This winter, welcome the quintessential tradition of ice skating as soon as the ice gets hard or a rink is opened.
Imagine it: You arrive at the ice rink all bundled up. You lace on a pair of skates ? figure, recreational, or hockey ? and once arriving at the ice, you glide easily across it.
Advanced skaters may do jumps and spins while newer skaters will slowly shuffle across the ice. Little ones will hold the hands of the adults who brought them. Couples cuddle side-by-side as they support each other around the rink.
The vision ? a Norman Rockwell painting of brightly colored scarves, knit hats, and smiles that stretch from ear to ear.
But there are a few things smart skaters ? and hopeful skaters ? should know before hitting the ice.
Get the right gear
While consumers can purchase ice skates from most department stores, purchasing skates from a specialty shop can save time and money in the long run.
According to Rick Gunn, owner of Gunn?s Sports Shop at 32 Greenpoint Road in Brewer, novices should get started with a basic pair of skates. His family-owned business has been serving skaters for almost 37 years.
According to Gunn, hockey-style skates or recreational skates share a similar look and their rounded blade with no toe pick are best for the newbie skater.
?Most beginner figure skaters use the toe pick inappropriately and can develop bad technique,? Gunn said. ?Proper technique is important so it doesn?t matter what you learn on.?
He added that there are three essential things to consider when choosing ice skates: proper support, the right fit to allow room for growth, and correctly sharpened blades. Specialty shops often include sharpening in the price of the skates.
?Skates don?t come already sharpened,? he said.
Purchasing skates from a specialty store doesn?t always mean the skater will pay more. In fact, utilizing experts can help save a skater money, and frustration, in the end.
Get the right fit
Choosing the right sized skate is a lot like choosing the right sized shoe. If the shoe fits properly, the foot feels great. If it?s ill fitting, all sorts of problems can arise resulting in extra dollars spent to get the right equipment.
?You?re trying to achieve the equivalent of bolting a blade to your shoe, so it?s important to get the boot to fit tightly,? he said. ?As an adult, you want to get it as tight as you can with it still being comfortable. Comfort is king.?
The correct and comfortable fit begins with the socks. Forget about those super thick wool socks your grandmother knit for you when it comes to going ice skating. Thinner socks made from SmartWool or any fabric that wicks away moisture is optimal. Choose well-fitting socks that don?t bunch or sag and bring them to the fitting.
Hockey skates, he said, should usually be bought a size and a half below the skater?s shoe size.
For young skaters, Gunn recommended purchasing skates an extra size larger to allow for the foot to grow. Gunn?s offers used skates and a trade-in program for re-saleable skates, making skating more affordable for youngsters who want to give it a try.
?The skates don?t have to be from here originally,? he said.
The most important part to getting the fit right, Gunn said, is having the skater present for the fitting. Gunn said he and his staff ask lots of questions while working with the skater to find the perfect skate for them. That?s doubly important for children and youth skaters who are constantly growing, he said.
Upkeep is key
After finding ?the one? at the skate store, storage and upkeep are key to keeping the skates looking (and feeling) like new. To keep equipment in tip-top shape, skaters should:
? Purchase blade guards. Blade guards protect the blades from dulling due to dirt, gravel, or pavement. They also protect hands, fabrics, and pets from being cut. Hard blade guards are ideal for walking short distances.
? Don?t store the skates in the blade guards. Moisture from the environment and ice that is trapped in guards can cause the blades to rust and is costly to fix. Put blade guards on while travelling and if walking over gravel, dirt, or pavement.
? Keep those blades sharp. For recreational skaters, once or twice a year should suffice. For more constant skaters or for skaters who are outside, Gunn recommends sharpening the skates every six to eight hours of ice time.
? Store skates in a dry, cool location. To prevent moisture from infiltrating the skates, Gunn recommended storing skates in a dry, cool location to allow skates to air dry.
For a list of ice arenas in Maine, many of which offer public ice time and rent equipment, visit arenamaps.com/arenas/Maine.htm. Many towns also have outdoor rinks, but if you?re planning to venture out on one of Maine?s many lakes or ponds to try out those blades, make sure the conditions are safe.
Maine Warden Service tips for ice safety
Never guess the thickness of the ice ? Check it! Check the ice in several different places using an auger or some other means to make a test hole and determine the thickness. Make several, beginning at the shore, and continuing as you go out.
Check the ice with a partner, so if something does happen, someone is there to help you. If you are doing it alone, wear a lifejacket.
If ice at the shoreline is cracked or squishy, stay off! Watch out for thin, clear or honeycombed ice. Dark snow and dark ice are other signs of weak spots.
Avoid areas with currents, around bridges and pressure ridges. Wind and currents can break ice.
Parents should alert children of unsafe ice in their area, and make sure that they stay off the ice. If they insist on using their new skates, suggest an indoor skating rink.
If you break through the ice, remember:
Don?t panic.
Don?t try to climb out immediately ? you will probably break the ice again. Reach for solid ice.
Lay both arms on the unbroken ice and kick hard. This will help lift your body onto the ice. Once on the ice, roll, don?t walk, to safety.
To help someone who has fallen through the ice, lie down flat and reach with a branch, plank or rope or form a human chain. Don?t stand. After securing the victim, wiggle backwards to the solid ice.
AAAS and the University of South Florida announce 2012 FellowsPublic release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Judy Lowry jhlowry@usf.edu 813-974-3181 University of South Florida (USF Innovation)
USF among top 10 organizations worldwide with Fellows named this year
Washington, D.C. (Nov. 29, 2012)Fifteen faculty members at the University of South Florida in Tampa, have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.
