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You may be familiar with the term fund of funds from the world of investments. It refers to a mutual fund that invests in other mutual funds; in the same vein, a fund of hedge funds invests in several different hedge funds. Hold that thought.
Regular readers know that we frequently post about a proposed new facility called the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), one of two labs in the United States where nuclear-weapon design work is conducted. On January 18, the independent watchdog POGO (Project On Government Oversight) released a report by by one of its investigators, Peter Stockton, titled "U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: Energy Department Plans to Waste Billions of Dollars on Unneeded Los Alamos Lab Facility."
The CMRR-NF replacement facility, they write:
… will take over [the existing Chemistry and Metallurgy Research facility's] main functions of housing laboratory space for the research and development of … elements such as plutonium and … will add a vault capable of holding six metric tons of plutonium. CMRR-NF "will operate in an integrated fashion" with LANL's existing Plutonium Facility 4 … and will free up space [for] PF-4 to manufacture pits.
Nuclear pits are, as the authors write, "the plutonium triggers at the core of nuclear weapons" — in other words, the living breathing heart of the warhead where the chain reaction occurs. The overriding issue of the need for nuclear weapons aside, the problem with the CMRR-NF can be broken down into two — inevitably intertwined — components.
First, the estimated cost of just that one building has ballooned from $375 million to between $3.71 to $5.9 billion. Second –dealing with the issue of nuclear weapons on a relative, rather than absolute level — are more pits needed to maintain the United States nuclear-weapons program? The authors write:
… the need to build any new pits is aggressively challenged by numerous experts from the nuclear weapons complex. In a 2009 hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development … Philip Coyle, a former associate director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [cited] the pits already stored at Pantex Plant in Texas as an alternative to the [National Nuclear Security Administration's] supposed need for a new facility to manufacture 80 new pits per year. Pantex stockpiles over 14,000 pits and has the capacity to store up to 20,000 pits [and is] authorized to reuse up to 350 pits per year. [While it] was originally feared that the plutonium in pits would gradually degrade over time. … the independent JASON advisory panel found in 2007 that [the pits] have credible minimum lifetimes in excess of 100 years."
Furthermore (emphasis added):
… to extend the life of the warhead, [the National Nuclear Security Administration] has the Life Extension Program (LEP), which aims to increase the lifetimes of existing weapons by refurbishing and replacing certain components as necessary. [Most of this work] will be finished by the time CMRR-NF is [or would be — RW] operational in 2023. In addition, as a result of New START and the Nuclear Posture Review [there will be] even fewer warheads [that] will need to go through LEP by the time CMRR-NF is completed. These factors mean that CMRR-NF may be unnecessary.
After all, in a time when the triggers for nuclear war between major powers have been minimized, why must the nuclear-weapons program be awash in nuclear triggers? Between Pantex and Los Alamos, it's a veritable pit of pits.
Therefore, the authors of the POGO report recommend:
1) The Administration and DOE [Department of Energy] should cancel CMRR-NF and zero out funding for the project in the upcoming budget.
2) If the Administration and DOE fail to act, Congress should cancel funding for CMRR-NF in its next appropriations bill.
3) NNSA should continue using existing facilities, at LANL and elsewhere, in the nuclear weapons complex to meet credible nuclear modernization requirements.
To prevent future projects such as the CMRR-NF:
4) Congress should amend [the] National Defense Authorization Act … to improve the oversight of major cost overruns and schedule delays at the DOE.
5) Congress should require independent cost estimates of major DOE construction projects at an early milestone.
In his latest Los Alamos Study Group bulletin, Greg Mello refers to an article in the Nuclear Weapons and Materials Monitor for a status update.
… the Administration said it expected to spend $300 million on CMRR-NF in [Fiscal Year] 2012 and FY2013, but Congress had already begun to balk at the price tag, providing just $200 million in FY2012 with explicit instructions prohibiting the start of preliminary construction activities. …. "The eventual demise of CMRR-NF has been inevitable, given its lack of justification and astronomical cost," said [Mello, whose] organization has parallel lawsuits that contend that NNSA hasn't fully analyzed alternatives to building CMRR-NF.
As for that "eventual demise," Mello writes in the LASG bulletin:
Yes, failure of this project has been inevitable sooner or later. … There is a huge difference, however, between "sooner" and "later." By far the best outcome for all parties would be to end the project now, rather than building up to a bigger fiasco later. As I said [elsewhere],
Assuming the current rumors are true, the main thing now is to stop additional expenditures immediately, mid-year, rather than winding down the project gradually and wasting even more money.
As with our wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the decision may finally be made to wind down, but, along with casualties, untold riches continue to be expended in the process.


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At the edge of Crown Height's Jewish neighborhood, we walked through the tall glass paned doors of Basil Pizza and Wine Bar (270 Kingston Ave; Brooklyn, NY 11213; Telephone: 718.285.8777). We were greeted by the lovely homey smells coming from their large wood oven, clearly center staged by design, partnered with an open bar and cooking area. Soft relaxing Latin music permeated a high vaulted room adorned with 13 honey jar shaped glass lanterns hanging at variegated heights back-dropped by a glass fronted honey comb wine casement. Marble top tables and dark rustic wooden chairs filled the room commodiously, seating 45 comfortably.
The pizza and wine bar opened its doors in late February of this year. Just a few months in, with an extensive gourmet dairy menu created by his predecessor, Chef Adam (who started his culinary training in Italy's Costa D'Amalfi – then the restaurant's sous-chef – was suddenly asked to take the helm as chef de cuisine. Like the young Luciano Pavoratti in February 1965 – who was asked to replace the regular tenor – in an evening's fateful performance (Donizzetti's Lucia de Lamermoor) at the Greater Miami Opera, young Chef Adam stepped up to the plate prevailing successfully without missing a single high note apparently, for he served up dish after dish of consistently delicious Basil favorites.
We began this, our latest restaurant adventure, with their Wild Mushroom Pizza made with Goat Cheese, Mozzarella and Truffle Oil, we took a side dish of their signature Basil Fries, sprinkled with Fresh Parmesan aside a Garlic-Truffle Mayo Dip- clearly – not for the faint hearted. Both were delicious. The thin crusted pizza dough (made with imported Italian flour) was terrific, as were the wild mushrooms and goat cheese topping. CS predictably downed a respectable number of fries, loving the crispy strips dipped in truffle mayo. We both opted for Tishbi's Chenin Blanc to accompany our meal. It was perfect for the table fare and the balmy summer afternoon. I had a respectable Arugula and Beets Salad topped with medallions of warm goat cheese sprinkled with pine nuts and a truffle vinaigrette.
CS, gnocchi Gnostic that he is, couldn't help but devour the Goat Cheese Gnocchi Gratin rich with Tomatoes, Spinach and Parmesan Bread Crumbs. He found it flavorful, authentic Italian Campagna, done to perfection! We sampled three more mains; spinach ricotta dumplings, striped bass, and a saffron risotto. I went for their Striped Bass, with Charred Fennel, Pea Risotto and Meyer Lemon Cream. Presentation was outstanding as you can see from the pictures below (we had a very, very tough time settling on only three photos of the dishes!). The charred fennel was set like a sail atop a perfectly cooked striped bass a sea in a gustable green pea risotto. The Spinach and Ricotta Dumplings with Melted Mozzarella were ambrosial- especially with the enfolded Tomatoes Roasted for 24 hours in Balsamic Vinegar, fennel seeds and just the right touch of chili flakes. Basil buys mozzarella curd and stretches it on location, enhancing the flavor that much more. The Saffron Risotto with Forest Mushrooms, Grilled White Asparagus, was quite aromatic. The forest mushrooms and white asparagus were savory & toothsome, though at this point we were quite full.
We'll have to come back and meet their pastry chef, Ehud Ezra; word on the street is that he is an amazing talent. A graduate of the Institute for Culinary Education, he trained at Oceana in Manhattan and was Pastry Chef for several years at Whole Foods (among other prestigious establishments), before coming to Basil, we tasted his Meyer Lemon Ricotta Cheese Cake served with Turkish Fig Puree and Melon. He's there at 5:00 am preparing his croissants and other pastries, opening for breakfast service at 7:30 am. Chef Adam also treated us to a tasting of his home-made colorful Sorbet Trio and Basil Ice Cream (made from basil, you read it right!). Yummmm!
Sitting on the cusp of this Lubavitch neighborhood, Basil stands at the edge of new cuisine and ambiance territory. The reluctant humble yet flight worthy fledgling chef and his team run a successful operation with the help of their warm friendly manager Clara Perez, whose respect and reverie for the Lubavitch community is admirable. The convergence of crossed cultures amongst their staff and the harmonious blend of clientele dining together with Basil's good food its nucleus, is nothing short of chevlei mashiach amazing. The obstacles were many; it shouldn't work but it does, remarkably so! Some places are just plain blessed that way.

