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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Sat 05 Apr 2014, 18:27
Post subject: Slacko 5.3.3t v2.05a
Subject description: compositing bug
As per Slacko TIPS
Should I customise?
Want compositing effects including drop shaddows to your windows? Add this line near the bottom of the hidden file /root/.xinitrc
xcompmgr -c -C &
so that the bottom of the file looks like this:
# rox -p /root/Choices/ROX-Filer/Puppypin
xcompmgr -c -C &
#exec $CURRENTWM
#v2.11 GuestToo suggested this improvement...
which $CURRENTWM && exec $CURRENTWM
[ -x $CURRENTWM ] && exec $CURRENTWM
exec jwm
Re-start X for effects to start.
When I enabled compositing in Slacko 5.3.3t, things didn't run well. i.e. added to /root/.xinitrc the code line
xcompmgr -c -C &
Opaque window moves and resizes left historic trails of windows.
Upgrading jwm to JWM-755 (and updating jwm config also), things improved a lot - but still not 100%. The transparency works well, with increasing transparency the more windows that are opened on top. And opaque window moves and resizes generally work as expected - but can at times still leave a residue region - see the first image in the attached set. The top pinkish box is from where the Frisbee wireless dialog was being reported and then closed (leaving that pink square), the residue in the middle of the screen is from where a screen capture was triggered and closed (leaving that residue). In other cases I have seen some normal window residue being left.
I've uploaded Slacko_5.3.3t_v2.05a (alpha) - 93MB ISO as it currently stands
. the .xinitrc code line has been commented out so it runs as normal, you have to remove that comment # and restart x-server to start the compositing effects. You also need quite a good graphics card/driver as opaque window moves/resizes combined with compositing is a relatively heavy graphics demand/load.
The only other changes I've made in 2.05a so far is to include a Flash 10 patch script (in HOME directory) that corrects desktop bleed when youtubes are being played in firefox and firefox is minimised (can leave the youtube video still visible through the desktop). I've also updated the PPM content (original database content was dated).
In normal (non compositing) mode things seem to all run OK, it would be nice however to get compositing working as intended - but I'm at a loss as to how to go about correcting the current problems. Its still usable and generally nice, but the periodic residues being left on the desktop are a annoyance.
Any help/suggestions appreciated.
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Sat 05 Apr 2014, 19:03
Post subject:
ally wrote:
mirrored here:
**edit - other files mirrored also **
Wow. Thanks Ally, greatly appreciated.
I've also added Blender 2.59 to my shared googledrive set (together with a recordmydesktop sub-directory that contains the relevant PET's for that to work under Slacko 5.3.3t). The Blender 2.59 version works best with the Openshot video editor also in that set - for unknown reasons 2.63 doesn't work with that version of Openshot.
Blender 2.59 has no menu, it just installs to / so that when you enter /blender in the Openshot preferences menu you can create animated titles within Openshot. If you want to use Blender as a stand alone (3D animations) then Blender 2.63 is the one to grab as that installs a menu entry.
The other thing to grab to work with Openshot is the inkscape PET - as that's called by Openshot when you want to create scrolling titles.
Another neat feature with Openshot is that you can merge two videos. Pick a transparent colour in one that's in a timeline above another, and the lower one shows through. i.e. you could perhaps web cam a video of yourself against perhaps a black background, have another video of perhaps your desktop (recorded using xvidcap or recordmydesktop) and then set black to be transparent, so that it looks like you're actually sitting inside the desktop.
I haven't actually got xvidcap to record both video and audio. What I do is record both separately anyway. Have the vidcap as capturing video only and use mhWaveEdit to record audio. Having made the recording I tidy up the audio using Audacity - which has options to amplify (or attenuate) the sound level, and a neat option to filter out background noise (my computer makes quite a whirring sound that I don't notice at the time, but do notice when it comes to listen to the audio). Just leave a few seconds of silence at the start of recording and then highlight that in Audacity and use the Effect, Noise Removal menu option and click the Get Profile choice, then highlight all of the sound track and select Effect, Noise Removal and click the OK button - and all of the background noise (grinding computer) is gone.
Once you've got a cleaned up audio (and adjusted the amplification to what sounds good), you can combine both the video with the audio using Openshot. Just a matter of moving the tracks around until they're both in sync (and cut out the lead (and trail) parts as desired).
Add in some titles, background music, some trailer (scrolling text perhaps) and export the edited video and upload to youtube (or create WEMB to include in a web page). I've been doing all that on a 1.5GB RAM single core system
(I do however have a Nvidia card which probably helps quite a bit).
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Joined: 19 May 2012
Posts: 1983
Location: lincoln, uk
Posted: Sun 06 Apr 2014, 07:36
Post subject:
blender added
I'm tempted to create it's own page....let me know and I'll generate one
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Joined: 28 Dec 2008
Posts: 547
Posted: Sun 06 Apr 2014, 11:16
Post subject: Download 4.4
Hi Mike,
You can download 4.4 from
It is the 115 mbyte iso
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Joined: 19 May 2012
Posts: 1983
Location: lincoln, uk
Posted: Sun 06 Apr 2014, 12:17
Post subject:
direct link for puppeee 4.4:
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Tue 08 Apr 2014, 11:01
Post subject:
ally wrote:
blender added
I'm tempted to create it's own page....let me know and I'll generate one
I've taken time to be helpful hereabouts, but had posts disappear - with no private message from the moderators or any other explanation as to why.
Last edited by rufwoof on Fri 02 May 2014, 16:59; edited 1 time in total
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Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Posts: 5834
Location: Republic of Novo Zelande
Posted: Tue 08 Apr 2014, 13:32
Post subject:
rufwoof wrote:
I've taken time to be helpful hereabouts, but had posts disappear - with no private message from the moderators or any other explanation as to why.
That happens quite a lot - I think there are bugs in the forum software, or maybe the server. It's very annoying. Sometimes the posts don't show up at all at the time you post them, but sometimes they appear for 5 minutes, then disappear, and other times they stay up for a few hours but aren't there the next day.
May not have been deliberate action by moderators.
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Sun 13 Apr 2014, 16:01
Post subject:
OK. Thanks GreenGeek. Nice to know. THX.
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Sun 13 Apr 2014, 17:06
Post subject:
For info, I'm uploading a alpha slacko_5.3.3t-v3a-en-GB.iso as I write this.
ISO weighs in at 317MB - however much of that is "extra's" The actual standard stuff is < 100MB.
puppy_slacko_5.3.3t.sfs is just 63MB. Separate drivers zdrv file that's 25MB
Within the ISO's 'EXTRA' sub directory are burning utilities to help with burning a bootable ISO (using 7-Zip or Winrar ... or whatever archiver you prefer to view the contents of the ISO and copy either the 32 bit or 64 bit version of the burner to a Windows directory ... and run/use that)
Set your PC BIOS to boot from CD/DVD and boot the newly burnt disc.
Boots to a relatively light desktop, leafpad (text editor), calculator, file manager (ROX)...usual smaller utilities.
No browser - for that you can either use (located in the EXTRA subdirectory) :
1 firefox portable (copy the relevant file out of the EXTRA directory to your hardisk, extract it (double click to startup xarchive and select/extract the content) ...and then run that).
2. use the get_latest_firefox script in the HOME directory to automatically download and start the latest version of firefox.
3. Load the firefox.sfs file (right click and select sfs_load)
The first (firefox portable) can remain on your HD and will start up like you left it (addons, bookmarks etc). The second and third choices just load for the session (so perhaps good for online banking where you boot/load Slacko into memory, and run a browser in memory, going nowhere else other than to your banks website before/after so its secure).
