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Chapter 1. Views of the U.S. and American Foreign Policy
America's image is on balance positive in most of the nations surveyed, and overall there has been little change since last year. Looking at the 20 countries surveyed for which 2009 trends are available, positive views of the United States have become more common in six nations, less common in six, and have remained about […]
Chapter 2. Views of President Barack Obama
U.S. President Barack Obama remains popular across much of the world. Majorities or pluralities in 16 of 22 countries surveyed express at least some confidence in the American president to do the right thing regarding world affairs. In five of six predominantly Muslim countries, however, more than half lack confidence in Obama; only in Indonesia […]
Obama More Popular Abroad Than At Home, Global Image of U.S. Continues to Benefit
As the global economy begins to rebound from the great recession, people around the world remain deeply concerned with the way things are going in their countries. Less than a third of the publics in most nations say they are satisfied with national conditions, as overwhelming numbers say their economies are in bad shape. […]
Chapter 2. Views of President Barack Obama
U.S. President Barack Obama is popular in nations across much of the world. This is especially true in Western Europe, although he also receives extremely high ratings in countries such as Canada, Japan, South Korea, India, Brazil, Kenya and Nigeria. In most predominantly Muslim nations surveyed, there is less enthusiasm for the new president, with […]
Confidence in Obama Lifts U.S. Image Around the World
The image of the United States has improved markedly in most parts of the world reflecting global confidence in Barack Obama. In many countries, opinions of the U.S. are now about as positive as they were at the beginning of the decade before George W. Bush took office.
Chapter 2. Views of the U.S.
America's image has improved over the last year in many countries included in the survey, with particularly strong increases in Tanzania, South Korea, and Indonesia. In most countries surveyed, however, views of the United States remain either mixed or negative. Among America's traditional allies in Western Europe, the U.S. continues to receive largely negative reviews. […]
Global Economic Gloom – China and India Notable Exceptions
The latest Pew Global Attitudes survey finds some encouraging signs for America's global image for the first time this decade. Although views of the United States remain negative in much of the world, favorable ratings have increased modestly since 2007 in 10 of 21 countries where comparative data are available. Many people around the world are paying close attention to the U.S. presidential election.
Turkey and Its (Many) Discontents
The Turkish Public's Opinions of America Have Hit Rock Bottom
Chapter 1. Views of the U.S. and American Foreign Policy
Over the last five years, America's image has plummeted throughout much of the world, including sharp drops in favorability among traditional allies in Western Europe, as well as substantial declines in Latin America, the Middle East, and elsewhere. In the past year alone, positive views of the U.S. have declined in Pakistan, China, Egypt, and […]
Global Unease With Major World Powers
A 47-nation survey finds global public opinion increasingly wary of the world's dominant nations and disapproving of their leaders. Anti-Americanism is extensive, as it has been for the past five years. At the same time, the image of China has slipped significantly among the publics of other major nations.
Islam and the West: Searching for Common Ground
Remarks of Andrew Kohut to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing
I. America's Image and U.S. Foreign Policy
With America's image declining in many parts of the world, favorability ratings for the United States continue to trail those of other major countries. In Europe, as well as predominantly Muslim countries, the U.S. is generally less popular than Germany, France, Japan, and China. However, the U.S. fares somewhat better in Asia; in fact, Indians […]
America's Image Slips, But Allies Share U.S. Concerns Over Iran, Hamas
America's global image has again slipped and support for the war on terrorism has declined even among close U.S. allies like Japan. The war in Iraq is a continuing drag on opinions of the United States, not only in predominantly Muslim countries but in Europe and Asia as well. And despite growing concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions, the U.S. presence in Iraq is cited at least as often as Iran – and in many countries much more often – as a danger to world peace.
Chapter 3. Opinions of U.S. Policies
A continuing source of resentment toward the U.S. is the view that America pays little if any attention to the interests of other countries in making international policy decisions. Americans, as might be expected, do not subscribe to this view. Two-thirds of the U.S. public says the United States pays either a great deal (28%) […]
U.S. Image Up Slightly, But Still Negative
Anti-Americanism in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, which surged as a result of the U.S. war in Iraq, shows modest signs of abating. But the United States remains broadly disliked in most countries surveyed, and the opinion of the American people is not as positive as it once was.
Survey Report
U.S. Image Still Poor America's image abroad remains negative in most nations, though it has improved somewhat in Russia, Turkey, and Pakistan. Vast majorities in predominantly Muslim countries continue to hold unfavorable opinions of the U.S, though the intensity of anti-American views has moderated. Opinion of the U.S. in Russia is now about evenly divided, […]
A Year After Iraq War
A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished. Opinion of the United States in France and Germany is at least as negative now as at the war's conclusion, and British views are decidedly more critical. Perceptions of American unilateralism remain widespread in European and Muslim nations, and the war in Iraq has undermined America's credibility abroad. Doubts about the motives behind the U.S.-led war on terrorism abound, and a growing percentage of Europeans want foreign policy and security arrangements independent from the United States. Across Europe, there is considerable support for the European Union to become as powerful as the United States.
Anti-Americanism: Causes and Characteristics
Recent Commentary by Andrew Kohut
Chapter 1. Post-War Opinions
The U.S. image in Europe, which plummeted in the days leading up to war in Iraq, has improved somewhat since then. But favorable ratings for the U.S., in Europe and elsewhere, remain far below levels measured in 2002 and 2000 Among major U.S. allies in Western Europe, seven-in-ten British and six-in-ten Italians currently say they […]
Views of a Changing World 2003
The speed of the war in Iraq and the prevailing belief that the Iraqi people are better off as a result have modestly improved the image of America. But in most countries, opinions of the U.S. are markedly lower than they were a year ago.
America's Image Further Erodes, Europeans Want Weaker Ties
Introduction and Summary Anti-war sentiment and disapproval of President Bush's international policies continue to erode America's image among the publics of its allies. U.S. favorability ratings have plummeted in the past six months in countries actively opposing war France, Germany and Russia as well as in countries that are part of the "coalition […]
Additional Findings and Analyses
81% in Spain Oppose War Outside of Great Britain, the prospect of war in Iraq draws substantial in many cases overwhelming opposition. Among other U.S. allies, publics reject participating in a military coalition against Iraq by much wider margins. The Spanish oppose joining an allied military action against Iraq by more than six-to-one […]
American Public Diplomacy in the Islamic World
Remarks of Andrew Kohut to The Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing
What the World Thinks in 2002
Global Gloom and Growing Anti-Americanism Despite an initial outpouring of public sympathy for America following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, discontent with the United States has grown around the world over the past two years. Images of the U.S. have been tarnished in all types of nations: among longtime NATO allies, in developing […]
Americans and Europeans Differ Widely on Foreign Policy Issues
A multinational survey conducted in association with the International Herald Tribune and Council on Foreign Relations Europeans have a better opinion of President George W. Bush than they did before the Sept. 11 attacks, but they remain highly critical of the president, most of his policies, and what they see as his unilateral approach […]