This year AAAS members from 245 organizations, including universities and institutions worldwide, have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
With 15 Fellows, the University of South Florida was one of the top ten organizations in the world with the most AAAS Fellows named this year. Others in the top ten include the University of Michigan (19 Fellows), The Ohio State University (18), University of California-Davis (17), Vanderbilt University (17), University of Southern California (15), Duke University (14), University of California-Irvine (13), Indiana University (12), and University of California-San Diego (11).
"The University of South Florida is proud of our accomplished faculty members," said Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, AAAS Fellow and vice president for research and innovation at USF. "The breadth and depth of faculty scholarship and service recognized by this honor is a key reason for USF's growth as a top global research university."
New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Saturday, 16 February from 8 to 10 a.m. at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston, Mass.
This year's AAAS Fellows will be formally announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on 30 November 2012.
AAAS Fellows from the University of South Florida
As part of the Section on Anthropology:
Dr. Lorena Madrigal was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the study of evolutionary change in recent human populations and for distinguished service to the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.
As part of the Section on Biological Sciences:
Dr. Susan Bell was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the understanding of estuarine, salt marsh, and near-coastal habitats of the East Coast, and for her vision as an academic leader.
Dr. Robert J. Deschenes was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of molecular cell biology and the use of model genetic systems to elucidate the spatial arrangement of signaling proteins.
Dr. James R. Garey was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions toward the development of the new animal phylogeny that is now prominently found in all biology textbooks.
Dr. Earl D. McCoy was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to ecology and conservation biology and as an unselfish leader as the associate chair of the department of Integrative Biology for more than 20 years.
Dr. Richard S. Pollenz was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of molecular toxicology, particularly for advances in understanding aryl hydrocarbon receptor signal transduction at the protein level.
Dr. Peter Stiling was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the fields of global climate change, coastal biology, and biology teaching.
As part of the Section on Education:
Dr. Karen D. Liller was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions as a graduate education administrator and also as a research scholar in the fields of public health and children's injury prevention.
As part of the Section on Information, Computing & Communication:
Dr. Lawrence O. Hall was elected as an AAAS Fellow for outstanding contributions to scalable pattern recognition.
Dr. Nagarajan Ranganathan was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of computer science and engineering, particularly for the development of algorithms and architectures for VLSI systems and applications.
As part of the Section on Neuroscience:
Dr. Cesar V. Borlongan was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of stem cell therapy for neurological disorders, particularly for advancing translational biomedical research of cell based-therapeutics in stroke.
As part of the Section on Pharmaceutical Sciences:
Dr. Paula C. Bickford was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of aging research, and particularly as a leader in the field of nutritional neuroscience and for outstanding service.
Dr. Lynn Wecker was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished service to the scientific community as an innovative, highly accomplished researcher, award-winning teacher, and dedicated servant and leader of her academic disciplines.
As part of the Section on Physics:
Dr. George S. Nolas was elected as an AAAS Fellow for contributions to materials and solid-state physics, particularly for the development of thermoelectric materials, and in investigating the fundamental physics of clathrate and clathrate-like materials.
As part of the Section on Social, Economic and Political Sciences:
Dr. John Skvoretz was elected as an AAAS Fellow for exemplary contributions to the field of mathematical sociology, particularly for models in the research areas of small group processes and social networks.
###
The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the Association's 24 sections, or by any three Fellows who are current AAAS members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee's institution), or by the AAAS chief executive officer.
Each steering group then reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list.
The Council is the policymaking body of the Association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.
The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF ranks 50th in the nation for federal expenditures in research and total expenditures in research among all U.S. universities, public or private, according to the National Science Foundation. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference. www.usf.edu
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes 261 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
AAAS and the University of South Florida announce 2012 FellowsPublic release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Judy Lowry jhlowry@usf.edu 813-974-3181 University of South Florida (USF Innovation)
USF among top 10 organizations worldwide with Fellows named this year
Washington, D.C. (Nov. 29, 2012)Fifteen faculty members at the University of South Florida in Tampa, have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.
This year AAAS members from 245 organizations, including universities and institutions worldwide, have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
With 15 Fellows, the University of South Florida was one of the top ten organizations in the world with the most AAAS Fellows named this year. Others in the top ten include the University of Michigan (19 Fellows), The Ohio State University (18), University of California-Davis (17), Vanderbilt University (17), University of Southern California (15), Duke University (14), University of California-Irvine (13), Indiana University (12), and University of California-San Diego (11).
"The University of South Florida is proud of our accomplished faculty members," said Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, AAAS Fellow and vice president for research and innovation at USF. "The breadth and depth of faculty scholarship and service recognized by this honor is a key reason for USF's growth as a top global research university."
New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Saturday, 16 February from 8 to 10 a.m. at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston, Mass.
This year's AAAS Fellows will be formally announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on 30 November 2012.
AAAS Fellows from the University of South Florida
As part of the Section on Anthropology:
Dr. Lorena Madrigal was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the study of evolutionary change in recent human populations and for distinguished service to the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.
As part of the Section on Biological Sciences:
Dr. Susan Bell was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the understanding of estuarine, salt marsh, and near-coastal habitats of the East Coast, and for her vision as an academic leader.
Dr. Robert J. Deschenes was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of molecular cell biology and the use of model genetic systems to elucidate the spatial arrangement of signaling proteins.
Dr. James R. Garey was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions toward the development of the new animal phylogeny that is now prominently found in all biology textbooks.
Dr. Earl D. McCoy was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to ecology and conservation biology and as an unselfish leader as the associate chair of the department of Integrative Biology for more than 20 years.