Also in EXTRA are a number of sub-directories, each with a loadxxx file that load the extras. One directory for abiword and gnumeric, with abiword also loaded with a UK (English GB) dictionary). Another for graphics card upgrades (one for Nvidia, another for mesa (only need to load one of the two according to whether you have a Nvidia graphics card or not)). Another for multi-media, that loads xvidcap (record video of screen content), audacity (sound editor/recorder), Openshot (video editor) and Blender (used by Openshot to create 3D animations). inkscape (drawing program) is also included as that's also used by Openshot when creating scrolling titles etc.). There's also a flash directory and load_flash file in order to ... load flash.
When you load the graphics (mesa or nvidia) you'll have to exit X (MENU, EXIT TO PROMPT) and run xorgwizard in order to select NVIDIA. Without Nvidia (or mesa) loaded Openshot might not be able to create 3D animations.
Collectively the versions and choice of EXTRA's seems to work well together. And you have the option to either boot to a very light desktop, or relatively easily expand the power/functionality.
I've tried to create a more usable desktop set. Many of the Puppy's I've tried myself seem to leave you hanging. A lot of effort goes into the desktop look and feel, but behind that the programs users might use often have weaknesses/bugs. As an example I tried Studio 4 the other day, which is intended for the creative/musical, however Openshot was lacking inkscape and Blender associated programs and as such couldn't create animated titles nor 3D effects. When I tried the package library to get those..... well I gave up after a hour or so to get a workable system up and running.
I'd suggest just booting from CD all of the time. Copy the EXTRA directory to your hardisk and load which bits you want at the time from there. That way your existing PC/Windows system is unaffected, other than having the EXTRA directory beneath the root directory. Once you've booted from CD a number of times - rather than having to enter in locale and network details each and every time, you might want to try remastering your own bootable CD (MENU, SETUP, REMASTER PUPPY LIVE-CD).
This is a alpha (first cut), but seems ok. I'm running with it myself. But that will likely have changes. For instance the current version doesn't have a firefox browser icon either on the desktop or in the tray/taskbar after you load the firefox sfs, you have to MENU, UTILITY, GEXEC EXECUTE A COMMAND and type in 'firefox' to get the browser up and running (ditto for Blender). Personally I use the firefox-portable choice as there are several add-ons that I like (noscript, zoom, flash-block) and I also tend to bookmark things so its nice to have those persist from one session to another.
I don't run with a savefile - so when I shutdown and it asks to save I just click the NO option. Savefiles might be used - but I like having all of memory available as 'file-space' rather than being restricted to whatever filesize I allocated to a savefile.
I really ought to spend more effort on documentation. More recently I've primarily focused on just getting the 'package' working and running well. That's starting to diminish however as it improves, so that should free up time for me to spend more time on documentation. I'm hoping to establish a relatively stable set of apps - much more so that looking to 'upgrade' as IMO often the devil you know is better than repeatedly updated versions. You get to know the quirks and workarounds with a fixed set.
Whilst this is a en-GB (English) version - generally that just applies to the xvKbd (on screen keyboard) and abiword dictionary elements. There are other country on screen keyboard configurations buried within the system .,, and there are other dictionaries that can be downloaded/used. Perhaps in a later version I might look to automate switching locale for those apps.
As a footnote, remember that by default I set ROX (desktop) to use double-clicks.
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Sun 13 Apr 2014, 17:42
Post subject:
Another thing I nearly forgot to mention is that the xvidcap (I think) doesn't record both video and sound - only video (may work for some ??).
Generally if you're just looking to record both video and sound into one file and upload that to youtube or wherever as is then your video will tend to be relatively low quality. The way to go about it IMO is to record both video and sound separately and then use Openshot to edit those together into a single file. So a case of opening one (or maybe more if you want to record sound from different sources (computer, your voice)) Audacity sessions and get sound recording going, and then use xvidcap to record your desktop (or whatever other program/source of video (webcam maybe)).
Once you have those separate sound(s) and video(s) files, use Openshot to pull them all in and manually sync them together - adding in any lead-in or ending-titles etc. and effects (fade in/out). And finally EXPORT the finalised video.
Before using Openshot however, you'll probably want to tidy up the audio. In audacity you can highlight a quiet section and use that as a sample that's applied to the entire video - i.e. greatly reduces/eliminates any annoying sounds such as wind or a computer whirring in the background. You can also attenuate or amplify parts of or the entire sound track(s) - so that the overall end video looks and sounds so much better.
SneekyLinux has several videos about Audacity and Openshot etc - this one for example
and this one
and this
Best viewed when you up the resolution quality (bottom 3rd icon or so in from the right on the flash window) and blow up to full screen (bottom first icon from right).
Hunt around for others - such as transparency, scrolling text etc. There are loads of examples out there.
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Sun 27 Apr 2014, 11:01
Post subject:
Latest upload s533t.iso remastered version based on Thin Slacko weighs in at just
Despite being down close to barebone type distro's, its quite functional, containing :
PMusic CD player/ripper
FFConvert multimedia Convertor
GNOME MPlayer
Pdvdrsab DVD rip/shrink/author/burn
Pmusic grabber
mhWaveEdit audio record/edit
pupRadio/Telly streaming media
BurnISO2CD (burn iso to CD/DVD)
ISOMaster (ISO editor)
PBurn CD/DVD/Blue-ray writer
PeasyDisc Optical disc tools
Meeboo MSN/Yahoo/IRC chat
PMirrorGet web site downloader
Pup-Advert-Blocker block online ads
Pwsget secure file downloader
Secure ssh
gFTP ftp client
Firewall State
Gpptp VPN client
Growl Security Enhancements
PcurlFTP file sharing
Pnethood Samba shares
PureFTPd FTP server
Superscan network scanner
XChat IRC
pns-tool connect from commandline
Bcrypt file encryption
Figaros Password Manager
pClock Time tools
pTiming event timer
Osmo Personal Organizer
Gmeasures units converter
Leafpad Simple text editor
ePDFViewer view pdf files
puppyPDF convert file to PDF
Viewnior image viewer
mtPaint Image Editor
XPaint simple image editor
Gcolor colour chooser
Peasyscan image scanner
PupCamera digital camera access
Screeny Capture screen
Xsane image scanner
mtPaint-snapshot screen capture
ROX file manager
Pmount mount drives
Gdmap graphical disk usage
Partview free disk space view
Pfind file finder
Edit initrd.gz with GUI
Edit SFS
Icon Browser
MoManager create non English Puppy
SFSConvert version converter
XArchive archiver
Xdelta file differences
Xfdiff-cut compare two files
xvkbd virtual keyboard
Pbackup backup and sync
Pmirror backup directory
Pudd copy drive/partition
PupSaveConfig personal storage setup
Resize personal storage file
Snap2 snapshot backup
Gexec execute a command
urxvt terminal
Xconsole monitor console
Check dependencies
Default program chooser
personalise settings
puppy package manager
SFS Load on the fly
Slick Pet install popular programs
Wizard Wizard (range of setup utilities)
ALSA wizard
CD/DVD drive wizard
CUPS printer wizard
Internet connection wizard
Linux firewall wizard
Mouse/Keyboard wizard
Multiple Sound card wizard
PupsaveConfig personal storage setup
Xorg Video wizard
BootFlash Install puppy to USB
Grub4Dos bootloader config
Puppy universal installer
Remater Puppy live-CD
Remove built in packages
WakePup create boot floppy
CPU frequency scaling tool
CUPS printing manager
HardInfo hardware information
Htop process viewer
IPinfo network information
Pprocess process manager
PupScan interface information
Top view running processes
Xlock lock screen
Format floppy disk
GParted partition manager
Grub4Dos bootloader config
Pdisk partition manager
BootManager configure bootup
LoginManager configure login
Pschedule schedule task on time
Puppy Event Manager
Chtheme GTK (windows) theme chooser
Configure Xlock
Desktsetup desktop icons
Desktop drive icons manager
Desktop icon switcher
FlSynclient configure touchpad
JWM configuration - multiple sections to configure windows manager
Nathan Wallpaper setter (change desktop background)
Pcur change cursor theme
Pmenu menu editor
Set global font size
pupX set properties of X
xvkbd virtual keyboard
Countrywizard country settings
Psync Timer server
Set date and time
Gfontsel font viewer
Xfontsel font viewer
Included but off menu (use PMenu to restore)
Pdict online dictionary
xCalc calculator
Desktop switcher
xvKbd onscreen keyboard
HOME (/root) directory
Firefox wget script - small script that downloads the latest version
of firefox directly from Mozilla (note that if you are running in
LiveCD mode it is recommended that you copy any downloads to your
Hard Disk drive (HDD) so that they're preserved/available across reboots).
