text:
ImageStation Automatic Elevations DSM 2020 is a full release installer. ImageStation Automatic Elevations DSM (ISAD) is a superset of ImageStation Automatic Elevations (ISAE). In addition to the feature-based matching approach for stereo aerial frame, ADS, and satellite images found in ISAE, it adds 64-bit dense surface model correlation of stereo aerial frame and satellite images using the Semi-Global Matching (SGM) correlation methodology. This download also includes an updated version of HTCondor for Hexagon Geospatial with compatibility with ISAD.
Recommended for stereo display and editing:
- or -
Install Instructions
Note: If you are using HTCondor for Hexagon Geospatial for distributed processing, uninstall the existing version 16.6, and install the new version 16.6.1 from this download. You do not need to uninstall or reinstall Condor 8.4.0.
Selected Highlights
Thank you for your interest. Please register to download this product.


text:
Hi, On Feb 2, 2011, at 17:04 , Bryan Sullivan wrote: > - User Interaction API (API to to manage vibration, beeps, and menus) From what I've been hearing about this the primary complaint about this API is that it is too fuzzy in scope. So if it stays, it has to be really neatly delineated. To me this points to splitting out the various component, and scoping them individually. I can see how a Vibration API could be useful (for gaming, and not just on mobiles but also with game controllers or anything that might provide feedback), and that should be decided on its own singled out merit rather than bundled into a vague "UI" category. We've also had suggestions for menuing. One participant in this group had ideas (that haven't been discussed), and I suggested something that could rely on the HTML <menu> element (but for which I haven't specified a security model, which is in itself an issue). So what would be the individual components here? -- Robin Berjon - http://berjon.com/Received on Monday, 7 February 2011 11:44:02 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Friday, 17 January 2020 19:32:25 UTC

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I have been spiffing up my Etsy shop,added a quilt back that has not seen the light of day for a couple of months and had slipped my mind:P Strung Along is in the shop again here. I love this quilt because it was real labor of love and it came out very playful and colors bursting out like a crayola crayon box!
Spring Melody is done and ready for a baby's sweet self! I stippled the outside border and straight line/echoed the seams of the patchwork center.
The straight lines give it some sophistication and the stippling a little fancy ruffle/girly edge per say:) I have been seeking out the perfect quilt for the owl print and this was the one!
I am thinking that little baby would love this;) It's a thought! It will be in the shop later tonight:)
Night ya'll!
|Sarah's blog


text:
well it's not my favorite Irish Breakfast (nor my husband's), it's probably stale, and about 1/4 into the cup my right eyelid started twitching (caffeine reaction, I think). The last 3 bags are being ::decupboarded:: I'll try the Bewley's next time. I liked it in Ireland (5+ years ago)
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec


text:
A school retired school principal who talked to our FASD Group May 6 enthused that these videos should be shown to educators and in schools – they explain FASD. Another quote: These videos "…they are brilliant, so much about FASD in general, in a very interesting and entertaining way."
An Introduction to Fetal Alcohol and the Law
These two short animated films, about 10 minutes each, are for those who want a quick yet thorough introduction to Fetal Alcohol and the Law. We made these films because the topic of fetal alcohol goes to the heart of the difficulties in law, medicine, education, social services, and how we spend, or do not spend, our tax dollars. I want to start a conversation that will bring some fairness to the lives of those with this brain based physical disability.
9:44 FASD and the Law Part 1
11:45 FASD and the Law Part 2
View on www.davidboulding.com
from this site:
Website for David Boulding's work as a consultant, speaker and advocate for individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.


text:
Seeks Comment on Proposed Amendments to COPPA Rule
On September 15, 2011 the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) released proposed changes to
the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
Rule. The proposed amendments could
impose additional compliance burdens on businesses that operate
childrens websites or online
services -- as well as general audience sites subject to its
requirements. The FTC is accepting
comments on the proposed changes until November 28, 2011.
Changes would include:
The COPPA Rule requires that operators
of websites or online services directed to children
under 13, or general audience sites that have actual knowledge
that they collect personal
information from children under 13, obtain verifiable parental
consent before collecting, using,
or disclosing such information from children.
In 2010 the FTC accelerated scheduled review
of the rule to address mounting concerns about
threats to childrens privacy posed by their adoption
of rapidly evolving technologies, including
accessing, viewing and interacting with content over mobile
devices. During the review period
the FTC expanded enforcement including applying the rule to
such new technologies as mobile
The FTC proposes
the following changes:
Operators of childrens websites and
other online services, including those operating over
emerging platforms such as mobile apps, as well as general
audience sites subject to COPPA,
should closely monitor developments in this proceeding to
anticipate how the proposed changes
could affect their business and regulatory strategies.
Please contact Karen Neuman at email@example.com
if you would like addition information or
wish to discuss your business or regulatory strategy in light
of the proposed changes.
Updates its Data Breach Notification Law
On August 31, 2011, California Governor
Jerry Brown signed SB
24 into law, a measure that amends the states landmark
data breach notification statute (Cal. Civ. Code §§
1798.29 & 1798.82), by mandating the inclusion of certain
information in notifications that are already required under
existing law to be sent to California residents who may have
been affected by a data breach.
SB 24, which will take effect January
1, 2012, also requires that the notifying entity send an
electronic version of the notice to the state Attorney General
(AG) in instances where a breach affects
more than 500 California residents. According to SB 24s
sponsor, Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), this
requirement is intended to enable law enforcement to see
the big picture and better understand
statewide patterns of identity theft. Businesses, agencies
and individuals subject to the law and who
use substitute notice provisions permitted under the current
statute must also provide an electronic
version of the notice to the states Office of Information
Security or the Office of Privacy Protection.
Organizations that are subject to HIPAAs HITECH breach
notification requirements will be deemed
to be in compliance with laws breach notice content
requirements but must still comply with the AG
notification requirement.
Since 2003, California law required covered
entities and individuals to notify affected persons of a
data breach. However, unlike other state data breach laws,
Californias statute did not mandate what information
the breach notices should contain or require that state
authorities be notified of the breach. Previous bills that
addressed these gaps were vetoed by Governor Browns
SB 24 addresses these gaps by establishing
the following standard content requirements, which
must be written in plain language for required
breach notices:
SB 24 also authorizes covered entities
and individuals to include in the notices, if they wish
to do
so, information about measures taken to protect persons
whose information has been compromised as
well as steps affected persons may take to protect themselves.
Please contact Karen Neuman at email@example.com
if you would like additional information
about Californias breach notification law, as amended
by SB 24.
Reports Highlight New "Supercookies" Used to Track Web Activity for Social
Privacy researchers from Worcester Polytechnic
Institute, University of Wyoming, University of California,
Berkeley, and Good Research recently released their second
report on tracking technologies used by websites and online
Flash Cookies and Privacy II: Now with HTML5 and ETag Respawning
(2011 Report).1 The report highlights
the need for website operators and online service providers
to be familiar with the information collection and disclosure
practices of third party service contractors, including social
advertisers and analytics companies. Periodic due diligence
should be conducted to ensure that these service providers
arent using tracking technologies that contravene users
express privacy preferences and that websites are in compliance
with their own privacy policies.
The first report,
Flash Cookies and Privacy, released in August 2009, examined
the use of persistent Local Stored Objects (LSOs), more commonly
known as Flash cookies, to track users despite
the users attempts to protect their online privacy by
taking such steps as deleting cookies. The findings in this
report were the linchpin in
class actions against some of the advertisers and websites
that the report found to be using Flash cookies.
Clearspring, whose Addthis tool
allows website visitors to share a websites content
on social media and used Flash cookies to track people who
visited websites with Addthis installed, was a named
defendant in one of the
actions. That lawsuit, along with a similar action
against Quantcast, was settled this year, with the companies
agreeing to not use LSOs in their products.2
The 2011 Report, along with additional
work by Jonathan Meyer at Stanford,3 has similarly
formed the basis for allegations in lawsuits against websites
and advertisers who use the new supercookies and
other forms of persistent trackers highlighted in the report.
The report reviews how Flash cookie use has changed in the
last year and identifies two additional supercookies, Cache-Cookies
and HTML5 Local Storage. KISSMetrics, a web analytics company,
and their now former client Hulu.com, were
sued for privacy violations after the report noted their
use of ETags, a type of cache-cookie.4
The common thread between the supercookies
discussed in the 2011 Report5 is that each is
more persistent and allows for greater data storage than
standard HTTP cookies. Flash cookies and ETags respawn HTTP
cookies after a user has deleted them or gone into private
browsing mode to prevent cookie creation. (Private
browsing is an option available in many Internet browsers,
such as Internet Explorer and Firefox, which prevents websites
from downloading cookies or storing new information in the
cache after the browsing session ends). HTML5 storage does
not respawn HTTP cookies, but where HTTP cookies automatically
expire after some period of time, HTML5 storage does not
expire and so it must be affirmatively deleted by the user
to disable tracking. Flash cookies and ETags can be used
to respawn HTML5 cookies, in addition to HTTP cookies.
Flash Local Storage Objects.
Flash LSOs, like other supercookies,
are resistant to deletion as they are not deleted
through the browser as one would do for standard HTTP cookies.
The user is required to take
additional steps to prevent tracking. Flash LSOs hold more
data than HTTP cookies, enabling
better tracking and can be used to respawn or recreate HTTP
cookies that a user has deleted.
Flash LSOs, the subject of the prior report, have decreased
in use since the release of that
report. Of the 100 sites investigated by the authors, 100
flash cookies were found, down from
281. Only two sites used flash cookies to respawn HTTP cookies.
Cache-Cookies and ETags.
