text: Good Nutrition All Day LongIn the February 2013 issue of School Nutrition, author Cecily Walters examined summer feeding programs that provide breakfast, lunch and snack—or a combination thereof—to kids during the long break from school. The article includes advice from school nutrition operators who offer summer meals programs. The following are additional reflections from Marilyn Moody, SNS, senior director of child nutrition services for the Wake County (N.C.) Public School System.The Wake County (N.C.) Public School System school nutrition team serves an impressive number of summer meals, likely helped by the sheer length of time it has been offering the Summer Food Service Program: "For more years than existing staff can remember," says Moody. Her team uses its website to promote the program to the community, but over time has found that word-of-mouth has proven to be the most effective way to spread the word about summer meals. In addition to daily participation increases, her department is vending meals to more summer sponsors than ever before—a number that has more than doubled in the past five years. "We promoted our program through a Department of Health and Human Services panel three years ago, and this opened the door to many summer camp sponsors," Moody explains.Wake County's summer foodservice sites are all closed and they include camps, parks and recreation programs, Boys and Girls Clubs and churches, in addition to summer school programs. At the summer school sites, students receive traditional offer vs. serve menu options, while the team pre-plates and bags meals for the program's satellite sites. Wake County serves pizza, hot dogs, cheese dippers, chicken sandwiches and tacos for hot items, while cold items include chef salads, yogurt parfaits and deli sandwiches. A chef salad with chicken bites and nachos with queso sauce have been particular hits with kids, who also enjoy farm-to-school-sourced fresh fruit, especially summertime peaches.As longstanding veterans in serving summer meals, Moody and her team acknowledge that experience makes a number of aspects of managing the program easier than others. For example, "Over time, it's become easier for us to manage hot food, by limiting the number of [those] meals that we deliver," says Moody. "We packaged more foods last summer to reduce damage to food during transportation." Another lesson learned: Train site staff at one central location, instead of individually at each site.Moody doesn't pull punches about the headaches that can accompany program administration. For example, she says that despite changes by USDA to improve the site sponsor application process, it "remains cumbersome, lengthy and difficult." In addition, despite the training she conducts, "It is still hard to get site staff to follow the regulations in place, and monitoring is difficult for programs that operate for a very short time period," she notes.In addition to providing nutritious meals to students who might otherwise experience hunger during the summer, Moody is proud that her operation's summer feeding efforts can provide summer employment for her staff. It may only be two months' extra pay, but it helps many of them get by.


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Home > Pole Dance Shoes > Sexy Ankle Strap Shoes
Strappy shoes are incredibly sexy, and very practical for pole dancing as the straps make sure the shoes stay put.
If you've been taking pole dancing classes in bare feet for a while now, you may be thinking about trying out your first pair of pole shoes.
If so, I definitely recommend going for a pair of sexy ankle strap shoes for the added safety benefit.
No one needs to know there's an ulterior motive for your choice, since all these styles are incredibly yummy!
But whether you're looking for platform pole dancing shoes with straps to make sure you don't lose your shoes during inverts, or you've just always wanted a pair of shoes that lace up, and up...and up, you're sure to find the perfect style here.
I'm always on the lookout for new styles of sexy strappy shoes, so be sure to check back often if you don't see what you're looking for today.
Remember, we shop the web for you to bring you as wide a selection as possible, at the best possible prices. But we don't actually stock any of these products.
Instead, when you click on any shoe above, you'll go directly to the retailer's website where you can get more details. If you'd like to purchase the item, you'll be able to do so right from their site.
It's just easier (and cheaper!) for you to deal directly with the seller than for us to try to stock all these shoes!
Couldn't find just the right pair? Oh well, maybe it's just a bad shoe day. I've got loads of other sexy women's shoes and boots for you to see. Maybe you'll find something else you like here...

subset: commoncrawl


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Apple's video chat feature FaceTime has bridged the miles for families, sparked a ton of romances and probably shattered a few marriages.
This may be the first time it's ever shipwrecked someone, though.
John Berg was sailing off the coast of Kona, Hawaii when a FaceTime login request started messing with the navigation app on his iPad. Although sailing apps on smartphones and tablets so popular they're credited with having sunk the market for Garmin products, imprecise navigation has been a concern.
He was almost at the finish line for the journey of a lifetime: Berg, who is blind, and crew sailed for 21 days covering 2,800 miles from Banderas Bay in Mexico to Hawaii in a 40-foot-boat dubbed the Seaquel.
An app called iNavX on Berg's iPad guided the Seaquel's GPS. As they headed for the night's waypoint, the screen was taken hostage by a system request to log in to FaceTime. And then another request to log in to iCloud. Berg and crew couldn't figure out how to dismiss the request and log back in to iNavX. Things spiraled down into an All is Lost–scenario when it turned out that although Berg's iPhone had the app installed, the waypoint wasn't set.
The vessel, a Nordic 40, cracked open on the jagged reefs just three miles from its destination. Fortunately, neither Berg nor the crew were injured and swam to safety. The boat is a goner, though.
Berg, who had lived aboard the boat for 12 years with his daughter, only blames himself.
"I just want to make it crystal clear that it was my boat, I was the captain, and it was me who screwed up. Even though I had sighted crew with me, it was my fault we lost the boat," he told magazine Latitude 38.
Even so, it'd be nice if some Apple fan had an unused boat for Berg to call home now.
Via Latitude 38


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This section contains 984 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)
All steel must be tempered – subjected to great heat, almost enough to melt or destroy the metal – to make it stronger... Temper us in the fire, and we grow stronger. When we suffer, we survive.
-- John Carstairs (Prologue, Fall Like Rain paragraph 10)
Importance: When the novel begins, Emma's father explains to her the importance of new weaponry, and how it becomes stronger. He equates the stress weapons must undergo to become stronger to the trials in human life that make people stronger. His words are prophetic, as John and his wife will soon be murdered by demons. It will be the greatest challenge of Emma's young life – and will serve to make her stronger in the long run.
I am coming.
-- Sebastian (Part 1, Chapter 1, The Portion of Their Cup paragraph 29)
Importance: Sebastian's chilling warning to the members of the Clave, and to Clary and Jace, is that he is coming. Sebastian's warning portends war, destruction, and death. It leads many to believe that Sebastian...
This section contains 984 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)


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Within a couple of weeks of moving to New York, I'd seen Juelz Santana twice without even trying, and both times he drove little kids to screaming. I'd never paid much mind to Juelz, but he's working hard in this city, and this is his city. One of the things that makes rap the most fascinating music in the world is its regionalism, the way someone like the Three-6 Mafia can be absolutely huge in one city and then be virtually unknown everywhere else. Whereas someone like 50 Cent is a global pop star who happens to come from New York, Juelz and the Diplomats are a regional rap group whose region is New York. They've got the specifically defined aesthetic and mythical local connections and impenetrable slang of a regional rap group, and they grind out mixtapes at the same insane rate. They're also one of the few New York groups to work with regional groups from other places. Jadakiss might show up on a Lil Jon album from time to time, but the Diplomats are on more Southern mixtapes and albums than any other New York artist. Juelz has done tracks with Lil Wayne and Paul Wall and Young Jeezy, and he lists the non-New York rappers Tupac and Scarface as his main influences. He might not be my favorite rapper, but I like a lot of what he's doing.
I did this interview over the phone yesterday afternoon. Phone interviews rarely tell you much of anything about the artist in question, but I should emphasize that Juelz had a rare conviction in his voice throughout the interview. He really does believe that he's the voice of young people today.
I just moved up to New York a few weeks ago, and the first weekend I was here, I saw the show you played in the park on the Lower East Side. You played for like 20 minutes, and then you probably spent longer signing autographs for kids who were going apeshit over you.
I get real motivated when I be out and I do a performance. I may say to myself that I'm going to go straight to the car, but then I get in that mode because I know what it's like to be a fan, to just look up to somebody like that. People think stars are so hard to reach and so hard to touch. When I'm out, especially in the hood—that was the hood, that area, the Lower East Side—I got to give that love back. I feel like I'm amongst the same kids I grew up with on the block.
I didn't realize that you were such a big deal to these kids up here.
To be honest with you, that was real life out there. It gets eighty times bigger than that. I represent them. I'm the voicebox of the youth right now, today's average teenager becoming a man, the same shit he's going through, the hustle, the struggle, the situations you get put through to go through life. People struggle everywhere. People are poor everywhere. People deal with pain and hurt and shit everywhere, so that's what I get across. And the youth is a big part of that because that's what I speak from.
It was interesting to me the extent to which you get love in New York specifically. It almost seems to me like the Diplomats in New York are like Three-6 Mafia in Memphis or E-40 in the Bay Area.
If you cut Dipset from New York right now in the situation that it's in, the way New York is going right now, what would you have? That would impeach the only hope we have left right now. Not to say that we're the only hope, but there's a lot of niggas right now that ain't keeping it as real, ain't doing the type of shit we be doing and representing the way we be representing. If they want New York to be where it needs to be, then niggas need to work hard. In the South, niggas is working hard to be put in the situation that they be put in. So how can you be mad at anybody or be mad that people from the South is popping or be mad that niggas from Houston is popping? Regardless of what they be doing, that doesn't stop any one man from doing his thing. I notice that a lot; New York niggas seem mad at South niggas because they popping, and that is crazy to me. First and foremost, we had it for so long. Feel me?
Yeah, rappers up here seem like they feel like they shouldn't have to work as hard.
Yeah, the thing is, they working harder and they coming with real music that people can relate to. Niggas is chasing a certain success or a certain level of respect that is not bigger than New York. You gotta expose the people to your shit. Right now, a lot of people don't be doing that.
You've been known to work with a lot of Southern artists, like Paul Wall and Lil Wayne. What led you to work with people who are from outside what might be your comfort zone?
I just fuck with real niggas. If I see a nigga putting in that work and that effort, and I feel like he believes in himself and he's just coming across like that to me, then I fuck with him. It's bigger than music. I don't care if they happen to be popular. If you hear me fuck with a nigga, it's because I genuinely respect him. I respect they shit, especially niggas like Lil Wayne or somebody of that caliber.
I saw you on 106 & Park this weekend, and you said that your two main influences as a rapper were Tupac and Scarface. Why them?
The realness they brought. Tupac and Scarface were two of the realest dudes ever to do hip-hop. Tupac managed to cross over and be one of the most successful. Even Scarface is very successful. But these are two of the most grimiest niggas. They music, they taught you all about Houston. Scarface, Geto Boys, you knew all about Houston before you ever went to Texas. You knew about the Fifth Ward. They told you about it. That's what you gotta do, you gotta make people come where you at, be where you from. A lot of people ain't doing that no more.
Do you feel like you're doing that for New York?
It's not like I'm specifically setting out to do it for New York; I'm doing it to make myself comfortable. I'm doing what's real to me, what comes to my heart. I feel like a lot of people in New York, that's what they're not doing. They not doing what comes to they heart and what they really want to do. They doing a bunch of shit that they think is right, that's going to be accessible to other people.
The Diplomats have been known to have problems in the past with Mase, and he just signed to G-Unit. What do you think about that?
I don't even think about that. When it comes to that dude, I look at it like, yo man, he's doing a lot of stuff to his self. That's in God's hands. He's playing with a higher power; it's not even for me to judge him. I'll leave that up to God, to do anything when it comes to that man. I don't even think nobody should say nothing or comment about him; his actions speak for themselves. What kind of man are you? That's my only words. What kind of man are you? Quote that.
I was covering the Scream Tour at Madison Square Garden, and I was really surprised to see you come out at that. What was that like?
That reaction was real crazy. That was the biggest thing ever for me, to come out at Madison Square Garden. I dreamt about that, something I always thought was real far-fetched. I still had a lot to accomplish just to get there, and to go out there and get the type of love I did, it let me know that I was definitely on the right path. I just need to keep people interested and keep people enjoying everything I do, and eventually I'll get to the level where I need to be. Not want to be, because I don't want to be nowhere. I feel like it's destined for me to be there. Some niggas are made to have money; some niggas are made to not. I'm made to start shit, man.
This article from the Village Voice Archive was posted on September 14, 2005