Online dedicated respository (courtesy of GoogleDrive (same place as the above link)) contains a reasonable range of additional programs, utilities, guides. Again if you download any then its recommended you store them on your HDD. Including (suggested downloads)
Libre Office Suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentations etc.)
Multi-Media (Openshot (video editing) Blender (3D animations),
inkscape (animated titles), Audacity (sound editor), xvidcap (video
screen capture (screencast)).
Normal Puppy Package Manager repository (suggest you update the
database upon first running as the distributed database version
has been slimmed down to save space).
Last edited by rufwoof on Fri 02 May 2014, 17:08; edited 4 times in total
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Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Posts: 5834
Location: Republic of Novo Zelande
Posted: Sun 27 Apr 2014, 15:17
Post subject:
rufwoof wrote:
Latest upload s533t.iso remastered version based on Thin Slacko weighs in at just
Hi rufwoof, do the blender (and other) sfs files in that google drive folder have to be used with the modified 533t iso or are they also applicable to the original 533t too?
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Sun 27 Apr 2014, 18:03
Post subject:
Should work with the original as well - after all its the same other than cosmetics and choice of installed apps/programs/utils.
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Wed 30 Apr 2014, 19:32
Post subject:
I've just uploaded a new version. Similar size (79MB) but obviously a different md5 checksum.
Usual googledrive location
usual filename (s533t.iso and accompanying s533t.md5 checksum).
When booting with a CD (DVD) in a two CD/DVD drive system, the boot up would pause on the Searching... stage, generate a ...Pausing message and hang there for 5 seconds - waiting to read from a CD/DVD drive that had no disc in it - before giving up and continuing. Fixed by updating probepart_init within initrd.gz.
I've also removed the initial boot logo screen as some office based users prefer it without that logo/splash.
Just a reminder - but when you boot a Puppy LiveCD then using the
puppy pfix=ram pmedia=cd
boot parameters is the choice to use if you want to boot totally from CD and run in RAM, without puppy looking for files (savefile or puppy sfs) on any Hard Disk partitions.
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Joined: 24 Feb 2014
Posts: 3725
Posted: Sat 03 May 2014, 03:47
Post subject:
New version uploaded - this version has Pizzagood's Edit SFS code (Utility menu option program) adjusted to also use extreme compression when rebuilding the SFS (to reflect the changes made in remasterpup2).
Both Edit SFS and remasterpup2 are now using 1024K compression dictionary size.
That makes remastering quite a lot slower and it will sit at 100% compressed for several minutes before completing. Could really do with a prompt to say be patient at that point - but provided you sit it out the extra space savings are reasonable.
The higher compression is the primary reason why this distro has so much in such a small ISO.
On a point of note, you save more space (smaller ISO) if you combine zdrv in with initrd. Having initrd and zdrv separate results in a larger ISO.
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The couple got engaged in December when Cibrian proposed with a 5-carat diamond ring from jeweler Brent Polacheck, who also crafted their wedding bands
LeAnn Rimes, Eddie Cibrian Are Married : People.com
Are we taking bets on how long this lasts? I'll say 9 months.


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Equity futures are down slightly this morning following more weak housing data and a slew of earnings reports:
The dollar is down slightly as are bonds, oil and gold are down as well.
The MBA Purchase Application "report" came in at down 7.6% for the week and that follows a 5% drop the week prior. Don't know what to make of these reports, they are hiding the data from us and percentage moves on a weekly basis tell us NOTHING. Yet another report that belongs in the waste basket. Seriously, our system is degenerating very quickly… I was certainly HOPING that Obama would have a spine and fix some of the B.S., but unfortunately, he is proving to be working in concert as a part of the problem. Here's Econoday's report on Purchase Applications:
Housing data may be taking a turn for the worse. MBA's purchase application index has been moving backward the last two weeks, down a steep 7.6 percent in the Oct. 16 week. The unadjusted index, reflecting the Columbus Day holiday, fell 16.7 percent. The refinance index also fell in the week, down an adjusted 16.8 percent. Mortgage rates all moved higher including for 30-year fixed loans which rose 5 basis points to 5.07 percent. Existing home sales, to be released Friday, will offer the next look at the housing sector.
What I do know is that when large percentage moves week after week are not a good sign for the housing market.
Wells Fargo joined the other criminal institutions in reporting RECORD profits of over $3 billion for the quarter, twice what it "made" last year!! Want to know how they did it? Here's what CNN says:
Despite facing an ongoing recession and related loan losses, the San Francisco-based bank said its third-quarter results were lifted by strong performances in its mortgage lending business and other divisions.
They made it in their mortgage lending business! "Strong performances," too! That's funny, how do you imagine, with the housing and mortgage business at depression levels that they manage to make record profits? Uh, huh, you know how… with a pencil, some paper, and a complicit government, that's how.
And John Mack over at Morgan Stanley is wisely hitting the road before the pitchforks come out. Let's read how their quarter went:
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Morgan Stanley posted its first quarterly profit in a year.
The New York-based investment firm said Wednesday it earned $757 million, or 38 cents a share, for the third quarter. That's down sharply from the year-ago profit of $7.7 billion, or $7.38 a share. But it was much better than the 30 cents per share profit that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting.
Revenue fell to $8.7 billion from $18 billion a year earlier. Revenue at the global wealth management unit nearly doubled, to $3 billion, but revenue at the institutional securities business plunged 69% to $5 billion.
Revenue fell to $8.7 billion from $18 billion a year earlier? Are you kidding me? That's a one year plunge in total revenue of 52%!!! In other words, MS is less than half the size it was a year earlier. John, John, John… it's a good thing you're leaving, you should have known how "strong" the mortgage business was and you should have been more busy marking your mortgage "assets" to your own model. See ya!
While WFC is faking $3 billion gains on paper, over in the real world, Boeing wrote off $3.5 billion in losses taking a $1.5 billion loss for the quarter. Now, for all you pencil necks who call that a "one time charge" and subsequently don't count it against your price to earnings ratios, well, all I can say is that you are about to be taught yet another lesson in historical valuations and what happens to those who rely on Enron type accounting to make the world look a little more rosy than it actually is.
Yahoo, a fraction of its former self, managed to beat lowered expectation by posting a 15 cents a share profit over estimates of 13 cents.
Futures fell below the 1,090 pivot, but the SPX is right on it. Support below that is at 1,061, and overhead is at 1,107. Most of the indices are approaching new sell signals on the daily stochastics, but they would be working against the still bullish Elliott Wave count. The short term stochastics are all in the middle with the 60 and 30 minute stochs sitting on buy signals. I still would not be fighting the EW count, not if you respect your account, as we are still, by my count, in wave 3 up of c. Yes, we're getting close, but we are not there yet and as long as we are allowing companies to make up their own fantasy earnings, based upon fantasy dollars, then we shouldn't be standing infront of their trumped up runaway train until we are certain the train has been derailed - and it will be, it's only a matter of time.
