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by Travis Smith
IIOT Power
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ICS ATT&CK: Designed to Help Protect from Cyber Attacks
Earlier this year, MITRE—a not-for-profit organization that works in the public interest across federal, state, and local governments, as well as with industry and academia—officially released the long-awaited industrial control systems (ICS) version of its popular ATT&CK knowledge base. ICS ATT&CK is the group's response to the unique attack surface that industrial networks are trying to defend. Over the years there have been multiple public examples of attacks targeted specifically toward industrial environments. Stuxnet, Industroyer, and BlackEnergy are some of the more widely known pieces of malware found to be targeting these systems.
Many of the attacks that have been made public in the past relied on some type of bridge between information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems. For example, Stuxnet executed on Windows operating systems before targeting industrial systems. Because of this, it is important to realize that ICS ATT&CK should be viewed as complementary information to Enterprise ATT&CK. The larger Enterprise ATT&CK knowledge base remains valuable as another layer of defense against the entire ecosystem protecting industrial systems.
Within ICS ATT&CK, the matrix is broken out into multiple tactics, such as Execution and Impair Process Control, with various techniques listed. Some of these tactic and technique names are shared with the Enterprise world. For example, Execution can be found in both Enterprise ATT&CK and ICS ATT&CK. However, other tactics, such as Impair Process Control, are unique to the ICS world.
There are also techniques that can be found across both versions of ATT&CK, for example, Valid Accounts. Even though the names are shared, and the overall theme of the technique is the same, there are specific examples or mitigations unique to industrial systems.
Some of the new elements within the techniques are Assets and Levels. Assets are the hardware and software that are unique to industrial systems. Instead of Platforms, such as Windows, ICS includes Engineering Workstations, Data Historians, and Human-Machine Interfaces.
Levels are mapped to the Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture. Level 3 and above are specific to what is expected in typical IT environments. These are the levels that are heavily covered in Enterprise ATT&CK. Level 2 and below are specific to industrial systems and range from engineering workstations down to low-level relays controlling physical equipment. Similar to the Platforms information, Assets and Levels can help scope ICS ATT&CK to systems that users are attempting to analyze.
What made Enterprise ATT&CK so popular years ago, and what makes ICS ATT&CK so great today, is accessibility. All of the information the knowledge bases contain was already largely available online, but it was spread across vendor blogs or in recorded presentations from security conferences. Having all of this information collated into a single website reduces the cost of entry for anyone trying to break into ICS security.
As attacks focused on industrial systems increase, understanding the scope of the problem is the first step. ICS ATT&CK is that first step into creating a more secure industrial world. As a first release, it is still in its infancy. MITRE does an excellent job at curating the ATT&CK knowledge bases across Pre, Mobile, and Enterprise, but it needs help. Tripwire has contributed to these tools in the past. In fact, these knowledge bases aren't possible without the contributions from those within the industry.
All ICS users and administrators play a role in defending industrial environments. If something is observed to be missing or incorrect in the knowledge base, anyone should feel empowered to contact MITRE and let its team know. The shared experiences are a net gain for everyone trying to defend against some of the more well-funded adversaries on the internet.
—Travis Smith is a principal security researcher at Tripwire. He has more than 10 years of experience in security, holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in information security, and multiple certifications including CISSP, GIAC, and GPEN. He specializes in integrating various technologies and processes, with a passion for forensics and security analytics, and a goal of helping customers identify and mitigate real threats.
#cybersecurity #cyberattack #Tripwire #ATT&CK #MITRE
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Q: NoSuchMethodError with SparkContext I get a NoSuchMethodError when my Spark application executes val sc = new SparkContext("spark://spark01:7077", "Request Executor"). I am compiling my Spark application with version 1.3.1 and Scala version 2.10.4. The Spark cluster is compiled with 1.3.1 as well as the same Scala version.
From looking at the Spark source, getTimeAsSeconds does not exist in Utils.scala until Spark 1.4. Why is it attempting to call a method that does not exist in the version I'm using?
Here are the dependencies from my pom.xml:
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.spark</groupId>
  <artifactId>spark-core_2.10</artifactId>
  <version>1.3.1</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.scala-lang</groupId>
  <artifactId>scala-library</artifactId>
  <version>2.10.4</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.scala-lang</groupId>
  <artifactId>scala-compiler</artifactId>
  <version>2.10.4</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.scala-lang</groupId>
  <artifactId>scala-reflect</artifactId>
  <version>2.10.4</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.twitter</groupId>
  <artifactId>util-eval_2.10</artifactId>
  <version>6.26.0</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
  <artifactId>guava</artifactId>
  <version>19.0-rc1</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.jvnet.jaxb2_commons</groupId>
  <artifactId>jaxb2-basics-runtime</artifactId>
<version>0.7.0</version>
</dependency>

<!-- Jackson JSON Library -->
<dependency>
  <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
  <artifactId>jackson-core</artifactId>
  <version>2.4.4</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
  <artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
  <version>2.4.4</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
  <artifactId>jackson-annotations</artifactId>
  <version>2.4.4</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.module</groupId>
  <artifactId>jackson-module-jaxb-annotations</artifactId>
  <version>2.4.4</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat</groupId>
  <artifactId>jackson-dataformat-xml</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.codehaus.woodstox</groupId>
  <artifactId>woodstox-core-asl</artifactId>
  <version>4.1.4</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>uk.org.simonsite</groupId>
  <artifactId>log4j-rolling-appender</artifactId>
  <version>20131024-2017</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>junit</groupId>
  <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
  <version>4.12</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.eclipse.jetty</groupId>
  <artifactId>jetty-server</artifactId>
  <version>9.3.1.v20150714</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.eclipse.jetty</groupId>
  <artifactId>jetty-servlet</artifactId>
  <version>9.3.1.v20150714</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.eclipse.jetty</groupId>
  <artifactId>jetty-webapp</artifactId>
  <version>9.3.1.v20150714</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.antlr</groupId>
  <artifactId>antlr4-runtime</artifactId>
  <version>4.5</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.solr</groupId>
  <artifactId>solr-solrj</artifactId>
  <version>5.2.1</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.solr</groupId>
  <artifactId>solr-core</artifactId>
  <version>5.2.1</version>
  <exclusions>
    <exclusion>
      <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
      <artifactId>slf4j-jdk14</artifactId>
    </exclusion>
    <exclusion>
      <groupId>org.eclipse.jetty</groupId>
      <artifactId>jetty-util</artifactId>
    </exclusion>
  </exclusions>
</dependency>

Is something in my dependencies causing me to compile with Spark 1.4?
Stacktrace:
java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: org.apache.spark.network.util.JavaUtils.timeStringAsSec(Ljava/lang/String;)J
        at org.apache.spark.util.Utils$.timeStringAsSeconds(Utils.scala:1027)
        at org.apache.spark.SparkConf.getTimeAsSeconds(SparkConf.scala:194)
        at org.apache.spark.util.AkkaUtils$.org$apache$spark$util$AkkaUtils$$doCreateActorSystem(AkkaUtils.scala:68)
        at org.apache.spark.util.AkkaUtils$$anonfun$1.apply(AkkaUtils.scala:54)
        at org.apache.spark.util.AkkaUtils$$anonfun$1.apply(AkkaUtils.scala:53)
        at org.apache.spark.util.Utils$$anonfun$startServiceOnPort$1.apply$mcVI$sp(Utils.scala:1991)
        at scala.collection.immutable.Range.foreach$mVc$sp(Range.scala:166)
        at org.apache.spark.util.Utils$.startServiceOnPort(Utils.scala:1982)
        at org.apache.spark.util.AkkaUtils$.createActorSystem(AkkaUtils.scala:56)
        at org.apache.spark.rpc.akka.AkkaRpcEnvFactory.create(AkkaRpcEnv.scala:245)
        at org.apache.spark.rpc.RpcEnv$.create(RpcEnv.scala:52)
        at org.apache.spark.SparkEnv$.create(SparkEnv.scala:247)
        at org.apache.spark.SparkEnv$.createDriverEnv(SparkEnv.scala:188)
        at org.apache.spark.SparkContext.createSparkEnv(SparkContext.scala:267)
        at org.apache.spark.SparkContext.<init>(SparkContext.scala:424)
        at org.apache.spark.SparkContext.<init>(SparkContext.scala:155)
        at com.scala.analytics.RequestExecutor$.executeRequest(RequestExecutor.scala:23)
        at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:735)
        at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:848)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.servlet.ServletHolder.handle(ServletHolder.java:816)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.servlet.ServletHandler.doHandle(ServletHandler.java:583)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.server.handler.ContextHandler.doHandle(ContextHandler.java:1113)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.servlet.ServletHandler.doScope(ServletHandler.java:511)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.server.handler.ContextHandler.doScope(ContextHandler.java:1047)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.server.handler.ScopedHandler.handle(ScopedHandler.java:141)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.server.handler.ContextHandlerCollection.handle(ContextHandlerCollection.java:213)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.server.handler.HandlerWrapper.handle(HandlerWrapper.java:119)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.server.Server.handle(Server.java:517)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.server.HttpChannel.handle(HttpChannel.java:302)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.server.HttpConnection.onFillable(HttpConnection.java:242)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.io.AbstractConnection$ReadCallback.succeeded(AbstractConnection.java:238)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.io.FillInterest.fillable(FillInterest.java:95)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.io.SelectChannelEndPoint$2.run(SelectChannelEndPoint.java:57)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.util.thread.strategy.ExecuteProduceConsume.produceAndRun(ExecuteProduceConsume.java:213)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.util.thread.strategy.ExecuteProduceConsume.run(ExecuteProduceConsume.java:147)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.util.thread.QueuedThreadPool.runJob(QueuedThreadPool.java:654)
        at org.eclipse.jetty.util.thread.QueuedThreadPool$3.run(QueuedThreadPool.java:572)
        at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745)