subset: commoncrawl


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Today in the news: Violence Against Women Act passes
News to know
The Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act passed in the House of Representatives today after a Republican version was defeated, CNN reports.
The Violence Against Women Act was originally passed in 1994 and has been reauthorized since. The GOP version of the bill removed provisions that helped prosecution of crimes against women on Indian reservations and helped include LGBT and undocumented women. This version was voted down 166-257. The Senate version was then passed with unanimous support from House Democrats and 87 Republicans.
Quote of note
"I will only be the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church until 8 p.m and then no longer. I will simply be a pilgrim who is starting the last phase of his pilgrimage on this earth." - Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict was officially no longer pope at 2 p.m. EST.
Hot video: Woman to let Internet name baby
GateHouse News Service


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What to Watch: Dance troupe defies gravity
Hot video: Troupe dances on walls
Trending topic
Oprah Winfrey has announced that her interview with Lance Armstrong has so much material, she's turning into a two-night special, Yahoo reports. The interview, in which Armstrong supposedly admits to using performance enhancing drugs during his Tour de France wins, will air Thursday and Friday nights. Winfrey said the interview was "difficult" and "emotional" for Armstrong.
If Yahoo searches are any indication, the public is eagerly awaiting the details. Searches for "Lance Armstrong admission" are up 570 percent, and searches for "Lance Armstrong Oprah interview" have increased 553 percent.
On TV
Season four of "Face Off" premieres tonight. The "Battle Royale" of makeup artists begins with a challenge to transform models into goblin kings. Syfy, 9 p.m. EST.
GateHouse News Service


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Ionia GOP launches membership renewal drive
The Ionia County Republican Party is sending 500 letters and emails to Ionia County residents in a drive to renew and increase membership. With this year's mailings, the committee hopes to receive renewals from all current members and to recruit new members to strengthen the party's efforts to support Republican candidates.
During the 2012 elections, the party donated time, talent and treasure to seven Republican candidates running for local, state and national offices. Now the party wants to gear up for next year's elections.
"The elections in 2014 will be critical," said Robert Van Lente, chair of the county party. "Can you imagine Michigan without Rick Snyder, Brian Calley, Ruth Johnson or Bill Schuette? Without Mike Callton, Judy Emmons or Lisa Lyons? Can you imagine the U.S. Congress without the stalwart Justin Amash? All of these good Republicans and more will be running for reelection in 2014."
The party raises funds from annual memberships and by hosting an annual Lincoln Day Dinner in Portland, Free Fair Tent Dinner in Ionia, and Fall Rally in Belding.
Committee Treasurer and Fundraising Committee Chair Miranda Sharp said she hopes for a good response to the annual drive.
"Anyone who is not on our mailing list but wants to join us can do that on our Website at ioniagop.org, or by mail to P.O. Box 215, Ionia, Mich. 48846 – or at one of our meetings," she said.
The party meets Jan. 17, and again on Feb. 7 and March 21. Meetings start at 7 p.m. and are held at the Ionia Emergency Services, Central Dispatch Building at 545 Appletree Drive. The meetings are open to anyone interested in the Republican Party.


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Philippi, West Virginia Banks - 3 Bank Branches in Philippi, WV
There are 3 bank branches and locations in Philippi, West Virginia to choose from and do business with. Our database of banks in Philippi, WV include all FDIC insured banks that do business in Philippi, West Virginia. Monitorbankrates.com offers this free list of banks in Philippi, West Virginia so you can easily decide on which bank to use to open a deposit account.
Philippi, WV currently has 3 bank branches with total deposits of $208,626,000.
If you're looking for a fixed rate on a deposit you can search Philippi, West Virginia banks to find the best CD rates. Looking for a variable rate deposit product? You can also search through the banks listed in Philippi, West Virginia to find the highest savings rates or money market rates. If you're looking for a mortgage, you can compare mortgage rates from several Philippi, WV banks. Credit card rates and auto loan rates are also quoted by most banks in Philippi, WV.
Philippi, West Virginia Banks
There are several factors to take into consideration when comparing banks in Philippi, West Virginia. Factors include, the bank's locations in Philippi, West Virginia. Is a bank's branch close you where you live or in the city or town you live in? All Philippi, WV banks have different banking hours so you also have to make sure the bank's hours work for your schedule.
Online Banking for Philippi, WV Banks
Even more of a consideration when selection an Philippi, West Virginia bank is what kind of online banking does the bank offer? Online banking is very convenient and you might find you do more banking online when you would in person at a branch location in Philippi, WV. Most banks give banking customers access to all types of deposit accounts, including savings accounts, money market accounts, certificate of deposit accounts and checking accounts.
Philippi, WV Banks Mobile Banking
Online banking in Philippi, WV has been around for almost 20 years now but mobile banking for Philippi, WV banks is a newer feature. When selecting a bank to do business with in Philippi, WV be sure to select a bank that has robust mobile banking. The good news is most banks in Philippi, WV offer mobile banking. Advances in mobile banking include checking accounts, online bill payment, and depositing checks with your phone by taking a photo of the front and back of a check. How convenient is that? A lot more than going down to a branch location and depositing a check.
Banks in Philippi, WV