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Tracy Morgan sues Wal-Mart for crash that killed 1
TRENTON, N.J. - Tracy Morgan has sued Wal-Mart over last month's highway crash that seriously injured him and killed a fellow comedian.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, claims Wal-Mart was negligent when a driver of one of its tractor-trailers rammed into Morgan's limousine van. The complaint claims the retail giant should have known the driver had been awake for over 24 hours, and that his commute of 700 miles from his home in Georgia to work in Delaware was "unreasonable." It also alleges the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
"As a result of Wal-Mart's gross, reckless, willful, wanton, and intentional conduct, it should be appropriately punished with the imposition of punitive damages," according to the complaint.
The June 7 wreck on the New Jersey Turnpike killed 62-year-old comedian James McNair, who went by the name Jimmy Mack. Comedian Ardley Fuqua and Jeffrey and Krista Millea, who were injured as passengers in the limo, are also named as plaintiffs.
Morgan, the former "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" star, suffered a broken leg and broken ribs in the crash and is currently in a rehabilitation center. Fuqua is recovering from crash-related injuries.
Truck driver Kevin Roper, 35, of Jonesboro, Georgia, has pleaded not guilty to death by auto and assault by auto charges. A criminal complaint also accuses him of not sleeping for more than 24 hours before the crash, a violation of New Jersey law.
A report by federal transportation safety investigators said Roper was driving 65 mph in the 60 seconds before he slammed into the limo van. The speed limit on that stretch of the turnpike is 55 mph and was lowered to 45 mph that night because of construction.
Roper had been on the job about 13 1/2 hours at the time of the crash, the report concluded. Federal rules permit truck drivers to work up to 14 hours a day, with a maximum of 11 hours behind the wheel.
Morgan, a New York City native, was returning from a standup performance at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Delaware when the crash occurred.
Morgan's lawsuit seeks a jury trial and punitive and compensatory damages.
A Wal-Mart statement released Saturday read, "We are deeply sorry that one of our trucks was involved. As we've said, we're cooperating fully in the ongoing investigation.
"We know it will take some time to resolve all of the remaining issues as a result of the accident, but we're committed to doing the right thing for all involved."
A spokesperson for Morgan confirmed to CBS News that the comedian and the other victims had filed suit, and directed any further questions to their attorney.


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News.com Poll
I am single and bitter, so I'm not exactly in the mood for Valentine's Day Saturday.
I did, however, get to thinking about some of the gifts I could get from my imaginary girlfriend that would make the day suck even more. Which one on my list would ruin your day of hearts and flowers most? Or are there others that would be even worse?
Love, Matt Hickey" credit="Matt Hickey" />


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Shannon Eastin to Become First Female NFL Referee
Shannon Eastin is making history this week as the first woman to referee a National Football League game and she acknowledges that she is a bit of a pioneer.
"I would say probably most of the way, to some degree, yes. Even in my previous experience in judo, I did a lot of things that were first there," Eastin said in a news conference Tuesday.
Eastin, 42, will serve as the line judge in Thursday's pre-season game between the San Diego Chargers and the Green Bay Packers.
"I'm excited. Every step is hope that I can continue to show it really doesn't matter male or female, as long as you work hard," Eastin said.
She is getting her chance in part because the league's regular officials are locked out in a labor dispute. It's not clear whether she would be able to stick in the NFL once a new deal is signed.
"I'm going to continue doing what I've been doing and work with the NFL as long as they need me. Should that change, pursue going back to college or you never know," she said.
Eastin is no rookie to the game. She enters her 17 th season as a football official. She spent the last four seasons refereeing college football in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), which fields 13 teams competing in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division 1-AA.
"For me this is my dream coming true. I'm honored the NFL has chosen to place me in this position. I feel blessed and excited. I'm a little nervous in anticipation," Easton said.
This isn't the first time Easton has been in the spotlight. She is a world-class judo athlete, earning six national judo championships. At age 11, she was the youngest judo athlete to ever be accepted to train at the United States Olympic Training Center.
She feels her greatest challenge this week will be the rule differences of the NFL game. Easton said she's been spending a lot of time on the rules in terms of positioning, and fortunately the mechanics are quite similar.
There has always been pressure on Eastin in this profession, but she plans to take negative criticism or potential backlash from an unpopular call in stride.
"Knowing that I'm a female in a man's world, I've always put the most pressure on myself. Pretty much everything I do is going to be magnified. I know what I signed up for," Eastin explained. "I have to be bigger, stronger, know that I understand the rules. I have to do things even better than the men that are working. And I'm ok with that."
To keep herself focused, Eastin tends to stick with the people who want to see her succeed rather than focus on those who don't want to see her succeed, or think that she can't simply because she's a woman. Standing at only 5-foot-5, she has some pretty big shoes to fill in this male-dominated sport, but nonetheless, Eastin believes she's ready.
"I believe that I'm ready. I'm a realistic type person. I know what' s realistic for me. It's not realistic for me to play in the NFL, but it is realistic for me to officiate," Eastin said. "I've done a lot to make myself ready for this opportunity. I'm going in with my eyes wide open and I'm going to continue to work hard."
Despite all the publicity she's receiving for her major accomplishment as the first female NFL referee, she remains humble about the entire situation.
"I can't believe it. I get a little teary-eyed. I just want to do a good job. I just want to be unnoticed out there, even though I know everyone's watching," Eastin said.


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Saturday, April 26 at 1:00 PM the Theatre Arts III/IV class will present their drama showcase in the GHHS Auditorium. Come watch a series of amazing scenes from well-known plays, monologues both funny and dramatic, and a short one act. Again, this event is free and open to anyone who wishes to attend. Donations will be accepted for the program.
*Material presented at this showcase may not be suitable for young children.
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Admission Notification
ADMISSION NOTIFICATION for the year 2017-2018 B.Sc Nursing Course(4 Years) at Muslim Maternity and Zanana General Hospital, Recognized by INC and Affiliated by KNR University, Warangal. ...
Muslim Maternity and Children's Hospital, Chaderghat, Hyderabad, India
Muslim maternity & Children's Hospital conducted the visit of Honourble Deputy Chief minister of Telangana State Janab.Mohammad Mahmood Ali on dated 04-06-2014.The visit was organized by Islamic Social Service Society (ISSS).
Janab Khaja Arif Uddin Sahab – president, Dr.M.A. Majeed khan Sahab –chairman (M.A.C), janab. Azhar uddin Sahab – Vice President & Dr.M.Elias Ali Khan Shab – Chief Executive Officer attended the function.
This Islamic Social Service Society Organisation is working hand-in-hand with all minority Communities for their upliftment of poor & needy patients in Muslim Maternity & Children's Hospital.


text: We are delighted that you have chosen to interview Restaino & Associates Realtors® to be your partner in helping you sell your home. We know selling your home can seem like an overwhelming task given the legal complexities and the myriad of details that are part of the process. We are here to help you through the entire process – from marketing your home and finding a quality buyer, to the final steps of closing. We are committed to making the experience as smooth and stress – free as possible, always striving to get you the best price for your property. It's really simple. You're important to us and we hope you feel that – every step of the way.


