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State DMVs Selling Personal Data for Millions of Dollars in Profit by Nicole Lindsey
State DMVs Selling Personal Data for Millions of Dollars in Profit
Nicole Lindsey· September 18, 2019
The next time you apply for a driver's license at your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office, just be aware that all of the personal information that you provide them might be later packaged up and sold to the highest bidder. That's the disturbing takeaway from a recent VICE Motherboard investigation, which relied on hundreds of public records requests to track down exactly how much money state DMV offices are making by selling personal data every year. By some estimates, state DMV offices around the nation have made tens of millions of dollars in profit ever since the practice began around 2014.
How and why DMV offices are selling personal data
While this practice of selling personal contact information might seem unsavory and even a little bit sketchy, it's not at all illegal or in violation of state law. There are a number of approved uses for selling and sharing data, such as selling your personal data to automotive insurance companies and towing companies. But, in recent years, DMV and DHS (Department of Highway Safety) offices have become increasingly bold about whom they sell to, and why. Instead of just selling to the types of companies that might legitimately have a need for this information, they have expanded their client base to include consumer credit reporting bureaus, bill collectors, bail bondsmen, bounty hunters, and even local private investigators (many of them unlicensed) looking to keep tabs on cheating spouses.
Moreover, as the investigation showed, these DMV offices knew full well that they were selling personal data and driver records for profit. Thanks to being able to get their hands on the original documents, the team of investigators found out exactly how much state government agencies were making by selling personal data and DMV information. Florida, for example, made $77 million in 2017 by selling personal data. And private investigation firms are among the biggest clients of these DMV offices. For example, the state of Virginia sold to over 100 private investigation firms, while the states of New Jersey, Delaware and Wisconsin all had over a dozen private investigation firm clients. This is now big business, and relatively easy money.
Eve Maler, vice president of innovation and emerging technology at ForgeRock, comments on the results of the investigation: "This news is disturbing since there are millions of drivers under the age of 18 in the U.S., meaning that DMVs were more than likely benefiting from the sale of minors' personally identifiable information (PII). Minors don't have the full legal capacity of adults, for example, they cannot vote, consent to medical treatment, sue or be sued, or enter into certain types of contracts until they reach the age of 18, although the age varies from state to state."
Of course, when asked about this investigation into selling personal data, the state DMV offices promised that what they are doing is perfectly legal, under the terms of the 1994 Driver's Protection Privacy Act (DPPA). As long as they are not selling photos or giving away Social Security Numbers, they are actually doing nothing wrong. Within the DPPA, there are plenty of loopholes that make it completely legal for selling personal data to third parties, no matter how unsavory or nefarious these third parties might be.
The deeper you dive into the practice of selling personal data, the more it becomes obvious that the practice is just too lucrative to give up for these state DMV offices. For example, a related investigation in the state of Florida found that state DMV offices were selling personal data to marketing firms, bill collectors, insurance companies and so-called "data brokers" (i.e. people who buy data in order to turn around and sell it to someone else). According to this investigation into the Florida Department of Highway Safety, the release of all this personal data into the wild (including not just physical addresses but also contact information like phone numbers and date of birth information) has led to a surge in direct mail offers and robocalls.
So what's the remedy here? According to privacy experts, the only real remedy is to close all the loopholes in the DPPA in order to update it for the privacy era. Until those loopholes are closed, state DMV offices will continue to sell public records to the highest bidder. While any individual record may only sell for a single penny ($0.01), the real money is made by bundling together millions of records at one time. The only other effective approach might be a sort of public shaming in the full view of the general population. A single blog post might not be enough, but a massive media campaign might convince DMV offices to at least admit to customers that they are doing it, and then officially ask for permission to continue (such as by checking a box on a driver's license application form).
YouTube fined for selling personal data of young kids
And your local state DMV office is not the only culprit found guilty of selling personal data and personally identifying information for big bucks – YouTube is now facing $170 million in fines from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the New York State Attorney General. ($136 million will be paid to the FTC, and $34 million to New York State, for a total of $170 million to settle.) As part of an FTC investigation into YouTube advertising practices, it was found that YouTube routinely promised access to personal data of kids age 6 to 11 to advertisers that were specifically looking to market to young kids. YouTube, in fact, touted its popularity with children to advertisers like toy makers. As the New York Attorney General pointed out, YouTube "monitored, tracked and served targeted ads to young kids."
By selling data of children to prospective corporate advertisers, YouTube is allegedly violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which specifically forbids companies from targeting kids under the age of 13 with advertising. As part of the FTC settlement, if any videos with so-called "child directed content" are shown on the YouTube platform, YouTube can no longer show targeted ads to viewers. Instead, YouTube must settle for the much less lucrative "contextual ads" that are shown based on the content in the video, and not on the personal data of the individual viewer. This is the only way for YouTube to comply with COPPA, even if the company refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing.
And, in an interesting twist, lawyers for the FTC are now suggesting that YouTube content creators might also be held legally liable for violations of the law if they are not upfront about the type of content on YouTube they are creating for kids. This is going to force YouTube to move all of its child directed content to its standalone YouTube Kids platform, which will become a children's online video hub free of targeted ads.
Can the FTC clean up the data ecosystem?
One thing is clear of these two investigations – one into state DMV offices selling personal data of adults and one into YouTube selling personal data of kids – all companies and government entities are going to have to become much more responsible about the way they use, share and sell personal data.
As Eve Maler notes, "The privacy conundrum impacts all organizations that process and benefit from consumers' PII, even government agencies. This news should teach other organizations that increasing data transparency and control can lead to a competitive edge, especially as 87% of consumers will take their business elsewhere if they do not trust how a company is handling their PII, according to PwC. By putting comprehensive identity management and robust consent management systems in place, we can ensure that there are not only mechanisms that advocate on behalf of children and act as their first line of defense for protecting their data, but also strengthen the bonds of digital trust for all service users."
Florida has made $77 million in 2017 by selling personal data and DMV information. #privacy #respectdataClick to Tweet
In short, the era of playing fast and loose with personal information is rapidly coming to a close. Both corporations and government agencies are starting to feel the consequences of not respecting personal privacy.
Data MonetizationGovernmentSelling Personal DataU.S.
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CPOs Prepare as Congress, the CFPB, and the FTC Hone in on Privacy
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The billionaire owner of a yogurt empire that got its start in the Southern Tier is putting up $2 million to help refugees fleeing from ISIS attacks in Iraq and Syria.
Hamdi Ulukaya is the founder and owner of Chobani, which rapidly became the nation's leading yogurt brand after he began the company in an aging factory in Chenango County in 2007. The 42-year-old was born into a Kurdish farming family in eastern Turkey and moved to the U.S. in 1997 to study English and business.
His hometown of Ilic is several hundred miles north of the border with Syria, where tens of thousands of refugees are seeking to escape into Turkey from around the Syrian-Kurdish city of Kobani as ISIS fighters and winter weather close in. Local Kurdish fighters told The Guardian newspaper this week the city was "preparing for urban warfare" and that "Kobani was prepared for the worst."
Ulukaya declined an interview for this report, but in a statement, he said, "We all have a moral responsibility to help innocent victims of violence, wherever they are and however we can. These refugees have seen the darkest side of humanity and we must open our hearts as they look to rebuild their lives. As a citizen of the world, I believe we must unite together to bring awareness, attention and relief for victims of human tragedy."
Kurds are in a perilous position from the onslaught by ISIS. The group is an ethnic minority in Turkey, where for years the government has been fighting an armed Kurdish movement for regional autonomy.
So far, the Turkish government has not sanctioned military action against ISIS nor decided to accept refugees fleeing from Kurdish regions of Syria and Iraq.
Ulukaya is making his donations through United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and International Rescue Committee.
Last year, he had a estimated net worth of $1.1 billion, according to the news company Bloomberg. Ulukaya, who attended the University at Albany, has built his company into a giant in the yogurt industry, expanding with a second plant in Idaho and a new line of products. Companywide, Chobani had 1,200 employees at last count and did more than $1 billion in sales last year.
Said David Milliband, president and CEO of the IRC, "At a time of immense humanitarian catastrophe around the globe, this contribution will provide relief for tens of thousands of people fleeing violence. The IRC helps civilians in need, no matter their race or creed, and with donors like Hamdi, we can help preserve dignity and life for those in great need."
Anne-Marie Grey, the U.S. CEO of the UNHCR said the donation will "bring desperately needed supplies for thousands of refugees immediately. We stand ready to work with him and others in bringing hope and dignity to the world humanitarian crises."
The Chobani company also gives 10 percent of its annual post-tax profits to its Shepherd's Gift Foundation, the company's charitable arm, which supports causes including famine relief in Somalia, cancer research, playgrounds for children, and earthquake relief efforts in Turkey.


HELP: Semmering 2019 Slalom - Women results page belongs to the Winter sports / Alpine Skiing section of FlashScores.co.uk. Follow results from Semmering - Slalom - Women, other winter sports competitions (alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping and biathlon) or 5000+ competitions from 30+ sports on FlashScores! FlashScores.co.uk service with Semmering Slalom - Women results is real time, you don't need to refresh the page.


