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Karzai Rivals Make Gains Ahead Of Afghan Vote
Karzai Rivals Make Gains Ahead Of Afghan Vote
In Depth
Afghanistan's second presidential election takes place on Aug. 20. About half of the country's estimated population — some 15.6 million Afghans — have registered to vote for the 41 candidates. Learn more about the elections and the three leading candidates.
Voting for a president can be confusing in any country, and it's particularly confusing in Afghanistan, where 40 candidates are battling President Hamid Karzai for his job.
Four weeks before the polls, most Afghans still have no idea who is running or why the candidates want to be president. Most candidates aren't much help: Their outreach is limited to a smattering of posters and billboards featuring their unsmiling faces.
But some of the candidates have shifted into high gear, and it's beginning to show.
Hope For Change
Thousands of men cheered and waved at a presidential candidate during his recent campaign trip to the city of Herat in western Afghanistan.
No one had predicted this kind of turnout. Even the man of the moment — Abdullah Abdullah — was surprised.
Hundreds more chased his convoy on motorbikes, hoping to catch a glimpse of the ophthalmologist turned politician.
A few dozen Afghan policemen tried keeping order. They soon gave up.
Later, Abdullah reflected on the turnout.
"I have no doubt that people want change. It isn't that they didn't want change three months ago. They did want change at that time as well, but they weren't hopeful that this would come. Today, people are more hopeful," he says.
Voter interest is rising in many parts of Afghanistan these days, and not just at rallies for Abdullah, a former foreign minister who is widely viewed as Karzai's main opponent.
Even in some Taliban-rife areas, voters gather at clandestine rallies for candidates in people's homes or gardens. Many fear the militants who have vowed to disrupt the elections.
Sign Of Evolving Democracy
John Dempsey, head of the U.S. Institute of Peace's office in Kabul, notes that as recently as a month ago, he would have predicted an easy victory for Karzai.
"There didn't seem to be any viable alternative candidates. But recent indications show it may be a more competitive election than we had once thought," Dempsey says.
He says a competitive election shows that democracy is evolving in Afghanistan, and that its citizens believe they can change things by going to the ballot box — even now, when a growing number of Afghans don't believe their government can protect them from the Taliban or bring economic stability.
Take voters like Fuman Forough. On a recent night, the 18-year-old was at a small rally for Abdullah at a wedding hall in Herat.
The university freshman says she hasn't decided who to vote for yet. She wants a candidate who offers a sophisticated plan for ending insecurity and widespread unemployment.
Karzai Absent From Campaign Trail
Yet it's rare to hear any of the presidential candidates talk about their plans. Karzai's opponents spend much of their time criticizing the incumbent and ticking off the country's problems.
Karzai hasn't announced his agenda for his second term, either. Nor has he attended a single campaign event.
Waheed Omar, Karzai's campaign spokesman, says the president has always said his foremost responsibility is to run the country.
"He cannot afford to focus a lot on campaigning for the next re-election," Omar says.
Karzai's opponents complain that many government workers are doing the president's campaigning for him, something his spokespeople vehemently deny.
Lack Of Issues, Ideas
Some voters say they'll stay away from the polls unless candidates start delivering more substance.
Haji Kabir, a teacher in Kabul, likens this campaign season to the Afghan national sport of buzkashi, a game with few rules where players on horseback vie for a headless goat carcass.
On Thursday night, voters who tuned into Afghanistan's favorite TV network were treated to some of the substance that has been missing. The top opposition candidates — Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai — faced off for their first televised debate.
Karzai, who was also invited, refused to attend. His campaign says that Karzai felt too few candidates were involved. Nor does he like the television network, which he accuses of bias, hosting the debate.
The international coalition in Afghanistan — especially the United States — has made clear it is not backing any particular candidate. But the lack of substance is annoying to the United Nations, which is helping the country prepare for the elections on Aug. 20.
"The Afghan people deserve a choice here," says Aleem Siddique, a U.N. spokesman in Kabul. "And the reality is we're not seeing candidates lay out their manifestos for the future of the country at this critical juncture for this country."


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How ICOs are bringing bitcoin's worst problems back to light
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Over the last few weeks the SEC has clamped down on two initial coin offerings — and in doing so, raises questions about whether shady ICOs are a byproduct of other avenues for cryptocurrency fraud being closed down.
The pace of regulation may be a preemptive measure to protect investors as they become increasingly speculative in the wake of the recent bitcoin buying frenzy — the lure of high returns outweighing understanding of the cryptocurrency landscape.
However, ICOs present a significant challenge to not just the SEC but all financial regulatory bodies. Given the decentralized and borderless nature of cryptocurrencies and ICOs, is policing them ultimately futile?
