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Executive Briefings
Over eighty Black Hat sessions crowded into two days is a lot. So it helps to get some advance sorting and some info-distillation—those are the key missions of the Executive Briefings. We have designed the day to help parse the information deluge, guiding your team deployment strategy for team members who have accompanied you to Black Hat.
Web application security
With over twenty sessions impacting Application Security, and facing the evolution of HTML5, Nathan Hamiel will be providing an overview of what is coming in this fast moving space.
Black Hat Review Board member Nathan Hamiel is charing the Web Application Security track, serves as Principal Consultant for FishNet Security's Application Security Practice. He is also an Associate Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Advancing Technology.
Presented By:
Nathan Hamiel
Mobile devices were among the first 'bring your own device' landscape, and have evolved into one of the more interesting attack targets in the Enterprise. It is true that the mobile track includes elements you might expect, but there are more unconventional topics emerging as well. Vincenzo, the track chair, says it all has something to do with peeling an onion.
Presentation by Black Hat Review Board member Vincenzo Iozzo, Director of Vulnerability Intelligence at Trail Of Bits Inc. He's perhaps best known for co-writing the exploits for BlackBerryOS and iPhoneOS to win Pwn2own 2010 and Pwn2own 2011.
Presented By:
Vincenzo Iozzo
Things Defensive
Defense doesn't always get as much airplay at Black Hat, where much of the buzz tends to focus on breaking things. Defense, always harder than offense, gets attention from some great minds at Black Hat this year.
Presentation by Black Hat Review Board member Shawn Moyer, who manages the Research Consulting Practice for Accuvant Labs.
Presented By:
Shawn Moyer
Special Guest Speaker
An update on national issues from DHS Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity Mark Weatherford.
Presented By:
Mark Weatherford
Analytical Response and Discussion
Rounding out the day's discussions and presentations, Black Hat has assembled a top-shelf panel to break down and discuss top concerns highlighted through the day, evaluate down-stream implications of upcoming Black Hat research, and help process what to do in response to this year's content.
This panel, comprised of three leading analysts and two (crowd elected) CSO's are charged with working with the attendees to synthesize, challenge, clarify what questions to carry forward into the next two days of Black Hat Briefings.
Joshua Corman is Director of Security Intelligence for Akamai Technologies and has more than a decade of experience with security and networking software. Most recently he served as Research Director for Enterprise Security at The 451 Group, following his time as Principal Security Strategist for IBM Internet Security Systems. Mr. Corman's cross-domain research highlights adversaries, game theory, and motivational structures. His analysis cuts across sectors to the core security challenges plaguing the IT industry, and helps drive evolutionary strategies toward emerging technologies and shifting incentives.
Corman can be found on twitter @joshcorman and on his blog at http://blog.cognitivedissidents.com/
Rob Joyce is the Deputy Director of the Information Assurance Directorate (IAD) at the National Security Agency. His organization is the NSA mission element charged with providing products and services critical to protecting our Nation's systems that carry classified communications, military command and control or intelligence information. IAD provides technical expertise on cyber technologies, cryptography, security architectures and other issues related to information assurance, as well as supplying deep understanding of the vulnerability and threats to national security systems. Joyce has spent more than 23 years at NSA, beginning his career as an engineer.
Rich Mogull, Analyst and CEO at Securosis, has twenty years of experience in information security, physical security, and risk management. He specializes in data security, application security, emerging security technologies, and security management. Prior to founding Securosis, Rich was a Research Vice President at Gartner on the security team where he also served as research co-chair for the Gartner Security Summit. Rich is the Security Editor of TidBITS and a frequent contributor to publications ranging from Information Security Magazine to Macworld. He is a frequent industry speaker at events including the RSA Security Conference and DefCon, and has spoken on every continent except Antarctica.
Kevin Overcash, Chief Software Architect of Accuvant, has been designing and building commercial software products and services for over fifteen years. Starting with Internet Security Systems' (ISS) Internet Scanner in the late 90's, he has designed and served as product manager for ISS RealSecure IDS, SPI Dynamics WebDefend and Assessment Management Platform (AMP), Breach Security WebDefend Web Application Firewall, and most recently the WhiteHat Sentinel Web Application Assessment Service. Mr. Overcash has been speaking at industry events for over a decade, including SANS and RSA.Presented By:
Premium & Dinner Co-SponsorBack to Top
Qualys, Inc., is a pioneer and leading provider of cloud security and compliance solutions with over 5,700 customers in more than 100 countries, including a majority of each of the Forbes Global 100 and Fortune 100. The QualysGuard Cloud Platform and integrated suite of applications helps organizations simplify security operations and lower the cost of compliance by delivering critical security intelligence on demand and automating the full spectrum of auditing, compliance and protection for IT systems and web applications. Founded in 1999, Qualys has established strategic partnerships with leading managed service providers and consulting organizations including BT, Dell SecureWorks, Fujitsu, IBM, NTT, Symantec, Verizon, and Wipro. The company is also a founding member of the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA).
For more information, please visit www.qualys.com
Philippe Courtot, Chairman and CEO for Qualys
Philippe's leadership experience includes serving as Chairman and CEO of Signio, an electronic payment company later acquired by Verisign, President and CEO of Verity, and CEO of Thomson CGR Medical. Philippe holds a Masters Degree in Physics from the University of Paris.Amer Deeba, Chief Marketing Officer for Qualys
Amer came to Qualys from VeriSign, where he was the General Manager for the Payment Services Division, and has a variety of technical and management positions at Adobe, Verity and Amdahl. Amer earned MS and BS degrees in Computer Sciences.Wolfgang Kandek, Chief Technical Officer for Qualys
Wolfgang's more than 20 years of experience in IS management includes positions at myplay.com,iSyndicate, EDS, MCI and IBM. Wolfgang earned a Masters and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany.John Wilson, Executive Vice President of World Wide Field Operations for Qualys
John's more than 20 years of sales and operations leadership includes roles at Verizon Business, Ubizen, The Sayers Group, Winstar Communications, and Johnson & Johnson. John holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Business Administration degree from Fordham University.
Foundation SponsorBack to Top
Adobe is changing the world though digital experiences. We help our customers develop and deliver high-impact experiences that differentiate brands, build loyalty, and drive revenue across every screen, including smartphones, computers, tablets and TVs. Adobe content solutions are used daily by millions of companies worldwide—from publishers and broadcasters, to enterprises, marketing agencies and household-name brands. Building on our established design leadership, we enable customers not only to make great content, but to manage, measure and monetize it for maximum impact.
Brad Arkin, Senior Director of Security for Adobe
Brad Arkin is the senior director of security for Adobe products and services. Arkin also oversees the Corporate Standards Group as well as the open source and accessibility teams.David Lenoe, Adobe
David Lenoe leads the Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) at Adobe, responsible for Adobe's security incident response and vulnerability information sharing programs.
event sponsorsBack to Top
Core Security Technologies enables organizations to get ahead of threats with security test and measurement solutions that continuously identify and prove real-world exposures to their most critical assets. Our customers can gain real visibility into their security standing, real validation of their security controls, and real metrics to more effectively secure their organizations.
Core Security's software solutions build on over a decade of trusted research and leading-edge threat expertise from the company's Security Consulting Services, CoreLabs and Engineering groups. Core Security Technologies can be reached at +1 (617) 399-6980 or on the Web at: http://www.coresecurity.com.
BlackBerry Security, Research in Motion (RIM), is a world class organization providing end to end security focus including: driving the BlackBerry security message globally, security accreditations, development of security products, advanced threat research, building mitigations into BlackBerry products, and by rapidly responding to security incidents. More information: www.blackberry.com/security
SAIC is a FORTUNE 500® scientific, engineering, and technology applications company that uses its deep domain knowledge to solve problems of vital importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and the environment, critical infrastructure, and health. The Company's approximately 41,000 employees serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets. Headquartered in McLean, Va., SAIC had annual revenues of approximately $10.6 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2012. For more information, visit http://www.saic.com/. SAIC: From Science to Solutions®
Dinner Co-SponsorBack to Top
Veracode is the only independent provider of cloud-based application intelligence and security verification services. The Veracode platform provides the fastest, most comprehensive solution to improve the security of internally developed, purchased or outsourced software applications and third-party components. By combining patented static, dynamic and manual testing, extensive eLearning capabilities, and advanced application analytics, Veracode enables scalable, policy-driven application risk management programs that help identify and eradicate numerous vulnerabilities by leveraging best-in-class technologies from vulnerability scanning to penetration testing and static code analysis. Veracode delivers unbiased proof of application security to stakeholders across the software supply chain while supporting independent audit and compliance requirements for all applications no matter how they are deployed, via the web, mobile or in the cloud. Visit www.veracode.com


