NastyFreckles . Elizalovely. SunnyBlondyy. AlezD.
tsbubbles9AmiraaDiamondsVictressMintBOYSHOTFUN .real4realelizzabykobaTastyVanessaXSamantaFoxxx .SweetWhiteFoxreal4realJamieAmerallisAmiraaDiamonds .LexcusLovegirlbigcockxxxShanellFoxEdmony .JamieAmerallisMaikRandallDULCEHOT26MaraBurke .0CollinBlueMaxAndDannyCuteOsolxMadX .KennyDeppJamieAmerallisJamieAmerallisMikeyHotStud4U .AcisCaressMeKinkyHugexBoobs1PornStarCarla .SweetWhiteFoxMILKMACHINETSMadXTransMilf .real4reala0DreamyDoryanMerriMadX .CressidasaJessKissesKimSweettLicoleta .
SweetySamMaraBurkebigpowerc0ckJessKisses .ClaireLittlereal4realCRISTHIANKING2KimLevy .real4realMistressMelatrisAcisKennyDepp .TastyVanessaXCaressMeKinkyLicoletasweetDREW2 .AmiraaDiamondsBOYSHOTFUNCurmNeroMikeyHotStud4U .CaressMeKinkyMegaBoobsGG0CollinBlueMILKYtits18 .MariaSweetHotAbsoluteLadyDianaPLSakura21inchi .babycandymehornydays6969JessKissesAnasia4you .RedHotGinMaikRandallbabycandymeAlexandraIvy .KennyDeppMaxAndDannyBelleDonnaXKimLevy .LexcusLoveYasmeenLagunaBrianaBoydScarlett19 .


Independence to us these days mean - holiday... flag hoisting... sweets and a day where every other channel wants to keep us busy and stuck to the idiot box... Honestly... I dont mind the day being spent like that ... but we should recollect the bitterly fought freedom that we enjoy today and show our patriotism by not strewing litter, saving electricity, fuel, that little affordable philanthropy and of course doing our very little bit in avoiding corruption in the social system. I definitely am trying this and well sure hope that little drops make na ocean.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering, add the urad dal followed by channa dal, curry leaves and green chillies.
Fry them and add the grated coconut. Reduce the flame and saute well by adding salt.
Add the cooked rice and slowly mix them without breaking the rice.
Remove and serve with potato chips and potato gravy.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering, add the urad dal followed by channa dal, curry leaves and green chillies.
Meanwhile grind carrot to paste without adding water ( Alternatively can also be grated ).
Add the carrot and saute well by adding grated coconut.
Arrange all the bands in a plate according to our national flag and serve with pride of being an Indian!!! " Jai Hind ".
Linking this recipe with sharan's " Celebrating Independence Day " and Preeti's " Jashn - E - Azzadi "
Colorful and perfectly done! Coconut rice is my favorite :) Thanks for sending this recipe to my event :), I have linked it.
Wish to expect some more entries from you..
What a nice feel..Delicious,yummy!!Happy Independence day!!


Know Midwest City Class of 1941 graduates that are NOT on this List? Help us Update the 1941 Class List by adding missing names.
More 1941 alumni from Midwest City HS have posted profiles on Classmates.com®. Click here to register for free at Classmates.com® and view other 1941 alumni.
If you are trying to find people that graduated in '41 at Midwest City HS in Midwest City, OK, check the alumni list below that shows the class of 1941.
While you are reminiscing about the times you spent in high school at Midwest City High School, you should also check out alumni photos, yearbook listings and share any reunion info if possible.


Documents the 1704 raid on Deerfield, MA, by 300 French and their Native American allies.
This website documents the 1704 raid on Deerfield, MA, by 300 French and their Native American allies. Visitors are introduced to the raid by a multimedia exhibit that describes white settlement patterns that led to profound cross-cultural tensions.
Explanations includes 15 short essays that provide historical background. "Voices and Songs" provides audio commentary for the 300th anniversary of the raid, three audio versions of Native American creation stories, and 17th- and 18th-century music. Meet the Five Cultures includes brief introductions to the English, French, Mohawk, Huron, and Wobanaki.
Twenty-eight individual biographies include Native Americans, French, and English settlers. Fourteen maps depict Native American territories and the areas involved. After viewing the evidence, visitors are asked to decide whether the raid was part of a larger pattern of cross-cultural violence or an aberration.
Dance, But Not That Way . . .


