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Introducing the Existential Risk Observatory
by Otto7 min read12th Aug 2021No comments
Org updateEffective altruism messagingExistential riskCommunity
Communicating responsibly
Information hazards
Strategy and targets
How to get in touch
The Existential Risk Observatory is a new foundation, founded in May 2021 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In this post, we would like to introduce ourselves to the Effective Altruism community. We believe to have significant overlap with Effective Altruism, and we would like to cooperate wherever possible.
The aim of our organization is to reduce human extinction risks by informing the public debate. We will clarify what this means to us and why we've chosen this mission below.
Existential risk and AI safety are known to be neglected problems in general. However, within this space, we think communication to a general audience is particularly neglected. Most researchers understandably prioritize doing excellent research and as a result, communicating their results, or the general concepts of existential risk, is not necessarily a priority. At the same time, most people globally are unaware about the concept of existential risk, and about the most important sources of existential risk. We think this is a strongly suboptimal situation. If awareness of existential risk would be spread more widely, we believe there would be a large increase of:
Talent available to reduce existential risk;
Funding available to reduce existential risk;
Institutes trying to reduce existential risk;
Priority for reducing existential risk, even among actors who are in principle aware of this risk already;
Diversity in the existential risk space, which should lead to more robust responses.
Communication of existential risk towards the public debate, we believe, should lead to significant progress in all these five areas. At the same time, we argue that communication towards the public debate is a neglected area. To our knowledge, there is no organization yet focusing specifically on existential risk communication towards the public debate. This should give us relevance in the space.
Additionally, there is currently very little research into how to best communicate these ideas. Therefore, we also aim to contribute to primary research into this topic, assessing the efficacy of different communication methods, and using this research to guide our outreach strategy.
Some actors in the space might fear that irresponsible communication towards the public debate could lead to negative side effects, such as panic, depression, passiveness, politicization of the topic, crowding out other important topics, or others. However, communication to a general audience has already taken place, in the form of both books about existential risk and articles in general audience publications such as The Guardian, The Economist, The New Yorker, etc. We have researched the responses to those posts on social media and we have not observed the negative side effects mentioned above to any significant extent. Therefore, we think there is a strong case that increasing the number of such publications in a responsible manner, with content in line with existential risk research, should not lead to large negative side effects, while at the same time likely leading to increased talent, funding, relevant institutes, priority, and robustness.
We recognize the existence of information hazards when communicating about existential risk. In order to mitigate these hazards, we have observed the following precautions:
We have had extensive meetings with researchers and others in leading existential risk organizations and tried to improve our organization with their feedback.
We have carefully studied existing communication efforts by leading existential risk institutes in major publications, and we will be communicating similarly both in content and style.
We will not communicate technical details about a certain existential risk, but rather point to a weakness in the system that should be fixed.
We therefore believe that we can communicate to a general audience, as these leading institutes have done before, in a responsible way. When doing this, we should minimize information hazard, while maximizing the potentially very large positive impact.
Our overarching goal is to increase existential risk awareness. We measure this by looking at the number of articles published in major news outlets in our working area mentioning the words 'existential risk' in a relevant context per unit of time. We start in The Netherlands for personal network reasons, where we aim to increase the number of these articles by at least 25% by the end of Q1 2022.
After having reached our target of demonstrably increasing Dutch existential risk awareness, we want to copy our concept to countries where the highest positive impact of our approach can be expected. We can do this either ourselves, let others copy our organization in their country, or a combination of the two. In this way, we aim to increase existential risk awareness globally, leading to significantly more talent, funding, institutes, priority, and robustness in humanity's global existential risk response.
We aim to reach our Q1 target by performing the following activities until then (some have been completed already):
Doing literature research about existential risk, in order to be sure that we're presenting correct and up-to-date information.
Creating an existential risk website aiming to introduce our institute and inform visitors about existential risk.
Organizing an online conference (7-8 Oct 2021), where academics can meet leading voices of the societal debate.
Working on responsible publications in leading traditional media together with stakeholders.
Having an increasing presence on social media.
Reaching out towards at least five other organizations outside of the existential risk space and introducing the existential risk concept to them, aiming for coordinated outreach.
Our emphasis in communication is, at least initially, on traditional media, rather than social media, mostly for two reasons:
Traditional media allows more freedom in crafting a careful and responsible message. On social media, we might need to make the message more sensational than desired in order to attract attention.
Publication in traditional media generates both a significant audience, and built-in credibility and trustworthiness of the message. Both these things are valuable to us.
At this moment, we are self-funded. For the medium term (at the point of upscaling), we are open to receiving funding from organizations and individuals, especially those which are looking for a demonstrable and scalable existential risk reduction method. Funds which can help us to scale up would be preferred.
Otto Barten - founder, president, daily management
Otto is a physicist and sustainable energy engineer by training. He has also worked as a consultant and has founded and sold a strart-up company in smart charging electric vehicles.
Joep Sauren - treasurer
Joep is an entrepreneur who has experience running organizations. He can therefore advise us on organizational matters.
Marko van der Wal - secretary
Marko works at a leading publishing house in The Netherlands and is an expert on communication.
Francesca Fleurbaay - conference organizer
Francesca has a background in psychology and is responsible for the organization of the Existential Risk Conference.
Craig Laurie Quarg - researcher
Craig is a macro social worker and social theorist interested in systems change and participatory governance. He believes that human beings are capable of flourishing together while addressing the unprecedented challenges of the 21st century.
Pierre Vandenberghe - content marketer
Pierre has a background in marketing and operations. He enjoys writing about rationality, effective altruism, and existential risks.
Ben Bucknall - researcher
Ben has a background in pure mathematics and is now interested in how mathematical and computational models can be used to further our understanding of existential risks. At the observatory he is responsible for ensuring that the information given is reliable and up-to-date.
We highly appreciate feedback in general, as we believe our ideas and theory of change improves by being challenged. You can either write your feedback as a reply to this post, or contact us directly using the email address below.
We are currently hiring a full-time intern and a freelance press officer (for the latter position, we prefer someone with a strong network in relevant places of the Dutch societal debate).
Please see our website for further details: https://www.existentialriskobservatory.org/about-us/#careers
After our proof-of-concept phase, we want to scale up. At that point, which should be in Q2 2022, we will likely need more talent to help us do that. Also, it might be that starting a similar institute in your country is the best way to scale up. If you think you are the right person to go ahead with such an endeavour, you should contact us and we're happy to give you advice.
If you are interested in us, you can follow us on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/Existential-Risk-Observatory-104387338403042
https://twitter.com/xrobservatory
https://www.instagram.com/existentialriskobservatory
Or take a look at our website:
https://www.existentialriskobservatory.org/
If you want to get in touch with us, please send an email to:
info@existentialriskobservatory.org
Org update2Effective altruism messaging2Existential risk2Community2
26EA Updates for September 2021
20Existential Risk Observatory: results and 2022 targets


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The cost of running a site like Manebooru is significant, and we rely on donations to help cover the site's monthly operating costs. We have never made profit from Manebooru, and have no desire to profit from running the site.
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How can I support the site by advertising instead?
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We do not run Manebooru to profit.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In a recent episode of The Simpsons, teacher Edna Krabappel confiscated her students' iphones to stop them from texting. Shakespeare be damned, because the new teacher gave the kids back their iphones and assigned them 20 minutes of Tweets on Twitter for homework. Such is this social networking world – an animated TV show imitating life.
The world seems to be one big social network. It isn't just Edna's class who are tweeting – perhaps even your grandmother has an account. Stephen Hawkings and Demi Moore are tweeting. Over on facebook, everyone from Barack Obama to Aerosmith, to Bill Gates, Hugh Hefner and Jackie Chan are all there.
And there is more to social media than facebook and twitter. There are photosharing social sites such as Flikr and Photobucket; videosharing social sites such as Youtube, Blip.tv and Joost; professional networking sites such as linkedin; trend sites such as Digg; more social networking sites like Myspace… and now Google Wave. Even Disney has an advertising… oops, sorry… I mean a social networking site.
Obviously big budgets will get you your own social networking site, or at least allow you to maximize advertising on such sites, but how can us ordinary mortals make sense of all these sites and use them to market our businesses? Anyone can have a Facebook site or a Twitter account, but how does that help market your business? I decided I needed to look deeper into this – into the psychology of social media.
"To be successful, you need to shift your mindset from social media to social strategy." He offers a useful analogy: imagine you're having dinner with a few good friends and a stranger sits down and tries to sell you something. Piskorski suggests that is how many companies approach marketing on social media sites.
Instead, marketing has to consider why "friends" are drawn to the site in the first place – what social need the site serves and how users interact while there.
Coming next time: What's your social media profile?


