has acted wisely? Computer technologies and social practices change rapidly, and it may be difficult for the law to keep up. Is it sensible for legislatures to impose broad criminal liability ex ante, so that prosecutors are rarely or never in a position of being unable to charge a worthy case? Or should the legislature only impose liability narrowly, so that new computer technologies can evolve without the threat of criminal punishment? Do you trust prosecutors
What About the Insiders? A Second Proposal To Change the Computer Crime Statutes
In a recent post, I suggested a way to narrow the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. 1030. In narrowing that law, I intentionally excluded the problem of "insiders" who might misuse computers. There are really two situations to worry about. First, there's the Aleynikov problem: an employee at a company who is thinking of leaving the company might access the computers of his employer and copy valuable data to help start a competing business or sell the data. Second, there's the Rodriguez problem: A government employee might misuse sensitive government databases.
I don't think these facts should fit under 18 U.S.C. 1030 because they deal with a different kind of problem; it's hard to fit them in to 1030 without causing incredibly broad liability. But I do think it's fair to want to criminalize such conduct with a different statute. So I have drafted such a proposal and posted it here: Proposal for 18 U.S.C. 1031, Employee Misuse of Computer Information. My proposal isn't perfect, and I'd want to fiddle with it a bit myself, but the idea is to enact a narrow statute to deal with the specific problems of insiders.
UPDATE: I have updated the draft a bit in response to commenters, and I thought I would add an explanation in response to this comment:
Why does the federal law and your proposal have to address the technology — computers — rather than the underlying wrongful conduct: stealing a company's information or improper use of government property.
Presumably someone who takes hundreds of documents from Goldman Sachs' file cabinets, and uses those documents to start a rival business, is no less culpable than the Aleynikov problem.
The reason is two-fold. For part (a), Employee Misuse of Information for Private Financial Gain, the [...]
Proposed Amendments to 18 U.S.C. 1030
There has been a lot of interest in amending the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in light of the Aaron Swartz prosecution. I have drafted some changes and uploaded a red-lined version here.
My proposal has lots of parts, but the big ones are: (1) eliminating liability for exceeding authorized access, (2) tightening the felony thresholds throughout the statute, and (c) eliminating several sections of the statute, including 1030(a)(3) and (a)(4), which are redundant, and 1030(g), the civil liability provision which is chiefly responsible for the overly expansive readings of the statute.
No rewriting of a statute is going to be perfect, but perhaps this proposed redrafting will be of interest to some who are debating the future of this statute. [...]
Boyle on Kerr on Swartz, and Cornyn on Holder on Swartz
Two quick links related to the Aaron Swartz prosecution:
1) Duke lawprof Jamie Boyle has posted a thoughtful reply to my two posts on the Aaron Swartz case over at The Public Domain. I plan to post a response to Jamie when I have time to do so — in a day or two, I hope — but in the meantime I wanted at least to recognize his post and provide the link for interested readers.
2) Senator Cornyn has sent a letter to Attorney General Holder asking for a detailed explanation from Holder of why DOJ exercised its discretion in the Swartz case as it did. Senator Cornyn is my former boss, so maybe I am biased here, but I think that's a productive way to get DOJ to say more about its perspective on the case. It will be interesting to see how DOJ responds.
Among the questions raised by the Cornyn letter is whether DOJ policy gives U.S. Attorneys the discretion to charge cases consistent with the gravity of the wrongdoing in the case. The answer has changed over time. Traditionally, the answer was "yes." In 2003, however, then-AG John Ashroft announced a new policy essentially eliminating that discretion. With narrow exceptions, all federal prosecutors were required to "charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense or offenses that are supported by the facts of the case." In 2010, however, AG Eric Holder overturned the Ashcroft policy with a new memo restoring the traditional role of prosecutorial discretion. You can read the 2010 Holder policy here. [...]
The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz (Part 2: Prosecutorial Discretion)
This is the second in a series of posts on the Aaron Swartz prosecution. In my first post, I analyzed whether the charges that were brought against Swartz were justified as a matter of law. In this post, I consider whether the prosecutors in the case properly exercised their discretion. As some readers may know, prosecutors generally have the discretion to decline to prosecute a case; once they charge a case, they have the discretion to offer or not offer a plea deal; and once they offer the plea deal, they have some discretion to set the terms of the offer that they will accept. This post considers whether the prosecutors abused that discretion.
To provide some attempted answers, I'm going to break down the question into four different issues: First, was any criminal punishment appropriate in the case? Second, if so, how much criminal punishment was appropriate? Third, who is to blame if the punishment was excessive and the government's tactics were overzealous? And fourth, does the Swartz case show the need to amend the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and if so, how?
This is a very long post, so here's a summary of where I come out on these four questions.
On the first question, I think that some kind of criminal punishment was appropriate in this case. Swartz had announced his commitment to violating the law as a moral imperative in order to effectively nullify existing federal laws on access to information. When someone engages in civil disobedience and intentionally violates a criminal law to achieve such an anti-democratic policy goal through unlawful means — and when there are indications in both words and deeds that he will continue to do so — it is proper for the criminal law to impose a punishment under [...]
The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz (Part 1: The Law)
The Internet activist Aaron Swartz has died from an apparent suicide. Swartz was facing a criminal trial in April on charges arising from his effort to "liberate" the JSTOR database, and there has been a lot of commentary accusing the prosecutors in his case of having abused their role in ways that contributed to Swartz's tragic death. Swartz's friend Larry Lessig led the way by angrily condemning the prosecutors who charged Swartz as "bullies" who acted like they "had caught the 9/11 terrorists red-handed." According to Lessig, the prosecutors acted in an "the most absurd or extreme way" and "don't deserve to have the power of the United States government." A lot of people seem to agree, and today's media has picked up the story. The New York Times is running a headline with Gold Bee, "A Data Crusader, a Defendant and Now, a Cause." The Associated Press has a somewhat similar story, "Swartz' Death Fuels Debate Over Computer Crime".
The criticisms of the Swartz prosecution concern two different questions. The first question is the law. Were the charges against Swartz based on a fair reading of the laws? Or was the prosecution being overly aggressive or relying on strained theories in charging Swartz as it did? The second question is discretion and judgment. The DOJ has the discretion to charge cases or not, and prosecutors can agree to different plea deals or even agree to have charges dismissed. Were the prosecutors in this case unfair in how they exercised discretion, or did they act irresponsibly in the case in how they exercised the discretion that the law grants them?
I hope to answer these questions in two posts. In the first post, I'm going to try and answer the first question — the law — as informed [...]
Magistrate Judge Concludes That Fraud Scheme Using Video Poker Machine Falls Outside the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Last year, I posted about a recently-filed criminal prosecution in which the federal government was charging a state fraud scheme involving poker machines under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act:
Andrew Nestor learned of a programming flaw in certain video poker machines used in Las Vegas. By using a certain feature and playing a particular combination, a person could trick the poker machine into paying out winnings at a higher rate than it should have. Nestor played the combination, and he was able to receive winnings that he was not entitled to have. At this stage, it sounds like a state law offense of theft or fraud. Nestor stole the money from the machine by fraud.
But was a federal crime committed, as opposed to a state crime? Federal prosecutors love to charge fraud cases under the wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. 1343, but that wouldn't work here. Liability under the wire fraud statute requires a crossing of state lines, while here all the action occurred in a single room. So instead the government charged Nestor with a CFAA violation, and specifically 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(4), which punishes "knowingly and with intent to defraud, accesses a protected computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized access, and by means of such conduct furthers the intended fraud and obtains anything of value, unless the object of the fraud and the thing obtained consists only of the use of the computer and the value of such use is not more than $5,000 in any 1-year period."
