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In Dubai, Sri Lankan businessman Mohamed Farouqand and German engineer Heinz Mebus meet with as many as three Iranian officials, presenting them with an offer to sell Iran the expertise and materials needed to develop a nuclear weapons program. Both Farouqand and Mebus are connected to A. Q. Khan, the head of Pakistan's nuclear program who also operates a network of nuclear manufacturers and suppliers located in more than 30 countries. According to two Western diplomats interviewed by the Washington Post in 2005, the offer lays out a five-step plan which would begin with the provision of technical drawings for Pakistani centrifuges. In phase two of the plan, the network would supply Iran with a starter kit of one or two centrifuges. This would be followed by the sale of as many as 2,000 centrifuges, which could then be used to enrich uranium. In the final phases of the plan, Iran would be provided with auxiliary items for the centrifuges and enrichment process as well as reconversion and casting equipment for building the core of a bomb. It is not known whether or not the Iranians accept this particular deal; however, at some point the Iranians do eventually obtain centrifuge parts from Khan (see March 10, 2005). (Linzer 2/27/2005)
A set of documents is forged implicating Iraq in an attempt to purchase 500 tons of uranium oxide, also known as "yellowcake," from Niger. (Agence France-Presse 7/19/2003; Reuters 7/19/2003; Hersh 10/27/2003; Talking Points Memo 10/31/2003; Bonini and d'Avanzo 10/24/2005) It is possible that official stamps and letterhead stolen from the Niger embassy in Rome (see January 2, 2001) are used to fabricate the documents, though a subsequent police investigation suggests that the break-in may have been staged to provide a cover story for the origins of the documents. (Isikoff and Corn 2006, pp. 88) Material gleaned from real Italian intelligence (SISMI) documents dating back to the 1980s concerning Iraq's yellowcake purchases from Niger during that period are also incorporated into the set of forged documents. (Bonini and d'Avanzo 10/24/2005; Collier 10/30/2005) But it is unclear who exactly is responsible for the forgeries. In August 2004, the Financial Times will report that according to Rocco Martino, the Italian information peddler who later tries to sell the documents, the documents are fabricated by SISMI, which passes them on to Martino through embassy employee Laura Montini, a paid SISMI asset. (Huband 8/2/2004) In October 2005, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica will suggest the forgery is done by Montini and fellow embassy employee Zakaria Yaou Maiga under the guidance of Martino and Antonio Nucera, the deputy chief of the SISMI center in Viale Pasteur in Rome. (Bonini and d'Avanzo 10/24/2005) In 2006, an official investigation will add support to this account, concluding that Montini and Maiga, motivated by money, were indeed the forgers of the documents. (Smith 4/9/2006) SISMI director Nicolo Pollari will later acknowledge that Martino had worked as a SISMI agent in the past, but deny any SISMI involvement in the Iraq-Niger affair. "[Nucera] offered [Martino] the use of an intelligence asset [Montini]—no big deal, you understand—one who was still on the books but inactive—to give a hand to Martino," Pollari will explain. Author Craig Unger will observe that the issue is, if Pollari is to be believed, just one friend helping another friend by loaning him an intelligence asset to help disseminate forged documents. Martino has a different explanation: "SISMI wanted me to pass on the documents, but they didn't want anyone to know they had been involved." The information is quite contradictory. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica will call Martino "a failed carabiniere and dishonest spy," and a "double-dealer" who "plays every side of the fence." But Unger will later note that assets like him are valuable precisely because they lack credibility. "If there were a deep-cover unit of SISMI, it would make sense to hire someone like Rocco," says former DIA analyst Patrick Lang. "His flakiness gives SISMI plausible deniability. That's standard tradecraft for the agencies." Until Martino stops talking to journalists in 2005, he will insist he believed the documents were authentic (see Summer 2004). "I sell information, I admit," he will tell a London reporter. "But I only sell good information." (Unger 2007, pp. 236)
According to author James Bamford, SISMI passes on details of the alleged Iraq-Niger uranium deal "to the Executive Committee of the Intelligence and Security Services (CESIS), which in turn pass[es] it on to the Faresine, the Italian Foreign Ministry, and to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at his office in Rome's Palazzo Chigi. Only the Farnesina raise[s] 'strong objection' and 'reservations' about the report—primarily from the African Countries Directorate. They [are] greatly concerned about the reliability of the information." (Bamford 2004, pp. 303)
Italy's military intelligence service (SISMI) provides Jeff Castelli, the CIA station chief in Rome, with papers documenting an alleged uranium deal between Iraq and Niger. Castelli, who is not permitted to duplicate the papers, writes a summary of them and sends the report to Langley. (Hersh 10/27/2003; Landay 11/4/2005; Bonini and D'Avanzo 11/11/2005)
The allegations - The report includes four allegations:
The report states that Iraq first communicated its interest in purchasing uranium from Niger at least as early as 1999. (US Congress 7/7/2004) As blogger ERiposte will conclude through his analysis at TheLeftCoaster.Org (ERiposte 10/31/2005) , none of the documents that are later provided to the US as the basis for this allegation include actual proof of uranium negotiations in 1999. Two of the source documents for this allegation do mention a 1999 visit by Wissam Al-Zahawi to Niger; however, no evidence has ever surfaced suggesting that there were any discussions about uranium during that visit (see February 1999). The first document (possibly authentic) is a letter, dated February 1, 1999, from the Niger embassy in Rome to Adamou Chekou, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Niger, announcing Zahawie's trip. It does not mention uranium. (Note that the SISMI report does not mention Al-Zahawi's trip, it only states that uranium negotiations between the two countries began by at least 1999.) The second document is a letter dated July 30, 1999 from the Niger Ministry of Foreign Affairs to his ambassador in Rome requesting that he contact Zahawie, concerning an agreement signed June 28, 2000 to sell uranium to Iraq. The letter is an obvious forgery because it refers to an event that it describes as taking place 11 months later. (Unknown n.d.; La Repubblica (Rome) 7/16/2003)
The SISMI report states that in "late 2000," the State Court of Niger approved an agreement with Iraq whereby Niger would sell Iraq a large quantity of uranium. This allegation appears to be based on a forged document titled "Annex 1," which was possibly an annex to the alleged uranium agreement. It is evident that this document was forged because it says that the state court "met in the chamber of the council in the palace… on Wednesday, July 7, 2000." But July 7, 2000 was, in fact, a Friday, not a Wednesday. One of SISMI's reports to the US, possibly this one, actually reproduces this error. (Unknown n.d.; La Repubblica (Rome) 7/16/2003; ERiposte 10/31/2005)
According to the report, Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja approved the agreement and communicated this decision to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The source for this is apparently a forged letter from the president of Niger to Saddam Hussein, in which the president refers to his authority under the country's obsolete 1966 constitution. At the time the letter was presumed to have been written, the constitution in effect would have been that of December 26, 1992, which was subsequently revised by national referendum on May 12, 1996 and again by referendum on July 18, 1999. (Unknown n.d.; Charbonneau 3/26/2003; La Repubblica (Rome) 7/16/2003; US Department of State 9/2005)
The report also alleges that in October 2000, Nigerien Minister of Foreign Affairs Nassirou Sabo informed one of his ambassadors in Europe that Niger had agreed to provide several tons of uranium to Iraq. (Unknown n.d.; La Repubblica (Rome) 7/16/2003) This is seemingly based on a forged letter that accompanied the alleged uranium sales agreement. The letter, dated October 10, 2000, is stamped as being received in Rome on September 28, 2000—nearly two weeks before the letter was presumably written. Furthermore, there is a problem with the signature. Unlike what is reported in the SISMI papers provided to the CIA, the actual letter is signed by Allele Elhadj Habibou, who left office in 1989. This indicates that someone must have corrected this information, replacing the name of Allele Elhadj Habibou with that of Nassirou Sabo (the minister in October 2000), before the letter was included in this report. (ERiposte 10/31/2005)
Distribution within US Intelligence Community - After receiving the report from its Rome station, the CIA distributes it to other US intelligence agencies. According to a later Senate investigation, the "CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and Department of Energy (DOE) analysts considered the reporting to be 'possible' while the Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) regarded the report as 'highly suspect,' primarily because INR analysts did not believe that Niger would be likely to engage in such a transaction and did not believe Niger would be able to transfer uranium to Iraq because a French consortium maintained control of the Nigerien uranium industry." (US Congress 7/7/2004) Sources later interviewed by New Yorker's Seymour Hersh portray US intelligence analysts' assessment of the report in slightly harsher terms, saying that they "dismissed [it] as amateurish and unsubstantiated." (Hersh 10/27/2003) "I can fully believe that SISMI would put out a piece of intelligence like that," a CIA consultant later tells Hersh, "but why anybody would put credibility in it is beyond me." (Hersh 5/17/2004, pp. 227) Langley asks for further clarification from Rome and receives a response three days later (see October 18, 2001). (Bonini and D'Avanzo 11/11/2005)
Repeated Dissemination - The documents and reports based on the documents are sent to the CIA at least three separate times. They are also sent to the White House, the US embassy in Rome, British and French intelligence, and Italian journalist Elisabetta Burba of the news magazine Panorama. Each recipient in turn shares the documents, or their contents, with others, creating what author Craig Unger later calls "an echo chamber that gives the illusion that several independent sources had corroborated an Iraq-Niger uranium deal." (Unger 2007, pp. 237)
Greg Thielmann, director for strategic proliferation and military affairs at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), reviews Iraq's alleged WMD programs for Secretary of State Colin Powell. Thielmann's review concludes that Italian reports of a possible uranium deal between Iraq and Niger (see Between Late 2000 and September 11, 2001, October 15, 2001, October 18, 2001, November 20, 2001, February 5, 2002, Late April or Early May 2002-June 2002, and Late June 2002) are completely false. Thielmann will later recall: "A whole lot of things told us that the report was bogus. This wasn't highly contested. There weren't strong advocates on the other side. It was done, shot down" (see March 1, 2002). (Unger 2007, pp. 229)
The CIA Directorate of Operations issues a second intelligence report from SISMI, Italy's military intelligence service, on Iraq's alleged agreement with Niger to purchase 500 tons of uranium annually. This report provides details that were not included in Italy's October 15 report (see October 15, 2001), including a "verbatim text" of the accord. (It is not clear what the source is for the "verbatim text". (ERiposte 3/6/2006) ) According to the report, the purported agreement was signed by Iraqi and Niger officials during meetings held July 5-6, 2000. (US Congress 7/7/2004; Landay 11/4/2005) The SISMI report also draws attention to a 1999 trip to Niger made by Wissam al-Zahawie (see February 1999), Iraq's former ambassador to the Vatican, and alleges that its mission was to discuss the future purchase of uranium. This is the first report from SISMI that names al-Zahawie and refers directly to his 1999 trip. (SISMI's previous report had only stated that negotiations had begun by at least 1999.) This report, as well as the previous report, is based on the forged Niger documents. (Hersh 10/27/2003; US Congress 7/7/2004; ERiposte 11/3/2005) Analysts at the CIA and the DIA are more impressed with the detail and substance of this second report, but analysts at the Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) remain skeptical of the report's allegations noting that it was unlikely that Niger would sell uranium to Iraq because the Nigeriens would have considered the risk of being caught too great. An INR analyst asks the CIA if the source of the report would submit to a polygraph. A CIA analyst who also asks about the source is told by the DO that the source is "very credible." (US Congress 7/7/2004)
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) issues "a finished intelligence product" summarizing the February 5, 2002 SISMI report (see February 5, 2002). The report, entitled "Niamey Signed an Agreement to Sell 500 Tons of Uranium a Year to Baghdad," states as irrefutable fact that Iraq intends to buy weapons-grade uranium from Niger (see Between Late 2000 and September 11, 2001, October 15, 2001, October 18, 2001, November 20, 2001, February 5, 2002, March 1, 2002, Late April or Early May 2002-June 2002, and Late June 2002). It concludes, "Iraq probably is searching abroad for natural uranium to assist in its nuclear weapons program." It does not comment on the credibility of the sourcing. The report is sent directly to Vice President Dick Cheney. Within hours, Cheney directs the CIA (see February 5, 2002) to investigate the claims. According to the Senate Intelligence Committee's 2004 report on Iraqi WMD (see July 9, 2004), CIA and DIA analysts find the subsequent reports more informative and believable than the first, more sketchy reports (see February 5, 2002). The CIA's Directorate of Operations tells one agency analyst that the report comes from a "very credible source." Analysts with the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) continue to find the reports unconvincing. (US Congress 7/7/2004; Unger 2007, pp. 239) Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern will later describe Cheney's receipt of this document as "odd." "[I]n more than two years of briefing then-Vice President George H. W. Bush every other morning, not once did he ask a question about a DIA report or even indicate that he had read one," McGovern will note. "That this particular report was given to Cheney almost certainly reflects the widespread practice of 'cherry picking' intelligence." (McGovern 7/25/2005)
Italian Panorama journalist Elisabetta Burba goes to the US Embassy in Rome and gives US officials copies of the Niger uranium documents (see March 2000) that she had obtained two days before (see Afternoon October 7, 2002). (Agence France-Presse 7/19/2003; Agence France-Presse 7/19/2003; Priest 7/20/2003; Associated Press 7/20/2003; Agence France-Presse 9/19/2003; Hersh 10/27/2003) Up till now, the embassy had only received reports of the documents. (Unger 2007, pp. 261) It is likely that the so-called "Italian Letter," a letter purporting to be from the president of Niger to Iraq's Saddam Hussein confirming the Iraq-Niger uranium deal, is not in the bundle of documents Burba brings to the embassy. (ERiposte 3/6/2006) Burba meets with the embassy's press spokesman, Ian Kelly. Over coffee, she tells him that she has documents purporting to show that Iraq has signed a deal to buy uranium from Niger, and she needs his help to confirm their authenticity and accuracy. Kelly brings three others into the discussion—a political officer, one of his own staffers, and perhaps a US military official, as Burba will later recall—and moves the entire group into his office. The subsequent discussion is brief; Burba hands over the documents. Kelly tells her the embassy will look into the matter. The CIA station chief, Jeff Castelli, refuses to meet with Burba. (Eisner 4/3/2007) Castelli is told about Burba's visit, but is not interested. As the CIA's head of European operations, Tyler Drumheller, will later recall, Castelli says, "This is bullsh_t we don't have time to waste on." Castelli receives a copy of the documents but quickly forgets about them. According to Drumheller, Castelli is "not the most organized guy in the world. And his view was, 'This is the least important thing that's coming across my desk now.' He just made a mistake." (Isikoff and Corn 2006, pp. 148; CBS News 4/23/2006) Several newspapers cite sources (mostly unnamed, so it's possible they are all relying on the same sources) that appear to support Drumheller's account. (New York Times 3/23/2003; Priest 7/20/2003; Hersh 10/27/2003) For example, an unnamed senior CIA official will tell Knut Royce of Newsday in July of 2003 that the CIA "had serious questions about [the claims] from day one" (see July 21, 2003). The agency "had accounts (see October 15, 2001, February 5, 2002, and March 25, 2002) of them [the letters] and that was close enough. We didn't take it that seriously to begin with.… We didn't put a lot of stock in these reports from Niger. We didn't rush around to get the actual documents." (Royce 7/11/2003) The documents are faxed to the State Department on October 15 (see October 15, 2002), and its intelligence unit will quickly conclude that the papers are probably fakes. (Priest 7/20/2003; Isikoff and Corn 2006, pp. 148; Unger 2007, pp. 261)
