text: Earlier this month, Laura Hosman, an assistant professor following OLPC, Â wrote an eloquent two-part series about her visit to the Jim Taylor Primary School in Kisap, Papua New Guinea, an hour's drive from Mount Hagen. Â This has the potential to be one of our most interesting rural deployments — and well run, as are all of the Oceania projects. Â It is interesting to see how they are using their casually-scattered solar panel array.


text:
Sin: The Early History of an Idea
Fredriksen, a noted scholar in the field of Jesus and early Christian research, bases Sin on the Spencer Trask Lectures that she gave at Princeton University in 2007. In the book she describes "the [early] development of Western Christian ideas about sin" (p. 2). Throughout her treatment, Fredriksen draws the connection between the various Christian ideas of sin and how they relate to God, humanity, and the world. Her aim is to sketch "a staccato history of early Christian ideas about sin by focusing on those moments that represent evolutionary jumps—points of 'punctuated equilibrium,' as evolutionary biologists say" (p. 4). To do this she traces the concept of sin through seven figures from Jesus to Augustine.
Chapter 1 addresses the continuity and discontinuity between Jesus and Paul. Jesus, working within a Jewish context, "defined sin as breaking God's commandments" (p. 16), and repentance was tied "into long traditions of purifications and sacrifices" (p. 20). Fredriksen maintains that for Jesus, the temple and sacrifice led to atonement and forgiveness, and then after the destruction of the temple, Christians interpreted Jesus' death as sacrifice in the place of the temple and inserted Jesus' critique of the temple within the Gospel texts. Paul's letters, unlike the later Gospel texts, she says, suggest that earlier Christians shared the same respect for the temple. Even though Jesus and Paul shared a Jewish heritage, Paul's Hellenistic outlook created a different perspective on sin for Paul than for Jesus. According to Paul, sin represented a cosmic revolt against God that Christ conquered through His death. Fredriksen, however, overstates the contrast between Jesus and Paul, portraying Jesus as a Jewish wisdom teacher with no apocalyptic perspective and Paul as proto-Gnostic. She maintains that apocalyptic elements within the Gospel narratives that appear to parallel Paul actually reflect the theology of the early church.
Chapter 2 discusses second-century writers Valentinus, Marcion, and Justin Martyr. All three capitalize on Paul's interaction between flesh and sin. According to Marcion and Valentinus, flesh impedes one's ability to live as God intends. " 'Salvation' for both Valentinians and Marcionites meant redemption from the flesh" (p. 78). For Justin, "salvation meant redemption of the flesh" (p. 79), which would come in the last days. Unlike Justin Martyr, Valentinus and Marcion have been misunderstood because much of their writing is no longer available and their position is characterized in contrast to orthodoxy. Fredriksen attempts to correct the record.
Chapter 3 by itself is worth the price of the book. Fredriksen does a masterful job of comparing Origen and Augustine on original sin, free will, the justice of God, and redemption, among other things. For Origen and Augustine, sin "begins not with ignorance but with choice" (p. 141). In Origen's thinking, rational spiritual beings made sinful moral choices before conception. However, for Augustine, a sinful nature is inherited at conception as a consequence of Adam's sin in Genesis 3. "Original sin mitigates the will's freedom for the primal parents, and for every generation thereafter" (p. 143). Fredriksen's summary of Augustine on God's justice is quite moving: "We can neither see nor know how God is just; we can only affirm by faith that he is just. If out of pure mercy God chooses to save some from their justly deserved penalty of eternal damnation, then the only appropriate and pious response is to be grateful for his compassion" (p. 126). She summarizes the book in a short epilogue.
Fredriksen's Sin provides a helpful overview of how the concept of sin has been interpreted through the early church and subsequently impacted western culture. Relying on Walter Bauer's theory that Christianity evolved from several alternatives to a singular orthodoxy in the fourth century, she overplays the differences between Jesus, Paul, and the early church. She brings needed exposure to the ideas of certain marginalized ancient figures (e.g., Valentinus, Marcion). Her work on Origen and Augustine in chapter 3 is superb. Her treatment of Jesus and Paul, however, detracts from the overall effectiveness of this volume. Her views on these figures tangle the historical and theological discussion in a number of places.

subset: commoncrawl


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In our new weekly round-up the MusicRadar team share the new music they've been listening to this week.
Below you'll find this week's recommendations - from right across the broad remit of MusicRadar's various tribes - in the form of audio and video embeds for your listening and viewing pleasure.
What have you been listening to this week? what's inspiring your music making right now? Let us know via Twitter and Facebook.
Girl - Opossom
Opossom are the greatest thing ever to have come out of New Zealand. Psyche pop perfection, with a weird video thrown in for good measure. (Rob Power)
Cos-Ber-Zam - Ne Noya (Daphni Mix)
Dan Snaith is best known as the man behind psyc-dance band Caribou, but next week sees him release his debut album under his fully dancefloor-focused moniker Daphni. This remix of West African musician Cos-Ber-Zam - taken from that album - perfectly demonstrates his remarkable knack for turning out infectious, floorfilling leftfield house music. You can currently stream the full Daphni album on Resident Advisor. (Si Truss)
Best Of Friends - Palma Violets
Another week, another NME hype-a-thon, but this lot might just have what it takes, especially if what it takes is floppy fringes, packed sweaty subterranean gigs and three minute fuzzed-up guitar pop like this. (RP)
Solange - Losing You
The new single from Beyoncé's slightly younger, slightly more indie-inclined sister Solange Knowles is co-written and produced by Dev Hynes (of Blood Orange/Lightspeed Champion/Test Icicles sort-of-fame). It's bloody lovely, and vaguely reminds us of Toto in places - which is a good thing, obviously. (ST)
I'll Make It Worth Your While - Night Engine
If Scary Monsters era Bowie and Franz Ferdinand had a love child, it would make music like this. Filthy, basically. (RP)
FaltyDL - Straight And Arrow (Four Tet remix)
New York producer FaltyDL has a new single out next month on Ninja Tune, this excellent rework by Four Tet is one of several remixes on the b-side. (ST)