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Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777. Fargo, along with its twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota, as well as adjacent West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota, form the center of the Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. Founded in 1871, Fargo is the crossroads and economic center of southeastern North Dakota and a portion of northwestern Minnesota. Fargo is a cultural, retail, manufacturing, health care, and educational hub for the region. Fargo is home to North Dakota State University.
Fargo is a major transportation hub for the surrounding region. It sits at the crossroads of two major interstate highways, I-29 and I-94 and is the home of an international airport.
"If you have ever visited North Dakota during the summer time, it is by far one of the most beautiful states in the United States. Yes it does have cold winters but the summer time makes it all worth it. As some of you may already know the leading causes of automobile accidents in Fargo is wildlife. Majority of wildlife related accidents are caused by the Bear. One day while driving down the road and a bear out of no where came walking across the freeway. With no room to turn or sway my vehicle, I hit the bear head on with my 2010 Camaro SS. I just purchased it a few months ago and I was so upset. I called the police to report the accident and in return that dispatched a tow truck driver to the scene. The damage was very bad, I remember the hood being bent so far up I couldn't see out my own windshield. After talking with the tow truck driver, I realized my new car was totaled.
I asked him, what would I need to do to get my claim handled correctly. He said "here call Pinnacle. I have referred numerous customers to them and they have all been very pleased with their work." So I took Pinnacle Auto Appraisers business card and held on to it. After a week, I finally heard back from the insurance company and they made me an offer on my car. During the last few days I decided to do my own research to compare with the appraisal the insurance company provided. I was not happy with their offer. It was almost $4,200 less than what I saw my book value to be and also what is was selling for. I told the insurance company I wasn't going to accept and called Pinnacle. After speaking with the appraiser, I felt much better. He explained to me how the process works and that they would handle the negotiations for me. After just a few days I received the appraisal and it looked very professional. After not hearing from Pinnacle Auto Appraisers for a few days, I finally got a call from my Certified Auto Appraiser. Not only did he get more money out of them but he got almost $3,600 more. These guys know their stuff and if you want a company that will handle it for you, hire these guys! ~ Kristen W - Fargo, North Dakota
We bring our expertise and experience to the table for large corporations as well as the common car enthusiasts. Whether you are disputing a total loss claim or looking to sell your classic or exotic carr: We can help value what you own!
If you live in Fargo, North Dakota or in the surrounding areas we offer certified auto appraisals on classic cars, fleet vehicles, lease turn-in, total loss, diminished value, stated value, pre-purchase inspections, charitable donations, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and more! Please contact us today for more information.

subset: commoncrawl


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Barack Obama Jets Out of Israel on High Note After Surprise Diplomatic Win
President Barack Obama flew out of Israel in a duststorm on Friday, leaving behind a trail of symbolic gestures and fine oratory that should help preserve the status quo at a time of regional upheaval.
In an unexpected diplomatic flourish, he also facilitated a surprise telephone call between the prime ministers of Israel and Turkey, putting two U.S. allies firmly on track to revive a once close relationship that had become badly frayed.
Obama set such low expectations for the three-day trip that he can easily proclaim it is mission accomplished, having wooed sceptical Israelis, eased their fears over Iran and shown Palestinians that he had not forgotten their aspirations.
True, many Palestinians remained disillusioned, feeling that Obama had buckled to Israeli pressure and backtracked from his previous demands for a halt to Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank on land they want for a future state.
But after a bruising first term of failed Middle East diplomacy, Obama's prime concern seems to be that the situation does not get any worse, while keeping alive slender hopes that a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is still possible.
"This visit marks a resumption of American attention to the conflict, which is very important after two years of utter absence from the scene," said Ghassan al-Khatib, an academic and a former Palestinian government spokesman.
"It probably won't lead to any new negotiations, which in any case would be meaningless given the huge gulf between the two sides. But it might bring some accountability to the Israelis."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared highly satisfied by the public show of joviality displayed by Obama during their meetings, dispelling the frosty scowls and sniping that marked encounters over the previous four years.
"The atmosphere was much better than in all their meetings before," said a senior Israeli official. "He gave the impression that he really wanted to start afresh," he said of Obama.
Obama has already spent more time talking to Netanyahu than to any other world leader, according to the White House, and the pair put several more hours on the clock through this week.
Iran topped their initial agenda, aides said, with Obama seeking to build mutual trust and convince Israel that he was serious when he said he would not let Iran get nuclear weapons.
As a joint news conference on Wednesday, Netanyahu repeated that Israel had a right to defend its own national interests, but added that he was "absolutely convinced" Obama meant what he said – a strong statement seen as significant by some analysts.
"Now I think there is almost complete understanding between Israel and the United States on the Iranian issue," said Amotz Asa-El, fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.
"Specifically, they are waiting to see if the June election in Iran ignites some kind of social upheaval, a prospect that both Washington and Jerusalem obviously prefer," he added, referring to a mid-year presidential poll.
Israel and Western powers believe Iran is looking to prepare a nuclear arsenal – something Tehran denies, while defending its right to enrich uranium for civil uses. Netanyahu has set a "red line" across Iran's progress on enrichment, which he has said could be crossed in the spring or summer – hinting at unilateral military action unless the Islamic republic backs down.
Giora Eiland, a retired general and former Israeli national security adviser, said the prospect of such an attack was receding: "I think that the option still exists," he said, "But that every day that passes lowers its chances of success."
Reflecting Israel's isolation in a largely hostile region, Obama engineered a call between Netanyahu and his Turkish counterpart on Friday, enabling the two U.S. allies to overcome a diplomatic crisis sparked by the deaths of nine Turks in 2010 during an Israeli commando raid off the Gaza Strip.
The move to normalise relations with a NATO member state that was one of its few Muslim friends in the region could help coordination to contain spillover from the Syrian civil war.
"Given what we see in the Middle East, we see a situation in which our relations with Turkey can be very, very important for the future, regarding what happens with Syria, but not just what happens with Syria," said a source in Netanyahu's office.
Yet if the tensions with Turkey unexpectedly eased, Obama's visit did little to raise hopes that the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was any nearer resolution.
Going over the heads of Israeli leaders, who have questioned whether they have a viable negotiating partner on the other side of the separation barrier that twists through the West Bank, Obama appealed directly to ordinary citizens to push for change.
In a powerful speech to appreciative students, the U.S. president warned on Thursday that the Jewish state risked growing international isolation without a peace accord.
However, he did not bring any proposals on how to resume negotiations, which broke down in 2010, and he backed away from a previous demand for Israel to end settlement building, simply calling the construction an impediment to peace.
He promised that his new secretary of state, John Kerry, would dedicate much time and energy to the problem, but many Israelis saw his comments as a sign Washington would distance itself from a diplomatic quagmire familiar to his predecessors.
"The era when the USA pushed Israel and the Palestinians into a political process is gone," said Gidi Grinstein, president of the Reut Institute, a Tel Aviv-based think tank.
"In the absence of American vision and strategy, considering Obama's priorities and with the present positions of Israel and the Palestinians, the USA is basically saying: 'You call us. We won't call you'," he added.
Although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Obama's speech, some of his political allies were more damning.
"Obama's visit provides no clear way forward for a serious solution to the conflict," said Wasel Abu Yousef of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. "It seems the U.S. is not interested in solving the conflict, but rather managing it."


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Trickle-down is the Solution (to the Planetary Core Formation Problem)
December 4, 2017
Scientists have long pondered how rocky bodies in the solar system—including our own Earth—got their metal cores. According to research conducted by The University of Texas at Austin, evidence points to the downwards percolation of molten metal toward the center of the planet through tiny channels between grains of rock.
The finding calls into question the interpretation of prior experiments and simulations that sought to understand how metals behave under intense heat and pressure when planets are forming. Past results suggested that large portions of molten metals stayed trapped in isolated pores between the grains. In contrast, the new research suggests that once those isolated pores grow large enough to connect, the molten metal starts to flow, and most of it is able to percolate along grain boundaries. This process would let metal trickle down through the mantle, accumulate in the center, and form a metal core, like the iron core at the heart of our home planet.
"What we're saying is that once the melt network becomes connected, it stays connected until almost all of the metal is in the core," said co-author Marc Hesse, an associate professor in the UT Jackson School of Geosciences Department of Geological Sciences, and a member of UT's Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences.
The research was published on Dec. 4 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The work was the doctoral thesis of Soheil Ghanbarzadeh, who earned his Ph.D. while a student in the UT Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (now the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering). He currently works as a reservoir engineer with BP America. Soheil was jointly advised by Hesse and Maša Prodanović, an associate professor in the Hildebrand Department and a co-author.
Planets and planetesimals (small planets and large asteroids) are formed primarily from silicate rocks and metal. Part of the planet formation process involves the initial mass of material separating into a metallic core and a silicate shell made up of the mantle and the crust. For the percolation theory of core formation to work, the vast majority of metal in the planetary body must make its way to the center.
In this study, Ghanbarzadeh developed a computer model to simulate the distribution of molten iron between rock grains as porosity, or melt fraction, increased or decreased. The simulations were performed at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. Researchers found that once the metal starts to flow, it can continue flowing even as the melt fraction decreases significantly. This is in contrast to previous simulations that found that once the metal starts flowing, it only takes a small dip in the volume of melt for percolation to stop.
"People have assumed that you disconnect at the same melt fraction at which you initially connected…and it would leave significant amounts of the metal behind," Hesse said. "What we found is that when the metallic melt connects and when it disconnects is not necessarily the same."
According to the computer model, only 1 to 2 percent of the initial metal would be trapped in the silicate mantle when percolation stops, which is consistent with the amount of metal in the Earth's mantle.
The researchers point to the arrangement of the rock grains to explain the differences in how well-connected the spaces between the grains are. Previous work used a geometric pattern of regular, identical grains, while this work relied on simulations using an irregular grain geometry, which is thought to more closely mirror real-life conditions. The geometry was generated using data from a polycrystalline titanium sample that was scanned using X-ray microtomography.
"The numerical model Soheil developed in his Ph.D. thesis allowed for finding three-dimensional melt networks of any geometrical complexity for the first time," said Prodanović. "Having a three-dimensional model is key in understanding and quantifying how melt trapping works."
The effort paid off because researchers found that the geometry has a strong effect on melt connectivity. In the irregular grains, the melt channels vary in width, and the largest ones remain connected even as most of the metal drains away.
"What we did differently in here was to add the element of curiosity to see what happens when you drain the melt from the porous, ductile rock," said Ghanbarzadeh.
The researchers also compared their results to a metallic melt network preserved in an anchondrite meteorite, a type of meteorite that came from a planetary body that differentiated into discernable layers. X-ray images of the meteorite taken in the Jackson School's High-Resolution X-Ray CT Facility revealed a metal distribution that is comparable to the computed melt networks. Prodanovic said that this comparison shows that their simulation capture the features observed in the meteorite.
The study was funded by the Statoil Fellows Program at UT Austin and the National Science Foundation.
For more information, contact: Anton Caputo, Jackson School of Geosciences, 512-232-9623; Monica Kortsha, Jackson School of Geosciences, 512-471-2241