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I thinks I discovered the secret of time travel. When i came back I discovered I had regressed to babyhood. Now if i can only reach my key board,lol! Send a Babies Scrap Today
In case I haven't said it before...
Sending You A Big Hug IdaTo Thank You For My StarAnd Blessings For All You Do :-)
Hugs Kathy
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The Marvelous Wonderettes -- The '50s and '60s Musical Revue
* Additional fees apply. No coupon or promo codes necessary to enjoy the displayed discount price.
The last date listed for The Marvelous Wonderettes was Sunday August 18, 2013 / 3:00pm.
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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Con Artists Compete in Acclaimed Musical Comedy
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Worry not -- despite all the double-dealing in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the audience makes out like… More
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Featured review from JoyRed Velvet
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We spent the afternoon at the Stone Mountain Village and enjoyed all the art galleries and dinner before heading back to ART STATION . Everyone in town and at the Art Station could not have been nicer and we had such a special time! The performance was wonderfully executed and lots of fun with memories attached! The whole experience was Fun!
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Pure fun. Great voices. Everyone in the audience felt that the actresses were having the times of their lives.
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When I got to the theater to get our tickets the man helping the lady at the will call was very dismissive when he heard we got our tickets through Goldstar. I did not think much about it until we go to sit down in our "Door" seats 3 & 4 and I...continued
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I was told it was open seating, but it wasn't. We had a party of six and we couldn't sit next to each other. Also the actors were cute, but did not have voices good enough for a musical.
About the Ticket Supplier: ART Station
The mission of the ART Station Theatre Company is to present and to produce excellent theatre productions that inspire, engage, challenge and celebrate the art form of theatre from new unpublished plays to the classics. Often the plays celebrate the Southern experience and are dedicated to social change in our contemporary society.
The educational programs of the theatre support up-coming generations of theatre artists and audiences and provide learning opportunities to the diverse community in which the organization operates.


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Hal Leonard Easy Pop Melodies - 2nd Edition Guitar Tab Songbook with CD
Sku #941484000000000
Hal Leonard
Various Artist Collections Guitar Tablature
- Write a Review
- Seen a Lower Price? Click Here.
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Hal Leonard Easy Pop Melodies - 2nd Edition Guitar Tab Songbook with CD
Cross-referenced with Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1 pages for easy student and teacher use. Includes 20 top songs.
Supplements Guitar Method books 1, 2, or 3. The play-along CD features guitar on the left channel and the full rhythm section on the right. Filled with great pop songs that students are eager to play!
- Songs include:
- All My Loving
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight
- Dust in the Wind
- Every Breath You Take
- I Get Around
- I Shot the Sheriff
- I Walk the Line
- Imagine
- Let It Be
- Love Me Tender
- Maggie May
- My Cherie Amour
- My Girl
- My Heart Will Go On
- Nowhere Man
- Smells like Teen Spirit
- Stand by Me
- Walk Don't Run
- We Will Rock You
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Technical Resource | Technical White Paper | VMware | Storage | PDF | vSphere 5
VMware vSphere Storage APIs – Array Integration (VAAI)
Latest Revision:
Dec 12, 2012
"In a virtualized environment, storage operations traditionally have been expensive from a resource perspective. Functions such as cloning and snapshots can be performed more efficiently by the storage device than by the host.
VMware vSphere Storage APIs – Array Integration (VAAI), also referred to as hardware acceleration or hardware offload APIs, are a set of APIs to enable communication between VMware vSphere ESXi hosts and storage devices. The APIs define a set of "storage primitives" that enable the ESXi host to offload certain storage
operations to the array, which reduces resource overhead on the ESXi hosts and can significantly improve performance for storage-intensive operations such as storage cloning, zeroing, and so on. The goal of VAAI is to help storage vendors provide hardware assistance to speed up VMware I/O operations that are more efficiently accomplished in the storage hardware."


