text:
Updated On: Aug 18, 2009
Located in the heart of Chapel Hill is the University of North Carolina and UNC Hospitals, home of the NC Jaycee Burn Center.
The Burn Center was created from one man's mission. In the 1960s, several workers of an electrical contracting company in Goldsboro suffered severe electrical burns. John Stackhouse, owner of the company, learned that North Carolina had no burn center. Stackhouse then pledged $40,000 of his own money. Afterwards, the board of the Rural Electric Association voted to match his pledge. Later, the state association of volunteer firefighters also pledged $40,000. In 1973, the Goldsboro Jaycees sold jars of jelly to help raise funds. The statewide organization of Jaycees adopted the idea and the first Jaycee Jelly Week was held in January 1974. Jaycee and Jaycette chapters across North Carolina raised nearly $150,000 by selling jelly at $1 a jar...Stackhouse bought the first jar of jelly for $10,000.
The members of the Chapel Hill Firefighters Association have been actively supporting the Burn Center for years and continue to build on their relationship. The members support such events as the Adult Burn Survivor's Reunion, Camp Celebrate, and larger events such as the World Burn Congress.
For over twenty years, the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center has been providing state-of-the-art care to burn victims across the state of North Carolina from the smallest minor wound, to life-threatening critical burn injuries. As the largest burn center between Baltimore and Miami, the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center averages almost 600 inpatient admissions and supports over 3500 outpatient clinic visits by burn patients.
For more information on UNC's Jaycee Burn Center, please visit them at: http://www.med.unc.edu/burn.


Joanne was expecting a "normal" limo (the package description just said "limousine service") and I think we both would've preferred it not say "Dang's Limousine" all across the back window! I think Mathieu voiced his dissatisfaction that "this isn't a stretch limo". But despite any perceived tackiness, it was probably easier for everyone to climb into than a Town Car limo would've been.
I think Joanne was pleasantly surprised that Zoe wanted to sit with the bride. Definitely the best spot.


text:
Film review – Another Year (2010)
27 January 2011 Thomas Caldwell Film review 5 comments
Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen)
Early in Another Year we see married couple Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen) happily working on their allotment garden in London. For a moment the hole that has been dug resembles a grave while a square piece of plastic protectively covering a bank of vegetables looks like a coffin. However, what Tom and Gerri are enthusiastically working away at is the creation of life and nourishment – the complete opposite of death. Later in the film during a small lunch gathering a friend of Tom and Gerri's presents her recently born baby. In the same scene another friend softly apologises for the absence of his wife, who is too sick to attend and has been so for some time. The film's title, the reminders of life and death, and the structure of breaking the film up into four parts named after the seasons all contribute to the themes of passing time and what we do with our lives during the time that we have.
At the centre of the film is Tom and Gerri, one of the most wonderful on-screen couples that cinema has ever produced. Tom is a geologist, further connecting him with earthy values, while Gerri is a counsellor, establishing her as a nurturer. In fact, all the characters in Another Year work in a capacity that helps or looks after other people but it is Tom and Gerri who provide the comfort, kindness, humour and compassion to the less happy friends and family who populate their lives. Each of the four segments of the film focuses on a character who Tom and Gerri care for in some way but the main character who features throughout the film is Gerri's work colleague and friend Mary (Lesley Manville).
Mary (Lesley Manville)
While presenting a brave face to the world, the likeable and skittish Mary is clearly lonely, drinks to deal with her pain and seeks out other short-term fixes that cause more problems rather than truly help. The themes of avoidance and denial in Another Year rest with many of the characters, not least of all Mary, and commence with the opening scenes depicting Imelda Staunton as a woman seeking help for her insomnia. We only see Staunton's character once more close to the start of the film where her desire to simply get a sleeping pill prescription rather than address the sadness in her life that is the likely cause of her sleeping disorder represent many of the issues shared by the range of Tom and Gerri's friends and family.
Another Year is one of writer/director Mike Leigh's best films to date as it conjures up so many universal themes in its depiction of an immediately recognisable group of characters. While Leigh's work in the past has had a tendency to focus on English class division issues, sometimes very effectively but sometimes a little heavy handed, Another Year is a move away from overt political commentary. As with Happy-Go-Lucky, Another Year is a far more upbeat, hopeful and even humorous film than many of Leigh's previous films. The fact that in both films Leigh can present warm and likeable characters and yet still explore everyday suffering and pain, with powerful emotional results, is a testament to Leigh's talents.