The US embassy in Rome faxes the Niger documents to the State Department's Bureau of Nonproliferation, which then passes a copy of the documents to the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), the State Department's intelligence bureau. (US Congress 7/7/2004, pp. 58) Simon Dodge, an INR nuclear analyst, receives a copy, and after a brief review of the documents immediately suspects that they are bogus. One particularly strange document that is included in the Niger papers describes a secret meeting that allegedly took place on June 14, 2002 at the home of the Iraqi ambassador in Rome. According to the document, the meeting was attended by military officials from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, and Pakistan. The purpose of the meeting was to form a coalition of Islamic nations against the West. They would seek "Global Support," which would include backing from the "Islamic patriots accused of belonging to criminal organizations." Dodge finds the scenario depicted in the document "completely implausible." He notices that the document bears the same official seal that is stamped on the Niger documents. He concludes that the documents are probably all fakes, and he sends an email to other analysts in the intelligence community explaining this conclusion. (US Congress 7/7/2004, pp. 58; Isikoff and Corn 2006, pp. 162; CBS News 4/23/2006) According to one unnamed CIA official, "Everybody knew at every step of the way that they were false—until they got to the Pentagon, where they were believed." (Hersh 10/27/2003) Copies also go to nuclear experts at the DIA, the Department of Energy, and the NSA. Wayne White, the deputy director of the INR and the INR's principal Iraq analyst, reviews the documents himself. Within 15 minutes he too begins doubting their authenticity (see Mid-October 2002). (Unger 2007, pp. 261)
North Korea, stung by repeated rebuffs towards its attempts to reopen diplomatic negotiations with the US (see October 27, 2002 and November 2002), announces that it will restart its nuclear facilities. (Scoblic 2008, pp. 239) It blames the US for ignoring its responsibilities under the 1994 Agreed Framework (see October 21, 1994). In the next few days and weeks, North Korea will ask the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to remove its seals and surveillance equipment from the Yongbyon nuclear facility, will itself begin removing monitoring equipment, and will begin shipping fuel rods to the Yongbyon plant to begin creating plutonium (see January 10, 2003 and After). (BBC 12/2007)
North Korea expels the two international nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from its country (see December 12, 2002). IAEA officials have been monitoring North Korea's nuclear program since 1985. (BBC 12/2007; Scoblic 2008, pp. 239)
Robert G. Houdek, national intelligence officer for Africa, concludes in a memo that allegations about Iraq attempting to obtain uranium from Niger are baseless. (Gellman and Linzer 4/9/2006) The National Intelligence Council, the entity that oversees the US's 15 intelligence agencies, issues Houdek's report, which states in part, "The Niger story [of Iraq attempting to purchase Nigerien uranium—see Between Late 2000 and September 11, 2001] was baseless and should be laid to rest." The memo immediately goes to President Bush and his top officials. (Unger 2007, pp. 269)
An official with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) asks the US for information it has that can verify the claims of Iraqi attempts to buy Nigerien uranium (see Between Late 2000 and September 11, 2001, Late September 2001-Early October 2001, October 15, 2001, December 2001, February 5, 2002, February 12, 2002, October 9, 2002, October 15, 2002, January 2003, February 17, 2003, March 7, 2003, March 8, 2003, and 3:09 p.m. July 11, 2003). (Grier 11/15/2005)
North Korea announces that it is withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (see December 12, 1985). Since its attempts to reopen diplomatic talks with the US were rejected (see October 27, 2002 and November 2002), it has announced its restarting of its nuclear energy program (see December 12, 2002) and expelled international inspectors (see December 31, 2002). Around this same time, it begins removing some 8,000 spent fuel rods from storage, a direct indication that it intends to restart its nuclear weapons program. This is a burgeoning crisis for the world, as North Korea is, in many experts' view, the definition of a "rogue nation," but the Bush administration refuses to recognize it as a crisis. In 2008, author J. Peter Scoblic will write, "President Bush, focused on Iraq, refused to label it as such." North Korea has enough nuclear material to make six to eight nuclear weapons; some experts believe it already has one or two. With the inspectors gone, the world has no way to know what North Korea is doing with its spent fuel rods, or where they are being stored—removing the possibility that the US could destroy them with a targeted air strike. Bush's response to the North Korean crisis is contradictory. While labeling it a member of the "axis of evil" (see January 29, 2002), and sometimes acting belligerently towards that nation (see March 2003-May 2003), he also insists that the US will not use military force to restrain North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Diplomacy is the answer to the crisis, Bush says, but his administration refuses to talk to the North Koreans (see November 2002) until later in the month (see Mid-January 2003). (BBC 12/2007; Scoblic 2008, pp. 239-240, 242)
Jacques Baute, head of the UN Iraq Nuclear Verification office, returns to Vienna after having interviewed several current and former Iraqi officials in Baghdad. The Iraqis denied that their government had tried to obtain uranium from Niger, as has been alleged by the Bush administration. Baute does not believe the Iraqis were telling the truth and intends to confront them with the Niger documents after he has researched the details of the purported uranium purchase deal that is described in the documents. He is concerned to see that the documents contain a note from US intelligence officials that reads, "We cannot confirm these reports and have questions regarding some specific claims." Baute conducts an initial Google search for a few keywords and phrases from the documents and quickly finds an inaccurate reference to Niger's constitution. "At that point," Baute later recalls, "I completely changed the focus of my search to 'Are these documents real?' rather than 'How can I catch the Iraqis?'" (Isikoff and Corn 2006, pp. 202-203; Unger 2007, pp. 289) Several months later, Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the IAEA, will describe to reporters how easy it was for Baute to determine that the documents were fakes. "These were blatant forgeries. We were able to determine that they were forgeries very quickly," she says. (Grice and Usborne 6/5/2003) In another interview, Fleming adds: "It was very clear from our analysis that they were forgeries. We found 20 to 30 anomalies within a day." (Hamburger and Efron 8/25/2005) When Baute asks for an explanation from the US, there is no response. "What do you have to say? They had nothing to say," Baute will later recall in an interview with Seymour Hersh. (Hersh 3/31/2003) There are numerous indications that the documents are forgeries.
Erroneous Postmark - A letter dated October 10, 2000 bears a September 28 postmark, indicating it was received over two weeks before its supposed writing. (Dubose and Bernstein 2006, pp. 212; Unger 2007, pp. 236-237)
Names and Titles Incorrect - Several of the names and titles of officials mentioned in the documents are incorrect. For example, one of the letters is purportedly signed by Niger's President Tandja Mamadou. Experts say the signature is an obvious forgery. An IAEA official will tell Reuters: "It doesn't even look close to the signature of the president. I'm not a [handwriting] expert but when I looked at it my jaw dropped." (Unknown n.d.; Sallot 3/8/2003; Charbonneau 3/26/2003; Hersh 3/31/2003; Landay 6/13/2003) The incorrectly postmarked letter is signed "Alle Elhadj Habibou"—Niger's foreign minister who had not been in office since 1989. (Unknown n.d.; Charbonneau 3/26/2003; Hersh 3/31/2003; Landay 6/13/2003; Dubose and Bernstein 2006, pp. 212; Unger 2007, pp. 236-237) Another letter includes the forged signature and seal of Wissam al-Zahawie, Iraq's former ambassador to the Vatican. When al-Zahawie is interviewed by the IAEA, he informs the agency that it was standard procedure for all diplomatic notes to be initialed and sealed, while letters were only to be signed—with no seal. He explains that correspondences were never both signed and sealed. (Unknown n.d.; Whitaker 8/10/2003)
Letterhead Erroneous - In addition to problems with signatures and seals, there are other problems. One letter is on the wrong letterhead. (Landay 6/13/2003) The "letterhead was out of date and referred to Niger's 'Supreme Military Council' from the pre-1999 era—which would be like calling Russia the Soviet Union," reports Reuters. (Unknown n.d.; Charbonneau 3/26/2003)
Incorrect Citation of Constitution - Another letter, purported to be from the president of Niger, refers to his authority under the country's obsolete 1966 constitution instead of the one enacted in 1999. (Unknown n.d.; Charbonneau 3/26/2003; Dubose and Bernstein 2006, pp. 212; Unger 2007, pp. 236-237)
Misspellings, Incorrect Dates - Also, in some letters, French words are misspelled and dates do not correspond to the correct days of the week. (Stober 3/18/2003) One of the letters is dated July 30, 1999, but refers to agreements not enacted until 2000. (Dubose and Bernstein 2006, pp. 212; Unger 2007, pp. 236-237)
Unrealistic Uranium Requests - The IAEA also points out that the amount of uranium which Iraq is purportedly interested in purchasing is unrealistic. Seymour Hersh, writing for the New Yorker, explains: "The large quantity of uranium involved should have been another warning sign. Niger's 'yellow cake' comes from two uranium mines controlled by a French company, with its entire output pre-sold to nuclear power companies in France, Japan, and Spain. 'Five hundred tons can't be siphoned off without anyone noticing'… [an] IAEA official told me." (Hersh 3/31/2003) Furthermore, the purported agreement calls for the 500 tons of uranium to be transferred from one ship to another in international waters, a tremendously difficult undertaking. (Dubose and Bernstein 2006, pp. 212; Unger 2007, pp. 236-237)
Denial of Signature - Al-Zawahie is asked whether he had signed a letter on July 6, 2000 that concerned Nigerien uranium (see February 1999). Al-Zawahie will later recall telling the inspectors, "I said absolutely not; if they had seen such a letter it must be a forgery." Al-Zawahie provides his signature to IAEA inspectors; he will later say, "[T]hose letters must have convinced the IAEA team that the document they had was a forgery." (Whitaker 8/10/2003)
United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission chief arms inspector Hans Blix provides a quarterly report to the UN Security Council on the progress of inspections in Iraq, as required by UN Security Resolution 1284 (1999). It is the twelfth such report since UNMOVIC's inception. Blix's report to the Council does not contain any evidence to support US and British claims that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction or the programs to develop such weapons. (United Nations 3/7/2003 ; CNN 3/7/2003) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei also reports to the Council and says there are no signs that Iraq has reconstituted its nuclear weapons program. (United Nations 3/7/2003 )
UNMOVIC Report by Hans Blix -
There is no evidence that Iraq has mobile biological weapons factories, as was recently alleged by Colin Powell in his February 5 presentation (see February 5, 2003) to the UN. "Several inspections have taken place… in relation to mobile production facilities," Blix says. "No evidence of proscribed activities has so far been found." He further explains that his inspectors had examined numerous mobile facilities and large containers with seed processing equipment. (United Nations 3/7/2003 ; CNN 3/7/2003; Agence France-Presse 3/7/2003)
The Iraqi government has increased its cooperation with inspectors since the end of January. It is attempting to quantify the biological and chemical weapons that it says were destroyed in 1991. (United Nations 3/7/2003 ; CNN 3/7/2003; Los Angeles Times 3/7/2003; Associated Press 3/7/2003)
Iraq's destruction of several Al Samoud II missiles represents a real step towards disarmament. "The destruction undertaken constitutes a substantial measure of disarmament," he says. "We are not watching the destruction of toothpicks. Lethal weapons are being destroyed." (CNN 3/7/2003; Los Angeles Times 3/7/2003; Associated Press 3/7/2003) Blix adds, "The destruction undertaken constitutes a substantial measure of disarmament—indeed, the first since the middle of the 1990s." Major Corrine Heraud, the chief weapons inspector for UNMOVIC in this operation, calls the level of cooperation from the Iraqis "unprecedented," something that she never would have expected and did not encounter during the 1996-98 inspections. (Lang 6/2004)
Blix says that the UN inspectors needed a few more months to finish their work. "Even with a proactive Iraqi attitude induced by continued outside pressure, it will still take some time to verify sites and items, analyze documents, interview relevant persons and draw conclusions," he says, concluding, "It will not take years, nor weeks, but months." (CNN 3/7/2003; Los Angeles Times 3/7/2003; Associated Press 3/7/2003)
Iraqi scientists have recently accepted inspectors' requests to be interviewed without "minders." "Since we started requesting interviews, 38 individuals were asked for private interviews, of which 10 accepted under our terms, seven during the past week," Blix explains. (CNN 3/7/2003)
Some Iraqi scientists have agreed to interviews without "minders"—but more cooperation is needed. Blix says, "While the Iraqi side seems to have encouraged interviewees not to request the presence of Iraqi officials or the taping of the interviews, conditions ensuring the absence of undue influences are difficult to attain inside Iraq." (CNN 3/7/2003) Iraq needs to turn over more documents. "Iraq, with a highly developed administrative system, should be able to provide more documentary evidence about its proscribed weapons. Only a few new such documents have come to light so far and been handed over since we began." (CNN 3/7/2003) There is no evidence of underground weapons facilities. Blix says: "There have been reports, denied by Iraq, that proscribed activities are conducted underground. Iraq should provide information on underground structures suitable for the production or storage of weapons of mass destruction. During inspections of declared or undeclared facilities, inspectors examined building structures for any possible underground facilities. In addition, ground-penetrating radar was used in several locations. No underground facilities for chemical or biological production or storage were found." (CNN 3/7/2003)
IAEA report by Mohamed ElBaradei -
There is no evidence that the aluminum tubes imported by Iraq in July 2001 were meant for a nuclear weapons program. ElBaradei says: "Extensive field investigation and document analysis have failed to uncover any evidence that Iraq intended to use these 81mm tubes for any project other than the reverse engineering of rockets.… Moreover, even had Iraq pursued such a plan, it would have encountered practical difficulties in manufacturing centrifuges out of the aluminum tubes in question." (United Nations 3/7/2003 ; Los Angeles Times 3/7/2003; Associated Press 3/7/2003; Warrick 3/8/2003)
There is no evidence that Iraq tried to obtain uranium from Niger. Documents provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency by the US were determined to be forgeries. The documents were a collection of letters between an Iraqi diplomat and senior Niger officials discussing Iraq's interest in procuring a large amount of uranium oxide (see Afternoon October 7, 2002). "Based on thorough analysis, the IAEA has concluded, with the concurrence of outside experts, that documents which formed the basis for the reports of recent uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger are in fact not authentic," ElBaradei explains. "We have therefore concluded that these specific allegations are unfounded" (see June 12, 2003). (United Nations 3/7/2003 ; Los Angeles Times 3/7/2003; Associated Press 3/7/2003; Warrick 3/8/2003; Sallot 3/8/2003; Traynor 3/8/2003)
The IAEA has yet to come across evidence of a nuclear weapons program. "After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq," ElBaradei states. "[T]here is no indication of resumed nuclear activities in those buildings that were identified through the use of satellite imagery as being reconstructed or newly erected since 1998, nor any indication of nuclear-related prohibited activities at any inspected sites." (United Nations 3/7/2003 ; Los Angeles Times 3/7/2003; Associated Press 3/7/2003; Sallot 3/8/2003; Warrick 3/8/2003)
