Zahra Moloo talks to renowned Kenyan investigative journalist John Allan Namu, on the political uncertainty in Kenya right now, land grabs and much more.
Gwen Schulman reflects on the coverage and the meaning of the Garissa massacre.
Posted on April 9, 2015 April 9, 2015 by AmandlaPosted in KenyaTagged Al shabab, Amandla, ckut, garissa, Kenya, school massacres.
Jean-Marc Soboth jette un coup d'oeil à la visite de Uhuru Kenyatta, le nouveau président Kenya, en Chine.
Tribalism, race and the British colonial political ruling structure in its old settler colony. How does that play into the recent elections?
Gwen Schulman talks to Firoze Manji about the recent elections in Kenya.
Firoze Manji looks at the importance of remittances in African countries.
Amandla's Gwen Schulman interviews Wairimu Gitau of Mathare Radio and Owen Sheppard of the Liberation Cooperative Organisation of Kenya. Both organizations are committed to promoting independent media in Mathare, Kenya's second largest slum and giving voice to the residents. They describe their efforts to stay rooted in the community, gain international solidarity and find support without losing sight of the needs of the community.
Amandla will broadcast some of their media pieces over the next few weeks.


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https://www.inforisktoday.eu/
Volatility Foundation
Ruchir Kumar
Stephen R. Katz, CISSP
Merrill Lynch and Citi
CUInfoSecurity.com Week In Review for Friday, Sept. 3, 2010
Tracy Kitten (FraudBlogger) • September 3, 2010 5 Minutes
Week In Review: Church Latest Victim of ACH Fraud; Heartland, Discover Settle for $5 millionHere's what you'll find in our review of some of BankInfoSecurity.com's and CUInfoSecurity.com's most compelling content of the past week:
The Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, fell victim to a $600,000 ACH fraud theft and becomes another in the growing list of businesses and entities that have suffered huge losses as a result of these crimes;
This week saw the $5 million settlement between Heartland Payment Systems and Discover Financial Services for losses related to the payments processor's 2008 data breach hack, which led to the compromise of 130 million debit and credit cards; and
A Bank of America executive sits down with managing editor Tracy Kitten to share some insights about what the United States' mobile-banking pioneer is doing to enhance the user experience of the growing mobile-banking channel.
Please listen to this roundup, and check out all of the week's news and views on BankInfoSecurity.com.
BankInfoSecurity.com Week In Review for Friday, Sept. 3, 2010
Huntington CIO's Risk Management Agenda
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Another great tool for advertising is http://www.kanoodle.com. At Kanoodle.com you can sign up and get $5 free towards you advertising cost. You can then request for Kanoodle to review your submission and create a list for you with the keywords that best describe your website. This process will use up your $5 credit but is well worth it. This is an easy way to get a list of keywords to put in your Meta tags and use for pay-per-click advertising.
Also with Kanoodle like Google Adwords and Overture the site does have a Keyword suggestion box so once you get your list of keywords generated by Kanoodle you can use their suggestion box to estimate the amount of clicks you might receive.
Kanoodle also has a feature where you can advertise heavier on some days and lighter on other days. Generally, Monday through Thursday are the best days to do the heavier advertising because there are more people online during those days. So with Kanoodle you can advertise heavier on Monday through Thursday and lighter on Saturday through Sunday.
Kanoodle also has the basic reporting features like Google Adwords and Overture. It does appear to be a good tool and I have found it useful to supplement advertising that I do with Google Adwords and Overture. However, the one thing that I have found most helpful from Kanoodle is using the $5 credit towards receiving a list of keywords. This is a great start for those who are starting advertising on the Internet but are not too sure about where to start and do not know what keywords to use for their site.
Rothline Entertainment is an online catalog for computer and video games and pc software.


I wanted to post a few screen shots of the updated Iteration Backlog workbook that will be shipping in Beta2 as a part of the the MSF for Agile Software Development v5.0 process template. The workbook has been completely redesigned to incorporate usability feedback we received – I think you'll find the experience a LOT more pleasant. Below area few screenshots. I'm planning an upcoming detailed post on how to plan a sprint with the workbook.
Can I get a copy of this template to download?
Very interested in this tool… is it available?


Turn your childs space into the hippest room with this cool green striped rug. Made from durable fibers, this rug is designed with kids play in mind. Printed on the same machines that manufacture one of the worldÍs leading brands of printed carpet, this rug is extremely durable and vibrant. This technology allows the use of multiple colors to create a rug that is wonderfully designed and applicable to any room in your home. Crafted completely in the USA, this rug is made from durable stain resistant nylon.


We've been out battling the elements to make it easier for you guys to buy online. We have therefore decided to stop selling directly through our site.
Fear not fellow Forigers… you will still be able to get your Fori fix online.
Click on any of the images below to be directed straight to our amazon page where you can access our entire product range!


All my romantic notions of spring actually arriving here in the Pacific Northwest have been dashed to the ground by days of endless rain. We actually had snow yesterday! It didn't stick, but still…they say that March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb and I'm hoping "they" are right this time. All the indoor time this weekend has inspired me to try a few recipes from my new cookbook, Thomas Keller's The French Laundry. I have to admit, he's a little intimidating. But I love his philosophies on food-the idea that it's ok to take time to make a meal and that we should relish the little things about cooking, like cutting the carrots. I really hate to cook in a hurry, so this affirms my desire to slow down and take my time. Of course, in truth, I rarely have that time, but I can dare to dream.
Today, I'm taking on a few of his appetizers, which are pictured above and making his agnolotti, which he says is from the Piedmont region of Italy and is a version of ravioli. We'll see how it goes. The rest of the week will be a bit simpler and more sane cooking for weeknight meals.


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'Karwan-e-Mohabbat' members sit on dharna where Pehlu Khan was lynched , despite threats
Karwan-e-Mohabbat: When love was threatened with sticks and stones
HARSH MANDER
The tenth day of the Karwan was a wrenching engagement with families in Nuh district in Mewat. In the course of an intensive day, we met eleven bereaved and grieving families in five villages. The full account of the stories of these families would fill many pages, and would, therefore, have to await a longer record.
But I must place before you the alarming picture that emerges cumulatively from these meetings. The pattern is of Muslim men being lynched by mobs – which we knew was happening – but much larger numbers now being killed lawlessly and with communal intent by the police. In each of these, the story is constructed after the killings of road accidents, or dacoities by men mostly with no criminal records.
[Photo Courtesy: Sanket Jadia]
After men transporting cattle are lynched by a mob, or the police shoots these men at close range, the story that appears in the police records is that a truck illegally carrying cattle with great cruelty overturned in an accident, killing the men that the mob or the police had killed. The victims are charged with crimes under cow protection laws and for rash driving. The mob of communal and trigger-happy policemen do not have any crime registered against them and enjoy complete impunity. Or they are charged with being dreaded dacoits who shoot at the police (who are never harmed), a pattern that we observed a day earlier developing also in Yogi Adityanath's UP.
We found the families in heart-breakingly absolute despair of even the possibility of any justice. Most families chose not to pursue justice. Some did not even complain. A few spoke with us with a well of anger and desolation of how under the present regime, the police and mobs were free to kill Muslims. One Dalit man was also killed because he was on a transport vehicle with a Muslim friend; his father spoke of the bonds between Dalits and Muslims.
And above all, we met family after family of grieving parents, widows, orphaned children, unable to heal or come to terms with not just mobs but state administrations who are open and venomous in their hate of them only for the faith they follow.
The day was also marked by news of anger and hostility to the advance of the Karwan to Behror, the highway crossing where Pehlu Khan had been lynched. The Karwan had resolved to place flowers at the site of his lynching, in his memory and the memory of others like him who fell to hate violence. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Hindu Jagran Manch and the Bajrang Dal announced that they would not allow the Karwan to enter Behror and pay tribute at the lynching site. The local organisers were told that we would be met with sticks and stones if we entered. The hall owners where we were to hold a peace meeting cancelled on us, and no one was willing to give us a hall.
[Photo Courtesy: Priya Thuvassery]
We resolved in the Karwan that we would proceed to Behror to remember Pehlu Khan despite any mob opposition. In Alwar, where we arrived to spend the night, senior police and administrative officials tried to persuade us to bypass Behror. We courteously but firmly refused and said we would visit the police station in Behror to express our disappointment about how the police have let off the men mentioned in Pehlu Khan's dying declaration, and the criminalising of Pehlu and his sons; and then place flowers at the site of his lynching.
The police officers said that no one had been allowed to do this so far. We argued – how can an administration block a Karwan that has set out to offer a little solace to families bereaved by hate lynching from paying tribute to lynched man's memory.
Harsh Mander Defies Cow Vigilantes and Rajasthan Police to Lay Flowers At Spot Where Pehlu Khan was Lynched
THE CITIZEN BUREAU
Friday, September 15,2017
NEW DELHI: Harsh Mander today took on the Rajasthan administration, and the state police, by laying flowers at the spot where Pehlu Khan had been lynched and those with him mercilessly beaten by a mob of cow vigilantes. Stopped by the cops Mander refused to budge, asking them to arrest him, until permission they were left with no choice but to allow him to lay the flowers on the Behror crossroads on the highway where Khan was killed in horrific violence.
Mander told The Citizen that gau rakshaks who had gathered at the spot stoned the bus in which he is travelling along with others on the month long Karwan e Mohabbat (Caravan of Love) , a journey of peace, love and atonement for communal harmony.
"I do not believe in God so I did not pray, but I placed the flowers for humanity, Pehlu Khan and his family, and all those who have been lynched in similar fashion," Mander said.
The police refused to the Karwan team place flowers on the spot where Pehlu Khan was attacked and breathed his last. The gau rakshaks breathed fire on the other side of a barricade, after an attempt to terrorise the Karwan by stoning the bus. The cops said that it was the right of the cow vigilantes to demand this not be done, to which Mander replied that it was also his constitutional right to do exactly what the Karwan had stopped to do, place flowers at the spot.
He told the cops to arrest him but he would not leave until he was given permission. Finally after half an hour of argument they backed off, Mander placed the flowers, the first by any citizen and left. As he has been saying, the Karwan is an effort to apologise to the families of those killed, and to convince them that this is not India. And there are many in India who care, and support his efforts.
This comes within 24 hours after the Rajasthan police gave a clean chit to the six men named by Pehlu Khan in his dying declaration. As his nephew Azmat Khan who suffered a spinal fracture amongst many other injuries in the attack told The Citizen, the family is terrified and fearful of its safety. As threats from some members of the six let free have reached them through others, and "every time we have to travel we are scared of attacks".
In conversation with an alleged terrorist
Brutal Attack and Sexual Abuse on six Dalit women
Press Release- FIR Against Teesta Setalvad
House of Lords voted to Outlaw Caste discrimination in UK
Advocacy, Announcements, Human Rights, Justice, Kractivism, Law, Politics
K SHESHU BABU
The ' karwan' being threatened with sticks and stones is unfortunate and indicates the intolerance of vigilantes