A: It turns out it was a dumb mistake. I am running this application on a different machine, so I copy over my target directory every time I compile. However, I never cleaned my target directory on the remote machine, so I had an old jar with Spark 1.4.0 sitting there, which I used at one point. Every time my application ran, it would look for a Spark jar and use the 1.4.0 jar instead of the 1.3.1 jar that's also in the directory. The solution was simply to delete the old (1.4.0) jar.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Aeroméxico Connect flight AM2039 an Embraer ERJ-170, suffered a wingtip runway strike incident on takeoff from Chihuahua Airport, Mexico.
The aircraft rolled left during rotation from runway 18L causing the left-hand wingtip to contact the ground. The flight then returned to the Chihuahua Airport were scrape damage was noticed on the wingtip.


text:
Williams, Clanton W. (Clanton Ware), 1904-1975; Bruce, Andrew D. (Andrew Davis), 1894-1969. Memorandum from A. D. Bruce to Clanton W. Williams, concerning a study by the faculty committee on integration (with handwritten notes) - Page 13. March 13 - May 31, 1956. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. University of Houston Digital Library. Web. January 15, 2021. https://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/integ/item/56/show/45.
Williams, Clanton W. (Clanton Ware), 1904-1975; Bruce, Andrew D. (Andrew Davis), 1894-1969. (March 13 - May 31, 1956). Memorandum from A. D. Bruce to Clanton W. Williams, concerning a study by the faculty committee on integration (with handwritten notes) - Page 13. University of Houston Integration Records. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. Retrieved from https://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/integ/item/56/show/45
Williams, Clanton W. (Clanton Ware), 1904-1975; Bruce, Andrew D. (Andrew Davis), 1894-1969, Memorandum from A. D. Bruce to Clanton W. Williams, concerning a study by the faculty committee on integration (with handwritten notes) - Page 13, March 13 - May 31, 1956, University of Houston Integration Records, Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries, accessed January 15, 2021, https://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/integ/item/56/show/45.
Title Page 13
Transcript > TO: President A. D. Bruce FROM: Clanton W. Williams SUBJECT: Integration DATE: March 13, 1956 The Problem At the instructions of the president a University-wide committee was established to assemble the facts and to present conclusions and recommendations to the president relative to admission of Negro students to the University of Houston. Assumptions 1. It is assumed, that the University of Houston will be so far regarded as a state institution as to make it subject to the laws and court decisions of the State of Texas and of the United States on segregation in such institutions. 2. That being the case, and in view of the series of pertinent court decisions, it is inevitable that Negroes must be admitted to the University of Houston. 3. It is assumed further that it is in the best interests of the University and all concerned that the transition to integration be accomplished with a minimum of emotional disturbance and adverse publicity. Facts Bearing on the Problem 1. In recognition of this problem, on August 31, 1955 the president of the University appointed a University Committee on Integration "to study the problems relative to integration." That Committee, on February 27, 1956, submitted a report to the president, a copy of which is attached as part of the "Facts Bearing on the Problem." 2. On February 28, 1956, after consultation with the Board of Regents, the president issued instructions that that Committee should be enlarged, and that the new Committee should assemble all additional information pertinent to the problem and should assist in preparation of this study on the subject. Consequently, the Committee was enlarged to include Dean A. A. White of the College of Law (a native Texan), Dean of Women Bessie Ebaugh (a native Houstonian), and Dr. Howard F. McGaw and Dr. Theo Hatfield (both Southerners), and Dr. Alfred Neumann (Vice Chairman of the Faculty Assembly who is scheduled to be Chairman next academic year). This Committee's deliberations have been held in secret.
Correspondence between Wilson Andrew Lede, Jr. and Clanton W. Williams, concerning courses in radio and television engineering
Correspondence between Aubrey L. Kennard and Clanton W. Williams, regarding applying for courses in electrical engineering
Correspondence between E. K. Aboagye and Clanton W. Williams, regarding a misunderstanding of admission into the University

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I'm overrun with summer squash. It's up to me to eat it because Husband doesn't like it. He doesn't like zucchini either. However, Husband will eat zucchini bread because he says it doesn't taste like zucchini.
I threw a brunch and wanted to show off my mad baking skills. I planned on making zucchini bread but instead of getting zucchini in that week's CSA delivery we got more summer squash. Ugh! I threw caution to the wind and made my orange zucchini bread recipe with summer squash instead.
My guests loved it. Husband loved it because it does not taste like summer squash. Even my two nephews who swear up and down that eating vegetables will kill them ate it and loved it. Of course, I failed to mention to the boys that they were eating and enjoying vegetables. That's our little secret.
2. Butter and flour two loaf pans and set aside.
3. Beat the eggs until thick in a bow.
4. Then gradually mix in the sugar, oil, summer squash, orange juice, and the rest of the bread ingredients.
5. Pour the batter mixture into the two baking pans.
6. Bake the bread at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
7. Allow the bread to cool slightly and remove the bread from the baking pans.
8. Make the glaze ingredients in a separate bowl and pour the glaze evenly over the warm loaves of bread.
9. When the bread is cool, grab a knife, cut off a slice, and dig in!
Another great way to use squash is to make relish or chutney. I'm sick of the old bread thing. Squash is sort of like tofu, bland and flexible, so to cook/preserve with.


rian.ie - Result: "Terrorism and the Internet: new media - new threat?"
Terrorism and the Internet: new media - new threat?
The Internet is a powerful political instrument, which is increasingly employed by terrorists to forward their goals. The five most prominent contemporary terrorist uses of the Net are information provision, financing, networking, recruitment, and information gathering. This article describes and explains each of these uses and follows up with examples. The final section of the paper describes the responses of government, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and others to the terrorism-Internet nexus. There is a particular emphasis within the text on the UK experience, although examples from other jurisdictions are also employed.


The European Union is in Palermo today, first of all, to support the Libyans – our Libyan friends that we have been supporting over all of these years with not only political support and security work and cooperation, but also with more than €370 million in support of the Libyan people.
We are here to support the work of the United Nations to mediate and find a political solution. The risk we have to avoid is that the security situation in Libya deteriorates even further and that the temptation of a military solution prevails - that would only worsen the situation for the country and for the entire region. This is why the European Union supports with all its political weight, with all its resources, the mediation and the political work of the United Nations and any space for dialogue and advancing on this difficult work.


Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi receives Finland's Ambassador to Kenya and Somalia Ambassador Erik Lundberg.
During the meeting, President Bihi and Ambassador Erik Lundberg discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to the continuation of Finish support in health sector, urged further assistance in education and also to bolster the two nations' relationship.
Meanwhile,Finland's Ambassador to Kenya and Somalia Erik Lundberg also attends the MIDA FINNSOM 10-Year anniversary in Somaliland.


text:
"The ultimate power is the power of the powerless": Václav Havel's legacy
Home » Uncategorized » "The ultimate power is the power of the powerless": Václav Havel's legacy
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"He assumed good and humanity in everyone."
My friend Jane Leftwich Curry organized an evening at Santa Clara University, where she is a professor of political science, to honor the playwright, dissident, and first president of the Czech Republic (and last president of Czechoslovakia), Václav Havel, who died in December.
The Wednesday event served as my introduction to Havel's plays as well as to the university itself – despite its proximity, I had never seen SCU, which has the old Santa Clara Mission at its heart.
During the evening, a few of the university's alumni performed staged readings from 1965's The Memorandum and the much later 2007 Leaving.
The first was distinctly edgier – at least in the excerpted version. A deputy manager introduces a new "official" made-up language in the office, "Ptydepe." Of course it's all part of a bureaucratic coup d'état, and the managing director finds himself being edged out. In the second, a chancellor is leaving office – but does he have to leave the state villa, which has been his extended family's home for years? The play was made into a movie in 2010, marking Havel's debut as a director.
"We, here in Silicon Valley, do not live in an authoritarian society," said Janey, who is author of six books on the politics of Central and Eastern Europe. "But we have much to learn from this man who had spent his years as a dissident and a writer and overnight took over as president not because he wanted power but because, as he said, 'You cannot spend your whole life criticizing something and then, when you have a chance to do it better, refuse to go near it.'"
She gave a few examples of his ingenuity from his life as a dissident:
"He was creative not only in outsmarting the police when he could but also in living his life well in spite of all the pressures on him. There are thousands of stories of this … one that comes to mind here in this setting, is that, when he was in prison with the Archbishop of Prague, he organized chess tournaments – not, as the archbishop said at his state funeral, because Havel really liked chess, but because it provided a cover for Archbishop Duka to say mass under the ruse that the prisoners were just playing chess.
Author Curry
"Havel also laughingly told a s story of skiing up the high Tatra mountains – a struggle as he was both a heavy smoker and a non-athlete. He did it so he could meet at the top, on the border, with Polish dissidents like Jacek Kuron and Adam Michnik – neither of whom were any better skiers or athletes than he was and both of whom could match him as smokers. They came to share ideas and enjoy each other in the only place they could, a ski hut smack on the border of their two nations at the top of the Tatra mountains." It was a good gamble – "the Czech and Polish secret police were too lazy to ski up the mountains to catch dissidents."
When he was sworn in as president to replace the man who had imprisoned him, some asked what he would say to departing president Gustáv Husák at the cocktail party that followed the ceremony. "He thought about it and said he supposed they could talk about prison conditions as they had both served time in the same prison – Husak during World War II for being a communist, and he, under communism, for being a dissident. And so they did."
The incident also illustrated a big theme in Havel's life and leadership: inclusion, even extending to those who had harmed him. "He assumed good and humanity in everyone, even though most Czechs and Slovaks kept silent rather than lose their peaceful lives."
After the fall of communism, when questions arose about the controversial policies of "lustration," a government process to reintegrate former Communist into post-communist public life, "he reminded the nation that each and every one of them, himself included, had been part of making the communist system work. That the fault was shared by all and that each person had to account to himself for what he had done or not done. For Havel, then, the ultimate power was the power of the powerless."
Steven Boyd Saum, editor of Santa Clara Magazine, also spoke – Saum is also attaché to the Honorary Consul General of the Czech Republic in San Francisco/Silicon Valley.
Saum hailed Havel as a man of "compassion and conscience." He was "a bourgeois child" who, when denied a higher education under communism, became a lab assistant, a soldier, and a stagehand. "Havel, the man, was a hero." Arthur Miller called him "the first surrealist president."
Saum compared him to Thomas Jefferson, in his understanding that loyalties work best when they are to neighbors and communities, rather than monolithic states.
Nice venue
Change occurred so fast in Czechoslovokia that dissidents like Havel quickly found themselves catapulted to power. The skills of a dissident didn't always translate into the skills of a politician. Havel believed firmly that when you change the system, people will change. He had respect even for the people who had betrayed him and his colleagues, or who had been silent during their persecution – "he stuck up for them."
His first biographer Eda Kriseova wrote rather a hagiography. "The world needs heroes," she said. "I am giving you one."
(Another biographer, John Keane, author of Václav Havel: A Political Tragedy in Six Acts, answers questions here.)
Tags: Adam Michnik, Arthur Miller, Eda Kriseova, Gustáv Husák, Jacek Kuron, Jane Leftwich Curry, John Keane, Steven Boyd Saum, Thomas Jefferson, Václav Havel
This entry was posted on Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 at 8:25 pm	by Cynthia Haven and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.


text:
You are here: Home / Corporate / Advisory Board & Management
Chair, Advisory Board
Peter Jones is a Professional Engineer and retired mining executive with 50 years of experience in executive, operational, project and consulting roles. Since 2013 he has provided consulting services to Century Global Commodities Corporation and is currently Chairman of the Corporation's Advisory Committee. Previously, he was CEO of Hudson Bay Mining Inc. and Smelting Co., Limited for Anglo American plc and subsequently President and CEO of the publicly traded HudBay Minerals Inc. Mr. Jones has been past Chairman and CEO of Adanac Molybdenum Corporation, Chairman of Medusa Mining Limited and Chairman of Augya Mining Resources. He is currently Chairman of Reyna Silver Corp. and a Corporate Director of Reyna Gold Corp. He was also the past Chairman of the Mining Association of Canada for two terms and in 2006 was named prairie region, Turnaround Entrepreneur of the Year, by Ernst & Young. Mr. Jones graduated from the Camborne School of Mines, UK in 1969 and the Banff School of Advanced Management in 1984.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Sandy Chim, MBA, CPA, CA, is founder and currently the Chairman, director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Century. His investments and involvement in developing iron ore assets in Canada started in 2005 as a substantial shareholder in Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Limited and a joint venture partner, through an affiliated company, of the Bloom Lake mine. He also invested in Champion Minerals Inc. (now known as Champion Iron Mines Limited or "Champion") in 2008 as a substantial shareholder and Century entered into an option and joint venture agreement with Champion on the Attikamagen Properties. Over the course of his career, Mr. Chim has been instrumental to successful capital raises from public offerings and listings of companies in various industries on, various international capital markets, including in Australia, London and Hong Kong as well as Canada. This capital was raised for businesses involved in industries ranging from resource exploration, mining, building materials, and manufacturing. He has been a director and member of corporate governance bodies of publicly listed companies on the TSX, TSXV, AIM (London), ASX (Australia), HKEx (Hong Kong) and SHSE (China). Mr. Chim received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia and an M.B.A. from York University, Canada. Mr. Chim is a member of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario Canada, and a Fellow Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Ivan Wong
Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and Project Development
Ivan Wong is a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Wong served as an Independent Non-executive Director of several major companies listed in Hong Kong and/or Shanghai including Maanshan Iron & Steel Company Limited from 2005 to 2011; Chongqing Iron & Steel Company Limited from 2015 to 2021; and China Zhongwang Holdings Limited from 2008 to 2021.
Bonnie Leung
Chief Financial Officer and Co-Secretary
Bonnie Leung is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and has 20 years of experience in financial management. Ms. Leung graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and obtained her Master of Business Administration degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Prior to joining Century, Ms. Leung worked in Ernst & Young and Philips, having gained extensive experience in financial audits, IPOs, internal audits, compliance and risk management.
Allan Gan, P. Geo
Director of Exploration
Allan Gan is a seasoned geologist with over 28 years of experience in mineral exploration and mining geology in Canada and China. Mr. Gan graduated from the Xi'an Institute of Geology, China in 1984 and completed his Master Honors of Geoscience at Wollongong University of Australia in 2000. Prior to joining Century as Director of Exploration, Mr. Gan worked as senior geologist and project manager for Alliance Pacific Resources in Canada and geologist and mineral resources officer for the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Xinjiang, China. Mr. Gan is a member of the Professional Geologists of Ontario.