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Mexican authorities impose a seven-mile exclusion zone around Popocatepetl after seismic activity in the area increases.
10:16, UK, Monday 13 May 2013
Seismic activity has increased at Popocatepetl volcano near Mexico City, causing authorities to impose a seven-mile exclusion zone around the crater.
Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Centre said the 17,886ft white-capped volcano spewed a plume of steam more than half a mile into the sky and over the weekend lava was thrown out over the crater.
The government has sent soldiers and police to the area in the event of a bigger eruption, with the authorities in towns in two central states placed on alert.
Shelters have been prepared in the states of Mexico and Puebla.
Popocatepetl has emitted small eruptions of ash almost daily since a round of activity began in 1994.
The eruptions began strengthening two weeks ago and have increased over the weekend.
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I purchased this dress in the summer of 2011. I have always loved the Alfred Angelo line and had a lot of fun with dress shopping. i knew this was the dress for me as soon as i tried it on. My hope is that someone can enjoy their wedding day in this dress as well. This dress is white (not the ivory shown in the picture). This dress also has a chapel length train. This dress also comes with a crinoline to give it the appropriate volume which is a size medium.
I am asking $300 OBO.
- Alterations: This dress was taken in at the waist and bust a little bit but due to the lace up corset back, it didnt have to be taken in too much. It was also hemmed a bit to 5' 6". (I am 5' 5" and was planning on wearing a small heel but ended up in flip flops instead and this length worked out nicely for me) This dress was also given a French Bustle. there were also a couple of lose beads that were tightened.
- Preservation Method: My dress has been stored in a garment bag ( I didnt go with a full preservation kit that they sell at the bridal stores because I knew i would end up selling it) and I have had it cleaned.
- Terms of Sale: All Sales Final
- Original Owner:
- Has Original Receipt:
- Location: , MI
- Will Ship to: Anywhere at Buyer Expense
- Payment Methods Accepted: Other
Please read our BUYER'S GUIDE before purchasing a dress online.


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M on the Beach
(329) 298-0350 firstname.lastname@example.com mezzogiorno.com.mx
Situated on a quiet beach at the end of downtown Bucerias, M on the Beach enjoys a unique and exquisite sandy beachfront location on one of the best beaches north of Vallarta, especially good for paddling, kayaking and long walks. It is the home of Mezzogiorno, now serving lunch at their "M on the Beach" signature bar and beach club with a large variety of salads, panini and fresh fish, all served as you enjoy the comfortable lounge chairs with their own beach towels. Showers provided.


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Iraq's parliament ends key session with no progress
Iraq's parliament ended its second meeting Sunday after a 30-minute session without progress on forming a new government, Associated Press reports. The new government faces the challenge of reuniting a country torn apart by a massive Sunni insurgency. Members of the group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized numerous Iraqi cities in late June, alarming the Iraqi government as well as the international community.
The Iraqi legislature must quickly elect a new speaker of parliament, a president, and a prime minister to form a stable government capable of combating the extremists. The international community had hoped that Iraqi lawmakers would at least vote on a speaker of parliament, but Sunday's meeting was adjourned "due to absence of any agreement on the names of the nominees for the three posts," according to acting parliament speaker Mahdi al-Hafidh.
Deciding which people should fill the empty spots isn't the only disagreement slowing the process of Iraq's parliament; lawmakers must also agree on whether to choose the top three positions individually, or to agree on all three as a package deal. An informal agreement established in 2003 says the speaker's post goes to a Sunni, the presidency to a Kurd, and the prime minister's seat to a Shiite.
The next session has been scheduled for Tuesday, AP reports.


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The Elon University Interfraternity Council (IFC) governs the male fraternities that are members of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). The Interfraternity Council believes that true fraternity is nurtured in an atmosphere of social and moral responsibility, respect for duly constituted authority, and loyalty to the principles of higher education. There are currently 7 IFC chapters recognized at Elon University.
To learn more about the Interfraternity Council, click here.


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Weisz Claims Third Ivy League Rookie of the Week Honor
Princeton freshman Spencer Weisz won his third Ivy League Rookie of the Week honor after co-leading Princeton with 15 points in Sunday's win over Kean.
Weisz, who won back-to-back Rookie of the Week honors in December, moved alongside Brown's Norman Hobbie with a league-best three awards so far this season.
Weisz scored his 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, adding four assists in 17 minutes. On the season, Weisz has 142 points and could become the highest-scoring Princeton freshman since Douglas Davis '12 in 2008-09. Davis scored 333 points to lead Princeton that season, and the highest-scoring freshmen since have been Ian Hummer '13 in 2009-10 (214), Denton Koon in 2011-12 (162) and Hans Brase in 2012-13 (150).
Weisz and the Tigers (12-3, 0-1 Ivy) will head to New England this weekend to take on Harvard (15-3, 2-0) and Dartmouth (7-9, 0-2) Friday and Saturday.