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Home Letters to Editor Letters to the Editor: April 14, 2011
Letters to the Editor: April 14, 2011
Reverse 911 being retired
I've been a 27 year resident of Seal Beach living 21+ of those years on Ocean south of the pier. Over the years I have appreciated the call from the "Reverse 911" service.
We had several calls about possible flooding, even a tornado watch or two but the Tsunami watch was the latest and biggest concern.
The system called me on my home phone and left messages when I wasn't there to answer and called me back several times until I answered it.
Now watching the "local" Seal Beach TV station I find that the system is being retired.
We are told to go to the police station and pick up a form to fill out for the new "Alert OC" system.
The connection with the system can be accomplished by picking up the form at the Seal Beach Police office or also by going on line to www.AlertOC.org and filling out the data there. Thanks for your consideration.
Don Marr
Huntington Beach deception
The latest offer to settle Sunset Beach's lawsuit against Huntington Beach regarding its plan to forcibly annex Sunset and to impose additional taxes without a vote of the residents, demonstrates the city's deception of LAFCO and the citizens of both Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach.
Months ago, in support of the city's application to annex Sunset Beach, the city submitted a "financial feasibility study" to the LAFCO, making the case that no utility or other property tax overrides would be imposed on Sunset Beach; that the annexation would result in a net financial gain for the city, in the neighborhood of $625,000.
The study purported to prove that Huntington Beach, even without the additional taxes, could deliver adequate services to Sunset Beach and to its present residents.
The feasibility study must have been a tremendous, clever hoax. First, the city's 2011 budget, crafted after the LAFCO study, recognizing the city's financial problems, reduced police and other services to the entire city and made no provision for the additional workload that Sunset Beach policing would require.
Then, in a last minute move, Huntington Beach announced that it would, after all, impose all utility and other taxes on newly annexed Sunset Beach residents, including a property tax override.
The LAFCO totally ignored these indications of financial problems, and blessed the annexation proposal. Our lawsuit challenges the right of HB to impose these new taxes without a vote of Sunset Beach residents.
The new settlement offer in the lawsuit provides a period of two years without the tax levy, but indicates that during those two years without the additional tax income to the city, Huntington Beach would have to reduce all non-essential services (street sweeping, for example) to Sunset Beach, should annexation occur.
Has the city just discovered that their finances are inadequate to support annexation? If so, then the LAFCO should require the city to re-submit new, reliable proof that it has financial capability to even consider annexation of Sunset Beach. Until they do so, the LAFCO is participating in the deception that has pervaded the whole reorganization attempt.
Gretchen Hoad
Rossmoor survey
Charles M. Kelly's article in the Sun Newspapers reported that OC Supervisor John Moorlach (of all people) called the recent Rossmoor survey "flawed."
What sinister beliefs lurk behind Moorlach's statement that the results of the poll could have been predicted based on "the demographics of the residents of Rossmoor, age and political views"? What is he going to promote next, the "final solution" for Rossmoor?
Moorlach's idea of Rossmoor residents assuming an 11 percent utility users tax as a "compromise" is ridiculous.
We must not assume "latent powers" (depicted as the lesser of two evils) is the goal. Let's not be coerced into cityhood by another name.
Moorlach, Los Alamitos Mayor Pro Tem Troy Edgar and even RCSD's Henry Taboada are all politicians. Rossmoorians have yet to hear financial projections or every option for future governance.
Moorlach's employment of argumentum ad nauseum, bifurcation and ad baculum fallacies combined with lies designed to divide and conquer Orange County have gone far enough!
As a resident of this beautiful community with law-abiding, hard working neighbors, I am deeply insulted by the false accusation that taxpayers in other parts of Orange County are "subsidizing this enclave." John Moorlach, the gloves are off!
Diane Rush
The 7th Street closing
As anyone from Seal Beach and surrounding areas knows, there will be a lot of congestion in the near future as though we haven't been through enough. Starting on April 18 and continuing for the next 12 months, the 7th Street bridge will no longer be open for traffic.
The project contractor, Atkinson Construction is committed to reconstructing the bridge as quickly as possible and reopening it to the 30,000+ motorist that use the connector daily.
The actual demolition is tentatively scheduled for April 27-30.
The OCTA and Caltrans have worked extensively with the cities in West Orange county as well as the city of Long Beach to inform residents and commuters about the upcoming closures. My suggestion for easy access to College Park West coming from the east would be to exit north on Valley View or Seal Beach Boulevard and head north to either Katella or Spring than go west to Palo Verde.
Take Palo Verde south to Anaheim Street east.
This way we can avoid the congestion and back up of cars that will be using Studebaker road.
The second alternative is to exit Valley View south to Westminster road west and than go north on Studebaker road.
I only hope we can adjust to this transition with as little difficulty and stress as possible. I will keep our residents informed if I hear anything that will make our lives easier during the next 12 months. PLEASE drive carefully and pay attention to all the signs and Caltrans workers.
College Park West
Alert OC
Moorlach
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Letters to the Editor: Dec. 1, 2022

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Every year on August 9, South Africa celebrates Women's Day.
To read more about this public holiday, click here.
In celebration of Women's Day, I'm sharing something that was sent to me by my friend Chantal. I think it sums it up quite nicely about what a woman is.
So which women do you regard as true hero(ine)s? It can be anyone... I'll have to say my mother...along with every single mother in the world.
Women24 pays tribute to women all over the world who "do good".
To South Africa - have a fantastic day!
All I can say is that all women are fantastic! Happy women's day.
anything more on the dj who was supposed to show up for work as a 24 hour woman dj's but didn't and got fired?
hmmm...what's this about the dj?
no, i havn't heard anything major on the topic. it's been pretty lowkey..i'll post something once i hear some updates.
I had to, I was knocked down from my lofty heights of the #1 social blogger by your blog :) wanted to find out what all the fuss was about, and anyway nice to find someone from almost home blogging away. Ever been to Zambia?
mosilager: No - I have never been to Zambia...are you from there?
Just remembering my mom, sis and my best friend on the occasion, though long past!


Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998E+W+S+N.I.
1. In section 4 of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 F1 (period for which statutory interest runs), in subsection (8), in the definition of "public authority" for "regulation 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 F2" substitute " regulation 2(1) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ".
F11998 c.20; section 4(8) was amended by regulation 2(1) and (6) of S.I. 2013/395 and regulation 2(1) and (6) of S.S.I. 2013/77.
F2S.I. 2006/5, amended by S.I. 2007/3542, 2008/2256, 2683, 2848, 2009/1307, 2992, 2010/133, 976, 2011/1043, 1848, 2053, 2581, 3058, 2013/252, 1431, 2014/834 and by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (c.24), Schedule 20, paragraph 2.
Greater London Authority Act 1999E+W+S+N.I.
2. The Greater London Authority Act 1999 F3 is amended as follows.
3.—(1) Section 355 F4 (duties of waste collection authorities etc.) is amended as follows.E+W+S+N.I.
(2) In subsection (7)(a) for "the public procurement regulations" substitute " the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 F5 ".
(c)after the authority sends that notice, the Mayor revises the provisions of the London Environment Strategy dealing with municipal waste management,"this section, and any guidance issued under it, are to have effect in relation to the awarding of that contract as if the revision had not been made.
F4Section 355(7) was amended by paragraphs 1, 6(a) and 7 of Schedule 23 and Part 33 of Schedule 25 to the Localism Act 2011 (c.20).
F5S.I. 2006/6, amended by S.I. 2008/2848, 2011/1043, 2053, 2012/1659, 2013/610; there are other amending instruments but none is relevant.
5.—(1) Section 358 F6 (information about new waste contracts) is amended as follows.E+W+S+N.I.
(2) In subsection (1) for "the public procurement regulations" substitute " the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 ".
(b)to publish such a notice on the authority's buyer profile, subsection (1A) below applies.".
(4) In subsection (1A) for "that notice" substitute " the notice in question ".
(5) In subsection (1B) for "the public procurement regulations" substitute " the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 ".
(b)decides to send to the Publications Office of the European Union a contract notice relating to the awarding of the contract, subsection (1C) below applies.".
(7) In subsection (1C) for "that notice" substitute " the notice in question ".
(8) In subsection (2) for "the public procurement regulations" substitute " the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 or the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ".
6. In section 359 (confidential information about waste contracts) in subsection (1)(c) for "the public procurement regulations" substitute " the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 or the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ".E+W+S+N.I.
7.—(1) Section 360 F7 (interpretation) is amended as follows.E+W+S+N.I.
(ii)" "prior information notice" has the same meaning as in regulation 48 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015,".
(c)in paragraph (b) omit the words from "in a case" to "2006,".
(c)omit the words from "in a case" to "2006,".
F7Section 360 was amended by section 39(6) to (8) of the Greater London Authority Act 2007 and regulation 48(a) of and paragraph 1 of Schedule 7 to S.I. 2006/5.
Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012E+W+S+N.I.
8.—(1) Section 1 of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 F8 (contracts of relevant authorities) is amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (2)(a) for "the Official Journal of the European Union" substitute " the Publications Office of the European Union ".
(3) Subsection (13) is omitted.
(d)in the definition of "relevant authority" for "for the purposes of the Regulations" substitute " within the meaning of the Regulations (whether or not the Regulations apply) ".
(b)any contract, not being a contract falling within paragraph (a), which would have been a public services contract to which the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 would have applied (or which would have been treated by those Regulations as such a contract) if those Regulations had not been revoked".
Health and Social Care Act 2012E+W+S+N.I.
9. In section 76 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 F9 (regulations under section 75), in subsection (8)(b) for "the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/5)" substitute " the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/102) ".


The downloads for Keen 5 and 6 mods will not include the executable necessary to play the game (they are still not free to distribute). You will need to put your own executable in the mod directory and unpack it with UNLZEXE prior to playing for the first time.
This is an alphabetical list of all Keen: Galaxy mods, one-level mods and level packs ever made for Keen. It also includes some in-progress mods.
For a per-episode list choose from the following instead: Keen 4 mods, Keen 5 mods, Keen 6 mods.
This section has mods, which contains updates in connection with bugfixes, improvements.
This topic contains mods which differ largely from the ordinary Keen Galaxy gameplay. (Nearly) all mods in this category have substantial similarity in a distinctive gameplay derived from heavy patching.
This topic contains unfinished, abandoned, pre-alpha mods which are notable for unique creative reasons (see the notes).
Buried in Oblivion full 2017-01-01 Nisaba et al. Keen 4 18 Discussion. Community Pack: Level designs by multiple creators.
This topic contains unfinished, abandoned, or level packs with only a few altered levels (see the notes).
Gridlock's Dead in the Desert Levelpack beta 2011-02-11 Gridlock Keen 8 1.5 Discussion. Abandoned.
Gridlock's Keen 4 Levelpack beta 2011-02-11 Gridlock Keen 4 8 Discussion. Abandoned.
This page was last modified on 1 February 2019, at 18:25.
This page has been accessed 106,262 times.


