text:
KDE Makes 4.8 Beta1 Available for Testing
Today KDE released the first beta for its renewed Workspaces, Applications, and Development Platform. With API, dependency and feature freezes in place, the KDE team's focus is now on fixing bugs and further polishing new and old functionality. Highlights of 4.8 include, among other things:
Testing so far.
First of all, I'd like to thank the Chakra team. As always, we had the Beta 1 release ahead of everyone, and, so, that enabled me to report bugs and test.
Please, pay special attention to this one:
Apart from that, if used with a newly created Nepomuk database, KDE 4.8 Beta 1 is the most stable and fast KDE ever created, even if it has some Nepomuk problems. KWin 4.8 is a lot faster than KWin 4.7 and, for the first time ever, I can fully use blur in my GeForce 6150SE. Dolphin 2 is simply awesome, even though it's not finished. QML Plasmoid replacements are working a treat.
Also, even though there are bugs, the Nepomuk team, specially Sebastian Trueg, deserve a compliment. When used with the proper packages, and for the first time ever, the Akonadi-Nepomuk services have no memory leaks, joining Nepomuk itself in that milestone. I'm sure the quality of Nepomuk in Beta 2 will be perfect, and in RCs I'm sure we won't be talking about bugfixing, but optimizations.
Thanks to all. KDE 4.8 is going to be the best KDE ever released.
By Ernesto Manríquez at Thu, 2011/11/24 - 4:35pm
for testing
To test in virtual machine, do you recommend something ?
By Anonymous at Thu, 2011/11/24 - 10:26pm
for testing KDE 4.8
Chakra Linux has packages in its unstable repo
By Anonymous at Thu, 2011/11/24 - 10:41pm
Arch Linux
Arch Linux provides them too:
By Anonymous at Fri, 2011/11/25 - 12:57am
memory measurements
with porting core-always-running widgets to QML can we be sure that memory usage won't increase? at least significantly
By Anonymous at Fri, 2011/11/25 - 8:44pm
re: memory measurements.
Actually, here KDE 4.8 uses slightly less memory than KDE 4.7. The absence of memory leaks and a more memory-efficient Plasma help. And yes, all the memory you spend in a JavaScript engine and interpreter is recovered with draw code de-duplication. Also remember that Qt has its own JavaScript interpreter ;).
By Ernesto Manríquez at Sat, 2011/11/26 - 1:07am
I'd like to see when kde 4.8 will be in rc ,a test against some widget that did see only a porting to qml benchmarking.
By Anonymous at Sat, 2011/11/26 - 2:16pm
4.8 Beta forum is up
The KDE Community Forums now have a forum section for 4.8 Beta: http://forum.kde.org/viewforum.php?f=212
Please don't forget to read the guidelines.
By Hans Chen at Sat, 2011/11/26 - 5:41pm
Hopefully never
Wayland is not ready for prime-time. Just use X.
By Anonymous at Mon, 2011/11/28 - 5:19pm
Useless comment
Thank you, KDE, for making available Monday comedy.
By Anonymous at Mon, 2011/11/28 - 5:37pm
KDE + Wayland
If you really want to know what KDE's Wayland migration plan is, please see Martin Graesslin's talk from the 2011 Desktop Summit.
By Paul Eggleton at Tue, 2011/11/29 - 10:15am
icon size and search
I hope that 4.8 is THE version when searching in Dolphin works out of the box. There should be no fiddling around.
....and still you can change anything on the KDE desktop EXCEPT the system tray icons. No matter if in the taskbar or in a widget, the icons CAN NOT be made bigger. Considering that these are the most watched pieces of real estate on the screen, there would finally be an option for people with poor eyesight to make them bigger.
I know some UI designers think that 6pt font is sleek and small is cool but making icons one size only just goes against everything KDE does to make the desktop a pleasant user experience for all (some might not see the need for the option but again, its not about what YOU think is the right way but what the user wants and system tray icons is ALWAYS in the top 3 things Im asked to change for newbs.)
Lets cross our fingers and hope that 4.8 is the one.
By Anonymous at Tue, 2011/11/29 - 4:07pm
Icon size
....and still you can change anything on the KDE desktop EXCEPT the system tray icons. No matter if in the taskbar or in a widget, the icons CAN NOT be made bigger.
Perhaps I'm not understanding what you mean, but when I increase the height of the bottom panel (4.7.3, but earlier versions also behaved this way) it increases the size of all of the icons on the panel, not just the ones in the notification area.
By Paul Eggleton at Tue, 2011/11/29 - 5:07pm
Are there any packages for OpenSuse org Kubuntu?
If not, will there be?
By Anonymous at Tue, 2011/11/29 - 4:23pm
OpenSUSE packages -
By Anonymous at Wed, 2011/11/30 - 1:12pm
is kded4 still crashing? is Kmail still can not import old mail?
Is kded4 still crashing on signal 11? Is Kmail still can not import old mail?
I'm tired by new features and "innovations" of KDE. Better fix annoying bugs and do not invent the wheel. BTW, it's quite a good idea to fire PR team and get paid QA team instead.
By alukin at Wed, 2011/11/30 - 3:53pm
I wouldn't say getting rid of
I wouldn't say getting rid of the PR team is a good idea - the project is Open Source so good Public relations and Marketing are needed to keep the growth.
By Anonymous at Wed, 2011/11/30 - 4:38pm
I am wondering the same
I still can't import my e-mails to Kmail 2. I have tried all that I could but it's still not working. Why can Evolution and Thunderbird import mails from older versions of Kmail but Kmail 2 can't. Why is such a simple thing made to be a rocket science?
By Bobby at Wed, 2011/11/30 - 9:18pm
resolving difficulties
What Linux distribution are you using?
What KDE versions are involved?
What forums have you searched?
I'm a kinda simple KDE user. Kubuntu has worked well for me for many years. Not everyone likes it...that's okay.
However, the Kubuntu announcement of KMail2 had this eye-catching warning:
Our KMail2 [1] page has more information on the migration process, the issues involved and how to import your previous data instead of migrating."
I followed those instructions, which seem complete and explicit. There were no difficulties.
If you can share your difficulties--especially in an appropriate forum, it's likely that you can get things working or help someone else who might be in a similar situation.
By Carl Symons at Thu, 2011/12/01 - 6:41pm
This is Fedora 16 with it's
This is Fedora 16 with it's KDE. Thanks, but I do not want to use KMail anymore though used it for years. I just do not trust you guys anymore. Mail is very important thing... And I do not trust developers who can break simple working things to get useless modern "bells and whistles" instead.
I do not care if they break some 3D effects or colors or fonts or whatever. But if they beak my-email - goodbye forever. I program 20+ years and know how important user's personal data are. But you, guys, do not care about user. You care only of yourself and your super-duper genius new ideas.
Only difficulties with KDE - it used to be very good for years and I still can not throw it away. Because Gnome3 is just stupid joke, not an DE. It's a pity that "release often, release early!" is in mind of OSS developers. This is stupidest thing ever that makes many OSS projects unusable.
Such things are very harmful. Is you do not understand why ...OK, just stop coding and try to think.
By alukin at Thu, 2011/12/01 - 9:15pm
Talking out your ass
As a KMail 2 user, I can say with confidence that the developer's priorities with these changes ARE NOT "bells and whistles". They are performance, reliability and stability.
1. If KMail crashes, stops responding or is killed while checking mail, mail is no longer corrupted - the check carries on in the background, separate from KMail.
Considering how long they've delayed the release to make it work flawlessly, and considering how difficult it is to test data migration with so many different possible set-ups, I can say with confidence that the KMail team absolutely cares about personal data. Considering the content of your post, I can also say with absolute confidence that you're just completely ignorant.
By madman at Sat, 2011/12/03 - 11:29am
Here is another ass, then...
1. If KMail crashes, stops responding or is killed while checking mail, mail is no longer corrupted - the check carries on in the background, separate from KMail.
2. Filtering ~200 messages took ~3 seconds. It used to take ~5 seconds to filter each message. The speed improvements to filtering, copying, moving or deleting large batches of E-mails or folders containing large amounts of E-mail (>2000) are phenominal.
Considering how long they've delayed the release to make it work flawlessly, and considering how difficult it is to test data migration with so many different possible set-ups, I can say with confidence that the KMail team absolutely cares about personal data
I think they cared. They simply, horribly failed. Sure as hell, "flawless" ain't!
By Vajsvarana at Sat, 2011/12/03 - 2:05pm
_YOU_ said it
In other words...you don't know what you're talking about.
The poster is reporting their own experience with KMail2. You're talking about something...not sure what. Your experience testing KMail2? Did you get it installed? Apparently not. Did you follow the install instructions and research the warnings? Apparently not. So what are you basing your assertions on? Deep seated anger about something? We're not interested in being your encounter group.
Back up, back up, back up...a firm grasp of the obvious. On what computer system and for what ESSENTIAL application would this not be the advice?
#2. Clearly you don't know what you're talking about. You tried some number of times to install KMail2. Failed. Had a backup and stuck with KMail1. What's the complaint? Your mediocre HD of a Notebook seems to be a hot i7 based on other of your posts. What is it--mediocre or high end?
last comment...you definitely have an opinion. Unfortunately, you don't care. Nothing in a forum. No sharing of your troubles to help other people. You simply come into the KDE neighborhood and spew nonsense. Your comments are useless toward making anything better. Based on your history of comments, this seems to be a pattern.
Where oh where is a moderator who can teach you manners?
By Anonymous at Sat, 2011/12/03 - 4:00pm
My manners are good enough to
My manners are good enough to sign my posts at least, and I don't feed anonymous trolls, thanks.
By Vajsvarana at Sat, 2011/12/03 - 4:57pm
anonymous != troll
Weak reply,Vajsvarana.
Troll remarks are extraneous and off-topic. The remarks in the post above are on topic and show some research on the part of the person who posted them. They seem to be consistent with the KDE Code of Conduct...http://kde.org/code-of-conduct/...in response to some of your comments that are not considerate or respectful.
You may not like the comments, but that doesn't make them trollish.
I agree...it doesn't seem like you know what you're talking about.
By Anonymous at Sat, 2011/12/03 - 5:29pm
Oh, my...
SIGH... as you wish
My history of comments with this account starts some months ago, when I had to re-create it. I'm in KDE community since 2001, and helped with patches, mailing-lists, KDE advocacy in my LUG. Oh, and money too... But I don't think you anonymous ones care about this
I have installed kmail2 during the development of 4.5, from scratch: it was completely unuseable, but it was no big surprise at the time. Installed it again in 4.6 (opensuse repository), almost useable, until it corrupted my inbox during a crash. Nothing like that had ever happened with kmail1. Luckily was just a test inbox. I stopped testing and waited for a "somewhat stable" version. They say it was 4.7. I have seen the some crashes strongly resembling the 4.6 ones, AND I was unable to import e-mail and filters. I have reverted to kmail1. This is my experience.
Yes, backup is always a good advice, isn'it? It would be nice reading it in Kontact 4.7 announcements. I haven't lost anything, but if you "do your reasearch", you will see many other have, both during migration and during use. People deserve to be warned. But you don't care about this, do you?
FYI, I have 5 PCs installed with KDE (1 with trinity), both at home and work, Gentoo, Ubuntu and openSUSE. I tried on the one I was posting from, and posted for reference, as madman numbers were totally made up.
I really tried to be helpful, I used to report any bug frantically. Until this:
And, may I ask, apart from playing the anonymous forum cops, what are YOU doing for this community?
By Vajsvarana at Sat, 2011/12/03 - 5:59pm
Sorry, but kmail2 is more stable than kmail1, it never, never crash here but i start using it with a fresh config, sorry, but why are you not using an imap account ?
By Anonymous at Wed, 2011/12/07 - 1:11pm
IMAP, sure!
Why not!
Maybe you think it's normal to have just ONE account in kmail, and maybe just the builtin addressbook and maybe no filters too. This could easily explain why you never see it crashing. :)
(to moderators: this thread has become uncomfortably OT. No more answers from me, feel free to remove this one too).
By Vajsvarana at Wed, 2011/12/07 - 5:18pm
I'll give KMail another chance in 4.8
I've tried migrating from KMail1 to KMail2 many times beginning with betas and ending with maintenance releases. I've abandoned KMail for Thunderbird now, but using Thunderbird in KDE is still a bit painful - I miss the perfect integration with DE, it's still quite a bit slower than was KMail1 etc. So I'll definitely give KMail another try in 4.8, especially because all the promised speed-ups and because it will finally have the ability to keep HTML in replies :)
By Anonymous at Sat, 2011/12/03 - 3:26pm
want abacus. No like new tihngs. Innovation bad. Fire everyone and hire all good ones. I pay good money for dat KDE. Why no good employes? Making me tired by now.
By Anonymous at Wed, 2011/11/30 - 11:46pm
Yeah, so funny...
when a maintenance release completes fries all of your old emails. HILARIOUS!
By Anonymous at Thu, 2011/12/01 - 9:34am
Exactly. I used kmail for
Exactly. I used kmail for years. But some young "innovator" decided to break it. Thanks.
And when stupid kded4 crashes, it calls Krash that needs kded4 to send bug report! Ridiculous!
When I see such "changes" in maintenance release I think of release engineering team sanity.
By alukin at Thu, 2011/12/01 - 2:59pm
KDE in last 7 years was only adequate DE env for Linux. For real work. But whats is going on with KDE is sad.
New KMail is ugly. For what reason it is rewriten? What advantages users is obtain?
It seems that KDE becoming an funny toy for it developers, not more. Its sad...
V. Konkov
By Anonymous at Fri, 2011/12/02 - 5:50am
Help KMail2!!!
People, what I wrote is not to put down KDE or Kmail2 because I don't think that anyone here loves KDE more than I do BUT this is serious!
Well I googled my fingers sore and I found a few tips to delete the akonadi files in ~/.local/share/akonadi and ~/.config/akonadi which should give me a clean kmail2 and migrate my thousands of e-mails that I have.
Could somebody please give me a step by step instruction on how to import my mails?
I would appreciate it greatly.
By Bobby at Tue, 2011/12/06 - 7:05pm
KMail 2 email import
Hello Bobby,
I'm sympathetic to your dilemma. KMail2 was quite a change from earlier versions. Switching over is not just a matter of upgrading. Most of the system supporting KMail is different, and there also may be differences between distributions using KDE.
The best place to get information such as you want is in forums (depending on which distribution you have installed). This is a KDE news channel, and doesn't have the kind of technical response that your situation calls for.
I run Kubuntu 11.10 with KDE Plasma 4.7.3. The Ubuntu and Kubuntu forums both have information that helped me get KMail2 running. The Kubuntu wiki [1] has instructions about KMail2. Googling for KMail2 and Kubuntu turns up quite a number of possibilities.
Akonadi is only part of what changed. To get my KMail2 installation working right, I had to fiddle with Akonadi Configuration (alt+F2...akonadi, shows that choice). I clicked the "Modify" button for each of the resources to make sure that each associated bit of information is correct and actually exists. (Actually, getting the Akonadi configuration done right was the missing magic sauce that finally got KMail2 working for me.)
As another poster has suggested, backup is critical.
By Carl Symons at Tue, 2011/12/06 - 7:51pm
Thanks for the reply and the
Thanks for the reply and the advise. I am actually running openSuse 12.1. I had this problem in 11.4 after updating KDE and I just couldn't solve it so I uninstalled KMail2 and reinstalled the older version which worked quite well. This possibilityy doesn't exist in openSuse 12.1, my only choice is KMail2.
I am sure that KMail2 is a positive development but there should be a possibility to import one's mails without having to learn scripting.
An e-mail client should just work because it's critical for a lot of people. For some people messing with their e-mails is like messing with their lives.
Thanks once again.
By Bobby at Thu, 2011/12/08 - 7:05pm
Kmail1 for openSUSE 12.1
If (like me) you are unable to migrate to kmail2, why not just keep using kmail1 until (let's hope!) at least the migrator improves?
Many openSUSE users had the same problem and some of them tried to solve it downstream, by keeping kmail1 alive on 12.1. OBS is your friends. ;)
Here is my OBS home:
You will find the packages of kmail1 for opensuse 12.1. I built them for my own use and my coworkers, so they are a bit "raw" with dependencies and so on. But they work quite well AFAIK. I hope you'll find them useful too.
By Vajsvarana at Fri, 2011/12/09 - 10:57am