text:
Opening Bell: 08.20.13
Blackstone's property star looks to build on real estate empire (FT)
Today, Blackstone is the largest property purchaser in the world and the largest property owner in northern California – and many other places as well. It is building a rapidly expanding business providing finance to other operators, taking advantage of the reluctance of banks to lend for property. It is now turning to Europe, where it aims to raise a fund worth up to $5bn to exploit the absence of capital and widespread distress, and to Asia where it has raised $1.5bn towards a similar sized fund, investors say. It has become a powerful global operator with holdings from Australia to Brazil, and India to Ireland – where it recently bought Dublin's largest hotel for 80 per cent less than its previous owners paid in 2007. Mr Gray is rapidly becoming the public face of Blackstone and is seen within the group as the likely eventual successor to founder Steve Schwarzman. ... "Jon Gray is better than anyone at making cyclical market calls," says Guy Metcalfe, a real estate banker at Morgan Stanley.
Pension Funds Dispute Math in Detroit Bankruptcy (WSJ)
The two pension funds that represent Detroit's city workers and retirees are challenging the way the city's emergency manager has calculated their unfunded liabilities, leading to a possible showdown in federal bankruptcy court over whether the city's financial position is as dire as state officials are claiming. The two funds have long maintained they were relatively well-funded using accepted actuarial projections. But the city, under the control of emergency manager Kevyn Orr, in July argued that the projected shortfall of the funds is at least $3.5 billion, more than five times previous estimates. Now, as pensions, unions and residents rushed to meet a Monday deadline to oppose the Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings—the largest-ever municipal filing—the pensions are saying the emergency manager relied on a report that used overly conservative assumptions on the returns the funds earn on their investments, which led to the ballooning of their projected shortfall.
JC Penney posts loss of $2.16 per share, double projections
(CNBC)
J.C. Penney on Tuesday posted a quarterly loss of $2.16 a share on revenue of $2.66 billion, more than twice that projected by analysts. Analysts had expected Penny to report a quarterly loss of $1.06 a share on $2.76 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters. But it's not as ugly as it first appeared because the adjusted $2.16 loss does not exclude a 99 cent loss "associated with tax valuation allowance."
Bankers Supplanted by Elves as Iceland Chases Cash (Bloomberg)
Left with a battered economy after the 2008 collapse of its three-largest banks, the Nordic nation is returning to its roots for growth -- sending its fishing fleet out in records and touting its glaciers and volcanoes to attract tourists. Locals are also reaching back into Iceland's folklore as a home to elves and other spirits to gain foreign currency. ... Ragnhildur Jonsdottir, who lives in Hafnarfjordur, a small town south of Reykjavik, is benefiting from the island's reputation as a home to "hidden folks" as they are called. She last year had more than 1,000 visitors to the Hellisgerdi Park, home to the "Elf Garden." There are also elf schools and shops across the island tout merchandise related to the beings, who according to legend live in rocks. "The elves could help Iceland restore its economy, if we were willing to heed their advice," Jonsdottir said with smile in an interview this month in Hafnarfjordur.
Earn more money, when you have more sex, study says (seriously!) (NBC)
A new study finds that sexually active people make more money. And if you do it more than four times a week, you earn even more, the study shows. "There is a monotonic relationship between the frequency of sexual activity and wage returns," Nick Drydakis, a senior economics lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in England wrote in a paper for the International Journal of Manpower.
Everbright Shares Plunge 10% as Brokerage Risks Penalties (Bloomberg)
Everbright Securities Co. plunged in Shanghai as the broker faces possible fines and more restrictions on business after an unprecedented stock trading error that threatens to erode confidence in China's market. The shares fell by the 10 percent daily limit to 10.91 yuan at the close today, with trading volumes about 68 percent below this month's average. ... State-controlled Everbright had been suspended since it made 23.4 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) of erroneous buy orders on Aug. 16, an event the China Securities Regulatory Commission described as the first of its kind. The company mispriced 10 million yuan of government bonds yesterday. The CSRC banned Everbright from proprietary trading for three months as the regulator seeks to lure investors back to the world's second-worst performing stock market in the past four years.
Banks Work Around China's Lending Limits (WSJ)
Chinese regulators have tried for months to rein in lending by the country's banks, most recently by instigating a cash squeeze that left some scrambling for funds. But the banks have stayed one step ahead, keeping the lending spigots open largely through increasingly complicated transactions. The banks' latest effort in their cat-and-mouse game with regulators involves making corporate loans appear on their balance sheets as less risky loans to banks. This allows banks to skirt limits on lending to customers but hides risks that they will be hit by big losses.
Glencore seeks fresh start with $7.7 bln hit to Xstrata mines (Reuters)
Glencore Xstrata took a $7.7 billion hit on Xstrata's mining assets on Tuesday, drastically reducing the value of early-stage projects after falling prices dragged down first-half profit. The mining industry has been pummelled by billions of dollars in writedowns since the start of the year, with cooling prices and demand prospects denting the value of mining projects. Glencore had been expected to follow suit once it completed the acquisition of Xstrata, and in its first post-takeover results on Tuesday it announced the figure alongside a 9 percent drop in core profit.
Blackstone to Sell Broadgate Interest for $2.7 Billion (Bloomberg)
Blackstone Group LP (BX), the biggest manager of private-equity real estate funds, agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in London's Broadgate complex for more than 1.7 billion pounds ($2.66 billion) in one of Europe's largest office deals, said two people with knowledge of the transaction. A sovereign-wealth fund is under contract to acquire the interest, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal is private. Norway's government-wealth fund, which had been in talks to buy the stake, isn't the purchaser, one of the people said, declining to identify the buyer. New York-based Blackstone had agreed not to sell the stake for three years after buying it in a 2009 purchase that valued the whole complex at 2.1 billion pounds, and invested additional capital to improve the property.
Cash-Poor Companies Feed Investor Hunger for 'Happy Meals' (WSJ)
When Energy Conversion Devices Inc. needed cash, the struggling solar-panel maker turned itself into what Wall Street likes to call a "Happy Meal." To make $316 million in bonds more appetizing, the company agreed to lend millions of its shares to hedge funds buying the bonds so they could simultaneously sell the stock in a bet against Energy Conversion's success. ... Companies strapped for cash serve up everything the funds need to profit: bonds that are convertible into stock if the borrower does well, and tools for betting against the company if its prospects sour.
Oversight Board Faults Broker-Dealer Audits (DealBook)
Auditors performed complete and correct audits of at least three brokerage firms last year, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said Monday. That amounted to only 5 percent of the 60 audits reviewed by the board, but it may still be a sign of progress. During the previous year — the first in which the board reviewed such audits — none of the 23 audits examined were found to be acceptable. ... The audit problems do not necessarily mean that many of the brokerage firms' financial statements were wrong. Instead, they indicate that the auditing firms either had conflicts of interest that prevented them from doing an independent audit or that those audits failed to do the work needed to qualify as acceptable.
Meet Sunny: The Obamas' New Puppy (White House)
Sunny was born in Michigan in June 2012, and arrived at the White House today. Just like Bo, she's a Portuguese Water Dog, which works great for the Obamas because of allergies in their family. Sunny is the perfect little sister for Bo – full of energy and very affectionate – and the First Family picked her name because it fit her cheerful personality.
Volusia County man arrested for keeping alligator in bathtub, cops say (Click Orlando)
A Deltona man has been arrested on charges of alligator poaching on Monday morning after deputies say his mother called the cops on him because he wouldn't remove the alligator from his bathtub. Sean Lewis, 45, told deputies his female friend dropped off the alligator at his home on Gloria Drive several days earlier and was supposed to come back to get it, but never came back. According to the report, Lewis' mother told him to move the alligator from the home several times, but Lewis said he would after a few days. When he wouldn't remove the alligator, his mother called Volusia County deputies, who removed the alligator from the home.
Apple To Announce Plans For Cash Hoard (WSJ) Apple will outline what it plans to do with a growing pile of cash by next month, according to Howard Ward, chief investment officer at Gamco Investors Inc. Apple, which has been grappling with investor criticism over the handling of its $137.1 billion in cash and investments, will add $42 billion in earnings to that sum in 2013, Ward said. Greenlight Capital Inc.'s David Einhorn has been urging Cupertino, California-based Apple to issue high-yielding preferred shares to spread the funds among investors. Investors are also urging Apple to consider a higher dividend payout. "We're going to get an announcement from the company as to how they intend to reallocate some of their cash," Ward said in an interview today on Bloomberg Radio's "Surveillance" with Tom Keene. "They will put a floor under their stock at a higher price than it is today." AIG shareholders win class-action status in lawsuit versus U.S. (Reuters) Two groups of American International Group shareholders won class-action status from a federal judge on Monday in a $25 billion lawsuit by former Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg over alleged losses caused by the U.S. government's bailout of the insurer. U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Thomas Wheeler also appointed Greenberg's lawyer, David Boies, of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, as lead counsel for the classes. Greenberg's Starr International Co, once AIG's largest shareholder with a 12 percent stake, sued the United States in 2011 over what eventually became a $182.3 billion bailout for the New York-based insurer. It said that by taking a 79.9 percent AIG stake and then conducting a reverse stock split without letting existing shareholders vote, the government conducted an illegal taking that violated the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Citing Boies' estimate that "tens of thousands" of shareholders might be affected, Wheeler said "class certification is by far the most efficient method of adjudicating these claims." Both Sides Of SEC Nominee Face Heat (WSJ) In one version, Ms. White is a no-holds-barred crime fighter known for stretching the law to jail mob bosses and international terrorists. In another, Ms. White is a friend of Wall Street who worked for the past decade for the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where she represented giant banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase. Blackstone: We're Betting Big On Residential Real Estate (CNBC) "Blackstone is now the largest owner of individual houses in the United States," Schwarzman told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Monday, pointing to his company's $3 billion portfolio of residential real estate. But given the nascent recovery in the housing market, they're not buying and selling them quickly but rather renting them out. "It's a good business for us. It's a new thing, but it's also good for America," he said. Icahn Gets Confidential Look At Feds Books (Reuters) Dell Inc has agreed to give Carl Icahn a closer look at its books, less than a week after the activist investor joined a growing chorus of opposition to founder Michael Dell's plan to take the world's No. 3 personal computer maker private...A source with knowledge of the situation said Icahn's and Dell's confidentiality agreement does not have a contractual "standstill" obligation - meaning he is not obligated to stop trading stock in the company. But the activist investor would not be able to trade the stock while he is privy to non-public information in any case, the source added. Phoenix society gives gator happier life with prosthesis (AZC) The alligator is Mr. Stubbs, who is part science project, part human endeavor, and much more. He's also half-gator, half-rubber. The 11-year-old crocodilian now sports a 3-foot-long prosthetic tail, attached firmly with nylon straps. It replaces the original, which was bitten off more than eight years ago. As far as anyone at the Phoenix Herpetological Society knows, Mr. Stubbs is the first alligator to tolerate, if not sport, a prosthesis. It will take months, however, before Mr. Stubbs learns how to properly use the tail. For now, handlers are happy with smaller milestones. "The fact he doesn't try to bite it (the tail) is a good sign," said Russ Johnson, president of the Phoenix Herpetological Society. "Learning how to use it is going to take a lot of training." The months-long project was overseen by someone well-versed in anatomy. Marc Jacofsky is executive vice president of research and development at the CORE Institute in Phoenix, which specializes in orthopedic care — for humans. While visiting the Herpetological Society, Jacofsky was asked if it would be possible to make an artificial tail for Mr. Stubbs. "I looked and saw there was enough there that we could probably do something that wouldn't involve surgery," Jacofsky said. "I also liked the idea because it would improve his life. Our motto at the CORE Institute is 'Keep life in motion,' and this certainly fit in with that. I was on board." Jacofsky estimated the project has cost the Core Institute about $6,000 in donated labor and materials. Mr. Stubbs had been a project since shortly after arriving at the center in May 2005. The then-3-year-old gator was one of 32 confiscated from the back of a truck pulled over near Casa Grande, Johnson said. Officers called in the Arizona Game and Fish Department as soon as the cargo made its presence known. "Scared the heck out of the officer," Johnson said. "No one expects to find alligators when you look into the back of a truck." Greece Faces 150,000 Job-Cut Hurdle to Aid Payment (Bloomberg) Greece is locked in talks with international creditors in Athens about shrinking the government workforce by enough to keep bailout payments flowing. Identifying redundant positions and putting in place a system that will lead to mandatory exits for about 150,000 civil servants by 2015 is a so-called milestone that will determine whether the country gets a 2.8 billion-euro ($3.6 billion) aid instalment due this month. More than a week of talks on that has so far failed to clinch an agreement. Failed Sale Of Gleacher Is A Warning For Directors (WSJ) The Dell drama is still unfolding, but for a cautionary tale of how boards, even when they may be well-intentioned, can harm investors of a takeover target, take Gleacher. Shares in the small investment bank have lost more than 60% in the past year as the prospects for a deal evaporated, business dwindled and star traders left. Ironically for a firm that bears the name of Eric Gleacher, who made his name advising on big deals in the 1980s, the company failed to sell itself. At least as some critics see it, its independent directors are to blame. SEC Says Illinois Hid Pension Troubles (WSJ) For years, Illinois officials misled investors and shortchanged the state pension system, leaving future generations of taxpayers to foot the bill, U.S. securities regulators allege. The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged Illinois with securities fraud, marking only the second time the agency has filed civil-fraud charges against a state. Bernanke Provokes Mystery Over Fed Stimulus Exit (Bloomberg) When Ben S. Bernanke asserted last month that the Federal Reserve doesn't ever have to sell assets, he raised questions about how the central bank can withdraw its record monetary stimulus without stoking inflation. The Fed may decide to hold the bonds on its balance sheet to maturity as part of a review of the exit strategy Bernanke expects will be done "sometime soon," he told lawmakers in Washington on Feb. 27. This would help address concerns that dumping assets on the market will lead to a rapid rise in borrowing costs. It also allows the Fed to avoid realizing losses on its bond holdings as interest rates climb. Man shot in buttocks at Calle Ocho Festival unaware he was wounded (Miami Herald) The shooting occurred around 4:30 p.m. as the man walked along Southwest Eighth Street and 11th Avenue, part of the throng of revelers who gather annually at the street festival in Little Havana. It's unclear if something sparked the violence between the two men, or if the shooting was unprovoked. At first the victim did not realize he had been shot and kept strolling along the festival route. "He discovered later that he was bleeding and then passed out," said Miami police spokesman Sgt. Freddie Cruz. The victim, who was hit in the left buttocks, was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he is in stable condition and expected to recover.
Trading Case Embroils KPMG (WSJ) Scott London, the partner in charge of audits of Herbalife Ltd. and Skechers USA Inc. until KPMG fired him last week, told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday that "I regret my actions in leaking nonpublic data to a third party." Mr. London said his leaks "started a few years back," adding that KPMG bore "no responsibility" for his actions. "What I have done was wrong and against everything" he believed in, said Mr. London, who was based in Los Angeles for the accounting firm...Neither KPMG nor Mr. London named the recipient of Mr. London's tips. The recipient isn't associated with a hedge fund or other professional investor, said one person familiar with the matter. Obama Proposes $3.77 Trillion Budget to Revive Debt Talks (Bloomberg) Obama's budget for fiscal 2014 proposes $50 billion for roads, bridges and other public works, $1 billion to spur manufacturing innovation and $1 billion for an initiative to revamp higher education, according to administration officials who briefed reporters and asked to not be identified. It renews his request to raise $580 billion in revenue by limiting deductions and closing loopholes for top earners. Obama again seeks adoption of the Buffett rule, named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, to impose a 30 percent minimum tax on households with more than $1 million in annual income. The administration projects the deficit for fiscal 2014 would be $744 billion, or 4.4 percent of the economy. That would mark the first budget shortfall of less than $1 trillion since Obama took office. Soros Tells Germany It Should Leave The Euro (CNBC) "The financial problem is that Germany is imposing the wrong policies on the euro zone. Austerity doesn't work. You can't shrink the debt burden by shrinking the budget deficit," Soros, the founder and chairman of Soros Fund Management,said during a speech in Germany's financial center of Frankfurt on Tuesday. Ackman Expected To Stick With JCPenney (NYP) The New York hedge-fund tycoon is expected to stay put as JCPenney's biggest investor, with a nearly 18 percent stake, and back the retailer's scramble to repair the damage done by ousted CEO Ron Johnson, sources told The Post. That's despite the fact that it was Ackman who installed Johnson at the helm of the company 17 months ago with an ambitious but doomed plan to overhaul the aging department-store chain. "The priority right now is stabilizing the company and finding a permanent CEO," according to an insider close to the situation, adding that Ackman appeared to be playing a key role in the process. Blackstone Solicits Partners For Dell Bid (WSJ) Blackstone Group LP is talking to several technology companies about potentially joining its bid to take computer maker Dell private, people familiar with the matter said. Any technology firm that joins the private-equity giant's potential bid for Dell would likely be involved in the company's strategic direction as well as having a financial role, the people said. Blackstone has discussed a number of scenarios with prospective partners, including an equity stake, debt financing or a combination of the two, one of the people said. City officials say they're powerless to stop Time Square's growing hoard of costume-wearing hustlers (NYP) The city used to tell the furry fiends where they could set up. But a court decision last year ruled the characters could not be treated like vendors because they are entertainers who work for tips. "Our ability to treat these characters as vendors was eliminated," said city lawyer Gabriel Taussig. "And, absent of vending laws, there is no other law that comes close to dealing with where they can be located." The most recent trouble came when Osvaldo Quiroz-Lopez, who was dressed as Cookie Monster, got into a tussle with the toddler son of Bollywood star Parmita Katkar after the mom said she didn't have the money to tip for a picture. His bust followed a slew of similar cases, including a man dressed as Super Mario who was accused of groping a woman and an Elmo who went on an anti-Semitic rant. Some Fed Members Fear Monetary Policy Effects (CNBC) Minutes from the most recent Fed meeting suggest that members have grown increasingly concerned that things could get messy if it continues its policies too far into the future. Among those concerns are instability to the financial system, a sudden rise in interest rates and inflation. Bill Gross Raises Holdings of Treasuries to Highest Since July (Bloomberg) Gross raised the holdings of Treasuries held in his $289 billion flagship fund at Pacific Investment Management Co. to 33 percent of assets last month, the highest level since July. JPM On A Whale Of A Roll (NYP) Jamie Dimon is hoping another solid performance from his sprawling bank can finally sink the London Whale. JPMorgan Chase will kick off bank earnings as it nears the anniversary of the embarrassing trading scandal, which Dimon famously dismissed back on April 13 of last year as a "tempest in a teapot." The bank is expected to benefit from the continuing stabilization of the US economy that could allow it to release capital reserves again — a move that will have the effect of helping boost its overall earnings. Barclays analyst Jason Goldberg estimates that JPMorgan will report earnings of $1.33 a share — 6 cents less than consensus estimates of $1.39 a share. Some analysts believe that the bank will beat the consensus by a few cents after buying back shares and hiking its dividend to 38 cents. Soup heist ends with Tamarac turnpike arrest (Sun Sentinel) A Florida Highway Patrol trooper tracking the rig's GPS signal arrested the driver for the alleged soup heist on Florida's Turnpike in Tamarac about 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Eusebio Diaz Acosta, 51, of Orlando, was charged with two counts of grand theft — one for the tractor trailer and one for the cargo, with a combined value of $350,000. "These are very unusual facts," Broward County Judge John "Jay" Hurley said as he read from Acosta's arrest report Monday morning. "The court has seen many things stolen. … This is the first time the court's ever seen $75,000 worth of soup stolen."
Opening Bell: 1.14.15
Opening Bell: 5.6.15
Flash crash overhaul going nowhere fast; JP Morgan to settle forex investigation; Nas is an investor in 40 startups; "Bearded men defend their facial feces traps"; and more.
