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Security is one of the biggest reasons why so many people choose BlackBerry as their preferred smartphone. Its clear that it rises far beyond the rest of its class in regards to security, and keeping data safe. So when exploits or security loopholes are found it's a big deal. Users want to be protected, and companies need to be ensured their data is protected at all times.
Until recently there has been little regarding BlackBerry security penetration. However, a Russian company Elcomsoft that specializes in making mobile phone cracking software, has figured out a way to exploit two of RIM's most prominent security features. Surprisingly one of the exploits is carried out by utilizing two free apps that normally come standard on all BlackBerry smartphones. The other utilizes an exploit found on the removable media card.
The first exploit was found by targeting the apps BlackBerry Password Keeper, and Blackberry Wallet. How ironic, the very apps that are supposed to keep your info secure are the ones that give up key info into getting the master password for each app. As you know these two apps are meant to easily store confidential information in a safe place.
The key to this exploit is in the backup. Password Keeper and the Wallet databases are always included in the backup done by the BlackBerry Desktop Software. Sounds easy enough just grab the raw databases and extract the info, right? No, the problem is that these backups are encrypted which means they are useless without that encryption key. Enter EPPB (Elcomsoft Phone Password Breaker), this program can break through that encryption, and ultimately extract the apps master password.
The databases can then be loaded in the EPPB program, and the password recovery process begins. According to the makers the recovery processis relatively fast. Computing hundreds of thousands and up to several millions passwords per second on modern CPU, depending on BlackBerry OS version. After running the program the master password is found. Now what?
Now that the password(s) have been recovered you now have a couple options extract data:
The second exploit can recover the master password set by the user on their BlackBerry. We all know what happens after that 10th time of incorrectly entering your password; it erases your data. Up until now there was no know way to crack the master password on a BlackBerry. That has changed, Elcomsoft has figured out a way to do just that.
- Use the BlackBerry Simulator, restore the backup to it, and then use the recovered master password(s) to read the users data
- Use the EPPB built in Backup Explorer to view both apps data
This exploit utilizes an attack on the users media card. Here is how it works. A user must have selected the option to encrypt the contentsof their removable media card. ElcomSoft estimates that 30% percent of BlackBerry users enable that option. EPPB then uses information stored on the media card to crack the password. This is done by usinga simple brute-force dictionary attack. The whole process can be done in less than an hour. Really, is it that simple? It seems so. Now what is intended for an extra layer of security actually becomes a liability.
It seems as though Elcomsoft has made it pretty simple to crack the master password and recover the passwords for Password Keeper and BlackBerry wallet. This is a pretty significant achievement, breaking through BlackBerry security features.
So what does all of this mean for BlackBerry users? Well for starters, there is no reason to sound the alarms, and declare the BlackBerry an insecure device. We all know thats far from the truth. What this does is make us that much more aware of the importance of safeguarding our data. BlackBerry smartphones are solid secure devices, and that's why I use mine. Ignoring securing your data is a bad idea.
Do you use Password Protector or Blackberry Wallet? Do you have encryption enabled on your media card?


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Historical Theology
Theologians who just won't die
Delighted by God 2012: Gospel-shaped Evangelism
Glen Scrivener
- Glen Scrivener is an evangelist working in Eastbourne, and the author of 'The King's English', a daily devotional showing Christ as the centre of the Scriptures. View all resources by Glen Scrivener
Glen Scrivener shows how so many of the ways we think about mission are rather 'medieval', shaped by ideas of salvation by systems and processes, rather than the offer to us of Christ, forever!
DbyG 2012 - 2 - Glen Scrivener - Gospel Shaped Evangelism
Delighted by God 2012 was spread over two days in two cities, with a fantastic day of digging deep into the gospel together in London, and an evening celebrating salvation in Bristol. Follow Theology Network and Cor Deo on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with the latest news on our conferences and events.
Lots more from Delighted by God 2012 coming soon!
Listen to the talks from Delighted by God 2011