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Manchester City have confirmed that they have signed goalkeeper Willy Caballero from Malaga on a three-year contract.
The 32-year-old flew into Manchester on Monday and completed a medical for a deal worth €8 million.
The Argentine told the club's official website: "I am very happy and really looking forward to the start of pre-season and performing well to help the team.
"This is a new challenge and a new league for me. I have been doing well in the previous years and my goal is to go on and hopefully perform at the same level for City.
"I know I am coming to a big club with a very good goalkeeper. City already have a great goalkeeper in Joe Hart but I will try and compete for the No.1 spot. I will do my best in the training sessions."
City have been seeking a new keeper to provide competition for Hart since Costel Pantilimon left for Sunderland earlier this summer.
He joins Bacary Sagna and Fernando in signing for Manuel Pellegrini's side this summer, with the acquisition of Brunu Zuculini soon to be confirmed.


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A visit to Raffles Jakarta inspired award-winning author Eric Gamalinda to write this story of love and reconciliation where the past makes peace with the present
Her message to me is clear. "Flying to Jakarta. Please don't follow me. I have to do this on my own."
On the plane from JFK to Jakarta, I keep reading the note over and over. It could just be the discombobulating passage from one time zone to another, but everything seems to hurtle past me in a dreamlike haze.
At Soekarno Hatta airport, the immigration official asks me what I'm here for. I tell him I've just become engaged to an Indonesian woman and she's flown here ahead of me.
"Markus Jansen," he reads the name on my passport. "That's Dutch, isn't it?"
"Yes," I say. "My father is from Amsterdam. My mother is from Manila."
I understand his perplexity. The intricate personal histories of biracial people have always been hard to explain without getting a little long-winded. He hands my passport back and says, "Congratulations. What's her name?"
"Soraya," I say. "She's half-Dutch too."
"It's a lovely name," he says. "Very Indonesian. I am very happy for both of you."
I am in the taxi to my hotel, speeding past islands of frangipani and bougainvillea. The last 36 hours replay in my head. Soraya comes home from her studio — we'd just rented it in Brooklyn so she can create larger canvasses, something she could never do in our one-bedroom apartment. I hand her a glass of champagne.
"What are we celebrating?" she asks.
Before she can finish, I get down on one knee and offer her a ring. She places her glass down and stares at me in shock.
"Soraya Abraham," I say. "Would you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"
Her hands tremble as she takes the ring. The single diamond on it glints like the tears welling in her eyes. "Yes," she finally says, choking back a sob. "Yes, I want you to be the happiest man in the world, because you have made me the happiest woman in the world."
Later that night, she gets up from bed. I barely stir awake, though I think I mutter something, come back soon. I hear her chuckle quietly and I sink back to contented sleep.
In the morning I find the Post-It with her note on the bathroom mirror. Only a small night bag, which we keep for emergencies, is missing. It's not like her to disappear so suddenly. I call her phone. I get routed to her message inbox, her voice familiar, lilting and bubbly. I send her a text and wait for the three dots to appear, to give me a signal that she's responding.
Minutes later, a notification from our credit card pops up on my phone — we've been keeping a joint account for almost a year now, which makes us practically married. It's a charge for a flight to Jakarta.
Don't follow me. She knows well enough I will.
Swarms of motorbikes, three or four abreast in traffic, surround the cab. This is Jakarta during the morning rush hour, a crush of cars, taxis and trucks. Sleek, modern high-rises soar above cramped, ramshackle store-fronts. My taxi winds through back streets lined with food carts, where construction workers in hard hats are taking a mid-morning break. We pass by granite fences marked with graffiti, roads lined with buses, mall after mall after mall.
There is no way I will ever find Soraya in this sprawling city. But I am keeping my eyes wide open, hoping to see her somewhere, maybe on a motorbike taxi, or walking down a street, or stopping at one of these carts.
I catch the driver looking at me in the rear-view mirror. "Kota Tua?" he asks. "We are here."
"Could you drive around the square a bit?" I ask.
We drive in a loop, and then I ask him to park by an entrance to the Taman Fatahillah square. We are in the Old City, once the pride of Dutch Batavia. There's a tent with a couple of cops standing by.
It's still early, and the food stalls the square is famous for have not been set up yet. There's a guy preparing a table for henna painting, and next to him another guy who can do tattoos on the spot. One is temporary, the other permanent: I like the juxtaposition, and wish I could see both of them in action. A souvenir shop is opening for the day, its owner hanging wayang masks and puppets outside on strings of wire, like festive buntings. Other than that, the square is desolate, an empty expanse in the searing heat.
"I will wait for you?" the driver asks.
"Yes, if you could," I say. "I won't be long."
I duck into Café Batavia, which Soraya once told me about. It's like entering a time warp, the interior lovingly kept or restored to reflect its heyday as one of the Dutch quarter's premier watering holes. Ceiling fans whirl lazily overhead. Big band classics play unobtrusively in the background. The waiters are just setting up, one of them assiduously pricking a toothpick into the holes of salt shakers to push the salt in. I take a table on the second floor overlooking the square. A few people have come out to stroll, a woman in a black hijab, a tourist couple lugging backpacks and a map. I can't help feeling Soraya is somewhere close by. She had told me a lot about this quarter, the vestiges of the Dutch colonial era, the hallmarks of our other people, she teasingly told me.
I have never thought much about my own ancestry, but it was one of the first things Soraya and I talked about when I first met her. She was half-Indonesian, I was half-Filipino, and we were both half-Dutch: I told her we were practically incestuous. We would soon learn we had much in common. I was looking for a story about fresh, exciting new faces in New York's art gallery scene. I saw her work at a group show — her paintings stood out among the others, with their vivid colours, bold brush strokes and distorted figures, eerily beautiful and disconcerting, like characters in a wayang shadow play. I asked her if she was Indonesian.
"By birth, yes," she said. "Culturally, that needs to be worked on." I told her I wanted to write about her and she would be famous because of me.
"Is that a promise?" she asked me.
"Yes," I said. "And I never break a promise."
I was true to my word. My feature got her a lot of attention, and soon after, a solo exhibition, where she sold a number of paintings — enough to convince her this was all she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She quit her job at a web design studio, thanking me for helping her make that decision. I, for my part, got a lot more writing assignments, but I never found anyone as interesting as her.She had told me, in my interview, that her grandfather was a painter back in Jakarta and though she never met him and didn't really grow up there, her father told her all about the city he left before she was born, the city she knew only through his stories, distant and mythical. Her father wasn't an artist but a businessman and he often wrote to her to say he regretted never having followed her grandfather's footsteps, but he saw she had inherited the artist's genes.
"He told me I should follow my heart, at any cost, just like my grandfather did," she told me.
"And you did," I said.
"Thanks to you."
We went to Amsterdam together, where we wandered around the canals and ate a lot of carbs — fries and waffles — and spent half a day at the Van Gogh Museum. But she told me she would rather show me Jakarta. She always had this ineffable link with that part of her family history, irresistible and inerasable, because of the stories her father told her, especially about this neighbourhood where I have found myself today — the languid air of the café, the beautiful people who came for lunch or tea, the graceful buildings by the port that would live forever, ageless and inured to decay.
Her father came back to this city when she was about four, and stayed. He wrote to her every week, telling her about the square, the blinding light in the wide open space, the relentless heat, the river that was grimy but refused to die, and the welcome respite of the café, where he sat every day, at the same table, by the same window, writing his letters and watching people pass by. It was the only place in the city where time stood still, he wrote. The letters stopped coming after a while, but she knew there was a missing piece to his story that had not been told.
"One of these days," she told me, "I will have to go back to Jakarta to get the entire picture."
And because she wanted to, so did I.
This is that moment, I realise now. But I am going to find out it was never the story I had imagined.
As I step out of the café, five teenagers, students from a nearby university, suddenly surround me. One of them, a boy wearing an I heart Brooklyn T-shirt, asks me if he can interview me for five minutes for a project they've been assigned for their Bahasa Indonesia class. He has a chubby face framed by black-rimmed spectacles. He's been assigned to write a story about some random person they meet on the street, preferably someone foreign. I'm pretty sure it's a scam. I've been warned at the hotel to be careful, especially around this neighbourhood. They all look pretty much like young kids out of school, which makes it even more suspicious. They even have notebooks with them and a girl politely asks if she can record my answers as she pulls out an iPhone. They're good, I tell myself. They know how to look the part. I look towards the cops under the tent for help. They're watching us with a mix of boredom and amusement.
"What are you doing in Jakarta?" the boy asks.
The question takes me aback. It takes me a minute to respond.
"I'm thinking of writing about the city," I say. "I'm a writer."
"Oh!" he exclaims. "Do you know much about Indonesia?"
"Well, I know a bit about your history, Sukarno and Suharto and all that. I know about batik and wayang."