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Wyoming vs. Wichita State (12-9-2006)
Wyoming vs. Wichita State (12-9-2006)
2006 UW Basketball Media Day - Photo Gallery
2006 Wyoming Cowboy and Cowgirl Basketball Media Day, 10/18/06
2007-08: Brad Jones may be the most versatile player in the Mountain West Conference. Whether it be scoring, rebounding, handing out assists or playing defense, it would be hard to find a player in the MWC better than Jones. He also was the true "Iron Man" of the league a year ago, leading the conference in minutes played. He played an average of 37.10 minutes per game out of every 40-minute game. He returns as the second leading scorer in the MWC this season -- second only to his backcourt mate Brandon Ewing. A fierce competitor, Jones plays every minute of every game at full speed, and few if any can match his quickness and desire.
2006-07: Jones was the only player in the Mountain West Conference to rank in the Top Five individuals in both scoring and assists for the 2006-07 season. He averaged 18.1 points per game, and handed out 4.50 assists per game to rank No. 3 in the MWC in both categories. Jones ranked in the Top 15 in the MWC in seven different statistical categories. He was one of only six players named to the MWC All-Tournament team at the conclusion of his junior season. Jones also earned Third Team All-Mountain West Conference honors from MWC coaches and media.
2005-06: Jones played some of his best basketball of the season in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. He averaged 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game on way to leading Wyoming to the tournament championship game. Jones recorded his first career double-figure rebounding game vs. Air Force with 11 rebounds in an MWC quarterfinal victory. He tied a career high with 20 points in a semifinal win over Utah, and added 15 points in the championship game against San Diego State. Jones led Wyoming in assists and ranked No. 5 in the MWC, averaging 3.47 assists per game. Jones averaged 10.0 points per game to rank fourth on the Wyoming squad, and averaged 4.5 rebounds per game -- third best for the Cowboys. Including assists, he ranked among league leaders in six statistical categories: No. 7 in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.90 to 1.00), No. 13 in FT% (.710), No. 14 in defensive rebounding (3.38 pg), No. 16 in steals (1.16 spg) and No. 19 in total rebounds (4.5 rpg). Jones led Wyoming to a road win over TCU on Jan. 7, 2006, when he brought the Cowboys back from a nine-point deficit, with only 6:10 remaining in the game, to a four-point victory. Jones scored seven points and handed out three assists in the final six minutes vs. TCU on way to 18 total points as UW outscored TCU 18-5 in the final 6:10. He scored a season high 20 points on Feb. 25, 2006, in a 78-80 home loss to Colorado State. Jones shot 50.0 percent (8 of 16) from the field and 66.7% (4 of 6) from the free-throw line against the Rams. Against San Diego State on Jan. 28, Jones scored 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds, handed out five assists, blocked two shots and made three steals in 40 minutes of play. Versus Utah on Feb. 1, 2006, Jones scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Jones started 26 of Wyoming's 32 games during the 2005-06 season, including 20 of the last 21 games.
Jones came to Wyoming after an outstanding season at Fort Smith Community College in Fort Smith, Ark. Jones' excellent quickness and style of play fit well into Wyoming's up-tempo game. Jones played both point guard and shooting guard along with his running mate Brandon Ewing.
Junior College: Jones averaged 10.7 points and 6.5 assists per game his freshman season of 2004-05 at Fort Smith Community College. Jones helped lead Fort Smith to a 29-4 record for the '04-'05 season. Fort Smith achieved a final regular-season ranking of No. 4 in the nation among National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) teams. They also captured the Bi-State Conference East Division Championship, and advanced all the way to the NJCAA Region II Championship game before losing by four points, 74-78, to Seminole State College of Seminole, Okla. Jones played for head coach Jeremy Cox at Fort Smith. Cox was a former graduate assistant basketball coach at the University of Wyoming under Benny Dees in 1991.
High School/Personal: Jones is originally from Marked Tree, Ark., where he played at Marked Tree High School. His senior season of 2003-04, he averaged 26.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. He helped lead Marked Tree High to a 20-7 record. His high school coach was Barbara Wilburn.
Born Oct. 21, 1985, Jones is the son of Jeanette and Jerry Jones. He was also recruited by Arizona State, Creighton, Middle Tennessee State and Mississippi State. Jones is majoring in social science at UW.


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Fortunately, not every meal picks sides. And since I know you didn't believe that we only ate a cucumber salad for dinner a few nights ago, it is clearly time to tell you about that evening's other Austro-Hungarian dispatch: goulash.
Gooooouuuulash. I just sigh thinking about how delicious it was. Part stew, part soup, goulash a spicy beef dish originally from Hungary (gulyas were herdsmen, I have learned) but found throughout central and eastern Europe, notably those parts that once comprised Austro-Hungarian Empire. It's got onions, red peppers and a lot of sweet paprika. Yes, paprika. Alex thinks this dish was just an excuse to pick up my fourth bottle of paprika (already in residence: basic flavorless paprika, Spanish smoked, Spanish spicy and smoked) this time the sweet Hungarian variety. And he's right: it was.
But once I tried it, I knew it was so much more–rich, mildly spicy, warm, filling. I think it's exactly what we all need right now. Well, actually, I need to be back on the beach in Aruba, but since that's obviously not in the cards today, I'll settle for some of your goulash once it is ready. Can I come over?
One Year Ago: World Peace Cookies
Adapted from Gourmet, December 1994
Goulash can be made into either a soup or stew, and the latter can be spooned over egg noodles, potatoes or even gnocchi–how awesome does that sound? Also: This tastes so much better the next day, it is almost a shame to eat it the day you make it. Trust me.
Makes about 16 cups, serving 12
5 slices bacon, chopped
3 pounds boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 medium onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons paprika (preferably Hungarian sweet*)
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 cups beef broth
1 to 5 cups water or beer (use the former to make a stew, the latter to make a soup)
1 teaspoon salt
2 red bell peppers, chopped fine
In an 8-quart heavy kettle cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. In fat remaining in kettle brown chuck in small batches over high heat, transferring it as browned with slotted spoon to bowl.
Reduce heat to moderate and add oil. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in paprika, caraway seeds, and flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in vinegar and tomato paste and cook, whisking, 1 minute. (Mixture will be very thick.) Stir in broth, water, salt, bell peppers, bacon, and chuck and bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer soup, covered, stirring occasionally, 60 to 75 minutes.
Season soup with salt and pepper. Soup may be made 3 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Reheat soup, thinning with water if desired.
* New Yorkers, we actually found this at Gristedes. Non-New Yorkers, Gristedes is a totally generic grocery store. Oddly, Whole Foods didn't have it, but they could have been out. Looks like it is available on the Web as well.


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I'm doing some machine learning work that benefits tremendously from using the GPU. I'm kind of at the limits of my current setup (A workstation with a single GTX580) and I really don't have room for another computer at home. So I'm looking to build a GPU Server (and very possible several of them) and trying to find the most cost effective way to do so.
Ideally I'd like to build something like NVidia's tesla servers (e.g. s2075), but with GTX580s instead of Tesla cards. This fits 4 cards into a 1u chassis which is then connected via PCI-e extenders to a host system. A DIY version of this doesn't seem to exist.
So my next plan is going 4u and basically putting a standard quad SLI build in that. I'd probably use 2 850watt PSUs to power the 4 cards. Cooling could also be an issue.
So my questions are specifically this:
- If I'm primarily using the GPU and only using the CPU for handling basic logic and stuff, is it reasonable to use a low end CPU like an i3?
- If I want to co-locate, wouldn't this be fairly expensive/use a lot of power?
- Am I going about this the wrong way and is there a much easier/more cost effective way to build GPU number crunchers and not keep them in my apartment?