Cache-cookies are not actually cookies.
This method of tracking involves using the web
browsers cache to associate information between a
deleted cookie and a new cookie. ETags
are generally used by websites to tell a browser whether
the site has changed, and if not, to use
the copy of the website stored in the browsers cache
rather than downloading new data.
The report discusses how an ETag in
a cached copy of a website can include a unique
identifier. Even if a user deletes her cookies, when she
returns to the website and downloads
a new cookie, the ETag in the cached copy still exists and
can give the website enough
information to associate the new cookie with whatever data
was collected via the old cookie.
In this way, the old cookie is said to respawn. Also, if
a user visits websites via his or her
Internet browsers private browsing mode,
this type of tracking is not prevented. Specifically,
if a user visits a website while not in private browsing,
information is stored in the cache and may then still be
retrieved when later visiting the website in private browsing
mode. The only
way to prevent this tracking is to manually clear the cache
prior to revisiting the website.
HTML5 Local Storage.
The Report concluded that HTML5 cookies
raise privacy concerns because they never
expire. Instead, the user is required to affirmatively delete
the cookie. The storage capacity
is also significantly greater than any of the other cookies
mentioned here, as well as standard
HTTP cookies. A number of sites also respawned HTML5 cookies
using either ETAGs or Flash
cookies and others used matching values for their HTML5
and HTTP cookies, which makes
respawning and association between the cookies easier.
Companies wishing to take advantage
of social advertising tools should take a close look
at the tracking technologies employed by businesses offering
those tools to make sure that the
technology does not override consumer privacy preferences.
One way to obtain assurance is to
determine if these businesses comply with pertinent industry
best practices and standards. As
the lawsuits that rely on the findings of the researchers
reports make clear, the plaintiffs bar
does not distinguish between the companies that develop
persistent tracking technologies and
the businesses that use those technologies for legitimate
business purposes.
Please contact Karen Neuman at firstname.lastname@example.com
if you would like to discuss this
report and the potential impact of its findings on your
1 Ayenson, et.al., Flash
Cookies And Privacy II: Now With HTML5 And ETag Respawning,
2011 (2011 Report)
2 In Re Quantcast Advertising Cookie Litigation,
2:10-cv-05484-GWJCG, (Cal. C.D. 2011)(Settlement Agreement
3 A recent report out of Stanford reviewed Microsofts
use of ETags, a cache-cookie. Jonathan Meyer, Tracking
the Trackers: Microsoft Advertising (Aug. 18, 2011),
4 Wendy Davis, KISSmetrics, Hulu Sued Over
New Tracking Technology, MEDIAPOST, Aug. 1, 2011,
5 Ayenson, supra note 1.
Department of Commerce Releases Privacy Report
On December 16, 2010, two weeks after the
FTC released its report on consumer privacy, the U.S. Department
of Commerce released its privacy Green Paper --
Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy:
A Dynamic Policy Framework. The report was drafted by the
Agencys Internet Policy Task Force. It seeks comment
on a number of policy recommendations intended to promote
online consumer privacy while ensuring that the Internet remains
a platform that spurs innovation, job creation, and economic
growth. This balance would be achieved by the adoption of
a baseline commercial data privacy framework built
on expanded Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs)
that act in concert with strong protections embodied
in existing sector-specific laws. The FTC would remain the
lead privacy enforcement authority for the U.S. Government.
Formal comment will be sought through a
separate Federal Register Notice on several
other key policy recommendations. They include: 1) Creation
of a national privacy policy
office (PPO) within the Commerce Department to coordinate
the development of voluntary,
enforceable privacy codes of conduct in specific industries.
(Compliance with these codes of
conduct would operate as safe harbors); and 2) national data
breach legislation for electronic
records that contemplates a role, including enforcement, for
state authorities. In a nod to the
strength of state legislative data breach laws, the report
recommends that any federal data
breach legislation track state regulatory approaches
that have proven effective.
Unlike the FTC report, the Green Paper
does not recommend implementing a do-not-
track (DNT) mechanism. Instead, the role of the Commerce
Department in developing DNT and
similar technologies and will be addressed through the Federal
Register notice.
The Agency also intends to use the formal
comment period to examine the
circumstances under which expanded FTC rulemaking authority
may be warranted.
In addition, the report calls for Administration
review of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
in order to ensure strong privacy protection in cloud-based
computing environments and location-based services, while
preserving the ability of law enforcement to engage in legitimate
information gathering. This recommendation comes amidst
ongoing Congressional ECPA reform efforts and in the wake
of recent court decisions that have acknowledged the difficulty
of applying the law, enacted in the mid-1980s, to the continually
evolving technologies and communications platforms.
TThe report also notes that different
approaches to commercial data privacy, both
in the U.S. and abroad, can pose challenges for business
(and potential consumer harm), and
interfere with the promotion of trade and commerce of cross-border
compliance obligations.
It recommends that the U.S. continue work with the EU and
other trading partners to
promote increased global interoperability of privacy
frameworks. It also recommends that the U.S. support
the APEC Data Privacy Pathfinder Project as a model framework
for countries
with common values but divergent privacy
legal frameworks.
The Green Paper can be viewed by clicking:
Comments are due on due January 28, 2011. The
filing period provides a useful opportunity for business
to potentially shape the regulatory
outcome of this proceeding.
For additional information, please contact
Neuman at email@example.com.
Neuman discusses Privacy Legal Risks Associated with the use
of Biometrics in Higher Education
On November 18, 2010 Karen Neuman discussed
legal risks associated with the use of biometric systems
for identity management by higher education institutions during
an Educause Live! Web seminar. Noting
that the emergence of biometrics technologies offers colleges
and universities potential new tools
for confirming identity for campus security and managing access
to facilities, the same technologies
create legal and reputational risks that must be considered
before implementation. Karen provided a
framework for evaluating these risks taking into account
key federal, state, and European privacy laws,
as well as common law. She concluded her remarks by offering
some strategies for minimizing legal risk
based on existing laws and regulations.
Karen Neuman discusses Legal Risks Associated with Local Government Use of Social Media
On September 30, 2010, Karen Neuman shared
her perspective about legal risks associated with local government
use of social media at the 30th Annual Conference of the National
Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors
in Washington, D.C. In addition to addressing first amendment
issues raised by use of social media tools to engage the public,
Karen outlined how these tools can trigger state open meetings
and public records laws. She also focused on emerging law
involving employee use of social media in the workplace and
the privacy of constituents who access and interact with government
social media sites, particularly when using mobile devices.
Observing that the legal landscape is still evolving, Karen
offered some strategies for minimizing risk.
Flash Cookie Lawsuits Sound Warning for Industry
A pair of federal court lawsuits filed this summer should sound a warning for website operators using
tracking technologies that can override consumer privacy preferences.
The cases, Valdez v. Quantcast Corp.,
et al, CV10-5484 GW JCG (C.D. Cal, July 23, 2010) and
White v. Clearspring Technologies, 2:10-cv-05948-UA
(C.D. Cal., August 10, 2010), allege that a number of well
known websites violated federal and state privacy and consumer
protection laws -- including the Federal Electronic Communications
Privacy Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California's
Computer Crime Law and Invasion of Privacy Act -- by depositing
"Flash" cookies on users' websites to track their
online activities. The Plaintiffs in each suit seek unspecified
monetary damages and injunctive relief.
Flash cookies, more accurately known
as "locally stored objects", can be used by websites
to collect cookie like information on a user's computer.
They can be used for such diverse purposes as remembering
preferences, watching online video, setting default volume
levels on video players or assigning a unique ID to users
for tracking across the web, regardless of browser. Most
users are unaware that when a Flash cookie is deposited
on a computer the steps they take to prevent online tracking
by deleting traditional browser cookies typically do not
remove Flash cookies.
The Plaintiffs in Quantcast brought
suit against MTV, ESPN, Hulu, MySpace & Scribd, among other
websites, alleging that their use of LSOs (or Flash cookies)
secretly stored user data on Adobe's Flash Player to recreate
information contained in browser cookies that had been deleted
by users. Also named as a defendant was San Francisco-based
advertising technology company Quantcast � creator of the
LSO used by the websites.
Clearspring was filed on behalf of parents
and their children against one of Quantcast's competitors,
Clearspring Technologies, as well as several websites including
Disney, Warner Bros. Records, SodaHead and Demand Media.
The Plaintiffs claim that Clearspring simultaneously deposited
http cookies and a Flash cookie in users' Flash media payers
when users visited the defendants' websites. When users
deleted the http cookies from their browsers, unbeknownst
to them, the Flash cookie restored and/or recreated history
and other information, including the user's name and IP
address, which in turn, was used by the defendants and others
for online tracking and ad serving. The Plaintiffs also
claim that the defendants' privacy policies failed to disclose
that users' activities were being tracked online through
the use of Flash cookies.
While some of the factual allegations
in each action may differ somewhat the fundamental grievance
is the same: that the defendants used a technology to track
the plaintiffs' online activities without notice or consent.
Although the lawyers are, for the most
part targeting high-profile, "deep pocket" defendants,
at least one of the defendants, SodaHead, is a small online
polling company; no website should be considered under the
radar. It would not be surprising to see this effort expanded
to other websites that rely on Flash or similar tracking
technology, including social media sites, particularly as
those sites add location based features.
We expect that this suit will be closely
watched by the Plaintiffs'bar, privacy advocates and policymakers.
The larger issue appears to be one of consumer knowledge
about and control over the collection and use of their information
and less about specific technology. That said, the use of
technologies like Flash cookies should be viewed as risky
because they enable tracking online activities without a
user's knowledge, including when consumers believe they
have taken the necessary steps to prevent tracking.