subset: commoncrawl


text: Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - Qatar University to have Arabic as Medium of Instruction Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today! Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Qatar University to have Arabic as Medium of Instruction Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Next Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Qatar View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17607Location: USA Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:59 pm Post subject: Qatar University to have Arabic as Medium of Instruction I thought that Wilburforce's posting of this article needed a thread of its own. This is major news in Gulf education and could be the beginning of the end of the large Foundations departments with their many EFL teachers: Quote: So they will go back to the old system of teaching in Arabic. It looks like the foundation teachers will be out of a job. QUs instruction medium to be Arabic Wednesday, 25 January 2012 02:52 Doha: The Supreme Education Council has issued a decision that Arabic language shall be the medium of instruction at the Qatar University (QU). The decision also states that students are directly be accepted in all programs that being taught in Arabic language as of fall 2012 semester, without the need to study the Foundation Programme, and that the University is to consider the courses which students passed as part of the Foundation Programme within the requirements of QU. The decision also provides for the Arabic language shall be as medium of instruction at the Faculty of Law as well as in the disciplines of international affairs, Media and the Faculty of Business Administration as of the fall 2012 semester. The QU is required to take the necessary measures to implement this decision. The decision provides for applying its provisions to all students currently enrolled in the Foundation Programme and those who have already joined programs and were not be able to complete their studies because they did not meet the admission requirements for the programs taught in Arabic language at the university. QNA I don't believe that they ever taught in Arabic. None of the Gulf universities have except in a few majors. Personally I think this is completely sensible decision. I have always thought that it was a waste of resources to teach K-12 in Arabic and then suddenly switch to English at university. This was never true in places like Syria, Iraq, or Egypt. If Arabic textbooks didn't exist, translation to Arabic would be significantly cheaper than all these expensive Foundations teachers. From reading all Wilbur's posts, it sounds like Science and Medicine will continue to be taught in English, so there will still be need for a smaller Foundations-type program for them. It may be the end of an era... VS Back to top It's Scary!Joined: 17 Apr 2011Posts: 823 Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:20 pm Post subject: Quote: It may be the end of an era... More like the end of an error... It's closer to the truth! Back to top veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17607Location: USA Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:30 am Post subject: Must say that I agree... VS Back to top battleshipb_bJoined: 14 Dec 2006Posts: 189 Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:34 pm Post subject: Re: Qatar University to have Arabic as Medium of Instruction [quote][quote="veiledsentiments"]I don't believe that they ever taught in Arabic. None of the Gulf universities have except in a few majors. It may be the end of an era... VS[/quote][/quote] I agree probably the end of an era. But why do you say state owned Gulf Universities didn't teach in Arabic? That's not true Some did and very few taught all their courses in English. This is a trend of the last ten years, thanks to the Internet and Bill Gates making English accessible. QU used to teach almost all the programs in Arabic, hardly any profesors could speak English. In the 1980s and 1990s most universities in this region had Arabic speaking lecturers, very few could speak adequate English and as their students couldn't either, lectures were in Arabic. I don't remember hearing any English spoken in any lecture halls in the 1980s at QU. The same goes for the Saudi universities I've taught at apart from KFUPM and the private universities. Compulsory English courses were credit courses at QU in my day 23 years ago. Only Engineering and some of the science courses plus the English lit dept had English as medium of instruction. Business was taught in Arabic too. Most Saudi universities were/are the same, especially programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences, etc. When I arrived in the Magic Kingdom the net was banned. Only when the regulations were relaxed and English became more accessible did some of the universities start offering some of the courses in English. Back to top battleshipb_bJoined: 14 Dec 2006Posts: 189 Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 8:21 pm Post subject: Here is what their president said: [quote][b][i]Asked why the University had adopted English as the medium of instruction instead of Arabic, which is the official language of the country, Al Misnad said, Arabic is our official language in administration and most of our programmes are taught in Arabic. English has been adopted as the medium only in pure sciences and professional courses. One-third of the whole curriculum is taught in Arabic. All the students must study Arabic, Islamic history and Qatar history[/i].[/quote] So who says they haven't been teaching in Arabic? Looks like you have got the wrong end of the stick, VS mam. Back to top veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17607Location: USA Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:21 am Post subject: I know that SQU was all in English from the start... (except Islamic Studies and Education), as was Uof Bahrain... and I was told the same with UAEU and QU in the late 80s when I arrived in the Gulf. I know Foundations teachers who were at all of those locations in the late 80s. So why would they have a bunch of Foundations English teachers at all of those universities if they weren't teaching many, if not most, of the majors in English. That didn't mean that all of the professors actually taught in English... only that they were supposed to... Of course that was even true at HCT when I got there in the early 90s. I would hear teachers teaching content courses in Arabic when I would walk past their classes - even though their texts were in English. I'm glad to see that a move may be starting to go back to teaching in the language of the country. VS Back to top battleshipb_bJoined: 14 Dec 2006Posts: 189 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 7:21 am Post subject: Elation, worries on the campus Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:35 Qatar University students have responded with scepticism to the SEC move on the medium of instruction. By AZMAT HAROON Qatar University is in the throes of a controversy with the Supreme Education Council (SEC), the regulator of educational institutions in the country, recently asking it to change the medium of instruction literally overnight from English to Arabic in some key faculties such as those of law, media studies, business administration and international affairs. The move, as expected, has sparked a heated debate across the country with a majority welcoming it arguing that it would promote nationalism and boost the number of students at the university. Then, there are those who are opposed to the move and they argue that it could adversely impact the universitys standard of education and its international accreditation. And within the university, the reaction of students and faculty members, particularly from the departments concerned, is one of shock and surprise. They say they came to know about the new decision through media reports and local social networking sites.This, because the announcement about the decision was officially made a day before the spring holidays began, making it difficult for people to seek confirmation from the university authorities.Although many students went to their departments in search of answers on Thursday, faculty members as well as administration officials had no clear answers to satisfy them. Infuriated, the students were asked to remain calm and not lend ears to rumors. The Chairman of Students Affairs at QU confirmed that notifications regarding a change in the medium of instruction had been issued to the departments and that they were studying a new action plan. The SEC decision also calls on QU to abolish the Foundation Programme of the university which previously helped students acquire basic skills in English, mathematics and computers, once thought to be critically important, before taking up the main courses. Members of the universitys senior management held a number of meetings of senior level on Wednesday, a day after the notifications were issued, to discuss the mechanism of implementing the new policy. According to a local Arabic daily, the mechanism involved a review of some parts of the curriculum and the fate of non-Arab students and faculty members. The meeting was attended by the heads of departments, deans, faculty members and senior management of the university. A source present at the meeting told the daily that the management discussed new methods to calculate teaching hours of the Foundation Program along with the issues involving the universitys international accreditation. It is believed that a new plan for the Foundation Program would be announced soon and it would be applied to disciplines taught in English only. There is so far no word on the fate of those already enrolled in various courses of the said departments. What professors say According to the Arabic daily, QU staffers have welcomed the decision saying that it would promote Qatars national identity and allow students to enrol here instead of seeking admissions abroad. They said that the move has put an end to an old controversy among students and faculty members alike about teaching the curriculum in English.Dr Khalid Al Ali, Director of the Foundation Programme, said that this decision will make it easier for students to get admission to the university. The Foundation Program will be reviewed and a new plan will be announced soon, but it will be implemented only for special courses that use English as the medium of instruction, he said. Al Ali added that a panel was busy studying methods to develop a new Foundation Program that would be able to cope with the changes. The panel will reevaluate the past records of the Foundation Program and it would study a proposal to reduce the duration of both the Foundation Program and the study of English, he said.Some of the senior professors said that the SECs decision was not implemented abruptly. The decision was thoroughly studied before we adopted it, said a professor from the Arabic department. The aim is not to boycott the English language but to improve the efficiency of students in academics. Now fluency in English will no longer remain one of the conditions for entering the university, he said. Dr Rabia Sabah Al Kuwari said that Arabic should be a priority at all times. Arabic is the language of the Holy Quran. According to our Constitution too, it is the first language of the country, he said. According to Al Kuwari, many years ago there was a decision that made correspondence between ministries, corporations and universities to be compulsorily in Arabic. This decision defends the previous policies along with the Qatar National Vision 2030, he said.The Dean of the College of Business and Economics, Dr Nitham M Hindi, told a newspaper that the decision would not bring down the academic standard of the university, and the market value of QU degrees and certificates. Incidentally, none of the professors who taught courses in English was immediately available for comment. What students think The students have largely responded with scepticism. Those who welcomed the decision were not sure how it would be implemented and how will it affect their studies and job prospects.Others believe that teaching in the Arabic medium will adversely impact the market value of QU degrees and make it all the more difficult for students to seek admissions to international universities for higher studies. I am a student of economics and management. We cannot study in the Arabic medium because most of the terms used in our subjects are in English. Besides, its business studies. We deal with local and international markets, so we need to be qualified in English if we want to work after studies, said a student. Some are of the opinion that teaching in Arabic should be made optional and not mandatory.Out of almost 18 faculty members in our department, half come from non-Arab backgrounds. Those who are Arabs have studied in the West most of their lives, so its easier for them to communicate with us in English than Arabic, said a third year student of international affairs. From what I gather, the university had no idea (about the decision), they came to know of it exactly when we did, through the newspapers. I did call my department as soon as I heard the news and they told me to be patient and wait for an official announcement from the university, which they havent done yet because most of us are on vacation, said Shaima Sharif. Some students are complaining that references for most subjects are only available in English and that if the medium of instruction changes it would become very difficult to conduct authentic research, since most books in the curriculum of international affairs, media and business studies are in English. Sections of students, on the other hand, were found celebrating. I tried almost six times to acquire the 5.5 band in IELTS (the test for a students basic knowledge of English for admission), but failed. Now I can join QU without worrying about my English scores, said a student who did not want to be named.Another student, lauding the decision, said that Qatar is doing the right thing as countries like France and Germany, for instance, use their native language in teaching. We should support Arabization, except when using scientific terms which should be in English, he said. The opinion among students at large is that they should not be forced to learn a foreign language. Need for English in the workplace In a research titled Needs of English By Graduates of Qatar University in the Workplace published in the Journal of Language, Society and Culture, Haifa A Al Buainain, Fouad Khalil Hassan and Ahmed Madani of Qatar University studied the range, need and actual use of English in the workplace in Qatar. The results of the research showed that English language is highly needed for working in both the state and private sectors in Qatar. The researchers found that more than 77 percent of respondents in workforce needed to use English in varying degrees which surpassed the 50 percent boundary in an overall need for English. The participants had a similar degree of need for reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in English. Only 21.6 percent of the respondents said they did not need to use English, though some in this category admitted they needed to use it every now and then. The majority of the participants in the survey had received their education in government schools. Regarding self-assessment of English language proficiency, 38 percent stated that their level of proficiency ranged from weak to average, while 61.5 percent estimated their range from good to excellent. Spring holidays have begun and the university administration doesnt really have much time to switch to the new medium of instruction, which calls for not only text books and other reading materials in Arabic for the above key streams but also able and experienced teachers who could impart quality education in these disciplines. Then, the question of what happens to the existing faculty members who have been giving instructions in the said streams in English, needs to be resolved amicably. The university administration should keep in mind that undue delays in implementing the change would make it vulnerable to widespread criticism in the local media from the students, their parents or guardians and the community as a whole. The impact on national education policy In the past few years, education in Qatar has undergone a sea-change and is labelled Education For A New Era. According to Mohammed A A Manasreh, author of a study titled English in an Islamic Cultural Context: Qatari Students Attitudes to English and Advised Practices, an action research study based on the findings of one of the Independent Schools in Qatar, part of the educational reforms stems from the national curriculum standards, which are set by the Centre for British Teachers. Schools have to meet those standards through whatever methodology, approach or materials they find suitable.Manasreh also found that 89 percent students said they liked English, while 95 percent considered English language a means for a better job. It is no surprise then to see an influx of native-English speaking teachers into many secondary schools in Qatar. Keeping that in view, the change of the medium of instruction at Qatars national university from English to Arabic for some key streams seems to be a contradiction as for the countrys grassroots education policy is concerned. Children who have previously studied English textbooks and have been instructed in English, would find it all the more difficult to follow an Arabic curriculum. The decision, perhaps, makes sense for the students of law as court proceedings in the country are carried out in Arabic. B[b]ut for people interested in media studies, international affairs and business administration, or instance, the dilemma is whether to go to Qatar University or seek education elsewhere.