ECB Threatens To Cut Off Cypriot Banks (WSJ) The European Central Bank ramped up pressure on Cyprus to seal a bailout agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund by Monday, making further funding for the island's ailing banks contingent on a deal. The ECB said it would extend emergency funding that has kept the island's banks in operation while the bailout plan was being negotiated in recent months only until Monday. "Thereafter, Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) could only be considered if an European Union/International Monetary Fund program is in place that would ensure the solvency of the concerned banks," the ECB said in a statement. Italy's Five-Star Party Reiterates Demand for Euro Referendum (WSJ) Representatives of Italy's Five-Star Movement reiterated their anti-establishment party's demands for a referendum on the country's membership of the euro, and insisted that they should form the country's next government. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano is consulting political leaders on forming a government after last month's inconclusive election result. Deustche Bank Legal Bill Mounts (WSJ) Deustche Bank revised fourth-quarter earnings downward, setting aside about €600 million ($773 million) in legal provisions for U.S. mortgage litigation in another sign that mounting legal liabilities are cutting into investment -bank profits. The bank updated its fourth-quarter net loss to 2.54 billion euros, wider than the originally reported loss of €2.17 billion. This compared with a profit of €147 million a year earlier. The bank also reiterated that it would make first-quarter targets for a key measure of the bank's health known as the capital ratio, indicating a strong first quarter, analysts said. Deutsche Bank has now set aside €2.4 billion for litigation, with additional identified non-provisioned legal risks of €1.5 billion. The bank's legal provisions were nearly 10 times net profit of €237 million for 2012, compared with a profit of €4.1 billion in 2011. Total legal risk is likely much higher than what the bank has publicly identified, analysts said. Lululemon Sees Sheerness Issue Hitting Profits (WSJ) Lululemon Athletica said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit climbed 48%, but said it expects the transparency issue related to some of its yoga pants to reduce first-quarter earnings by 11 to 12 cents a share. Bernanke Saying He's Dispensable Suggests Tenure Ending (Bloomberg) Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said he's "spoken to the president a bit" about his future and that he feels no personal responsibility to stay at the helm until the Fed winds down its unprecedented policies to stimulate the economy. "I don't think that I'm the only person in the world who can manage the exit," Bernanke said when asked at a news conference in Washington if he's discussed his plans with President Barack Obama. His term expires at the end of January. Personal assistant pleads guilty to embezzling 821G from hedge funder Todd Meister (NYP) After a year of denials, glamorous Ukranian embezzler Renata Shamrakova admitted in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday that she stole nearly $1 million while working as the personal assistant to hedge funder Todd Meister. Under the plea deal, she will serve no jail time but must repay what she took within two years. "Yes, your honor," Shamrakova told the judge, when asked if she had committed grand larceny in the second degree by stealing from Meister, 42, a Harvard-educated money man who famously married Nicky Hilton for just six weeks in 2004. Shamrakova, 28, wore a gray cashmere sweater over a short, floral-print skirt and spoke in a quiet, girlish voice as she sat at the defense table and admitted her crimes. In addition to ripping off Meister, she tried to dodge a search warrant by hiding financial records. Dell Walks Fine Line in Pitch for Buyout (WSJ) Mr. Dell needs to persuade Dell Inc. investors that the prospects for the company he founded in his dorm room in 1984 and has been running for the past six years are anything but rosy if he is to succeed with his plan to take the computer maker private. Friday marks the end of a 45-day window to flush out alternative offers to the $24.4 billion buyout deal that Mr. Dell and private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners reached last month. The $13.65-a-share offer has sparked derision from some shareholders who believe the price undervalues the Round Rock, Texas, company. No alternative bid has been offered, but late Wednesday Blackstone Group LP was working on a few scenarios for a potential bid that would see the private-equity giant team with a partner to buy all or part of the computer maker, according to people familiar with the matter. JPMorgan To Return Money To MF Global Customers (AP) JPMorgan Chase has agreed to a deal that will return $546 million to former customers of trading firm MF Global Holdings Ltd., which collapsed in 2011 with $1.6 billion missing from its accounts. Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Rise Less Than Forecast (Bloomberg) Applications for jobless benefits increased by 2,000 to 336,000 in the week ended March 16, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists projected 340,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The monthly average, which smoothes the week-to-week volatility, dropped to the lowest level since February 2008. Regulator finds flaws in Deutsche Bank's Libor supervision (Reuters) German markets watchdog Bafin is set to tell Deutsche Bank of "organizational flaws" in how it supervised its contribution to the setting of inter-bank lending rates at the heart of the international rate-rigging scandal, sources familiar with the watchdog's investigation said. Wis. limits use of nude beach to reduce sex, drugs (AP) Wisconsin authorities announced Tuesday they will shut down one of nation's most popular nude beaches on weekdays after struggling for years to curtail sex and drugs on the sandbar and surrounding woods. Nudists from around the country have been traveling to the public beach on the Wisconsin River near Mazomanie, about 25 miles northwest of Madison, for decades as word spread that prosecutors in ultra-liberal Dane County wouldn't go after anyone for showing skin. But visitors haven't stopped at just stripping down. They've been slipping off into the woods for trysts and drugs. Authorities say that's crossing the line, but they haven't been able to stop the shenanigans. Their frustration reached a tipping point Tuesday, when the state Department of Natural Resources announced it will close the beach, the islands immediately off it and the surrounding woods to the public on weekdays, when wardens say troublemakers tend to operate unseen. The closures begin immediately. The area will remain open on weekends, though. Bob Morton, executive director of the Austin, Tex.-based Naturist Action Committee, which lobbies on behalf of nudists, has visited the beach several times. He criticized the DNR for not consulting with beachgoers before closing the area. "Honestly, we're on their side when it comes to enforcing things that are lewd and lascivious," Morton said. "There's something to be said about consulting the users of the place. There's got to be more to this somewhere."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Soft Skills Self Development
Mastery. Marginalia ROBERT GREENE
No Comments on Mastery. Marginalia ROBERT GREENE
1 Mastery Marginalia ROBERT GREENE 1 Mastery
2 What follows are supplementary Mastery quotes that complement and contextualize what you're reading in the book. It is similar in nature to the side material that has accompanied my previous books, and is only available in this document. As you will see, the material is best read in conjunction with the book. I hope you enjoy it and it helps you on your own way to achieving mastery. ROBERT GREENE 2 Mastery
3 Introduction Pp Mastery
4 It should also be noted that even today, humans have a potential for skills and symbolic thought that is probably never, in any of us, fully exploited. We could learn languages, aspects of mathematics, crafts, or sporting skills that we do not in fact learn. We are endowed with considerably more potential than we can use in a mere lifetime. MICHAEL C. CORBALLIS, The Lopsided Ape: Evolution of the Generative Mind Stating the thing broadly, the human individual thus lives usually far within his limits; he possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use. He energizes below his maximum, and he behaves below his optimum. In elementary faculty, in coordination, in power of inhibition and control, in every conceivable way, his life is contracted like the field of vision of a hysteric subject but with less excuse, for the poor hysteric is diseased, while in the rest of us it is only an inveterate habit the habit of inferiority to our full self that is bad. Admit so much, then, and admit also that the charge of being inferior to their full self is far truer of some men than of others; then the practical question ensues: to what do the better men owe their escape? And, in the fluctuations which all men feel in their own degree of energizing, to what are the improvements due, when they occur? In general terms, the answer is plain: Either some unusual stimulus fills them with emotional excitement, or some unusual idea of necessity induces them to make an extra effort of will. Excitements, ideas, and efforts, in a word, are what carry us over the dam. WILLIAM JAMES, ON VITAL RESERVES In this universe, there is a great treasure. If you possess it, then whether you are a boatman or a cartman, a servant or a maid, you are a person of great fortune and virtue and wisdom. If you don t possess it, then even if you are an 4 Mastery
5 emperor, a daimyo, with high rank and great wealth, you are poor and ignorant, a person of low estate. ZEN MASTER HAKUIN, Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin Snell s mention of a man who walks like a lion betraying a kinship with the beast is not just poetical, but has a practical meaning. Trackers, in cultures dependent on hunting, learn to get inside the animal they are tracking, to reflect it as much as possible in their own being, what it must have been feeling and thinking as it left its track: this is how they succeed in finding it. Perhaps, when we empathise, we actually become the object of our empathy, and share its life. We already know from the discovery of the existence of mirror neurones that when we imitate something that we can see, it is as if we are experiencing it. But it goes further than this. Mental representation, in the absence of direct visual or other stimulus in other words, imagining brings into play some of the same neurones that are involved in direct perception. It is clear from this that, even when we so much as imagine doing something, never mind actually imitate it, it is, at some level which is far from negligible, as if we are actually doing it ourselves. Imagining something, watching someone else do something, and doing it ourselves share important neural foundations. IAIN MCGILCHRIST, The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World At a very rudimentary level we are reminded of this reciprocity of self and others each time a newborn baby mimics an adult s behavior. Stick your tongue out at a newborn baby and the baby will stick its tongue out too, poignantly dissolving the boundary, the arbitrary barrier, between self and 5 Mastery
6 others. To do this it must create an internal model of your action and then re enact it in its own brain. An astonishing ability, given that it cannot even see its own tongue, and so must match the visual appearance of your tongue with the felt position of its own. We now know that this carried out by a specific group of neurons, in the frontal lobes, called the mirror neurons. I suspect that these neurons are at least partly involved in generating our sense of embodied self awareness as well as our empathy for others. In addition to their obvious role in empathy, mind reading and evolution of language mirror neurons may have also played a vital role in the emergence of another important capacity of our minds namely, learning through imitation and therefore the transmission of culture. Polar bears had to go through millions of years of natural selection of genes to evolve a fur coat, but a human child can acquire the skill required to make a coat by simply watching his parent slaying a bear and skinning it. Once the mirror neuron system became sophisticated enough, this remarkable ability imitation and mimesis liberated humans from the constraints of a strictly gene based evolution. The result was a rapid horizontal spread and vertical transmission of cultural innovations of the kind that took place about 50,000 to 75,000 years ago leading to the so called great leap forward the relatively sudden dissemination of one of a kind accidental cultural innovations like fire, sophisticated multi component tools, personal adornments, rituals, art, shelter etc. Among the great apes, orangutans alone are reputed to display imitation of sophisticated skills often watching the keeper and picking locks or even paddling across a river in a canoe. If our species becomes extinct, they may well inherit the earth. V.S. RAMACHANDRAN, A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness Carl Friedrich Gauss, the great mathematician [his] father was a bricklayer, his mother a peasant, and Gauss s own son came nowhere close to matching his 6 Mastery
7 father s mathematical skills. Many of the top notch creative geniuses appear to have no family pedigree whatsoever. Consider the cases of Newton, Shakespeare, Beethoven, and Michelangelo. DEAN KEITH SIMONTON, Origins of Genius: Darwinian Perspectives on Creativity Never tell anyone he has no talent. That you may not say. That you do not know. That is the one absolute prohibition laid down. MARTHA GRAHAM, QUOTED IN Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille What makes the difference between an outstandingly creative person and a less creative one is not any special power, but greater knowledge (in the form of practiced expertise) and the motivation to acquire and use it. This motivation endures for long periods, perhaps shaping and inspiring a whole lifetime. MARGARET A. BODEN, The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms If children grew up according to early inclinations, we should have nothing but geniuses. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, The Autobiography of Goethe, vol. 1 But starting in the 1990s, this static view of the brain was steadily supplanted by a much more dynamic picture. The brain s so called modules don t do their jobs in isolation; there is a great deal of back and forth interaction between them, far more than previously suspected. Changes in the operation of one module say, from damage, or from maturation, or from learning and life experience can lead to significant changes in the operations of many other modules to which it is connected. To a surprising extent, one module can even take over the functions of another. Far from being wired up according to rigid, prenatal genetic blueprints, the brain s wiring is highly malleable and not just 7 Mastery
8 in infants and young children, but throughout every adult lifetime. We can now say with confidence that the brain is an extraordinarily plastic biological system that is in a state of dynamic equilibrium with the external world. Even its basic connections are being constantly updated in response to changing sensory demands. And if you take mirror neurons into account, then we can infer that your brain is also in synch with other brains analogous to a global Internet of Facebook pals constantly modifying and enriching each other. V.S. RAMACHANDRAN, The Tell Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist s Quest for What Makes Us Human 8 Mastery
9 hapter I Pp DISCOVER YOUR CALLING: THE LIFE S TASK 9 Mastery
10 Although each organism is genetically constrained to develop certain features characteristic of the species, these genetic codes cannot dictate the exact destination of each developing neuron. Millions of neurons grow and die during this time, travel great distances, and forge connections quite unpredictably. So even though the overall pattern of brain regions is similar from person to person, each individual is born with a structurally unique brain. This prenatal level of selection organizes the brain into primary repertoires singular groups of neuronal connections that create the first marks of individuality at birth. JOHN J. RATEY, M.D., A User s Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain An unfulfilled vocation drains the colour from a man s entire existence. HONORÉ DE BALZAC, La Maison Nucingen I respect a person who knows quite clearly what he wants and steadfastly proceeds in that direction, with a true sense of direction and purpose. Believe me the greatest part of misfortune, and what is considered evil in the world, comes about because people fail to recognize their true goals, or, if they do, to work steadily toward them. They are like those who have the sense that a tower should be built, but whose materials and efforts only suffice for a cottage. If you, my friend, whose highest aspiration was to come to terms with your nature, had adapted yourself to your family, a fiancé instead of making the great and bold sacrifices that you have, you would have been in continual conflict with yourself and never known a single moment of peace. Whether it be reason or feeling that makes us abandon one thing for another, or choose this over that, it is my belief that steadfastness and persistence are the qualities most to be respected in any human being. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, Wilhelm Meister s Apprenticeship 10 Mastery
11 What are geniuses like? What kinds of people are they? They are hugely diverse, but a few characteristics are shared by virtually all of them. The first is an intense curiosity and dedication to one s work. Geniuses are usually sure about what they want to do, single minded, committed, and they have a firm sense of direction. They often work with a ferocity and intensity, even when impeded by doubts and frustrations. They also share a capacity for sustained diligence. Isaac Newton said that he discovered the law of universal gravitation by thinking about it continuously; Charles Darwin attributed much of his success to a capacity to reflect for years on an unexplained problem; Einstein asserted that curiosity, determination, and hard work were vital ingredients of his effectiveness, and the great English painter J.M. Turner, asked to reveal the secret of his success, gave the straight reply the only secret I have got is damned hard work.perseverance is at least as crucial as intelligence. An interesting and perhaps surprising research finding is that, compared with assessments of young children s intelligence, indications of their capacity to delay gratification and avoid acting too impulsively are better predictors of future competence. It is especially advantageous to be able to keep trying. MICHAEL J.A. HOWE, Genius Explained Geniuses are the luckiest of mortals because what they must do is the same as what they most want to do. W.H. AUDEN Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil. And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness 11 Mastery
12 of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet." But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass; And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving. Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine. And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night. KAHLIL GIBRAN, "ON WORK" As a young woman, Florence told friends that she would one day marry and have a son named Glenn who would be musical. She played music to him when he was in the womb, and she surrounded him with music from the day he was born: she sang and played for him, played the radio and recordings, and generously exposed him to what music Toronto had to offer. Glenn s gifts quickly became apparent. As a baby a few days old, said Bert [his father], he would reach his arms up and flex his fingers almost as if playing a scale. When he was three years old, Glenn s parents determined 12 Mastery
13 that he had perfect pitch when he correctly named a note being sung on a record. When he was four, Florence began to give him piano lessons, and he took to the instrument instinctively. By the time he was five, he was picking out tunes and making up his own. He loved playing, and never needed to be encouraged to do so. He would practice for hours, and his parents eventually had to enforce daily time limits (Fulford remembered a four hour limit being imposed at one point.) Bert said that locking the piano was more effective than corporal punishment in enforcing discipline. As early as age five or six Glenn had decided he would become a professional pianist. KEVIN BAZZANA, Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould Coming home late at night, regretfully leaving electrometers, test tubes and accurate balances, [Madame Curie] undressed and lay down on her narrow bed. But she could not sleep. An exaltation different from all those she had known kept her from sleep. Her vocation, for so long uncertain, had flashed into life. She was summoned to obey a secret order. She was suddenly in a hurry, whipped onward. When she took the test tubes of the Museum of Industry and Agriculture into her fine, clever hands [Curie] returned, as if by magic, to the absorbing memories of her childhood, to her father s physics apparatus, motionless in its glass case, with which, in the old days, she had always wanted to play. She had taken up the thread of her life again. EVE CURIE, Madame Curie: A Biography Nancy Edison also sensed, or discovered by chance, the real direction of her son s interests; for one day she brought forth an elementary book of physical science, R.G. Parker s School of Natural Philosophy, which described and illustrated various scientific experiments that could be performed at home. Now 13 Mastery
14 his mother found that the boy had truly caught fire. This was the first book in science I read when a boy, nine years old, the first I could understand, [Thomas Edison] later said. Here, learning became a game that he loved. He read and tested out every experiment in Parker; then his mother obtained for him an old Dictionary of Science, and he went to work on that. He was now ten and formed a boyish passion for chemistry, gathering together whole collections of chemicals in bottles or jars, which he ranged on shelves in his room. All his pocket money went for chemicals purchased at the pharmacist s and for scraps of metal and wire. Thus his mother had accomplished that which all truly great teachers do for their pupils: she brought him to the stage of learning things for himself, learning that which most amused and interested him, and she encouraged him to go on in that path. My mother was the making of me, he said afterward. She understood me; she let me follow my bent. MATTHEW JOSEPHSON, Edison: A Biography I don't know any more about the future than you do. I hope that it will be full of work, because I have come to know by experience that work is the nearest thing to happiness that I can find. I want a busy life, a just mind and a timely death. ZORA NEALE HURSTON, Dust Tracks on a Road 14 Mastery
15 hapter II Pp SUBMIT TO REALITY: THE IDEAL APPRENTICESHIP 15 Mastery
16 The voyage of the Beagle has been by far the most important event in my life, and has determined my whole career. I have always felt that I owe to the voyage the first real training or education of my mind; I was led to attend closely to several branches of natural history, and thus my powers of observation were improved. That my mind became developed through my pursuits during the voyage is rendered probable by a remark made by my father, who was the most acute observer whom I ever saw for on first seeing me after the voyage, he turned round to my sisters, and exclaimed, Why, the shape of his head is quite altered. FROM The Autobiography of Charles Darwin and Selected Letters Everywhere is the individual who wants to show off, nowhere honest effort to subserve the Whole. Hence a bungling mode of production is unconsciously acquired. As children, people make verses; and they fancy, as youths, they can do something until at last, manhood gives them insight into the excellence that exists, and then they look back in despair on the years they have wasted on a false and futile effort: though there are many that never attain a knowledge of what is perfect and of their own insufficiency and go on doing things by halves to the end of their days. If all could early be made to feel how full the world is of excellence, and how much must be done to produce anything worthy of being placed beside what has already been done of a hundred youths now poetizing, scarcely one would have courage, perseverance, and talent, to work quietly for the attainment of a similar mastery. Many young painters would never have taken their pencils in hand, if early enough they could have felt, known, and understood, what really produced a master like Raphael. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, QUOTED IN Conversations of Goethe 16 Mastery
17 Well it means that you observe, and observe, and observe. It means that you try to see reality for what it is, and realize that the game you are in keeps changing, so that it s up to you to figure out the current rules of the game as it s being played. You stop being naïve, you stop appealing for [others] to play fair, you stop adhering to standard theories that are built on outmoded assumptions about the rules of play. You just observe. And where you can make an effective move, you make a move. WILLIAM BRIAN ARTHUR, QUOTED IN Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos, M. MITCHELL WALDROP Before we decide that not much can be done to improve our mental capacities, consider the encouraging results of intelligence studies. An enriched environment a more challenging cage for rats, more things to do and talk about for humans enhances the brain s general functioning, making the individual smarter and more challenging and interesting to be around. In rats, neuronal dendrites (nerve cell extensions) are more elaborated. (Picture a tree in January and compare that same tree s appearance in July.) Comparisons of brain cells in humans growing up in enriched versus psychologically impoverished environments haven t been carried out, for obvious ethical and humanitarian reasons. But there is little doubt that a similar process takes place: not more cells or bigger cells, but increasing numbers of cell connections, culminating in more elaborate and intricate neuronal networks. In practical terms this means that even in old age we can exert some measure of control over how smart or creative we are. Our activities, habits, and interests not only define our personalities in the psychological sense, but actually affect the physical structure of our brain. Throughout our lives we can enhance our brain s performance and modify and enrich its structure by extending our range of interests and expanding our intellectual horizons. 17 Mastery
18 But we can no longer blame anyone or anything other than ourselves if, because of laziness or disinterest, our brain never develops its full potential. RICHARD RESTAK, M.D., The Brain Has a Mind of its Own: Insights from a Practicing Neurologist The modern era is often described as a skills economy, but what exactly is a skill? The generic answer is that skill is a trained practice. In this, skill contrasts to the sudden inspiration. The lure of inspiration lies in part in the conviction that raw talent can take the place of training. Musical prodigies are often cited to support this conviction and wrongly so. An infant musical prodigy like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart did indeed harbor the capacity to remember large swatches of notes, but from ages five to seven Mozart learned how to train his great innate musical memory when he improvised at the keyboard. We should be suspicious of claims for innate, untrained talent. I could write a good novel if only I had the time or if only I could pull myself together is usually a narcissist s fantasy. Going over an action again and again, by contrast, enables self criticism. Modern education fears repetitive learning as mind numbing. Afraid of boring children, avid to present ever different stimulation, the enlightened teacher may avoid routine but thus deprives children of the experience of studying their own ingrained practice and modulating it from within. Skill development depends on how repetition is organized. This is why in music, as in sports, the length of a practice session must be carefully judged: the number of times one repeats a piece can be no more than the individual s attention span at a given stage. As skill expands, the capacity to sustain repetition increases. In music this is the so called Isaac Stern rule, the great violinist declaring that the better your technique, the longer you can rehearse without becoming bored. There are Eureka! moments that turn the lock in a practice that has jammed, but they are embedded in routine. 18 Mastery
← On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction → Emerging Extended Reality Technologies for Industry 4.0: Early Experiences with Conception, Design, Implementation, Evaluation and Deployment