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We'd love your help. Let us know what's wrong with this preview of The Adversary by Julian May.
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A satisfactory conclusion to a really good tale. Many of my questions have been answered, although I think Ms. May has left herself some wiggle room to continue on at some future point, should she hear the Many Colored Land calling to her again.
Las siete novelas que he leído suyas se agrupan en dos series. La de La Intervención (3 libros) y esta Saga del exilio en el Plioceno (4 libros). Autora poco conocida pero que se lee (o que leí) con auténtico frenesí.
Recomiendo ambas, tal vez esta del Plioceno baja un poco en los dos últimos, pero ambas son joyas que tiene Ultramar en su colección de Grandes éxitos de Bolsillo (Ciencia Ficción).
This whole series is awesome. I would love to see a movie, even an animated movie, of the many colored land and the galactic milieu.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 'The Firvulag are rising, while the children of the metapsychic rebels race to reopen the time-gate, the sole escape route back into the Galactic Milieu.
Now the adversary takes up his destined role in the power play… Marc Remillard, defeated leader of the metapsychic rebellion determined to keep the time-gate sealed and to create a new race from his own offspring. Will he aid the Firvulag or bring succour to Aiken, when the day of the Grand Tourney comes, when the Tanu and the humans meet the Fi 'The Firvulag are rising, while the children of the metapsychic rebels race to reopen the time-gate, the sole escape route back into the Galactic Milieu.
Aiken Drum is attempting to hold his kingdom together while the Firvulag are rising, convinced by ancient Duat prophecy that the Nightfall War is about to begin, the final battle to oblivion between the Tanu and the Firvulag.
The central figure of the prophecy, The Adversary, is seen as Marc Remillard, who has sailed from his exile in Pliocene Florida back to Europe in order to prevent his children reopening the Time Gate and escaping back to the Twenty-Second Century.
As a result of having nearly been killed by Felice when she teleported to America, Marc is slowly learning how to 'D-Jump' himself, and begins to appear to the Metapsychic Grandmaster Elizabeth Orme where he helps her to 'cure' the black-torc babies (i.e. babies who cannot adjust to the mind-enhancing torc).
It transpires that a metapsychic programme is able to not only cure the children but raise them to metapsychic operancy.
Once again, May manages to combine the fantasy settings with complete 22nd Century science quite seamlessly, and one has to ask how much she was influenced by the Science fantasy boom of the Seventies and writers such as Moorcock, M John Harrison and Jack Vance.
There are certainly echoes of their work here. Where these writers often set their civilisations of decadent technology on a Far Future Earth, May takes us back to the Pliocene of six million years ago, but the trappings are the same. The Tanu and the Firvulag are, after all, merely elves and goblins, trolls and ogres with a technology so advanced it appears to be magic. Where May triumphs is in linking her world so directly to our near future and creating a structure in which the narrative returns to the future and, to a certain extent, comes full circle to where it began.
The overall series deserves four stars, even though I've given the third and fourth book three stars. I enjoyed the continuity, the exquisite world-building, enhanced by the cool geological descriptions. The detail of the survival of the humans in the Pliocene and their various trades and specialties was also rendered more than believable. I sometimes felt I was there, with them, in the Pliocene Exile.
However, the telepathic powers plot device overshadowed all of the good things, pushing my ove The overall series deserves four stars, even though I've given the third and fourth book three stars. I enjoyed the continuity, the exquisite world-building, enhanced by the cool geological descriptions. The detail of the survival of the humans in the Pliocene and their various trades and specialties was also rendered more than believable. I sometimes felt I was there, with them, in the Pliocene Exile.
However, the telepathic powers plot device overshadowed all of the good things, pushing my overall enjoyment of the series down somewhat. I felt it got out of hand and would have liked a more 'mundane' solution to some of the problems between the different races: human, Tanu and Firvulag (including Howlers), and some conclusions about the mixed bloods influencing human evolution - that was never really satisfactorily explained (or I missed it).
Many of my problems with the telepathic nature of the various antagonists and protagonists was that some things were just 'too easily' solved because of this. Character A has an insurmountable problem that Character B helps him/her solve using his/her superior telepathic (insert specific type of power here) skills.
Sólo me ha costado UN AÑO terminarme el último de esta saga porque era del todo necesario escribir un PUTO LIBRO MÁS del asunto este. Y mira que el final ha sido bastante satisfactorio pero la paja hasta llegar ahí, dios mío, LA PAJA. El último y el penúltimo libro podrían haberse fusionado en uno y habría sido fantástico y no este chicle gastado y repartido por las suelas de todos los zapatos de Plioceno.
Me enfada que los autores no sepan terminar sus sagas, pero me enfada todavía más que inten Sólo me ha costado UN AÑO terminarme el último de esta saga porque era del todo necesario escribir un PUTO LIBRO MÁS del asunto este. Y mira que el final ha sido bastante satisfactorio pero la paja hasta llegar ahí, dios mío, LA PAJA. El último y el penúltimo libro podrían haberse fusionado en uno y habría sido fantástico y no este chicle gastado y repartido por las suelas de todos los zapatos de Plioceno.
Me enfada que los autores no sepan terminar sus sagas, pero me enfada todavía más que intenten muñir la vaca hasta el hartazgo.
May tiene buenas ideas, pero no sabe narrar, no sabe mantener el ritmo y encima, vuelve OOC a sus personajes: Remillard y Aiken llevan 3 libros actuando como psicópatas, pero de repente son todo bondad y flower power. Y ese final con Elizabeth?? De la nada??
The conclusion of the saga. Felice has been zapped, but she seems to have d-jumped to fry Marc in the final milliseconds of her life. As Marc recovers he tries the obscure manoeuvre himself. Aiken faces and subsumes Mercy and then Nodonn, leaving himself in a vulnerable state as the grand tourney approaches and the Firvulag plan for Nightfall. Elizabeth tries to help but doesn't know what her destiny should be.
A fantastic finale! I can't recommend this series enough, the writing is immense, cha The conclusion of the saga. Felice has been zapped, but she seems to have d-jumped to fry Marc in the final milliseconds of her life. As Marc recovers he tries the obscure manoeuvre himself. Aiken faces and subsumes Mercy and then Nodonn, leaving himself in a vulnerable state as the grand tourney approaches and the Firvulag plan for Nightfall. Elizabeth tries to help but doesn't know what her destiny should be.
A fantastic finale! I can't recommend this series enough, the writing is immense, characters are great and visualisations amazing.
Great end to a fantastic series. The last part of the book felt slightly rushed, but all individual storlines concluded. For any fantasy/sci-fi lover, the Saga of Pliocene Exile is a recommended read. I fell for it long long time ago, and still do.
Each installment just keeps getting better.
It's good, but not as good as the rest of the series.
The weakest of the four books, but still enjoyable enough. I guess I just don't like Marc's character as much as most of the others.
A satisfying ending to the best space opera I've ever read.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Don't read this review until you have read the previous books of the series, THE MANY-COLORED LAND, THE GOLDEN TORC, and THE NONBORN KING, as background.
King Aiken-Lugonn has been severely injured in his most recent battle for rulership of the Tanu kingdom in Pliocene Europe. He is barely able to use the stupendous mental powers which won him his throne. But the world is not going to stop and give him time to recover. The oldest people among the Tanu and Firvulag who colonized Earth have seen th Don't read this review until you have read the previous books of the series, THE MANY-COLORED LAND, THE GOLDEN TORC, and THE NONBORN KING, as background.
King Aiken-Lugonn has been severely injured in his most recent battle for rulership of the Tanu kingdom in Pliocene Europe. He is barely able to use the stupendous mental powers which won him his throne. But the world is not going to stop and give him time to recover. The oldest people among the Tanu and Firvulag who colonized Earth have seen the omens, and they are convinced that the time for the Nightfall War has come. If any one of Aiken's four groups of opponents sense that he is bluffing, the Tanu kingdom will shatter. Fortunately, Aiken is very good at bluffing.
THE ADVERSARY follows the interwoven relationships of people from each of the five groups, plus the reluctant arbiter of them all, Elizabeth Orme. Elizabeth supports the aims of King Aiken and his Tanu, Howler, and human followers. Aiken, with his enlightened despotism, seems the best ruler available. Certainly not King Sharn-Mes of the Firvulag, who plans to exterminate all Tanu and humans. Certainly not Marc Remillard, whose cold, cruel mind is the only one stronger than Aiken's. The other groups have no ambition to rule. The Lowlives, outlaw humans, cooperate with Aiken when they feel like it. The children of Marc Remillard and his followers want only to build a time gate to take them to Earth's twenty-second century A.D., where their parents came from.
The maneuvering to build the time gate is the main plot of THE ADVERSARY. The title character, the Adversary himself, is Marc Remillard. His driving urge is the urge for dominance: humans over other species, himself over humans, his descendants mutated into forms which will allow them to dominate their universe. But Marc's methods thus far have been so draconic that his children find them – and him – repugnant. One of his son Hagan's goals in returning to Elder Earth and the government of the Galactic Milieu is to help the Milieu find and destroy his father. So when Marc starts visiting Elizabeth and helping her heal children, all anyone can think of is the terrifying power Marc is developing: learning to jump instantaneously anywhere in the universe, carrying along anything he chooses to bring. Everyone knows that soon Marc will be able to stop the building of the time gate.
For the reader, a single triangle dominates THE ADVERSARY, in spite of its many interesting subplots. The characters of Aiken, Marc, and Elizabeth are so strong as to overwhelm all other interests. We learn to know each of them deeply as they evolve to meet their ordeals. There is a fascination to these three powerful minds, each with their own fetters in spite of their far-ranging strengths. What do they really want? What do they love? What will touch off the inevitable explosion? Which way will the balances tip?
The genre of "complicated science fiction series" has growing numbers of fans. Keeping track of numerous plots using invented skills in an unfamiliar setting is a satisfying challenge for people who like to reach farther than the lives of everyday Earth. Author Julian May weaves complications with the best of them. The characters of The Saga of Pliocene Exile touch archetypes from our subconscious, making us believe that everything she writes of is possible. They live out their aspirations or lack of them, connive and betray, heal and protect, love and hate. They even, sometimes, do all these at once, just as we might do.
Originally published on my blog here in October 1998.
In the final book of the Saga of the Exiles series, the rebel metapsychic Marc Remeillard plays a large part; the title of the novel itself is one of his nicknames. His children, and the others of their generation, inhabiting the small settlement set up by the rebels, have gone to Europe, with the intention of setting up a copy of the time gate at the Pleistocene end so that they can return to the future. They were too young to have been invol Originally published on my blog here in October 1998.
In the final book of the Saga of the Exiles series, the rebel metapsychic Marc Remeillard plays a large part; the title of the novel itself is one of his nicknames. His children, and the others of their generation, inhabiting the small settlement set up by the rebels, have gone to Europe, with the intention of setting up a copy of the time gate at the Pleistocene end so that they can return to the future. They were too young to have been involved in the rebellion, and hope for acceptance by the Concilium which rules the human polity.
Marc, however, has his own plans for them The roots of his disagreement with the Concilium were his plans for Mental Man, an entity purely of the mind. He wanted to accelerate human evolution to achieve this, using his own genes as a basis (as a member of the strongest human family of metapsychics, with a unique gene giving self-rejuvenation, he was a not unreasonable choice). But the death of his wife in the fighting occasioned by his refusal to accept the Concilium decision to discontinue his research led to a psychological infertility (his germ plasm no longer appeared to be fertile). Thus his plans relied on the availability of germ plasm from his children, hence his determination not to let them travel six million years into the future. He has been unable to bring himself to tell them, partly because he doesn't know what he would do in case of refusal, and partly because he hopes he himself might recover.
The scope of this saga spanning eight novels is staggering. A gate is opened to the past, specifically the Pliocene era. But it is a one-way trip. Adventurous souls travel back, and find a world unlike any they could imagine. Epic conflict rages between ancient races, and the future destiny of man is decided. The initial four books make up The Saga of Pliocene Exile.
These can be read as a standalone series, but who wou The scope of this saga spanning eight novels is staggering. A gate is opened to the past, specifically the Pliocene era. But it is a one-way trip. Adventurous souls travel back, and find a world unlike any they could imagine. Epic conflict rages between ancient races, and the future destiny of man is decided. The initial four books make up The Saga of Pliocene Exile.
These can be read as a standalone series, but who would want to stop there?
The "bridge" book deals with first contact and the emergence of humans with "supernatural" powers such as telekinesis.
* Intervention. In the US edition this was divided into "Intervention: Surveillance" and "Intervention: Metaconcert".
The Galactic Milieu Trilogy deals with events after humanity has entered the galactic community.
What surprised me as I finally finished the whole thing was how May had meticulously planned the entire arc from the very beginning, with elements important to the last novels referenced in the first. This lends the whole series a sense of completion rare in such works. Considering the fact that it took over 12 years to write, the achievement is even more impressive.
The characters are amazing, with rich depths and particular quirks that blend in well with the evolving destiny of humankind. The settings, especially in Exiles are fabulous.
Unfortunately, the US covers are beyond awful, but don't be put off by that. Also unfortunately, the books are out of print, but can be easily found second hand.
Yum....finished a long time favorite!
This series has the distinction of making every subsequent volume worse than the one before.
Despite having 1,748 pages in which to develop the Pliocene, I never felt that I got to know the Many-Colored Land. We were immersed in politics and war, distracted with minor romances and side-quests, and pelted with PK technobabble, Latin and French, but the only feeling I got for the land was that the mountains were taller and the fauna more saurian. I don't think the book would have been all that different were it to have taken place in the Galactic Milieu or in Duat.
I have re-read these for the first time in 20 years and am still in love with them. Now I know where those half-remembered characters that have haunted me for years came from.
May is a brilliant story spinner and devotes her entire talent to dialogue and tension, while the action seems to take a second place. At times May uses a very few words to leave a blistering image in your mind for all time. Be prepared re-read some passages many times to pick out all the detail and implications. Marc's att I have re-read these for the first time in 20 years and am still in love with them. Now I know where those half-remembered characters that have haunted me for years came from.
We don't need sterile totalities dribbled into our brains with nothing left for us to do but watch, or flat bland worlds with no detail. We need our minds to be exercised for us so that we can cope with, and explore, elaborate, well delivered punches from masters like May.
I enjoyed this book, and thought the Pliocene Series was wonderful overall, but I definitely thought this book was the weakest of the four. In addition to losing so many interesting characters, I really wanted the book to end a different way. In fact, I had the ending I wanted to read all worked out in my head half-way through the second book (The Golden Torc), based on something early on in the first book (The Many-Coloured Land).
KIND O I enjoyed this book, and thought the Pliocene Series was wonderful overall, but I definitely thought this book was the weakest of the four. In addition to losing so many interesting characters, I really wanted the book to end a different way. In fact, I had the ending I wanted to read all worked out in my head half-way through the second book (The Golden Torc), based on something early on in the first book (The Many-Coloured Land).
Julian May is a genius.
A genius with words: every other page has me reaching for a dictionary. Caracoles, anyone? Taboret? Gimcrack? Breechclout? What education produced such a voluminous vocabulary?
A genius at world-building. I gave up on the first book in the series after some flowery medieval-sounding language that sounded a little too "fantasy" for me (I've always thought myself the hard sci-fi fan) and yet here I am a couple of months after picking it up again in desperation, just finished Julian May is a genius.
A genius at world-building. I gave up on the first book in the series after some flowery medieval-sounding language that sounded a little too "fantasy" for me (I've always thought myself the hard sci-fi fan) and yet here I am a couple of months after picking it up again in desperation, just finished with the fourth and final volume. What finally sucked me in but the enormously complex cast of characters in a universe so alive with detail that it seemed to exist outside of the pages?
story but rather than killing her left her in sort of limbo. There was also this subplot about two infants that apparently were destined to do something but never did. These were dwelled on in book 3 at considerable length but never mentioned at all in book 4. The author may have been trying to tie this series into another. If so, the connection was not obvious and I never read it.
The series' epic conclusion, everything takes on a grander scale. Characters enjoy more power, and near their goals. I was left with questions, intentionally I believe, that make me want to continue to the sub-series that prequels this one.
My favorite part of this book, and the series to be honest, is the characters. May's genius seems most apparent in the plot and the fantastic science fictional ideas, but as the series progressed I found myself loving the diversity among and within the charact The series' epic conclusion, everything takes on a grander scale. Characters enjoy more power, and near their goals. I was left with questions, intentionally I believe, that make me want to continue to the sub-series that prequels this one.
A rollicking good read with a variety of writing styles, fantastic creations, and a plot that has been crafted, researched, thought about.
Julian May was an American science fiction, fantasy, horror, science and children's writer who also used several pseudonyms including Ian Thorne, Lee N. Falconer and many others.