text:
DOVER, Del. —
The remains of a young American diplomat killed in a terrorist attack in southern Afghanistan are being flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for an official ceremony.
The State Department says the family of Anne Smedinghoff has asked that Monday's ceremony be private. The family is expected to attend along with Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy, Ambassador David Pearce and other officials.
The 25-year-old suburban Chicago woman was one of five Americans killed Saturday in a suicide car bombing while they were delivering textbooks to school children. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Smedinghoff grew up in River Forest, Ill.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Robert Fisk is the boldest and the most brilliant frontline reporter/journalist of his generation (I have avoided the term 'war correspondent' as he dislikes it). He has lived in the Middle East for the last 30 years and has produced, based mostly on eyewitness accounts, a remarkable book – The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East.
It took him 16 years and approximately 350,000 notes, documents and dispatches to write this chronicle of "the betrayals and treachery and deceit of Middle East history". He has described the humiliation, plight and misery of the Muslim world, documented the pathology and arrogance of power, and catalogued the horrors of war, which he believes signify the total failure of the human spirit.
A master raconteur, Fisk combines the writing style of a novelist with a historian's scholarly command over his subject. He is known globally for blaming and bashing Bush, Blair and Sharon (not necessarily in the same order) for the agony of the Iraqis and the plight of the Palestinians, but in this book not a single political leader in current Middle East history draws praise from him or escapes criticism. He does not spare fellow journalists either, whose works he describes, with very few exceptions, as cowering and dishonest.
In his previous book, Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon , Fisk contended that a journalist's job is to write the first draft of history. After meeting Amira Hass, an intrepid Israeli journalist who reports on atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza for a liberal newspaper Ha'aretz, Fisk now believes that a journalist's job is more than writing the first draft of history or being the first impartial witness to history.
Amira tells him: "There is a misconception that journalists can be objective… What journalism is really about is to monitor power and the centres of power." Fisk has adopted the philosophy of challenging "authority – all authority – especially so when governments and politicians take us to war". He has repeatedly been in the killing fields of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bosnia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and other Gulf states, which were theatres of war during the last three decades. After reporting from so many battlefields, Fisk observes that war is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and the infliction of death.
He has witnessed both wars and revolutions. Covering Iranian revolution for the London-based The Times , Fisk met Ayatollah Khomeini, conversed with Sadeq Khalkhali, the much-feared 'hanging judge', and was amused when American-educated revolutionaries introduced themselves – Shias – to the foreign press as the 'Trotskyites of Islam'.
During the Iran-Iraq war, he was present at all the major battles and met Iranian and Kurd victims against whom Saddam Hussein had used chemical weapons.
In 1988 after serving for 18 years, Fisk resigned from Times, when his editors distorted his investigative story about the shooting down of an Iranian Airbus by an American warship Vincennes – killing 290 passengers and crew. A few months later he switched to The Independent and has been writing regularly for that paper.
Fisk met Osama bin Laden thrice – once in Sudan in 1993 (when very few Westerners had even heard the name) and twice in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Osama told Fisk that one of his 'brothers' had dreamed that "you came to see us one day on a horse", adding, "You wore a robe like us. This means you are a Muslim". Fisk found the proposition 'terrifying' and struggled for a moment to come up with an objective answer. He emphasised the importance of his role as a journalist, whose job is to "tell the truth" – whatever his faith. "If you tell the truth" Osama retorted with a smile, "you are a good Muslim."
Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist who claims to have met Osama in Afghanistan after the bombing started, told Fisk that Osama wanted to meet him and had previously sent a message. Fisk never received the message and missed the 'scoop'.
Fisk has often been described by the Western media as an apologist for the Muslim World and anti-American. In this marvellous book he has discussed, in graphic detail, the inhumanity of Saddam's regime, excesses committed by the Iranian revolutionaries, and the brutality of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. All these regimes have opposed American policies and plans and yet the right wing press/neo-conservatives of America label Fisk as 'anti-American' and criticise him for his 'bias' against America and anti-Israeli 'rants'.
Regarding the arrogance of power, Fisk says that he would previously laugh at Iranians when they called the United States the 'centre of arrogance', but has now begun to understand what it means. This weighty tome provides interesting insights into the dangers and perils that confront and characterise the life of a foreign correspondent.
Fisk first achieved prominence as a British journalist while reporting on Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1980. Banned by Afghan police to use the hotel telex machine (there was no email or Internet in those days), he managed to regularly smuggle out his typed copies to Peshawar that were then telexed to London with the assistance of Reuters' staff and Ali – a daring, street-smart Pakistani bus conductor who travelled daily from Kabul to Peshawar.
Most readers are likely to be overawed by the size (1,328 pages) of the book and might delay the decision of reading it. However, the narrative is so gripping and captivating that even those who disagree with Fisk's political stance or opinions would face difficulty in putting it down once they have started reading his powerful testament.
This is a fascinating, massive book that leaves the reader dazzled and drained but, more importantly, with a feeling that never before has the history of Middle East and the misery of its people been narrated with such candour and verve and in so amazing a style.
Contributed by the author Ammar Ali Qureshi
First Published in Daily Times on 27-02-2006
The book was published by "Fourth Estate"