[/b] The fallout The problem with institutions that impart education in the national language, especially higher studies, is that they limit scope for students in the global employment market. In this case, although Arabic is spoken in 23 countries and ranked 5th among the most spoken languages in the world, for undergraduate and postgraduate students to be able to conduct any kind of research, they would still need to rely on publications of the West, which can often be found only in English language. This is in addition to the fact that books and other resources borrow heavily from concepts and theories that were developed in the West in the last two centuries or so. The new decision is in essence a burden on the faculty and administration of QU. One of the key reasons why QU climbed the ranks of universities in the world was because of its research and publications in English, which also helped it to gain international accreditation.The SEC decision also means that the fate of foreign teachers is in a fix. If the deans and heads of departments cannot speak Arabic themselves, how they can be expected to instruct students in Arabic?The same is true of international students and students from various expatriate communities who joined QU in large numbers in the past few years. It not only ignores the needs of this community in Qatar but also discriminates against those who are currently studying in the university. The PeninsulaLast edited by battleshipb_b on Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:17 am; edited 2 times in total Back to top battleshipb_bJoined: 14 Dec 2006Posts: 189 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 7:23 am Post subject: There are also non-Arabic students (children of Asian expats from India and Pakistan) who also attend this university. My Pakistani friend's daughter is a student there and is devastated that she will not be able to continue in her major. They are thinking of sending her to Pakistan to finish her studies. Back to top battleshipb_bJoined: 14 Dec 2006Posts: 189 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 7:26 am Post subject: Arabic - vs - English Arabic vs English Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:40 The Issue: Qatar University has been recently asked (the decision was announced this week) by education authorities to switch the medium of instruction from English to Arabic, for some crucial disciplines like law, media studies, business administration and international affairs. The move has been welcomed by those who feel that one should learn a subject in ones native language and simultaneously learn English to be prepared to pursue higher studies abroad. But what is being doubted is whether the university would be able to implement the change in the medium of instruction in such a short span of time. Spring holidays have begun and the university administration doesnt really have much time to switch to the new medium of instruction, which calls for not only text books and other reading materials in Arabic for the above key streams but also able and experienced teachers who could impart quality education in these disciplines.Then, the question of what happens to the existing faculty members who have been giving instructions in the said streams in English, needs to be resolved amicably. The university administration should keep in mind that undue delays in implementing the change would make it vulnerable to widespread criticism in the local media from the students, their parents or guardians and the community as a whole. The decision-makers should also bear in mind that the students doing law, media, business and international affairs courses in the university which would now be taught in Arabic are able to compete in the job market. Studies suggest that students learning a subject in their native language tend to master the subject better provided they simultaneously learn the English language, than those whose mother tongue is not English but they are taught a subject in the English medium. Qatar University switching the medium of instruction for the key study streams is thus, laudatory, but the students would do better not to ignore learning English on the sidelines of their main studies. The move is also heartily welcomed because Qatari students, especially, those seeking admission to law, media studies, business administration or international affairs studies were until now required to have high scores (in secondary education) only to be enrolled for a Foundation Program of a years duration.Only if they acquired a high grade point average (GPA) in this Programme were they admitted to one of the above courses. There were many who couldnt even qualify the Programme to be able to seek entry to the above disciplines. [b]Such students found the Foundation Programme that focused on students acquiring basic skills in English, mathematics and computers, not only tough and unwanted but also a sheer waste of time[/b].Many of them were, thus, forced to seek admission to universities in Sharjah or Jordan, among other countries, and ironically, they landed jobs here as well with ease, mainly in the government, once they returned with a graduate degree. But a Qatari graduate, in order to have a graduate degree from Qatar University, had to undergo so much of trouble.Now, with the medium of instruction being Arabic for the four major disciplines, Qatar University graduates from these streams wouldnt have to now waste a year of their life cycle, a critic told this newspaper not wanting his name in print. He said that there are examples worldwide, and in the neighbouring Saudi Arabia as well, that for a university to be of international acclaim and standard it need not compulsorily impart education in English.The focus on teaching should be on the content of a subject rather than being on English which is merely a medium of instruction, said the critic. He said that what had been happening at Qatar University in the above streams was that students were made to concentrate on the learning of English rather than the subject. So we welcome the move but are suspicious if the university administration would be able to implement the decision in such a short span of time, he said. The PeninsulaLast edited by battleshipb_b on Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:56 am; edited 1 time in total Back to top battleshipb_bJoined: 14 Dec 2006Posts: 189 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 7:35 am Post subject: The big problem will be what to do with the huge number of teachers they have. If they get their act together, they should offer ESP courses like they did when I worked there. We taught credit courses for the Business, Engineering and Science students. The courses were 5 hours a week and popular because we taught them what they needed to know. Many Gulf universities have such programs. Back to top battleshipb_bJoined: 14 Dec 2006Posts: 189 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 7:54 am Post subject: [quote="veiledsentiments"]I know that SQU was all in English from the start... (except Islamic Studies and Education), as was Uof Bahrain... and I was told the same with UAEU and QU in the late 80s when I arrived in the Gulf. I know Foundations teachers who were at all of those locations in the late 80s. So why would they have a bunch of Foundations English teachers at all of those universities if they weren't teaching many, if not most, of the majors in English. That didn't mean that all of the professors actually taught in English... only that they were supposed to... :lol: Of course that was even true at HCT when I got there in the early 90s. I would hear teachers teaching content courses in Arabic when I would walk past their classes - even though their texts were in English. I'm glad to see that a move may be starting to go back to teaching in the language of the country.VS[/quote] Very strange. QU started its foundation in 2004. This is a fact. One of my old colleagues was working there when it was set up that year. Before that it was just and ELU like other places. So what's this about QU having a foundation in the early 90s? One of the first places to set up foundation was HCT which was a sort of model for some universities. They opened up in 1988. I was offered a job there that year but turned it down as the working hours were longer than at QU. It was also an unknown entity and people were wary of what it would be like. Rightly so as it happened. I also heard UAEU has both ESP and foundation courses. It depends on where the student is placed. U of Bahrain offers some programs in Arabic. Don't forget they have a much longer history with English than anywhere else in the Gulf and the Brits helped them set up their university. They did not have a foundation program in the 1980s, they had an English Language Unit - do you remember Daoud? I don't think they even use the term foundation unit, but hey - I may be wrong. Next time I drive over the causeway for a booze-up I'll check with my friends who work there. Usually we don't talk shop when we meet up. They do ESP courses as well as basic English for the weak students. If QU thinks this thing through they should go back to the old ESP credit program. Reading the articles in the Peninsula suggests that some of them are concerned about English for the workplace and would probably be happier doing credit courses which will be more useful than what they may be learning at the moment. Maybe some QU teachers can add something but they are probably too afraid to post as they get booted out it they do. This is true as at least one poster is now working in the magic kingdom and has tales to tell of mismanagement and underhanded treatment of staff. Back to top battleshipb_bJoined: 14 Dec 2006Posts: 189 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:20 am Post subject: The fallout from this decision will be huge. Like I said, there are plenty of jobs in the magic kingdom but mainly for male instructors. That said, the magic kingdom is not the best place for everyone. Not recommended for families and females. Back to top veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17607Location: USA Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:05 pm Post subject: I do believe that they (around the Gulf) usually started with something called a Language Center or some such term. I worked with teachers at SQU in '88 who had come from both the Qatar University and Bahrain University - and had been teaching there for some years in EFL. Student numbers at that time were low too. Later on most of them changed the name to "Foundations" rather than Language unit or whatever. But, little changed as to the teaching. At SQU, they didn't change the name, but added more general English courses rather than just ESP. (needed because so many had a level that was too low for ESP) Their programs slowly became more similar to the ESL departments in the US or UK. There were already math and computer type courses for entering students. So... whether you call it "Foundations" or the "Language Center" - it is still teaching the basics that these students lack on arrival. All of them had some majors in English and some in Arabic. VS Back to top veiledsentimentsJoined: 20 Feb 2003Posts: 17607Location: USA Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:19 pm Post subject: Thanks for the article BB... very interesting debate in the press. So, I interpret this to mean that last week, people outside the university in some Ministry declared that these changes be made... immediately... in the middle of an academic year. Obviously with no thought or input from the institution that will suddenly need all new texts and a bunch of new teachers/professors as of... tomorrow. This is exactly the same stupidity shown by the Ministry and UAEU. Let's get rid of the expensive Foundations department and give it to HCT... starting now. As with this QU decision, it was a very sensible idea. But they both need a plan of implementation, probably over 2 to 3 years. The lack of planning and thought is likely to mean that it will have to be cancelled as it will be impossible to implement. (as happened in the UAE) Why is it that they seem fundamentally unable to research and figure out that this is not a corner shop with 4 employees that can change direction quickly? It will take time (years?) to find more professors and locate/receive textbooks and make major additions to their libraries. Another soap opera ensues... with a significant number of expat teachers/professors having to quickly polish up the CV as they are wondering if they will have a job next semester or not. Again we are caught in the middle... VS Back to top FunGusJoined: 10 Jun 2008Posts: 34 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 7:59 pm Post subject: Supposedly, the VP of QU has sent out a message to all employees stating that all contracts will be honored...so the teachers currently there should be safe until the end of their contracts. Where they all will go on to from there (there are 100+ teachers) is anyone's guess... 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Welcome to Nicole Welsh's personal page
1 in 8 Canadian women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Women are living longer, healthier lives after a breast cancer diagnosis, but there is still so much work to be done. For my eighth year, I will be participating in the Canadian Cancer Society CIBC Run for the Cure to make breast cancer beatable. I'm running in honour of the incredible women in my life, and this year I will be running in Kamloops with my roommate in support of her mom, who was recently diagnosed.
Please contribute what you can to help me achieve my fundraising goal. Every dollar makes a difference. Your donation will fund innovative breast cancer research to help save the lives of more women and provide support programs to those affected by this disease.
Did you know that just $100 could fund 2 hours of life-saving research in a world class laboratory? Your contribution could lead to the next breakthrough!
Together, we can change the future of breast cancer.
Thanks in advance for your support!
This year's event is on Sunday, September 30th, 2018.
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Park dog ban disappointing
I was raised in Ashland and spent my youth growing up in Lithia Park. I had an opportunity to return two weeks ago while visiting my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
I was happy to see that the city has done a good job maintaining such a wonderful place. I wasn't able to enjoy it directly this time because I had my Labrador with me (on a leash).
Many signs warned me not to allow my dog on the park grounds. So I watched my relatives from outside looking in. What a shame and disappointment.
I remember the days when we didn't have so many restrictions on our enjoyment of the park — I don't recall dogs being a problem. I don't know when this rule went into effect, but it certainly spoiled my trip to Ashland and bothered me enough to write this.
Why not change the signs to say that well-mannered dogs and dog owners are welcome, and that the usual restrictions should apply? Picking up after your pet, controlling them and respecting other people who may not share the love of your pet as you do — would that be so bad? My dog and I could enjoy the park together.
Mike McDonald
Lincoln City
Praise for Honore's movie review
Highest praise for Chris Honore's review of "A Most Wanted Man."
He makes it clear why Le Carre's novels are challenges to present as film and this film is no exception. Honore shows just how and why the unfolding story of the film requires patience as the plot progresses.
Given the material, such an effort pays off as, at the end, we see what a vicious world those secret agency types have constructed. In the end, we are left with betrayals, pain, and no sure sense of what praise-worthy goals have been reached. You know, just like in the real world.
Ragan and Gerry Cavanaugh
Wealthy influence big decisions
In Jackson County, we successfully defeated the corporate inflow of campaign contributions when we supported 15-119, a measure protecting family farms from corporate influence.
But for the most part, the 1 percent of our population who own 40 percent of the national wealth are able to influence decisions vastly more than the 99 percent, who are the actual voters and who should be represented. Democracy is threatened by the inordinate influence that money has on both election campaigns and what representatives do while in office.
A similar threat exists in addressing climate change. Fossil fuel corporations are funding a campaign that denies the accepted science on the process and cause of climate change, and is contributing heavily to candidates who will protect their income even at the expense of future generations.
When deciding for whom to vote in November, please consider voting against candidates funded by a few wealthy sources and supporting those funded by many small contributors.
Ken Deveney
Republicans still promote pollution
We can lead a horse to water but we can't make him drink. Similarly, we can have a clearly established scientific consensus around the world, the recent IPCC report, chaotic weather patterns emerging before our very eyes, and still Republican congressional representatives continue to promote carbon pollution.
Even when four past Republican EPA administrators urged them see the light at an Environment and Public Works Committee this June, House Republicans barely deigned to listen. One would think Congressional Republicans might listen to former Republican Treasury secretaries (Schultz and Paulson) pointing out how big the cost of climate change will be.
And now The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates that every decade of delay to cut greenhouse gases will cost us an extra 40 percent. Floods, fires, famine, wars and pestilence, are part of the social and economic costs of global warming and climate change. It should be clear that we must address this problem now.
Congressional inaction and obstructionism are inexcusable. Let us urge Rep. Greg Walden to show leadership. Congress should support the EPA, make polluters pay and lead us into a future where our grand-kids can live. And if Walden won't, let's elect someone who will.
Lee Lull
Letters to the Editor
Park dog ban disappointing