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A former Navy SEAL known for claiming a record number of sniper killings in Iraq was one of two men shot dead at a Texas gun range, allegedly at the hands of a fellow military veteran, officials say.
Chris Kyle, the author of the best-selling "American Sniper," and Chad Littlefield, also a veteran, were gunned down Saturday afternoon on the grounds of the expansive Rough Creek Lodge and Resort in Glen Rose, Texas, southwest of Fort Worth, law enforcement officials said.
About four hours afterward, and 90 miles from where those two men's bodies were found by a hunting guide, authorities arrested suspect Eddie Ray Routh, 25, on a capital murder warrant.
Routh's family members could not be reached immediately for comment Sunday. No attorney has made a public statement on his behalf.
Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Sunday that he believes the suspect is in the process of seeking a court-appointed attorney.
While Routh's sister said he had admitted shooting Kyle and Littlefield, he didn't explain to her why he did it, Bryant said. Routh isn't believed to have confessed to local authorities about killing the two men. The motive for the killings is unclear.
"I don't know that we'll ever know," Erath County Sheriff's Capt. Jason Upshaw said Sunday. "(Routh) is the only one that knows that."
Sheriff: Suspect spent four years in Marines
The Rough Creek Lodge is a large facility that draws couples getting married, business people using its conference center and families looking for a getaway. Hunting and shooting sports are some of the many recreational options available on its grounds.
Kyle, Littlefield and Routh were three such visitors, arriving together around 3:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. ET) Saturday and proceeding to a shooting range within the resort's 11,000 acres, Bryant told reporters Sunday. The range is in a "very remote part" of the sprawling complex, Upshaw explained.
"So there wasn't anybody anywhere close to that," he said, explaining there are no known witnesses.
The first sign something was wrong came when a hunting guide tied to the facility found 38-year-old Kyle and 35-year-old Littlefield -- both unconscious -- around 5 p.m., Bryant said.
He went to the lodge and called 911. Law enforcement officers followed up and found the bodies but no sign of Routh. He had taken off in Kyle's black Ford pickup, the Erath County sheriff said.
Around the time an all-points bulletin went out for that truck, authorities got a call from Routh's sister, who reported that her brother had driven about 65 miles to her home in Midlothian, Texas, and admitted to shooting Kyle and Littlefield.
Routh left his sister's house, and police eventually caught up with him -- and the truck -- shortly before 8 p.m. at his home in Lancaster, a Dallas suburb some 90 miles northeast of the shooting scene. While talking with authorities outside, he'd somehow gotten back in the truck and sped away.
Authorities chased him and finally stopped him, around 9 p.m., after spiking his tires some four to six miles down the road, according to Bryant.
Routh did not struggle with officers as they were arresting him, Bryant said. On Sunday morning, he was arraigned on murder charges and ordered held on $3 million bond.
After that, Routh sat in a jail cell "all by himself," separated from the rest of the inmate population and watched closely by guards, according to Bryant.
So who is Eddie Ray Routh?
|Eddie Ray Routh
Public records show Routh previously lived at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, though his latest address was in Lancaster, Texas.
At the time of shooting, he was unemployed. Bryant said that Routh's mother, a longtime schoolteacher, "may have reached out to Mr. Kyle to try and help her son."
'He led by example,' Kyle's friend says
Kyle learned to shoot on hunting trips with his father, then went on to serve four combat tours in Iraq with the SEALs, though his official biography notes he also worked with Army and Marine units. He received two Silver Stars and other commendations before leaving the Navy in 2009 -- claiming that, in his years as a sniper, he'd killed more than 150 people, which he called a record for an American.
In the interview with Time magazine (like CNN, a part of Time Warner), Kyle said he did not regret any of his kills. He also said he was "comfortable" with the possibility that that part of his life might be over.
He added, "I'm a better husband and father than I was a killer."
After having worked under the radar for so many years, he became a celebrity with the 2012 release of his book, which became a New York Times best-seller.
Defending his decision to divulge so much detail despite the secretive nature of the SEAL world, Kyle told Time that he was "not trying to glory myself."
"I didn't want to put the number of kills I had in there," he said. "I wanted to get it out about the sacrifices military families have to make."
He said that while killing did not come easy at first, he knew it meant saving lives.
"The first time, you're not even sure you can do it," he said in the interview. "But I'm not over there looking at these people as people. I'm not wondering if he has a family. I'm just trying to keep my guys safe. Every time I kill someone, he can't plant an (improvised explosive device). You don't think twice about it."
At one point, Kyle wrote, he shot a woman who was carrying a grenade while with her toddler. But he did not kill a child in Baghdad's Sadr City area who had a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
"According to the rules of engagement at the time, you could kill anyone with an RPG on sight. That day I just couldn't kill the kid. He'll probably grow up and fight us, but I just didn't want to do it.
He said the American public lives "in a dream world. You have no idea what goes on on the other side of the world. The harsh realities that these people are doing to themselves and then to our guys. And there are certain things that need to be done to take care of them."
After leaving the military, he founded Craft International, a military training company. Kyle also spoke up on current events, including accusing President Barack Obama of being "against the Second Amendment" because of his gun control initiatives, according to a video interview with guns.com.
The married father of two children established the nonprofit Fitco Cares Foundation to help veterans battling PTSD get access to exercise equipment.
Littlefield, who leaves behind a wife and children, was a friend and another veteran who worked to help people with PTSD, said Fitco Director Travis Cox.
In a statement, the foundation described Kyle as an "American hero" and pledged to carry on his mission.
"What began as a plea for help from Chris looking for in-home fitness equipment for his brothers- and sisters-in-arms" struggling with PTSD turned into an organization that will continue after his death," Cox said in a statement.
"Chris died doing what he filled his heart with passion -- serving soldiers struggling with the fight to overcome PTSD. His service, life and premature death will never be in vain. May God watch over his family and all those who considered Chris a true friend."
His friend, Jason Kos, offered similarly glowing sentiments, telling CNN's "Early Start Weekend" that Kyle was "a man of incredible character."
"He led by example," Kos said. "He always stopped to take time to talk to whoever was around him. Just incredibly humble, very funny as well."
By Greg Botelho and Josh Levs, CNN


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"War on Women" Increasingly Focused on Women of Color and Immigrant Women
VAWA. PRENDA. Aderholt. What do all these words (and acronyms) have in common? They represent the escalating attacks on the health and rights of women of color, and immigrant women in particular.
VAWA. PRENDA. Aderholt.
What do all these words (and acronyms) have in common?
They represent the three latest attacks on women's health, safety, and reproductive justice. However, the War on Women has been raging continuously in the 112th Congress. So what else connects these three? They represent the escalating attacks on the health and rights of women of color, and immigrant women in particular — their right to reproductive health care, their access to protections from intimate partner violence and other crimes, and their right to bodily autonomy.
Let's start with the most recent affront: the Aderholt amendment. Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 5855), which includes a provision (Aderholt Amendment) that targets immigrant women's reproductive health care with unnecessary and mean-spirited restrictions on access to abortion. The provision prohibits federal funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide abortion care for women in ICE detention centers — adding yet another layer to the harmful restrictions the Hyde amendment already puts in place.
The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), outraged over the politicized attack on some of the most vulnerable women in our society, led an effort to unite over 50 national, state, and local organizations in opposition the provision — a group that includes reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates as well as faith-based groups, advocates for Latinos health, and groups that represent immigrants, refugees, and LGBTQ people.
In a letter to the House of Representatives, this diverse group united to express deep concern that the Aderholt amendment would take us backwards, making life harder for women in federal immigration custody. Women in detention are separated from their children, their partners, and their health care providers. They have been denied HIV medication, forced to give birth in shackles, and sexually assaulted by guards. This amendment, and any restriction on access to reproductive health care, is yet another insult and humiliation for women who are already facing terrible circumstances. Immigrant women's health should never be used as a political bargaining chip.
However, this attack did not operate in a vacuum. It represents a variation on the theme of stripping away the rights of immigrant women, a theme which is alarming, and growing. Just last month, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4970 – a bill which claims to reauthorize the historically bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), but actually rolls back protections for immigrant women that have existed for almost 20 years. Since it was first signed into law, VAWA has been reauthorized twice. And each time, both parties worked together to advance protections for all victims, including immigrants. This time around, the House bill reversed protections for immigrant women and excluded advances included in the Senate bill for LGBTQ victims of violence.
And just last week, the House of Representatives attempted (but thankfully failed) to pass the so-called "Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act" or PRENDA which was engineered as an attack on the reproductive freedoms of women of color. The bill claims to outlaw abortion motivated by sex-selection, and would have imposed strict criminal and civil penalties on abortion care providers who fail to determine the motives of their patients. The bill was first introduced as the "Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act" and additionally banned abortions on the basis of race of the fetus. While the race-related language was stripped from the bill, PRENDA remained an attack on color and immigrant women under the guise of protecting women, pushed forward by legislators with little to no history of supporting gender equity.
Immigrant women deserve better than this onslaught of abuse. They are mothers, daughters, tias, workers, mentors, and valuable members of communities across this country. Their ability to access reproductive health care and protections from violence are critical to their pursuit of a healthful life in the United State and to the promise of fairness, justice, and equal opportunity.
We urge you to join us in this call to support the lives of immigrant women. Please visit the website of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health for more information.