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Small Study Relieves Fatigue in MS Using Light Therapy
| Original story from the Medical University of Vienna
Credit: Colin Behrens/ Pixabay
Complete the form below and we will email you a PDF version of "Small Study Relieves Fatigue in MS Using Light Therapy"
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is almost always accompanied by fatigue, a massive tiredness that is described by the vast majority of patients as the most distressing symptom. In a recent scientific study, a research group led by Stefan Seidel from the Department of Neurology at MedUni Vienna and AKH Vienna identified light therapy as a promising non-drug treatment option: patients included in the study showed a measurable improvement after just 14 days of use. The study results were recently published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal – Experimental, Translational and Clinical.
For the first time, Stefan Seidel's research team relied not only on surveys but also on objective measurements when selecting the test persons. For example, sleep-wake disorders were ruled out in the 26 participating MS patients, particularly with the assistance of various sleep medicine examinations. "In this manner, for example, we ensured that MS patients with fatigue do not suffer from sleep apnea or periodic leg movements during sleep. Both are sleep disorders that can lead to fatigue in everyday life," elaborated study leader Stefan Seidel.
The test persons - all patients of the Neurology Department at MedUni Vienna and AKH Vienna - were equipped with commercially available light sources for self-testing at home: Half of the participants received a daylight lamp with a brightness of 10,000 lux, while the other half received an identical lamp that emitted a red light with an intensity of <300 lux due to a filter. While the red light used by the control group showed no effect, the researchers were able to observe measurable successes in the other group after only 14 days: The participants who used their 10,000 lux daylight lamp for half an hour every day showed improved physical and mental performance after only a short period of time. In addition, the group of participants who had consumed bright light displayed less daytime sleepiness in comparison with the other group.
Up to 99 percent of patients
Fatigue is a severe form of tiredness and fatigability that occurs in 75 to 99 percent of people with MS and is described as particularly distressing. Nerve damage triggered by MS is being discussed as the cause. In addition to behavioural measures, such as regular rest breaks, various medications are currently available to alleviate fatigue, but some of these are associated with severe side effects. "The findings from our study represent a promising non-drug therapeutic approach," Stefan Seidel affirms. However, the results still need to be confirmed in a subsequent larger-scale study. The exact background of the invigorating effect of light therapy on MS patients will also be the subject of further scientific research.
Reference: Voggenberger L, Böck M, Moser D, et al. Bright light therapy as a non-pharmacological treatment option for multiple sclerosis-related fatigue: A randomized sham-controlled trial. Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin. 2022;8(4):20552173221133264. doi: 10.1177/20552173221133262


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Aitor Esteban Bravo (nacido como Luis Aitor Esteban Bravo, Bilbao, 21 de junio de 1962) es un político español de ideología nacionalista vasca, que desempeña el cargo de Portavoz del Grupo Vasco en el Congreso de los Diputados.