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The nature of transparency
January 7th, 2007
I recently discovered Mark Dominus' blog, which I subsequently lost spent a whole evening reading. It has lots of good stuff on physics, maths and history in addition to some more traditional techie fare. One of his earlier posts asked the question: how can solid and liquid materials be transparent? I think I know the answer.
First of all, it's worth explaining why this isn't a stupid question. You might think that glass is transparent because photons pass through it unimpeded. That this isn't true is demonstrated by the phenomenon of refraction, which you can experience by putting your foot in a bath of water and noticing that it looks closer to the surface of the water than it is. This shows that photons are interacting with water molecules rather than just passing through.
It turns out that we can explain this behaviour very easily if we treat light as if it were waves rather than particles. For example, sea waves can get refracted as they move towards the beach without losing their coherence. This refraction as waves encounter the slower medium of shallow water explains why waves always hit a beach head-on, whatever direction they're travelling at sea.
Of course we know that light isn't made of waves – it's made of photons. But sometimes it behaves like a wave, and sometimes like particles. This strange duality was inexplicable until the advent of quantum mechanics. Indeed it's only with the formulation of quantum electrodynamics (QED), a theory which treats electromagnetic quantum mechanical interactions in a way that is compatible with special relativity, that we have a way of explaining things like transparency fully. The best introduction to QED that I know is Richard Feynman's book, and as luck would have it, almost the first half of the book deals exactly with the problem of how light interacts with matter.
The reason why photons behave like waves under certain circumstances is due to a fundamentally mind-bending fact about quantum mechanics. This is that a particle, let's call her Erina, in travelling from A to B behaves as if she goes through every single possible path between A and B in doing so, and interacts with every single particle she encounters. However when we measure the state of the system (which includes the totality of particles in the system, including the measuring device) at any point, we will discover Erina in one particular place. What quantum mechanics can tell us is the probabilityof Erina ending up in one particular place – but no more than that.
To reiterate: all the possible paths that Erina could take will have an effect on her final position. This is exhibited by the fact that certain paths Erina could take interfere with each other. This is demonstrated by the famous two slit experiment (scoll down to the quantum version of the experiment). The crucial thing to note with the two slit experiment is that even if you send particles through one at a time they'll still display interference patterns as if they were actually a wave.
So the answer to Mark's question, "how can it be that the photon always comes out in the same direction that it went in, even though it was wandering about inside of glass or water, which have random internal structures", is that things are actually a lot more complicated than this. Where the photon ends up depends on the entire configuration of the system it passes through, not just on the interactions it participates in if you assume it travels in a straight line. You have to account for all the possible couplings between the photon and all the atoms it meets along the way (and also, worse still, the possibility that the photon will spontaneously turn into an electron and anti-electron, which then annihilate to create a photon again, et cetera).
However when you consider the actual possible interactions between a photon and the atoms it encounters, things are actually not so bad. Atoms are bound systems, and so there's a finite number of states that the particles that make up an atom can be in. A photon hitting an atom isn't like two billiard balls smashing against each other, due to the huge difference in energy between the photon and the atom. In fact, the most likely interaction by far is that the photon will hit the electron cloud around the atom's nucleus, be absorbed by it hence putting the electron cloud into a slightly more energetic state, and then a tiny fraction of a second later be re-emitted with the same energy and momentum as the original photon as the electron cloud returns to a lower energy state.
Finally much like the two slit experiment, the possible paths that a photon can take through water, glass or air will interfere with each other such that it appears to behaves in a wave-like manner – hence the phenomenon of transparency.
Update (23 April 2009): This fascinating news article describes how a material's transparency is affected by the coupling between photons and the spin of the nucleus of atoms, and how you can use a laser to turn this coupling on and off and hence switch a material from transparent to opaque.


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If I'm using PBKDF2 to stretch a password into a suitable key for use in encryption with AES, should I be using a random salt (for PBKDF2, not the AES IV)?
Absolutely! It's even right there in the PKCS #5 v2.0
By using a secure salt, password
You must do this, as otherwise two users using the same password twice will generate the same key. The effort of using a salt is almost none, yet increases your security.
Please refrain from rolling your own there is a standard and you should use it!
It's healthy to question the "whys" from a learning perspective but playing with crypto and trying to cut corners can be dangerous if you are not an experienced cryptographer.