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Earlier this week, we reported the story of an iOS app maker intent on shaming pirates by hijacking users' Twitter accounts in order to post a message saying "How about we all stop using pirated iOS apps? I promise to stop. I really will. #softwarepirateconfession."
This anti-piracy campaign was certainly unique, but it backfired. Many customers who paid as much as $50 for dictionary applications for their iPhones and iPads were targeted, because the system went into place without being capable of distinguishing between pirates and non-pirates.
We've exchanged a few e-mails with Enfour, the company in question, to find out how the anti-piracy system was supposed to work, and whether the company plans to try again. In short, Enfour blamed the problem on "old code" that has now been taken out of the apps and thrown in the trash. But Enfour isn't done—it's busy working on a new and better way of targeting pirates.
Your app's anti-piracy module, it's not working
"There was old code from a previous version of the module that was timed to activate on November 1," Enfour VP of Communications Tracey Northcott told Ars via e-mail. "This didn't affect everybody. It only affected people who let the app go to 'sleep' while using it on November 1. If the user shut down the app after using it, then there would be no issue. If a person didn't use the app between October 31 and updated on or after November 2, then they would not have been affected at all. There are still some people who have this issue as they haven't yet updated their apps."
Northcott declined to say exactly how Enfour was trying to identify pirates, saying, "I am going to be suitably vague on our exact method for proprietary reasons." But another iOS app developer, Chris Cieslak, told us there are several ways of going about it.
"There's a few ways I've seen in the past," Cieslak said. One method is to simply check if the phone is jailbroken by seeing if it contains files only present on jailbroken devices (like the Cydia app store), but this is far too likely to bring up false positives because jailbreakers aren't automatically pirates.
Cieslak continued:
Another way to find out if the app's been cracked is to see if the actual executable code in the app's bundle is still encrypted by Apple's FairPlay DRM. This could present a false positive/negative issue in production, since only public iTunes Store builds are encrypted. It's impossible to test fully in developer or beta ad-hoc builds, which are not encrypted.
The other way I've seen is to inspect the app's App Store metadata. There's a file called iTunesMetadata.plist, added to the app bundle by Apple when one uploads an app to the store, which contains identifying information of the app's original buyer, along with version info, icon info, and other store-specific stuff. This is stripped out by many crackers, so the app could simply see if it exists and assume it's pirated if it's not there.
This could cause a false positive if Apple renames this file, changes its format, or removes the file entirely. It's not part of any public spec.
Now, any check in code could always be bypassed through the normal means like on any other computer: dumping classes, disassembly, etc. Which makes these techniques even more useless, in my opinion.
Finally, anti-piracy code is just like any other code: it's going to have bugs. Except, in this case, they're bugs that really get your users mad. Not worth it at all, at least in my opinion.
Enfour may have a completely different, more advanced method, based on what Northcott told us. "We do not discriminate against jailbroken phones, as we know there are plenty of legitimate customers who have jailbroken phones," Northcott said. "The checks are much more complicated than this. Our method involves coding to below the standard objective C level. Just to give you some more background, we have been coding to this level since the Apple Newton days. This is the first accident of this sort we have ever been involved with."
According to an apology letter Enfour wrote to customers, the anti-piracy module worked like this: "Upon waking, a dialog box showed 'Run in Safe Mode,' then the app disabled itself and performed an auto soft close. A notification appeared locally on the device and if the user had authorized the app to access their Twitter account, a tweet of the notification was sent out under their account with a hash tag #softwarepiracyconfession. This tweet only happened if the user tapped a send confirmation button."
Northcott said fewer than 0.3 percent of users tweeted out piracy confessions during the first 24 hours in which the faulty code was deployed, "and at least half of those were really pirated copies." But the problem extended well beyond those 24 hours. More than two weeks later, the tweets are still coming in dozens of times a day. Enfour says it asked Twitter "for a mass pulldown of these tweets," but Twitter refused.
The pirate confession tweets go back to before November 1, Northcott said, but those earlier tweets were only from customers who actually pirated the apps. The false confessions didn't go out until that "old code" set on a timer had been activated.
"Our apps have had varying forms of anti-piracy measures included over the last few years," she said. "We have tried different methods, tweaked them and changed them completely. The iOS platform is constantly changing and also the way that the crackers pirate the apps changes constantly as well. It is an ongoing tug of war. We are not the only developer that has modules built in. There are probably others who have had some false alarms too, but these may not have been reported by the press."
Enfour plans to bring back its anti-piracy system, but it did not say when it will reappear or if it will work in the same way. "We have had emergency meetings and we have completely revised the anti-piracy policy," Northcott said. "For the updates we just pulled it all out in the interest of timing. Soon we will have a new iteration of our engine that has downloadable components. This allows more control over the components and so we will not have to use the same sort of module that malfunctioned two weeks ago."
Enfour is scrapping the old code entirely, starting from a "blank file," to make sure it never targets legitimate customers again.
Fightin' pirates
Enfour's fight against pirates isn't over, because the company thinks it's one well worth fighting. "We do a clean-up of pirated apps every week, serving DMCA notices where we can," Northcott said. "This is a lot of work and especially hard because we need to do so in a number of languages. But they keep popping back up. It is usually only the well-known (and more expensive) titles that continue to be distributed online."
Enfour says it has found more than 3 million instances of pirated copies of its apps, including cases where the people who cracked them were charging money for the ripped-off copies. "We have seen days when certain titles have had 2000 new users but we have sold only 20," she said.
Northcott sees a race to the bottom in Apple's App Store, with rankings based on the number of downloads favoring apps that are free or cost just 99¢.
"This is not a sustainable model for any but a handful of games," she said. "Developers are not rewarded for developing quality products that can command a decent price. We are relegated to pumping out the equivalent of '80s shareware. At this rate a hollowing out of the market will occur—with only hobbyists and large production houses being left in the game."
Dictionary apps can cost anywhere from $20 to $50 because they have real value, are larger and more complex than most apps, and contain content "that takes hundreds of man-years to compile," she said. "What cost hundreds of dollars as a desktop application delivered on a DVD a few years ago is now available for 100th of that as a smartphone app."
Many people are willing to pay the money. But there is enough piracy that finding some way to discourage people from downloading ripped-off copies is a worthy goal, in principle. Three years ago, we reported on an iPhone app developer who found a way to turn cracked versions of apps into demos. The developer's anti-piracy measure involved having apps "phone home" to a server, which could detect whether it was cracked.
Enfour went much further—and its story shows that targeting pirates on a large-scale basis takes immense effort and is fraught with risk.


text:
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The bed is where you spend about one-third of your life if you get the recommended eight hours of sleep per night. It's also the focal point of your bedroom, so making sure your bed looks great and provides significant comfort is critical for your quality of life.
- Metal Beds: A metal bed frame offers a classic look that works well in Victorian rooms as a contrast to floral fabrics and wallpaper. It also works well in modern, industrial lofts where metal is often placed against exposed beams and brick.
- Poster Beds: Wood beds have always been popular, but the most sought-after versions are often those with intricately carved posts at each corner. Posts can be round or square, and some are even tall enough to form a full canopy bed.
- Panel Beds: Another common woodworking technique for beds is the addition of raised or recessed panels in the headboard and footboard. This adds texture and interest to the bed, and it's a great choice for transitional decor.
- Upholstered Beds: Contemporary beds are all about comfort, and a padded, tufted headboard allows you to sit up for reading on screen time with lots of extra cushioning. The most on-trend upholstered beds are completely fabric covered, giving them a cohesive look.
- Mixed Materials: Beds that combine two types of wood, mix wood and upholstery, or mix wood planks with metal edging offer a fresh new take on traditional materials.
- Platform Beds: Modern lines tend to be low to the floor, and a platform bed skips the legs (or keeps them very short) to provide this sleek look. Platform beds are a great choice for easy cleaning as well.