text:
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Alex Len
in the
2013 NBA Draft
by the
7'1" (216 cm)
255 lbs (116 kg)
Antratsyt, Ukraine
Current Team:
Win - Loss:
34 - 25
2013 NBA Draft Media Day Interviews, Part One
Jun 27, 2013, 12:41 am
Part One
Part Two
Read full article
Nerlens Noel-Alex Len Head to Head Matchup Video Analysis
Mike Schmitz
Jun 26, 2013, 11:15 am
More Video Scouting Reports
Alex Abrines
Isaiah Canaan
Anthony Bennett
Ben McLemore
Dario Saric
Alex Len
Shane Larkin
Dennis Schroeder
Tim Hardaway Jr
Rudy Gobert
Lucas Nogueira
Otto Porter
Gorgui Dieng
Jamaal Franklin
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Reggie Bullock
Nate Wolters
Steven Adams
Michael Carter-Williams
Cody Zeller
Archie Goodwin
Mason Plumlee
Glen Rice Jr.
Trey Burke
Allen Crabbe
Jeff Withey
Shabazz Muhammad
Mike Muscala
Jackie Carmichael
Erick Green
Giannis Adetokunbo
Nerlens Noel
Victor Oladipo
Kelly Olynyk
Russ Smith
C.J. McCollum
Mam Jaiteh
Ben McLemore
Leo Westermann
Sergey Karasev
Mike Schmitz is the video analyst for DraftExpress. Follow him
on twitter
and subscribe to his YouTube channel. He will be breaking down the NBA draft in digital format
all year long
for us.
Read full article
NBA Draft Prospect of the Week: Alex Len
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmitz
Jun 06, 2013, 12:04 pm
Scouting Report by Jonathan Givony. Video Analysis by Mike Schmitz
Alex Len
had an intriguing, but somewhat disjointed freshman season at Maryland, slowed by a ten game suspension by the NCAA revolving around his amateur status and his own acclimation making the significant transition from Ukraine. After a full year in the United States, Len was much better prepared for his sophomore season, and it showed in his production, as his numbers increased significantly in a number of key areas, namely his scoring, rebounding, passing and ability to stay out of foul trouble.
Len has added a significant amount of weight to his outstanding 7-1 frame, even if he wasn't quite able to maintain it as the season moved on. Nevertheless, his physical potential is off the charts, a he sports a 7-4 wingspan, a very solid base, and excellent agility and dexterity for a player his size.
Video Analysis
More Video Scouting Reports
Offensively, Len increased his production from just 11.9 points per-40 as a freshman to 17.5 as a sophomore, without seeing a major drop-off in efficiency. While he's still somewhat of a work in progress on this end of the floor, he shows tremendous potential in a variety of different areas, as he has excellent fundamentals, soft hands, good touch, and the framework of a versatile skill-set, to go along with his fantastic physical profile.
41% of Len's offense came with his back to the basket, and he showed to be able to score over some of the best centers in college basketball this season, such as
Nerlens Noel
Mason Plumlee
. He dropped some terrific glimpses of potential from time to time, using pivot moves, fakes, jabs and rip-throughs, and being able to finish creatively from many different vantage points thanks to the excellent extension he gets due to his length and agility.
With that said, Len is not yet an efficient option in the post, as he converted just 38% of his field goal attempts in these situations this season. His footwork, countermoves, left hand, and the range on his jump-hook are all a work in progress, as he isn't always strong enough to establish deep post position against bulkier defenders at this stage, making it difficult for him to impose his will on opponents. He also lacks a degree of toughness and nastiness in this area both establishing himself and calling for the ball aggressively once he has his man sealed off, something that should improve in time with added experience and strength.
Len was also not in a great situation to showcase his back to the basket game, as his team suffered from very poor offensive spacing for much of the season. They mostly opted to use an offensively challenged power forward alongside him instead of someone that can stretch the defense, which brought an additional opponent inside the paint at all times. Maryland's guard play also left a lot to be desired, as Len's teammates often did a very poor job of getting him the ball when he did have position established, seemingly having no idea how (or simply being unwilling) to make basic post-entry passes, something that surprisingly did not improve at all during the season.
Off the ball, Len shows excellent potential as a pick and roll and catch and finish threat, converting 65% of his non-post-up attempts around the basket on the season according to Synergy Sports Technology, which is among the best rates in this draft. He sports an enviable combination of size, mobility, hands, length and explosiveness to help him get the job done, setting screens and rolling to the basket with terrific agility, and being capable of playing above the rim with ease. He keeps the ball high and can finish with power from great distances thanks to his long wingspan and solid leaping ability off two feet, even if he still needs to gain strength to improve his ability to finish through contact.
Len also shows a solid skill-level from the perimeter, being capable of putting the ball on the floor at times in a straight line, sometimes in impressive fashion, and also make an outside shot with his feet set. Len isn't a terribly consistent jump-shooter at this stage (he made 36% of his catch and shoot attempts this season), but his soft touch, solid mechanics, and the fact that he was able to convert 69% of his free throw attempts leaves a lot of room for optimism down the road.
While not a polished player at this stage and clearly lacking experience, Len generally shows a solid feel for the game, as he executes well offensively, is highly coordinated, capable of passing out of double teams, and doesn't turn the ball over that frequently.
Defensively, Len shows great potential with his size, long arms and mobility, but is still somewhat of a work in progress at this stage. On one hand he shows the ability to hedge screens out on the perimeter thanks to his quick feet and excellent agility, stepping out and recovering back to protect the rim and being difficult to shoot over thanks to his excellent length. On the other hand, his intensity-level leaves something to be desired at times, as he doesn't always get a hand up on opponents, can be lackadaisical running the floor, and will give up deep post position inside the paint, allowing himself to get schooled by more experienced opponents.
Len is extremely difficult to score over when he's fully dialed into getting a stop, as his length is a huge asset in contesting shots and also allows him to come up with plenty of deflections, rebounds and blocks. He pulled down a very solid 11.5 rebounds per-40 this season, boxing out effectively and sometimes going well out of his area for loose balls, and also blocked a solid 3 shots per-40, which ranks in the top-10 in this draft. He loses his focus easily at times, though, and isn't always as aggressive as you might hope, which is something he'll have to work on as he adds strength and experience and benefits from better coaching than he's received up until this point in his career.
One of the younger big men in this draft in terms of age (not turning 20 until mid-June), physical development and experience, Len is very much still figuring things out as a basketball player, but shows some of the best potential of any prospect in this draft. While somewhat inconsistent at times in terms of production, he dropped some phenomenal glimpses of talent this season, executing moves that only a handful of 7-footers anywhere in the world can pull off. It's difficult to ascertain just much of his full potential we were able to see from him at Maryland, and how much tougher and more aggressive he'll get once his frame fully fills out, but there's a lot to be optimistic about.
Len is unlikely to be a dominating presence in the NBA from day one, as he'll need to go to a team that is willing to be patient with him as his body improves and his skill-level continues to round out. There is little doubt that he has all the tools to be an extremely valuable piece for a team down the road, though, as players with his physical attributes and talent are coveted commodities and virtually impossible to acquire outside of the draft. Len is drawing heavy interest throughout the top-10, being hampered somewhat by
a stress fracture in his left ankle
that will prevent him from conducting any workouts and will sideline him for 4-6 months. It wouldn't be a surprise to see someone roll the dice on him earlier than most have projected, though, or even to see someone trade up to acquire his rights.
Read full article
NBA Combine Interviews: Len, Mitchell, Kadji, Murphy
May 29, 2013, 07:53 am
Read full article
Top NBA Draft Prospects in the ACC, Part Four
Jonathan Givony
Joseph Treutlein
Sep 20, 2012, 01:25 pm
Jonathan Givony
Suspended by the NCAA for the first ten games of the season due to eligibility issues revolving around his professional background dating back to his time with former club Dnipro in his home country of Ukraine, Olexiy/Alex Len had an inconsistent freshman season, but showed enough sparks of potential to leave significant optimism around his long-term outlook.
The intrigue around Len begins with his outstanding physical profile. Standing 7-1, with a huge wingspan, big shoulders, and a frame that will surely fill out nicely over the next few years, Len clearly has terrific tools to work with. He's also a very good athlete for his size, as he runs the floor well, elevates off the ground quickly, and is capable of playing above the rim with ease.
Playing just 21 minutes per game last season upon becoming eligible, Len was up and down as a freshman as noted, stringing together a handful of very impressive performances, but also being a total non-factor in many Maryland contests. This is somewhat understandable considering the cultural adjustment involved with moving from Ukraine, as the language barrier and adaptation to a completely new style of basketball and academic schedule would be a significant burden for even the most talented prospect to shoulder.
Most freshmen at least get the easier non-conference portion of their team's schedule to get their feet wet, but Len was thrown directly into the fire of arguably the toughest conference in college basketball, matching up with future NBA players virtually every single time he stepped on the floor. A pesky ankle injury he suffered mid-way through the season likely didn't help matters either.
Len did not play a very big role in Maryland's offense last season, as he sported just the fifth highest usage rate on the team, despite being their most efficient scorer. With undersized shooting guard
Terrell Stoglin
who led the ACC in field goal attempts per-minute
by a huge margin, being booted off the team, there will now likely be a much larger emphasis on incorporating him into the offense. Len should be able to shoulder additional playing time and a bigger role as a sophomore after a full offseason in the weight room and more practice time to develop chemistry with his teammates.
With his impressive foot speed and ability to effortlessly elevate around the basket, Len was much more effective as a finisher last season than he was as a post-presence. Showing soft hands and excellent touch, he's capable of scoring with either hand inside the paint. He shows a nice basketball IQ moving the ball within the flow of the offense, sometimes with a nifty bounce pass to a cutter diving to the rim. He also has nice shooting mechanics, making a couple of mid-range jumpers last season.
With that said, Len is still figuring out how to effectively use his talent on a consistent basis. His frame is simply too thin to allow him to establish and hold deep post position, and when he does catch the ball inside the paint, he doesn't always have the footwork, balance and coordination to get a good shot off, particularly in traffic. Continuing to get bigger, tougher and stronger are huge keys for his future, as will simply gaining experience on the basketball court, something he clearly sorely lacks at the moment. He turned the ball over on 25% of his possessions last year, and made just 59% of his free throw attempts, two areas scouts will want to see improvement in this season.
On the other end of the floor, Len's terrific size, length and mobility give him tremendous potential on defense. He led the ACC in blocked shots per-40 minutes last season, over the likes of NBA draft picks
John Henson
Tyler Zeller
Bernard James
Miles Plumlee
, and averaged a solid 10 rebounds per-40p.
Len has quick feet and good timing stepping out and hedging screens on the perimeter, something you usually don't see 7-1 centers do too often. His main virtue lies as a rim protector, though. He's so tall and long he often doesn't even have to leave his feet to block a shot, and he has a tremendous knack for using his wingspan to alter and reject shots around the rim.
With that said, Len had his fair share of issues in many ACC contests last season, averaging nearly five fouls per-40 minutes versus in-conference competition. He didn't always have the strength, experience or toughness to deny opposing big men deep post position, not fighting hard enough early in possessions to prevent them from catching the ball with two feet in the paint. As he gets older, smarter and more physically mature, scouts will want to see him do a better job in this area.
An extremely talented prospect, yet still in a very early stage of his development, this upcoming season will tell us quite a bit about Len's long-term potential. If he was able to have a productive offseason on and off the court, Len could be poised for a breakout year on a national level. His early season matchup with
Nerlens Noel
and Kentucky in New York City on November 9th will likely be scrutinized closely.
Read full article
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Snap-on Industrial catalog
The new 800+ page Snap-on Industrial catalog includes performance and specifications on all Snap-on Industrial tools and equipment.
The new Industrial catalog is available in bound (BNDCAT1200i) or 3-hole (3CAT1200i) format for ease of use.
Other features of the new Snap-on Industrial catalog include:
- Information on more than 25,000 products
- Seven easy-to-access sections, color-coded by application: tool sets and custom kitting; tool management and safety; fleet repair; facilities maintenance; industry specific applications; heavy duty bolting; and assembly
- Thousands of new SKUs and callouts to new and expanded products and programs
- Large color photos of thousands of tools and equipment with information on product code, sizes, descriptions etc.
- Convenient charts and information on torque, explanation on torque principles and why torque is important
- Alphabetical tool index to pinpoint exact page number for specific tools and equipment


text:
Centrifuges | Microfuges
REFINE:ALT stocks the largest inventory of used centrifuges including: benchtop, floor model, refrigerated, ultra-speed, and high capacity centrifuges. Laboratory centrifuges are commonly used to separate material into sub fractions at high speed. Refurbished centrifuges are widely used by pharmaceuticals, chemical, engineering, and biochemistry industries. Our current inventory includes used centrifuges systems from top brands like Beckman, Sorvall, Thermo, Eppendorf, and many others, plus a wide range of centrifuge rotors and centrifuge adapters to meet your centrifugal needs. Whether you are looking for a bench top centrifuge or a high capacity centrifuge system, ALT provides full serviced-quality equipment. All of our equipment is fully tested, serviced, and supported from our in-house team of experts with our industry leading 90-day warranty and lifetime support.