The SEC bares its teeth
On Dec. 4, the SEC's newly minted cyber team took its first action against PlexCoin, an ICO which promised investors huge returns in a short period. It obtained an emergency asset freeze against Dominic Lacroix, whom it described as a "recidivist Quebec securities law violator," his partner Sabrina Paradis-Royer and PlexCorps.
It also filed charges against LaCroix and PlexCorps alleging that they sold securities claiming investments in PlexCoin would bring profits of 1,354% in less than 29 days. Afterward, the SEC imposed a cease and desist order on Munchee, a payment system for restaurant reviews, because its ICO was selling securities masquerading as tokens without registration with the SEC. And on Tuesday, the SEC suspended trading until Jan. 3 for The Crypto Company, which had been planning a stock split after a sharp rise in its market value.
That the SEC is making a stand may be about more than securities regulation. Not only can ICOs be set up by criminals as honeypots for unsuspecting investors, the currencies that are being developed can potentially exist in a completely unregulated form and therefore be used as funding mechanisms for illegal activities.
This was much the same for bitcoin in its early days.
The anarchic-by-design currency gained a bad reputation as a means of purchasing illegal drugs, firearms and other contraband on darknet sites such as the now-defunct Silk Road. While the currency itself is virtually impossible to control, the points of cryptocurrency trading can be. For bitcoin, this came in the form of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) guidance in March 2013 clarifying the applicability of the Bank Secrecy Act and related regulations concerning money service businesses to persons exchanging and accepting virtual currencies.The same year, the U.S. Treasury classified bitcoin as a convertible decentralized virtual currency and in September 2015 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission classified bitcoin as a commodity.
It is likely that newly minted cryptocurrencies stemming from ICOs will be similarly regulated, but given the sheer volume of ICOs, regulatory bodies will have their work cut out in keeping up. Cryptocurrencies stemming from ICOs also present regulators with an additional layer of complexity. These currencies can be purchased using bitcoin or other popular cryptocurrencies and therefore are one step removed from regulator scrutiny — it's possible to regulate purchases of bitcoin, but far harder to regulate bitcoin purchases.
ICOs unleashed
The SEC does, however, have some clout when it comes to shutting down ICOs. In the U.S., what is known as The Howey Test is often used to determine whether an offering is a security — the four criteria are that the offering be (1) an investment of money in (2) a common enterprise (3) where there is an expectation of profit (4) that comes only from the efforts of the promoter or third party.
This defines most ICOs. But the SEC reach is not international and, to date, the regulation of ICOs represents a patchwork of country-level restrictions varying from soft touch to draconian. Much of this comes down to nomenclature — are digital currencies defined as assets or securities? Switzerland and Singapore deem cryptocurrencies to be assets and regulation is correspondingly light. The U.S. views them as securities.
As a result of this conflicted state of regulation and the word spreading of just how effective they can be as a fundraising mechanism, ICOs have grown meteorically over the past couple of years, with both an increase in the number of ICOs per month and the average value raised by each ICO sale. There were three ICOs in October 2016, raising cumulative total of $13.4 million. In September 2017, there were 35 ICOs which raised a total of $537 million. The average ICO value correspondingly increased to $15 million in September 2017 from $5 million in October 2016.
Quantity, not quality
Of the 232 ICOs that had occurred as of September 2017, a couple that stand out as examples of how successful these sales can be in fundraising — Filecoin and Tezos — both raised over $200 million.
More than a third of ICOs can be categorized as fundraising for blockchain infrastructure projects, but there are a sizable number that are directly in the payments realm (8%) or in categories such as health care (6%) and gaming (4%) where the prime objective is to facilitate payments in gray areas such as unregulated online gambling and the nascent marijuana industry.
However, there is a long tail of mediocre ICOs — 50 raised less than $500,000, and a handful raised nothing. The reputation of ICOs has taken a hit from tales of malpractice, misfortune and ineptitude. For instance, Tezos, which raised more than $232 million with its ICO, is now floundering in a legal no-man's-land with its founders, Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, and the president of the Zug, Switzerland-based Tezos Foundation, Johann Gevers, battling for control. The Breitmans are reportedly looking to access funds they raised in their token sale to fend off class actions filed by investors in the wake of the stalled project. Tezos is also reportedly under investigation by U.S. authorities.
More egregiously, some ICOs have proven to be completely fraudulent. In November, an ICO alleged to be funding a smart contract project called Confido (audaciously meaning "I trust" in Italian) vanished without a trace with over $374,000 worth of investor money. Confido appears to have been a bogus operation run by fictional entrepreneurs with fabricated resumes.
Payment hustlers
Even more disturbing is that ICOs could be used to develop funding mechanisms supporting hate groups, contraband sales and even terrorist activity. In the wake of the Charlottesville white supremacist rally this summer, mainstream payment networks avowed to cut off funding to neo-Nazi sites like the Daily Stormer, as did virtual currency exchanges such as Coinbase. However, where there's a will, there's a way and once legitimate channels are exhausted, the final option for these groups is to develop their own currency that can be purchased using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin.