In a direct response to allegations made by Colin Powell on February 5 (see February 5, 2003) related to the attempted procurement of magnets that could be used in a gas centrifuge, ElBaradei, says: "The IAEA has verified that previously acquired magnets have been used for missile guidance systems, industrial machinery, electricity meters, and field telephones. Through visits to research and production sites, reviews of engineering drawings, and analyses of sample magnets, IAEA experts familiar with the use of such magnets in centrifuge enrichment have verified that none of the magnets that Iraq has declared could be used directly for a centrifuge magnetic bearing." (United Nations 3/7/2003 )
Iraq's industrial capacity "has deteriorated" at the inspected sites because of lack of maintenance and funds. (United Nations 3/7/2003 )
ElBaradei concludes: "After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq.… I should note that, in the past three weeks, possibly as a result of ever-increasing pressure by the international community, Iraq has been forthcoming in its cooperation, particularly with regard to the conduct of private interviews and in making available evidence that contributes to the resolution of matters of IAEA concern." (Lang 6/2004)
Inspections 'Fruitful,' Say French, Russians - Both sides claim that the reports give further support to each of their respective stances on the issue of Iraqi disarmament. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin tells the Council that the reports "testify to the progress" of the inspections. He states that France will not support another resolution because "we cannot accept any ultimatum, any automatic use of force." Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov says that the reports demonstrate that inspections have been "fruitful."
Inspections Not Working, US Claims - The Bush administration does not alter its position, despite statements by the two inspectors that Iraq is cooperating with inspections and complying with demands to disarm. Colin Powell, responding to the inspectors' reports, reiterates the administration's position that the inspections are not working and that Saddam is not cooperating. "We must not walk away," Powell says. "We must not find ourselves here this coming November with the pressure removed and with Iraq once again marching down the merry path to weapons of mass destruction, threatening the region, threatening the world." He claims that Iraq's behavior is a "a catalog still of noncooperation" and repeats the administration's allegation that the "Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised." Back at the White House, Ari Fleischer tells reporters, "As the president has said, if the United Nations will not disarm Saddam Hussein, it will be another international organization, a coalition of the willing that will be made up of numerous nations that will disarm Saddam Hussein." (CNN 3/6/2003; King et al. 3/7/2003; Blix 3/7/2003; Powell 3/7/2003 )
Bush: Missile Destruction 'Meaningless' - Bush himself will call the destruction of Iraqi missiles "meaningless" and nothing more than an Iraqi "campaign of destruction," shocking UNMOVIC inspectors: "We didn't know what to make of [his words]," one inspector says afterwards. Former State Department official Patrick Lang will write: "In the final weeks of the countdown to war, the administration's actions resembled nothing so much as some of the madder scenes from Alice in Wonderland. The fact that the documents the administration had used to 'prove' that Iraq was working on nuclear weapons were forged only led to greater insistence that Iraq was a danger. The absence of discovery of WMD by the UN inspectors was only further evidence that the Iraqis were the greatest deceivers in history and that they had succeeded in concealing their location. The destruction of the Al Samoud missiles was just more evidence of a 'grand deception.'" (Lang 6/2004)
Uranium Allegations 'Outrageous,' Says Former Ambassador - The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times do give the story front-page coverage, and on CNN, former ambassador Joseph Wilson (see July 6, 2003) calls the uranium allegation "outrageous," adding that the claim "taints the whole rest of the case that the government is trying to build against Iraq." The US government is "simply stupid" for not finding out the truth sooner: "a couple of phone calls" could have proven that such a deal between Iraq and Niger could not have happened: "All this stuff is open," Wilson says. "It's a restricted market of buyers and sellers." (Rich 2006, pp. 71)
IAEA Report 'Widely Ignored' - Author and media critic Frank Rich will later note, "With America's March 17 deadline for war (see March 17, 2003 and March 17, 2003) dominating the news, ElBaradei's pronoucements were widely ignored. The news of the forged uranium documents did not make any of the three network evening newscasts and did not appear in the following day's New York Times. (It would turn up a day later, in a four-hundred word story on page A13.)" (Rich 2006, pp. 71)
While many in the Bush administration continue to insist that the claims of Iraq attempting to buy uranium from Niger are valid (see March 7, 2003-July 7, 2003), even in the face of a thorough debunking by the International Atomic Energy Agency (see March 7, 2003), some officials are quietly admitting that the administration was duped. "We fell for it," says one unnamed State Department official who reviewed the documents. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell says that the administration has "new information" suggesting that Iraq continues to try to get nuclear weapons components such as the suspicious aluminum tubes (see October 6, 2002). David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security retorts, "Despite being presented with the falseness of this claim, the administration persists in making misleading arguments about the significance of the tubes." (Warrick 3/8/2003) Former ambassador Joseph Wilson will note that the administration "had chosen to ignore three reports that had been in their files for nearly a year: mine (see March 4-5, 2002) as well as two others—one submitted by the American ambassador to Niger, Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick (see November 20, 2001) and the other by four-star Marine Corps General Carlton Fulford (see February 24, 2002), who had also traveled there. Instead, the administration chose to give credence to forgeries so crude that even Panorama, the Italian weekly magazine that first received them, had declined to publish (see October 9, 2002). The administration had ample evidence that there was nothing to the uranium charge but went ahead and placed the inflammatory claim in the State of the Union address anyway." (Wilson 2004, pp. 2-3)
Referring to President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address (see Mid-January 2003 and 9:01 pm January 28, 2003), CIA Director George Tenet says in a written statement: "I am responsible for the approval process in my agency.… These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the president." Tenet denies that the White House is responsible for the mistake, putting the blame squarely on himself and his agency. His statement comes hours after Bush blamed the CIA for the words making it into the speech (see July 11, 2003). (CNN 7/11/2003; Central Intelligence Agency 7/11/2003; Sanger and Risen 7/12/2003)
CIA Chose to Send Wilson to Niger - Tenet also confirms that it was the CIA's choice to send former ambassador Joseph Wilson to Niger (see February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002), apparently in an effort to rebut claims that Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the mission. Tenet states: "There was fragmentary intelligence gathered in late 2001 and early 2002 on the allegations of Saddam's efforts to obtain additional raw uranium from Africa, beyond the 550 metric tons already in Iraq. In an effort to inquire about certain reports involving Niger, CIA's counterproliferation experts, on their own initiative, asked an individual with ties to the region [Wilson] to make a visit to see what he could learn." Tenet says that Wilson found no evidence to believe that Iraq had attempted to purchase Nigerien uranium, though this did not settle the issue for either the CIA or the White House. (Central Intelligence Agency 7/11/2003)
Coordinated with White House - Tenet's admission was coordinated by White House advisers for what reporter Murray Waas will call "maximum effect." Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, White House political strategist Karl Rove, and Cheney's chief of staff Lewis Libby had reviewed drafts of Tenet's statement days in advance; Hadley and Rove had suggested changes in the draft. (Waas 3/30/2006) Cheney rejected an earlier draft, marking it "unacceptable" (see July 11, 2003).
White House Joins in Blaming CIA - National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice also blames the CIA. Peppered with questions from reporters about the claim, she continues the White House attempt to pin the blame for the faulty intelligence on the CIA: "We have a higher standard for what we put in presidential speeches" than other governments or other agencies. "We don't make the president his own fact witness. That's why we send them out for clearance." Had the CIA expressed doubts about the Niger claim before the State of the Union? she is asked (see January 26 or 27, 2003, March 8, 2003, March 23, 2003, April 5, 2003, Early June 2003, June 9, 2003, and June 17, 2003). "The CIA cleared the speech in its entirety," she replies. "If the CIA, the director of central intelligence, had said, 'Take this out of the speech,' (see January 27, 2003) it would have been gone without question. If there were doubts about the underlying intelligence, those doubts were not communicated to the president, to the vice president or to me.… What we've said subsequently is, knowing what we know now, that some of the Niger documents were apparently forged, we wouldn't have put this in the president's speech—but that's knowing what we know now." Another senior White House official, defending the president and his advisers, tells ABC News: "We were very careful with what the president said. We vetted the information at the highest levels." But another intelligence official, also interviewed by ABC, contradicts this statement. (CNN 7/11/2003; White House 7/11/2003; Pincus and Milbank 7/12/2003; Sanger and Risen 7/12/2003; Rich 2006, pp. 99; McClellan 2008, pp. 171-172) Tenet's mea culpa is apparently enough for Bush; press secretary Ari Fleischer says, "The president has moved on." (White House 7/11/2003; Rich 2006, pp. 99) White House press secretary Scott McClellan will later claim that at this point Rice is unaware that her National Security Council is far more responsible for the inclusion than the CIA. He will write that the news media reports "not unfairly" that Rice is blaming the CIA for the inclusion. (McClellan 2008, pp. 171-172)
News Reports Reveal Warnings Not to Use Claim - Following Tenet's statement, a barrage of news reports citing unnamed CIA officials reveal that the White House had in fact been explicitly warned not to include the Africa-uranium claim. These reports indicate that at the time Bush delivered his State of the Union address, it had been widely understood in US intelligence circles that the claim had little evidence supporting it. (Donnelly and Neuffer 3/16/2003; Risen 3/23/2003; Singh 6/12/2003; Landay 6/12/2003; Singh 6/12/2003; Landay 6/13/2003; ABC News 6/16/2003; Newsday 7/12/2003; Priest 7/20/2003) For example, CBS News reports, "CIA officials warned members of the president's National Security Council staff the intelligence was not good enough to make the flat statement Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa." And a Washington Post article cites an unnamed intelligence source who says, "We consulted about the paper [September 2002 British dossier] and recommended against using that material." (Martin 7/10/2003; CNN 7/10/2003; Pincus 7/11/2003)
Claim 'Technically True' since British, Not US, Actually Made It - White House officials respond that the dossier issued by the British government contained the unequivocal assertion, "Iraq has… sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa" and that the officials had argued that as long as the statement was attributed to the British intelligence, it would be technically true. Similarly, ABC News reports: "A CIA official has an idea about how the Niger information got into the president's speech. He said he is not sure the sentence was ever cleared by the agency, but said he heard speechwriters wanted it included, so they attributed it to the British." The same version of events is told to the New York Times by a senior administration official, who claims, "The decision to mention uranium came from White House speechwriters, not from senior White House officials." (ABC News 6/12/2003; Martin 7/10/2003; Kristof 7/14/2003; Stevenson 7/19/2003)
Decision Influenced by Office of Special Plans - But according to a CIA intelligence official and four members of the Senate Intelligence Committee who are investigating the issue, the decision to include the Africa-uranium claim was influenced by the people associated with the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans (see September 2002). (Leopold 7/16/2003)
Reactions - Rice says that the White House will not declassify the October 2002 NIE on Iraq (see October 1, 2002) to allow the public to judge for itself whether the administration exaggerated the Iraq-Niger claim; McClellan will write that Rice is currently "unaware of the fact that President Bush had already agreed to 'selective declassification' of parts of the NIE so that Vice President Cheney, or his top aide Scooter Libby, could use them to make the administration's case with selected reporters" (see 8:30 a.m. July 8, 2003). (McClellan 2008, pp. 171-172) Two days later, Rice will join Bush in placing the blame for using the Iraq-Niger claim solely on the CIA (see July 13, 2003). McClellan will later write, "The squabbling would leave the self-protective CIA lying in wait to exact revenge against the White House." (McClellan 2008, pp. 172)
Former Ambassador Considers Matter Settled - Former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who recently wrote an op-ed for the New York Times revealing his failure to find any validity in the claims during his fact-finding trip to Niger (see July 6, 2003 and February 21, 2002-March 4, 2002), is pleased at Tenet's admission. According to his wife, CIA analyst Valerie Plame Wilson, "Joe felt his work was done; he had made his point." (Wilson 2007, pp. 140)
The International Atomic Energy Agency announces that weapons inspectors have found no evidence to support accusations that Iran is secretly developing a nuclear weapon. (Koppel 9/2/2004)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) begins investigating a 1987 meeting (see 1987) where two associates of A. Q. Khan presented Iranian officials with an offer to sell Iran nuclear technology and materials. (Linzer 2/27/2005)
Iran hands over documents from a 1987 meeting in Dubai (see 1987) to a International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation (see November 2004). During the 1987 meeting, associates of A. Q. Khan presented Iranian officials with an offer to sell Iran the technology and materials to build a nuclear bomb. However, the IAEA does not uncover any evidence suggesting that the equipment was used in anything other than Iran's civilian nuclear energy program. The violations are technical and based only on the fact that Iran failed to report the program. Despite its recent findings, the IAEA investigation claims it still lacks a clear understanding of Iran's nuclear program. (Linzer 2/27/2005)
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) enter North Korea to inspect the North Koreans' promised shutdown of their nuclear program (see February 8, 2007 and After). It is the first time inspectors have been in North Korea in nearly five years (see December 31, 2002). (BBC 12/2007)
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Better Buildings Challenge: Newsroom
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The latest Energy Department breaking news, announcements, and updates featuring the Better Buildings Challenge.
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Better Buildings Challenge partners and financial allies are highlighted in national, regional, business, and trade media for their leadership in improving the energy efficiency of commercial and public buildings, multifamily housing, data centers, and industrial plants.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Play mobile games directly on your smartphones, no instalation needed
Are you smart enough to solve the toughest Sudokus? This game will offer you a whole lot of different puzzles that will take a lot of wit to solve. The various difficulty levels will entertain both beginners and real Sudoku veterans for a long time.
Skill, Board Games, Brain Teaser Games, Classic Games
Tune your brains! Solve exciting puzzles and compete for the best score. 4 puzzle types are waiting for you, try to score in each!
Skill, Puzzle Games