As always, the plot and characterisation for Another Year are the result of a lengthily rehearsal and improvisation process that Leigh conducts with his actors, many of whom he has a long working relationship with. The outcomes are well-rounded characters and wonderful free flowing dialogue, but it would be a mistake to assume that Leigh is a cinéma vérité director who doesn't have complete control over the film he is making. The naturalism in Another Year is the result of meticulous filmmaking with Dick Pope's cinematography perfectly capturing the light of each scene to convey a particular mood and time of year. Leigh and Pope also know exactly when to position the camera to capture a character's face in close-up and linger just long enough for the true meaning of the scene to come out via facial expressions rather than dialogue.
Another Year is an extraordinarily rewarding film full of characters to embrace and empathise with. It's a tribute to kindness, family and friendship without sentiment, easy answers or judgement. The final shot alone is enough evidence to the film's strengths in the powerful juxtaposition that it creates through the way the camera slowly moves over the characters to strategically group them through framing. The fact that you can almost anticipate what image the camera will finally rest on does nothing to remove the immense power of the final shot in this rich and moving film.
Another YearImelda StauntonJim BroadbentLesley ManvilleMike LeighRuth Sheen
Previous Post: Film review – True Grit (2010)
Next Post: Film review – The Fighter (2010)
Andrew Buckle says:
Really looking forward to seeing this. Haven't seen any of Mike Leigh's films (a fact I should amend), but some of his short films are charming. Plus Jim Broadbent is always excellent.
Thomas Caldwell says:
I'd like to see more of his earlier work, including his made for TV films. The one I have seen – Nuts in May – is terrific.
In terms of his more recent stuff then Naked and Secrets and Lies are essentially viewing and I'd also highly recommend his last two films Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky. However, I reckon that Another Year is as good a Leigh film as any to start with.
I loved it! Beautifully drawn characters. Leslie Manville should feel left out after missing out on at least a supporting nomination. She is magnificent!
Hmmm. I found it an entirely tiresome load of lightweight pretentious nonsense. In competition with Black Swan for the worst film I've seen in a long time.
Andy F says:
It seems to me that the scenes in this movie actually represent an interpretation of the biblical purgatory, where souls go to seek penance before being accepted into Heaven, and where Tom and Gerri represent a benevolent force who help souls to admit and take ownership for their past sins. I believe that in the Jewish faith, purgatory lasts for one year. There are numerous references to death and suicide in the movie and there are numerous times where characters mention that life never seems to change or get better. There are also a couple of times where Gerri encourages people to meet with therapists. I really enjoyed the movie.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


On October 6, 2017, a large-scale event took place - a solemn ceremony of laying the foundation stone for a new project Limassol Del Mar, which will be built in the tourist area of Limassol. The festival was attended by the President of the country Nikos Anastasiadis, international investors and potential buyers of real estate in the complex. This event was one of the most outstanding events in Cyprus of this kind, emphasizing the importance of government participation and support in projects of this magnitude. The authorities, the president assured, intend to further strengthen and develop the economy so that Cyprus continues its path to sustainable growth. "
The event began with the blessing of Bishop Nicholas. Ms. Eleftheria Voskaridou, Marketing Director of Limassol Del Mar, expressed her admiration on behalf of the whole group, who had worked hard during the past months to make this event a reality. Special gratitude was rendered by the Cypriot composer Kostas Kakoyanis, who created the musical design of the presentation with specially written music dedicated to Del Mar. President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nikos Anastasiades expressed his satisfaction that Limassol Del Mar is promoting the island abroad, attracting significant investments, and solemnly laid the first major stone in the foundation of the landmark project. The event ended with a bewitching show that included 4D screening on a 240 m2 screen that was specially built for the evening. The unique atmosphere of this event perfectly formed the image of Limassol Del Mar - a symbol of the "new wave" in the architecture of the island.


Qualcomm-Samsung Showcased their inline 5g phones For 2019.
Qualcomm President, Cristiano Amon showed off a 5G prototype device, on Tuesday which was capable of accessing "live" 5G networks running at the Grand Wailea Hotel, the location of the conference. It's powered by Verizon and AT&T. The 350 journalists attending the event weren't allowed to try to get their hands over the devices but got a chance to see them. The demo phones showed the power of the 5G devices.