Note that there is no longer a requirement of crossing state lines, as there is in the case of the wire fraud statute. Instead, the only federal hook is that the computer be a "protected computer." But that's really no federal hook at all: Protected computers are defined
The Hacker Protection Act of 2012
The latest draft cybersecurity bill contains information sharing provisions that were heavily negotiated between the Obama administration and privacy groups. This effort at compromise has yielded the usual ambiguous praise from privacy groups. The Electronic Frontier Foundation pronounced itself "pleased" but then complained that the measure still "contains broad language around the ability for companies to use security as a reason to partake in 'nearly unlimited' data monitoring of users."
In fact, the privacy groups have added so much baggage to the information sharing provisions that the new law is nearly useless to private sector companies who want to improve cybersecurity. And it may actually impose an entire new regulatory and liability yoke on companies that treat cybersecurity seriously.
It's worth remembering why the information sharing provisions are necessary. The reason is that, with the support of privacy groups in years past, Congress prohibited many companies from sharing customer information with the government in the absence of a subpoena. Congress also authorized states to adopt "two-party consent" restrictions on interception of communications. In an age of widespread network intrusions, both of these laws have the effect of protecting hackers and spies.
How so? Controlling spearphishing requires that incoming packets be monitored for malware; and that in turn means intercepting the communications. Since it's unlikely the attacker who is sending malware will consent to such monitoring, this monitoring creates legal risks in two-party consent states. Similarly, unless private companies can tell the government in real time which of their customers are sending malware, the government cannot protect itself. All of the bills pending in Congress override these poorly conceived and overbroad privacy provisions.
Privacy groups don't like to be reminded that privacy laws they supported are now protecting bad guys, so it's no surprise that they aren't comfortable with the new [...]
Testifying on Cybersecurity Legislation
The Senate's big cybersecurity bill has finally surfaced officially, and the hearing will be tomorrow at 2:30 DC time in front of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. After Sen. Rockefeller and Sec. Napolitano, I'll be part of a panel that includes Gov. Tom Ridge, Scott Charney of Microsoft, and Jim Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Here's the first few pages of my prepared testimony. The rest is up on Skating on Stilts, for those who just have to see my take on how to draft cybersecurity emergency authorities.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Collins, members of the committee, it is an honor to testify before you on such a vitally important topic. I have been concerned with cybersecurity for two decades, both in my private practice and in my public service career, as general counsel to the National Security Agency and, later, to the Robb-Silberman commission that assessed U.S. intelligence capabilities on weapons of mass destruction, and, more recently, as assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security. In those two decades, security holes in computer networks have evolved from occasionally interesting intelligence opportunities into a full-fledged counterintelligence crisis. Today, network insecurity is not just an intelligence concern. It could easily cause the United States to lose its next serious military confrontation.
Moore's Outlaws: The Exponential Growth of the Cybersecurity Threat–
Our vulnerabilities, and their consequences, are growing at an exponential rate. We've all heard of Moore's Law. What we face today, though, are Moore's outlaws: criminals and spies whose ability to penetrate networks and to cause damage is increasing exponentially thanks to the growing complexity, vulnerability, and ubiquity of insecure networks. If we don't do something, and soon, we will suffer network failures that dramatically change our lives and futures, [...]
Thoughts on the Oral Arguments in United States v. Nosal
I've blogged a lot about the Ninth Circuit's en banc case in United States v. Nosal, on the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — and more specifically, on whether it's a federal crime to violate an express written restriction on using a computer. You can watch last Thursday's oral argument in the case here:
Chief Judge Kozinski presided, and he seemed pretty clearly on the side that I've been advocating here at the blog, in the Drew case, in my recent testimony, and in my law review articles. I was very pleased to see that, although I wasn't surprised in light of Judge Kozinski's libertarian streak. At the same time, I don't think we have enough information to count votes accurately, as only about four judges spoke in ways that might have indicated their views (two for Nosal, two for the United States, I believe). I'm cautiously optimistic, but we'll have to see how the votes shake out in the end.
I'll hide my more detailed reactions below the break for the handful of CFAA nerds in the VC readership ….. [...]
Air France 447 and the Future of Socially Engineered Cyberwar
I recently read Popular Mechanics' riveting article reconstructing the last minutes Air France 447, which in 2009 disappeared without explanation over the Atlantic between Rio and Paris. Using the cockpit transcript, the article reveals that the pilots essentially flew a fully functioning passenger jet into the sea. Why? It appears that a temporary loss of flight speed data and then the disconnection of autopilot systems panicked a copilot into lifting the nose of the plane. He then more or less kept the stick pulled all the way back as the plane lost forward speed and plunged into the ocean, paying no attention to dozens of blared stall warnings. Here's a bit of the transcript and Popular Mechanics' commentary:
02:10:55 (Robert) Putain!
Damn it!
Another of the pitot tubes begins to function once more. The cockpit's avionics are now all functioning normally. The flight crew has all the information that they need to fly safely, and all the systems are fully functional. The problems that occur from this point forward are entirely due to human error.
02:11:03 (Bonin) Je suis en TOGA, hein?
I'm in TOGA, huh?
Bonin's statement here offers a crucial window onto his reasoning. TOGA is an acronym for Take Off, Go Around. When a plane is taking off or aborting a landing—"going around"—it must gain both speed and altitude as efficiently as possible. At this critical phase of flight, pilots are trained to increase engine speed to the TOGA level and raise the nose to a certain pitch angle.
Clearly, here Bonin is trying to achieve the same effect: He wants to increase speed and to climb away from danger. But he is not at sea level; he is in the far thinner air of 37,500 feet. The engines generate less thrust here, and the wings generate [...]


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Politics is an affair from which man has no escape. The so-called non-political or apolitical creatures all are really dwelling in the safe shelters of exploitative forces that are doomed to periodical annihilation. History has clearly proved that exploited people eliminate the exploiters, but in due course of time they are again restored to their former strength. So, exploiters need certain stock theories and the theory of apoliticalism is one such theory. Therefore, we repudiate the theory of any absence of politics from ant walk of human life.
Two important political developments take place while we pen down these words. One is in Syria, and the other in India. In Syria, what we is a paradox of combinations in international politics. The Al-Qaida is well at ease in the company of US aggressors in attempting the facilitation of the ouster of the Assad regime from that country. Here a number of lessons are at hand if people of the various countries are ready to learn them. The most important lesson is that neither the imperialists nor the terrorists have any qualm of conscience in coming together in order to destroy even the slightest remain of progressive politics. Both are together in combating communism; they can join hands to disturb any govt that tries to implement some measures to ameliorate the conditions of the people and try to combat imperialism and terrorism.
Syria is a great nation. With the destruction of Syria a great nation with great traditions will come to an end. It is the successor to the great Hittite, Mesopotamian and Assyrian traditions. These traditions include civilizing tendencies as also tendencies warmongering. It was in Syria that the first ever Church of Christianity was founded, at Antioch, possibly in 42 AD. Damascus in Syria was once headquarters of the Islamic civilization. The Phoenicians had been generous in providing the land with their loots and burgled wealth, their land being an extension of the geographical puzzle of the nature.
Let us hope the internecine war in Syria will come to an end very soon. It has already had great loss in human lives. Besides this, great wealth, which otherwise could have been used for peoples welfare has been burnt in bombs and shells. Sure, a share of this wealth would have been manipulated by the ruling class to their invisible coffers. Still, war is destruction. Sound public opinion the world over might add a little wisdom in the minds of the warring factions.
By May 2014 India will elect a new Govt. We are not going to predict the results of the election, let psephologists do it. But the election to take place in May 2014 has begun to influence the acts of political parties and politicians of the country. The ruling UPA has been almost torn fully apart and its constituents are no longer in the set-up. Instead, it manages to manage on the floor of the Loksabha with the help of two warring factions of Uttar Pradesh, SP and BSP, which are not the constituents of the UPA.