The item Anansi and the bag of wisdom, Lesley Sims ; illustrated by Alida Massari represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Libraries.
Anansi, King of the Spiders, is given a bag of wisdom to share but selfishly decides to keep it to himself. But can he carry it up to his secret hiding place without dropping it?


text:
Tests & Worksheets
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Introduction: Evolution is the theory of how organisms change over time. While some may say that it is "only a theory," in science, a theory is pretty much accepted as fact. The term is not attached to an idea unless there is significant evidence to support it. Ever since Charles Darwin first presented the idea in 1859, there has yet to be a single piece of evidence that disputes what he said.
Evolution takes time, which is why scientists need evidence to support it. Fossils, homologous structures, vestigial organs, and even DNA evidence all work to show that it is possible that one species can evolve into another. This does not mean that chimpanzees turned into humans, but rather they share a common ancestor. Those intermediate species that were not successful in the environment died out, taking their genes with them. Those species that were successful, survived to reproduce and move forward.
Evolution shows how species are related and, even more, that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor.
The finches of the Galapagos Islands provide strong evidence for Darwin's ideas. The beaks of these birds are specially adapted for the island on which they live and the food they eat, but there is no doubt these birds are related to each other.
Directions for this Lesson: Answer the practice questions and then watch the video to learn more about the evidence that supports the Theory of Evolution.
Required Video:
Related Worksheets:
Evidence for Evolution
Related Lessons:
How New Species Arise
Exploring Evolution
Berkeley: Understanding Evolution - Similarities and Differences
Berkeley: Understanding Evolution - Stories from the Fossil Record
Smithsonian Institute - What does it mean to be human?
FREE Printable Worksheets
Common Core ELA Worksheets
Common Core Math Worksheets
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1. Name of center : Polytechnic in Agriculture, Junagadh Agriculture University, Halvad.
Agricultural School, Halvad was established in 1960. Previously, it was comes under Gujarat Agricultural University. After that, GAU has been splitted into four Agricultural Universities of the state in 2004. Presently, Agricultural school upgraded into Polytechnic in Agriculture in year 2018 by Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh under Agriculture and co-operation department, Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar,. Previously, after completion of two years of the course the student was awarded with diploma in agriculture but now a days, looking to the present demand in the field of agriculture & allied science it is highly need to start three years (six semesters) of diploma course instead of two years. The successful candidates can take higher education (degree course) through diploma to degree programme. This diploma college was started with below cited mandates.
To give exposure to the students in the field of agriculture science.
To create awareness regarding to agriculture science & improved technology.
To create new employment facilities in the field of agriculture & allied science.
To generate knowledge through practical education in relation to new production technologies develop in agriculture sector.
Other accredited to the Board, the Central Board, Council of Indian School of Certificate Examination, in New Delhi, National Institute of Open School, International School, etc. Maharashtra State Board of Education.
(iii) The student is domicile of Nizar Taluka (Gujarat State) but has passed qualifying examinations from Maharashtra State.
A candidate whose parents are origin of Gujarat and are serving out of Gujarat in the service of Central Government or other State Governments, Military, Boards or Corporations owned or controlled by the Central Government or other State Governments or any nationalized bank and who has passed the qualifying examination from the State where parents are serving and appeared in the Gujarat Common Entrance Test/Joint Entrance Examination conducted in the current academic year, shall be eligible for admission and his candidature shall be included in the merit list subject to submission of the document / certificate of origin of Gujarat at the time of verification of document at the Help Center.
Weightage of five percent of marks will be given to the farmer's son / Daughters / Brothers / Sisters / Grand Sons / Grand Daughters subject to production of certificate 7-12 and 8-A record of current year from competent authority for having land in Gujarat under cultivation by himself / his /her Father, his / her Mother, his / her Grand Father (Paternal) his / her Grand Mother (Paternal) and his / her Brother/Sister subject to fulfillment of minimum qualifications required for admission to diploma courses.
Note: The benefit of the above weightage shall be given to the student once during his/her University career.
(a) In case of changes in marks of a student in the qualifying examination, such student shall produce a letter to that effect of the corrected mark sheet issued by the Board, before the Admission Committee at least one day before the commencement of admission process (counseling program) but not later than seven days from the receipt of letter or, corrected mark-sheet, as the case may be. In such case he shall be placed at an appropriate order in the merit list.
(b) The student who was declared failed initially in the qualifying examination, but later on declared passed after rechecking of marks by the Board, such student shall, notwithstanding any time limit prescribed, be allowed to apply for the admission provided he produces a letter to that effect or the corrected mark sheet issued by the Board, within seven days of the receipt of letter, or as the case may be.
1. A candidate, having locomotors disability of one leg and partial arm, shall be eligible to apply for admission to course, subject to the submission of a certificate to that effect from the Civil Surgeon / Medical Superintendent of the Government Hospital, based on the opinion of the concerned specialist, that the locomotors disabled candidate is in a position to undertake the course and perform the functions of the concerned field.
2. These seats are adjustable within the respective category and admissions will be on the basis of inter se merit only.
3. Disabled (Physically Challenged) candidate shall have to fulfill the academic and minimum requirements of marks at the qualifying examination of his / her category as mentioned in Rule 9.1.
4. The decision for admission of PC candidate will be final at the time of counseling looking to the ability of the candidate to carry out practical / In-plant training etc in the course.
2. A candidate claiming admission against Ex-servicemen category shall be required to submit a certificate to that effect duly issued by the Director, Sainik Welfare Board, Gujarat State or by the District Sainik Welfare Officer. In-service Defense Personnel shall be required to submit certificate to that effect duly issued by the Commanding Officer of the respective unit in which they are serving.
3. The seats remaining vacant against the category of Defense Personnel and Ex-servicemen in case of candidates, who have passed the SSC examination from the Gujarat Secondary Education Board, shall be allotted to the children of Defense Personnel and Ex- servicemen of the Central Board of Gujarat State. The seats remaining vacant thereafter shall be filled up from the general merit list of the Gujarat Board.
4. The children of Defense Personnel and Ex-servicemen of Gujarat origin, shall be included under the reserved category specified in this rule, if they have passed the SSC examination from the schools located in Gujarat State.
1. One additional seat shall be reserved for Parsi Community who is domicile of Gujarat State. This seat will be non-transferable.
2. The candidate seeking admission on reserved seat shall be required to produce a certificate of Parsi community issued from the competent authority.
3. The admission of a student of reserved category on a reserved seat shall be valid subject to verification by the authority empowered in this behalf.
4. In case the certificate is found invalid on verification, he shall not have right to claim his admission on reserved seat and if he has been already granted admission such admission shall be cancelled at any point of time.
Important Note: The rules about admission are only for information. It will keep changing time to time. Admission Committee has access to the full power of admission.
Fees to be paid annually in the beginning of each odd semester for all students.
Fees for marksheets, certificates, transcripts etc.
NOTE: The tuition and hostel fees for girl students are exempted. Fees once paid will not be refunded.
Polytechnic in Agriculture, J.A.U., Halvad has well established College Building, Museum, Crop Cafeteria, Boys and Girls Hostel, Ground for Games etc.
At Polytechnic in Agriculture, J.A.U., Halvad national service scheme (NSS) activities are started from 2018. Under National Service Scheme activities, Activities like road safety, distinguished persons lecture, swachh abhiyan, yoga, tree plantation etc. were performed.
The students are allowed to play the game of their interest with these facilities during the non-teaching hours. The Inter polytechnics (of JAU) games is also organized once during the year. The students are allowed to take participate in Khel mahakumbh organized by Govt. of Gujarat.
One State government project 'Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited' run at our college in which farmer field demonstration, farmers day, field day, soil sampling etc. activities carried out.


A tender for 1 kW to 1,000 kW grid-connected rooftop solar power plants at various locations in Telangana state has been released by Telangana Renewable Energy Development Corporation Ltd (TSREDCO).
The tender covers the empanelment for the supply, installation, commissioning, maintenance, and operation of grid-connected rooftop solar PV plants of 1 to 1,000 kW solar capacity at various locations in the state of Telangana. This is being conducted under the net metering policy for MNRE sanctions.
Bidders should a registered SPV suppliers, manufacturers or system integrators registered with TRSEDCO between the years 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The capacities are divided into project categories from 1 kW to 10 kW, from 11 kW to 100 kW and above 100 kW. For these categories, the bidder should have experience of at least minimum 10 kW, 50 kW and 200 kW installation respectively in the on-grid or off grid sectors, built within the last two years.
The contract period will be from April 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, and the cost of tender is INR 25,000 plus the GST of 18%.
The last date for bid submission is March 3, 2018.
Such efforts are intended to accelerate the growth of solar in the state and across the country. Telangana is one of the leading states in terms of solar power capacity, and is now planning to explore technologies related to storage.
The peak electricity demands of the state arrive in the morning when solar energy production is low, but by the afternoon Telangana produces almost 1,720 MW of PV electricity, out of an installed capacity of 3,250 MW, according to officials of the Telangana government. Hence, they are exploring storage options to better utilize this total solar power capacity, reports suggest.