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The Brookings Harbor School board agreed to renew Superintendent Brian Hodge's contract, but not without disagreeing about the process in which his annual job review was done.
The board spent several hours at Wednesday regular board meeting debating whether the format used to evaluate him had been actually agreed upon in prior meetings, and whether the board followed its policies in evaluating him.
Two of the board members were dissatisfied with the evaluation process, but the board ultimately voted 3-2 in favor of the evaluation format.
School board chairwoman Jamie Ryan had distributed an evaluation form at the Jan. 27 school board meeting that asked board members to evaluate Hodge on communication, graduation rate and vocational education — three areas where the board decided earlier that it wanted see improvement.
But during Wednesday's meeting, board members Sue Chambers and Bruce Raleigh pointed out that no evaluation method had been decided on by the board in prior meetings.
"The criteria had not been developed in a public meeting before this meeting," Raleigh said. "There was no vote taken. Before we call it a decision, there needs to be a vote."
Ryan said she had developed the form based on the consensus she felt had existed after previous board meetings where the evaluation method had been discussed. Board member Katherine Johnson agreed.
"My perception is, we had come to a consensus," Johnson said.
Chambers disagreed about there being consensus, although she admitted there had been discussions about Hodge's evaluation.
"A discussion does not qualify as a consensus," Chambers said.
Emails obtained by the Pilot show that, prior to Wednesday's meeting, there had been a discussion between school board members about the evaluation and its form. The email discussion is most likely in violation of Oregon's public meeting law, which requires the public to be informed of any meeting to discuss board policy.
In a Jan. 29 email, Chambers wrote "the board never settled on (superintendent) expectations during those discussions, or a new or different format. ... These three general board goals do not make a superintendent evaluation form or format."
In a Feb. 3 email, Raleigh requested holding a meeting to discuss the issue.
"In my opinion this email discussion constitutes a serial meeting and we have been told by OSBA that it can violate open meeting laws to do so. We need to hold a special meeting to have our discussion on this issue," Raleigh wrote.
In a Feb. 3 email, Ryan wrote that the board was not bound by its CBGAR policy since the board had suspended it and was acting within its policies to evaluate the superintendent with the form she had created.
"As a board we have made the decision to use this process to evaluate our superintendent for this year," Ryan wrote. "The time for debate is over, the decision has already been made, through majority vote in accordance with our policies."
On a Feb. 5 email, Ryan wrote that if three board members wanted to have a meeting to discuss the evaluation format, she would call one. However, only two board members called Ryan to request another meeting. No meeting was held.
During Wednesday's meeting, Raleigh said he felt like he had not provided any input to the form.
"We had an opportunity to meet and discuss it," Raleigh said. "If two board members requested a meeting, there should have been one."
Ryan maintained there was consensus about the format.
In a vote, the board decided to proceed with evaluating Hodge with the format Ryan created by a vote of 3-2, with Chambers and Raleigh dissenting.
Superintendent's review
Hodge's evaluation, which in a rare move he opened to the public, had each board member discuss his performance. Normally, personnel evaluations are done during executive sessions, closed to the public, but not the media.
Most school board members praised Hodge's creation of the data committee this year. The committee, a combination of teachers and administration, was created to look at data and develop strategies to improve performance at Brookings-Harbor schools.
They also praised his community involvement and the slowly improving graduation rate at the high school.
Board members noted that more could be done to improve morale at the schools, mentioning recent surveys of teachers and staff that showed low morale. Chambers said work should be done to improve the morale and culture of the district.
Other suggestions made to Hodge included visiting the schools more, talking to teachers and students more, and holding a community meeting to spur community involvement. They board urged him to continue looking at adding more vocational education at the high school.
The board decided to renew Hodge's contract, but spent a long time discussing whether they should or not after he requested two amendments to his contract: one which included removing a clause that allowed the district to terminate the superintendent's employment without cause.
Chambers said the board should seek legal counsel before changing the contract, and the board decided it would talk with an attorney before making the requested changes.


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Photon Energy designs, supplies and installs solar PV systems for commercial, agricultural, private and public sector customers.
As a certified Solar Panel installer under the Micro-generation Certification Scheme we insist on providing every customer with a top quality service and excellent value for money.
This winning formula made us one of the UK's leading independent Solar PV installers of micro-generation technologies in just six years; and we were a finalist for the Renewable Energy Association's 2011 Installer Award.
Photon Energy is focused on new build construction, commercial, agricultural and public sector customers.


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August has been traditionally associated with the "dog days of summer," the time of year that seems to be the hottest. In the days before air conditioning, many wanted to beat the heat, longing around when they could, like an old hound dog. But the nights of the dog days 2014 are hot with space events.
August is the month that Canis Major became visible in the Northern Hemisphere during Roman times. "Canis" comes from a Latin word for "dog.". This mythological dog loyally follows Orion the Hunter. And this mythological dog gives its identity to August's "dog days of summer." The "star" of Canis Major is Sirius, a double star that is one of the closest stars to Earth. Our Sun is, of course, the closest. The Sun's light takes eight minutes to get here. The next closest is Proxima Centauri, whose light takes four years to get to our planet; tonight's star shine from Sirius left the star in August 2006.
This August is the second consecutive Super Moon month. On the 10th of August, the full moon will also be at perigee--the closest to Earth in its orbit. Observing the maria and mountains of the moon will be especially easy. Apollo 11 landed forty-five years ago last month in one of those lunar plains: Mare Tranquillitatis or Sea of Tranquility. The plains looked like Earth's sea to early astronomers.
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest man-made object currently in orbit. It is often visible with the naked eye, an object as bright as Jupiter, even brighter when the space shuttle was attached. The shuttle no longer orbits. Other spacecraft now do the resupply and waste removal tasks: Soyuz manned spacecraft and remotely-piloted spacecraft (space drones?) flown by the European Space Agency (ESA) and SpaceX, a private company. The ESA is sending its fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-5) to resupply the International Space Station. The ATV is similar to the remotely-piloted craft that Space X has successfully sent several times. The ATV can be seen with the naked eye from most of the Northern Hemisphere, including Sacramento, California. Once the ATV docks with the ISS next week, the combined craft will be almost as bright as the planet Venus in the early evening.
The annual Perseid Meteor Shower peaks starting 10 August. It takes its name from a constellation named after Perseus, a hero in anciet Greek mythology, and is one of the brightest meteor showers in the sky. Swift-Tuttle, a comet discovered in 1862, leaves pieces of itself with every orbit of the Sun leaving space detritus as it approaches the Sun--and Earth. Some of that debris falls to Earth every August in the form of the meteor shower.
Spectacular though the dog day nights are, they have also been a time of intense space exploration.
As of 27 July of this year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mars rover Opportunity has driven 25 kilometers. It is currently at the rim of Endeavour Crater, exploring an area 4.5 billion years old. The fetes of moon motoring are important because of the information they are accumulating; Opportunity is also amazing because it has been operating for a decade.
An ESA mission took the first pictures of a comet, the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 6 August. The mission is called Rosetta Stone reminiscent of the stone discovered by French soldiers in 1799 that allowed archeologists to translate ancient Egyptian into Greek. Once the lander makes contact with the comet, it is hoped that secrets of the early solar system will be unlocked by the 21st century Rosetta Stone.
These are just some of the sights and activities that heat up the dog days of 2014.