Dr. Richard S. Pollenz was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of molecular toxicology, particularly for advances in understanding aryl hydrocarbon receptor signal transduction at the protein level.
Dr. Peter Stiling was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the fields of global climate change, coastal biology, and biology teaching.
As part of the Section on Education:
Dr. Karen D. Liller was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions as a graduate education administrator and also as a research scholar in the fields of public health and children's injury prevention.
As part of the Section on Information, Computing & Communication:
Dr. Lawrence O. Hall was elected as an AAAS Fellow for outstanding contributions to scalable pattern recognition.
Dr. Nagarajan Ranganathan was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of computer science and engineering, particularly for the development of algorithms and architectures for VLSI systems and applications.
As part of the Section on Neuroscience:
Dr. Cesar V. Borlongan was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of stem cell therapy for neurological disorders, particularly for advancing translational biomedical research of cell based-therapeutics in stroke.
As part of the Section on Pharmaceutical Sciences:
Dr. Paula C. Bickford was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of aging research, and particularly as a leader in the field of nutritional neuroscience and for outstanding service.
Dr. Lynn Wecker was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished service to the scientific community as an innovative, highly accomplished researcher, award-winning teacher, and dedicated servant and leader of her academic disciplines.
As part of the Section on Physics:
Dr. George S. Nolas was elected as an AAAS Fellow for contributions to materials and solid-state physics, particularly for the development of thermoelectric materials, and in investigating the fundamental physics of clathrate and clathrate-like materials.
As part of the Section on Social, Economic and Political Sciences:
Dr. John Skvoretz was elected as an AAAS Fellow for exemplary contributions to the field of mathematical sociology, particularly for models in the research areas of small group processes and social networks.
###
The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the Association's 24 sections, or by any three Fellows who are current AAAS members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee's institution), or by the AAAS chief executive officer.
Each steering group then reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list.
The Council is the policymaking body of the Association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.
The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF ranks 50th in the nation for federal expenditures in research and total expenditures in research among all U.S. universities, public or private, according to the National Science Foundation. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference. www.usf.edu
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes 261 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
With each passing day the competition between Apple and Samsung gets even more tougher, especially after the release of iPhone 5. This is because iPhone 5 is overcoming the Samsung Galaxy S3?s fame. But apart from this competition the two leading tech companies are still trying to defeat each other in the trial and for this both the companies daily take some steps to restrict others progress. This time Apple took the opportunity and played its part, and won the ban on some Samsung Galaxy devices.
The products are banned only in?Netherlands.?The ruling from the Court of The Hague, about the ban was handed down on Wednesday.?The ban applies to Galaxy products running Android 2.2.1 or later and the reason for this ban is that these smartphones were using?an Apple-patented method for scrolling through images in a photo gallery using a touch screen.
Samsung is not only punished with this ban but the?Korean would now be paying?a penalty of 100,000 euros, or $129,000 U.S., every day to Apple. However, this is also quite true that, infringing Apple?s products Samsung has also earned huge profits since 2011.
This war,which is sometimes pretty active and sometimes cold, seems never ending as it is going on from so long time, with no victor has been decided yet. This is not the first time as before this, Apple enjoyed a great victory over Samsung,?in U.S., with a jury giving the verdict that Samsung violated some Apple patents and ordering the Korean company to pay $1.05 billion in damages.?But Apple is not always this lucky, as the fruit company has also lost many such trials against Samsung.
According to you who will be the ultimate winner?
Stay?tuned at?Maypalo?and follow us on?Twitter?or join our?Facebook Fanpage?to keep yourself?updated?on all the latest News!
Although small businesses can?t always compete with the blowout deals of the larger retailers, shoppers appreciate the lasting connection they afford.
Whether it?s swapping entrepreneurial horror stories with the owners of a favorite boutique, or getting a handwritten thank-you note from an Etsy store owner, personal touch can?t be manufactured.
So, if you missed Small Business Saturday?the third-annual event strategically sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?you?ve got a few more weeks to make up for it: Take time to shop at a few small businesses this holiday season.
Often, that means shopping local. But with a little research, you can shop small online, too. Here are a few (mostly) lady-owned small businesses that offer great customer service and gifts for your loved ones.
Oyin Handmade
Winter is coming, which means ashy skin on your head, shoulders, knees and toes. But Oyin Handmade, a small business based in Baltimore, has found the cure for dry skin.
The wife-husband duo, Jamyla and Pierre, have been whipping rich creams and botanical styling products together since 2001, and they?ve got product lines for hair, body, men and babies. Not only do the products feel amazing, but they?re also free of petroleum, silicones and parabens. Try the whipped shea butter and the juices and berries hair tonic to keep your hair shiny.
Yokoo Scarves
These scarves can make anyone feel warm?and cool?at the same time. I discovered knitter Yokoo Gibraan?s handmade scarves and hats on Twitter and appreciate her style and attention to detail.
Since 2007, Gibraan has pumped out stylish creations on Etsy, and she was even featured on the site?s ?Handmade Portraits? series. If you?re not a scarf person, check out Gibraan?s other Etsy store, xMOTHERx, which showcases her handmade skirts, dresses and aprons.
Brown Napa Valley
Invited to your boss?s house for a Christmas party? If you?re smart, you?ll bring a hostess gift. An exclusive bottle of wine will set you apart. Try a Zinfandel, Petite Sirah or Chardonnay from Brown Napa Valley, a family-owned vineyard based in Saint Helena, Calif.
Although big-box retailers offer wine at lower prices, the Brown Family?s story and the commitment to their product is quite impressive. The Browns are a perfect example of nurturing their family?s small business.
These are just three small business shops you can access online. But it?s a big retail world out there, so pick your own favorites and share them with us in the comments below.