If you are tired of the discomfort and dreadful night time trips to the bathroom, PROSTAEZ may be right for you! In this new formulation, the amounts of Stinging Nettle Root and Pumpkin Seed Powder have been doubled to optimize the benefits of those components.
Now there's a simple, natural way to maintain a healthy prostate!
* Percent Daily Value(DV) based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Other Ingredients: hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (plant derived capsule), silicon dioxide, rice flour.
Suggested Use: Take two (2) capsules in the morning and two (2) before bedtime with food. Store in a cool, dry place.


The featherweight tournament finals will be decided at Bellator 108 as dangerous Brazilian striker Patricio Freire takes on American wrestler, Justin Wilcox. The winner will be set to face the new Bellator featherweight champion, Daniel Straus.
Two streaking fighters will clash to attain a shot at Bellator gold.
Featherweight tournament Final: Patricio Freire defeats Justin Wilcox via TKO (punches) at 2:23 of Round 1.
Freire came out the aggressor in this bout, landing on hard shots to Wilcox, some of which wobbled Wilcox. Freire was able to drop Wilcox but not finish him as the resumed the fight on the feet, to the delight of Freire. Wilcox simply didn't seem to find his timing. Freire on the other hand countered precisely and dropped Wilcox several times in the round. Freire stayed aggressive and was able to pounce on Wilcox, drawing an end to the bout.
Patricio Freire wins the Season 9 Bellator featherweight tournament and now has a shot at the featherweight title.
Previous articleBellator 108 Preliminary Results!


The FINANCIAL -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has confirmed he will testify at the treason trial in absentia of former President Viktor Yanukovych.
"Evil must be punished. That is why, for the first time in Ukrainian history, I decided to take part in the trial," Poroshenko said in Kyiv on February 18.
"It is unprecedented when the president takes part personally, but this [trial] concerns everybody," he added.
The comments come after Kyiv's Obolon district court summoned Poroshenko and other top Ukrainian officials in December to testify as witnesses for prosecution at the trial, which began in May 2017.
Yanukovych abandoned office in late February 2014 and fled to Russia in the face of protests triggered by his decision to scrap plans for a landmark deal with the European Union and improve trade ties with Moscow instead.
Ukrainian prosecutors say 104 people were killed and 2,500 injured when his government attempted to clamp down on the pro-European street protests known as the Euromaidan, according to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
Prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment for Yanukovych, who is accused of treason, violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and abetting Russian aggression.
After he fled, Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and fomented opposition to the central government in eastern Ukraine, where the ensuing war between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 10,300 people.
Western governments responded to Russia's moves with several waves of sanctions targeting Moscow.
On February 20, Ukrainians will commemorate the fourth anniversary of the bloodiest day of Euromaidan.
The annual commemorations honor protesters, known as the Heavenly Hundred, who were killed in clashes with security forces in Kyiv.


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Enmonodiops is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae. Its only species, Enmonodiops ochrodiscata, is found in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. Both the genus and the species were first described by George Hampson in 1926.

References

Calpinae
Monotypic moth genera

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In 1968 (I think), my Dad hitchhiked from Chicago to New York to go see Barbra Streisand perform in Funny Girl. He's crazy about Streisand, and he's often absentmindedly "dadada"ing some gentle little musical theater melody… probably 30% Streisand, who knows.
I recently got him NetFlix for the first time as a Christmas present last year, and since he gave my sister and I our love for movies, I think he said he's now watched every Streisand special there is. He knows I'm no big fan of that style of music, but he told me if I were going to watch one Streisand performance, it should be A Happening in Central Park.
"This will give a glimmer of what there is to appreciate of her, when she was at her freshest, most spontaneous, and full of excitement and poise."
…and pretty much saw Barbra in her full glory for the first time. There she is, this tiny, lovely Brooklyn girl gone huge, up there on the stage in front of a central park crowd of 150,000. She can seemingly handle any meter and vocal range, no matter how challenging, with an incredible vocal power and expressiveness.
There she is, with this kind of faux humility, playing the "what, who, me? wonderful?" card, telling all these little stories and holding court with this huge New York crowd. She is their icon and hero… this pantheon to all that is Jewish and Brooklyn, being totally fabulous and hardly trying.
She has one costume change and both of her dresses are totally truly fabulous, both with diaphanous wings that flutter about in the Central Park breeze. I didn't realize how amazingly lovely she was in her prime.
My favorite song of the bunch is Cry Me a River, a song I love, which she brings her own amazing flavor to. She does a few other Broadway standards I'm not familiar with.
But… there's something I still can't feel about Barbra, even at her effervescent best: I just don't find her funny! A big part of her act is about her lightning quick changes from total heartbreaking to total Jewish hilarity. Maybe it's a cultural thing. Maybe it's that I'm not so crazy about musical theater in the first place, but I constantly get this feeling that she's just not as funny as she thinks she is.
I'm sure if I grew up in Brooklyn in the 1950's I'd think she was a scream. It's a kind of old fashioned humor that fits with the kind of old-school. Twice she tells a long and "umm"ey story that results in either no song, or in one instance, a 10 second song.
The person I can't help thinking about as I watch her is: Feist. Yes, Feist. Feist is in some ways the modern Barbra… the amazing, beautiful, expressive singer with an amazing range and a love for covers who captures the zeitgeist of the moment. But Feist just has so much more of a grasp of the modern idioms in this post Kurt Cobain world. When I look at dinosaurs like Barba they just seem… pretty darn cheesy in comparison.
Due to the magic of the internets, it looks like YouTube has the entire thing in its entirety. Part 2/6 has the aforementioned Cry Me a River if you want to get the flavor without watching the whole thing.
I didn't take any pictures or video. It wasn't the most packed show (On St. Patrick's day) so it looks like no one else did either. No one who posted to Flickr or YouTube anyway.
Unlike the crystal clear sound at Nectar when I saw Bon Iver, the sound was pretty muddy, and the vocals were way too low in the mix.
None of that mattered… I know most of the words anyway, and it was thrilling to see them. One thing I loved, is that Warren Spicer, the lead singer, really went out of his way to vary his vocal interpretation from the album, making it a new experience (even though that made it hard for me to tipsily sing along).
I had plenty of time to loiter around after the show though, and at one point individually walked up to each and every band member and told them how much I loved the album.
I didn't mention any specific songs, just told each of them very sincerely that I loved the album and listened to it constantly. I got the same, totally dorky "aww shucks" looking-uncomfortably-at-their-shoes reaction from each of them. I should have told Warren at least that he really needs to drop the child-molestor mustache. That probably would have got a more interesting reaction.
You know, I started The Sweet Snob with the best intentions, but I just got so into structure that I forgot to post and have fun, and with that, I will quit it, and tell you some things I've been listening to and loving.
Badly Drawn Boy – EP1, EP2 and EP3: Back in the bad old days of LimeWire, when you had to just download individual songs with crappy ID3 tags (the piece of info in an mp3 that makes it show up right in iTunes) I got a lot of obscure stuff without any idea where it came from. I got into the amazing Badly Drawn Boy album The Hour of Bewilderbeast. It's mellow and clanky and weird and beautiful, and it's also the last album Damon Gough made before he started writing total pop pablum. Anyway, I went on LimeWire and found a bunch of his weird old lo-fi songs and loved many of them. Now, thanks to the power of the internet, I found these somewhat rare old EP's and am enjoying these songs all over again.
Chad VanGaalen – Soft Airplane: Now, instead of Badly Drawn Boy, I'm impressed by Chad VanGaalen. I feel like if Damon of Badly Drawn Boy had grown artistically, he could be making more clanky, weird lo-fi music like this. Chad VanGaalen is more badass, and kind of rocks out in a way that Badly Drawn Boy never did. Chad starts out all pretty with Willow Tree, but gets into some intense blooping and clanging by Phantom Anthills. I never know what mood I have to be in to listen to this album, but when I find myself in it, this is perfect.
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion: Yes with two L's in Pavillion. OMGWTFBBQ this album is so good. Not too many albums that me and my friend L. Beth Suki Tsunami Yockey Jones both love (she tends to exclusively like music that hurts you) but this is one of them. It's willfully kind and beautiful and inspiring and it's like one of those kaliedoscopes you can see through, held up to a beautiful, kind, creative hippie girl who's doing this amazing dance. I've never loved these guys but holy crap do I love this album!
Shad – The Old Prince: This is the kind of rap I like… well, one of the kinds. Funny, smart, literate, self-depricating but not like, Eminem-self-depricating. Awesome sweet beats. There's this one rap called The Old Prince Stayed at Home, where he's talking about being really thrify. About midway through, the beat stops and one of his crew says, "What happened?" He says, "Uhhh, I couldn't afford the rest of the beat. I mean, he was just charging soooo much. It wasn't worth it. We should just, you know, vibe with it. You know, just… I'll spit the beat and you can clap or something."
That should be good. You guys could leave like… some comments or something. I know you have to sign up or something, but only the first time.
this post was called: Unparalyzed!