We are truly a mark-to-fantasy nation, I can only laugh (and cry) at the audacity of firms like Buffet's Wells Fargo. Truly "magical" if you believe in such fiction… It'll just blow your mind!
Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic:


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Increasing network density and eliminating risk
Steve Morris from Panduit talks about cable management platforms. In this interview Steve Morris, senior product manager at Panduit, talks about the evolution of network architectures that is pushing traffic speeds beyond 400G. He demonstrates HD Flex 2.0 – the latest fibre management system from Panduit that can fit up to 144-fibers (LC) or 864-fibers (MPO) into a single rack unit. According to Morris, good cable management doesn't just increase network density and save time – it also eliminates risks associated with frequent maintenance of networking kit. The conversation took place at the DCD Zettastructure conference in London. Click to see the interview.
May 17, 2017
Running two or more UPS in parallel adds redundancy or greater capacity. Consequently, there are two types of parallel configurations: parallel-redundancy and parallel capacity UPS. In any parallel UPS system, the key challenges are:
Controlling how each UPS 'co-operates' seamlessly as one unified system.
Synchronising the outputs of each UPS so it can flow into a shared output.
Balancing the load equally amongst...
Huawei's modular UPS5000-E - a cost effective, efficient and reliable power infrastructure solution preferred by a leading European datacentre.
February 20, 2017
Holland's BIT ISP and Datacentre operator and Elinex Power Solutions have enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration. Their latest success has been the integration of the Huawei UPS5000-E Modular Uninterruptable Power Supply as the backbone of BIT's new enterprise ISP and datacentre. Click to view in YouTube.
February 3, 2017
Aside from people who may not have good intentions, computer rooms and data centres are under threat from moisture, seismic activity, outages and other emergencies that can spell disaster for an organisation. BUILDINGS Facility Management went on a tour of the Involta data centre and explained the top five focuses every facility manager should examine when evaluating a data centre: 1. Construction and layout, 2. Policies and P...
December 22, 2016
Enterprise companies and government organisations face vulnerabilities from external and internal threats, viruses and ransomware, and cyber attacks. Breaches can cost millions in material and brand damage and expose massive piles of sensitive records. The high stakes of a potential hack should be a reminder that cyber security must be a big priority for business. Click to read more.
December 9, 2016
Frost & Sullivan acclaims Huawei's Rise to Eminence in the Global Modular UPS Market. For example, a notable product advantage of Huawei's modular UPS systems is that it uses an innovative "all hot-swap module design" that aids the hot-swap of the power module, bypass module, and control module to aid capacity expansion. Its bypass module is designed to provide continuous power supply even at high load conditions. Huawei boast...
As an end-user, how do you know your critical power system is operating optimally? Unified Power, a mission critical power service provider, performs routine preventive maintenance procedures for these systems so that BOTH the end-user and our service organization can become familiarized with the operational health of those systems on a routine basis. So, how effective was your last preventive maintenance visit? In this articl...
November 11, 2016
Data centre operations best practices range from simple incident monitoring to complex tasks such as mapping network connections and removing underutilized servers. These 10 expert tips cover best practices to manage IT assets, load server resources onto rack space, configure infrastructure, handle IT support and execute other daily data centre operations. Click here for the 10 tips.
Steve Morris from Panduit talks about cable management platforms. In this interview Steve Morris, senior product manager at Panduit, talks about the evolution of network architectures that is pushing traffic speeds beyond 400G. He demonstrates HD Flex 2.0 – the latest fibre management system from Panduit that can fit up to 144-fibers (LC) or 864-fibers (MPO) into a single rack unit. According to Morris, good cable management d...
October 28, 2016
When your data center runs out of space, power or cooling -- or all three -- you have some difficult decisions to make. Those deliberations become more challenging if your business is likely to move within the next several years, or if there are discussions about eventually transferring some computing to the cloud or to a hosting site. These decisions are important, and not ones you want to rush. The choices an organization ma...
June 21, 2016
Earlier this year at Data Center World (DCW) in London, Huawei showcased its intelligent micro-module data center solution and high-efficiency modular UPS. This modular UPS has up to 97.5% efficiency when the system load is 40% of the rated load (compared to 86% efficiency of traditional UPS solutions)


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Welcome to the new Murder She Writes!
(Cheers, applause, excitement)
This redesign has been awhile in the making. Two programmers, testing, a lot of back-and-forth, and it's not *quite* done, but we wanted to launch it anyway because it's almost there. This is the third major re-do for our blog, but after over 7 years, it seems time. In November of 2005, Murder She Writes launched with five authors; the last two remaining from the original bunch are me and Karin Tabke. At different times, we've considered pulling the plug — between families and writing deadlines (and Karin even has an outside business she's run for more than 20 years) sometimes the blog seemed to be a chore when it used to be so much fun. But when we really thought about it, we realized that we'd miss this community, we'd miss chatting, we'd miss the fuel for our muses. Sometimes, writing a short article like we do for the blog helps cleanse the creative palette, so to speak. So we're back and re-committed to providing you a glimpse into the writer's life, as well as lots of other fun and goodies
What do we have for you? Hopefully a neater, cleaner, more streamlined page that you'll enjoy visiting every morning with your coffee, or every evening with your wine. We're in the process of cataloging our old posts into our new categories to help make what you're looking for easier to find. We have a new host so that hopefully, we won't experience any down time that had plagued us last year. And we have some new features!
First, the daily blog is at the top. It'll be easy to see because it takes up two columns right under the rotating picture. The rotating picture will highlight the last five featured blogs as well, so if you missed a day, you'll easily see what you missing. Below that are two columns of the last ten blogs we've had. Another easy way to see if you've missing something you don't want to miss! We felt that it was much cleaner to have a paragraph and then click-through to read more, than to scroll through long blocks of text.
Art & Entertainment: Movies, television, art galleries, trips — as our regular visitors know, I love television and blog about it regularly.
Books: We all love books or we wouldn't be here.
Contests & Promotions: Any of our individual or group contests will be posted here.
Fashion & Fitness: Need I say more?
Food & Dining: Some of our bloggers are amazing cooks … and yes, we all love food. Some of us (me) too much!
Home Decor & Design: Inspired by Deb Webb's remodel, we love talking about homes, architecture, what we'd love to do someday …
Love, Life & All That Jazz: If it doesn't fit anywhere else, it's here.
Writing & Publishing Tips: If you're a writer, this is the section for you!
Writing Life: What does it mean to be a writer? To be creative? To juggle career and family? A day in the life … or the life of … you'll see what makes us tick (or what makes us crazy!)
You can also more easily subscribe to the Murder She Writes twitter and facebook pages, and if you click on our author photos, you'll see our new release and links to our webpage and personal social media.
One new feature we're launching that I'm particularly excited about … Murder HE Writes. One day every two weeks we'll be hosting a favorite male suspense writers as our special guest. I can hardly wait to announce the first guest! It'll always be a surprise, so check back in two weeks and see who we have for you up first!
There are still some glitches here and there that we'll be fixing over the coming week. We really hope you like our new design and format. To launch the new look, we're running a rare Murder She Writes contest. Anyone who comments on this post or any post this month will be entered into a drawing. FIVE winners will be randomly selected to win a books from us–you'll get a minimum of THREE autographed books. (If you're outside the US or Canada, you'll receive a $20 gift card to the major bookstore of your choice.) If you comment every day from now through February 28, that's 10 "chances" to win! We wanted to say thank you for all your support and loyalty through the years. And if you're new? Welcome! We hope to be here for many more years.
I'll be answering questions here all day. And if you have a topic you'd like one of us to blog about, please let us know. Or if a past blog has really resonated with you, let us know that, too!