text:
#GoWithPride Campaign Prompts Car Club Member To Cancel...
WHW: Democratic Field Begins To Clear ...
Sarasota Pride Marks 30 Years With Frist January outing...
D.C. Councilman agrees To Hold Hearing on LGBT Seniors Bill...
Male Pole Dancers irate over Buttigieg Nixing Fundraiser at Gay Nightclub...
Wilton Manors Gazette
outEATS
Publisher's Editorial
Pier Angelo
Jesse Monteagudo
Wilton Live
SFGN in Print
The Mirror Magazine
Justin Flippen will face long shot Boyd Corbin for mayor, while Gary Resnick gives up the mayoral seat to run for commissioner
Category: Local
Written by SFGN Staff | Sallie James
A city activist once accused of assaulting a drag queen, a sitting mayor and two incumbent commissioners are among six candidates who qualified to run in the November 6, 2018 municipal election.
Up for grabs are the mayor's seat, a two-year post currently held by Gary Resnick, 58, and two at-large, four-year commission seats held by D. Scott Newton, 60, and Justin Flippen, 40.
Incumbents Resnick and Flippen are seeking to flip-flop their seats and Newton is hoping to be re-elected as commissioner. The slate also includes a political newcomer and two activists who both ran and lost in 2016.
Known as the "second gayest city" in the U.S., the upcoming election in this quirky, upscale bedroom community of nearly 13,000 residents looks to focus on everything from strategic growth and water quality to parking and fiscal responsibility.
Flippen is currently serving as the city's vice mayor, an honorary title bestowed by the City Commission. He faces Boyd Corbin, 50, an outspoken city activist who previously ran for office twice and lost, in his quest for mayor.
The four-way race to fill two commission seats includes incumbent commissioner Newton, a longtime Oakland Park business owner; Resnick, the city's current mayor and an attorney with 20 years on the commission; political newcomer Katharine "Kat" Campbell, 43, a licensed clinical social worker and mother of one; and Paul Rolli, 67, a city activist and retired IRS director.
Corbin, a flamboyant personality who regularly speaks at City Commission meetings, is running on a platform of less crime, lower taxes and sensible parking. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2014 and 2016. He's hoping the third time's a charm.
His claim to fame is a 2012 altercation with a drag queen while dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes during the Wicked Manors street party. The confrontation involved a 5-foot cross, a lit torch, high heels and various stories about what actually transpired. Corbin was exonerated. A page on his election website notes the arrest with the title, "False arrest - this could only happen in Wilton Manors."
"Why am I running? We are running our city financially into the ground. We are doing six percent annual city raises for eight years in a row. It's incredible. We need changes there," Corbin said.
He's against converting Wilton Drive to a two-lane road and is extremely critical of the city's Police Department. He believes the city could save tons of cash by dumping the outside company it uses to read parking meters and put police officers on the streets to do the job instead. He's also concerned about the quality of the city's water and the price it pays to Fort Lauderdale to provide it.
His opponent, Justin Flippen, is running on a platform of experience, fiscal responsibility, inclusive community values and protecting the neighborhoods' small town feel.
A project manager with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Conventions and Visitors Bureau, Flippen grew up in Wilton Manors. He's served six years on the commission — from 2008-2010 and 2014 to present. His top priority is fiscal responsibility and he wants a chance to continue guiding the city from the mayor's seat.
"The single most important issue the city deals with is our budget. Maintaining a balance between the millage rate and services is probably the biggest balancing act we strike every year," Flippen said.
He also wants to strengthen public safety, protect the city's neighborhoods and find new ways to lower water rates. Flippen touts his longtime ties to Wilton Manors and his lifelong connection to Broward County as reasons to elect him mayor. When he ran for office in 2014, he positioned himself as "The People's Commissioner," because of his grassroots approach to public service, popular appeal and city connections.
The four-way field for the two at-large commission seats pits two incumbents against a political newcomer and a city activist.
Resnick, who served as commissioner from 1998-2008 and mayor from 2008 to present, is Florida's longest serving openly gay elected official. He is hoping his switch from mayor to commissioner will mean victory.
"I've been mayor for 10 years. I decided that was enough as mayor. Obviously I still love the city and would like to help move it forward. Serving as commissioner would be the best route right now to still be able to serve the city," Resnick said.
His focus is economic development, specifically bringing in businesses that will sustain the city's daytime economy as opposed to more night-time entertainment businesses. The narrowing of Wilton Drive to two lanes is also a priority because it will affect local business, he said.
Resnick, on the board of the national League of Cities, recently traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas to push for more federal dollars for infrastructure for local government.
"We have 12 bridges in Wilton Manors, most of which are owned by the city. I think the one in my neighborhood is 80 years old," he noted.
He says the relationships he's developed over time give him an edge over his opponents.
Newton, who served as mayor from 2004-2008 and commissioner from 2000-2004 and 2010 to present, is running on a platform of experience.
A 56-year resident of Broward County, Newton's re-election website describes him as "a leader who is known for his integrity and success in bringing us together for the common purpose of improving our community."
"I plan to continue to use my community experience and commitment to make a difference in public safety, economic development and the overall quality of life we have all come to enjoy in Wilton Manors," says a quote on his website. " I am a proud longtime resident of our city.  I understand where we come from and where we need to go."
Newton's website touts his service, leadership and experience.
Campbell and Rolli both want a chance to make a difference by relying on their own unique world views.
Retaining Wilton Manors' small town atmosphere is important to Campbell, the mother of a 10-year-old girl and a clinical social worker who specializes in counseling and consulting services for the LGBT community.
She supports responsible development, a sustainable economy, an engaged community and environmental innovation.
Campbell would also like to see more kid-friendly amenities in a city that is primarily geared toward adults. She says the city's homey atmosphere is one of the main reasons she considers Wilton Manors such a great place to raise a child.
"I think it's OK they don't have a huge number of activities for kids but I also think we could do a better job of engaging our children and families with kids," Campbell said.
Rolli, who attends every city commission and planning and zoning meeting, is a focused retiree who believes his extensive experience in federal government and his personal activism qualify him for commission. He ran for commission in 2016, narrowly losing to Julie Carson.
Rolli served as director of overseas operations for the IRS and has broad government management experience in terms of programs, policies and overseeing large numbers of employees, he said.
"I had more employees under me than are in the city of Wilton Manors," Rolli said. "I would like to be part of the next generation of leadership. I want to listen to the residents - what is it the residents want and what do we need as a city? I would like to guide it where we want it to go. I would like to be pro-active in guiding the city as opposed to being complacent and letting developers take over."
Smart growth and water quality will be key issues as the city moves forward, Rolli said.
"I think the city basically does a good job running (things) on day to day operations. But I don't think they are structured or staffed properly to deal with future challenges that involve smart development and smart growth," Rolli said. "Development is going to come whether we like it or not. We want to guide the development so we can have some say in it."
Water quality, sea level rise and salt-water intrusion will also pose challenges in the future, Rolli noted.
Wilton Manors Briefs for the week of July 4, 2018
Viral Video of Officer Yanking Dog Leash Sparked Outrage, Officer Cleared
Sarasota Pride Marks 30 Years With Frist January outing
LGBT activist and Pioneer Cleve Jones To Visit The Center Orlando
A Martin Luther King Jr. Day Message From Mayor Dean Trantalis
Resilience in a Leaky Vessel, Remembering Amanda Russo
Human Rights Campaign Starts Off 2020 in Fort Lauderdale With Glitzy Gala
FabScout Partners With Midland Cares
Our Fund to Host Second Annual South Florida LGBT Philanthropy Awards
LGBT Workshop To Help Heal Trauma Coming To Winter Park
Fort Lauderdale Invents Excuse to Kill Low-Income Housing Project
Log Cabin Repubs Rail Against Muslims, Socialism at Wilton Manors Rally
Hope & Help announces AIDS Walk Orlando 2020 Date, To Host open House
Come Out With Pride is Searching For New Board Members
Click to see more articles!
2520 N. Dixie Highway,
Wilton Manors, FL 33305
Editorial: Jason Parsley | [email protected]
INSIDE SFGN
Got a juicy lead or story idea? Let us know!
GOT A TIP
© 2020 South Florida Gay News. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Podman Release v4.0.0
Podman v4.0 has been released!
Podman v4.0.0, a brand-new major release, is now available. Podman 4.0 is one of our most significant releases ever, featuring over 60 new features. Headlining this release is a complete rewrite of the network stack for improved functionality and performance, but there are numerous other changes, including improvements to Podman's Mac and Windows support, improvements to pods, over 50 bug fixes, and much, much more!
Podman now features support for a new network stack based on Netavark and Aardvark, in addition to the existing CNI stack. The new stack features improved support for containers in multiple networks, improved IPv6 support, and improved performance. To ensure that we don't break existing users, the old CNI stack will remain the default on existing installations, while new installs will use Netavark. We're planning an in-depth dive into the networking changes in a future blog, so look forward to more details there!
Support for Podman on Windows and OS X has also been a top priority, and we have made several major improvements for Podman 4.0. Chief among them is support for mounting the Podman API socket on the host system, allowing tools like Docker Compose to be used on the host system instead of inside the podman machine VM. Also, podman machine can now use WSL2 as a backend on Windows, greatly improving Podman's support for Windows. More features, including support for volume mounts from the host, are planned for Podman v4.1, so stay tuned for more updates.
Podman Pods have seen numerous new features added to allow sharing resources between containers in the pod. The --volume and --device options to the podman pod create command allows volumes and devices to be mounted to every container in the pod, and the --security-opt and --sysctl options allow these configurations to be set for every container in the pod. Again, these changes are just the beginning of what we have planned - eventually, we aim to have almost every option from podman run available to pods to allow easy sharing of configuration options among containers within them.
These changes are just the tip of the iceberg - there's far more packed into this release, including major updates to checkpoint and restore, improvements to podman generate systemd and podman play kube, and so much more. Find out more in the release notes.


