text:
Systems and methods for providing electronic messaging services to multiple users by storing a single copy of an electronic message at a central location and notifying recipients of the stored single copy. An electronic message includes a distribution list and a message content. A distribution list identifying multiple recipients causes prior art systems to duplicate the entire message for each recipient, placing potentially large demands on both processing power and storage space. In contrast, the systems and methods disclosed herein store a single copy or a limited number of copies of an electronic message addressed to multiple recipients and provide each recipient with a relatively small notification. In addition to providing information regarding content and origin, the notification also provides access to the stored message. Furthermore, the methods and systems also aid in organizing replies to electronic messages. Replies are associated with an initial message through a message identifier. The association helps to organize electronic messages by subject and provides context without requiring an author to duplicate the content of the initial message with the reply.
1. In an e-mail messaging system that provides clients of a host system with electronic messaging services, a method for providing access to an e-mail message, to a plurality of intended recipients, and in a way that reduces potential storage and processing requirements otherwise associated with duplicating the e-mail messages for each intended recipient, the method comprising the steps of:
creating a distribution list that includes a plurality of intended recipients of an e-mail message;
storing a single copy of the e-mail message at a host system to be shared by the plurality of intended recipients, regardless of whether the e-mail message has one or more associated attachments, and rather than storing a duplicate copy of the e-mail message for each of the plurality of intended recipients the e-mail message including one or more rules that define how the e-mail message can be used by the intended recipients; and
without transmitting copies of the email message to the intended recipients, using the distribution list to send a notification message to each of the intended recipients that notifies each of the intended recipients of the e-mail message and that includes a link that can be used by the intended recipients to access the single copy of the e-mail message through the host system, as permitted by the one or more rules, and so as to enable the single copy of the e-mail message to be shared by each notified recipient, as permitted by the one or more rules.
2. A method as recited in
3. A method as recited in
4. A method as recited in
5. A method as recited in
6. A method as recited in
7. A method as recited in
8. A method as recited in
9. A method as recited in
10. A method as recited in
11. A method as recited in
12. A method as recited in
13. In a messaging system that includes an originating host system and at least one other host system, each host system providing e-mail messaging services to a particular set of clients, a method for distributing one or more e-mail messages to a plurality of intended recipients without duplicating the one or more e-mail messages for each intended recipient, the method comprising steps for:
at the originating host system, receiving an e-mail message intended for the clients of the at least one other host system;
at the originating host system, identifying each additional host system that provides e-mail messaging services for the intended recipients of the e-mail message;
at the originating host system, creating for each of the identified additional host systems, a distribution list that includes the intended recipients of the e-mail message, and providing that created distribution list for each of the identified additional host systems' use;
sending a copy of the e-mail message from the originating host system to each of the identified additional host systems for storage at those additional host systems; and
at least one of the additional identified host systems using the distribution list created by the originating host system to then send an e-mail notification that notifies the recipients identified on the distribution list of the e-mail message stored at the host system for the notified recipients.
14. A method as recited in
tracking each client who accesses the one copy of the e-mail message stored at the additional identified host system.
15. A method as recited in
16. A method as recited in
17. A method as recited in
18. A method as recited in
19. A method as recited in
20. A method a recited in
determining that at least one of the identified additional host systems is unsupported in that it is not capable of using one or more distribution lists to notify intended recipients of a copy of an e-mail message stored at the unsupported host system; and
sending the e-mail message to the unsupported host system using another e-mail messaging protocol compatible with the unsupported host system.
21. A method as recited in
22. In an electronic messaging system that provides clients of a host system with electronic messaging services, a method for distributing one or more electronic messages that reduces potential storage and processing requirements otherwise associated with duplicating the one or more electronic messages for each intended recipient, the method comprising the steps of:
creating one or more distribution lists that include each of a plurality of intended recipients of an electronic message;
storing at least one copy of the electronic message at a host system to be shared by the plurality of intended recipients, rather than storing a duplicate copy of the electronic message for each of the plurality of intended recipients;
using the one or more distribution lists to notify each of the plurality of intended recipients of the electronic message, such that the at least one copy of the electronic message may be shared by each notified recipient, wherein an intended recipient maintains a local copy of the electronic message; and
altering the one or more distribution lists comprising the step of removing the intended recipient thereby denying the intended recipient subsequent access to future updates of the electronic message but leaving the local copy intact.
23. A computer program product as recited in
24. In a messaging system that includes all originating host system and at least one other host system, each host system providing e-mail messaging services to a particular set of clients, a computer program product that comprises a computer readable medium having stored thereon executable code for implementing a method for distributing one or more e-mail messages to a plurality of intended recipients without duplicating the one or more e-mail messages for each intended recipient, and wherein the method comprises steps for:
at the originating host system, receiving an e-mail message intended for the clients of the at least one other host system;
at the originating host system, identifying each additional host system that provides e-mail messaging services for the intended recipients of the e-mail message;
at the originating host system, creating for each of the identified additional host systems, a distribution list that includes the intended recipients of the e-mail message, and providing that created distribution list for each of the identified additional host systems' use;
sending a copy of the e-mail message from the originating host system to each of the identified additional host systems for storage at those additional host systems; and
at least one of the additional identified host systems using the distribution list created by the originating host system to then send an e-mail notification that notifies the recipients identified on the distribution list of the e-mail stored at the host system for the notified recipients.
25. A computer program product as recited in
26. A computer program product as recited in
27. A computer program product as recited in
28. A computer program product as recited in
29. A computer program product as recited in
30. A computer program product as recited in
determining that at least one of the identified additional host systems is unsupported in that it is not capable of using one or more distribution lists to notify intended recipients of a copy of an e-mail message stored at the unsupported host system; and
sending the e-mail message to the unsupported host system using another e-mail messaging protocol compatible with the unsupported host system.
31. A computer program product as recited in
32. A computer program product as recited in
33. A computer program product as recited in
1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for delivering and organizing electronic messages. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and systems that may be used to reduce the computing resources necessary for delivering a single message to multiple recipients and to improve the organization of responses to the message.
2. The Prior State of the Art
Traditional electronic messaging systems are a huge improvement over the paper analogues they augment or replace. By reducing the human and material resources necessary to transcribe, photocopy, and distribute paper communications, electronic messaging allows for resources to be focused on core business objectives rather than wasted on overhead. However, the contribution of prior art electronic messaging systems can be characterized as replacing physical inefficiencies with electronic ones.
Specifically, prior art electronic messaging systems distribute a single message to multiple recipients by duplicating the message and delivering a copy to each recipient. The two major inefficiencies that result include both processing time to duplicate the message and storage space to hold the copies. For example, consider what occurs when prior art systems deliver a three kilobyte message to all three thousand employees of a particular business. The prior art electronic messaging systems must dedicate processing resources to duplicate the three kilobyte message three thousand times, producing some nine megabytes of data that must be stored in the computer systems of the business.
Admittedly, with today's computer systems, duplicating a file three thousand times and storing nine megabytes of data are minor concerns, when viewed in isolation. However, several other factors render this drain on computer resources more serious. For example, electronic messaging systems operate on many individual messages. Duplicating a single message three thousand times is the equivalent of receiving three thousand messages at once. When combined with the normal operating conditions of the electronic messaging system, a sudden requirement to process three thousand messages can dramatically reduce system performance.
This problem is further complicated when recipients begin replying to widely distributed electronic messages. Because replies may be difficult to understand in isolation, the original message is often copied with the reply to avoid misunderstandings. Furthermore, the replies are often distributed to all original recipients, multiplying the initial nine megabytes of data by a factor of two and adding another three thousand messages the size of the reply.
However, copying the original message with a reply provides only minimal context. By its very nature, recipients will read and respond to a widely distributed electronic message over a substantial period of time. Some recipients may be out of the office, for hours at a meeting or days on vacation, when certain electronic messages are delivered. Some recipients will be involved in other work when the message is delivered and postpone reading and/or response to a more convenient time. Others, however, will read and respond immediately. This response time delay leads prior art electronic messaging system to intersperse responses with unrelated messages received in the interim. Moreover, if a specific electronic message generates a large amount of discussion, it may be advantageous to divide an initial topic into several subtopics. However, prior art electronic messaging systems provide only limited support for organizing electronic messages by topic, such as rules for sorting messages by sender.
