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Southwest Louisiana rice farmers may have planted 30 percent fewer acres this spring. But it's unclear whether the reduction is due more to salt-contaminated fields and bayous or to economic conditions, rice experts say.
"Vermillion Parish is one of our most important rice-producing parishes," says Steve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter's Southwest Region and the Rice Research Station in Crowley, La. "They usually plant 80,000 acres of rice, but this year they're down to 25,000 to 30,000 acres.
"So with just that one parish, we're down 10 percent."
Linscombe says he still expects Louisiana's rice plantings to be down a total of 30 percent when the dust clears from what has been one of the most stressful winters Louisiana rice producers have endured.
"But it's hard to get a handle on what's happening," he says, adding that some farmers were still trying to plant because of changing weather conditions in the early part of May.
When Hurricane Rita came ashore near the Texas-Louisiana border last September, the storm surge carried salt water many miles inland to the rice fields, bayous and ditches in the traditional rice-growing areas of southwest Louisiana.
Rita wasn't the first to push salt water into those areas, but, in most cases, other storms were followed by rains that helped float salt particles up out of the soil and into waterways that could take them back into the Gulf. Instead, the area pounded by Rita received almost no rainfall from late September until recent weeks.
"You go 10 miles south of the station toward the coast and the acreage may be down 10 percent to 15 percent," says Linscombe. "You go 35 to 40 miles north, and it might be down 35 to 40 percent. That's not due to salt contamination, but to economic conditions."
He said he's familiar with one farming operation that normally plants 600 to 700 acres of rice. "This year, they've only planted 200 acres, and that's so they'll have it for their crawfish operation."
Some farmers had relatively low levels of salt contamination in their soils. But when they planted and began flooding their fields from nearby ditches and bayous, salty water damaged the rice, and they had to abandon it.
"Now we've received some rains, and it looks like those have helped remove some of the salt," he said. "Those farmers are going back and trying to make those situations work."
As is often the case, some areas received more rain than others, and most need more precipitation, said Jay Grymes, climatologist with the LSU AgCenter.
"It wasn't a drought-buster," he said. "But certainly for southwest Louisiana, in particular, this was huge. Some areas got more in 12 hours than they got in the last 12 weeks."
Louisiana growers were already hurting economically before hurricanes Katrina and Rita came ashore last August and September. Low rice prices and high input costs, primarily diesel fuel, had many growers scratching their heads about how to make ends meet when Rita struck.
"We think our rice acreage would have been down 20 percent this year with no hurricanes," said Linscombe, who has been a rice breeder at the Crowley Station for 20 years and also serves as director of the Southwest Region and the Station. "It's been a trying time for many of our farmers."
Growers like Ernest Girouard, who farms in Vermillion Parish, says the combination of the hurricanes and the drought that followed have forced him to play a waiting game this spring.
Girouard's land was under 10 feet of water for 30 days after Hurricane Rita. The levees, which normally hold a flood on his rice, helped keep the storm waters from receding as fast as it might have in other crops.
LSU specialists determined through greenhouse testing that rice will grow in fields with less than 800 to 900 parts per million of salt in them. The salt levels in Girouard's fields were much higher than that, preventing him from planting this spring for the first time in more than 25 years.
Farther west, Clarence Berken, who farms near Lake Arthur, La., said at one point he expected to lose 900 acres due to salt contamination. "If it doesn't get any better, we might lose another 500 acres."
Linscombe said the high diesel fuel prices of recent months have put many southwest Louisiana producers in a quandary. In normal years, those farmers pump water out of bayous and ditches.
This spring, moving that water on to their fields has been an invitation to disaster because of the high levels of salt remaining in the water. "Many of these growers have wells they could pump from, but the high cost of diesel fuel makes that prohibitive," says Linscombe.
A few farmers have wells powered by natural gas, but the economics for those growers aren't much better.
"Growers are also concerned about what happens when they harvest," he said. "You can allow some varieties to dry down in the field, but, with Cypress and Cheniere, it's better if you dry them mechanically."
Parish Extension agents say it's been a strange spring with some locales such as the area around Henry in Vermillion Parish resembling ghost towns because of the lack of any planting activity.
"There are quite a few farmers who still don't have any rice planted," says Linscombe. "Some are waiting and hoping they can still get some rice in. Others have taken jobs in town or off shore.
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Settlers had come from miles around. The hotels were full. And some spectators were camped out in tents and wagons.
The giant gallows erected between Front Street and the Minnesota River was a marvel: a perfect square, supported by oak timbers, and able to hold 40 nooses — 10 on each side.
It was the day after Christmas, 1862 — 150 years ago this Wednesday — and the largest mass execution in American history was scheduled for 10 a.m. in the hamlet of Mankato.
The condemned were 38 Dakota Indians convicted in what is said to be the largest killing of whites in any Indian war in American history.
There had been a delay of a week, because the authorities couldn't find enough strong rope.
Now the Indians had painted their faces and, chanting their death songs, were guided to the gallows. They were hooded. Nooses were placed around their necks, and after three solemn beats of a drum, the platform on which they stood dropped.
Growing up in a rambler outside St. Paul, author Scott W. Berg had always heard the story of the hanging and the savage "Dakota War" from which it grew. But he had not learned about it in school.
"We were never taught this," he says. "But I probably heard about it when I was 7 or 10. I'm sure I heard about it by the time I was out of elementary school."
The episode, which happened against the huge backdrop of the Civil War, is scarcely known outside Minnesota, says Berg, 46, an assistant professor of English at George Mason University.