5G "will lay the foundation for smartphones, later cars and virtually every electronic device that will be connected," said Amon "That first step is getting to us in the first half of 2019." He added.
What a 5G Phone Can Do?
5G the next generation mobile technology promises to increase the speed, coverage, and response to wireless commands. The internet connectivity can be 10 to 100 times faster than your current high-speed internet. From this you can imagine the unimaginable fast speed it will give to the handheld devices, this will be even quicker than the fiber op[tic cable connections in your homes.
It will altogether speed up how fast a device will connect to the network with speeds as quick as a millisecond to start your download or upload.
The overall speed gains mean that phones will be better equipped to handle complex tasks in a fraction of the time they currently take. This could make advanced photography skills, artificial intelligence actions and augmented reality apps reach the next level; today's handsets would take far too long to process those tasks.
Changing to the 5G network comes with its own set of challenges. First, the telecoms need to ready their networks to handle 5G. This fifth-generation data pipeline uses a different part of the wireless spectrum than 4G. It relies on high-frequency millimeter wave (mmWave) to cater high speeds at short range and sub-6 GHz spectrum to deliver data more vastly, and into buildings.
As with 4G and 3G before it, carriers buy the rights to use spectrum at auctions put on by the FCC. That might mean that some carriers will have more spectrum than the other, and that can affect the overall network speed in different parts of the country.
Second, device makers need to make sure their handsets work smoothly with 5G. Phones have to use a special modem and dedicated processor chip that supports 5G. Smartphone brands like Samsung, Apple, and LG already test every single device on every major carrier they sell through. 5G certification is yet another lengthy, and expensive, process. But Amon and partner brands like Verizon on Tuesday said they're confident about launching phones in early 2019.
"We're full speed ahead on 5G mobile service," Nicki Palmer, chief network engineering officer and head of wireless networks of Verizon, said Tuesday at the Qualcomm curtain-raiser.


Benjamin Nivet lashed home a dramatic last-minute winner as Ligue 2 Troyes seized the upper hand in the first leg of their playoff clash with Lorient.
The 40-year-old beat visiting keeper Benjamin Lecomte with a powerful 25-yard drive to secure a 2-1 win ahead of the return game in Lorient on Sunday.
Troyes had struck first in the 37th minute with Stephane Darbion prodding home after Nivet's initial effort had been parried by Lecomte.
But the Ligue 1 side piled on the pressure after the break and their pressure finally told eight minutes from time when substitute Benjamin Moukandjo teed up the equaliser for Abdul Waris.
But with Lorient looking more likely to take a slender advantage into the return game, Nivet received the ball 25 yards from goal and struck his stunning winner to send his own side 90 minutes from the top flight.


Axelsdóttir, L., & Halrynjo, S. (2018). Gender Balance in Executive Management: Top-Managers' Understanding of Barriers and Solutions from the Demand–Supply Perspective. Social Politics, AdvanceArticle(2), 1-315.
Axelsdóttir, Laufey, and Sigtona Halrynjo. "Gender Balance in Executive Management: Top-Managers' Understanding of Barriers and Solutions from the Demand–Supply Perspective." Social Politics Advance Article.2 (2018): 1-315.


Do You Have A Heart After God's Own Heart?
"God's Process" (Posted at this Website) is how people get to "after his own heart." Being "after his own heart" does not mean we do not have Issues. We ALL have Issues. How we deal with our Issues is how we get to "after his own heart." The Word of God, our Relationship with the Holy Spirit and God's Process not only gets people to "after his own heart," but is how people deal with their Issues.
At five years old, Julianna Snow has already experienced a lifetime worth of pain.
The Oregon girl is dying from an incurable, degenerative neuromuscular disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), which has had her in and out of hospitals for the past 18 months enduring "countless procedures" and spending "weeks at a time trying to breathe," her mom, Michelle Moon, wrote in a post entitled "My Daughter Wants to Choose Heaven Over the Hospital'" on The Mighty, a website for families struggling with disabilities, serious diseases and life and death issues.
So earlier this year, her parents, Michelle Moon and Steve Snow, asked her what she wanted to do the next time she got seriously ill and needed to go to the hospital.