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RD_RHS_CF_Direc tLoan Guidance Book Update
Program Status: Open
What does this program do?
This program provides loan guarantees to eligible private lenders to help build essential community facilities in rural areas.
An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.
Who may apply for this program?
Private lenders may apply for a loan guarantee on loans made to an eligible borrower that is unable to obtain the needed commercial credit on reasonable terms without the guarantee.
Eligible borrowers:
What is an eligible area?
Rural areas including cities, villages, townships and towns including Federally Recognized Tribal Lands with no more than 20,000 residents according to the latest U.S. Census Data are eligible for this program.
How may funds be used?
Funds can be used to purchase, construct, and / or improve essential community facilities, purchase equipment and pay related project expenses.
Examples of essential community facilities include:
- Health care facilities such as hospitals, medical clinics, dental clinics, nursing homes or assisted living facilities
- Public facilities such as town halls, courthouses, airport hangers or street improvements
- Community support services such as child care centers, community centers, fairgrounds or transitional housing
- Public safety services such as fire departments, police stations, prisons, police vehicles, fire trucks, public works vehicles or equipment
- Educational services such as museums, libraries or private schools
- Utility services such as telemedicine or distance learning equipment
- Local food systems such as community gardens, food pantries, community kitchens, food banks, food hubs or greenhouses
For a complete list see Code of Federal Regulations 7 CFR 3575.24.
What are the terms of a loan guarantee?
- Maximum guarantee = 90% of the eligible loan
- One-time guarantee fee = 1% of principal loan amount times the % of guarantee
- Repayment term: useful life of the facility, state statute or 40 years, whichever is less and is negotiated between the lender/borrower, subject to USDA approval
- Interest rates: fixed or variable as negotiated between the lender/borrower, subject to USDA approval
- Loan note guarantee issued upon project completion/when conditions are met
- Combination of guaranteed loans, direct loans, grants and commercial financing may be used to finance one project if all eligibility and feasibility requirements are met
- Balloon payments and renewable notes are prohibited
Are there additional requirements?
- Applicants must have legal authority to borrow money, obtain security, repay loans, construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities
- Applicants must be unable to finance the project from their own resources and/or through commercial credit at reasonable rates and terms
- Tax exempt financing is not eligible for this program
- Lender responsible for determining credit quality and economic feasibility of proposed loan; adequacy of equity, cash flow, security, history and management capabilities
- Facilities must serve rural area where they are /will be located
- Project must demonstrate substantial community support
- Environmental review must be completed/acceptable
Who will service the loan?
The private lender that makes the loan will service the loan.
How do we get started?
- Lenders: contact your local RD office for details on how to become an approved lender
- Borrowers: ask your private lender if they participate in USDA Loan Guarantee Programs
- Applications for this program are accepted year round
- Program resources are available online (includes forms needed, guidance, certifications)
Who can answer questions?
Contact your local RD office.
What governs this program?
Code of Federal Regulation, 3575 Subpart A.
NOTE: Because citations and other information may be subject to change please always consult the program Instructions listed in the section above titled "What Law Governs this Program?" You may also contact your local office for assistance.
Source: Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program | USDA Rural Development


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What do I need to look for in a hosting provider?Learn more
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We would like to help you plan your hosting environment from the ground up. Technical consideration as well as budget and time constraints are all important factors.Learn more
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mpex is certified according to ISO 27001. Long-term information security is a consideration in everything that we do.Learn more
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H.R.4475 - Higher Education Student Protection Act116th Congress (2019-2020) |
BillHide Overview
|Rep. Malinowski, Tom [D-NJ-7] (Introduced 09/24/2019)
|House - Education and Labor
|Latest Action:
|House - 09/24/2019 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. (All Actions)
This bill has the status Introduced
Here are the steps for Status of Legislation:
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To President
- Became Law
Subject — Policy Area:
- Education
- View subjects
Amendments: H.R.4475 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)All Information (Except Text)
No amendments submitted.


text:
Cahaba Safeguard Administrators, LLC
B-401842.2: Jan 25, 2010
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
(202) 512-8278
Kenneth E. Patton
(202) 512-8205
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
Cahaba Safeguard Administrators, LLC, of Birmingham, Alabama, protests the award of a contract to AdvanceMed Corp., of Rockville, Maryland, under request for proposals (RFP) No. RFP-CMS-2008-0014, issued by Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for contracts in support of CMS's audit, oversight, and anti-fraud, waste and abuse efforts in two geographic zones (Zone 1 and Zone 2). Cahaba argues that CMS unreasonably concluded that AdvanceMed proposed an adequate strategy to mitigate its "impaired objectivity" organizational conflicts of interest (OCI) and that the agency held unequal discussions with offerors.
We sustain the protest on the basis that the agency failed to reasonably consider the awardees' proposed strategy to mitigate its conflicts.
B-401842.2, Cahaba Safeguard Administrators, LLC, January 25, 2010
The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release.
Matter of: Cahaba Safeguard Administrators, LLC
Eric J. Marcotte, Esq., Scott A. Schipma, Esq., and Mark A. Smith, Winston & Strawn LLP, for the protester.
David S. Cohen, Esq., Victor G. Klingelhofer, Esq., John J. O'Brien, Esq., and Catherine K. Kroll, Esq., Cohen Mohr LLP, for AdvanceMed Corp., an intervenor.
Anthony E. Marrone, Esq., and Jeffri Pierre, Esq., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for the agency.
Edward Goldstein, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.
1. Protest is sustained where agency failed to reasonably consider plan proposed by awardee to mitigate its impaired objectivity organizational conflicts of interest.
2. Agency's exchanges with offeror regarding its proposed mitigation strategy to address organizational conflicts of interest were not discussions such that the agency was required to reopen discussions with all offerors.
Cahaba Safeguard Administrators, LLC, of Birmingham, Alabama, protests the award of a contract to AdvanceMed Corp., of Rockville, Maryland, under request for proposals (RFP) No. RFP-CMS-2008-0014, issued by Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for contracts in support of CMS's audit, oversight, and anti-fraud, waste and abuse efforts in two geographic zones (Zone 1 and Zone 2). Cahaba argues that CMS unreasonably concluded that AdvanceMed proposed an adequate strategy to mitigate its "impaired objectivity" organizational conflicts of interest (OCI) and that the agency held unequal discussions with offerors.[1]
We sustain the protest on the basis that the agency failed to reasonably consider the awardees' proposed strategy to mitigate its conflicts.
As part of federal Medicare and Medicaid contracting reform, CMS intends to award contracts to entities referred to as Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPIC), which are to perform program integrity functions for Medicare Parts A, B, C, D, Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, and Orthotics Supplier (DMEPOS), Home Health and Hospice (HH+H), and Medi-Medi (a partnership between Medicaid and Medicare designed to enhance collaboration between the two programs to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse). CMS has established seven geographic zones under the program and it intends to have one ZPIC serving each zone. According to CMS, the mission of the ZPIC program is to promote the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs by accomplishing a variety of objectives. Specifically, ZPICs will aim to:
- Identify, stop and prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse, and refer instances of such activity to the appropriate law enforcement agencies;
- Decrease the submission of abusive and fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims;
- Recommend appropriate administrative action, to ensure appropriate and accurate payments for services are made; and
- Coordinate potential fraud, waste and abuse, which has been identified, with the appropriate Medicare and Medicaid entities.
RFP, Statement of Work, at 11; Contracting Officer's (CO) Statement at 4.
CMS issued the RFP on May 1, 2008. The RFP contemplates the award of two separate ZPIC indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contracts (geographic Zones 1 and 2). The Zone 2 award, which is at issue in this protest, covers the following states: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri. In conjunction with the award of the ID/IQ contract, the RFP also provided for the simultaneous issuance of two task orders for each Zone. Task order 0001 is for Medicare Parts A and B, DMEPOS, and HH+H, while task order 0002 is for the Medi-Medi program. RFP, at 76.