text:
Kumpulan Berita Unik Dari Berbagai Dunia
2 Sheila C. Bair Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. U.S.
3 Indra K. Nooyi Chairman, chief executive, PepsiCo U.S.
4 Angela Braly Chief executive, president, WellPoint U.S.
5 Cynthia Carroll Chief executive, Anglo American U.K.
6 Irene B. Rosenfeld Chairman, chief executive, Kraft FoodsU.S.
7 Condoleezza Rice Secretary of state U.S.
8 Ho Ching Chief executive, Temasek Holdings Singapore
9 Anne Lauvergeon Chief executive, Areva France
10 Anne Mulcahy Chairman, chief executive, Xerox Corp. U.S.
11 Gail Kelly Chief executive and managing director, Westpac Bank Australia
12 Patricia A. Woertz Chairman, chief executive, president, Archer Daniels Midland U.S.
13 Cristina Fernandez President Argentina
14 Christine Lagarde Minister of economy, finance and employment France
15 Safra A. Catz President and chief financial officer, Oracle U.S.
16 Carol B. Tome Executive vice president and chief financial officer, Home Depot U.S.
17 Yulia Tymoshenko Prime minister Ukraine
18 Mary Sammons Chairman, chief executive, president, Rite Aid U.S.
19 Andrea Jung Chairman, chief executive, Avon U.S.
20 Marjorie Scardino Chief executive, Pearson PLC U.K.
21 Sonia Gandhi President, Indian National Congress Party India
22 Risa Lavizzo-Mourey Chief Executive and President, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation U.S.
23 Sri Mulyani Indrawati Coordinating minister for economic affairs and finance minister Indonesia
24 Dr. Julie Gerberding Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention U.S.
25 Michelle Bachelet President Chile
26 Ellen Alemany Chief executive, Royal Bank of Scotland Americas U.S.
27 Carol Meyrowitz Chief executive, president, The TJX Cos. U.S.
28 Hillary Rodham Clinton U.S. senator, New York U.S.
29 Hynd Bouhia Director General, Casablanca Stock Exchange Morocco
30 Anne Sweeney President, Disney-ABC Television Group U.S.
31 Valentina Matviyenko Governor, St. Petersburg region Russia
32 Nancy Tellem President, CBS Paramount Television Entertainment Group U.S.
33 Ann Livermore Executive vice president, Hewlett-Packard U.S.
34 Marina Berlusconi Chairman, Finivest Group and Mondadori Group Italy
35 Nancy Pelosi Speaker, House of Representatives U.S.
36 Oprah Winfrey Chairman, Harpo U.S.
37 Gulzhan Moldazhanova Chief Executive, Basic Element Russia
38 Aung San Suu Kyi Deposed prime minister; Nobel peace laureate Myanmar
39 Lynn Laverty Elsenhans Chief executive and president, Sunoco U.S.
40 Melinda Gates Co-founder, co-chairman, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation U.S.
41 Gloria Arroyo President Philippines
42 Jane Mendillo President and chief executive, Harvard Management Co. U.S.
43 Linda Z. Cook Executive director, gas and power, Royal Dutch Shell Netherlands
44 Laura Bush First lady U.S.
45 Brenda Barnes Chief executive, Sara Lee U.S.
46 Christine Poon Vice chairman, Johnson & Johnson U.S.
47 Neelie Kroes Competition commissioner, European Union Netherlands
48 Amy Woods Brinkley Global risk executive, Bank of America U.S.
49 Susan E. Arnold President, global business units, Procter & Gamble U.S.
50 Susan Decker President, Yahoo!
51 Ana Patricia Botin Chairman, Banesto Spain
52 Tzipora Livni Vice prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Israel
53 Dominique Senequier Chief executive officer, AXA Private Equity France
54 Amy Pascal Co-chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment U.S.
55 Ursula Burns President, Xerox U.S.
56 Helen Clark Prime minister New Zealand
57 Laura Desmond Chief executive officer, Starcom MediaVest Group Worldwide U.S.
58 Queen Elizabeth II Queen U.K.
59 Mayawati Kumari Chief minister, Uttar Pradesh India
60 Judy McGrath Chairman and chief executive officer, MTV Networks U.S.
61 Meredith Vieira Co-anchor, Today show, NBC News U.S.
62 Katie Couric Anchor, CBS Evening News, CBS News U.S.
63 Barbara Walters Correspondent, ABC News U.S.
64 Sallie Krawcheck Chairman and chief executive, Global Wealth Management, Citigroup U.S.
65 Diane Sawyer Anchor, Good Morning America, ABC News U.S.
66 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf President Liberia
67 Janice Fields Chief operating officer and executive vice president, McDonald"s U.S.
68 Zhang Xin Chief executive officer, co-founder, Soho China
69 Zaha Hadid Founder, Zaha Hadid Architects U.K.
70 Yang Mian Mian President, Haier China
71 Tarja Halonen President Finland
72 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Justice, Supreme Court U.S.
73 Hyun Jeong-Eun Chairman, Hyundai Group South Korea
74 Mary McAleese President Ireland
75 Guler Sabanci Chairman, Sabanci Holding Turkey
76 Drew Gilpin Faust President, Harvard University U.S.
77 Lisa M. Weber President, Individual Business, MetLife U.S.
78 Dora Bakoyannis Foreign minister Greece
79 Beth Brooke Global vice chairman, Ernst & Young U.S.
80 Lee Myung-Hee Chairman, Shinsegae Group South Korea
81 Susan M. Ivey Chief executive, Reynolds American U.S.
82 Nancy McKinstry CEO, Wolters Kluwer Netherlands
83 Janet L. Robinson President and chief executive, The New York Times Co. U.S.
84 Margaret Chan Director-general, World Health Organization Switzerland
85 Clara Furse Chief executive, London Stock Exchange U.K.
86 Ellen J. Kullman Executive vice president, DuPont U.S.
87 Susan Desmond-Hellmann President, product development, Genentech U.S.
88 Eva Cheng Chief executive, Greater China and Southeast Asia, Amway China
89 Maha Al-Ghunaim Chairman, managing director, Global Investment House Kuwait
90 Christina Gold Chief executive, Western Union U.S.
91 Christiane Amanpour Chief international correspondent, CNN U.S.
92 Pamela Nicholson President, Enterprise Rent-a-Car U.S.
93 Ann Moore Chairman, chief executive, Time Inc. U.S.
94 Sharon Allen Chair, Deloitte U.S.
95 Jing Ulrich Chairman and managing director, JPMorgan Chase China Equities China
96 Queen Rania Al-Abdullah Queen Jordan
97 Virginia Rometty Senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services U.S.
98 Georgina Rinehart Owner, chairman, Hancock Prospecting Australia
99 Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Chairman and managing director, Biocon India
100 Paula Rosput Reynolds Chief Executive, Safeco U.S.