Es licenciado en Derecho por la Universidad de Deusto. Se afilió al Partido Nacionalista Vasco en 1978. Fue presidente de las Juntas Generales de Vizcaya.

Biografía
Su madre es soriana, de Cañamaque. Su padre, nacionalista vasco, le enseñó los primeros rudimentos de euskera. Estudió en el colegio Corazón de María de la capital vizcaína y más tarde bachillerato en el Instituto Central, de donde pasó a la Universidad, para estudiar Derecho.

Esteban ha sido catedrático en la Universidad de Deusto, donde ha impartido clases de Derecho Constitucional y Administrativo, y la asignatura de Historia y cultura indígena de Norte y Mesoamérica en la Facultad de Filosofía y Ciencias de la Educación.

Se afilió al Partido Nacionalista Vasco en 1978 y en 1983 fue elegido secretario del Consejo Nacional de Euzko Gaztedi Indarra (EGI), dos años después fue nombrado apoderado de la Asamblea Nacional y en 1991 accedió al cargo de portavoz y secretario de Presidencia de la Diputación de Vizcaya. Entre 1995 y 2003 fue presidente de las Juntas Generales de Vizcaya, siendo sucedido en el cargo por Ana Madariaga.

En las elecciones generales de 2004 fue elegido diputado en el Congreso de los Diputados por Vizcaya, repitiendo en las elecciones de 2008, 2011, 2015 , 2016 y 2019. El 18 de diciembre de 2012 sustituyó a Josu Erkoreka como portavoz del PNV en el Congreso de los Diputados.

Considerado como uno de los mejores parlamentarios del Congreso, en 2017 le fue otorgado el premio "Emilio Castelar" al mejor orador del Congreso de los Diputados.

Vida privada
Casado con Itxaso Atutxa, tiene dos hijos y vive desde hace años en Zeberio.

Referencias

Enlaces externos
 Ficha en la página oficial del Congreso de los Diputados
 Cuenta de Twitter

 Cuenta de Osoigo

Alumnado de la Universidad de Deusto
Catedráticos de la Universidad de Deusto
Políticos de España del siglo XX
Políticos de España del siglo XXI
Políticos de Vizcaya
Políticos del Partido Nacionalista Vasco
Diputados por Vizcaya
Diputados de la VIII Legislatura de España
Diputados de la IX Legislatura de España
Diputados de la X Legislatura de España
Diputados de la XI Legislatura de España
Diputados de la XII Legislatura de España
Diputados de la XIII Legislatura de España
Diputados de la XIV Legislatura de España
Nacidos en Bilbao

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Q: Apple Login Using ColdFusion and Javascript I have problem with Apple login not properly handle call back function getting from Apple Website.
Can any one help me how i handle the call back link

Thanks
Now i have this message..

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Welcome to Pealo's Bar! What sets Pealo's a bar ahead of the rest is that it is entirely smoke-free. There's also TVs conveniently located in the bar to watch sporting events. Not to mention the convenience of having the full menu of the Medicine Creek Deli available. Put an order in with one of the bartenders and they'll be happy to place an order for you, all while you enjoy the great smoke-free atmosphere of Pealo's Bar.
*All Active Duty with valid military ID, Seniors (55+), Nisqually Tribal Members & Team Members receive 15% off their meals at all dining venues. Discount per valide ID only. Not valid with any other offer or promotion; discount excludes alcoholic beverages.


With all the hard, expensive work completed, today's home buyer will appreciate the opportunity to just move in, relax and enjoy living in this popular established part of Whitby. Comprising 4 bedrooms with open plan living and garaging the property also features new insulation, double glazing, new kitchen, LED lighting, carpets and complete redecoration.
Schools, shops and the bus stop are all nearby making this home a near perfect candidate for any age groups.


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WORKSHOP Historical Approaches to Entrepreneurship Research: Toward a "New Entrepreneurial History"
8 May, 2014 - 09:15 to 9 May, 2014 - 09:15
In recent years, scholars have grown increasingly interested in the promise of using historical sources and reasoning in entrepreneurship research. History, it has been argued, can be valuable in addressing a number of limitations in traditional approaches to studying entrepreneurship, including in providing multi-level perspectives on the entrepreneurial process, in accounting for contexts and institutions, in understanding the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic change, and in situating entrepreneurial behavior and cognition within the flow of time. Historical methods, in this regard, point the direction to both valuable sources and data for addressing such questions and to a body of historical theory from which to conceptualize context, time, and change analytically. Indeed, it is for many of these same reasons that Schumpeter called for theorists and historians to collaborate in the study of entrepreneurship.
Olivier Accominotti (LSE): Global Banking and Crisis Propagation: Evidence from the 1931 Financial Crash
24 April, 2014 - 13:00 to 14:45
Abstract: How did the 1931 financial crisis propagate internationally? This paper compares the effect of the Central European panic of the summer 1931 on the US and British banking systems. I rely on new archival data and document a key difference between the United States and Britain in how Central European credits were distributed across banks. In Britain, most of the lending to Central Europe was done by small banks with high levels of exposure relative to their capital. In the United States, most of the lending to Central Europe was done by big banks with low levels of exposure relative to their capital. The freeze of Central European assets therefore left many more British banks insolvent than US banks. The structure of informational asymmetries within the banking system accounts for the distribution of German credits in both countries. This explains why the Central European crisis propagated to London and not New York in the summer of 1931.
Ronald Kroeze (Vrije Universitet Amsterdam): Banking on history: how banks use their past?
3 April, 2014 - 13:00 to 14:30
Many corporate organizations make references to their history. Especially banks make use of history and have large 'historical' or 'archival' departments, which are often well funded. Banks archive records, produce jubilee book and actively use their heritage in communication and public relations activities ('trusted since….'). In this presentation several questions will be discussed. How do banks understand history (writing) and heritage? How do they represent the past? What kind of similarities and differences can be established? These questioned will be answered by looking at Dutch and (West-)European banks.
R. Daniel Wadhwani (University of the Pacific & CBS): The Uses of History in the Entrepreneurial Process
20 February, 2014 - 13:00 to 14:30
Business History Seminar. Dan is the Fletcher Jones Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at University of the Pacific, and a VELUX Visiting Professor in the MPP Department at CBS. A business historian by training, he uses historical approaches to study entrepreneurship, organizations, and industries. His publications have used historical sources and methods to examine the emergence of new industries, the evolution of organizational forms, and the creation of novel market categories and valuation systems. Most recently, he has co-edited Organizations in Time: History, Theory, Methods (Oxford University Press), which examines the epistemic, theoretical, and methodological opportunities and challenges of using historical approaches in management and organizational research.
Valeria Giacomin: The Battle of the Palm Oil. A comparative analysis of Palm Oil industry in Indonesia and Malaysia between 1980-2015 - ownership, internationalization and entrepreneurship
6 February, 2014 - 15:00
Business History Seminar and 1. WIP seminar
CANCELLED: Christian Sandström (Chalmers University of Technology): "FACIT and the displacement of mechanical calculators"
23 January, 2014 - 13:00 to 14:30
Business History Seminar
Kristoffer Jensen (The Danish Museum of Industry and University of Southern Denmark) "Conflicting interests? – Danish manufacturing in China today and the challenge to be both competitive and true to company tradition"
9 January, 2014 - 13:00 to 14:30
Launching CBS Entrepreneurship Faculty December the 10th.
10 December, 2013 - 15:30 to 16:30
Are you an entrepreneurship researcher, or a researcher that includes entrepreneurship as one of your priority research interests, then we want to know!
International Workshop: Towards a Narrative Turn in Business History? Stories, Plots, Fables and Metaphors"
28 November, 2013 - 10:00 to 29 November, 2013 - 18:00
Centre for Business History - International Workshop 2013
Prof. Pamela Walker Laird: "Narratives of Self-made Men: The Evolution of an Illusion"
26 November, 2013 - 13:00 to 15:00


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Q: how to calculate the height of an activity excluding the status bar, toolbar/actionbar and bottom navigationview? I have a scenario where I need to set the height of a recycler view cell in such a way that all the items say 4, should be visible in the screen completely. in order to achieve that I need to know the size of the screen excluding those bars. Is it possible to calculate the height prior to setting the recycler view adapter so that no further refresh is required?