My First Night in Cuglieri, and The Miracle of Google Translate!
I'm gone! I've left! After 8 months of planning, it's finally happening! Right now! We have liftoff! I'm sitting in an airport in Frankfurt, Germany trying to wrap my head around the past 24 hours. What have I done?


text:
Purplepride.org Minnesota Vikings Message Board > Vikings & Football Talk > vikings fan forum > Wilf defends move...
View Full Version : Wilf defends move...
cajunvike
http://www.startribune.com/510/story/158951.html
Horsesh!t!!!
Still a classless move no matter what he says!
He will spend whatever it takes to get HIMSELF a championship??? What about the fans? Seems pretty selfish to me...just more proof that he doesn't have much PR savvy as an owner...he needs to hire someone to put better words in his mouth.
probably reading into it too much with the "myself" part.
hailtocarter
I agree he needs to be more careful about the things he says or how he says them, but I still think he has very good intentions and truly wants the team to succeed. Seems like maybe he's just not used to being in the media spotlight and it will take him some time to get used to it.
NordicNed
Cajun,
We had just returned to the Super 8 Motel from the game and Singer, his daughter and her boyfriend and I went up to my room..
My key card wouldn't work, so I ran back downstairs to the front dest to have it activated..
Just then this guy walks in and says to me, Tice was just Fired, I almost thought it was a joke for a minute....But he was dead serious and it really shocked me..
Went back to the room and put on the radio, and sure enough, it's all they where talking about..
That was the first thing that came to my mind, how the hell can you fire a guy that just won a game for you.
Couldn't it wait till the team meeting on Monday mourning?..
I thought it was a very a very low blow, not very classy at all...
I thought it would happen, win or lose the game, but not how it went down.......
Wilf has lost some of the respect I had built up for him..
MrGopher16
Exactly, regardless of whether or not he asked for the response asap, you don't do it right after a win!
SWAYZE74
and when is having an owner that wants to win and actually puts cash into the team a bad thing..did i miss something?
peace...
MensaTice
Poor choice of words but I like the attitude. The only thing I would rag on Wilf about is the way the news was delivered. Wilf should not be made out to be a bad guy quite yet because I think he will prove to be a great owner very soon $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
"SWAYZE74" wrote:
Nobody said anything about that. The issue was with the delivery of tice's termination.
LuckyVike
Wilf has only the best intentions as well as his fellow owners that helped him make the decision to remove Tice. He said he would put the money into the team to give the new coach the players he needs, that's very promising.
"MrGopher16" wrote:
Do like I did, get over it. What's done is done and there's no going back. Lets look foward to a fun off season rather than dwell on something like Tice's firing.
Oh i am over it, just helping to clear something up so he wasn't thinking we had different opinions than we really did.
You're right though this offseason will be very exciting.
jimmymac
When Wilf said "myself", that's exactly how he feels. Wilf is not a "Vikings Fan" in the same sense that we are.
As much as we may disagree with it, owing a professional team is usually a business decision to the people with the means to acquire one. The goal is to make money and gain prestige for themselves.
That doesn't mean he shouldn't be careful with his words.
The only team owners (I can think of) that are out for the actual fans are George Steinbrenner and the Packer's stockholders.
"Zygi Wilf" wrote:
Money will not be an object to get myself a championship
The very last line in the article is bothersome. I quoted it above.
Note that he says, "myself". Not, "us", not "the team"....just, "myself".
I really hope this is much ado about nothing, but this whole thing is getting a bit frightening.
I see that jimmymac saw the same thing I saw.
"jimmymac" wrote:
As long as we get to go along with him on the ride and get the championship, it's all good.
"Caine" wrote:
It's not scary to me. As long as he wants to win the championship, great. Whether he does it with the fans in mind or not, as long as he gets this team a championship I'll be happy. It's kind of like if I walked outside one morning with 1 million dollars on my porch and it's addressed to me. I don't really care how it got there, as long as I get the million dollars. In that metaphore, the million dollars represented a bowl ring, for the late person.
Vikesfan4evr
I for one have lived in MN all my life and have called the Vikes my team. I back Wilf 100% on a new change in coaching and I hope he cleans house. We finished this season with discrace on a national level with players that were inconsistant on a consistant basis. Do not get me wrong the timing on the firing was a bit harsh but then so is the final standings in the Norse div. I, like many have waited for a Championship to come to MN and am excited to have someone here that wants to be a winner and not just have a team as a novelty to impress his Texan friends. I say go get em Wilf and clean house and put the fear of god into players and coaches that do not perform...
"LuckyVike" wrote:
And that is where we differ.
To me, it isn't the destination, it's the journey. It's hard to put into words, but the Vikings aren't the Cowboys. I don't want to see us become the Cowboys. If I wanted to see that, I'd just be a Cowboy fan and call it a day.
Zygi has done a lot of things right...and one thing wrong. I'm not closing the door on him, I'm just opening my eyes a little wider and waiting to see what he does....and how he does it.
Sorry Caine, but you can't expect a perfect fan-owner in this day and age.
At what age did Wifl become a Viking fan?
Ltrey33
"cajunvike" wrote:
See Cajun, that's the problem with this whole thing. You flipped out because he didn't say "the fans" but he's not in it for the fans. I know I wouldn't be. We have emotional stock in the team, which is why we get upset when things like what happened yesterday go down, and when our favorite players leave or our favorite teams move cities. Owners don't have that attachment, they're in it because it's a business and they want to make it a successful company and franchise, not because they have emotional stock in wins and losses and people.
I think most people, Tice fans or not, agree that the firing was handled inappropriately.
I am thrilled that there is an attempt to break out of mediocrity hell. Bring on the new HC and the other associated changes, I am ready for it and have been since Tice was deemed the interim coach by Redneck McCombs. Tice will do fine in his next endeavor, I'm not worried about him. I am excited about the Vikings future now more that I have been in quite a while.
I don't agree with all the rebuilding talk. The team is fairly solid and only needs to fill a few gaps such as QB (depending on what happens with Culpepper), RB, LB, and a few holes on the O-line. They will be fine and the outlook is better with change. Of course there are some associated risks involved with any change, so be it.
KFFL
Vikings | Wilf wants to hire a general manager type
Mon, 2 Jan 2006 20:58:57 -0800
Sean Jensen, of the Pioneer Press, reports Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said the Vikings would hire someone who will act as a general manager, but will certainly have final say on personnel decisions. Vikings college scouting director Scott Studwell could be a candidate for the GM-like post. The search could widen to include Denver Broncos pro personnel director Rick Smith and New England Patriots college scouting director Tom Dimitroff.
Vikings | Tice not contacted by another team - yet
Sean Jensen, of the Pioneer Press, reports as of Monday evening, Jan. 2, agent Jimmy Sexton had not been contacted by any of the teams with vacancies to discuss former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice. Sexton said his client wants to land another top job. Sexton defended Tice's coaching record, highlighted by a playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field last season. "He took over a team in absolute disarray and slowly built it back into a playoff team last year, and on the verge of one last year," Sexton said. "That's why he wants to keep coaching."
Vikings | Childress in town to interview
Sean Jensen, of the Pioneer Press, reports Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, Brad Childress, arrived Monday evening, Jan. 2, in the Twin Cities. He is scheduled to interview for the head coach's job with owner Zygi Wilf and his brother, team President Mark Wilf. The Wilfs have made it clear they will invest generously in their coaching staff. The Vikings want to move swiftly with their coaching staff because they want their new leader to surround himself with well-respected assistants.
I agree that the firing was mishandled.. but we all knew it was coming. Don't drop those levels of Wilf's yet. He's new.. he made a new mistake.. we can all see that..
With soooo many things he's done right.. can't we just say.. ok.. you botched that.. lets move on and continue with the work we have ahead. Now i hope wilf doesn't think.. hey lets re - invent the wheel and bring in somebody to rebuild and restructure the vikes.. we need leadership.. someone who can see the team for it's players and build schema's around it.
If Wilf was trying to just build the vikings for the fans sake.. he woulda canned tice long ago.. he even did speak with fans and the season ticket holders.. Now how much voice should they have? or shoudl we? I havn't paid more then 50$ worth of viking merchandise since i was 16.. ok i've been living outside min since i was 19.. now there are say 1 mil of fans like me.. from reading daily news, to posting on web sites.. and then there are those who spend bokoo bucks every year on the vikes.
who should he listen to? who has better football knowlege? i'm sure wilf isn't sitting in a leather chair thinkin..
"red 16 = Fassel, red 18 = Keeps tice, ect ect.. now lets spin the wheel!!"
he's got people up there who know the game, know the business and i'm sure he's gonna make better and better decisions as time goes on.
Go Wilf, and make us the Proud Purple People Eaters again!!
Tice, so long man.. and thanks for all the effort and work u'v put into this organization!!
COJOMAY
For you Wilf haters I have one word for you to remember...
It was a good move.
The timing is fine. It's one less night Tice has the stress of not knowing his future with the team and one more night his phone could have been ringing.
Now as long at Cotrell moves on out I will be extreemly satisfied with Wilf as an owner regardless of who he brings in here.
Anytime consultants are brought in to do your job you know you are walking on thin ice.
SamDawg84
"Del Rio" wrote:
i agree with you del rio 100 percent
I don't think I've ever disagreed with you before Del, but on this one I do..
We won the game big, and our boys played with heart.....Most will say, but it was against their 2nd and 3rd teams, but I was there.
And our boys played with alot of heart and intensity.....The crowd was awesome, and for a time no matter how short it may have been....I for one felt great and proud of our Vikings..
Tice should have at least been given the night to enjoy this win, with Team and Family..
This could have easily been delt with in the Monday mourning team meeting...
Tice should have been asked to come to Wilfs office in the Mourning, informed of the owners decision then, in Private...
Wilf then should have addressed the team of what just took place in his office, and then should have notified the Media and schedualed a press confrence for that evening or the next mourning..
This would have given Tice time to either go home to his family or at least call them himself, to let them know the news of his fireing so they could deal with that..
Last the media should have been filled in...
I'm not saying Tice shouldn't have been let go, deep inside I thought it would happen and should, even if we did win our last game against the Bears..
I just thought it was a bit of a Kick in the Ass, the way it was handled...
From what I've heard and read, most the team was gone from the locker rooms, they then proceeded to hand out a news letter stating the case....Tice was called to see Wilf, while learning his fate his son was picking up one of these papers in the locker room and read what was happening.........Not very cool with me
His wife was outside whating in the car, probably proud of her husband and happy for the win, maybe even getting ready for a nice dinner out with Mike and their son..
I bet that dinner didn't taste to good after all..
Anyways, just my opinion, I wish Tice the best of luck in the future and thank him for the good times..
Hopefully these changes will bring us together and make us a better Team in the long run......
Tice himself asked for a quick decision.
He got what he wanted.
When you cut through all this emotional attatchment bullshit, and this ethical delema you will see that he didn't have a job anyway. The second the season ended he was out of a job. He had no new contract in hand, no talks about a new contract and his agreed term was up.
Again he stated in his press conference last week he wanted to know ASAP so other teams could scout him. Wilf told him he would not be getting a new contract.
You can't argue this so all I can really say is I respect your opinion. As much as you disagree with mine I feel the same way about yours. We just can't be right or wrong on this one unfortunately.
When you cut through all this emotional attatchment kaka del toro, and this ethical delema you will see that he didn't have a job anyway. The second the season ended he was out of a job. He had no new contract in hand, no talks about a new contract and his agreed term was up.
So, basically you're saying that to show respect to a guy who has tried like hades to give you a winning program - in spite of all the hamstringing he's suffered under - is a waste of time...