Furthermore, electronic messaging typically provides only limited formatting capabilities. Many messages, however, require fairly sophisticated presentation. Enhanced formatting may be important as a means of efficiently communicating information. Perhaps a table of data quickly conveys the message that would otherwise require significant amounts of text. Alternatively, higher degrees of formatting generally connote an increased level of importance or authority. The effect of requiring a high degree of formatting often leads to electronic messages containing attachments of word processing documents that provide the increased formatting capabilities. Unfortunately, the formatting information of a document may contribute as much to a document's size as the text of the document itself and introduces a certain amount of overhead. Thus, three kilobytes is an extremely conservative size for an email message with an attached word processing document. It is not uncommon for even simple word processing documents to be in the range of ten to twenty kilobytes. A twenty kilobyte attachment sent to three thousand recipients with a single reply that includes the original message represents 120 megabytes of data—for a single communication. The problem may be at its worst when a fifty kilobyte image or 100 kilobyte program is involved.
Because the copies are electronic, little consideration is given to the resources that are required for delivering electronic messages. It is a simple matter for the average person to recognize the effort in physically duplicating something three thousand times. Few if any would even consider making a short (or even humorous) comment in a paper system that requires three thousand copies of the comment, three thousand duplicates of the original message, time to attach the comment to the duplicates, and manual distribution to three thousand people. However, in an electronic messaging context, senders give little consideration to the computing resources necessary for processing widely distributed messages and the possible impact of replies.
Nevertheless, some prior art electronic messaging systems provide ill-suited solutions to the processing and storage problems introduced by multiple recipient messages. For example, public folders and newsgroups both provide a mechanism for placing information in a common area where it can be accessed by multiple requestors without being duplicated for each. While newsgroups and public folders provide a topical arrangement of information, they lack the ability to direct messages to an easily modifiable group of recipients. Specifically, newsgroups and public folders require a user to post information and then depend on those who are interested in the topic to periodically check for new messages. This operation renders newsgroups and public folders virtually useless for ad hoc electronic discussions.
Moreover, newsgroups and public folders provide limited capabilities for controlling access to posted information. For example, access to newsgroups and public folders can be controlled by users, but access cannot be tailored on a message by message basis. This limitation imposes a need for newsgroups and public folders to be created based on both topic and anticipated distribution, leading to a proliferation of newsgroups and public folders that must be checked periodically for new messages.
Finally, growing enthusiasm for the Internet further contributes to the problems in the prior art because an increasing number of people have access to electronic messaging services. This increased access enhances the ability to interact with one another and increases the likelihood that a single message will be meaningful to multiple recipients, further aggravating processing and storage problems. The prior art demands either sacrificing performance, limiting distribution, or designing systems to support the inefficiencies at their peak demand.
The problems in the prior state of the art have been successfully overcome by the present invention which is directed to methods and systems for improved distribution of electronic messages directed to multiple recipients and improved, organization of replies to an electronic message. The improvement eliminates inefficiencies in processing power and storage space caused by duplicating electronic messages and provides enhanced organization by grouping replies with the original message.
More specifically, in one embodiment of the present invention, a host system providing electronic messaging services efficiently distributes electronic messages to multiple recipients. In contrast to the prior art's need to duplicate a message for each recipient, the host system stores as few as one copy of the electronic message, notifies each recipient of the stored message, and includes with the notification a link for accessing the stored message. Therefore, the host system saves both the processing time that would otherwise be used for duplicating and the corresponding storage space required to hold each of the duplicated messages.
Alternatively, the invention can be practiced using multiple host systems, each providing electronic messaging services to a particular set of clients. With multiple host systems, the host system originating a message creates a list identifying host systems providing electronic messaging services for each recipient and a list of recipients for each of the identified host systems. Then, for each host system, the originating system sends a host-specific list of recipients and a copy of the electronic message. However, in a multiple host system environment, an originating host system may determine that another host system providing electronic messaging service to certain recipients is unsupported in that it does not provide the full functionality of the invention disclosed herein. Upon identifying an unsupported host system, the originating host system sends the electronic message using another protocol that is compatible with the unsupported host system.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides for organizing related electronic messages. Replies may be associated with an earlier message by assigning an identifier to the initial electronic message. This association enhances a client's ability to establish the context of a reply. For example, assigning an identifier allows for the automated creation of a message-specific storage mechanism to hold the original message as well as all subsequent replies to that initial message. As electronic messages with identifiers are distributed, at least one storage mechanism for each initial message is created. Electronic messages that are replies are associated with their corresponding initial message by being placed in the storage mechanism previously created for each particular initial message.
The storage mechanism for initial messages may also comprise means for indicating the presence of electronic messages that have not been opened by the client. When a client selects a particular storage mechanism, only electronic messages associated with the message identifier will be presented. Within each storage mechanism, replies may be organized in a tree, hierarchical (parent-child), or other suitable arrangement; replies may be further ordered by time of receipt. Associating replies in this manner also allows for the elimination of common text among messages. There is no motivation for a reply to duplicate an earlier message within the reply itself because it is a relatively simple matter to access the earlier message.
Although presented separately, the aspects of the present invention summarized above should not be considered as mutually exclusive. Rather, when combined, these aspects cooperate to greatly enhance the art of electronic messaging. Furthermore, some attributes are common among diverse embodiments of the present invention. For example, the ability to alter a distribution list for granting or denying access to one or more recipients, message specific rules that determine the lifetime of a particular message or control access to the message, and host-specific rules that provide a similar function all may enhance the embodiments described above.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide methods and systems for reducing both the processing and storage space resources associated with electronically sending a message to multiple recipients.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide methods and systems for tracking and dynamically controlling access to an electronic message.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide methods and systems for organizing related electronic messages.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide methods and systems capable of interacting with host systems that do not operate according to the present invention.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an example system that provides a suitable operating environment for the present invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates the basic elements of one embodiment of an electronic message;
FIG. 3 illustrates the basic components of a host system that provides electronic messaging services;
FIG. 4 illustrates how a preferred embodiment of the present invention processes electronic messages within a single host system environment;
FIG. 5 illustrates how replies are associated with original messages; and
FIG. 6 illustrates how a preferred embodiment of the present invention processes electronic messages within a multiple host system environment where one host system providing electronic messaging services does not operate according to the present invention.
The present invention addresses the problems that prior art electronic messaging services face when distributing a single message to multiple recipients. Rather than expending processing power to duplicate the electronic message for each recipient and rather than dedicating storage resources to retain each of the newly made copies, the present invention stores a single copy of the electronic message and sends a relatively small notification to each recipient. The notification provides access to the stored copy of the electronic message and may also include certain information regarding its content and origin.
The present invention also aids in organizing replies to an electronic message. By assigning a message identifier, each reply can be associated with the message that prompted the response. The association is helpful to a recipient because it provides context for the reply without requiring its author to duplicate the initial message with the response. Furthermore, the context established through association is applicable to each of possibly many replies, whereas, without association, a recipient would need to separately establish context for each reply received.
The invention is described below by using diagrams to illustrate either the structure or processing of embodiments used to implement the methods and systems of the present invention. Using the diagrams in this manner to present the invention should not be construed as limiting its scope. The present invention contemplates both methods and systems for processing electronic messages. The embodiments of the present invention may comprise a special purpose or general purpose computer comprising various computer hardware.
Embodiments within the scope of the present invention also include computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable media can be any available media which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. When information is transferred or provided over a network or other communications connection to a computer, the computer properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus, such a connection is also properly termed a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. The computer-executable instructions and associated data structures represent an example of program code means for executing the steps of the invention disclosed herein.
FIG. 1 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the invention may be implemented. Although not required, the invention will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a personal computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a conventional computer 20, including a processing unit 21, a system memory 22, and a system bus 23 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit. The system bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory includes read only memory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. A basic input/output system (BIOS) 26, containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer 20, such as during start-up, may be stored in ROM 24. The computer 20 may also include a magnetic hard disk drive 27 for reading from and writing to a magnetic hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or writing to removable optical disk 31 such as a CD-ROM or other optical media. The magnetic hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28, and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a hard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive-interface 33, and an optical drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer 20. Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a magnetic hard disk 27, a removable magnetic disk 29 and a removable optical disk 31, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROM), and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment.
A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk 29, optical disk 31, RCQM 24 or RAM 25, including an operating system 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules 37, and program data 38. A user may enter commands and information into the computer 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 and pointing device 42. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joy stick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 21 through a serial port interface 46 that is coupled to system bus 23, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 47 or other type of display device is also connected to system bus 23 via an interface, such as video adapter 48. In addition to the monitor, personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown) such as speakers and printers.