Companies that employ Flash cookies
or similar tracking technologies that can be used to override
consumer privacy preferences should monitor developments
in these proceedings. In the process, they should consider
taking measures to try to minimize the potential for becoming
a target for this type of lawsuit. At a minimum, companies
should firmly understand the capabilities of the tracking
technologies they employ and the extent of information collected;
they should provide clear notice of the use of these technologies
in their privacy policies. If Flash cookies are employed,
companies should prominently disclose their use and provide
a link to Adobe's site for instructions for deleting these
cookies. Companies may also want to consider alerting customers
to other tools that can delete flash cookies or prevent
them from being used altogether.
Please contact Karen
Neuman at email@example.com
if you would like more information about this litigation
or guidance about the use of online tracking technologies.
Court Rules that Certain Postings on Social Network Sites
are not Discoverable Under Stored Communications Act
A federal judge in California recently
determined that private messages transmitted over social network
sites are protected from discovery under the Stored Communications
Act (SCA), 18 U.S.C. §2701,
which restricts the governments ability to require Internet
Service Providers to knowingly disclose
information in their possession about their customers and
subscribers. The Court also ruled that wall
postings and comments, such as those posted by users on Facebook
and MySpace, may also be
protected the SCA, but only to the extent that access to these
communications is restricted by users
privacy settings rendering them not public.
In reaching its decision in Crispin
v. Audigier, Inc., 2010 WL 2293238, (C.D. Cal. 2010),
the Court undertook an extensive analysis of the SCA noting,
in the process, the difficulty of applying a statute that
was enacted over 2 decades ago to todays communications
technologies and users practices. That said, this case
could alter the way content posted on social networks is managed
by organizations in anticipation of potential litigation.
It could also affect the legality of access to social network
communications in other contexts, affecting, for example,
the ability of employers to obtain information about employees
or potential hires.
The plaintiff, an artist, initiated
a copyright infringement action against a clothing designer
breach of an oral license for the limited use of the Plaintiffs
artwork in the manufacture of certain types
of garments. The Complaint included allegations that the
Defendant violated the terms of the license
by failing to include the Plaintiffs logo on various
garments displaying the Plaintiffs designs and also
sublicensed the Plaintiffs design work without the
Plaintiffs consent. During discovery the Defendants
served subpoenas on various third parties, including Facebook,
MySpace and other social networking
websites. The Defendants claimed that the Plaintiffs
social media communications revealed the nature
and terms of the agreement between the parties. The Court
granted the Plaintiffs motion to quash the
subpoenas granted by a Magistrate on grounds that 1) the
social network sites private messaging and e-
mail webmail services constituted electronic communications
services (ECS) under the SCA and 2) the
web hosting websites and social networking websites were
ECS providers under the SCA, which protects
unopened private messages transmitted via an ECS provider
as temporary storage. 18 U.S.C. § 2510(17)
(A). In so ruling, the Court concluded that a private, undeleted
message opened by a user renders the
communication stored for backup purposes as
defined in the statute.
The Court noted that other aspects of
social networking sites, Facebook wall postings
and comments
and MySpace comments presented a distinct and more difficult
question requiring an analysis of the
SCA, including understanding the distinction between an
RCS provider and an ECS provider. Analyzing
the statute, the Court first noted observed that the SCA
defines an ECS provider as any service which
provides to users
the ability to send or receive wire
or electronic communications. 18 U.S.C. § 2510
(15). The Court next observed that the SCA defines an RCS
provider as an entity providing the public
computer storage or processing services by means of an electronic
communications system, and that
an electronic communications system is defined as any wire,
radio electromagnetic, photo-optical or
photo electronic facilities for the transmission of wire
or electronic communications and any computer
facilities or related electronic equipment for the electronic
storage of such communications. Id. §2510(14);
The Court construed these provisions
to conclude that social networking services are RCS providers
respect to wall postings and comments since the posts, once
made, are stored by the provider within
the meaning of the SCA. Accordingly, the Court held that
wall postings and comments are protected
under the SCA either as restricted access electronic bulletin
boards or because social networks are RCS
providers that store comments for limited use by a restricted
number of users.
The case was remanded to the Magistrate
to ascertain whether the Plaintiffs privacy settings
the wall postings public and beyond the protection of the
This case illustrates the challenge
courts face when applying a law enacted over two decades
ago to
rapidly evolving electronic communications technologies.
This dilemma is ongoing as regulators and
policy makers struggle to keep pace with innovation resulting
in a platform specific approach to protecting
privacy an approach that poses challenges to users
and business alike as each tries to discern a predictable
framework for ascertaining privacy protection for user generated
This case should also be seen as a cautionary
tale for employers who may now find themselves
running afoul of the law if they obtain access without consent
to their employees' social networking sites
communications when the employees have opted to restrict
access. This decision also calls into question
whether an employer can use legal processes such as a subpoena
to obtain information from the private
social networking accounts of employees.
Please contact Karen
Neuman at email@example.com
if you would like additional information about this
case or if you would like guidance about the application
of privacy law to social media communications.
Court Ducks Broad Privacy Ruling but Provides Guidance on
Employer Access to Employee Communications over Workplace
Communications Devices
On June 17, 2010 the Supreme Court issued
its much-anticipated decision in City of
Ontario, California v. Quon, 1 in which it ruled unanimously
that a Police Departments search
of an employees Department-provided mobile communications
device was reasonable under
the Fourth Amendment. The case was decided much more narrowly
than anticipated; the
Court stopped short of addressing the broader question of
an employees claim to privacy
in his or her electronic communications, and the content of
those communications, while at
work. Instead, the Court appeared to invite further litigation
on this issue in order to better
understand changes in information transmission
technology and what society accepts as
proper behavior. Nevertheless, the opinion provides
some practical guidance for public and
private sector employers about employer regulation of and
access to employee communications
transmitted over employer-issued devices, and underscores
the need for comprehensive
The case arose when the City of Ontario
initiated an investigation into an exchange
of text messages originating from the lead Plaintiff, Quon,
a city SWAT team officer, to his
wife and two other SWAT team members, including one with whom
he was romantically
involved. The Citys service plan had a monthly character
limit for outgoing messages tied
to each device and the City was charged a fee for exceeding
the limit. The City had a policy
that warned employees that they should have no privacy expectation
in communications
sent over their Department-provided devices. Despite the policy,
Quons superior told him
that his text messages would not be audited as long as he
personally paid for any overages.
Quon exceeded the monthly character
limit, prompting the Police Chief to investigate
whether 1) the character limit was too low for the Citys
law enforcement needs and, if so,
2) whether police officers were being required to pay for
sending work-related messages.
At the Citys request, its service provider, Arch Wireless,
searched the text messages
on Quons pager and provided the City with a transcript
of his messages. The City then
conducted an audit of Quons on-duty messages. The
audit revealed that the majority of the
messages Quon sent during work hours were personal, many
of which were sexually explicit.
Quon, his wife, and the two other colleagues brought suit
against the City and Arch
Wireless claiming in part that the audit violated their
Fourth Amendment rights. The district
court concluded that the Citys audit was reasonable
because its purpose was to determine
whether the service plan was appropriate and not simply
to investigate Quons use of his
government- issued pager. The Ninth Circuit reversed. It
ruled that although conducted for
a legitimate purpose, the search was unreasonable because
there were less intrusive means
the City could have utilized to determine whether the service
plan was inadequate for the police
departments needs.
The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit. Writing for
the majority, Justice Kennedy
concluded the search was reasonable, noting that the Citys
policy reserved the right to monitor
employee communications and therefore limited employee expectations
of privacy in them.
The Court rejected Quons argument that the policy
was informally modified by his superiors
assurance that his text messages would not be audited as
long as he paid for overages.
Although narrowly decided on Fourth Amendment grounds, this
opinion seems to
recognize that the Court will ultimately be asked to decide
the appropriate framework for
determining the respective rights of employers and employees
with respect privacy in the
workplace when it comes to employee communications and employee
privacy regarding those
communications. Nevertheless, this case strongly suggests
that employers can take the
following measures to minimize the risk of litigation initiated
by employees, as well as by non-
employees involved in a questionable exchange:
Please contact Karen
Neuman at email@example.com
if you would like more information
about this case or guidance about privacy in the workplace.
12010 WL 2400087, No. 08-1332 (U.S., Jun.
17, 2010).
Again Postpones Enforcement of the Red Flag Rule
The FTC announced on May 28, 2010 that
it is again postponing enforcement of the Red Flag Rule until
December 31, 2010. Enforcement has been postponed several
times since the Rule was promulgated last year in order to
clarify the scope of its coverage and give businesses time
to comply with the requirement that they develop and implement
programs to detect indicia of potential identity theft. As
noted previously several entities protested application
of the Rule as to their members, including the ABA and AMA.
The current delay is in response to pending house and senate legislation.
On June 17, 2010, the Federal Communications
Commission approved a Notice
of Inquiry (NOI) seeking public comment on the appropriate
legal framework to address certain aspects, the provision
of broadband Internet service by broadband Internet Service
Providers (ISPs). As expected, a key proposal would involve
reclassifying broadband Internet service from the agencys
2002 designation as a largely unregulated information
service to a telecommunications service subject
to regulation under Title II of the Communications Act.
The NOI also seeks comment on the appropriate
classification of terrestrial wireless and satellite broadband
Internet services, as well other issues.
As expected, this proceeding follows the
D.C. Circuits recent decision in Comcast
Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission, No. 08-1291 (D.C.
Cir., Apr. 6, 2010)., which called into question the FCCs
authority to issue rules governing Broadband Internet access
and services provided by ISPs.