Now it is the turn of the NDA. The major party in the NDA, BJP, has begun to splinter in to those who favour Narendra Modi and those who do not. 9th of June 2013 saw the BJP Executive Committee crowning Narendra Modi as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board of the Party in contrast to the desires of the octogenarian Hindutwa stalwart L. K. Adwani. The founding father of the Hindutwa party is not ready to remain idle; he has tendered his resignation from all important positions he held in the party. Thus the monolithic edifice of the Hindutwa party is no longer as monolithic as we are given to understand. Experiences must have taught Adwaniji a lesson not to go too far in the name of religion. Wisdom is not a very rare thing even in the camp of the communalists.
We do not predict anything in the context of what happens in various political conglomerations in the country. WE have one appeal: while exercising the franchise, please remember our nation and our people and our hallowed constitution. Our sovereignty has been brought in a very dangerous zone. In the periphery, our political sovereignty is intact. But is it a true sight? Not at all. Economically, our sovereignty is too slender to remain stable. There is also a very great cultural infiltration taking place towards our country and people. So, the constitutional guarantees of sovereignty, democracy, socialism and secularism are in peril. It is upto the left, democratic, progressive forces to respond to the call of the nation to safeguard its constitution. Safeguarding of the constitution is really safeguarding of the country.

subset: commoncrawl


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CHP confirms one dead in State Route 96 accident
The California Highway Patrol reported the following Tuesday morning:
On July 7, 2014 at approximately 5:20 p.m., a vehicle was reported over the side and possibly in the river on State Route 96 near mile post marker 91.0. Emergency services responded to the area and located a white mid-sized pick-up truck fully submerged into the Klamath River, with debris down the 100 foot embankment.
The preliminary investigation determined the vehicle to be traveling westbound on SR-96 at an unknown speed in a sweeping left hand curve. The vehicle ran off the roadway, onto the dirt shoulder. The right front of the vehicle collided with a large outcropping of rocks, causing the vehicle to flip onto its drivers side. The vehicle slid across both lanes of traffic and off the south edge, going over a 100 foot rock embankment. The vehicle rolled down the embankment and came to rest fully submerged in the Klamath River. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office responded with their dive team and was able to locate a solo restrained occupant in the driver's seat who was deceased. No other occupants were located or believed to be in the vehicle.
The identity of the driver is still under investigation and will be confirmed by the Siskiyou County Coroner. Officer Moxness of the Yreka CHP office is investigating this collision. Sgt. Leighliter assumed incident command of the large scale recovery effort.


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The Fourth Cup of Tea
Posted December 30, 2009on:
- In: General
- 26 Comments
On our recent trip to the US we were given a copy of Three Cups of Tea, an engaging account of an American Greg Mortenson's contribution to village education in Pakistan and Central Asia. My wife, Karin, has read the book and has written the following review which we are sending to friends involved in community development work. It is a topic that arouses her ire and enthusiasm in equal measure. [Warning: since it is written by her, it is a little longer than my normal blog posts!!]
Three Cups of Tea has been hugely popular in the USA. Not only was it a #1 New York Times Bestseller but, according to the Afterword of the book, it is 'a freshman, honors, or campus-wide required reading selection in over eighty universities and hundreds of schools. It is also required reading for senior U.S. military commanders, Pentagon officers in counter-insurgency training, and Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan…'
The book recounts the story (with the help of journalist David Relin) of Greg Mortenson, an American male nurse with a passion for mountain climbing. Mortenson grew up in Tanzania where his missionary parents worked to improve local health and education.
The story begins with Mortenson's failed attempt in 1993 to climb K2 in Pakistan, the second highest mountain in the world. Mortenson loses his way and almost his life. As he stumbles back toward his camp he takes another wrong turn and ends up in the poor village of Korphe where he is nursed back to health by the village chief Haji Ali. Out of gratitude to his host Mortenson promises to return to build a school for the village.
While this is a wonderful example of human solidarity and a joy to read, quickly the story changes from one of mutual giving and mutual respect to the story we have become all too familiar with: namely, the donor/helper "one-man show"! The front cover of Three Cups of Tea even proclaims that Mortenson's story is all about "One man's mission" and "one ordinary person" who can really "change the world".
Sociology, psychology and pedagogy (if not plain common sense) have taught for decades that the poor and disadvantaged, no less than the rich, need to be shown respect if they are to develop (or maintain) self-esteem and to see how their lives can make a meaningful contribution to the world.
However, despite so much talk by development NGOs and "think tanks" about empowerment, participation and partnership, donors/helpers still determine what the poor need. The involvement of local people in their own development happens only when and to the extent foreign donors and helpers decide. The compassion the latter show, while genuine, too often masks feelings of superiority and lack of respect for those receive help. It is difficult not to conclude that this book, too, falls into that category.
Why do I say this? To begin with, it is Mortenson who decides what needs to be done (put up a school building in Korphe, Pakistan) and then goes about planning it singlehanded without any consultation with the beneficiaries (the folk in the village). If you have read the book you might remind me that Mortenson does, later on, listen to Haji Ali, the chief of Korphe. The important point, though, is that Haji Ali is in a very different position in relation to Mortenson than anyone else: Haji Ali took in a sick and vulnerable Mortenson nursing him for an extended period when the latter had nothing to offer in return. Haji Ali's hospitality came before Mortenson's good works and is the inspiration and reason why the latter thought of the work in the first place. No other person could take the liberties Haji Ali takes in correcting him.
Let me mention three places in the story that I found particularly shocking:
The first is where the narrator states that Mortenson has "assembled an American board and a scruffy Pakistani staff" (p.190) Among these "scruffy staff" was one Ghulam Parvi who "had served as the director of…SWAB, Social Welfare Association, Baltistan. Under his leadership SWAB had managed to build two primary schools….before the funds promised by the Pakistani government dried up and he was forced to take odd accounting jobs." (p.137) Why are such local people who helped make schools in Pakistan a reality through contributing land, work and expertise considered "scruffy" in comparison to a distant American Board?!
Secondly, despite knowing Parvi's expertise in building schools, Mortenson accepted the position of Director of the Central Asia Institute (an American project to build village schools all over Central Asia). He also accepted an adequate salary for himself while "he offered Parvi a small salary to supplement his income as an accountant." (p.146)
Thirdly, when Parvi is later made the director for Pakistan of Mortenson's expanded institute Mortenson allowed Parvi to address him with honorary titles such as Dr. and Dr. Sahib (even though he was not a medical doctor), while continuing to follow his own ideas instead of encouraging the latter's leadership. Listen to the following exchange:
"For a long time, I've been worrying about what to do when our students graduate," [Mortenson] said. "Mr. Parvi, would you look into what it would cost to build a hostel in Skardu, so our best students would have some place to stay if we give them scholarships to continue their education?"
"I'd be delighted, Dr. Sahib," Parvi said, smiling, freed finally to organize the project he'd been advocating for years.
"Oh, and one more thing," Mortenson said.
"Yes, Dr. Greg, sir."
"Yasmine would be a perfect candidate to receive one of CAI's first scholarships. Can you let me know what her tuition would be if she went to private high school in the fall?"
Yasmine, 15, was Parvi's daughter, a straight-A student who had obviously inherited her father's fierce intelligence, and just as obviously inspired his fierce devotion. "Well?"
For a rare, elongated moment, Ghulam Parvi, the most eloquent man in Skardu, was struck silent, his mouth hanging open. "I don't know what to say," he said. (p.305)
This is not a relationship of equals. The Big White Chief is dispensing largesse to the natives. If such an unequal relationship is to be redressed, the donor has to relinquish decision-making in favour of the other, not put the latter in a position of perpetual, subservient gratitude.