text:
UPDATE: Suspect in Officer Involved Shooting to Appear in Court
The 27-year old man who led Murfreesboro Police on a chase after a domestic violence call at Regal Inn on South Church this past March will be in court on Wednesday (April 6, 2016).
You may recall Michael Kilpatrick was shot in the process of police apprehending him. He was taken by Lifeflight Helicopter to Vanderbilt Hospital, but his injury was not life threatening.
Kilpatrick will hear the official charges against him when he appears in General Sessions Court on Wednesday. Those charges include Aggravated Domestic Assault, Aggravated Kidnapping and Preventing Another from Calling 9-1-1.
PREVIOUSLY REPORTED:
An officer involved shooting in Murfreesboro is being investigated. The incident began at 7:11 Sunday night (3/6/2016) when Murfreesboro Police officers answered a domestic violence call at the Regal Inn on South Church Street.
On arrival, officers came in contact with the suspect who was threatening his juvenile children with a firearm.
Sergeant Kyle Evans told NewsRadio WGNS, "The suspect attempted to evade officers and threatened them with his motor vehicle. Several shots were fired at the suspect. The suspect was able to flee the officers and a pursuit was initiated. The chase ended on National Drive when the suspect exited his vehicle and surrendered without incident."
When the pursuit ended, 27 year old Michael Kilpatrick indicated he had been shot. Police Officer James O'Rourke is the one who reportedly shot Kilpatrick, according to authorities. Kilpatrick was taken via LifeFlight helicopter to the Trauma Center at Vanderbilt. Officer O'Rourke was placed on routine administrative leave with pay as the case is being investigated by the TBI.
From Murfreesboro Police:
After an officer involved shooting that occurred last night, Police Officer James O'Rourke has been placed on routine administrative leave with pay for an undetermined amount of time. Officer O'Rourke's date of employment with the Murfreesboro Police Department is October 14, 2013.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation told WGNS on Monday morning:
At the request of 16th District Attorney General Jennings Jones, TBI Agents continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding an officer-involved shooting Sunday evening in Murfreesboro. Preliminary information indicates the incident began shortly after 7:10 when authorities received a call from the Regal Inn, where a woman alerted authorities her boyfriend, 27 year old Michael Kilpatrick (DOB 11/13/88), assaulted her and was threatening further violence against her three children (all under the age of 6), one of whom is Kilpatrick's biological child. The family lives at the hotel on South Church Street.
When officers arrived, they attempted to stop Kilpatrick, however, he attempted to strike officers with his vehicle. The situation escalated, and resulted in one Murfreesboro officer firing his weapon at Kilpatrick. The subject then fled the scene, with the children in his vehicle, and led officers on a brief pursuit through the immediate area, during which he struck five police cruisers. Kilpatrick eventually surrendered at a location near the intersection of South Church Street and National Drive. Officers discovered Kilpatrick was injured in the shooting and coordinated transport by medical helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Kyle Evans, Murfreesboro Police Department, officer involved shooting, Regal Inn, TBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
MPD's SOU Took Shooting Suspect Into Custody
Arrest Made In A Smyrna Homicide "Cold Case"
TBI Arrest of Arson Suspect
4 Drug Arrests In Neighboring DeKalb County
TBI Arrests Two Smith County Murder Suspects
TBI Two-Day Operation Arrests16 Men On "Seeking Sex"
Former Cannon County Sheriff's Employee Arrested
Knowles Arrested...Crawford Still On-The-Run
Watson Arrested--Still In Henning After 5 Days
Governor Pushes Reward Money UP To $52,500