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Guide to CAPP
What is CAPP?
(Curriculum Advising and Program Planning)
Degree Requirements & What-If Analysis
What is CAPP?
CAPP (Curriculum Advising and Program Planning) is a tool for comparing a student's coursework against a specific set of program requirements needed to complete their graduation requirements. The CAPP report will answer questions such as:
- What are the requirements for the given program?
- What courses has the student taken?
- Which requirements have and have not been met?
- Total Upper Division credits met
- Major GPA
What If Analysis
For students who have not yet declared a major the CAPP report will show how the classes a student has completed to date can fulfill the graduation requirements for any AU major by using the "What If Analysis." Interested in adding a minor? A CAPP report will provide the requirements needed for all approved AU minors.
Access Student iVue Profile
1. Go to http://vault.andrews.edu/vault/goto/home
2. Click iVue. You will be prompted to enter your Andrews user
name and password. Click "Login".
1. Open list of advisees.
2. Select "Profile" for student.
- Select the correct term
- Verify that your major, concentration, minor, and preprofessional program are listed correctly.*
- To the right of your photo, click on "View Degree Progress (CAPP)".
*Major, concentration, minor or preprofessional program incorrect? Contact the Student Success Center, email@example.com or 269-471-6096.
Generate Evaluation
1. Selecting Degree Progress opens a new window (see below).
Check to make sure the information is correct—especially the catalog term and any concentrations or minors. If correct, select "Generate New Evaluation" from the menu on the left. This takes a few moments.
2. "Generate New Evaluation"
Click to select the program you want to run. Only one program may be selected at a time. Click "Generate Request".
CAPP will automatically pull up a future term. You do not need to change the term.
3. Select from the following options:
- General Requirements lists the overview of the courses as evaluated.
- Detail Requirements lists specific requirements for majors, concentrations, minors, cognates, and general education.
- Additional Information lists any courses not used by CAPP, such as Deferred Grades, Incompletes, In-Progress courses, and grades which do not meet minimum requirements.
CAPP Evaluation Comments do not always appear. You may want to check the comments to see what adjustments have been made.
How To Read Your CAPP Report
Example of a CAPP report, looking at general education requirements.
- Highlighted areas have not been completed ("Not Met").
- "Source" indicates the status of the class—R is for registered courses; T is a transfer course; and H is a course taken at Andrews.
- Transfer courses appear as their Andrews equivalent. They can appear as a direct equivalent (HIST 118) or an indirect equivalent (HIST 000).
- Petitioned classes will often appear with "-pet" afterwards.
- Waived requirements will usually be listed as "Waive, no credit".
This is an example of what appears at the top of a CAPP report. This is where you find the number of credits required for your degree, used credits, your program GPA and your overall GPA. Used credits is the number of credits taken combined with registered credits.
**CAPP problems or questions? Please contact Undergraduate Records Office, firstname.lastname@example.com or 269-471-3305.


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The insidious threat - the hacker behind the firewall
By Greg Kelly-Oracle on Feb 10, 2009
I showed this graphic recently as part of a security presentation and without the context it's probably difficult to see that there is a connection between the objects. This is by no means an exhaustive set but it does open the conversation around the problems of risk compensation and de-perimeterization. While not PeopleSoft or Oracle specific, it is within the realm of security, and Oracle does have products to help mitigate the risk.
What are these objects?
- USB Adapter Cable
- WiFi Point of Sale Terminal
- NetBook
- Bluetooth Adapter
- iPhone
1 USB Adapter Cable
This is a USB adapter cable ( ~ $19) for hard drives, 2.5 and 3.5 IDE (PATA) and SATA drives. With this cable you can connect any typical hard disk to the USB port. In any office environment, what's familiar becomes invisible. Someone walks through an area on a regular basis is not suspicious. This is where the two pictures above become relevant. The left hand picture shows the back of a typical desktop, the eye-hole tab is not just for locking the desktop against stealing, it is also to lock the casing shut to prevent unauthorized physical access. The right hand picture shows the cover open and the disk drive(s) available. (The blue lead is the SATA cable connecting the disk.) This particular HP makes access even easier, since the drives are mounted on plastic slides. Opening the case and removing the drive takes less than a minute. The miscreant takes the drive back to the comfort of their office, copies interesting data off the disk, or copies toxic code directly onto the disk. Another minute to re-install the disk in the unsuspecting user's desktop and nothing appears to have happened. It's not enough to think that desktops used by users with relatively trivial access do not need to be protected, since network resources are much more accommodating to systems within the firewall. All corporate desktops should have locks on this tab.
2 WiFi enabled Point of Sale Terminal
Increasingly Point of Sale (POS) terminals are PC based and WiFi enabled. Because keyboard access is generally disabled and all user input is by a specialized keypad, security on these workstations is relatively trivial. WEP can be easy to crack, so all the system abuser has to do is sit outside the store with a WiFi sniffing laptop to gain access to the network. Then they can mimic the IP and MAC address of the POS terminal and start exploring the connected systems.
3 NetBook
These fully functional Windows XP or Linux based platforms have now achieved commodity status and will become ubiquitous. The XP version is available at less than $300 and the Linux version less than $250. In fact Netbooks have breathed new life into XP. Anyone who has reason to be in your premises can easily transport these devices inside your firewall and play around to their heart's content usually after most of your staff have left. They can take advantage of any rogue or compromised WiFi network in your buildings.
4 Bluetooth Adapter
There are a number of sophisticated libraries, especially on Linux, for manipulating these Bluetooth network adapters to seek unprotected Bluetooth enabled cell phones. It is possible for the miscreant to take control of your cell phone and have it dial out to their phone so your phone becomes an inadvertent bugging device. This does not need the recently announced downloaded malware, it takes advantage of the capability of delivered functionality. If you're going to a sensitive meeting, take the battery out of your phone.
5 iPhone
These are WiFi enabled mobile computing platforms, not just phones. There have been some anecdotal, but completely credible, stories of a package being delivered for someone who has recently left a company and the package being left at reception or with security for subsequent collection. The package contains a provisioned iPhone which listens for WiFi and then connects to a rogue web server, creating a proxy inside the firewall. Firewalls generally allow outbound connections on port 80.
6 Twitter
This really turns on the point of judicious password selection, not an indication that Twitter poses a security risk. Recently there were reports of Twitter accounts being cracked. Unfortunately the users had relatively high levels of access in their corporate domains, but used the same user ID and password on their Twitter accounts. This emphasizes the need to maintain separate sets of credentials for internal and external resource access. See more on passwords below.
None of these objects is inherently insecure, but hackers/crackers/system abusers are very creative!
These are a some of interesting links relating to passwords
The Top 500 Worst Passwords of All Time
" ... If you see your password on this list, please change it immediately. Keep in mind that every password listed here has been used by at least hundreds if not thousands of other people."
Ten Windows Password Myths
" ... With all of our advances in security technology, one aspect remains constant: passwords still play a central role in system security."
Passwords or Pass Phrase? Protecting your Intellectual Property
" ... A new theory on passwords is emerging that may help us remember our access codes, be more secure, and generally keep hackers and thieves out of our networks."
Here are some sensible rules for password creation:
- Unacceptable - less than eight characters
- Weak - Eight or more Characters, including one or more Numerics
- Fair - Eight or more Characters including:
- 1 Numeric, and
- 1 or more Special characters, and
- 1 or more Uppercase Characters
- Strong - Eight or more characters including:
- 2 or more Numerics, and
- 1 or more Special Characters, and
- 1 or more Uppercase characters
- Very Secure - Fourteen or more characters including:
- 2 or more Numerics, and
- 2 or more Special Characters, and
- 1 or more uppercase characters
- Ensure maximum keyboard "distance" between characters
- Equivalent use of each hand to enter
Check the password strength on Microsoft's non-recording checker
Oracle and PeopleSoft are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.