This article originally published at The Daily Muse here.
The Daily Muse is a Mashable publishing partner that offers career advice for the digital world. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.
For the past five months, Julian Assange has been holed up in a tiny room within the Embassy of Ecuador in London. It's the only place in the city he can avoid extradition to Sweden—but it's having some serious implications on his health. More »
Apple Inc. won a Dutch sales ban on some of Samsung Electronics Co.?s older Galaxy tablets and smartphones after a Netherlands court ruled in a patent lawsuit.
Samsung?s Galaxy products using certain versions of Google Inc?s Android operating system infringe an Apple patent describing a way to navigate images in a photo gallery, Judge Peter Blok said today.
Samsung last year tweaked a feature on the smartphones to bypass a Dutch injunction. Today?s ban concerns products that are still on the market with the old patent-infringing feature.
The two companies continue to clash over the intellectual property behind the $219 billion smartphone market, even after Apple settled all its lawsuits with HTC Corp. earlier this month. Samsung is trying to hit back after a California court ruled in August it had to pay $1.05 billion for copying Apple products.
Samsung must pay Apple a penalty of 100,000 euros ($129,000) every day it violates the ruling, the Dutch court said. Samsung also has to tell Apple how much profit it made from sales of infringing Galaxy products since June 2011. A separate court procedure will determine how much of that profit Samsung must pay Apple.
The ruling is the latest in a long line of disputes in courts across the globe as the rivals fight for dominance in the smart phone and tablet-computer markets.
Ceton will have something unexpected under the tree for early adopters of its $179 Echo Windows Media Center Extender -- Android. Updates are on the way that will bring not only finalized Extender software, but also beta support for the Android platform and apps. Detailed in a message sent to testers this evening, there's also an update rolling out in the next 24 hours that upgrades video output to 1080p and exposes settings for the Echo like optical audio out, bitstreaming over HDMI or optical and diagnostics. Even if you're not in that beta test but just like running the latest software, Ceton has also pushed out beta InfiniTV drivers for Windows 8 users (note: tuner bridging is not supported if the card is installed in a Windows 8 PC.) There's even a beta version of the Ceton Companion services that connect Media Center PCs to its mobile Companion apps -- which coincidentally are on sale for $2.99 at the moment -- for Windows 8 users to try out as well. Hit the source links for all of the details and expect more info on how the Echo puts Android on your HDTV soon.
Crew Commander from Tewkesbury fire station Dave Webb carries 19-month-old daughter of Tina Bailey who carries her 3 year old daughter, after they were rescued from their house in Gloucester, England, Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012. Thousands of drivers and residents face further chaos today after heavy rain continued to fall across Britain overnight. (AP Photo/PA, Tim Ireland) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE
Crew Commander from Tewkesbury fire station Dave Webb carries 19-month-old daughter of Tina Bailey who carries her 3 year old daughter, after they were rescued from their house in Gloucester, England, Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012. Thousands of drivers and residents face further chaos today after heavy rain continued to fall across Britain overnight. (AP Photo/PA, Tim Ireland) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE
A property stands surrounded by floodwater near the the River Severn in Tewkesbury, England, Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012. Thousands of drivers and residents face further chaos today after heavy rain continued to fall across Britain overnight. (AP Photo/PA, Tim Ireland) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE
A woman carries her dog as she makes her way through flood waters in St. Asaph, North Wales, Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012, after the town flooded overnight. Thousands of drivers and residents face further chaos today after heavy rain continued to fall across Britain. (AP Photo/PA, Dave Thompson) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE
A Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) crew make their way through flood waters in St. Asaph, North Wales, Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012, after the town flooded overnight. Thousands of drivers and residents face further chaos today after heavy rain continued to fall across Britain. (AP Photo/PA, Dave Thompson) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE
LONDON (AP) ? Lynne Jones' cozy bed and breakfast in Britain's Lake District boasts views over the River Greta where heron come to feed, and a panoramic vista of Skiddaw mountain.
Jones says her B&B has another virtue: It's practically watertight. In an island nation where some 920 homes have flooded and at least three people have died in the past few days, that's saying something.
"It's almost an ark," she said. "Short of actually letting it float, we've done everything we can to protect it."
But the floodgates and other fixtures Jones installed haven't led to lower insurance premiums. And things may get worse, as the British government and British insurers battle over a deal that would provide state guarantees for flood coverage at a time when losses are expected to rise because of global warming.
With more storms on the way, the government and the insurance industry are engaged in mutual finger-pointing. Insurers say the government is failing to provide homeowners the type of guarantees that other European countries and the U.S. do, while the government is accusing the industry of whipping up people's fears by publicizing its negotiating position even before flood waters have receded.
If a deal isn't struck by the end of June, as many as 200,000 people in Britain could either lose their insurance or find it too expensive to pay premiums that are certain to rise without government guarantees.
All this comes as the European Environment Agency reported that global warming has caused an overall rise in sea levels globally and along most of the region's coasts. There has also been an increase in flooding along streams and rivers.
Floods and storms account for around two-thirds of the costs for natural disasters, the agency concluded. And those costs continue to rise.
"The contribution of climate change to the damage costs from natural disasters is expected to increase in the future due to the projected increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather," the report said.
Mindful of the trend, British insurers want to place a surcharge on all insurance premiums to create a new funding pot to cover flooding claims. But until that fund is built up, they want the government to back a temporary overdraft to cover any shortfalls during periods of intense flooding. So far, there's no deal, and people watching floodwaters rise across the country have become uneasy.