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Christians bear no grudges, fear no threats from accusers.
TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico, October 12 (CDN) — Alonso Lopez Entzin, a Tzotzil-speaking Christian in Chiapas state, Mexico, spent 11 years and eight months in prison for a crime he did not commit. Accused of participating in the tragic "Acteal massacre" in December 1997 in which 45 persons died near San Cristobal de las Casas, he and more than 80 of his neighbors were summarily arrested and charged with the murders.On Aug. 12, the Federal Supreme Court of Mexico ordered that Lopez Entzin and 19 other indigenous men accused in the Acteal killings – 18 are Christian, including Lopez Entzin – be freed from El Amate Penal facility in Chiapas. Their release came as a surprise to him and his fellow prisoners, as well as to thousands of people in Mexico and around the world advocating their release.
Of the 18 Christians released, only five were Christians when they were arrested; the rest came to trust in Christ while in prison. At least 27 innocent men who were Christians at the time of their arrest remain in prison, according to advocacy organizations.
"I thank God that I have been granted freedom," Lopez Entzin told Compass. "We are no longer imprisoned thanks to the power of God. There is no other person that has this kind of power, only God."
The court is reviewing the cases of another 31 men convicted in connection with the massacre. Six more defendants will be granted new trials.
"Right now we see the first fruits of our prayers," said Tomas Perez Mendez, another of the 20 freed prisoners. "We are confident in the Lord that the rest of the brothers are going to obtain their freedom as well."
Lopez Entzin added that winning their freedom will not be easy.
"When we were inside El Amate, we began to pray, fast and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ. There are thousands and thousands of brothers who prayed for us inside the jail – thank God He answered those prayers," he said through tears. "That's why those brothers who remain behind in El Amate believe that if God's will is done, they will soon be free."
Most of the remaining Acteal inmates are evangelical Protestant Christians sentenced to 25- and 36-year prison terms. For years, human rights advocates and legal experts have presented legal arguments showing that the men were convicted on dubious evidence. The district court of the state of Chiapas, however, has consistently ruled against the defendants in appeals.
Attorneys for the defendants finally succeeded in bringing the case before the Federal Supreme Court in Mexico City. The justices who reviewed the case found clear violations of due process and on Aug. 12 overturned the convictions in a 4-1 decision.
The court ruling stated that the decision was not a determination of the guilt or innocence of the men, only that their constitutional rights had been violated during their arrest and conviction.
Though grateful to be free at last, Agustin Gomez Perez admitted that prison was "very difficult, very difficult indeed."
"There inside the jail, everybody loses," Gomez Perez said. "I saw it. Many lost their wives, their families, their homes. In the years I was in jail I lost my son. It was May 7, 2005. Twelve families were traveling in a truck to visit us in El Amate. They had an accident, and my 3-year-old son Juan Carlos was killed."
Inmates expressed gratitude for church groups and international organizations that lent support to their families during their incarceration. Some groups supplied chicks, piglets and coffee plants for wives and children to raise on family plots. A volunteer team of doctors and nurses from Veracruz provides free treatment to prisoners and their dependents.
The prisoners said that one of the greatest helps was regular visits from their families. International Christian organizations raised money for bus fares and chartered vehicles to ensure that the prisoners' families, who could not otherwise afford the travel, saw their husbands and fathers as often as possible.
Normalcy Not Returned
Despite being freed, the 20 men have yet to resume normal life with their families.
"When I left jail, I didn't think I would be stuck half-way home," Gomez Perez said. "I was thinking I would come home and see my wife and children. But we haven't got there. We are left here half-way home."
"Half-way home" for the released men is the market district in hot, bustling Tuxtla Gutierrez. They are living in makeshift half-way houses provided by the federal government, awaiting resettlement on land that state authorities have promised them.
Compass met with seven of the former inmates in a rented building they occupy with their wives, children and, in some cases, grandchildren. The families share windowless, sparsely furnished rooms with bare cement floors. Government food rations sustain them. While the half-way house is better than prison, it is nothing like the lush, green Chiapas mountains to which they long to return.
The men agreed to the relocation scheme because the farms they worked before going to prison have long since reverted to their heirs or, in some cases, neighbors. They welcome the assistance to get back on their feet financially.
Government officials, however, insist that the Acteal prisoners must relocate to new communities because they fear violent clashes will flare between them and their old rivals.
The seven freed men were unanimous in their opinion that such confrontations would not happen.
"In the first place, we do not agree with what the government is saying," Gomez Perez said. "We hold no grudges against those who accused us. What happened, happened. We are not thinking vengeance."
Perez Mendez agreed with Gomez Perez that the men feel no ill will against those who accused them and no resentment for what they suffered in jail.
"God does not want that we hold grudges or take vengeance against anyone," he said. "There is not really much danger out there in our communities either. When people saw the news on television on Aug. 12 that we were getting out, they were happy. Well, now we hear that they found out we are not coming home, that we are here in Tuxtla, and some are saying, 'Why don't they come home? Tell them to come.'"
The Acteal prisoners have reason to hold grudges. Their attorneys say many of them were arrested in random police sweeps in the days following the massacre simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Public indignation over the brutal slayings, fueled by numerous inflammatory press releases from Las Abejas, a civic group whose members were primary targets in the massacre, as well as by the left-leaning human rights organization Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, swelled to fever pitch in December 1997.
Authorities responded by arresting dozens of "suspects," without evidence or warrants, to quell the outcry.
Some Acteal defendants found themselves accused of the crime by allies of the rebel Zapatista guerrilla army. A land dispute between Zapatista sympathizers and opponents of the rebels intensified during the waning months of 1997, claiming the lives of 18 indigenous men, the majority of them Protestant Christians. Attorneys say indifferent law enforcement officers failed even to investigate the murders, let alone arrest the perpetrators.
Frustrated with the authorities' foot-dragging and desperate to defend themselves against further aggression, nine indigenous young men armed themselves and confronted their enemies on Dec. 22, 1997. The ensuing firefight and subsequent massacre at the Catholic hermitage in Acteal ended with 45 dead, many of them women and children who were participating in an Abejas-sponsored program that day.
Five of the nine armed men have confessed to participating in the Acteal shootings and insist they acted alone. Those five are serving prison terms in El Amate. Two others were arrested and released because they were minors at the time of the crime. Two more remain at large and, ironically, have reportedly come under the protection of the Zapatistas.
Las Abejas and its allies continue to assert that that the Acteal killings were carried out by "paramilitary" units equipped and assisted by the Mexican army. With the passage of time, many of those who hold this thesis have admitted that most of the Acteal prisoners did not, in fact, participate in the shooting. Nevertheless, they insist that until the "intellectual authors" of the atrocity come forward and confess, not one prisoner – even though innocent of the crime – should be released.
That strange logic has helped to keep more than 50 innocent men in prison for nearly 12 years.
"It is certain that we suffered an injustice for nearly 12 years," Perez Mendez said. "A lot of people tell us that we are guilty. But as far as we are concerned, God knows all. We did not commit that crime.
He implored Christians to pray for the innocent men who have yet to be released.
Pray as well for we who are not at home in our communities," he said. "I ask that you not forget us."Report from Compass Direct News


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Baltimore Orioles star center fielder was warming up before Saturday's game at Nationals Park, waiting for the Nationals to finish batting practice, and chatting with teammates about the Nationals' racing presidents.
"Teddy never wins," Jones asked. "Why doesn't Teddy ever win?"
Jones, as it turns out, is a Teddy Roosevelt fan. He doesn't miss the presidents race when the Orioles play the Nationals, knows about Jayson Werth's attempts to help Teddy Roosevelt last season, and has a problem with the injustice served out nightly to the great president and war hero.
"They need to let him win," Jones told me.
For Jones, the presidents race is a realization of a childhood misunderstanding.
"When I was like 5 years old, I thought they really held a race to determine who was going to be president," he said. "I thought 'that's crazy,' but I actually thought that's how we picked the president."
Jones' memory triggered a novel suggestion. "I'd like to see them get some real presidents out there," he said. "Have George W. race Obama. Who do you think would win that race?"
Jones sported a Let Teddy Win button until it was time to take the field, leading MLB.com to suggest that Jones' homer Saturday was just following Teddy's motto: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."


text:
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Before you even begin looking for an apartment, make a list of what you absolutely need vs. extras you'd like to have. Important considerations include access to employment, shopping, schools, parking and recreation. Don't forget to keep your budget in mind, and make sure you have adequate funds to cover deposits, utility hookups and other service fees.
You can save time and make your apartment search easier by preparing a renter's resume early on in the process. A renter's resume includes information desired by leasing agents such as your contact information, employment background, credit history, names of previous landlords and/or references, and whether or not you smoke or have pets.
One way you can help avoid unscrupulous landlords is by choosing an apartment complex run by professional managers. Many of today's best apartment communities, such as those found in the Rental Guide, are managed by professional staff who care about having satisfied tenants and making sure the property is well maintained.
As soon as possible, find out what services are included with your rental payment. Who pays for garbage pickup? Are heat and water included? What about cable or Internet connections? You should also ask about common facilities such as a pool, gym or laundry room. If parking is a question, find out if you have an assigned space and where visitors can park.
Prior to signing any lease agreement, you should always ask to see the unit you'll be renting. Not only does this give you a chance to make sure the space is clean and acceptable, but also identify any existing problems so there won't be disputes later on. If possible, try and visit during the daytime when there's plenty of light.
Introducing yourself to the neighbors is an excellent method for learning more about an apartment community. Important questions to ask include what they like and dislike about living there, how quickly problems are fixed, whether the units are adequately soundproofed, the availability of hot water and water pressure, safety concerns, and their opinion of the neighborhood.
It is extremely important to read your lease thoroughly and resolve any questions before you sign. Key points to review include:
If you and the landlord have verbally agreed to any special accommodations or repairs, make sure they're written into the lease before you sign. It's also important to include the name of everyone who'll be living in the apartment on the lease. Otherwise, you may end up being financially responsible for damages caused by your roommate.
While owning a pet may put you at a disadvantage, getting the apartment you want isn't impossible if you can show evidence that you're a responsible owner. Try obtaining referrals from former landlords, neighbors or your veterinarian. You might also volunteer to put down an extra pet deposit, or write a damages agreement into your lease. If that doesn't work, try contacting local animal shelters; they often maintain lists of apartments where pets are accepted.