Welcome to our Bayville Cadette Troop 20 website! This site is dedicated to providing you with up-to-date information and happenings on our troop! You will receive updates and reminders for upcoming events, meetings and trips through this website. Feel free to check this page as often as you wish, as there will be photos posted here of your Cadette's participating in our meetings and during our various field trips! This is an exciting adventure for you and your child and we are happy to share it with you here! Please also feel free to contact us anytime through this webpage. Just click "Contact Our Troop" at the very top left hand corner of this page! Looking forward to a Very fun and exciting year ahead!


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An election for Members of the European Parliament from Estonia to the European Parliament was held on 25 May 2014.

Opinion polls

1 Not running independently in the elections.
2 Not running in the elections.
3 As People's Union of Estonia

Results

Elected Members of the European Parliament
 Andrus Ansip (Estonian Reform Party) (Replaced by Urmas Paet on 3 November 2014)
 Yana Toom (Estonian Centre Party)
 Tunne-Väldo Kelam (Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica)
 Marju Lauristin (Social Democratic Party)
 Indrek Tarand (independent)
 Kaja Kallas (Estonian Reform Party)

See also
2014 European Parliament election
Politics of Estonia
List of political parties in Estonia

References

External links
National Electoral Committee
European Parliament Election Act

Estonia
European Parliament elections in Estonia
2014 in Estonia


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Q: Representations of Lorentz group in interacting QFT In QFT, we obtain a representation of the Lorentz group by defining a set of unitary operators whose action on (spinless) free particle states is given by
\begin{equation}
U(\Lambda) |k \rangle = |\Lambda k \rangle
\end{equation}
(and similarly for multiparticle states).
Physically, if two observers $O_1$ and $O_2$ are related by a Lorentz transformation $\Lambda$ and a free particle appears to observer $O_1$ to be in state $|k \rangle$, then it will appear to observer $O_2$ to be in state $|\Lambda k \rangle$. This transformation property extends to arbitrary elements of the Hilbert space, even elements that are not single particle momentum eigenstates: if $O_1$ sees a state $|s\rangle$ then $O_2$ sees a state $U(\Lambda)|s \rangle$.
My question is the following: If both observers are situated in a highly interacting region (i.e. a region of space where particles do not behave as free particles), and observer $O_1$ sees a state $|s \rangle$, what does observer $O_2$ see? Do we now need a new representation of the Lorentz group to answer this question? If so, how can such a representation be obtained if I know the Hamiltonian for the full interacting theory?
My guess is that we do need a new representation. I am basing this on the fact that, if we consider the full Poincare group, then it is clear that the free particle representation does not provide us with the correct transformation between observers, since it fails to give the correct time-translation.

A: Yes you would need a new representation. The reason is the Lorentz group is connected with the group of translations and as you point out the time-translation is different. If $K^i$ is the generator of boosts in the $i$ direction and $P^j$ the generator of space translations (i.e. the linear momentum)
$$[K^i,P^j]=iH\delta_{ij}$$
So if the interacting Hamiltonian is different, the $K^i$ operators would need to be different as well.
However even in the interacting theory if you have a single stable particle it will transform nicely like a free particle under the interacting representation of the Poincare group. The catch is that the stable particles may be different from the free theory you started with. For instance if you have a single electron alone in the universe that state will transform like a particle. But also a single hydrogen atom in its ground state (in a theory in which it is stable) looks just as much like a single particle as far representations of the Poincare group is concerned.
Weinberg's QFT textbook (Volume I) has a good discussion of both these points. Chapter 2 goes over the representations of the Poincare group, and parts of Chapter 3 talk about the problem of the interacting boost generators.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Content has always been of the utmost importance in the world of SEO, and recently it is more important than ever! Great content is what drives clients or customers to your site and keeps them there.
One very effective way to create natural yet relevant content about your business or website is to set up and maintain an SEO blog, which also provides a platform for promoting your brand. So, what's stopping you…?
Some businesses believe that their product or services wouldn't be suitable or relevant when it comes to blog writing – but you'd be surprised! Blogging can be adapted to suit so many different industries. No matter what you sell, there's always an opportunity for blog writing to create a positive impact on your audience, whether that's promoting a product, or simply showcasing your business's expertise within a certain field.
Other problems businesses face, of course, are a lack of time to write blog posts, or just lack of experience regarding what performs successfully in terms of SEO. Fortunately, that's where we come in.
After researching and learning all we can about your business and your industry, we produce high-quality relevant, interesting, and engaging posts so that your blog has the most positive impact possible on your audience. We also ensure all content is optimised and keyword-rich to ensure blog posts are successful in terms of SEO.
When establishing your SEO Blog, we will use or encourage you to use SEO-friendly blogging platforms such as WordPress, Joomla and Blogger. These are all very useful tools and also very easy to get used to once we show you how.
We're a local SEO agency in Birmingham, and we have a dedicated team of SEO professionals that can chat to you about everything you need to know when it comes to SEO Blog Writing, Content Creation, and how SEO in general can really benefit your business. If you're interested, get in touch today, we'd love to discuss possibilities with you!


text:
JUDr. Margarita Karešová Kucharčuk
Senior Associate / Praha
karesova@rowan.legal
Margarita Karešová Kucharčuk works at ROWAN LEGAL as an associate and she is a specialist in international and domestic arbitration and focuses on dispute resolution.
She has in-depth experience in providing legal assistance to clients in arbitration and other proceedings, including international investment arbitration, proceedings with an international element in the area of power engineering and renewable energy, information technology, sports law and corporate law. Margarita also focuses on providing advice to experts in domain name disputes.
Before Margarita started at ROWAN LEGAL, she worked in a leading international law firm in Prague for more than seven years. She graduated from the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague and she is also a member of the editorial council of the Common Law Review.
She participated in co-leading the team in connection with representing the client, Invia.cz, a.s., in proceedings on a proposal for transfer of a domain to the client.
She is involved in advising a leading automotive manufacturer in connection with a dispute with a former supplier worth tens of millions of CZK.
Participates in advising an investor-client on its claims arising from a failed investment in Central and Eastern Europe under the international investment protection regime.
Participates in the legal representation of a multinational company, a leading provider of IT services in Central and Eastern Europe, in a dispute arising from a work contract.
Acted for a multinational telecommunications company in a dispute over the payment of the difference for the share price in a mandatory takeover bid;
Assisted in the legal representation of an international listed film distribution and cinema operations company in the acquisition of a multiplex cinema chain, including due diligence;
Assisted in the legal representation of a leading energy company in Central and Eastern Europe in the acquisition of stakes in other energy companies.
Title: Czech arbitration under the ICC Rules: on the obligation to attach arbitration rules to the arbitration agreement (co-author),
Publisher: Soukromé právo
Title: Locus Standi during Enforcement of Rights Arising from Non-performance at Defects of Common Parts of the House
Publisher: epravo.cz
Title: The Relationship between a Parent Company and its Subsidiary: Does the Family Stick Together?
Publisher: Common Law Review
Title: The Principles of Modern Contract Law in Comparison with its Ancient Roman Predecessor
Publisher: BIP-C
Institution: Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague
Period: Master's degree, 2011 and Juris Doctor degree in 2015
Field of studies: Law
Period: 09/2017 – present
Organization: WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES, Law Firm
Associate (2015-2017)
Junior Associate (2011-2015)
Organization: Clifford Chance LLP
Position: Paralegal


Fast-growing Vancouver-based online shoe-seller SHOEme is buying a competitor in an acquisition that puts it on track to sell about $360 million worth of shoes next year.
The company, which also owns Vancouver's SHOEme.ca and Seattle's OnlineShoes.com, announced December 15 that it is buying St. Louis-based Brown Shoe Co.'s (NYSE:BWS) online division Shoes.com for an undisclosed amount.
"Predominantly, we're acquiring the assets," SHOEme.ca CEO Roger Hardy told Business in Vancouver.
The transaction also adds about 80 brands to the company's current selection of about 330 brands.
Brown Shoe Co., which is a giant in the industry with a $1.3 billion market capitalization, will continue to operate stores and online sites such as FamousFootwear.com, which primarily sell Brown's own brands.
"They decided that they wanted to focus on their own brands and they gave us the opportunity to acquire a great list of customers," Hardy said.
Shoes.com generates about US$60 million in annual sales and Hardy expects to expand that by a double-digit percentage next year.
He bases that expectation on SHOEme's success. The company's November sales in the U.S. were 24% more than in 2013.
Hardy is an e-commerce veteran given that he founded Coastal Contacts in Vancouver in 2000, expanded the online eyewear-seller and then sold it for $430 million in April to France's Essilor.
In July, Hardy bought and merged both SHOEme.ca and OnlineShoes.com.
SHOEme employees have gone to St. Louis and plan to integrate Shoes.com into SHOEme operations within the next two months.
Hardy does not plan to maintain a St. Louis presence, nor to keep all of the employees who formerly worked at the Brown Shoe Co. division.
Instead, he will move inventory to SHOEme distribution centres in Ontario and Ohio. Customer service centres will remain in both Vancouver and Seattle.
"We'll be looking to cave overhead and roll all those pieces into our existing infrastructure," he said.
Hardy estimated that the company as a whole would generate about $360 million in 2015, with about 25% of that being in Canada.
That could change, however, because he is looking at making at least one more acquisition.