Their daughter chose heaven, her mom, who also has a blog, wrote on the website.
"A few months after we started hospice, Julianna made it clear to us that she does not want to go to the hospital again," her mom wrote in May 2015. "Like so many kids who have had to face life-threatening illness, she is wise beyond her years – but she is still only 4 years old.
Before these conversations, Michelle says she and Steve had planned to take Julianna to the hospital if she got sick again. But after hearing Julianna's wishes, they changed their minds, Michelle told CNN in an email.
Michelle wrote a second column in early June explaining more about their decision.
"Julianna talks about the hospital – a lot," she wrote. "Usually about how much she hates it. I tried to remind her of all the wonderful people who helped her.
"We hate all the NT [naso-tracheal suction, the thing she hated the most from the hospital]," she wrote, "and pokes too – but they killed the germs and let her come home so didn't that make it OK?
"We had this conversation many, many times," she wrote. "Julianna wouldn't say anything, One night in early February, she finally answered. She said "no." And then she started talking about heaven.
While some ethicists disagree with their decision to listen to their daughter, according to CNN, Julianna's doctor supports them, he told CNN.
The article bothered me because God is a God of Life. A 5-year-old is too young to have a Mentality like this. Her parents should have never asked her that question. Children HEAR more than parents realize. Her parents should be encouraging her to FIGHT and not letting her give up. Her fighting could help someone else continue to fight even if she loses the battle.
Parenting never ends. My son is 38 and I still give my input. Because he is 38 my Mentality is "You can receive this or reject it." At 38 the bottom line is it is HIS decision. At 5 this should have never been a decision for her. Doctors have medical experience, but they do not know what is at the end of the tunnel. That last FIGHT could produce a Miracle. Our children are ours, but they Belong to God. Because I told my son I am clear with God and now his decision is on him. At 5 that decision is on her parents. As in everything that Belongs to God people will answer to God for how they handled what Belongs to Him.
"December 25th" is what I call the day. It is not Christmas Anymore because Jesus is not the Reason for the Season Anymore. I do not understand why people are upset about Starbucks' "red cup." They are just being honest. Even though that is the way it is I still tell people "Merry Christmas" not Happy Holidays. Make sure "after his own heart" is part of your Christmas Celebration! It is Jesus' Birthday so be sure to give Him "Your Life Everyday" as His Present!! "Silent Night" sung by The Temptations is on my "Fitness Walking Playlist" so I sing it all year long because Christmas is Everyday!!!


According to Global Investing firm Goldman Sachs report 'The Path to 2050' , India is one of the fastest growing economy in the world. No doubt India dominates in Software ,Diamond and Textile Exports. India's GDP Real Growth rate stood at 9.1 % for the month of Jan-March 2007.
Top Sectors Attracting highest FDI inflows: Electrical equipments, services sector (financial and non financial), telecommunications, transportation industry, fuels, chemicals, construction activities, drugs and pharmaceuticals, food processing, cement and gypsum products.


The Anna Maria Island Beach Palms 5B is completely surrounded by water and has just been completely updated with a new state of the art ultra high efficiency air conditioning system with all new duct work, 3 new flat screen televisions, 2 new bedrooms suites, all new mattresses, all new bedding, all new towels, new furniture, new window coverings, modern appliances, all new ceiling fans and keyless door locks. This is a gorgeous 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo that sleeps six and offers you a view of the water from every room in the condo, high speed wireless internet, a boat and fishing dock, heated pool, 2 balconies west and east and 2 parking spots. The east balcony directly over looks the Bay and fishing dock and is accessed by sliding glass doors off both the living room and master bedroom. You can watch the ships sail up and down the waterway on there way to Tampa Bay and the Florida Keys.
The Beach Palms is located 125 yards from the beach and a one minute walk along the brick walkway will take you the the each. The Beach Palms is also located with-in walking distance of Anna Maria Island's best waterfront restaurants, beach shops, gift shops, shell shops, boutiques and the quaint shopping village on Bridge St. that leads right out onto the Bridge St. a pier famous for strolling, fishing and eating and the new Rotten Ralph's restaurant at the end of the pier.
There is a great grocery store right on the island, a fantastic Wal-Mart Super Center 5 minutes from the condo and a great shopping mall with all the big department stores as well.