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|Previous Page | Table of Contents | Index | Next Page
Other Tax Information(p9)
Tax Benefits for Survivors(p9)
Joint return by surviving spouse.(p9)
Decedent as your dependent.(p9)
Qualifying widows and widowers.(p9)
|Figuring your tax.(p9)
Joint return filing rules.(p9)
Income in Respect
If the decedent is a specified terrorist victim (see Specified Terrorist Victim, earlier), income received after the date of death and before the end of the decedent's tax year (determined without regard to death) is excluded from the recipient's gross income. This exclusion does not apply to certain income. For more information, see Publication 3920.
How To Report(p9)
If you have to include income in respect of a decedent in your gross income and an estate tax return (Form 706) was filed for the decedent, you may be able to claim a deduction for the estate tax paid on that income. See Estate Tax Deduction, later.
Character of income.(p10)
Transfer of right to income.(p10)
|Transfer defined.(p10)
Installment obligations.(p10)
|Transfer to obligor.(p10)
Specific Types of Income
Farm income from crops, crop shares, and livestock.(p10)
Partnership income.(p10)
U.S. savings bonds acquired from decedent.(p10)
Series EE and I
Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Division of Customer Assistance
P.O. Box 7015
Parkersburg, WV 26106-7015
Or, on the Internet, visit:
|Specific dollar amount legacy satisfied by transfer of bonds.(p11)
|Cashing U.S. savings bonds.(p11)
Interest accrued on U.S. Treasury bonds.(p11)
Interest accrued on savings certificates.(p11)
Inherited IRAs.(p11)
Roth IRAs.(p11)
Coverdell education savings account (ESA).(p11)
The age 30 limitation does not apply if the individual for whom the account was established or the beneficiary that acquires the account is an individual with special needs. This includes an individual who, because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition (including a learning disability), requires additional time to complete his or her education.
HSA, Archer MSA, or a Medicare Advantage MSA.(p12)
Deductions in Respect
Estate Tax Deduction(p12)
Deductible estate tax.(p12)
Recipient's deductible part.(p12)
|Value included in your income
Estate tax qualifying for deduction
|Total value of income in respect of decedent
Surviving annuitants.(p12)
Gifts, Insurance,
Veterans' insurance proceeds.(p13)
Life insurance proceeds.(p13)
Accelerated death benefits.(p13)
|Terminally ill individual.(p13)
|Chronically ill individual.(p13)
|Exclusion limited.(p13)
Interest option on insurance.(p13)
Insurance received in installments.(p13)
|Specified number of installments.(p13)
|Specified amount payable.(p13)
|Installments for life.(p13)
Flexible premium contracts.(p13)
Basis of Inherited Property(p13)
Exception for appreciated property.(p14)
|Appreciated property.(p14)
Special-use valuation.(p14)
|Increased basis for special-use valuation property.(p14)
S corporation stock.(p14)
Joint interest.(p14)
|Anne's original basis
|Interest acquired from Fred (3/4 of $100,000)
|Minus: 1/2 of $20,000 depreciation
|Anne's basis
|Qualified joint interest.(p14)
|One-half of cost basis (1/2 of
|Interest acquired from Diane (1/2 of $100,000)
|Minus: 1/2 of $20,000 depreciation
|Dan's basis
Valuation misstatements.(p14)
Holding period.(p14)
Property distributed in kind.(p14)
Other Items of Income(p15)
Public safety officers.(p15)
The provisions for public safety officers apply to a chaplain killed in the line of duty after September 10, 2001, if the chaplain was responding to a fire, rescue, or police emergency as a member or employee of a fire or police department.
|Death benefits.(p15)
|Survivor benefits.(p15)
Salary or wages.(p15)
If the decedent is a specified terrorist victim (see Specified Terrorist Victim, earlier), certain income received by the beneficiary or the estate is not taxable. For more information, see Publication 3920.
Rollover distributions.(p15)
|Rollovers by nonspouse beneficiary.(p15)
Pensions and annuities.(p15)
Inherited IRAs.(p15)
Estate income.(p15)
|Previous Page | Table of Contents | Top of Page | Index | Next Page