The NOI specifically asks for information
about the following approaches that are intended to respond
to the Comcast Courts concerns:
Comments are due on July 15, 2010; reply
comments are due on August 12, 2010.
If you would like more information about
this proceeding and the proposed changes, please contact Karen
Neuman or Jeff
Olson at 202-454-9401.
Neuman discusses Local Government Use of Social Media
Neuman shared her perspective on several legal
issues associated with local government use of social media
at a regional meeting of telecommunications officers and advisors
in Long Beach, California June 3, 2010. In addition to focusing
on first amendment issues associated with government use of
social media, Karen outlined how use of these tools can trigger
state open meetings and public records laws, as well as privacy
issues. Observing that the legal landscape is still evolving,
Karen offered some strategies for minimizing risk.
Neuman to Moderate May 19, 2010 FCBA Privacy & Data Security
Committee Brown Bag Program About Privacy and Data Security
Issues Involving Marketing to Minors.
Marketing to minors is under increased
scrutiny by the FTC, FCC, State Attorneys General, and legislators
across the country. Karen
Neuman will moderate a panel discussion
among experts that will address the complex regulatory and
enforcement landscape that faces media, communications companies
and other businesses wishing to reach children, tweens
and teens via email, social media, text messages and other
emerging technologies. Speakers including Phyllis Marcus,
Division of Advertising Practices, FTC; Dana Rosenfeld, Kelley
Drye, and Andra Dallas, Staff Attorney, CARU.
Circuit Decides Comcast Case; Implications for FCC
Net Neutrality Proceeding
The recent decision by the D.C. Circuit
Court of Appeals in the Comcast case1, overturning the FCCs
decision finding Comcast to be in violation of the Commissions
Net Neutrality Policy (NNP), has caused quite
a stir. Among other things, the decision calls into question
those portions of the National Broadband Plan (NBP)
that assume that the agency will be able to regulate at least
certain aspects of the provision of broadband services via
the Internet.
The good news for the Commission is that the court concluded
that the agency has some measure of ancillary
jurisdiction over Internet-based services, based on the Communications
Acts grant of general regulatory authority over communication
by wire and radio under Title I of the Act. The problem in
the Comcast case was that, in the courts view, the Commission
had failed to articulate a nexus between that general, Title
I regulatory authority, and a specific statutory mandate in
one of the operational titles in the Act, such
as Title IIs very specific grant of regulatory authority
over certain activities of common carriers, and how the NNP
was tied to the latter. One of the more interesting aspects
of the decision is the extent to which the court seemed to
go out of its way to draw the agency a roadmap as to how it
might better construct the missing nexus.
Particularly in light of the Commissions
pending Net Neutrality rulemaking, the agency has several
options for addressing the D.C. Circuits concerns.
Obviously, it could seek rehearing (and suggest rehearing
en banc), but the odds of success are not high. Similarly,
Supreme Court review could be sought, and while that court
might agree to consider the case given the potential importance
of the issue, the likelihood of a favorable outcome seems
problematic. Historically, the Supreme Court has not been
very expansive in its interpretation of the scope of the
FCCs powers under Title I ancillary jurisdiction.
The agency can always seek a congressional fix, but pursuing
that course can prove uncertain as well, in terms of both
substance and timing. The Commissions best option
- - both on the merits and from a timing perspective as
well - - seems to be to address the D.C. Circuits
decision head on in the context of the ongoing Net Neutrality
rulemaking. There, two general approaches are available.
The first is to parse the jurisdictional issues a bit more
finely than was done in the NNP, using the guidance provided
by the court to establish the necessary substantive nexus
that was found lacking in Comcast. The record assembled
in the rulemaking should provide the Commission with ample
evidence for such an approach. However, this course still
leaves the agency relying on Title I ancillary jurisdiction,
which is always something of a weak reed upon which to base
a significant regulatory regime.
The better approach is to jettison the Title I jurisdictional
predicate and, instead, recognize what now is obvious and
declare that Internet service providers (ISPs)
are in fact carriers, directly subject to Title II jurisdiction.
While this would represent a reversal of longstanding Commission
policy, the agency has full statutory authority to reverse
a prior policy course based upon, e.g., changed circumstances.
Clearly, the record assembled in the Net Neutrality rulemaking,
coupled with the lengthy proceedings that led up to the
adoption of the NBP, provide a more than adequate basis
for the Commission to conclude that its old policy of categorizing
ISPs as non-carriers no longer serves the public interest
and that, as a factual matter, ISPs now conduct themselves
- - particularly from a consumers perspective - -
in a manner indistinguishable from traditional common carriers.
For example, when the FCC first decided that ISPs should
not be subject to Title II regulation, it did so in part
because: (1) the then-nascent ISPs had no market power;
(2) their services were distinguishable from traditional
communications services; and (3) the agency did not want
to stifle the new industrys development through unnecessary
regulation. As with any similar Commission policy judgment,
there would be adequate opportunity to revisit the issue
as the industry evolved. Today, the ubiquity of the Internet,
its central role in commerce, and the ISPs growing
head-to-head competition with traditional telephony-based
services (e.g., VOIP), provide an unassailable basis for
revisiting the Title II question. The Commission can reasonably
conclude that in a marketplace in which traditional wireline
and mobile carriers are subject to Title II (and the agencys
statutory forbearance authority), it is irrational to leave
one - - now mature - - competitor operating essentially
unregulated. Articulated properly - - and backed by record
evidence - - such a policy reversal should be sustained
on the inevitable appellate review.
The above scenario has been dubbed the nuclear option,
mainly by the ISPs and their financial backers, because
it arguably would subject the ISPs to a host of new regulations
and, most importantly, financial burdens, mostly in the
form of having to contribute to the Universal Service Fund
(USF) for the first time. However, it does not
necessarily follow that exercising the nuclear option will
inexorably lead to nuclear winter for the ISPs.
First, the bulk of Title II requirements that might otherwise
be imposed on the ISPs can be eliminated under the Commissions
forbearance authority, just as those burdens have been eliminated
for the traditional carriers. Second, it makes no sense
to continue to exempt the ISPs from USF obligations when
it is generally agreed that a critical national goal for
the next decade is to ensure universal broadband access
to the Internet, just as universal access to the telephone
network was a national goal of the last century. While this
no doubt would subject the ISPs to new financial obligations
- - and perhaps skew their near-term financial projections
- - such a result would hardly signal the devastation of
this industry segment. To the contrary, there is no reason
to believe that the ISPs will find that, simply by virtue
of having become subject to Title II, the entrepreneurial
acumen that drove them to their current level of success
suddenly will desert them.
In short, whatever basis previously existed to support
the regulatory fiction that the ISPs were not really acting
as common carriers, the facts on the ground today no longer
sustain that position. In a sense, the Comcast court did
the FCC a favor by forcing it to at least consider revisiting
the matter. Particularly given the centrality of the Internet-based
economy to the nations future well-being, it would
be irrational for the agency to continue to rely on a patently
out-dated rationale to maintain this regulatory fiction.
Moreover, the courts historically have accorded the FCC
considerable deference when it has reversed course based
on substantial record evidence and a reasoned explanation
for its actions. This is so, even when the Commissions
action has the effect of overturning a prior
adverse court decision. The Commission clearly has the statutory
authority to take such action in the context of the ongoing
Net Neutrality rulemaking, and the evidentiary basis for
doing so.
1 Comcast Corp. v. Federal Communications
Commission, No. 08-1291 (D.C. Cir., Apr. 6, 2010).
Announces Review of COPPA Rule
On March 24, 2010 the Federal Trade Commission
initiated a long anticipated review of the Childrens
Online Privacy Protection Act Rule1 (COPPA Rule) to consider
expanding current provisions intended to protect the online
privacy of children. The announcement comes at a time when
the agency is undertaking a wholesale examination of privacy
in a wide range of contexts, including mobile communications,
social networking and online gaming. The focus of this proceeding
involves the impact of location based services and mobile
devices on childrens privacy.
The COPPA Rule currently prohibits operators
of commercial websites and online services from collecting
personal information from children under the age of 13 without
first seeking the consent of a parent or legal guardian. Covered
entities must also employ reasonable measures to protect the
confidentiality, security and integrity of the information
they collect.
In the notice published in the Federal
Register, the FTC emphasized that changes to the online
environment, including the increasing use of mobile technology
by children to access the Internet warrant accelerated review
of the rule. The notice specifically seeks comment on how
the use of this technology, interactive television and gaming
or other interactive media impact COPPA enforcement.
The outcome of this proceeding could
have a significant impact on businesses that are subject
to its requirements. Expansion of the definitions of such
key terms and personal information and the Internet
could impose additional burdens on operators of childrens
and general audience websites alike, which could, in turn,
make it more difficult for businesses to engage young people
and even adults online. The interest in age verification
and filtering technologies should be seen as an indication
that the FTC may not be satisfied with the current framework
for protecting childrens privacy.
The FTC is specifically interested in:
Comments are due June 30, 2010. A public
roundtable meeting has been scheduled for June
2, 2010, during which interested parties may share their
views with agency staff, scholars, privacy advocates and
businesses. Click here
to view the text of the request for comment.
If you would like more information about
the rule and the proposed changes, please contact Karen
Neuman at email@example.com.
The National Broadband Plan
In response to a congressional mandate,
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sent
to Congress on March 16, 2010, the National Broadband Plan
(NBP), in which it evaluated the current state
of broadband deployment and made specific recommendations
for the future, to encourage economic growth, job creation,
global competitiveness and the like.