text:
The Belmont Stakes
12 furlongs on Belmont's main track. Not your typical race for 3YO's as they enter the summer. It's an arcane distance, but one that also tests stamina, conditioning, and breeding. It's a fitting conclusion to the Triple Crown and one that requires a uniquely special horse to win, especially after capturing the first two legs.
This is Justify's race to lose. He's the fastest runner in the field and is likely bred to handle the distance — a son of the late Scat Daddy. There is concern that he regressed a bit in the Preakness — running his first sub-100 Beyer — and further regression would bring him right into the middle of the field. He could be tired — he's run 5 races in a row without a break. Or it could have been the Pimlico surface on Preakness day which slowed him down. There's risk with Justify entering the Belmont, especially at a low price. I still expect him to win and rebound — and win the Triple Crown. He's just too talented (although that hasn't stopped many from completing the last leg.)
If Justify regresses or doesn't handle the distance, there are a number of horses that can pass him for the win. Bravazo has run 3 of 4 90+ Beyers and finished only a 1/2 length back in the Preakness after a strong 6th in the Kentucky Derby. Hofburg, a son of Tapit, has flashed potential without winning. He finished 2nd to Audible in the Florida Derby and ran a good 7th in the Kentucky Derby. He skipped the Preakness and is fresh for the Belmont try. He's likely to really appreciate the distance. He's second choice on the morning line, despite still being eligible for an N1X. Tenfold is lightly raced but moved forward to be in the pack at the finish line in Preakness. A talented son of Curlin out of a Tapit mare, he should have the stamina for today's race.
Vino Rosso has run 2 Beyer Speed Figures of 100 or better and finished in the top half of the Derby field. Because of this speed, he had a longshot chance in the Derby where he was wide. He'll come off the pace and could loom a "Birdstone" type threat to Justify in the final furlong, especially if there is a contested pace. Noble Indy, who along with Vino Rosso, is trained by Todd Pletcher, could apply this pace pressure. He's unlikely to possess the stamina to win the race, however.
Blended Citizen is an interesting entry. He came off the pace while wide and won the GIII Peter Pan over this track back in May. He's likely too slow to find the top spot, but could complete exactas and trifectas. Gronkowski is a wildcard. He's probably not fast enough to compete with these horses, but Chad Brown doesn't run just to run, so he needs to be respected. Free Drop Billy is a son of 2012 Belmont winner Union Rags, but would need to improve — even if you throw out his 41-length loss in the Derby. Restoring Hope, the other entry from Bob Baffert (trainer of Justify), has only won 1 race — a restricted maiden at Santa Anita in February. A son of Giant's Causeway out of a Tapit mare, the breeding is there for a good performance, but he's yet to show the necessary speed on the track.
Analysis: I think Justify is simply too fast to lose this race and that the competition isn't quite at his level. A speed meltdown could doom him (think American Pharoah in the Travers) and open the door for closers such as Vino Rosso. We very well could see another Triple Crown winner — just years after some deemed it an impossible task for the contemporary thoroughbred.
Next ArticleThe Matt Winn


text:
Q: String Splitting an Array I've got a column in a database table that is stored like the below that I'm trying to split out into columns to be able to report on it a lot easier:
  Question 1 : ["Yes","","b1"];  Question 2 : ["","No","b2"];  Question 3: ["Yes","","b3"];  Question 4: ["","No",""];  Question 5: ["Yes","","b5"];  Question 6: ["","No","b6"];  Question 7: ["Yes","","b7"];

From the below table, I've got this so far:
SELECT
    *,
    CASE
        WHEN LEN(ItemValues) > 1 THEN
            LEFT(ItemValues, charindex(':', ItemValues) - 1)
    END as Question,
    '' as Answer,
    '' as Comment
FROM
(
    SELECT
        ID,
        TRIM(value) as ItemValues
    FROM
        #StackQuestion
    CROSS APPLY STRING_SPLIT(Response,';')
) t1
where
    LEN(ItemValues) > 1

What I'm really struggling with is populating the Answer and Comment columns. The Answer column should contain "Yes" or "No", and the Comment column should contain the final part which is b1 for example.
Any ideas?
Create Table #StackQuestion
(
    ID int IDENTITY(1,1),
    Response varchar(2000)
)

insert into #StackQuestion
(
    Response
)
select
'
Question 1 : ["Yes","","b1"];
Question 2 : ["","No","b2"];
Question 3: ["Yes","","b3"];
Question 4: ["","No",""];
Question 5: ["Yes","","b5"];
Question 6: ["","No","b6"];
Question 7: ["Yes","","b7"];
'
union all
select
'
Question 1 : ["","No","comment1"];
Question 2 : ["","No","c2"];
Question 3: ["Yes","","c3"];
Question 4: ["Yes","","c4"];
Question 5: ["Yes","","b5"];
Question 6: ["","No","b6"];
Question 7: ["Yes","","b7"];
'

A: I had a quick play around with some additional string manipulation, perhaps something like the following will work for you?
select ID,
  Trim(Left(ItemValues, CharIndex(':', ItemValues) - 1)) as Question,
  case when ItemValues like '%"Yes"%' then 'Yes' else 'No' end as Answer,
  comment
from #StackQuestion
cross apply (
  select value as ItemValues, Reverse(Left(c, CharIndex('"',c) -1)) comment
  from String_Split(Response, ';')
  cross apply(values(Reverse(Replace(value, '"]',''))))v(c)
  where Len(value) > 3
)r;

Note that although in practice you will probably be ok, using string split is documented to not be relied upon for ordering.

A: Since the answers list to each of the questions is actually valid JSON syntax, you can use the OPENJSON function, which will output the answers as different records. The PIVOT operator can be used to get the values on the same line again.
Here is an adaptation of the code that does the job.
Note that I replaced the len(ItemValues) > 1 condition with charindex(':', ItemValues) >= 1 in order to get rid of errors on white space strings that were longer than 1 character.
with prep as (
    SELECT
        *,
        LEFT(ItemValues, charindex(':', ItemValues) - 1) as Question,
        substring(ItemValues, charindex(':', ItemValues) + 1, 999) as Answers
    FROM
    (
        SELECT
            ID
            ,
            TRIM(value) as ItemValues
            --ca1.ItemValues
        FROM
            #StackQuestion
        CROSS APPLY STRING_SPLIT(Response,';') -- ca1(ItemValues)
    ) t1
    where
        charindex(':', ItemValues) >= 1
)
select
    answer = [0] + [1],
    comment = [2]
from (
    SELECT
        *
    from prep
    cross apply OPENJSON(Answers)
) as answers
pivot (
    max([value])
    for [key] in ([0], [1], [2])
) piv

Output:

answer
comment

Yes
b1

No
b2

Yes
b3

No

Yes
b5

No
b6

Yes
b7

No
comment1

No
c2

Yes
c3

Yes
c4

Yes
b5

No
b6

Yes
b7


An Art Deco back-lit wall mirror with deep brass frame. European early to mid-20th century.
The brass-framed mirror sits in the centre of a hammered brass bowl and conceals a simple lighting fixture which provides indirect light. The piece is in good overall condition; there is some fading and wear to the mirror glass and minor scratches to the brass, mainly to the inside (see images).
The light sources are accessed by releasing the mirror at the bottom and swinging the mirror outwards. The piece is designed to be used as a wall light - there is no external cabling - and has new wiring to take three small screw-fitting bulbs.
Mirror only: W 26cm x H 42cm.


- Most reported bugs are fixed.
- Software vertex clipper is almost perfect now.
- Texture coordinate generation (TextGen) bug fix. Many games have correct texture now, including PD intro, DK body, Mario Parties the mushroom, GE cougar magnum gun texture, etc.
I hope most geometry glitches are fixed by the better vertex clipper for all ATI and Nvidia new video cards.
PS: Older video cards don't have to use the vertex clipper unless you have to. The software vertex clipper is CPU intensive, it is not good for slower CPUs.
The software triangle/vertex clipper is a very big deal, together with the existing Force Software T&L feature, it should get rid off almost all the geometry problems for most new video cards (video cards that were working slightly better with Force Software T&L feature on).
Pixel shader feature is another very big deal. Version 1.1 is just enough to support N64 combiners, and is widely supported by any DirectX 8/9 video cards. (See my previous video card poll thread). If your video card is DX8 or DX9 compatible, you will be very happy since almost all combiner problems should be gone.
I will post a few shots later.
Last edited by Rice; February 13th, 2004 at 05:35.
Very nice, keep up the great work Rice.
Moving to real question - I've recently upgraded my oldie Radeon 7000 to GeForce 2 GTS. Do you think it does support any kind of shaders?
I'm using an fx5200 which card should i select? limited 3 combiner? pixel shader?
Ii'm kind of new to this lingo!
The new plugin works VERY well for me, but mortal kombat 4 is a little funky.
Dr mario works right out of the box though, so i'm ecstatic.
Over all this is super bad as. i'm just reporting bugs to help out.
Sadly I have to inform you that the GF2 doesn't have Pixel Shader support GF3 and upwards (not 4mx) and Radeon8500 and upwards have it.
Last edited by Trotterwatch; February 9th, 2004 at 11:42.
Wow, this sorts out all the issues I was having with your plugin Rice. I knew the plugin could sing as surreal64 showed me what 5.1.0 could do if tweaked. I tried every setting but I could never get my FX5200 to run nearly as nicely as my xbox ran it. Now it easily surpasses it, I shall switch back to using my pc pronto. (Except for 4 player stuff, Surreal64 still has the edge there for me.
Nice work Rice you and Gonetz seem to be on fire at the mo.
Pixel Shaders at last, i also have 9600pro and it's a great card, great buy, congrats!!