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Get Reel: Actors and actresses who died too young
Smart lad, to slip betimes away From fields where glory does not stay, And early though the laurel grows It withers quicker than the rose.
So wrote A.E. Houseman in "To An Athlete Dying Young." Yes, fame can fleet faster than a speeding tweet, and A.E. may have a point about the "advantages" of not overstaying your welcome on this mortal coil.
For example, if Marilyn Monroe had lived longer, would she have gone from a platinum blonde to a platinum blimp? And James Dean, had he lived longer, would he have kept starring in only superb films or would he have sold out and starred in sappy remakes? "West of Eden," anyone?
On the other hand, had Monroe lived, she may have retained her beauty and, more importantly, made more memorable movies. And Dean could have enjoyed a storied career like James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, who like Dean, were born in 1931.
The recent death of Philip Seymour Hoffman started me thinking of other great actors and actresses who died too young. Of course, it's sad when anyone dies, no matter what the age, but from a purely selfish perspective, the death of a young gifted performer deprives the world of a talent that could have for entertained us for decades longer.
I should note that others have waxed poetic about premature demises. The Who's Peter Townshend once wrote, "I hope I die before I get old." He's now 68.
For this column, we'll focus only on American actors and actresses who died young and set the age limit at under 50. Sure, what constitutes young is relative, but we have to have some kind of guideline. And for space reasons, we'll limit the number of thespians to 10. To qualify, in addition to being American and dying before the age of 50, the actor or actress has to have built a resume of critically praised films. The thespians are listed in alphabetical order:
JOHN BELUSHI – Arguably the greatest comedian to exhibit his skills on TV's "Saturday Night Live," Belushi made a hilarious film debut as John "Bluto" Blutarsky in "National Lampoon's Animal House," which is unarguably one of the funniest movies ever made. He later teamed up with fellow "SNL" alum Dan Aykroyd for "The Blues Brothers" to prove he could sing, dance and make 'em laugh. Then in "Continental Divide," he demonstrated he could act in a film that wasn't a comedy. He died at 33 from a drug overdose.
I should note that silent film aficionados would likely nominate Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, a brilliant comic actor whose career was cut short by scandal. He died of a heart attack at 46.
JOHN CAZALE – What actor appeared in only five films, yet all five were nominated by the Academy Awards for best picture? If you guessed Rob Schneider, you're wrong. It's Cazale. The films are "The Godfather," "The Conversation," "The Godfather Part II," "Dog Day Afternoon" and "The Deer Hunter." And he was superb in all five of them, serving as the ideal foil for such volatile actors as Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Gene Hackman.
The scene in "Godfather Part II" when Pacino's Michael Corleone confronts Cazale's Fredo after discovering his betrayal is a classic. "I know it was you, Fredo," says Michael after planting on Fredo the kiss of death. "You broke my heart. You broke my heart." Fredo wipes his mouth and retreats, but we know he's a dead man walking. And he knows it, too.
Few actors could convey vulnerability as well as the Revere-born Cazale. He was one of the screen's greatest character actors, yet incredibly was never nominated for an Oscar. Maybe he made everything look too effortless. He died of cancer at 42. His romantic partner at the time was Meryl Streep.
DOROTHY DANDRIDGE – Had she been born in 1962, instead of 1922, Dandridge might have enjoyed a career as successful as Halle Berry's. Like Berry, Dandridge was black, beautiful and talented. Unlike Berry, she lived during a time when the racial climate wasn't exactly warm for actresses of color. It only seems appropriate that Berry would portray Dandridge, winning an Emmy for the TV movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge."
Interestingly, Dandridge was the first African-American woman to receive an Academy Award nomination for best actress, earning the nod for "Carmen Jones" in 1954. Grace Kelly took the top prize that year for "Country Girl." Forty-seven years later, Berry became the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award, doing so for "Monster's Ball."
Dandridge could not only act. She could sing, but roles that could showcase her talents were few and far between. "Porgy and Bess" would be her last critically acclaimed film, garnering her a Golden Globe nomination. But the film flopped at the box office. A turbulent social life didn't help matters. She died of a barbiturate overdose at 42.
JAMES DEAN – Dean starred in only three films: "Rebel Without a Cause," "East of Eden" and "Giant," yet like Cazale, he made an indelible impression in each one, earning two posthumous Oscar nominations and shining a row of klieg lights on teenage angst. Let's just say not everyone in the 1950s grew up with Ozzie and Harriet as parents.
Dean turned disillusionment into an art form, and one can only wonder what this actor who liked to experiment would have done in the 1960s where experimentation was de rigueur. He died in a car crash at 24.
Two other stars of "Rebel Without a Cause" also died young: Natalie Wood in a boating accident at 43 and Sal Mineo in a stabbing incident at 37.
JUDY GARLAND – In a previous column, I sang the praises of Ms. Garland, whom I believe is the greatest entertainer in the history of showbiz when you consider her ability to sing, dance and act at the highest level, coupled with the quality of her work.
She transitioned from child star in such classics as "The Wizard of Oz" to an adult star in such gems as "Meet Me in St. Louis" and "A Star is Born." She could act outside of musicals, too, earning an Oscar nomination for the courtroom drama "Judgment of Nuremberg."
If only her social life were as successful as her life as a singer and an actress. In addition to making dubious matrimonial choices, Judy had a few issues. She died from a barbiturate overdose at 47.
JEAN HARLOW – Before there was Marilyn Monroe, there was Harlow, the original blonde bombshell. While she certainly had no trouble demonstrating her sex appeal, she proved adept at comedy, especially in "Dinner at Eight." The conversation between her and Marie Dressler in one scene is priceless. Harlow almost bowls over Dressler by saying she's reading a book, and goes on to say that the author believes that machinery is going to take over every profession. To which Dressler responds, "Oh my dear, that's something you never need worry about."
Harlow starred in six films with Clark Garble, arguably the best being "Red Dust." It would have been interesting to see how her career would have fared after the Motion Picture Production Code began cracking down on matters of a risqué nature. Harlow, who reportedly never wore underwear, was not subtle in her seductive overtures. "Would you be shocked if I changed into something more comfortable?" she asks in "Hell's Angels."
Like Garland, Harlow's social life was a mess and her health was fragile, too. She died from cerebral edema, brought on by renal failure, at 26.
BRUCE LEE – Fans of martial arts film can thank Mr. Lee for helping to popularize the genre in the United States. He was influential, inspirational and he could really kick butt. For Asian actors, his heroic exploits represent a marked improvement from the detective Charlie Chan, who was played by a Swede (Warner Oland) and then an American (Sidney Toler).
Lee could not only shred his foes like bok choy, he could act and he staged the combats in such landmark films as "Enter the Dragon." He was the ultimate action star.
Lee died from a cerebral edema caused by an allergic reaction to a pain medication at 32.
Tragedy followed the Lee family as his son, Brandon, died from a gunshot wound after an accidental shooting on the set of "The Crow." He was 28.
CAROLE LOMBARD – One of the fabulous screwball comedic actresses of all time, even better than Paris Hilton. Just checking to see if you were paying attention.
For "My Man Godfrey" alone Lombard deserves a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was equally wondrous in "Twentieth Century" and "To Be Or Not to Be."
If you want to play six degrees of separation, William Powell, Lombard's co-star in "My Man Godfrey" was married to Harlow and Lombard. And Gable, who starred in movies with Harlow, was later married to Lombard.
The actress died in an aircraft crash while returning from a World War II war bond tour. She was 33.
MARILYN MONROE – Icon of icons. She certainly wasn't the greatest actress of her generation, but she definitely was the most famous. Yes, she parlayed her beauty into a career, but she was much more than a dumb blonde. She could act and sing – a little – and when you consider her less than ideal childhood, it's amazing she rose as far as she did.
"Bus Stop," "The Seven Year Itch" and "Some Like It Hot" make for an impressive resume, and all you have to do is hear Elton John's "Goodbye, Norma Jean," to feel the attraction that went beyond bra size and the sense of loss experienced by the faithful for a woman more sinned against than sinning, to borrow another line from Bill Shakespeare.
She died of a barbiturate overdose at 36.
RIVER PHOENIX – When you're as charismatic at 16 as Phoenix was for "Stand By Me," you have It. And Phoenix had It. His acting talent was boundless, as he displayed in such movies as "Running on Empty" and "My Private Idaho."
It boggles the mind to imagine River and his brother Joaquin, who also has IT, starring in films together. The Barrymores would have had competition.
River Phoenix died of drug-induced heart failure at 23.
Contact Bob at 508-626-4409 or at email@example.com.