His new book, "38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End," published by Pantheon Books, aims to end its obscurity and put it into the mainstream of its times.
Berg is also the author of the 2007 book "Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C."
The execution's sesquicentennial, which will be commemorated in Minnesota this week, coincides with the Civil War's 150th anniversary. But it is part of the Indians' tragic "parallel history," Berg says.
He recounts the five months of killing and betrayal that raged across the prairie of southwestern Minnesota in the summer and fall of 1862, concurrent with some of the biggest battles of the sectional conflict.
Between 400 and 600 settlers — many of them women and children — were slain, along with scores of soldiers. Fewer than a hundred Indians died, Berg says, but many more would perish later of malnutrition and disease.
Coming amid the Civil War, with its lingering codes of honor and gallantry, the Dakota War was a bitter racial conflict with atrocities and talk of extermination and removal. Scalps were taken on both sides.
"They are to be treated as maniacs or wild beasts," one U.S. Army general wrote of the Indians, "and by no means as people with whom treaties or compromises can be made."
A newspaper editor wrote that a Dakota "has just as much right to life as a hyena, and he who would spare them is an enemy to his race."
Far removed from the theater of the Civil War, Berg's story still features many of its figures: Abraham Lincoln, who stayed the executions of more than 200 of the Indians, has a major role, as does disgraced Union Gen. John Pope.
Lincoln's personal secretary, John Nicolay, and other prominent but flawed, Union generals, Henry W. Halleck and George B. McClellan appear.
New England writer Henry David Thoreau makes a brief appearance as a visitor to the area the year before the Indian war erupted.
The Indians are headed by a chieftain named Little Crow, a complicated and charismatic figure who begins the conflict with hundreds of warriors, and dies as a fugitive, accompanied only by his teenaged son.
Little Crow was scalped and his body buried in a pit used for the bones of cattle, Berg writes. It was later dug up. His head was cut off, and his skull wound up in the hands of a collector.
"It's not a pretty picture at all," Berg says. But it's part of the centuries-old saga of encounters between Indians and whites, and "is part of the origin story of the country."
It's not "a side story," he says. "It's one of the two or three most important . . . stories . . . of America."
It began with an incident over hen's eggs in August of 1862, but its roots went back years, Berg writes.
The eggs were discovered on a farm near Acton, Minn., by four Dakota returning from a failed hunting trip.
"Sharing whiskey on the road," Berg writes, they had intended to ask for food and drink for their journey home. They found the eggs, and apparently argued over whether to steal them.
Then they argued over which of them had the courage to shoot a white man. In the end, three white men, one woman and a 15-year-old girl were slain.
The Indians fled toward home, gathering a large entourage of sympathetic Dakotas on the way, until they reached the village of Little Crow, southwest of what is now Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Little Crow was a 52-year-old elder — a statesman, trader, healer and negotiator who had twice been to Washington, D.C.
The assembled Indians were fed up with whites, Berg writes, and had classic grievances that were deep and long-standing. They had been cheated out of their lands and their way of life. They were rarely paid the annuity promised by government treaties without some delay or string attached. They were treated poorly by racist and unscrupulous white merchants and government agents.
A band of militants among them wanted war and sought Little Crow's approval.
Berg writes that Little Crow told the militants that they were foolish, that the whites would destroy them — but knowing that, he would still lead them in battle.
What followed was weeks of ragged warfare, with Indians attacking settlers, traders and soldiers, and soldiers counterattacking and routing the Indians.
As the Civil War's battles of Second Bull Run and Antietam raged 1,000 miles to the east, the prairie of southwestern Minnesota filled with terror, brutality and fleeing refugees.
Among the first killed was an especially heartless trader, Andrew Myrick, who had told starving Indians they could eat grass or feces. He was found with several gunshot wounds, multiple arrows sticking out of his body and a clump of grass stuffed in his mouth.
Elsewhere, an Indian named Cut Nose used his war club to bludgeon to death at least 12 people.
In the settlement of Milford, Indians massacred the entire white population, mutilating many of the bodies. Women and children were not spared. Berg, in an interview in his campus office, noted that among the Dakota, women and children were considered combatants. They "were expected to fight, especially if the conflict spilled into a village," he said.
The Indians went on to attack a makeshift army installation called Fort Ridgely and were twice beaten back with the help of artillery.
By Civil War standards, the numbers engaged were small. The Indians had around 800 warriors, about the size of large Union army regiment. And only only three whites and two Indians were killed.
The Indians next turned on the German immigrant village of New Ulm, which occupied a traditional Dakota camp and burial site the Indians believed was theirs.
The Dakota attacked the town's 350 defenders in house-to-house fighting on Aug. 23. The battle was a draw, with six Indians and 14 whites killed.
Both sides retreated, and Little Crow realized it was time for a general disengagement.
Meanwhile, appeals had been sent to Washington. The government sent embittered Union Gen. John Pope, who had just lost the Second Battle of Bull Run, to Minnesota to deal with the Indians.
He proceeded to bombard Washington with exaggerated tales of calamity and requests for huge numbers of reinforcements. All the requests were denied, Berg writes.
A more reliable man on the ground was one of Lincoln's trusted personal secretaries, John G. Nicolay. He was there, coincidentally, as part of a delegation to a different Indian tribe.
He and his delegation telegraphed Lincoln: "The massacre of innocent white settlers has been fearful. A wild panic prevails." Nicolay added in a telegram to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton that with the Dakota, "it must be a war of extermination."