01/04/2019: The OECD Working Group on Bribery has launched its fourth phase of monitoring of Austria's implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. To assist this evaluation process, the OECD calls for interested parties to provide written submissions on the evaluated country and/or submit expressions on interest to participate in the on-site visit to Austria.
20/03/2019: This Study is the first cross-country examination of the different types of resolutions that can be used to resolve foreign bribery cases. Covering 27 of the 44 Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention, the Study documents the non-trial resolution mechanisms available to resolve foreign bribery cases.
The OECD fights bribery in international business to strengthen development, reduce poverty and bolster confidence in markets. The keystone to its efforts is the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the Convention's 2009 Anti-Bribery Recommendation.


When we first bought our house my husband and I realized that we'd need to do some work to improve our house. First on the list were new window screens for the windows. We went back and forth on calling a handyman but then we decided to DIY it. And I'm really glad we did!
We went to Home Depot and bought a roll of black window screen mesh, and 2 window screen frame kits for $30 plus tax.
The tricky part about putting the screen together was putting the rubber gasket in place. We found that the screen would ride up the more we rolled the rubber gasket in place. The next challenge was to cut the excess mesh from the window screen frame once everything was in place. We took care of that with a pair of Chinese scissors.
This is the finished product. It looks just as a good as a "professional" screen and I'm really proud that we finished it by ourselves. It just took a little bit of love, patience and elbow grease to get our bathroom window fitted with a brand new window screen.