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The official Ashington Cougars app
Church Lane Ashington West Sussex RH20 3JY View with Google Maps
This website is part of the Pitchero Football network. Create your own free Football club website with Pitchero.
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Pitch Hero Ltd Registered in ENGLAND | WF3 1DR | Company Number - 636 1033


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Custom made to order. Minimum order quantity is 12 shorts. Allow four to five weeks for delivery. Call to order.
Custom dye sublimated lacrosse short design 1009 is made to your specifications in any color combination.
All custom sublimated lacrosse shorts are made in our 100% polyester 150 denier weight AK Knit (airknit) fabric. Other fabrics available, call for pricing. Elastic waist with inside drawstring. 9" inseam on men's sizes, 7" inseam on youth sizes.
One flat price includes all decoration for numbers, lettering, logos, or any additional artwork you want on the short, in any number of colors. There are NO SET-UP CHARGES.
You choose the short colors in any combination. All decoration is dyed directly into the fabric and is guaranteed to NEVER fade, crack, peel or otherwise deteriorate.
Sizes: Youth S-XL (-$2.00), Men's S-6XL (over XXL adds $4.00/size)Custom made to order. Minimum order quantity is 12 shorts, allow four to five weeks for production plus delivery time.


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By Kristin Littrell, CFCA correspondent
Small changes, big impact
This is the third installment in our series about helping kids develop a global worldview. View part one here and part two here.
Sometimes when we imagine the people we want our kids (or ourselves!) to become, it can feel paralyzing. How do we get there exactly?
Although it may sound clichÈ, I do think we become a sum of our days. We all know that the old Chinese proverb is true: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step."
Sometimes small changes, casually sprinkled into daily life, really can take root in our kids' lives, and our own.
The map on our table
Every morning, noon and night, our preschooler perches at our dining room table, her brightly colored world-map place mat catching her many drips and spills.
I bought the place mat on a whim one day when she was just an infant. It seemed silly at the time to buy a place mat for a child that wasn't even eating solid food yet, but it wasn't.
As I've said before, I want our kids to have a global worldview, and this was a tiny step in that direction.
Quickly, my infant become a toddler, gave up the high chair, and started making milk-puddle messes at every meal. So I pulled out the place mat. For months, it was just something to protect our dining room table ñ nothing more.
But then my parents took a European vacation and over breakfast one morning, they showed my daughter the country they visited on her place mat. And it clicked for her. She proudly identified that country every day for weeks.
Then other family members traveled, and we learned that we have friends moving to Ethiopia, so she added those destinations to her repertoire of countries identified on the map.
Slowly it snowballed, one country after the next.
Her world-map place mat became her pride and joy. When friends came over to play, she eagerly showed them these countries, and told them the personal stories behind each one.
As I listened to her, it was hard not to catch her enthusiasm for the world at large.
Her tiny voice would practically scream, "Did you know this is England? And this is Ethiopia? Our friends are moving there … "
It was like she was saying to her friends, "Did you know that this ñ our neighborhood, our city, our state – isn't all there is?"
She was filled with possibility, with adventure, with a dream for what is out there. Is there anything better?
Growing world-changers
The map serves to expand her reality, gradually teaching her that there's a whole world out there, where people live, and work, and play. A world just waiting to be explored, and people waiting to be loved.
All of that, from a simple place mat.
We hope this interest in the world will later translate to a desire to make the world a better place.
A Harris Interactive poll states that only one in four Americans believe that they bear "some responsibility to create a better world."
If that's true, then we're going to need some world-changers.
Developing a global worldview doesn't have to be daunting, or all-consuming. You could start with a place mat, like we did, or something else that works for you or your family.
Maybe you choose to decorate with a globe or map, or you start reading the tag on your clothing to find out where it was made. Small steps often lead to bigger changes in the heart and the mind, which is really what matters most.
How do you stay mindful of the larger world around you? Please share your ideas with us!
(If you're looking for a world-map place mat, a quick Amazon search for "world-map place mat" yields several inexpensive options.)


text: This was our first stay here, and we were so glad we came across it! We stayed at this spectacular B&B as part of our Honeymoon tour of the Finger Lakes the week of Oct 21-29. We were greeted so graciously by both Jack and Donna, and they went out of their way to make our stay outstanding. The house... More


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Maury Clip Of The Week: Man Flipping Off The Stage & Doing Things When He Finds Out He's Not The Father! "I Aint The Pappy.. I Aint The Pappy!!"
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Board your air-conditioned bus for an educational 60 minute ride through Belize's picturesque hinterlands, sightseeing as you travel along a portion of the fabled Pan American Highway. Your knowledgeable guide will keep you entertained with interesting tidbits of information concerning Belizean history and culture.
Before you know it you have arrived at the hot pepper sauce factory of Mrs. Marie Sharp. The pepper sauce factory is located on the edge of their sprawling farm where the actual peppers and other ingredients for their products are grown. While at the factory site, you will have a chance to watch a live performance of authentically dressed Garifunas, performing traditional drumming and dancing. This wonderfully choreographed extravaganza, with its powerful tribal drumming and melodious singing of the dancing Garifauna women, will leave you mesmerized and wanting more.
Now we are ready for the really hot stuff. The factory tour takes you from start to finish. You will see and learn what steps are required to turn raw materials into the flavorful and popular spicy hot sauce.
Mrs. Sharp's hot pepper sauce is world renowned, selling in North America, Europe, and Asia, including Japan. Mrs. Sharp's products include pepper sauce, jams and fruit juice concentrate, all of which you will have the opportunity to sample and purchase. You will also be able to purchase traditional Belizean snacks and/or the Belizean national dish or rice and beans and stewed chicken.