Out on the prairie, Little Crow's band was in retreat, in a column of men, women, children and animals that was five miles long and a mile wide.
But there were murmers among the Indians that Little Crow had brought down the wrath of the white man on all Dakota, even those who were not militant.
Near the end of September, a force of 2,000 soldiers caught up with Little Crow's 700 warriors, only about 300 of which were reliable fighters, Berg writes.
In the ensuing Battle of Wood Lake, the last major fight of the Dakota War, the Indians were defeated. They were broken by a bayonet charge and crippled by desertions. Fourteen soldiers were killed and mutilated. Twenty Indians were slain and then scalped in retribution, Berg writes.
Little Crow fled north with some loyalists. The others stayed behind to surrender. It was the start of the Dakota diaspora, Berg writes, and for some, the trip to the gallows.
With mobs of armed settlers crying for vengeance, the government began to sift through the hundreds of Indian prisoners to see who deserved punishment. A total of 392 were selected for trial.
And after legal proceedings, many of which lasted 10 minutes, 303 death sentences were meted out for fighting in battle as well as for participation in massacres.
The names of the condemned were forwarded to Lincoln, who had ordered that the record of the proceedings be sent to him for review.
He then had a special military commission go over every case.The commission whittled down the number of death sentences to 39 — for Dakota who had murdered settlers, as opposed to those who had only fought in battle. One more was spared later.
Berg quotes Lincoln as saying of execution: "If a man had more than one life, I think a little hanging might not hurt this one. But after he is once dead we cannot bring him back, no matter how sorry we may be."
Five months later, Little Crow, now on the run and accompanied only by his son, Wowinape, paused to forage for raspberries on a farm about 50 miles west of St. Paul. Two settlers stumbled upon them ,and Little Crow was shot to death.
The date was July 3, 1863, and a thousand miles away in the parallel universe of American history, white men were slaughtering each other outside the town of Gettysburg.

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm a fan of vintage films.
Classic movies, as an art form, teach us much about history and ourselves.
They're a priceless legacy, and are populated by writers, actors and directors who departed Earth years — even decades — ago.
The other day I watched the 1940 film "The Mortal Storm," starring Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan and Robert Young. It's been called one of the most explicitly anti-Nazi films produced by Hollywood during World War II.
The film, in fact, made Nazi officials so furious that it led to a banning of all MGM films in Germany — a lucrative market — during the war.
Academy Award-winning director Frank Borzage headed the project. Borzage directed many acclaimed films during his long career, and specialized in depicting young lovers in the face of adversity.
Set in a village in the Bavarian Alps in the early 1930s, the movie focuses on a family devastated by the rise of Nazism. The adopted sons of professor Victor Roth both become members of the Hitler Youth.
Roth is portrayed as "non-Aryan," though the film never explicitly identifies him as Jewish. His daughter, Freya (Sullavan), also "non-Aryan," breaks off her engagement with Fritz (Robert Young), who becomes a Nazi officer.
Freya falls in love with Martin (Stewart), an ardent anti-Nazi who's forced to flee to Austria. Victor Roth is arrested by the Gestapo and placed in a concentration camp. Freya is detained, but released. It's clear, however, that her re-arrest is imminent.
Martin makes a clandestine visit to Germany. The only hope for the young lovers is to ski over the Alps and into Austria (which has not yet been absorbed by Germany in the 1938 Anschluss). Fritz commands a unit charged with tracking them down before they cross the border.
Though conflicted, Fritz carries out the order. His marksmen shoot Freya from across the mountain as she and Martin ski just meters from the border. Martin picks up the fallen Freya and skis to freedom, but she dies in his arms just inside the Austrian frontier.
With the Alps as a backdrop, the film closes with a voice-over recitation of the following passage:
"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'
"And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God; that shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'"
I'd never heard the verse before and was moved by it.
It's a passage from Minnie Louise Harkins' inspirational poem, "At the Gate of the Year." Harkins, an American lecturer at the London School of Economics, lived from 1875 to 1957. The poem was published in 1908.
King George VI used the poem in his Christmas broadcast to the British Empire in 1939, three months after Germany's invasion of Poland, and six months prior to the fall of France. The words were later affixed to the gates of the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the king is interred.
A modern website columnist, who loves the film, says of the poem: "Although there is a reference to God … the poem is secular in its message."
Really? I find it to be quite spiritual. Its verses render a transcendental champion, and conclude with the words:
"So I went forth and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
"He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone east. So, heart be still! What need our human life to know, if God hath comprehension?
"In all the dizzy strife of things both high and low, God hideth his intention."
The message? God guards our uncertain and unknowable futures. I doubt you'll find that sentiment expressed at the conclusion of a John Malkovich or Quentin Tarantino film, or any other contemporary work.
The very words would be quickly tagged "tiresome and banal."
But, 70 years after release of "The Mortal Storm," I find them refreshing. And more than a little uplifting!
JIM CARNETT lives in Costa Mesa. His column runs Wednesdays.


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The biggest move of the year could be a bear market in new crop soybeans, according to market analyst Richard Brock, Brock and Associates, speaking at Web cast following USDA's May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
While the market appears bullish with old crop U.S. ending stocks at 130 million bushels, new crop stocks are expected to climb by 100 million bushels by the end of this marketing year. World ending stocks for soybeans are projected by USDA at 51.8 million metric tons, which Brock says "is toward the high end" of trade estimates."