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(CNN) -- When it comes to her career, Jennifer Lopez is more like Jenny who has been around the block.
From Fly Girl on "In Living Color" to judge on "American Idol," she has taken her talent beyond the triple threat of being a dancer, singer and actress and now helms an empire that includes fragrances, a production company, lucrative endorsements and a place once again atop the charts, having sold tens of millions of records over the years.
Along the way she's managed to shed the diva label, put the failures behind her (remember Bennifer and "Gigli"?) and emerge as "The World's Most Beautiful Woman" for 2011 as named by PEOPLE magazine.
How did Lopez, 41, go from homegirl to the girl you wouldn't mind hanging out with?
It wasn't easy.
'You can't have big ups without big downs," Lopez said last year in her VH1 "Behind the Music" special.
The odds were certainly against her when she left her working-class Bronx neighborhood in the 1980s, turning her back on college to pursue a career in dance.
A gig as one of the Fly Girls dance troupe on the hit Fox sketch comedy show "In Living Color" led to the opportunity to appear as a dancer in the Janet Jackson music video "That's The Way Love Goes." Jackson was one of Lopez's personal idols.
"When I saw (the music video for) 'Pleasure Principle' it inspired me to get into this business," Lopez said. "I was a little girl and I was trying to do every move she does."
After roles on the short-lived television show "South Central" and the film "Money Train," she made cinema history in 1997 when she became the highest paid Latina actress by earning a $1 million paycheck for her critically acclaimed starring role in "Selena."
Lopez followed that with star turns opposite George Clooney in "Out of Sight" and several other movies while also launching a music career with her debut album "On the Six."
Since then she has released six more albums, including the Spanish language "Como ama una Mujer;" been the first actress and singer to have a movie and album hold the No. 1 spots in the same week ("The Wedding Planner" and "J.Lo"); become the highest paid Latina actress in Hollywood (she commanded $15 million for the 2005 film "Monster-In-Law"); and launched a clothing and fragrance line.
"I think at the very core of what it is that makes Jennifer an international global superstar is that she is talented, she's gorgeous and she is inspirational, aspirational and glamorous," her long-time manager Benny Medina told "Entertainment Tonight" in March. "She gives the world a lot of what they want to have in their lives, and at the same time she moves through the ups and the downs with the same sense of integrity that she has exuded now for 15 years."
There certainly have been some troubles, including two ill-fated marriages and legal issues after a nightclub shooting in 1999 when Lopez was present with then-boyfriend Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Lopez told The Daily Beast that in 2002, her heavy workload caused her to have a nervous breakdown while filming the movie "Enough."
"There was a time when I was very overworked and I was doing music and movies and so many things," she said. "I was suffering from a lack of sleep. And I did have a kind of nervous breakdown."
But the star suffered her most public heartbreak in 2004 after a high-profile broken engagement to actor Ben Affleck. The pair had been dubbed "Bennifer" by the press, which covered their relationship relentlessly.
Now happily married to singer Marc Anthony and the mother of twins, Lopez told Latina magazine that she has no regrets about the past and values what she has with her husband.
"Everything is great about my marriage," Lopez said. "First and foremost, we love each other, truly love each other in a way that's very deep and meaningful, not in a superficial sort of way. There's a deep respect, admiration and love for each other."
Anthony can constantly be seen in the "Idol" audience looking on proudly as his wife judges. It's a role that has helped revitalize her career and also recast her. She has gone from a star with a reputation as a diva -- whose backstage demands at concerts reportedly included a white room with white candles, white sheets, white couches, white drapes and white flowers -- to a caring and loving mentor for the "Idol" contestants.
"She looks amazing, she's the heart of the show, she's sincere," Fox reality chief Mike Darnell told USA Today. "It's clear she cares about the kids. She's just doing wonderfully. She's the most emotionally connected judge I've ever seen."
It was Lopez who broke down when she had to deliver the news to an aspiring contestant that he didn't make the show, and every week she takes to the stage to hug and console those who are eliminated, often with tears in her eyes.
Lopez's presence is also felt during commercial breaks on the top-rated show. That's when she can be seen hawking products like Gillette razors and L'Oreal makeup. She also used the show to debut her new single, "On the Floor," which debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Lopez also recently snagged an ad campaign for her and her twins as the faces of Gucci's new children's collection. TruTV recently announced that it had picked up a new reality show, "South Beach Tow," from Lopez's company Nuyorican Productions.
It would seem the singer/actress/entrepreneur is at a good place in her life as a wife, mother, artist and weekly visitor into the homes of millions of "Idol" viewers. She doesn't even mind being called a "diva" anymore.
"I kind of like it," Lopez told PEOPLE. "We've kind of owned it now. But I certainly don't like and I've never been a person who has what they call 'diva behavior,' which is something they tried to pin on me for a long time."


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Ask the MB -- T-Shirt Improvement Plan
A: You're on the right track, amigo. Besides logos we can also safely rule out graphics and legibility. Hence, you should avoid Project E, Tailgate, Rogues Gallery, Blue Marlin, Drifter, Monarchy, Morphine Generation, Kidrobot, and almost everything from Urban Outfitters.
Don't MB rules make life easy?
We've already expressed our fondness for the Calvin Klein T-shirt. It works in lots of situations, but certainly not all. Round out your collection with simple shirts from James Perse, NSF, Save Khaki, Barney's Co-Op, and our current favorite designer, John Varvatos. We highly recommend his slub cotton crewneck (top) and v-neck (bottom), a stylish twist on a basic.


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A Study of Independent Schools' Financial Development Policies and Their Practical Application as a Model for Preschool Programs, 1986
Sarah B. Cooper Memorabilia (includes obituary and memorial resolution, 1896)
GGKA Teaching School Memorabilia, 1882-1926
California School History, 1911-1964
Child Art Notes (includes articles and reports by Rhoda Kellogg), 1952-1974
Community Chest, correspondence and articles, 1927-1947
Montessori Reports, 1964-1965
Financial Statements, 1969
Hearst Preschool Learning Center, 1966
GGKA Publications, 1959-1990
Synopsis of GGKA History, 1964
Stanford Trust Information, correspondence, 1923-1990
Historical Material, 1920-1971
Newspaper Clippings, 1943-1990
Stanford Trust Background: information compiled from reports covering the years 1881-1981
Information from Rhoda Kellogg's Notes, 1967-1990
Historical Material Stanford, 1906-1974
Historical Material Stanford Trust (includes letter from Virginia Fitch to Timothy Hopkins ca. 1925)
Stanford Will [various copies of the trust deed for the Leland Stanford Jr. Kindergarten Trust], 1891-1976
Histories, 1907-1940
De Kooning Drawing, correspondence re sale of, 1971
Child Care Clippings, 1926-1979
Duplicates of First Drafts Child Art, 1951-1971
Photographs, 1878-ca. 1966
Stovall, Anna M., letters to and about, 1926 and undated
Stanford miscellany: articles, 1899-1929; letter re trust 1964; and attendance roster possibly from Stanford kindergarten, 1966
Old Notes, 1906-1942
Miscellaneous Duplicates, 1953-1985
Auxiliary minutes, clippings, 1957-1970
Rhoda Kellogg Publications, 1949-1971
Rhoda Kellogg's Research, 1953-1969
Froebel Society reports and publications, 1880-1897
Photographs, 1909-1914
History, 1915-1985
Reports, 1963-1965
Newspaper Clippings, 1927-1939
Leland Stanford Junior Kindergarten Trust, history of with copies of documents, 1917-1991
The San Francisco Foundation Annual Report, 1988
Photographs, 1941 and undated
Rhoda Kellogg, 1954-1977
Reports, 1883-1973
Signed Agreement [copies of] re Spring Valley Water Works stock assigned to GGKA, 1894
History of Kindergarten Movement in San Francisco, 1902-1949
History of Kindergarten Movement in San Francisco, clippings, 1910-1913
Miscellaneous Documents, 1940-1990