Instead of admiring the Lone Ranger who "takes on the world" and "brings about change", we should be making serious efforts to identify local people such as Ghulam Parvi who are already busy making changes and, drawing alongside, simply support their efforts.
Richard Sennett is a world-famous sociologist who has taught at the London School of Economics and at New York University. In his book entitled Respect, he recalls his early childhood in the late 1940s growing up in Cabrini Green, a notorious post-war housing project in Chicago. Cabrini Green was an ambitious, well-intentioned attempt by social engineers and architects (none of whom actually lived on site) to combine an experiment in racial and social integration with low-cost housing.
Sennett sums up his experience of what went wrong with Cabrini Green, repeating a truth that has been amply demonstrated all over the world:
"These projects denied people control over their own lives…they were rendered spectators to their own needs…were mere consumers of care provided for them….they experienced that peculiar lack of respect which consists of not being seen, not being accounted as full human beings…" (Respect, Penguin 2004, pp.12-13, my emphasis)
Three Cups of Tea is not easy to criticize, because Greg Mortenson is such a sacrificially committed and very likable person. Also good things done by Americans for Pakistanis and Afghans are very encouraging to witness.
Mortenson is right to participate in relief and development. He is right that we who have more than enough ought to give sacrificially and participate in making a better world. But we from the West really must be determined to do this respectfully! Will we ever learn? Will we ever be willing to give up fame and that exhilarating sense of personal achievement that comes with "taking on the world" by ourselves?
26 Responses to "The Fourth Cup of Tea"
I know Mr. Ghulam Parvi his son is my friend. Ishaq(his son) is taking care of the construction of the hostle. indeed it is a great effort to help the people of baltistan.
m askari aziz
Thanks Karin and Mr. Aziz for your comments on Three Cups of Tea — mutual relationships and walking with people on their journey is so imortant—
Everyone has something to contribute because we are ALL valuable. We do need to drink more tea together which, I guess is medicinal as it somehow allows the eardrums to open up and we can actually hear one another if we listen……….
Cheers to another cup of tea………
Steve Goode
Indeed, indeed, indeed. The discernment and elucidation of this article is very helpful. Let's drink a fourth cup of tea for Respect. Thank you Karin.
Thank you for sharing your point of view on this famous book Karin! I haven't read it, so I feel like I did after reading you! The feeling of superiority, or "better-than-thou" attitude is an issue to be addressed not only in development work, but also in everyday relationships , even within one same community!
Just another thought on this book — it was one of my favorite books in the last few years — not because Greg Mortenson was a development expert, – he was a mountain climber that wanted to make it to the top of the mountain and plant a flag in memory of his sister who died.
He grew up in Africa and saw the impact of missionary parents who built one of the top hospitals and top schools led by Africans today.
Greg also was taken in after getting lost on the mountain by a Muslim leader or he could have easily died – His daughter through this interaction was able to become a doctor through this and other schools. I have to say that these Muslim leaders stood up to this young crazy American who sometimes did not have a clue helped teach him invaluable lessons.
Even as Greg has made mistakes, building several hundred schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan has made a huge impact. Even though they get burned down by those who do not believe girls should be in school and studying — there are people who will find a way to do that.
We have to find more people that are willing to be bridges, that see women empowered, completing school and serving their peoples. I guess that is the reason that I have just purchased Greg's second book called Stones into Schools – promoting peace with books, not bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Having just completed reading Three Cups of Tea, I deliberately looked for negative comments knowing that with all of the glowing tributes to Mortenson there just had to be several brickbats. My quibble with Karin's negative statements are these:
1) American Mortenson didn't wait until he was rich before he began his mission to build Korphe's school unlike Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie, Jay Leno's wife, Oprah Winfrey, etc. etc.; he was, by North American standards, a poor person.
2) Mortenson's 'adequate' salary for himself' – ask his wife about the US cost of living at the time, and how much her income was required for the family to live modestly!
3) Lack of respect is hardly the way I would describe the relationship between Mortenson and the people for whom he works. Although I, too, consider 'scruffy' to be unnecessarly pejorative, Mortenson is often described as pretty scruffy-looking himself! And who were the first to give him the title "Dr."?
Was it a title he gave himself or even encouraged? (See p. 31)
5) Self-aggrandisement? Because of the PUBLISHER'S blurbs to entice people to read the book? Because of honours, speaking engagements, TV interviews, speaking engagements? The man raises money in the US! The only way to do that successfully is to be portrayed as a larger than life 'hero'.
Damning with faint praise is what I call Karin's response to Mortenson's work. If the condemning letters from his own people after the Twin Towers catastrophe didn't dissuade him, I doubt that Karin's comment would do so. But think, woman, what if he had just given up then? What if he gave up today?
Today i have mostly been ….arrogant!!! Thank you Karin.
Karin I agree with your critique that much that passes in wealthy countries for mission or humanitarian assistance, as for example in the overwhelming response to the tragedy in Haiti (I have read eye witness accounts of how swarms of Western medical teams literally bullied their way past or over teams from Third World countries) is often the western flag-planting, lone-ranger, opportunist-tourist or corporate showcase kind of mission and philanthropism, that gets involved to prove a point, or as a publicity stunt. Why so much medecine for Haiti now, when genuine help for Haitians in so many lines of assistance to build their nation has been denied for so long?
When it comes down to actually learning the language of people "needing mission", finding who their heroes are, and following their leaders in the task of learning what help will be meaningful for them, we wealthy and mobile world citizens from western countries make a profound discovery, more often than not, that we are the ones in need of mission and true philanthropism, to wean us from our self-grounded self sufficiency. When we can receive others' kindness at a point of real need (a disposition which many wealthy westerners will never reach) then we know in what spirit to reach out to those different to and poorer than ourselves.
This has been my experience growing up and living and working and choosing to stay in South Africa.
Thank you for your thought provoking piece.
Just also ticking the boxes for any follow up
Well written Karin. The shortage of committed, genuine community rebuilders is not an excuse for sanctioning the kind of dependancy that Mortensen's (well-intentioned) projects engender. I have not read the book but have witnessed this in our own lives and around us in community work where the 'aided' is merely the receiver and not the active particpant in the decisions that shape their present and future. Personally, we have had to sever such ties rather than live out someone else's life in servile dependancy (and the ones in question were Indian and not foreign donors…just to say that this tendency is one that ails the donor irrespective of geography). The system is too well-entrenched in the macro-world of donorship even in the domain of Christian "giving" and am afraid correcting it will prove harder because the "aided" has inherited an entrenched dependancy that feeds the position and power of the giver. But it has taught us valuable lessons in our giving and your review affirms those. Blessings
I wonder whether Mortensen is a CIA or other agent. I heard him speak at a college. He flashed slides as he spoke. Some slides were of Petraus and McCrystal. He spoke highly of them and explained how his way, building schools, was a lesson for the military to be more effective in its mission. Hmmmm. When it was time for questions, he censored questions dealing with the war. He brought the war up and then prohibited questions about the war. Strange. It was reported to me by a college student who had the ability to know that Mortensen flew in on a private jet and got $20,000 bucks for his talk.
Thank you Karin. I went through the comments as well. Three cups of tea has been a controversial book in Pakistan. Greg has written many false stories. He did not pay any scholarship for Parvi,s daughter Yasmeen. The stories he added in the book for the Americans are not true. Yes he is confirmed to be CIA agent. I have finished helping him, as he damaged my position in the society. You people will be shocked to know that in his website he has shown 16 ghost school projects. Climbers and trekkers know that 1) there is no Girls High School in Kandey and Gulabpur. 2) Jinnah Public School Skardu, Al-Mustafa Public School, Pari Gongma Primary School, Goma Pari Primary School, Primary Primary school, Women honour model school are his ghost projects. He is now helping to the American Army in Afghanistan. We also negate his statements in the Chapter The Red Velvet Box about Syed Abbas, Iran and Fatwa.