Amenities include, washer/dryer, new high efficiency central air conditioning system, new water heater, refrigerator and freezer, ice maker, glass stove top, microwave oven, new pots, new pans, new cookware, new dishes, new utensils, new coffee cups, new glasses, new cappuccino/espresso maker, new kettle, new blender, food processor and toaster, new telephones with unlimited long distance calling, free local calls, WIRELESS HIGH-SPEED INTERNET, new phones, new ceiling fans in every room, iron and ironing board, alarm clocks, cable television, new patio furniture, beach chairs, beach toys, outdoor shower, and private sheltered parking to keep your car out of the intense Florida sun.
The living room features a new 50" high definition smart television, new television console, new window coverings and new ceiling fan.
The master bedroom offers you a new California King size bed with new memory foam mattresses, new linens, new pillows, new 37" flat screen television, new ceiling fan, and new window coverings.
The guest bedroom offers you new ceramic floor for good hygiene, a new bedroom suite with a Queen size bed, a new twin bed, new mattresses, new bedding, new ceiling fan and a new 37" television.
The second washroom has been upgraded with new ceramic tile and high efficiency commode.
The east balcony directly overlooking the water and fishing dock offers you a new patio furniture featuring deck height swivel chairs.
What you will surely appreciate the most about The Anna Maria Island Beach Palms is the unforgettable views of the sunrise in the morning and the views of the water in the evening while watching the boats sail by and the lights from the mainland.
What is really unique about "The Beach Palms' is the number of dolphins and manatees that you a likely to see right in front of the condo and off the fishing dock.
Enjoy the best of both worlds while vacationing on at "The Anna Maria Island Beach Palms" with Florida's Intra-Coastal Waterway on the east side of the condo and the heated pool and the Gulf of Mexico on the west side of the condo. A one minute walk along the brick walkway will lead you to the beach.


text:
By William Shunn on August 4, 2017 9:49 AM
At every show, live-lit veteran William Shunn brings a wild assortment of writers together on one stage. Don't miss our terrific August 5 lineup, featuring:
Olena Jennings
Nicholas Kaufmann
David Keck
Rajan Khanna
Saturday, August 5, 2017, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
JENNINGS Olena,
KAUFMANN Nicholas,
KECK David,
KHANNA Rajan
Meet our readers: David Keck
By William Shunn on July 31, 2017 9:59 AM
David Keck is a New York based writer, teacher, and cartoonist from Winnipeg, Canada. He is the author of the Tales of Durand series, which includes In the Eye of Heaven, In a Time of Treason, and the forthcoming A King in Cobwebs.
Growing up on the prairies, he filled pads of newsprint with drawings and stories. After completing degrees in English Literature/History and Education in Winnipeg, he travelled to England's University of Sussex where he earned an MA in creative writing.
He likes nothing better than clambering around castles, cathedrals, and bits of Neolithic stonework—and has managed to drag friends and relations from the South of France all the way up to the Orkney Islands in pursuit of them.
In 2004, he moved to the United States to marry a New Yorker. For twelve years, he has been teaching middle school English Language Arts in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York.
Please join Dave and all our amazing readers for Line Break #10, Saturday, August 5, 3:00 p.m. at Q.E.D. in Astoria. Tickets are only 7 bucks!
Issue #12,
KECK David
Thanks for making Line Break #9a an issue to remember!
By William Shunn on July 30, 2017 10:02 AM
Big thanks to everyone who turned out for our special edition of Line Break this past Saturday at the NYC Poetry Festival. Just by showing up and giving us the gift of your attention, you helped make the afternoon bigger and better than it would have been without you.
We also need to send out huge thanks to participants Emily Hockaday and Oscar Sanders for sharing their excellent work. And gigantic thanks to the NYC Poetry Festival for giving us the chance to participate, on beautiful Governors Island.
If you couldn't make it out on Saturday, please mark your calendar for this coming Saturday, August 5, when we'll we back at Q.E.D. in Astoria with our fantastic tenth regular issue, featuring Olena Jennings, Nicholas Kaufmann, David Keck, Rajan Khanna, and of course your host and editor, William Shunn.
We look forward to seeing you again this Saturday! Until then please check out all the terrific shows and events at Q.E.D. There is something amazing happening there literally every day.