"Payment hustlers rotate payments methods until the path of least resistance is found," said Dan Frechtling, chief product officer at G2 Web Services. "This can follow a pattern of A, B, C. Plan A, or 'acquirers,' is initially successful but often leads to a rejection after banks and PSPs discover transaction laundering. This is followed by Plan A1, 'Alternative Payment Methods,' then Plan B, 'bank payments,' followed by Plan C, 'cryptocurrencies.' Payment hustlers look for the most hospitable environment to monetize forbidden e-commerce."
One example of a project designed to circumvent payments gatekeepers is Gab's plans to raise funds for the development of a "censorship-proof social media platform" via an ICO. Gab promotes itself as a non-politically affiliated anti-censorship platform, and it hosts several high-profile far-right users who have been banned from other social platforms over hate speech or harassment. Post-Charlottesville, Gab's app was removed from both Apple and Google's app stores.
According to Gab's chief operating officer, Utsav Sanduja, Gab has raised over $1 million in a "test the waters" campaign for its ICO launch this month and is moving ahead with development of the "Exodus Protocol" — an open peer-to-peer social media protocol. While primarily built for messaging, Gab states that "exchanges of value are paramount to our vision for the Exodus Protocol."
ICO regulation — a Sisyphean endeavor
As has been experienced frequently with Internet regulatory problems such as digital content ownership, policing a dispersed global network is near impossible.
"No regulatory body can proactively prevent/stop any setup of a blockchain-based company and the subsequent creation of tokens, as it is entirely decentralized," said Gabriel Wang, analyst at Aite Group. "Now that the U.S. forbids retail investors to participate in any ICOs, and the Chinese government has banned ICOs and cryptocurrency trading altogether, investors outside those two jurisdictions are still very active in the ICO space. Technically speaking, there is no regulatory way to stop this from happening, unless every single regulator in the world does the same thing with the U.S. and Chinese regulators in their own markets."

subset: commoncrawl


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Western Skies: June 2013, "Military"
On June 2, 2013 By Andrea Chalfin News Dir.
Colorado is no stranger to the military. From active bases to a large veteran population, many residents of the state have some kind of association with the armed services. This month for Western Skies, we're exploring some of those relationships.
You can listen to the entire episode here, or download it by right-clicking […]Continue Reading →
Western Skies: February 2013, "Fracking"
On February 3, 2013 By Andrea Chalfin News Dir.
One of the biggest topics right now across the state is oil and gas development, specifically, hydraulic fracturing. Communities, industry, and the state are all working to ensure their interests are protected. But it's a complicated issue, and often contentious. This month for Western Skies, we're holding a magnifying glass up to fracking, the rules, regulations, and community concerns. (This month's image by artist and rig-worker, Streeter Wright.)Continue Reading →
Western Skies: December 2012, "Retrospective"
On December 2, 2012 By Andrea Chalfin News Dir.
We covered a lot of ground this past year with Western Skies, and this month we're spending some time revisiting those stories and conversations.Continue Reading →
Western Skies: November 2012, "Innovation"
On November 4, 2012 By Andrea Chalfin News Dir.
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The tech sector is booming, and hungry for skilled workers. With its promise of ample opportunity and high salaries, it seems like a logical direction for STEM-savvy students to pursue. However, according to a recent article in TIME magazine, the U.S. education system is doing a sub-par job of training students for computer science careers. While most STEM fields have seen an uptick in growth over the past two decades, computer science stands alone as having experienced a drop in student participation over the same period of time. This country's large, change-averse education system may be a big part of the problem. Despite its increasing relevance in the world into which today's students are graduating, computer science hasn't made its way into most -- or even many -- classrooms in a meaningful way. Having appeared on the scene relatively recently, computer science hasn't yet managed to penetrate the bureaucracy to take root as a core course in the vast majority of districts. So what's it going to take to turn the tide and integrate computer science more completely into K-12 education? "If educators want to scale up their cause, they're going to need to create a national framework," according to the TIME article. The Computer Science Education Act, introduced by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), could be a step in the right direction. Read more about it here. See on techland.time.com
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Phoenix, AZ –
As previously reported here at TFNJ, rumors of U.S. Airways acquiring American Airlines are starting to increase and a recent spat of domain name purchases using the two companies combined name by an unknown entity could suggest the merger is a done deal.
On Jan, 20th, we reported the terms of the deal of a possible merger which would be worth about $14 billion in a stock and cash deal and assumption of American's debt. U.S. Airways would also cancel deliveries of many of American's outstanding orders for new aircraft and continue American's retirement of older planes such as the MD-88's. As part of the process, American would also cut about 5% of its route network, mostly to smaller airports.