In addition, Argentina and Brazil are expected to rebound from poor crops in 2008, "which could contribute to a downward trend in soybean prices," Brock said.
Planted U.S. soybean acres could be higher than USDA's estimate of 76 million acres, according to Brock. "With a currently high-priced soybean market, producers will be encouraged to put marginal acres in soybeans. You can lock in $9 to $9.50 off the combine."
Things could turn bearish for soybeans if 78 million acres are planted in the United States. "A 43-bushel yield would result in 319 million bushels in ending stocks. The biggest move of the year is going to be a bear market in new crop soybeans. We're not ready to start it today or tomorrow, but there is a huge downward trend coming in this market."
Meanwhile, a big surprise in USDA's May report was the lower carryover estimate for the 2009-10 corn crop, at 1.145 billion bushels. "While this is not super bullish for corn, it certainly takes out the long-term bearishness in the corn market."
World corn ending stocks, estimated at 128.1 million metric tons, "was a little on the tight side compared to 2008-09."
USDA has projected U.S. corn plantings of 85 million acres, harvested acres of 77.8 million acres and an average yield of 155.4 bushels per acre, which is slightly above last year's 153.9 bushels per acre. The higher yield estimate is a reflection of planting progress in the key states of Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota, "which are way ahead of a year ago. It's from Illinois east that we're behind."
Brock doesn't think corn ending stocks will shrink to USDA's estimate of 1.14 billion bushels. "I don't think we're going to ramp up ethanol plants to get to USDA's usage number of 4.1 billion bushels. That's a 150-million to 200-million bushel swing right there. USDA is also optimistic on corn exports for the coming year."
Still, the U.S. corn market is looking at an overall decline in ending stocks. "So this report took out the long-term super-bearishness of the corn market and added some support. It's going to be hard to get this market below $3.50 to $3.75 in the next several months."
A bullish scenario for corn is possible if only 83.5 million acres of corn are planted, according to Brock. "Ending stocks would drop below a billion bushels and corn prices could jump another 50 cents to 60 cents. A bearish scenario for corn is possible if 86 million acres are planted, and we get good growing conditions for the rest of the summer, and yields jump to 165 bushels per acre. I don't think that's going to happen."
Brock estimates that wheat ending stocks will be higher than USDA's numbers. "We see ending stocks gradually increasing. It's going to be difficult to sustain any kind of long-term bull market in wheat."
USDA projected new crop world cotton carryover at 57.7 million bales, which is down from the previous year's 62.31 million bales. "So there's a little bit of friendliness in cotton prices," Brock said.
On the other hand, USDA may have underestimated U.S. cotton yield for the coming year, Brock says. "Last year's average yield was poor at 813 pounds per acre, and USDA is saying it's going to be lower this year, 805 pounds.
"But we're seeing some significant genetic improvements in cotton and we need to factor that in. I think a yield of 880 pounds is attainable."
The higher estimate would result in ending stocks of 6.4 million bales versus the government's May forecast of 5.6 million bales.
Brock says any combination of factors pushing cotton ending stocks to around 4.5 million bales "would be bullish, but I really think we'll be closer to 6.4 million bales and an average price of 48 cents to 58 cents."
Brock believes U.S. cotton acreage has completed its downward slide "and will begin to stabilize in the South and Southwest. By 2012, we'll start seeing growers coming back to cotton."
Brock says USDA's projected decline in the stocks-to-use ratio for cotton "tells me we have a long-term bottom in cotton. This is not a market to be bearish long-term. I don't think we'll take the market below 48 cents, but it's not out of the realm of possibility."
Brock added a few words of caution for farmers trading in today's commodity markets. "Be very careful and remember that price strength at this time of the year is a bull trap. While prices could go higher in the next week or two, be cautious. I don't think it would necessarily be the beginning of a long-term bull market."
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GetViable necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 59 diseños de 17 diseñadores freelance.
We are primarily in the online innovation space, involved in projects spanning enterprise social media,crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, Agile Professional Services, social entrepreneurship and consulting.
Our future products will include consulting, internet-based SaaS methodologies and frameworks to orchestrate the delivery of Professional Services via the cloud.
Please look at http://www.iphso.com to get an idea of what we're about.
Our Target Markets are medium to enterprise sized corporations. Typically corporations that are struggling with scaling from 150+ employees upwards.
We want to communicate that our approach is designed to 'cut through the noise' and provide clear direction and guidance to achieve the customers goals in a 'frictionless' manner. The Cloud theme is important but not central.
I'm really looking for a simple, catchy logo - as simple as the f in facebook, t for twitter, F for foursquare etc. I'm happy to consider any combination / variation on :
1. iP
Please have a look at this concept (http://www.iphso.com/iphso20.png )- very amateur and needs polishing/creativity - but it's more what I have in mind. It's ok to lose the background and button effect, but this logo represents IP, a person thinking, having an idea, in a cloud.
We would like a clean and modern logo that represents the services we provide and that will result in high recall with our listed target markets above. Simple is better. Must look good on Twitter profile pic, Facebook etc Colors and styles we like are : Blue Web 2.0 fonts / colors but get creative... we don't want a boring blue/gray corporate design. A bit of flair to brighten it up would be good. Please look at http://www.iphso.com and twitter.com/LeslieCBarry to get an idea of what we're about. The logo must be easy to replicate in small, medium, and large sizes on both print & web.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Thumbs UpI just wanted to compliment Kevin DiOssi on his photography for the Lashway cover story in the June '14 issue. The striking white C7 against the background of the railroad cars and elevated highway looks really cool. Thanks.