There's a common misconception that IT governance, risk and control (GRC) professionals like myself impose unreasonable demands on those trying to innovate and deliver human, social and economic benefits to society. But this is the furthest thing from the truth – our role is to ensure that those who are delivering technological solutions understand the risks and impacts associated with their IT platforms, and mitigate them in an adequate, effective, and sustainable manner.
The aforementioned point is key as I will go on to explore the privacy, security, and socio-economic implications of two recent announcements by the Government of Barbados pertaining to the implementation of Blockchain-related technology in the country. In a September 19th article titled 'E-currency pilot coming', it was stated that Prime Minister Mia Mottley "did not give details of the planned mobile wallet pilot project or when it would begin but gave the assurance that it would not be done in a reckless manner." Barbados Today published an article on September 25th which stated 'BSE to begin crypto-trading', essentially heralding the decision of the Barbados Stock Exchange to trade in security tokens or crypto assets.
Given my intimate knowledge of privacy and security weaknesses in both the public and private sectors, the PM's words do not instill in me any great confidence around the robustness of the security controls that will accompany these projects. The implementation of e-currency is a complex undertaking, that if not done correctly, can have a material impact on the country's already weakened economic position. Security tokens are an extremely nascent solution with a lot of potential, but that doesn't exempt them from security and privacy deficiencies. As such, I want to delve into some of the key areas that must be addressed before these solutions are widely deployed across our beloved nation.
Before any contracts are signed to commence these projects, the government must understand where personal data of Barbadian citizens will be stored. To provision users onto these platforms, personal data will need to be collected for AML and KYC purposes such as name, address, phone number, driver's license, passport details, etc.
If the data is stored outside of Barbados, the privacy of Bajans may not be safeguarded as it will be subject to the laws and regulations of the jurisdiction in which the data resides (meaning that the legislation of a foreign country could permit them access to any and all data kept on Barbadian citizens). This is particularly concerning given the absence of data protection legislation in Barbados that would force any fintech company to ensure that transnational data flows must only occur where the destination country has an adequate legal framework in place to protect the rights of data subjects.
The lack of data protection legislation presents another problem in terms of imposing strict obligations on fintech providers to uphold the rights of data subjects. This includes setting requirements and fines for both data controllers and data processors as it pertains to protecting personal and sensitive data, obtaining consent to share personal/sensitive data, reporting data breaches to government and data subjects, among other rules. Hence, it would be in the best interests of Barbados citizens and foreign nationals if the 2018 Data Protection Bill was enacted into law before the launch of the new platforms.
In an ideal situation, the government should obtain 2-3 references from previous instances where the contracted parties have deployed solutions of this kind for other customers. However, it appears that Barbados will be the first country where the vendor will be deploying a 'true' e-currency platform, thus making the need for strong controls even more critical. As it pertains to tokenized securities, similar due diligence must be undertaken to protect our citizens.
The government must ensure that a qualified and independent security professional conducts a site visit to the vendors' IT facilities to undertake a thorough assessment of their security controls. If this cannot be done, the vendor should be required to furnish government with a signed attestation from an independent and qualified third party that the IT facilities meet all the necessary best practice security requirements (e.g. physical security, grounding and lightning protection, environment monitoring, generators, etc.). Additionally, there should be a "right to audit" clause in the contract that allows the government to turn up at the vendors' IT facilities at any time to conduct a security assessment.
The vendors' financial statements should be reviewed by an independent auditing firm such as PwC, EY or Deloitte to ensure that they are in good standing and that they are able to remain going concerns for the foreseeable future. The viability of their business models should also be assessed as 'feasible'. This would protect the country and its citizens from being left at the mercy of fintech service providers whose platforms enjoy massive uptake and integration into the socio-economic fabric of the country, and then they are quickly no longer in business.
With regards to PwC, EY, Deloitte, and other accounting firms (or any qualified professional services firm as a matter of fact), government should enlist one of them to have experienced IT auditors assigned full-time to both projects. This would ensure that IT governance, risk and control processes are embedded throughout the project lifecycles and don't become an afterthought.
Another area of due diligence is assessment of the team who will be delivering and supporting the solutions. The government must obtain assurance that the right mix of skills is available to deliver and provide ongoing support for high performance, scalable and secure fintech platforms. Along with the technical positions, key roles that should be in place are Internal Audit (assurance), Privacy (compliance) and Information Security (availability, integrity and confidentiality).
Finally, a software escrow agreement that allows government access to the vendor's proprietary code in the event they go out of business should be put into place.
How will web and application servers be hardened against attacks?
How will database systems be hardened against malicious actors?
How will operating systems be hardened and secured from hackers?
How will Blockchain nodes be hardened and secured from hackers?
How will identity and access management (IAM) be delivered to manage privileged access to these platforms?
Will middleware and APIs have built-in authentication mechanisms?
Will all data transmitted over public networks be encrypted?
What encryption schemes will be used to protect sensitive data in storage?
Will network devices such as routers and switches be hardened and utilize strong authentication mechanisms?
Will there be separate firewall tiers to isolate and protect servers with higher risk profiles?
How will administrators and developers securely access the platforms remotely?
How strong will the controls be around disaster recovery/business continuity?
Will online or offline wallets be used and how will they be secured (e.g. passwords, passphrases, two-factor authentication, biometrics, etc.)?
How are mobile applications designed with security in mind (e.g. storage, communication, authentication, cryptography, etc.)?
How are web applications designed with security in mind (e.g. input/data validation, authentication, authorization, storage, communication, cryptography, etc.)?
Will private or public Blockchains be used? How will the Blockchain, smart contracts and related elements be secured?
If fintech companies are using cloud services, how are issues like multi-tenancy, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, breach notification, malicious insiders, etc. being addressed?
How will integration with external systems be secured?
These questions and others need to be satisfactorily answered before these fintech solutions become live. A technical architecture review should be conducted to set a baseline of expectations with regards to the final solution. Bringing trusted, independent cybersecurity experts to the table will ensure that they are no controls gaps in the end-state architecture.
How are code repositories being used and secured?
What processes and tools are used to manage version control and to promote code from testing to live environments? Are these tools fit for purpose?
What secure coding standards are being used by developers and what tools are being used to force adherence to these standards?
How are static application security testing (SAST) and dynamic application security testing (DAST) being employed?
How are source code analyzers being used to detect security weaknesses in both non-compiled and compiled code?
Will stress testing be conducted to ensure the system design and resources can support transaction volumes?
Are dynamic scanners being used to simulate attacks during the quality assurance (QA) cycle?
Have threat modeling and risk assessment been conducted on the end-to-end solutions? Has an independent party verified the results?
Does the test environment mimic the production environment as much as possible?
Will an independent security architecture review be performed on the system before it goes live? Will all the material weaknesses found be remediated before the solutions go live?
Will independent penetration tests (externally looking inwards) and vulnerability scans (internally looking outward) be performed on the system before it goes live? Will all the material weaknesses found be remediated before the solutions go live?
What security-related scenarios will be included in user acceptance testing (UAT) or closed user group (CUG) testing (e.g. input/data validation, password quality rules, repudiation, roles-based access controls, path traversal, missing authorization, error handling, privilege elevation, etc.)?
What levels of audit logs are generated by the systems? Are audit logs properly secured?
The testing phase provides an opportunity to iron out most of the security issues before the live solution is released to the public. The importance of this stage should not be underestimated, and government must ensure that they are fully engaged and involved throughout.
What processes will be in place for identity and access management? How will day-to-day access for normal users and super users of the systems be managed (e.g. granting, revoking, and updating access)?
How will secure configurations be maintained throughout the system lifecycles (e.g. mobile security, desktop hardening, server hardening, switch and router hardening, etc.)?
What processes/solutions will be in place for managing system vulnerabilities?
What processes/solutions will be in place for managing system upgrades and patches?
What processes/solutions will be in place for making changes to production systems?
How will production systems be monitored for performance issues, normal and privileged account usage, network intrusions, unauthorized file changes, access to restricted systems, etc.?
How will malware be addressed on production systems (e.g. cloud services, virtual machines, nodes, clients, mobiles, etc.)?
How will security awareness for end-users of the systems be addressed (especially given that the intention is for the mobile wallet to be deployed widely to the public)?
What processes and systems will be in place for disaster recovery/business continuity?
How will government ensure that the right legal framework is in place to protect the country and its citizens (e.g. anti-money laundering, taxation, consumer protection, privacy, critical infrastructure protection, etc.)?
Who will be supporting the production systems on an ongoing basis – government or the fintech companies? Will there be sufficient knowledge transfer to government personnel if they are tasked with ongoing support and maintenance?
Has there been detailed assessment of ongoing costs? Will these costs be borne by the fintech provider or government? If by the fintech provider, what's the business model that will be in place to sustain their operation in a profitable manner? If by the government, are the right staff in place to support and maintain the platform? Will the overall cost burden undertaken by government be sustainable (especially given the country's existing financial situation)?
Will success metrics be shared with the public (they should be when taking into consideration the levels of risk and investment in these projects)?
Are the projects delivered on time and within budget?
Have technical objectives been achieved?
Have financial objectives been achieved?
Are socio-economic benefits being realized by the population?
Have human behaviors changed in terms of the use of mobile payments?
Has the Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) become more liquid? Has there been a significant uptick in foreign direct investment (FDI) via the BSE? Are we seeing more security tokens being traded on the BSE?
Are there less underbanked or unbanked individuals in the country? Have financial inclusion statistics improved? Is the common man less burdened by the cost of banking? Is it now easier to send money overseas (money transfers) or send money back to Barbados (remittances)?
Has government reduced the costs of funding the fiat monetary system?
Have the substantial risks associated with correspondent bank de-risking been mitigated?
These questions and more need to be answered once the systems go live. More importantly, a benefits realization/monitoring & evaluation (M&E) plan needs to be in place up front. The government and its fintech partner should not be deciding what needs to be achieved and measured once the systems go live – these benefits should be stated up front to convey the value proposition and return on investment (ROI) for the systems, and to support the level of investment and risks undertaken.
These projects represent significant benefits for the country. Conversely, they also represent significant risks. I am not against technology; I have spent the last 10 years of my life committed to facilitating the use of ICTs for development (ICT4D) in emerging economies. However, I am of the firm belief that citizens have a right to know exactly what their leaders are getting them into (i.e. openness and transparency are of utmost importance). It is my hope that government will engage in a more transparent process as it pertains to the planned implementations of Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). Moreover, if fintech is being done, it needs to be done RIGHT. One of the most basic, yet important, tenets of information systems auditing is "TRUST, BUT VERIFY". All of the questions I have posed deserve answers. Not only answers, but verifiable evidence. Government is not known for strong expertise in IT law, policy and regulation; systems development; and cybersecurity. This is why the citizenry of Barbados cannot be expected to abide by only trust as it pertains to the implementation of Blockchain technologies across the country. The potential benefits, and the risks, are way too high!
ICT Pulse: Niel, it has been two years since our last Expert Insights Series, give us a quick recap of what have been the most prevalent incidents in Barbados and/or in the Caribbean region since 2014?