According to the RFP, offerors were required to address the solicitation's requirements for Medicare Part A, B, C, D, DMEPOS, HH+H, Medi-Medi, as well as the specific requirements for each of the two task orders. The RFP provided that "[a]ward will be made to the Offeror(s) whose proposal contains the combination of criteria offering the best overall value to the Government." RFP, at 127. In making its selection, the RFP provided that CMS would evaluate and consider each offeror's proposal based on ten weighted technical evaluation criteria, and related sub'criteria.
Importantly, section H of the RFP specified that "the Contracting Officer shall not enter into a contract with an Offeror or maintain a contract with a Contractor that the Contracting Officer determines has, or has the potential for, an unresolved organizational conflict of interest," explaining that "[i]t is essential that the contractor and the services provided to Medicare beneficiaries under this contract be free, to the greatest extent possible, of all conflicts of interest." RFP, at 144. In order to assess offerors' potential for conflicts of interest, the RFP required offerors to include with their proposals an "Organizational Conflicts of Interest Certificate," identifying all known or potential conflicts, and a strategy for mitigating those conflicts. RFP, at 144.
Regarding organizational conflicts of interest, Section M.3, Evaluation of Conflict of Interest Certification and Compliance Program, the RFP provided that CMS would review each offeror's conflict of interest submission and "make a determination if the Offeror meets the [conflict of interest] requirements." RFP, at 152. Reiterating the provisions in section H, Section M emphasized that "CMS will not enter into a contract with an entity that CMS determines has, or has the potential for, an unresolved organizational conflict of interest unless CMS determines that the risk can be sufficiently mitigated." RFP, at 152.
On June 9, 2008, CMS received four proposals, including those of Cahaba and AdvanceMed. As it relates to the protest, CMS performed an initial review of the information provided by the offerors concerning their conflicts of interest. In its proposal, AdvanceMed provided information regarding potential conflicts of interest and proposed various mitigation strategies to address particular areas of concern. According to CMS, AdvanceMed acknowledged a potential conflict of interest due to impaired objectivity as a consequence of Medicare Part D contracts held by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), which is AdvanceMed's ultimate parent company, and CMS concluded that AdvanceMed's proposed mitigation strategies "do not appear to overcome this Impaired Objectivity Conflict of Interest."[2] AR, N-1.a.1, Initial Conflict of Interest Review, at 6-8.
CMS then held discussions with offerors and in its discussions with AdvanceMed, CMS identified issues with its conflict of interest mitigation plan. Although AdvanceMed sought to address the agency's concerns in its final proposal submission, its efforts proved to be insufficient. Specifically, the contracting officer found that CSC's role as a subcontractor to [DELETED] for services related to its Medicare Part D plans, created the potential for an OCI. In this regard, the contracting officer determined that this relationship created an "impaired objectivity OCI for Part D" since AdvanceMed "may find [itself] evaluating work that is being performed by its parent company, CSC." AR, Tab N-2.b.1, Pre'award OCI Analysis, at 5. In a similar vein, the contracting officer concluded that functions under another CSC contract held by CSC--a contract with [DELETED] to perform services for that company's Part D plan-- "also could pose an impaired objectivity [conflict of interest] as the Zone 2 ZPIC could be called upon to review services performed by CSC." Id. Regarding each of these identified conflicts, the contracting officer specified that "[e]ven though Part D work is not being awarded at this time, AdvanceMed must identify an adequate mitigation strategy it intends to put in place to address this Part C&D OCI."[3] Id.
Having considered the conflicts identified by AdvanceMed, the contracting officer considered AdvanceMed's proposed mitigation strategies, and found them to be inadequate. Specifically, in an effort to neutralize its conflicts, AdvanceMed proposed to implement a National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) model proxy agreement, which would involve transferring CSC and DynCorp voting interests in AdvanceMed to a reconfigured AdvanceMed board of directors consisting of five independent members. This new board, among others, would oversee the conflict detection and mitigation process.
Apart from the contracting officer's concern that key features of AdvanceMed's NISPOM plan were undefined, the contracting officer concluded that the mitigation strategy would not adequately address the identified impaired objectivity conflicts since "AdvanceMed employees will know they are evaluating their parent company" and "AdvanceMed will still be working toward the financial and program goals of the entire CSC enterprise." AR, Tab N-2.b.1, Pre-award OCI Analysis, at 6.
The contracting officer also rejected a separate mitigation plan proposed by AdvanceMed, which involved the use of a number of fire-walled subcontractors to act as "gate keepers" where conflicts are identified. According to the contracting officer, "[AdvanceMed's] subcontracting approach is not feasible or workable as it places additional contractual requirements on both CMS, [law enforcement] and other ZPICs to participate in steering committees for its proactive workload." AR, Tab N-2.b.1, Pre-award OCI Analysis, at 7. In addition, the contracting officer was concerned that CMS could not ascertain the impact of this approach on AdvanceMed's technical approach and cost. Id.
On September 30, 2009, based on the technical and price evaluation, AdvanceMed's proposal was determined to represent the best value to the government. The contracting officer, however, contacted AdvanceMed that day and informed it that CMS was unable to accept AdvanceMed's proposal based on the identified conflicts and explained that AdvanceMed's proposed mitigation strategies were considered unacceptable.[4] The contracting officer then provided AdvanceMed with an opportunity to respond to CMS's concerns.
AdvanceMed forwarded a letter from CSC, dated that same day (September 30) purporting to "amend" AdvanceMed's OCI mitigation plan. The body of the letter, in its entirety, reads as follows:
In the event that CMS issues a task order to AdvanceMed for Medicare Part C or D efforts, CSC, at its discretion, will divest AdvanceMed; terminate the Part D contracts that it has with [DELETED] and [DELETED]; or retain the Part D contracts with [DELETED] and [DELETED], but subcontract out the functions that pose an OCI with the work of AdvanceMed under any Medicare Part C/D task order(s).
AR, Tab N-2.a.2.
In a memorandum also dated September 30, the contracting officer concluded that the above response was acceptable and that AdvanceMed was eligible for award of the ZPIC Zone 2 contract. In connection with this determination, the contracting officer wrote the following:
The CO has determined that AdvanceMed's implementation of the above mitigation strategy does not cause any change in AdvanceMed's technical or cost proposal submitted on July 9, 2009, as the mitigation would not take effect until such time as a Part C&D task order is issued. Further, two of the mitigation strategies solely involve CSC (CSC terminating its C&D contracts with Universal American and HealthNet or CSC subcontracting out the conflicted work). The other mitigation strategy, total divestiture of AdvanceMed, includes some uncertainties as to the particulars of the divestiture that are and cannot be known at this time. If total divestiture of AdvanceMed occurs, the CO will ensure that they are done so and are in compliance with FAR novation requirements and ensure that Government does not pay any increased costs due to the divestiture.
AR, Tab R-3, at 12.
Thereafter, CMS made award to AdvanceMed and Cahaba filed this protest.
Cahaba asserts that CMS acted unreasonably in concluding that the amended mitigation strategy presented in the letter from CSC was acceptable. We agree.