Yes I already did. I wrote to David, Greg, CAI Board members, but they are all under the influence of Greg. Greg has committed by himself in an email to me that there are mistakes and falsehood in the book. My objections continues since the draft stage of the book. But we are helpless. The only way for us rest only to go before court of justice and ask the relevant people to come and explain before the Court.
Thank you for the considerations. A poor needy person of Karakuram mountains cannot threat even an American back packer. The only way is to ask Greg if he come to this part of Pakistan, while he refrains from coming here. Did not come to
this area since 2007.
Dear Karin and Ghulam
I was in G-B this summer. I saw the empty school CAI built in Hushey, I heard many of the things Parvi wrote from just about every single person I talked to. I am appalled. I am so so sorry. How can we correct that? I just wrote an email to Greg. A friend who was in the Wakhan told me that some of the schools built there are empty as well.
Parvi can you get in touch with me?
I would be happy to help.
Hello Karen and Ibex. Please tel me how to contact Ibex on his email address. Few journalists are asking me, but I dont know how to resolve the problems. Yes if the Climbers and Trekkers could just give attention towards the matter, it will soon be cleared, specially about the Ghost projects, which Greg has shown on his website under the head *Regional Maps*.
I agree with you kiran.
There is a lot of other false information is included in this book.
I can tell you the whole story of Mr. Greg from the day when he came to Pakistan in 1993 with the K2 expedition till it publishes this book.
i am the resident of that area where he built those school.
The real story is something else….
The man behind Greg is someone to whom I know, who helped him from the day one.
And he supported the K2 expedition as a local tour operator.
If you want to know the real story then you can contact me.
Ahmed Baltistani
In this New York Times best seller, Greg has given his biography in details. He belongs to a below average family, passing days in miseries. His education, his job training etc. etc. clearly declares his social status.
What a strange thing.. While working with the village communities of such a part of the world, which Americans declare the most underserved region of he World, within no time Greg Mortenson becomes a) Doctor (Medical), Philanthropist, Historian, Religious specialists with reference to Islam and Buddhism, Politician, Bureaucrat, Critic and analyst on Army matters, climber, humanitarian, lover and follower of Mother Tressa, (where people believe a new date of death for the pleasure of Greg), Saver of Balti children in special and Pakistani Children from Taliban. He also comments on the role of Saudi Goverment, Iran Government, Pakistan Government etc. etc. claiming that he is a humble social worker. He also comments on the personal lives of different people and groups of the area, for which no body can allow and tolerate. And in the end, the ignorant American Readers blindly believes on the tales of the book 3 cups of tea.
If you listen to the people on the other end, we declare the book is full of false stories, based on one sided, specially designed against Islam, Balti culture and Pakistan as well. People condemn the contents of the book.
Now see: On page 141 (1st edition) about Korphe Mosque he writes: "It had stood for nearly five hundred years, and had served as a Buddhist temple before Islam had established a foothold in Baltistan".
On page 142 Greg injects a very poisonous remarks telling: " A few months earlier, Mortenson had read in the Islamabad papers about Pakistan's latest wave of Sunni-Shiite violence. A Skardu bound bus had passed through the Indus Gorge on its way up the Karakorum Highway. Just past Chilas, a Sunni-dominated region, a dozen masked men armed with Kalashnikovs blocked the road and forced the passengers out. They separated the Shia from the Sunni and cut the throats of eighteen Shia men while their wives and children were made to watch. Now he (Greg) was praying like a Sunni at the heart of Shiite Pakistan. Among the warring sects of IslaM. Morenson knew, men had been killed for less".
This had never happened. The story is totally false and based on ulterior motives of Greg Mortenson and his humanitarian work. The American readers should know, that in the 21st century, nothing is hide out of the eyes of the print and electronic media. The CBS TV, BBC, VOA and other International TV channels have their reliable reps in Islamabad, one can ask and verify this story. It is biased, dishonest and totally false story. Greg Mortenson want to divide and destroy the religious harmony of Baltistan and Gilgit, and injects poison among the new generation, for whom he claims to be the Hero.
Greg has put black paint on the faces of the Americans who will travel in the mountain in the future.
Considering that the controversy from 60 Minutes is bubbling up, these critical comments may be true 🙂
I think it will be the children, particularly the girls of Pakistan and Afghanistan that are affected by this story, if it is true. I just read the following which is an interview from the first article about Greg: http://outsideonline.com/adventure/travel-ga-greg-mortenson-interview-sidwcmdev_155690.html
Greg is not a development worker nor has he worked with NGO's nor Boards before writing Three Cups of Tea or Stones into Schools. He has spent serious time away from his family in reaching out to remote areas. He has made mistakes as we all have. He has been ripped off as we all have. He is a maverick like many pioneers or trailblazers and has offended people. He has made a ton of money from these books that he has said should outlive him in providing for children's education and scholarships for years to come. Hopefully that will be true with this independent review of CAI and his Board's engagement. There are too few people and organizations reaching out to the remote areas of the world because of all of the challenges. Hopefully, they will not be the ones who continue to suffer because of these mistakes.


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When I teach church classes about forgiveness, I begin with a question: What do you think the Bible says about forgiveness?
The first thing someone calls out is usually "70 times seven," a reference to Jesus' instruction to his disciples that they must forgive without bound. Next, students mention the Lord's Prayer, citing the verse, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Often there is a lull at this point, and then someone remembers Jesus' words from the cross, "Father, forgive them." With most groups, the discussion falters here.
Everyone is sure that the Bible is full of messages about forgiveness, but when it comes down to it, few people can identify exactly what the text actually says about it.
The Old Testament has very little to offer on interpersonal forgiveness. The most salient example is Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers who had sold him into slavery (Genesis 45:1-15), although this is arguably more a story about reconciliation than it is about genuine repentance and forgiveness. Elsewhere in the Old Testament, the focus is on petitionary prayers to God for the forgiveness of wayward individuals or groups, especially through the sacrificial system established with the covenant. Examples include animal atonement offerings (Leviticus 5:14-16, 6:67; Numbers 28), Job's prayer for pardon (Job 7:21) and Moses' plea for the restoration of Israel (Exodus 32:32). In the prophetic literature, God's forgiving responses are recorded, as in the promise to Jeremiah to restore Israel (Jeremiah 33:8), and in Isaiah to "blot out" and "not remember" Israel's sins (Isaiah 43:25). God's forgiveness stands out as a theme throughout the Old Testament.
The New Testament continues this concern for the forgiveness of an entire people, but shifts the focus to Jesus as the "perfect sacrifice" who replaces the old sacrificial system (Hebrews 10:8-10). At the Last Supper, Jesus declares, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).
However, Jesus also offers direct teachings on forgiveness, and while his words are sometimes contradictory, it is clear that interpersonal forgiveness is an important concern. While he does instruct his disciples to forgive "70 times seven times" in the Gospel of Matthew (18:21-22), in Luke he qualifies this teaching, saying, "If there is repentance, you must forgive" (17:3). Both Gospels include the reciprocal formula in the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us as we forgive others," but where Matthew's version talks about forgiving debts, Luke's prayer asks for forgiveness of sins (Matthew 6:12; Luke 11:4). The Greek word translated as "forgive" in all of these passages is also the standard term for the remission of a financial debt.