text:
There is no dispute that Tony Shakeen Owens shot Clifford Dallas Baker on the evening of Sept. 25, 2010. However, Owens' defense attorney raised the question whether his client planned that event in advance on the first day of his trial for first-degree murder.
DAYTONA BEACH – There is no dispute that Tony Shakeen Owens shot Clifford Dallas Baker on the evening of Sept. 25, 2010, prosecution and defense attorneys said Tuesday morning.
But even with two eyewitnesses testifying to that fact during Tuesday's opening of the 23-year-old Owens' first-degree murder trial, defense attorney Fernando Iglesias worked to raise doubt in the jury's mind that the shooting was premeditated.
"Cliff Baker and Tony Owens had a history of issues and violence," said Iglesias during his opening argument. "There had been several fights where a lot of people, including Tony Owens, had been hurt."
Iglesias said his client had not expected to run into the victim outside Baker's sister's New Smyrna Beach apartment on Greenlawn Street that evening nor had Owens any intent to shoot and kill him. But Baker, 26, of Oak Hill had no other reason to approach the defendant other than to start a fight with him, he said.
"He did not intend to pull a gun out except for Baker's threatening manner," Iglesias argued.
As such, he said the prosecution cannot prove the charge of premeditated murder.
However, Assistant State Attorney Robin Hutcheson offered a different theory for the evening's events.
"Clifford Baker was murdered right before his sister's eyes," she said in her opening. "He was shot six times, four times in the back."
Baker and the prosecution's second eyewitness to the shooting, Derek Martin, were relaxing outside Charlene Green's apartment, talking with the mother of three when Owens stepped out of a neighboring apartment and walked into the parking lot, prosecutors said.
Green told the jurors, her brother walked up to Owens, supposedly to ask him about previous statements the New Smyrna Beach man had made to Green that if he saw her brother, he was going to take him out.
Green testified her brother was unarmed when he went up to Owens and she heard a "slap" followed almost immediately by Owens reaching into his waistband, pulling out a gun and starting shooting.
As Baker backed away, she said, Owens just stood there and kept firing.
"I heard six or seven shots," Green said.
During his cross-examination, Iglesias questioned Green if she knew about any problems between the two men.
There had been arguments but no fights, she said, although there had been fights between the men's family members.
During his testimony, Martin said he never actually saw the gun but rather heard the shots and saw a muzzle flash.
He said Baker told him "that (expletive) shot me," as he pulled the wounded man into the car.
Owens then fled on foot.
He was taken into custody the next day in the parking lot of the Walmart in Ormond Beach. In the trunk of the car Owens was in, police found a black duffel bag containing some of Owens' belongings and a gun.
"The gun that killed Clifford Baker," Hutcheson said.


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Pharmaceutical Research Firm Plans 320 Jobs in Mo.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - A pharmaceutical research company plans a nearly $31 million capital investment that could create 320 jobs in St. Charles at its first U.S. facility.
Missouri officials announced the project Thursday. The state is offering about $4 million of incentives through the Missouri Quality Jobs Program.
Pharma Medica Research Inc. is a Toronto-based company that does research and development and trials for pharmaceutical companies. Its services include scientific affairs, medical writing, clinical trials, bioanalysis and data management. The company is plans to use a building in St. Charles that previously housed a clinical research organization.
Gov. Jay Nixon met with officials from Pharma Medica Research this year during a convention in Chicago.