It's no secret that I wanted Tice to stay. I really thought that, given decent coordinators, we were on the right road. Obviously, that isn't going to happen.
However, EVERY OTHER team that fired a coach waited until MONDAY to do it. Why is that? Would 12 hours make a difference to the Vikings, one way or another.
Actually, YES, it would.
12 hours more would have meant that those of us who wanted Tice to stay would simply be disappointed that he was gone...not upset about HOW he was removed. Does that matter to Zygi? Obviously not.
12 hours. 12 hours to let the guy enjoy his final win. To let the team enjoy the waning moments of the 05 season. 12 bloody hours to gather the team together again, and let THEM be aware of what was happening...away from the post-game media frenzy.
I don't hate/dislike Wilf now...that would be shortsighted...but it was shortsighted of HIM to not wait 12 more hours. We can't get a new HC in here 12 hours quicker, and he didn't have to pay Tice 12 hours more money.
I won't argue the right or wrong of firing Tice anymore...because there's no point. But I stand by the notion that it was done improperly. He deserved better.
mnvikes61
What bothers me the most is how Tice was just pushed under the rug by Wilf. He could have waited til Monday and just let it be known that Tice's contract wouldn't be renewed. Instead Zygi got all excited and couldn't wait to finish off Tice and bring in 'one of his guys', which we are dying to know because up until that point we are stuck in limbo.
Tice spent 12 season with the Vikings. I know the owners have changed but still that is a long time to stay with an organization. Tice NEVER complained about the hand he was dealt and still stayed RESPECTFUL after he found out hours after the Chicago game. I know us Tice supporters probaly were upset about not having Tice back next season espically when nobody that we bring in here has a much better record or has any HC experience. What made us more upset is how much respect he showed for this organization and then was swept under the rug, hours after the season was done, that was very disrespectful if you ask me. I guess the phrase 'nice guys finish last' holds some truth because you couldn't find a more nice guy (not a bad thing either. Some of you guys are acting like being nice is liking carrying the plague) and a more respectful guy than Tice
Yes Caine that's 12 more hours that Mike Tice is available for a job opening and 12 more hours we get to spend looking for his replacement.
Again his contract was up so technically he had no job the second the game was over.
Has Tice come out and said he was upset the way they handled it or is is it you who are bitter about his removal in the first place that is upset for him? Upset for the guy who has stated he wanted to know sooner then later?
Since there is really no proof he tried like Hades to get the job done while the whole world was against him I wont even attempt to argue that angle.
Weather you guys are upset in the way he was let go is moot. Because like you said he is gone. I expect to hear crying about Tice and about this for a while. I expect that the new coaching staff regardless of who it is will have people boo hooing and crying about their talent level.
It all rolls off my shoulders. Because this game is about what you do, and about what you don't do. Tice didn't get it done. If you liked the guy I suspect you would assume he tried really really hard, and I expect you would try to justify anything and everything in his defense.
At the end of the day his contract was up. He didn't get the job done. He asked to be let go ASAP if it was going to happen, he was.
If it makes a handful of fans unhappy then too bad so sad. He has been hinting for two years that his job was in limbo. Almost every single press conference he was mentioning it. Finally he is free from the questions. He is no longer a coach for the Minnesota Vikings.
wilf was willing to wait until the next day, but tice said he wanted it now.
please ask paul allen.
"happy camper" wrote:
Well, Paul Allen and I aren't drinking buddies, so taht may be a bit difficult.
RESPOSE TO DEL RIO:
None of us really knows what was said...that works both way of course. I don't know if Zygi asked Tice if he wanted to know now or tomorrow (Of course, if Tice was faced with that choice, then he had to KNOW what was comming), but the POINT is that it could have waited.
There is no way that Tice was going to use the extra 12 hours for much of anything other than sleeping.
Had he waited 12 hours, Zygi would have avoided the impression that so many of us got of him being tactless. Right or wrong, the manner in which Tice was informed left a bad taste in a LOT of people's mouths.
Of course Tice himself hasn't said anything derogatory about the whole affair. He never spoke ill of "The Previous Owner" either. Tice played the hand he was dealt...and that made many of us respect him even more.
I know you don't/didn't like him as a coach. That's fine and dandy. But, on some level, don't you respect the guy for NEVER flinching? NEVER complaining? NEVER making excuses? He took the whole load on HIS shoulders...every time.
It just seems to me that a guy like that would deserve an additional 12 hours, to let the final victory sink in, and to prepare himself to face his team for the final time. Not to be told in an awkward moment, and have the media break it to his friends and family.
12 hours would have made a HUGE difference.
snowinapril
Excellent post(s) Del, I am not surprised we see eye to eye on this.
I am glad that you brought up the fact that he was hinting about his job loss possibilities. IMO, it only helped lead to his dismissal. One should never talk about that, it is a distraction to the team and himself. He tries not to be a negative Nancy but he is sometimes a bit of a downer.
Muggsy
Prophet said:
Tice was da one dat asked for 'em, Prophet. He didn't care about himself, or how it would look. He just wanted to win, y'know?
In case any uh youse mugs think Wilf is a truthful kinda guy, read dis:
Wilf botched Tice firing
by Bob Sansevere
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is not used to being such a public figure. He is finding out everything he says and does will be closely scrutinized, and he will not always come away looking pristine. It is one of the side effects of owning the most popular team in the state.
Wilf appears to be a decent enough guy, as billionaire owners go. But he needs to be careful when selecting his words and his actions.
He has not exactly received rave reviews for the way he and his brother, Mark, fired coach Mike Tice. (It was done after Sunday's game, without giving Tice the opportunity to be the first to tell his players, coaches or even his 16-year-old son, Nate, who found out about it when he was shown a news release.)
Less than three weeks ago, Wilf said, "There will be no major overhaul."
I would say firing your coach qualifies as more than a mini overhaul, as does the decision to hire a general manager.
Wilf needs to learn that something he said last week could come back to bite him this week. Two of the most important traits a team owner can have are sincerity and clarity. Some clarity was lacking Monday.
Reacting to criticism about how Tice was fired, Wilf said, "Once the final decision was made, we didn't want him to twist in the wind another night... . We informed Mike as soon as we could."
That suggested Wilf decided to fire Tice sometime Sunday. Then, moments later, Wilf indicated the decision was made over "the last couple of weeks." He amended the timetable again, after being asked if Tice's fate was determined before the Vikings were out of the playoff hunt.
We should cut Zygi some slack because he is new to all this, but he really does need to work on choosing his words and deeds with more care.
Mebbe Wilf will bring da Vikes a Super Bowl trophy. To dose mugs dat don't care how ya do it, classy or not, it don't madda. To me, it does.
Right now, if Weasel Wilf told me, "Good morning.", I'd pull down da shades and go ta bed. I'd trust him bout as far as I could trow 'im, and I'd like ta trow 'im in da river!
snowinapril wrote:
He tries not to be a negative Nancy but he is sometimes a bit of a downer.
Are youse an' Del Rio married or sumpin'? Youse two are da real downers in heah.
Wow. I hopes like hell I will never be so cold and heartless as youse two mugs. I never realized how much youse two hated Tice until your last two posts. It almost sounds paddalogical, like it was a poisenal insult to youse two, havin Tice as da coach.
I hopes youse two never get judged da way youse judged Tice. You'd never make it.
"OldManVike" wrote:
I agree. I think you are arguing for his character, a down-to-earth guy. Sure, he appeared to be with the exception of the scalping incident. It doesn't matter if he asked for them. If I asked for consultants to do my job there is a chance that my boss would pay for them....but my terminal clock with the agency would be ticking unless I made a leap in my skill-set due to learning from the consultants.
No, we don't know if Tice did learn from that whole fiasco. The only reservation and risk I have in letting Tice go is that the Vikings invested years of on-the-job training for an HC position and he is at the cusp of either continuing to be mediocre or breaking into greatness or folding. All the cards have not been played so we don't know. The risk is that Tice will pan out somewhere else and we'll be dungyized once again. On the other hand, if the Vikings pick up an experienced veteran coach and supporting staff Tice will not be missed.
None of us know how it will pan out, but I will be optimistic about the future like I have tried to be for decades. I like the moves they're making and look forward to seeing what other off-season moves transpire. Is it the 2006 season yet?
Yeah, I know, Prophet. One ting dat bothers me is dat a lotta wridas near da end of da season was sayin' how much Tice had grown and matured as a coach. I'm tinkin' like you said, we gave Mike some on da job trainin', an' now he's gonna springboid into a HC position an' do great.
Dat would da Vikes all right! We never gets a break, y'know?
canadian_vikes_fan
I definitely agree with what Wilf has done. Look back at what you thought of the Vikings before the season. Everyone figured 12-4, or 11-5. We didn't even bother discussing the playoffs - that was a given.
Bottom line: this team underperformed - we had loads of talent, and we didn't get the job done. You can point to injuries or bad luck or whatever you want, but when a team constantly underperforms like the Vikings have under Tice, the guys gotta get fired.
Like Wilf said, as soon as we were out of the playoffs, Tice was fired. He let him play out the rest of the year, of course, but what does 12 hours mean. To be honest, it doesn't really make much of a difference to me. I don't understand how everyone is all so worked out about what time he was fired at.
As a coach who doesn't have a job, I'm pretty sure Tice wouldn't have been going to parties all night celebrating a victory that made no difference. This way, he didn't have to spend a restless night worrying about whether or not he would have a job when he woke up. The 12 hrs makes no difference. Get over it.
I agree with it.. Just think he could have waited.. That was bunk..
And for underperforming we didn't expect to lose our Pro-bowl center and our Pro-bowl Qb.. But I still think we did under perform
"Vikez4Lyfe" wrote:
And for underperforming we didn't expect to lose our Pro-bowl center and our Pro-bowl Qb.. But I still think we did under performI can't accept injuries as a reason why we lost. I hear it all the time from fans of every team - well, we woulda won, but this guy hurt his ankle...
I respect teams that battle through injuries - look at the Patriots last year - practically their whole secondary was out and now this year they lost Harrison and Bruschi for the first part. I hate to say it, but the Bears lost their QB in training camp, and they battled through it.
A good team with a good coach doesn't let injuries be an excuse - you either suck it up and play as good as you can with the guys you have, or you lie down and start spouting excuses.
PS - Considering our records with DC and Brad, I don't think anyone can point to Daunte getting injured for why we didn't make the playoffs. The only other really major injury was Birk. And if your team depends on every single player on your roster not getting injured to make the playoffs, you're probably not a very good team. Teams expect injuries, and we didn't even have the worst case of them by any means.
Yah that's why I still said we under performed... But they didn't lose Tom Brady and their best lineman.. It really does hurt ya!! So he SOMEWHAT has an excuse to the not so achieving season
Not to be used as an excuse, but we lost our starting QB, RB, and C. That would be a damper on any team's offense. Not to mention the lack of a #1 WR for much of the year....Burleson was maimed.
It took too long to adjust the scheme considering the team makeup, thus the slow start.
Yah exactly.. And the Pats still had an awesome D to help them out.. Top 5..
But yes we didn't do how alot of people thought we should.. So a new coach and assistants should help hopefully
If they were going to offer Tice a new contract it would have been done in the week before the last game. Tice knew he was not going to be rehired. It did not come as a surprise. By announcing right away it let the league know that the Vikes were in the market for a new HC. Its a strategic move in the signing war for talent. I have no problem with the way it was done or the timing. Listening to some of you guys whine about it makes me think you want the new Vikes fight song to go like this,
Feeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiings nothing more than Feeeeeeelings :razz:
Again if he was going to be rehired the outcome of the Bears game was not going to have anything to do with it. It would have already been done. Why hold it off till after the last game of the season. That would be the mark of a drama queen ownership. Wilf kept his word and waited till the end of the season to make the announcement that's all. Wilf is a guy that takes care of business. Personally I find it refreshing. :wink:


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Take Out: The Exodus!
Pastor Kent Rufo
Drawn Out
In Exodus 11:7, Moses told Pharaoh that the final plague would "make a distinction between Egypt and Israel." Until this point, Egypt believed that they were a superior people with superior gods. But God was about to do something that would distinguish His people from the rest.
Dear Downers Church Family:
Have you ever counted cars? My children play a game where they choose a make of automobile (Ford, Chevy, Fiat, etc.) and compete to see how many are on the road while we travel. The kids have even started counting "their" cars in parking lots. Wherever there are cars, they are counted. But, I have noticed that each child has settled on a manufacturer: one chooses Honda, and the other chooses Toyota. They do this because, outside of Detroit, Hondas and Toyotas exceed all other vehicles on the road. And usually it isn't even close. I have started counting myself. (Please test out our theory!)
How has Honda and Toyota distinguished themselves from the rest of the pack? During my childhood, I hardly ever saw a "foreign" vehicle. I even remember certain parking lots that had signs stating that no foreign cars were allowed. But there was a tipping point where Japanese vehicles started being known as a "better" buy. According to some automobile historians, the rise to power in North America started in the late 1970s. This was during the heart of the U.S.'s energy crisis.
People wanted long lasting vehicles that did not guzzle gas. This was what Honda marketed. Japanese cars, for decades considered as cheap/light knockoffs of American and German engineering, were now being known for their efficiency and durability. While most car makers were trying to invent new cars and market them like crazy, Honda and Toyota (and even Datsun) were making durable vehicles. Hondas were known to easily exceed 200,000 miles, often with minimum maintenance, while many vehicles were requiring serious repairs before mile 100K. The struggling Japanese car industry of the 1950s and 1960s invested in making more reliable cars and by the turn of the century they were taking over the car buying marking in the US. This has led us to this point in history where, according to Motor Trend, the top 5 selling vehicles in America are Japanese manufacturers.
Pastor Kent


text:
NBC SPORTSNBC SPORTS Subscribe:
AP Story
Houston event off as men's tennis tour makes schedule tweaks
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston was canceled for the second year in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic, part of a series of changes to the men's tennis calendar by the ATP. [more]
U.S. team vows to continue after America's Cup capsize
Associated PressJan 20, 2021, 10:30 AM EST
American Magic will miss the next round of racing in the America's Cup challenger series after its dramatic capsize but the team is determined to be ready for the series semifinals in 11 days. [more]
3 more COVID-19 cases linked to Australian Open, total is 10
Three more people linked to the Australian Open have tested positive for COVID-19 in Melbourne, increasing the current total to 10. [more]