A: For that give every item the weight of '1', using android:layout_weight="1" This way every view will be given same width and height.
NOTE: But for android:layout_weight="1" to be applied you have to make every item in the recycler view's width and height match_parent

A: You just needs to find the height of the view which contains the height and divide that height by 4 also apply that height to the recycle view row.
Make sure your layout which contains recycle view must be match parent and recycle view also needs to be match parent.
Code to calculate height:
view.post(new Runnable() {
        @Override
        public void run() {
            int width = mView.getWidth();
            int height = mView.getHeight();
        }
}


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I Fall Apart: Literally and Figuratively
Commentary , Civil & Commercial Litigation , Construction Disputes , Building Defect Claims , Litigation , Building and construction
Litigation is undoubtedly a stressful exercise for plaintiffs involved in building defects claims. This is for a variety of reasons, including the uncertainty of obtaining a favourable reward (if any) and the ongoing obligation to pay legal fees over a significant period of time. Our courts acknowledge this fact by awarding plaintiffs a monetary sum based on each plaintiff's personal circumstances, with the awarded amounts varied accordingly. This sum is commonly known as "general damages".
The purpose of this article is threefold. First, it will outline the legal principles that justify awards for general damages. Secondly, it will examine the law of general damages in the context of building defects claims. This will show that Courts (at the time of writing this article) have not awarded greater sums to plaintiffs who own multiple units in a proceeding, compared to single unit owners. Thirdly, it will establish that plaintiffs who own multiple units in a proceeding should be awarded greater sums if allowed by the circumstances.
II. General damages "generally"
General damages are a form of compensatory damages. It is a sum of money that is awarded to "put the plaintiff into the position that he or she would have been in if the wrong had not occurred" (Attorney-General v Geothermal Produce New Zealand Ltd [1987] 2 NZLR 348 (CA) at 359 and 370). In tort, this would be the sum which puts the plaintiff in the position he or she was in before the tort had been committed (Benter v Miller & Poulgrain [2005] 1 NZLR 66 (CA) at 89 per Hammond J).
However, general damages should not be confused with special damages. Special damages refer to losses capable of being objectively quantified in monetary terms, regardless of whether the sum has already been quantified. Examples of such include the costs of repairing property damage and loss of profits. General damages on the other hand, refer to damages that are incapable of being objectively quantified, such as losses caused by stress and anxiety. The scope of this article is limited to the law of general damages, with specific emphasis on how it is applied in building defects claims.
III. General damages in building defect claims
The most common cause of action in building defects claims is negligence. In such cases, the Court of Appeal in Mouat v Clark Boyce (No 2) [1992] 2 NZLR 559 (CA) held that general damages are claimable if the damages claimed are "reasonably foreseeable consequences of the breach of duty", provided there are no public policy concerns which preclude an award. In an obiter comment, Baragwanath J in O'Hagan v Body Corporate 189855 [2010] NZCA 65 (Byron Avenue) provides guidance on quantifying general damages. There are four relevant factors: (1) The objective nature of the stress-inducing factors; (2) The evidence as to their effect on the plaintiff; (3) The health impacts of having a [defective building]; and (4) How a potential award compares with general damages awards in other cases. That said, quantum is ultimately a question of fact and degree for the trial Judge to assess (Mouat v Clark Boyce at 574).
Plaintiffs who are awarded general damages in building defects claims commonly fall under one of the following categories: (1) Single resident owners; (2) Joint resident owners; (3) Single non-resident owners; and (4) Joint non-resident owners. Cases have shown that greater sums are generally awarded to resident owners than non-resident owners (See Byron Avenue and, more recently, Body Corporate 346799 v KNZ International Co Ltd [2017] NZHC 511 (Victopia)). Similarly, joint owners are awarded more than their lonesome peers because it is accepted that there is greater stress when more than one owner shares the burden of having a defective unit (Victopia at [123], Byron Avenue at [129]).
However, the application of the law of general damages sometimes result in plaintiffs not being entitled to their claimed sums despite falling under one of the four categories above. An uncontentious example is when the plaintiff is a company (Byron Avenue at [125] and [153](a)). Companies cannot claim general damages because although the natural persons who control them may be distressed, the companies themselves are separate legal entities incapable of suffering from mental harm (Victopia at [110]). Trustees are also not entitled to general damages if they neither occupy the unit nor have any personal economic interest in the unit (Byron Avenue at [120]). Distinct from companies who are incapable of suffering from mental harm, these types of trustees do not suffer stress because they have no beneficial interest in the units they legally own. Further, plaintiffs who had their rights to the litigation assigned to them are not entitled to general damages. In contrast to genuine commercial claims, purely personal claims cannot be assigned (First City Corporation Ltd v Downsview Nominees Ltd [1989] 3 NZLR 710 (HC) at 757). An assignor cannot pass his or her stress and anxiety to the assignee.
The focal point of this article, and perhaps the most questionable application of the law of general damages in building defects claims, is the issue of awarding greater sums to plaintiffs who own multiple units in a proceeding than owners who own single units. Although the High Court has decided against awarding greater sums to owners of multiple units on three separate occasions, the law is still uncertain because there is no guidance at the appellate level, and the reasons for not awarding such sums are lacking.
IV. Should owners of multiple units be awarded more?
This issue was most recently considered by the High Court in Victopia (See [126]). In her judgment, Thomas J simply concurred with the reasons and conclusions in Body Corporate 326421 v Auckland Council [2015] NZHC 862 (Nautilus) and Body Corporate 183523 v Tony Tay & Associates Ltd HC Auckland, CIV-2004-404-4824, 30 March 2009 (Ellerslie Gardens) when her Honour answered the question of "whether owners of more than one unit should be entitled to greater general damages". In Nautilus at [290], it was submitted that "plaintiffs who own more than one unit should receive only one award of general damages". Gilbert J accepts this submission as "clearly correct" without further reasoning. In slightly greater detail, Priestley J in Ellerslie Gardens makes the following comment on awarding general damages to owners of multiple units:
[202] I reject the proposition, however, that an investment unit owner of two properties is entitled to double the figure of the owner of one. The distress and anxiety relates to an investment across the board and is not tied to any dollar figure. The distress caused to the owner of a leaking home worth $200,000 would be just as great in principle as the distress caused to the owner of a leaking home worth $2,000,000.
With respect, the High Court in Victopia erred in simply concurring with the reasons and conclusions in Nautilus and Ellerslie Gardens because those decisions were decided on their own set of facts. Mouat v Clark Boyce makes it clear that the determination of quantum on general damages claims is a matter of fact and degree for the trial Judge to assess. Therefore, Victopia should have been assessed on its own merits and should not have taken previous quantum determinations as if they were statements of law.
There are three reasons in favour of awarding greater general damages to multi-unit owners. First, plaintiffs who own multiple units will likely have more money at risk than plaintiffs who only own one. This can exacerbate the stress and anxiety plaintiffs are suffering. With respect, the assertion in Ellerslie Gardens that "the distress caused to the owner of a leaking home worth $200,000 would be just as great as … the owner of a leaking home worth $2,000,000" is simply false. Although admittedly, the effect of having more money at risk will not have much of an adverse effect to some people. This leads to the second reason: The effect of having a defective building on a plaintiff is subjective in nature and will vary across plaintiffs. An award of general damages should reflect this reality. For instance, if an investor who owns multiple units is determined not to be affected by the building defects, the sum awarded can be reduced accordingly. On the contrary, for example, a non-investor who owns one unit for personal use and owns another for his or her adult child to occupy, will suffer greater distress than if that owner only had one unit. Thirdly, owners of multiple units can be compared to joint owners who share a single unit. In Byron Avenue, and in subsequent cases, joint owners have been awarded more than single owners because the burden is "shared" (Byron Avenue at [129]). As Thomas J further explains in Victopia at [125], joint owners are "both suffering this stress and should be entitled to compensation". By applying this logic, plaintiffs with multiple units should be entitled to greater amounts since the burden is "shared" across multiple units.
It is arguable that investors (regardless of the number of units owned) should not be awarded general damages at all, let alone be awarded greater sums if they own multiple units. Investors who own multiple units are argued to suffer from similar stress as parties to ordinary commercial contracts and should therefore be barred from general damages due to public policy concerns. As Cooke P (as he then was) states in Mouat v Clark Boyce at 569:
The Courts have stopped short of giving stress damages for breach of ordinary commercial contracts. Such damages may be foreseeable, but I think that the restriction may be seen as justified by policy. Stress is an ordinary incident of commercial or professional life. Ordinary commercial contracts are not intended to shelter the parties from anxiety.
However, it is widely accepted that investors (non-residents/non-occupiers) who are natural persons can claim general damages (See Byron Avenue). The quantum is merely adjusted to recognise that investor owners suffer less than owner-occupiers (Body Corporate No 189855 v North Shore City Council HC Auckland, CIV-2005-404-5561, 25 July 2008). There is no reason in principle to prevent investor owners from obtaining greater sums unless an appellate Court in the future decides that investor owners are barred from obtaining general damages due to policy reasons.
V. Limitation
It is recognised that it may be impractical for Courts to assess and quantify general damages awards for each individual plaintiff in some cases. As William Young P in Byron Avenue at [154] states: "[T]here is a limit to the extent to which it is practical to go into fine detail on [assessing general damages]". However, this should not prevent Courts from assessing individual unit claims when the number of claimants is small enough. This is a matter of practicality for Judges to assess.
VI. Conclusion
Plaintiffs who own multiple units should be awarded more general damages than owners of single units if such awards are justified by the facts. The reasons are as follows: (1) Plaintiffs who own more than one unit will likely have more money at risk than plaintiffs who only own one; (2) The effect of having a defective building on a plaintiff is subjective in nature and will vary across plaintiffs; (3) Plaintiffs with multiple units should be entitled to greater amounts since the burden is "shared" across multiple units. Quantum is a matter of fact and degree for Judges to assess, and Courts are currently not barred from awarding general damages to investor owners despite potential public policy concerns.
Alphonso Sales, Solicitor; Grimshaw & Co