Contracting officers are required to identify potential conflicts of interest as early in the acquisition process as possible. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) sections 9.505, 9.508. Situations that create potential conflicts of interest include situations in which a firm's work under a government contract entails evaluating itself. The concern in such "impaired objectivity" situations is that a firm's ability to render impartial advice to the government will be undermined by its relationship to the product or service being evaluated. PURVIS Sys., Inc., B'293807.3, B'293807.4, Aug. 16, 2004, 2004 CPD para. 177 at 7. The primary responsibility for determining whether a conflict is likely to arise, and the resulting appropriate action, rests with the contracting agency. FAR sect. 9.505; RMG Sys., Ltd., B'281006, Dec. 18, 1998, 98'2 CPD para. 153 at 4. Once an agency has given meaningful consideration to potential conflicts of interest, our Office will not sustain a protest challenging a determination in this area unless the determination is unreasonable or unsupported by the record. Alion Sci. & Tech. Corp., B'297022.4, B-297022.5, Sept. 26, 2006, 2006 CPD para. 146 at 8.
Here, it is undisputed that AdvanceMed's proposal presents the potential for an impaired objectivity conflict of interest where AdvanceMed, as a ZPIC contractor, could be placed in the position of evaluating its parent corporation, CSC, in connection with CSC's Medicare Part D work. The contracting officer initially determined that AdvanceMed was ineligible for award, finding that AdvanceMed's proposed mitigation strategies were inadequate. In making this initial determination, the record reflects that the contracting officer exercised deliberate care in analyzing and documenting her review of the conflicts identified by AdvanceMed in its proposal, and the mitigation plan proposed by AdvanceMed to address these conflicts. Specifically, the record reflects the contracting officer's consideration of a detailed analysis of AdvanceMed's conflicts and proposed mitigation strategies, prepared by a CMS compliance policy specialist, as well the contracting officer's own conclusions and documented analysis. CO Supplemental Statement, at 4; AR, Tab N-2.b.1, Pre-award OCI Analysis.
In contrast to the contracting officer's initial, deliberate evaluation of the conflicts posed by award to AdvanceMed and mitigation strategies, the record reflects a seemingly last-minute and hasty acceptance of AdvanceMed's "amended" mitigation strategy, which itself comprised a single sentence. The contracting officer's immediate acceptance of this revised mitigation approach is defective in several respects. As an initial matter, it is readily apparent that the amended plan lacks the necessary level of detail to reasonably assess the viability of AdvanceMed's mitigation approach. While the plan identified three potential approaches to mitigate the identified conflicts, there are no details explaining how any of the plans would work or when they would, or could, be implemented. This lack of detail is significant given the inherently complex nature of the proposed strategies, which could involve divestiture of a large corporate entity. Given the plan's inherent lack of detail, it is not surprising that the record does not contain any analysis by CMS addressing the viability of the various plans.
CMS attempts to justify its lack of analysis by arguing that the work which gives rise to the conflict, the Medicare Part C and D work, would not be ordered until some point in the future--suggesting that AdvanceMed did not need to provide a detailed mitigation plan for this work, notwithstanding the identified potential conflicts. CMS's arguments in this regard, however, are contrary to the terms of the solicitation and CMS's contemporaneous consideration of AdvanceMed's conflicts.
Specifically, sections H and M of the RFP established that CMS would not enter into a contract with an entity that has the potential for an unresolved OCI. This requirement expressly applied to the Medicare Part C and D related work where the solicitation provided as follows:
At this time, task orders will not be awarded for Part C and Part D. CMS may award a task order for Part C and Part D no earlier than October 2009. Although a Part C and/or Part D task order is not being awarded at this time, Offerors are required to propose on the [statement of work] requirements for Part C and D as outlined in Section M. Offerors will be required to provide an acceptable Conflict of Interest mitigation strategy to CMS . . . if award of Part C and/or D is an actual or perceived Conflict of Interest.
RFP, at 83-84.
Moreover, Medicare Part C and D services were an integral part of the agency's technical evaluation; 10 of 12 technical approach sub-criteria involved capability to perform Part C and D work. RFP, at 140-146.
Further, during evaluation of proposals, the contemporaneous documentation reflects the contracting officer's recognition of the need for AdvanceMed to submit, with its proposal, an adequate strategy to mitigate its Medicare Part D conflicts. In fact, regarding these conflicts, the contracting officer specifically stated, "[e]ven though Part D work is not being awarded at this time, AdvanceMed must identify an adequate mitigation strategy it intends to put in place to address this Part C&D OCI." AR, Tab N-2.b.1, Pre-award OCI Analysis, at 5-6. Significantly, AdvanceMed's failure to provide an adequate strategy to address the Part D conflicts resulted in the contracting officer's initial determination that AdvanceMed was ineligible for award. Based on this record, it is clear that AdvanceMed was required to submit, and CMS was required to evaluate, a mitigation strategy which CMS could reasonably conclude would resolve AdvanceMed's Medicare Part D conflicts. As set forth above, this did not happen.
In addition to the undefined and general nature of AdvanceMed's amended mitigation plan, various aspects of the plan are fundamentally problematic. Since implementation of one of the three identified mitigation strategies is entirely at CSC's "discretion," each of the three options must be capable of effectively mitigating the identified conflicts.[5] It is apparent, however, that the contracting officer has focused her attention on the viability of only one of the three options--divestiture. In a supplemental statement in response to the protest, she specifically indicates a "preference" for CSC's divestiture of AdvanceMed, notwithstanding the fact that the terms, timing, and process for such an involved process are entirely undefined and there is a concomitant lack of understanding regarding the viability of such an option. Supplemental CO Statement, at 7. Moreover, while the contracting officer readily admits to her "concerns regarding the feasibility of CSC using subcontracting to mitigate conflicts," this option "did not alarm" her because it was only one of the three possibilities and CMS had "reserved the right to terminate the contract." Id.
We think that the contracting officer's underlying concerns regarding the "subcontracting" option are understandable. While CSC indicates a general plan to "subcontract out the functions that pose an OCI with the work of AdvanceMed," it is not apparent how such an option would be feasible or effectively mitigate the conflict. As a ZPIC contractor, AdvanceMed would be responsible for identifying fraud, waste, or abuse by performing audit-type activities. Because such work may necessarily involve a retrospective look at the activities performed by a particular entity, it is not apparent how CSC's post-award subcontracting of the particular Medicare Part D work would insulate AdvanceMed from potentially auditing Medicare Part D work previously performed by CSC. In addition, it is not apparent how use of subcontractors in this situation would address the fundamental concern in connection with AdvanceMed's impaired objectivity--AdvanceMed being placed in the position of reviewing the work of its parent, CSC. Since CSC would ultimately remain contractually responsible for the functions it subcontracts, AdvanceMed's review of work performed by CSC's subcontractors could be considered a review of CSC's contractual obligations and responsibilities.[6] Thus, AdvanceMed could be viewed as in the position of evaluating CSC, notwithstanding CSC's use of an intervening layer of subcontractors.
In addition, regarding the latter point raised by the contracting officer--that CMS's reservation of the right to terminate AdvanceMed's contract somehow negated the need for AdvanceMed to submit an adequate mitigation strategy--this argument flies in the face of the solicitation, which, as discussed above, expressly provided that the agency would not make award to an offeror with an unmitigated conflict. Accordingly, we sustain the protest on the basis that CMS failed to reasonably consider or evaluate the OCI mitigation strategy ultimately proposed by the awardee, AdvanceMed.[7]
As a final related matter, Cahaba argues that the exchanges between CMS and AdvanceMed regarding AdvanceMed's OCI mitigation plan constituted discussions, which, therefore, should have been held with Cahaba as well. We disagree.
Where an agency holds exchanges with an offeror regarding the offeror's plan to mitigate identified conflicts of interest, we have held that such exchanges do not constitute discussions and, as a consequence, they do not trigger the requirement to hold discussions with other offerors. See Overlook Systems Technologies, Inc., B'298099.4, B-298099.5, Nov. 28, 2006, 2006 CPD para. 185. Rather, such exchanges are more closely related to matters concerning the offeror's responsibility. Id. at 20.