Issue # 9a,
HOCKADAY Emily Alta,
SANDERS Oscar,
SHUNN William
Reminder: Line Break #9a is this Saturday afternoon at the NYC Poetry Festival
By William Shunn on July 28, 2017 12:46 PM
This weekend, the New York City Poetry Festival invades Governors Island for two solid days of live readings on three stages featuring 250 poets from all five boroughs.
Line Break will be featured on the Festival's Algonquin Stage this Saturday from 12:30 to 1:00 pm. To be sure of seeing us, you should catch the Governors Island Ferry from Manhattan or Brooklyn no later than 11:30 am. The ferries are free before noon, and after you come see us in Nolan Park, you can spend the rest of the day soaking up great poetry in the middle of one of the city's hidden treasures.
Just a reminder that Line Break, the eclectic monthly live literary magazine, returns this Saturday afternoon in a special New York City Poetry Festival Edition on Governors Island.
At every show, live-lit veteran William Shunn brings a wild assortment of writers together on one stage. Don't miss our terrific July 29 lineup, featuring:
Emily Alta Hockaday
Oscar Sanders
New York City Poetry Festival Edition
Saturday, July 29, 2017, 12:30-1:00 p.m.
New York City Poetry Festival
Algonquin Stage
Admission free. Festival open from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, July 29 & 30.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1922833654616764
Meet our readers: Rajan Khanna
Rajan Khanna is a fiction writer, blogger, reviewer and narrator. His third novel, Raining Fire, a post-apocalyptic adventure with airships, appeared this month from Pyr. It completes the trilogy begun in Falling Sky and continued in Rising Tide.
His short fiction has appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer, and several anthologies. His articles and reviews have appeared at Tor.com and LitReactor.com, and his podcast narrations can be heard at Podcastle, Escape Pod, PseudoPod, Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Lightspeed Magazine. Rajan lives in New York, where he's a member of the Altered Fluid writing group.
Please join Raj and all our accomplished readers for Line Break #10, Saturday, August 5, 3:00 p.m. at Q.E.D. in Astoria. Tickets are only 7 bucks!
Meet our readers: Olena Jennings
Olena Jennings's collection of poetry, Songs from an Apartment, was released in January by Underground Books. Her translations of poetry from Ukrainian can be found in Chelsea, Poetry International, and Wolf. She has published fiction in Joyland, Pioneertown, and Projecttile, and her novel Shut Mouth will appear in 2018 from Underground Books. She completed her M.F.A. in writing at Columbia and her M.A. focusing in Ukrainian literature at the University of Alberta.
Please join Olena and all our accomplished readers for Line Break #10, Saturday, August 5, 3:00 p.m. at Q.E.D. in Astoria. Tickets are only 7 bucks!
JENNINGS Olena
Meet our readers: Nicholas Kaufmann
Nicholas Kaufmann is the author of eight books, including Walk in Shadows, General Slocum's Gold, Hunt at World's End, Chasing the Dragon, Dying Is My Business, Die and Stay Dead, Still Life: Nine Stories, and In the Shadow of the Axe. His work has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Thriller Award. His wife Alexa used to live in Astoria, home of the Line Break Reading Series, but he successfully lured her away to Brooklyn, where they live now with two terrible cats.
Please join Nick and all our accomplished readers for Line Break #10, Saturday, August 5, 3:00 p.m. at Q.E.D. in Astoria. Tickets are only 7 bucks!
Photo Credit: Jeff McCrum
KAUFMANN Nicholas
Line Break #10: Saturday, August 5, 2017
Meet our readers: Oscar Sanders
Oscar Sanders was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. The former jazz/funk/rock guitarist has garnered awards for shorts, features, documentary films, and a political crime novel, Final Hearing. His creative writing led to seething political spoken word poetry and performances, and to his latest award, 2017 Indie Author Legacy Poet of the Year.
His most recent documentary, Michael Carvin: No Excuses, appeared in June at the People's Film Festival. His one-man play, Exposing Politics, will run this August in the New York Theater Festival.
Learn more at malcolmentertainment.com,
facebook.com/oscar.sanders.3192, and @oscarsanders.
Please join Oscar and all our amazing readers for Line Break #9a, Saturday, July 29, 12:30 p.m. at the New York City Poetry Festival on Governors Island. Admission is free!