Mark Alan Altman
Bristow, Virginia
Wrong Branch
I enjoyed your article on the '57 Vette big-block mod (June '14, "Pilot Car") with the exception of NAS Miramar being described as an "Air Force Base." Miramar, also known as "Fighter Town, USA," was the West Coast home for the fearsome F-8 Crusader and F-4 Phantom fighters, with the Crusader having the leading kill record against the Mig-17 during the Vietnam War. I look forward to seeing Miramar's proper attribution to the USN.
Norm Gandia
CAPT, USN(ret)
Fighter Pilot, TOPGUN alumnus, and current '66 big-block driver
Hey Norm,
NAS Miramar was handed over to the Marines in 1993 as MCAS Miramar. It was also made famous by the movie Top Gun, but the one thing it's never been is an Air Force base.
Dragon Slayer
In the February issue ("America's Best Driving Roads" by Rick Jensen) you mentioned the Tail Of The Dragon in Tennessee.
I interviewed the PR-director for the (at the time) Deals Gap MC Resort and asked him several questions about the road. He said that nobody had really counted the number of curves (hinting that nobody really wanted to know, anyway).
He also said that back in the '90s a guy from an eastern Tennessee riders group, who liked to ride "the Hill" as it was called locally then, went to the owner of the Deals Gap resort, which was then a fishing resort, and asked the owner if he realized that an aerial photo of US 129 looked like a dragon.
Since the owner really didn't give a hoot about motorcycles he blew the guy off. The guy pestered him again and asked him if he knew how many curves there were between Deals Gap and the bridge, 11 miles away. "Three hundred eighteen," the guy said in such an authoritative manner that the motorcycle guy thought he surely must have counted them, and so the urban legend of "318 Curves in 11 Miles" for "The Dragon" was born.
This certainly doesn't take away from the fact that it is one of the great driving roads in the US.
We all love our legends, don't we?
David Bell
We've driven that road a few times and were way too busy to count the curves, but there are a lot. A road that should be on every Vette owner's bucket list.
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hell yas Ryan..great idea...can't wait for the first snow...jameson nippn at ur nose? Naaaaaaa that's just Hot Damn!
i need jamie 12 and a freakin oat 'n' honey granola bar 3.0 to complete my round
down under+pitch dark+3 or more inches of snow/ice+jameson+the doctor+miscellaneous=poor golf scores frostbite good times GREAT times


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By Andria Cheng
The Target Corp. data breach that has hurt its sales and has made many consumers skittish about using their cards has been traced to a Russian teenager who authored the malware used in the security breach, according to a cyber-intelligence firm.
IntelCrawler, based in Los Angeles, said that nearly 17-year-old Russian is a well-known programmer of malicious code in the underground world. The cyber-intelligence firm added the BlackPOS malware is an inexpensive "off the shelf" malware, which it said may also have been involved in the Neiman Marcus attack.
The company has uncovered six other breaches, including two small clothing firms in Los Angeles and four medium-sized department stores in Colorado, Arizona, New York and California, said IntelCrawler CEO Andrew Komarov in an interview, declining to specify the names of the four retailers, citing an ongoing investigation.
He said the extent of the damage and the number of retailers affected could be much larger because the malware author has close to 60 customers, several of whom were involved in the Target /quotes/zigman/253872/delayed /quotes/nls/tgt TGT attack. IntelCrawler has partnered with law enforcement officials and Visa and Mastercard on the case and counts financial firms as its customers, Komarov told MarketWatch. He said the malware is being sold for $2,000 or 50% of the proceeds from selling compromised card information.
"He is still visible for us, but the real bad actors responsible for the past attacks on retailers such as Target and Neiman Marcus were just his customers," said Dan Clements, the company's president, on its website.
IntelCrawler said BlackPOS first infected retailers' systems in Australia, Canada and the U.S. It said the malware — which first carried the name of "Kaptoxa," or potato in Russian slang, before being renamed — has been sold to cybercriminals in Eastern Europe and other countries, including owners of underground credit-card shops.
Separately, iSight Partners, who are working with the U.S. Secret Service, said the Kaptoxa software has potentially infected "a large number of retail information systems."
The Target attack has potentially compromised 40 million card accounts with some 70 million shoppers' email and other personal information also stolen from a separate system during the security breach. Neiman Marcus has said it doesn't have a specific number of consumers being affected.
— Andria Cheng
— Follow her on Twitter @AndriaCheng
More news from Behind the Storefront:
Best Buy slides after what CEO calls a "speed bump"
Barnes & Noble CEO on "showrooming" and how to be relevant
Aeropostale investors risk being let down by possible takeover


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Music Releases
Concerts / Events
STRAIGHTENER announces first best-of album + 47-Prefecture tour
STRAIGHTENER has announced that they will be releasing their first best-of album, "21st CENTURY ROCK BAND", on May 1st. They have also announced that they will be holding a 47-Prefecture tour called '21st CENTURY ROCK BAND TOUR' starting May 8th.
The best-of album will be released in 2 different types: CD+2DVD and CD-Only. The DVDs will feature footage from the band's one-man live on February 17th at Nippon Budokan. Additional CD details will be announced later.
The band's second '47-Prefecture tour' will kick off on May 8th at Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO, and will wrap up on December 7th at Okinawa's Sakurazaka Central for a total of 52 performances. Ticket pre-reservations for the first half of the tour will be available from February 18th at 1:00 pm to March 4th at 11:00 pm.