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Disney Infinity brings some of Marvel's best-loved heroes to PS4: Spider-Man and The Avengers.
Explore exciting new adventures created by Marvel comic writer Brian Michael Bendis or let your imagination take control and invent your own in Toy Box mode. You can even collect experience points, customise your characters' moves using the new Skill Tree feature, and play as over twenty characters including Thor, Iron Man and Venom.
1-2 Players
See it in action


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Strategies to enhance student self-assessment
Reflection activities
Teachers often use proformae to encourage students to reflect on their learning experience. While these are convenient and provide a record of student thinking, they can become an activity devoid of any real thinking. Oral reflection, whether as a whole class or group within the class, might sometimes be more useful. Alternatively, teachers could devote some time to questioning students about what they have recorded on their proformae and asking them for explanations.
View Sample reflective questions and prompts (doc,30kb) for younger students and Designing reflective prompts (doc,33kb) for older students.
- Student-led and three-way conferences
- Use of rubrics
- Use of graphic organisers
- Target setting
- Time management
Student-led and three-way conferences
Student-led conferences in which students present their learning to their teacher and parents are an opportunity for students to formally reflect on the learning that has taken place over a period of time. This reflection occurs as students prepare for the conference, as well as during the conference itself when they show and explain to their parents what they have learned.
Usually the evidence they produce is in the form of a portfolio, which students have prepared according to provided guidelines.
The student, with teacher guidance, is the one who selects the work.
The teacher makes sure the students understand the purpose of the portfolio - that is, that:
- it represents some but not all the work they have done in class over a period of time
- it demonstrates both strengths and weaknesses
- it will be used to help them reflect on what they have learned and what they still need to learn
- it will help them to state clear goals for future learning, based on the areas where they need to make more progress.
The dvd Peer feedback and student self-assessment contains further material on student-led conferences, including sample conferences with students from Prep and Grade Six, as well as comment on the process from teachers.
Use of rubrics
Rubrics are a valuable tool for self-assessment. Because rubrics not only list the success criteria but also provide descriptions of levels of performance, students are able to use them to monitor and evaluate their progress during an assessment task or activity.
Teachers make certain that students have copies of the rubric prior to commencing the assessment activity and understand the terminology used in the rubric. If necessary, they provide students with models or exemplars to illustrate relevant aspects of the activity.
As they work to complete the activity, students monitor their work to ensure that it demonstrates the required skills, knowledge or understanding. They reflect on their progress and evaluate what they need to do if they wish to improve their performance.
Further information on rubrics is available in the Professional Learning module Success criteria and rubrics.
Use of graphic organisers
A graphic organiser organises facts, concepts, ideas or terms in a visual or diagrammatic way so that the relationship between the individual items is made clearer.
The value of graphic organisers in terms of student self-assessment lies in their ability to assist thinking and make it visible for both the student and the teacher. For example, empty spaces in graphic organisers reveal gaps in the student's knowledge or thinking. They indicate immediately what still needs to be discovered or learned. If graphic organisers are used in preparation for a written response, they can show where more information or further argument is necessary, and when students are asked to explain their use of the graphic organiser there is an opportunity for metacognitive development because they must explain their thought processes. ('Why did you put that piece of information here?')
If students are taught how to use graphic organisers, they can learn to select those which are compatible with their learning styles. Some learners, for instance, will gravitate towards organisers which use words to elucidate links, such as tables of various kinds; others will be happier with symbols such as arrows and boxes of various meaningful shapes.
Useful websites with examples of graphic organisers include the following:
- www.graphic.org/goindex.html
- www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/graphic_organizers.htm
- www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/
Setting learning targets
The setting of learning targets, or goal-setting, is an intrinsic part of the iterative nature of self-assessment. Student self-assessment begins with setting learning targets, proceeds through the production of work that aims to achieve those targets, to the assessment of the work to see if it does in fact meet the targets and then, finally, to the setting of new targets or revising ones that were not achieved.
Diagrammatically, the process looks like this:
Ideally, students will increasingly assume responsibility for the setting of their learning targets and also for the monitoring or tracking of those targets. In practice, of course, students' ability to do this will vary, and teacher assistance will be more important to some students than others. The provision of suitable 'tracking' sheets is an obvious way for teachers to assist all students.
As with other aspects of instruction, the use of modelling and explicit teaching is of relevance here. Teachers commonly use the SMART acronym as a way of guiding students in the design of a learning target. In this acronym:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable or Attainable
R = Relevant
T = Time-bound
The SMART method of setting learning targets:
The learning target must be specific rather than general: 'I will include a topic sentence in each paragraph' rather than 'I will improve my paragraphing.'
It must be possible to know whether the learning target has been accomplished, so there needs to be some way of measuring this. 'I will learn my 7 times table', for instance, could be measured by 'Being able to recite to my teacher/parent/peer the table X times without making mistakes.'
The achievement of the learning target must be something the student is capable of attaining. Where the prospect of achievement seems daunting, the learning target can be broken down into a series of steps so that the student has the prospect of experiencing success. For example, instead of a learning target that states 'I will use correct spelling', it is better to concentrate on the use of individual spelling strategies so that, over time, the student builds up a repertoire of strategies designed to achieve the aim of improving his or her ability to spell correctly.
The setting of unachievable learning targets will inevitably lead to lack of motivation and low self-esteem.
The learning target needs to be significant and relevant to the student's present learning. If students are left to set learning targets without any guidance, at least initially there is a danger that such targets will be less relevant than if they are set in the context of understanding 'What I know or can do now/ what I still need to know or be able to do/ how I can go about making that improvement'.
Students should specify when they aim to achieve the target. Time-bound learning targets are easier to evaluate and track than those which have no particular time period attached to their achievement.
Time management
Students' ability to manage and organise their own time in order to complete set tasks is a crucial aspect of self-assessment. Schools recognise this when they institute a variety of structures to support students developing independence in this area; the student diary is one example.
In the case of extended projects, middle-year students can be assisted to manage their time if teachers 'chunk' the work into discrete sub-tasks. For instance, students who are researching information prior to making a class or group presentation can be advised that the task comprises the following sub-tasks, each of which will have a certain period of time allotted to it.
- Decide on research topic
- Draw up list of possible resources
- Assign group roles
- Conduct research
- Develop presentation
- Rehearse presentation
- Make presentation
This information can be supported visually by a Gantt chart (doc,37kb)
For older students who have experience of Gantt charts, the production of such a chart and its submission to the teacher for feedback could be made a mandatory first step when they are beginning an extended task.