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Sat.6.OCT.2012 -- Negation of Russian Verbs
In the free, open-source Russian artificial intelligence (RuAi), we need to work on the negation of verbs before we can implement the calling of the VisRecog module from the VerbPhrase module. When we type "Ty ne znayesh menya" for "You do not know me" into the current RuAi, it answers incorrectly "Ya znayu ne tebya" for "I do not know you," and the negational adverb "nye" for "not" is in the wrong place.
After experimentation with diagnostic "alert" messages, we moved the nay-saying code into the same area of VerbPhrase that uses parameters to select a Russian verb-form. Thus we got the RuAi to put the negational adverb before the verb and not after the verb.Sun.7.OCT.2012 -- Negation of Putative Be-Verbs
Our next task in creating Russian artificial intelligence is to implement the negation of unexpressed, putative be-verbs in Russian. Currently the Dushka AI assumes tentatively the occurrence of a be-verb after any noun or pronoun begins a statement in the nominative. We need to introduce special handling of the negative adverb "NYE" so that the RuAi still waits for a putative be-verb. Although we are tempted to let there be a corrigend default negation of each putative be-verb, we owe it to Occam to let an actual negation determine what happens.


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Just came across this on National News Watch.
Could it be possible that there were some dirty deeds being done to try and smear Lisa Raitt? Judging from the article, more notably, the accompanying picture, I think perhaps the government might need to do a major investigation into this. If you look at the picture, taken last Thursday as Raitt and her aide were leaving the Television studio's after doing interviews, something stands out.
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but that sure looks like the same binder in the aides hand that Robert Fife was showing off for the cameras, or an identical one. I highly doubt the aide would have returned to the studio and left the binder, as she most likely would have returned with the minister to her office. And the aides normally carry documentation for the ministers. Is it possible the aide actually returned the documents, and somebody else passed them along to Fife? The aide would take the blame if she was the last one to sign them in and they were found missing.
Could be nothing, but something does indeed to be getting stinky as this story evolves.
A commenter has pointed out that it is the National Press Building on Wellington. Still, the picture does provide proof that it was indeed the aide who was in charge of the documents.


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Tigers OF Granderson might be ready for breakout season
LAKELAND, Fla. - Curtis Granderson has all the tools to be a leadoff man for the Detroit Tigers. He can run, hit, throw and catch.
But is this his breakout season?
Tigers manager Jim Leyland thinks so.
Granderson isn't the typical leadoff hitter. He struck out 174 times last season and walked only 66 times. His .260 batting average in 596 at-bats in his first full season is enough to intrigue Leyland, but it seems to intrigue Granderson even more.
Granderson, 26, has been one of the first Tigers in the locker room during spring training and one of the last to leave. He knows as the leadoff man he has to set the table for the middle of the order, but there's a bit of a dilemma.
Leyland said he wants Granderson to be aggressive, and Granderson said he knows that can lead to strikeouts.
"I just need to get the ball in play and stay aggressive," Granderson said. "I need to stop facing two-strike counts. When I strike out, I feel like I let the team down."
Granderson had only two hits and one walk while striking out seven times in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals last year.
Leyland said he doesn't mind being patient with Granderson, who seems comfortable now with his job as the everyday center fielder.
"You can't make an older player out of a younger player," Leyland said. "It will take some time, but he has a chance to be a great player, no doubt about it."
Leyland said Granderson needs to work the count better, but there also are times he needs to be swinging at the first pitch.
"Look at a guy like (San Diego pitcher) Greg Maddux," Leyland said. "I never had any of my guys take pitches against Maddux, no matter what the score was. You take it, you get strike one. That doesn't make any sense to me."
Leyland said he would let Granderson take his time learning to be a leadoff hitter.
Since beginning his career in the Tigers' organization in 2002, Granderson has had more strikeouts than walks. His highest stolen-base total was 22 in 111 games at Triple-A Toledo in 2005, but no one questions his speed.
Still, with a batting order full of sluggers such as Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez, Leyland said he's content to let Granderson get on base and let the power take care of moving him around.
He also said he doesn't expect Granderson to do any more than just improve his game.
"I don't expect him to be a great player this year," Leyland said. "That would be unfair. I just want him to continue to get better."
Granderson said he's learning a lot in Lakeland this spring, but he won't know until he takes his first cuts against live pitching Wednesday, when the Tigers start their Grapefruit League season in Port St. Lucie against the New York Mets.


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Group accounts for Django
Project description
|Groups and multi-user account management
|Ben Lopatin (http://benlopatin.com)
Add user-managed, multi-user groups to your Django project. Use django-organizations whether your site needs organizations that function like social groups or multi-user account objects to provide account and subscription functionality beyond the individual user.
- Relies on django.contrib.auth and does not add or require additional user or authentication functionality
- Users can be belong to and own more than one organization (account, group)
- Invitation and registration functionality is designed to be flexible to allow you to integrate existing invitation and registration apps
Documentation is on Read the Docs
First add the application to your Python path. The easiest way is to use pip:
pip install django-organizations
You should install by downloading the source and running:
$ python setup.py install
Make sure you have django.contrib.auth installed, and add the organizations application to your INSTALLED_APPS list:
INSTALLED_APPS = ( ... 'django.contrib.auth', 'organizations', )
Then ensure that your project URL conf is updated. You should hook in the main application URL conf as well as your chosen invitation backend URLs:
from organizations.backends import invitation_backend urlpatterns = patterns('', ... url(r'^accounts/', include('organizations.urls')), url(r'^invitations/', include(invitation_backend().get_urls())), )
You can specify a different invitation backend in your project settings, and the invitation_backend function will provide the URLs defined by that backend:
ORGS_INVITATION_BACKEND = 'myapp.backends.MyInvitationBackend'
There is also a lightly tested way to use your own user model, rather than the default auth.User model. Set the AUTH_USER_MODEL setting to the dotted model name of your custom user model, following the procedure in Django 1.5:
AUTH_USER_MODEL = 'myuserapp.MyUser'
Usage Overview
For most use cases it should be sufficient to include the app views directly using the default URL conf file. You can customize their functionality or access controls by extending the base views.
There are three models:
- Organization The group object. This is what you would associate your own app's functionality with, e.g. subscriptions, repositories, projects, etc.
- OrganizationUser A custom through model for the ManyToMany relationship between the Organization model and the User model. It stores additional information about the user specific to the organization and provides a convenient link for organization ownership.
- OrganizationOwner The user with rights over the life and death of the organization. This is a one to one relationship with the OrganizationUser model. This allows User objects to own multiple organizations and makes it easy to enforce ownership from within the organization's membership.
The underlying organizations API is simple:
>>> chris = User.objects.get(username="chris") >>> soundgarden = create_organization(chris, "Soundgarden") >>> soundgarden.is_member(chris) True >>> soundgarden.is_admin(chris) True >>> soundgarden.owner.organization_user <OrganizationUser: Chris Cornell> >>> soundgarden.owner.organization_user.user >>> <User: chris> >>> audioslave = create_organization(chris, "Audioslave") >>> tom = User.objects.get(username="tom") >>> audioslave.add_user(tom, is_admin=True) <OrganizationUser: Tom Morello>
Custom models
Django-organizations can act as a base library (not installed in your project) and used to create unique organization model sets using custom tables. See the Cooking with Django Organizations section in the documentation for advice on proceeding.
Development & Contributing
Development is on-going. To-do items have been moved to the wiki for the time being.
The basic functionality should not need much extending. Current dev priorities for me and contributors should include:
- Improving the tests and test coverage (ideally moving them back out of the main module and executable using the setup.py file)
- Improving the backends and backends concept so that additional invitation and registration backends can be used
- Documentation
- Ensuring all application text is translatable
- Python 3 readiness
Please use the project's issues tracker to report bugs, doc updates, or other requests/suggestions.
Targets & testing
The codebase is targeted at tested against:
- Django 1.4.x against Python 2.6 and Python 2.7
- Django 1.5.x against Python 2.6, Python 2.7, and Python 3.3
- Django 1.6.x against Python 2.7 and Python 3.3
To run the tests against all target environments, install tox and then execute the command:
These submission guidelines will make it more likely your submissions will be reviewed and make it into the project:
- Ensure they match the project goals and are sufficiently generalized
- Please try to follow Django coding style. The code base style isn't all up to par, but I'd like it to move in that direction
- Also please try to include good commit log messages.
- Pull requests should include an amount of code and commits that are reasonable to review, are logically grouped, and based off clean feature branches.
Code contributions are expected to pass in all target environments, and pull requests should be made from branches with passing builds on Travis CI.
Project goals
django-organizations should be backend agnostic:
- Authentication agnostic
- Registration agnostic
- Invitation agnostic
- User messaging agnostic
Anyone is free to use or modify this software under ther terms of the BSD license.
- Packaging fix
- Abstract base models. These allow for custom organization models without relying on mulit-table inheritence, as well as custom organization user models, all on an app-by-app basis.
- Packaging fix
- Restructures tests to remove from installed module, should reduce installed package size
- Fixes another bug in email invitations
- Fixes bug in email invitation
- Extends organizaton name length
- Increase email field max length
- Adds get_or_add_user method to Organization
- Email character escaping
- Use raw ID fields in admin
- Fixes template variable names
- Allow superusers access to all organization views
- Activate related organizations when activating an owner user
- Bug fix for user model import
- Bugfixes for deleting organization users
- Removes additional auth.User references in app code
- Changes SlugField to an AutoSlugField from django-extensions
- Base models on TimeStampedModel from django-extensions
- ForeignKey to user model based on configurable user selection
- Manage organization models with South
- Added configurable context variable names to view mixins
- Added a base backend class which the Invitation and Registration backends extend
- Lengthed Organization name and slug fields
- Makes mixin model classes configurable
- Improved admin display
- Removes initial passwords
- Added registration backend
- Various bug fixes
- Add RequestContext to default invitation registration view
- Fix invitations
- Initial alpha application
Project details
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Compromise, defined as the art of getting part of a loaf when the whole loaf is out of reach, comes in many forms. But surely the strangest of all is what comes of trying to compromise with yourself.
That's what California's stem cell agency is attempting to do. And judging from its record of pioneering new ways of funding and managing scientific research, you can rest assured that the results will be fraught with interest.
What's at issue is how the agency's board wrestles with recommendations for changes in its membership and its authority over the spending of its $3-billion endowment in state bond funds (that's $6 billion, including interest). The recommendations came last month from a panel of the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. The stem cell agency, which is formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, paid the academy $700,000 for this exercise in high-level scrutiny.
After 17 months of deliberation, the panel, which was chaired by Harold Shapiro, a former president of Princeton University, concluded that the CIRM board members were saddled with "almost unavoidable conflicts of interest, whether actual or perceived." That's because by law, 23 of the 29 members must be representatives of California institutions eligible for CIRM grants or of disease advocacy groups with their own interest in steering money toward their particular concerns.