The computer 20 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 49. Remote computer 49 may be another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 20, although only a memory storage device 50 has been illustrated in FIG. 1. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network (WAN) 52 that are presented here by way of example and not limitation. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.
When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 20 is connected to the local network 51 through a network interface or adapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network 52, such as the Internet. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 20, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.
FIG. 2 illustrates the basic elements of electronic message 10. Although the invention will be described below in reference to electronic message 10 of FIG. 2, the invention can alternatively be practiced with other electronic messages having more or fewer elements. Specifically, distribution list 60 describes all intended recipients of electronic message 10. Although not shown separately, distribution list 60 includes direct recipients as well as those receiving normal or blind copies. Including blind copy recipients in distribution list 60 does not necessarily alter the rules of who will receive copies of a subsequent reply. That is, appearing on distribution list 60 does not mean that a client receiving a blind copy of an electronic message will be identifiable to other recipients and therefore potentially receive any later replies to the electronic message. Timestamp 70 is a general indication of a message's temporal context. It may represent the actual creation time, the time a message is received by an electronic messaging service for delivery, the actual delivery time, etc., or any combination thereof. Subject 72 is a field where the sender can summarize a message's content. Subject 72 aids recipients in evaluating the relative importance of any particular message without having to review the entire message. Finally, message content 80 represents a message's substantive content and may include minimally formatted text, binary data such as sound, images, executable files, and/or word processing documents, etc., that may be included with a message as an attachment or as the message itself.
FIG. 3 illustrates one example of the host systems that can be used to practice the present invention. In general, the host systems of the invention can be any system that provides electronic messaging services to users. Host system 100, which should not be seen as imposing any structural or architectural limitations on the invention, includes a message server 112 and clients 114. Message server 112 can be any network server or other computing device capable of managing electronic messaging services for clients 114. In this example, message server 112 is associated with a message store 113, which can be any suitable data storage system capable of storing message content 80 of an electronic message 10, as shown in FIG. 2. The process of storing message content 80 is further described below in reference to FIGS. 4-6. Clients 14, which are individually numbered client 1, client 2, client 3, client 4, . . . client n, can be as few as one client or as many clients as host system 100 and message server 112 are capable of serving.
In the example of FIG. 3, message server 112 and clients 114 are connected by means of network 116, which may be a local area network, or a wide area network. In many cases, network 116 can be an organization-wide LAN configured to provide messaging services to users in the organization. Accordingly, clients 114 can be conventional client systems used in LANs or WANs, or any other suitable computing systems. For instance, clients 114 can be the computer 20 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 3, host system 100 can be linked to other host systems. Host system 100 and, optionally, the other host systems designated by FIG. 3 represent one example of a messaging system.
FIG. 4 combines the basic elements of an electronic message 10, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and the basic elements of a host system 100 providing electronic messaging services, as illustrated in FIG. 3, to demonstrate the operation of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The electronic messaging services of host system 100 function as follows. Limited copies of the message content 80 of FIG. 2 are stored as message 180 in, for example, message store 113 of FIG. 3. Generally, message 180 refers to a single electronic message. However, at times message 180 may also be viewed appropriately as an initial electronic message with associated replies and/or a forked electronic message as described below in connection with FIG. 5.
The limited copies are in contrast to traditional electronic messaging services that store a separate copy for each client who is a recipient of an electronic message. At a minimum, the preferred embodiment of FIG. 4 stores one copy of message 180. However, clients of host system 100 may be organized into diverse groups, with each group defining, for example, resources accessible by its members (among other things). Where clients are organized by group, host system 100 may store one copy of message 180 for each group having a member as an intended recipient of message 180.
Host system 100 also stores distribution list 60 of FIG. 2 as distribution list 160. Next, the host system 100 identifies which of clients 114 are recipients as listed in distribution list 160 and notifies each recipient of message 180 through notification 110. In this example of FIG. 4, clients 1, 3, and n are identified as recipients. Clients 1, 3, and n may be or may not be members of a common group.
Distribution list 160 may serve several purposes. In addition to containing the intended recipients, distribution list 160 may also provides means for tracking various actions that recipients perform with regard to message 180, such as recording recipients who access the message. However, this tracking also may be performed by message 180 itself, it may be part of the rules included with either the electronic message or host system providing electronic messaging services, or tracking may be implemented separately or as a subpart of some collection of functionality.
Notification 110 may include various data such as timestamp 170 and subject 172 that correspond to the timestamp 70 and subject 72 of FIG. 2. More importantly, notification 110 may include message link 182 for enabling the client to access the stored message 180. Timestamp 170, subject 172, and message link 182 are one example of a preferred embodiment's notification means for making message 180 available to recipients. A notification means may include other information such as a few lines of text, the message sender, etc. The present invention contemplates a variety of information as part of notification 110, including the above mentioned options being present either singly or in combination. It is only required that notification 110 provide some means for indicating the existence of message 180. This notification is in contrast to prior art systems that would duplicate electronic message 10, of FIG. 2, and store a copy for each recipient.
Another aspect of the embodiment of FIG. 4 is the ability to track access to message 180. Tracking may be useful as an auditing feature that allows the electronic messaging services of host system 100 to determine and report who has accessed message 180. Moreover, tracking access may be useful when considering rules for governing access and rules for determining lifetime as discussed below. Furthermore, one embodiment of the present invention notifies recipients when the distribution list changes and provides tools for examining the historical content of the distribution list, including comments to describe why specific changes were made.
The electronic messaging services also comprise rules for governing access to message 180. These rules may be defined as default rules to be used by the electronic messaging services or they may be defined on a message by message basis. Regardless, the rules may control access by determining, for example, if message 180 can be forwarded to new recipients, if message 180 can be downloaded from the message server to a local storage device, if distribution list 160 can be altered, and who is authorized to perform such actions. Altering distribution list 160 to add a new recipient grants access to message 180 through notification 110 as if the new recipient had been an original recipient. Altering distribution list 160 to remove a recipient revokes access to message 180 as if access had never been granted; future updates will not be available to the removed recipient. However, a recipient on distribution list 160 may have a local copy of message 180. By maintaining a local copy, a recipient removed from distribution list 160 will retain access to message 180 as it existed at the time of removal from the distribution list 160. Revocation may be accompanied by a message indicating that message 180 is no longer available to the client.
The electronic messaging services may also include rules for determining the lifetime of message 180. By way of example and not limitation, message 180 may only be useful through a given date, until everyone has read it, or until recipients no longer access it for a particular time. The rules may choose one of the above mentioned criteria or a combination thereof, or some other suitable parameter or combination for determining the lifetime of message 180. Rules may also indicate if the lifetime of message 180 can be extended and who is authorized to make an extension.
FIG. 5 illustrates the organizational component of one embodiment of the present invention. In order to associate replies with the message that prompted them, each initial message 10 is assigned a message identifier 90. Message identifier 90 allows electronic messaging services of the host system to group replies by subject matter. As practiced in the prior art, conventional electronic messaging services intersperse replies with other electronic messages making it difficult for a recipient to follow a particular topic. Furthermore, as practiced in conventional systems, in an effort to aid other users in following the discussion, responses may duplicate the content of initial message 10 in the response, forcing the user to wade through the content of message 10 to reach the reply's substance.
In contrast, the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5 associates replies to an initial message 10 using message identifier 90. FIG. 5 shows a hierarchical tree model by way of example rather than limitation; any hierarchical organization is within the scope of the present invention. Reply 412, reply 414, reply 416, and reply 418 all represent reply messages associated with initial message 10 through message identifier 90. This organization allows, for example, a recipient to view a display with initial message 10 for context along with the text of replies 412, 414, 416, and 418 without having the content of message 10 duplicated in each reply.
FIG. 5 also shows fork 423 and fork 427. In prior art systems, unintentional forks occur when individual topics begin to be discussed separately. Forking is a natural process that occurs based on the individual interests of each particular recipient. Participating in a forked discussion is like trying to listen to more than one person at the same time and makes establishing context a difficult task. Moreover, forking is further complicated when the original set of recipients splinters into subgroups discussing individual topics in detail. Forking is beneficial because it allows those with specific interests to focus their expertise without being subjected to larger discussions that may be irrelevant to them. Unintentional forking becomes especially problematic in prior art systems when recipients are added to a distribution list, because the added recipients must depend on others to provide them with the discussion's history. In conventional systems, it becomes difficult to separate the history from the current discussion due to the volume of information duplicated in the name of context. Moreover, context must be established on a message by message basis by examining timestamps and sorting through text copied from earlier messages.