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Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan, originally an American actor and politician, became the 40th President of the United States serving from 1981 to 1989. His term saw a restoration of prosperity at home, with the goal of achieving "peace through strength" abroad.
At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, which aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore "the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism."
On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. He attended high school in nearby Dixon and then worked his way through Eureka College. There, he studied economics and sociology, played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Upon graduation, he became a radio sports announcer. A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next two decades he appeared in 53 films.
From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress, and they had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott.
As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California by a margin of a million votes; he was re-elected in 1970.
Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 and chose as his running mate former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George Bush. Voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement of Americans in Iran swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter.
On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar.
Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit.
A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and Bush win a second term with an unprecedented number of electoral votes. Their victory turned away Democratic challengers Walter F. Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro.
In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. At the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.
In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve "peace through strength." During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism, sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub.
By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf, he maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war. In keeping with the Reagan Doctrine, he gave support to anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa.
Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp.
The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from "The Presidents of the United States of America," by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association.
For more information about President Reagan, please visit
Ronald Reagan Library and Museum
Learn more about Ronald Reagan 's spouse, Nancy Davis Reagan.
Did you know?
- President Reagan designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday; today the Obama Administration honors this tradition, with the First and Second Families participating in service projects on this day.
- In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule.
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Leg 3 Victory
Overall race leaders after 3 legs
After leading the fleet virtually all the way from Abu Dhabi to Sanya in China, over more than 5,000 miles of intense ocean racing, Dongfeng finally crossed the finish line in first place as the sun rose over Sanya.
This is the first time in history a Chinese team (or any Chinese sailor) has won a leg in the Volvo Ocean Race's 41-year history. And what a leg to win supported by its Chinese partners – Dong Feng meaning wind from the east, Aeolus (Fong Shen) meaning the Wind Guardian and the City of Shiyan.
The reality is that it couldn't have been scripted better. The Chinese team with two Chinese rookie sailors onboard – Liu Xue (Black) and Cheng Ying Kit – showed unparalleled grit and determination and led the entire fleet of some of the world's best offshore sailors to their home country China. With the ambition to 'bring offshore sailing to China' nobody could have predicted the impact this team would have.
Arriving at the pontoon in Serenity Marina, Charles Caudrelier said: "It was the most stressful race of my life. We take the lead on the first day and we had to keep it because we had to arrive first here because it was very important for me and for the project, so we are so proud. One year ago we were here and we were discovering the Chinese sailors who were rookies and now they win the leg – it's just fantastic. Maybe in the first time in offshore sailing something like this has happened – in just one year these guys have become great sailors. I am so proud, this is everything I wanted but I didn't dare think about. It's a team job and you cannot win a leg without a strong team."
There were moments of panic where the chasing pack were catching up and the lead did diminish (from 106 miles to 9 miles at one point). In just under 24 days and racing more than 5,000 nautical miles, Dongfeng held their position. It's the longest time any team has led the fleet since the start of the race back in Alicante in October, which is no surprise as the determination onboard Dongfeng was almost tangible as the teams left for Sanya. Dongfeng was going to fight like hell to win this leg.
Persian Gulf, Hormuz Strait, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea/Malacca Straits and the South China Sea are just a few of the challenges the determined men of Dongfeng have had to face as they battled their way through leg 3. Dongfeng have shown exceptional capabilities and stamina on what has been one of the slowest and agonizing legs so far.
This is the ultimate triumph for a project that has the future of Chinese sailing at its core. The youngest sailor in the race at the age of 21, Liu Xue, could not contain his delight on the dockside: "I have made the best decision of my life to join this team. I have learnt so much. This leg and this moment I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life." As a very proud grandmother, who had never flown on a plane until she flew into Sanya for this arrival, stood close by to Black.
When it was agreed that Dongfeng Race Team would lay the foundations for offshore sailing in China no one could have predicted such a perfect result. With little under a year of training the Chinese sailors in the squad have impressed, even if this made Dongfeng Race Team one of the less experienced teams and, subsequently, the least favourite to win when the race started. So this is not only a victory for China but for Caudrelier and his men who have worked day and night to train their Chinese counterparts.
Charles Caudrelier wrote on day 12 of the leg: "I am watching them with admiration, we're leading this leg, we're at the top of the overall leaderboard – you can't compete with the race favourites without a great team. And to build a great team, you need great players. Thinking about the journey of the Chinese sailors since February 2014, Black didn't speak a word of English and had never spent a night at sea. But from the first day he really impressed us – then he quit straight away after his first offshore sailing, beaten by the brutality of the bad weather – and then a few months later he returned. To start your offshore sailing career with a Volvo Ocean Race is brutal. This afternoon I was watching him trim the sails and I realised that he's learnt thousands of details in a very short period of time. It's the same for Kit who is realising his life's dream onboard right now, his first offshore race. This evening he gave me a Chinese lesson, and it reinforced the enormity of the challenge they [the Chinese sailors] are taking on, learning in 6 months to sail and to work in a previously unknown language. I am proud of them."
The Vice President of the International Sailing Federation and China Yachting Association, Mr. Li Quanhai congratulated to Dongfeng Race Team on their victory and stated: "Dongfeng Race Team has made history. It is the best result for a Chinese team in the world of offshore sailing."
Dongfeng Race Team has delivered an outstanding result on this leg and is going to enjoy the moment! However, even though this victory has put Dongfeng at the top of the overall leaderboard, this is only leg 3 of 9 and we can only be as good as our NEXT result.


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The 17th Surgeon General of the United States and President of Canyon Ranch Institute Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, today joined the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) advisory committee on rare childhood disorders.
Dr. Carmona's role on the National Advisory Committee for TGen's Center for Rare Childhood Disorders (the Center) will be to help incorporate genomic technologies into the standard of care.
The Center uses rapid genomic tests to discover the genetic source of childhood ailments. Many of these rare disorders have no name, and often are just a collection of symptoms with no apparent cause.
Dr. Carmona is the keynote speaker today (Oct. 15) as TGen celebrates the opening of its clinic for the Center at 3330 N. 2nd Street, Suite 402, Phoenix, Ariz.
"Modern scientific advances are uncovering the nature and causes of disease like no other point in history," said Dr. Carmona. "I am honored to be invited to help guide TGen's development of this unique Center — focused on children — that uses the latest DNA technology to understand and diagnose rare disorders at the molecular level and to develop treatments for patients who previously had few, if any, options for care.
"Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of studying and applying genetic advances to improve the lives of my patients, and as Surgeon General of the United States, my team and I developed the successful 'Surgeon General's Family History Initiative' with colleagues throughout the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help more people connect the concept of family health history and genetics to their own lives."
The Center's National Advisory Committee (NAC) is a core group of advisors and supporters with a passion for helping children and families affected by rare and neglected pediatric diseases and disorders.
Dr. Carmona will serve on the NAC's Scientific-Medical Advisory Sub-Committee, which focuses on helping geneticists and health care professionals to collaborate in order to incorporate genomic technologies into the standard of care.
"Dr. Carmona brings to TGen a wealth of experience, forged through first-hand treatment of patients and by driving innovative public health programming at the individual, national, and global levels," said NAC Co-Chair David Harbour.
"We welcome Dr. Carmona as an internationally recognized physician and health policy expert, whose knowledge and experience will help the Center bring hope and answers to our young patients and their families," said NAC Co-Chair Jacquie Dorrance.
Born to a poor Hispanic family in New York City, Dr. Carmona experienced homelessness, hunger, and health disparities during his youth. The experiences greatly sensitized him to the relationships among culture, health, education and economic status and shaped his future.
After dropping out of high school, Dr. Carmona enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. While serving, he earned his General Equivalency Diploma and went on to become a combat-decorated Special Forces Vietnam veteran. After leaving active duty, he attended Bronx Community College of the City University of New York through an open enrollment program for veterans. He received an associate of arts degree. He then attended the University of California, San Francisco, where he received a bachelor of science degree (1977) and medical degree (1979). At the University of California Medical School, Dr. Carmona was awarded the prestigious gold-headed cane as the top graduate.
Trained in general and vascular surgery, Dr. Carmona also completed a National Institutes of Health-sponsored fellowship in trauma, burns, and critical care. A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Carmona was recruited jointly by the Tucson Medical Center and the University of Arizona to start and direct Southern Arizona's first regional trauma care system. Dr. Carmona would later become chairman of the State of Arizona Southern Regional Emergency Medical System, a professor of surgery, public health, and family and community medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Pima County Sheriff's Department Surgeon.
In 2002, Dr. Carmona was nominated by the president and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become the nation's 17th Surgeon General. Dr. Carmona was selected because of his extensive experience in public health, clinical sciences, health care management, preparedness, and his commitment to prevention as an effective means to improve public health and reduce health care costs while improving the quality and quantity of life.
As Surgeon General, Dr. Carmona focused on prevention, preparedness, health disparities, health literacy, and global health to include health diplomacy. He also issued many landmark Surgeon General communications during his tenure, including the definitive Surgeon General's Report about the dangers of second-hand smoke.
Dr. Carmona has published extensively and received numerous awards, decorations, and local and national recognitions for his achievements. A strong supporter of community service, he has served on community and national boards and provided leadership to many diverse organizations.
In 2006, Dr. Carmona became Vice Chairman of Tucson-based Canyon Ranch, a leader in the health and wellness field and President of Canyon Ranch Institute, a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity dedicated to catalyzing the possibility of optimal health for all people by translating the best practices of Canyon Ranch and its partners to help educate, inspire, and empower every person to prevent disease and embrace a life of wellness.
Dr. Carmona is also the first Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the first Dean's Distinguished Professor of Health Promotion and Entrepreneurship at The Ohio State University College of Nursing.