He appears even more delighted. "Would you like to learn Bahasa?"
I remember Soraya asking me the same question, months ago, when the story of her father came up again. I took one look at her phrasebook and gave up after the first few sentences.
"Someday soon," I tell the boy.
"Any special reason?"
"I'm getting married to an Indonesian girl."
"Oh! She is here with you?"
"No, I don't know where she is. That's why I'm here."
"Maybe in the café?"
"No, I've just been there."
"You didn't find your friend?"
"She's somewhere in the city and I have to find her. We didn't come here together. I'm sort of looking for her."
"She is lost? Maybe they can help?" He points to the cops under the tent.
"No, it's not that kind of lost. It's hard to explain."
He seems puzzled, but at the same time I get the sense that he understands. There's a sad, cognisant look of sympathy on his face. "Maybe you will find her soon," he says.
"Maybe you can help," I tell him. "If someone, say an Indonesian woman born in the States, came back to see Jakarta for the first time, where do you think she should go? Do you understand the question?"
"Yes." He thinks about it for a while. "She wants to find Jakarta?"
I must have asked him a provocative question. Suddenly they're arguing in Indonesian, and I hear words like Kota Tua and Merdeka Square, the usual places a tourist would be advised to go to. But the boy shakes his head and seems to disagree with anything his friends suggest.
"She wants to find her home?" he asks me.
"Yes," I say. "You could say that."
Another quick conference follows. The boy keeps shaking his head, rejecting anything his group suggests. He finally turns to me and says, "Before she finds her home she must find her soul."
"Her soul?" I'm rather impressed by his answer, vague though it may be and a tad too philosophical.
He scratches his head, smiling. He means something else and searches for the right word, but is unable to come up with anything else and gives up, obviously feeling a little frustrated.
"Where would she find her soul around here?" I ask."Masjid Istiqlal," he says.
"That's the mosque, right?"
"Yes," he says. "She should visit the mosque."
"Because if she finds her soul she is never lost."
"Hmm. Okay. I like that. Is that from the Koran?"
"No, it is from me," he says. "I mean, only I said it."
"Yes, I get it. You're pretty deep."
"So you will go to the mosque?"
"Yes, maybe. You've convinced me."
"Maybe I can help you look for her?"
"Why?" Once again my survival instinct kicks in, but for some reason his cheerful face, his earnest questions and the obvious note of concern in his voice prevents me from doing so. "Why do you want to come with me?"
"Because the interview is not finished."
"You said it would only take five minutes."
"Your story needs more than five minutes."
"So you want to write my story?"
"Yes, I would like to.""Why?"
"Because I need my project. I need a good grade."
"Don't you have enough for your project?"
Another discussion among them follows. I look towards the taxi. My driver is patiently watching and waiting."When you find your friend, my story will be finished," he says. "There is a beginning and there is an end."
"Right," I say, and walk back to the taxi. It's almost noon, and the heat's making me grumpy. I turn back to look at him. He's not a bad kid and I feel guilty about not being nicer. He's staring at me, pleadingly, hopefully. He's much too earnest to be a ruffian. I know I'll regret this but I call back to him. "What's your name?" I ask him.
His face lights up. "Wasiran," he says. He pulls out a university ID and shows it to me.
"Okay, Wasiran," I say. "My name's Markus. How well do you know the mosque?"
"Very well, Mister Markus."
"Come on," I say. "Let's go get your project done, Wasiran. Let's go find my friend."
"Your Indonesian friend is American too?" Wasiran asks me as the taxi weaves its way towards the mosque.
"Yes, she was born there. But her father was born and raised here."
"Why is she looking for her home here?"
"Oh, she's always felt connected, in some way. I just don't understand why she left without me."
"Maybe you had a fight?"
"No, that's not it.""Maybe something very important?"
"But something she cannot tell you?"
"Yes, that's what bothers me."
We have reached the mosque. We enter through a back door and I follow Wasiran's example and take my shoes off and carry them with me. We walk through a maze of empty corridors, past a library starkly lit by fluorescent lights, where a couple of men are intently reading. There's a pervasive smell of incense, something like patchouli. Finally we reach a lobby where a receptionist welcomes us. Wasiran speaks to him in Indonesian while I look around. Young boys, perhaps eight years or younger, are rushing up and down the main stairway, dressed in red and white uniforms. They're students at the mosque's madrassa, the school for learning the Koran, and they're chatting and laughing loudly as boys do, vanishing quickly into one of the corridors. Wasiran tells me we have to go change in the guest room.
"Change?" I ask.
"Visitors have to wear the traditional Muslim clothes," he explains.
I follow him to the room, where we leave our shoes on open shelves. The guide hands me a silk robe that reaches below my knees. It's in a rather lurid green with golden batik prints.
"How come you're not wearing one?" I ask him.
"It's only for visitors," he says.
We walk out to the vast open area dominated by the muezzin's tower. Along one of the surrounding passages, a photo exhibition is being put up, a collection of photographs from Barack Obama's visit to the mosque some years back. Wasiran tells me people adore him here, where he's considered a local boy, having attended school at a couple of institutions in the city.
We head up the stairs. Men and boys stare at me, and I realise the robe marks me as foreign and I am the only one wearing it. I feel so self-conscious I can't focus on anything else, so that when we finally reach the balcony of the prayer hall, I seem to have just entered a jaw-dropping dream.
The hall is five storeys high, its dome held up by stainless steel pillars. Wasiran explains that the entire architecture symbolically represents important numbers, from the five pillars of Islam to the year of the country's independence. An entire cosmos opens up to me, a place whose meanings can only be revealed to an outsider through the intercession of one who has special access to them.
A muezzin is reciting the Koran, the plaintive reading echoing through the cavernous hall. Wasiran tells me it is the eve of Eid al Adha, the feast of the sacrifice, one of the biggest festivals of Islam. Tomorrow, this mosque will be filled with devotees and dignitaries to commemorate Abraham's supreme sacrifice, offering his own son to God. He points to the segregated prayer areas below. There are four men prostrate in prayer on the carpeted floor. To the left, there is a smaller section cordoned off, where one woman is lost in prayer.
We head down to the prayer hall level. I am not allowed to enter the hall itself, which is only for Muslims. We pass around the women's section. The woman praying there gets up and gently tugs at her hijab, wrapping it tightly around her head. She must have spent a long time in contemplation and suddenly notices people passing by. She stares at me, at the hard-to-miss figure of the lone outsider in this vast, placid space. Our eyes lock. Beneath the hijab, I detect a smile, radiant, puzzled, overjoyed.
"Do you want to go to Merdeka Square?" Wasiran asks me. "Maybe your friend is there."
"We've just found her," I tell him.
Soraya walks to me and says, "I'm dying to hug you and kiss you right now, but public displays of affection are frowned upon around here." She takes my hand. "I'm so happy to see you.
Soraya wants to go to the art gallery at Raffles Jakarta. "There's someone I'd like you to meet," she says. "Why was that student shadowing you?"
"He's writing an essay about me," I tell her. "Maybe he'll make me famous some day."
"Or he'll be an equally famous writer," she says.
I look at the piece of paper where Wasiran has scribbled his mobile number. "Maybe I'll look him up when he does become one. You never know."
We walk past an exhibition of contemporary works by local artists. I can't pull myself away from them, but she insists that we head straight to the back of the gallery, where there is a permanent collection of the works of Hendra Gunawan. I have heard of the artist, of course, but have not seen many of his works in one collection. His paintings of simple, rural life are filled with kinetic energy, the figures of farmers and village women bursting to life in vibrant, vivid colours.
"He was jailed for 12 years during the dictatorship," she explains. "He created all these works in prison. His early works were dark and bleak, but he started using more colour when he met his wife."
"The power of love made visible," I tell her. "That's very touching."
"My grandfather attended one of his workshops," she says. She's talking about the sanggar, the workshops Hendra established, which encouraged young artists to embrace and celebrate Indonesian life and culture. "This man opened my grandfather's eyes to the beauty of his own world and he never was able to see it any other way for the rest of his life."
"Are we going to see your grandfather's works too?" I ask.
"He adored Hendra," she says. "But he never learned Hendra's strength of spirit. He was jailed too, because he was part of the workshops where they studied not just art, as you can imagine. Unlike Hendra, my grandfather stopped painting. Prison totally broke him. But he said one day one of his descendants would pick up where he left off." She grabs my hand. "Oh Markus, there's so much to tell you. Let's go and talk."
We take a table at the hotel's café, where she asks for two special items not found on the menu.
"How do you know all these things?" I ask her.
"People told me about it when they learned I was going to the gallery," she explains. Minutes later, two plates of rendang bun arrive at our table. The dough is sweet, the crust fried to a golden brown, perfectly complementing the slightly spicy shreds of beef inside and the glistening veloute, mildly spiked with ginger and chilli, on which the bun is nestled. The hotel's signature shake follows, a glass of mango purée topped with coconut cream and cubes of fresh mango.
"You're pampering me," I tell her.
"So you'll forgive me for leaving so abruptly. I didn't want to alarm you."
"But it was alarming, you have to admit."
"I know, but bear with me. It's just something personal that I need to wrap up."
"Is there something about you I should know? Are you some kind of double agent?"
"Okay, now I know you binge-watched those movies on the plane. You always do that."