Freshly baked and just arrived at the boutiques – a complete new affordable flap bag. Want to know more?
V Lai bought this bag at Neiman Marcus a few days ago, here's what she has shared: 'I just found out this from Chanel site after I bought the bag from Neiman Marcus at Scottsdale. The size is small and light enough for me as my GST hurts my shoulder very much. The price is attractive compare to other Chanel flap too!'.
The Chanel Gold Metal Flap Bag is somewhere between a WOC and a Medium Classic Flap Bag. You know, there are always days when you need a smaller bag, but an evening WOC is just too tiny. This has the perfect size.
Crafted from durable calfskin and adorned with gold metal hardware, the bag is quilted and chic. It features a beautiful iconic CC logo on the front and its made with the comparable chain as the boy bags.
Well if you haven't heard it yet, Givenchy's Fall 2016 Classic Bag Collection is the talk of the buzz in the fashion industry. Yes, this is one thing to look out for, especially to bag lovers out there.
Let's talk about the Nightingale Bag. This one has been a favorite style staple ever since it's release in late 2006. Yes, it's almost a decade old but due to its flare and modernity, it managed to live through its name.
A classic and timeless Givenchy piece, this bag was named after Florence Nightingale. Its versatility due to the two handles and a detachable shoulder strap makes it easier for you to use it either over your shoulder or just wrap it around your hands.
For the Fall 2016 Classic Bag Collection, the Nightingale Bag is seen to be bolder and up-to-date with the added metal crosses adorning it. We are loving this style since you can go from glamour chic to hard punk rakista in less than a second by pairing it with the right clothes and right amount of accessories.
Another bag stunner is the classic Lucrezia Bag. It was introduced to the public three years back, last Spring 2013 to be exact. The Lucrezia dominated the hands of several celebrities such as Charlize Theron, Miranda Kerr and Amanda Seyfried to name a few. Its well-structured style has appealed not only to Hollywood superstars but also to other bag lovers out there.
For the Fall 2016 Collection, we are seeing the Lucrezia bag reinvented. It has this happy-go-lucky vibe with the Givenchy Logo stamped leather. It makes us remember those childhood moments of ours in a good way.
Balenciaga has decided to reinvent their Classic Motorcycle line by adorning their bags with shiny palladium plates on the front. Instead of their traditional lambskin leather, these bags are made of (hopefully more durable) shiny calfskin. They have an interesting contrast of smooth golden toned studs against the silver toned plates. So far they have the Classic Metal Plate City and Mini City available for purchase.
I find it very interesting how they like to change up the hardware styles now. Mixing metal colors on a handbag is something very novel to me. What will they think of next?
Wanting to add a little bit of a punk attitude to your style but not too sure if you have the courage to pull it? Well, don't be scared as it takes baby steps until you get out of your style comfort zone and little by little you'll be letting go of your fears. For starters, why not begin with a bag that has that tough feel-good attitude to it?
Look no further as Balenciaga's Metal Plate leather shoulder bag surely got you covered. This black leather bag is again the famous motorcycle bag but this time around it is in a shoulder bag version. It highlights all the label's signature minutest detailing up to its contrasting feels with metals in both golden and silver-tone effects.
It has the following features: made from genuine calf leather, has a detachable chain shoulder strap, a zipped front pocket, with snap-buttoned top, has fabric lining, front slot pocket, zipped coin compartment, two bill slot pockets, and has twelve card slots. It has the following dimensions: 13 x 21 x 3 cm (H x W x D), priced at $1110 USD or €945 euro via MyTheresa.
Here at BragMyBag, we are just overwhelmed by the huge response made by our dear Chanel lovers (can we get a shoutout?). Yes ladies, we're listening! That's why today, we'll be taking a closer look at another fan favorite, the Chanel Metal CC Signature Clutch Bag. We live to please y'all, bag lovers!
Some weeks ago, we even got to feature this pretty stunner, so you might want to take a second look for more deets. Just click the link below and off you go!
This edgy piece is beautifully embellished with metal CC signatures, making it an eye-catching (yet pretty wearable) piece that's a joy to look at. Also, we must not forget the skin it is in – lambskin, to be exact, which gives it a wonderful texture and luxe feel. You know you've landed on a goldmine with this baby.
With a style code of A94404, you can get your very own Metal CC Signature Clutch Bag via Chanel boutique. What are you waiting for? Get yours now!