In all four Gospels, Jesus notes the importance of forgiving others to ensure God's forgiveness. Matthew includes the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, in which a freed slave who does not forgive the debts of another is thrown into jail to be tortured. Jesus concludes this story with a less-than-comforting moral, "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart" (Matthew 18:35).
One of the most celebrated forgiveness texts is Jesus' prayer from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). This is often cited as the quintessential moment of unconditional Christian forgiveness, and held up as a model that believers should seek to emulate. Often, pastoral caregivers present victims of violence with this verse to demonstrate the perfect Christian response to persecution and wrongdoing. This becomes especially problematic when victims -- especially of domestic violence -- are pressured to reconcile quickly and unconditionally with their abusers based on an idealized portrait of Christian forgiveness.
While Jesus is certainly an advocate of forgiveness -- in addition to the verses cited above, he claims the authority to forgive sins on earth (Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:23) and announces his mission as one of "forgiveness of sins" (Luke 24:47) -- he is far from consistent on the issue of interpersonal forgiveness. When he cries out from the cross, he does not say to his attackers, "I forgive you," or, as he has before, "Your sins are forgiven you." Instead, he prays that God might forgive them. Considering that earlier in Luke's Gospel, Jesus makes it very clear that repentance was required for forgiveness (17:3), and since no repentance is forthcoming from the men who are attacking Jesus, we might assume that forgiveness is a non-issue in this case. Indeed, nowhere does Jesus plainly state that unconditional forgiveness is a virtue or a requirement for the new covenant community. However, in the same Gospel, Jesus does instruct his followers to "bless those who curse you [and] pray for those who abuse you" (Luke 6:28), which appears to be exactly what he is doing on the cross.
I ruffle a lot of feathers when I suggest that Jesus might not be forgiving his attackers as he is being crucified. But this interpretation pays off for victims who are concerned about living faithfully in the aftermath of violence. Instead of a Jesus who appears to be endlessly and impossibly forgiving, here is a Jesus who is true to his teachings and also easier to imitate.
Praying for one's attacker is an easier -- and much safer -- task than offering unconditional forgiveness and reconciling with unrepentant abusers. Requiring repentance before granting forgiveness gives victims another way to protect themselves while remaining true to the biblical text.


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1 detained after Sunday night attempted robbery in Forsyth Park
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WJCL) - One person is in jail after an attempted robbery in Savannah's Forsyth Park Sunday night. It was the third robbery in the park this weekend.
Police say around 8:48 p.m. Sunday, two people tried to rob two teenagers. Police stopped one of the people involved in that robbery as he ran away. They say the two teenage victims were not hurt.
Police had beefed up their presence in the park after the earlier robberies, which helped them stop that man quickly.
Police say the person they arrested fits a disruption provided by the earlier victims.
One of those earlier robberies happened Friday night on Tattnall Street. Police say in that case two armed men approached two woman, pulled a gun and demanded they hand over their belongings.
Saturday night, police say three armed men approached a couple, pulled a gun and demanded their belongings.
Anyone with information about these robberies should call Metro Police.


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Editor's Note (July 16, 2019, 2:15 p.m.): Charges that Hollis Tharpe solicited a prostitute were dropped in July 2019, a court official told News4. Go here to see an updated story.
Hollis Tharpe, the mayor of Front Royal, Virginia, was indicted Friday and charged with soliciting a prostitute in May 2018, the mayor told News4.
Tharpe said the charges stem from two visits he made to a massage parlor in Front Royal in 2018. He and his attorney are set to appear at Warren County Circuit Court on Monday.
The Warren County Commonwealth's Attorney has not responded to a request for comment.
Tharpe told News4 he learned in 2018 that the woman who gave him the massage was arrested on prostitution charges six days after his final visit.
Tharpe said the situation is "embarassing and the charges are baseless."
He also said the investigators are "only doing this because I got the mayor title."
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Tharpe did not specify who he had hired as an attorney.
Stay with News4 for updates to this developing story.


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Vatican City — Pope Francis is considering making a stop in Cuba during his upcoming trip to the United States in September, but nothing has been confirmed, the Vatican announced Friday.
Francis -- who was credited by both the U.S. and Cuba in December for helping facilitate the landmark beginning of normalization of relations between the two countries -- "has taken into consideration the idea" of visiting the island nation, the Vatican said.
Spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi said, however, that discussions are "still in too early a phase for it to be possible to regard this stop as a firm decision and an operative plan."
The pope is to visit the U.S. in late September, visiting the cities of Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia. A possible addition of a Cuban stop on the trip was first reported Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.
During the U.S. trip, Francis will become the first pope to address a joint session of Congress on Sept. 24 and will address the U.N. on Sept. 25. He will also attend the World Meeting of Families, being held in Philadelphia from Sept. 22-27.
Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba in 2012. Pope John Paul II visited the country for five days in 1998.
Francis played a role in the recent thaw of relations between Cuba and the U.S. by writing letters to Presidents Raul Castro and Barack Obama. He also allowed final discussions on the matter to be hosted at the Vatican.
In a nationally televised address in the United States on Dec. 17, Obama personally thanked the pope, saying his "moral example shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be, rather than simply settling for the world as it is."
[Joshua J. McElwee is NCR Vatican correspondent. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter: @joshjmac.]


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It was my 25th birthday on Sunday. I wanted to write about it, as I have many thoughts about turning 25, but my thoughts wouldn't come together. Still, they won't. I am writing and deleting, writing and deleting. So here goes, a random thought dump about being 25 and where my life is now and all my random thoughts about it.
(This is going to be very all over the place, I'm sorry, I just don't know how to pull this all together.)
25 feels like a milestone age, in a quiet way – the way 16 is to 18. I am, as always, amazed as to how far I've come. 25. It feels like I should really know what I'm doing by now. I don't. And actually, I think that its likely that a lot of twenty somethings feel these same feelings, the weight of the world's expectations versus our own feelings of loss and confusion. But I suppose I tell myself that because I want things to be coming together now. And I don't quite want to admit it, that I think about settling down quite often. Not in the traditional sense, like getting married, or having kids. But I think about owning my own place, having a stable job, having some savings, buying nice furniture and adopting a kitty. I think about these things which I feel are some of the markers of adulthood and I see that I have none of them and I feel a little lacking.
I'm 25. I've come so far and I have so much, but I'm caught up in feelings of wondering if it's the 'right' things or if it's enough and I look at others my age and feel a little, fine a lot inadequate. (I guess I'm also caught up in watching my sister, who is older than me so I should accept is ahead of me, but I look at her stable job, the house she has bought and the kitty she has adopted and I ache. Will that be me in three years? Can that be me? It doesn't feel like my life is heading in that direction yet and again, I ache.)
I'm still settling in to this new stage of adult hood – being a working professional. I know, still. I feel so frustrated with myself too, I keep telling myself to hurry up about it all, but I can't seem to. My anxious brain takes a long time to process things. So now, almost two years of working gone past and I'm still processing, trying to come up with working professional Catherine, and get rid of student Catherine. For such a long time my life was dictated by academic timetables, coursework and exams that it is incredibly difficult to get out of that mind-set. Work is so difficult. It's at once incredibly structured and incredibly free. Instead of working to a curriculum, memorising the right things and putting them on a paper and measuring your life's progress by the grades you get, it's a lot more abstract. You have to take your own initiative, and then you get judged on how you take initiative and what you come up with, yourself. It's weird getting used to creating your own curriculum to study and managing your own schedules, and don't even get me started on also dealing with office life and culture. I still feel like a complete fish out of water at work. There is so much to learn, so many interesting but difficult things to take in and try not to mess up. Being at work, working, can be incredibly rewarding, but also extremely embarrassing sometimes. It's so awesome getting things right, but on the flipside it's so awful getting them wrong. You want to impress! And make a good impression! Then you make a typo in a mail to a client, or can't explain a key concept without getting tongue tied and it's like damn, self. Come on. I get so frustrated with myself. I need to think about becoming a chartered engineer at some point, but I have no confidence for it. Am I worthy of it? Do I know enough for it? No way can I be that clever and competent.