"Negotiations have hit an impasse," Nick Starling, the director of general insurance at the Association of British Insurers said in a statement. "Insurers know their customers are increasingly worried about flood cover and we will therefore continue talks with government to try and find a way forward."
The government says the door is still open to an agreement, but declined to get into the specifics. But it did take time to criticize the timing of the industry's announcement, coming as heavy rains swept across the country and forced the evacuations of hundreds of homes.
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said raising the issue of insurance was causing alarm unnecessarily.
"I think the timing was unhelpful," he told BBC on Monday. "There are a lot of people across the country who are going to face some very bad weather over the next few days. Many people are extremely worried, and I think it is not helpful to alarm people when we are in close, detailed negotiations."
Prime Minister David Cameron raced to flooded areas Tuesday to underscore his concern. But with images of furniture floating down streets and cars lurching in torrents of mud, the argument that more needs to be done to help people recover is tough to ignore.
Governments around the world have responded to the problem of flooding in different ways. In Germany, coverage for flooding is offered as an optional add-on for household insurance with some 30 percent who need it going to private insurers ? although the state has stepped in to help after big disasters. In the United States, the government partly backs flood insurance for high risk households, as does France, the insurers' group said.
In the Netherlands, home of the legendary boy who held back floodwaters by placing his finger in a dike, flood risk is normally excluded from property insurance policies due to the high potential loss. The Dutch state will pay compensation under some circumstances to those suffering losses that the market does not insure, though there are limits.
The National Flood Forum, a U.K. charity that represents people who are at risk of flooding, hopes that the latest troubles will finally persuade ministers and the industry to strike a deal. Talks on a plan have been going on for years and without an agreement people will struggle to get insurance and to deal with the consequences, said Paul Cobbing, the group's chief executive officer.
"The floods that have happened in the last few days are the perfect illustration of why insurance is so important," Cobbing said. "It saves families from ruin."
Homeowners like Jones, 59, from the town of Keswick in Cumbria, want the government and insurers to settle their differences ? for the benefit of the people and their piece of mind. She urged homeowners to learn their rights ? particularly in terms of what they can ask of insurance companies when they pay claims.
A lot, she says, can be wrapped up in one piece of real estate.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2012) ? Arrchaeologists from the University of Rhode Island, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the University of Louisville have discovered the remains of a fleet of early-19th century ships and ancient harbor structures from the Hellenistic period (third to first century B.C.) at the city of Akko, one of the major ancient ports of the eastern Mediterranean. The findings shed light on a period of history that is little known and point to how and where additional remains may be found.
The discoveries were presented on November 15 and 17 in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research by URI assistant professors Bridget Buxton and William Krieger on behalf of the Israel Coast Exploration project.
According to Buxton, three of the four well-preserved shipwrecks found off the coast south of Akko were first detected using a sub-bottom profiler in 2011. Later, storms stripped off several meters of inshore sediments and temporarily revealed the wrecks, as well as an additional large vessel. The wrecks are now reburied.
During the brief time the shipwrecks were exposed, the Israel Antiquities Authority investigated one of them: a 32 meter vessel which still preserved its brass gudgeon (rudder socket) and many small artifacts, such as plates, a candlestick, and even a cooking pot with bones in it. Laboratory analyses completed this summer by the IAA revealed that the ship's wood came from Turkey. The team believes these ships may have belonged to the Egyptian navy under Admiral Osman Nurredin Bey, whose ships were severely damaged in his attempt to capture Akko in the Egyptian-Ottoman War of 1831. The town eventually fell to Egyptian land forces under Ibrahim Pasha in 1832.
"These ships have occasionally been exposed and buried again by storms since we found them," Buxton said. "We're in a race against time to find other ships in the area and learn from them before storms totally dislodge or destroy them."
Although shipwrecks from the 1800s are not the highest priorities in a region where civilization goes back thousands of years, Buxton is excited by the discovery for what it tells her about where much older ships may be found.
"Like many underwater archaeologists I'm very interested in finding a well-preserved example of an ancient multi-decked warship from the Hellenistic age," said Buxton. "These ships were incredible pieces of technology, but we don't know much about their design because no hulls have been found. However, a combination of unusual environmental and historical factors leads us to believe we have a chance of finding the remains of one of these ships off the northern coast of Israel."
Buxton believes that the ships they are looking for are likely buried in the coastal sediment, which has built up over the centuries through natural processes. However, time is not on their side. "That protective silt is now being stripped away," she said. "And it's being stripped away a lot faster than it was originally dumped, by a combination of development, environmental changes, and the effects of the Aswan Dam." The Nile River has historically deposited large quantities of silt in the area, but the dam has significantly reduced the flow of silt.
The archaeologists found the ships and another early modern vessel within Akko's modern harbor while testing their equipment in preparation for an ongoing survey out in deeper water. The sub-bottom profiler detects anomalies below the sea floor. "It's the gift that keeps on giving," Buxton said. "We found so many targets to explore that we didn't have time to check all of them, but even just having information about where things are helps Koby (Jacob Sharvit, director of the IAA Maritime Antiquities Unit) know where to look after any big storms."
One line of buried targets detected off the southern seawall of old Akko is particularly suggestive. Continuing excavations in this area over the summer revealed an alignment between these targets and a newly-discovered slipway and shipshed structure, which continued out under the sea floor 25 meters from the Ottoman city wall. The feature resembles other naval shipsheds found in places such as Athens where they were used to haul up ancient warships. The excavation project was initially undertaken to strengthen the eroding sea wall, but it also revealed Hellenistic masonry, pottery vessels, an ancient mooring stone, and a stone quay 1.3 meters below the modern sea level. The possibility that much more of the Hellenistic port lies well-preserved under the sea floor is exciting for the archaeologists, because it means that shipwrecks from earlier centuries that have so far not been found at Akko may simply be buried deeper down in the sediment.