In contrast to forking experienced in the prior art, fork 423 and fork 427 represent intentional forks according to an embodiment of the present invention. These intentional forks are based on recipients determining that a particular topic is more suited to a small group. Fork 423 generates a new message identifier 425 and includes associated replies 430, 432, and 434. Fork 427, with new message identifier 429, includes associated replies 436 and 438 as well as fork 447 having message identifier 449 and associated replies 452, 454, and 456. The advantage of the embodiment exemplified in FIG. 5 is that organization is a function of the electronic messaging services rather than the whim of an individual recipient saving messages on a given topic. Furthermore, adding a recipient to the appropriate distribution list provides the new recipient with the topic history as well, because the new recipients access is identical to that of an original recipient. Moreover, the hierarchy provides context that carries from message for message. For example, replies 430, 432, and 434 all relate to the topic division made in fork 423.
Although the discussion associated with FIGS. 2 and 4 spoke in terms of message 180, whether a message is an initial message, a reply, or a response to a reply is immaterial to how the message is delivered to clients who are recipients. Therefore, FIGS. 2 and 4 could have been described accurately in terms of message/reply rather than simply message. With the preceding discussion introducing replies and their corresponding organization, FIG. 6 will describe messages and replies identically with regard to how they are distributed as any distinction is arbitrary. Nevertheless, the terms "message" and "reply" may be employed to indicate the relationship between several messages. Any descriptions of relationship with regard to distribution are by way of example and not intended as a limitation.
FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of an embodiment of the present invention within a multiple host system environment where at least one of the host systems providing electronic messaging services does not operate according to the present invention. Originating host system 100 notifies its clients who are recipients of an electronic message as described in relation to FIG. 4. However, message 180, shown in FIG. 4, may be either an initial message or reply and is therefore designated message/reply 180 in FIG. 6.
As the originating host system of message/reply 180, host system 100 is responsible for notifying other host systems serving clients who are recipients of message/reply 180. To this end, host system 100 creates host list 164 identifying each host system (e.g., host systems 100, 200, and 300) providing electronic messaging services to the recipients of message/reply 180. Host system 100 also creates a recipient by host list 162. List 162 organizes the recipients according to the host system that provides electronic messaging services to the recipients.
Host system 200 is identified by host system 100 as a host system that operates according to the current invention. Host system 100 transmits message/reply 180 and the portion of list 162 necessary for host system 200 to notify clients of host system 200 that are recipients of message/reply. Host system 200 stores the transmitted copy of message/reply 180 as message/reply 280 and the transmitted portion of list 162 as distribution list 260. In this example, host system 100 must also indicate how host system 200 should send replies to message/reply 180. This may be accomplished by identifying host system 100 as the originator of message/reply 180, meaning that all replies should be directed to host system 100 for distribution. Alternatively, host system 100 may transmit host list 164 and recipient by host list 162 to host system 200 so that host system 200 may distribute replies independent of host system 100. After receiving message/reply 180, stored as message/reply 280, and distribution list 160, stored as distribution list 260, host system 200 distributes message/reply 280 according to the description of host system 100 in FIG. 4 and organizes message/reply 280 according to the description of FIG. 5.
Host system 300 is identified as a host system that does not operate according to the present invention. For example, host system 300 may be incapable of storing a single copy of message/reply 180 and notifying recipients of the stored single copy. In response, host system 100 sends message/reply 180 using a protocol, which is not the one described in reference to host system 200, but is instead compatible with host system 100 and host system 300. One skilled in the art will recognize that several suitable protocols for use with host system 300 are available. In one example of using a protocol compatible with host system 300, host system 100 duplicates electronic message 10 of FIG. 2 for each recipient who is a client of host system 300. As shown in FIG. 6, electronic message 310 illustrates each of the duplicated electronic messages, containing a full distribution list 360, timestamp 370, subject 372, and message/reply 380, corresponding to the similarly number elements of electronic message 10 of FIG. 2.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
Legal Events
Original Image


text:
Pet Supplements for Nutrition are used for many different types of reasons.
There are Dog Nutritional Supplements that help stimulate appetite and increases
weight gain. Dogs who have a prolong sickness and need a little weight gain
can benefit from such Pet Nutritional Supplements. They can also Aid digestion
and settle the stomach. Dogs who are known to some type of digestive problem
will greatly benefit from Pet Supplements for Nutrition.
Nutritional Supplements for Dogs contributes to digestion and absorption of essential vitamins and minerals as well as the assimilation of fats and oils. This can be beneficial to Older pets who tend to absorb fewer vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes through the intestinal tract. Pet Supplements for Nutrition can aid in stimulating appetites for the Older dogs who are reluctant to eat. Puppies found as strays or adopted from a shelter can oftentimes be malnourished when you first bring them home. Pet Supplements for Nutrition will bring the additional and specialized nutrition to help ensure good health.
Active Adult Dogs can benefit from Pet Nutritional Supplements. More energy is used by these pets and so are the calories. Dog Supplements for Nutrition are rich in essential fatty acids to provide a healthy skin for you pets. When your dog's performance depends on being at it's best Pet Nutritional Supplements will do the trick.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
When Is Sodium Benzoate Dangerous?
Read Your Labels:
Sodium Benzoate is dangerous when combined with ascorbic acid.
Sodium Benzoate is a preservative most widely used in acidic foods such as salad dressings (vinegar), carbonated drinks (carbonic acid), jams and fruit juices (citric acid), pickles (vinegar), and condiments. It is also used as a preservative in medicines and cosmetics.
When the preservative Sodium Benzoate and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) are used in any foods etc. mentioned above it can be dangerous. Sodium benzoate is a salt (sodium) attached to benzoic acid. Ascorbic acid would react with it and tie up the sodium releasing the benzene/benzoic acid.
In combination with ascorbic acid (vitamin C, E300), sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate form benzene, a known carcinogen. However, in most beverages that contain both, the benzene levels are below those considered dangerous for consumption.Heat, light and shelf life can affect the rate at which benzene is formed.
Understand that ascorbic acid is Vitamin C, but NOT TO BE CONFUSED with citric acid which is very different and does not react with sodium benzoate. They have a different molecule structure, in chemistry that is what matters. Only if benzene is released with Vitamin C ascorbic acid is it a problem. When you read labels and see ascorbic acid & sodium benzoate on the same label, please reconsider your purchase.
No Worries About Sodium Benzoate Dangers With SISEL International
Sisel does use sodium benzoate as a preservative but does not use Vit C (ascorbic acid) in their formulas. Only citric acid is used which does not release the benzoate.
Because of the high therapeutic doses of ingredients in SISEL's products a natural preservative can not be used, as it won't keep the product stable. If they just had a little acai or whatever, SISEL could get by with a natural preservative, but because of the high potency we must use a very small amount of sodium benzoate.
What Does Sodium Benzoate Do?
Sodium Benzoate's role in SISEL products is to inhibit the multiplication of certain types of yeasts. Without it they would quickly contaminate the formulations. Certainly a product could be made entirely without sodium benzoate but it would have to be super heated and thus destroy most if not all of the actives. In addition, even airborne yeast, just as mold in bread, would/could contaminate the formula and grow rapidly. Consequently having sodium benzoate as an inhibitor without any adverse affects is highly desirable.
There is not a residual accumulation of sodium benzoate in the body, it is a soluble salt and is eliminated daily through the kidneys. It is important to note that many plants and fruits contain benzoic acid to keep yeast from destroying the product. Apples are a good example. The amount of sodium benzoate in an apple is about what there is in a bottle of SISEL's liquid nutritionals but it is stabilized with sodium to enhance its properties. When stabilized it is an inhibitor not a killer of yeast. It simply interferes with yeasts ability to duplicate.
So is sodium benzoate preservative dangerous? The answer is, it can be depending on the source of vitamin C added to the product. I hope you find this educational and helpful when making your choice to purchase SISEL International products and change your environment.
Dani Walker
Latest posts by Dani Walker (see all)
- Satiety – How To Not Be Hungry Ever! - June 1, 2015
- Fooled, Not Fueled By Big Food - May 6, 2015
- RNY Gastric Bypass Blog Post – Life After Surgery - April 28, 2015


text:
The bird, the one finger salute, the finger. It's called many different things, but we all know what it means…and it ain't nice. The obscene hand gesture dates back to the ancient Romans, presumably used during times of intense chariot traffic. But it's persevered through the ages all the way to today. We all use it from time to time, but the finger is especially potent in (and on) the hands of famous musicians. Whether they're onstage and asserting their badass-itude, or they're out on the town and want the paparazzi to get lost, rock and rollers are never afraid to flip you off!