The FCC proposed that the government act
in four specific ways to achieve these objectives:
The NBP outlines six specific goals
to be adopted by 2020:
One of the most interesting provisions of the NBP is the
identified need for some 500 MHz of additional spectrum
to support mobile broadband, a substantial portion of which
is proposed to be reallocated from television broadcasting.
The broadcast and mobile services industries have been engaged
in a running battle over spectrum for decades. In the late-1970s
through early-1980s the FCC reallocated the then-generally
fallow 800 MHz segment of the UHF TV band for the development
of the first cellular networks. Twenty-some years later,
the broadcasters surrendered another hefty slice of their
upper-UHF allocation, the 700 MHz band (the bulk of which
was auctioned off 3 years ago for Advanced Wireless Services),
in return for which they were authorized to provide digital
television, as well as multichannel video and information
services. Now, having completed that not-inexpensive transition
to digital operation a year ago, the FCC is proposing that
television licensees voluntarily surrender their
licenses for reallocation and auction for mobile services,
in return for a portion of the auction revenue.
While the FCC clearly has the legal authority under the
Communications Act to reallocate the subject spectrum today
(setting aside whether it has the political will to exercise
that authority), granting the broadcasters a piece of the
auction pie is not within the agencys gift. That part
of the proposed deal will require congressional
approval, which, if granted, will also provide the Commission
with the necessary political cover for the reallocation.
Another component of this deal that that has been mentioned
is granting those broadcasters who surrender their licenses
the opportunity to become (for lack of a better characterization)
local cable channels, with guaranteed access to the local
cable systems (the ex-broadcast signal presumably would
be distributed directly to cable head-ends via fiber). Here,
too, congressional action would be required to create this
new broadcast/cable relationship. How this might
fare in the face of the inevitable constitutional challenge
is problematic at best, given the fairly thin constitutional
reed that presently upholds the current must-carry regime.
The obvious battle lines have been drawn on the Hill, and,
as always, the devil will be in the details, while the law
of unintended consequences - - the most pervasive law in
Washington, DC - - will be fully in play. It will be fascinating
- - if not necessarily an inspiring civics lesson - - to
watch this process play itself out.
Additional spectrum-related issues also will be addressed
in the various inquiry and rulemaking proceedings that will
be initiated or reactivated by the FCC during the following
months. These will involve, among others, examining ways
to accelerate the deployment of spectrum-based smart-grid
systems, low-power patient-monitoring technologies, and
networks designed to operate in the white spaces.
Particularly with respect white-space technologies, the
Commission faces a potential dilemma. Its recent opening
of the TV white spaces for various smart low
power technologies has generated considerable investment
in the development and deployment of such systems. However,
the goal announced in the NBP, to reallocate a substantial
portion of the TV band, may negatively impact the development
of these new white space systems. The Commission must take
considerable care to not inadvertently undermine these valuable
new technologies, which can greatly increase the efficiency
of use of many spectrum bands.
To read the full text of the National
Broadband Plan, please click here.
For additional information on this or
other matters, please contact Jeff Olson at firstname.lastname@example.com,
202-454-9401 or 703-628-2142.
mobile frontier: Karen Neumans article on recent legal developments
in mobile advertising in the Electronic Retailer magazine
"The accelerated growth of mobile
commerce, combined with the acuity of location-based applications
makes it possible for direct response retailers to use the
mobile channel for locally targeted mass marketing. One estimate,
according to Mobile Marketer, puts worldwide mobile phone
connections at 4 billion; while another by Neustar and SMS
Mobile Marketing predicts that mobile revenue in the United
States will reach $3.3 billion by 2013. SMS text messages
dominates mobile advertising in markets like the U.S."
Read more: http://www.electronicretailermag.com/er0310_frontier
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text:
Neglecting Air Conditioning Maintenance Costing Southern High Schoo
Tucson Air Conditioning repair expert Spartan Plumbing would like to remind all homeowners and residents the importance of maintaining their homes Air conditioning or cooling unit. With the ending of Winter brings the warmer weather of the Spring and Summer seasons, which means homeowners and residents alike will be turning on the A/C (Air Conditioning) for the first time of the year.
Recently an unfortunate case at Southern High surfaced in which the cooling and air conditioning were found to be in desperate of maintenance thus leaving the school gym and fine arts auditorium without air conditioning. Moreover the faulty Air Conditioning Cooling unit has also been limiting air flow and conditioning in certain classrooms and departments.
Deputy Superintendent at Southern High, Chris Anderson, commented on the Air Conditioning debacle stating; "The issues that were brought up were two-fold, one was addressing the issues was specifically the status of air-conditioning units, or the lack thereof in the gym and the fine arts auditorium, and then also with the cafeteria, not the air conditioning but just the overall cleanliness and what was happening in terms of the maintenance of the cafeteria."
Unfortunately Southern High neglected maintenance on their air conditioning cooling unit for so long that the overdue repairs will end up costing them much more then if they would have just regularly maintained their air conditioning unit. It's possible their repair bills could be almost the cost of a new ac unit installation.
Learning from the mistake Southern High could end up saving you substantial amounts of money, if you are concerned that the air conditioning cooling unit is overdue for inspection, maintenance, repair, or even replacement make sure to contact a professional at the first sign of issue. If located in the Tucson or Southwest region contact Tucson's premiere air conditioning technicians at licensed, bonded, and insured Spartan Plumbing!


text:
Singer Marky Lennon of the band "Venice" is slated to appear on NBC's "The Voice" this season! The show does not release their "performer schedule", but Lennon may be featured this week! Check the Venice Facebook page for updates!
Lennon, the lead singer of Venice, has also toured with Roger Waters, Cher, Phil Collins and Don Henley. Lennon's cousins performed as the Lennon Sisters, his father and uncles made up The Lennon Brothers.


text:
With Google's Remote Desktop app for Chrome, accessing a PC or Mac from any Android device is easy, and doesn't require installing any clunky desktop software.
The setup process is simple, taking roughly five minutes and little technical knowledge. With the goal of remotely controlling a computer, let's start by installing the Chrome Web app. Using Chrome, visit and install the Remote Chrome Desktop app on your computer. You can find it on the Chrome Web Store site.
Control your desktop from an Android phone or tablet (pictures)See all photos
After installing the Chrome app you'll be guided through a series of dialogs and prompts. Follow the instructions, granting permission where required. Be sure to install the additional piece of software that makes the magic happen.
Last, you'll be asked if you want to grant remote assistance or access your own computers. The former option is useful when trying to troubleshoot a relative's computer; the latter is for your personal use. Selecting your computers (instead of remote assistance) will ask you to enter a PIN. The PIN is required each time you attempt to connect to the computer from your Android device.
Now that you've granted permissions, installed software, and set up a PIN, the hard part is over. The final piece of the puzzle involves downloading the Android app (from the Google Play store). Assuming you're signed into the same account in both Chrome and on your Android device, the app will automatically display your controllable computers. Select the computer you want to control and enter your PIN to connect. Pretty simple.


text:
- Further efforts are required to align the EU Raw Materials Initiative with the principles of the African Mining Vision.
- Transparency-orientated governance interventions in the minerals sector should be strengthened to improve the linkages between improved transparency and better governance.
- Stronger action by the EU and other international actors in addressing illicit financial flows from Africa is required.
Executive summary
Africa's mineral resources are important to the EU, and a large number of EU-listed or -based mining companies operate in African countries. The extent to which host-country rules constrain the behaviour of companies sufficiently to ensure that they become contributors to development rather than agents of extraction or injustice is central to the relationship between extractive industries and development. This speaks directly to the governance challenge facing governments, private sector actors and the broader set of stakeholders impacted by mining activities, including local communities in mining jurisdictions.
The EU's historical reliance on raw material imports from Africa and other regions is set to continue as the EU transitions towards a low-carbon future. According to the World Bank, the world will require roughly double the volume of minerals and metals currently mined to fuel the move towards a carbon-neutral future [1]: this means chrome and magnesium for wind turbines (along with iron ore and cement), copper for solar panels, inverters and all manner of electric and plating products, cobalt and lithium for electric cars and batteries, platinum for fuel cells (if hydrogen charging challenges are solved), and so forth. Consumers of new technologies are increasingly concerned about ethical sourcing of their products. There is a risk, however, that these pressures will cause consumers and regulators to shift away from products relying on imports from fragile developing regions. This would be a mistake – despite a variety of governance challenges, the extractives sector still holds significant potential to contribute to economic development in Africa and already plays a critical role in supporting national economies and livelihoods within many African states.
The EU Commission adopted the Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) in 2008. The RMI has three pillars: a fair and sustainable supply of raw materials from global markets; a sustainable supply of raw materials within the EU itself; and efficiency and supply of secondary raw materials through recycling. In the Joint Africa–EU Strategy Action Plan 2011–2013, with particular reference to the first pillar of the RMI, cooperation on raw materials was identified as one of the primary areas for collaboration. Roadmap 2014–2017, which proceeded from the fourth EU–Africa Summit in 2014, reiterated the shared interest in cooperation in this arena.