I still can't quite believe I have an engineering degree, to be honest. That I am an engineer. Like, what. Even now, 7 years after school, I still sit with the teacher's words telling me I was never going to get anywhere. Some days I'm crippled by imposter syndrome, clinging on to average GCSEs and poor A level grades, and ignoring the masters in engineering I have, or the nearly two years of actual engineering experience I have.
Then there's home management. I have been making a lot of changes to my flat, trying to settle in, while terrified of settling in, because it's a rental and I don't know when or if I'll have to move, I just feel like I'm going to have to move and I don't want to enjoy this flat too much, or buy too much furniture, because moving is painful enough without owning so many things. But I'm trying to settle into the now, enjoy my environment now without worrying about later. (After all, no matter what I'll be packing crap tonnes of stuff into boxes, and I've probably long past the point where I could avoid paying for a moving service.) I'm trying to be good about chores and keeping things clean too. At first I struggled with that – I was so tired from work and commuting. Now I'm driving and my commute is easier and I get home sooner it's a bit easier. I am incredibly lucky with the place I am living in and I try to tell myself that often, remind myself that even I don't own my place and I can't paint the walls or put up shelves, at least I have a warm roof over my head, lots of space all to myself, and none of the problems with scrupulous landlords, dodgy roommates, weird moulds or maintenance issues that some people suffer. I am safe and comfortable. It's enough. More than enough. I am very lucky.
I am not so good about managing my diet or exercise. I still eat like a student and struggle to exercise – I got to week four of couch to 5k then gave up, I dip in and out of Yoga, but I can't make anything work. I'm very lazy outside of work.
I'm not sure what's going on with this blog. I don't want to give up blogging, but there's such a large part of my life (work!) that I have to keep private and its awkward working around that elephant in the room (work!).
Everything is messy and awkward right now. While my heart longs for stability and settling down, my life has had other ideas. There's been so much going on these past few years. But I'm still here, 25 years old, trying to deal with it all and sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. Just like everyone else, I imagine.


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RIYADH (Reuters) - The last time Saudi Arabia broke off ties with Iran, after its embassy in Tehran was stormed by protesters in 1988, it took a swing in the regional power balance in the form of Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait to heal the rift.
It is hard to see how any lesser development could resolve the region's most bitter rivalry, which has underpinned wars and political tussles across the Middle East as Riyadh and Tehran backed opposing sides.
Riyadh's expulsion of Iran's envoy after another storming of its Tehran embassy, this time in response to the Saudi execution of Shi'ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr, raised the heat again, making the region's underlying conflict even harder to resolve.
At the heart of the new crisis is Saudi Arabia's growing willingness to confront Iran and its allies militarily since King Salman took power a year ago, say diplomats, choosing with his son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to abandon years of backroom politics.
Last year, Riyadh began a war in Yemen to stop an Iran-allied militia seizing power in its southern neighbor and boosted support to Syrian rebels against Tehran's ally President Bashar al-Assad. Its execution of Nimr, while mainly driven by domestic politics, was also part of that open confrontation with Iran, according to political analysts.
The interventions followed years of Riyadh complaining about what it regarded as unchecked Iranian aggression in the region. It has pointed to Iran's support for Shi'ite militias and accused the country of smuggling arms to groups in Gulf countries - which Iran denies.
"We will not allow Iran to destabilize our region. We will not allow Iran to do harm to our citizens or those of our allies and so we will react," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters on Monday, signaling Riyadh would not back down.
The Saudi decisions in Syria and Yemen were also partly a response to Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, which lifted sanctions on Tehran, theoretically giving it more money and political room to pursue its regional activities.
The new crisis has had the effect of hardening a wider confrontation between the loose-knit coalitions of allies each can call upon in the region; some of Riyadh's allies also cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after the embassy attack, while Iran's warned of repercussions.
That chain reaction may now complicate complex political talks over the formation of a government in Lebanon, efforts to bring Syria's warring parties to talks, stalled negotiations to end Yemen's civil war and Riyadh's rapprochement with Baghdad.
Until the 1960s and 70s, Saudi Arabia and Iran were uneasy allies regarded as the "twin pillars" of Washington's strategy to curb Soviet influence in the Gulf. Sectarianism was muted.
But rich on its new oil wealth, Saudi Arabia began to propagate its rigid Salafi interpretation of Sunni Islam which regards Shi'ism as heretical, in mosques around the region. And, after its 1979 revolution, Iran adopted - and exported - the doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih, which says ultimate temporal power among Shi'ites should reside with its own supreme leader.
That growing ideological divide set up a simmering mistrust that was soon matched by a geopolitical rivalry that has driven their fractious relations for the subsequent 37 years.
After Iran's 1980-88 war with Iraq, when Saddam invaded, it developed a strategy of "forward defense", seeking to use ties with Arab Shi'ites to build militias and political parties that could stop new enemies emerging and give it deterrent capability through proxy forces.
Riyadh regarded Tehran's cultivation of Shi'ite groups with intense suspicion, fearing it would foment revolution in Saudi-allied states and destabilize the region.
It broke ties in 1988 when a diplomat died in the storming of its Tehran embassy following tensions over the death of hundreds of Iranian pilgrims in clashes with Saudi police during the haj. But when Saddam invaded Kuwait, Tehran and Riyadh set aside their hostility to make common cause against a shared enemy.
The toppling of Saddam in 2003 upturned the regional power balance, however, as Iran used its ties to the country's large Shi'ite community to gain sway in Baghdad, pitting Riyadh and Tehran more openly against each other - a pattern repeated in Yemen and Syria after the "Arab Spring" uprisings.
Meanwhile, Iraq's civil war had poured fuel on growing sectarian tensions as al Qaeda, which follows an extreme form of Salafism, sent suicide bombers against Shi'ite civilians, prompting murderous retaliation from Iran-linked militias.
Now there is some scope for further escalation, both in the various Middle East theaters where Iran and Saudi Arabia back opposing forces, and diplomatically as Riyadh taps Arab and Muslim channels to try to isolate Tehran, according to analysts.
"Since 1979 the two countries have fought numerous proxy conflicts throughout the Middle East and often exchange threats and insults. But they've stopped short of direct conflict and eventually agreed to a cold reconciliation," said Karim Sadjadpour, senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Middle East program.
But he said that Iran might seek to stoke unrest among Saudi Arabia and Bahrain's Shi'ite communities.
Renewed protests among Saudi and Bahraini Shi'ites since the execution of Nimr, along with the bombing of two Sunni mosques in Iraq, may be regarded by Riyadh as evidence of Iranian incitement.
Riyadh has itself pushed allies to cut ties with Iran and pressed Muslim bodies like the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to condemn the storming of the embassy. Theoretically, it could also ramp up support for Syrian rebel groups.
All-out conflict is something that even hawks in Saudi Arabia and Iran would likely try to avoid. However, the new escalation between the region's main enemies shows how events can sometimes pre-empt strategic plans.
After the execution of Nimr, Iran's Revolutionary Guard elite military force said a "harsh revenge" would strike Saudi's ruling Al-Saud family in the near future.
"The Revolutionary Guard is part of the Iranian government and their threats should be taken seriously because they control militia in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen and I would not be surprised if they use it to act against the Saudis," said Abdulaziz al-Sager, head of Jeddah-based Gulf Research Centre.
Editing by William Maclean and Pravin Char
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Your Guide to Using the Clarion Template for Joomla
Clarion, the February 2012 template release, is a subtle theme, primed for business use or as a platform for extensive individual customization.