They come in all kinds of genres, ages and kinds, from pop queens like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, hip hop heroes Lil Wayne and Kanye West, and metal gods like Duff McKagan, Slash, Kirk Hammett and…pretty much everyone else! They've been lucky so far, because no fans have tried to take them up on their not-so-subtle-but-still-non-verbal offer, if you catch our drift…
Head on up to the gallery above for 50 musicians who definitely aren't happy to see you.
[Photo: Getty Images/Splash News]


text:
United States Department of Defense
News Articles
News/Casualty Releases
Press Advisories
News Transcripts
Special Reports
Secretary of Defense
News Photos
Deputy Secretary of Defense
News Photos
Lead Photos
News Photos
Photo Essays
Week in Photos
DoD Video News
Imagery Archive
Briefing Slides
Pentagon Press Badges
Press/Media Queries
Military Commissions
Other News Sources
News Transcript
Press Operations
E-Mail A Copy
Printer Friendly
Latest Transcripts
Defense Department Press Briefing with Rear Adm. Kirby from the Pentagon
Presenter: Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby
January 29, 2014
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY: Good afternoon. I'm going to -- let me just -- a couple of announcements here, and then we'll get right at it. Today, as many of you know, Secretary Hagel is going to travel to Europe to meet with defense leaders there and also attend the 50th Munich Security Conference. He will first travel to Warsaw, Poland, to meet with senior Polish officials. Poland has been a steadfast ally of the United States, and Secretary Hagel will thank them for supporting our efforts in Afghanistan and elsewhere and also express support for Poland's efforts to modernize their defense establishment.
He will also visit Powidz Air Base in Central Poland, where U.S. and Polish troops are working together to further Polish and regional security. The secretary will then make a very brief visit to the area of Kiszkow, Poland, where his mother's grandparents were married before immigrating to the United States.
From Poland, Secretary Hagel will travel to Munich, where on Saturday he will make a joint presentation at the Munich Security Conference with Secretary of State John Kerry on the importance of transatlantic cooperation. While there, he will also have the opportunity to meet with a number of his foreign counterparts and will be returning to Washington later that evening.
Let me also now turn to another issue that is of enormous concern to the secretary, and that's the readiness of our nuclear forces. As you know, Secretary Hagel considers the health of our nuclear enterprise a top national security priority. This morning, as he said he would do, he convened a meeting of key stakeholders in the nuclear enterprise to address the personnel challenges that have recently come to light in the nuclear force, and this is a meeting that he himself had called for, as you know, last week.
It was a candid and wide-ranging discussion of the types of challenges that are faced by people who work in the nuclear enterprise, and the secretary -- as I think all the participants found it a very useful discussion. This morning's meeting was but one of a series of steps that he directed to renew this department's focus on the health of our nuclear enterprise, and there will be further measures enacted in the coming weeks and months.
And I think one of the things that they left the meeting with, he made very clear that he wants to have those kinds of meetings on a more regular basis. Nobody in the room could remember the last time that all the leaders in the nuclear enterprise had gathered in an informal setting like that, in one room, so the secretary made it clear at the end of the meeting that he intends to do these on a regular basis.
And then one last -- one last announcement to make. He did speak this morning, called Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu to reiterate our commitment to providing any security assistance Russia may seek or want for the Olympics in Sochi. As you know, the State Department has the lead for coordinating all support requests with our Russian partners and that Russia retains the lead for security for the Olympics.
But he reiterated this department's firm commitment to support in any way possible -- any way that would be acceptable to the Russian government. He believes that the minister and the Russian government are taking the security threats seriously there at the Olympics and the two leaders agreed to maintain through subordinate military commands some sort of regular open dialogue as the Olympics draw near and as they -- and as they progress.
So with that, I'll take any questions. Lita?
Q: John, one question and then two little follow-ups on your comment.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: So, three questions?
Q: Three questions.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Go ahead.
Q: OK. The two small ones, the easy ones, one, was there any due-outs or any directives by the secretary during the meeting this morning that he asked them to come back to him with anything in the future? Did the Russian defense minister ask for anything in this phone call?
And then sort of the question, Afghanistan. President Karzai put out a statement today saying he was happy to see the timelines have been set aside in the request for a bilateral security agreement signing. Have all timelines been set aside? Does the U.S. now no longer have a timeline for the signing of the BSA? Or because Secretary Hagel at some point in recent weeks had suggested that he really wanted something by the time he went to Brussels, to the NATO conference.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: OK. Let's see if I can take them in order, if I can remember them correctly. There was no specific due-out requested by the secretary as a result of this morning's meeting. It really was -- it was the first time that these leaders had had a chance to get together. They -- all of them had an opportunity to talk about their view, their perspective on the health of the nuclear enterprise and in particular in their -- their particular part of that enterprise.
There were lots of good ideas floated about things that need to be considered and looked at by everybody, not just by the United States Air Force. Secretary James had a chance to provide the group with her view, based on her trip last week and some of the things that she learned.
But, no, no specific due-out, except as I said at the opening, the secretary at the end just we -- nobody was planning for him to do this, but he -- he just said that this has been a great session and I want to have more of them. So if there's a due-out, I guess it would be that, that we're going to schedule these things on some sort of a regular basis, because I think everybody found it quite useful.
There was no specific request made in the phone call this morning with the Russian minister of defense. And there was no specific offer of assistance made by Secretary Hagel. It was -- it was -- I would describe it more as a check-in call. I think that the two just wanted the opportunity to talk a little bit.
Secretary Hagel wanted to make sure that the minister knew how serious we were about an offer of support and -- like I said, at the -- at the end of my statement there, they both agreed that some sort of regular exchange and dialogue between the two militaries throughout the period of the Olympics would be a good idea, so they're working the details of that. I don't know how that's going to actually happen or who's going to be on the phone with whom, but they did agree that some sort of constant frequent dialogue or at least the opportunity to have that immediate dialogue through the Olympics would be helpful for both sides.
And then on Afghanistan, I did not see President Karzai's statement, but I can tell you that there's been no change in our position that, first of all, the bilateral security agreement negotiations have concluded. There's nothing more to negotiate on this. We continue to maintain our position that we need it signed as soon as possible. There's no firm deadline on that. We need it as soon as possible, or otherwise we're going to have to begin planning for a complete withdrawal. So there's been no change in our position on that.
And then to your point on the defense ministerials, the secretary still believes that it would be enormously helpful if, by the time he meets at the defense ministerials next month, if -- if the issue of the bilateral security agreement can be concluded, it'll just make that session all the more useful and productive for everybody.
And it's important to remember that this -- this agreement isn't -- we aren't the only benefactors of having an agreement, the United States that is. The international community, our NATO allies, our partners also gain from having some certainty here in terms of the bilateral security agreement.
Q: This is on Afghanistan -- I actually have a question on Korea -- but on Afghanistan, you said that, you know, it would be nice to have an agreement by the time the ministerial happened...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: I didn't say nice to have. I said the secretary believes it would be enormously helpful if by the time we get to Brussels, that agreement...
Q: (OFF-MIKE) deadline. You know, is there -- is there really no deadline -- that seemed to be what Karzai was suggesting in his statement. And then...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Again, I haven't seen the president's statements. We're not issuing a deadline. I can speak for the Pentagon. The Pentagon's not issuing a deadline to the Karzai administration on when we want the agreement signed. We've been very clear and very consistently clear that we want it as soon as possible or we're going to have to start to begin that kind of planning.
Q: And on Korea, there was a story out of Korea -- the Korea Times, I believe, had a story saying that the U.S. was going to scale back its drills this year, that there was going to be no carrier presence, that there was going to be no strategic bombers used in the drills, and that this might be tied to conciliatory gestures by the North. Could you comment on that?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Yeah. First of all, these are annual exercises, and we do them every year with our allies in South Korea. They're very useful exercises. And as you well know, Phil, that we exercise all the time in the military, and exercise scenarios change, and they should change, because you don't want to get too much muscle memory here.
So without getting into the details of this particular exercise, because it hasn't been announced, the units that are participating in the dates and all that. That's still coming. But I can tell you that there will be an exercise this year. We're looking forward to the exercise. And we're confident that whatever units participate in whatever scenario that we're testing out, it's going to be a robust demonstration of the strength of the alliance and the interoperability between our two militaries.
And I'd remind you that -- I mean, as I understand it, somebody's saying, well, there's no carrier in this exercise. And, again, without confirming or denying what units are going to be in it, there were no carriers in the exercise last year. So I'm not sure where the hyperbole is coming from. We're looking forward to this exercise. We're going to have a good time. And I think we're going to learn a lot from each other as we always do.