"We've got fragmentary historic records for this area in the Hellenistic period, and now we've found a very important feature from the ancient harbor. Ancient shipwrecks are another piece of the puzzle that will help us to rewrite the story of this region at a critical time in Mediterranean history," she said.
Located on the northern coast of Israel, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Akko is one of the few cities in the Mediterranean with more than 5,000 years of maritime history. Also known as Acre, Ake and Ptolemais, its port was an important waypoint for the Phoenicians, Romans, Crusaders, Ottomans and other ancient maritime empires. In the Hellenistic period, it was bitterly fought over by the rival empires of Egypt and Syria.
"Understanding the history and archaeology of Akko's port is crucial to understanding the broader issues of maritime connectivity and the great power struggles that defined the history of the Eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic Age," Buxton said.
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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund agreed on steps late on Monday to reduce Greece's public debt and help the country regain market access next decade.
Below are the main elements of the agreement.
- Greece will reach a primary surplus target of 4.55 percent of gross domestic product only in 2016, rather than 2014, to give the economy a better chance to start growing again.
- Greece will organize a debt buy-back of its bonds held by private investors. The buy-back will take place by Dec 12.
No amount or price was announced, except that the price offered is to be no higher than the closing prices for Greek debt on Nov 23. A source familiar with the ministers' discussions said the price under consideration was around 35 cents a euro.
- once the buy-back yields a positive outcome, the IMF will join the program and the euro zone will consider the following:
- a cut by 100 basis points in the interest rate on bilateral loans to Greece under the first bailout, reducing the rate to 50 basis points above financing costs or Euribor. Ireland and Portugal do not have to cut the interest because they themselves receive aid.
- the euro zone's temporary bailout fund, the EFSF, will cut its fees charged on loans to Greece by 10 basis points.
- maturities of loans to Greece, both bilateral and from the EFSF, will be extended by 15 years.
- Greece will not have to pay interest on loans received from the EFSF for 10 years.
- Profits from the European Central Bank's Greek bond portfolio, acquired during the bank's Securities Market Programme (SMP) will be handed over to Greece for debt servicing from the budget year 2013 onwards. No amount was given in the statement of the Eurogroup, but a euro zone source said this amounted to 11 billion euros.
- euro zone countries will consider further measures and assistance, including a further interest rate reduction on bilateral loans to Greece to help Athens reach debt sustainability when Greece reaches a primary surplus and meets all the conditions in the reform program.
- Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio is to fall to 175 percent in 2016, to 124 percent in 2020 and substantially below 110 percent in 2022.
- Euro zone countries will continue to finance Greece until it regains market access, if Greece sticks to the agreed reform program.
- Greece will get a tranche of aid of 34.4 billion euros in December, of which 10.6 billion will be for budget financing and 23.8 billion for the recapitalization of banks. A further 9.3 billion euros will be disbursed to Greece in three sub-tranches in the first quarter of 2013 if Athens meets reform milestones set by the lenders.
A formal decision on the disbursement of the money will be taken on Dec 13, if national procedures in euro zone countries are completed and following the review of the results of the debt buy-back operation.
Every Wednesday, we publish our ?Investor Toolkit? series. Whether you?re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on investing in the stock market and other investment topics. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of our investment strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away.
Tip of the week: ?Starting out with a handful of good stocks and adding steadily to them as your portfolio grows in value is the way most successful investors reach their goals.?
The right number of stocks to have in your portfolio will vary over time. The number should grow as you advance in your investing career.
The beginning investor: When they start out, most investors have only modest amounts of money to invest. Even so, you should invest at least several thousand dollars at a time, even if this means you buy only a handful of stocks. Otherwise, your broker?s minimum commission will work out to too high a percentage of your investment on each purchase.
Pick at least one stock from each of the 5 sectors. At the outset, you should aim to invest in a minimum of four or five stocks. Our advice is to pick one from each of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities). If you cannot manage to buy a stock in each one, you should still look to cover most of them.
You can buy them one at a time, over a period of months or even years, rather than all at once. After that, you can gradually add new stocks to your portfolio as funds become available, taking care to spread your holdings across sectors in line with our advice.
"Canadian Stock Market Basics: How to Trade Stocks and Make Good Investments in Canada": In this special report, Pat McKeough gives you his time-tested advice on how you can make more money from your investments and save thousands on brokers' fees and other expenses. Best of all, you can get a copy absolutely FREE. Click here to claim yours now.
Add new stocks as your portfolio?s value increases. When your portfolio gets into the $100,000 to $200,000 range, you should aim for perhaps 15 to 20 stocks. If you?re married, it?s best to treat your family holdings as one big portfolio, even if you and your spouse keep your money separate (for our advice on treating all your investments as a single portfolio see last week?s Toolkit: View the article here). That way, you can be sure you aren?t operating at cross purposes, or investing too much of the family fortune in a single area.
Use our 3-part advice as a guide. When you get above $200,000 or so, you can gradually increase the number of stocks you hold. When your portfolio reaches the $500,000 to $1 million range, 25 to 30 stocks is a good number to have.
Of course, you may fall a few stocks short of that range, or go a few above it, particularly when you?re making changes in your holdings. That won?t matter if you follow our three-part approach to investing: invest mainly in well-established companies; spread your money out across the five main economic sectors, and downplay stocks that are in the broker/media limelight.
Our upper limit for any portfolio is around 40 stocks. Any more than that and even your best choices will have little impact on your personal wealth.