text:
Scores dead in first major ground battle in Gaza
Published 12:00 am Monday, July 21, 2014
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The first major ground battle in two weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting exacted a steep price Sunday: It killed 65 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers and forced thousands of terrified Palestinian civilians to flee their neighborhood, reportedly used to launch rockets at Israel and now devastated by the fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the offensive would continue "as long as necessary" to end attacks from Gaza on Israeli civilians.
But Hamas seems defiant, international cease-fire efforts are stalled, and international criticism is becoming more vocal as the death toll among Palestinian civilians rises.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon called Israel's latest incursion "atrocious," and said it must do far more to protect civilians. Several diplomats said the U.N. Security Council would hold an emergency session Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. local time (0130 GMT) at the request of council member Jordan on the situation in Gaza.
In Israel, public opinion will struggle to tolerate rising military losses in an open-ended campaign. Already, Sunday's deaths marked the highest number of soldiers killed on a single day since Israel's war in Lebanon in 2006.
The ferocious battle in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood came on the third day of Israel's ground offensive, which had been preceded by a 10-day air campaign.
In all, at least 432 Palestinians were killed and more than 3,000 wounded in the past two weeks. The overall death toll on the Israeli side rose to 20, including 18 soldiers, along with dozens of wounded troops, during that period.
On Sunday evening, Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri in Gaza claimed his group had captured an Israeli soldier. An announcement on Gaza TV of the soldier's capture set off celebration in the streets of Gaza City.
But the claim could not immediately be verified and the Israeli military said it was investigating the report. Hamas has made similar claims of capturing Israelis in the past that were not true. For Israelis, a captured soldier would be a nightmare scenario. Hamas-allied militants seized an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid in 2006 and held him captive in Gaza until Israel traded more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom were involved in grisly killings, for his return in 2011.
Sunday's battle began when Israeli troops backed by tanks entered the densely populated Shijaiyah district just after midnight Sunday. They were met by a "huge" level of resistance by Hamas fighters who fired anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons from houses and buildings, said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an army spokesman.
Residents said they came under intense Israeli tank fire.
"The gate of hell has opened, and shrapnel came through the windows," Shijaiyah resident Jawad Hassanain said by phone. He and his family fled to a nearby building after their house shook from explosions.
After daybreak, the extent of the devastation slowly became apparent: At least 65 Palestinians had been killed and nearly 300 wounded, Gaza health officials said, while dozens of homes badly damaged or destroyed.
Casualties were rushed to Gaza's central Shifa Hospital. Wailing parents, some covered with blood or dust from debris, carried children peppered by shrapnel, and the emergency room quickly overflowed, forcing doctors to treat some patients in a hallway.
During a brief Red Cross-brokered lull later in the day, rescue workers toured the neighborhood to retrieve the dead, pulling bodies from the rubble of homes.
In a last sweep of the area on Sunday afternoon, rescue workers heard the faint voice of a woman in the rubble of a house.
"I'm here with my husband and niece," the woman said, adding that there were also three bodies near her. "I'm here under the shop. God please, I can't breathe."
In the incident witnessed by Associated Press journalists, rescue workers tried to organize a bulldozer, but the situation was deemed too dangerous and the crew left. Later, the rescue workers returned with a bulldozer, after coordination with Israeli forces through the Red Crescent, and pulled the three from the rubble, said Said Hamam, a member of the rescue services.
The 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in several separate incidents in Shijaiya, including gun battles and rocket attacks. In the deadliest, Gaza fighters detonated a bomb near an armored personnel carrier, killing seven soldiers inside, the army said. In another incident, three soldiers were killed when they became trapped in a burning building, it said.
Despite the losses, the army chief, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, said Israel intends to escalate the operation. Gaza residents received automated phone calls late Sunday, warning them to evacuate refugee camps in the center of the Gaza Strip.
Israel had launched the campaign to hurt Hamas' ability to fire rockets and to destroy tunnels dug by the militants to sneak into Israel to carry out attacks.
Shijaiyah was targeted as a Hamas stronghold and because 8 percent of more than 1,700 rockets fired at Israel since July 8 were launched from there, said Lerner.
The military said that since the beginning of ground operation late last week, it has killed 110 Gaza fighters and targeted more than 1,000 sites linked to militants. Soldiers also exposed 14 tunnels, all interconnected and leading toward Israel, and detonated six of them, including one with a length of 1.2 kilometers and an access point within a house, the army said.
"It's like the Underground, the Metro or the subway," said Lerner, the army spokesman, referring to the tunnel system.
The first days of the current ground offensive were in marked contrast to Israel's last major invasion of Gaza in January 2009, known in Israel as Cast Lead, when Hamas fighters rarely engaged Israeli forces.
Now, Gaza's militants seem better armed, including with anti-tank rockets.
"I see an escalation in weaponry," Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli military intelligence chief, told Israel TV's Channel 10. "This isn't the same weaponry as in Cast Lead."
Netanyahu said in nationally televised comments Sunday that the ground campaign is vital to Israel's security because the tunnels could be used for "mega terror attacks and kidnappings," but acknowledged the operation is "full of risks."
Speaking earlier to CNN, Netanyahu said the ultimate goal is to "restore a sustainable quiet" for Israel's citizens. Once that is achieved, he said he hopes to enlist the international community "to demilitarize Gaza," but did not explain what that would entail.
Asked about the mounting number of dead and wounded among Palestinians, he said Israel is only targeting militants.
"All civilian casualties are unintended by us, but intended by Hamas. They want to pile up as many civilian dead as they can. … It's gruesome," Netanyahu said. "They use telegenically dead Palestinians for their cause. They want the more dead the better."
Meanwhile, a speedy cease-fire seems elusive, as the U.S. and some of the regional powers disagree on how to resolve the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Hamas rejected Egypt's proposal last week that both sides halt fire and then discuss a possible easing of the Gaza border blockade, enforced by Israel and Egypt since Hamas seized Gaza in 2007.
For Hamas, easing the blockade is key to survival, after an intensified border closure of Gaza by Egypt in the past year drove the movement into a crippling financial crisis. Hamas has insisted on guarantees concerning the blockade before it stops fighting and has demanded that others, including Qatar, join Egypt as a mediator.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sided with Israel and Egypt on Sunday, saying giving in to Hamas' conditions for a cease-fire would mean rewarding terrorism. Kerry told NBC's "Meet The Press" that he will head to the Middle East in coming days to help with cease-fire efforts. He said Israel "has every right in the world to defend itself" from attacks by Hamas militants in Gaza.
Qatar is seen as more sympathetic to Hamas.
Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiya said after a meeting with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon that it is not important which country achieves the terms of a cease-fire so long as justice is achieved.
"We condemn the acts of aggression that Israel has carried out against the Palestinian people, and most recently the massacre of Shijaiyah today in which most of those killed were children," said al-Attiya.
Ban's had harsh words for Israel's military operation, while reiterating his call for an immediate cease-fire.
"While I was en route to Doha, dozens more civilians, including children, have been killed in Israeli military strikes in the Shijaiyah neighborhood in Gaza," he said.
"I condemn this atrocious action. Israel must exercise maximum restraint and do far more to protect civilians," he said.
Goldenberg reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Ian Deitch and Yousur Alhlou in Jerusalem, Ibrahim Barzak and Dalton Bennett in Gaza City, Abdullah Rebhy in Doha, Qatar and Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed to this report.


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Looks like Andrew Garfield and Garrett Hedlund are doing some serious bonding in Hawaii at the Maui Film Festival. They hit up the beach together, shirtless, and, well, this looks good. Very good. Double good. Especially since Garrett is a lot better in shorts than he is in pants. I like it.
Then, on the carpet, once again all bromantically, maybe a little woozy from the sun...or is it the beer?
But they're so cute together, non?
And together they're way hotter, non?
Like boy crazy hot, non?
Like you want to be the girl who gets to be with the boys, like the one who pretends it's no thing, even when all the other girls are looking, non?
Photos from Splashnewsonline.com and Michael Kovac/Gettyimages.com


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On SharePoint application page I am using placeholder in like this:
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" placeholder="your name" />
But placeholder is underlined and says: Validation (XHTML 1.0 transitional) Attribute placeholder is not a valid attribute. But when i put runat = "server", error goes away
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" placeholder="your name" runat="server" />
Now, its valid attribute. I could not understand why placeholder attribute is not valid without runat = "server". Can anybody tell the reason? I did not want to use runat = "server".
I have also added <!DOCTYPE html>
at top of the application page (i have also added <!DOCTYPE html>
in my custom master page), but still it gives same error
I am using SP2010 and VS2010. I got following runtime error:
Description: An application error occurred on the server. The current custom error settings for this application prevent the details of the application error from being viewed.
Details: To enable the details of this specific error message to be viewable on the local server machine, please create a tag within a "web.config" configuration file located in the root directory of the current web application. This tag should then have its "mode" attribute set to "RemoteOnly". To enable the details to be viewable on remote machines, please set "mode" to "Off".
Note: When i put runat="server" in tags, then above error goes away and my page runs as expected.


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Trump Sued for More Than He's Worth
Donald Trump is being sued for $4 billion. No big whoop, unless you're only worth around $2 billion.
Nights at Vegas., Inc. is suing Trump, alleging he jock-blocked them in connection with the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Las Vegas. Nights at Vegas is a licensed real estate property management company that leased out a number of the 1,200 condos in Trump complex.
When Nights at Vegas leases a unit, it takes 20% of the rental income from the condo owner. The Donald has a management company that gets 50% of the income when it leases out the condos. Sounds like Nights has the edge. But there's a rub.
According to the lawsuit, Trump has effectively made it impossible for Nights at Vegas to do business by prohibiting them from using the name "Trump" in any of its advertising or marketing.
Nights at Vegas claims Trump is violating the anti-trust laws, among other things. The suit seeks a cool $1 bil in compensatory damages and $3 bil in punitive.
No comment from Trumps peeps.