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I've translated Malcolm Kesson's Cellular Automata SL into a Houdini VOP RSL Network (no reason). You can find the original SL on his website: http://www.fundza.com/rman_shaders/cellular/index.html
Main difference is that Houdini VOPs don't support Arrays so I used multiple connections and 8 texture calls instead of a for loop. Let me know if there is some better way of querying neigbours.
Original shader cell size and count is dependant on micropolgyons and controlled by shading rate. I've set the shading rate to a very high value and the cell count is controlled by geometric subdivision instead. That meant I couldn't use random function for initialization so I replaced it with cellnoise shadeop.
OTL library contains digital assets:
cellular - Object type digital assetbake3d - shadeop for pointcloud bakingtexture3D - shadeop for pointcloud readingcellnoise - rendermans cellnoise functioncellular_automata - cellular.sl VOP node version. Just a direct implementation of the code. Not used for anything.
Cellular is Object Type Digital Asset that contains shaders, geometry and ROPs for 'out of the box' test.
Download OTL cellular.otlDownload ZIP cellularotl.zip
Have fun.
Updated 03-01-2012 at 11:59 PM by Artur


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Culture Blogs
Women's Herbal Conference, Glastonbury Goddess Conference, West Kentucky Hoodoo Rootworker Heritage Festival, and other gatherings.
The Dew and The Flowers
"The time will come when the Lady will rouse herself from her dreaming. She'll be dressed for the May-Time with a crown of flowers and a gown of softest green. Her perfume will be the richness of the dark soil and the orchards. She'll bathe herself in the dews of May and reach out again to her people. And the people will remember."
The Burning Times
Merry Beltane for my friends in the Northern Hemi and Blessed Samhain to those of you in the Southern one. The Wheel turns--blessed be the Great Wheel.
Please login first in order for you to submit comments


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Requests for SearchesPosted
As most of you know I love researching almost anything but most specifically anything to do with Italian Surnames. Unfortunately researching anything takes time and money - neither of which comes easy these days to the average person like me and more than likely you. Researching is a hobby for me. When I look for something I really, really look and try to use several sources to support my findings. I am by no means an expert so it is the only way to actually do this correctly. Sometimes researching a name can take hours, weeks or months so you can imagine how time consuming this can be - and how costly.
Having said all that I'll get to the point. Each day I receive several dozen emails from people asking me if I know the meaning of their surname. That's all. There is usually no other information. It's gotten to the point I can't even reply to these emails without using a standard reply and half the time my replies come back undeliverable. These are the times I am grateful I don't look for meanings as there would be no way to reply other than to post it on my website which is additional work to code the information. The truth is I have a full time job, and a family. I don't have the resources or the time to answer/research all these requests (I really wish I did but I don't). Life gets in the way - bills need to be paid, laundry needs to be done and dinners need to be cooked. Donations to the site are welcomed and do allow me to help some people. The money literally helps pay only for materials to conduct the research and to partially maintain the sites.
So please, if you are going to request my help please be considerate. Give me something to work with. Tell me where your family comes from, provide a correct email where I can contact you (only I see your email address and I do not send out spam at any time - all communication is posted here or on the site) and perhaps offer something to help with the costs. Travel, bandwidth, paper, wear and tear on my PC (which I finally replaced after months of doing without), etc. all adds up. And then give me time.


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wifi communication
Do you know what WiFi communication will do for you? You probably do and just wish to locate a product. Browse our on-line store where you will see many WiFi communication products.
However, if you want find our more about WiFi communication then read on…..
The international standard for WiFi communication is 802.11. There are numerous suffix letters after the 802.11. This denotes the usage of the radio frequency bands for different technologies to ensure they do not create interference with each other. There are four of these suffixes: a, b, g and n. For more detail on this please follow this link:
Do you have a Samsung OfficeServ system? If so you'll be able to use WiFi communication in your premises by installing a wireless access point to allow your staff to roam while still being in contact with them.
Call the Telephone Systems Direct advisors on 0800 652 8052 to talk about WiFi communication.


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Place the syrups and peanut butter into a small saucepan and whisk thoroughly to mix. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir or whisk frequently, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the syrup thickens and drips slowly from the spoon. Place the crispy cereal, dried fruit, seeds, and nuts in a mixing bowl. Pour the hot syrup over the mixture and mix thoroughly to coat all ingredients. Lightly moisten a glass baking dish with cold water. With moistened hands, place the mixture in the baking dish and press it down evenly and firmly. Place the dish in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes, allowing the syrup to harden. Remove and slice into bars or squares.
Store in a covered container on the counter or refrigerate.
Per serving - 79 calories, 3 g fat (31% calories from fat), 2 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, 88 mg sodium


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You must be logged in to add games to your MyArcade page. If you don't have one, get one!
Use the arrow-keys to move the frog. Step off a lily pad to remove it; remove all lily pads to complete the level. Darkly colored lily pads may be stepped on more than once.


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Brian Nichols
Server space for the TNGenWeb Project is provided through the generosity of US Internet.
The TNGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved, or disproved by the weight of evidence.
You are welcome to copy information found on the Benton County TNGenWeb site for personal use, and share information with other researchers or genealogical organizations, but this information may not be sold or used in a commercial project without expressed permission. All material submitted by individuals for inclusion in this site remains their property.


text: Now is not the time to buy Treasury bonds. The income is scant, the opportunity is small, and the risks are great. By Jeffrey R. Kosnett, Senior Editor June 29, 2012 Some of you may remember Crazy Eddie, the retail chain whose TV pitchman crowed that its prices were so low they were insaaaaaane. That's a perfect word to describe the Treasury-bond market today. The interest fails to cover today's negligible inflation rate. Yet buyers—mostly institutions searching for a lockbox rather than income—pile in and drive yields down with each passing day. Early in June, the yield on the ten-year Treasury sank to 1.47%, a number so low that it appeared to be an optical illusion. SEE ALSO: Our Guide to Income Investing Sponsored Content Because bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions, the plunge in yields is a windfall for Treasury holders. But if you've been following my comments for the past couple of years, you're not counting these gains, because I have adamantly opposed owning government debt that pays such puny yields. And I'm sticking to my guns. This is not the time to buy Treasuries—not directly and especially not through a fund. The income is scant, the opportunity is small, and the risks are great. What to Own Once yields reverse course, Treasuries will begin to inflict pain on their holders. Kiplinger's, which previously had forecast that the yield on the ten-year bond would hit 2.5% by year-end, has now pushed that forecast out to 2013. Should this prove accurate, you'll find better opportunities in high-dividend stocks and other income-plus-growth investments. (For specific ideas, download the premier issue Kiplinger's Investing for Income for free..) Advertisement I don't think my alarms about rising Treasury yields have been wrong, just premature. In this, I've had plenty of good company. For example, the ten-year yielded 2.3% on April 3, when one of the clearest-speaking government bond guys I consult, New York City money manager Richard Saperstein, warned that bonds could begin suffering heavy losses any day. I quoted Richard on this, which is tantamount to saying I found him to be persuasive. I still do. Or consider what happened in August 2011, when the ten-year yielded 2.6% and Standard & Poor's busted the Treasury's credit rating from triple-A to double-A-plus, an event that in normal times would send America's cost of borrowing into orbit. I wrote that you should reinvest your money elsewhere if you owned Treasuries that were maturing. And to throw yet another pie in my own face, the yield was 3.7% in early 2010, when I wrote a column, called "What Ails Treasuries," that suggested to readers that they instead buy junk bonds, investment-grade corporates and municipal debt. Fortunately, all of those sectors have done well, but not as well as Treasuries have. I relive these misjudgments not just to come clean. The moves in Treasuries raise a serious question: Is the Treasury market forecasting such a bleak economic future that we should be terrified of all risky investments and, therefore, bail out of stocks and bonds except those backed by Uncle Sam? Signs of weakness in the economies of highflying emerging nations, such as Brazil and India, fuel these concerns. Worries are growing, too, about China. If little Greece can cause so much trouble, what awaits our portfolios if China slumps? During the credit crisis four years ago, Treasury bonds were the sole financial asset to rally. Everything else, obviously risky or not, got hammered. But as I spoke with a bunch of bond-fund managers and analysts over the past few weeks, not one argued that we're facing a return to an environment in which nothing works but Treasuries. The current Treasury-buying spree reflects an elevated degree of fear, but that fear hasn't yet translated into trouble for the triple-B corporates and municipals and other first-class bonds I've suggested are better bets than Treasuries. That's why this isn't a repeat of the nightmare of 2008—and why I don't think Treasury yields will fall much more. Follow Jeff on Twitter Kiplinger's Investing for Income will help you maximize your cash yield under any economic conditions. Download the premier issue for free.