The tour dates can be seen below.
<21st CENTURY ROCK BAND TOUR>
Wednesday, May 8th - Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO (Tokyo)
Friday, May 10th - Utsunomiya HEAVEN'S ROCK VJ-2 (Tochigi)
Saturday, May 11th - Takasaki FLEEZ (Gunma)
Thursday, May 16th - Kofu CONVICTION (Yamanashi)
Saturday, May 18th - Nagano CLUB JUNK BOX (Nagano)
Sunday, May 19th - Toyama MAIRO (Toyama)
Thursday, May 23rd - CLUB ROOTS (Gifu)
Friday, May 24th - KYOTO MUSE (Kyoto)
Sunday, May 26th - Nara NEVERLAND (Nara)
Tuesday, May 28th - Matsuzaka M'AXA (Mie)
Saturday, June 1st - Tokushima club GRINDHOUSE (Tokushima)
Sunday, June 2nd - Kochi X-pt. (Kochi)
Tuesday, June 4th - Okayama CRAZYMAMA KINGDOM (Okayama)
Thursday, June 6th - Miyazaki SR BOX (Miyazaki)
Thursday, June 8th - DRUM Be-0 (Oita)
Sunday, June 9th - DRUM Be-9 V1 (Kumamoto)
Tuesday, June 11th - Saga GEILS (Saga)
Saturday, June 15th - Matsue AZTiC canova (Shimane)
Sunday, June 16th - Shunan TIKI-TA (Yamaguchi)
Thursday, June 20th - Koriyama CLUB#9 (Fukushima)
Friday, June 21st - Ishimaki BLUE RESISTANCE (Miyagi)
Sunday, June 23rd - Yamagata Music Showa Session (Yamagata)
Tuesday, June 25th - Akita Club SWINDLE (Akita)
Thursday, June 27th - Hakodate club COCOA (Hokkaido)
Saturday, June 29th - Asakikawa CASINO DRIVE (Hokkaido)
Saturday, September 28th - Chiba LOOK (Chiba)
Sunday, September 29th - Yokohama BLITZ (Kanagawa)
Friday, October 11th - Mito LIGHT HOUSE (Ibaraki)
Sunday, October 13th - HEAVEN'S ROCK Saitama Shintoshin VJ-3 (Saitama)
Monday, October 14th - Niigata LOTS (Niigata)
Wednesday, October 16th - Kanazawa EIGHT HALL (Ishikawa)
Friday, October 18th - Fukui CHOP (Fukui)
Saturday, October 19th - Kobe VARIT (Hyogo)
Monday, October 21st - Wakayama CLUB GATE (Wakayama)
Thursday, October 24th - CLUB COUNTER ACTION MIYAKO (Iwate)
Friday, October 25th - Ofunato LIVEHOUSE FREAKS (Iwate)
Sunday, October 27th - Aomori Quarter (Aomori)
Tuesday, October 29th - Sapporo PENNY LANE24 (Hokkaido)
Friday, November 1st - Hamamatsu Live House Madowaku (Shizuoka)
Saturday, November 2nd - Shiga U?STONE (Shiga)
Monday, November 4th - Yonego AZTiC laughs (Tottori)
Saturday, November 9th - Takamatsu DIME (Kagawa)
Sunday, November 10th - Matsuyama Salon Kitty (Ehime)
Saturday, November 16th - Namba Hatch (Osaka)
Sunday, November 17th - Fukuoka DRUM LOGOS (Fukuoka)
Tuesday, November 19th - Kagoshima CAPARVO HALL (Kagoshima)
Wednesday, November 20th - Nagasaki DRUM Be-7 (Nagasaki)
Friday, November 22nd - Hiroshima CLUB QUATTRO (Hiroshima)
Sunday, November 24th - Zepp Nagoya (Aichi)
Friday, November 29th - Sendai Rensa (Miyagi)
Sunday, December 1st - Shinkiba STUDIO COAST (Tokyo)
Saturday, December 17th - Sakurazaka Central (Okinawa)
Source & Image: natalie
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Fraction, a graphic novel by David Tischman and Timothy Green II, isn't about heroes, even though there are plenty of villains. The main characters are four guys in their twenties, who were jerks in high school, and mostly losers afterwards.
Mike's a loose cannon with a troubled childhood making his way as a thief, Ford just got out of prison and is barely staying away from his addiction to alcohol, and Pete lives with his domineering mother while living off disability. The "mostly" to this group goes to Trent, a good dad with a sense of morality and a steady job, yet still managed to screw up his personal life with adultery.
The setting is a working class neighborhood in Philadelphia where life is a balance between hard times and forgetting about those times with friends. That last sentence captures the way Tischman romanticizes this world, and the not-very-likable characters. Yet, it comes across as sincere—he really thinks those guys are cool. Ick. Green, although amazingly versatile with his male characters, tends to make 90% of the woman look like the same version of someone's fantasy lady.
The story was recommended by a librarian friend—a guy—and I rolled my eyes at this stereotypical alpha-male universe…and yet…I couldn't stop reading. I had a bag of cookies next to me and ended up making myself sick because I ate the whole thing while devouring this novel in one afternoon.
The four main guys "find" (aka: steal) a super suit and, not trusting each other, each take a piece: helmet, chest plate, gloves, and boots. Their first use of this incredible gift is to steal money. It doesn't go very well. And their adventures get worse.