COMMENTS PLEASE?Share your investment experience and opinions with fellow TSINetwork.ca members
Do you have many more stocks now than you had during the first few years you were investing? Was there a period during which you added a large number of stocks? Was there a period when you made significant cuts in your stock portfolio? Let us know what you think.
I was at a party not too long ago to which someone had brought an old floppy disk drive (yes, my friends are also nerds). For laughs, I plopped down an iPhone on top of it. Keep that image in your mind as an example of how technology continues to shrink.
The Data Storage Institute (DSI) from Singapore?s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has introduced a new hybrid they?ve dubbed the ?A-Drive? that measures in at a sleek 5mm. The 1 TB hard disk is designed for use in equally thin laptops, such as Ultrabooks or a MacBook Air.
The A-Drive, just 5mm thick. Courtesy of DSI.
DSI has suggested the new drive might also be put to work in tablets, but we?ll have to wait and see on that front. In addition to its slim appeal, the A-Drive has also been designed to be more energy efficient, extending battery life by up to 30%, according to the company.
?Today, our year-long vision of creating a 5mm thin hybrid hard drive in 2.5?-in. form factor with increased storage capacity and reduced power consumption at a lower cost for manufacturers has become a reality,? said Dr. Pantelis Alexopoulos, executive director of DSI. ?We have managed to fit an amazing amount of innovation and advanced technology into a thinner, cheaper, and faster design, and we think the consumer and enterprise impact will be significant.?
You?ve probably seen and heard plenty about the play by now:
Houston?s Justin Forsett ran for an 81-yard touchdown, despite it being clear that his knee and elbow had touched down during the play. Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz then threw a challenge flag, only NFL rules stipulate that all scoring plays get challenged anyway.
So, since Schwartz threw the flag and essentially created a duplicitous request for a review, everything is cool, right?
Yale College A level Economics students progress to the area final of The Bank of England Interest Rate Challenge this week.
Paige Jones, Rob Whitley, Jordan Hardcastle and Luke Evans who are second year Economics A level learners at Yale College, have taken part in the Bank of England Interest Rate Challenge. The competition is a unique opportunity for students to develop and demonstrate their understanding of economic policy.
Advocated by Governor of The Bank of England, Mervyn King, participating teams from schools and colleges are challenged to become policy makers and set monetary policy for the UK economy. Using analytical skills, the team of four make difficult judgements about the course of the economy and the outlook for inflation ? just like the Monetary Policy Committee.
Tutors, Glenda Miller and Jane Fellows are delighted with the progress of their dedicated students who will face fierce competition at the area final on Tuesday 27th November in Capenhurst.
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Home > Business, home buyers, Modular, News Item, Trends > Western ND Housing Shortage: Another Consequence
As we have reported in numerous stories over the past two years, housing continues to be in short supply in western North Dakota where the Bakken oil formation has drawn thousands of workers, many of them oilfield workers living in modular man camps. As originationnews tells MHProNews, community banks in the area have grown three times faster than the national average in two years, and in order to keep up with growth, some banks sought permission from the state banking regulators to buy homes for new employees. Regulators approved the request providing the banks sell their properties when no longer needed. One bank initially asked for approval to spend up to $300,000 for a home, but had to up that to $400,000 because the housing shortage is so critical.
(Photo credit: Alana Semuels/LATimes?Watford City, ND)
Categories: Business, home buyers, Modular, News Item, TrendsTags: bakken oil formation, community banks, consequence, housing shortage, MHProNews, regulators, three times, western north dakota
Facebook policy change results in hysteria ? and a hoax
A recent announcement sparked a hysteria which divided the Facebooking world into two factions: users who suspected the email was yet another scam; and users who believed that Facebook is rolling back copyright and privacy rights, and protested this by cutting-and-pasting a viral status update.
Home ? Blog ? Military News ? Edmonds Military Wire: Abbott & Costello discuss the unemployment conundrum
Edmonds Military Wire: Abbott & Costello discuss the unemployment conundrum
By Michael Schindler
I love humor. And what I specifically love is that truth can be conveyed through humor and suddenly it ?all makes sense.? This Abbott & Costello parody was sent to me with a political bent ? of which I took liberty to edit ? because at the end of the day it does no good to name call. (Yes, I still teach my children that name calling results in NO positive outcomes.) Congrats to President Obama ? we all have a tough road ahead and it will require us all to work together. So, enjoy this for its humor. COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America . ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It?s 7.8%. COSTELLO: That many people are out of work? ABBOTT: No, that?s 14.7%. COSTELLO: You just said 7.8%. ABBOTT: 7.8% unemployed. COSTELLO: Right 7.8% out of work. ABBOTT: No, that?s 14.7%. COSTELLO: Okay, so it?s 14.7% unemployed. ABBOTT: No, that?s 7.8%. COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 7.8% or 14.7%? ABBOTT: 7.8% are unemployed. 14.7% are out of work. COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed. ABBOTT: No, the President said you can?t count the ?Out of Work? as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed. COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!! ABBOTT: No, you miss his point. COSTELLO: What point? ABBOTT: Someone who doesn?t look for work can?t be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn?t be fair. COSTELLO: To whom? ABBOTT: The unemployed. COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work. ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed. COSTELLO: So if you?re off the unemployment roles that would count as less unemployment? ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely! COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don?t look for work? ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That?s how Obama gets it to 7.8%. Otherwise it would be 14.7%. He doesn?t want you to read about 14.7% unemployment. COSTELLO: That would be tough on the President. ABBOTT: Absolutely. COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number? ABBOTT: Two ways is correct. COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job? ABBOTT: Correct. COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job? ABBOTT: Bingo.