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Source : Housing Wire
Bank of America (BAC: 13.48 0.00%) recently sampled 100 mortgages reaching 60 days or more delinquent, and found that only 14 of them qualify for a permanent modification through HAMP.
The Home Affordable Modification Program came under fire at the end of February from lawmakers claiming it has caused more harm than good. Even those defending the program say it will not reach as many borrowers as originally thought. The House Financial Services Committee will debate a bill aimed at terminating the program two years before it set to expire.
Through January, participating mortgage servicers permanently modified roughly 600,000 loans, far short of the 3 million to 4 million estimated by the Treasury Department when HAMP launched in March 2009.
BofA monitored the 100 loans as they went through the HAMP waterfall. In the first phase, 28 loans fell out of the program because the bank could not get in touch with the borrower, according to a presentation for investors held Tuesday.
"We conduct extensive outreach activity to these including 110 phone calls and eight customized letters," BofA Executive Vice President Terry Laughlin said, "in addition to door-knocking in hard hit markets and hundreds of outreach events across the country."
Of the 72 borrowers that did provide financials to BofA, 52 did not pass the HAMP underwriting guidelines. Roughly half of those that did not pass already had mortgage payments at or below 31% of their monthly income. Another 23% did not have enough monthly income to qualify, and 17% did not submit their hard ship documentation.
Then, of the 20 that made to a trial stage, 14 completed the trial process by making three consecutive mortgage payments under the new terms.
Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and other HAMP watchdogs have criticized Treasury for not holding servicers accountable for getting more loans moving through the program.
"HAMP's failure to meet its original expectations has many causes, starting with a rushed launch based on inadequate analysis, an insufficient incentive structure, and without fully developed rules, which has required frequent changes to program guidelines," Barofsky said before a House committee in March.
Laughlin was put in charge of the new mortgage servicing division at BofA responsible for legacy and delinquent mortgages. The department will continue developing loss mitigation programs to help more borrowers avoid foreclosure, but not everyone will be able to keep their home, he said.
"We've reached the crossed roads," Laughlin said. "Despite the loan modification programs, our best efforts, and our industry's best efforts, foreclosure will be unavoidable going forward."
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text: it is so. I can say to you that this leaves me well as common I hope you may receive this in due time and it may fine [sic] you all well and doing likewise I had a letter from my Son date the 17th of the present month he was well he writes to me every week Oh this Sinful war Oh that the Lord would [h]umble this nation that they would become [h]umble and cry to him to be forgiven of their idolitry [sic] that they might worship the true and living God. to him who is able to give Victory to the weak and humble if the Lord do not undertak[e] for this people in a short time we are certainly [illegible] and the Soldiers are wating to See if our authorities will make a compromise; if they do not by the middle of March they intend to quit and go home and risk the consequences let them be as they may. They say they had as well let [Lencons] forces take them as to perish to death or be kill fighting for the property of men who are liable [illegible] army and are at home. They say they are exposed to all the [weather] not more than half clothed or shod. They say that we are [farely?] whipped and they do not intend to go in to another battle for they dont want to be killed for nothing The yankees are partly much quit coming over to us we loose from four to as high as fifty two in one night. I give it as my honest opinion that this war will end by the first of April if the soldiers do what they say they They say [illegible] their time will be out in [Mar?] and they will be out too. They say