Q: Admiral, last night, the president cited defense contractors specifically in the part of his speech where he talked about raising the minimum wage for people who work for the federal government. Do you have any sense about what that will mean for the Pentagon budget or how many it could affect across the world of people who work on bases as security guards or in chow halls and places like that?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: No, I'm afraid I don't. I mean, I certainly saw the president's speech, as well, and -- but I don't have any -- I don't have any details on exactly what that means for our defense contractors.
I mean, and -- to a large degree, the defense -- these are private employees of private companies, and certainly we would not legislate to the defense contractors, you know -- you know, how they compensate their people, but I think the president was very clear about what his expectations are.
Q: Admiral?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Yep?
Q: I have a question on Iraq. Could you give us an update about the status of the U.S. military assistance to the Iraqi forces? As you may know, the Senate cleared the way to deliver the Apaches to the Iraqi force. Do you know when this is going to happen?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Well, congressional notification has just taken place, as you know, with respect to the Apache helicopters, and as well with hellfire missiles and other small arms. So there's a 30-day review process right now while -- while Congress reviews these. That's where we are right now. And then when we get on the other side of it, you know, we'll have probably a little bit better sense of timing, but I can tell you that, at least with respect to the Apaches, I mean, it -- assuming that we -- you know, the Congress approves after this 30 days, that it'll be many months before, you know, they're actually on the ground. I mean, that's not the kind of thing, you know, you can get over there too quickly.
But we're committed to doing this. And the State Department runs this program. We're committed to supporting that. And we need to let the congressional process go on.
Q: Just a quick follow-up, anything on the training mission in Jordan?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: No, I have nothing to announce on a training mission in Jordan. That's a better question to be put to the Iraqi government and the Jordanian government. We have -- as you know, we have a very small number of advisers there who work out of the embassy in an advisory capacity.
And -- but the issue of whether or not Iraqi security forces train outside the country is really for that government to work out with -- and I know the Jordanian government has said that they're willing to host that, and that's really a discussion for those two governments to have.
Q: Can you go back for a minute, Admiral, to the phone call with the Russian minister?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Sure.
Q: You said a couple of things here. You said that Secretary Hagel offered to provide any security assistance and now this regular check-in call up to and through the games. My question is, what has happened to make both of these things now agenda items? Because previously, you have only talked about supporting the State Department if there was a request for you to assist the State Department in evacuating Americans out of Sochi. Providing security assistance means you are offering military assistance for during the games. Are you now acknowledging IED jamming? What are you talking about...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: No, I'm not acknowledging any such thing. In fact, I said at the opening that all support would go through the State Department. Nothing has changed about the fact that any security assistance that we may provide would all be coordinated through the State Department and that the Russian government retains lead for security.
So I'm not admitting any such thing. All I'm saying is that they -- they had a good discussion about maintaining the dialogue and to staying in touch with -- the two militaries staying in touch, as we get through -- as we get up and through the Olympics.
Q: What has -- what led -- this is different than just a check-in phone call. You said that the secretary -- Secretary Hagel -- was offering to provide any security assistance. So what has led him now -- previously, it was for evacuation of Americans. What is the status of the discussions about IED sharing? What kind of security assistance are you thinking of providing to the Russians? And what led to this plus the perceived need for a regular check-in during the games?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: OK, let's -- let's unpack that, because there's a lot there. First, I would say there was no government-to-government discussion about the evacuation of Americans. This was all based on press reporting and speculation by some unnamed officials that we were, you know, putting two ships in the Black Sea because we were going to evacuate Americans. That was never a topic of specific discussion between -- no, let me finish...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: . between -- between -- well, when he was asked up here he said, would you be ready to do that? And he said we would have the appropriate arrangements, because we had had discussions with the Russian government, military-to-military discussions before about keeping the dialogue open, and that's all that happened today, was another discussion that he had with the minister of defense. It's not like this is the first time they've spoken, certainly not the first time that the two of them have addressed the issue of the Olympics.
He felt that, as we're now a week away, it's a good idea to give them a call and just reiterate our willingness to help, if needed and if feasible and if accepted, and then just to -- for the two to promise that, you know, we'll try to keep the two militaries in touch. It doesn't always have to be Secretary Hagel and Minister Shoygu talking. It could be good enough to have just lower-level military officers, general officers talking on a frequent basis.
There was no specific mention of any specific type of assistance or technology or capability. Didn't come up.
Q: Can I just ask you briefly two other subjects? Can you tell us -- bring us up to date for the record on the U.S. military mission in Somalia over the weekend? And also have you received any request from any governors for storm assistance through the national -- federalization of the National Guard?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: About the winter storm down South? Is that what you're referring to? I'm not aware -- let me take that for the record, Barb. I'm not aware of any requests by -- by governors for National Guard assets, but I will get back to you on that. That's a good question.
I'm sorry. And the first one was...
Q: Somalia.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Somalia. I think, as you all know, and we've -- and we've said that there was a coordinated operation in southern Somalia over the weekend, targeted at an Al Qaida/Al-Shabaab leader. We're still assessing the results of that operation, and I have nothing more for that -- on that today.
Q: Last night, the president said he'd like to see Gitmo closed by the end of 2014. Do you think that's a reasonable, realistic, feasible timeline?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: The commander-in-chief made it very clear what his intentions are, and this -- we respond to the commander-in-chief and his directions.
Q: And, second of all, just to follow up on Joe's question, there were discussions of sending U.S. troops to Jordan to train Iraqi soldiers. Are there any plans in place to do so yet?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: I'm not aware of any plans to do so, no. Again, this is -- this is really a discussion between the government of Iraq and the government of Jordan.
Yeah, John?
Q: Admiral Kirby, going back to the nuclear issue that Secretary Hagel just initiated, the review, I guess the Air Force has 60 days to come up with an action plan. And then after that, are there any timelines as to when different initiatives that flow from this will actually be implemented?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Well, it's not just the Air Force. He wants all the leaders in the nuclear enterprise to develop an action plan. Actually, that tasking went specifically to the secretary of the Air Force and the secretary of the Navy, so both services are to work on this action plan, because they both own the nuclear enterprise.
And you're right; it is 60 days when he wants to see that work. But I -- you know, the work's just begun, so I don't really have anything more on it, and I would be loathe right now to characterize what it's going to look like. I suspect that it certainly will have a list of tasks that they believe -- that need to be accomplished or checked or maintained, and then some recommendations moving forward, but, again, we're just -- we're just now starting on this, and I just don't have anything more on it right now.
Q: So is there a sense coming out of this meeting that the problems in the Air Force are sort of systemic, there are personnel problems that go beyond the cheating that we've seen at Malmstrom or that's been alleged at Malmstrom? Was that what Secretary James briefed? Does she have a sense of a wider set of personnel problems that need to be addressed here, both in the Air Force and the Navy?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Well, I don't want to speak for Secretary James, but I think the general consensus in the room was that we all need to accept the reality that there probably are systemic issues in the personnel growth and development inside the nuclear mission.
Now, exactly what they are and how to address them, well, that's what they -- that's what they spent the bulk of the two hours talking about. But I think there was a general recognition that, yes, there are systemic issues and, yes, we need to start trying to solve them.
Q: And just to follow up, did those issues include widespread cheating, as Secretary Hagel sort of implied in some comments last week?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: The -- you mean a recognition that there is -- sort of a bona fide declaration?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: No, I don't -- I didn't -- I didn't hear any of that, that anybody was saying that there's -- that cheating itself, that the cheating issue is by design widespread or -- there was some sort of definite nature on that. It's clearly a problem. There's no question about that.
And as you may have heard Secretary James acknowledged this morning, that the numbers have gone up in the cheating investigation. So they're taking that very seriously, and it's absolutely a problem, but we didn't -- I didn't pick up a sense that cheating itself is a systemic issue. I think what -- I think...
Q: ... you mean it's a problem between this set of 60 or however many it is Air Force officers at this one base?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: No, I mean, you know, I'm talking about in the ICBM force. That said, though, and what the discussion did get to is, are there cultural problems -- at least inside the ICBM force, are there cultural problems that make it easier to cheat or make people -- make people feel more compelled to do it? And are there -- are there deeper cultural issues? And I think that they believe that that's a question worth exploring, that there very well may be.
Yeah, Courtney?