Niel Harper: Over the last 2 years, various government web sites in Barbados have been compromised and defaced by hackers. Websites included the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE), Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA), Royal Barbados Police Force, and the Barbados Supreme Court, to name a few. Private websites such as the Barbados Advocate were hacked as well. There are still no data protection laws in the country, so due to absence of mandatory breach notifications, the few reported incidents are only the tip of the iceberg.
The prevalence of ATM skimming attacks have also increased. However, because the marketplace is dominated by mostly Canadian banks, Sarbanes-Oxley regulatory requirements have led to stronger controls, and many of the skimming attacks have resulted in arrests.
In the wider Caribbean, there have been similar trends of government websites being compromised. A number of organizations in St. Vincent, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis and other countries have been subject to malicious online attacks. One of the major commonalities across the region is that organizations with limited resources and untrained personnel have been the targets of successful attacks. This is a key reason why capacity building is critical to improving the region's overall cyber response capabilities.
ICTP: How has the threat landscape changed over the past two years? Are there any particular areas of concern that you have for Caribbean organizations?
NH: The smartphone footprint continues to grow and with it the attack surface of mobile devices. That being said, many device manufacturers are focusing their efforts on enhanced security as a product differentiator. Still, end user education is necessary as an additional layer of protection against malicious threats.
Given the increased hardening of operating systems and applications, attackers are focusing on areas lower down the 'stack' such as BIOS, firmware, and graphics chipsets. Controls such as boot security, trusted execution, and active memory protecting are making these attacks more difficult, but I expect these types of threat vectors to increase.
Newer technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), M2M (machine-to-machine) communication, Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), and Software Defined Networks (SDN) are growing in terms of their deployment base. But this also introduces significant challenges in terms of security: single points of failure, open source software, and complexity. The fact that commonly used items such as televisions, refrigerators, and even automobiles, are now accessible through the Internet has vastly changed the threat landscape, and should force manufacturers and end users alike to focus more on cybersecurity.
The explosion of cloud computing, the increasing popularity of crypto-currencies, and the emergence of mobile payments (e.g. Apple Pay, Google Wallet, etc.) are also areas for concern with regard to an expanding threat surface.
All of these areas are of particular concerns for Caribbean organizations, especially those who are seeking to be on the cutting edge.
ICTP: At the CARICOM/regional level, there has been a growing awareness of cybercrime and cybersecurity, and continued calls by leaders that something be done. In your opinion, has there been any improvement in the cybersecurity-associated resources or support structures in Barbados, and/or perhaps regionally? What might still be missing?
NH: I don't want to be the harbinger of doom, but from all accounts, there is still not enough of an urgency or commitment being demonstrated by regional leaders as it pertains to cyber security. Most all CARICOM countries have no national cyber security strategy (NCSS) or centralized function/organization that is tasked with cyber incident response. While many countries have some legislation in place in terms of computer misuse, there are material deficiencies with regards to procedural law, legal interception, and computer forensic evidence collection. There continues to be wide scale delays in implementing data protection and privacy legislation (include responsible disclosure). Mechanisms in the private and public sectors for cyber defense coordination are virtually non-existent. Cyber security awareness is frighteningly low, and governments have not generally diverted sufficient resources to the development of national cyber security education. As a result, there is limited trust in key economic drivers such as the use of online services, e-government, and e-commerce. The aforementioned issues exist in Barbados as well as across the wider Caribbean.
ICTP: Are you observing any real evidence of a greater willingness among organizations to take cyber/network security more seriously? How is that awareness (or lack thereof) being manifested?
NH: To be quite honest, the organizations that take cyber/network security are mostly the ones in heavily regulated industries such as financial services (mostly North American banks). Because of the high financial, operational, reputation, and regulatory risks, they are pretty much forced to apply concerted efforts to improving their security posture. Their entire status as a going concern is dependent on this. What I am seeing in other organizations is a lackadaisical approach to cyber security. Most organizations don't have roles such as Chief Security Officer, Head of IT Risk, or IT Auditor. The expectation is that the Network Administrator should be a security specialist (a clear violation in terms of segregation of duties). Additionally, cyber/network security is not even a topic in many executive committee meetings or at the Board level.
ICTP: Have you observed any changes in end-user behavior? Do you think IT staff have done enough sensitization to bring about behavioral change in their users?
NH: Security awareness is not a common practice in many organizations in developed and developing countries. A bevy of industry surveys have highlighted that a large percentage of companies do not even have security awareness programmes in place. In the 2016 Cybersecurity Report published by the OAS and IDB, security awareness was cited as a major deficiency in the majority of CARICOM states. Hence, my belief is that there is still much work to be done in terms of positively altering the risky behaviors of end users.
ICTP: As you are aware, there has been considerable concern and discussion about ransomware. If there is one thing people should know about this threat, what would that be? Can organizations recover their network data that has been corrupted by ransomware? What would be your best advice to minimize the effect of ransomware?
NH: The one thing people should know about ransomware is that it is highly unlikely that they will be allowed to pay in fiat currencies (attackers are requesting payment in Bitcoin more and more). When I speak to my customers about recovering from ransomware, my primary advice is that they have an effective data backup and recovery scheme in place. The best way to recover from ransomware variants such as TeslaCrypt, Cryptowall or Cryptlocker is to ensure that you have recent copies of your data backed up to tape or disk (and encrypted if at all possible). I also advise them to deploy hardened desktops and servers, as well as ensure that all applications have recent patches applied.
ICTP: Finally, are there any key areas businesses should be investing their network security/IT dollars this year?
NH: I would say that the best investment as it pertains to cyber/network security is in highly trained staff. A top-tier cyber security specialist will have the necessary knowledge and experience to adequately and effectively secure computing environments to best mitigate risk exposures from online threats.
More and more small businesses are migrating to the cloud and reaping significant benefits like never before. With cloud services, small businesses no longer need to install physical infrastructure like e-mail servers and storage systems, or purchase software applications with exorbitant annual license fees. The "on-demand" availability of cloud solutions means seamless and simple collaboration with customers, business partners, and staff members using nothing more than a web browser. Cloud services also provide entrepreneurs and home-based businesses with access to advanced technology without the requirement to hire a full-time IT specialist.
But what exactly is this "cloud"?
Cloud computing is an overarching term which encompasses a number of different categories. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is where a particular application or service is provided to a business or individual as a subscription. Google Drive, QuickBooks Online Plus, and BaseCamp are all popular examples of SaaS.
Using Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), businesses are provided with a platform on which they can build, install, and maintain customized apps, databases and integrated business unit services. Widely used PaaS include Windows Azure, SharePoint Online, and Google App Engine.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) allows businesses to outsource infrastructure in the form of virtual resources. Components include servers, storage, networking and more. IaaS providers include Rackspace, HP Converged Infrastructure, and Amazon Web Services.
Most small businesses generally don't need much more than SaaS to meet their operational needs. SaaS provides them with the capabilities to deliver a myriad of IT services that would otherwise be expensive and resource intensive to administer as localized, on-site solutions.
It must however be emphasized that cloud services bring with them a number of security, stability, and data control issues. That is why it is critically important that small businesses stay informed and strictly require that cloud providers furnish them with detailed business continuity plans and security controls to remediate outages and protect sensitive data.
What to do when your cloud brings the rain?
There are a plethora of reasons why cloud computing is popular. It gives small businesses the technology that enables them to be lean, agile, and competitive. But as is quite evident, trusting your information assets to a single entity whose equipment is stored in a centralized location, means that you're extremely vulnerable to whatever outages, security compromises, or natural disasters that they are exposed to.
So what are small business owners to do? Here are some recommendations that can allow you to better manage the risks associated with cloud providers.
Fine Tune Your SLA: Service level agreements (SLA) should codify the exact parameters and minimum levels of service required by the business, as well as compensation when those service levels are not met. It should assert the ownership of the business' data stored on the cloud platform, and outline all rights to retaining ownership. It should include the infrastructure and security standards to be adhered to, along with a right to audit for compliance. It should also specify the cost and rights around continuing/discontinuing use of the cloud service.
Keep Critical Data Local: Decide which business processes require maximum uptime, and keep them on-site. Avoiding the cloud totally for specific mission-critical applications, small businesses can minimize data unavailability as well as security and privacy issues. Most definitely some businesses have regulatory requirements to meet, and this ought to be a key consideration when deciding not to ship your data offshore.
Two-Factor Authentication: More and more providers are offering two-factor authentication (2FA) as a means of securing access to cloud services. Two-factor authentication adds a second layer of authentication to user logon credentials. When you have to enter only your username and one password, that's considered as single-factor authentication. 2FA mandates that users have 2 out of 3 types of credentials before access to cloud resources are granted.
Deploy A Hybrid Configuration: Maintaining a hybrid implementation of cloud and local services is a best practice approach for protecting company data. Replication or archiving solutions often deliver a service with both a local appliance at the customer's premises and cloud storage too. This type of on-premise-to-cloud replication strategy ensures that you have local copies of the data you transmit to the cloud. Actively seek out cloud providers that can configure this kind of scenario.
Availability, integrity and confidentiality issues will always exist when using IT systems. And when a business employs cloud-based computing, these challenges are even more pronounced. Be extremely meticulous when searching for cloud providers, and question them about their security controls and disaster recovery options. Even though you outsource the processing of your business data; there's no reason why you should lose control.
As more and more corporations and governments collect and analyze ever increasing amounts of data about our lives and our activities, it's appealing to react by creating more privacy-related legislation or arrangements that pay individuals for use of their personal data sets. Instead, this article by Evgeny Morozov (the author of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom) suggests that what is needed is a civic-minded response, because democracy is at risk.
I have watched with great interest the developments over the course of the last 3-6 months as it pertains to widespread surveillance of Internet users by government agencies. While the NSA surveillance program has been the most publicized, there are reasons to believe that China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Australia and others are conducting similar activities.
One of the things that concerns me most is the double talk coming from most of these countries about "promoting the values and importance of online privacy in the context of basic human rights". A bad precedent has been set. Let's just accept this as the reality of things. And unfortunately, this precedent is eating away at some of the basic precepts of Internet growth — trust, openness and user-focused development.
And as you can see from this article, the government actions over the last couple of months has opened a Pandora's Box in terms of the individual's right to information, freedom of the press, personal privacy, etc. The implications for the future of the Internet are grave. Let's just hope that the system is as resilient to political and ideological threats as it is to technological ones.
A sore point for many as it pertains to the big data phenomenon is the fact that the notion of privacy is pretty much just that… a notion. We no longer have any control over our personal data that is aggregated and archived whenever we fill out online forms, post our pics on the web, chat with friends or tweet updates on our lives. Enter Snapchat; a mobile phone app that allows you to send messages and photos that disappear quickly into the 'ether'. I wonder if there's a sustainable business model for an application like this, especially given the present Internet culture?