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TUESDAY, Nov. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- For children, masks don't mask the emotions of others, a new study shows.
It included nearly 300 children, ages 3-6, who were shown 90 pictures featuring actors who expressed joy, sadness or anger. In half of the pictures, the actors wore face masks.
In most cases, the children correctly identified the actors' emotions whether they were wearing a mask or not, according to the study published Nov. 15 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
Overall rates of successfully reading emotions were more than 67% when the actors wore masks and more than 70% when they didn't wear masks. Older children had higher success rates. About a quarter of preschoolers had greater difficulty distinguishing sadness from anger and about 21% sometimes confused joy for anger or sadness.
"Actual face masks depicted in static pictures were significantly associated with emotion recognition in healthy preschool children, although differences were small and effect sizes were weak," the researchers from University Hospital Lausanne in Switzerland wrote.
The findings challenge concerns raised by some that the use of face masks in schools may harm younger children's development.
"Even with masks being worn, little kids can probably still make reasonable inferences about other people's emotions," Ashley Ruba, a developmental psychology expert in the Child Emotion Lab at University of Wisconsin-Madison who has made similar findings during the pandemic, told CNN.
"I like to point out that the face isn't the most important way we communicate our emotions, it is only one way. We also use tone of voice, we have body posture, we have other kinds of contextual clues that kids and adults can use to figure out how people are feeling," Ruba said.
More information
Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on masks.
SOURCE: JAMA Network Open, Nov. 15, 2021; CNN


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First drafts of Middlebury town offices, rec center are floated
MIDDLEBURY — A Middlebury committee that is planning for a new municipal building and recreation center got its first look last week at some conceptual designs of how those structures might be massed.
It was on Oct. 1 that the Town Offices and Recreation Center Steering Committee got a chance to review the preliminary building sketches, prepared by Bread Loaf Corp. Current plans call for the new town offices to be built in place of the current Osborne House at 77 Main St., while the recreation center would be erected on school lands off Mary Hogan Drive.
Both plans have already generated their share of support and criticism. The current town offices and municipal gym are located at the intersection of South Main and College streets. Middlebury College has offered $5.5 million in assistance to help further the two building projects, in exchange for the current town offices/gym site. The town would clear the site, which the college would then turn into a park.
Some local residents have opposed relocating the town offices and gym, arguing that they should be rebuilt at the current site. Others have given high marks to the plans and the prospect of receiving assistance from the college. The Middlebury selectboard hopes to put a proposal before the voters sometime this December.
In the meantime, Bread Loaf will work with local officials to design building plans to meet the community's needs. Chris Huston, architecture operations manager for Bread Loaf, shared some of the latest draft plans:
Bread Loaf last week presented two conceptual designs of how a building could be sited at the Osborne House site. Both plans, according to Huston, reflect two-story buildings, each at 9,500 square feet, with no basement.
One of the plans shows an elbow-shaped municipal building that fronts the Main Street roundabout, hugging the contours of the Main Street-Cross Street intersection. There is a clear separation (and potential shared courtyard) between the new building and the neighboring Ilsley Library, with an allowance for some green space and landscaping behind the structure, which faces a parking area. The first floor would feature a lobby and community meeting rooms and public restrooms, with a second floor devoted to offices.
The second plan depicts an "L"-shaped building set back from the Main Street rotary. A plaza is featured in the crook of the "L," a place where people could congregate before entering a one-story lobby. The plan shows access to the Ilsley Library from the rear of the town offices building, through what could become a covered walkway.
Both building plans, Huston stressed, are oriented in a way to maximize exposure to the sun. The plans also provide some on-site parking, but anticipate people will use other nearby spots — particularly at the current municipal building site.
"All of the parking at the existing municipal building site would remain public parking," Huston noted.
"The town will be assigning spaces and monitoring them."
People who listened to the town offices plans at the steering committee's Oct. 1 meeting commented that it would perhaps be better to connect the new building with the library at the second or third floor level; that the library's future space needs are not being adequately addressed; and that the proposal should be fielded by voters next year, instead of this December.
Bread Loaf last week unveiled five possible siting options for a new recreation center near the Mary Hogan Elementary School campus. Huston noted the steering committee overwhelmingly took a shining to "option five," which keeps the current playing fields intact.
It's a plan that features, among other things:
• An 11,400-square-foot, one-story building dominated by a large gymnasium. The facility would be located just west of the municipal tennis courts and would be visible from Court Street, according to Huston.
• A separate drop-off circle, so as not to encourage drop-offs at the nearby, already busy Mary Hogan School.
• Designated areas for the Middlebury Parks and Recreation Department offices; storage; multi-purpose room (that could accommodate the Russ Sholes Senior Center); changing rooms and restrooms; and a "quiet studio" space for yoga, martial arts and other activities.
Huston stressed the gym would be used for basketball, as well as other activities.
"We are essentially replicating the program that now exists (at the municipal gum) and bringing it over to this new site," Huston said.
Option five also includes:
• An Addison Central Teens (ACT) center that would be relocated to the current warming hut facility near the Memorial Sports Center.
• The possibility for inclusion of a turf playing field.
• An eventual "phase II" project focusing on a new parking scheme for the Mary Hogan School that would create blocks of horizontal spots — instead of the current diagonal spots — that organizers believe could reduce the risk of fender-benders with traffic flowing through the lot. The new scheme also depicts a separate parents' drop-off for children, distinct from the school bus drop-off, Huston noted.
People who viewed the recreation center plans at the steering committee's Oct. 1 meeting shared a variety of comments and concerns, including skepticism that the senior center should be sited in a multi-purpose room; that the proposed reconfiguring of the Mary Hogan School lot should occur in concert with the building project and not as a second phase; and that the warming hut might not be large enough to host the teen center.
These plans are slated to be discussed in further detail at a progress meeting on Thursday, Oct. 17.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].
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The Alien Con 2016 is the newest science fiction convention to come to Silicon Valley at the Santa Clare Convention Center on October 28-30, 2016. My goals for this particular con was to talk to Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica/Longmire), get the autographs of Katee Sackhoff, Jewel Staite (Firefly), and Marta Kristin (Lost In Space), and attend the Godzilla panels with the suit actors from 1954, 1985 and 2000 movies. Things didn't quite work out that way because Alien Con wasn't a regular science fiction convention. I was lucky to escape when I did.
Although I had a three-day pass for the weekend, I attended only Saturday. The programming for Friday wasn't enough to overcome the fatigue of attending after work from my technical job (I did swing by to pick up the badges for my friend and I) and Sundry wasn't enough to overcome the fatigue of being on my feet for seven hours on Saturday. Except for the Star Trek Las Vegas Con, most cons don't have enough content to keep me preoccupied for the entire event.
Autograph Tickets
The first order of business was to pick up the autograph tickets that I've ordered through GrowTix (they also handled the ticketing for Silicon Valley Comic Con earlier this year). I originally had Angela Cartwright (Lost In Space) on my autograph list, but I got an email and a partial refund from GrowTix on Friday night that she cancelled her appearance. Except that she didn't. She was at the autograph tables when I arrived.
A volunteer at the autograph ticket booth informed me that her autograph was available for cash only. Since she was charging a higher price than the autograph ticket I previously bought, I scratched her name off the autograph list.
The automatic partial refund also invalidated the QR code for my autograph tickets that I loaded into my iPhone Wallet. A volunteer called over a GrowTix representative, who, after I provided my email address, generated a new QR code for scanning and I got my autograph tickets.
Panels (Or Lack Thereof)
My friend and I went over to where the Battlestar Galactica and Godzilla panels were being held inside the Hyatt Regency hotel next door to the convention center. None of the volunteers knew exactly where the Magnolia and Napa rooms were and kept telling us to go up the escalator to where panels were being held but not the ones that we wanted. After we circled back and forth between the hotel (up escalator) and convention center (down escalator), we figured out that we needed to go underneath the escalator to find the Magnolia room.
We waited in a line for a half-hour until a volunteer announced that the Battlestar Galactica panel room would accept no more people. Since we found the Magnolia room, we went looking for the Napa room to get in line for the first of three Godzilla panels. With the narrow hallway crowded with people waiting in lines for different panels, we couldn't find the Napa room. We did found ourselves at the side door to the Magnolia room, where volunteers ushered us and others into the two back rows of empty seats.
Since Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama) cancelled his appearance ("abducted" according to the Alien Con website), Katee Sackoff had the stage to herself. She told stories about her time on Battlestar Galactica and her guest appearances on The Big Bang Theory. When someone asked a question about the current season of Longmire, she left everyone in suspense by telling them to wait until next Tuesday for the new episode.
After that panel was over, we found the Napa room with the doors closed and a volunteer announcing that the Godzilla panels were cancelled as a translator wasn't available. A different translator was available for the "Grilling with The Godzillas" dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant that night and a Godzilla panel for Sunday morning.
My friend paid $199 to go to the Godzilla dinner, which became a gathering of hardcore fans. One person flew in from New York City, others drove up from Los Angeles and down from Seattle. Those Japanese suit actors really know how to party, as the scheduled two-hour dinner lasted four hours.
The Exhibit Hall
Alien Con had an exhibit hall at the far end of the convention center — and that's where things got very strange indeed.
While walking all the way over to the exhibit hall, I've noticed several smaller technology conventions taking place that each occupied a large room. Like several of exhibitors at Alien Con, the focus was on Virtual Reality (VR) technology. With an abundance of Chinese attendees and Chinese characters on the display signs, it was impossible to tell what aspect of VR technology was the focus. When I inquired at each one, I was respectfully but firmly turned away from company events being held for the employees.
The first thing you see when walking into the exhibit hall is a massive foam replica of the Psychlo alien ship from "Battlefield: Earth" by L. Ron Hubbard dominating the floor, someone playing a Psychlo alien that looked like a short ape in a space suit on elevator boots (the Psychlos are 12-feet tall and weigh 1,000 pounds), and two tables with L. Ron Hubbard books for sale. Considering that L. Ron Hubbard has been dead for 30 years, I found it surprising to find a booth dedicated to his work.
Coincidentally, I started reading "Battlefield: Earth" before the convention since Amazon had the ebook on sale for $1.99 USD. The book itself was surprisingly good. This got me interested in reading the "Mission Earth" ten-volume series. I've read the first three books when first published as hardbacks in the 1980's but lost interest in collecting the rest of the series. With Amazon offering each ebook for $5.39 USD, I'm reading the entire series from beginning to end.
A quick stroll around the exhibit hall didn't reveal much of interest. Among the usual vendors that sold the same comics, posters and Funko POP dolls at every con in Silicon Valley, I came across a book booth that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that alien abductions were absolutely true. That should have tipped me off that I was entering the Twilight Zone.
The Alien Conspiracy Panel
Before entering the exhibit hall, I noticed a long line next to the doorway that wasn't moving. As I got finished looking around, I've noticed that a portable stage went up and someone setting up table, chairs and microphones. I went over to stand with about 30 people. A moment later, a thousand people from outside filled the space between the stage and the L. Ron Hubbard spaceship. This was an angry crowd that was verbally demanding their money back, screaming "Bullshit!" at the top of their lungs, and threatening to murder the guy setting up the stage. This felt like a Trump rally that was ready to explode in violence.
For a very intense 30 minutes, I listened to crowd around me.
Most have stood in line for four hours to attend an alien conspiracy panel originally scheduled in a small room inside the hotel. Unlike the line for the Battlestar Galactica panel, these people weren't willing to find something else to attend. Hence, the angry line and panel got relocated to the exhibit hall.
One women described in great detail about how aliens abducted her from a family farm in Ohio and aborted her unborn baby when she was a teenager. Someone else mentioned that the "believers" attending the panel were angry old white people, possibly dying from various radiation-induced cancers, and that the next generation won't continue on with the "work" that they spent decades pursuing. The guy making Trump jokes soon found himself surrounded by several men telling him to shut up or else.
A woman and a man stepped up on the stage. The audience started clapping and cheering, surging forward and pushing me closer to the stage. The women breathlessly announced her credentials as a university professor in the paranormal and extraterrestrial phenomena since the 1970's, that she interviewed thousands of people who got abducted by UFOs, and how Wikileaks will finally reveal the government's program to cover up the existence of UFO's.
At that moment, I felt an urgent need to leave. When I saw a man walking past me and forcing his way back through the angry crowd behind me, I stepped into his wake to follow him. Soon several others were following us. We went our separate ways behind the L. Ron Hubbard spaceship. I circled back through the vendor booths to exit a side door and escape to freedom.
The Autographs
After that bit of excitement at the exhibit hall, I've decided to get my autographs done and get out before the police in riot gear breaks up the weird and pissed off alien conspiracy crowd.
While I was waiting for Katee Sackhoff to autograph a Longmire picture, I asked a her question that's been bothering me as a fiction writer: "What's the fundamental character differences between Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace (Battlestar Galactica) and Vic Moretti (Longmire)?"
These two characters are both strong women who wear uniforms, carry guns and kick ass. In my mind, they were the same character. As a writer who occasionally write short stories with female protagonists, I couldn't accept that and felt like I was missing something obvious.
Katee told me that she played the characters quite differently from each other: "Starbuck takes everything seriously. Vic is more sarcastic about life and doesn't take things as seriously."
That's something to think about.