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Spying on Snookums With GPS
In a rambling building that overlooks a freeway in San Diego, a bank of computers monitors the travels of trucks carrying hazardous materials, making sure they don't go anywhere near such landmarks as the White House and the capitol building of Arkansas.
Using GPS software, the computers also track cars for seven police agencies. Some of the vehicles are waiting to be stolen, while others are driven by unsuspecting suspects who are under surveillance.
And then there are the private citizens, some 5,000 of them, whose cars are tracked night and day. Finding their latitude and longitude is as easy as logging on to the Internet, typing in a password and looking at a computerized map. It's impossible, however, to find out how many of the customers track their spouses or partners without telling them.
"It does happen," admits John Phillips, president and CEO of Satellite Security Systems, a location-tracking company. "We don't promote it. We hope it's used more for safety for wives and husbands than spying on them."
But the company doesn't ask questions. And its tracking systems are so inexpensive and easily hidden that they may even tempt a suspicious spouse who pinches pennies. It costs just $600 to $700 to outfit a car or truck with a master control device, which is about the size of a compact disc case and an inch thick. It's connected by a wire to a matchbook-size GPS sensor.
While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it's legal for cops to use technology to track a suspect on the road, it's not so clear whether you can monitor your spouse's movements. "As is so often the case, law develops behind new technology," said Mark Grossman, a Miami attorney who specializes in technology law.
Courts may be sympathetic to snooping citizens because someone's driving patterns aren't a secret, Grossman said. "Common sense tells you that if I want to follow you in your car, there's no law against that. If I want to videotape where you're driving, that's fine, although it could cross the line into stalking."
Is this type of behavior becoming acceptable?


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BRANSON, MISSOURI – Forty-three Eclipse Jets recently landed at the Branson Airport for the Eclipse Owners Club Fall Fly-In. Pilots and enthusiasts alike came from all over the United States to take part in the annual fly in that allows pilots to visit with vendors and fellow owners to discuss the Eclipse Twin-Engine Jet.
"To see so many Eclipse Jets in one large formation in such a wonderful setting really is incredible," said Mason Holland, Eclipse CEO. "To look out at over 40 aircraft and know that we will be producing that many more Eclipse Jets every year really gives us a sense of accomplishment. We are so impressed by the passion exhibited by our aircraft owners."
Before production of the new Eclipse 550 Jet began in June of this year — first deliveries are expected in mid-2013 — a total of 261 Eclipse 500 Jets were produced.
"It was certainly a sight to see," says Executive Director of Branson Airport, Jeff Bourk. "We are excited and fortunate that these pilots were able to fly in to the Branson Airport and experience everything our area has to offer."


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Public Comment
New: West Berkeley's Voting District Boundaries
The move to carve out student districts in East Berkeley has caused some to ponder a re-alignment of voting district lines in West Berkeley. West Berkeley's land is currently divided into two different districts at University Ave. There is no reasonable justification for dividing West Berkeley into two different districts. It should be united into a single voting district -- Council District 1.
Of the principles that might guide the drawing of district lines, I think areas that are geographically distinct, or defined by use or by history, should be prominent in the list. The shoreline industrial town of Ocean View was founded in 1853 when Capt. Jacobs established his lumber wharf and Capt. Bowen built his Inn at Contra Costa Rd (San Pablo) on the high ground between Strawberry and Virginia Creeks, creating Delaware St. connecting them. It was the perfect location; a sandy beach, a shell mound, a source of fresh water with a salmon run. Ocean View spread north and south along the shore. It grew, and joined Berkeley in 1878. Ocean View is the first Anglo settlement in the area
What unites District 1? It is the shoreline opposite the Golden Gate; it is the industrial zone; it bears three great north-south highways of concrete, steel and blacktop. Everything that happens here is influenced by its unique position by the Bay, its cultural features, the people who come to live here, and the laws that guide its development. Recent efforts by the Council Majority to re-conceive West Berkeley on the sly (Measure T), emphasize the necessity for a true Ocean View/West Berkeley Council district. The separation of Ocean View into two has effectively suppressed our political voice in the City. We need a single voice for our district on the Council.
The Ocean View District would go from the shoreline on the west to maybe Curtis Street or the old Santa Fe right of way on the east. It would go from the Albany boarder at the north to Ashby Ave. on the south.


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By Michael Stanley
Originally posted on Freescale's The Embedded Beat Blog
In my last post ("Degrees of freedom vs. axes") we discussed some basic terminology for sensor fusion. This time around, we get to put that lesson into practice as we examine Freescale's recent technology announcement of a full featured reference platform for Windows®8 sensor fusion.
If you are a regular reader, you'll know by now that I am fascinated by sensors and sensor fusion software. These are the technologies that let us interface with our electronic toys with a simple tap, swipe or gesture. So I was energized last week when Freescale announced development of a 12-axis, sensor fusion reference platform for Microsoft® Windows®8. I was at the kickoff meeting last year between Microsoft and Freescale, and I've been watching the system evolve in our offices since. We're not quite ready to ship boards to the general market, but we're excited and want to share our plans and status with you.
Figure 1: Freescale Microsoft® Windows® 8 Sensor Fusion Data Flow
From an information flow point of view, the board looks something like Figure 1. Our 12 axes of sensor input information are:
- X/Y/Z Accelerometer
- X/Y/Z Gyroscope
- X/Y/Z Magnetometer
- Barometer (air pressure)
- Temperature
- Ambient Light
Each of these is available in one form or another as outputs of the system, but more importantly, the system also computes board orientation. This can come in one of several forms:
- quaternion
- rotation matrix
- Inclinometer Euler angles
You also get compass heading out of the mix. From a hardware perspective, the board looks like the block diagram in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Functional Level Block Diagram
Sensor fusion software is pre-installed in the MCF51JU128 flash memory. To utilize the board, you will need a Windows® 8 enabled computer or slate to act as host:
- If your device is already equipped with sensors, you'll need to disable them via the device configuration screens in Windows 8. If your device isn't already sensor equipped, you can skip this step.
- Plug the development board into your device's USB port.
- You are done!
Pure plug & play. That's because Microsoft has defined an "HID over USB" protocol for communications with a sensor fusion subsystem. The Freescale board talks the same language as Windows 8. And since Freescale will be publishing the full schematic and bill of materials, adding motion sensor capability to your Windows PC or slate couldn't be easier.
Once the boards start shipping, you'll be able to download user manual, schematics and CAD files from the Freescale web site. The user manual will include instructions for customizing the software for use on your PCB, since placement orientations for sensors will vary from board to board. Don't worry. The process should be relatively painless.
Freescale will also supply a basic sensor application that you can use to test out your sensor subsystem. The application gives you a visual compass display, along with either a 3D view of a virtual gyroscope (Figure 3) or a window into a virtual room (Figure 4). You can see accelerometer, gyroscope (which Microsoft refers to as a "gyrometer") magnetometer, ambient light sensor, temperature and air pressure readings.
Figure 3: Gyroscope (wired) view
Figure 4: Virtual Room (attached) view
Microsoft has a rigorous certification process which is encapsulated in their "Windows Hardware Certification Kit", or "WHCK". The WHCK specifies passing sensor test criteria and ensures hardware/software compatibility. Microsoftupdates the WHCK on a regular basis, and Freescale continuously tests its solution using the WHCK. Final certification of the kit will occur after Microsoft releases their final WHCK. This will occur before the Windows 8 OS release. I can tell you that the software is passing most of the WHCK today, with only a few open issues which we expect to resolve shortly.
A brief video demonstration of the system can be viewed here.
We expect Freescale's Windows 8 reference design to be available in late 3rd quarter, so you'll have to wait a bit. But we wanted you to know it's coming, and it's real.
Finally, on another topic, if you happen to be attending the Freescale Technology Forum in San Antonio next week, and you see a fellow who looks a bit like the picture alongside this post, please come up and say hello. I would love to talk with you about your sensor needs.
- Microsoft 2001 Build Conference Materials
- Windows 8 Release Preview Product Guide for Developers
- The HID Class Driver for Sensors
- Integrating devices, printers, and sensors
- Integrating Motion and Orientation Sensors
- http://www.Microsoft.com/windows
- http://www.freescale.com/Windows8
Original post: http://blogs.freescale.com/2012/03/29/degrees-of-freedom-vs-axes/