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Month: November 2016
Top 15 Conferences 2017
With so many options out there, choosing which conferences to devote your time to can be challenging. For big companies, entrepreneurs, and investors alike, it's essential to stay ahead of fast-breaking trends. Hear inspiring talks from thought leaders, or network with industry influencers. Whatever your industry or budget, you're sure to find something in ABCey's Top 15 Conferences 2017.
Top 15 Conferences 2017
1. World Economic Forum Annual Meeting January 17-20, 2017 Davos-Klosters, Switzerland
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters remains the foremost creative force for engaging the world's top leaders in collaborative activities to shape the global, regional and industry agendas at the beginning of each year.
2. Wisdom 2.0 February 17-19, 2017 San Francisco, CA
Wired describes it, this gathering for heavy-hitters is: "Where the technology and contemplative communities … hash out the best ways to incorporate these tools into our lives…" The event attracts a good mix of male and female speakers, this past year including spiritual leader Ram Dass and clothing tycoon Eileen Fisher. Later in the year, watch for Wisdom 2.0 Asia, upcoming in Singapore.
3. Near Future Summit: March 15-17, 2017, La Jolla, CA
Near Future brings together inventors, entrepreneurs, media and investors with a passion for being a metamorphic force, and the tools and insights to tackle crucial challenges! We haven't been to this one yet, but have heard it's NOT TO MISS!
4. SXSW March 10-19, 2017 Austin, TX
South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference & Festivals celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. A major convergence of the tech, media, design, gaming and entertainment fields, this event is a must-attend for any women connected even tangentially to those disciplines. It is also a respected music and film festival with important niche sidebars such as Startup Village.
5. Vanity Fair Founders Fair April 20, 2017 New York City, NY
Vanity Fair will launch its first Founders Fair for entrepreneurial women and their business partners next year in New York City. The Founders Fair will bring together inspiring entrepreneurs, founders, and risk-takers to share their stories of the rewards and challenges of starting and running a business.
6. TED April 24th-28th, 2017 Vancouver, BC
Another important annual conference for international movers and shakers, TED is all about the exchange of new ideas. A week to explore the deepest scientific and psychological insights, the latest medical advances, the coolest inventions, all mixed with a whole lot of ancient wisdom.
7. 2017 Forbes Women's Summit May 11-13, 2017 New York City, NY
Leaders today recognize that lasting success comes when you align passion and power with a higher purpose. How do organizations infuse their work with a sense of mission and what are the new ways to leverage influence and forge transformative partnerships? Attend this conference and learn why!
8. WOBI May 31- June 1, 2017 Sydney, Australia
In 2017 the World Business Forum will highlight that in a world where new technologies emerge at pace, those who anticipate change and are quickly able to adapt will flourish. Organizations and individuals alike must reinvent themselves constantly; experiment and learn; identify new opportunities, exploit them fast, and move on.
9. 99U June 7-9, 2017 New York City, NY
The 99U Conference is a one-of-a-kind live experience that inspires creative professionals to bring their ideas to life and shape the future of the industry. Learn from the world's top thinkers and doers in a series of main stage talks over two days. 99U speakers offer pragmatic, real-world insights that transcend creative sectors.
10. Fortune Brainstorm Tech July 17-19, 2017, Aspen, CO
Fortune Brainstorm TECH is an annual by-invitation-only summer retreat for leaders from Fortune 500 companies, the top emerging entrepreneurs of the tech world, and the most important investors who finance them. For many, attending Brainstorm TECH can make the difference between finding a competitive edge or being disrupted into oblivion.
11. Inc 5000 October 10-12, 2017 Palm Springs, CA
The main conference program runs from Wednesday morning through Thursday afternoon. It features: Keynote Presentations by founders and CEOs of prominent companies, notable entrepreneur personalities featured in Inc., and business celebrities Concurrent sessions organized by themes, featuring expert speakers and more intimate settings in which to exchange ideas and experiences with other business leaders in the audience.
12. Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit October 18-20, 2017 San Francisco, CA
The V.F. Summit (now in its third year) was inspired by the Vanity Fair New Establishment list, Vanity Fair's annual must-read ranking of those figures who are setting the global agenda and leading the Age of Innovation.
13. TEDWomen October 26-28, 2017 San Francisco, CA
TEDWomen is a three-day conference about the power of women and girls to be creators and change-makers. The program of speakers, workshops, events — and daring discussions — has sparked some of TED's most iconic moments yet.
14. Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit October 17-19, 2017 Laguna Niguel, CA
Hosted by Fortune, this gathering is driven by its annual list of most powerful women. It attracts a stellar lineup of speakers (including Michelle Obama in 2015) and a diverse mix of the esoteric (linking purpose to profit) and the practical (make-overs). Watch for sister events, MPW Internationals in Hong Kong and London, England.
15. Summit 2017 November 3-6, 2017 Los Angeles, CA
Summit 2017 will (sadly) not be on a boat, but it will push the cutting-edge of immersive experiences, interactive programming, lively exhibits, intimate intellectual environments, open-air performances, site-specific artist activations, and so much more. Working within and throughout the existing interplay between the urban and natural environment in downtown LA, they'll be creating an intimate and walkable campus.
Now that you have our list of Top 15 Conferences 2017, which ones will you be attending? And of course… if you need help planning, we're here for you! Are there any we missed?! Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook and Twitter!


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LOS ANGELES – A $670 million overhaul at California's San Onofre nuclear plant was expressly intended to avoid the types of ailments that have sidelined its twin reactors.
An overriding goal for a team of engineers who worked on steam generators installed at the plant in 2009 and 2010 was minimizing wear and tear on the nearly 40,000 tubes that carry radioactive water inside the massive machines. Customized design and manufacturing promised years of reliable service for a plant that can power 1.4 million homes in Southern California.
But the opposite happened.
San Onofre's twin reactors have been idle for more than three months in the midst of a federal probe into what went wrong with hundreds of tubes that snake through the generators. Some were so eroded after a brief run in operation they can no longer function safely.
Less than a month before a tube break in January prompted Southern California Edison to take the plant offline, engineers writing in a trade magazine touted a series of modifications to the generators that they believed would improve the plant's dependability and longevity.
The first goal listed: reducing tube wear.
The article, published in Nuclear Engineering International, provides a detailed account of what the company was attempting to achieve with the new generators, and leaves a gaping question.
How did a design intended to reduce tube wear in numerous ways in this case increase it, in some cases rapidly?
Company spokeswoman Jennifer Manfre declined to comment on the cause of the unusual tube wear, saying an Edison analysis will be completed in time "according to engineering principles and science, not guessing or assumptions."
The magazine article — written by a top-level Edison nuclear engineer, Boguslaw Olech, and Tomoyuki Inoue of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which manufactured the equipment — recounts the history of the original generators, which were pulled out of the plant more than a decade short of their expected lifespan of 40 years.
They were suffering from excessive tube wear, cracking and severe corrosion of supports that hold them in place. If too many tubes become worn and damaged, generators can become unsafe to operate and risk a potential tube break, which could release radiation.
The new generators, they said, "include all possible improvements introduced by the industry into the steam generator design and fabrication," including incorporating the experience at San Onofre, where tube wear had been a major problem.
The goal was "improving longevity, reliability, performance and maintainability of the steam generators," they wrote.
The trouble began to unfold in late January, when the Unit 3 reactor was shut down as a precaution after a tube break. Traces of radiation escaped, but officials said there was no danger to workers or neighbors.
Unit 2 had been taken offline earlier that month for routine maintenance and refueling, but investigators later found unusual wear on tubing in both units.
Gradual wear is common in such tubing, but the rate of erosion in some tubes at San Onofre alarmed officials since the equipment is relatively new. The company last week said more than 1,300 tubes are so damaged that they will be taken out of service, a far higher number than previously disclosed, but that number is well within the margin to allow the generators to keep operating.
In solving some problems with tubing at San Onofre, including using a new alloy, the engineers might have created others.
Test results show that two types of wear have occurred at both units — tubes are rubbing and vibrating against adjacent tubes, as well as against support structures inside the generators.
Federal and company investigators are trying to determine why that is happening, and company officials have yet to say if the root cause of the problem is related to design, improper installation or maintenance, or other issues.
An environmental group, Friends of the Earth, has claimed SCE misled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about design changes that it identified as the likely culprit in excessive tube wear, a charge the federal agency disputes. Friends of the Earth released research that said nearly 400 additional tubes were added to each generator as part of design modifications that compromised safety.
The four massive steam generators at San Onofre — two per reactor, each with 9,727 alloy tubes — function something like a car radiator, which controls heat in the vehicle's engine.
The generator tubes circulate hot, radioactive water from the reactors, which then heats a bath of non-radioactive water surrounding them. That makes steam, which is used to turn turbines to make electricity.
The tubes have to be thin enough to transfer heat, but thick enough to hold up under heavy pressure. And they represent a critical safety barrier — if a tube breaks, there is the potential that radioactivity can escape into the atmosphere. Also, serious leaks can drain protective cooling water from a reactor.
The engineers wrote that they needed to design generators that would require only minor modifications within the rest of the plant, but also meet a federal test to qualify as "in-kind," or essentially identical, replacements, which would allow them to be installed without prior approval from federal regulators.
The article outlines a series of alterations that were made to meet the various benchmarks. Among the changes, the new generators used a different tube alloy believed to be more resistant to cracking. The engineers also designed V-shaped tube supports to minimize the potential for tube wear and vibration.
There have been confusing signals in recent days about the status of the double-domed plant, which overlooks a beach between Los Angeles and San Diego. Federal regulators have said the plant will remain shuttered until investigators determine the cause of the tube wear and repairs are made.
But earlier this month, a senior company executive said Edison was hoping for a June restart for at least one of the sidelined reactors. The company is drafting a plan under which the reactors would run at reduced power, during a test period of at least several months, because engineers believe that will solve a problem with vibration that the company suspects has been causing the unusual wear in the tubes.
That was followed by a blunt statement from Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, who said it was "clearly premature" to discuss a restart. Later, SCE President Ron Litzinger appeared to agree, saying "there is no timeline on nuclear safety."
Follow Michael R. Blood at http://twitter.com/MichaelRBloodAP


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Immigration Problems
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I never believed in astrology and my wife literally forced me to try your remedies. Now I am a big believer. Its amazing how little things can make a big change in your life. Now I own 2 gas stations and a motel.