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Executive Director of BC Trucking Safety Council Brings International Experience
LANGLEY, BC — The Trucking Safety Council of BC (TSCBC) announced yesterday the appointment of John McMahon to Executive Director.
Formerly the Director of Operations & Marketing at FIOSA-MIOSA Safety Alliance of BC, McMahon is a senior Environmental Health & Safety Practitioner with international experience working across a broad range of industry sectors, including transportation and trucking.
He has held a variety of senior safety and risk management advisory roles within organizations that have substantial logistics and distribution operations, including a career as a government inspector in Food Safety, Environmental Protection and Health & Safety enforcement in the UK. McMahon has also advised worked a number of multinational companies, including aviation, retail, and logistics companies.
John has a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Glasgow.
McMahon holds an Honors Degree in Environmental Health and a Diploma in Occupational Safety Health from the University of Strathclyde, a Diploma in Advanced Food Safety Management & HACCP from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, a Diploma in Environmental Health, and is a qualified Prince 2 Project Manager and OHSAS 18001 Auditor.
He is also a Chartered Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP).
Have your say
We won't publish or share your data


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Chicago Office
Avalon's newest office, based out of Chicago, supports our growing base of clients in the Midwest. With dozens of Fortune 500 companies based in the Greater Chicago area, we see a great opportunity to expand.
Our consultants provide an intimate approach to client service with a focus on full life cycle project delivery. We seek talented professionals who come from traditional consultancy backgrounds serving a breadth of client types. We welcome those with international travel and language experience to help us best align with the multitude of cultures and languages represented by Chicago's business professionals. And, our philosophy is that the the best consultant is both competent and friendly....with a sense of humor a plus!
Our team members live in Chicago and other Midwest cities. We enjoy the fine dining, art and theater, and the many great sports franchises that our region has to offer.


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HIPAA: Protecting Personal Health Information
In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA. This far-reaching act created national standards for the protection of personal health information, through what is known as the Privacy Rule. Virtually every entity that is involved with health care is affected by HIPAA. There are severe civil penalties for non-compliance with HIPAA regulations or for knowingly violating patient privacy.
Secret Identities
The underlying purpose of the Privacy Rule is to ensure the confidentiality of patients' medical information. A key to this is to remove all patient identifiable information from the outside of the chart. This includes not only the patient's name and address, but any other information that could be used to determine their identity, including social security numbers, birth dates or phone numbers. Color-coded numeric indexing is a good solution. Charts are identified by a patient number only.
Information that reveals a health condition or payment status should also be removed from the outside of the chart.
Fileroom Security
The filing areas where medical records are stored and used must also be HIPAA compliant. Steps must be taken to ensure that charts are only accessible to authorized health care providers and staff. This can be easily accomplished through:
- Lockable File Cabinets
- A locked file room
- Compacting mobile filing equipment
- Lockable rotary file cabinets
- Shelf filing equipment with locking, retractable doors
- Lockable rolling file carts
HIPAA regulations have forced many small clinics to revise their filing systems in order to be compliant. For some, it's as simple as re-labeling charts to eliminate patient identifiable information. For others, it means redesigning the entire filing system.


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The maker of the Netduino powered Morse code interpreter admits that it's a completely pointless project. However, he leaned a lot about programming and problem solving during the build process, so it really isn't so useless! I'd love to see this project at Maker Faire blinking and translating messages you sent it via a smart phone.
The Maker Shed has Netduino's back in stock!


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Lonnie Walker Daytrotter Session Goes Live Today!
Raleigh, NC band Lonnie Walker have a Daytrotter session live today !
The recording features "Compass Comforts" and "Grape Juice" from These Times Old Times , the record that will see national release one week from today (12/14/10), "Love Turn" from their split 7" with old friends Future Islands, and a brand new one, "Teenage Poem".


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Skinny Caesar Dressing
An easy, creamy, egg-less Caesar Salad Dressing using the core ingredients which make up the classic: lemon + parmesan + anchovies, then lightened up with Greek yogurt.
Serve this with romaine lettuce and grilled chicken for a fabulous light summer salad.
I've been using Anne Burrell's Eggless Caesar Dressing recipe for a long time, it's restaurant quality and you don't miss the egg. Last week I took a chance and replaced the olive oil with Greek yogurt and I was surprised how well it turned out. Good cheese is a must, I only use Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, that powdered stuff that comes in a plastic container just doesn't cut it!
And for those of you who don't like anchovies, sure you can leave it out, but I think they make the dressing. Your choice!
Skinny Caesar Dressing
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5 tbsp fat free Greek yogurt
- In the bowl of a food processor add the cheese, the lemon juice, garlic clove, mustard and the anchovies.
- Turn the machine on and let it run for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Add the oil and yogurt and let the machine run for another 15 seconds.
Makes 3/4 cup.


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Mr. Norris, as a parent who cares for my kids' diets, I'm appalled by the amount of caffeine being dumped by companies into drinks and snacks. But what are some good, healthy energy-boosting alternatives we can offer them? – Theresa M., Idaho
In the first two parts of this series on caffeine and kids, I explained how a host of new drinks, foods and snacks marketed mostly to kids are being injected with mega-amounts of caffeine. And many adolescents are falling prey to the "energy" misnomer and trap and unintentionally becoming caffeine addicts.
Consider that a single energy drink injects up to 14 times the caffeine that is found in a normal can of soda – an amount that is considered by some to be clinically toxic for children. Some drinks purport that they are sugar- and caffeine-free, but the primary stimulants in most are sugars and caffeine (sometimes in the form of guarana or yerba mate).
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A 2011 study in the journal Pediatrics explained how "energy drinks are consumed by 30 percent to 50 percent of adolescents and young adults." Of the 5,448 U.S. caffeine overdoses reported in 2007, 46 percent occurred in those younger than 19.
Last week, I discussed how caffeine has the Food and Drug Administration regulatory classification of "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS, which means manufacturers can settle on their own what levels are safe in their products. The problem is that GRAS levels clearly are being superseded when mega-amounts of caffeine are being ingested all day from a host of products, especially by adolescents, whose bodies still are developing.
TRENDING: Reports: Dominion voting-machine company has Chinese links
And remember that caffeine is just one of myriad added GRAS ingredients. The Associated Press recently pointed out: "As food companies have created more new ingredients to add health benefits, improve taste or help food stay fresh, there are at least 4,650 of these 'generally recognized as safe' ingredients, according to the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts. The bulk of them, at least 3,000, were determined GRAS by companies and trade associations."
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And should we also assume that the cocktail blends of those thousands of GRAS ingredients have no intermixing hazards and are equally GRAS together? And do we and our kids really need mega-amounts of caffeine added to the mix?
Regarding the more "natural" among the energy drinks, a recent Berkeley Wellness Alert reported that: "The claim that vitamins or herbal cocktails are 'energizing' is false. Vitamins and herbs do not give you energy."
In the end, one won't get much more energy from so-called energy drinks than one could get from a strong cup or two of coffee, because the body can only assimilate so much before it secretes it or overdoses on it. And that goes for many vitamins, too, which many people (and most youths) don't realize can become toxic if taken in high doses.
The difficulty with classic sports drinks, such as Gatorade and Powerade, is that though they replace lost electrolytes and carbohydrates during sustained strenuous exercise and prevent dehydration, they also contain superfluous calories, other additives and sugars that promote obesity and cause tooth decay. Moreover, their replenishment can be characteristic of a short-lived glucose rush, despite the fact that they're billed as electrolyte rejuvenators.
Seeing as food and beverage industries are playing with additive concoctions and we consumers are the guinea pig laboratories for their synthetic testing, isn't an organic piece of fruit sounding better all the time?
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In this age of rampant reckless recipes lining our groceries' shelves, parents are going to have to be twice as diligent to help their kids make wise choices with their diets.
I'll be straight with you: If I have a chance to go natural over synthetic, I'll go natural every time. So if you're looking for quick and sustained energy for an afternoon low or a pre-workout buzz, let me recommend a few of my favorite healthy energy-enhancing alternatives.
The fact is that eating an orange or banana (or any other potassium-rich fruit or vegetable), munching on a handful of peanuts and drinking a glass of water or a cup of orange juice an hour before a workout will give you a surge of sustained energy to carry you through most vigorous exercise programs. I call bananas "nature's energy drinks" because they are loaded with nutrients and energy-boosting ingredients. (Go to creators.com and read a previous "C-Force" article titled "Nature's Energy Drink: A Banana.")
A study by the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension concludes that "sport drinks are poor sources of potassium."
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The article explains: "Athletes also may need more potassium to replace that lost from muscle during exercise and the smaller amount lost in sweat. Low potassium can cause muscle cramping and cardiovascular irregularities. Eating foods high in potassium can prevent these symptoms. One cup of orange juice, a banana or a potato is sufficient to replace the potassium lost during one to two hours of hard exercise."
Dr. David L. Katz, internationally renowned authority on nutrition from the Yale University School of Medicine, similarly recommends pre-workout energy derived from "whole grains and lean protein such as eggs and nuts. The grains will provide carbohydrates that your body can readily convert to energy. And the protein can be put to use repairing and building new muscle following your workout, while the high-calorie but healthy fats in the nuts will fill you up quickly with less bulk."
When in doubt, give nature a chance. Drink water to hydrate and rehydrate (including during exercise). And look to natural foods to offer energy, whether you're going to school, going to work, going to a workout or replenishing electrolytes post-workout.
Go natural, and teach your kids to do the same.
Write to Chuck Norris with your questions about health and fitness. Follow Chuck Norris through his official social media sites, on Twitter @chucknorris and Facebook's "Official Chuck Norris Page." He blogs at ChuckNorrisNews.Blogspot.com.