Hearing Senses Ltd, exclusive UK distributors of Sonorlite productsis committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors; this policy sets out how we will treat your personal information. Our relationship with you is very important to us and we understand the importance that you place on privacy and security.
(a) Contact information – your name, address, phone, email and other similar information.
(b) Financial information – the credit card number used to purchase goods.
When you are using our Service, we collect information about your account transactions, and we may collect information about your computer or other access device for fraud prevention purposes. We may collect additional information from or about you in other ways not specifically described here. For example, we may collect information related to your contact with our customer support team or store results when you respond to a survey.
We keep your information only as long as we need it for the products and services you're using and for a reasonable time thereafter or to meet any legal requirements. We have retention standards that meet these requirements. We destroy your information when it is no longer needed, or we remove your personally identifiable information. You can also request that we remove your information from our records. Subject to our requirements for continued retention of your information, for example, for billing, audit, or warranty purposes, we will make every reasonable effort to honour your request.
A cookie consists of information sent by a web server to a web browser and stored by the browser. The information is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. This enables the web server to identify and track the web browser. Cookies are widely used on most websites, the only personnel information a cookie can contain is information a user supplies him or her. A cookie cannot read data from your hard drive or read cookies created by other sites.
We may use both "session" cookies and "persistent" cookies on the website. We will use the session cookies to keep track of you whilst you navigate the website. We will use the persistent cookies to enable our website to recognise you when you visit. This will speed up and enhance our website performance in a number of ways including providing a secure way for us to verify your identity.
(d) Send to your goods purchased via the website, and supply to youservices purchased via the website.


In most instances, once compression fractures happen, they continue to deteriorate. If the patient's case allows for the procedure, kyphoplasty is a solution that can provide instant relief from chronic back pain.
Pain is one of the biggest reasons for people visiting their doctor. Back pain is common, and a blow or osteoporosis is a leading cause of compression fractures in the spine. Listen to find out different ways to avoid damaging the bones.


text:
2020 furniture software acquired by Golden Gate investors
By Robert Dalheim May 01, 2017 | 2:57 pm EDT
LAVAL, Quebec – 2020 Technologies Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
2020 is a global provider of applications, solutions and content for interior space planning, omni-channel retail and furniture manufacturing. Founded in 1987, the company has developed an unmatched depth of knowledge of interior design and space planning to maintain an unbroken history of market and thought leadership. 2020 customers include many of the world's largest home improvement retailers and manufacturers, as well as tens of thousands of local, independent kitchen and bathroom dealers.
"We are delighted to welcome 2020 into our portfolio," said Rishi Chandna , a managing director at Golden Gate Capital. "2020 provides the mission-critical solutions that designers, dealers, retailers and manufacturers rely on to create amazing spaces for home and work. As the retail landscape accelerates toward an omni-channel approach, 2020 has the products, technology and team to build upon their position as the global leader in this market."
2020 will remain headquartered in Laval, Quebec and Westwood, Massachusetts and will continue to be led by its current senior management team, including Mark Goldstein, CEO.
"Our customers are the most important part of our business," said Goldstein. "We have a very serious responsibility to provide them new and better ways to help them profitably run their businesses, which requires us to always invest in ideas and technology that will keep us ahead of market trends and dynamics. The long-term strategic approach of Golden Gate Capital and the confidence they have in 2020 make them the perfect partner to inspire us toward an exciting new phase of growth in our company's evolution."
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017.
2020 is headquartered in Laval, QC and employs more than 500 people and operates in 11 countries, including an office in Cary, NC.
More exhibitors, more reasons to go to IWF 2018
Flexible hardwood helps Modulus win Curvy Design Contest
FDMC 300 wood industry leaders report 5 percent sales gains in latest report
Robert Dalheim
Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at robert.dalheim@woodworkingnetwork.com.


I'm getting error "The currency field is missing"
Change the Payment Processor value of the Credit Card payment method to SagePay Form.
Click the Account Details link near the SagePay payment method.
Set your Vendor Name and Encryption password.
Vendor Name is your unique company identifier, assigned to you by SagePay when your account was created.
Encryption password — encryption password assigned to you by SagePay (not the password to login to your SagePay merchant interface). You should have received encryption password by email from Sage Pay when your Sage Pay account was created.
Save the changes and enable this payment method.
Check what currency is chosen in your Ecwid Control Panel → Settings → General → Regional Settings.
Sign in to your SagePay account and make sure it has the same currency that is chosen in the Ecwid control panel.
If the currencies are the same and you're still receiving the error, please report it contact us.


What constitutes an identified risk factor for MDM? The patient is 90+ years and our provider holds warfarin for an elective major surgery same day. The patient is also on p.r.n morphine by another provider.
Is it important for our provider to document that it is high risk?