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Vi-CELL XR Reagents
Trust is an integral component of any relationship. So, let us illustrate the value and peace of mind that you will receive when you purchase Vi-CELL™ Reagents from Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. Vi-CELL™ Reagents offer:
- Validated reagent with appropriate cleaning and disinfectant solutions
- Certificate of Analysis for each lot
- Service contract guarantee
Don't put your experiments at risk, always use Beckman Coulter reagents, a company you know and trust. Using Non-Beckman Coulter Vi-CELL™ reagents may result in frequent light intensity errors and clogging of the fluid lines, creating unnecessary Service visits. Our in-house testing has demonstrated that using Non-Beckman Coulter reagents with the Vi-CELL™ leads to gradual darkening of the flow cells which lowers the background intensity and generates a light intensity error message. This issue is corrected if a decontamination cycle is performed and the Beckman Coulter Vi-CELL™ Reagent Pak is subsequently used on the system.
Choose a Vi CELL XR Reagents Model
Product Specifications
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|Bioprocessing, Cell Analysis, Cell Cycle, Cell Health, Cell Line Development
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save (one's) blushes(redirected from save his blushes)
save (one's) blushes
To prevent someone from feeling embarrassed or awkward. Due to your family's great service to the crown, we will save your blushes and not create a public scandal around this debacle. I tried saving her blushes when she asked me to prom by saying I had no intention of going with anyone.
save/spare somebody's ˈblushes(informal) not do something which will make somebody feel embarrassed: Don't tell everybody about his excellent exam results. Spare his blushes.
A blush is the red colour that spreads over your face when you are embarrassed or ashamed.


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The full circle
Nationalism vs Secularism
'India can head for new high in secularist-iconoclasm'
Say Hello, Or Click Here, To Support The Motherland
'Religion and nationalism are made for each other'
Fatwa against Idea of India
RSS indoctrinating children?
Saare Jahan Se Achcha?
Slide Show
A salute to national song
Message Board
What does Vande Mataram mean to you?


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Washington D.C., May 17, 2012 / 04:19 am MT (CNA).-
Kurt von Schuschnigg Jr., son of the former chancellor of Austria, says that his Catholic faith helped him get through difficult times during World War II and now guides the way that he looks back at past events.
"Faith is always a big thing when you are in trouble," he observed. "Unfortunately today, not too many people hold on to faith anymore."
Von Schuschnigg was a first-hand witness of many of the atrocities committed during the Second World War. His father, who has the same name, was chancellor of Austria when Germany invaded the country in 1938.
On May 9, Kurt von Schuschnigg Jr. and his wife, Janet, spoke with CNA about their new book, "When Hitler Took Austria" (Ignatius, $24.95).
The book tells the story of the German takeover of Austria, as experienced by young von Schuschnigg.
He explained that his father opposed the takeover when German troops entered the country but also realized that they were not equipped to fight.
To avoid a massacre of the Austrian people, he resigned from his position as chancellor and was later sent with his wife to Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
Von Schuschnigg Jr. was able to complete his education and was then stationed on a naval vessel before deserting the German military and fleeing from the Gestapo, making a harrowing escape to safety.
He and his wife – both of whom are Catholic – worked together on the new book. Janet, who grew up in Atlanta, Ga., said that over their years of marriage, her husband told her stories about his life in Austria.
She realized that the story of Austria's takeover by the Nazis was not being taught in schools, and she decided to record the events that her husband had recounted.
The book is not a plea for anything, she explained, but is simply trying to explain how life was for people in Austria during that difficult time.
"America should know it," she said. "The rest of the world should know it."
Kurt von Schuschnigg believes that God's providence was helping him during that difficult time, sometimes manifest through the kind and daring gestures of other people.
He recalled an instance in 1945 when a German doctor in Munich saved his life. Due to the family responsibility laws, he should have been turned over to the Gestapo and would have been taken to a concentration camp or executed. But the doctor – whose name he does not even know – allowed him to escape.
He also remembered how his Austrian governess had courageously taken him in when his father was arrested, risking her own safety in doing so.
"She could never get a job again," he reflected.
Janet von Schuschnigg describes her husband's family as "centered on God." Even after all they've been through, she said, they are still good Catholics.
"You don't find so many good Catholics in Austria anymore," she continued, explaining that the Church has undergone heavy persecution.
Her husband added that while there are many good people leading "a happy life" in Austria, they have largely been forced to "forget their past" in order to do so.
For him, however, faith has played a significant role in both good and bad times.
He recalled a hand-written papal blessing that was given to his family that gave him confidence and helped him trust in God during difficult circumstances.
One time, he recounted, he was able to smuggle the Eucharist to his father in the concentration camp.
This was only possible, he explained, because the guards had been there for four years, and they had become friends.
The guards were "kind" and "decent" people, he reflected, although they would have shot his parents without hesitation if ordered to do so.
When von Schuschnigg attempted to tell some family friends about the things he had witnessed in the concentration camp, they brushed him off, refusing to believe his stories and defending the Nazis.
Kurt von Schuschnigg does not consider his actions particularly heroic, especially since at the time no one thought of themselves a a heroe.
"We were survivors," he said.
After World War II, von Schuschnigg's family was liberated and moved to America, where they became citizens.
While he has not forgotten the atrocities he witnessed and experienced, von Schuschnigg has forgiven those responsible for causing his family pain – an ability that his wife says "impressed me incredibly."
Kurt von Schuschnigg explained that he does not blame those who hurt him because he knows that "they did it out of fear."
He described the "terror" that pervaded the atmosphere of a country in which one could never trust the people around him.
You have to be able to forgive, he said. "You cannot carry things with you."
He compared the situation to a fight with a good friend. After a while, you let go and forgive, and you return to being friends, he said.
Kurt and Janet von Schuschnigg hope that "When Hitler Took Austria" will inspire people to reevaluate their lives.
Janet explained that the book is an example of discipline and faith, virtues that are sorely needed today, as many people seek immediate gratification but find that they are not truly happy.
"The world's a mess right now," she said. "It's frightening."
She lamented that so many people today have lost a sense of balance in life, forgetting the importance of virtues like discipline and duty.
"People don't go to Church anymore," she added.
Her husband agreed. He said that many of the values that were strong in his childhood have been lost by society.
Restoring these values is critical, and it must begin in the home, Kurt von Schuschnigg said.
"It cannot all be done by the schools," he explained. "It comes from the family."
Tags: Inspirational Stories, World War II
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School budget decisions are some of the most important votes a school board member makes. This is because the budget affects the entirety of the school district, from students to teachers and support personnel. Voting 'no' on a budget proposal is definitely not an easy decision because it can be misconstrued.
Despite the possibility that some may take my decisions out of context, I decided to vote against the budget proposal presented to us at the last Warren Consolidated School Board meeting because I believe we can no longer continue down the road towards layoffs, school closings, and privatization. This, above all, is in our students' best interests.
When I was a student at Warren Mott High School, we did not have to pay a fee to play sports or join the band. I strongly support the elimination of such 'activity fees' for students because true education extends beyond academics. Participation in sports or band gives our students greater feedback and accountability, which lead to deeper life lessons and expanded opportunities for growth. No student should be required to pay a fee in order to be actively involved in the school community.
Inside the classroom, we must continue to reduce class sizes because teachers and students must be able to engage each other in an environment that is free from distractions and conducive to learning. The hiring of new teachers allows for manageable class sizes in our district, which helps improve the quality of education for all students in our schools.
Even more concerning is the increasing trend towards the corporatization of public education. I don't think students should have to see signs, billboards, and advertisements in and around their gymnasiums and classrooms. Yet the growing influence of focus groups and the creation of public relations positions allow advertising and corporate influence into our schools.
If we are to preserve an education that is free from special interests angling to profit at the expense of our students, then we must oppose these so-called 'band-aid' fixes.
My decision to vote against the budget proposal had everything to do with ensuring the financial future of Warren Consolidated Schools, because the ability to educate our children largely depends upon the financial stability of our school district.
The budget proposal presented to us continued the unsustainable practice of deficit spending, to the tune of nearly $6 million next year. We simply cannot continue to deficit spend our children's future away by running down our fund balance and borrowing money we don't have.
In Hazel Park, the state is investigating a potential takeover of their school district due to rampant deficit spending. This should be a clear signal to all of us in public education that the old ways of doing things are over. For real change in public education, we cannot continue to point fingers and procrastinate. This type of wishful thinking puts school districts down the road towards layoffs, school closings, and privatization.
Everyone, including our superintendent, needs to do their part to ensure we avoid a state imposed mandate or emergency financial manager situation, which would send our schools into a frenzied state of crisis.
I believe our school district leadership should be willing to sacrifice, just as every other employee has, for the livelihood of our school district. In times of economic hardship, there is absolutely no reason any central office administrator should be making more money than the governor of the state.
Together we can proactively tackle these tough issues by taking a stand for local control and local decision-making. But first, we must be willing to take responsibility for our schools and not just shift the blame.
Ben Lazarus is a Warren Consolidated school board member.