I couldn't keep my eyes away from this train wreck of choices that practically destroy their very lives and the people they care about. Absolutely compelling. The dialogue was real, and the characters stayed true to who they were: jerks, but loyal jerks trying to find some kind of joy in a rough world.
The facial expressions alone are enough to keep anyone staring at these pages. But the detail and movement Green puts in his art impressed me more and more as I made it to the end. Not my favorite style of comic art, but perfect for this story.
Definitely for upper YA and adult. Fraction is a macho comic, but good storytelling is good storytelling.


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Simon Danaher
Simon has no training in art, design or technology. He didn't graduate from art college, and didn't pass any exams. As a professional graphic artist for the past 9 years though Simon has written 5 books on computer graphics and his general digital design work has found him working with international clients such as Saatchi and Saatchi and taken him from his home in Wales to New York and London. "I have a passion for art that's difficult to express. For a long time I thought you had to be a painter to be an artist; I never went to art school, but when I discovered the art of minimalist movement it affected me profoundly".
Simon's artwork makes use of his skills in advanced digital 3D design and often makes highly visible use of the language of industrial digital graphics but is very different to his corporate graphic design work. "In the industry that I work there's a constant push towards realism, softness and a photographic aesthetic particularly because the skills and technology is driven by the requirements of the entertainment industry. You're generally trying to fool people into thinking what they're seeing is a photo or live action, but digital is inherently false. I like using black plastic or acrylic surfaces - shiny plastic is a look that's often associated with amateurism in the 3D industry".
Simon finds inspiration from music, architecture, science, industry as well as nature and the landscape but digital nature of Simon's work offers opportunities he hopes to exploit. He has worked on extended animated sequences for projection or display on large plasma or LCD screens as well as digital prints which he says "has come one leaps and bounds. You're nearing the point of perfect reproduction from a digital source with the current technology, and with the highest quality archive papers and light-fast UV inks, artwork has little risk of fading for at least 80 years. Its very robust". Simon intends to expand into making practical models and sculpture through various fabrication and digital 3D printing processes "the creative possibilities are very exciting."


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Armed Surname Ancestry Results
Our indexes 1000-1999 include entries for the spelling 'armed'. In the period you have requested, we have the following 1 record (displaying 1 to 1):
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armat armatage armathea armathwaite armatige armatriding armatridyng armatrydeing armattoe armaud armaur armaynac armbrech armbrecht armbrough armbruster armd arme armeburgh armeburght armedo armefeild armefeldt armefield armegard armege armeger armelay armelin armell armelyn armemuta armen armenak armenand armenard armenault armener armeni armenio
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Over 2000 recipes for fish or scallops, prawns, mussels, calamari....plus VIDEO techniques for making the perfect dish every time.
So simple but so great prawns are cooked in butter, garlic, lemon juice and a touch of Dijon mustard to create this tastebud pleaser.
Prawns quickly marinated in lemon, garlic and parsley for 30 minutes, then barbecued. Watch this recipe being made in the Allrecipes Barbecued Prawns Video.
Salmon is covered in an easy to make glaze that combines balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey, white wine and Dijon mustard then is baked.
A cheesy tuna mornay with peas and corn for extra flavour. A great quick dinner that has everything in one dish.
Almost any whole fish can be cooked with this method but snapper is particularly good with the Thai flavours. If you can find it, try fresh galangal in place of the ginger, the flavour is unique.


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Joan Murray Conmy, 57, formerly of Chestnut Hill, a teacher who conducted elementary education classes for patients at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, died of colon cancer March 4 at her home in Andorra.
Mrs. Conmy, who had taught kindergarten through fourth grade in the Hospital School Program, helped children keep up with their education while in the hospital. She taught many young patients in the oncology unit while she privately and courageously battled the disease.
She also had served for many years on the board of directors at Keystone Hospice.
Born and raised in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia, she attended St. Ambrose parish school and graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School, where she was a member of the drill team and, later, the alumni band and drill team.
She worked for a time at the Bell Telephone Co. in Chicago while her husband, Jim, completed law school. The couple then returned to Philadelphia and became volunteer emergency technicians with the Northwest Community Ambulance Corps in Chestnut Hill.
She went back to school and earned a bachelor's degree and a master's in education at Chestnut Hill College.
In addition to her husband of 37 years, she is survived by a son, James; a daughter, Joanna; sisters Barbara Greenjack, Nancy Shields, Betty Burnett, Mary Margaret Houser and Kathy Cowden; and a brother, John Murray.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on March 10 at Our Mother of Consolation Church in Chestnut Hill.
Memorial donations may be made to either the CHOP Foundation, mailed to the Hospital School Program of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Lock Box 1352, P.O. Box 8500, Philadelphia, PA 19127 (http://giving.chop.edu/goto/JoanConmy) or to The George Fund, which benefits pediatric hospice care, and mailed to Keystone Hospice, 8765 Stenton Ave, Wyndmoor, PA 19038. – WF


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Freedom Tales Preview
Preview: Season 5 Episode 5 | 30s
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. delves deep into the roots of two African-American guests, actor S. Epatha Merkerson and athlete and television personality Michael Strahan. Both discover unexpected stories that challenge assumptions about black history.
Aired: 02/05/19Video has closed captioning.


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Learn and Grow on the go!
Tony Robbins' classic training systems like Personal Power, Ultimate Edge, and Mastering Influence are now available on your mobile device on the Breakthrough app. These programs will help you master your psychology, improve your relationships, and grow - personally and professionally. Get a program that's right for you at the Tony Robbins Store. Life will never be the same again!