text:
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text:
A pool of TCP connections to a single server or a replica set of servers.
- data Host = Host HostName PortID
- data PortID
- host :: HostName -> Host
- showHostPort :: Host -> String
- readHostPort :: String -> Host
- readHostPortM :: Monad m => String -> m Host
- data ReplicaSet = ReplicaSet {
- type Name = UString
- data MasterOrSlaveOk
- class Server t where
- connHost :: ConnPool Host -> Host
- replicaSet :: MonadIO' m => ConnPool ReplicaSet -> m ReplicaSet
showHostPort :: Host -> StringSource
Display host as "host:port"
readHostPort :: String -> HostSource
Read string "hostname:port" as
Host hostname port or "hostname" as
host hostname (default port). Error if string does not match either syntax.
readHostPortM :: Monad m => String -> m HostSource
Read string "hostname:port" as
Host hosthame port or "hostname" as
host hostname (default port). Fail if string does not match either syntax.
data ReplicaSet Source
Replica set of hosts identified by set name. At least one of the seed hosts must be an active member of the set. However, this list is not used to identify the set, just the set name.
data MasterOrSlaveOk Source
Connection Pool
A Server is a single server (
Host) or a replica set of servers (
newConnPool :: MonadIO' m => Int -> t -> m (ConnPool t)Source
Create a ConnectionPool to a host or a replica set of hosts. Actual TCP connection is not attempted until
getPipe request, so no IOError can be raised here. Up to N TCP connections will be established to each host.
getPipe :: MasterOrSlaveOk -> ConnPool t -> ErrorT IOError IO PipeSource
Return a TCP connection (Pipe) to the master or a slave in the server. Master must connect to the master, SlaveOk may connect to a slave or master. To spread the load, SlaveOk requests are distributed amongst all hosts in the server. Throw IOError if failed to connect to right type of host (Master/SlaveOk).
killPipes :: ConnPool t -> IO ()Source
Kill all open pipes (TCP Connections). Will cause any users of them to fail. Alternatively you can let them die on their own when they are garbage collected.
replicaSet :: MonadIO' m => ConnPool ReplicaSet -> m ReplicaSetSource
Return replicas set name with current members as seed list


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DIVISION II BOYS HOCKEY: Matt Paolino, Trumbull eliminate Guilford (photos, video)
NEW HAVEN -- The concern for any hockey coach heading into the state tournament is running into a hot goalie.
On Monday against Trumbull in the Division II semifinals, Guilford got burned.
Trumbull junior goalie Matt Paolino made 39 saves and Mike Ahearn registered a hat trick to lead the fifth-seeded Eagles to a 7-3 upset over No. 1 Guilford at Ingalls Rink. Trumbull improves to 16-9 and advances to the Division II final on Friday against the winner of the other semifinal between Branford and North Branford at 7:30 p.m.
PHOTOS: Trumbull beats Guilford in Division II hockey semifinal
"Matt Paolini was fantastic tonight," Trumbull coach Greg Maxey said. "I knew he could be the difference in the state tournament. And he delivered. (Guilford) had more depth than us and our secondary lines struggled. We just played hard. It's great to get to the final."
Guilford (12-9-2) outshot Trumbull 42-21.
"We generated some chances to score and we played hard, but you have to tip your hat to their goalie," Guilford coach Ralph Russo said. "We gave their goalie enough pressure to get some good shots, but he just made some big plays. We clawed back to tie the game at 3-3 but we couldn't get the goal to take the lead."
In the first period Guilford outshot Trumbull 19-8. But Paolini kept the Indians at bay, allowing only one goal as Trumbull held a 3-1 lead at the first intermission.
"That game was something else," Paolini said. "We all gave it everything we had and we didn't quit. This was certainly one of my better games."
To start the scoring, Ahearn grabbed a loose puck near the red line and bolted down center ice with three Guilford skaters chasing. Ahearn's wrist shot caught the lower left corner for the 1-0 lead at 1 minute, 46 seconds of the first period.
With Guilford's Garrett Salkins serving a high-sticking penalty, Brandon Strobel one-timed a shot in front of the net for a power-play goal and 2-0 lead at 5:01. A.J. DiMasi gave Trumbull a 3-0 lead at 11:03 off a rebound shot in front of the right post.
With Ahearn serving a tripping penalty, the Indians finally got a puck by Paolini with 1:01 left in the first period. Jack Fitzgerald, camped out in front of the left post, stuffed the puck into the left corner to cut the Eagles' lead to 3-1.
Guilford's pressure continued against Paolini in the second period. The Indians outshot the Eagles 13-3 and eventually tied the game at 3 on a pair of power-play goals.
"We thought we had something going when we tied the game," Fitzgerald said. "We figured we could take it to them at that point. We just couldn't get that extra goal."
Fitzgerald scored at 12:12 to make it 3-2 and Billy Ring tied the game at 3 for Guilford with 43 seconds left in the second period.
In the third period, Paolini proceeded to shut down the Indians and Trumbull went on to score four unanswered goals. Strobel made it 4-3 for Trumbull at 5:33 and Tim Riley added an insurance goal at 7:07 for a 5-3 lead. Ahearn scored at 12:42 and then had an empty-net goal with 52 seconds left in the game for the 7-3 final.
To receive breaking news first, simply text the word nhsports to 22700. *Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.