Q: Do you know how many of these people are still under suspension (OFF-MIKE)
REAR ADM. KIRBY: I don't. I mean, hang on a second. I'm -- I might have something. So there are six people left to test. So they're getting very close to the end of the re-test. Pass rate is still above 95 percent and in line with historical averages.
There's not been -- since the last time I updated you, I think I said there were 22 failures. There have still only been 22 failures. That's the latest. Does that -- does that answer your question?
Q: No, I was talking about the -- the additional ones yesterday, the 30 or however many it was, plus the 34 initial. So were there 64 people that are under suspension and not performing their duties right now?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: I'm not at liberty to give out an exact number. I can tell you that the number of those implicating in this -- implicated in this cheating investigation has grown. But without getting into the whole number, it has grown, and I think to some degree you would expect that as the investigation goes deeper and they ask more questions and they talk to more people.
It's likely that some of those additional folks may be cleared after further investigation, and it's also likely that some may have been cheating, some may have not cheated, but simply knew about it and didn't say anything about it. I mean, there's a whole range here. But, yes, the number has grown. And, again, I think you would expect that, as an investigation unfolds.
Q: Can I ask one about Russia, too? Can you just give us any kind of a sense at all of why -- what it was that Secretary Hagel felt that the Russian minister told him that made him feel like the Russians are doing such a good job at securing...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: The Russian minister actually said it unsolicited, that we're -- you know, that we know, that we're up for a challenge here, and we believe we're ready for that challenge and we're working this very, very hard. I mean, he said as much.
Q: So there weren't specific that he pointed to and said we're doing X, Y and Z? He said...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: No. No.
Q: He just gave him that assurance (inaudible)
Q: Admiral (OFF-MIKE)
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Go ahead.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: You guys decide.
Q: Real quick. Just a clarification. The -- the additional numbers, possible implication in cheating, is this limited as far as you know at this point to Malmstrom?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: I don't know. I don't know. You'd have to check with the Air Force on that. I'm not sure. And I don't think that's -- I don't think that that's their intent, to try to geographically limit this.
Q: Thank you. My question is about the State Department. U.S. and Pakistani officials met over the last two days at the State Department over strategic dialogue between the two countries. What role the Pentagon or DoD played in that discussions?
And, second, last night, president mentioned about the drone attacks. That means no more drone attacks inside Pakistan? That's what Pakistan was always demanding, that before they opened routes for the -- supply routes to Afghanistan, the U.S. must stop drone attacks against Pakistan.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: I'm not going to talk about specific operations. I think the president was clear, he's been clear about the need for a greater transparency about drone operations, and he was clear about that again last night. Again, we followed the direction of the commander-in-chief, and we understand his direction quite clearly.
Yes, we -- the Pakistani delegation did come here to meet with Secretary Hagel. It was a good, wide-ranging discussion, as they always are with -- with Pakistan. And, you know, clearly there are lots of issues between us that we continue to need to talk about and work out -- work through. And I think that that discussion was helpful in that regard.
Q: And then, finally, in terms of supply route now is going to open directly from U.S. to Afghanistan.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: I'm sorry. Are you talking about the Torkham...
Q: The supply route, yeah.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: There are -- there's no traffic moving through the Torkham gates still, temporarily no traffic moving through there. We obviously would like to see that traffic begin as soon as possible, because it is certainly cheaper to move retrograde material on the ground through the Torkham gate.
The Pakistani government has been very clear that they, too, would like to reopen it, but that they have, you know, the issue of protestors there that they're dealing with. And Secretary Hagel knows that they're working this hard.
Retrograde continues nonetheless. We're able to get things out by air and through the northern routes. It's more expensive. It's a little bit more laborious, but we're still able to do it, and General Dunford assures Secretary Hagel that the retrograde operation is proceeding apace. Thank you.
Q: What's the major problem remains now for this -- between the U.S. and Pakistan, as far as problems of this route and the supply into Afghanistan?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Look, I'm not going to stand up here and talk about every potential area where we don't agree with the government of Pakistan. I mean, countries, even good friends don't always agree on everything, but we're appreciative of the support that we've -- that we've received from Pakistan. This is a tough part of the world, tough regional issues, and it's important that we keep talking, and we are.
Q: OK. Is it fair to say the secretary is planning to expand his review of the medals and award system beyond the Distinguished Warfare Medal issues we talked about last spring?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Yes, he is. He wants -- what he's told the department that he wants to do is -- now that we're getting towards the end of the combat mission in Afghanistan, he wants to take a more holistic view of the awards process and the decoration process. And he's kicked that effort off. I think that it will -- we're hoping to have that review process done by the end of this year, early 2015, but he wants a more holistic view here, rather than just looking at it, cherry-picking it with this device here or that ribbon there. He wants to take a broader look at this.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Yes, personnel and readiness is leading the effort, yes.
Q: Just a quick follow-up on that.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Sure.
Q: Is there any consideration being given to offering nuclear launch officers new kinds of medals or awards or anything...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Nothing that I'm aware of. But, I mean, that's a great question, John. And that -- frankly, that came up, as well, this morning, this idea of incentives and accolades, and -- and what manifestations are there that show the people that work in this force that they're -- that they're valued.
So I don't have anything to announce today. And this would be something that the Air Force would -- you know, would have to speak to, should that decision be made. But it was an issue of discussion, this idea of how do you -- how do you reward the people that do this incredibly difficult work and make sure that they know that they're valued and that we're proud of them?
Yeah, Tony?
Q: I had a budget question and then a program question. Looking to the '15 budget, now that the '14 has been settled, what is the delta between $541 billion that the Pentagon was planning last year to ask for fiscal '15, and after all the dust settles, what you have to cut out of that delta to reach the caps agreed to last month?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Well, look, Tony, you know, I'd love to be able to get into a discussion of numbers with you, but the budget hasn't been submitted yet, and I'm -- and I'm just not going to -- I'm not going to talk about the details of a submission that hasn't been made yet.
Q: Well, I mean, I'm trying to get you on the record to illuminate a little bit. You had -- the figure last year, you had planned for '15, there was a cap now of X. You have to cut from last year's number to now. That's a public figure...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: So you're talking about because of the -- because of the bipartisan deal, so that -- that -- so this year, in '14, we're looking at cuts of about $31 billion. Next year, it would be more than $40 billion.
Q: More than $40 billion?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: More than $40 billion.
Q: So that's what you have to...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Yeah, I'm sorry.
Q: That's what I'm looking at, not...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Yeah, OK.
Q: A specific program question. The Pentagon's test office came out with a report -- public report today. The secretary saw it on Friday. There's a section in there on the littoral combat ship, your old service's ship...
REAR ADM. KIRBY: I'm still in the Navy Tony
Q: But you're purple up here. And it was very critical of it. It said there were numerous significant problems with the components to these mission modules that give it a combat capability. Has the secretary seen the assessment? And what impact is that having at all on his thinking about the future of the program, whether to buy the whole -- all 52 of these vessels?
REAR ADM. KIRBY: You're right. The report did get delivered to the secretary earlier this week. I don't know the degree to which he has read all of it. It's a pretty weighty document. He appreciates the work that went into it, the work that Mr. Gilmore's staff does every year to prepare that. It's a testing and evaluation review, not necessarily a programmatic review in that -- in terms of making programmatic decisions or recommendations.
The secretary's had numerous conversations with the Navy about the littoral combat ship. As you know, he went out and visited Freedom. He understands the value that -- that small surface combatants can bring to the fleet. And he's aware that -- of the challenges that the program has had, to include those with the mission modules.
But he's also confident that the Navy has a good handle on the mission module issue and -- and how they're progressing with it. This is a new idea, this idea of modularity. Never been done before in any navy, so there's going to be hiccups and challenges. He's -- but he's confident that the Navy's working through those challenges and that the mission modules will -- will get there.
Q: What about the basic issue of survivability? He says again in this report that the design of the ship does not enable it to be survivable in high-intensity conflict, high-intensity combat. That strikes to a basic point of the ship irrespective of these mission modules, if the thing can't survive on its own in combat, yet you're spending a lot of money per ship.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Well, we're still reviewing the report, so I'm not going to speculate about what he will or won't think about the things that he's reading this report. Survivability is one of those factors in any warship that you have to consider. And not every ship is as survivable in certain situations as others. That's why you have a fleet of so many different types of classes of ships.