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Clean Pro Gutter Cleaning Cincinnati
Do the really smart thing — Let a Pro deal with those stopped up gutters!
Gutter cleaning is time consuming and it is hazardous. Our local technicians will clean your rain gutters and downspouts using professional equipment and processes to clear away anything clogging your gutters.
Cincinnati ( SIN-si-NAT-ee) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. With a 2020 census population of 309,000 people, it is the most populated city in Southwestern Ohio, the 3rd most populated in Ohio after Cleveland and Columbus, and the 64th most populated city in the United States. Additionally, the city is the economic and cultural hub of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 2,256,884, it is Ohio's largest metropolitan area and the nation's 30th-largest, and with a city population of 309,317, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 64th in the United States.
Al Bar Meadows, Avondale, Bond Hill, CUF, California, Camp Washington, Carthage, Clifton Heights, College Hill, Columbia-Tusculum, Corryville, Downtown Cincinnati, East End, East Price Hill, East Walnut HIlls


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Craig Dynes, senior vice president and CFO of enterprise-software company Pegasystems, generally feels removed from the daily news grind of corporate bankruptcy, layoffs, government bailouts, and criticism over how much executives of poorly performing firms receive in bonuses.
It has nothing to do with him. Indeed, Dynes tells CFO.com, he often wonders if he's in "a parallel universe" when he steps into his office each day after listening to dire business news on his way to work.
Last month, Dynes was one of the few finance executives who had profitable financial results to relay and who was willing to provide earnings guidance for this year during the annual conference call with investors. His predictions came despite the fact, he said at the time, that "there is no escaping the news about current economic conditions. The continual news coverage of layoffs, stock market results, and doom and gloom is overwhelming."
His company is in growth mode, with plans to boost its sales and marketing team this year, after expanding the group by 37 people in 2008. "We're not in that sort of hunker-down, weather-the-storm environment," he tells CFO.com. Pegasystems, a Cambridge, Mass.-based company that specializes in business process management solutions, recorded $212 million in revenue last year, an increase of 31 percent over the prior year.
Dynes predicts the company will pass the $250 million mark this year and collect a profit of at least $17 million, compared to the $11 million in net income realized in 2008. The 25-year-old company also managed to sign a record number of new license agreements in the fourth quarter, which bodes well for future revenue tied to its professional-services business. At the same time, Dynes acknowledges that 30 percent growth year over year won't be a sustainable goal. It's easy to "fall into the trap" of complacency, he says.
Dynes, who brought his mixed background of tech work and finance to Pegasystems three years ago, oversees both the finance and IT departments. His previous roles include CFO of software firm Demandware, CEO of Narad Networks, and CFO of SilverStream Software. He began his career at KPMG's Canadian firm and later dabbled on the IT side, writing code for a startup software company, where he also did sales.
For now, Dynes attributes his current company's near immunization from the U.S. economy's ills to the fact that Pegasystems has managed to convince potential clients that its products can save them money — obviously a top-of-mind issue these days. The company automates business rules and policies, which can reduce the time it takes companies to complete their own customer deals, for instance, or streamline processes for giving certain clients incentives.
Some of the company's revenue — which comes from software licenses, maintenance fees, and professional services — is predictable, such as its non-cancellable, five-year agreements, while the timing of the rest of it fluctuates, leading Dynes' finance team to reforecast every month. Still, Dynes says changes to the company's business model in recent years has given it "a higher rate of predictability that's really helped in this economy."
How the company's salespeople do their selling has also plays a role; the company changed its sales tactics in recent years, and the effect seems to be working. They focus on business heads of individual departments who will use the products, rather than solely trying to romance the IT folks who will implement the systems and won't truly realize their potential benefits.
"We target the businesspeople, not IT, and address the specific business problems they're having right now," Dynes says. Moreover, rather than trying to nail down megadeals, the Pegasystems sales team is going after piecemeal projects that — because of their smaller size — result in quicker turnarounds for clients. Plus, particularly during the downturn, these projects are more palatable for decision-makers in penny-pinching mode, according to Dynes.
To be sure, Dynes does feel some economic heat from customers, who are taking longer to sign deals because their own internal processes for approving projects has recently changed. Whereas clients would typically need the approval of three people before inking a deal with Pegasystems, now they need to get double the amount of signatures before giving their vendors the go-ahead. Tech companies more than ever need a "compelling case" to get clients to open up their tight spending budgets, and they have to go "through more levels of approval to get the deal done," Dynes says, adding, "There's been some changes in the market, certainly, as our customers are having a hard time."
However, his clients are paying their bills for the most part. Dynes says he hasn't seen much effect on his accounts receivable from the downturn and has in fact seen some improvements. Days billed outstanding, on a quarterly basis, was at 56 days for last quarter, down from 63 days during the same period in 2007. He attributes the improved metric to more tightly written contracts.
Dynes also has more flexibility these days with a thick cash cushion. Pegasystems has $167 million in cash and no debt. Three weeks ago, it issued a quarterly dividend of 3 cents per share.
As for the future, Pegasystems intends to build up its sales team so that the rosy revenue numbers will keep coming in, through 2010. Sometimes Dynes himself gets involved in selling when he is occasionally brought in to help negotiate a deal. He believes meeting with customers and seeing how his company's products operate in practice supports his CFO role. "It really helps me explain to investors why we are continuing to sell software in today's market," he says.


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Lucas County Imaging Lab
Lucas County Imaging Lab
Adam Hansen - Director 419-213-4892
The Lucas County Optical Imaging Lab officially opened in April of 2006. The lab operates as an additional department under the supervision of the Central Records Center. The lab was created through a contract with Lott Industries, the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and the Lucas County Commissioners. By contracting with Lott Industries, the Imaging Lab is staffed by employees from Lott Industries making it the first of its kind in the State of Ohio. The Imaging Lab has received several awards and has been recognized both statewide and nationally in numerous publications.
The primary function of the Imaging Lab is to convert paper documents into electronic images. This in turn provides back-file conversion services to county offices engaged in the digital document imaging process, thus eliminating the need for storing massive amounts of records in boxes and files. Lott Industry employees with developmental disabilities perform all document preparation, scanning and indexing at the lab making this project unique. In the first four months of operation, the lab imaged over three years of documents.
Clerk of Courts' J. Bernie Quilter was the driving force behind the development and opening of the Lucas County Imaging Lab. He worked with representatives of Lott Industries and the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities to staff the facility. The project was born of Mr. Quilter's hiring full-time an individual with developmental disabilities. The Lucas County Imaging Lab is an example of community and government working together to improve the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities while providing new and innovative solutions to document storage and retention.