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Chad Billingsley (10-5, 3.72) vs. Adam "Loudon" Wainwright (11-6, 2.95).
COMMENTS: Once again, the Dodgers sit on the precipice of a three-game losing streak, something they've avoided all year long. So it's fitting that, two days after a hack LATimes writer called him out, Billingsley gets the chance to show if he can be that ace under pressure that the Dodgers apparently "don't have." True, Bills has struggled a bit of late, needing the Manny pinch hit grand slam to earn his 10th victory. But I'm guessing Chad has enough gumption tonight to win it for himself--and not for the fear of a three-game losing streak or the hack journalists without a clue. Just win it for you, Your Royal Thighness!
As a reminder, this game also debuts the new SoSG insipid time-wasting game, "One Hundred Splendid Sons", or 100SS. Complete rules are posted here, but the point is for us to have fun in the Game Thread competing for the 100-multipled comments. That way, even if the Dodgers fall to the Cardinals, we SoSGers can still have fun while it's grey in LA. I mean, when it's grey in LA, I sure like it that way, 'cause there's way too much sunshine 'round here. I don't know about you; I get so sick of blue skies whenever they always appear.


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What are Consistent Gets? June 2, 2009Posted by mwidlake in performance.
Tags: performance
For those of you who just want to know what Consistent Gets are or what DB Block Gets are and the difference, look here. This is a blog though, so now I will whiter on about how I know this and what I learnt looking into it. Some of it was what I learnt about me. Some of it was what I learnt about not trusting everything on the web, even if it is repeated.
I recently gave a presentation on Tuning for non-experts, aimed at giving people new to tuning some insights into getting going (derived from a course I occasionally run). As the presentation progressed, I stumbled with the statistics section of Explain Plan.
Here is an example, similar to the one I put in the presentation:-
3 recursive calls
0 db block gets
729 consistent gets
15 physical reads
0 redo size
1648 bytes sent via SQL*Net to client
425 bytes received via SQL*Net from client
6 SQL*Net roundtrips to/from client
1 sorts (memory)
0 sorts (disk)
23 rows processed
I said
– Recursive calls was from parsing.
– Consistent Gets was reads from memory (sga).
{and then came the stumble}
– DB_Block Gets was physical reads from the I/O subsystem.
No, that's wrong. I corrected myself and said
– Physical Reads is physical reads from the I/O subsystem.
I am not sure if the audience noticed, but I paused and internally I had a private conversation – "What are DB Block gets? I know consistent gets are gets from the block buffer cache. What is the difference? What in hell am I talking about?"
I did what you have to try and do when you hit a moment like that when presenting and kept going. {If the confusion gelled in my head I would go back and explain. If it did not gel, I'd risk experts knowing I had messed up for the sake of a smooth presentation}. It didn't gel. I finished the presentation, went home and I looked at it. And was vexed.
I've been tuning Oracle databases and SQL for one and a half decades and I am not bad at it. In fact, I'm pretty good at it. But I found myself looking at a very, very fundamental aspect of perhaps THE most common Oracle tuning tool and I realised I did not know exactly what Consistent Gets and DB Block Gets were.
When I tune I look at the plan and I look at the number of Consistent Gets, Physical Reads and Sorts going up and down. It works for me.
SO, what is the difference between DB Block Gets, physical reads and Consistent Gets? A quick scan of the documentation confirmed what I thought I already knew:-
– Physical Reads are the number of actual reads from the I/O subsystem.
– Consistent Gets and DB Block gets together are the number of block reads from Block Buffer Cache.
But what ARE Consistent Gets and DB Block Gets and what is the difference?
Google did not immediately help and the documentation on Explain Plan in the Performance Tuning Guide did not either. They basically all said:
– Consistent Gets were from the buffer cache.
– DB Block Gets were CURRENT blocks requested from the buffer cache.
What is CURRENT? I'm selecting data that has not changed, it is current, but it all shows as Consistent Gets?
So I looked slightly differently. I know these are used in calculating the cache hit ratio, so I look up the cache hit ratio:-
1 – (('physical reads cache') / ('consistent gets from cache' + 'db block gets from cache')
And from the documentation about V$SYSSTAT:-
consistent gets from cache – Number of times a consistent read was requested for a block from the buffer cache.
db block gets from cache – Number of times a CURRENT block was requested from the buffer cache.
GRRRRRR. What is the point of a description that just repeats the words in the name of something? "Fellmonger – A Fellmonger is a Monger of Fells"*. What is the point of a description that says "x is a Wibble" and not being clear about Wibble?
I dug deeper on the net and got this:-
"consistent gets is the blocks in consistent mode (sometimes reconstructed using information from RBS). So this reconstruction from RBS takes more resources (reads actually), which will end up as high consistent gets.
db block gets is the blocks in current mode (whatever it is NOW)."
Great, The answer!
Errr, is it? I always see lots of consistent gets {and I think of it as logical reads from memory}. The data has not been changed in a while. I don't think the information needs reconstructing.
I do not think this information off the web is right.
Reading the above, I would expect to see lots of DB Block Gets as I DO want the information which is current, as it is "NOW", as the person said.
The expert is trying to help, and we all get things wrong, but he is not quite on the mark I think {it turns out he was more on the mark than many others though}
I dug more and I kept getting more of the same stuff, over and over again. As an example:-
{link removed, I'm not trying to target any individual here}
Someone posts the question about what are consistent gets. Someone replies saying the same thing, often with different words, about "DB Block Gets being got NOW" and "Consistent Gets are where work has had to be done to get the correct image of the data. {My italics}.
Usually, the original question asker , confused, says "but the data has not changed" or "why do I see so much reconstruction" and the original person backs away – "it is not always that all the data is changed", "I am not an expert on the exact details of get types".
People don't really know. Right now, I don't know. I used to think I did but I don't. The question responders are simply quoting from someone else who answered the question before.
But then I find a reference to Ask Tom. He knows. Usually 🙂
This is the start of the thread
It is a long thread, packed full of great stuff.
WHOA! suddenly my memory is kicking in and reminding me of stuff I knew 10,15 years ago {one of the issues of being an old duffer}. In amongst other stuff, Tom is answering my question.
From his entry:-
A consistent get is a block gotten in read consistent mode (point in time mode). It MAY or MAY NOT involve reconstruction (rolling back).
Db Block Gets are CURRENT mode gets — blocks read "as of right now".
So, all those references to Consistent Gets being where the data is reconstructed had taken part of the answer, not understood it and an Oracle Urban Myth is brought into being.
Tom probably puts it better, but it is buried in a lot of {very interesting} other stuff, so here is my take on it.
A Consistent Get is where oracle returns a block from the block buffer cache but has to take into account checking to make sure it is the block current at the time the query started.
Oracle fetches pretty much all of its data that way. All your data in your database, the stuff you create, the records about customers or orders or samples or accounts, Oracle will ensure that what you see is what was committed at the very point in time your query started. It is a key part to why Oracle as a multi-user relational database works so well.
Most of the time, of course, the data has not changed since your query started or been replaced by an uncommitted update. It is simply taken from the block buffer cache and shown to you.
A Consistent Get is a normal get of normal data. You will see extra gets if Oracle has to construct the original record form the rollback data. You will probably only see this rarely, unless you fake it up.
But I am still not clear on CURRENT mode.
More reading, through the Ask Tom thread and a couple of other places, and it becomes more clear. This is Oracle internally getting data where it does not have to bother checking for reconstructing the data from rollback information. Oracle can just get whatever is currently correct. It seems to be always internal information, such as the segment headers for a table – info on where a table's blocks are held. But don't hold me to that, I can't prove it is always internal.
What does seems to be true is that different version of Oracle report different numbers of DB Block Gets for the same action. Also, different options in Oracle (ASSM, IOTs maybe) alter the number of DB Block Gets reported.
Even Tom Kyte seems to throw his hands in the air and say "look, sometimes DB Block Gets get reported, sometimes they don't, but you can't do much about them as they are needed for Oracle to internally handle the structures holding your data".
In summary.
Consistent Gets – a normal reading of a block from the buffer cache. A check will be made if the data needs reconstructing from rollback info to give you a consistent view but most of the time it won't.