text:
Annoyed about Android: When is bundling products illegal?
Why the EU has a bee in its bonnet about Google tying its mobile OS to its apps.
by Paul Henty
The European Commission's announcement yesterday that it has fined Google-owner Alphabet Inc. €4.5bn for breaking EU Competition Law is the latest stage in a long antitrust battle with the technology company. The recent case, like Microsoft's bundling of certain programmes into the Windows Operating System before it, highlights how easily dominant companies can get into hot water when bundling two different products or services together.
Let's take a closer look at the Google example. Aside from being the global search engine of choice, Google is also the author of the world's most popular mobile phone operating system, Android. Although Android is open source software, Google is an essential partner for mobile phone manufacturers and developers. Google has fallen foul of Brussels by requiring Android handset and tablet manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and its own Chrome web browser as a condition for allowing them to offer access to Google Play (the Android equivalent of the App Store).
This aspect of the case bears striking similarities to the Microsoft decision of 2004. MS Windows, at that time, was the operating system which ran on more than 90% of personal computers. Microsoft pre-installed certain of its programmes (for example, Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer) into MS Windows, which were then provided free of charge with computers sold to customers. That led to cries of foul play from rival providers of media players and browsers, and ultimately a fine of €497m.
When can this practice of bundling products or services together risk antitrust liability? In some transactions, a customer expects products will be tied together. The classic example is a car, normally sold with four wheels, a radio and a set of windscreen wipers, none of which are seen as a tie, even if they can be purchased separately.
Things may be different if a dominant car manufacturer – or a number of leading manufacturers – were to bundle car sales with car insurance policies. The bundling of these two products is an unnatural fit and would put rival insurers at a distinct disadvantage to the favoured policy.
Antitrust law will tend to target those tying arrangements that have been put in place by a dominant company, usually where it has a share of more than 40% of a particular market.
There are four scenarios when tying will be deemed as illegal. The first and most obvious is when the dominant company has obviously tied two distinct products together. The products will be distinct if, absent the tying arrangement, most customers would have bought them separately, as with cars and car insurance, for example.
There could also be a problem if a non-dominant company agreed to tie the sale of its own products to those of a dominant company. In other instances, customers may be coerced into buying the two products together, either contractually or through pricing incentives.
The third illegal example of tying is when the tie is capable of foreclosing access to a market for goods or services. In the Microsoft case, there was strong evidence that customers would not switch from the default Microsoft media player or browser provided.
Finally, a company will flout the law if there is no objective justification for the tie, i.e. the tying arrangement does not result in actual benefits for the consumer.
In the Android case, this last scenario is particularly important. Google has argued that it is only able to provide Android on a free, open source basis because of its remuneration structure. Forced changes threaten a move towards a more traditional licensing model where access to Android would be licensed rather than open source. Forcing a change could, according to Google, force up prices and be anti-consumer.
Given the financial firepower of Google and its interest in fighting the Commission's findings, it could be several years before there is any resolution to the case. When that day comes, however, it is to be hoped that we will have increased legal certainty over when a tie falls on the right side of the law.
Paul Henty is partner at Charles Russell Speechlys.
Image credit: Oliver Hoffman/Shutterstock
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text:
<?php
/**
 * SmsInboundMessage
 *
 * PHP version 7.2
 *
 * @category Class
 * @package  Infobip
 * @author   Infobip Support
 * @link     https://www.infobip.com
 */

/**
 * Infobip Client API Libraries OpenAPI Specification
 *
 * OpenAPI specification containing public endpoints supported in client API libraries.
 *
 * Contact: support@infobip.com
 *
 * NOTE: This class is auto generated by OpenAPI Generator (https://openapi-generator.tech).
 * Do not edit the class manually.
 */

namespace Infobip\Model;

use ArrayAccess;
use Infobip\ObjectSerializer;

/**
 * SmsInboundMessage Class Doc Comment
 *
 * @category Class
 * @package  Infobip
 * @author   Infobip Support
 * @link     https://www.infobip.com
 * @implements \ArrayAccess<TKey, TValue>
 * @template TKey int|null
 * @template TValue mixed|null
 */
class SmsInboundMessage implements ModelInterface, ArrayAccess, \JsonSerializable
{
    public const DISCRIMINATOR = null;

    /**
      * The original name of the model.
      *
      * @var string
      */
    protected static $openAPIModelName = 'SmsInboundMessage';

    /**
      * Array of property to type mappings. Used for (de)serialization
      *
      * @var string[]
      */
    protected static $openAPITypes = [
        'callbackData' => 'string',
        'cleanText' => 'string',
        'from' => 'string',
        'keyword' => 'string',
        'messageId' => 'string',
        'price' => '\Infobip\Model\SmsPrice',
        'receivedAt' => '\DateTime',
        'smsCount' => 'int',
        'text' => 'string',
        'to' => 'string'
    ];

    /**
      * Array of property to format mappings. Used for (de)serialization
      *
      * @var string[]
      * @phpstan-var array<string, string|null>
      * @psalm-var array<string, string|null>
      */
    protected static $openAPIFormats = [
        'callbackData' => null,
        'cleanText' => null,
        'from' => null,
        'keyword' => null,
        'messageId' => null,
        'price' => null,
        'receivedAt' => 'date-time',
        'smsCount' => 'int32',
        'text' => null,
        'to' => null
    ];

    /**
     * Array of property to type mappings. Used for (de)serialization
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public static function openAPITypes()
    {
        return self::$openAPITypes;
    }

    /**
     * Array of property to format mappings. Used for (de)serialization
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public static function openAPIFormats()
    {
        return self::$openAPIFormats;
    }

    /**
     * Array of attributes where the key is the local name,
     * and the value is the original name
     *
     * @var string[]
     */
    protected static $attributeMap = [
        'callbackData' => 'callbackData',
        'cleanText' => 'cleanText',
        'from' => 'from',
        'keyword' => 'keyword',
        'messageId' => 'messageId',
        'price' => 'price',
        'receivedAt' => 'receivedAt',
        'smsCount' => 'smsCount',
        'text' => 'text',
        'to' => 'to'
    ];

    /**
     * Array of attributes to setter functions (for deserialization of responses)
     *
     * @var string[]
     */
    protected static $setters = [
        'callbackData' => 'setCallbackData',
        'cleanText' => 'setCleanText',
        'from' => 'setFrom',
        'keyword' => 'setKeyword',
        'messageId' => 'setMessageId',
        'price' => 'setPrice',
        'receivedAt' => 'setReceivedAt',
        'smsCount' => 'setSmsCount',
        'text' => 'setText',
        'to' => 'setTo'
    ];

    /**
     * Array of attributes to getter functions (for serialization of requests)
     *
     * @var string[]
     */
    protected static $getters = [
        'callbackData' => 'getCallbackData',
        'cleanText' => 'getCleanText',
        'from' => 'getFrom',
        'keyword' => 'getKeyword',
        'messageId' => 'getMessageId',
        'price' => 'getPrice',
        'receivedAt' => 'getReceivedAt',
        'smsCount' => 'getSmsCount',
        'text' => 'getText',
        'to' => 'getTo'
    ];

    /**
     * Array of attributes where the key is the local name,
     * and the value is the original name
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public static function attributeMap()
    {
        return self::$attributeMap;
    }

    /**
     * Array of attributes to setter functions (for deserialization of responses)
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public static function setters()
    {
        return self::$setters;
    }

    /**
     * Array of attributes to getter functions (for serialization of requests)
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public static function getters()
    {
        return self::$getters;
    }

    /**
     * The original name of the model.
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getModelName()
    {
        return self::$openAPIModelName;
    }

    /**
     * Associative array for storing property values
     *
     * @var mixed[]
     */
    protected $container = [];

    /**
     * Constructor
     *
     * @param mixed[] $data Associated array of property values
     *                      initializing the model
     */
    public function __construct(array $data = null)
    {
        $this->container['callbackData'] = $data['callbackData'] ?? null;
        $this->container['cleanText'] = $data['cleanText'] ?? null;
        $this->container['from'] = $data['from'] ?? null;
        $this->container['keyword'] = $data['keyword'] ?? null;
        $this->container['messageId'] = $data['messageId'] ?? null;
        $this->container['price'] = $data['price'] ?? null;
        $this->container['receivedAt'] = $data['receivedAt'] ?? null;
        $this->container['smsCount'] = $data['smsCount'] ?? null;
        $this->container['text'] = $data['text'] ?? null;
        $this->container['to'] = $data['to'] ?? null;
    }

    /**
     * Show all the invalid properties with reasons.
     *
     * @return array invalid properties with reasons
     */
    public function listInvalidProperties()
    {
        $invalidProperties = [];

        return $invalidProperties;
    }

    /**
     * Validate all the properties in the model
     * return true if all passed
     *
     * @return bool True if all properties are valid
     */
    public function valid()
    {
        return count($this->listInvalidProperties()) === 0;
    }