The new airline, if the to merge, would become the world's largest airline with 936 aircraft and 392 destinations. This would put it slightly ahead of United which just became the world's largest airline as a result of the merger with Continental Airlines.
U.S. Airways lacks important hubs on the west coast or in the central part of the nation which has resulted in less than desired growth for the airline according to some industry analyst.
American Airlines is currently in bankruptcy and just recently received an extension as it continues to shed high-cost labor contracts and other needed assets.
Also as part of the deal, U.S. Airways would eliminate American Eagle and make it survive on its own merits and put out bids in many regional cities for new capacity agreements.


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FAR Part 25 Standards
Prior to 1990, most cabin composites were epoxy-based. But in 1987, the U.S. Federal Aviation Admin. (FAA) mandated slower burn rate/flame spread in aircraft seat cushion materials in its Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 25 standards. Then, in 1990, it also established regulations that mandated stringent flame/smoke/toxicity (FST) and heat release characteristics for all other cabin interior components. Equivalent European regulations have been formulated by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Further, OEMs Boeing and Airbus followed suit and often require even more rigorous fire resistance to ensure that the entire interior will work in concert to meet the agency specifications. As a result, interior suppliers have switched to phenolic resins and high-performance thermoplastic resins to ensure compliance with FST rules. According to the FAA, the 1990 regulations provide an additional two to four minutes for escape in the event of fire. The ultimate goal of FAA's Fire Safety Branch is cabin interiors made with "zero heat release"materials (that is, completely fire resistant) by the year 2010, according to the group's Web site. While research is progressing, wholesale changes are likely a long way off.
Interior materials undergo destructive testing to determine their fire performance as dictated by FAR 25.853, as part of the qualification process. The Ohio State University (OSU) Rate of Heat Release test is the accepted measure of heat evolution energy during burning. Generally reported as peak heat release (kilowatts per square meter) and total heat release (kilowatts per minute per square meter), the FAA regulatory peak/total requirement number is 65/65. All suppliers today easily meet that goal and many have products that surpass it. Assuming the materials can meet the mechanical and fire tests, OEMs also evaluate material odor, tack level, handling, shelf life, cosmetics and processibility to complete the qualification process.


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What is Sharding?
- Altibase is among a very small subset of relational DBMSs that currently provide scale-out technology, sharding.
- It is easy and cost effective to adopt Altibase's sharding as it does not require any changes to your existing applications if your systems are built on relational databases.
- Altibase's sharding is designed to super-minimize the use of coordinators so that it allows for linear performance enhancement with almost no coordinator-related bottlenecks.
- Altibase has been a pioneer in the development of sharding since 2012. Many enterprises have adopted and utilized Altibase's sharding to optimize and economize on their scaling related expenditures instead of spending a huge sum on H/W addition and upgrade.
Altibase is a highly scalable open source DBMS. But, what exactly does highly scalable mean?
The ability to effectively scale with demanding and very large data sets should be a key variable in the choice of database as the data size enterprises handle is growing exponentially and there is a growing concern over IT expenditures.
Sharding is a database technology which has become a requisite for effective scaling.
However, only a very few DBMS vendors currently provide sharding due to the complexity and limited experience in producing and commercializing the technology. This is particularly true of relational database vendors.
Sharding refers to an architecture where data is distributed across commodity (cheap) computers: a distributed, shared-nothing architecture in which all nodes work to satisfy a given query, but they work independently of each other, reporting back to an initiator or master node when done. The nodes do not share memory or disk space. As those nodes are fairly cheap, we can afford many of them, which makes the platform massively parallel processing (MPP). Data is typically distributed across nodes via a distribution key. So data in a single table would be distributed across all nodes, with the data being assigned to a node via the distribution key.
When you have to add or upgrade your IT infrastructure as your existing systems cannot handle ever increasing influx of data any longer, you have two choices.
First, you can replace your existing servers with new, powerful servers. This is usually called scale-up. The problem with this choice is that those servers are unbearably expensive and that you bear huge costs as the investment in existing servers has to be lost.
Second, you add cheap (commodity) servers to existing servers. This is usually called scale-out. Overall, the second choice costs much less than the first one because of lower H/W expenditure. But, a recurring problem with the scale-out is it accompanies coordinator-related performance degradation.
In most sharding technologies, coordinators are needed to manage and administrate nodes between servers. But the coordinators themselves are often a bottleneck and the performance deteriorates as a result.
Altibase resolves the problems related to coordinators as its sharding is designed to super-minimize the use of coordinators and thus can accelerate performance. As a result, you can add as many servers as necessary without experiencing coordinator-related performance degradation.
Another significant advantage of Altibase's sharding is that it does not require any changes to existing applications in order to implement Altibase if your systems are built on relational databases. Consequently, existing DBAs will find it easy to learn, adopt and administrate Altibase when they opt to scale out their systems with Altibase.
Altibase – Downloading is Believing.