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Jimi Hendrix became a legend for his guitar licks. But 38 years after his death, could he become equally known for his, er, licks? Vivid Entertainment, a large maker of pornographic DVDs, apparently thinks so -- this week they're releasing a disc called Jimi Hendrix The Sex Tape, and Hendrix's estate is crying foul.
Regarding the 11 minutes of silent footage that is the centerpiece of the two-DVD set, reportedly shot in a hotel room about 40 years go and featuring a man who appears to be Hendrix engaged in various sexual acts with two women, Experience Hendrix, which controls the rights to the late guitarist's music and likeness, has questioned the authenticity of the tape. In an official statement they said, "We strongly dispute the claimed authenticity and affirmatively state that Experience Hendrix is neither involved in, nor have we authorized the distribution of this film." Experience Hendrix went on to call distribution of the tape a "callous attempt to trade on the image and reputation of a deceased artist who is unable to defend himself against such an outrageous and baseless assertion. We are highly offended by the disgraceful portrayal."
In response, Vivid Entertainment co-chairman Steven Hirsch called Experience Hendrix's statement "not in any way a refutation of the authenticity of Jimi Hendrix The Sex Tape. Vivid took considerable time and spent a substantial sum of money to authenticate the footage and we are very comfortable that this is the real thing."
Charles R. Cross, author of the Hendrix biography Room Full of Mirrors, previously said he had seen the film and doubted the man is Hendrix. Cross said the face and nostrils of the man depicted in the video don't match the guitarist, and the man in the tape is wearing more rings that Hendrix was known to wear. "You could look at it for 30 seconds. You could look at it for an hour. You could look at for 11 minutes. It's either him or it's not him. In my opinion, it's not him."
Two people who do think the man in the tape is Jimi Hendrix also took part in lending their commentaries to the DVD: Pamela Des Barres, author of I'm With The Band: Confessions Of A Groupie, and Cynthia Albritton, better known as Cynthia Plaster Caster. Ms. Albritton is known for doing plaster casts of the genitals of rock stars, including Hendrix in 1968. "I'm 100 percent sure it's him," said Ms. Albritton. "The facial bone structure is the same. The eyebrows and the mustache are true to the style he was wearing in 1970."
But Kathy Etchingham, one of Hendrix's steady girlfriends during the '60s, threw water on the claims. "It is not him," she said. "His face is too broad and nose and nostrils too wide for Jimi. Also the hair is too low on the forehead. He would never have allowed anyone to see that. In private he was very shy and would cover up."
Where does MusicRadar stand on this matter? In our carefully considered opinion, we think the whole thing looks like another Volker Spielberg production.


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Bernie Kosar did a radio interview with WKNR in Cleveland on Wednesday that went viral because of the way he sounded while on the air.
Kosar was incoherent during the interview, which ended abruptly when the hosts of the show appeared to cut it off because of how Kosar sounded on the air. People have opined that Kosar sounded like he was intoxicated or medicated while on the air and brought up his previous discussions about the toll concussions suffered during his career have taken, two notions Kosar dismissed on Thursday.
Kosar spoke to Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and said he was surprised that the interview generated so much reaction, although he understands why people were concerned. He said he did the interview while riding in a car with his daughter and that he wasn't under the influence of drugs, alcohol or medication while it was going on. He also said he was caught off guard by a question regarding his appearance on a new reality show about the Browns airing on the Travel Channel and became emotional while talking about the experience, which featured Kosar on the field at Browns stadium with the family of an Ohio-born soldier who died in Iraq.
Let's hope that's all it was and that Kosar's next radio interview is a less troubling one.