"But I need to know, Soraya. We can't be engaged and have these secrets."
"There will be no secrets, Markus. I wanted to take you to the gallery to tell you what happened to my grandfather and my father."
"I know your father left your family and came back to Jakarta when you were a child."
"Yes. When my grandfather was jailed, my father decided it was best to leave Jakarta. Those were difficult times and he had no choice. He met my mother in America. Mother knew he never stopped feeling guilty for leaving Jakarta while my grandfather was in jail. Years later, when he found out that my grandfather had been released, he decided to come back and look after him."
"So he left you," I say. "He left his family in America to look after his family in Jakarta."
"He made a hard choice," she says. "But he always wrote to me when he was here. He wrote about the mythical city of the past, which I think was the city he imagined in the future, beautiful, elegant and happy. He kept hoping I would come and join him one day."
"So you came here to be with him?"
"No," she says. "He died five years ago. I came here to finish something I had promised him. But it's something just between him and me, and I can't talk about it until it's done."
"Come on, Soraya. I need to know."
"I need you to trust me. I will tell you everything soon."
"Tomorrow, I hope."
"Are you in trouble? Because if you are—"
"I'm not in trouble."
"—You know I'm here for you."
"I know, Markus, and that's what I love about you."
I lie awake most of the night, watching her sleep. She seems so calm, so peaceful, more than I have ever seen her. I want to dispel the doubts that are haunting me, but I'm having a hard time. Yet I can't deny that I feel relieved to be by her side. Jakarta seemed hopelessly alien to me when I arrived, but now that I'm with her, I suddenly recognise the similarities between her culture and mine. There are similarities in the food, of course, and I could easily be mistaken for Indonesian myself. But the words — the intersections of language — are what I find surprisingly familiar. Our languages flow into the other the way rivers drift to a wide and endless sea. I would be shipwrecked without her.
Early the next morning, her mobile phone rings, waking us up. She takes the call, bolts out of bed and gets dressed.
"You're not leaving again, are you?"
"Just one more thing to do, Markus."
"What one thing?"
"I'm going to meet someone in the Old Town and then I'm going to Menteng. That's all I can say for now. Do you trust me?"
I keep silent.
"Oh, Markus," she says. "You absolutely must. It will be over soon. I'm dying to tell you everything.
"Right after she leaves, I call Wasiran.
"Mister Markus!" he says. "You and your friend are all right?"
"Not yet, Wasiran."
"What do you mean?"
"I need you to guide me back to the Old Town and later to Menteng."
"Okay," he says. "Why?"
"Because the story you're writing doesn't have an ending yet."Wasiran and I are in a taxi driving around the square in the Old Town when I spot Soraya along one of the narrow streets. She's walking with an old woman hobbling along on a cane. She hails a taxi, helps the old woman get in and they drive south.
"Let's follow that taxi," I tell Wasiran, who gives instructions to the driver.
"Do you think something not good is happening?" Wasiran asks me.
"Something's happening all right," I tell him.
"Don't worry, Mister Markus," he says.
When we reach Menteng, I'm surprised to see a quiet, genteel, tree-lined neighbourhood. We find Soraya's taxi stopping at a house. The old woman has a key and lets them in. Wasiran and I follow closely.
I press the doorbell. The old woman answers the door. She doesn't look surprised or concerned at all, but looks in the direction of an inner room. I hear Soraya's voice: "It's all right, Intan, you can let them in."
I follow her voice to the room. Soraya is kneeling before a coffee table that has been turned into an altar. On it, there are two framed photographs, one of which I recognise as her father. There's a teapot with several teacups around it and a bamboo tray of food — yellow rice piled in the shape of a cone, surrounded by sliced vegetables, chunks of chicken and beef, peanuts and boiled eggs. In the centre of the table is a wooden image of the deity Garuda.
"It's slametan," the old woman tells me.
I have heard of the offering before. It's a communal feast usually held on the occasion of a birth, marriage, or death, or any other significant event. I kneel beside Soraya. She smiles at me. "This was supposed to be a private ceremony," she says. "But I'm sure my father won't mind."
"What are we doing?" I ask her
."This is the house my father moved into years after he returned," she says.
"He did pretty well."
"Yes," she says. "He looked after my grandfather here. I always wondered why he left us, but now I understand. He had to make a sacrifice in order to repay his debt to his father. He kept my grandfather's paintings here. You can see some of them on the walls. They're not very good, but my father always told me I had inherited the passion and the gift saw its full flowering in me. I always thought those were lovely words."
"Is that your grandfather?" I ask, pointing to the other portrait.
"Who is that woman who came here with you?"
"She's Intan, the caretaker who looked after my father. She stayed with him till the day he died. She looked after this house as if it were her own. I'd been searching for her for days. She brought me to their graves."
"So you came here to commemorate them?" I ask.
"No, I came back to fulfil a promise."
"What promise?"
"When my father left us in America, he promised to do one thing for me, to find me a suitable husband, as fathers must. The man he chose came to see me in New York. He was a nice, decent fellow, but it didn't work out. An arranged marriage just wasn't for me."
"Did he get mad at you?"
"It broke his heart. He thought he had failed me. But I promised him I would let him know once I found the man I really wanted to spend my life with. He wrote to me to say he would keep me to my promise and that he wanted to give his blessing when that man finally showed up in my life. He said he would give me his blessing even after his life on earth had passed, but I must promise to come and ask for it. I've come here to mend his heart."
"You could have told me."
"I was afraid it would change the way you looked at me."
"I'm not afraid to know everything about you."
She lights an incense stick, letting the spicy aroma fill the room.
"What's the Garuda for?" I ask her.
"Intan told me about a legend," she says. "Garuda devoured a bunch of serpents and a monk castigated him and taught him the virtue of respect and self-denial."
She holds my hand and addresses her father's portrait. "Father, I made you a promise and I have come back to keep it. This man beside me has followed me from the other side of the world. I waited a long while and you never had a chance to give me your blessing. But here he is and he is the happiness I've been looking for. I cannot live in a world without him. Be kind to him and be happy for me."
I look behind me and see that both Intan and Wasiran are moved to tears.
"How do we know we have your father's blessing?"
Intan overhears and says, "He will give a sign." She starts serving the food. She has a kind and gentle face and when she smiles at me she looks much younger than her 80 years. She saves some food on a separate plate. Soraya explains that Intan wants to offer it to some poor folk she knows in the Old Town. "On Eid al Adha, we share with family, friends and the poor," she says.
"What happens after Garuda learns his lesson?" I ask Soraya.
"Garuda is the saviour of souls," she says. "His action brings the serpents back to life and they come back as joy."
Wasiran has been quiet all through the ceremony. I realise he's been jotting notes all along.
"Have you found your ending, Wasiran?" I ask him.
"Yes, Mister Markus," he says. "And I want to share something too. I have decided to be a writer."
"Good for you, Wasiran. Remember me when you win the Nobel Prize."
"Of course."
It's sunset and Soraya and I are going to head back to the hotel, pack and fly back tomorrow. I give Wasiran some money for a cab fare. He refuses, but I insist it's the least I can do. Soraya hails another taxi for Intan. But before Intan gets in, she says one last thing, addressing us both in Bahasa. It sounds like an admonition and I'm hoping she, too, is giving her blessing. We watch her taxi weave out of the slow traffic of Menteng. I ask Soraya what Intan's parting words were.
"She said the legends of old teach us the same thing," Soraya told me. "That we all emerge from our own darkness. The important thing is to heal and that takes a lot of learning."
"That's beautiful, Soraya," I tell her. "What an amazing woman."
It takes us a while to hail a taxi. It's rush hour and traffic in the city is getting dense. The sky is a fiery red, that shock of tropic sundown that happens ferociously, a burst of intense colours that disappear as quickly as they form. A taxi finally careens towards us. Just as we are about to get in, a spotted dove lands on its roof. We are both startled and stare at it in disbelief. I have never seen one up close. I can clearly see the speckled mantle of black spots under its neck. The driver notices what's keeping us, gets out of the cab and tries to shoo the dove away.
"No, wait," Soraya says. "Let it take its time."
It waddles on the roof of the cab, its beady black eyes staring at us. Then it spreads its wings and disappears into the cityscape of cable wires and red tiled roofs.
"Maybe lost from Merdeka Square," the driver tells us as we drive back to the hotel.
"Maybe the sign we've been waiting for," Soraya says. "Why don't you write this story yourself?"
"I can't," I tell her. "Too much serendipity. No one would ever believe it. I'll let Wasiran do it."
"I believe it," she says. "I believe it if you do."
The taxi is heading down south of the city, to the new, gentrified part of town, the other half of Jakarta, so different from its older neighbourhoods. We have spent the day in the city of the past where dreams began. We are looking at the city of the future, where these same dreams live, but only if we let them.
"Okay," I tell Soraya. "I'll give it a shot."
An accomplished writer of novels, short stories and poetry, Eric Gamalinda's 2009 novel, The Descartes Highlands, was shortlisted for the Man Asian Prize, and he has won the Philippines' top literary prize, the Palanca Memorial Awards, several times. When not working on his own creative projects, he can be found teaching at Columbia University's Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race.
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Raffles Singapore is undergoing a major restoration to reflect its past, present and future