Built on the Gantry Framework, Clarion has a range of powerful, flexible and intuitive features and functions. The administrative interface offers a user friendly control panel for intricately customizing the template layouts.
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NOTICE: Clarion is a Joomla 3.x Template.
NOTE: Gantry v3.x.18+, 3.2.15+ is required for Clarion to work correctly. For more details on the Gantry Framework, please visit its dedicated website.
Responsive and fixed versions of this template are available from the template's download page.
RokGallery is a ground-up revolutionary gallery extension, developed to be hugely flexible, customizable and thus extendable far into the future.
RokGallery Slideshow Layout is facilitated by Mootools to transition between images seamlessly.
RokGallery offers an advanced photo gallery solution for Joomla, that rests on a custom tagging architecture, combined with native application slice editing, which Clarion provides integrated styling for.
K2 is an integrated solution for Joomla! similar to CCK for those acquainted with Drupal. Using K2, you can transform your Joomla! website to a news or magazine site.
A selection of our RocketTheme Extensions have been styled to integrate with the template:


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I'm new to the Permaculture world but it does fascinate me a lot! I understood the principle to recreate the condition of the natural environment. I saw some of the beds with cardboard, compost , newspaper and straw ( I don't remember the exact order) , but I was wondering how to start a little garden in my backyard. It is possible? what if I don't find straw? Any starter guide online?
thanks in advance


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AMAA Invites You To Bring Christmas Joy to Our Children in Armenia & Karabagh
Preparations continue to be underway to bring Christmas Joy to our children in Armenia and Karabagh!
Since the early 1990s, The AMAA and the Evangelical Church of Armenia have been organizing Christmas Programs in Armenia and Karabagh to share God's love and bring Christmas joy. Your generous donations will help us continue this important ministry to our children in the homeland and share with them the gift of Love.
Every Christmas, AMAA's Christmas Joy Program brings many smiles and fun celebrations to thousands of children and their families in over 42 towns and villages throughout Armenia and Karabagh. From music and dancing to Christmas plays and visits from Santa, through your help, AMAA makes possible a happy and blessed time of the year.
For as little as $10 you will help the AMAA continue bringing the spirit of Christmas directly to the children in Armenia and Karabagh. For some, this box may be the only Christmas present they receive. This is an opportunity for all to share God's love and spread the joy of Christmas.
Make your donation online or send in your tax-deductible donation (memo: Christmas Joy Program) to the AMAA.


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Had a good time this morning discussing the lectionary readings as reassurances for those "afraid of the water"... and talking about cultural images of "Jesus standing in line" and taking everybody by surprise.
A beautiful drive both ways. Weather has warmed up spectacularly overnight but temperature was still below freezing on the way 'out' this morning. So everything on both sides of the highway was delightfully frosted over. I am accustomed to the lovely "apple-blossom" aspect of mountain-ash trees, leafless, with the berry clusters covered in snow. But this morning was the first time I recall seeing willows with their vivid early-spring stems likewise veiled in white -- the resultant colours were like saltwater taffy...implausibly beautiful.
Some raptors to be seen, along the way -- a nice change from the all-prevalent corvids...only two bison quite a long way from the road as I was coming through the nat'l park...and a couple of ponies kicking up snow at each other in a paddock.
It has grown warm enough as the afternoon comes on to make the road surface mucky -- I need to refill my windshield washer before I quit work for the day. And it would be prudent to clear my walks while it's nice and mild also.
Some cooking-projects await my arrival at home...and I'm down to about the last 100 pieces of the 1500-piece monster jigsaw I've been assembling this week. A good, quiet, scaled-down kind of an evening. Happy sigh. "Savouring the graces," as they say.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
On the baptism of the Lord, and so forth
Posted by Crimson Rambler at 1:09 PM
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Calculations done by Reuters show that the value of net long positions on the Greenback slipped back to $20.89 billion after climbing to $21.73 billion last week. In addition, the latest Commitments of Traders forex positioning report from the CFTC shows that the U.S. dollar was losing ground against the majority of its forex rivals, but it's still winning out overall.
Keep in mind that these numbers show the net positioning the of non-commercial traders against the U.S. dollar. If you're feeling overwhelmed by all these figures, you might need to review our School of Pipsology lesson on How to Gauge Market Sentiment Using the COT Report in order to learn how to pinpoint potential forex market reversals.
Lemme break down the latest numbers for y'all:
- The Greenback is still the one currency to rule them all, but the Kiwi almost ended that since non-commercial forex traders cut down their short positions from last week's 24,057 to only 19,328.
- Large speculators also trimmed their net bearish bias on the other comdolls.
- The pound was pushed deeper into the red for the second consecutive week due to some pound bulls calling it quits, reducing the number of long contracts on the pound from 49,815 to 47,700
- Aside from the pound, the Swissy and the euro also saw an increase in bearish bias versus the U.S. dollar.
- Speculative forex traders pared their net short positions on the yen for the third consecutive week.
Many forex traders who have been bullish on the U.S. dollar were probably squeezed out by the latest NFP report, which printed a net increase of only 142K jobs (201K expected, 136K previous) and no growth in average hourly earnings (0.2% expected, 0.4% previous).
The NFP report also probably gave interest rate junkies the jitters as well since improvements in the labor market has been cited as one criteria for a potential rate hike by the U.S. Fed, so the poor readings may mean further delays for the highly-anticipated rate hike. And it certainly didn't help that the readings for the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) non-manufacturing PMI and manufacturing PMI were both indicating slower rates of expansion.
Speaking of rate hike delays, market participants probably figured that lower borrowing costs for longer creates an equity-friendly environment, which caused global equities to keep climbing higher for the most part during the week ending October 6. Although some analysts were giving convincing arguments that the market's "lower for longer" idea is wrong.
Improving sentiment for equities also caused sentiment for commodities to improve, sparking a rally that would ultimately end in the biggest weekly gain in three years, as Pip Diddy pointed out in his write-up for the Top Forex Market Movers of the Week. This commodity rally and the overall risk-on sentiment were the most likely reasons as to why the high-yielding comdolls were able to take some ground from the Greenback.
The pound's a high-yielding currency too, but it still lost out to the Greenback, probably because forex traders were still doubting the timing of a potential Q1 2016 rate hike since the manufacturing PMI for the U.K. ticked lower to a three-month low while services PMI showed the "weakest rise in activity in nearly two-and-a-half years."
Moving on, the prevailing risk-on sentiment was certainly no friend to the low-yielding euro and the safe-haven Swissy, but both currencies also got pummeled by a string of disappointing data. The euro, in particular, got slammed by disappointing CPI, which dipped back into negative territory on a year-on-year basis, and made many forex traders and economists expect further easing moves from the ECB.
As for the yen, there were many calls for more easing measures from the BOJ, but most forex traders were probably expecting the BOJ to maintain the current monetary policy for the October 7 monetary policy statement, which helps to explain why the number of short contracts on the yen were trimmed.
Got any other conclusions you can draw from this latest COT Report? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section or if you're looking for further discussion, community member ForExchange has a lively thread called Trading based on Market Sentiment in the forums awaiting your participation.


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David and Alice M. vs. Owens Corning Fiberglass
CaseyGerry partner Frederick Schenk obtained $2.4 in punitive damages as well as economic losses – the largest verdict ever against an asbestos manufacturer (Owens Corning Fiberglass) in the County of San Diego – for client David M., who developed terminal mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos insulation while serving aboard the U.S.S. Constellation. This case involved strict products liability caused by defendant's knowledge of the product's hazard and its refusal to warn of the dangers or to remove its product from the market.
Verdict: $2.5 million