    /**
     * Gets callbackData
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getCallbackData()
    {
        return $this->container['callbackData'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets callbackData
     *
     * @param string|null $callbackData Custom callback data sent over the notifyUrl.
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setCallbackData($callbackData)
    {
        $this->container['callbackData'] = $callbackData;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets cleanText
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getCleanText()
    {
        return $this->container['cleanText'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets cleanText
     *
     * @param string|null $cleanText Content of the message without a keyword (if a keyword was sent).
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setCleanText($cleanText)
    {
        $this->container['cleanText'] = $cleanText;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets from
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getFrom()
    {
        return $this->container['from'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets from
     *
     * @param string|null $from Sender ID that can be alphanumeric or numeric.
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setFrom($from)
    {
        $this->container['from'] = $from;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets keyword
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getKeyword()
    {
        return $this->container['keyword'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets keyword
     *
     * @param string|null $keyword Keyword extracted from the message content.
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setKeyword($keyword)
    {
        $this->container['keyword'] = $keyword;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets messageId
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getMessageId()
    {
        return $this->container['messageId'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets messageId
     *
     * @param string|null $messageId Unique message ID.
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setMessageId($messageId)
    {
        $this->container['messageId'] = $messageId;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets price
     *
     * @return \Infobip\Model\SmsPrice|null
     */
    public function getPrice()
    {
        return $this->container['price'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets price
     *
     * @param \Infobip\Model\SmsPrice|null $price A price object showing currency and a price per each message.
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setPrice($price)
    {
        $this->container['price'] = $price;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets receivedAt
     *
     * @return \DateTime|null
     */
    public function getReceivedAt()
    {
        return $this->container['receivedAt'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets receivedAt
     *
     * @param \DateTime|null $receivedAt Indicates when the Infobip platform received the message. Has the following format: `yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSZ`.
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setReceivedAt($receivedAt)
    {
        $this->container['receivedAt'] = $receivedAt;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets smsCount
     *
     * @return int|null
     */
    public function getSmsCount()
    {
        return $this->container['smsCount'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets smsCount
     *
     * @param int|null $smsCount The number of characters within a message
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setSmsCount($smsCount)
    {
        $this->container['smsCount'] = $smsCount;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets text
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getText()
    {
        return $this->container['text'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets text
     *
     * @param string|null $text Full content of the message.
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setText($text)
    {
        $this->container['text'] = $text;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Gets to
     *
     * @return string|null
     */
    public function getTo()
    {
        return $this->container['to'];
    }

    /**
     * Sets to
     *
     * @param string|null $to The destination address of the message.
     *
     * @return self
     */
    public function setTo($to)
    {
        $this->container['to'] = $to;

        return $this;
    }
    /**
     * Returns true if offset exists. False otherwise.
     *
     * @param integer $offset Offset
     *
     * @return boolean
     */
    public function offsetExists($offset)
    {
        return isset($this->container[$offset]);
    }

    /**
     * Gets offset.
     *
     * @param integer $offset Offset
     *
     * @return mixed|null
     */
    public function offsetGet($offset)
    {
        return $this->container[$offset] ?? null;
    }

    /**
     * Sets value based on offset.
     *
     * @param int|null $offset Offset
     * @param mixed    $value  Value to be set
     *
     * @return void
     */
    public function offsetSet($offset, $value)
    {
        if (is_null($offset)) {
            $this->container[] = $value;
        } else {
            $this->container[$offset] = $value;
        }
    }

    /**
     * Unsets offset.
     *
     * @param integer $offset Offset
     *
     * @return void
     */
    public function offsetUnset($offset)
    {
        unset($this->container[$offset]);
    }

    /**
     * Serializes the object to a value that can be serialized natively by json_encode().
     * @link https://www.php.net/manual/en/jsonserializable.jsonserialize.php
     *
     * @return mixed Returns data which can be serialized by json_encode(), which is a value
     * of any type other than a resource.
     */
    public function jsonSerialize()
    {
        return ObjectSerializer::sanitizeForSerialization($this);
    }

    /**
     * Gets the string presentation of the object
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function __toString()
    {
        return json_encode(
            ObjectSerializer::sanitizeForSerialization($this),
            JSON_PRETTY_PRINT
        );
    }

    /**
     * Gets a header-safe presentation of the object
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function toHeaderValue()
    {
        return json_encode(ObjectSerializer::sanitizeForSerialization($this));
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Fundamentals of Blockchain Network Security
Howard P.
VDI vs DaaS Cloud Services: What's the Difference?
Disaster Recovery Metrics: Understanding RPO & RTO
Ensuring Business Continuity: The 3-2-1 Backup Rule
Machine Learning Critical for Cybersecurity Defenders
Cyber Attackers Have Learned to Weaponize the Web Itself
The Days of Unsophisticated Phishing Attacks Are Gone
Getting Past Protections With Fileless Malware
Meeting AI's Full Potential with Human Wisdom
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Physical Security
Today's Smart City Requires More Than Smarter Devices
Mayhem as a Service: The New Hacker Economy
Taking Inventory: The 1st Step of Effective Cybersecurity
It's Beautiful When Real AI Delivers Real Innovation
Incentive-Based Security: How Blockchains Stay Secure
Network Segmentation: Breaking the Cyber Kill Chain
Multi-Cloud Orchestration or Open Source Platform?
Blockchain is a revolutionary technology, yet its security is often over-exaggerated. While its design does help protect against a variety of different security threats, the technology is vulnerable to attack. In this post, we discuss three of the fundamental security assumptions of blockchain and how they are violated.
(Mostly) Benign Participants
Blockchain technology is designed to create a secure, decentralized, and distributed record of the history of the blockchain system. The way that this is accomplished is by relying on the network of blockchain participants to (mostly) act in their own best interests and in that of the system as a whole.
A lot of blockchain security is based upon incentivizing users to do the right thing. Blockchain wants to make sure that users participate in block creation, so that the system remains decentralized. It does this by providing incentives for creating these blocks in the form of block rewards and transaction fees. To ensure that the creator of each block is chosen in a fair and decentralized fashion, it uses the concept of consensus algorithms.
Blockchain consensus algorithms are built on the principles of security via scarcity and majority vote. In a Proof of Work blockchain, like Bitcoin, the current version of the blockchain is the one supported by the majority of votes. A vote can be thought of as a "share" of a scarce resource that you control, where the scarce resource is computational power or hash rate. The higher your hash rate, the more votes that you have, and the more power that you have over the blockchain.
It's when a single user or group controls the majority of "votes" (a 51% attack) that this becomes a problem. Blockchain incentivizes good behavior by only providing rewards if your actions are accepted by majority vote (i.e. your blocks are added to the blockchain). If an attacker controls a majority of the votes, they can do whatever they want since their voting power ensures that their actions will be accepted. At this point, blockchain security falls apart.
Security of Cryptographic Primitives
The next basic security assumption of blockchain is that the cryptographic algorithms that are used for ensuring integrity and authenticity of the data in the system work as designed. This assumption transfers trust for maintaining the security of the ledger from people or organizations to cryptographic principles. If the cryptography is strong and is used as designed everything works out.
Blockchain uses two main types of cryptography to ensure its security: hash functions and public key cryptography. Hash functions are designed to protect the integrity of data by ensuring that no one can modify data on the blockchain without being detected. This is accomplished by making sure it is very difficult to find two versions of data that, when hashed, produce the same output value. So far, hash functions have worked as designed.
Public key cryptography is where cryptographic security tends to fall apart, and it's not the fault of the crypto. The public key cryptography currently in use makes two main assumptions:
No-one has a quantum computer
Private keys are properly protected
In all probability, assumption 1 has never been violated. Assumption 2, on the other hand, has. A lot. Google has numerous stories of people losing large amounts of cryptocurrency because their public keys are lost or stolen (by malware, phishing, etc.). Hackers have demonstrated that there's no need to build a quantum computer to break blockchain when you can just go after the user.
Connected, Functional Networks
Blockchains also make the assumption that the network that they run on is well connected and functional. The reason for this is to protect against a double-spend attack. In a double-spend attack, an attacker posts two conflicting versions of a transaction to the blockchain (i.e. spending the same value twice).
Under normal circumstances, this will be rejected since the network will reject one or the other of the transactions. One circumstance where it can succeed is if the attacker controls the consensus mechanism (see the first assumption above). The other is if users only see one transaction or the other.
Some network-level attacks against blockchain attempt to isolate one or more users from the rest of the network. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including malware, physical attacks, network-level attacks (BGP routing attacks, modifying firewall ACLs, etc.), and sybil attacks. If an attacker is successful in doing so, they can send one version of a conflicting transaction to one side of the network and the other version to the other. Since no user sees both versions of the transaction, they have no reason to reject it and add it to their copy of the blockchain. Once the target of the attack (the recipient of the transactions) accepts the transaction and acts upon it (i.e. sending whatever is purchased), the attacker can end the attack. At this point, whichever version of the blockchain is shorter is discarded, bringing the network back into consensus.
Blockchain Network Security: Designing a Secure System
When designing a blockchain system, it is important to perform a full risk assessment early in the process. It is important to understand the fundamental security assumptions made by blockchain technology and take action to mitigate any potential risks. The use of a private or permissioned blockchain, implementing secure key management processes, and properly designing the network used by the blockchain can go a long way toward improving the security of the system.
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Copyright © 2009-2020 WriteClick


text:
Dorcadion abakumovii is een keversoort uit de familie van de boktorren (Cerambycidae). De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort werd voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1865 door Thomson.

abakumovii


Well, this concludes our final moments in Kenya, our first and few moments in Germany, and our trip back home. Again, we thank all of you for taking this journey along with us. We couldn't have done any of this without your love, support, and prayers.
Our last full day in Kenya was our Safari day! We got up early, piled in a van, and traveled to Nairobi National Park to see wildlife in their natural habitat. Sadly, we weren't able to see any lions or elephants, but we did see zebras, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo, baboons, antelope, and much more. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery, just kilometers away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We did some local shopping and met some great people.
First lady met a gentleman who showed her how to make custom bracelets for her friends and family when she gets home. We all enjoyed watching him create bracelets and necklaces located at TRM.
We said our goodbyes to our Kenya family and our hellos to our German family for the day. We arrived in Frankfurt Germany where enjoyed the day touring the city, visiting the local Christmas shops, browsing the mall, and learning the hefty price for using the washroom. (It's usually only €1) We took in the beauty of the city before heading back to the airport and finishing our final leg of the journey.
We arrived home to snow laced trees and roads all leading us back to our respective houses. We reminisced of the awesome experiences we had on our trip and started making preparations for the next one.
This trip is the beginning of many other journeys God has prepared for Life Worth Living Church. We look forward to keeping you posted for all of them. Be on the lookout for the next step of faith God is bringing us to.