Revisiting the resource curse
A startling number of resource-wealthy African countries are afflicted by a counter-intuitive relationship between their resource wealth and development. Contrary to expectations, mineral and hydrocarbon abundance appears to be strongly correlated with under-development.[2] The academic literature, since the early 1990s, has produced a considerable amount of work attempting to explain the causal mechanisms behind this so-called 'resource curse'.[3] A relative consensus has emerged that the quality of a country's institutions is the primary mediating variable for determining the likely development outcome associated with resource abundance.[4] In other words, if a country has strong institutions – social systems in which embedded norms, beliefs and values motivate regular accountability and empower local agency – at the time of discovering abundant, commercially exploitable resources, development outcomes are likely to be positive. In the absence of such institutions, the rent generated by commercial exploitation for political elites incentivises repression and exploitation over reform.[5] The transaction costs of reforming a polity and economy in the direction of broad-based growth are high when weighed against the material benefits of limiting the rent pool to politically connected insiders.[6] Windfall resource rents also reduce the incentives for ruling elites to diversify the economy and broaden the tax base, which in turn undermines the citizen–state accountability link.[7] Managing rents in this way also tends to create patronage pathways that are difficult to reverse if a large portion of the population becomes reliant on that kind of rent distribution model.[8]
It is not only that weak institutions at the time of resource discovery tend to grow weaker as rents start flowing. It is also often the case that resource exports drive up the value of the currency, which makes exports less competitive. The resource sector simultaneously tends to draw resources away from other productive sectors, the dual impact of which is known as Dutch Disease.[9] In extremely fragile institutional contexts, resource rents may inflame and prolong civil conflict.[10] Much remains unknown about the relationship between all these variables, but the strength or sensitivity of any given relationship is heterogeneous, differing markedly from one context to another. In this respect there is no place for one- size-fits-all solutions. However, because institutional quality is a relatively universal factor for explaining why some countries do well (Norway) [11] and some do badly (Nigeria) [12] from their resource wealth, it follows that principles of good governance, tailored for local contexts, are critical for obtaining better outcomes. This line of argument has fallen out of favour in recent years, largely because of the failure of externally formulated and imposed models of governance in contexts that were incentive-incompatible with the distribution of political power.[13] Recognising this, some of the language has shifted towards 'better governance' or 'good enough governance', the idea being that reform is preferable to perfection. Practitioners have to work with the world the way it is, rather than measuring their efforts against some abstract standard. Believers in governance have also realised that promoting transparency, while admirable, is often insufficient in itself to produce better development outcomes. Transparency does not always translate into meaningful citizen–state accountability, especially if unethical transfers can be hidden in plain sight in confusing financial statements.
Integral to governance questions are questions of structural transformation. Many African countries are stuck in a commodity trap, where they export high-bulk, low-value raw material and import finished products of far higher value. In response to this phenomenon, the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) was articulated in 2009 to craft a mining industry that was equitable, transparent and inclusive; one that would operate as a flywheel for development rather than a conveyor belt for exporting raw materials.[14] Countries might have well- governed extractive industries in basic compliance terms, but the management of risk and sustainability might be absent. True governance places emphasis on sustainability. Because the extraction of raw materials is finite, the extractive industries are fundamentally unsustainable. The AMV is therefore at pains to emphasise that mining has to catalyse development that will be sustained beyond the life of any given set of mines.
Juxtaposed against this noble aim, however, is the reality that raw material extraction is capital-intensive. Many African governments have neither the capacity nor the resources to develop their own geological databases from which they can charge upfront rents to interested mining firms. The risks of exploration and mining are therefore invariably carried by foreign firms with deep pockets that consequently reap the material rewards if the investment pays off. This sustains the narrative that mining is extractive in more than one sense of the word. It also tends to create the impression of unfairness, especially given the preponderance of illicit financial flows (IFFs) out of the continent. Big mining firms, for instance, may transfer profits into a subsidiary in tax havens without paying local tax on it, or sell assets at low prices to internal companies that sell them for higher profits elsewhere across the globe. Even if taxes are honestly paid, the export of unfinished raw materials to foreign lands where they are transformed into finished products tends to be detrimental to mineral-wealthy countries' terms of trade. It is also a missed opportunity to catalyse industrialisation in the countries that possess the mineral resources. Moreover, efforts to reduce the flow of 'conflict minerals' – accessible alluvial diamonds, for instance – sometimes backfire, inadvertently crowding out artisanal miners and their livelihood options.[15] Lastly, mining companies tend to generate extensive negative externalities – the divergence between social or environmental costs and private returns – that they offload onto communities that can least afford it.[16]
Awareness of the challenges associated with resource extraction has led to a proliferation of formal governance efforts to improve transparency and accountability. While such efforts are laudable, increased regulation and insistence on transparency does not automatically translate into greater benefits for local populations affected by resource extraction.
Business for peace?
The EU sees private sector investment as critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 16, which is 'to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels'. All EU development policy integrates this goal, and therefore the private sector enjoys an elevated position in the RMI and the Joint Africa–EU Strategy. However, higher returns are available for companies prepared to risk investment in fragile contexts; instability does not, on average, appear to undermine this equation. There is thus a need for greater cognisance of the difficulties – for businesses – of operating in fragile and conflict-afflicted states among EU 'systems shapers' who want to hold private sector players effectively accountable.
Businesses operating in these 'limited access orders'[17] – where elites limit access to political and economic opportunities through manipulating institutions to consolidate their own wealth and power – are faced with constraints that often lead to less-than-ethical deal- making between businesses and government officials. In many fragile contexts, this elite rent-seeking dynamic closes down the space for autonomous private action; in others, open and limited access orders may co-exist. In open orders, the opportunities for private sector actors to positively shape the conflict system are greater. In limited orders, players unwilling to become embroiled in conflict dynamics tend to disinvest or are crowded out. This opens up opportunities for less scrupulous players to enter the space, further entrenching the negative elements of the system. To the extent that businesses benefit from existing arrangements, such as a low-wage economy that they have no incentive to transform, they remain central conflict actors.
Private sector actors are not neutral or 'apolitical' actors in their contexts. However, they tend to conduct their business operations and the due diligence associated with it in narrow, business-orientated terms, and are often unwilling – although there is evidence that things are changing – to push for deeper institutional changes that can create greater openness and reduce fragility. This is because the repercussions for doing so invariably impact negatively on the bottom line. Efforts to promote transparency can entail large risks. In fact, the private sector's capacity and capability as an agent of transformation to achieve SDG 16 targets is limited. As a result, it is necessary to treat with caution the simplistic claims that there is always a business case for peace.
While a focus on incentive structures and context is important, formal institutional arrangements should not be overlooked in the process of strengthening the normative role that EU-driven governance initiatives can play in improving extractive industry governance in African states. Extractive justice is attainable through a re-ordering of the values that currently define EU–Africa extractive relations. A mutually beneficial relationship requires an elimination of exploitation of vulnerable people and a reduction of the asymmetries (in power and knowledge) currently in force.
Better governance is clearly required to meet the objectives of the AMV and the EU's RMI. But better governance now needs to include a stronger dialogue on how to bridge the apparently competing objectives of these two tools. It also needs to move away from the notion that better formal regulations on paper will necessarily result in better outcomes on the ground. Greater awareness of the potential unintended negative consequences of some governance initiatives is necessary. Moreover, it is clear that companies involved in natural resource extraction in African countries are going to have to think about governance in far deeper terms than mere corporate social responsibility or attaining a social licence to operate. They need to develop the courage to become 'systems shapers' rather than 'systems takers' when it comes to extractives governance. Due diligence needs to build in a greater understanding of political economy realities to avoid complicity in perpetuating injustice. Similarly, at the EU level, more attention has to be paid to what happens beyond efforts to create greater levels of transparency. It is clear that transparency in itself does not create more accountability and may not even practically reduce information asymmetry between extractors and local communities. Governance initiatives therefore need to build in an allocation of resources towards effective agency-creation at the community level.
At the highest level, if the EU is to be seen as a global governance actor, it needs to show greater commitment to reducing IFFs, especially out of resource-rich African countries. For distributional, recognition and procedural justice to be attained, much more work needs to be done.
[1] World Bank Group, 'The Growing Role of Minerals and Metals for a Low Carbon Future', June 2017, http://documents.worldbank. org/curated/en/207371500386458722/pdf/117581-WP-P159838-PUBLIC-ClimateSmartMiningJuly.pdf, accessed 24 May 2019.
[2] Ross ML, 'What have we learned about the resource curse?', Annual Review of Political Science, 18, 2015, pp. 239–59.
[3] The term was originally coined by Richard Auty. See Auty RM, 'Industrial policy reform in six large newly industrializing countries: The resource curse thesis', World Development, 22, 1, 1994, pp. 11–26. Also see Van der Ploeg F, 'Natural resources: Curse or blessing?', Journal of Economic Literature, 49, 2, 2011, pp. 366–420; Diamond L & J Mosbacher, 'Petroleum to the people: Africa's coming resource curse, and how to avoid it', Foreign Affairs, 92, 5, 2013, pp. 86–98.
[4] Wenar L, Blood Oil: Tyrants, Violence, and the Rules that Run the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015; Mehlum H, Moene K & R Torvik, 'Institutions and the resource curse', The Economic Journal, 116, 508, January 2006, pp. 1–20. See also Brunnschweiler C & E Bulte, 'The resource curse revisited and revised: A tale of paradoxes and red herrings', Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 55, 3, May 2008, pp. 248–64.
[5] Robinson JA, Torvik R & T Verdier, 'Political foundations of the resource curse', Journal of Development Economics, 79, 2006,
pp. 447–68; Ross LM, op. cit.; Wright J, Frantz E & B Geddes, 'Oil and autocratic regime survival', British Journal of Political Science, 45, 2013, pp. 287–306.
[6] North DC, Wallis JJ & BR Weingast, Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009; Levy B, Working with the Grain: Integrating Governance and Growth in Development Strategies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
[7] Herb M, 'No representation without taxation? Rents, development, and democracy', Comparative Politics, 37, 3, 2005, pp. 297–316.
[8] Acemoglu D, Ticchi D & A Vindigni, 'Emergence and persistence of inefficient states', Journal of the European Economic Association, 9, 2, 2011, pp. 177–208.