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Fashion colors at various awards shows held in late 2010 and early 2011 have included a plethora of pinks, deep greens, dark blues and blacks—as well as silvery grays, corals and coppery browns. The few reds that were evident were toned down and deeper and darker than in past years.
These colors are very much in line with those included in trend analysis and color forecasting tools created by beauty industry suppliers, including Clariant Masterbatches' ColorForward 2011. But what, if anything, do fashion trends and forecasts tell you about what color your new cosmetic packaging should be?
People, in general, tend to respond to colors that reflect the broader influences on their lives. When they are anxious, they may tend to gravitate toward colors that intrinsically make them feel calm. When they feel empowered, they reach for products that reflect that same energy in design, application and, yes, color.
For example, in the late 1960s and early '70s, young people were concerned about war, racism and poverty, and successful protest marches and sit-ins gave them hope that their personal commitment could change the world. This gave rise to bold, bright, lively colors in everything from clothing to kitchen cabinets.
Looking Ahead
Since brand managers are working now on products and packaging that will be on the market in 2012 and beyond, they need to anticipate which colors will be most effective in gaining consumer attention a year or more from now. Again, the question arises: How can that be done?
First, there are some basic principles. The science of semiotics suggests that color, just like any sign or symbol, can have a direct effect on emotions and that each one of you responds to the stimulus of color in a certain way. People tend to be attracted by some colors and repelled or disturbed by others. The differences may arise from deep-seated personality traits, life experiences, basic desires and even subconscious mental processes.
Color can signal certain subtle differences in familiar scenes, giving you information about what you see. A lush green forest impresses you with its health and vitality, but when the same forest view is tinged with yellow, you see it as unhealthy, even if nothing else has changed. If the colors are bright orange, red and yellow, you assume you are seeing the forest in the autumn and, although you know the leaves are dying, you feel a warm, positive response. If those same colors, on the other hand, appear dull or pale, you respond to it more negatively.
In other situations, a person's response to color may be conditioned by culture or national origin. In many parts of the world, red inspires strong feelings of excitement and danger. However, red can stir other emotions too. In China, red is all about power, prestige and happiness. Red is the color of weddings, lucky money envelopes and the Chinese New Year. Koreans, on the other hand, are unique in the world in associating red with innovation. Thus, while red evokes traditional images among Chinese, Koreans connect red to the future and technology.
These differences in perception and response are important when it comes to branding and differentiation. Using color well can contribute to or reinforce the values of a brand. A small failure, on the other hand, may cause significant damage.
What Do People Want?
Beyond the basic semiotic principles, there is another layer that needs to be considered. It is one that constantly shifts and changes as the world economy, technology, natural and man-made catastrophes, popular culture and other developments make their imprint on the psyche of consumers. What will the world want to buy in the coming year? And how will consumers decide between two similar products? These are the questions that designers and brand managers struggle with perennially.
Generally, they will try to give the market what it wants. If consumers seem hungry for technology, they can develop a product that has that digital appeal: a new touch-friendly interface for a hand-held device or a cosmetics package that slides open like a cellular phone. If customers are concerned about economic problems and possible job loss, developers can create products that allow buyers to feel sensible, responsible and conservative.
As noted, all of these emotions have allegories in color. Warm reds and golds and soft browns and grays can help consumers feel safe. Flirty pinks, lime greens and luminous orange can tap into a feeling of youthful fun. Neon blues, electric purples and shiny blacks invoke high-tech. Marry these kinds of colors with a product intended to appeal to the same sensibilities and you magnify the effect. You create a difference, if only subtle, that can prompt a shopper to choose your product instead of another even though it may be almost identical except for its color.
However, while color experts may be able to say that a mossy green or a turquoise or a coral red might tap into a consumer's environmental consciousness, there are no guarantees. You can't make a non-sustainable product into an earth-friendly one simply by coloring it green. But if your product is made of all natural ingredients, the minimal packaging is compostable or recyclable, and your company operates responsibly, then you could call attention to these positive attributes with colors that are drawn from the natural world.
No Easy Answers
It is easy to fall into the trap of looking for the "next hot color." The truth is, however, that there is no such thing. There are colors that connect with certain people at certain times.
Sometimes the appeal reaches a larger demographic group than usual and it seems that "everyone" is buying or wearing the same thing. But successful colors are usually part of broader societal trends. The success or failure of a color used in a particular product or package is a result of much more than selection of the color itself. It really has to do with how well the product and the color connect with a consumer under market conditions. You can't rely on the fact that "this particular blue" will be successful, but you may be able to predict that "a light, silvery, slightly electric blue that suggests a confluence of space, time and technology" is more likely to successfully connect with consumers who are tuned into "the blending of the human and the technological."
Lastly, it is important to remember that consumers do not change their minds abruptly. They don't stop responding to one shade in favor of another. Rather, color preferences, like mass social trends, tend to evolve slowly in time and over geography. That's why no one can tell you what color to choose. The best they can do is provide information and inspiration that you can interpret and adapt to fit your own marketing objectives and product requirements.
Chris Pandis is the global head of packaging for Clariant Masterbatches, whose products are marketed under a number of global brand names—including OMNICOLOR universal color masterbatches. www.clariant.masterbatches.com; www.clariant.com


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GoDaddy pulls security site after MySpace complaints
A host of mailing list archives disappears after thousands of MySpace usernames and passwords are archived on the site.
MySpace demanded that GoDaddy pull the plug on Seclists.org, which hosts some 250,000 pages of mailing list archives and other resources, because a list of thousands of MySpace usernames and passwords was archived on the site. GoDaddy claims its customers own about 18 million domains.
GoDaddy complied. In a move that Seclists.org owner Fyodor Vaskovich said happened with no prior notice, the company deleted his domain name--causing his site to be effectively unreachable for about seven hours on Wednesday until he found out what was happening and removed the password list.
"They didn't tell me why they removed the site," Vaskovich, creator of the popular Nmap security auditing utility, said in a phone interview. "At a very minimum, we should get warning."
Vaskovich said he spent "hours and hours" on the phone with GoDaddy on Wednesday before he finally got through to someone who was willing to listen. As a result of this experience, he said in an e-mail announcement, "I'm in the market for a new registrar. One who doesn't immediately bend over for any large corporation who asks."
For her part, GoDaddy general counsel Christine Jones defended the abrupt deletion, saying: "We tried to contact the registrant, but they were not available at the time. To protect the MySpace users from potentially having private information revealed, we removed the site."
Jones pointed out that GoDaddy's terms of service say the company "reserves the right to terminate your access to the services at any time, without notice, for any reason whatsoever."
Jones and Vaskovich, however, tell substantially different versions of exactly what happened. Jones characterized the episode as lasting only about an hour, saying her abuse department unsuccessfully "tried to contact" Vaskovich and "he actually contacted us about an hour" later after the removal occurred.
But Vaskovich provided CNET News.com with a log of correspondence from GoDaddy that corroborates his version of the story. It indicated that only 52 seconds elapsed from an initial voice mail notification to the time the domain was marked as "suspended." GoDaddy did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.
Vaskovich says MySpace did not contact him directly. MySpace declined to respond to repeated inquiries on Thursday.
Michael Froomkin, a law professor at the University of Miami who has written about domain name regulation, says this is the first time he's heard of a registrar abruptly taking a customer offline without a court order.
"Some people might feel safer with a registrar that's a little more pro-customer," Froomkin said.
Froomkin said this week's incident raises novel free speech questions--not legal ones, as long as GoDaddy's terms of service are broad enough. Rather, he said, the issue is "the quality of their review" of complaints received from firms like MySpace.
GoDaddy's Jones said that "we're not knee-jerk--we try to be responsible about verifying complaints." There's a broad spectrum of policies among domain name registrars, she acknowledged, with GoDaddy "probably the most aggressive."
But, Jones said, GoDaddy has a 24-hour abuse department that deletes domain names used for spam or child pornography on a daily basis. "We're not here to allow people to put illegal content on the Internet," she said. "We take this safety and the security of the Internet very seriously...We take our responsibility pretty seriously. We're the largest registrar in the world."
When asked if GoDaddy would remove the registration for a news site like CNET News.com, if a reader posted illegal information in a discussion forum and editors could not be immediately reached over a holiday, Jones replied: "I don't know...It's a case-by-case basis."


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I can't believe I'm saying this, but today is the day that My Pale Skin turns one year old. When I started this blog a year ago, I had no idea it would receive the support it has. I didn't have a clue how big the beauty blogging world was, nor did I ever begin to imagine how it would change my life - or that I'd manage to hold onto a hobby for an entire year!
Before I started this blog, I wasn't really in a good place in my life. I had huge confidence issues due to some traumatic experiences I'd faced in the years previously. I also had a lot of spare time, and nothing to fill it with which meant that I felt like I was sort of just coasting through life. My general life pattern was work, internet, eat, sleep, repeat. My social and friendship circle was non existent - I didn't really have any friends, as i'd developed a coping mechanism of shutting people out to help me deal with a lot of the personal issues I was facing.
My Pale Skin has taught me so much, in such a short amount of time and that's all thanks to you. I can't even begin to express how much it fills me with joy to see that people actually read, comment and even watch what I have to say. But, here we are - one year and almost 300,000 page views later! I want to say thank you, to all of you, for clicking, tweeting, reading and joining me on my blogging adventure.
I'm so thankful for all of you for helping me grow, not only as a blogger, but as a person, and a friend. This blog means so much to me, and I can't wait to see where we are, or what we've overcome this time next year.
I've got some exciting things lined up to help celebrate this occasion, and that includes a full blog makeover! So expect to see some changes happen to the way My Pale Skin looks pretty soon! I'm also hoping to have a content upgrade and produce some more exciting content for you, which is where you come in. I'd love to hear what you'd like to see more of on this blog, what posts you like to read and which you're not too keen on - so do let me know in the comments.
Once again, Thank You. Thank you for reading, sharing and welcoming me into the blogging community. Thank you for helping me reach my first blog anniversary, and thank you for helping me let the light into my life.


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December 29, 2008
Attorney General Baker Obtains 2.4 Million Dollar Settlement For Medicaid Program From Cephalon Over Off-label Marketing Of Pharmaceuticals
Attorney General Thurbert Baker announced today that he had obtained a $2.4 million check for the Georgia Medicaid program from Cephalon, Inc. over off-label marketing of three of Cephalon's pharmaceuticals. Baker joined with other Attorneys General belonging to the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units as well as the federal government in reaching an agreement in principle with pharmaceutical manufacturer Cephalon, Inc. to settle allegations of the improper off-label marketing. The total payment by Cephalon to the states and the federal government totals $375 million in damages and penalties for Medicaid and other federal health care programs. Additionally, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania filed a one count Information in the United States District Court alleging a misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. In a plea agreement with the United States, Cephalon has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve this Information.
The national federal and state settlement totaling $425 million dollars resolves allegations that Cephalon promoted the drugs Provigil, Gabitril, and Actiq for uses other than what the Food and Drug Administration approved. Cephalon also funded continuing medical education programs, through millions of dollars in grants, to promote off-label uses for these drugs.
Provigil: Although FDA-approved to treat only narcolepsy and sleep disorders, Cephalon marketed Provigil as a non-stimulant drug to treat sleepiness, tiredness, decreased activity, lack of energy and fatigue.
Gabitril: Although FDA-approved as a partial treatment for seizures, Cephalon marketed Gabitril as a remedy for anxiety, insomnia, and pain. Following reports of seizures in patients taking Gabitril that did not have epilepsy, the FDA required Cephalon to send a warning to physicians advising them of the risks of seizures in connection with off-label Gabitril use.
Actiq: Although FDA-approved to treat opioid-tolerant cancer patients (or those patients for whom morphine-based painkillers are no longer effective), Cephalon marketed Actiq for conditions including migraines, sickle-cell pain crises, injuries, and in anticipation of changing wound dressing or radiation therapy.
This settlement reimburses the federal government and the participating states for excessive amounts paid by the Medicaid program as a result of Cephalon's improper off-label marketing campaign. Additionally, Cephalon entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, requiring strict scrutiny of its future marketing and sales practices.
Georgia's $2.4 million share of the settlement represents $797,321.62 for restitution, additional damages of $1,594,643.25, and $66,119.17 in interest. The damages attributable to the federal matching portion of Georgia Medicaid dollars were recovered by the federal goverment separately from Georgia's $2.4 million share of the settlement.