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SWIFT: Gulliver's Travels I (A Voyage to Lilliput)...
DANTE: The Inferno (Cantos 14-17, Sins Against God, Nature and Art)
Dante has now passed through the four levels of Upper Hell (the Lustful, Gluttons, Hoarders and Spendthrifts, and the Wrathful and Slothful). Those were the realms of souls who were all guilty of some form of Incontinence; they couldn't control their passions. Then he passed into Lower Hell through the circle of the Heretics. Now he's ready to proceed among the souls who were guilty of the more serious sin of violence.
Lower Hell requires some explanations, definitions and deep thinking. In Canto 11 Virgil explained to Dante that "violence can be done to God, to self, or to one's neighbor." What does Dante mean by the term "violence"? Violence to others is defined this way: "by violent means a man can kill his neighbor or wound him grievously; his goods may suffer violence by arson, theft, and devastation…" And there's also a violence reserved for suicide: "Man can raise violent hands against himself and his own goods…" These two circles make sense and are self-defined. But what about the third circle of punishment for violence? How can someone practice violence against God, Nature and Art? This doesn't seem possible. Here are Dante's explanations.
Canto 14. Violence against God: Blasphemy. How can someone practice violence against God? The soul practices violence against God through blasphemy. One of the things Dante wants to get through our heads is the seriousness of sin and how it leads to Hell. In Canto 14 he says he "saw God's justice in its dreadful operation…a fall of slowly raining broad flakes of fire showered steadily" on blasphemers. Dante gives a concrete example in Capaneus, "one of the seven kings who assaulted Thebes…he blasphemed against Jove, who then struck him with a thunderbolt…and now, even in Hell he defies Jove's thunderbolts." Blasphemers refuse to acknowledge the superior power of the gods. This refusal to accept reality and the natural order of things leads to Hell. Virgil comments on Capaneus this way: "he scorned, and would seem still to go on scorning God and treat him lightly." This is the reason Capaneus is in Hell.
Canto 15-16. Violence against Nature: Sodomy. How can someone practice violence against Nature? The soul practices violence against Nature by doing things that are unnatural, against nature. After leaving the blasphemers behind Dante says "we saw a troop of souls come hurrying toward us beside the bank, and each of them looked us up and down, as some men look at other men, at night, when the moon is new." Dante is using discretion but readers know what he's talking about. In Dante's view it's unnatural for men to be attracted to other men. What's the punishment for this sin? "A member of this herd who stops one moment lies one hundred years unable to brush off the wounding flames." In other words, the punishment for lust is more lust, only intensified in Hell.
Canto 17. Violence against Art: Usury. How can someone practice violence against Art? The soul practices violence against Art by misusing or perverting the purpose of Art. This sin is similar to misusing or perverting Nature. In Canto 11 Virgil said "Art, as best it can, imitates Nature." Usurers pervert the natural use of money and try to make money by using unnatural means. This is a sin against the "art" of creating wealth. Their punishment is appropriate to their sin because "around each sinner's neck a pouch was hung…" And this is where sins of violence give way to sins involving fraud and malice.
posted by Ron Perry | 7:02 AM | 0 comments
DANTE: The Inferno (Canto 12-14, Violent Sins)
Once Virgil has outlined the geography of Hell to Dante they're ready to continue on their journey. Dante says "your explanation certainly makes clear the nature of this pit and of its inmates." Now that he's been given a roadmap Dante can understand where they're headed: "In the first of the circles below are all the violent… to God, to self, or to one's neighbor." The next three circles will show the punishment for those who lived violent lives. But the punishments will vary depending on how that violence was done.
Canto 12 shows the punishment for violence against others. This is less serious than violence done to one's self or to God. It's easy to see why violence against God is the most serious sin of the three. But it seems odd that in Dante's view it's more serious to harm myself than it is to harm others. In the proper perspective it makes sense that suicide is worse than murder. So this first level of violent souls houses those who spent their lives bringing violence to their neighbors; those who loved war and tyranny and murder. It includes characters such as Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun.
Canto 13 is reserved for those who committed suicide. Now Dante explains why suicide is worse than murder. A Stoic philosopher, for example, believes suicide is an honorable way to exit when life becomes unbearable. But Socrates didn't think suicide was an acceptable solution and neither does Dante. Why not? Here's the explanation given by Dante through one of the characters at this level of Hell: "My mind…believing death would free me from all scorn, made me unjust to me, who was all just." This particular soul had been a good man (he was "all just") on earth until he committed suicide. That was his undoing. It's interesting how suicide is punished and may give some insight into why Dante thinks it's worse than murder.
"The moment that the violent soul departs the body it has torn itself away from (by suicide), Minos sends it down to the seventh hole; it drops to the wood, not in a place allotted, but anywhere that fortune tosses it." Here we should pause and reflect on what is actually happening. The souls in this level of Hell had abandoned all hope (remember the sign above the gate to Hell). But these particular souls had abandoned all hope before they ever left the earth. By choosing suicide they gave up their future choices for any other path through life or any other destiny. This is the reason why a soul who commits suicide is assigned "not in a place allotted, but anywhere fortune tosses it."
It's also instructive what Dante says will happen to these souls at the Last Judgment. "Like the rest, we shall return to claim our bodies, but never again to wear them. Wrong it is for a man to have again what he once cast off. We shall drag them here and all along the mournful forest our bodies will hang forever more." On earth they had voluntary given up the bodies they had been given by God. And since they abandoned their bodies, their bodies abandoned them. Never more shall the two be reunited. Like so many of the punishments in Hell this one seems harsh to many modern readers; someone desperate enough to take their own life deserves pity and compassion instead of condemnation. But it doesn't take a modern mind to feel love and compassion. Dante feels it too. He's trying to make sense of it all and he would be amazed so many modern minds think they have more love and compassion than he does; possibly even more than God himself.
DANTE: The Inferno (Canto 11, Punishments of Hell)
At this point in the story Dante is about one-third of the way through Hell. He has just dealt with the Epicurean heresy of body and soul. It's interesting to note that Socrates believed this heresy too. In the Phaedo dialog he says, "And what is purification but the separation of the soul from the body, as I was saying before; the habit of the soul gathering and collecting herself into herself, out of all the courses of the body; the dwelling in her own place alone, as in another life, so also in this, as far as she can; the release of the soul from the chains of the body? Very true, Simmias said. And what is that which is termed death, but this very separation and release of the soul from the body? To be sure, he said. And the true philosophers and they only study and are eager to release the soul. Is not the separation and release of the soul from the body their especial study?"
On the edge of a steep bank Dante says "the disgusting overflow of stench the deep abyss was vomiting forced us back from the edge…" Here's Dante's point. Souls don't smell; bodies do. He goes on to say "Our descent will have to be delayed somewhat so that our sense of smell may grow accustomed to these vile fumes; then we will not mind them." As they're waiting for their noses to get adjusted to the stench, Dante proposes they spend their time usefully: "You will have to find some way to keep our time from being wasted…" And Virgil thinks this is a good idea. He'll tell Dante why the punishments of Hell are the way they are and why they're located where they are.
He begins by stating that in Aristotle's Ethics there are "three conditions that the heavens hate: incontinence, malice, and bestiality." He goes on to explain that "incontinence offends God least and merits the least blame… so you clearly see why they are separated from these malicious ones, and why God's vengeance beats down upon their souls less heavily." In other words, Upper Hell contained those who couldn't contain their own desires. Lower Hell is reserved for more malicious souls; souls who on earth lived more like beasts than men. The results may surprise modern readers. Usurers, for example, are in Lower Hell. Their sin was loaning money at unfair rates. Why is this sin worse than lack of self-control? The explanation is a little complicated but Virgil tries to explain that "Nature takes her course from the Divine Intellect, from its artistic workmanship… art, as best it can, imitates Nature… so your art may be said to be God's grandchild. From Art and Nature man was meant to take his daily bread to live." This could mean any art but Dante has asked particularly about usury, so Virgil tells him "the usurer, adopting other means, scorns Nature in herself and in her pupil, Art; he invests his hope in something else." The usurer doesn't trust in the God of Nature; he trusts in his own art of moneymaking by unnatural means.
This isn't just bad business practice; it's malicious. And Virgil says "all malice has injustice as its end." The souls in Lower Hell have manipulated art and nature to propagate injustice for their own gain. This is their primary sin, especially since it is "an end achieved by violence or by fraud." Violence is bad but fraud is worse. Virgil once again explains that "both of these are sins that earn the hate of Heaven… but since fraud belongs exclusively to man, God hates it more and, therefore, far below, the fraudulent are placed and suffer most." Dante (and the reader) begin to see the map. The road to Hell is paved not with good intentions but with intemperance, violence and fraud.
DANTE: The Inferno (Canto 10, Epicurean Heretics)
Before he travels on into Lower Hell Dante has one more stop to make. The heading for Canto 10 says he'll be visiting The Epicurean Heretics. Who are they? To help us understand this section a little better it may be well to consider what Wikipedia says: "For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by peace and freedom from fear; the absence of pain; and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans…" It's clear why Dante devoted a whole canto to this sixth circle. It opposes the whole idea of Dante's Divine Comedy.
With that background in mind we can better understand what Virgil is talking about when he tells Dante "The private cemetery on this side serves Epicurus and his followers, who make the soul die when the body dies." Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher but the idea that the soul dies when the body dies is a common theme throughout the history of philosophy. Remember what our last author (Nietzsche) had to say about body and soul? He said "The awakened and knowing say: body am I entirely, and nothing else; and soul is only a word for something about the body." No one could ever accuse Nietzsche of being an Epicurean but on the issue of the nature of body and soul they are in complete agreement. There is no soul; there is only body. When the body ceases to exist, "we" cease to exist. And that's the exact opposite of what Dante is saying: when the body dies the soul continues on. Our souls reap punishments or rewards according to what we've done in this life. Who's right, Epicurus or Dante?
These are two distinct viewpoints. Let's consider the Epicurean viewpoint from Dante's perspective. Epicureans want a happy, tranquil life. Dante wants a happy life too but his notion of a happy life is one that keeps us out of Hell. Epicurus rejects the idea of an Inferno, or a Purgatory, or a Paradise; happiness is only achieved on this earth by minimizing pain and maximizing pleasure. Dante agrees that pain is bad and pleasure is good. But only within the context of God's will. Pains and pleasures are the punishments and rewards in the next world for the way we live our lives in this world. Epicurus rejects this idea. He believes the gods neither punish nor reward humans. For Dante this is heresy. The sixth circle of Hell is reserved for people who think that way.
Epicurean philosophy is seductive. It makes sense on a human level. But to Dante it's still wrong; it's only words, not reality. As Virgil tells Dante "be sure you choose your words with care." Be careful which words and which guide you follow. They will be your destiny. In Dante's view Epicureans got it all wrong and they're punished in an appropriate way. They think they know something they really don't know. They think they know what the future will bring but they really don't. They think both body and soul will cease to exist once the body dies. Dante tells them "…all of you can see ahead to what the future holds but your knowledge of the present is not clear." They can't see the true path they should be following right now; the path to Heaven. The Epicurean heretic replies: "…all our knowledge will be completely dead at that time when the door to future things is closed forever." At the end of time Epicureans will all be, in a sense, brain dead but their bodies will live on. For Dante this is not a happy destiny.
DANTE: The Inferno (Cantos 8-9, Fallen Angels)
Upper Hell is for those poor souls who merely lacked self-control. They couldn't control their own desires but their sins weren't intended to harm other people, only themselves. When Dante leaves them behind he begins his journey into Lower Hell where there are more serious sins. These are sins committed with full knowledge, willful intent and malice. The entrance to Lower Hell is guarded by "…the city we call Dis, with its great walls and its fierce citizens." This is not a happy place. Dante says "I saw more than a thousand fiendish angels perching above the gates enraged, screaming…" and a little later "sprang up three hellish Furies stained with blood…" Dante begins to lose courage as he has done before because these fallen angels refuse to let him go any further: "You (Virgil) can come, but he must go." Dante's afraid his guide will leave him behind and he'll be lost in Hell. Virgil reassures him: "feed your weary spirit with comfort and good hope; you can be sure I will not leave you in this underworld." Virgil knows that even he doesn't have the power to overcome powerful angels but he still tells Dante, "I shall win the contest, no matter how they plot to keep us out! This insolence of theirs is nothing new…" And he's right. But first Dante has some advice for the reader. He wants us to read carefully and think deeply. He says, "O, all of you whose intellects are sound, look now and see the meaning that is hidden beneath the veil that covers my strange verses."
Suddenly there comes "a blast of sound, shot through with fear, exploded, making both shores of Hell begin to tremble…" The fallen angels scatter like frogs around a pond. What has happened? Another angel has appeared and this one's not a fallen angel; "he was sent from Heaven." This must be one of Heaven's top guns; Saint Michael the Archangel. He speaks like a powerful prince addressing defeated rebels as he says to the whole host of fallen angels "O Heaven's outcasts, despicable souls, what insolence is this that breeds in you? What do you gain by locking horns with fate?" See the meaning, as Dante says. The fallen angels are outcasts. They rebelled against the powers of Heaven. Even after failing they were never repentant about what they'd done; they're still insolent about it. That makes them despicable in St. Michael's eyes.
Ever so often St. Michael has to make this unpleasant journey and admonish them. He probably hated every minute of it. Dante writes "from time to time with his left hand he fanned his face to push the putrid air away." But he's St. Michael. This is his duty. This is his current assignment, unpleasant though it may be. One of the things Dante wants us to take away from these "strange verses" is the vast distance between St. Michael and the fallen angels. It's the vast distance between the final destinies of virtue and vice. The fallen angels now inhabit the city of Dis. This is the stink hole where they live and this is what they do all the time. We don't know how St. Michael spends his time. After all, we're only mortals, even Dante. But Dante gives us a hint when he says St. Michael "turned then and retraced the squalid path without one word to us and on his face the look of one concerned and spurred by things that were not those he found surrounding him." One popular image of Heaven is angels sitting around playing harps all the time. Dante says, think again. St. Michael must have many heavy responsibilities. What kinds of responsibilities? Dante doesn't know, and neither do we, because we're only human. Maybe this is what Shakespeare meant when he wrote in Hamlet: "There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
DANTE: The Inferno (Cantos 5-8, Intemperance)
When Dante and Virgil leave Limbo they enter into the first official circle of Hell. If we think of The Inferno as a kind of moral geography then this is the region for those whose primary sin was lack of self-control. The Great Books translation uses the term Incontinence to describe this section of the map but in modern usage that's an unfortunate choice of words. Intemperance is closer to Dante's meaning; or lack of restraint. There are several levels in this "Upper Hell" and it includes those who were Lustful, Gluttons, Hoarders and Spendthrifts and the Wrathful and Slothful.
First stop is The Lustful. It should be noted that all the sins in Upper Hell are relatively simple and straightforward. These weren't necessarily what we would call bad people. They just couldn't control themselves. But they couldn't control themselves in different ways. Thus, we have different levels and punishments for each sin. For example, at this level we find The Lustful souls. Virgil explains to Dante that in "this place of punishment all those who sin in lust have been condemned." We might ask what's wrong with lust? Virgil says this level is reserved for "those who make reason slave to appetite." It's not that sex is necessarily sinful. It's just that these folks have subverted the natural order of things. Reason should control our sexual urges, not the other way around; and these folks failed to do that. Cleopatra is at this level; and Helen and Paris.
The next level is reserved for Gluttons. Here we should note that the punishments in Hell are calibrated to fit particular sins. Cerberus is a good example of how gluttons are punished. Cerberus is "a ruthless and fantastic beast, with all three throats howls out his doglike sounds… his belly swollen, and he has claws for hands... he quiets down with the first mouthful of his food, busy with eating, wrestling with that alone." In this world Gluttons ate too much. So in Hell they must live with a beast who has the same cravings.
The Hoarders and Spendthrifts come next. Hoarders are misers in the worst sense of the term. They're tight-fisted to an extreme. And Spendthrifts spend money in an extravagant, irresponsible way. They squander wealth and waste its real value to themselves and to the community. Dante paints a picture of these two extremes, "one side screaming 'why hoard?' the other side 'why waste?' …they could not judge with moderation when it came to spending… opposing guilts divide them in two… eternally the two will come to blows." Money itself is not the problem but "it was squandering and hoarding that have robbed them of the lovely world, and got them in this brawl."
Finally we come to the Wrathful and the Slothful. At this level there's a sort of "swamp that has the name of Styx." And here Dante saw "muddy people moving in that marsh, all naked, with their faces scarred by rage." They fight and bite and claw each other continually. Virgil says these are "the souls of those that anger overcame… and beneath the slimy top are sighing souls who make bubbles at the surface." The ones below the surface are the Slothful; those too lazy to fight and they tell Dante "now we lie sluggish here in this black muck!" Again we see two extremes: one extreme is furious activity, the other extreme is debilitating indolence. And that's the key to understanding all of Upper Hell. All these poor souls had improper relationships toward sex, food, money and action. Their sins are human and understandable. But they still lead to Hell.
DANTE: The Inferno (Canto 4, Virtuous Pagans)
After leaving the Vestibule of Hell where all the agnostics live Dante finds himself in another after worldly chamber. It's not exactly Hell, not exactly Heaven. It's a sort of twilight world where "there were no wails but just the sounds of sighs rising and trembling through the timeless air." What sort of place is this, Dante wonders? And what sort of people are these? This is the place called Limbo. Virgil describes the situation of Limbo's inhabitants to Dante: "…they have not sinned. But their great worth alone was not enough, for they did not know Baptism, which is the gateway to the faith you follow…" There are several key points in this speech. First of all, Virgil is using a Christian concept (sin) even though he himself is not Christian. He's also relaying another concept: effort alone will not get someone into Heaven. He uses a third Christian concept when he talks about Baptism. Dante had already gone through the gateway to Hell. Baptism is a similar gateway to Heaven; only instead of abandoning hope (as the gateway to Hell says) Heaven is the fulfillment of Christian hope.
Putting these concepts together Virgil (through Dante as author) has given a very short catechism of the Christian faith. Sin is the universal disease of humanity. Good works are not enough to cure that disease. Baptism is necessary to wash away the stain of sin. But Virgil lived before Jesus. So why is he (and the others) in Limbo? Virgil explains it this way: "if they came before the birth of Christ, they did not worship God the way one should; I myself am a member of this group. For this defect, and for no other guilt, we here are lost." This is a harsh verdict for modern readers. It was hard for Dante too. He says "the words I heard weighed heavy on my heart; to think that souls as virtuous as these were suspended in that Limbo, and forever!" Virgil is his hero and Dante has to report that his hero will not make it to Heaven. Dante is sentimental but he's also a devout Catholic and a firm believer in "the teachings of unerring Christian doctrine."
Virgil is a pagan. He hasn't been baptized and he hasn't worshipped God the way he should. Dante has no choice but to leave him in Limbo. That doesn't mean nobody ever got out of Limbo. Virgil goes on to say that "a mighty lord" once came down and "took from us the shade of our first parent." That was Adam. This mighty Lord (Jesus Christ) also took Abel, Noah, Moses, Abram, David, Israel, and Rachel, among others. However this was a one-time deal. Virgil says "before these souls were taken, no human soul had ever reached salvation." That means great non-Christian poets (Homer, Horace, Ovid and Lucan) won't go to Heaven. Neither will great classical heroes: Electra, Hector, Aeneas, Caesar. Neither will great philosophers: Aristotle, Socrates, Plato; nor great mathematicians and scientists like Euclid and Ptolemy or physicians such as Hippocrates.
This doesn't seem fair. But that's not Dante's point. We might argue that many so-called "Christians" have been baptized and live bad lives. Dante would say, yes, there are many bad Christians but they will still go to Heaven if that is God's will. Not fair. Look at those other guys who got out. Adam disobeyed God; Noah got drunk; David was an adulterer; Israel (Jacob) cheated in business deals. Dante would argue that we (in the modern world) have a sort of moral/therapeutic do-it-yourself theology. We think if we're nice we should get to go to Heaven free; if there is a Heaven. Dante thinks that's the kind of delusion that lands souls in either the Vestibule of Hell or in Limbo.
posted by Ron Perry | 1:47 PM | 0 comments
DANTE: The Inferno (Canto 2-3, Going To Hell)
At the beginning of Plato's Republic there's a scene where Socrates is talking to an old man. Socrates wants to know what it's like to get old and be closer to death. It's worth repeating the old man's response because it relates closely to Dante's Inferno:
"let me tell you, Socrates, that when a man thinks himself to be near death, fears and cares enter into his mind which he never had before; the tales of a world below and the punishment which is exacted there of deeds done here were once a laughing matter to him, but now he is tormented with the thought that they may be true: either from the weakness of age, or because he is now drawing nearer to that other place, he has a clearer view of these things; suspicions and alarms crowd thickly upon him, and he begins to reflect and consider what wrongs he has done to others. And when he finds that the sum of his transgressions is great he will many a time like a child start up in his sleep for fear, and he is filled with dark forebodings. But to him who is conscious of no sin, sweet hope, as Pindar charmingly says, is the kind nurse of his age: 'Hope,' he says, 'cherishes the soul of him who lives in justice and holiness and is the nurse of his age and the companion of his journey; hope which is mightiest to sway the restless soul of man.' How admirable are his words! And the great blessing of riches, I do not say to every man, but to a good man, is, that he has had no occasion to deceive or to defraud others, either intentionally or unintentionally; and when he departs to the world below he is not in any apprehension about offerings due to the gods or debts which he owes to men."
Now consider this week's reading in Dante's Inferno. Virgil has just met Dante in the dark woods of this world and he's come to take him on a journey down through Hell. Dante will continue (without Virgil) up the mountain of Purgatory and on into the divine realm of Paradise. Dante asks "why am I to go? Who allows me to? I am not Aeneas, I am not Paul." It's interesting how Virgil answers. Dante isn't going because he's been a good man. He's been granted this favor because he has a special guardian. Virgil tells him "I was among those dead who are suspended, when a lady summoned me… (and she said) my friend strays on a desert slope… give him your help." Who is this guardian of Dante's soul, urging Virgil to go help him? "I am Beatrice, who urges you to go…"
Beatrice doesn't want Dante to get old before he starts thinking about his ultimate fate. She wants him to start thinking about it now, before it's too late. Dante finds out that once someone dies and enters the Inferno it's too late to turn back. In Canto III the gateway to Hell says: Abandon Every Hope, All You Who Enter. Dante is appalled and says to Virgil, "master, these words I see are cruel." But this isn't Hell yet. This is just the Vestibule of Hell. The Vestibule is the place for those who were "neither faithful nor unfaithful to their God, who undecided stood but for themselves." They were people who were agnostic and refused to decide. They weren't necessarily bad people but "Heaven, to keep its beauty, cast them out, and even Hell itself would not receive them." These souls were actually a great multitude and Dante says, "I wondered how death could have undone so many." Somehow it doesn't seem fair but then he reasons that "this was that sect of evil souls who were hateful to God and to His enemies. These wretches, who had never truly lived…" Dante has just begun his education and he'll meet more interesting people along the way. Next stop he'll meet Socrates! In Hell? Surprise, surprise.
DANTE: The Inferno (Canto 1, Introduction)
Taking a journey through hell is an old tradition in Western literature. In The Odyssey Homer writes about Odysseus going down to Hades. While he's there he encounters shady ghosts inhabiting a shady world. They are semi-human. They can talk and still retain their own identities. Odysseus even recognizes his own mother and Achilles. But Achilles best sums up Hades when he says he would rather be a slave on earth than rule the whole kingdom of the underworld. Dante has a much different view than Homer's. Dante begins The Inferno this way: "Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path." This is no ancient mythic hero like Odysseus. It's Dante himself. He puts himself in his own poem.
There are several interesting points about this passage. First of all we find Dante as a middle-aged man still living on earth. He's midway through his journey of life. And he says "I woke to find myself in a dark wood." Why is he in the dark wood? He doesn't say. How did he get there? He doesn't know that either. But we get a clue when he adds "for I had wandered off from the straight path." This is very different from the journey of Odysseus. Odysseus was on a journey to get back home from Troy. He hadn't wandered off from any straight path. He was just trying to get back home. The gods instructed him to go through Hades first and even told him how to do it. But Dante has no instructions from the gods. He has no instructions at all. And Dante begins his journey for a very simple reason: he's lost. He doesn't know where home is; much less how to get there. That's what happens when you leave "the straight path." And on top of that, he's being menaced by ferocious creatures blocking his way wherever he turns.
It seems like a hopeless situation. But in the midst of all this fear and confusion, when everything seems lost, someone comes to Dante's aid. And it's a very strange character to show up in an epic poem. It's not a mythological hero. We might expect someone like Odysseus or even Achilles who could assist Dante. They had been to an epic poetry hell before and knew their way around. But Dante has a different kind of epic hero in mind. Virgil. Not only is Virgil a real man; he was one of the world's premier epic poets. The problem was this: when Dante was living Virgil had been dead for over a thousand years. So already in Canto 1 we can sense the poetic genius of Dante. He could have chosen Aeneas as his guide. After all, Aeneas was the mythic hero of an earlier epic poem (The Aeneid) and had made his own journey into hell too. Why not use Aeneas as a guide?
For one thing, Dante wants to show respect to a fellow Italian poet. He owed a great deal of his own talent and his own love of poetry to the poetry of Virgil. For another thing, Dante wants to travel freely among living, and dead, and literary characters. Virgil will be his guide through this multi-charactered Inferno. And in more than one sense Dante will be literally following in his footsteps. Virgil says "follow me for your own good, and I shall be your guide and lead you out through an eternal place where you will hear desperate cries, and see tormented shades, some old as Hell itself, and know what second death is…" Here's another odd thing about the choice of Virgil. Dante was a Christian; Virgil was not. How can a pagan safely guide a Christian through Hell? Hell isn't on anybody's top ten list of tourist attractions. But with Dante as storyteller and Virgil as tour guide, maybe it should be.
NIETZSCHE: Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Nietzsche and the Great Books)
Some random thoughts on Nietzsche and some of our recent Great Books readings.
The Bible. Ecclesiastes. The Preacher did great things. He tried to become Nietzsche's Over-man. Instead of living by society's rules he did whatever he wanted. But this philosophy didn't work for him. In the end the Preacher concludes: "Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun." This is the kind of thinking Nietzsche despised as mediocrity.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Oedipus tried hard to live by society's rules. He believed in the Greek gods and he tried hard to avoid the awful fate of killing his father and marrying his mother. But the will of the gods proved stronger than the will of Oedipus. Everything the oracles predicted came true. Killing your father was a Greek taboo. Marrying your mother was a Greek taboo. Nietzsche wrote that the Over-man is "the man who breaks their tables of values, the breaker, the lawbreaker…" The Over-man isn't bound by laws and taboos. So what, he says. But Sophocles doesn't agree with Nietzsche. When Oedipus finds out what he's done he blinds himself. For Sophocles it's important to respect the laws of man and have proper reverence for the gods.
Freud. On Dreams. In general Freud agrees with Nietzsche's analysis of the psychology of religion. Freud wrote, "prescientific men had no difficulty in finding an explanation of dreams… it was either a favorable or a hostile manifestation by higher powers, demonic and divine… all this ingenious mythology was transformed into psychology and today only a small minority of educated people doubt that dreams are a product of the dreamer's own mind." And it's not just dreams. Freud and Nietzsche agree that religion is also a product of the believer's own mind.
Goethe. Faust, Part One. Faust would make an excellent candidate to become a disciple of Zarathustra. In Goethe's play Faust says, "There's nothing we can know! And that's what eats my heart out… I'm not afraid of Hell or the Devil… Not even a dog would go on living this way! So I have turned, instead, to Magic." Replace the word Magic with Zarathustra and Faust would be well on his way to becoming an Over-man trainee.
Kant. First Principles of Morals. Nietzsche would not approve. Kant wrote, "Act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature." In other words, what if everybody did it? He goes on, "We will now enumerate a few duties, adopting the usual division of them into duties to ourselves and to others…" It would be hard to find a better example of what Nietzsche calls the herd mentality.
Flaubert. A Simple Heart. Felicite is a better example of Nietzsche's herd mentality. She goes to church daily but understands very little about religion: "Of dogma she understood nothing; did not even try to understand." And yet she kept on going, year after year. When Felicite considered Jesus "she wept when she heard the story of the Passion. How could they have crucified him like that?" But Nietzsche wrote: "He died too early; he himself would have recanted his teaching, had he reached my age."