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Ken Livingstone's approach to public transport in London changed my life.
I was 11 when I went to Disney World: A compulsory right-of-passage for every disabled child in the developed world. It was the first time I'd ever left the UK, so to say I was excited would be an understatement.
On our first morning there we took a cab from the hotel to the theme park. In the pickup/drop off zone, before entering the gates of Disney World itself, I saw the most incredible thing I'd ever seen in my life thus far: a wheelchair accessible bus.
I had never travelled by bus. I'd never seen such a thing as an accessible bus. It hadn't even occurred to me that they might exist. The fact that mobility impaired people could use public transport in Orlando genuinely rocked my world. Of all the delights that Disney has to offer a child; nothing made me scream "Mum! Dad! Nan! Look at that!" quite as loudly as that bus. It was just a bus; such a mundane mode of transport to the majority of people. But to me it represented such freedom and inclusion that I couldn't quite believe my eyes.
I lived in a miserable little Essex village at the time. About once a day you could get a bus to the nearest small town and I think you could occasionally get a bus to Cambridge. When I say "you could"; that obviously didn't include me. The village did have a train station, but unsurprisingly that wasn't wheelchair accessible.
I was trapped in a village where I had no friends. The local high school was (surprise surprise) not wheelchair accessible so I had to be taxied to a school near Cambridge. This meant all my friends lived about 20 miles from me. Like every 11-year-old I wanted to go shopping on Saturdays with my peers; I never could. This was why catching sight of an accessible bus meant everything to me. It held the optimism of a world that I could be a part of.
It was 10 whole years later that I travelled by bus for the first time; and that was in America too.
The summer before going to university I decided to spend a month backpacking around the US. My first port of call was Los Angeles and on my first day I caught the 156 from North Hollywood down to Santa Monica Boulevard where I changed onto the four down to the beachfront in Santa Monica. So momentous it was that I'll probably remember the numbers of those buses well into old age; long after I've become unable to recall my own name.
Now I travel by bus all the time I'd recognise that journey for what it is: Slow, boring, hot, and full of people that smell terrible. But at the time in August 2000 I felt so free and included. I think you probably need to have been excluded from bus travel for 21 years to realise how liberating it is to be able to catch one for the first time.
A month later I moved to London (well, Uxbridge, but it's within Greater London) to go to university. The U3 and U4 routes going from the Brunel campus to Uxbridge town centre were accessible, but that was it. I couldn't get the 207 to Ealing or the 607 to Shepherd's Bush. Of course, being able to travel by bus was still so new to me that I was bloomin' grateful for the couple of routes I could use.
The picture was far worse in central London. When I first moved to inside the M25 there were no accessible buses in the centre of town, the majority of routes around the West End were those nightmare Routemasters. During the day, anyway: Most companies put accessible buses on their night bus routes and it always struck me as slightly bizarre that London transport was only properly accessible between midnight and 5am; like disabled people are the new vampires.
Thanks to the Mayor at the time - Livingstone - inaccessible buses were gradually phased out over the next five years. London waved farewell to its last inaccessible buses, the Routemasters running on route 159, in December 2005. In 2012 inaccessible buses still make up the majority of bus company stock around the country. Every time I venture out of the confines of London I find myself grateful to Ken for London's 100% accessible bus network.
Sadly since he was replaced by BoJo in 2008 we've seen London's most accessible vehicles - the Bendy Buses - taken off the road. Many prefer double deckers for taking up less road space, but London's wheelchair users miss those Mercedes Citaros dearly. Even with the fact that on the early models the wheelchair ramp would jam if the driver tried retracting it while the bus was still 'kneeling'. I was once the reason for the breaking-down of three consecutive 453s outside Old Kent Road Tesco's...
I was also 21 the first time I travelled on the tube. Most non-disabled people probably think it sounds bizarre to be having all these public transport-related firsts in your twenties. Just like the buses; I also got my first taste of travelling on underground trains in Los Angeles. Unlike our tube the Red Line there is fully accessible. Even if a little scary because I'd seen Volcano and I kept expecting the train to fill with lava.
Ken may have abolished the inaccessible bus, but despite his good work the majority of tube stations remain inaccessible. Oh to live in LA. And not just for the weather.
In 2006 Livingstone's administration promised that one third of London's tube stations would be accessible by 2013. You can't begin to imagine how much this thrilled me. At the time my nearest accessible tube stations were Westminster, Waterloo or Caledonian Road. All a bus ride from where I'd set up home in Camden. So I never used the tube. The prospect of being able to use one in every three tube stations meant I could get to most places in London by getting the tube to a station or two away from my destination and pushing in my wheelchair the rest of the way. I could make it across London in almost the same time frame as someone without a mobility impairment whereas it takes two to three times as long to make a parallel journey by bus.
Livingstone didn't retain his seat in 2008 though. Johnson quietly cancelled access upgradesthrowing away £20 million of taxpayer's money in the process. What you can't really put a figure on is all the disabled people who can't move freely around the city: How many people can't go for jobs because the return journey to work would be in excess of four hours by bus when it's a 1.5 hour return journey for a non-disabled person by tube? How much tourism revenue does London lose out on because there are no accessible stations in the West End? What about the emotional and social costs for people who are isolated in the suburbs?
If anyone's thinking of commenting with "but he had to cancel the upgrades! We ran out of money!" You can save your little fingers the trouble: Johnson managed to find the cash to fund his pet projects. He spent £1.4m per vehicle on the new Routemasters. A standard double decker is £190,000. It wasn't that he couldn't afford the upgrades on the tube; he just doesn't care about access.
I am completely opposed to the cuts to benefits and public services. Most people of a similar inclination to me are also opposed to the Olympics and feel it's unacceptable for the taxpayer to be spending billions on a fortnight long party when disabled people are being told that they're no longer allowed to use the toilet in the night.
I don't want anything to do with the games. I'm planning on spending a fortnight barricaded in my flat with a stockpile of food and DVD box sets. But I will never begrudge the games coming to town because the only tube access upgrades Johnson didn't cancel were the ones essential to the Olympic strategy. The games leave behind a legacy of improved access to the tube and I will forever be grateful for that.
Transport for All published this table assessing the accessible transport plans of the four leading Mayoral candidates. Great progress towards a fully inclusive transport network was made under Livingstone; we then saw regression under Johnson. If we want to start progressing again, we need Johnson out of office. He doesn't propose to meet a single one of Transport for All's targets.
This isn't just an issue for those who are currently disabled. Around one in five people have some kind of impairment. The figures are skewed by age as the majority of older people have some kind of age-related condition. If you want the tube to be fully accessible by the time your mobility begins declining then you need to vote for improved access to the tube now. Even if you're convinced that you're so healthy that you will still be running marathons when you're 101; there's a good chance that at some point in your life you'll break your ankle playing football and be on crutches for six weeks. Just bear that probability in mind if you're thinking of voting Johnson because "he's a right laugh!"
I can't stand the Labour party in its current state. They're the ones who kick-started the horrific welfare reform by introducing Employment and Support Allowance in 2008. I have no confidence in the current Labour party leadership: I wouldn't trust Ed Miliband to run a proverbial in a brewery, never mind a country. Labour have moved too far to the right for my liking, though sadly I have to concede that out of all the main parties; they are the lesser of three evils. If a general election were called tomorrow I'd vote Green without hesitation.
It saddens me that Ken rejoined Labour after serving his first term as London Mayor as an independent candidate. I would feel much happier putting my mark next to his name if he weren't affiliated with a party I have no love for.
But put my mark next to his name I shall. Like I said at the start: His transport policies changed my life. At least now my second nearest tube station is accessible, even if the closest one to my home isn't.


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US asks top court not to take case on NSA cyber-snooping
President Barack Obama's administration is urging the Supreme Court not to take up the first case it has received on controversial National Security Agency cybersnooping.
US government attorneys argue that the Supreme Court does not have the jurisdiction to take the case, filed in July by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
EPIC believes the NSA overstepped its authority by carrying out broad communications monitoring and surveillance worldwide, and demanded the program be stopped.
A US Supreme Court decision to take the case would be "a drastic and extraordinary remedy that is reserved for really extraordinary causes," argued Donald Verrilli, an administration lawyer, in a statement released late Tuesday.
The US administration also believes the EIPC suit cannot move forward because it argues the court lacks authority under the 2001 Patriot Act to weigh in on the legality of NSA activities.
"This court lacks jurisdiction to issue a writ of certiorari to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court," the secret intelligence affairs court, Verrilli added.
In mid-August President Barack Obama pledged to overhaul US spy programs amid a debate sparked by the leaks of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, which revealed vast telephone and Internet surveillance programs.
Obama promised a new era in intelligence with more supervision, transparency and safeguards in the NSA's collection of electronic information.
His administration has however maintained a hard line against the leaking of such information, and is seeking to prosecute Snowden on espionage charges.
After the disclosures Snowden fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia, where he has been granted one year's temporary asylum despite Washington's demands that he be returned.
The National Security Agency is gathering email and instant messenger contact lists from hundreds of millions of ordinary citizens worldwide, many of them Americans, The Washington Post reported late Monday.
The US agency's data collection program harvests the data from address books and "buddy lists," the newspaper said, citing senior intelligence officials and top secret documents provided by the fugitive NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
During a single day last year, the NSA's Special Source Operations branch collected 444,743 e-mail address books from Yahoo, 105,068 from Hotmail, 82,857 from Facebook, 33,697 from Gmail and 22,881 from unspecified other providers, the Post said, according to an internal NSA PowerPoint presentation.
The figures, described as a typical daily intake of the document, correspond to a rate of more than 250 million a year, according to the report, which was published on the newspaper's website.
The NSA declined to confirm the specific allegations in the Post report but defended its surveillance activities as legal and respectful of privacy rights.