[9] Davis GA, 'Learning to love the Dutch Disease: Evidence from the mineral economies', World Development, 23, 10, 1995, pp. 1765–79.
[10] Ross ML, 'A closer look at oil, diamonds, and civil war', Annual Review of Political Science, 9, 1, June 2006, pp. 265–300.
[11] Larsen ER, 'Escaping the resource curse and the Dutch Disease? When and why Norway caught up with and forged ahead of its neighbors', American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 65, 149107, 2006, pp. 606–40.
[12] Sala-i-Martin X & A Subramanian, 'Addressing the natural resource curse: An illustration from Nigeria', Journal of African Economies, 22, 4, 2013, pp. 570–615.
[13] Acemoglu D & JA Robinson, 'Economics versus politics: Pitfalls of policy advice', Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27, 2, February 2013, pp. 173–92; North DC et al. (eds), In the Shadow of Violence: Politics, Economics, and the Problems of Development, 1st edition. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
[14] AU, 'Africa Mining Vision', 2009, http://www.africaminingvision.org/amv_resources/AMV/Africa_Mining_Vision_English.pdf, accessed 24 May 2019.
[15] Berman N et al., '"This mine is mine!" How minerals fuel conflicts in Africa', American Economic Review, 107, 6, 2017.
[16] Morrice E & R Colagiuri, 'Coal mining, social injustice and health: A universal conflict of power and priorities', Health & Place, 19, January 2013, pp. 74–79.
[17] North DC, Wallis JJ & BR Weingast, op. cit.
This policy brief is largely drawn from an article to be published in the South African Journal of International Affairs entitled 'Governing with or against the grain? Challenges confronting African governments and foreign players in Africa's extractives sector'. The policy briefing and journal article are outputs of the project 'The European Union's Normative Role in African Extractives Governance', which is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.


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Beginner questions- mixing kibble and RAW
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January 17th, 2013, 09:38 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 585
When I got my first pup, I was feeding him kibble as well as some home made foods that he likes - like eggs, some rice, beans, he loves veggies too! then I learned more about raw foods and all their benefits and decided to switch him, he is a very picky eater but as soon as I put it on his dish he just love it, and I have seen the benefits in just a few months.
I use PRIMAL Raw and dry freeze formulas, they work great for me as they come in little nuggets and with small dogs is great not having to figure out the amounts. As soon as I brought the second pup home, I started him on the same foods as my oldest and had absolutely no problems. Now I just cook for them and use raw foods all the time.
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This is such a special time of year for me. As a Christian, the season of Christmas starts on Christmas Day and extends through January 5th, and then we move into the season of Epiphany. This time of year, for me, is one of the major times of the year when I am off the computer, I spend more time thinking and dreaming and planning. I spend time connecting with what vision I want to create for the coming year, and spend lots of time with family and friends and being outside in nature. It is lovely.
In the past, I have chosen a focus of inner work personal to me, much like what Lynn Jericho does, to work really work off an inspiration for these twelve holy days. In the past I have worked with being easy with myself, one year I worked with "letting go", one year I worked with love, one year I worked with "no comment". This year, I have been feeling especially inspired by this passage from Brother Victor-Antoine D'avila-LaTourrette in the book, "A Monastery Journey to Christmas", which runs through Candlemas on February 2nd: "We can only find peace and calmness within the confines of our own selves. Inner peace is a gift from the Lord. Let us beseech him day and night for his gift. And let us help him by cultivating actively all those things that lead to inner peace. Like the angels on that first Christmas night, let us pray and work for peace on earth." How can I be a part of peace this year – peace in my heart, peace in my home, peace in my community, peace in the world?
There are some resources out there to help you celebrate the Holy Nights. One of them, if you are not aware of it, is Lynn Jericho's Inner Christmas. Here is the link: http://imagineself.com/inner-christmas/ You can sign up to get one inner Christmas message in your inbox every day. This is a spiritual resource, not a religious resource.
I have a number of back posts regarding the Holy Nights. Here is one: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/26/inner-work-for-the-holy-nights/ and here: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/22/the-twelve-days-of-christmas/ and a longer post here: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/12/24/the-holy-nights/
The church has traditional ways of celebrating the Twelve Nights. Look for that post tomorrow.
Many blessings and much love to my readers,


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Wilwood brake proportioning valves are adjustable between 100 and 1,000 psi with a twist of a knob or the flip of a lever, and can reduce pressure up to 57 percent. They let you adjust brake bias quickly and easily to compensate for changing track conditions, or for big and little tire combinations. Wilwood machines each proportioning valve from billet aluminum and gives it a durable anodized finish.
Wilwood Brake Proportioning Valve


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Written by Rose Garcia, on behalf of Beverlye Hyman Fead
Beverlye Hyman Fead was delighted to be invited to speak at the monthly Jewish Women's Network Coffee Hour on January 10th at the Santa Barbara Club where a lovely group of over 30 women gathered to share a morning of coffee, laughter, and inspiration.
Beverlye spoke on topics ranging from aging and wellness, to meeting goals, and truly enjoying life. She shared vibrant stories of adults in their 70s, 80s, and 90s who were still passionately living their lives and reinventing themselves. She surprised everyone when she revealed her own age to be 82--living proof that there is indeed, a new way to age! The cornerstones of Beverlye's success are staying healthy, keeping an active mind, and realizing the benefits of researching and gaining knowledge about one's own health.
During her talk, she encouraged everyone to dream big and follow their dreams, no matter their age. She suggests making lists, setting goals, writing things down, and going for it!
It was a morning full of warmth and support among a strong community of inspiring women.
Beverlye would like to give special thanks to Jilli Spear for extending an invitation and organizing a great event.
What a wonderful way to spend a morning!
Beverlye Hyman Fead
Motivational Speaker, Wellness Advocate and Author of I Can Do This; Nana,What's Cancer? and Aging in High Heels


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What's up guys, Brandon here back with another post! Today I am going to be announcing a new YouTube channel! It's called DIY Vlogger, and on this channel I will be making all kinds of diy stuff like camera rigs,... Continue Reading →
No, i'm not coming back to posting on my blog. I just wanted to tell you guys that I am going to be doing a live stream tonight at 7:30 Eastern Time, so make sure to tune in! https://youtu.be/JArHsFDNnLM
Kind of... but not exactly. So I'm thinking of quitting WordPress. I just think I can't keep up with school, WordPress, and my YouTube channel. Also, my blog has gotten too political so I'll still read y'all's posts and... Continue Reading →
I am stopping Banter because no one comments answers to the questions I ask. I don't want to make them if no one participates. Gotta go.
Sorry I haven't posted in a while guys! I had a sleep over with a friend of mine who I never get to see for five days, then I went with that friend back to the town he lives in... Continue Reading →
Hello and welcome to episode 4 of my talk show Banter! I am your host, Brandoboy! Today I am going to be talking about what I plan to make before I leave for college in 3ish years! Here is my... Continue Reading →
Hello everyone, Brandon here, back with a quick update! Recently I found out about this awesome website called Hackaday.io where people can post thier projects, update them, and follow other projects. I thought wow, what a great Idea! I should... Continue Reading →
What's up guys, Brandoboy here, back with Episode 3 of my weekly talk show - Banter! Yes, I know it's Sunday. I'm so sorry I didn't do the post yesterday guys! I ended up having a ton of stuff to... Continue Reading →
Hello everyone, Brandoboy here back with another post! I was going to record this and post it on my YouTube channel but I wasn't able too because the recording messed up so anyways, let me explain what this is.... Continue Reading →


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Talking About a Revolution
Photo By: A. Chaparro
Colombian independence was constructed by men and women who strived for a country free from the shackles of Spanish imperialism. The movement brought together disparate personalities, one of whom was the widely respected intellectual military leader Antonio Nariño. But Nariño wasn't only a revolutionary, he was also a politician, journalist and the translator of the Declarations of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which signaled a monumental paradigm shift in South America. Actor / writer Fabian Zarta has taken inspiration from this most inspiring of men and presents the multi-faceted leader in a monologue, aptly titled Nariño, enjoying a limited run in Bogota.
Bogota Brilliance spoke with Zarta about his inspiration, Nariño's relevance today and working between New York and Bogota:
BB: What interested you in creating a theater piece about Nariño?
FZ: Nariño has a quite interesting dramaturgy when you trace his life, a gigantic courage but still a very sensitive human being. I think he had wanted to enlighten the entire Hispanic-America by translating into Spanish the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, think of the time 1789/90s. Subsequently, the French Revolution. Many countries were under the regimen of Spain and the Catholic Church was the pinnacle in Latin America, none of them wanted "Americanos" (Yes Latin-Americans were called just Americans back then) to embrace a new thinking that would set up ideas for freedom and equality. The Viceroyalty "el Virreynato" would tumble down.
I have decided to work on a parallel between that time, and our current times. It feels right, we have to learn about our history so we can understand our present better. Nariño is not only about Colombians or La Gran Colombia (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, some historians say, North of Peru, North of Brasil (parts), and parts of Guyana), somehow South America. He is a universal character. I am interested in Nariño 'cause he had so many values that a leader needs in today's world.
Ideally, we can wake up little Nariños in every person that experience or learn about his work and legacy. I think Latin-America needs to learn more about its history from South to North and vice-versa. Sometimes it seems that history repeats itself, and we need to do something to change that direction; theatre and films are my mediums for expression.
BB: Did you discover anything surprising about him?
FZ: Every time!!! Nariño has all the element for a book, a novel, a play, a movie, a poem, a song or a monologue ;)... I particularly like a sense of ritual he had (I am not saying he was a warlock), but rather his commitment and passion, he gave up all (he was part of the aristocracy/half Spanish, half Colombian) for his ideals of change and independence from El Virreinato. But Nariño is timeless, especially for Latinos living around the globe, and I dare to say the entire human population.