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Blogmocracy in Action!
Guest post by: Mars!
A little known provision in Obamacare is ready to hit this year with $1.3 Billion in Health Care Rebates being given out to qualifying people. This is another shameless bribe by the Democrat party to win voters, much the same as the one time $250 tax rebates given out a couple years ago. This absurdly transparent attempt to sway an election serves a two-fold purpose for The Won. It helps convince the weak-minded middle to vote for him and keep the gravy train rolling, and it allows him to tout the "savings" his health care plan has already given the people.
From CNN Money:
Your insurance company may owe you $127
By Jessica Dickler @CNNMoney April 26, 2012: 11:31 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Thanks to a provision in the health care reform law, millions of consumers will be receiving rebates from their insurers this summer.
By Aug. 1, insurers that failed to meet one of the early guidelines of the Affordable Care Act are going to issue rebates averaging $127 to certain policyholders, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Last year, the Affordable Care Act started requiring health insurers to spend a certain percentage of the premium payments they receive toward patient care, such as doctor's visits and hospital stays, and quality improvement activities, including discounted gym memberships or wellness brochures, instead of things like administrative and marketing costs.
Under the law, large employer-sponsored plans must spend 85% of a policyholders' premiums this way, while insurance companies that cover individuals and small businesses have to spend at least 80%. If an insurer fails to meet that threshold, they must issue a refund.
What health care reform is (and isn't) doing now
Based on insurers' recent filings to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, those rebates will total $1.3 billion altogether this year, according to Kaiser.
A large share of this money, or $426 million, will go to consumers who bought their own insurance through one of 215 plans. Nationwide, these consumers — roughly 3.4 million people — will each receive an average rebate of $127, Kaiser said in its report.
Once again Obama tries to buy the vote, and the MSM is silent. It should also be considered that Obama can use these rebates as another way to attack private insurance. All he has to do is claim that the rebates came from "misuse" of the insurance money and all the happy little liberals will jump on the bandwagon.
Remember, there is nothing these scumbags won't do to win. Hold them accountable at every turn.


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John Travolta Sued By Masseur Who Claims Actor Touched Penis, Wanted Sex
John Travolta is being sued by a masseur who claims the star touched his penis and tried to initiate sexual activity during a session at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
The massage therapist, who originally made the allegations in March in the National Enquirer, has filed a lawsuit in which he says Travolta responded to an online ad and drove the masseur to Travolta's bungalow at the hotel.
According to the lawsuit, the massage was interrupted when Travolta allegedly rubbed the masseur's leg and genitals before masturbating and requesting sexual favors.
The masseur, who is seeking $2 million plus punitive damages, says he repeatedly declined Travolta's advances and was eventually sent home.
Travolta's camp is strongly denying the charges, saying Travolta was not even in California on the date in question.
In a statement to Gossip Cop, reps for Travolta declare, "This lawsuit is a complete fiction and fabrication. None of the events claimed in the suit ever occurred. The plaintiff, who refuses to give their name, knows that the suit is a baseless lie. It is for that reason that the plaintiff hasn't been identified with a name even though it is required to do so."
The statement continues, "On the date when plaintiff claims John met him, John was not in California and it can be proved that he was on the East Coast."
Travolta's camp claims, "Plaintiff's attorney has filed this suit to try and get his 15 minutes of fame," adding, "John intends to get this case thrown out and then he will sue the attorney and Plaintiff for malicious prosecution."
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