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This site is the archived OWASP Foundation Wiki and is no longer accepting Account Requests.
To view the new OWASP Foundation website, please visit https://owasp.org
Difference between revisions of "Testing: Introduction and objectives"
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* Active mode: in this phase, the tester begins to test using the methodology described in the follow paragraphs.
* Active mode: in this phase, the tester begins to test using the methodology described in the follow paragraphs.
We have split the set of active tests in
We have split the set of active tests in sub-categories for a total of controls:
* Configuration Management Testing
* Configuration Management Testing
* Business Logic Testing
* Business Logic Testing
* Testing
Revision as of 16:51, 4 March 2014
This article is part of the new OWASP Testing Guide v4.
Back to the OWASP Testing Guide v4 ToC: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Testing_Guide_v4_Table_of_Contents Back to the OWASP Testing Guide Project: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Testing_Project
This Chapter describes the OWASP Web Application Penetration testing methodology and explains how to test each vulnerability.
What is Web Application Penetration Testing?
A penetration test is a method of evaluating the security of a computer system or network by simulating an attack. A Web Application Penetration Test focuses only on evaluating the security of a web application.
The process involves an active analysis of the application for any weaknesses, technical flaws, or vulnerabilities. Any security issues that are found will be presented to the system owner together with an assessment of their impact and often with a proposal for mitigation or a technical solution.
What is a vulnerability?
A vulnerability is a flaw or weakness in a system's design, implementation, or operation and management that could be exploited to violate the system's security policy. A threat is a potential attack that, by exploiting a vulnerability, may harm the assets owned by an application (resources of value, such as the data in a database or in the file system). A test is an action that tends to show a vulnerability in the application.
Our approach in writing this guide
The OWASP approach is Open and Collaborative:
- Open: every security expert can participate with his or her experience in the project. Everything is free.
- Collaborative: we usually perform brainstorming before the articles are written so we can share our ideas and develop a collective vision of the project. That means rough consensus, wider audience and participation.
This approach tends to create a defined Testing Methodology that will be:
- Consistent
- Reproducible
- Under quality control
The problems that we want to be addressed are:
- Document all
- Test all
We think it is important to use a method to test all known vulnerabilities and document all the pen test activities.
What is the OWASP testing methodology?
Penetration testing will never be an exact science where a complete list of all possible issues that should be tested can be defined. Indeed, penetration testing is only an appropriate technique for testing the security of web applications under certain circumstances.
The goal is to collect all the possible testing techniques, explain them, and keep the guide updated.
The OWASP Web Application Penetration Testing method is based on the black box approach. The tester knows nothing or very little information about the application to be tested. The testing model consists of:
- Tester: Who performs the testing activities
- Tools and methodology: The core of this Testing Guide project
- Application: The black box to test
The test is divided into 2 phases:
- Passive mode: in the passive mode, the tester tries to understand the application's logic, and plays with the application. Tools can be used for information gathering, for example, an HTTP proxy to observe all the HTTP requests and responses. At the end of this phase, the tester should understand all the access points (gates) of the application (e.g., HTTP headers, parameters, and cookies). The Information Gathering section explains how to perform a passive mode test. For example, the tester could find the following:
This may indicate an authentication form in which the application requests a username and a password.
The following parameters represent two access points (gates) to the application:
In this case, the application shows two gates (parameters a and b).
All the gates found in this phase represent a point of testing. A spreadsheet with the directory tree of the application and all the access points would be useful for the second phase.
- Active mode: in this phase, the tester begins to test using the methodology described in the follow paragraphs.
We have split the set of active tests in 12 sub-categories for a total of 91 controls:
- Information Gathering
- Configuration and Deploy Management Testing
- Identity Management Testing
- Authentication Testing
- Authorization Testing
- Session Management Testing
- Data Validation Testing
- Error Handling
- Cryptography
- Logging
- Business Logic Testing
- Client Side Testing


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Muddy Waters + the Rolling Stones, 'Checkerboard Lounge – Live Chicago 1981′ – DVD Review
The Rolling Stones pay homage to their blues roots alongside one of their heroes on the newly unearthed live DVD 'Muddy Waters and the Rolling Stones: Live at the Checkerboard Lounge Chicago 1981.'
The title tells you what you need to know. On an off-night on their 1981 tour, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and pianist Ian Stewart stopped by Chicago's Checkerboard Lounge to watch blues legend Muddy Waters perform.
Before too long, Jagger was called up to join in on 'Baby Please Don't Go,' and eventually all four Stones had crowded onto the tiny stage to add their reverent but loose style to traditional classics such as 'Hoochie Coochie Man' and 'Mannish Boy.'
Luckily, someone thought to film all of this, and seeing Jagger, Richards and company so gleeful around their mentor and in such an intimate setting is quite a treat. A slight warning: this concert is best enjoyed by those who love the blues whether or not the Rolling Stones are performing them. This is a Muddy Waters show with the Stones frequently but not always joining along. Jagger doesn't come on until the sixth song of the 15-track set, for example, and at one point briefly returns to his table to watch his bandmates work their magic without him.
Throughout the night, the spotlight is shared equally with the Stones, Waters and — later in the proceedings — fellow honored guests Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. The Stones are revealed to be well-studied in the blues traditions, of course, but you can also see how they can't seem to help but put their own stamp on things, pushing the night into less retrained, rougher and more dynamic territory.
If you love the genre, 'Live at the Checkerboard Lounge' is likely the most concentrated dose of Rolling Stones blues music you're ever going to see and hear. There's even a bonus track — 'Black Limousine' — from a "proper" stop on the Stones' '81 tour, showing how the full band took the sound born in tiny clubs onto the worlds biggest stages.
Watch the Rolling Stones and Muddy Waters Perform 'Hoochie Coochie Man'


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Actress Verna Bloom has died at the age of 80.
The actress passed away on Wednesday in Bar Harbor, Maine due to complications of dementia, her family and representatives confirmed to Variety.com.
Bloom is best known for her appearance in John Landis' 1978 comedy Animal House, in which she played Marion Wormer, the drunken, debauched wife of the beleaguered Dean.
She is also known for her collaborations with director Martin Scorsese – The Last Temptation of Christ, in which she played Jesus' mother Mary, After Hours and documentary Street Scenes – and Clint Eastwood films High Plains Drifter and Honkytonk Man.
Her other credits including her 1969 movie debut Medium Cool ,The Hired Hand, TV movies Contract on Cherry Street, opposite Frank Sinatra, and Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic, and the Broadway revival of Marat/Sade.
Bloom is survived by her husband of 49 years, Jay Cocks, who was Oscar nominated for writing the screenplay to Scorsese films The Age of Innocence and Gangs of New York, and her son Sam.