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These modules drive four analog output channels and also feature four discrete outputs for on/off control. Isolation separates the output, power, and network circuits.
Name | Action |
| Download |
Model No. | Model Description |
917MB-0900 | Modbus RTU DC Current Output Module |
918MB-0900 | Modbus RTU DC Voltage Output Module |
These devices are Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP gateway converter for 1, 2, & 4 Serial ports. Up to 16 simultaneous Modbus TCP masters are supported, with up to 31 RTU/ASCII slaves per serial port. For RTU/ASCII masters, up to 32 TCP slaves are supported. Standard Modbus network integration, Moxa protocol converter gateway The three standard MGate™ Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP gateway converters (MB3180, MB3280, and MB3480) are designed for easy integration of Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP gateway.. With these models, Modbus serial slave devices can be seamlessly incorporated into an existing Modbus TCP network, and Modbus TCP slaves can be made accessible to serial masters. The MB3180, MB3280, and MB3480 offer features that make network integration easy, customizable, and compatible with almost any Modbus network. High density, cost effective gateway The MGate™ MB3000 Series Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP gateway converters can effectively connect a high density of Modbus nodes to the same network. The MB3280 can manage up to 62 serial slave nodes, and the MB3480 can manage up to 124 serial slave nodes. Each RS-232/422/485 serial port can be configured individually for Modbus RTU or Modbus ASCII operation and for different baudrates, allowing both types of networks to be integrated with Modbus TCP through one Modbus gateway. Auto-Device Routing for Easy Configuration (Patent Pending) Moxa's Auto-Device Routing function helps eliminate many of the problems and inconveniences encountered by engineers who need to configure large numbers of Modbus devices. A single mouse click is all that's required to set up a slave ID routing table and configure Modbus gateways to automatically detect Modbus requests from a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. By removing the need to manually create the slave ID routing table, the Auto-Device Routing function saves engineers significant time and cost.
The MGate MB3660 (MB3660-8 and MB3660-16) are Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP Gateway, redundant Modbus gateways that convert between the Modbus TCP and Modbus RTU/ASCII protocols. They can be accessed by up to 256 TCP master/client devices, or connect to 128 TCP slave/server devices. The MGate MB3660 series Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP Gateway has isolation models which provides 2 kV isolation protection suitable for power substation applications. The MGate MB3660 gateways are designed to easily integrate Modbus TCP and RTU/ASCII networks. The MGate MB3660 series gateways offer features that make network integration easy, customizable, and compatible with almost any Modbus network. For large-scale Modbus deployments, MGate MB3660 gateways can effectively connect a large number of Modbus nodes to the same network. The MB3660 series can physically manage up to 248 serial slave nodes for 8-port models or 496 serial slave nodes for 16-port models (the Modbus standard only defines Modbus IDs from 1 to 247). Each RS-232/422/485 serial port can be configured individually for Modbus RTU or Modbus ASCII operation and for different baudrates, allowing both types of networks to be integrated with Modbus TCP through one Modbus gateway.
24G-port Layer 2 full Gigabit managed Ethernet switches
Process automation and transportation automation applications combine data, voice, and video, and consequently require high performance and high reliability industrial grade rackmount switches. The IKS-G6524A series full Gigabit backbone switches are equipped with 24 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and support Layer 3 routing functionality to facilitate the deployment of applications across networks, making them ideal for large scale industrial networks. The IKS-G6524A's full Gigabit capability increases bandwidth to provide high performance and the ability to quickly transfer large amounts of video, voice, and data across a network. The switches support the Turbo Ring, Turbo Chain, and RSTP/STP redundancy protocols, and are fanless and come with an isolated redundant power supply to increase system reliability and the availability of your network backbone.
24+2G/24+4G-port modular managed Ethernet switches
The IKS-6726A/6728A series of industrial rackmount switches are designed to meet the rigorous demands of mission critical applications for industry and business, such as traffic control systems and maritime applications. The IKS-6726A/6728A's Gigabit and fast Ethernet backbone, redundant ring, and 24/48 VDC or 110/220 VAC ual isolated redundant power supplies increase the reliability of your communications and save on cabling and wiring costs. The modular design of the IKS-6726A/6728A also makes network planning easy, and allows greater flexibility by letting you install up to 4 Gigabit ports and 24 fast Ethernet ports.
The RKS-G4028 Series is designed to meet the rigorous demands of mission-critical applications for industry and business, such as power substation automation systems (IEC 61850-3, IEEE 1613), railway applications (EN 50121-4), and factory automation systems. The RKS-G4028 Series' Gigabit and Fast Ethernet backbone, redundant ring, and 24 VDC, 48 VDC, or 110/220 VDC/VAC dual isolated redundant power supplies increase the reliability of your communications and save on wiring costs.
The modular design of the RKS-G4028 Series also makes network planning easy, and allows greater flexibility by letting you install up to 28 Gigabit ports with various connector types.
8, 8+3G, 16, 16+3G-port compact modular managed Ethernet switches
The versatile modular design of the compact EDS-600 series Ethernet switch allows users to combine fiber and copper modules to create switch solutions suitable for any automation network. The EDS-600's modular design lets you install up to 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 16 Fast Ethernet ports, and the advanced Turbo Ring and Turbo Chain (recovery time < 20 ms) technology, RSTP/STP, and MSTP helps increase the reliability and availability of your industrial Ethernet network. Models with an extended operating temperature range of -40 to 75°C are also available. The EDS-600 series supports several reliable and intelligent functions, including IEEE 1588 PTPv2, EtherNet/ IP, Modbus/TCP, LLDP, DHCP Option 82, SNMP Inform, QoS, IGMP snooping, VLAN, TACACS+, IEEE 802.1X, HTTPS, SSH, SNMPv3, and more, making the Ethernet switches suitable for any harsh industrial environment.
7+3G-port Gigabit managed Ethernet switches
The EDS-510E is a Industrial grade managed ethernet switch. The Gigabit managed Ethernet switch is designed to meet rigorous mission critical applications, such as factory automation, ITS and process control. The 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports allows great flexibility to build up a Gigabit redundant Turbo Ring and a Gigabit uplink. The switch adopts USB interfaces for switch configuration, system file backup, and firmware upgrade, making it easier to manage.
8G/12G/16G-port full Gigabit managed Ethernet switches
The EDS-G500E series is a Industrial grade managed ethernet switch& is equipped with 8/12/16 Gigabit Ethernet ports and up to 4 fiber optic ports, making it ideal for upgrading an existing network to Gigabit speed or building a new full Gigabit backbone. Gigabit transmission increases bandwidth for higher performance and transfers large amounts of triple-play services across a network quickly. Redundant Ethernet Turbo Ring, Turbo Chain, RSTP/STP, and MSTP increase system reliability and the availability of your network backbone. The EDS-G500E series is designed especially for communication demanding applications, such as video and process monitoring, ITS, and DCS systems, all of which can benefit from a scalable backbone construction.
28G-port Layer 2 full Gigabit modular managed Ethernet switch
The MDS-G4028 Series modular managed ethernet switch supports up to 28 Gigabit ports, including 4 embedded ports, 6 interface module expansion slots, and 2 power module slots to ensure sufficient flexibility for a variety of applications. The highly compact MDS-G4000 Series is designed to meet evolving network requirements, ensuring effortless installation and maintenance, and features a hot-swappable module design that enables you to easily change or add modules without shutting down the switch or interrupting network operations. The multiple Ethernet modules (RJ45, SFP, and PoE+) and power units (24/48 VDC, 110/220 VAC/VDC) provide even greater flexibility as well as suitability for different operating conditions, delivering an adaptive full Gigabit platform that provides the versatility and bandwidth necessary to serve as an Ethernet aggregation/edge switch. Featuring a compact design that fits in confined spaces, multiple mounting methods, and convenient tool-free module installation, the MDS-G4000 Series switches enable versatile and effortless deployment without the need for highly skilled engineers. With multiple industry certifications and a highly durable housing, the MDS-G4000 Series can reliably operate in tough and hazardous environments such as power substations, mining sites, ITS, and oil and gas applications. Support for dual power modules provides redundancy for high reliability and availability while LV and HV power module options offer additional flexibility to accommodate the power requirements of different applications. In addition, the MDS-G4000 Series modular managed ethernet switches features an HTML5–based, user-friendly web interface providing a responsive, smooth user experience across different platforms and browsers. Check MDS-G4012 (12 port modular switch) clicking here & MDS-G4020 (20 ports modular switch) on clicking here
8G+6 2.5GbE-port full Gigabit managed Ethernet switches
The EDS-G4014 Series is equipped with eight Gigabit Ethernet ports and six 2.5 Gbps fiber-optic ports, making it ideal for upgrading an existing network to Gigabit speed or building a new full Gigabit backbone. Gigabit transmission speed increases bandwidth for higher performance and can transfer large amounts of triple-play services across a network quickly. Redundant Ethernet technologies such as Turbo Ring, Turbo Chain, and RSTP/STP increase the reliability of your system and improve the availability of your network backbone. The EDS-G4014 Series is designed specifically for demanding applications such as video and process monitoring, ITS, and DCS systems, all of which can benefit from a scalable backbone. The EDS-G4014 Series is compliant with the IEC 62443-4-2 and IEC 62443-4-1 Industrial Cybersecurity certifications, which cover both product security and secure development life-cycle requirements, helping our customers meet the compliance requirements of secure industrial network design.
Railway 1, 2, and 4-port RS-232/422/485 serial device servers
The NPort 5000AI-M12 is a Serial to Ethernet Module, designed to make serial devices network-ready in an instant, and provides direct access to serial devices from anywhere on the network. Moreover, the NPort 5000AI-M12 is compliant with EN 50121-4 and mandatory sections of EN 50155, covering operating temperature, power input voltage, surge, ESD, and vibration, making them suitable for rolling stock and wayside applications where high levels of vibration exist in the operating environment.
1-port RS-232/422/485 serial device servers
The NPort® 5100A device servers are worlds most popular Serial to Ethernet Gateways, designed to make serial devices network-ready in an instant and give your PC software direct access to serial devices from anywhere on the network. The NPort® 5100A device servers are ultra-lean, ruggedized, and user-friendly, making simple and reliable serial-to-Ethernet solutions possible. A Greener Serial-to-Ethernet Solution
The MiiNe is a small but powerful Arm-based serial-to-Ethernet SoC with RAM and Flash embedded. With the MiiNe inside, the NPort® 5110A Series' power consumption is less than 1 W. The NPort® 5100A Series saves at least 50% on power consumption compared to existing solutions on the market, helping engineers meet the tough environmental compliance challenges found in today's industrial environments.
1-port RS-232 / 422 / 485 serial device server.
NPort 5100 series device servers (serial to ethernet converters) are designed to make serial devices network-ready in an instant. The small size of the servers makes them ideal for connecting serial devices such as card readers and payment terminals where connections are RS-232 & devices like PLC's, Energy meters where Serial ports are RS-422 or RS-485, to an IP-based Ethernet LAN. Use the NPort 5100 series device servers to give your PC software direct access to serial devices from anywhere on the network. Using serial to ethernet converters to connect legacy serial devices to Ethernet is now common, and users expect device servers to be cost-effective and to provide a broad selection of useful functions. With its full support of Microsoft and Linux operating systems, the NPort 5110 provides the best choice for serial (RS-232)-to-Ethernet converters. For RS-485 port or a combo – RS-232 / 422 / 485 ports, please use our Nport 5130 or Nport 5150 models!
2-port RS-232/422/485 serial device servers
The NPort 5200 serial to ethernet device servers are designed to make your industrial serial devices Internet-ready in no time. The compact size of NPort 5200 serial device servers makes them the ideal choice for connecting your RS-232 (NPort 5210/5230/5210-T/5230-T) or RS-422/485 (NPort 5230/5232/5232I/5230-T/5232-T/5232I-T) serial devices—such as PLCs, meters, and sensors—to an IP-based Ethernet LAN, making it possible for your software to access serial devices from anywhere over a local LAN or the Internet. The NPort 5200 Series has a number of useful features, including standard TCP/IP protocols and choice of operation modes, Real COM/TTY drivers for existing software, and remote control of serial devices with TCP/IP or traditional COM/TTY Port.
8 and 16-port RS-232/422/485 terminal servers with dual-LAN redundancy
The CN2600 has two separate LAN ports that can be connected to separate LAN networks. Dual-LAN redundancy involves setting up two separate physical networks to connect the PC host with the CN2600 (the PC host also requires two LAN cards). If one connection fails, the PC host can still communicate with your serial devices over the alternative LAN connection.
8 and 16-port RS-232 terminal servers
The CN2510 provides an easy console management solution in a convenient 1U rackmount package. With its RS-232 ports, connections are easily established to the console ports of network equipment, such as Unix servers or routers, for centralized management of the attached devices. Each device's RS-232 console port becomes a network-accessible node, giving users Telnet access from anywhere on the network for configuration and management of the device. Full modem control signals are supported, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of serial peripherals.
8/16/32-port RS-232/422/485 rackmount secure terminal servers
The NPort® 6600 series of secure device servers is the right choice for applications that use large numbers of serial devices packed into a small space. Security breaches are intolerable and the NPort® 6600 ensures data transmission integrity with support of DES, 3DES, and AES encryption algorithms. Serial devices of any type can be connected to the NPort® 6600, and each serial port on the NPort® can be configured independently for RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485 transmission.
4-port RS-232/422/485 secure terminal servers
The NPort® 6450 is a 4-port device server that uses the SSL and SSH protocols to transmit encrypted serial data over Ethernet. Up to 4 serial devices of any type can be connected to the NPort® 6450, with all four devices using the same IP address. The Ethernet port can be configured for a normal or secure TCP/IP connection.
2-port RS-232/422/485 secure terminal servers
The 2-port NPort® 6250 device servers use the SSL and SSH protocols to transmit encrypted serial data over Ethernet. Models are available for connecting to a 10/100BaseT(X) copper Ethernet or 100BaseT(X) fiber network. Both single-mode and multi-mode fiber are supported.
1-port RS-232/422/485 secure terminal servers
The NPort® 6150 1-port device servers use the SSL and SSH protocols to transmit encrypted serial data over Ethernet. The NPort® 6150's 3-in-1 serial port supports RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485, with the interface selected from an easy-to-access configuration menu.