text:
Review: 'Midsommar'
By Will Oliver, July 6, 2019
Midsommar | Ari Aster | July 3, 2019
With his astonishing debut Hereditary last year, director Ari Aster stunned us all with his take on coping with grief and how it has a ripple effect that impacts you and consequently all those around you. Just one year later, Aster has returned with his sophomore film Midsommar, another meditation on how one handles grief, but this time instead of dwelling in a dark world of horrors, Aster presents a world of horrors in broad daylight in a seemingly happy and idealistic small community in Sweden that unfolds like a fucked up fairy tale gone completely wrong.
Aster begins the film in a tone that does resemble the feel of Hereditary where we first meet Dani (Florence Pugh) as she scrambles to decrypt a mysterious message she receives about her family. She tries to turn to her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor), but their relationship is rocky at best, as he is considering finally breaking up with her but can't bring himself to do it. Dani then receives some devastating news that leaves her completely alone in the world and is desperate for the level of empathy and understanding that a good boyfriend should provide, but Christian only remains there because he fears of what breaking up with her now could do.
So when Dani finds out that Christian has planned a trip to Sweden with his fellow anthropology Ph.D. friends Mark (Will Poulter), Josh (William Jackson Harper), and Pelle (Villhelm Blomgren), she's shocked to learn that he is already going and hadn't even told her with the departure only weeks away. Feeling guilty, he invites Dani along for the ride for their trip to the small, seemingly idyllic little Swedish community of Hårga, where Pelle grew up. Christian, Mark, and Josh are eager to learn about the traditions of the nine-day midsummer celebration and also have a bit of a bro weekend, which becomes stifled with the inclusion of Dani, who is still understandably reeling from the unfathomable tragedy she is enduring.
At first, they enjoy the scenic atmosphere while they trip out on various drugs, but the longer they stay, the stranger things get. Aster knows that you know what is going down, but it's the journey and the way it unfolds along with the themes that are packed into its narrative that allow Midsommar to truly shine. Stretched out to nearly 2 1/2-hours, Aster takes his time letting the atmosphere unfold, giving you plenty of time to get to know the characters and try to settle into the community with them before he pulls the rug right from under you and all hell breaks loose. This isn't the heart-pounding mix of dread and horror that he provided so masterfully in Hereditary, but rather a psychedelic folk-horror tale that slowly reveals itself and lets the shocking and trippy moments unfold.
On the surface, it seems like a hardcore break-up movie, but Aster also expertly weaves in ideas about what it truly means to grieve properly, and the stunting effects it may have on someone to be surrounded by people who make your emotion and pain feel like a burden, rather than helping one through it. Themes about what family really means and finding acceptance in a world that some would find unethical or unruly come into play. But underneath all the sunny color-graded madness and demented horrors, there is something to say about what it means to really allow your emotions to be heard and more importantly, felt, and how a family can come in the unlikeliest of places.
Each moment builds upon the twisted and shocking one that came before. Aster and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski (who also shot Hereditary) showcase every moment with a delicately thought-out plan, with every frame and camera moment playing to a specific effect and executed to an awe-inspiring level of perfection. The way that it all unfolds in sunny daylight with such a pleasant aesthetic provides a different sort of creepy factor that feels more earned that the traditional dark shadowy jump scare that we are so accustomed to. Equally crucial is the sound design, with the score from Bobby Krlic (aka The Haxan Cloak); just as crucial is the way that Aster integrates silence, letting all the horror play out in a jarring naturalistic fashion that is disturbingly grounded in reality, despite the heightened chaos that unfolds around our characters.
There's no doubt that this will be an even more polarizing ride than Hereditary, with the disturbing images and an often surprising amount of comedy that provides a juxtaposition that many audience members likely won't know how to feel about. It doesn't judge any of the Swedish folk members and never paints anyone as a black and white evil villain. In some ways, many of our American "good guys" are actually their own worst enemies stepping over cultural boundaries and not exhibiting the same emotional empathy and understanding that Dani so desperately needs.
The film features a stunning leading turn from Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth, Fighting With My Family) who expertly portrays someone dealing with trauma that is not even allowed to grieve as needed. She plays the role of someone quietly in agonizing pain equally well as when all hell breaks loose and she's sent to the other end of the spectrum. Jack Reynor is equally good as Christian, a man-child who is too afraid to really make a concrete decision to save his life (and in this case, he needs to). Poulter has found a new niche in playing hateable douchebags, and Jackson Harper and Blomgren are good in their roles as characters whose true motivations come into play as the film unravels.
With fine attention to detail and a level of patience that some will find too languid and drawn out, I welcome Aster's slow-burn patient nature and didn't notice the runtime one bit. While some elements of the movie work better than others, Midsommar left me in a trippy trance-like state that was unshakable and left me pondering all it had to say and the lasting impression that is both shocking, disturbing, yet impressionistic and beautiful at the very same time.
Tagged: A24, Ari Aster, Bobby Krlic, Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Midsommar, Pawel Pogorzelski, The Haxan Cloak, Villhelm Blomgren, Will Poulter, William Jackson Harper
Review: 'Spider-Man: Far from Home'
Review: 'American Woman' (2019)


From scheduled maintenance to guaranteed uptime , a Volvo Service Contract keeps you on the road. By reducing downtime and total cost of ownership, while improving operational control, it'll also boost your bottom line.
Give your business the edge with guaranteed Uptime and known maintenance cost.
Get peace of mind with no inventory carrying cost of parts and dedicated Volvo technician at your doorstep.


text:
Back to Research
Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes, and Consequences
By Miles Kenyon
The Citizen Lab, with considerable input from the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic and other contributors, has penned a submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes, and consequences, Dr. Dubravka Šimonović, in preparation for her report to the Human Rights Council in June 2018. The submission reviews some of the barriers to addressing problems of technology-facilitated violence, abuse, and harassment against women and girls; contextualizes the complicated environment within which online harassment operates; and suggests recommendations to address, mitigate, and remedy these issues.
While women and girls are disproportionately targeted for online harassment in general, they also face unique gender-specific threats. These threats include, but are not limited to: cyber stalking, non-consensual sharing of intimate photos or videos ("revenge porn"), harassment, hacking, denial-of-service attacks, gender-based slurs, publication of private personal information ("doxing"), impersonation, extortion, rape and death threats, electronically-enabled trafficking, and sexual exploitation of minors. In addition to gender-specific discrimination, other factors—such as gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, Indigenous status, age, and religion—compound, exacerbate, and complicate experiences online. At the same time, manifold legal tensions related to identification, jurisdiction, enforcement, competing rights, and the role of intermediaries are inherent to the digital policymaking arena.
Given this complex tapestry of factors, the submission makes a series of recommendations so that the Special Rapporteur is fully informed about the particular threats to women and girls online and can best advise states and various UN bodies to act appropriately. The recommendations are aimed at ensuring that: new legislative powers are necessary and evidence-based; encryption and anonymity tools are recognized as essential in protecting women and girls online; states understand the complex role of intermediaries in the removal of harmful content and identification of users; the urgent issue of commercial spyware and "stalkerware" receives attention at the international and national stages; and education is deemed essential for empowering the legal community, law enforcement, and frontline workers to better address issues of online harassment.
The full list of recommendations to the Special Rapporteur can be found below.
The Special Rapporteur on violence against women should collaborate with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy when formulating policy responses
States should ensure that all new powers conform with the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance ("Necessary & Proportionate Principles")
States should adopt legislative obligations for data collection and transparency reporting
States should modernize existing legislation to ensure that it remains effective and inclusive in light of technological change
States should protect and encourage the development of technologies—including encryption and anonymity tools—that protect the rights of women and girls online
States should adopt legal mechanisms to protect the anonymity of complainants in both civil and criminal proceedings
Mechanisms for states and private litigants to access identification data from Intermediaries should be rights-protective, effective and tailored
Intermediaries should not be compelled to remove content in the absence of a narrowly tailored and specific court order, issued further to a clearly defined legal prohibition
All new measures adopted by states to regulate online content removal should conform with the Manila Principles on Intermediary Liability
Intermediaries engaged in the moderation of online conduct should be encouraged to adopt transparency reporting mechanisms, publish clear and comprehensive content moderation policies, and develop explicit review and appeal processes
All policy frameworks related to the removal and moderation of online content should account for the global nature of intermediaries
States should hold manufacturers of commercial spyware accountable and engage legal measures to ensure that these tools are not abused to facilitate surveillance against women and human rights defenders
States should commit to supporting the development of specialized legal education materials, and clinical resources on issues of technology-facilitated violence, abuse, and harassment
States should mandate regular, expert-led training for law enforcement on responding to reports of technology-facilitated violence, harassment, and abuse
States should invest in resources, education and support for frontline anti-violence workers to develop greater technical literacy
The Special Rapporteur on violence against women should encourage actors in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector to take a leadership role in preventing technology-facilitated violence, harassment, and abuse
The full submission can be found here.
Contributors to this report (in alphabetical order)
Dr. Ronald J. Deibert, Professor of Political Science; Director, The Citizen Lab
Lex Gill, Research Fellow, The Citizen Lab
Tamir Israel, Staff Lawyer, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)
Chelsey Legge, Clinic Student, International Human Rights Program (IHRP), University of Toronto
Irene Poetranto, Senior Researcher and Doctoral Student, The Citizen Lab
Amitpal Singh, Research Assistant, The Citizen Lab
We would also like to thank Gillian T. Hnatiw (Partner, Lerners LLP), Samer Muscati (Director, International Human Rights Program, University of Toronto), Miles Kenyon (Communications Officer, The Citizen Lab), Sarah McKune (Senior Researcher, The Citizen Lab), Jon Penney (Assistant Professor of Law; Director, Law & Technology Institute, Schulich School of Law), and Maria Xynou (Research and Partnerships Coordinator, Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)) for their support in the creation of this report.
Ron Deibert on this post:
Citizen Lab Submission to UN SR on Online Violence Against Women


I started with just the very first riff you hear.
I. COULD. NOT. STOP. MYSELF.
SO. MANY. LAYERS. OF. ROCK.
I really want to do some detailed notes on this before I forget.
I hard panned two tracks of the drop D guitar, left and right.
In the intro of the song the feedback was me leaning in next to the amp on ANOTHER track just getting various types of feedback to use in the intro and outro.
Once I got the guitars done, I added drums. Just a really simple, as hard as I could hit them, but simple, track. I do Glyn (sp?) Johns mic'ing approach. Two overheads mics equidistant from the snare and kick.
Then I added some bass. I had a HARD time taming it with all the distortion I had on it...but I kind of liked it, so I left it as I did it. I also DOUBLED the bass an octave higher. THAT track was much cleaner with no or little distortion.
Then I added some lead guitars that squelch out during the little breaks in the second half of the riff.
Then I added acoustic guitar, because I was super inspired by @downfallroad's awesome heavy acoustic riffs. I d-tuned the acoustic and did two tracks and panned them about the middle of left and right.
So, after all this I still wasn't happy with the "big" section (the second half where it all kicks in). So, I just started adding things in. I actually have vocals (maybe you can hear them?). I doubled each vocal part AND even through in a whistle towards the very last couple of measures - all doubling or octaves of the main riff).
Also a tambourine lined up with the snare.
Nice job. Good production work!
Masterfully done! Screeching feedback, but also the gentle strum of acoustic guitar. Sweet and sour! Excellent.
Oh that ending is killing it!!!! The nananas vocally are great addition to the sound of the riff. You nailed it once again. Great job! Fabulous tournament.
Yep, BADASS this is a plenty. Loving all the little feedback squeaks. I want more.
Big. Sound. Short. Track. I want more!
This is the soundtrack of one million guitarists laying it down.
I can totally picture Mythbusters blowing up all the things to this.
Holy balls of ROCK! This is completely awesome!!!
If this was a full song it would demand the smashing of guitars on the last chord! And fire! Lots of fire!
Love the squeals, love the feedback, love the collapse. Ba-da-bow-bow-b00own-bam weeEEE!
reminded me of the raconteurs with the squealing (octaves?) on top of the low end.