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Bicycle activist Nicole Burgess wants infrastructure that emphasizes safety and making things easier for people to get around on bike and on foot.
Resident Vince Adame wants to clear up confusion about regulations that govern special events around the Ocean Beach Pier and to make sure setup crews aren't allowed to make too much noise when people are trying to sleep.
Those were a few of the wishes expressed July 3 when the Ocean Beach Planning Board (OBPB) voted 7-0 to authorize the release of a draft plan designed to guide growth and address quality-of-life issues in OB over the next 20 years.
Eleven years in the making, the document, known officially as the Ocean Beach Community Plan and Local Coastal Program, contains specific recommendations for such weighty topics as land use, transportation, urban design, public utilities and historic preservation. The 166-page plan also assesses public-facility needs like schools, libraries and parks; and fire, police and lifeguard stations.
The plan and accompanying environmental impact report will be available on the city's website and in hard-copy form at the Ocean Beach Branch Library by July 26, the official release date. However, it can already be viewed at the OBPB's website, oceanbeachplanning.org.
The plan has a long way to go before ultimate adoption early next year by the California Coastal Commission. It must still be reviewed by various City Council committees before it comes to the full council in November, said senior city planner Maxx Stalheim, the plan's author. OBPB chairman Tom Gawronski said it's likely he will schedule a town hall-style meeting next month, possibly under the joint banner with the Ocean Beach Town Council.
But many Obeceans who have examined the plan are already eager to share their thoughts, as evidenced by the recent OBPB meeting.
Frank Gormlie, former OBPB chairman and editor of obrag.org, said all the good intentions expressed in the plan could be for naught if they aren't supported by funding and proper enforcement.
"There's lots of great, flowery language. That's what planners like to do," Gormlie said. "When that language is connected to common sense [and] money sources, it's great."
Mixed-use development and "city of villages" planning are great concepts in theory, but risky if misapplied, he said.
"If it's not tied to mass transit and historic preservation, it can be disastrous," Gormlie said.
Onerous business regulations were on the mind of Denny Knox, executive director of the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association. She called for the removal of Commercial Activity Recommendation 8.2.3, which calls for restrictions on businesses that abut a residential neighborhood.
"If you have a business license or own a restaurant or bar, you already have the strong arm of the law coming down on you," Knox said.
Citizens who want to offer amendments, reword specific proposals or make other comments may do so by email. Giovanni Ingolia, who co-chairs the board's Plan Update Committee, encouraged residents and merchants to send feedback to [email protected]
Other OBPB news
• Expect libraries and recreation centers in Ocean Beach and throughout the city to see a reduction in hours in response to an unexpected $20 million budget shortfall, said John Ly, aide to District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer. A projected surplus for fiscal 2014, which began this month, flipped to deficit status, resulting from a recent vote by the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System Board on how to calculate the annual pension payment, Ly said. "We don't know yet how we're going to cover the whole amount," he said.
• Even though Mayor Bob Filner returned $100,000 to the developer of the Sunroad project in Kearny Mesa, there are other allocated funds in the city budget dedicated to a proposed Ocean Beach veteran's memorial, Ly said. Filner had included more than $70,000 for the project in his May budget revision, and that's not affected by the Sunroad situation, he said. Because more than $70,000 had also been earmarked in the $100,000 returned to the developer, the similarity in the amounts had caused confusion, and Ly said he's been on the receiving end of phone calls from concerned citizens recently.
• Board vacancies exist in districts 1 and 3, Gawronski announced. To be considered for appointment, citizens must live, own property in or run a business in the Ocean Beach planning area and must gather at least 35 signatures in the district in which they wish to serve. More information is available at oceanbeachplanning.org.


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Sognando aurora
Beautiful, airy line up Tofana's south facing Pilastro di Rozes. It was first ascended from the ground-up over a three-day period in September 2005 by Massimo Da Pozzo and Marcello Menardi and subsequently freed by Massimo Da Pozzo in June 2006. "Sognando l'aurora" takes a superb line via sustained climbing through one of the legendary Dolomite faces, climbing to the right of Costantini-Apollonio and to the left of Paolo VI to reach the top of the pillar. This is possibly one of the best Massimo da Pozzo creations on the Tofane. The yellowish-red rock above the first ledge is superb and bar a few pitches which will be cleaned in time the rock quality on the entire 600m route is very good. Sognando aurora is destined to become one of the classic hard outings on this face.
Drive to Rifugio Dibona, at the foot of the Tofana di Rozes. This is reached from Cotina by driving towards Passo Falzarego, past Pocol and few hairpin bends, and turning off right up onto the dirt track following signs for the refuge.
Approach this climb by walking up to the base of the pillar from Rifugio Dibona. The route starts inbetween Costantini - Apollonio and via Paolo VI. The route starts on the left beneath the diagonal corner. Allow about 30 minutes for the walk-in.
Traverse along the ledge towards the Punta Marietta buttress. Walk down the scree and ledges to the base of the buttress, and then walk around this on exposed terrain. Now descend past huge boulders to Rifugio Giussani.
The route is bolt and peg protected. Take two 60m ropes, a set of friends and a full rack of wires.


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The "White Team" earned a 22-9 victory over the "Blue Team" in the Central Connecticut football team's annual Blue-White Scrimmage. Junior quarterback Andrew Clements earned Anthony Bichum Overall Most Valuable Player honors for tossing three touchdown passes. Clements found three different receivers for scores.
After a scoreless first quarter, Clements got the Blue Devils on the board with a 38-yard touchdown pass to classmate Chris Linares. The point after touchdown failed and the White Team took a 6-0 lead with 7:40 left in the quarter.
Less than three minutes later, Clements followed with a 28-yard pass to Jevon Elmore. Elmore is a spring semester enrollee that will play as a redshirt freshman next season. The Blue Devils went for two on the point after and were stopped by the "Blue Team" defense.
Freshman kicker Jay Kral capped the first half scoring with a 27-yard field goal with 35 seconds left in the quarter. Kral's kick gave the "White Team" a 15-0 halftime lead.
Defensive lineman Mark Robinson got the Blue Devils on the board in the third quarter when he was credited with a sack of Clements in the end zone. The safety by the "Blue Team" cut the deficit to 15-2. Robinson finished the game with three sacks, including the safety. He was active for his side's defense throughout the game and was rewarded with the Anthony Bichum Lineman M.V.P. award after the game.
The "Blue Team" scored its first touchdown with 7:47 left in the game. Sophomore Rob Hollomon scampered 15 yards for a rushing touchdown and Steven Calitri connected on the extra point to make it a 15-9 game.
Unfortunately for the "Blue Team", Clements was not finished throwing touchdowns. He closed his game with a 65-yard scoring pass to freshman Aaron Berardino. The play sealed Clements status as the game's MVP.
Redshirt freshman Josh Celerin was named the game's Anthony Bichum Skill Position M.V.P. for his performance on defense. The defensive back recorded two interceptions, including one that he returned more than 65 yards down the left sideline. Celerin also had a number of tackles for the "White Team" defense, which held the "Blue Team" offense to a single score.
Clements finished 9-of-17 for 240 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Sophomore Scott Benzing was Clements primary target, despite not catching a touchdown, he hauled in three passes for 98 yards.
Freshman C.J. Morrison and senior Joe Efesse were also strong for the "White Team" defense, both had four tackles. For the Blue Team, Jake Pinho recorded five tackles.
Clements also earned M.V.P. honors for the 2012 Spring Game.