text:
All presentations are held in English
Security in an Academic Environment: The Balance between Academic Freedom, Operations & Computer Security
Like any other entity, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is daily targeted by the malicious cyber-evil. Protection is difficult as CERN staff and users value high their academic freedom important to prosper and for pursuing their research. Hence, any cyber-security approach needs to find the appropriate balance between this academic freedom, the operation of accelerators & physics experiments, and the protection of all digital assets.
This presentation will outline such an approach, discuss attack scenarios and problems, and present CERN's solution for countering cyber-attacks.
The frontiers of cybersecurity; how to prepare
In this presentation, you will see a case study around preparing for the cybersecurity issues of tomorrow. We will get specific about research currently underway in the realm of supply chain security, lightweight security and cryptography for IoT environments as well as quantum resistant cryptography.
We will expand the conversation to the practicalities of executing and nurturing futuristic ideas, discussing best practices for working across government and academia. The presentation should provide some new ideas to the audience to help inform their own future cybersecurity initiatives.
The Role of Orchestration in Incident Response
Faced with an avalanche of alerts, insufficient staffing, and a bewildering regulatory environment it's no wonder that most companies struggle to respond effectively to cyberattacks. Successfully resolving attacks requires fast, intelligent, and decisive action – organisations need to have an orchestrated plan in place before an attack occurs. The best organisations leverage an orchestrated response capability to achieve cyber resilience.
In this keynote, IBM Resilient's Ted Julian, Co-Founder and VP of Product Management will explore the latest incident response methodology and technology. Can automation really save the day? Or are the naysayers correct that the automation cure is worse than the disease itself? From instant escalation, to automatic enrichment, to guided mitigation, Ted will explore the latest incident response techniques and share what works and what doesn't.
Tactical Defence: Principles and Observations
Have you ever had to justify a firewall? What do you do when you don't have one? Over the past six years we have been exploring non-traditional tools, and through them defining security principles to help defend our large open network. These principles have helped us focus our efforts, educate our population, and even guide some of our purchasing decisions.
In this presentation, I will talk about some of these principles, the observations that lead us to them, and the some of the outcomes of trying to implement them. Spoiler alert: They work very very well, even along side traditional security thinking.
Change is Merely an Act of Survival
This presentation will review the history and development of the corporate network and its interaction with the Internet. How the adoption of SaaS and PaaS base solutions have rendered the network irrelevant from a security perspective. We will explore the developments in malware, how threat actors have taken on a business approach to creation, distribution, and management of their attack campaigns.
We will then take a few steps into the future and explore some possibilities that have the potential to greatly affect corporations and how they protect themselves. Finally we will explore some of the potential strategies that can be started now to lay time ground work to ensure a more secure architecture in the future.
Build a secured system from day one with proper architectural planning, governance and change managemente
Social engineering is nothing new! The solution is simple
With the majority of threats originating from email attachments and internet downloads, users pose a huge threat to the organization. Starting with user behaviour, we look at what lessons can be learnt when it comes to security and how to put proactive measures in place that protect your data, even if users are clicking on untrusted links and opening malicious email attachments.We will take you through a simple, smart approach to security that stops internal and external attacks before it's too late.
How Context is Key in Preventing Data Breaches
If we want to find out why a breach happened, or assess the damage, we have plenty of time to trawl through logs, look at session recordings, and so on. But if we want to prevent a breach, we have to react with lightning speed.
So what is it that can enable us to react fast enough? In an ideal world computers can make these decisions, but in reality this is usually a combination of some artificial and some human intelligence.At the end of the day, the critical ingredient for both computers and humans is context. Without it, there is too much data, and too much irrelevant data, to make accurate and rapid decision making possible. In this presentation you will learn how can you use contextual information collected by various security solutions to reduce the chance of data breaches.
Simplifying vendor risk management through continuous risk monitoring
With this presentation you will learn about the so called "Third Party Cyber Risk", which is also known as "Supply Chain Cyber Risk" and "Supplier and Customer Cyber Risk".
We will demonstrate what this concept means, which threats are coming from the "Cyber Risk", and how organisations can manage and control the "Third Party Cyber Risk" effectively.
Immunity – once and for all
Client devices are the most critical link in your protection chain. Whilst using state-of-the-art security technologies on the perimeter, most enterprises still aim to protect their users with legacy Antivirus on their PCs. The problem is that they all rely on detection thus will only protect you from what they already know is bad – comparable to the human immune system! And what do we do to no longer get sick? Staying home? Getting vaccinated? Wearing a protective suit?
These are all valid options but they obviously have different implications on your daily business – but what if there was a way to immunize your body or system in a way that does not at all affect you and your work? Such as "click on anything" without risk of a compromise? See and listen to an unparalleled approach that has changed the security model of many enterprises already.
Michael is a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Graz and he is also well known as a speaker at various national and international seminars about Data Privacy & Security issues, Anti-Corruption awareness programs and Anti Money Laundering methods in the gaming industry. He is also an expert in the field of compliance certification standards.
He is a dedicated member of the Compliance Officer Association Austria, a founding member of the Austrian association of Privacy Officers and also an active member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists.
Thoughts on the meaningful use of compliance management systems
In his short presentation Michael Mrak will introduce the integrated compliance management system of Casinos Austria & Austrian Lotteries. Everything will be explained from the perspective of a practitioner.
It all starts with the need of finding a definition what compliance means for your organization and what issues have to be covered. In his speech Michael will explain the effect of rules based vs. risks based systems in an organization and how both approaches can benefit from each other. It will also cover the question if compliance can be an innovation driver and how to get over internal resistance if it comes to the implementation of a management system. Michael will also explain the five basic elements of every compliance system and how to find internal allies to implement a working CMS.
SAST is a MUST – Software Security & Early Prevention of Vulnerable Code
Every security conscious technology professional is looking for the quick fix – the one thing they can do to flick the switch from "insecure" to "secure" and certainly there are many organisations out there ready to sell "security in a box" to whomever will pay for it.
But the single biggest bang for your buck and the most effective means of securing software is identifying and fixing vulnerable code as early in the development lifecycle as possible. Ideally this means not writing vulnerable code in the first place, or if does happen, fixing it during the development phase before rectification starts getting expensive.
In our talk, we'll take you through some of the fundamental principles behind ingraining software security into the development life cycle:
Security demands Endurance
Today's hackers are–and will continue to be–persistent. Even the most sophisticated hacking operations can be compared to a house of cards: find one or just a few components of the hack and, over time, the entire operation can collapse.
The house of cards approach to security requires moving away from the traditional IT mindset that encourages analysts to quickly close incidents. Instead, it calls for an investigative mentality with every incident considered a potential piece of a larger puzzle. In this session, Richard will discuss this new approach to endpoint security that shifts the odds in favor of the defenders.
Modern deception techniques in the age of failing prevention
The vast majority of organizations, which have dealt with professional hacking attacks in the past, know that these kind of adversaries are hard to get rid of.Once you kick them out, they find new loopholes to re-enter the organization, targeting the crown jewels every time. If you play this game long enough you will realize at a certain point in time that neither a strong perimeter security nor conventional IT security will be sufficient to conquer this battle.
The challenge we are facing in SOCs nowadays is to reduce the time to detect those adversaries and to get valuable threat intelligence to increase the resilience of security infrastructure.
Self-learning cyber defence through machine learning
Prior to this, Gilles held a number of EMEA and Asia Pacific positions with Peribit Networks (successful US startup), U.S. Robotics and 3Com.
Quantum-Safe Security – How the threat of the quantum computer compels us to revise our security strategies
It is now well understood that a quantum computer, i.e. a computer which carries out its calculations by manipulating quantum objects known as qubits, offers tremendous computation power and enables to solve otherwise intractable problems.
In particular, quantum computers will break all existing public key cryptographic systems, and render our cyber security infrastructure obsolete overnight.
However, until recently, manufacturing a quantum computer, in essence a controllable macroscopic quantum object, was seen as mere science fiction, something which might become possible in the faraway future only.
Recent progress in this field, led by government and academia, but also by major companies like Google, Microsoft, IBM and also start-ups like D-Wave, have totally altered this perception.
It is now considered that a general-purpose quantum computer could be available within five to ten years. The cyber security community has to integrate this new risk into its strategy.
The aim of this session is to provide the audience with current progress in the field of Quantum-Safe Security. We will explain how to assess the risk to your security infrastructure, and suggest implementable solutions.
Bridging the gap between Cybersecurity & the Business
More than ever before, the field of cybersecurity is faced with greater challenges. Whether we like it or not, we are losing ground in terms of involvement in the projects while on the other hand, cybersecurity is of greater concerns to the top executive of the enterprises. The digital transformation that most modern organization are going through puts back the power of developing new opportunities, using technology, in the hands of the business people that are not as security cautious as we would like.
Without a common language and steering practices, Cybersecurity specialists are relayed to an after the fact audit role and still seen as technical specialist. Come see this presentation to discover the Secure Blueprint, an approach we have developed to bridge that gap and to win back a seat at the table.
Disrupting the kill chain
For an efficient cyber security program it's important to understand the kill chain. We explain the techniques used by attackers and what typically happens after the first system is compromised.Additionally we discuss opportunities to break that attack playbook and why you should protect your privileged credentials.
Managing cyber risks across a global organization
Our approach to managing our cybersecurity risks through certified Information Security Management System (ISMS) implementations and the endorsement of top management. Our journey in building awareness and risk management capabilities to manage cybersecurity risks from the bottom up whilst in parallel getting focus and support from the top of the organization.
Abracadabra! Transforming your internal users − your most vulnerable security link − into your greatest guardians
90% of security incidents are caused by insiders, according to the Verizon DBIR Report. How can you gain true visibility and control over who has access to your sensitive data? Security controls and methodologies have traditionally focused on a reactive approach to reducing risk. Now that we better understand the real threat of internal users- whether through negligence, lack of awareness, or harmful intent, it's time to shift gears towards a more proactive approach to preventing breaches and risk.Join us to learn how to:
Ms. Cosgrove holds a Masters of Research, Telecommunications from UCL (University College London).
Fighting the next generation of targetted Business Email Compromise attacks
Today's advanced attacks focus more on exploiting human flaws than system flaws. Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks that impersonate executives and business partners to trick your employees are the biggest cyber threat to organisations today. But what may surprise you is that the vast majority of BEC attacks are preventable.
Learn about the current BEC trends and attack methods, and how your organisation can identify and block these attacks before they reach the inbox.
Hallmarks of a Successful Vulnerability Management Program
Leif Kremkow will review some fundamental principles of a how our customers built vulnerability management programs that were successful in their enterprises. Correctly identify the basic needs of your vulnerability management program and ensure that you don't fall below the relevance poverty line. Anecdotes and examples drawn from existing deployments will illustrate how different answers to common problems of supplying food, shelter, and clothing to your vulnerability management program can lead to success.
Transforming a Cyber Defence Center into a Value Proposition
Nowadays, continuous and comprehensive Cyber risk detection represents an imperative for each and every organization. But how can you create a value proposition from establishing a Cyber Defense Center, the entity typically responsible for providing the overall IT risk management landscape? What needs to be done to create a transformation from raw security events into a process-driven Cyber risk management process, including linking single security events to business process risks?
We will show you how you can focus on risk remediation and mitigation, but not on the mammoth-task of risk analysis and evaluation by integrating technology, experts and processes. You will learn how you can reduce detection complexity, creating risk transparency and enabling focus on remediation priorities.
Lying to know the truth
Attackers commonly use deception techniques to infiltrate and breach networks. Lying to Know the Truth shows you how deception isn't just for attackers, it can help you detect nefarious activity early in the attack chain.Join us as we discuss:
The anatomy of a data breach
At the core of a successful data security strategy, is having an understanding of how data breaches occur, breaking these down into phases, and applying measures to address causes at their root. Do you ever imagine putting in place a network of sensors, protecting your sensitive data, detecting unwarranted behavior and remediating?
At SkyPro, we have developed a strong understanding about how data breaches occur and have established methodologies of people, processes and technologies as to how organizations can address the root causes of data breaches in a sustainable way.
The key to security is in the Hardware — Why we need to use secure Hardware in our ICT Systems
Attacks on digital information of all kinds (such as corporate data, measured values or control commands) have been fact of life in the networked and mobile age since the early years of the Internet. The software industry has been trying hard to close security gaps and keep malicious software away from the IT systems.
With the consistent implementation of zone concepts (firewalling) and security mechanisms (authentication and encryption), a high protection level is achieved in principle. However, the largest vulnerability is at the interface where unprotected data is encrypted or decrypted using cryptographic keys, or legitimate system users are authenticated. Software alone does not prevent attacks on this interface. Secure and trusted hardware must be used.
This presentation shows why standard hardware is not sufficient at this interface and how dedicated hardware must be built to ensure the security of IT networks — whether the user is a human being, a machine, or a sensor.
Elastic Defence
Overview of the current chaotic threat models in use by various malicious groups, and the challenges in demonstrating appropriate levels of security for a given risk at a reasonable cost. An insight at the uses of machine learning to detect and respond to different threat actors.
Break the silos between Security and IT Operations
Security and IT Operations use on a daily basis more and more sophisticated solutions to protect their assets and detect a potential breach. We hear more and more about Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, but in terms of Incident Response, organizations still rely on manual processes that do their best to link together siloed teams in order to respond fast.
Listen to Myke Lyons to learn how Security can better collaborate with IT Operations to resolve real threats faster using structured and automated response processes to prioritize and resolve incidents based on business impact.
Best Practices for Scoping Infections and Disrupting Breaches
Infection and exploits will occur. The new goal is to prevent those infections from becoming a data breach. To do this successfully, security analysts need the ability to continuously collect, analyze, correlate and investigate a diverse set of data.Listen to this session to hear Alain Gutknecht discuss the specific data sources and capabilities required to determine the scope of an infection before it turns into a breach. See a live incident investigation that demonstrates this approach.
In this session, you will learn:
Security Audits – How secure is your IT landscape?
You have already meticulously introduced security concepts (ITIL, ISO, Cobit) under tremendous cost and are surprised that you are still being successfully attacked? Then it is time for a technical security audit in which configuration errors and technical weaknesses from the optics of the attacker are systematically and relentlessly detected in your IT systems.
Security expert Markus Martinides shows in the seminar how to audit all critical system areas during an audit. Based on many practical examples, the lecturer shows how an audit is designed, the costs involved and how the results are implemented.
Using AI to catch in-progress cyber attacks
Cyber attackers operate undetected for an average of 146 days but obtain admin credentials in less than 3, and 53% of attacks are only discovered after notification from an external party. The complexity and velocity of attacks is increasing whilst traditional security capabilities become overwhelmed. Detecting active attacks, reducing dwell time and accelerating incident response is a top priority.
In this session, you will learn how different artificial intelligence techniques can be combined to automate the detection of in-progress cyber-attacks within your network. We'll explain how automated threat hunting can even handle encrypted traffic, whilst still maintaining the privacy of your users. Then we'll share a case study of a real attack detected using this AI approach.
We'll close by demonstrating how to integrate such a capability into your existing security technology stack to force multiply your security response capability, and close your cyber detection gap.
Secure Mobile Communication – The Future of Mobile Productivity
New ways of secure mobile communication and secure data exchange are getting more and more on the radar of CSOs, CFOs and CTOs. Employees are looking for a convenient way to work anywhere from corporate device or BYOD.New simplified mobility services overcome traditional MDM challenges. This presentation will show you new ideas on how to simplify enterprise mobility while delivering a solution that has high user acceptance and fits your enterprises mobile strategy.
Workshop: Best practice approaches to information security with limited financial resources and few business requirements
This workshop aims to discuss and exchange information security considerations within companies, especially those acting in the industry sector, with limited financial resources and few business requirements to implement an appropriate information security concept. The following topics shall be discussed in particular:
WEIDMANN ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY AG, a member of the WICOR group and a global manufacturer of electrical insulation solutions, will briefly present their current situation and would then like to start an open discussion with the audience. Other companies are free to present their situation as well.