Chinese engineers have managed to create hydrogen gas that is three times hotter than the sun.
The team were able to maintain 50 million°C for 102 seconds – a breakthrough that could someday make fusion power a reality.
It follows news last week that Germany used 2 megawatts of microwave radiation to heat hydrogen gas to 80 million°C for a quarter of a second.
The Chinese experiment was conducted last week on a magnetic fusion reactor at the Institute of Physical Science in Hefei, capital of Jiangsu province, according a report by the South China Morning Post.
Dubbed the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), the reactor heated hydrogen gas to about 50 million Kelvins (49.999 million°C).
For comparison, the interior of the sun is believed to be around 15 million Kelvins.
While German researchers managed to get a higher temperature, this is the first time a temperature in this range has been sustained for more than 90 seconds.
The EAST is based on a tokamak design. It was conceived by Soviet physicists in the 1950s and is considered fairly easy to build, but extremely difficult to operate.
It features a hollow metal chamber in the shape of a donut and twisted into a figure eight.
Strong magnetic fields are used to keep the plasma away from the walls.
The problem is that controlling hydrogen gas in such a hot state is difficult, and most tokomak devices have only been able to do this for less than half a minute.
According to the South China Morning post, the scientists in Hefei achieved their record by solves a numbers of engineering challenges.
These includes controlling the alignment of the magnet, and better capturing the high-energy particles and heat that escape from the system.
It may still be a few decades before they are able to make fusion power a reality, the scientists said.
It's part of a worldwide effort to harness nuclear fusion, a process in which atoms join at extremely high temperatures and release large amounts of energy.
Advocates acknowledge that the technology is likely many decades away, but argue that - once achieved - it could replace fossil fuels and conventional nuclear fission reactors.
Earlier this week, scientists in northeast Germany successfully completed their latest experiment on the road to harnessing nuclear fusion power.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute injected a tiny amount of hydrogen into the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator and heated it until it became plasma, effectively mimicking conditions inside the sun.
Construction has also begun in southern France on ITER, a huge international research reactor that uses a strong electric current to trap plasma inside a doughnut-shaped device long enough for fusion to take place.
A fuel with no greenhouse emissions or radioactive waste that is almost unlimited, sounds too good to be true.
But scientists have taken one more step to make fusion power useful and affordable.
Engineers have designed a concept for a fusion reactor which, when scaled up to the size of a large electrical power plant, would rival costs for a new coal-fired plant with similar electrical output.
Fusion, the process that powers the sun and other stars, entails forging the nuclei of atoms to release energy, as opposed to splitting them, which is fission - the principle behind the atomic bomb and nuclear power.
Engineers from the University of Washington have published their design and analysis findings and will present them at the International Atomic Energy Agency's Fusion Energy Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, earlier this year.
The design builds on existing technology and creates a magnetic field within a closed space to hold plasma in place long enough for fusion to occur - allowing the hot plasma to react and burn.
The reactor itself would be largely self-sustaining, meaning it would continuously heat the plasma to maintain thermonuclear conditions.
'Right now, this design has the greatest potential of producing economical fusion power of any current concept,' said Thomas Jarboe, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the university.


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I'm interested in The Reserves at Preston Trails. Please let me know when this listing is available on ApartmentGuide.


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Social Media Poised To Drive Disaster Preparedness and Response
8:13 July 27, 2011
PHILADELPHIA — Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare may be an important key to improving the public health system's ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, according to a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspective" article from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania to be published this week. From earthquakes to oil spills or other industrial accidents to weather-related events like heat waves and flooding, the authors suggest that harnessing crowd-sourcing technologies and electronic communications tools will set the stage to handle emergencies in a quicker, more coordinated, effective way.
Noting that more than 40 million Americans use social media Web sites multiple times a day, the researchers suggest that social media enables an unprecedented, two-way exchange between the public and public health professionals. Officials can "push" information to the public while simultaneously "pulling" in data from lay bystanders. The authors, led by Raina M. Merchant, MD, MS, an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine, studied recent experiments in using social media to augment disaster response, and point to several examples as burgeoning best practices. During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' "Mommycast" over YouTube an iTunes helped keep 1 million viewers up to date about the disease, arming them with tips on what to expect and how to prevent the flu's spread, and regional health departments drew people to vaccination sites within minutes of texting and Tweeting about shot availability. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's @CDCemergency Twitter following grew twenty-fold within the year. More recently, in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, community residents texted photos of oiled birds to officials and volunteers to help them plan clean-up efforts.
"By sharing images, texting, and tweeting, the public is already becoming part of a large response network, rather than remaining mere bystanders or casualties," the authors write, noting that the extensive reach of social networks allows people who are recovering from disasters to rapidly connect with resources to obtain help. And taken together, the information generated through social media – especially when linked to timelines and interactive maps — provides a historical record of how events unfold, serving as "a cohesive story about a recovering community's capabilities and vulnerabilities in real time."
Among examples the authors suggest for future social media tactics to buoy disaster preparedness and response:
Taking GPS-linked mobile phone apps like Foursquare and Loopt into the arena of crisis preparedness by having off-duty nurses or paramedics who "check in" at a venue broadcast their professional background and willingness to help during nearby emergencies.
Creation of Web-based "buddy" systems to enable friends and neighbors to keep tabs on at-risk people during weather emergencies like heat waves and blizzards and connect them with social services and medical care — staving off dire consequences like the hundreds of deaths that occurred during the 1995 Chicago heat weave.
Greater use of RSS feeds and mobile apps that provide emergency room wait times and census data, as a tool for helping public health planners gauge strain on the health care system and divert patients to facilities with sufficient resources during a disaster.
Additional authors of the study include Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH, and Stacy Elmer, MA, of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4 billion enterprise.
Penn's Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools and among the top 10 schools for primary care. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $507.6 million awarded in the 2010 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — recognized as one of the nation's top 10 hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital – the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2010, Penn Medicine provided $788 million to benefit our community.


BRUSSELS — The top diplomats of China and Belgium met on June 1 to discuss bilateral efforts to defend multilateralism and the global free trade regime.
Visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders at the Egmont Palace in Brussels.
Wang said the development of bilateral relations has entered a "fast lane" since they established an all-round partnership of friendship and cooperation in 2014.
High-level exchanges, pragmatic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges have all been strengthened over the past few years, Wang noted.
The two countries should continue to respect each other's core interests and major concerns, expand bilateral trade and investment, seek synergies between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Belgium's development strategy so as to open up new prospects for cooperation, Wang elaborated.
He added that China is willing to strengthen dialogue with Belgium over international affairs in order to safeguard the international order centered around the United Nations and advocate an open world economy.
Reynders recalled his several visits to China, during which he witnessed the great achievements of China's reform and opening-up.
He said Belgium attaches great significance to China's growing global influence, and applauds the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, adding that the country welcomes more investment from Chinese enterprises.
Under the current circumstances, Belgium wishes to strengthen communication and coordination with China within the multilateral framework, and to jointly defend the global free trade regime based on the World Trade Organization, said the Belgian minister.
Wang and Reynders also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.


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Q: python scripts are kept alive for no reason centos 7 php nodejs I am running centos 7 webserver for one of my clients inside there is a python script that is start from a php script. (this process can happen a few thousand times a minute).
For whatever reason the python scripts are left opened in the server after they finish running each one of them for something like 30 seconds.
This puts a huge load on the server and it's causing me many issue, i tried adding in exit() and sys.exit to the end of the code and in the appropriate function areas but it does not seem to work.
I know that the process are kept a live because i can see them using the top command and they also already made the server shutdown 2 times.
my question is how do i go about shutting down this python scripts what am i missing?