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Fire Joe Morgan reunites and takes over this space next Wednesday but tomorrow, September 11, we have another lovable scamp who's graciously volunteered to button-push for us.
Choire Sicha. Former Gawker editor, book something or other, Awl dominatrix and esteemed kitten lover will guide this missile for most of the day. (Not a euphemism.)
You may not know this, but Mr. Sicha is an avid sports fan. (Total euphemism.)
He's gonna be great, though, and you'll have a wonderful time torturing each other.
G/O Media may get a commission
Thanks for your continued support of Deadspin. Barry P brings the bologna hammer later tonight.
Silent. Gray. Etc.


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(CNN) -- The Twitter universe is getting complicated. Or, depending on your viewpoint, ever more useful.
Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey co-founders of San Francisco-based Obvious, the startup behind Twitter.
Hugely popular, Twitter is a platform for sending frequent short messages (or tweets) to many people from your phone or the Internet, and receiving the same from others. For instance a tweet like "Doing laundry yet again!" might go to thousands of followers, if the sender is that popular.
A post like that, of course, would be perfect fodder for those who lampoon Twitter.
But tweets can be powerful. Consider "Arrested," sent via cell phone last spring by a U.S. grad student in Egypt detained after attending an anti-government protest. Thanks to subsequent help from his followers on Twitter, a lawyer was hired on his behalf and he was quickly released.
Such immediacy helps explain the surprising growth of Twitter, which launched to little fanfare in 2006 and passed the billion tweet mark a few months ago. With the popularity has come books, blogs and wikis on Twitter, an awards ceremony for skillful tweeting, the inevitable fraudsters, and -- most of all -- a torrent of Twitter-related apps and services with baffling names sure to confuse newcomers.
Examples include: ReTweetRadar, Twitterific, Twitrans, TwitSpy, Twilert, TweetDeck, TwitPic, TwitterFox, Twitstat, Tweetrush, Twitterfeed, Tweetpotato, Splitweet, Qwitter and Power Twitter.
A whole new world of applications
If you're still wondering what Twitter is -- or why you should even bother with it -- you won't be helped by the above, which is just a taste of what's out there.
Some apps, like Splitweet, help you manage multiple Twitter accounts. Tweetpotato is a game similar to hot potato but without the starch and burns. Qwitter sends you an email if someone quits being your follower -- easy to miss if you have thousands.
Other offerings let you do all sorts of things, like conduct polls on Twitter, send private tweets to a select group, or set up an email address that will turn anything you send it into a tweet.
Many such offerings spring from individual developers working in their spare time, or from tiny startups. Twitrans, which provides free translation of tweets, was launched this month from an Israeli startup called Three Innovators. (English to Chinese and English to Japanese are so far the most requested tweet translations.)
"We think that Twitter is much more than just a cool idea," says CEO Yaron Kaufman. "We think it will influence the way people communicate with each other. It makes the world smaller and flatter, and we are sure Twitrans will contribute to this important change."
He hopes Twitrans will also bring business to the company's OneHourTranslation.com service, started about a year ago. Like many Twitterers, Kaufman uses a separate application that enhances the tweeting experience. Twhirl, Twitterific, Tweetdeck and AlertThingy are examples, and more keep arriving on the scene.
He uses Twhirl, which has a clean interface for managing tweets and integrates with other services like TwitPic (for sharing photos), TweetScan (for searching tweets), and URL shortening services.
The latter have seen a surge in usage thanks to Twitter and its ilk. They take long URLs and make them shorter, which matters because tweets must be 140 characters or less -- and because much of the Twittering involves sharing links, whether to online videos or news articles.
TinyURL.com is a well-known example, but there's a growing number of alternatives with -- again -- baffling names, among them: is.gd, bit.ly, snipurl.com, ff.im, twurl.nl, tr.im, budurl.com, and ad.vu.
What Twitterers collectively are linking to -- or saying about a company -- at any given moment is of keen interest to trend watchers, marketers and others. Though private tweets are possible, most are generally out in the open, so quite a bit of useful analysis is possible.
As a result many tools have sprung up to chart what's going on in the "Twitterverse." For instance ReTweetRadar analyzes "retweets" with the aim of highlighting hot topics and links. Retweets are tweets of interest that have been passed along.
Other gauges try to measure the sheer volume of messages on Twitter. GigaTweet shows a big running ticker of tweets sent and also has graphs showing "tweets per hour."
The folks at Twitter have a "tweets per second" gauge they use internally. In the early months of Twitter, an event like Macworld might cause a spike. Now it takes major world news, like a presidential election or the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
Public relations and marketing pros can now buy high-grade monitoring tools, like Radian6, which can track for instance what's being said about brands or news on Twitter, blogs, and other social networking services.
Fakes and frauds also inhabit the "Twitterverse"
Unfortunately another addition to the Twitter ecosystem -- uninvited and unwelcome -- are the inevitable fraudsters. Dozens of prominent Twitter users, including Britney Spears and Barack Obama, have had their accounts hacked.
Phishers have fished for passwords using misleading links (like twitter.access-logons.com instead of just twitter.com). And just as "cyber-squatting" plagues the Web, in Twitter it's "squitting." (Or "twit-napping.")
This is where someone sets up an account name in an attempt to appear to be a company or person. Many companies now feel they can't ignore Twitter, as reflected in a new book entitled, "Twitter Means Business: How Microblogging Can Hurt or Help Your Company," by the tweet-immersed tech author Julio Ojeda-Zapata.
The U.S. cable company Comcast uses a Twitter account for customer service. It's manned by one Frank Eliason, who -- in a nice personal touch -- posts his picture and even provides links to his blog and family's website.
He's quick to tweet back to customers, who finally get what they've always wanted: A real human being instead of an automated phone-tree system.
Meanwhile it's becoming clear that there's an actual craft to tweeting about stuff.
To recognize those who have mastered it, the first "Shorty Awards" will be held in New York on Feb. 11. The selection process began in December, "but we had no clue who to put in what category, or even what all the categories should be," says Gregory Galant, CEO of the company behind the awards, Sawhorse Media in Brooklyn.
The solution? Not surprising: "We let the Twitter community decide."
The rest of us, after all, are still scratching our heads.


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Hi guys
Have a question about a layout on a form.
I have a textarea with height: 150px. Under this I have a label. What I would like is to display the label right underneath the "text part of the textarea. Hard to explain, so I have attached a screenshot.
Many thanks!


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by : Regenia Bailey
comment : 0
About the AuthorRegenia is an organizational strategist, consultant, and coach. For the past fifteen years, she has worked with organizations from all sectors on strategic positioning and organizational growth and development.
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I'm not sure what could've prompted Rising Star Games to publish an oddity like Under Defeat HD when so many other shooters were in need of U.S. publishing – Cave's various titles on the Xbox 360 come to mind – but, as they did earlier this year with Akai Katana, they've given the game a modestly fair shake in terms of packaging and options, and that's something die-hard "shmup" fans will enjoy, even if the gameplay isn't quite up to the usual standards.
The game, developed by long-time shooter developer G-Rev, has you controlling a helicopter that battles the odds both on the ground and in the air, as flying crafts, tanks and other nasty bosses plan to pummel you into the ground with gunfire. Along with using occasional bombs and plenty of firepower (which you can level up over the course of the game), you can also use supplementary recharging weapons, usually cannons that ride alongside you and deliver some additional support when you need it the most. Some charge better than others – the Vulcan easily outperforms the bomb power-up, for instance – but overall it's a decent system.
Where Under Defeat HD will draw fans is with its multi-directional fire. As you swivel your helicopter left and right, the direction of fire changes a bit, rather than just going in a straight line. You can learn to accept firing at an angle and even lock it in, staying out of line-of-sight of some grounded enemies, but it also leaves you vulnerable on the side you're NOT firing on. As a result, not everyone is going to be thrilled with how it all plays out. Still, it is something different, and a few of you can easily accept what it provides. The rest, however, may want to stick to Cave's offerings.
Under Defeat HD is hard as hell, with plenty of cheap deaths to count on both hands, and a limited credit count at first. (It expands with prolonged playthroughs.) There are some bonus features to uncover here, including the original Under Defeat game, as it appeared on the Dreamcast years ago. The special edition package, which costs $10 more than the regular game on PSN, also comes with a soundtrack CD and art book. Hardly as memorable as, say, Assassin's Creed III's limited edition, but shooter fans should enjoy. (Everyone else can download the game for less than 1 GB on PSN with ease.)
The graphics are hardly anything to write home about, is this is the sort of thing you'd see in an early 2000's sort of shooter. But G. Rev did a decent job with the HD treatment, with lots of meaty explosions and plenty of gunfire scattered across the screen with minimal slowdown. The backdrops aren't inspired, but they lead to some interesting – and challenging – boss encounters. The team also remixed the original soundtrack a bit, and while it's hardly as hummable as most musical fare in games, it's decent, especially if you remember the original Under Defeat.
Like other "shmups" before it, Under Defeat HD is a very acquired taste. Its gameplay system is bound to frustrate, especially with so few credits to work with from the start. But stick with it, like any good "shmup" fan should, and you'll be promptly rewarded with the kind of experience that deserves more solid U.S. releases. Here's hoping Rising Star Games has some more goodies lined up in 2013.
[Reviewed on PlayStation 3]


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- You are here:
- GT Home
ALERT: The SURE Robotics Summer 2020 program has been canceled due to COVID-19.
Established as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) grant, the SURE Robotics Program adds a robotics component to Georgia Tech's SURE Program, established in 1992.
Launched in May 2014, and funded with co-support from the Department of Defense and NSF's Division of Engineering Education and Centers, the program supports undergraduate students in an immersive, ten-week summer robotics research experience designed to attract qualified underrepresented students into graduate school in the fields of engineering and science.
Chair of the School of Interactive Computing and Linda J. and Mark C. Smith Professor Ayanna Howard and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Outreach Director Leyla Conrad lead the program.
This program is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) REU Site: Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) (1757401).


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