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Invest in the businesses that invest in our community.
The chamber is dedicated to supporting our local retailers, restaurants and community banks by promoting the benefits of shopping, dining and banking locally. Cash Mobs, Holiday Strolls, our annual Spring Seasonings restaurant showcase, a chamber produced shop local video campaign and our "Shop & Schmooze" networking series further showcase merchants to members and the community as a whole.
National surveys have demonstrated that retailers in communities with active buy local campaigns have experienced markedly stronger revenue growth compared to those located in areas without such a campaign.
One study, by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit research and educational organization, found that communities with a "shop local" initiative reported revenue growth of 5.6% on average in 2010, compared to 2.1% for those elsewhere. Independent retailers in "buy local" communities reported seeing a 5.2% increase in holiday sales, while those elsewhere reported an average gain of 0.8%. Almost half reported that shop local campaigns had brought new customers to their business and 55% said it had made existing customers more loyal.


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Q: How can I update data when user confirms email? Supabase Nextjs I would like to update my profiles table once my user signs up with a magic link.
Here is my current code:
Login.tsx
import { useState } from "react";
import { supabase } from "../lib/initSupabase";

const Login: React.FC = () => {
  const [email, setEmail] = useState<string>("");

    async function updateProfile() { // this doesn't work
      try {
        const user = supabase.auth.user();
        const updates = {
          id: user?.id,
          username: email,
          updated_at: new Date(),
          pricing_plan: "free",
        };

        let { error } = await supabase.from("profiles").upsert(updates);
        if (error) throw error;
      } catch (error: any) {
        alert(error.message);
      }
    }

    // login function
    const handleLogin = async (email: string) => {
      try {
        // sign in with email
        const { error } = await supabase.auth.signIn({ email });
        if (error) throw error;
        alert("Check your email for a link to log in.");
        updateProfile();
      } catch (error: any) {
        alert(error.error_description || error.message);
      }
    };

  return (

Sign in via magic link with your email below

      <input
        className="mb-4 border-2 border-gray-500 rounded-xl p-4 w-full"
        type="email"
        placeholder="Your email"
        value={email}
        onChange={(e) => setEmail(e.target.value)}
      />
      <button
        onClick={(e) => {
          e.preventDefault();
          handleLogin(email);
        }}
        className="w-full mt-4 p-2 pl-5 pr-5 bg-blue-500 text-gray-100 text-lg rounded-lg focus:border-4 border-blue-300"
      >
        Send magic link
      </button>

  );
};

export default Login;

Currently when a user clicks the "Sign magic link" button. They receive an email (as expected). However, my table isn't updating.
Example of updateProfile() function working
import { Session } from "@supabase/supabase-js";
import { useState } from "react";
import { supabase } from "../lib/initSupabase";

interface Props {
  session: Session | null;
}

const Profile: React.FC<Props> = ({ session }: Props) => {
  const [username, setUsername] = useState<
    string | number | readonly string[] | undefined
  >("");

  async function getProfile() {
    try {
      const user = supabase.auth.user();
      let { data, error, status } = await supabase
        .from("profiles")
        .select(`username`)
        .eq("id", user?.id)
        .single();

      if (error && status !== 406) {
        throw error;
      }

      if (data) {
        setUsername(data.username);
      }
    } catch (error: any) {
      alert(error.message);
    }
  }

  async function updateProfile() {
    try {
      const user = supabase.auth.user();
      const updates = {
        id: user?.id,
        username,
        updated_at: new Date(),
      };

      let { error } = await supabase.from("profiles").upsert(updates);
      if (error) throw error;
    } catch (error: any) {
      alert(error.message);
    }
  }

  return (

Oh hi there {session?.user?.email}

      <input
        className="my-4 border-2 border-gray-500 rounded-xl p-4 w-full"
        type="username"
        placeholder="Enter a username"
        value={username}
        onChange={(e) => setUsername(e.target.value)}
      />
      <button
        onClick={(e) => {
          e.preventDefault();
          updateProfile();
        }}
        className="w-full mt-4 p-2 pl-5 pr-5 bg-blue-500 text-gray-100 text-lg rounded-lg focus:border-4 border-blue-300"
      >
        Update profile
      </button>
      <button
        className="mt-4 p-2 pl-5 pr-5 bg-blue-500 text-gray-100 text-lg rounded-lg focus:border-4 border-blue-300"
        onClick={() => supabase.auth.signOut()}
      >
        Logout
      </button>