BB: What kind of research did you do when writing the piece?
FZ: I am still researching. For almost a couple of years, I have had an idea, I traveled to Colombia back in 2015 to explore Nariño's life, places and people's perceptions about him in today's society. I have walked around Bogota, visiting museums, libraries, meeting with historians, visiting close by towns where he spent time. I visualize Nariño in every part of Colombia I have visited, from cities like Cartagena or Barranquilla to Departments like Boyaca or Cundinamarca. Or even when I am in NYC. This particular need to tell this story was really inspired in New York City; the place that has become my other home.
BB: How did Nariño differ from his contemporaries?
FZ: Realness! Even though he belonged to an aristocratic circle he found a voice that spoke for thousands and thousands. His works not only focus on self-enlightenment, but spreads widely.
BB: Why is he relevant today?
FZ: We need more Nariños, that's why I am bringing his ideals back, not that he was perfect, but there is a fascinating life experience in that man. He really reached for wisdom.
BB: What can audiences expect from the show?
FZ: Just come by, we will find out together. It will be fun, in particular, if you like critical thinking, I'd be all yours.
BB: How have audiences been reacting to the piece?
FZ: It is still a new piece to tell, but so far it has been amazing. I have different influences when it comes to theatre, I think there is a sparkle from all theatre-makers I have worked with from legends to non-professional actors. I also try to use that idea that I had had about theatre before I even started to do theatre, so I keep some identity somewhere. Of course, you start to do your own research, and come out with your own conclusions, but I am still young, so I am "in the process." Some people may say what's going here. It is hard to say how people may take the piece.
BB: Why is it important to have the audience participate - and what topics are discussed?
FZ: Since I was growing up in Colombia audience participation was important, from Carnivals to the actual work on stages and streets I started to do in Bogota. We studied Epic theatre and other tendencies. My grandfather and great grandfather were merchants who traveled around the country, but when the carnivals and festivals of the villages happened in the region they were from, Purificacion - Tolima, they became The Comedians. As a child I saw that, how the entire 'Pueblo' town passed by our house in a procession to pick up my Grandfather Eudoro, who entertained them and made fun of the hard times. It was a sort of Dithyrambs what we experienced there. When I moved to NYC The Living Theatre, The Public and other companies I have worked with in New York, sort of dig into this a lot with different approaches. I guess I ended it up there not by coincidence.
BB: What are some of the differences between theater in Bogota and New York?
FZ: Bogota has a strong underground theatre scene that I remember, it is still notorious for the little I have seen in my visits lately. New York also does, but what is wonderful about New York is that underground scene in parallel with the mainstream which has created an industry in theatre. I have to say, however, with all the due respect to many amazing works I have seen in NYC, some of the best performances I have seen in my life I saw it in Bogota – those pieces were very organic: using elements such as a pile of fire, sounds from the wild nature, very humanistic performers with such a commitment. Perhaps, it was 'cause of the time being when I was very young, so I guess I possessed innocent eyes... New York is New York, and you can't find such wonderful diversity somewhere else. That access to diversity in stories is just amazing – at least in the underground scene.
BB: What do you like about Bogota?
FZ: There is a strong scene in the arts here. Some people really become good at it, 'cause resources can be limited sometimes, but that is when you prove creativity. I think Colombians, and in general Latin Americans, are great at it. I also see very good looking people around here. All Colombia mingles in Bogota. I love diversity.
BB: Additional comments and thoughts?
FZ: Come to see Nariño. Spread THE love! Colombia has many wonderful experiences to offer.
Sadly, that is the message we are giving to our children and youth that has such an amazing potential. We shall raise their self-esteem. It doesn't mean there are not serious issues in Latin America, but we need to start changing the state of mind in these people – our people.
I also would like to extend special thanks to:
El Círculo Colombiano de Artistas - CiCA (The Circle of Colombian Artists), El Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia (Ministry of Culture of Colombia) and IDARTES (District Institute of Arts) / Programa Salas Concertadas. My Family, Historian Alexander Chaparro, Fabio Becerra, Maria Eugenia Penagos, Documentarist Alejandro Chaparro, Grupo Rebolu, Kiosko Teatral, Casa Campestre Villa Maria and FolkCOLOMBIA.
4, 5, 11, 12, 13 of August
7:30 p.m.
Teatro Bernardo Romero Lozano
Calle 46 No. 28 - 30
Acting as in Life – Coach Ron Burrus Presents the Present
Do you live in the present or sense and release tension? If you think these questions sound like something a Yoga teacher or meditation coach would probe, you wouldn't be too far off. Except that the ideas were being reframed by Ron Burrus, one of the top acting coaches in the world, and a disciple of the infamous and revered acting guru Stella Adler. Burrus was in Bogota to conduct an intensive course on auditioning and acting for the camera. Based in Los Angeles and Manhattan, Burrus has conducted classes in Japan, Mexico and India. The knowledge Burrus imparted to our class of international students included far more than angles, body positioning and voice modulation.
"Flying from Lima to do this workshop, has been one of the best decisions of my life as an actress and as a person!" said Peruvian actress Alexandra Barandiaran, "In six days I've learned so much it overwhelms me and makes me absolutely happy, full and satisfied!"
Another student, professional Colombian musician and aspiring actor Juan Angulo added, "Ron has given us a new perspective not only for acting but also for living. He gives us methods and exercises to practice in our life every single day."
Present Tensed
Even something as fundamental as accessing vocabulary stems from a prior understanding of what words to use when. In acting, however, the past is secondary and the actor must understand that they are experiencing the character's journey through the scenes as they play out (presently) before an audience. Colombian presenter / actress Maria Laura Quintero reported that she learned how to forget about the past and to live in the present without judgment.
Argentinean actor Santiago Garcia Rosa travelled from Buenos Aires to attend the workshop, told me, "The best thing about Ron, is that everything he teaches, he is, you see it, you don't see somebody talking about being present, etc. You see him being present."
The actor must always be clear on how he or she prepared, being careful not to get stuck on an "instant performance" and own the mantra, "I am here to solve problems in my acting that the writing can't solve."
"The inner life of a character," explained Burrus, "on stage is expressed through the body and on camera through the eyes." In either case the experience is of the moment as it resonates with other actors and viewers. Burrus considers himself lucky to still be inspired, after more than 40 years of teaching, to continue. "Ron is not just an acting teacher. He understands the human condition and helps you understand it and put it into action in your acting," said Colombian actor Sebastian Eslava (who organized the workshop at the accommodating 93 Luxury Suites with Colombian model / actress Tatiana de los Rios).
In a Word
Over the week we redefined words, and indeed, reality as it pertains to the craft. "Acting is a lifestyle," Burrus told us, and warned against putting life pressure on top of work pressure but instead to "sense and experience the vibration." A great deal of acting is repetition under pressure, and skill is applied when the words are repeated by the actor, they are spoken as if for the first time by the character.
Technique, for example, now means "an in depth understanding of cause and effect." This is critical for actors as they create a cause that produces the effect of dialogue. It is through an action (physical and / or emotional) that the text is given life. Talent, a loaded word indeed, was distilled to its purest essence by Burrus: Talent is connection. This clarity is both profound and troubling for the actor in the sense that it demands the actor truly be present at all times. So, perhaps, the observation "Leonardo DiCaprio is a talented actor," might be rephrased as "Leonardo DiCaprio creates believable connections."
The definition of "judgment" was also called into question. For actors, as could be said of most people, this word carries a lot of weight and can be poisonous. In its new form, judgment is "imposing your point of view on something or someone"; which is what actors are called on to do when creating a character. But, it can also be toxic in the sense that if we are judgey about fictional characters, then we risk (and often are) judgmental about the people and instances in our real lives. "Mental habits have an appetite that you feed through reactions," Burrus advised. "Awareness is the ability to see what is without the need to do something about it."
Each time they need to do another take or run the show again, an actor is called upon to make the viewer believe that what they are seeing has never happened before. This is no easy task and requires the artist to employ not only his or her training, but one of the most powerful tools we all possess: Imagination. For the actor "Imagination is a powerful preparatory tool with strong rules," instructed Burrus, but it is a skill that required work, like a muscle. Imagination is particularly useful to help actors withstand the reality of repetition under pressure.
However, this tool should not be used to literally imagine how a character might feel something, "Don't lay feelings on the scene, the feelings come from the scene," advised Burrus. And, the specific reaction might change given the dynamics of any particular moment. That said, he guided us through the concept of applying specific emotional actions to any given response. over time the actor should create a library of these actions, always written in the "ing" form such as convincing, shocking, shutting, etc. so that they can be accessed as needed. "Ron's ability to convey thoughts and actions is extraordinary. Listening to him makes you forget about a bathroom break! He is a master indeed," surmised Colombo-Brazilian actress Nathalie Murillo Toro.
For me, the time with Burrus and the other students was stimulating, provoking, illuminating and fulfilling. He is a true master, and one that we were fortunate to have visit Bogota where this level of training does not exist.


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Wedding Reception Venue in Somerset
For the best of both worlds, host your wedding breakfast in our gorgeous Garden Room: a stunning neutral space with large sash windows looking out to the breathtaking scenery of the gardens and grounds.
The high ceilings, beautiful chandeliers, direct access to the terrace, majestic pillars and light-enticing windows gives this room the utmost elegance.
With spectacular views of the gardens and access to the outdoor terrace, which is a great location for photos. This large room can seat up to 150 guests and is perfect dancing and merriment as the sun sets and beyond.