text:
Like cancer care for people, cancer diagnosis and treatment for pets has made remarkable advancements through the years. Today, new diagnostic and treatment protocols in the hands of highly trained veterinary cancer specialists are improving the outcomes for pets. As with any life-saving treatment, this level of advanced care has its costs. But when you consider all the capabilities, science, and expertise now available in the world of specialized veterinary medicine, the cost is still considerably less than one would find in a human health care environment.
As with human cases of cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are the standards when it comes to treating a pet. However, at The Veterinary Cancer Center (The VCC) we also want to make available less costly protocols that in some cases can be equally effective. This includes anti-angiogenic and metronomic therapies. The VCC also participates in many clinical trials that can mean substantial savings to participating pet owners.
To put all these costs into proper perspective and understand the true value associated with them, it helps to understand key factors related to veterinary cancer care.
The health insurance factor — When a person faces cancer, there are numerous costs associated with the care and treatment. Many of which are covered indirectly through health insurance premiums. Yet in veterinary medicine, less that 5% of our pets have health insurance. Until that percentage changes, a majority of these costs are carried by the pet owner.
The diagnostic and treatment factor — As in human cancer treatment, many of The VCC's costs to deliver cancer therapies can be quite high. The equipment (ultrasound, EKG, linear accelerator, hematology equipment, etc.) and therapies we use are often the same used for cases of human cancer. Take chemotherapy for example. Most, if not all, of the drugs used in cases of pet treatment are the same as those developed to fight human cases of cancer. In fact, there are very few treatments that are created exclusively for animals. Safeguards required for both the equipment and therapies add another layer of cost and complexity when providing this level of advanced care.
The experience factor — The VCC has been able to attract extraordinary talent to our facility. Our doctors have over 30 years of combined experience in treating multiple forms of cancer. And our technicians are some of the most experienced in the field as well. In fact, we have the only certified Veterinary Oncology Technician in the tri-state area. Our staff is a critical investment that, when combined with the experience of your local veterinarian, ensures a level of confidence and assurance every pet owner would want.
Helping patients and their owners — At The VCC, our number one priority is to help achieve the best outcome possible for you and your pet, while doing whatever we can to help you manage the costs of care needed to make this level of care possible. We accept most credit cards, CareCredit® and Citi®Health, and would be more than happy to help with paperwork for reimbursement from your pet insurance policy. For questions about payment and finance options, just ask our receptionist or hospital administrator.
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text:
The term "occupied territories" is fast becoming a bit pass.
Today, many of the nearly 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza can send a letter with stamps issued by the Palestinian postal authority, buy shares on the Palestinian Securities Exchange, report a crime to the Palestinian police, educate their children in schools run by the Palestinian Ministry of Education, and even get whopped with a bill from the Palestinian tax authorities.
A Palestinian can also get a host of documents - from a driver's license, to a passport, to a birth certificate - without going to the Israelis or another foreign power, a first in the modern history of people who have also been ruled by the Jordanians, the Egyptians, the British, and the Turks - but never by themselves.
All these tastes of independence would have seemed like the stuff of fiction just five years ago, when a Palestinian teenager could be thrown in an Israeli prison for so much as spray-painting the name "Palestine" on a wall or hoisting a flag in the national colors of red, black, white, and green.
But whether these different ingredients constitute a recipe that will soon yield an independent state of Palestine is the subject of much debate as President Clinton prepares to visit the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Bethlehem Dec. 14 and 15 - the first trip by an American president to Palestinian-ruled soil.
Symbolic implications
Palestinian leaders are gleefully highlighting the significance of Mr. Clinton's visit. They see his arrival in Gaza City - the headquarters of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority (PA) - as a prelude to US recognition of a Palestinian state.
"We consider this visit as very symbolic, especially from a national point of view for the Palestinian people," Ahmed Tibi, a senior adviser to Mr. Arafat, told reporters. "One of the most important things emerging from the Wye Memorandum is President Clinton visiting Gaza."
When he arrives in Gaza Dec. 14, Clinton will see many trappings of independence. First he will be greeted by honor guards and military troops playing the American and Palestinian national anthems, and be whisked past hordes of onlookers waving plastic American and Palestinian flag combos now being churned out in knickknack factories.
Then Clinton will address an assembly of Palestinian officials in a hall that already serves as a legislative council building in Gaza City.
Avoiding emblematic moves
But the president will not fly into Gaza's just-opened airport, because of requests from Israeli officials that he avoid making such emblematic moves that could be seen as de facto recognition of Palestinian sovereignty. Nor will Clinton spend the night in Gaza, owing to a combination of high security risks and scant hotel space - no place is big enough to house the expected entourage of 1,000 for the night.
Moreover, Clinton will avoid addressing Israel's parliament, the Knesset, during the same trip. Though there are reports that Clinton chose to make that omission to avoid Israeli objections that such a visit implies parity between the two legislative bodies, the rankled Knesset speaker says he will boycott all events linked to Clinton's trip.
Clinton will instead address Knesset members and other Israelis at a Jerusalem convention center. But that has not stopped the snowballing of negative comments from right-wing politicians, unhappy about a visit they fear will swing open the door to Palestinian statehood.
Observers see very different pictures when they step back from the messy and often tragic road toward Israeli-Palestinian peace - its difficulties highlighted by a recent backslide toward violence and mutual recriminations. Israel is warning that it won't proceed with the next land pullback unless the PA does more to control violence.
Some say that not only is a Palestinian state inevitable, but the basic infrastructure for the would-be state of Palestine is already settling firmly into place.
Others argue that Palestinian statehood is still an eon away - and that to suggest otherwise is nearly a hoax.
Stacked up to existing states
Israeli political scientist Hillel Frisch, author of the recently released book "Countdown to Statehood: Palestinian State-Building in the West Bank and Gaza," contends there are more tangible facets of statehood in the Palestinian Authority than there are in many other struggling nations.
"I think it's a state, but states are all relative. It's more of a state today than at least 20 states out there in the world which are recognized by international organizations," says Dr. Frisch, a research fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
While critics who had hoped for a more democratic Palestinian regime may be disappointed by its shortcomings, Frisch says, the world does not deny a nation independence simply because it lacks a rule of law, violates human rights, or operates on a system of patronage and nepotism.
"So much of this exists in other third-world countries that Arafat can't really be singled out for being unique in this respect," he says.
Frisch cites the formation of Palestinian military forces among the hallmarks of statehood. Though the Oslo peace accords allowed for 30,000 police officers, the reality has become a force of 45,000 troops, many of them trained as soldiers.
"It's an army. In manpower and training, it compares to at least 10 [other] states. And it's worrisome to Israelis who discuss May 4 [the date on which Arafat has said he will declare a Palestinian state next year], through the lens of possible confrontation."
Still more facets of statehood loom. The International Olympic Committee has given the Palestinians permission to compete in the next summer Games, and they have a national soccer team recognized by the Federation Internationale de Football Association. The Palestinians have also been assigned a country code for international telephone dialing - and phone service from the Palestine Telecommunications Company is up and running.
Israeli controls
The flip side is how Palestinian society still operates in many ways at the mercy of the Israeli government. Those shiny green passports the PA issues? They have the same identification numbers the Israelis used for keeping track of Palestinians during the occupation. Want to use the new Gaza airport? The Israelis will make a security check first and veto those they don't want to let travel. Trying to move yourself or your goods between the West Bank and Gaza? The Israelis still hold the hard-to-get permits for such trips. Promises to open two "safe passage" routes have yet to be realized.
For all the ways in which Palestinians may be running their own lives more than ever before, they still lack two key things most countries take for granted: territorial continuity and economic sovereignty.
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completes implementation of the Wye accord, Arafat will be in control of about 40 percent of the West Bank and most of the Gaza Strip. But with the two areas disjointed - and the probability that the West Bank land he will control will not constitute one contiguous piece - it would be hard to call Palestine a state per se. And without direct control of any of its borders, its access to outside markets will always be severely curtailed.
"The viability of a Palestinian state, economically, would be tied to control over its national resources, and dependent on control over its borders so it can export and import freely," says Salem Ajluni, the chief economic analyst at the Gaza-based Office of United Nations Special Coordinator in the Occupied Territories.
Mr. Ajluni cites a number of factors that add up to a shaky economic climate: Israeli limits on imports and exports, internal Palestinian problems of government monopolies, and lack of legal recourse for investors who lose money in sour deals.
The situation is not ready to support the introduction of a Palestinian currency, he says. The Palestinian economy operates on Israeli shekels, Jordanian dinars, and American dollars and still lacks a functioning central bank or monetary policy.
The Palestinian economy will remain dependent on providing Israel cheap labor for years to come, Ajluni says, but that does not really present any barriers to Palestinian statehood.
"The link [with Israel] itself is not necessarily a bad thing," he says. "No one I know argues that it should be an autarchy and totally cut off from Israel."
Statehood skeptics
The flag of statehood may wave brightly on Dec. 14, but many others will quietly wag their fingers.
Ghassan Khatib, a leading Palestinian analyst who runs the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, suggests that some officials are trying to hoodwink Palestinians into believing they have achieved independence.
To say statehood is around the corner is utterly dishonest, Mr. Khatib says. "I look at the visit of Clinton as a bribe to the Palestinian leadership," he says. Arafat, in return for softening some of his positions, won a symbolic gesture from the United States that would in turn help bolster his domestic and international image.
Khatib, though a proponent of an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, offers a critique reminiscent of Arafat's harshest opponents: Some Palestinians feel the Oslo accords aren't a way to reach Palestinian independence, but rather a way to get Arafat to control Palestinians in order to provide Israelis with more security and alleviate the burden of military occupation.
"The Palestinian Authority is only playing an administrative role, not a decisionmaking role. I can get a Palestinian passport, but I can only use it if my trip is approved by Israel," Khatib says.
"This is exemplary of everything," he continues. "It's an administrative authority that cannot be tantamount to a state by any means. Let's call things by their name. Autonomy is better than an occupation, but it's not independence."


text:
Mantra Bonus: Inner Flame deals bonus magic damage and leaves a 250-radius AoE that slows enemies inside by 50%. After 1.5 seconds the area detonates, dealing magic damage to enemies inside.
Mantra Bonus
Mantra Bonus: Focused Resolve deals bonus damage and heals Karma for 20% (+1% per 100 AP) of her missing health upon casting and another 20% (+1% per 100 AP) if leash is not broken.
Mantra Bonus: In addition to casting the shield, a surge of energy bursts out from the shield dealing magic damage to enemy units around her target.
Mantra is available from level 1 and does not require skill points. The time needed to load a charge is reduced at level 7 and 13.