And so we're working our way through that and, you know, when we have something more, we'll let you know.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: All right, guys, I'm going to have to go. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Most Recent Transcripts
Department of Defense Press Briefing with Brigadier General Kevin J. Killea, chief of staff, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve via DVIDS from Southwest Asia on Operation Inherent Resolve
Remarks by Secretary Carter at a Troop Event in Erbil, Iraq
Department of Defense Press Briefing by Deputy Secretary Work, Under Secretary Kendall, Dr. Jones, and Dr. Majidi on the DOD Comprehensive Anthrax Lab Review findings in the Pentagon Briefing Room
Remarks by Secretary Carter at a Troop Event in Baghdad, Iraq
Media Availability With Secretary Carter in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Joint Press Conference with Secretary Carter and Minister of Defense Ya'alon in Tel Aviv, Israel
Media Availability with Secretary Carter En Route to Tel Aviv, Israel
Remarks by Secretary Carter at the Global Response Force Troop Event at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Joint Press Briefing with Secretary Carter and Defense Minister Le Drian in the Pentagon Briefing Room
Department of Defense Press Briefing by Secretary Carter and Gen. Dempsey in the Pentagon Briefing Room
Main Menu
Today in DOD
About DOD
Frequently Asked Questions
Available jobs with DOD
Top Issues
Targeted Operations Against ISIL Terrorists
Operation Atlantic Resolve
Sexual Assault Prevention
Asia-Pacific Rebalance
Cyber Strategy
Today in DOD
Press Advisories
News Releases
News Transcripts
Casualty Status (PDF)
Casualty Releases
News Articles
Special Reports
Lead Photo Archive
Photo Essays
News Photos
Week In Photos
DOD/Military Seals
DoD Flickr
Secretary of Defense Flickr
Deputy Secretary of Defense Flickr
DoD Sites
DoD Live Blog
U.S. Army
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy
U.S. Air Force
National Guard
U.S. Coast Guard
All DOD Sites
Military/DOD Social Media Sites
Register A Site
Unified Combatant Commands
Contact Us
Frequently Asked Questions
Phone Number and Mailing Address
Website Feedback
Additional Links
Today in DOD
About DOD
Top Issues
DoD Sites
Contact Us
Inspector General
Privacy & Security
Link Disclaimer
Recovery Act
No FEAR Act
Plain Writing Act of 2010
Accessibility/Section 508
Join the Military
Web Policy
Stay Connected
Google +
DOD Live Blog
RSS Feeds


text:
Orchestra Repertoire Report Survey
It's catch-up time for the ORR Survey! The new ORR survey allows you to enter all of your orchestra's classical or masterworks season repertoire beginning with the 2010-2011 season, up and through the 2012-2013 season.
or 212 262 5161.
Remember to enter the correct season dates for each of your entries.


text:
"'Tis better to be alone, than in bad company." – George Washington
That's this week's Wise Words prompt from Kirsetin Morello. Immediately, it reminded me of something I'd written here back in 2010, about how much alone time I require even though I still consider myself a social person (although maybe not a full-blown extrovert).
So yes, I agree with George (look at me, going out on a limb!). 'Tis certainly better, for me and I'd guess for most of us, to fly solo than to seek out the company of others strictly so we won't be alone. One of my children is slowly learning this lesson. It's my kid who always, always, always wants someone to play with; 95% of the time, parents and siblings will not do. But two back-to-back, lackluster playdates made an impression, I think. Not that these friends were "bad," but that sometimes you don't need company to enjoy yourself.
I think all of us would prefer to avoid bad company, whether it leaves us alone or not. The tougher question may be when to withdraw from company for company's sake, or even "good" company at a bad time. Too often, the choice is alone time or time with friends, but not both. And I don't know about you, but I need both! What would George say about that?


text:
How I Met Your Mother Spoiler Video: Another College Flashback
We always love a good How I Met Your Mother flashback scene, and this sneak peek of Season 7, Episode 20: "Trilogy Time" (airing tonight) is definitely that.
In it, college aged Ted and Marshall envision what their life will look like in 2003 (complete with adult sized bunk beds). As you may guess, their dreams bear very little relationship to reality.
Catch the episode tonight, Monday April 9, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
Get your daily TV and pop-culture fix from Wetpaint Entertainment: Like us on Facebook, or Follow us on Twitter!


text:
"I write, otherwise I'd be talking all the time…."
Posts filtered on Tag
On the Road in Memphis: Miss Polly's Soul City Cafe
By Michele Costanza, straight from the RV in Tennessee The Memphis marketing team has dubbed Beale Street as "one of the most famous streets in the country." How could we possibly miss that? So, we drove straight from Graceland (an absolute must-visit, even if you're not an Elvis fan) to find some live music and […] [Read More]
Surprisingly GREAT Customer Service from Seattle City Light
By Michele Costanza…bringing you a humorous view on consumer topics in an all-too-serious world . How many times have you called a customer service line and hung up feeling angry and frustrated, wondering where in the hell they find such bitter, callous employees? Needless to say, those experiences stand high on my list of pet peeves. […] [Read More]


text:
Tomorrow is going to reach a scorching 93 degrees with very little wind. When getting ready for the track tomorrow, keep in mind: drink plenty of non-alcoholic drinks, wear lightweight clothing (linen, cotton, etc), get air conditioning where you can find it and cool down with a cold shower after you get home.
The Saratoga blog
What's happening around Saratoga.


text:
Letters to the Editor: 01.06.10
Who's to be called?
I was recently involved in a fender-bender-type accident in the parking lot of H-E-B Plus on Waldron Road in Flour Bluff. I called the nonemergency number for Corpus Christi Police Department to report the accident and was told that they would not dispatch an officer since it was on private property. When I asked the dispatcher how I was to get an accident report, I was told to call the Department of Public Safety so I could get a "blue form" from them. I then called DPS nonemergency number and was told that they could not provide me with assistance since the accident had occurred within city limits. Then I was referred to CCPD or the county Sheriff's Office.
Needless to say, I didn't call anyone else, since the two calls I made provided me with no assistance and more confusion than before the accident.
Can someone tell me who is to be called to report an accident, with no injuries, within the city limits?
Annette Mendoza-Gilmore
– – – –
A sobering thought
After reading the Sunday editorial on "security dots," I am shocked that anyone on the terror database would not go through additional critical screening. What I hear us saying is that we would have allowed hundreds of thousands on the terror database to walk across the border or board a flight to America with routine scrutiny. Now, that's a sobering thought!
However, we didn't hesitate to subject millions of travelers to tighter security after this most recent bombing attempt. I suppose we don't want to violate anyone's civil rights or be accused of profiling at the expense of everyone else.
And on "Criminal or combatant?" (Dec. 3) I hope those that read this editorial took the time to read Charles Krauthammer's opposing view. Abdulmutallab needs to be having his nails done in a dark backroom. It's war!
Larry Poe, Aransas Pass
– – – –
A new decade?
The news media have constantly said that 2010 is the start of a new decade. However, that is a false statement. We have been living a lie. For example, if you begin from 1 A.D. and a decade includes 10 years, that would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ... and 10 A.D. So 11 A.D. would be the next decade. Keep following that pattern and you will see that 2011 is the real start of the next decade.
Christopher Paul
– – – –
Dogs more dangerous
In response to Sandra K. Guthery ("Keep cats on leash," Jan. 3), there are very good reasons not to bother with a leash law for cats. In a nutshell, it's behavior. Cats don't attack people. Dogs very often do.
Whenever several dogs run loose simultaneously, they tend to run together, form packs and attack together — even kill — anyone unfortunate enough to happen by.
Compare the paw prints on your car to being mauled or killed because someone didn't secure his dog(s). There's a big difference!
C.A> Setliff
– – – –
System didn't work
On Dec. 27, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on CNN: "The system worked." Later in the day on ABC, Napolitano said, "Once the incident occurred, the system worked." On Dec. 28, in a TV interview, she said, "Our system did not work..." On Dec. 29, President Obama said, "A systematic failure has occurred."
The system worked; once the incident occurred, the system worked; our system did not work; a systematic failure has occurred. This country's safety is in the hands of a bunch of incompetents!
Tom Drawert
– – – –
Losing our rights
Well, how many people got picked up by Hitler's group of cops? It has finally happened. The cops, lawyers and judges are the only ones that can go out and drink without getting in trouble.
This United States has become so communist with little Hitlers running all around, no fireworks, no drinking — there isn't much left for a person to do anymore without Hitlers running around checking up on you. Well, maybe one day the people will stand up for their rights and put America back on track.
Ed Brent, Aransas Pass
Subscribe to the Caller-Times
Need Help? Call us at 1-800-566-8098.
Monday-Friday: 6am-3pm / Saturday: 7am-11am / Sunday: 7am-11am