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A European handkerchief served as inspiration for this sweet mantel scarf. Edged in fine cut lace, it will accessorize your mantel perfectly for special occasions or everyday use. We've sold this scarf for years and its vintage appeal never goes out of style. 91" long, 20" drop in Ecru or White
100% polyester. Machine wash cold, gentle. Do not bleach. Lay flat or hang to dry. Touch up with cool iron if desired.


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Well it's the final month of the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge! I can't believe it's almost over. Although, the fact that it will be over is a good thing. Because it means that in less than two weeks after the challenge ends, Before I Wake will be available – a book I've been waiting a long time for.
And I'm hoping the If I Die spoiler chat will help bridge that gap. Especially since I won't be able to wait until closer to month's end to re-read If I Die. Not after the tormenting, twisty heartbreak that was My Soul to Steal.
Another reason I can't wait for the challenge to end is that the amazing author, Rachel Vincent, mentioned having a BIW chat at some point after its release. I'm hoping that will be on June 27th, but I don't think it will be quite that soon. Anyway….
Even if you just found out about the challenge now, you can still join in. Yep, the only time it will be too late is at midnight on June 15th.
All you have to do to be considered a participant in this challenge is sign up in the SIGN UP post and read and review or share your thoughts on any one of the full-length books in this series. If you're just signing up now, thoughts or reviews must be dated during this month's challenge dates of May 15th through June 14th.
If you want to announce your participation by creating a post, you can add your link HERE for a chance to win a giftcard at the end of the challenge.
But if you've already signed up, then you're all set to START OR CONTINUE READING… or RE-READING! But whatever you do, don't forget to stop back and leave your link. Because this month's prizes are awesome!
And, for each book you read and post you create, you'll get at least one entry into the end of challenge giveaway for the pre-order copies of Before I Wake.
If you've missed the chance to include your reviews for any of the previous books in the series – My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Keep or My Soul to Steal – in the Month One, Month Two, Month Three or Month Four linky lists, not to worry. You can enter them this month.
But it will be the last chance to post those thoughts and reviews. Because once this month's linky list closes, the challenge will officially be over. As long as your reviews are posted from January 15 through June 14, 2012 you can link them up in this last month's linky.
Unclaimed Prizes
There are still a few unclaimed prizes for the Month One through Month Three giveaways. But since I'd posted the winners on the SSRC blog versus here, I thought I would give one final chance to those winners by announcing them in this post.
If all prizes from the first three months of the giveaway are NOT claimed by June 1st, they will be added to this month's giveaway. Month Four prize winners will have until June 15th to claim their prizes or new winners will be chosen.
Fiction Freak – a signed copy of My Soul to Keep
Jo's Book Reviews – a Kindle eBook of Never to Sleep
Epic Chocolate Fantasy – a Kindle eBook of either My Soul to Lose or Reaper
Angie @ Pinkindle – a Rachel Vincent book of your choice
Team Tod's Soul Screamers Reading Challenge FB – a Rachel Vincent book of your choice
Riffs and Reviews – a Rachel Vincent book of your choice
The Cait Files – a signed copy of My Soul to Steal
Month Five
May 15 – June 14, 2012
The goal for this fifth month of the challenge will be to read If I Die.
Goodreads description:
The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.
But the next scream might be for Kaylee.
Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.
But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.
If you missed last month's deadline, don't give up! Whether this is a first read or a re-read, If I Die is the pivotal book in the series and one you may just not want to miss. Especially since the action hits you right from the start. A shocking blow will leave you reeling very shortly thereafter. That roller coaster that author Rachel Vincent likes to put you on is the longest, craziest ride ever. The ups. The downs. The loop-de-loops. Insane. Absolutely insane.
But that's just my opinion.
Oh, and it won't let you loose until that last page. So, be prepared.
Whether this is your first month participating, you've been here from the start or you joined somewhere along the way, as long as you sign up and post at least one review or thoughts post you'll be eligible for the end-of-challenge giveaway for a pre-order for Before I Wake.
As promised there will be at least ten pre-order copies up for grabs. The actual number will be determined after the challenge ends and depends solely on just how many people who signed up have posted at least one review for one of the five full-length books in the series.
There will be a separate wrap-up post after the challenge, in which the winners for the pre-order copies of Before I Wake will be announced.
And just a reminder: If you are a winner who is located internationally and Before I Wake or any of the other "book of your choice" books are not available to ship from The Book Depository to your country, I will send the book by postal mail.
What do you need to do this month?
1. Start reading or keep reading!
If you already started the challenge, then all you need to do is keep reading. If you just joined in, or you are behind, not to worry. You can read and post your reviews for My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Keep and/or My Soul to Steal this month.
And you have all month to read and review this fifth book in the series to get that extra entry into the end-of-challenge giveaway.
2. Post your review or thoughts!
Whether you've decided to post a review, or just create a post with your thoughts about the book, you have until June 14th to do so to be entered into this month's giveaways and to earn an entry into the end-of-challenge Before I Wake giveaway.
But note, for the four special giveaway prizes, you will have had to post at least TWO reviews of the full-length books during the challenge to be eligible. And yes, those two reviews can be posted this month!
3. Leave your link!
Be sure to come back here and leave a link to your post – wherever that may be – Blog, Facebook, Goodreads, Tumblr, etc. If you don't leave the link, you won't be entered into the giveaway. LINK MUST BE LEFT IN THE LINKY LIST NOT THE COMMENTS.
If you don't have anywhere to post your thoughts or review, please leave a comment with a way to get in touch and if your review (or thoughts) are positive, I'll post them as a guest post on my blog, Soul Screamers Reading Challenge.
Reviews or thoughts posts must be from January 15 through June 14, 2012 ONLY.
What are this month's incentives?
Two winners will receive a Rachel Vincent book of your choice – this can include a pre-order copy of Before I Wake
One winner will receive a signed copy of Soul Soul Screamers Volume One
One winner will receive a signed copy of If I Die
Three winners will receive a signed copy of My Soul to Steal
Two winners will receive a signed copy of Before I Wake*
*Prize delivery time TBD as BIW will be pre-ordered from Amazon, then mailed to the author for signature with a SASE, returned to me and I will then mail to winners
A set (signed) of Soul Screamers Volume One, My Soul to Keep, My Soul to Steal, If I Die and Before I Wake*
*BIW delivery time TBD as it will be pre-ordered from Amazon, then mailed to the author for signature with a SASE, returned to me and I will then mail to winner
$50 in books of your choice from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
A ONE-OF-A-KIND printed and bound copy of Reaper signed by the author
A ONE-OF-A-KIND printed and bound copy of Never to Sleep signed by the author
In case you wanted to know….
Extra Credit Reads
You can still post your reviews for any of the extra credit reads this month. Each extra credit read will give you an additional entry into the Before I Wake giveaway at the end of the challenge AND will give you an extra entry into this month's giveaway.
What if I don't finish the book this month?
That's okay. The challenge will be over, but If I Die is awesome. So no matter when you finish reading it, it will be a WIN.
What if I've signed up, but never read any books during the months of this challenge?
That's OKAY. We all have things in life that sometimes take priority. You won't be eligible for any of the giveaways without at least one review or thoughts post, but no one will judge you for signing up and not doing anything beyond that!
The fact that you want to read the author's amazing books is awesome! And whether you read them now, or in the future, you'll be discovering a series that I think it is pretty amazing.
What if I've already reviewed the book?
If this is a re-read for you, you can simply create a post about this book talking about what you found different the second (or third, or fourth or…) time around. If you are a blogger, you can always link to your original review in that discussion post so that people can check out what you thought on first read.
BUT, you cannot simply repost your original review to be eligible for the giveaway. AND you cannot leave a link to an old post. All posts must be created during the challenge.
The first book I plan on reading for the challenge isn't If I Die, is that okay?
Absolutely! If you are starting this month's challenge by reading any book other than If I Die, you can still post your reviews for that book – or any of the other Soul Screamers books – during this month's challenge. It will give you an entry – or more depending upon how many reviews you post – into this month's giveaway and will count as an entry toward the end-of-challenge Before I Wake pre-order giveaway.
But, you only get an extra entry for posting your review for If I Die during this month of the challenge.
How are this month's giveaway prizes going to be decided?
The giveaway winners' names will be drawn on June 17th. The end-of-challenge Before I Wake giveaway winners will be announced in a separate post on June 19th.
For this month's ALL PARTICIPANTS giveaway prizes, Random will be drawing numbers based on the linky number associated with your post.
For this month's SPECIALTY giveaway prizes, participants names will be drawn using Random's list generator by name.
Each giveaway will be drawn separately.
If you've won and you do not wish to receive that prize, the next number on the list that Random drew will be the winner.
And guess what….
Author Rachel Vincent will be conducting spoiler chats after each month's read for that book only. So, at some point in the second half of June, there will be an If I Die spoiler chat! Check out her blog post HERE to learn more.
If that weren't enough, she mentions that after the release of Before I Wake, which comes out on June 26, 2012 in the U.S., there will be a discussion and spoiler chat for that book too! How AWESOME is that!?!
Leave your links below for posts created from May 15 through June 14, 2012. This month the linky list will close ON June 14th to avoid confusion. So be sure to get your posts in on time to count for this final month's giveaway and for those extra entries.
Let's see those posts!