DB Block Gets – Internal processing. Don't worry about them unless you are interested in Oracle Internals and have a lot of time to spend on it.
Physical Reads – Where Oracle has to get a block from the IO subsystem
From a performance perspective:-
Reducing Physical IO {if there is any} is very often a very good way to make a statement run a lot faster.
Reducing Consistent Gets is often a good way to make a statement run faster.
Reducing DB Block Gets is probably beyond what you can do (except as a side effect of changes to the execution plan). It won't make a lot of difference.
It took me 1/4 of a day to get to the bottom of that. Hopefully this page will save someone else that 1/4 day.
* A Fellmonger is someone who removes hair from animal skins before tanning them. It was a big deal when we all wore animal skins to stop us dying of exposure.
- 1. Neil Chandler - June 2, 2009
I have been a DBA since I was thin and didn't have any grey hair, and I didn't know that I didn't know that.
If you have a copy of that performance tuning for non-experts, I might have to try to bribe it out of you using the medium of alcohol.
Hopefully see you at the M&I SIG, providing I get this system working properly between now and tomorrow and get home to get some sleep.
- 2. B. Polarski - June 10, 2009
I always under the impression that 'DB Block Gets' was similar to 'last version of the block' + plus the fact that a markers tells this bloc has not been visited by any DML process (dirty).
In this respect a "DB Block Gets' is a block whose image is guaranteed in sync with the one in disk. And the description of the statistics : 'db block gets from cache – Number of times a CURRENT block was requested from the buffer cache' makes also more sense for the work 'requested'. The system requested the Last version of the block and got it from memory.
- 3. Consistent Gets, db block gets and DML « Martin Widlake's Yet Another Oracle Blog - June 11, 2009
[…] Tags: db block gets, explain plan, performance trackback A few posts back I talked about consistent gets, db block gets and how I had realised I had got by for years without fully undertand…. I then described how I went about learning […]
- 4. Seka Mukasa - June 11, 2009
Excellent piece Martin!! I'll freely admit I didn't know the difference until now. Interestingly though, what is the scenario with read only tablespaces? There is no possibility of reconstruction here, so will it be reported as consistent get or db block gets?
- 5. Richard - April 22, 2010
Great stuff! I've been looking for this for 5 years now ;-). Every time I found conflicting info I just gave up, so thanks for being thorough.
- 6. emrah - January 12, 2011
Hi Martin,
Nice article.
The db block gets still remains a mystery.
In 11g I take a table read only and perform a full table scan.
sql> select * from my_read_only_table;
guess what! 0 db block gets. All of the logical reads are consistent gets.
- 7. Paresh - April 15, 2011
Very informative post Martin. At last I think I know know the real description of Consistent Gets and DB Block Gets, till someone comes with even a real realer info (joke). This looks like a definitive explanation.
- 8. Sumeet - April 18, 2011
Very well researched & articulated . One point remains – though . For all practical tuning purposed can we safely ignore "db block gets from cache" ?
- 9. What is consistent gets and db block gets? | Xing AiMing's Home Page - 邢爱明的个人网站 - June 15, 2011
[…] on 2011/06/15 by adam An excerpt from What are Consistent Gets? Consistent Gets – a normal reading of a block from the buffer cache. A check will be made if the […]
- 10. garrymoore - November 24, 2011
hi to all mwidlake.wordpress.comers this is my frst post and thought i would say hello to you all –
thanks speak soon
g moore
- 12. William Gaynor - January 29, 2012
I've been trying to calculate a % read miss ratio, inclusive of cache and direct reads. Such as % read miss is good for understanding the effective of introducing SSD technologies. The greater the read miss % the more effective SSDs might be for storing Oracle database data. Other factors are also important, but they are another story, Disclaimer: I work to EMC as an Oracle SME.
Starting insight is how Oracle recommends calculating the cache hit rate:
Form Oracle® Database Performance Tuning Guide 10g Release 2 (10.2) Part Number B14211-03
1 – (('physical reads cache') / ('consistent gets from cache' + 'db block gets from cache')
consistent gets from cache — Number of times a consistent read was requested for a block from the buffer cache.
db block gets from cache — Number of times a CURRENT block was requested from the buffer cache.
physical reads cache –Total number of data blocks read from disk into buffer cache.
Over time Oracle has differentiated "from cache" vs. "direct."
So logical reads = consistent gets + db block gets
= consistent gets from cache + consistent get direct + db block gets from cache + db block gets direct
Ditto, physical reads = physical reads from cache + physical reads direct
Having looked at a few AWR/Statspack reports these number add up, give half a decimal point or so.
consistent gets = consistent gets from cache + consistent get direct
db block gets = db block gets from cache + db block gets direct
and logical reads = consistent gets + db block gets
So it looks like my %read misses should be:
% Percentage physical reads to total reads = 100*(physical reads per sec / (logical reads per sec + physical read per sec).
- 13. William Gaynor - January 30, 2012
Actually it looks like my %read misses should be:
% Percentage physical reads to total reads = 100*(physical reads per sec / logical reads per sec)
- 14. Brian Paffen - April 25, 2012
I usually only pay attention to the explain plan, physical reads and where the sorts happened. It just hit me while reading a tuning book that I didn't clearly know the difference between db block gets and consistent gets either. I just knew that they were both coming from the buffer cache, which isn't a bad thing. Your blog was the first post I read when I Googled, so thanks for the easy lesson. You definitely saved me some time.
- Brian Paffen - April 25, 2012
Just picked it up and added it to my nightly reading list. Thanks much for the tip.
- 15. Greg - April 29, 2012
I had read the the Tom Kyte article before arriving here. I think many of the comments made here still show one confusion that Tom had to work hard to put across. That is, that Consistent Gets are gets made in "Consistent Mode" and DB Block gets are gets made in "Current Mode". Its the "intention of the get" that puts it in one category or the other, not the outcome.
- 16. Mark Fleming - September 5, 2012
Thanks for that. If i may add … The word 'consistent' relates to 'read consistent image' (ie. image made up of both the table data and the undo segment data together, in order to present the state of data as of the last commit). All this talk (not yours) about 'point in time' and 'as of right now' just confuses a simple issue.
- 17. Buntri Guy - September 12, 2012
Thanks for the article mwidlake . Now it makes sense.
- 18. Marcus - September 24, 2012
Excellent summary of this topic. It's always hard to get good and helpful information on topics like these. It's that typical stuff that almost everbody can explain up to 95% – but the final details are almost impossible to find.
I really had to laugh out loud when I read the sentence about the fellmonger. It's something I've also been complaining about for a long time: people "explaining" something by just repeating the word to be explained and putting in a few fill words to form a complete sentence – I could scream every time I see it. Unfortunately I'd say that's exactly what you find in every second online help file…
So, perfect: Now we know what a block get is AND we learned about fellmongers! 😉
- 19. aiglefin - October 12, 2012
Hi Yannick,
Thanks you for your conclusion.
I almost read 90% of this article with the reference to Ask Tom which contribute to give me another headache; after i driil down and try to understand the examples. I have one question : how explain you the effect of arraysize on the value of gets consistent reads.
Best Regards!
- 20. felice - October 25, 2012
Excellent summary.Thanks.
- 21. pavol - August 19, 2013
excellent article. thank you very much for sharing
- 22. FG - July 7, 2014
Nice information.I also feel that at Oracle Docs the definition is used to explain the definition itself,sometimes.(as in this case)
- 23. Chan - August 7, 2014
Thank you. It is really helpful.
- 24. Albino - November 4, 2014
Thank Martin from Italy. Great article. I will follow u
- 26. Performanslı SQL Yazmanın En Etkin Yolu Düşünce Tarzımızı Değiştirmek | Emrah METE - February 1, 2016
- 27. Guy Fokou Kingué - May 19, 2016
Hi martin,
Thanks for this great article.
- 28. Ayman Haboubi - August 18, 2016
HI Martin,
Thank you for this one. The comments/replys to post were also very interesting
- 31. Venky - August 23, 2019
Martin…It is really helpful you have saved hours/days not just 1/4 day.
- 32. CezarN - October 5, 2019
Thanks, man! Very useful!


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Maranda Elizabeth is a writer, zinester, high school dropout, cane-user, sex worker, daydreamer, flâneux, and recovering alcoholic approaching a decade sober. They're also an identical twin, a witch, and a white agender sorta-femme. Maranda is the author of three novels, Ragdoll House (2013), We Are the Weirdos (2017), and Oliver A Lover All Over (2019), a non-fiction anthology of the first decade of their zines, Telegram: A Collection of 27 Issues (2012), of which they've now written forty-two issues, and the zines Little Acorns (a 24-hour zine) and Edith (fiction).
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Poverty and Isolation are Killing Us: (More, Unending) Thoughts and Conversations on Suicide, Criticism, Responsibility, Purpose, Care, and Love
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