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Meet the EU budget 'veto team'
This EU budget stuff can come across as pretty dull and confusing. To lighten things up a bit, we will turn to the universal language of football. So meet the EU budget 'Veto Team' - the eleven EU leaders that so far have threatened to veto the EU budget unless they get a better deal. Needless to say, given that this is its first outing, the eleven-man team is far from a cohesive unit - with lots of big egos and players who play for themselves.
(Click to enlarge the picture)
CF: David Cameron leads the line, ready to strike and seen as the most likely to pull the trigger on any veto.
RW: Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt at right winger hugging the line (sticking to his guns), happy to put in a shift for the team and more likely to offer an assist/support for Cameron than to deliver the final blow himself.
AM: French President François Hollande is the mercurial trickster playing between the lines but not quite sure of his role or his aims. Ultimately a selfish player (as are many of the others) but whose own personal gain could ultimately be detrimental to the rest of the team.
DM: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is playing the stoic holding role, refusing to budge and occasionally gesticulating wildly at the referee, although never actually getting into the danger zone at the forefront of the action. More likely to break up play and provide a stumbling block than deliver a knockout blow to the opposition. Unlike the rest of the team, not here on merit (elected) but parachuted in by the powers above.
LW: Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho takes on the Cristiano Ronaldo role as a marauding left winger and not just because of the nationality. His red line that Herman Van Rompuy's proposal is unacceptable makes him more of a threat than many expected. Under pressure to perform from his home fans (electorate) he needs to put in a big showing – the question remains though whether he will rise to the challenge or crumble under the pressure.
MC: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is playing the 'box-to-box midfielder' role, akin to the days of Johan Cruyff's 'total football'. Usually more inclined to side with Germany (the opposition), Rutte finds himself dragged end-to-end with action not quite sure where he should be or where he is best suited. One things for sure, his hometown team (the VVD party) would love to see him score.
LB: Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, naturally inclined to the left, find himself at left back. His demands are relatively minor and he's not a regular in this team (usually part of the core EU group whose views align closely). He'll put up a fight for a bit but he's not a star player in this game.
CB: The towering centre-back, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt provides a solid spine to the team. Not one of the more flashy players but they know their job and what they want out of it (a clean sheet). Unlikely to score (pull the veto) but will definitely provide a blocker against any increases in the budget.
CB: Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann is another unfamiliar member of the team. Stuck in at centre back because of its experience in the eurozone crisis and playing a key blocking role in minimising the liabilities. Unfortunately, his aims are different in this game and, as with Hollande, he may end up scoring an own goal (getting more spending in the budget).
RB: Romanian President Traian Basescu, at right back, is there as a late replacement and now a token entry. The previous incumbent (Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta) looked set for an interesting game, but after the substitution this role is unlikely to provide much action.
GK: Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis is in goal because, well, the smallest kid always gets stuck with the worst job.
Labels: 2014-2020 MFF, Cameron, EU budget, EU veto, Hollande, MFF, monti, Van Rompuy, veto
He may be on the same team? but if I was Cameron I'd watch out for Hollande tackling him from behind!
Hoover said...
Barroso is quite good at playing the offside trap.
Verhofstadt is in the stands, making monkey noises. He's been reported to UEFA.
I think cameron is more likely to be caught offside.
christina speight said...
This really is trivialising the whole issue. There's enough b***y football in the papers and on the TV with all ITS corruption, fouls, sackings etc without clutterring up this precious space.
AuntyEUnice said...
I though the referee was supposed to be impartial.
Before kick-off, they are on different sides, The only solution is for Cameron to hang-up his boots forever and stop playing with these people [ie leave the EU].
Barroso's Christmas wish list
Greek banks and the Greek bond buyback
EU farm subsidies - the mother of all misallocatio...
Buying back Greece: another ad hoc deal or a step ...
Out of touch or totally in tune? Monti wants an in...
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over aga...
The Catalans have voted: for what exactly?
As much of a 'Nein' as a 'No' - Don't blame Camero...
Open Europe publishes (and analyses) leaked draft ...
Looking to the New Year?
UK would not be 'biggest loser' of EU budget failu...
The confusion of EU budget maths
The EU budget 'veto count': and then there were te...
Britain is not about to get completely stuffed in ...
Trying to find two more years for Greece
The long queue of potential 'EU budget vetoes': Wh...
The 'Monti paradox' couldn't last forever
Dieu save the baguette!
EU awarded its second Nobel Prize of the year
Ave Angela, morituri te salutant
Economic realities push Europe closer to a Greek d...
Beyond posturing, Germany knows that the UK is nee...
Deja vu anyone? EU auditors refuse to sign off EU ...
Some more (draft) bad news for the Spanish governm...
A big week for Greece - but still few answers
Another disastrous budget for Greece
Open Europe Berlin: one to watch!
Nick Clegg's opposition to renegotiation could ris...
Why David Cameron can threaten to veto the EU budg...