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The International Association for Computer Information Systems (IACIS) is a nonprofit association founded in 1960 and dedicated to the improvement of information systems and the education of information systems and computer professionals. These goals are accomplished through various activities, recognition awards, and publications.
IACIS was formed in 1960 as the Society for Automation in Business Education. The primary purpose of the founding organization was to promote as understanding of the use of computers in training business students. In 1969 the organization incorporated and changed its name to the Society of Data Educators. As the focus of information technology changed from data processing to information systems, the Society saw the need for change as well.
To reflect the changing times, the name was changed in 1987 to the Association for Computer Educators. To meet the needs of the membership, the organization became the International Association for Computer Information Systems in 1990. Through all the changes, the Association had maintained its service to its membership. The large body of members with more than 10 years of association with the organization attests to the way the Association has met their needs.
The main purpose of the organization always has been to promote the growth and development of knowledge and understanding of computer automation, including information systems, management sciences computer science and applied education technology. Even though technology continues to change, this mission remains central to all activities of the Association.
Enoch Haga was ahead of his time. After serving in the military in Korea, he pursued graduate education at Sacramento State. He completed a MA in 1958 with a thesis describing the impact of data processing on business education - perhaps the first formalized study on the topic ever done in the U.S. Shortly after accepting a teaching appointment at Stanislaus State University in 1960, Dr. Haga and Dr. E. Dana Gibson, a faculty member at San Diego State, collaborated to form the Society for Automation in Business Education (SABE). The purpose was "to promote the growth and development of knowledge and understanding of automation among business teachers and other interested parties." Beginning with a handful of educators interested in automation, the organization took off with some good publicity from Computerworld and other publications.
Through the organization, Professor Haga spearheaded solutions to four areas of need: 1) established the Certified Data Educator program to validate technical and other knowledge; 2) established a quarterly publication to share knowledge and research; 3) scheduled an annual conference; and 4) established the Data Educator of the Year Award. On November 23, 1960, the first issue of Data Processor, the official publication of SABE was delivered to members.
To broaden the appeal in the 1970s the organization changed its name to the Society of Data Educators. As the organization grew and prospered, members came forward to take leadership roles, and Dr. Haga slowly relinquished control and returned to his first love—writing and researching. He retired from a career in teaching and administration in 1992 and continues to write and revise his many books. As the environment and needs changed, the organization once again sought to more clearly identify its role and mission, changing the name to the International Association for Computer Information Systems.