In this regard, the FAR states as follows:
The contracting officer shall award the contract to the apparent successful offeror unless a conflict of interest is determined to exist that cannot be avoided or mitigated. Before determining to withhold award based on conflict of interest considerations, the contracting officer shall notify the contractor, provide the reasons, therefore, and allow the contractor a reasonable opportunity to respond.
FAR sect. 9.504(e).
As explained in Overlook, this provision contemplates a review after evaluations are completed and after an apparent awardee has been identified--it does not suggest reopening discussions with all offerors.
Here, after identifying AdvanceMed as the apparently successful offeror but for concerns regarding unmitigated conflicts, the agency gave AdvanceMed an opportunity to respond to the concerns in this regard. CMS's actions, while ultimately flawed, were consistent with the process outlined in FAR sect. 9.504(e). To the extent the protester argues that the agency provided AdvanceMed with additional information regarding the timing of the agency's issuance of future task orders (specifically, when it intended to issue task orders for Medicare Parts C and D work) during its exchanges, which necessitated opening discussions with all offerors, this information related solely to the need for and viability of AdvanceMed's amended mitigation strategy, and did not result in AdvanceMed making any changes to its proposal in terms of its technical approach or price.[8] Accordingly, we conclude that CMS's exchanges with AdvanceMed regarding its OCI plan, did not constitute discussions.
We recommend that the agency reconsider its determination that AdvanceMed is eligible for award based on the amended OCI mitigation plan submitted on behalf of AdvanceMed by its parent company, CSC. In addition, we recommend that the protester be reimbursed its costs of filing and pursuing the protest, limited to the issues in connection with its OCI arguments, including reasonable attorneys' fees. 4 C.F.R. sect. 21.8(d)(1) (2009). The protester should submit its certified claim, detailing the time expended and costs incurred, directly to the contracting agency within 60 days of receiving this decision. 4 C.F.R. sect. 21.8(f)(1).
The protest is sustained.
Lynn H. Gibson
Acting General Counsel
[1] Cahaba also argues that CMS's evaluation of offerors' proposals was flawed, the discussions CMS conducted with Cahaba were not meaningful, and that CMS failed to make a reasonable tradeoff decision in its selection of AdvanceMed's proposal as the best value to the government. We have reviewed these allegations and conclude that they do not provide a basis to sustain Cahaba's protest.
[2] As explained by CMS, AdvanceMed is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DynCorp, which is wholly owned by CSC.
[3] While the parties at times refer to AdvanceMed's conflicts in terms of both Medicare Parts C and D, it is apparent from the record that CMS's concerns were limited to AdvanceMed's conflicts associated with Medicare Part D.
[4] The record reflects that Cahaba also had issues with impaired objectivity OCIs; however, the contracting officer concluded that Cahaba's mitigation strategy was acceptable. AR, Tab N-2.b.1, Pre-award OCI Analysis, at 10.
[5] The protester also argues that the amended mitigation strategy at issue is unenforceable, and therefore unacceptable, because it was submitted by CSC and CMS would not be in privity of contract with CSC.
[6] This decision does not stand for the proposition that the subcontracting mitigation strategy identified in AdvanceMed's amended plan is not viable under any circumstances. Rather, based on the particular record in this case, where few details regarding the approach are provided, and given the limited record of the agency's analysis of the matter, there is no basis to reasonably conclude that the approach adequately addresses AdvanceMed's identified Medicare Part D conflicts.
[7] Cahaba also argues that AdvanceMed is ineligible for award based on impaired objectivity conflicts of interest stemming from CSC's healthcare consulting line of business. Cahaba alleges that this business "involves CSC's intimate involvement with provider health care charging and compliance practices that will be subject to review under the ZPIC program." Protester's Supplemental Comments at 12. Although the contemporaneous record reflects the contracting officer's conclusion that AdvanceMed's consulting services present the potential for a conflict, in a supplemental filing, the contracting officer asserts, without any explanation, that this aspect of the record is in error. Given our decision in this case, we recommend that the agency fully consider the potential conflicts associated with CSC's healthcare consulting business activities in any corrective action it takes and document its analysis in this regard.
[8] While we conclude, based on the particular facts in this case, that the agency was not required to reopen discussions with all offerors based on its exchanges with AdvanceMed regarding its conflict of interest mitigation strategy, it may be that reopening discussions would be appropriate under different circumstances where exchanges regarding an offeror's conflicts of interest and mitigation strategy result in material changes to an offeror's proposal in terms of its technical approach or price.
Dec 3, 2020
HurtVet Subcontracting, LLC
We deny the protest.
IDS International Government Services, LLC
We sustain the protest.
Dec 2, 2020
Federal Conference.com
We deny the protest.
Dec 1, 2020
Tactical Network Corporation
We deny the protest.
Summit Technologies, Inc.
We deny the protest.
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2021 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update, Home Health Quality Reporting Program Requirements, and Home Infusion Therapy Services and Supplier Enrollment Requirements; and Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model Data Submission Requirements
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Following the latest government advice, our store is now temporary closed until such time as restrictions can be lifted.
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text:
IMF Survey, Volume 35, Issue 08 »
Volume/Issue: 35/8
Series: IMF Survey
Author(s): International Monetary Fund. External Relations Dept.
Publisher: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
Publication Date: 03 May 2006
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5089/9781451968095.023
Keywords: international monetary fund, economic cooperation, development economics, Employees. Resignation, International Economic Cooperation, International Monetary Fund (imf). Finance, Krueger, Anne O, Organizational Change, Petroleum Products. Prices
Spring Meeting overview; IMFC communique; IMF medium-term strategy; Krueger to resign; World Economic Outlook; Sub-Saharan Africa outlook; Asia outlook; Western Hemisphere outlook; Dealing with scaled-up aid....


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In an attempt to keep my sanity, I started a small database of Mierzejewskis as I located them through immigration records from Ellis Island. This is in no way complete–these were the "easy" targets I've located so far. These records do not include any variations in spelling nor immigration records from anywhere except Ellis Island.
The records are located here. Consider it a work in progress. As I located new records, I will update.


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Search APASS Data Release 10:
March 27, 2012: A possible nova in the LMC [Nova LMC 2012] discovered at unfiltered magnitude 10.7 on 2012 March 26.397 UT (name of discoverer not given) was reported on the IAU CBAT Transient Objects Confirmation Page (TOCP). Spectra indicate the object may be a recurrent nova.
J. Hambsch reports that as of March 28.04 UT, the object appears to be fading fast and is at least one magnitude fainter than 24 hours ago.
Latitude and longitude: 32:48:12N, 105:28:29W (+32.80333, -105.4747)
Elevation: 7100ft (2164m)
Site manager: Tom Smith
Internet access: DSL
Weather statistics: 30% photometric, 40% usable, 30% cloudy
Typical good seasons: April-June and September-October
Latitude and longitude: -30:10:20 , 70:48:00W
Elevation: 2100m
Site manager: CTIO
Internet access: T1
Weather statistics: 60% photometric, 30% usable 10% cloudy
Typical good seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall
AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS)
Data Release 1
September 10, 2010
Arne Henden (AAVSO), Matthew Templeton (AAVSO), Dirk Terrell (SwRI), Tom C. Smith (DRO), Stephen Levine (Lowell), Doug Welch (McMaster)


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Date : 4th to 5th century BC (the dating of these is not 100% certain).
Denomination : Bronze Dolphin (the exact denomination is not known).
Reference : Sear Greek - 1684
Size : 26.5 mm long. Weight : 1.65 grams.
Grade : gF
Shaped like Dolphins, there is no real doubt these cast bronzes were used as an early form of money. This type has no inscriptions (there are some scarce types with moneyer's names on them) but there is no doubt the were issued from Olbia in Thrace.
利率: 12/03/20