text:
Academic & Professional Books Natural History Photography & Video Photography: General
Art / Photobook Out of Print
By: Andy Rouse
304 pages, colour photos
Publisher: David & Charles
ISBN: 9780715325582 Hardback Dec 2006 Out of Print #162061
About this book Contents Biography Related titles
This book presents a fascinating and original collection of portraits from one of the world's top wildlife photographers. Andy Rouse unusually portrays personality, rather than animal behaviour or habitats. His encounters with all kinds of wildlife from the mundane to the exotic amount to a completely fresh and unique view of the animal kingdom. This work contains nearly 300 captivating portraits including images taken in extreme and exotic locations from the Antarctic to Africa, America and Asia.
Introduction; The Portraits; Nearly 300 photographs of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles.
Andy Rouse is one of the UK's most well-known and respected wildlife photographers. He has presented numerous television programmes including BBC's Countryfile and regularly contributes to magazines and websites. Andy has written 10 books to date and lives in Hampshire.
Bestsellers in Photography: General
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 Wall Calendar
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Wildlife Photographer of the Year Desk Diary 2023
Udzungwa
How Wildlife Photography Became Art
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Browse titles in Photography: General
Other titles from David & Charles
The Cloud Book
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100 Ways to Take Better Nature and Wildlife Photographs
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Browse titles from David & Charles