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"The (Polar) Bear Facts," Checked
Written by Shauna Theel
In response to the suspension of federal scientist Charles Monnett, author of a 2006 article documenting polar bear deaths, conservative media have tried to dismiss the threat posed to polar bears by global warming. On Sunday, a New York Post editorial claimed Monnett's paper "led directly to the 2008 classification of the bears as a 'threatened' species, whose survival is allegedly at risk due to global warming." The editorial, titled "The (polar) bear facts," concluded that there is "no need to weep for 'threatened' polar bears just yet - nor, especially, for the planet."
In fact, the Fish and Wildlife Service's determination that "the polar bear is threatened throughout its entire range by ongoing and projected changes in sea ice habitat" was based on a comprehensive evaluation of "the best available scientific and commercial information on polar bear habitat and projected effects of various factors (including climate change) on the quantity and distribution of polar bear habitat."
Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity stated in response to Sen. James Inhofe's claim that Monnett's paper provided "the foundation" for the FWS determination: "That paper was one of literally hundreds of scientific articles cited in the listing."
Indeed, the determination cites many studies documenting how the "observed declines in the extent of Arctic sea ice" has and will affect polar bears, for instance:
Many researchers over the past 40 years have predicted an array of impacts to polar bears from climatic change that include adverse effects on denning, food chain disruption, and prey availability (Budyko 1966, p. 20; Lentfer 1972, p. 169; Tynan and DeMaster 1997, p. 315; Stirling and Derocher 1993, pp. 241-244).
Stirling and Derocher (1993, p. 240) first noted changes, such as declining body condition, lowered reproductive rates, and reduced cub survival, in polar bears in western Hudson Bay; they attributed these changes to a changing ice environment. Subsequently, Stirling et al. (1999, p. 303) established a statistically significant link between climate change in western Hudson Bay, reduced ice presence, and observed declines in polar bear physical and reproductive parameters, including body condition (weight) and natality. More recently Stirling and Parkinson (2006, p. 266) established a statistically significant decline in weights of lone and suspected pregnant adult female polar bears in western Hudson Bay between 1988 and 2004. Reduced body weights of adult females during fall have been correlated with subsequent declines in cub survival (Atkinson and Ramsay 1995, p. 559; Derocher and Stirling 1996, p. 1,250; Derocher and Wiig 2002, p. 347).
The Post editorial also falsely suggested that a recent study raises doubt about the basic fact that "carbon-dioxide emissions trap heat in the atmosphere" and falsely claimed that "climategate" showed scientists "fudg[ing] the facts."


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At some point in this post I'm going to be tempted to say "copy cat," so I'm just going to say it now. Copy Cat. There, it's out of my system, now let's move on.
On fieldwork in Brasil (so jealous right now) a group of researchers saw a large cat called a margay making some weird noises. It sounded like a pied tamarin pup, a small, supercute primate species, and I recommend you click through that link so you can bask in the cuteness.
In pied tamarin society only the alpha female gives birth, usually to twins, and the pups are looked after mostly by the father. So when the margay made some pup-like mewls, an adult male pied tamarin came down to see what the deal was.
The pied tamarin stayed in the area for a good half hour while the male was keeping an eye out. But as he was watching, the margay made his move. Across some branches… almost… almost… but at the last moment the pied tamarin saw the cat and raised the alarm. All the pied tamarins in the group high tailed outta there quicker than a pirate on shore leave.
In this instance, the margay went without its meal, but a cat using noises to attract prey is unusual. In fact, this was the first time (report came out June 2009) a feline from the neotropical region was found to mimic animal cries. What's really interesting about the report is that it says local Amazon jungle inhabitants had already told them that the margay and other cats in the area mimicked animals to catch prey. But we don't accept it scientifically until some scientists witness it and write a report. Just strikes me as unnecessary. Maybe I'm being unscientific, I don't know.
The margay is an interesting feline. It spends most of its time in trees. It is one of only two cats with the ankles needed to climb down trees head first, the other one being the clouded leopard. It's been seen dangling from trees hanging by only one foot. I wonder if that observation was made by a scientist?