SANDERS Oscar
William Shunn hosts and produces the Line Break Reading Series. His newest short story will appear August 16th in the online science fiction anthology Seat 14C, presented by XPRIZE (where he serves on the Science Fiction Advisory Council).
When not hosting shows or writing about the future, Bill enjoys sneaking onto other people's television specials.
Please join Bill and all our spectacular readers for Line Break #9a, Saturday, July 29, 12:30 p.m. at the New York City Poetry Festival on Governors Island. Admission is free!
« Previous 1 2 3 + + + + + + + 13 14 15 16 17 + + + + + 25 26 27 Next »


text:
WhatsApp launches landmark lawsuit against spyware maker
WhatsApp parent company Facebook has been granted permission to forge ahead with a lawsuit against cyber intelligence firm NSO Group, developer of the Pegasus spyware.
The Israeli company stands accused of developing an exploit that allowed surveillance malware to be delivered to the phones of 1,400 individuals via WhatsApp.
NSO Group contested the lawsuit on the grounds it is a contractor of foreign states – including the Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico – which the company said gave it immunity from legal penalty.
However, US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton found in favor of WhatsApp, squashing the appeal over NSO Group's inability to sufficiently argue and evidence its case.
The judge did, however, agree that WhatsApp should not be allowed to pursue the claim that NSO Group tampered with its servers.
WhatsApp spyware lawsuit
The case of WhatsApp vs. NSO Group first came to light in October, after the company uncovered evidence to suggest the Israeli firm was behind the spyware attack.
The attack itself exploited an audio-calling vulnerability in the app. Targeted users – including over 100 human rights defenders and journalists – appeared to receive a call, but were instead infected with malware that handed its operators complete access to the device.
WhatsApp was able to patch the vulnerability quickly and subsequently issued a filing that claimed NSO Group "developed their malware in order to access messages and other communications after they were decrypted [on target devices]".
The company was later handed a boost in March, when NSO Group failed to attend a hearing at the Northern District of Court of California. In response to the defendant's failure to attend court, a default notice was issued that could have resulted in an automatic judgement in favor of WhatsApp, although this was later batted away.
The Facebook-owned company has celebrated the outcome of the most recent appeal and will now carry the case forward as originally planned.
"The decision also confirms that WhatsApp will be able to obtain relevant documents and other information about NSO's practices," noted a WhatsApp spokesperson.
The case is the first of its kind to see a service provider sue a third party on behalf of its customers, so will continue to be followed with interest.
Via Bloomberg


Yesterday's Tari protocol discussion covered key points highlighted in the rough GitHub documents that were presented during last discussion.
How well could a Counterparty type model fit for instruction-transactions on the 2nd layer — where some things have to go via the base layer?
Will base layer primitives help if we have a second layer failure where the checkpoints are not good enough to recover the second layer state?
What kind of info should be on the base layer that could provide value to the second layer beyond what checkpoints provide?
3:15 AM <Hansie> Hi, anyone there?
3:18 AM <Hansie> Will Merkle roots of some external information set be enough or do we need some other primitives in there as well?
3:23 AM <Hansie> So basically, how well could a Counterparty type model fit for certain types of instruction-transactions on the 2nd layer? Where some things have to go via the base layer.
3:25 AM <simian_za> So in counterparty what kind of extra meta-data do they use in a bitcoin transaction to facilitate actions on their second layer?
3:36 AM <simian_za> So it feels like if we have a second layer failure where the checkpoints are not good enough to recover the second layer state that further base layer primitives will not help us anyway?
3:41 AM <Hansie> It is actually simple; if only checkpoint merkle roots are written into the base layer then that is the only thing the base layer can provide in case the base layer's security is called upon.
3:42 AM <neonknight> We could introduce something like an archival node or an archival functionality on validator nodes to ensure all data is recoverable. It might help to improve data redundancy if all information is distributed between different validator nodes. Not sure how this would work..
3:45 AM <simian_za> Hansie: Yes, that makes sense. So what other kind of info were you thinking of putting on the base layer that could provide value to the second layer beyond what checkpoints provide?
3:46 AM <mikethetike> who chooses the merkle root of the checkpoint?
3:47 AM <simian_za> mikethetike: probably agreed upon by a committee of validator nodes under some kind of consensus rules?