Saw that it is available on Steam, still wondering if it is available as a stand alone (NOT a fan of having to go through another program to play a game that should be standalone, as all the process of running through another system adds is a layer of headaches (2 sign-ins instead of 1, if the outer service is having issues for whatever reason, can't play the game you wanted to play to begin with, etc)).
Vids look cool RoKo0 but if Steam is the only place to play it, not going to happen for me.
Wulf 359 wrote: Saw that it is available on Steam, still wondering if it is available as a stand alone (NOT a fan of having to go through another program to play a game that should be standalone, as all the process of running through another system adds is a layer of headaches (2 sign-ins instead of 1, if the outer service is having issues for whatever reason, can't play the game you wanted to play to begin with, etc)).
I dont even think the beta version is available yet, much less the actual version.


text:
Can Left- Or Right-Handedness Influence Personality And Behavior?
According to some researchers, handedness can have marked effects on the abilities and behavior of humans and wildlife alike.
What does your dexterity say about you?
Notable Lefties ("Southpaws")
All that unites the great personalities from the list below is their preference to use their left hands in cases many of us would have used to work with our rights.
Military Commanders: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Charlemagne, Napoleon was also heft-hander, it is clearly seen in the paintings.
Scientists: Einstein, Isaac Newton, James Maxwell and Ivan Pavlov. The students watching as Pavlov makes surgeries, had to turn everything upside down using the mirror.
Musicians: contemporary - Paul McCartney, and of the classics - Mozart and Beethoven.
Artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael, Rubens and Picasso.
Politicians: Benjamin Franklin and the British Queen Victoria. Since 1981, all of the American presidents have been "southpaws" - Reagan, Bush the junior and Clinton. The current president Barack Obama is also in the club.
Athletes: One of the most brilliant association football (soccer) players of the 20th Century, Diego Maradona, and best-known tennis players, Martina Navratilova.
Actors: Here you have almost all of Hollywood. Historically, Charlie Chaplin was southpaw, while among the existing are Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Mila Jovovich.
Businessmen: John Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates.
Writers: The famous children's writers Hans Christian Andersen, and Lewis Carroll who wrote Alice in Wonderland. In the book, he describes the feelings left-handed experience in the ordinary, right-handed world. Nikolai Leskov, who wrote "The Southpaw", was a southpaw himself.
5. What Causes One Hand To Dominate Over The Other?
Ed Wright published a book, Left-handed History of the World, wherein he says that left-handed individuals account for about 10% of the population of the Earth. In childhood, left-handed people often differ from their peers by exhibiting prolonged periods of stubbornness. But usually they are artistically gifted and very emotional children. Starting from the age of 3, in drawing and the molding of clay and plasticine art they are much more proficient than the other, right-handed kids. In adolescence, southpaws may more quickly develop musical abilities, and often go about with absolute hearing. The ability to speak blesses them later in comparison with other children, and it happens that, throughout life, they may experience difficulties in pronouncing certain sounds. Often, math causes certain difficulties, but the ability to find extraordinary solutions removes the problem in later years. By nature, left-handed people have a tendency for frequent mood change, to become whimsical, and to exhibit rage and anger, as well as show perseverance in the fulfillment of their objectives.
4. Influence on Behavior and Achievement
Left-handed people often tend to have a dreamy nature, possess a good memory, and excel in dimensional orientation. The left-handed could at times be said to be "slowpokes", although the results of their long-term thinking processes are often original masterpieces. Many of the genetic southpaws, under the greater society's pressures, were forced to "re-learn" to become right-handed. Men are almost 2 times more predisposed to left-handiness than women. Among the male population, left-handed people comprise 12%, and among females the rate drops to 8%. In one theory, this is due to the fact that left-handiness is a consequence of an excess of the male hormone testosterone during the intrauterine maturation of the fetus.
3. Handedness In Other Animals
Among the animal kingdom, the kangaroo often preferentially uses the left paw, while only one in ten humans are southpaw. The latest hypothesis says that the capability for bipedalism (walking on two feet rather than four) influenced the distribution of functions between the right and left hemispheres of the brain for both humans and other bipedal animals (such as kangaroos). The centers associated with speech are located in the left hemisphere of the brain, which means you likely came out well and fine with speech most certainly if you are right-handed. While in the process of evolution, being left-handed ensured better survival due to the effect of surprises, receiving the serious advantage of unexpectedness in fights.
2. Social Perceptions Of Left- and Right-Handed People
In English there is an expression: "Only the left-handed are in their right minds". Indeed, the left side of the body is controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain, and left-handers have their right hemispheres as the dominant ones. At the same time, studies have shown that the right and left hemispheres of the brain perform various functions. The Right Hemisphere is largely responsible for visual and spatial perception. There are plenty of left-handers among architects and sculptors. For example, in the cases of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rafael, their left-handiness likely helped make it possible for them to achieve such accomplishments in the fine arts. Henry Ford, in the industrial design field, Babe Ruth, Martina Navratilova, and John McEnroe in sports, and Napoleon, who possessed a phenomenal gift to mentally restore maps of areas in all military fields, were all left-handed. Visual-spatial perception is also connected with the ability of abstract thinking. Being a minority group in such sports as tennis, baseball, and cricket, the success of left-handed athletes is remarkable. The trajectory of the ball, sent by southpaws to the side of the counterpart, is almost impossible to predict, since the attacks carried out under non-standard angles. Conversely, the fact that "lefties" must often play against "righties" acclimates them to such, and takes away the same prospective advantage for right-handers over left-handers. The ability of left-handed individuals to catch enemies by surprise is not limited to the realm of sport alone. We may look in a brilliant military career of other left-handers, such as Alexander the Great and Napoleon, who were genius commanders largely due to the ability to encounter their enemies in misleading situations and their knacks for unexpected strategic decisions.
1. Ambidexterity and Cross-Dominance
Another special case is those people who are "ambidextrous" or "cross-dominant". Ambidexterity refers to essentially equal capabilities of either hand, while cross-dominance refers to being more proficient at certain tasks with one hand and other tasks with the other. These rare people exhibit high levels of proficiencies with either of their hands, whether separately or in collaboration. Given the unique advantages of left- and right-handed individuals, respectively, in a number of fields, ambidextrous and cross-dominant individuals may have some of the greatest physical and cognitive advantages of all.
This page was last updated on April 25, 2017.
By Serguei Shcheglov
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On our premises in Lathen we operate a test track and a stand to practically prove the dynamic inductive energy transmission for supplying traction energy to electric vehicles while driving. We integrated all components for inductive energy transmission in our test track. A duct – about 1.20 m wide – in the centre of the track accommodates various primary inductor topologies. A supply duct that runs parallel to the track allows to flexibly interconnect power supply, detection and communication systems. A separate power supply permits testing of inductive transmission systems at levels of up to 200 KW.
can be flexibly integrated and be examined separately or in the overall system. Specifically equipped vehicles – from small electric cars, all the way to electrified buses or trucks – can be supplied with inductively transmitted energy on the test track. This way, we are able to test the overall system behaviour and driving dynamics under realistic conditions.
interaction between adjoining road inductor sections.
The findings gathered on the test track help our customers to develop and test marketable inductive charging systems.