Bottom line: Bingo. Forget the numbers. Enjoy the humor ? America, it?s time to put our partisanship aside and find a way to get America back to work.
Michael Schindler, Navy veteran, and president of Edmonds-based Operation Military Family, is a guest writer for several national publications, author of the book ?Operation Military Family? and ?The Military Wire? blog. He is also a popular keynote and workshop speaker who reaches thousands of service members and their families every year through workshops and seminars that include? ?How to Battle-Ready Your Relationship? or ?What Your Mother-in-Law Didn?t Tell You.?? He received the 2010 Outstanding Patriotic Service Award from the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.
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RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? A Palestinian official says the remains of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be exhumed on Tuesday to enable foreign experts to take samples as part of a probe into his death.
Arafat died in November 2004, a month after suddenly falling ill, and Palestinian officials have insisted he was poisoned by Israel. Israel has denied such allegations. The detection of traces of a lethal radioactive substance in biological stains on Arafat's clothing earlier this year sparked a new investigation.
Former Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi, who heads the committee investigating Arafat's death, said Saturday that Swiss, French and Russian experts would take samples from Arafat's remains on Tuesday. Tirawi says Arafat would be reburied the same day with military honors.
On June 9th, 2010, Gawker.com ran a story about Andrew Auernheimer (a.k.a., weev) and Daniel Spitler (a.k.a., JacksonBrown), two hackers from the Goatse Security team (GoatSec). Five weeks after Apple?s 3G-enabled iPad was released, Auernheimer and Spitler uncovered a gaping security hole, singular to the 3-G hardware, which exposed personally identifiable information of AT&T customers.
Last week, one of the bug hunters was convicted on one count of conspiring to access a computer without authorization ? a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ? and one count of fraud. To add insult to injury, his former hacking partner helped the prosecution. Auernheimer is appealing, which means this suit could eventually land in the hands of the Supreme Court.
Below is the story behind the lawsuit that could further solidify legal precedence regarding the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act.
The iPad Security Incident
Hackers have been around since the Internet existed. And while their work can sometimes cause havoc, ultimately, hackers provide a necessary service ? one that many would argue is vital to our national safety. After all, hackers are the guys and gals who shed light on digital security gaps, which then allows authorities to address the problem. That?s why it?s not outrageous to argue that?Auernheimer and?Spitler did Apple and AT&T a favor by discovering the massive security faux pas.
What was this security breech unearthed by ?Weev? and ?JacksonBrown?? Without getting too technical, the two realized there was a ?hole? in the AT&T website code ? one which was exposed when using the 3-G enabled iPad. It was so exposed that the pair didn?t have to hack into the system or crack any passwords. All they did was guess a few passwords, and voila!?Auernheimer and?Spitler then wrote a script and were able to harvest over 100,000 thousand names and addresses of early iPad adopters who were AT&T customers.
Being that early adopters are often those with the financial means to ?be the first,? the GoatSec members got their hands on the PII of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, ABC anchor Diane Sawyer, Hollywood mogul, Harvey Weinstein and former Obama chief-of-staff and current Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel.
Illustrating that not all hackers are out for evil, Auernheimer and?Spitler made attempts to contact the affected entities (i.e., ABC News), but were essentially ignored. Then they took their data to Gawker who jumped on the opportunity to expose the story, though they did not publish any of the private information.
As you may guess, a lawsuit against?Auernheimer and?Spitler soon followed. Despite the fact that neither actually hacked into anything, nor cracked any passwords, the pair was charged criminally under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ? the argument being that they knowingly accessed a computer to which they did not have authorization.
After being charged, Spitler took a plea and agreed to help the prosecution. Auernheimer?s trial was set to begin on November 13, 2012 in a New Jersey federal court.
Why The Trial Was Of Interest To The Hacking & Internet Law Community
What made the Auernheimer hacking lawsuit so intriguing to those in the Internet community was the fact that he did not, technically, hack into anything. Instead, he simply made a few simple guesses and then used his know-how to write a script. As such, the question arose: should he be guilty of essentially finding a webpage with no links pointing to it, and then using the information found therein?
The merits of the CFAA have been hotly debated in the wake of significant technological advancement. Primarily, pundits are concerned that the vague wording of the bill harshly punishes young kids, who are essentially committing the same level crime as toilet papering someone?s house, and useful bug hunters who don?t do anything nefarious with the data they uncover.
Under the current law, anybody who accesses ?a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access from a protected computer? can be charged with a criminal offense. Moreover, any device that ?affects interstate commerce with a microprocessor and a network connection? is considered a ?protected computer.? As many have pointed out, that definition pretty much includes all mobile devices ? clearly, the CFAA is in need of some language adjustments.
What?s Next In The Auernheimer Data Security Lawsuit?
When the trial was announced, GoatSec vowed that if ?weez? lost the case, they would release information on an encrypted ?insurance file.? He was convicted last week, so I suppose we can expect a big story soon. But Auernheimer announced that he plans to appeal the decision ? which means this one could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
I?ll be keeping an eye on this Internet law case, as the end result has the power to significantly affect future lawsuits and the direction of cyberlaw as a whole.
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As we have reported in numerous stories over the past two years, housing continues to be in short supply in western North Dakota where the Bakken oil formation has drawn thousands of workers, many of them oilfield workers living in modular man camps. As originationnews tells MHProNews, community banks in the area have grown three times faster than the national average in two years, and in order to keep up with growth, some banks sought permission from the state banking regulators to buy homes for new employees. Regulators approved the request providing the banks sell their properties when no longer needed. One bank initially asked for approval to spend up to $300,000 for a home, but had to up that to $400,000 because the housing shortage is so critical.
By Michael Schindler