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fashion pulse needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 190 designs submitted by 55 freelance designers.
I need someone familiar with working in fashion to design a hip logo that can also be used on a variety of marketing materials.
Fashion Pulse OR Fashion Pulse Daily
Fashion Pulse needs a fashion-forward logo that will be able to last 3-4 years and not look dated. It has to be something modern that encompases all that the site covers, from runway looks to fashion trends, beauty, industry buzz, and more.
- I prefer graphics that are chic, yet err on the minimalist side
- the tagline is "the heart beat of fashion", so that can be played on, but I wouldn't run rampant with it
- the header space where it would be placed on the site is 760 x 190 pixels, so that would have to work for the design!
- I'd like to be able to translate the design to business cards, web badges/advertising, postcards, etc
- fashion logos fonts and color schemes I like
- Somthing that looks dated, and has been seen before!
- Tons of color
- stuff that is extremely cheesy, corny, '90s, overly girly
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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George Broussard, co-founder of Duke Nukem Forever 3D Realms, emerges to twitter something about hitting a milestone:
Closing out a milestone this week. 71 more tasks to do and we started with probably 800-900. Been a good push. Next one starts Monday.
And ends in 2025. Duke Nukem Forever was first announced back in 1998 and will apparently be out "when it's done". While Broussard doesn't explicitly mention Duke Nukem Forever, it's being assumed that he's referring to that — though, he could be referring to Prey 2, which 3D Realms is producing. We're just not sure.
One thing we're sure about: We lost interest in DNF eons ago. George Broussard? Never!
georgeb3dr [Twitter via Worth Playing via VGB]


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GetSimple API
The service provides access to the accounts associated with an installed instance of the provider's content management system software. It does not perform actual content management functions within the instance, but it allows plug-ins working within that instance to interact with the provider's own capabilities. This function allows the Extend registry of working plug-ins to support them in completing their own tasks. API methods support status checks for an applications registry listing and lookups or updates to registered plug-in filenames. Returned data provide operating parameters for the plug-in such as the CMS software version for which the plug-in was created and against which it has been tested.


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Napoli up to second, Inter lose 1-0 at Parma
Napoli jumped to second place in Serie A thanks to a laboured 1-0 win at lowly Cagliari while fellow title hopefuls Inter Milan suffered a 1-0 defeat at Parma in Monday's late game.
Napoli are within two points of leaders Juventus thanks to Marek Hamsik's second-half goal which moved them above an Inter side undone by Nicola Sansone's fine individual late strike.
Juventus, who lost 1-0 at AC Milan on Sunday, have 32 points from 14 games with their lead cut from four points with Napoli now on 30 above Fiorentina and Inter who are level on 28.
Napoli, without suspended striker Edinson Cavani and the injured Goran Pandev, made hard work of beating Cagliari, with Hamsik's 73rd minute goal enough to earn the three points.
The visitors looked flat at times although young striker Lorenzo Insigne went close to scoring either side of the half-hour mark, hitting the post and later dragging a shot wide.
Cagliari appealed for a penalty when Alessandro Gamberini upended midfielder Daniele Conti, who then directed a Thiago Ribeiro corner against the post just before the break.
Napoli were on the back foot for much of the second half but scored when Juan Zuniga ran into the box in the 72nd and found Hamsik who struck the ball past keeper Michael Agazzi, sparking Cagliari protests that the Slovakian was offside.
"It was a difficult game, but we did really well," Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri told Sky Italia. "We suffered a bit during the second half, but I have to compliment my team.
Turning to his side's chances of winning Serie A, he added: "I'm really not thinking about the title. We'll see where we are at the end of the season."
Inter's recent mini-slump had seen them lose at Atalanta and draw against Cagliari and their fortunes were not about to improve at Parma, who have moved up to seventh on 20 points.
To add to their woes the Nerazzurri were without suspended creative outlet Antonio Cassano while the saga surrounding Wesley Sneijder's future has been an unwelcome distraction, the Dutchman having been asked to accept a reduced wage package.
Coach Antonio Stramaccioni had called for "hunger and grit" on the eve of the game but instead Inter looked timid and tired, struggled to link up midfield with attack and frequently found themselves chasing the ball against a hard-working Parma team.
The hosts had most of the possession in the first half but failed to make it count with Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic comfortably dealing with a tame Amauri shot and also keeping out attempts from the lively Jonathan Biabiany and Gabriel Paletta.
With Parma snapping at their heels and closing down the midfield, Inter struggled to find space despite the best efforts of seasoned campaigner Esteban Cambiasso, whose 36th-minute header was cleared off the line by Jaime Valdes.
The visitors had a bit more bite after the break but Parma held their nerve and continued to cut off the supply lines to Inter's ineffective front pair Diego Milito and Rodrigo Palacio.
Parma took a 75th-minute lead when Sansone ran 40 metres, easing his away from two defenders before calmly slotting the ball past Handanovic with a neat right-foot shot.
Inter imm


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Ranti - Iwe Kiko (Prod. Cobhams Asuquo)
T Classic - Nobody Fine Pass You
Larry Gaaga ft. 2Baba - Iworiwo
CDQ x Davido - Entertainer
DJ Prince ft. Olamide & Phyno - Piom Piom (prod. Adey)
Korede Bello - Joko (freestyle)
D'banj x 2baba - Baecation (prod. Shizzi)
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