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Welcome to the Literature 360! » About Us
The Literature 360, Authors 360 and The Writers 360 are properties of the Union of Somali National Authors (USNA) which is the Official Host of the www.Literature360.org www.Authors360.org www.Writers360.org and www.authorshalloffame.org
The Union of Somali National Authors (USNA) also hosts:
www.nobelauthors.com/ www.nobelauthors.org/
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Founded by the Somali American Legendary Author of 104, Investigative Journalist, Security Expert, Linguist, Enterprenuer & Diplomat Dr. Badal Kariye
Surely, there is no fee or charge to become inductee into the Authors 360, Writers 360 and Authors Hall of Fame but you have to fulfill the following conditions
Author/Writer must prove that he has written more than 50 books.
Author/Writer must be willing to represent the common interests of all the worldwide authors/writers.
Author/Writer must be 18 years to join and serve in any capacities which the Authors Hall of Fame requests.
Author/Writer must not commit any felony crimes in any country.
Author/Writer must be a board member at the Authors Hall of Fame until death.
Author/Writer must stand up and defend freedom of expression.
Author/Writer must advocate human rights.
If you are a writer who wrote more than 50 books, please submit your literary works in order to enlist and be part of the Authors 360, Writers 360 and Authors Hall of Fame.
Surely, world citizens can nominate and send the names of any author/writer who wrote more than 50 books to join us and serve the literature to the world citizens freely.
The Authors Hall of Fame is also a partner with the Union of Somali National Authors, the www.nobelauthors.com, the www.nobelwriters.com and the www.nobelbooks.com


So here it's the time to describe myself. Don't worry I will not be cocky, I'll stay humble in my description. So my name is Hamza and I'm currently studying marketing at the ESG. I have a lot of experience as a brand ambassador, promotional model and team lead. I worked with major companies such as Samsung, Toyota, Hyundai, Hershey, LEGO, Grey Goose and plenty more. The reason that every marketing agencies hired me and have a positive reviews about me is that I am someone who is extremely passionate. My name in Arabic means Heart of A Lion. It says it all. Like I said, I'm passionate, energetic, outgoing, great communicator and also very professional. I know that I have to represent the agency and the company at my best so don't worry I'm the best candidate for this job. Being a secret shopper is something that I would love to do just because I know how to evaluate the ambassadors and I love to give reviews about their work. For me, I was an ambassador who will be energetic, have some knowledge about his product and also giving me an experience of a lifetime in this activation.
So thank you so much and I'm excited to hear some news about you guys.


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Published On: Mon, Mar 6th, 2017
Business / Guanajuato State / Headlines / National | By sanmigueltimes
French sport apparel firm "Le Coq Sportif" opens new plant in Guanajuato
The French Firm Le Coq Sportif joins "Made in México" campaign.
This French company currently operates in the country hand in hand with Mexican business partner: Sportmex multi-brand distributor.
Both companies are pleased to announce the beginning of their footwear production in the the state of Guanajuato next June. Mostly, these are important news for the city of León, "footwear capital of the world", as locals say . However, the statement indicates that this will be a pilot test.
Le Coq Sportif store (Photo: modaes.com)
"If the consumer finds added value in a product made in Mexico, we will produce some of our products in the country," a Sportmex spokesperson told Forbes.com
The company assures that supplying in the country would reduce the costs of shoes by 20% and this will benefit the Mexican textile industry through the creation of more direct and indirect jobs.
Currently, 70% of the footwear made in Mexico is produced in Guanajuato, meaning that 175 million pairs of shoes are manufactured in this state every year. In fact, Guanajuato (and particularly León) is placed ninth as footwear producer worldwide.
Le Coq Sportif was established in Mexico in 2013. The company operates points of sale in "El Palacio de Hierro" as well as in other department stores and sports shops in the most exclusive shopping centers nationwide.
Source: http://www.modaes.com/
Check out the Mexican Taj Mahal in Acámbaro, Guanajuato
Mexican state of Guanajuato breaks record in police killings
Pregnant woman has hands amputated by Mexican drug cartel in Silao, Guanajuato
Despite health emergency, the people of León took out to the streets to celebrate


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Name: Harold Martinez
Bats: RH
Throws: RH
DOB: 05/03/90 (21 as of April 1, 2011)
Drafted: 2nd round, 2011 $387,000
Pre Draft Report: Martinez, a probable first round pick heading in to the 2008 draft, struggled before the draft and fell to the Texas Rangers. After spurning their bonus offer, he attended the University of Miami for 3 years and experienced an up and down college career. He put up big time power numbers his sophomore year before his season ended with a leg injury, and he never got on track during his junior year, losing almost all of his power production. From Ketch's baseball source, after he was selected by the Phillies
Scouting Report: Below is an assessment of the player's raw tools. The grades are based on the 20-80 scouting scale. To understand more about this, check out this page. In addition to the individual grades, I've included an Overall Future Projection grade which is a summary that gives an idea of what the player's role is likely to be in the majors, if he gets there.
Hit For Average: 45
Hit For Power: 55
Fielding: 55
Throwing Arm: 55
OFP: 50
[updated 1-Feb-2012]
Summary: Martinez is a good athlete and a good defender at 3B, and a 55 for his fielding/arm might be underselling him slightly. He also has above average raw power and isn't a base clogger, though he also won't be a base stealing threat. Martinez's biggest problem is consistency. He was a first round talent out of high school and showed flashes of brilliance at Miami, but he hasn't been able to put things together. If everything works out as expected, he should be an average regular, but if he develops more consistency and makes more contact, he might be more than that.
University of Miami bio
College Baseball Daily Top 100 countdown
Phillies take Miami Hurricanes' third baseman Harold Martinez
Profile updated: 2-July-2011
6 thoughts on "Harold Martinez"
Profile added.
Hooray for a profile. But is "Speed: 50/45" a typo?
He's an average runner now, and he's probably going to slow down in the next few seasons because hes a big dude.
Ok, thanks. I was confused by that.
Hope says:
Flybynite on Open Discussion: Week of July 15th
NL on Threshers Recap – 7/15/2019
Boston Phan on Threshers Recap – 7/15/2019


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Celebrate The Year Of The Pig
Story By: Caroline Wright | Photos by: Lawrence Tabudlo
Good Luck Jai
Chinese New Year is more than a month away, but David Chang, managing partner of Little Village Noodle House, has already begun to plan a menu for the event.
The celebratory spread will be a spectacular feast of 10 courses, each dish more delectable than the last, most made with ingredients that carry deep symbolic meaning.
"Chinese New Year is all about inviting luck, prosperity, and longevity," Chang explains. "Those are key elements to bring into the New Year."
The Year of the Pig begins on Feb. 5, but the very special Chinese New Year menu will be available from dinnertime Wednesday, Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, with telephone reservations. A meal for an intimate party of four guests is priced at $188 and a merry celebration of 10 is $368.
Steamed Oysters in Half-Shell with Chili Black Beans L. TABUDLO PHOTO
The menu for the Year of the Pig will begin with Imperial Seafood Winter Melon Soup. "It's a seasonal soup, with the flavors of the winter," says Chang. "There's not too much meaning attached to it, but it's perfect for this time of year."
The feast continues with Seafood Lettuce Wrap, also known as san choi ba. "'San' means alive, and 'choi' means wealth," Chang says. "That's why we have the wrap at the beginning of the year." Steamed Oysters in Half-Shell with Chili Black Beans, a dish that symbolizes prosperity, is next. And no meal honoring the Year of the Pig would be complete without a glorious pork dish. Little Village's Kau Yuk with Steamed Bun, made with braised pork belly, is a perfect representative.
Kau Yuk with Steamed Bun L. TABUDLO PHOTO
Similar to Peking duck, the succulent pork is tucked into buns with green onions and a sauce fragrant with star anise.
"It should melt in your mouth," says Chang. "The bun absorbs the sauce and blends with the pork belly in a very balanced way."
The pork course is followed by Salt & Pepper Kauai Prawns, a perennial crowd-pleaser at Little Village, and then with Steamed Baby Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce — tender Chinese baby broccoli in oyster sauce — and Firecracker Chicken, a returning favorite.
Naturally, Little Village's New Year's menu boasts its delectable Oven Fresh Roasted Duck.
"Of all the duck dishes in the world, Chinese duck is the best," Chang chuckles. "Ours is marinated for over 24 hours, and roasted at low heat to keep moisture inside. We turn up the heat at the end to get the skin really crispy."
Ingredients used to make Good Luck Jai L. TABUDLO PHOTO
Loaded with rice noodles, carrots, tofu, snow peas, gingko nuts and more, Little Village's Good Luck Jai might be the most important dish on the menu.
"Every Chinese New Year, we're supposed to eat jai for cleansing," Chang says. "Every ingredient symbolizes prosperity and health for the New Year. It should bring a lot of good luck."
The meal ends with simple Custard Tapioca for dessert. With 10 courses, this is a feast that should be enjoyed at a leisurely pace. Kung Hee Fat Choy!
Get Extra Lucky
For the ultimate celebration, schedule your Year of the Pig feast at Little Village on Feb. 5, so you and your guests can enjoy a Lion Dance. One of the most raucously delightful Chinese New Year traditions, the dancing lion chases away evil spirits, bringing happiness, good fortune and longevity. Little Village always hosts a Lion Dance for Chinese New Year, and this year, it will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 5. Reservations are absolutely essential. "The restaurant is always packed — it's crazy," says managing partner David Chang.
See more articles from: Little Village Noodle House
Little Village Noodle House
1113 Smith St., Chinatown 545-3008 Monday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. littlevillagehawaii.com