  );
};

export default Profile;

I also have to whole code listed on GitHub: https://github.com/codewithanish/cwe-test

A: You can check for the sessions if you are checking for email verification:
Docs:
If "Email Confirmations" is turned on, a user is returned but the session will be null
If "Email Confirmations" is turned off, both a user and a session will be returned

You can also check this nextJS example for an example of how to update profiles:
async function updateProfile({ username, website, avatar_url }) {
    try {
      setLoading(true)
      const user = supabase.auth.user()

      const updates = {
        id: user.id,
        username,
        website,
        avatar_url,
        updated_at: new Date(),
      }

      let { error } = await supabase.from('profiles').upsert(updates, {
        returning: 'minimal', // Don't return the value after inserting
      })

      if (error) {
        throw error
      }
    } catch (error) {
      alert(error.message)
    } finally {
      setLoading(false)
    }
  }

A: You are trying to directly edit the table, thats not how it works within supabase, you should be using this instead:
const { user, error } = await supabase.auth.update({email: 'new@email.com'})


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Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia – Barrier-free regional market
IN FOCUS INTERVIEW TOP STORIES
I am confident that the acceleration of economic integration through the implementation of the Open Balkans initiative will also contribute to a faster resolution of open issues in the Western Balkans.
After his visit to Germany in February this year, Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS), said that the Western Balkans remains one of the priorities of the new German government. In this interview, the CCIS president speaks about the importance of Germany's stance, the Open Balkans initiative and the results of cooperation with Germany.
Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia
Economic, trade and investment ties with Germany, as Serbia's main economic partner, continued to grow stronger even during the pandemic. What is the current state of cooperation between the two countries?
During the pandemic, Germany remained Serbia's number one external trade partner and the first export market for Serbian products. The growth in trading between the two countries continued, which, taking both goods and services into account, increased by almost a quarter last year compared to 2020, and approached the amount of 8 billion euros. For the first time in 2021, the value of trade exceeded 6.5 billion euros, and the export of Serbian products to the German market increased by 25 percent – to about 2.750 billion euros. If we continue at this pace, and if there are no major upheavals on the global economic scene, in a year or two at the most, the Serbian-German trade in goods and services could reach as much as 10 billion euros.
Last year, more than 11,500 companies from Serbia did business with German partners – exporting from Serbia and importing from Germany. Among them are German companies that operate and produce in Serbia and that give the greatest contribution not only to the growth of Serbian exports to Germany and the world but also to the diversification of the export offer to include industrial products of higher processing degree and high-tech products.
About a thousand companies and small businesses, founded with German capital, are registered in Serbia, and more than 800 companies are majority German-owned
About a thousand companies and small businesses, founded with German capital, are registered in Serbia, and more than 800 companies are majority German-owned. In addition to being our number one trading partner, Germany is one of the largest investors here with about 3 billion euros worth of investments, according to the Bundesbank, and the first among investors in terms of the number of implemented investment projects in Serbia. New German investors have come to Serbia and joined the group of German companies that already invested in the past period and have been expanding their business in the past two years. It is important for Serbia that high-tech German companies have been investing in our country in the past few years, which, in addition to factories, are also opening their own research and development centres here.
You went to Germany in February, and upon return, you said that the Western Balkans remained a priority for the new German government. How important is that for Serbia and the region?
In order to accelerate regional integration in the Western Balkans and the region's integration into the single European market, we need to have the support of a large partner such as Germany, which is the strongest European economy. The confirmation that our region remains in the focus of the new German government, but also of German companies, i.e. potential investors, is all the more encouraging.
I spoke with the of state institutions – the Bundestag, the ministries of foreign affairs and economy, the Office of the Chancellor, business associations and companies, about ways and solutions to give these processes new momentum, the importance of the Open Balkans initiative and how to expand the initiative to include all six regional economies, but also how to bring the region's economy closer to the single European market.
For Western Balkan companies to start to enjoy concrete benefits as soon as possible, it is important that the principles and agreements on building a common regional market, concluded under the auspices of the Berlin Process, are implemented
For Western Balkan companies to start to enjoy concrete benefits as soon as possible, it is important that the principles and agreements on building a common regional market, concluded under the auspices of the Berlin Process, in which a lot of time and energy was invested, are implemented in practice through the Open Balkans initiative. It also means a lot to us to remove obstacles in doing business with the European Union, to enable the Western Balkan companies and products to fully open the single market, to have full access to the European Economic Area, and receive the same treatment as EU companies in those segments in which we have met European standards and rules.
Why is the Open Balkans initiative important and how much will it contribute to bringing the whole region closer, both individually and together, to the EU's common economic market?
The beginning of the implementation of the Open Balkans initiative is proof of the determination and readiness of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia to expedite the economic integration of the region from within, but also with the EU. We have to encourage the formation of a regional market in practice, through the cooperation of institutions from three, at the moment, and soon I believe all six Western Balkan economies. Such a common, regional market without barriers will function on the same fundamental principles as the European Economic Area – as a zone of free movement of people, goods, services and capital, and will be our best preparation for entering the single European market.
The initiative will expand the business space for companies operating here, both domestic and foreign, significantly reduce costs and make business within the region more efficient, productive and competitive, as well as make the region even more attractive to the international business community. It will enable goods, accompanied by just one mutually harmonized document, to travel through the region, for trucks not to wait for hours at border crossings, to exchange workers and experts without bureaucratic procedures and to harmonize regulations and practices in all areas important for business with EU standards.
I am confident that the acceleration of economic integration through the implementation of the Open Balkans initiative will also contribute to a faster resolution of open issues in the Western Balkans, especially those between Belgrade and Priština, which will, in turn, bring greater political stability to the region, as a key prerequisite for further economic growth.
What else can contribute to the recovery and growth of the Western Balkan economies and a greater influx of foreign investments in Serbia?
There is nothing that can improve the business climate, facilitate business for local and foreign companies operating here, contribute to the growth and development of Western Balkan economies and increase the inflow of foreign investment in Serbia and the region like the regional economic integration.
In parallel with creating a common market and removing barriers to doing business among us and with the world, it is very important to connect our companies in value chains, consolidate supply, encourage the establishment of regional stakeholders that will be competitive in the international market and support the economy to boost its capacity to digitally transform, to automate production and to move to green sustainable business models. In the past few months, more than 2,000 companies from all six regional chambers of commerce and all production and service sectors have become part of the joint supply platform, and their profiles and offers are already available to interested suppliers from the Western Balkans.
There is no better reference for one economy, its companies and a country that is emerging as an investment and business destination than having Germany as the number one foreign trading partner
What is even more important is to provide the local economy and investors from around the world with an adequate young and educated workforce in line with their needs, for dual education to come to life in the entire region, to harmonize our education systems, to establish a common labour market, and for someone who is investing in Serbia to be able to hire workers and experts from across the region without bureaucratic procedures.
You have extensive experience in relations with Germany, and as the CCIS president, you have launched many initiatives. What do the good results in the cooperation between Serbia and the German economy, which has been growing year on year, mean to you?
There is no better reference for one economy, its companies and a country that is emerging as an investment and business destination than having Germany as the number one foreign trading partner, as well as exporting mostly to the German market, attracting mostly German investors, being included in German supply chains, rely on German technology and know-how, support the implementation of dual education, digital transformation of the economy and transition to doing business based on green economy principles. Serbia considers these kinds of references and that partnership a privilege and does everything in its power to nurture and strengthen it. In the spring, in cooperation with partner chambers from Germany, we will present very concrete investment and business opportunities to German companies, first in Stuttgart and then at a large-scale investment conference in Berlin in the context of the changing global market.
Serbia in five years
In five years, I see Serbia, first and foremost, as part of the common market of all six Western Balkan economies and part of the European Economic Area. I also see Serbia as a country with a competitive and modern economy and companies, well-positioned in the international market, one of the largest technological hubs in Europe and one of the most desirable European business destinations.
Tags: Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Marko Čadež, pks
Branko Ružić, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development-Digitalization of the education system is a priority
Mr. Milan Grujić, Chairman of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors, and Managing Director of ZF Serbia d.o.o. – Strong partnership and constructive collaboration