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CHICAGO (AP) - Strains of classical music echoed - not inside a concert hall, but in a bleak Chicago jail where teenage boys await trial on charges ranging from drug dealing to murder.
The concert was part of a unique outreach that's the brainchild of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's musical director, the Italian-born Riccardo Muti, who attended the event at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.
The concert included half a dozen of the orchestra's members. But the center-stage performers were some 10 inmates who participated in a weeklong musical workshop. It culminated in the Sunday concert featuring compositions the inmates wrote in collaboration with the professionals.
"This is a wonderful beginning for you and for us," Mr Muti, 71, told the group after the 45-minute performance ended. "You will join society with the sense of harmony you learned here." One composition began with a double bass playing a Bach cello suite.
It changed direction jarringly a minute later as the teen inmates joined in rapping. One sang about his legal plight: "I hope the judge says I served my time. ... I'm praying God gets me out of this jam." Some of the boys' parents sat in the audience, several with tears in their eyes.
When one of the organisers announced the inmates and their families will receive CD recordings of the concert, one mother buried her head in her hands.
"Oh my God, this is so special," she said aloud.
The goal of the outreach, which has included other jail visits, is to impart a wider appreciation for music and to inspire at-risk youth. It seemed to work for at least some of the teens.
"I learned more about classical music," a teen named Ricky told reporters after the concert. He was identified only by his first name because he is a juvenile charged with a crime. "I'd heard of Beethoven and Bach. I liked it." Some of the teens taking part showed less outward enthusiasm as they performed.
But love or hate the music, the experience had to have been a welcome change of pace from both the tedium and anxiety of a regimented existence inside the institution.
The centre's 2012 annual report noted that, almost daily, someone either talks about killing himself or tries. The center holds around 250 inmates, a few of whom aren't yet teens.
The Naples-born Muti has taken his act into prison before.
He once performed Robert Schumann's "Warum?" - which means "why" in German - in a Milan prison. The work, he explained later, was his way of asking inmates what had brought them to such misfortune.
Mr Muti spoke philosophically to the detainees in Chicago after the concert and just before a dozen burly guards escorted the inmates-turned-musicians back to their holding cells.
"We will meet again in the future," he said. He quickly added, "Not here! But on the outside."


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The following streets are included in this year's program: Acorn Hill Court, Burning Tree Court, Canterbury Lane, Lillian Lane, Nottingham Court, Pine Tree Court, Pleasant Hill Lane, Schwartz Avenue, Southport Avenue, Twin Oaks Lane, White Birch Drive, White Oak Lane. To view a map of this year program, please click here.
Each year, the Village prepares contract documents (plans and specifications) for the annual Street Rehabilitation Program. The scope of the proposed improvements typically include roadway grinding and resurfacing, concrete curb repair, and some ancillary curb and sidewalk removal/replacements at crossings to comply with ADA requirements.
Street selected are based upon an evaluation of factors such as the age of asphalt surface and a visual inspection of the asphalt condition and results of the Village's 2021 Pavement Management Report.
The Village's resident engineer from Engineering Enterprises, Inc. will be on site daily throughout the construction period. Questions regarding the 2022 Annual Road Rehabilitation Program can be directed to Adam Hall, Assistant Public Works Director at firstname.lastname@example.com or 630-271-4172.
Residents can sign up for email and text message notifications via NotifyMe by selecting the "Road Program" distribution list.
The Driveway Curb Replacement Program is offered to residents who have an interest in obtaining a smooth transition from the roadway to the driveway on the street being rehabbed during the 2022 Street Rehabilitation Program. This program is available to residents on streets that have curb and gutter only. The Village is offering an opportunity for these residents to cost share with the Village to obtain new curbing at the same time that road construction is being undertaken. This cost covers approximately ½ the cost for the contractor's work and materials required to remove/replace the curb, gutter and a portion of the driveway to smooth the transition between the roadway and your driveway. Residents who wish to participate in the program are instructed to complete an application form and submit payment. Application forms are available here. No work will occur without a submitted payment.
Streets will remain open to traffic. There may be minor delays in accessing certain segments of the street depending on the construction activity in progress.
The contractor is instructed to provide driveway access as often as possible during work operations, with full access by the end of each work day. However, some exceptions will occur. When concrete curb or sidewalk is removed and replaced adjacent to your driveway, driveway access may be temporarily restricted for up to seven days or more while work occurs and the concrete cures. The contractor will deliver a notice, 24 hours in advance, to homeowners whose driveway will be affected. Residents are instructed to park on the street during this period. The Police Department will be notified of streets under construction and will not issue overnight parking tickets during the duration of the project.
Parking on the street during construction hours from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday is prohibited during the project. If your driveway is inaccessible, arrangements have been made to allow overnight parking on your street and neighboring streets. The Police Department will be notified of streets under construction and will not issue overnight parking tickets during the duration of the project. If a parking ticket is inadvertently received, please contact the Police Department.
Driveways will need to be patched after the completion of concrete work that occurs in locations where curb or sidewalk is replaced adjacent to a driveway. The patch will be made as neatly as possible. After the repair, there will be a visible line that separates the newly installed patch with the existing driveway. Sealcoating after the repair has been made can help minimize the difference of appearance between the two surfaces.
Concrete driveways are not typically damaged when sidewalk or curb removal is performed, but if damage occurs, please contact the Village.
As with any resurfacing project, before the placement of the asphalt surface, the contractor will spray a "tacky" oil based substance called tack coat. Prior to tack coat being applied, "Fresh Oil" signs will be placed immediately outside of the area where the work is to take place. Drivers are encouraged to proceed slowly at any time there appears to be fresh oil on the roadway as it will stick to vehicles and clothing.
Grass areas impacted by the removal and replacement of concrete will be restored by the contractor.
Garbage and recycling collection will occur during the project. Please have garbage, recyclables and yard waste out at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on your scheduled pick-up day. Lakeshore Recycling Systems may send a truck through before construction begins for the day.
Private utilities may include, but are not limited to: lawn sprinkler systems, electric dog fence wires, sump pump discharges, underground wiring for decorative lighting, etc. It is the homeowner's responsibility to have private utilities marked appropriately within the public right-of-way, which begins at the edge of your private property, and is generally the region between the sidewalk and the street. The Village and the Contractor are not responsible to pay for, or make repairs, to any private utility that is damaged within the right-of-way during construction, whether or not it is marked by the homeowner. Similarly, the Village and the Contractor are not responsible for any private landscaping located within the right-of-way that is damaged during construction. If there are excavations within the parkway area, the Contractor's restoration will be limited to the installation of topsoil and sod.


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Military IT's Future Stresses Cloud, Mobile
Military's IT agency has released a plan for Department of Defense's belt-tightening and shifting strategies during the next five years.
September 5, 2012
Top 14 Government Social Media Initiatives
Top 14 Government Social Media Initiatives (click image for larger view and for slideshow)
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) released a five-year strategic plan Tuesday outlining how the agency will navigate a possibly decreasing military and IT budget and military priorities that are increasingly shifting away from Afghanistan and Iraq.
From a technological standpoint, DISA is looking to facilitate an increasingly enterprise-oriented Department of Defense that shares IT resources across numerous services, relies heavily on cloud computing and mobile technologies, and continues to push the boundaries of cybersecurity.
However, topping the list of "strategic shifts" that DISA plans to tackle by 2018 is the plan to help support the Department of Defense as it builds a stronger defensive posture in the Asia-Pacific region, giving DISA a broader and more global focus.
[ Federal agencies are moving to the next stage of their cloud initiatives. Read more at 10 Developments Show Government Cloud Maturing. ]
DISA's emphasis on enterprise and cloud services dovetails with the goal of supporting a shifting and possibly growing global footprint for the U.S. military in the face of budget pressure. It also aligns well with the priorities of Department of Defense CIO Teri Takai, who has regularly touted the benefits of cloud computing and increasingly joint operation across the DOD.
DISA hopes to accelerate the move to enterprise services by eating its own dog food and jumping at the chance to adopt new military-wide apps and services. "DISA will serve as DOD's early adopter for new enterprise capabilities," the strategy says. "This will allow us to validate that capability meets the stated requirements, identify and resolve any issues with the capability, and demonstrate the operational viability of the capability."
Cloud computing could also help with that. DISA says it intends to become the military's Cloud Services Broker and thus a key point of contact for all of the Department of Defense's cloud computing needs. The agency has numerous cloud computing initiatives underway, with efforts like Forge.mil.
Mobility is another key in a time of shifting global priorities. While the military services increasingly adopt even commercial mobile technologies for broad use by most soldiers, DISA promises that it will develop mobile applications and use agile development to develop and upgrade apps more quickly.
In terms of cybersecurity, the strategy indicates that DISA will continue to work with Cyber Command to more readily meet the military's cybersecurity needs.
In addition to the primary pieces of strategy, DISA's strategy also outlines a "technology watch list" of important technologies that will prepare it for the future, including high-performance (100-Gbps or more) optical networking technologies, disruption-tolerant networking technologies, cloud computing, big data, enterprise management, mobile technologies, identity and access management, and "cross-domain technologies."
InformationWeek Government's GovCloud 2012 is a day-long event where IT professionals in federal, state, and local government will develop a deeper understanding of the options available today. IT leaders in government and other experts will share best practices and their advice on how to make the right choices. Join us for this insightful gathering of government IT executives to hear firsthand about the challenges and opportunities of cloud computing. It happens in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17.
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