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V2 Issue 194
More Signal. Less Noise.
V2 | Issue 194 | 10.6.20
Updates on Huawei, TikTok, WeChat. EU on 3rd-party risk. Proposed Facebook regulation. OCC and alt-coin regulation.
By the CyberWire staff
At a glance.
Huawei's state of play in 5G.
Updates on TikTok, WeChat bans.
EU would address third-party risk to financial sector.
Belgium seeks regulatory authority over Facebook.
US Comptroller of the Currency pursues regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies.
Around the world in Huawei plays.
The Philippines' Manila Times sounds an alarm over cellular towers' potential to facilitate spying, with one ex-politician advising against installing towers in military bases. "They said they will not use our telecommunications technology for intelligence purposes. [But] the fact that China said 'we will not use' means that they can," he remarked. Seven-thousand miles away in the UK, the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) analysts uncovered a "nationally significant" vulnerability in network-integrated Huawei tech, Sky News reports. UK security experts think the vulnerability was a bug, not a feature, but the issue was serious enough to conceal from the manufacturer for a year. A Wall Street Journal editorial says Berlin is finally making moves to weed out the telecommunications giant from the country's 5G infrastructure,
As international suspicion spreads, some US firms worry about economic blowback, since Huawei is a customer as well as a supplier. Forbes warns that US sanctions on Huawei could doom US microchip manufacturers. Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA Corp, and Micron stocks are down an average of fifteen percent since August. Columnist Jon Markman calls this "a nightmare outcome for American semiconductor firms," as growing divisions drive a "bifurcated internet" and "two distinct silos of hardware supply chains."
Not Huawei, but TikTok and WeChat.
Chinese delegates to a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting said that the proposed US measures against WeChat and TikTok constituted violations of WTO rules. Reuters reports that the Chinese position was that the US bans (currently under injunctions in the US) "are clearly inconsistent with WTO rules, restrict cross-border trading services and violate the basic principles and objectives of the multilateral trading system." The US delegation defended the measures on national security grounds.
Proposed EU legislation would address third-party risk.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the European Union is considering a law that would require banks and other financial services companies to stop using the services of technology providers whose cybersecurity was found wanting. A cutoff would be triggered should a government inspection find deficiencies in a supplier's security. The proposed bill would also standardize cybersecurity requirements across Europe.
EU court considers Brussels' authority over Facebook.
In a few days, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will hear a case brought by the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) against Facebook, Reuters reports. At stake is how much authority DPAs have over companies based in other EU countries. The General Data Protection Regulation's (GDPR's) "one-stop-shop mechanism" appoints a single "lead authority" for enforcement. Since Facebook's European headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland provides the company's lead authority. There is some precedent for action by other DPAs, however, and Brussels would like permission to block the social media behemoth from harvesting data on Belgians (including those who never signed up for Facebook) via plug-ins. Also at issue is whether the GDPR covers events dating back to 2015 despite the law taking effect in 2018. A ruling unfavorable to Facebook could open the door for additional EU authorities to come after the company, as well as other tech businesses with Irish headquarters—a list that includes Apple, Google, and Twitter.
US Comptroller of the Currency seeks to introduce clarity into alt-coin regulation.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), hoping to ease financial institutions' leeriness of cryptocurrencies, has issued interpretive letters designed, the Wall Street Journal says, to provide some clarity with respect to regulation. The OCC hopes, according to the Journal, to avoid the mistake that's hobbled adoption of new technologies in the past: reliance on the most conservative possible interpretation of law and regulation.
Will We Have Cyberwar or Cyber Peace? (Wall Street Journal) Richard A. Clarke, a former White House counterterrorism and cybersecurity chief, offers two competing visions of 2030.
Japan is bolstering its electronic warfare capabilities (C4ISRNET) The Japan Air Self-Defense Force has inducted the first of a new intelligence-gathering aircraft into service, following a two-year flight test program.
Secrets and spies: Behind the doors of the UK's most enigmatic government agency (National Geographic) Over a century GCHQ has evolved from a codebreaker into a critical defence against the most advanced technological threats to national security. And while...
Chinese military media told to steer clear of US election stories (South China Morning Post) Armed forces outlets avoid coverage that could lead to accusations of taking sides.
Why is the United States losing the information war? (C4ISRNET) The United States must take a much more strategic approach to the information environment than was required during the more tactical counterterrorism fight, according to top former officials.
The War for the Future of Syria and Iraq Will Be Fought on Smartphones (Foreign Policy) As the number of U.S. forces on the ground dwindles and Russian and Iranian propaganda efforts increase, Col. Myles Caggins prepared the soldiers who remain…
EU Seeks Authority to Cut Off Banks' Tech Suppliers if Found Wanting on Cybersecurity (Wall Street Journal) Proposed legislation would stop banks and financial firms from using IT services that present risks, and would standardize cyber regulation across Europe.
How Schrems II will impact data sharing between the UK and the US (ComputerWeekly.) At the end of this year, the UK will no longer be subject to the EU's treaties, opening the way for it and the US to finalise a new trade relationship. Could the UK leave EU data protection standards behind?
This Regulator Wants to Help Banks Embrace Cryptocurrency (Wall Street Journal) The Treasury Department unit, which supervises national banks and federal savings associations, has issued interpretive letters in recent months to spell out its view of how traditional financial institutions can do business involving digital currencies.
Space Force and cyber (FCW) Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center under the U.S. Space Force, said cybersecurity was increasingly integral to space missions and changes had to be made to infrastructure contracts.
Pentagon seeks to move quickly on EMSO strategy implementation (Janes) The US Department of Defense hopes to move quickly on an implementation plan for the Pentagon's soon-to-be released strategy for electromagnetic spectrum operations...
US Army, Air Force sign agreement to develop joint all-domain concept (C4ISRNET) The signed agreement came during a meeting between the Air Force and Army chiefs of staff.
CISA's still overcoming challenges 5 years after Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act became law (Federal News Network) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will offer its Automated Information Sharing (AIS) program and new vulnerability disclosure platform as shared services to help improve the sharing…
China says U.S. TikTok, WeChat bans break WTO rules (Reuters) China said at a World Trade Organization meeting that restrictions by the United States on Chinese mobile applications TikTok and WeChat are in violation of the body's rules, a trade official said.
Second Largest GDPR Fine Issued in Germany (cyber/data/privacy insights) On October 1, 2020, the Data Protection Authority of Hamburg (the Hamburg DPA) announced that it had fined a German subsidiary of the clothing retailer H&M (H&M Germany) €35.2 million (appr…
H&M fined for breaking GDPR over employee surveillance (BBC News) Records were kept on several hundred employees, including on family issues and religion.
Cisco hit with $1.9B judgment for 'willful and egregious' patent infringement (Silicon Valley Business Journal) Cisco Systems Inc. was hit Monday with a $1.9 billion judgment in a 2018 patent infringement suit filed by Centripetal Networks, a small cybersecurity firm in Virginia.
Cisco Told to Pay $1.9 Billion in Security-Patent Trial Loss (Bloomberg) Cisco Systems Inc. was told to pay $1.9 billion after losing a trial brought by a Virginia company that claimed the networking giant copied patented cybersecurity features and shut the smaller company out of government contracts.
Centripetal Networks Awarded $2.6 to $3.2 Billion in Patent Damages for Cisco's Willful Patent Infringement (BusinessWire) Judgment in favor of Centripetal Networks after conclusion of 22-day bench trial Centripetal Networks, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. Case 2:18-cv-94


A proposed iron ore mining bill is getting a boost from one of the state's largest business lobbying groups. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce hopes to streamline the process from what can take up to seven years down to 300 days. Mike Simonson reports from Superior.


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